//------------------------------// // The Refuge. // Story: Darkest Night // by Macross84 //------------------------------// The trip to the place that Shimmer, and her companions called the Refuge was short, and quiet once everyone met back up. There was a dark cloud hanging over the group with the loss of Tunnel Rat. While he desperately needed a bath, and his eating habits were suspect, he was a good soldier, and a loyal friend. Like many of the others that the group had lost, he would be greatly missed. For Twilight, this was a time of reflection. It had been a couple of hours since she arrived in this world, and since entering, it was one nightmare after another. The only thought that brought her any comfort was that at least Spike was safe in his basket back home. She could only hope that he didn't get the itch to try, and join her on this side. The entrance to the Refuge, and resistance base was an old Subway entrance. From the outside, it looked like it was caved in by rubble. large chunks of concrete piled high in the narrow passage. Twisted pieces of rebar jutting out at odd angles. Twilight, and the rest had to be careful not to get caught, or cut on the jagged pieces of metal. Twilight tentatively followed Shimmer, and the others, never leaving Shimmer's side as they descended down steps. The subway sounded very spacious from what Twilight could hear from the echoes of their footsteps but the pitch black darkness made it difficult to see anything not lit up by the group's flashlights. Silver Shield remained up top, and made sure no one was watching. Sometimes if there were observer drones flitting about, the group would have to double back, and make it look like they were simply investigating, or just not go into the Refuge at all if they believed they were being tailed. Silver shield had a pair of modified binoculars up to his eyes that lit up the area around him. They looked like something out of a bad "B" sci-fi movie but were in fact repurposed from several skynet machines by the tech teams, who salvaged anything of value they could from scrapped terminators. "We're clear" Silver Shield called down to the rest before making his way down with the others. Shimmer nodded as she approached a large slab of concrete, and knocked with a peculiar rhythm. Twilight's eye brow raised as she looked at the woman. "What's the Password?" A voice on the other side asked. "Icky bicky walla wing-wong." Shimmer said as her cheeks blushed. It never failed to make her feel like an idiot every time she said the passwords. Each one seemingly stupider than the last. Twilight's mouth fell open at what she just heard, and was about to ask who came up with it when she was interrupted by Sargent Hard Knocks "The Machines run on pure logic so nonsensical things are very very difficult for them to process, and counter. So, as stupid as it is, its one of the reasons why we're still alive to fight." he explained simply. A moment later, the large slap of concrete was moved to the side with great difficulty. The group filed into a single line, and slowly began to shuffle in as Silver Shield continued to scan the area once more to be sure. He would rush right in just as the slab was closing. Almost immediately upon entering, the group had to pass a guard station where three German Shepards stood up, and moved between their handlers and the group coming in. Small Kerosene lanterns were the only source of light. casting eerie shadows around the small checkpoint. Small insects fluttering about the lanterns, adding their shadows to the mix. The fighters extended their hands so that the group could be sniffed and stood still as their bags were also sniffed. The dogs were trained in smelling out explosives used by skynet and also for detecting small centipede and spider like robots that would rummage along the ruins and had a nasty trick of breaking Achilles tendons before they could be destroyed. "Good work with that Tank, Shimmer. We heard it all the way from here." One of the guards stated. "Thanks, but we lost Tunnel Rat." Shimmer stated with a hint of sadness. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, make sure you mark it down to the bean counters." The Guard said after he offered his condolences. "Thanks." Shimmer stated simply before proceeding past. "Oh, what a cute doggy." Twilight cooed as she tried to reach out, and pet the large dog. Suddenly her wrist was snatched back in vice like grip. It was Sgt. Hard Knocks. He held her wrist, and held her hand out before the dog who gave it a cursory sniff, but made no other motion. Hard Knocks then pushed Twilight past. "Hey! What was that for?" Twilight hissed as she looked at the large man. "Don't try, and touch the dogs. They're trained, but some of them have a real attitude. That one would have ripped your arm off had you tried to pet it, or do anything to their handler." He explained in a flat dry tone. 'I cant even pet a cute animal?' Twilight thought to herself and visibly sulked with low shoulders, it honestly seemed like everything in this world had been ruined. Twilight couldn't fathom just how right she was. The war with the machines had seemingly stripped the Earth of its innocence, and life. The machines deeming all intelligent life their enemies. Just behind the Guard station was a very large steel door, like from a bank vault. It was one of the last lines of defense for the Refuge. Thick enough to resist all but the most destructive of weapons. As the door slowly opened, a smell assaulted Twilight's nose. Her face flashed an interesting shade of green, and for a moment she thought she might vomit. It was a thick musk of body odor, stagnant water, and a plethora of other smells she couldn't quite place. She looked to the others, and saw they were not even phased by it, but how could that be? "Get moving!" one of the guards growled at Twilight. There was suspicion in his eyes as he looked at Twilight. She was simply too clean, and her clothes too new. Granted she was dirty, but no where near as dirty as what a normal person should be. The guard was half prepared to accuse her of being a luddite traitor, those Humans who believed that working with the machines to end the rest of Humanity was the best thing for the planet. Twilight quickly moved to catch up with Shimmer, and the group. Twilight reached out, and took shimmer's hand so the two wouldn't be separated, again noticing and feeling the missing finger on her hand. Again, the group began to descend into the bowels of the subway system. no one saying a word as they felt their way more than see as the flash lights could only pierce the gloom only so far. In the distance, she could heard water trickling along with the heavy boot steps of Shimmer, and her squad. Twilight didn't say a word as she felt that even a whisper would sound like a scream in here. Looking around, Twilight saw the word "Purgatory" painted on the wall as one of the flashlights washed across the grimy surface. It was a word she was not familiar with, and wanted to ask Shimmer on its meaning, but the look on the unicorn turned human's face told her to keep quiet for the time being. Soon, the dark void of the tunnel, and the echoing foot falls of Twilight's companions started to give way to light, and sound. Twilight felt a wave of relief come over her as she knew that their time in the dark tunnel was nearly at an end. The short time that she was in this passage was suffocating, and oppressing, and she would be glad to have it behind her. Though with it, the smells only intensified. Becoming more pungent, almost like a fog unto itself. She had to take to breathing more through her mouth than her nose. She thought about covering her nose, but didn't want to insult anyone. As they entered the Refuge, the smell completely escaped Twilight's notice when compared to what she saw. It was horrible. People, families, huddled together in what ever pocket they could. Dirty faces with vacant eyes peering to the void. Broken spirits, and people trying desperately to hold on to the last dredges of hope that they'll survive, or even wake up the next morning. People didn't even care about winning the War anymore. They wanted to survive and fight for every last second of life left.Twilight slowly took in the scene before her, and could only feel utter despair at what she saw. These were once happy, laughing people that lived out in the sunshine of their world. Walking around without a care in the world. Now, now they were nothing more than shadows of a world that was burned away in the fires of war. Twilight took a moment to look around. The faint buzzing of malfunctioning fluorescent lights tickled at the edge of Twilight's hearing as the flickering light stung at her eyes. Causing her to squint to see all the people around. Many of them looking at her with suspicion. She was a new face, and new faces were not easily trusted. The lay out of the Refuge was a series of Subway maintenance tunnels. Dark charcoal grey walls, and flickering utility lighting barely lighting narrow passage ways. Twilight could see people huddling together with tattered clothing, and blankets for warmth, or huddled around rusted out barrels burning whatever they could find for the fire to keep warm. It was a horrid existence, and Twilight could feel nothing but pity for these people. Shimmer, and the others walked through the throngs of people as they made their way further into the inner sanctum of the Refuge. Twilight turned her head to look back, and saw Sargent Hard Knocks give a small child a bit of food. The child smiled and squirreled it away to take back to his family to share. It was a rare example of the gruff Sargent's softer side. It was also a reassurance that there was still some kindness left in this world. "What happened? Why is everyone living down here?" Twilight asked Shimmer through a hushed whisper. "No time to talk right now. We have to keep moving." Shimmer replied simply as they continued to move past the people in a hurried fashion. Twilight knew, she simply knew that these images would be burned into her memory for as long as she lived. And for an Alicorn, that was going to be a very, very long time. Turning down a narrow dimly lit corridor, Shimmer bumped into someone that was just stepping out of a crack in the wall. The squad came to a halt as the other person fell back onto their butt, and yet they didn't make a sound. The hood that had obscured their face a moment flung back, and the familiar visage of Sonata Dusk sat just before them. She did not appear like she did at the night of the Rainboom Concert. "What is she doing here!?" Twilight yelped as she pointed an accusatory finger at the former Siren. Moving to put herself between the Siren, and her friend Shimmer. Shimmer didn't answer at first, she simply moved passed Twilight, and bent over to help Sonata up. The girl looked tired, and very pale. Her cheeks were sunken, and there was bags underneath her eyes, as if she hadn't been sleeping well. The shimmer of life was also gone from her eyes. It was like she was merely existing. Once back on her feet, Sonata held up a note pad with words scrawled across the page. Welcome back. It was written. "Thanks, here you go. I'm sorry it isn't much, but it should help." Sunset stated as she dug something out of her pocket, and handed it back to Sonata. The Girls features lit up as she nodded to Shimmer. She quickly scrawled on her notepad once more Thank you. It read, before she disappeared into the crack she first crawled out from. The group continued as Twilight peeked in, and saw Sonata kneeling before a stone with some flowers. Just above her, a small iridescent light shown down upon the marker as Sonata watched over the stone with a sad lonely smile. "Mind telling me what that is all about? Where is Adagio, and Aria?" Twilight asked, very suspicious of the lone Siren. "Not everyone survived." Shimmer stated with a dead pan voice as she continued on down the hall. Leaving Twilight feeling irritated, that she was being deliberately left out of everything. Soon, they reached the Military part of the refuge. Here, there were roving patrols of guards, and Dogs looking for anything from spider bots to other nasty surprises that the Machines may have possibly have created. Twilight, heeding the advice of Sgt. Knocks simply let the dogs sniff her, and move on without trying to pet them. She didn't want her arm, or hand taken off as she was warned about. Almost immediately upon entering, they were directed towards the armory. There, Shimmer, and her people turned in their weapons, save for their side arms to be cleaned, serviced, and made ready for the next time they venture out into the open. All Resistance members kept their side arms on them at all times. One never knew when an attack would come, and it was best to be armed, even though it'd take multiple humans firing their sidearms to bring down just one terminator. Still it would give them the chance to down one and snatch its weapon and repeat the process. "Lieutenant, Silver Shield, and I are going to take all tech we salvaged down to the labs, and turn them in. Hopefully this'll help them whip up some more stuff for us." Sgt. Knocks stated as he shifted a large pouch on his shoulder. "Okay, we're going to get some chow." Shimmer replied back as she, and the others split from Sgt. Knocks, and Shield. As they delved deeper into the base, the difference between it, and the rest of the refuge was staggering. The base was cleaner, and more well lit. People were constantly moving around, doing their jobs. Yes, their clothes were still as tattered as the normal civilians, but it was shown that they were better taken care of. Every so often, Shimmer would pull Twilight to the side, and flat against the wall before her right hand came up to her eyebrow. She wasn't the only one that did this, the rest of squad did too. This was usually done when other people were walking by. There were also times where other people got out of Shimmer's way. "What is going on?" Twilight asked. Her experience with military protocol was very limited. "Don't worry about it, Twilight. It isn't important." Shimmer stated. Twilight only nodded as she felt more, and more out of the loop, and it was starting to really get on her nerves. The group would eventually make their way to the mess hall. The mess hall was one of the largest Chambers in the base, as it also served double duty as a shelter for the Civilians in case of an attack. Around the grey concrete walls, hand made posters were strewn about. Some saying to look out for suspicious things, others saying to hang in there with a kitten hanging onto the tree limb. Others were motivational in purpose, but failed in execution. Rows of tables were lined in organized fashion. Twilight recognized the tables as being the ones from Canterlot High's cafeteria. At this time of night, there was hardly a person there. The Hall was in between meals, and normally closed. However, since Shimmer, and her group had to take care of the HK Tank, and was delayed coming back cause of it. They were authorized to get a meal between designated meal times. The smell that assaulted Twilight's nose caused it to crinkle, but at the same time, her stomach gurgled. It's been half a day since Twilight last ate, and all that strenuous exercise was catching up with her. She was starving and would take just about anything at this point. She followed Shimmer, and the others into the line. Shimmer handing her a thick plastic tray, and some silverware. Slowly they moved through the line as the man behind the counter poured some brown lumpy gruel in to a bowl, and placed a piece of bread on the tray. Each person went through this routine. While the food, if one could call it that, smelled reasonably appetizing. It looked far from it. From there, they were each given a glass of water. Once everyone had their meal, the group scattered to different parts of the mess hall. This was one of the few times that the men, and women had a chance for some peace and personal space in the normally cramped confines of the base. Twilight followed Shimmer as she made for a table in the far back corner. Shimmer set her tray down, and Twilight followed suit. It was now that Twilight really saw how tired Shimmer looked. The once student of Princess Celestia looked like she was about to keel over at any moment. Soon they were joined by Short Wave whom sat at the other end of the table. The two simply started eating without much ceremony. Twilight looked to Short Wave, and then to Sunset before she decided to try this brown stew looking stuff. She dipped her spoon into the plate and then tentatively raised it up to her lips, shutting her eyes tightly in preparation for a horrible foul brew. But to her surprise, it was the opposite. "This is good!" Twilight declared after her first spoonful of the thick mixture. She eagerly took another, and then another spoon full. Followed by tearing off a piece of bread to dip into the stew. "What is this?" Twilight asked. "You don't want to know." Shimmer stated as she lazily stirred her stew around before taking bite. "Come on, tell me. It is delicious!" Twilight insisted. "Do you really want to know?" Short Wave asked with a sinister smirk. "Short Wave~" Sunset growled in warning. "What El Tee? She asked." Short Wave replied with a mischievous smile upon her lips. "Yes, but she has a bad habit of asking questions without thinking. There's some things better not said." Sunset retorted. "Hey! What's wrong with that!? Besides, I'm eating this, I should know what's in it. " she said as she soon raised the bowl to her lips and began drinking it down. "Fine, Tell her Short Wave." Shimmer Huffed as she leaned on her left hand. "It...is... Rat Stew!" Short Wave declared, and stared at Twilight as the news set in. Twilight froze as the words sank in. Her next spoonful half way to her mouth. Her eyes, wide, slowly looked down to her hovering spoon where a pink glob of meat floated lazily next to a piece of potato. Shimmer watched as Twilight's features turned to a sickly pale version of herself. "M-Meat!?" Twilight squeaked. She looked at Shimmer in horror, seemingly on the verge of vomiting. "We're ponies! We don't eat meat!" Twilight yelped. Short Wave suddenly looked at her with suspicion. However, Sunset cut off the other woman with a sharp glare. A subtle signal for her to leave them alone. Shimmer gave Short wave a moment to ensure that she was out of ear shot before Sunset held out her left hand. Her first, and what remained of middle finger held up. Though this did more to emphasize the fact that Sunset was completely missing her ring finger. "Two things, and you do well to remember them." Sunset stated with a hiss. "One. We were ponies. Now we are humans. Humans are omnivores and eat meat to live. So you will have to get over that. That, and food is scarce, so you have to eat what you can get. Second, Be very careful what you say, or do. We're a very suspicious lot now. And justified suspicion is enough for a bullet in your head." Sunset stated. While it may have come out as harsh, this was to protect Twilight. Humans had become a somewhat untrusting, and suspicious lot since the war began, and for good reason. ------------------ Elsewhere, a small almost cylinder like drone with two rotors on the front and back rose up over the remains of Canterlot High school. Passive scans had discovered a strange energy anomaly that warranted further investigation. This was given even more credence by a burst report from a Humanoid unit that was in the area. A young female human was found in the area about the same time. The unit followed its prime directive of "Terminate all Human life", and pursued the Female. However, it was met with members of the local resistance, and was destroyed. But the loss of one humanoid type was not of any concern. There were millions more, and millions more would be built in time. The Humans could not replace their losses so easily, and it was only a matter of time before the Machines beat them through sheer attrition, even if it took decades as some predictions by Skynet projected the war lasting. No, what was more disturbing was the strange energy anomaly. It was not something that was recorded to have been encountered before. The small drone continued to hover over the area. Its four rotors buzzing away quietly as they kept the machine airborne. Moving slowly, its onboard sensors scanned, and recorded everything. Everything from Sounds, Sights, even radiation levels. Comparing everything with previous scan logs going back as far as when the machines first devastated the area. However, the scan showed no change what so ever. Whatever happened did not have any lasting effects that the machine could detect. It would scan the area for about another hour before gaining altitude and zipping back towards its home base. Flying fast, and low, the Skynet scout drone whisked by destroyed, and blown out buildings, and down deserted streets. In the distance, just outside the city limits, a bright glow could be seen as the drone approached a sprawling complex. The Machine concentration grew exponentially the closer the drone got. Several aerial HKs flew overhead on their patrol as Several HK Tanks lumbered in a ceaseless oval circuit around the enormous complex, constantly on the lookout for any humans foolish enough to try and assault the base. In the very center of the machine patrols, a large sloped hexagonal building made from shining steel was erected over an enormous slab of concrete that was several square miles in size. Lights constantly flickered, and glowed. Making the complex look like a hypertech city of the future, a constant reminder to the humans that the machines were still present, the lights of their complex brighter than the stars in the sky. Yet, even as large as the complex is, it was but a tiny sub-node in the leviathan network of Skynet, with other nodes spread all across the world. The small drone would flit through the security scanners before making it way to its docking station to upload its findings to be processed into Skynet's database for further study by the hivemind like entity that was Skynet. While this was going on, deep within the complex, robotic arms were moving, assembling a new construct in their endless war with the Humans. The Management A.I. of the complex supervised assembly with deep scrutiny. It was following the plans sent to it by Skynet for the War's next phase. Sparks washed down off the assembly table as the parts were installed. Monitors beeping, and status updates were constantly flashing across screens as electronic eyes scanned the new unit created. On a near by screen text began to flash, and appear. INITIALIZE CORE CPU. ...Core CPU online. INITIALIZE AUXILIARY SYSTEMS. ...Auxiliary Systems Online. Electronic optics opened, and viewed the world around itself for the first time. They saw a stark white room with no windows, nor doors. Across the ceiling, and floor rails could be seen. It was upon these rails that the robotic arms, and manipulators whizzed around the table, finishing the final touches to the unit. Just above, hanging from the ceiling, an emotionless glowing red eye peered back. It would twitch every so often. Focusing on something, but then would quickly return back to center. SHUT DOWN UNIT. ...unit shutting down. Just as quickly as life was breathed into those electronic optics, they were just as quickly extinguished. -------------------------- After their short meal, Shimmer dismissed the rest of her squad from the mess hall so now it was just her, and Twilight Sparkle, alone within the labyrinthine interior of the base. Twilight had taken Shimmer's advice to heart at this point, and kept from speaking too much and forced down the rest of the food without much complaint. However, that did very little to dispel her curiosity, and her burning desire for knowledge. For Sunset, she really wanted to find an empty bed to collapse in, and pass out. Today had just been a very long, harsh, and exhausting day for the red and yellow haired woman. After putting their trays away Sunset led Twilight through several corridors, passing by other resistance members who all looked like they would sell their soul for a warm bath. Twilight had no idea where Sunset was leading her but trusted the other woman to know her way around the maze of a hideaway that would leave even a minotaur scratching his head. As the two of them were passing through a relatively empty chamber, Twilight decided now was as good a time as any for answers to her questions. She had waited long enough and she felt that she deserved a straight answer. "Sunset?" She stated quietly. She knew her friend was exhausted, but this was important to her. "What!?" Sunset groaned. She tried not to let her weariness slip out to much with her good friend. But right now, It was almost too much. Her team had already been tired from spending a week in the field, hunting and ambushing lone terminator squads and patrolling the wastes for any sign of Skynet tricks. "Please, tell me what happened. I want to know. Why is it so hard for you, any of you to tell me?" Twilight pleaded. Sunset stopped, and leaned against the pillar. It was like she barely had the strength to stand anymore. "You don't want to know..." Sunset started. "But I do!" Twilight countered with earnest "No, you don't!" Sunset snapped back. It was obvious that she was more afraid to speak of it than fearing how twilight would take it. "Why!? What is so terrifying, so horrible, so utterly nonsensical that you would act like this!? Why can't you tell me what is going on?" Twilight demanded. Sunset opened her mouth to say something, anything, but a soft squeak cut through the air like a razor. The sound was almost louder than the raised voices before and echoed off the concrete walls around them. "It's alright, Miss Shimmer. Miss Sparkle does have a right, and a need to know." A familiar voice spoke softly in the darkness. Twilight's features instantly brightened up as she heard that voice. It was the same voice as her teacher. A voice that would always be calm, and collected. The only off thing about it was that strange squeaking noise. "Princess. Um I mean, Principal Celestia!" Twilight squeaked in happiness as she turned in the direction that Celestia's voice came from. From the gloom, the squeaking continued as a figure could be see approaching. Though, as the figure entered the light, Twilight's smile was replaced by a look of utter shock. The squeaking sound belonged to the rusty wheels of a beat up wheelchair, that looked like it had more duct tape than metal on it at this point. A wheelchair that was presently ferrying Principle Celestia across the uneven concrete floor. Pushed by her younger sister, Vice Principle Luna. "Hello Twilight Sparkle. It would seem that you have found your way to us once more." Celestia said with a weary voice.