Luna choked on the poisonous air for a moment before her horn flashed once and she calmed down. Guess her magic worked like a charm.
Heh, charm.
Wide-eyed, the alicorn looked around, taking in the breadth of desolation and destruction that was post-war Moscow.
Home, sweet home.
“Okay, here's what we'll do. Luna, take this.” I pulled out my spare flashlight. “Get somewhere up higher, and flash this signal.” I flicked the flashlight on and drew three circles in the air with it. “Tell me if you see it being repeated anywhere, okay?” Luna nodded as she took the flashlight – with a flap of her wings, she was up in air, heading for a nearby ruin.
“Really think we'll find anyone out at this time, Alyona?”
“It's worth a try, Bourbon. And while Luna's out of hearing range, I'd like to know why you're throwing your two rounds in with this escapade.” The man grew silent, his features unreadable behind his gasmask. A moment passed before he answered.
“Well, seeing as the Dark Ones are responsible for transit between Equestria and Earth, without their help I can't go back to have a big bake-off with Miss Pie.”
That got a smile out of me and I nudged him in the shoulder, chuckling meaningfully. “Oooh, looks like someone's got your heart~”
“Look who's talking.” My smile vanished just as quickly when I heard Luna behind us. “Besides, he's made it clear that his preferences are different from yours, Alyona.”
“Shutting up now.” I murmured defeatedly, and the two asshats laughed.
“I received a return signal. It came from over there.” The alicorn pointed a hoof at a distant dilapidated building. “I guess we are headed there?”
“Da. If we're going to make it to Ostankino, we'll likely need more than just the three of us, alicorn princesses or not. Hopefully the Stalkers you just signalled are able to join us for the time being. And, uh, you'll need to stay invisible until we get to Ostankino. People around here have a tendency to shoot anything that has more than two legs. Just keep close, but silent. Can you do that?”
She almost looked hurt for a moment before snickering. “Alyona, you are talking to the princess of the night. Stealth is my domain, after all.” Her horn glowed brightly, there was a puff of shadowy smoke and Luna was gone, though her smarmy voice still reached my ears. “Well, then. Shall we proceed?”
“You the guys who signalled us earlier?” I froze as I heard a gruff, muffled voice address me. Slowly, making sure my hands were visible, I turned to face the well-camouflaged Stalker to my right. Bourbon followed suit, neither of us willing to do anything to prompt him to gun us down with his VSV.
“Yeah. Not looking for trouble, man. Just want to talk, Stalker to a Stalker.” He relaxed slightly at that, lowering the sniper rifle.
“Well, okay then. Your pal looks kinda twitchy, though.”
“You were pointing a gun at us moments ago, after all.”
“Fair enough. Dima! Alexei! It's all clear, nothing to worry about.” At that, what seemed to piles of rubble shifted, revealing another two Stalkers in masks. “Sit down, then. What did you want to talk about?”
Bourbon and I made ourselves relatively comfortable on an old, weather-worn bench. “We need some help to get to Ostankino Tower post haste, and I'm hoping you're up for it.”
The Stalker eyed me silently for a moment before speaking. “What's in it for me and my friends?”
“Sixty MGRs and some of our spare filters.” I replied without missing a beat. I could literally sense the other man's brow rising in surprise.
“I'm guessing it's got something to do with that band of Rangers that headed there a while ago?”
“You could say that, yeah.” I responded in turn. “So, what'll it be?”
“Well, I'm not exactly concerned what your business with the Rangers is, but I'll take you to there nonetheless – bullets are bullets, after all. Get ready to move in five.”
I nodded, passing a thirty-round mag to the man. “Here's half in advance. You'll get the rest once we get there.”
“Fair enough.”
The weather could've been better. Then again, it was a pointless thing to wish for on the Surface. It was always cloudy here, with an (un)healthy dose of toxic, bone-chilling wind. No wonder so few of those who dared venture topside returned. Luckily, anyone who had even a smidgen of a sense of direction could recognise the Ostankino tower even in the dead of night, making it a reliable landmark to navigate by.
Unfortunately, the streets of a post-apocalyptic Moscow were less than easy to navigate – gaping rents had opened up in the tarmac, shattering the water pipes, filling the crevices with radioactive sludge. Rusted, dilapitated vehicles filled the lanes, limiting our lines of sight and turning the street into a maze.
Like an obstacle course, except much more deadly.
And of course, universe seemed to be conspiring against us – a snowstorm was raging overhead, its distant booms of thunder sending Howlers stampeding in their dozens through Moscow, forcing our group to hide more times than I was comfortable with. Of course, the mutants' keen sense of smell meant some Howlers came to investigate, but those were swiftly dispatched by Luna, who still operated from the shadows. I think she was the only one who was actually enjoying herself, judging from the occasional glimpse of a Howler deciding to float mid air before a flash of steel tore through its midsection, and the creature fell to ground in two pieces, its last breath escaping as a puff of steam. More often than not, the mutants coming our way were running in terror, not attacking. Did she possess powers not unlike those of the Dark Ones?
But waxing philosophical would have to wait. We had to save Metro's ultimate bogeymen from extinction first. As the umpteenth stampede passed by, we broke out in a sprint once more, once more heading for the Ostankino tower.
“This is where we part ways, friend.” I passed the remainder of the Stalkers' payment to them – thirty MGRs and a couple of filters, as agreed. “Thanks for the help.” The leader nodded, pocketing the goods and walking off with his friends, waving one last time to me.
“Always happy to help a fellow Stalker!”
As the three men disappeared from our view, Luna popped into existence at Bourbon's side, almost giving him a heart attack. The alicorn paid no heed to him, instead staring up at the old, weather-worn tower, awe clear on her face.
“It's so... big...”
“That's what she said.” Come on, you really expected me to let that opportunity pass? Luna turned to look at me, a confused look on her face.
“What?”
“Never mind. Anyways, here we are – the Ostankino tower. Used to broadcast radio and TV stations before the War.”
“Radio? Teevee? What are those?”
“I'll let Bourbon explain it to you later, Luna. He knows more about pre-War Moscow than I do. For now, we've got to get to the top floor. Which is more than four hundred metres above us. Chyort. Well, no-one said this would be easy.”
We went on, soon reaching a door that looked like it was kicked in – and recently, too, if the scrapes on its surface were anything to go by. Dust and snow on the floor, probably unmoved for years, had fresh bootprints, and we followed those to the lifts. Luna followed me and Bourbon in a sort of awed silence, her head on a swivel as she examined the banks of control panels and screens.
“Well, damn. Looks like someone used this in the near past. See? The counterweight's released. Pretty much a one-way trip to the top.” Bourbon grumbled as he looked upwards. “Check if any other elevators are on this floor. Otherwise, we'll have to footslog it to the top – and I'd prefer if we could avoid that. No doubt the stairs and ladders here have rusted to shit! One wrong step and kaput.” I nodded and went off to check the other elevator shafts, leaving Luna to mill around aimlessly.
It didn't take long to find on elevator that'd suit our needs. There was one problem, though – it'd be impossible to carry the three of us to the top at once. Luna's suggestion that she fly upwards was quickly shot down by the fact that Demons nested on the tower's exterior. The argument was soon solved by Luna teleporting to the top of the shaft. Because, you know, she is a magic powerhouse, and I felt incredibly stupid for forgetting that. Without further ado, Bourbon and I climbed on top of the elevator. A moment of struggling with a rusted lever later, the counterweight was free – with a teeth-clenching shriek, the elevator cabin jerked free, slowly rising upwards. It was slow going at first, but as the mountings loosened up, we gained speed, ascending at a brisk pace. Winds howled with increasing ferocity the higher we got.
“Okay, you might want to hold onto something or you'll fall off!” Bourbon shouted over the din as we shimmied into the cabin – neither of us wished to risk getting ground to pieces between the elevator and shaft roof. Moments later, we came to a bone-jarring halt. I shook my head as I crawled over to the doors, prying them open with Bourbon's help. As we left the elevator cabin (read: deathtrap) behind, we came across a message Luna had scratched onto a loose wall panel – she'd wandered ahead a bit, to scout a safe route.
“Do you think she'll be alright on her own, Bourbon?”
“Totally! If she's half what Purplesmart's cracked up alicorns to be, she'll have no problem!”
“Who?”
“Purplesmart. You know, the one with the baby dragon as an assistant.”
“You mean Twilight.”
“Sure, whatever.” I rolled my eyes at his manners as we cautiously climbed the creaking metal stairs leading upwards, following the trail Luna had marked. By now, my clothes were fighting tooth and nail to keep me (relatively) warm, despite the sunlight that shone freely above the clouds. Huffing, we went on further.
“Luna? You there?”
From somewhere above – but nearby – I heard the mare's voice. “Oh, you're here? Good. I seem to have fallen into a bit of a predicament, Alyona. I'd appreciate if you could help me resolve it.”
“Stay still, suka, or I'll blow your head off!”
“Okay, what did she get yourself into?” I groaned, hurrying along, Bourbon trailing behind me. A couple of moments later I received my answer – Luna was standing still, a wounded Ranger holding her at gunpoint, his revolver's barrel resting square between her eyes. There was also a dead Demon sticking through the wall, its face filled with Helsing arrows.
“Well, shit.” Bourbon was first to speak. The Ranger looked towards us, but kept the gun pointed at Luna.
“Uh, could you please not threaten my friend?”
“You're travelling with a goddamn mutant?”
“She's not a mutant, man. I'd love to tell you why we're here, but that'll have to wait until later. Is Artyom still alive?”
“How do you know his name?” The Ranger grumbled.
“As I said, long story. For now, it's important that I reach him right now.”
“I don't think so. He'll get that targeter set up and wipe the damn Dark Ones out in just a couple of minutes. Whatever it is you're here for, I highly doubt it involves killing thezzzZZZ~” He trailed off and slumped on the floor, his weapon clattering as it slipped from his grasp. I turned to look at Luna just in time to see the glow fade from her horn.
“Time is short, and we cannot afford to spend it trying to talk him down. Bourbon, tend to his wounds and explain the situation to him when he regains consciousness. Alyona, we'll make our way upwards and stop Artyom from activating this 'targeter', whatever that may be.”
“Uh... Did you just-”
“He's asleep, nothing less. Let us proceed. Time is of the essence.”
“Okay, then...” I quickly followed the alicorn, leaving Bourbon to patch the snoring Ranger up. As I changed my filter, I could hear Luna grumbling sourly, something to the effect of 'how dare he threaten royalty'...
I suppressed my smirk, even though I had my gasmask on.
The sight would've been breathtaking before the Great War. Hell, it was still breathtaking, but in a desolate way – empty shells of crumbling buildings stretching as far as the eye can see.
But when compared to the sight of a man – whom I presumed to be Artyom - stumbling around drunkenly, almost tripping over a Dark One lying on the flooring, it seemed moot. Though the creature bore no wounds, the lack of any movement was all I needed to ascertain it was dead or dying. Artyom fell on his ass, gasping with dread. His panicked gaze instantly locked onto Luna and me.
“W-what the fuck?”
“Artyom, right? Look, I'll explain everything later, but now, it's important that you turn off that targeter!”
“What? No! The Dark Ones have to be stopped at any cost!”
“Twenty seconds to homing procedure completion.” The targeter chirped in.
Pain... The Dark One rolled over feebly, trying to reach the targeter, but lacked the strength to do so, and collapsed, still trying to crawl forward. Death... Prevent...
“Turn off the targeter and we'll explain everything to you, I promise. The Dark Ones aren't hostile! They want peace and to help us!”
“Really? Tell that to the people they've killed!” Artyom yelled, his own gun snapping up as he kept his aim on me.
Save... Life...
Distracted by the Dark One's struggle, he turned his attention to the mutant. It was all the chance I needed. I whipped out my own revolver, taking aim.
“Ten seconds to homing procedure completion.” The device announced from its tripod again.
...he does not understand...
A single shot rang through air as I squeezed the trigger. The .44 bullet struck the edge of Artyom's helmet, knocking his aim off. He stumbled forward drunkenly, swatting the targeter down from its perch by accident.
He also tripped on the steps, tumbling over the platform's edge with a horrified cry that I echoed.
I had barely a moment to process this development when Luna took to air, disappearing over the edge in a steep dive. Terrified, I crawled over to the tower's edge, then shrunk back as Luna soared upwards, a certain someone held tightly in her hooves. I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down, watching as the alicorn came in for a landing. There was a gust of wind and snow as she landed, gently depositing Artyom on the floor. A quick check revealed he was alive, but unconscious. Guess almost falling to your death does that to you. Luna trotted over to me, sitting down at my side, leaning against me - I welcomed the warmth.
"Guess we did it." I murmured tiredly.
"Yes." The alicorn hummed quietly, wrapping a wing around me. Yay, more warmth!
"So, what do we do now?" She grinned at that, looking down at me.
"I once met a very wise person who said to take one step at a time." That got a chuckle out of me and I lightly swatted her on the leg.
"Copycat."
We caught a lot of flak from the Rangers for what we did in the beginning. But with Luna's help, Artyom's childhood escapades were brought to light as one of the Dark Ones told their side of the story, the alicorn serving as a capable translator. Both Bourbon and me told where we ended up – Artyom looked like he'd seen a ghost once he saw the man. Apparently he thought Bourbon had died at Dry Station. It took quite a while for the Order to accept this – not because they were (too) against cooperation with the Dark Ones, but mostly because the Rangers who'd perished on the mission to reach D6 and Ostankino had pretty much died for nothing. That was something I could sympathise with, at least.
That was almost a year ago. Things have changed greatly since then.
The Dark Ones scared the tunnel trash – nosalises and the like - away from beleaguered stations like Exhibition and Riga. Stations cut off or surrounded found themselves harassed no more. They prospered, forming alliances with each other. Of course, neither Reds or Nazis approved of such changes. Earlier, the promise of protection would've forced many stations into hands of either faction. Now, however, they were organised and no longer afraid of the aggressors. Hanseatic envoys returned to their leaders empty-handed more often than not. The war between Reds and Nazis dragged on, however, two ideologies grinding each other down – their people left for the free stations, aided by the Dark Ones. Frustrated to no end at the unstoppable trickle of refugees, both the Red Line and Fourth Reich were eventually reduced to a handful of decrepit stations clawing at each other.
The Rangers moved into D6, setting up shop there, establishing themselves as a major power in the Metro. The supply stores recovered there, bolstered by whatever the Princesses delivered to Metro with the Dark Ones' aid – mostly in the way of foodstuffs – were a promise of a bright future for humanity. Of course, complications crop up here and there, but those are usually resolved quickly and peacefully.
The ponies are still kept a secret, though. It was uniformly agreed – by Luna and Celestia, too – that Equestria was a way bigger development to wrap one's head around, in comparison to the Dark Ones. It's not out of question, though. First, we need to see what future has in stock for us.
And to quote someone who set these events into motion many years ago - our future stretches before us like an endless metro tunnel.