//------------------------------//
// Chapter Three: Upriver 
// Story: Equestria 2033 
// by Memory 
//------------------------------//


"It's as if Twisty was a guardian angel, bursting forth from the heavens - or the engine bay - in a beam of light. The light that saved us all! I owe the irritable pony. Everypony aboard that boat does. I don't know how I will repay her... but at least I am sure I will be safe in her company." 
-Moondust's Diary, 22nd September 2033


Grey.

Again.

I was starting to see why Venice was always grey. The tunnels surrounding it were, too! Apart from the occasional red streak of blood or the dripping of polluted water, the vast and expansive Metro seemed to be just that - grey. Grey rubble. Grey tracks. Grey walls. Dull and boring does not do it justice. It's a whole new breed of headache. If the Metro was a living, breathing entity... I have to say, I hate it's fashion sense.

The boat was going to sail us as far as it could; apparently, up ahead was more of a stream than a river. Signs that read Watch Your Step, or Please Disembark On The Correct Path For Your Journey adorned the final few meters of the boat ride. They were red, bold, and stood out - not that it took much to stand out anyway.

Still, at least the gun Twisty had chosen for me was enough to make me grin. It was enough to bring colour - literally - into my world. It was bucking pink. 

"She's not really suited for camouflage," Twisty had explained, finally resting after letting Captain and Private retake their duty's as sailors. "Unless you're a party-goer-assassin type, and you look like you'd be more of a waitress than a guest at a Polis party." 

She tapped "her" and hoofed it over to me. Indeed, it would not be a very good camouflage weapon. But then again, the sheer size of it would make it hard to conceal anyway. If anything, it was more of a cannon then an actual hoof-held weapon! 

"Like I said, big guns. I've fitted the old thing with a tracker, so when a mutant finally gets ya I can retrieve this beauty," Twisty grinned. "It isn't cheap. So be happy you get to use it for free. Nopony else will be so generous - then again, I am being payed a few thousand EPP's for my services to Belle."

Charity doesn't exist in the Metro.

I attempted to grab it in my magical grasp, focusing hard. The boat squealed as the cannon was lifted, the glow of my horn illuminating the small section of the back softly. Soon, however, it became too much, and down went the pink cannon - and the boat, too.

"This is way too big! Twisty, I'm sorry, but - "

She shook her hoof at my face. "Ah ah ah, no buts!"

I looked at her, biting my lip. Was she truly crazy or just wanted me killed? Twisty's face was a study in calm, as she stomped her hoof once, twice, three times - and then the pink cannon of doom dismantled, folded, and packed itself away. It was gone, it was small, it was compact. It... it was...

"Ridiculous!" I exclaimed in disbelief. I lifted it in my magic to be sure, and it was indeed lighter. "How does that even work?! It defies every scientific thing ever!"

Twisty laughed. At least she had a sense of humour. "Your guess is as good as mine. Got it off some hooded mare, she left it with me - saying its use for her was gone - and vanished up to the surface. After examining it, I was amazed, so I awaited her return. She never came back." Twisty turned her attention to the cannon again, smiling at it as if it was an old friend. "Remember, also do triple hoof-beats when you want to open it again."

So one big gun that was pretty portable, and was pink. Well! I guess you could say I was well and truly set to face anything in my path. Just blow everything up, and triple tap my hooves to walk away without straining myself at all.  Checkmate Red Line! 

Wait... the Red Line.

If I was to stand any chance of survival, even with a weapon the size of a whole pony, I'd need to know what I was walking into. Whether or not I could walk through or would have to resort to more... violent means...

For the first time, what I had agreed to - willingly or not - hit me. I would have to kill. And not just a mutant or the remaining cattle. No, I'd have to kill a fellow pony. The thought made me sick to the stomach. Apparently, during the pre-war says, pony and pony would go head-to-head, fighting over the dwindling supplies. Blood would commonly be shed. 

I didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past... but if I refused, what would happen to Polis? To the remainder of ponykind? 

I sighed. I had to continue on. 

"Hey, Twisty", I started, looking down nervously. "We never finished our talk about the Reds. I was wondering - "

"Alright, here we are lads and lasses! The boat can't travel further, please use the walkways located on either side of the water. Have a safe journey!" Captain shouted, catching everypony's attention. "Thanks. Leave your payments on the way off." 

Providing before being payed? Captain sure had a heart, even if he did tend to be slightly irritable. I wondered for a brief moment if I'd see Captain and Private again, before Twist shoved me ahead. 

"I'm escorting you to the one-thousandth meter before Revolution Square. After that it's all you."

I silently nodded and disembarked off the boat in the direction Twisty pushed me in. The other ponies had gotten off on the other side, walking down what seemed to be a more twisty route through the crumpled tunnel section. It was, however, in better shape; I felt the stone and metal under my hooves buckle slightly as I stepped onto of them. 

Captain had already begun heading back, his lovely little raft now a bundle of light to fend off the spiderbugs. I didn't know boats had reverse gears! The sound of the engine filled the tunnel for a few minutes longer, before it too had become nothing more than a distant memory.

Focus.

By this time Twisty had stepped ahead of me. She made an effort to avoid looking at the water, and she stopped a few times to catch herself. I had totally forgotten about Twisty's problem with water. Although, it made me wonder... what exactly does she drink?!

"I admire your efforts," I said, trying to find something to talk about.

Twisty merely grunted, not breaking her new-found pace. "Adrenaline, kiddo. The greatest anesthetic ever," she halted, turned to me and half-smiled, half-scowled. "If I throw up before I get back to Venice because of you, you're gonna get it."

I decided not to ask what get it meant.

The small pathway led us all around the tunnel. And, oddly, wood was very common in the passageway to the Reds. It appeared to be supporting the ceiling, and large, makeshift pillars held up a patchwork of rubble above. Water trickled down, and even the ponies on the other side of the river - who were now ascending a small stairwell to reach an illuminated door - looked up with every groan it made.

I tried to ignore it, fearing what was trying to get into the Metro that badly. Instead I shifted my focus onto the jagged floor beneath our hooves. I didn't question why we broke off from the rest of the ponies, who had now disappeared through the door. No, all I wanted to know was the situation with the Red Line.

The loose rocks and sharp edges of broken wooden planks were a new feeling; Venice was well maintained, and the Manehatten Dam up above was not directly hit by a missile - or, that's how it looks. It was in good condition, with the only destruction inside from shootouts or the natural course of lack of maintenance.

But here, on this route, nothing was cleaned up. My sensitive hooves felt every stone press against them, and for a while I wondered if a particularly sharp rock would knock me off balance, plunging me into the water beside us.

It didn't look deep, no, but water has always been deceptive.

The walk lasted a few more minutes of total silence and aching hooves, before Twisty held out her leg to stop me.

"This is it, the final stretch," she said happily. She then grabbed my face firmly and pushed a mask over it, pushed the side of it and stood back. A soft light illuminated Twisty's face, coming from the top of the mask.

"Gas masks and flashlights," Twisty explained. "Never leave home without 'em!"

I breathed in deeply, testing the filters. The usual smell of semi-polluted air vanished. "Thanks."

"You better be - there's no way you'd get to the Red Line without these. This water is from the surface after all - and you could say we're at the source.

Ah, so it really was a stream!

There were no words for me to add, so I merely nodded and allowed Twisty to once again lead the way. The path became narrower, forcing us to literally put one hoof in front of the other. My side brushed against the tunnel wall, the sharpness of the loose stones digging in. And this time it hurt. A lot.

"Ow!" I gasped loudly. "Does nopony maintain these tunnels?"

Even Manehatten Dam was fairing better. 

Twisty chuckled. "Ah, the stupidity! We're at the source, but this little stream isn't enough to fill little Venice, or the good old Commonwealth! Haha, no. This place floods regularly, bringing new paths with it. Why do you think the roof looks like it'll fall on us any second now?"

Buck. This is a death trap!

I nudged Twisty's flank. "Can we move along, then, please?"

"Oi, watch it back there! We can't exactly run along this path now, can we?"

"We could swim..." I began.

"Oh, because that went brilliantly the last time you did it."

"I was surprised!"

"You almost drowned!"

"Look, what is your problem?"

Twisty was taken a-back. "Me? Problem? My my my, and here I thought you'd value my services in keeping you safe through the darker waters!" her hoofsteps became more erratic now. "And to think, Belle said you were one of the nicer ones. Kids these days - all the same!"

It was as I breathed in deeply, ready to retort, when Twisty mis-stepped. 

I was vaguely aware of being wet before i realized what happened. Water - disgusting, foul, sometimes even deadly - bought me to my senses. My reactions were delayed, and I simply stared forward. Paralyzed. I was better than this, right? All this arguing... and death...

The more I thought on it, the more my morals were challenged. 

Either way, there was no Twisty to be seen. Just a large splash and frantic hoof waves coming from below me, slowly being dragged along by an unseen current. Twisty could swim! She could survive!

A few more seconds passed, and Twisty did not emerge. Buck, I screamed internally. What do I do? I could grab some wood - make a pole for her to grab! But what if it triggered a flood from the rickety ceiling? I could reach out my hoof and grab her, but she was already too far. I could use my magic to haul her, but soon even her hoof went down. Aiming blind with magic was a brilliant way to fail.

There was nothing I could do. But I had to at least try! Nopony deserves to die, especially like this!

That's when I dived into the water after her, grabbing her waist with my hooves as we were dragged into the abyss, the current pushing us towards light.





...wait a minute. Light? 








Equestria 2033: Chapter Three - Upriver