Equestria 2033

by Memory

Chapter Two: Twisty

"The choice had been made for me, no doubt; I was to go to Polis for a pony I did not know too well but certainly respected. Was I cut out for exploring the deepest parts of the Metro? And more importantly, was I skilled - or lucky - enough to go it alone?"
-Moondust's Diary, 21st September 2033

Smells.

Whilst usually bad, the Metro was full of them. Rotting corpses or the alluring aroma of food would always be there to greet the life of the tunnels. Appreciating them was hard, however. They weren't exactly welcome when one was feeling queasy. My newly found acquaintance, who wanted to be referred to as Twisty, perfectly demonstrated this.

We'd met near the tents on Venice's flooded platform. Water levels had been rising as the artificial winter subsided, and Twisty was not happy.

"Bloody hell, I'm hyper sensitive to the smell of the water anyway! What's the big idea, flooding my only safe haven! It's like... oh Celestia... I'm going again -" she hung her head over the railing and let out another mouthful of vomit.

Pleasant sights to see all year round! Come travel by Manehatten Metro - a unique way to get around with an additional hint of danger and sickness!

Twisty was to be my resource for all things survival equipment. Upon leaving the lower levels of the Salty Sailor, Miss DeLise had troubled me once again and handed over a note saying all my 'expenses' were payed for. It's as if Belle knew I'd blindly accept anything he threw at me. In a way, he was right - but it still lit up a flare of anger whenever the thought popped into my head. Never in control, always just controlled.

But I digress, I was never much of a leader anyway.

The note led me to a young colt who offered to direct me to Twisty for one measly EPP. I accepted. Cheap labor and the kid could do with some good in his life regardless!

It's a shame though. Experimental Penetration Projectiles were still a rarity for me.

"How'd you get stuck in the one place full of water, then?" I asked gently, curiosity once again taking hold. "No offence, but you'd probably be better off further down the Line. Maybe even with the Reds? I hear they hate water too."

With what seemed to be the last of her strength, she held her head high and looked at me mockingly. "Commies? Pff!" she spat into the water. "Would rather be caught trespassing the Reich than end up joining them! Bucking Stalkers... always bringing up our pleasant neighbors."

There was a sting to the last sentence.

"What's wrong with the Red Line?" If I was going to make it to Polis, the Red Line was my only option unless I wanted to chance the surface. "I mean, uh - "

Twisty once again emptied her stomach before flopping back onto the hard wood floor. She looked exhausted, but not tired enough to pass off the question.

"Communism is terrible. Good on paper, yes, but in practice! Tsk tsk tsk, sometimes I wonder if the Red leaders knew how terrible it truly is for the ponies under their rule and just wanted the wealth. What do you think, huh? It's not like we've never... encountered a Communist nation... before - " she turned and the loud sound of retching finished off her explanation.

I did not know much pre-apocalypse history, but everypony seemed to know the ideology of the Red Line was based around a long-lost civilization, atomized by the one-day war that drove us into the Manehatten underground. And everypony - except the Red Line, of course - hated them. I suppose they were our enemy from times gone by, and that's why we were harshly ripped from our reality; communism was our destroyer, and they were back again; now just a tunnel away.

If the aim of the nuclear exchange was to rid ponies' lives of communism, the leaders of Equestria and her allies alike failed that objective miserably.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't get out of Venice much."

Her ears shot up and she looked at me in a mix of surprise and disgust. "You're supposed to be the little Metro hero Belle has given the key to? A low-life dam Stalker who has probably never been on a boat?" She laughed, harshly. "You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut, kid. Or maybe not - you're gonna need some good guns. Big guns!"

"Uh, thank you...?"

"Don't mention it! You're so fucked anyway. Ahaha! Now, where was I? Oh yes, so... communism - "

Another minute, another vomit puddle.

"I'm gonna need my meds for this, shit!" Twisty was definitely a foul-mouth. "Come on, kid. Help me up. We'll get you some equipment, I can nap way way way away from the water. Everyone's happy, yes?"

I silently agreed, and put a hoof forward to help the unlikely resident of Venice up. She grabbed it and leaned into me as I pulled up with all my might. She rose perfectly, but a little too fast - the sheer force pushed me back, and I landed back-first into the water.

My first thought was how... quiet it was. Not the unnerving quiet of the remains of Manehatten Dam above us, or the not-so-silent silence of the small station library that had been compiled over the course of twenty years. No, this was true silence as water filled my ears and refused to let go.

It was so tranquil that I forgot what it meant to be underwater. I closed my eyes and sighed contently, allowing gulps of water into my lungs.

Oh sugar! I screamed internally.

Struggling, thrashing, splashing - any word that could be used to describe a drowning mare would have fit me. I silently pleaded for an end. My lungs burned, threatening to force my mouth open once more. I raised my hooves to try and grab the edge of the platform blindly, but something grabbed me first.

"Moondust! What. The. Buck?!" Twisty's voice assaulted my draining ears. "Can you not even swim? Celestia, girl, even I can. Are you sure Belle didn't set you up for a death sentence?" Twisty's hooves carefully lowered me onto a boat moored at the platform. "Here, sit. This is your convoy anyway. I'll go and run along, grab some stuff for you. Medkits, guns, filters - the whole shebang, as some more annoying ponies would say."

I was too weak to even look in her direction, never mind reply. At least Twisty seemed to be feeling better, even if it was probably just the adrenaline rush.

Instead I just nodded and let the cool embrace of darkness embrace me.

The tunnels of the Metro had never been well lit. Our brightest light source, the sun, has been obscured from our view for as long as I can remember. If there was any doubt that the surface was unfit for pony life, it was the lack of life-sustaining light.

Instead of earth ponies powering our food supplies, unicorns now had the most vital role. Once, the most common of spells for unicorns to perform was the manipulation of objects. Now young fillies and colts alike are taught how to cast light spells. Small at first, before having the power of a miniature sun at their disposal. Underground farming of mushrooms, potatoes, and other easy-to grow food stuffs took off relatively quickly.

These farming areas were very few and very well hidden. So the tunnels stayed dim and lifeless, regardless of our magical potential.

I never thought I'd be happy by lack of light.

The boat seemed to have all sorts of ponies onboard from what I could hear. I had kept my eyes shut as I slowly came to my senses, my body regaining strength - as slow as the transition was, I was thankful I had survived. For all her bluster and 'charm', Twisty seemed alright!

"I didn't think the day would come where we'd be hired to escort tea down from the Northern Manehatten Line to the Reds! What's the deal with that, anyway?"

"Dunno, wasn't in the job description. Which is good. A little bit of mystery is sometimes best in these tunnels."

"Pff, say that to me when a Watcher has you pinned to the floor because no one told you about their nests!" the almost inaudible sound of exaggerated spitting followed.

"As if! it feels like the NML and the Red Line have made this whole area a no-mutant zone. Something about them not wanting a repeat of the rat incident."

"Rat incident?"

A snicker. "Were you born yesterday, Time Turner? The rat incident! The news about it traveled down the tunnels like wildfire! Some say even the Great Phoenix heard about it."

"Oh, and I was born yesterday, with you bringing up a rumoured group that apparently does the most ludicrous of things? Bah!" more laughter. "You're a riot, my friend. Why didn't you join this detachment sooner? The southern defenses can get a bit... eh... boring at times."

"I'm serious! The Great Phoenix Cult - child nappers from the broken tunnels of the abandoned south!"

"Enough of your horror stories! Cut to the chase about these rats - unlike you lot I was born yesterday!" a new voice chipped in. It sounded much more girly than the others. "You know how they are about us joining the defenders."

"Oh, ha, we know alright!" I stood up and looked on at the unfolding conversations. I was at the back of the boat - which was more of a glorified and bulked-up raft - and in complete darkness. The tunnel ahead was dimly lit by lights hanging from the ceiling. The boat felt safe, and almost homely with all the good cheer and friendly banter! "If we're going to talk rats, though, we better clear up some things on this cult - so! About these Phoenix guys..."

I sat back down and listened in. This was gonna be good!

"Nopony really knows how they came about, except that they originated under Manehatten's university district. The tunnel from the universities to the 'Ring around the Metro was cut off after the highest point in the tunnels decided to collapse. Again, nopony knows why - but what is known is that the students were left behind when it happened. Did the Republic send out any help? Of course not! The Metro Ring Republic has their own issues!"

That last bit seemed like mockery.

"A few years pass, and no word comes from these trapped students. The Republic eventually sent out a search party - just to see if anything was worth saving. They have a voting system, you see, and they could not put up the permanent closure of those tunnels up to vote without proper evidence to back up the claim. Frankly, the leading powers wanted the tunnel forgotten; conspiracy theories had already cropped up. Some being as ludicrous as the Red Line, the Republic, and Polis hiding secrets down there.

"So out goes this search party. Their first radio messages were run-of-the-mill. The typical military shit, you know? 'We've arrived on scene,' or, 'Search commencing. The Republic were certain they could close it off, dispel the rumours, and keep the peace in the 'Ring.

"Before long, though, radio contact was lost. They thought nothing of it - the day had been filled with a lot more radio traffic than usual, after all - "

"Bull. Why would they? Wouldn't it just be an average day for everyone else?"

"Ah," replied the story teller. "But it wasn't. Even the Reds had got involved to try and keep the peace in their own area of the Metro. A temporary alliance, if you will - the last before the first war broke out. That's another story, though!

"So they wait an hour. And then two. And then three. Then six, twelve, a whole day - nothing. Nada. Zilch. Naught. Not a single bit of contact. Worried, another party was sent out. The leaders were adamant they could get this vote passed. Perhaps to get more support in their armed forces, or maybe they really did care - either way, the first party wasn't coming back.

"And neither was the second. They suffered the same fate. An entire platoon was eventually sent to give them all cover. And one message came through..."

A rather long silence fills the boat-raft-thingy.

"Well, aren't you gonna continue? What about the message? Can't you remember?!"

"I can't remember the exact message, no! But it was something along the lines of, 'Nothing worth saving - blood everywhere! Fall back, everypony! Oh, we're all so bucked. Including you, boys back home! Including you - '"

"Enough with the bullshit, man!" the sound of a hoof colliding with a leg filled the air - gently. Playful. "Don't scare the new girl."

Silence fell. As did darkness. A few murmurs spread across the boat.

"Uhh, sailor-guy? Are we supposed to be going this way?"

"I... don't think so. I didn't even know the tunnel branched off this way!" came a new, light, feminine voice. "Where's Captain?"

"Down here! And neither did I, Pipsqueak. And that means something's up," a pause, a loud screech, and then the boat's movement ceased. "Do any of you lot have a flashlight? These candles are terrible."

Somepony was heading towards me. I didn't feel up to talking, so I gasped, laid back down and shut my eyes.

A loud bang greeted my ears and shot my eyes wide open again. Shock filled me; enough to make me truly take in the surroundings. The tunnel was indeed very dark, too dark to see past the small makeshift boat. A pony's hoof was just a meter away, its owner rummaging in a chest behind my head. More bangs, a few clangs, a little tinkle...

Sounds were always nice and varied. Wonderful.

"Nah, just a charger for one," Pipsqueak's voice broke. "I am sorry, Captain."

"Don't you worry, Private! Do any of our guards and passengers have a flashlight?" the pony I shall name Captain for now said. Captain and Private sounded like friends; actual friends with actual feelings of care for each other!

Unfortunately, a resounding chorus of "nuh-uh" came from everypony else on board.

By this time I had regained enough composure and began to stand up again. I had yet to fully recover from my near-death experience back in Venice. With the last bit of energy I had, I tried to speak out.

It came out as more of a squeak, however; "Unicorn here. Not the best with magic, but I can cast a simple light spell to - "

"Perfect!" butted in the Captain, who was an earth pony, and began trotting over to me in a hurry between the compacted mass of ponies. He reached me and grabbed my hoof. "To the front with you, lass! Let there be light in our lives once more!"

His voice reminded me of your typical sailing pony. And it comforted me during my first trip on a boat ever.

The ponies made room to allow the two of us to pass quicker; despite the general easiness of them all, they were not born yesterday. They knew that every second spent impaired to the environment could well be a pony's last - even from my limited outside experience, this fact was buried deep inside my mind too.

We reached the front. It had a small seat, some drinks and a pack of cards randomly placed all around. A small hatch led to the area below; probably to where the engine laid. Captain nudged me, and gestured to the dark tunnel ahead. "You know what to do."

I nodded and wordlessly began casting. Things were going pretty well until fatigue once again took over me. After a lot of groaning and straining, I managed to cast a single orb of energy which sailed through the tunnel, illuminating it. It fizzled out quickly, however, but it was enough to give us a view on our surroundings.

Now, I am not one to exaggerate, so believe me when I say - we were well and truly screwed!

The Captain dropped everything and angrily shouted out to the heavens. "Are you bucking kidding me?! Here? Now?!"

Mutants were more common around the Metro than we liked to admit. But for Venice and the surrounding waters, only the Aqua's which we hunted bothered us. Until now, that is...

"For the last time," said Private, visibly sweating but trying to maintain composure. "Does anypony have a flashlight?"

Spiders - small creatures. Eight legs. Some venomous, but most were just annoying - or, that's what the elders say.

For these creatures weren't just spiders. They were something bigger, deadly, and would do more than just annoy a pony. These were the famed spiderbugs!

"Well, so much for Polis," I muttered. I knew years of listening in would become useful - and one particular conversation from the far-out traders of the Metro proved to be a valuable resource of all things related to deadly mutants.

Panic gripped even the apparent tough-pony guards. Those who were talking spoke in hushed whispers now, the boyish confidence gone. Passengers began rocking the boat, screaming help to an entity unknown. And I just sat there, watching the chaos unfold. There was nothing I could do. My magic had burned out. For the first time since my small journey began, I felt hopeless. And I was probably only mere hours into it!

"All we need is a light, the things hate it!" said a grey stallion, with the voice of the storyteller from before. "They seem to be waiting for something though. Does candle light really affect them that mu - "

A loud bang rocked the boat. A terrifying screech came from the stallion as his hoof shot up above the mass of ponies, followed by a pool of red dripping into the murky green below. And a single scorpion-like tail shot up, accompanied by a screech and some scuffling.

The chaos just got a little bit more chaotic. A few ponies even went overboard.

This is the end.

In that moment, the small hatch swung open, allowing a flowing beam of light to travel straight up.

It was like the heavens had just ascended from beneath us! Maybe there is still an afterlife - the two areas had just been reversed!

The light angled and shone right in my face, startling me for a few moments. But the screeching and falling of the tunneling spiderbugs gave me the adrenaline rush needed to get up. I grunted with the effort, but it was worth it to see none other than Twisty emerging from the hatch, light bulbs attached to handheld charger in her hooves.

She looked at me for a moment, and then set about removing the spiderbug that had landed on the boat. The light visibly burned the outer-armor, weakening it. Twisty drew her weapon to fire, but the mutant scuttled too far and fell off into the depths. It'd either die from drowning or be eaten by an Aqua. Or both. For a brief moment I wondered if I'd be the one to eat that Aqua, as if fate or something similar would guide us together!

Silence fell on the boat as Twisty continued to shine the light around. She gestured at me to go down below and re-activate the engine. Captain and Private's roles as leaders had been unofficially handed over. They sat cowering at the back of the boat where I had previously rested.

The musty engine room was well-lit too. It was here I found a bed, an open diary, and some equipment - was Twisty hiding onboard?

A simple, generic switch with two options - on and off - greeted me. I pushed the lever up; a loud roar shook the boat momentarily before the boat trudged onwards. I ignored the equipment and climbed out of the hatch to see the end of the boat ride.

We eventually crossed the tunnel boundary and out of the stray spiderbug territory. Our situation wasn't much better; we had no idea where we were, or what to do - but we were alive and away from the heavy-hitting beasts!

I stared at Twisty, dumbfounded. I had so many questions, and she could probably tell.

She smiled and said, "I couldn't leave rookies like you lot out here to die now, could I?"

And then she threw up.

Equestria 2033 - Chapter Two: Twisty

Comments

[Memory]

CHOO CHOO HERE COMES THE METRO TRAI - I MEAN BOAT

Hint: Twisty is Twisted

I hope you enjoy the latest chapter in Equestria 2033 ^^