Metro: Retribution

by RF and AG

Chapter 9: Trust

“Son of a bitch.” I softly muttered as my hands rubbed my eyes. That fucker hadn’t warned me that we would be teleporting once again. The first time was bad enough, but at least I had been prepared for it. This time I was caught unaware, not to mention that I had been sitting down. So I went from a sitting position on a bench to having my ass land hard on what looked like solid crystal. So it seemed that the place Khan had shown me was real.

Believe me, I was stunned to see such a sight, even if it was just a simple bedroom from at first glance. An entire room, at least, was made of crystal. Of course I had seen the place from the train, but I had just thought it to be some sort of design mainly. Now though, my ass was telling my different.

While I was in awe at having just been teleported into a building made of crystal, my companion seemed to be getting a little flirtatious with another alicorn. This one was pink, and from what Twilight had told me, her name was Cadance.

Now, I don’t mind giving a fellow male his chance at scoring, but I didn’t need it to happen while I was sitting merely a few feet away from them. So, while putting my hand up to my mouth, I gave a rather loud cough to get their attention. Without a doubt, it did the trick, as both of them sharply turned their heads to regard me.

I have to say that the look upon Scowly’s face was rather amusing. It wasn’t obvious, but the horror in his eyes was vivid enough. He knew I had overheard each word he had spoken with his wife. He also knew that if there ever came a time, I would use this against him.

Now was not the time though.

“Shining, why haven’t you introduced me to our guest yet?” Cadance had quickly spoken up. It was obvious she wanted to clear the air of any awkward silence. I would have as well if I had ever been caught saying some of the things that they had. Though I guess, in retrospect, they weren’t anywhere close to that bad. Maybe a bit suggestive if anything.

Scowly recovered from the incident rather quickly, as he seemingly wiped his face clean. His expression going from hidden shock to that of a neutral guard again. “This, dear, is Artyom. The human that Princess Celestia had sent word about.”

“It’s good to meet you, Artyom. Twilight also sent a letter to me about you, though it was only recently.” Recently? How fast was their mail service? I had only told Celestia and Luna about where I was going this morning. How did Twilight send a letter this far in such a short time?

That wasn’t important, what was important was that another Princess was in front of me. This morning, I had felt compelled by whatever ‘spell’ the Princesses had cast over me. I could feel it when it changed my answer and even before I had answered her. Now though … now I couldn’t feel anything. I had to try something to test if I was under control.

“Excuse me, Princess. Must test something quick.” I gave a small cough into my hand, ignoring the confused looked on her face. I turned my gaze towards Shining. “Prick.”

Now, aside from my elation that I was possibly longer under control of some sort of mind warping spell, I was also rather happy that the word didn’t carry over into this universe. Of course I still had to test something later, just to be safe that I wasn’t under some spell still. Shining just looked confused at what I had said. In fact he was prepared to speak up, but his wife cut him off.

“May I ask what that was about?” She was definitely a curious type. Twilight had told me that she used to get ‘foalsat’ by Cadance, so it made some sense why Twilight was as curious as she was.

“Just curious about something. Do not worry. Anyway,” I bowed briefly, wanting to show some respect to a Princess who didn’t try to control me. “Is good to meet you, Princess.”

When I straightened out again, Shining was a little shocked, while Cadance just had a pleased smile on her face as if I had just confirmed something for her. It was nice to see that she was sincere and possibly had no desire to subject me to some mind twisting ability. For now, at least..

Maybe she was closer to Twilight in regards to her status. Twilight had been nothing but kind, sincere, and honest with me. Maybe Cadance would be the same? Her husband didn’t seem to be willing to.

“It is nice to meet you as well, Artyom. Now I can only assume that you are here for a reason?” She asked, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her brashness. “Oh, I’m sorry. You just got here and by asking that I must sound like a terrible host.”

I rose a hand to cut her off. “Not at all, Princess. I wonder though, why are you kind to me?”

Once again she smiled at me, it must be a prerequisite to being a Princess. It was probably required of each Princess to be able to maintain a smile no matter their feelings. “Despite what I have been told by Celestia and Twilight, I want to remain neutral in regards to you until I can get a good understanding of your character before deciding how to act towards you.”

“So you are nice by … start? I think that is word.” I can understand what she was trying to do, but that didn’t explain why she was being this openly kind towards me. It took Twilight and Fluttershy a little bit of time to warm up to me, yet it seemed that Cadance didn’t need anytime to be nice.

“I am the Princess of Love, Artyom, which means that I need to show compassion towards all, at least at first. If somepony proves to me that they are deserving of none, then they will get nothing from me. If they prove themselves kind of heart and compassionate, then I will reciprocate those feelings.”

“Umm … .” Came out of Scowly’s mouth nearly immediately after. It was surprising to see him shocked at that. It was understandable that I be at least a little surprised at the depth of her statement, but apparently her husband had not expected something so astute from her.

Once again, Scowly proved himself to be a profound and well spoken pony. How did he not see her pulling something like this? Was their marriage extremely shallow, to the point where they barely knew each other? Maybe Cadance was truly a pony of multiple sides, ones that she showed all who surrounded her, but kept a part of her hidden away?

If the former was to be believed then her and I had a lot in common. For being a Princess who actually ruled a kingdom, she was gaining my respect.

“Well said, Princess.” I said.

“Thank you, Artyom. Now how about we show you to your room?” She asked while motioning her head towards to what I assumed was the door that lead to the hallways.

“I appreciate the … hospitality? Да, but I plan to not stay here long.” It almost felt like my English was getting worse. Why couldn’t these ponies speak русский?

Cadance’s ears visibly drooped at that statement. I was a little surprised that she reacted so negatively to my declaration to leave. Even though the smile had vanished, it returned to her face shortly after. “I’m a little sad to hear that, but if that is what you wish. Though, if you were not planning on staying, may I ask why you came here then?”

For the few seconds it took me to answer her, a small debate went on in my head. A part of me obviously opposed even mentioning my motives for coming to her empire. It was reasonable, considering how much the first two princesses had meddled with me. Though that side was also losing its credibility, due to Cadance showing me respect and at least a form of trust.

That, of course, only helped bolster the argument of my other side. It favoured telling her what she wanted to know, in the hope of her helping me along my path. She could help out in numerous ways. Possibly getting me access to supplies that I might need. Celestia and Luna had neglected some items. One of those being water; though I am sure that Shining had some sort of water in that bag he lugged with him. As well as she could be a lifeline for me if I ever needed a fall back. I would not go back to Equestria if those two Princesses still ruled, but the Crystal Empire seemed nice.

Of course I had only been in it for maybe an half an hour and had yet to leave the sole room I have seen.

With both sides having had their arguments viewed, I decided to take a leap of faith. For those two it seemed like a matter of seconds for the answer to come out, but for me nearly an hour had passed. Of course, time didn’t want to take my side in this situation.

“Following a lead from a dream. More like a vision.” I stated simply.

Shining rolled his eyes at that response, which was not surprising considering his stance on me. Cadance on the other hand … or hoof, felt that my answer was legitimate enough to actually follow it with another question.

“What did the vision say?”

“Caddie! You can’t be serious? You believe that he came here based on a vision? That is a complete load if I have ever heard one.”

Cadance brushed his statement aside, even going as far as to be rather ticked off at him. ”I can’t believe you Shining Armor. Anypony knows that dreams and visions are rooted deep within yourself, or even the world. They hold some truth to them, even if it is only a shred.”

Shining looked completely crestfallen at Cadance scolding him for speaking as he did. Surprise seemed to be a general thing to expect when speaking with her, as even I was a little amazed that she told off her own husband in my defense.

“Now, Artyom, can you please give me some insight into your vision? That is, if you want to, of course.” For a brief moment I saw Fluttershy talking to me, instead of Cadance.

I blinked a few times, trying to see if it was just my imagination. I, of course, saw Cadance in front of me, looking up at me in an inquisitive manner. After imagining seeing Fluttershy instead of Cadance, I decided it would be best to remove my helmet and breathe in the fresh air without it going through an unoccupied filter port.

In a swift pull, the helmet was off and hanging limply from my right hand. I looked back down at Cadance. “May I sit?”

She only nodded her head before motioning to a set of chairs that were also accompanied by those pillows that ponies seemed to sit on. I proceeded to slowly walk over to one of the chairs. It still amazed me that the ponies even had chairs this big, though I guess it would make sense for a ruler to have such a thing. Twilight told me that the minotaurs tended to be over six feet tall and bulkier than me with my armour on.

Either way, the moment I was seated in the chair, I found myself being gazed upon by my two hosts. Both of them had entirely opposite facial expressions, with Cadance being one of curiosity, while Shining held one of skepticism. He even rolled his eyes a few times, but stopped when Cadance jabbed a hoof into his side.

“Right, last night I had vision. A good friend was there, leading me to places. He showed me this place.”

Cadance somehow was able to look even more curious. “He showed you the Crystal Empire? Maybe he had visited here before?”

I chuckled at the thought, “No, he was from back home. Never been in world, let alone here.” I smiled at the thought of Khan visiting this place, before continuing. “Anyway, he showed me a book called, Accounts of a Bygone Era.”

Scowly rolled his eyes again before speaking. “And how do we even know such a book exists. Listen, I’m all for helping you leave this place but this is most likely a wild goose chase.”

My desire to throttle Scowly was growing with each minute that he talked. I might have to travel with this pretentious prick, but, aside from walking and fighting together, I didn’t want much to do with him. Especially with the way he said the word helping. He was no doubt about to continue his little theory on the book, when he was cut off by his wife.

“No, I have seen that book before.”

Luck was once again on my side! Suck it Scowly!

“Really? Somehow he just happened to need a book you know of?” Scowly said, eyebrows furrowed.

Cadance just smiled at him, “That book is older than a good portion of Equestria itself. Whoever wrote it must have had extensive knowledge of the world before Celestia and Luna came to power. The only reason I know of it, is because I wanted to learn more of the Crystal Empire. Even though I am the Princess of this place, I know very little.”

“So you just happened to read this book?” Scowly was still being his prickish self and doubting her.

“Of course not! Stop doubting me Shiny!” Her smiled had quickly vanished from her face, only to be replaced by a look of spite for Scowly’s bitter remarks.

His ears flattened in response, and his body cowered away from his growingly furious wife. I guess he mumbled an apology of sorts for she began to quell her rage. I just sat there, amazed at how quickly it had escalated before deflating just as quickly. These ponies were sure expressive.

Cadance leaned over close to his ear and began to whisper something into it. I might have had good hearing and I might have been close, but I did notice that her horn was glowing and so was his ear. With that bullshit that was magic, I instantly assumed that she had put a dampener of some sort so that whatever they said would remain private. The moment she was finished, her horn’s glow died down and she turned to face me again.

“Now, as I was saying, I wanted to learn more about the Crystal Empire, so I took a venture to the public library. In there they had a lot of records about the place, but barely anything during Sombra’s reign.” She picked up on my confusion over the name, “He was an evil tyrant that ruled the place before making it disappear for a little over a thousand years.”

“Now, when I was at the Library, I did find mention of archive that was located well below the Palace. See, under this Palace is an extensive network of crystal caves. Many old and abandoned rooms are still down there. The archive included.”

“So, book is down there?” I asked, while piecing the puzzle pieces together.

“Exactly!” She beamed.

There was one thing I was confused over though. “Why you telling me? Seems like something to keep secret, no?”

Apparently my confusion gave her some amusement as she gave a rather dainty laugh before speaking again. “Not really, but that is a different issue that we will discuss later. Remember, Artyom, this is me showing you trust. You showed me some by telling me your motive for being here, now I am reciprocating it.”

I simply nodded my head in acceptance. She was intentionally trying to avoid something, I could tell that at least. Well, maybe not avoid, but she was definitely delaying something. Her face still held that smile and gave little away, but I could tell from Shining’s look that she was close to having revealed something important. Something that he didn’t want me to know. Maybe it didn’t concern me and maybe I was being overly paranoid that they were hiding something from me. Tough to say, but it was obvious enough that I wasn’t going to get anything from prying into it.

“So, Artyom, how about I show you to your room? We can talk along the way.” said Cadance while gesturing to the door.

Once again, I simply nodded at what she said. Sometimes it was better to just be silent. Without a moment of hesitation we proceeded out the door, with Shining holding it open for us. The hallways were … well made of crystal. That was all I really could say to something like that. I was basically standing in a hallway that was made of crystal and decorated the same way as the previous palace. Portraits hung along the walls, a red carpet covered the majority of the floor and seemed to continue well past just this hallway. Here and there were scattered ornaments, sitting peacefully on stands.

Luckily, there was not a single plant placed on those stands. Perhaps whatever letter Twilight had sent ahead had warned her of that one incident. If that was true than it was for the best; I would have torched any plant I saw, otherwise.

One thing had me curious though. We had passed down multiple hallways and along the way, had passed numerous guards and maids. The guards kept their stoic demeanour which included a quick salute when Shining passed by them. The maids, on the other hand, were busy rushing around, carrying something, cleaning something, or organizing something. They paid no heed to me, nor the two ponies beside me. This was entirely different from the previous palace.

“Why do others pay no heed to me?” I spoke in almost a whisper, hopefully just loud enough to let Cadance hear me.

“The Crystal Ponies have seen countless oddities and strange occurrences. In fact, this entire kingdom was banished from the physical plane for a thousand years. It was easy to explain to the castle staff and guards that we would be playing host to an unusual being.” She said while focusing nearly all of her attention on me. She hardly paid heed to where she was walking and yet she never deviated from her original path. Of course, that was barely the first thought to my mind.

“A thousand years? How is it possible?” I said in a skeptical tone before realizing that they were just going to answer with magic. It was how Twilight described a lot of things that made little sense to me.

Cadance merely chuckled. “Would you believe me if I said magic?”

I merely gave her a questioning glance before setting my vision down the hall again. There was no need to argue a point that I would no doubt lose. If we were still in the Metro, no such thing could have happened. There was no magic to speak of, the closest thing being the anomalies. It would seem that our worlds were just that different and I would have to get used to this new one. I wouldn’t be surprised if I never had to fire my gun again. The whole world seemed so peaceful … but what did I know? I had only seen a few rooms and a passing countryside from a cracked window shade.

By the time my train of thought had finished moving, we had arrived at the room that I was assigned. Well it was that, or they were leading me somewhere else and I had missed them telling me it.

“Here is your room, Artyom. Now, Shiny and I have a some things to discuss, so we will unfortunately have to say goodbye for now. Dinner will be served in about two hours. Shining will come and get you.” With that being said, she opened the door with her magic before beckoning her husband. They left without another word being said, of course I didn’t think they were going to discuss anything in private anyways.

With the two lovebirds gone, I walked into the room, closing the door behind me. Admittedly the room looked awfully similar to that of Cadance’s. I didn’t really pay much attention to the little details of their room since the fact it was made of crystal drew in most of my attention.

Crystal flooring, ceiling, walls, crystal shelves, and a crystal chandelier. They were definitely not going overboard with the crystal. It wasn’t like a big rock could come a shatter this entire kingdom or something. At least the furniture was made out of something other than crystal. Two dressers set next to each other, right beside a small bookcase… that was carved into the crystal. I sighed outwardly before making my way over to those dressers. Hopefully they were sturdy enough to hold my armour in them.

Roughly five minutes later I had removed every piece of gear that was attached to me. I was just left with just my regular clothing and my boots. Of course, this was a good thing, being in that armour all the time tended to make my muscles sore and stiff. Not to mention that the clothes themselves were probably beyond dirty at this point. Maybe I could ask the Princess to clean my clothes. Of course the image of her actually hand washing my clothes came up which brought out a rather loud chuckle. I would have been beyond amazed if I ever saw such a thing happen. They probably just had some unicorn use his or her magic to power wash any clothes.

That brought up a really interesting question, do ponies even wear clothes? I mean, I saw the Princesses wearing their jewelry or regalia and the guards wore armour. Was that the extent of their clothes? That would mean that at any moment I could possibly be flashed … fuck you brain.

I shuddered in revulsion as I laid myself down on the bed, never again would I allow myself to question such things. It would probably only bring up horrible mental images.

Once my back touched the bed though, any trace of such a thought was replaced by the softness of the bed. For the past few days, I had slept on a hard cot and even though it was the softest thing I had slept on, it hardly compared to what this bed felt like. If I knew what sleeping on a cloud felt like, I would probably think the bed was softer.

My eyes narrowed as one hand reached under the sheets, searching for a mattress in order to assuage my suspicions. Luckily, my hand found one, negating any thoughts that I might have been laying on a cloud. Such a thing wouldn’t even be possible for me anyways, well, at least according to Twilight, but who knew what this messed up world would do to me. I already had two Princesses attempt to mind control me, not to mention that about every living plant on the face of this planet was a part of an active plot to choke me to death.

I rolled onto my left side, fixing my eyes upon the closed door. Maybe a nap would do me some good. I let that thought sink in for a second before chuckling once more. It would only do me good if Khan wasn’t there to take me on another journey of self discovery. I sighed before positioning myself onto my back once more.

I had nothing against Khan and in fact he was probably the closest I had to a friend for a while. Especially after Exhibition… but sometimes the stuff he talked about just seemed to be an endless spiel that always delved into what he called ‘the true nature of things.’

A brief image of Khan, showing me the book I needed, flashed into my mind. I couldn’t fault him on what he did, he had actually shown me the start of the path. Hell, he even offered his help if I should ever ask for it. Though it would probably be only in terms of directional guiding… knowing Khan though, he would probably find a way into this oddball world.

As my eyes closed, I snickered at that thought. Khan in Equestria … he would make these ponies have an existential crisis.

I was woken from my sleep by a few rather loud knocks on the door. Without second thought, I had reached for my revolver on the nightstand beside my bed. It was second nature to always be ready in case something tried to attack you while sleeping in the Metro. Of course that was the Metro; I was not sleeping in an over decorated bed that was a soft as a cloud. Why would I have to fear being attacked while I was sleeping?

Once my hand retreated from its spot next to my pistol, I pushed myself to the edge of the bed that faced the door. For once I was actually able to have a blissful nap. No strange dreams, no memories surfacing, no Dark Ones messing with my head … no Khan. I smiled slightly at that. Somehow that was the biggest relief of all, yet at the same time I was kind of hoping to see him again.

It was a feeling of missed companionship, someone who I enjoyed seeing and working with. Even though I had worked with Miller and Ulman before, it just wasn’t the same. I sighed out loud at the thought of Miller and Ulman.

No doubt they had died along with all of those damnable Red Line soldiers. It wasn’t the first time since I had arrived in Equestria that I found myself regretting all of what happened. There had to have been another method to defeating the Red Line. Maybe we had rushed into battle to quickly, overlooking something that could have helped us.

“Are you coming, Artyom?” A feminine voice came from behind the door. It would seem that Cadance had come to wake me up. I remember that she told me Shining would come and get me, so what made her come instead?

“Да,” I mumbled out. It was instinctive so I didn’t instantly realize that the silence was her not knowing what I said. “Yes, be right out.”

“Do not take too long, dinner will be ready shortly.” There was a brief pause. “Oh and, Artyom? You do not need your gear if you don’t want to wear it.”

That statement made me a little nervous. It was as if she knew I was thinking about that exact quandary. Maybe it was just pure luck, or maybe she was reading my thoughts. This land and its magic was just a simple way to cheat on life. Could be used for anything for all I knew. Mind control, teleportation, controlling stars… I wouldn’t put it past them that they could turn something into an orange. Hell, that would be an awesome thing to have in the Metro. Not enough ways to combat scurvy down there and there were no oranges. Most kids didn’t even know what an orange looked like, or had even tasted orange juice. I could only faintly remember the taste from when I was a kid.

I stopped my thoughts, hoping to limit what Cadance could possibly read, and proceeded to walk towards my bedroom door. It hadn’t even occurred to me to take off my boots when I went to sleep, years of having to wake up and get moving had given me some interesting habits. I had only remembered that I still had them one when my first step on the crystal floor felt like every other step with my boots.

It only took me about six strides to reach the door from the edge of the bed. The room itself was probably made for ponies to live in so it was surprising that it took me that many. Who would need this much room for just a bedroom? I had lived in tight rooms my entire life and I had done fine. Just another difference I could chalk up to this world. Each time that I added a new one, I slowly began to miss the Metro, even if it was hell most of the time.

The moment I reached the door, I grasped the handle slowly and pulled. The door itself moved as if it was the same weight as a feather, yet it was made of solid crystal. I just shook my head at it, which probably came off as me shaking my head at Cadance, who had been standing in front of the door. Her patient waiting had yet to wear off as she just continued to smile at me.

“Did you just wake?” She asked with a knowing smile on her face. I just mutely nodded at her while my eyes looked everywhere but at her. She giggled lightly before continuing, “I figured as much. You still look tired.”

“I look tired, but feel refreshed. Been awhile since sleeping this much.” I said while we proceeded to leave the doorway. She proceeded to lead the way down the hall. This time, I decided that I was not going to tune any conversation out. Maybe I could actually learn something from this one, if she was as trusting as she claimed to be.

“Was it that hard of a life, where you were from?” She glanced up at me while we rounded a corner.

“Yes.” I bit back the reflex to say it in Russian as well as my reflex to give her more than just the simple answer.

She didn’t speak up after it but her face spoke volumes about what she wanted to say. Maybe she was intentionally trying to show me this or maybe her neutral demeanour had finally slipped. No matter the reason, I could tell that she wanted to know more; she knew I was hiding something. We only proceeded a few steps farther before she turned around, stopping me in my tracks.

“Artyom,” she began with a stern look, “I can tell that you are withholding from me. I do not want to intrude on something you do not wish to share, but you have to trust me. It is for the best of both of us and you know that.”

Her face slowly softened, resembling something closer to a nurturing look. “I read what Twilight sent to me. I know some things about your world but I need to know more about you. I need to know that trusting you is the right thing.”

I looked at her for a second then down the hall. At the end of it I could see a pair of doors that were open. On the other side sat a table that seemed to be covered in food. She had to be serious about this since she was bringing this up before we even reached the table.

In the few seconds it took to form a reply, my mind wizzed with the pros and cons to agreeing to tell her more. It was the same issues as when I was in ‘Canterlot.’ Once again I was going to put my trust in these ponies. Why I would even dare, after having my trust betrayed like before, was beyond me. Yet still, I made up my mind.

“After dinner.” She raised an eyebrow at my statement. “After dinner you can ask.”

She just smiled and nodded at me. It seemed that she accepted my delaying tactic. Well even though it did hold truth to it. I would answer whatever questions she could ask. If she was anything like the last pony to ask me questions, I could be retelling my entire life story. At least I, hopefully, would get a nice meal before having to regal another in what my world was like.

The moment we entered the dining hall, I was … underwhelmed. It seemed that I was led to a more private dining hall. Well at least that was the guess since this one was rather plain, crystal walls non-withstanding. The table wasn’t made out of solid gold like the one in ‘Canterlot.’ No, this one was a well furnished and obviously hand crafted wood table. Intricate designs were carved into the legs and the corner pieces; none of them made a bit of sense, following along the lines of being random doodles more than artwork. The fact that the table was made to seat, maybe, six guests was a little odd to me. Maybe I had come to expect a little much from royalty at this rate. Ponies probably were as different as people were, each one had their own little eccentricities to them. Maybe these two were closer to regular ponies than Celestia and Luna were.

The moment my eyes strayed from the table they were met with Scowly’s, that trademark scowl sitting upon his face. Yet somehow, it seemed to be lessened. In fact, he seemed to to be a bit more relaxed and not as tense as he was before. A single thought passed through my mind as a knowing smirk rose on my face. Of course it was instantly banished from my head as a mental image popped into my head. Fuck, I might not be so hungry after that one.

Cadance pulled up a seat on the opposite end of the table. It seemed that even in their private time, they had to abide by the normal rules of sitting at a table. Some families still practiced it in the Metro, so it wasn’t something new to me. The ‘heads’ of the family had to sit in their rightful spots. That of course made it awkward for me, since it meant I was stuck somewhat in the middle of the table. Well at least till Cadance actually sat down, for the moment she sat, Shining moved from his spot at the other end of the table to sit right next to Cadance… across from me. I think I could taste some jealousy, spewing from him, along with the regular hatred. Well, maybe that was too strong a word, but that was besides the point.

The meal arrived, halting the end of all the riveting conversation that we were having or lack thereof. It didn’t matter since the moment the food arrived I changed my focus away from the two ponies, deciding that this fresh looking meal was much more important. Two large vegetable platters were brought out and set in the middle of the table, while single servings of a pasta were set down beside each of us. Once again, it seemed that these ponies wanted to treat me to meat. I had resigned myself to not getting such a thing in a land of herbivores, but I wouldn’t say I wasn’t grateful to them for giving me the meat.

All in all the meal was rather quick, with all of us being focused on the food more than anything else. Of course, I wasn’t looking forward to what would surely come after the meal. Well, since we were done the meal it would no doubt start soon.

“Alright, Artyom.” Cadance spoke out.

Right on time.

She must have been amused by the look on my face, for she let out a little giggle. Here I thought I was holding down a rather solid poker face.

“I can tell that you are not looking forward to this.” There was hitch in her statement, as if she was judging what to say next based on my reaction. “You are an enigma to read, did you know that? It would take some rather powerful mental spells to be able to read you.”

“How you know?” Of course I was beyond skeptical of that statement. I couldn’t tell if she was ignorant to what had happened or she was horrible at being subtle.

“Being the Princess of the Crystal Heart Kingdom as well as the emotion of love, I am tied to emotional magic. This also falls slightly under mental magic. I’m nowhere as powerful in that field as Auntie Luna, but I know when someone has a strong mind and you, Artyom, are as powerful as they come. The only reason I knew you were not looking forward to our talk was because of some dread that was manifesting itself from you.”

I can’t say that I did more than raise an eye. Hopefully it would only take an eyebrow raise to tell her that I thought she was out of her mind when saying that. From what I could tell, she had no idea about how her ‘Aunties’ had hijacked my own mind for awhile. I wasn’t about to tell her, lest I be subjected to similar treatment.

“It’s funny, Artyom, I can almost taste the disbelief. Though from what Twilight wrote, you came from a world where magic was but a figment of one’s imagination.” She looked as though she was holding back a laugh the entire time.

“Cadance, dear, I think we have strayed far enough from our direction.” Scowly spoke up, catching me off guard. I had completely forgotten he was even at the table. If Miller had known I was so careless, he would have chewed my ass out for that.

“Thanks, Shiny.” She rose a hoof to her mouth before giving the typical, small and polite cough. “Now, Artyom, I’m guessing that you were expecting a barrage of questions much like my sister-in-law?”

Sister-in-law? Who could that… wow, I really knew nothing about any of these ponies. I mutely nodded my head in agreement with her statement. I wanted to say as little as possible. hoping that I could still hold onto my own secrets.

“I only have one simple question, Artyom and I ask that you answer it fully and without a shred of anything but the truth.” She paused as if I was supposed to answer, or maybe it was for dramatic effect. “What did you do back on your world?”

I opened my mouth, to tell her the same thing that I told Twilight. To tell her that I was a wanderer of the tunnels, working for money, and barely getting by each day. It was easier to explain that to her and get out of there. Yet Cadance held up her hoof to stop me from speaking.

“I know what you told, Twilight. If that is the truth than I can help you no longer I am afraid. Of course that might be the case even if you tell the truth. It is not out of trust I would refuse you, but out of what I can physically do.” She halted her speech, looking over to Scowly who had a look that spoke volumes about who truly was the dominant one in the relationship. “Artyom, the room holding the book you seek has been overrun. I cannot say much at the moment and I refuse to say more if you cannot help us.”

She looked like she wanted to say more, but I had enough of ponies shutting me up. I put up my hand to stop her from speaking this time, of course receiving a disbelieving look from Scowly. It was beyond obvious that she was dropping a hint at what she wanted in exchange for her husband going on a ‘quest’ with me as well as having access to an ancient book.

“Truth is better covered at times.” I started off, while staring directly at Cadance. “I told lie to move me from castle quicker. If truth came out then I would be there. It is true that I wandered station looking for work, but that was when I was child.”

“Certain events led me from home, search for help in stronger station. I became involved with Rangers, a trained military group. They kept tunnels clear and kept order. A lot happened, but I joined them in end. I worked as a Ranger after, clearing Metro of mutants and searching dead city for important stuff.” I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table, my gaze moving from Cadance to Scowly instead. “I was soldier, one of best, if friends were believed. Now you know, I feel you need a soldier, да?”

Cadance just smiled at me knowingly while Shining had a look of minor disbelief still, but it was also laced with another look. It was one that someone might see among their competition in a sport. One that meant he was sizing me up. Now that he knew, he would probably be looking to prove himself better than me. As long as it didn’t get either of us killed, he could continue with his showboating.

I knew that things were about to get exciting rather quickly. I hardly enjoyed battle, but I knew when it was necessary and now was one of the times. The ponies wanted me to show that they could trust me; I wouldn’t pass up a chance to get them off my back.

“Итак, с чего начнём?”