> Dead Space 1.5, A Forgotten Tail
>  by shadowpheon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Honorable Intentions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The suited figure stared out of the view port at the Sprawl. They turned and began walking out of the room. A deep male voice emitted from the suit, “Audio Log, Rig number 438642, I’ve been selected for a secret mission, down in the core systems of the Shard. I hope I can do them proud. Altman be praised.” The figure walked down the hall, and opened a door.
A new male voice came over the Rig radio, “Ok. You’re in position. Remember, your code name is Vandal, under no circumstances tell anyone your real name, understand? Your voice filter will keep you anonymous if you meet anyone.” Vandal continued down the hall, coming to a small room with two doors and a locker.
“We’ve arranged some tools for you. You should find a plasma saw in that locker up ahead.” Vandal opened the locker and picked up the yellow and white device. 
A female voice informed him, “The SH-B1 Plasma saw is designed for dissection of heavy duty materials in both on and off site locations. Users are advised to always wear protective clothing when the saw is in use.” Vandal inspected his new tool, then opened a panel on the power box next to the door, slashing the components. 
The door opened, and Vandal entered. “Now, let’s get started. What we’re doing here is vital to the cause. I’ll be with you every step if the way. Start by using your plasma saw to take out the power boxes in this room. Should be three of them.” Vandal spotted the first of the panels, and demolished it’s inner workings. Soon, the other two shared similar fates.
“Perfect. One room down. Now you need to keep up the pace, move on to the next room.” Vandal exited, and passed the locker to the other door. “Remember, always keep an eye on your locator, it knows this place better than anyone.”
Vandal activated it, and figured when it lit up the small blue line down the hall. He followed it as a new voice crackled in, “Attention… Rig number 4… 42… This… Tidemann… Identify…” The voice cracked out. Vandal ignored it and continued on.
He entered another small room with another locker. “There should be a plasma cutter waiting for you in the locker next to the server room.” Vandal opened the locker and picked it up.
The same female voice said, “The 211-V Plasma cutter, is suitable for everyday chipping and trimming tasks in the mining environment. Standard mode, projects a single, long range energy blast. Rotation of the device switches between vertical and horizontal orientation, allowing for greater accuracy.” Vandal weighed the weapon, studied it, then rotated the line and shot the power box high up on the wall. He entered the next room.
* * *
The lavender unicorn sat at the table of a popular Ponyville café. Her friends sat with her, talking happily while they enjoyed a simple lunch. Their chats soon stopped as two royal guards approached from behind the unicorn. She looked to her friends in confusion as they suddenly silenced. Her unspoken question was answered with a, “Miss Sparkle?”
Twilight Sparkle turned around to face the guards, a large smile on her face as she jumped on them, catching the two in a hug. “Nightray! Ramrod! How is my brother?” She asked excitedly. The two guards smiled as well while the tension melted away.
“He is fine, and is the reason we’re here. He is having a little get together, and has invited you and your friends to attend.” Before Twilight could answer, she was pounced by a bright pink mare. 
“A party?! Ooo! Can we go Twilight? Please!” She begged. Twilight smiled.
“Of course. We’ll be there.” She replied to the guards. 
“Alright. We’ll see you at eight!” They left the group as they returned to their lunch, now talking excitedly for the upcoming party.
* * *
Vandal shot the last box, sending a shower of sparks to the floor while he knelt to pick up some plasma rounds from the ground. “Good job! Only one room left! Let’s …” He was cut off.
“Rig num… 386… Come in… “The voice continued on in garbled static.
Vandal spoke now. “Tyler, what exactly are we doing here? This is pretty low level stuff I’m taking out. I’m worried we’re endangering the Sprawl’s systems.”
Tyler replied, “Sorry Vandal. You’re not authorized to know that. Your engineering skills make you perfect for this task, but you’re still a new convert to Unitology. Relax, and have faith. All I can tell you is that after today, the government will no longer stand in the way of the Church.” Vandal left the room and sighed. He continued through the halls before a sudden drawn out growl echoed out. Vandal slowed up.
He continued after dismissing the thoughts, coming up to a few heavy crates blocking his path. Tyler answered the question before it was asked. “Should be some kinesis modules in the room coming up. See if you can find one while I work on these locks.” Vandal searched through the lockers and cabinets, finding nothing. He then saw the small crate on the floor. He smashed it, retrieving the delicate equipment from the wreckage.
The female voice explained, “The kinesis module acts as an extension of the user’s limbs, allowing for the remote manipulation of objects and equipment. Personnel should be aware of object’s true weight when working in populated areas.” Vandal left the room and approached the crates, tossing them aside like they were paper.
He walked into the now cleared room, and saw three more power boxes awaiting their demise. Vandal made quick work of them, and radio chatter kicked in. Vandal noted, “Finished, and everything’s gone real quiet.”
“That means you succeeded. Excellent job Vandal! What you’ve done here today will stand in Church history forever! You’re a hero! Now get out of there and head for the church.” Vandal opened the door and began down a new hallway, when something ran out, growling loudly as it slipped into a vent. Vandal ignored it, though slightly terrified by it, and opened the door at the end of the hall.
“Foreign matter detected!” Yelled an automated voice as alarms began to blare. More of the creature began to burst out of the vents, growling loudly. 
“Vandal! Get out of there, quick! Make for the tram!” Vandal took off in a dead sprint, dodging the creatures as they popped out of vents all around him.
A new, calm female voice came in, “Vandal, I represent the Church. Listen to me. What you see before you is your reward, for today’s accomplishment. You’re to be one of the first blessed with Ascension.  The authorities are locking down the Sprawl, cutting off the minds, locking you in. But don’t be afraid. Your death will be glorious, a holy path to the life beyond death the Church promised you. Altman be praised!”
Vandal growled out, “You knew this would happen? You lying sons of bitches! People are dying because of what we did… what I did! Fuck you! See how blessed you feel when the government hears about what you’ve done!” He kept on sprinting. The monstrous screams and growls were right behind him as he dove into an elevator, the door shutting just in time to save his life.
* * *
“Come on Rainbow Dash! We’re going to be late!” Twilight hollered. The cyan Pegasus rushed out of the cloud house.
“Alright! I’m ready!” She said in an annoyed tone.
still need to get Apple Jack.” Twilight told her as the two rushed for the farm. Upon their arrival, they noted a absence of the certain orange mare. Twilight knocked on the door, and it was opened by a small yellow filly. “Hello Apple Bloom, is Apple Jack ready?”
“Ah think shull be out in’m minute. You’re welcome to come in an wait for her.” The filly stepped aside. Twilight and Rainbow Dash entered the house.  As they got inside, the desired orange earth pony entered the room. 
“A-righty. Ahm ready girls.” She smiled at the two. 
“We’re gonna be late now!” Rainbow Dash protested, nodding to a clock which showed they only had about ten minutes to get to Canterlot. 
“Don’t worry, I’ve been working on a new teleportation spell that could get us there in a flash!” Twilight proudly stepped forward.
“Well, what ‘cha waitin’ for?” Apple Jack asked impatiently.
“Alright, here we go.” Twilight began focusing her magic through her horn. The air in the room began to swirl around them, a bright light forming at the tip of her horn. The other two shielded their eyes as the light grew brighter. 
“Twalight? You sure this is safe?” Apple Jack asked. Twilight did not respond to her, her focus deep in the magical spell she was producing. The three of them began to lift off the floor. Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack gave each other worried looks as they simultaneously asked, “Twilight?” Before they were blinded by a bright flash.
The three were dazed by the loud crack of noise that happened as they teleported. Twilight opened her eyes not to the peaceful Canterlot Gardens, but to a long white hallway, lined with windows on one side. Twilight gasped and rushed to the window wall, staring out at the vast black void. The noticed they were on almost a floating city built on a rock.
“Twalight? Where are we?” Apple Jack fearfully asked.
“I.. I don’t know.” She replied. They heard some voices from down the hall, then a loud alarm sounded.
“Foreign matted detected!” Sounded off a female voice. The three looked fearfully around at the empty hall, then realizing they were the unwanted visitors. 
“Come on. We need to find a way out of here.” Twilight told the two, leading them to a door. The floating circle of light in front of the door was red, and read on it, ‘Locked’. Twilight looked around and found a vent that was open. “Let’s go.” The ordered, leading the way into the vent.

> Exit Wounds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vandal activated the elevator and began down the shaft. He breathed heavily, being so close to death. “Now entering Government Sector” Announced the elevator. 
“Attention, RIG number 438462. This is Director Tiedemann in the Public Sector. We’ve traced recent acts of sabotage to your suit. Identify yourself.” Came the voice. Vandal knew he was in trouble now. 
“Uh… Call me Vandal. But listen, they didn’t tell me what would happen! I just did what the Church told me, and now the bastards have left me for dead out here! So screw them, all right? I’ll even testify if you want me to!” He explained. The elevator came to a stop and opened. The nice white walls had a message written in blood on it. ‘Cut off their limbs’.
“I don’t think my colleagues will accept that. You’ve caused a lot of trouble. But there is a way to make up for some of the damage you’ve done. The emergency quarantine seal of Crossover Tube A has malfunctioned, and as an Engineer, you have the tools to repair it.” Tiedemann informed him. Vandal entered the hall and saw some sections with the lights out.
“Isn’t there someone on your side that can do that? I’m fighting for my life down here!” He protested. He turned the corner into the darkened hallway.
“You’re much closer than anyone from the Public Sector. If you’re truly remorseful, this is your chance to show it. Repair that seal, and it’ll keep those monsters from reaching the population. It may even gain you some leniency… Assuming you survive. Now hurry!” Tiedemann cut out. Vandal almost jumped out of his suit as a body fell out of a vent from above.
Vandal sighed, and continued on. He picked up some plasma energy and walked to a corner. As he was about to round it, a body flew into the wall. “Jesus!” Vandal sighed. He turned the corner to an empty hall. Blood was all over the floor and the lights were out halfway down the hall. Several bodies lay against the sides.
Vandal got to the darkness, right as a creature jumped from a ceiling vent. It growled loudly, and began at Vandal. He took his plasma cutter and shot at it, remembering the message and hitting the thing’s limbs. It groaned and fell over dead. He walked down the hall and came to a malfunctioning door. A body was cut in half, the victim obviously trying to escape when the door closed.
He spotted another door, and opened it. He found a nice room, and a desk at the back of it. The room was separated by a large window. Vandal found a Stasis module in a locker and attached it. “The Stasis module allows its user to reduce relative temporal flow in a small, localized area. Personnel are advised to refrain from using stasis on live organisms, as this may have unforeseen consequences.”
Vandal left the room and approached the malfunctioning door. He blasted the door with stasis, and continued on down the hallway.
* * *
Twilight, Apple Jack, and Rainbow Dash crawled their way through the tight vents in the strange structure the found themselves in. They passed many openings where they saw the native population running down more of the hallways, their two legs carrying them fast, and they understood the doors now as they saw the creatures touch the floating blue circle and the doors slid open. 
“Uhg… We need to get out for a moment…” Groaned Rainbow Dash. Her wings were aching as they had been cramped in the vents for about twenty minutes now. 
“Just hold on. We’ll get out soon.” Twilight assured her. As she did though, a monsterous growl echoed through the vents. Twilight looked to their side and found a vent covering. “Never mind… Let’s get out for a moment.” She told the two, smashing the cover off. The three steped into a hallway that seemed empty. 
As they entered the hallway, several of the natives opened a door and entered, unaware to their presence. Twilight forced the others to duck into a crevice. “We need to get back to the Public Sector!” one of the natives said in a worried tone.
“You think I don’t know that? Only problem is the crossover tubes have been sealed by the quarantine. Those damned things are setting off alarms all over the Mining Sector and trapping us in so they can slaughter us.” The three ponies looked at each other, confused. Could there be other ponies here as well? And why we’re they killing? 
Their questions found no answer as they tripped the alarm again. “Foreign matter detected!” Yelled the voice they had become familiar with. 
“Shit! They’re here!” A voice cried out. The group began running down the hall, turning the corner right into the ponies. “Oof!” Came the grunt from the humans and ponies as the mass stumbled together. The humans stood in fear as the ponies backed against the walls. “Wait a minute… This isn’t the monsters…” 
Twilight spoke up, “Of course we’re not monsters… We got lost and can’t find our way home. Can you…” She was cut off as a vent above the humans burst open, and two ugly, growling creatures came forth from them. 
“AHG!” was the scream of a few humans as they were cut down in an instant. Their blood was spilt over the other living ones.
“RUN!” Yelled another human as he was cut down. The ponies and two remaining humans took off in a sprint. They turned a few corners and ended up in a dead end hallway. A vent was at the end. The group backed themselves in while the creatures slowly advanced on them. The vent behind them burst, and Apple Jack reared up, bucking the creature in the face. It’s head exploded from the force of her kick.
“Go! Get out of here! We’ll hold them off!” Yelled one of the humans to the ponies as he grappled with one of the monsters. He was cut down along with his comrade, and the ponies dove into the vent. Twilight used her magic to freeze over the opening.
“That was too close!” Rainbow gasped out. 
“We need to find a safe place.” Twilight told them as she began crawling down the vent.
“Are you crazy? We have no idea how many of those things are in these vents!” Rainbow protested.
“Would’ja rather head back that way?” Apple Jack asked her, pointing to the cracking ice, numerous growls coming from the other side. Rainbow Dash sighed and followed Twilight as she led the way.
* * *
Vandal entered the room. It was large with four rooms in the corners. He spotted a control panel, and figured it may unlock the door at the other end of the hall he came from. He approached it and activated it. “Systems, online.”Came the voice as he did. He left the small room and headed for the door back to the hallway. As he got to the door, “Foreign matter detected!” Several monsters began popping from the vents. With nowhere to run, Vandal aimed his plasma cutter and began shooting the limbs from the creatures. 
“Everybody listen up! Use your tools and take off their limbs! It’s the only way to slow the bastards down!” Came a random voice over the Rig’s radio.
“Cut ‘em off at the joints, man! They don’t like that so much!” Spoke out another.
“Hey, everybody! You can kill these things! Just keep slicing with a plasma cutter, or whatever!” Vandal followed the advice that came over the radio as more monsters poured from the vents. 
“The plasma cutter is an excellent all-round tool, designed to fire rapidly with minimal charge.” Instructed his Rig. Vandal shot the last monster’s head off, and the voice exclaimed, “Quarantine lockdown lifted.” Vandal sighed and walked out of the room, glad to be momentarily free. He walked past the malfunctioning door, and through the previously locked one.
He made his way while a male voice came over the P.A. “Attention! Emergency quarantine lockdown is now commencing. All Crossover Tubes between Government and Public Sectors will be closed immediately.” 
“Open the lockdown! There are people still in here!”
“Bastards have shut us off!”
“Gotta be a way out! Keep checking!” Vandal lowered his head slightly as he walked down the halls, the lights blinking. He passed a hole in the wall and opened a door. There was a small hallway before another door. He opened the next, and walked into a small room. The room had bodies around in the corners.
Vandal figured it was a dead end and turned to leave, but found no more door. “What?” He began. When he turned around again, three bodies had written above them, ‘Take Us.’ Vandal approached the first, unsure of how this had happened. The body jumped to life and attacked him. He shot it dead and looked at the other two. 
Vandal figured out their trick and shot the other two quickly. The lights then went out, flashed a bit, and when they came back on, Vandal was still standing in the small hallway. He shook his head and laughed nervously, “No way… What the hell?” He ignored it and opened the door, entering an actual room this time.
As the door shut, “Quarantine lockdown initiated.” Monsters began crawling from the vents, and Vandal began making quick work of them. But this time it was different. A, baby almost, crawled out and rose three tentacles. Vandal groaned and shot at it. “Switch to the plasma cutter’s secondary mode for an alternate horizontal beam.” Vandal shot more of the creatures until they stopped coming.
The lockdown didn’t lift though. “What the fuck?” Vandal asked, walking into a room to search it. He stood directly below a vent. He looked up as he heard… Voices?
* * *
Twilight panted as they rushed down the vents. They had encountered closely a few of the monsters before she had blasted them apart. Her heart hung heavy as she did so, not believing she had just taken life. “Twilight! Pay attention!” Rainbow grabbed her as she almost fell down a small shaft.
“Sorry… I’m just… What will the princess think of me when she learns I killed?” She sighed out. Her answer never came as a monster came up behind them, and Apple Jack bucked it. Her buck messed up a bit though, and forced the three down the shaft.  “Ahh!” They shared the scream as they blasted out of the vent, and right on top of something that grunted as they hit it.
Twilight lay dazed as she heard a clicking noise. She looked up at a tall figure in some form of armor. It was another human, but not like the ones they had seen.
* * *
“What they fuck? No… I’m imagining things…” Vandal uttered as he stared at the three colorful ponies who had just landed on him. His suit sparked a bit, taking some damage in the impact. 
“Please! Don’t hurt us!” Begged the purple one. The others scooted close to her as Vandal noticed his plasma cutter was trained on them. He lowered it.
“Hey… I’m not gonna hurt you… Are you even real?” He asked, kneeling to them. He touched them, and they reacted by trying to scurry to a corner. They felt real enough. Vandal stood and looked around. “What are you? And how did you get here?”
The purple one stood, a little less afraid. “I messed up a spell, and brought us here by accident. Umm… My name is Twilight Sparkle. And these are my friends, Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack.” She motioned to the two other ponies. “What’s your name?”
“My name’s… Uh… Just call me Vandal. Listen, I don’t know if you know what’s going on here, but you can’t be here. It’s not safe! Why don’t you just do a little spell and go back home?” He looked around, the lockdown alarms really starting to urk him. 
“I… I can’t… I’m too scared to focus on that powerful of a spell…” Sighed out Twilight. 
Vandal sighed now. He looked up in confusion as the lockdown ended. “Quarantine lifted.” The door unlocked. 
“Come on. I’ll try to get you out of here. But stay close to me.” Vandal began out of the room, the three in tow. He left the room with them, and came to an elevator. “In. We need to get out of the Government Sector.” Vandal activated the elevator once the three were in. He shook his head. Could this day get any stranger?  And how could he possibly complete his goal while trying to watch after three damned ponies? The elevator made its way down the shaft.

> Willing Accomplice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Shining Armor stood next to his fiancé, Cadence, as he couldn’t help but notice the lack of an orange, a cyan, and a purple mare. He began to worry, knowing his sister was hardly ever late, especially by an hour.  “You don’t think she got lost, do you?” He asked Cadence.
“I’m sure she was just held up by something. Why don’t you go check with Celestia, I’ll keep an eye out in case she shows up.” Cadence smiled to him. He returned the smile and turned, entering the castle. As he neared the throne room though, two familiar voices reached his ears. 
“Are you sure this is a wise idea dear sister? I worry about her safety.” 
“It must be done. As much as it pains me, this is just another test for her. We need to know she is a strong leader, willing to do what it may take to protect the ones who follow her.” Shining Armor opened the door to the massive room, seeing the princess sisters standing together. They turned to greet him.
“Who were you talking about princess Celestia?” He cut the two off. They lost their false smile.
“Return to us once you have gathered the remaining elements, and brought them back here.” Celestia simply stated.
“Wait, what do you mean?” He grew worried. Princess Celestia was acting strange.
“Go. Bring them back and I will explain.” She sent him away. Shining Armor was now very concerned. He backtracked to the gardens, alerting Cadence to what her witnessed, the proceding to round up his sister’s friends.
* * *
The elevator hummed as it made its way down. Vandal turned to face the three ponies he had only just met. “Ok. It’s safe and calm now. Try to do your spell, and get out of here while you can.” 
Twilight nodded and made an attempt, but she grunted and sighed as she failed. “I can’t… It’s as if something’s blocking my magic for a spell that powerful. I can’t take us home.” She had two different hooves wrap around her shoulders. 
“Then I guess we fight our way off this place. We have no other choice. If we stick together, we have a greater chance of getting out of here.” Vandal input. “I’m on a mission to seal these creatures over here in the Government and Mining Sectors. Once we do that, we can get to the Public Sector and find a way home for you three.” The others nodded, and the elevator continued on in silence.
* * *
Celestia looked over her subjects and niece as they filed in. The group contained; the remaining three elements, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence. “I’m sorry, but you must swear under oath that you will not breath a word of what you are about to see.” 
“Princess, why would we need to do that?” Shining Armor asked. The others mumbled in agreement.
“Because, this is a secret test, and no pony else must know. The only reason you all are finding out, is because you are all close to Twilight.” Celestia grimly put.
“What? What happened to her? Where is she?” Shining Armor almost couldn’t hold himself down. Only a soft nuzzle from his fiancé calmed him enough.
“First, you all swear under oath.” Celestia told him. After a quick oath was taken, she began. “As you know, Twilight is not here. That is because of me.” She was interrupted by a gasp of shock, but allowed to continue as she raised a hoof. “Luna and myself intercepted her and her friends in mid-teleportation, and rerouted her to a new destination. She is being tested on some certain qualities.”
“But… Why Princess? Isn’t Twilight already good enough? I mean, she is super fantastic with all kinds of magic! And she’s super fun and social! And she has lots of friends! And…” The pink mare was cut off by another hoof raised. 
“This is not a test of magic, or friendship, though both may become strengthened. This is a test of her leadership. And how willing she is to protect those who she leads. We have sent Twilight and her friends to a human construct, named The Sprawl. It may seem as if I’m trying to kill her, or maybe I’ve gone mad, but I assure you, it’s all for her sake.” Celestia sighed.
Before any could talk, she began to form a large orb with her magic. It grew, until it was her size, then she let it go. The orb sat blank, until she hit it with a blast of magic again. It blurred, then cleared up as they could see Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Apple Jack, standing in a small closed white room. Their point of view from the orb was taller, obviously through the eyes of one of the humans. 
They heard the human say, “I’m on a mission to seal these creatures over here in the Government and Mining Sectors. Once we do that, we can get to the Public Sector and find a way home for you three.” The three ponies nodded, and the room grew silent.
“Princess… What…” Shining Armor was cut off as Celestia stared at him.
“There is nothing to do for her. She only has the help of what is there with her. All we can do now is watch, and see how she fares.” All grew quiet in the great room. Their eyes were fixed on the orb.
* * *
“Now entering Government Sector: Underbelly.” Chimed the elevator.  The group quickly came to as their moment of rest was over. 
Then a familiar, unwanted voice came over Vandal’s Rig. “Vandal! Are you there? Vandal, come in!”
The ponies looked to Vandal in confusion as her growled, “Tyler? You son of a bitch, you left me for dead!” The elevator stopped, and the doors opened, revealing dark hallways ahead. 
“No! No, I swear, I didn’t know what they were doing! I only just found out myself, I’ve been trying to reach you! They’ve locked the whole place down! Besides, you’d still be locked in that room had I not logged your friends into the Sprawl’s bio-reading systems!” The group cautiously moved from the elevator, keeping peeled eyes out as Vandal led the way, plasma cutter at the ready. 
“What? That way you that did that? Never mind, anyway, we’re not quite locked in. The quarantine seal on Crossover Tube A is broken. We can get out, and fix it behind us!”
“You can, maybe. I’m nowhere near your location, I’m sorry. But I can still help you! Make for the Tube, and I’ll be with you every step of the way, I promise. Maybe we can all get out of this.” The group turned the first corner, seeing nothing but more dark hallways. 
“Those bastards really screwed us, didn’t they? All right, we’re heading that way now. At least maybe we can stop this thing from spreading.” Vandal cut the radio, and turned to the ponies. “We need to fix this wrong. Or thousands of innocent lives will be taken. Women, children. We can stop this, but I need your full support and commitment.”
“You’ve got it.” Twilight stepped up. “Besides, you’re our only hope off this place anyhow. So we aren’t leaving your side.” 
“Good. Then let’s go.” Vandal led the onward. They came to a body that was violently ripped into a vent, but nothing happened. They finally came to a working door as well. Vandal pressed the ring, and the door revealed yet another dark hallway. They went down the hall, passing a locked door and coming to two unlocked ones. Vandal activated the locator, and it pointed to the door on the left.
“Hmm… May be something useful in that one.” He nodded to the door on the right. “Let’s check it out.” They opened the door, and found a clean room with a table, a few cabinets, and a few lockers. Vandal began scavenging the open cases, and the ponies watched from the door. Once Vandal had picked clean what he could, he turned to return to them.
As he passed the table though, the lights flickered. Once they came on, the ponies were lying, disemboweled on the table and in the chairs. “Oh god no!” Vandal yelled.
* * *
The group watched as the human opened the last locker, and picked up its contents. The human then turned and began walking back to the ponies, but the lights went out. When they could see again, all the group saw was their three friends, lying around, torn apart. 
Most of those watching had the urge to puke. Celestia sighed, “I hoped she would last longer… Now she is dead on my doing…” 
The human spoke, “Tyler?” As it walked to the door, trying to not look at the bodies. But the lights went out again, and came back to reveal a clean room and three, intact, ponies staring at the human. The human looked around in confusion. “What…”
“Vandal? Are you alright? Why were you yelling at the table?” Twilight cocked her head. The human returned it’s view to her.
“I… I had a vision… I saw the three of you dead…” It uttered.
“A premonition?” Twilight gasped. 
“No. You three had just appeared as if you died right there in front of me, and your bodies were lying around.” The human shook it’s head. “Forget it. Let’s just get this done with.”
The group gave each other strange looks. They had even seen it, the three were dead, but yet now they were alive. Was the human they were viewing from crazy?
“Hold on.” Celestia quickly said, creating a second orb. She blasted it, and it began showing them through Twilight’s vision as well. “Now we can tell what’s real, and what’s not.”
* * *
Vandal led the three to the left door, and opened it. This room had a few bodies strewn around, and had a desk. Vandal looked at the bodies as the ponies stood by the door once more. Vandal walked to the desk.
* * *
The group watched the human approach the desk with the glowing screen on it. As he got to it, the lights flickered again, and revealed three monsters from nowhere, ready to attack it. The human flinched while the group looked to the second orb to see the human flinch at nothing, the room being clear. 
The monsters disappeared as quickly as the appeared when the lights flickered for the human again. Twilight spoke, “Vandal? What’s wrong? Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden?” The human turned to face her.
He ignored her question and spoke, “Tyler? I’m seeing shit… That’s not real…” 
“Vision? You’re having visions?” Vandal sighed, having answered Twilight’s question without speaking directly to her. He turned and activated the screen, turning back as a real monster jumped up at him, having been playing dead. Twilight acted quickly to blast the monster apart off the human.
* * *
“Thanks for that…” Vandal told Twilight, brushing some gore off his armor.
“I couldn’t just let that thing kill you. We need you and you need us.” She smiled at him. He opened the door, and led them to the once locked door. As they neared though, a monster jumped from a vent, and the door behind it locked. Vandal quickly shot it, shredding it down. 
“This whole place is wired to lockdown if any live foreign biological material is detected.” Tyler informed Vandal of the obvious fact he learned a while ago. 
“There creatures are definitely foreign material…” Vandal sighed, walking to the now unlocked door and opening it. The group found themselves in a large room, a few lockers nearby. 
“You’ll find a disk ripper nearby. Should come in handy.” Tyler told them as the door closed. Vandal approached the locker, sliding the plasma cutter onto a slot on his belt. Vandal picked up the ripper.
“The RC-DS Remote Control Disc Ripper features multiple titanium blades and rotates at up to seventeen thousand RPM, for situations requiring heavy duty cuts and accurate long ranged control in standard mode. An optional secondary mode sacrifices mobility for speed.” Vandal spun up the blades, and chuckled.
“That looks real dangerous…” Twilight commented.
“Yeah, perfect for keeping those things away from us.” Apple Jack concurred her.
“I can just fly away from them… They’ll never match my speed.” Rainbow Dash boasted.
“They don’t need to. They will chase you into a corner, and then rip you apart. You don’t separate from me, unless you wish to die.” Vandal told them grimly. “Now, let’s go.” He led the way to a door, rights as it locked again.
“Initiating quarantine lockdown!” Came the all too familiar voice. 
“Fuck…” Growled out Vandal as he spun the blades, turning them loose on the first creature. Twilight began blasting them with her magic, while Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack worked together to distract, and eliminate what they could. Shortly after, they cleared them out, and the lockdown lifted. 
Tyler got his input once as well, “That ripper should be real handy! Once you fire it, steer the disc around for some mayhem!” 
Twilight stepped over a body, but saw a shiny card on the floor. She picked it up and asked, “What’s this?” Vandal turned.
“That’s a credits card. Keep it, you can use it at the store. Might be able to get something to help you three survive well.” Vandal led the way from the room. He opened the door to find a small room, and quickly unlocked the door with the console.  They left, crossed the original room, then left through another door, entering a hallway.
They entered a larger room with a sealed center room. “Find the two security consoles, and tap them to hack them.” Vandal ordered. They did so and vandal walked to the now unlocked door. “Alright. Stay here, this will only take a moment.” With that, Vandal entered the small room, having Twilight stand close enough to the door to keep it open. Vandal activated yet another console, and the door slammed shut, separating the ponies from Vandal. Many growls were heard from outside his room.
“No!” Vandal yelled as monsters jumped out into his room. After dealing with his problems, Vandal rushed to the door, opening it. 
“Quarantine lockdown lifted.” Came the voice as the door opened. Vandal saw multiple bodies while gore everywhere. The ponies could obviously handle themselves, but Twilight was bleeding from a cut in her side.
“Twilight.” Vandal knelt to her.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.” She told him, shrugging off his help. She walked to the door and opened it. Vandal sighed and made his way behind Twilight as she led them this time down the halls. She quickly disposed of a monster who played dead. They entered a server room. 
“Audio log, Rig number 438642. Oh god… I’m sorry. I didn’t know what I was doing… I place my faith in the Church and trusted them. What an idiot. Now there’s something loose on the Sprawl, and the Church has abandoned me here!” They moved on as Apple Jack smashed the head of one of the smaller monsters.
“Keep going you guys, there’s a tram up ahead.” They opened the door and found the tram car waiting for them. “You should check out the store, se if you can upgrade your Rig. Maybe even get Rigs for your friends. And some tougher armor wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Vandal looked at the store.
“Alright. Let’s get you three outfitted with a Rig.” Vandal told them, activating the store.
“What’s a Rig?” Came the question.
“This.” Vandal pointed to his glowing bar on his back. “It tells how you’re physically doing, and it allows for you to be tracked.” Vandal selected the, ‘Insert Rig’ option. “Now in. One at a time. This may hurt a bit…”
* * *
The group watched in horror as the three ponies weakly stood, blood seeping down the backs from the newly implanted Rigs. Tears streamed down their faces. “I’m sorry. But this is to help me keep a better eye on you.”
“W-what did that do to us?” Twilight sobbed out.
“It attached the Rig to your spinal column via carbon fiber and sensors. It attached to your nervous system as well, and it shows your physical health now. Remember, green is clean, yellow is mellow, red’s almost dead.” The human told them. 
Shining Armor growled, “That monster… Look what he’s done to them!” His anger almost got the better of him once more, but he was calmed by Cadence.
“Do not worry. She is strong, and she’ll pull through it.” She reassured him.
* * *
“Alright. You’re new armor shall keep you safe from most attacks. Just get inside and rest, you must be in extreme pain from that. I’ll stay up top and make sure we’ll be safe.” Vandal instructed, climbing the ladder. He activated the radio, “Can you hear me?”
“Yeah.” Came Twilight’s response.
“Activate the tram. I’m all set up here.” The tram was soon moving at full speed to their next destination.

> Identity Crisis
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, my informative portion took longer than expected. Remember, if you see anything wrong, or you have a suggestion, don't be afraid to leave a comment with it. EDIT: The chapter was brought back to one, since I forgot how close the chapter end was from the point I left off. Chapter 5 is currently in progress.)

Twilight sat on one of the seats inside the tram. The three could hear Vandal hulking around on the roof, making all kinds of noises as he no doubt ably fought off hordes as they went down the lines. Twilight slid off her modified helmet, surprised to how foul the air was. Her armor had been modified by Vandal from an adult suit, the arms and legs being shortened, and an extra pair of boots being set for her with its toes removed. 
Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash shared similar armors. The only difference being the lights from their visors. Vandal had changed the lights to match their fur. The other difference was that Vandal had taken the time to copy their cutie marks onto the flanks of the armor. “So now what?” The question almost startled Twilight, who had become accustom to the dragging silence, save for Vandal’s thundering around.
“Well… We go with him. All the way to the end. He said that once we get to the seal, and fix it, we can go to the Public Sector and be safe. Once there, I’m sure I can do our spell, and get us out of here.” Twilight told them. She put her helmet back on, becoming completely covered now. Somehow Vandal had attached a cone thing to her helmet, allowing for her horn to sit protected. 
He had tried the same thing with Rainbow Dash’s suit, so it could accommodate her wings, but in the end, despite her refusals, Vandal had just fused an armored pack to her back, hollowing it out. This gave room for her wings, but encased them, protecting them. Rainbow Dash was not happy about it, but as Vandal had said, “The moment you try to fly with that suit on, you’re going to go down like a rock on a gas planet.”
The tram at that moment screeched to a stop, and a loud thudding noise was heard from above as the three braced themselves on the seats. “Fuck!” Came the groan from the radio. The tram stopped, and the door opened, revealing a platform, and a slightly tipsy Vandal. He was rubbing his helmet, straitening it back out as the three stepped onto the platform with him.
* * *
Celestia stood, eyes glued to the orbs. The others had filed out, hunger getting the best of them. She watched as her student elaborated a faulty plan to her friends in the tram car. She was also impressed at the work the human had gone through to provide the protection, and honor of each of the ponies with him. Fabricating the suits to custom fit each pony was a feat alone, but to change the visor color, and pain their cutie marks on, that was honorable. 
‘Hmm…’ Celestia thought, ‘I should have to remember to thank him, if he lives.’ She watched the tram stop and the human tumble across the roof in one orb. She chuckled slightly, amused with how quickly he went down, and then got right back up.
“Dear sister?” The voice almost caused Celestia to jump, not hearing the approach of her lunar sister.
“Yes Luna?” She turned to face her.
“Come, eat with us. I’m sure Twilight and her friends will be fine while you take a break. Besides, you’ve exhausted yourself and are giving your body no time to regain its energy. Look, you can hardly stand!”
Celestia stopped for a moment and noticed how she had been wobbling, and how she had recently been supporting herself on a statue. “Alright. I shall join you.” She finally agreed to her. With the lunar princess’s help, Celestia strode from the room, off to rest.
With the absence of the solar goddess, Shining Armor stepped into the room, and up to the orbs. He sighed, and took out the object he had brought with him. Three photos. One of Twilight and her friends, one of her family, and one of Celestia. He was reluctant with the last item, but he knew it meant a lot to her. He then took a familiar pair of Wonderbolt goggles, and a Stetson hat, setting them in a neat circle in front of the orbs.
He made sure he was alone, then he used his magic to lock in on the signal of the three, and send the objects to them. He sighed once he was done, sure Celestia would disapprove of his actions. But he wanted to give them all a reminder of what they were doing. Give them a reason to fight out of there and return home. Shining Armor turned, knowing he would be noticed if he stayed out much longer. “Good luck little sis. I know you can do it.” He uttered as he left.
* * *
“Now entering, Mines” The automated voice informed the group. Vandal looked to the three, proud in his handy work. They returned the look, and he for once, could not tell their emotions.
“Alright. That ride drained me of most my ammo. Keep watch while I buy some more.” Vandal told them as he walked up to the store on the platform. He activated it once he got three nods of acknowledgment. The three looked to each other, and spoke.
“So, now we’re bulky, and Twilight’s really the only one of us who can still fight properly.” Rainbow Dash uttered in her famous annoyed tone. 
“Well, not entirely.” Vandal said from the store.
“What do you mean?” She turned to face him. He walked over, finishing his purchases. 
“I can attach the ripper to your pack, and wire it to be fired from a nerve trigger in your Rig. That way you have a weapon.” Vandal explained. Rainbow lifted a hoof and tapped her non-existent chin on her helmet.
“Alright. Sounds like a plan.” She nodded. Vandal walked over to another bench and patted on it. Rainbow got the memo, and with Vandal’s strength, and Twilight’s magic, she leapt onto the workbench. Vandal quickly worked, welding the deadly ripper to her pack, and connecting the wires to her Rig. As soon as he was done, he let her down. There was a body in the corner of the room. 
“Now, just imagine you’re pulling its trigger. And it should fire.” Vandal instructed. Rainbow aimed the blue aiming light at the body, and did as she was told. The revving sounds, along with the grinding sounds followed as the blade shot from the contraption, tearing into the body, which tried to leap up at them, but was impacted and cut to shreds.
Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly from her helmet. “Oops…” The others shared a small laugh, before something new caught their attention. A swirling blue light began in the middle of the platform. It grew, and spun faster before it flashed, leaving some objects on the floor. The group approached the objects. They each picked up what was sent to them, removing their helmets in disbelief. Vandal stood nearby, before noticing a note floating towards him.
“This is for you. At least it’s addressed to you.” Twilight told him as she smiled, looking over the pictures she was sent. Vandal took the note, and opened it.
‘Vandal, I have something of high importance to say to you. I am the great princess Celestia, ruler of the ponies you are currently in care for. We are watching your progress from our lands. Now, I know you may be upset to learn this, but understand. This is a test for my student, Twilight Sparkle. I request that you not tell her of what I have told you. I will be waiting for you at the Public Sector, and once you arrive, I will return my ponies to our lands.’ Vandal stared at the note.
“What’s it say?” Twilight asked, snapping him out of his trance. Vandal neatly folded the note, and slipped it into a pocket on his armor. 
“Who is princess Celestia?” Vandal asked her.
Twilight only beamed and held up a picture, the white alicorn clearly shown. “This is her. She’s our loving ruler.”
Vandal only nodded. “I see. Listen, she sent me that note. She tells me of her love for you all, and how she is doing everything in her power to get you back.” Vandal made up the lie without breaking pace. He then was interrupted.
“Um, Vandal? Ponies? We kinda have a job to get done… So if it’s not too much to ask, could ‘ya get the rocks out of your asses and get moving?” Tyler’s annoyed voice came from all their radios.
“Right. Sorry. Forgot.” Vandal apologized, walking to the door. Another creature jumped him, but was quickly disposed of. The group entered the room, and the infamous voice called out and locked the room. A large amount of monsters poured out, and Vandal spotted a bright red container filled with volatile gases. 
“Twilight! The container!” Vandal cried out, and Twilight used her magic to pick it up. Vandal wasted no time running to the floating container, kicking it squarely, causing it to leak as it flung free at the monsters. The container impact the wall of rotting flesh, and sparked, blowing up in the faces of the monsters. Vandal sighed as the lockdown lifted. “Nice job.” He commented as they went to leave the room.
* * *
Celestia smiled to herself as she watched Shining Armor try to slip from the room. He made it away, not noticing her gaze. She was glad he had done what he did. It gave her the opportunity to merge her transport with his, being able to give a note to the human. Once she saw him disappear, she turned and made her way to the dining hall.
* * *
“Whoa… That’s a big drop…” Apple Jack commented as the group walked along the catwalks of the massive mine shaft. The three ponies looked over the edge into the seemingly bottomless pit. Vandal ignored them, approaching an elevator. It was deactivated, and Vandal was at a loss. He activated his locator, and to his surprise, it led to a different elevator which went further down.
“Come on. This way” He told them. He got to the elevator with the three on his heels, to see it was at the bottom of the shaft. He activated the pad, and a few growls came out. Vandal turned, and saw two creatures coming at them. Rainbow Dash jumped in front of him, and spun up her ripper, tearing the two down in a heap of shredded flesh.
The elevator arrived behind the group, and they boarded it without haste. Vandal sent them on their way down, noticing they were coming down to a service area, with nine terminals. ‘Must be power.’ Vandal thought as the elevator stopped. He saw three that were off. “Stay here. I’m only going right over there.” Vandal told the three. Three slow nods sent him on his way. 
He activated all three no problem. He began back, as a monster separate him from the ponies. Rainbow Dash acted quick along with Twilight. Rainbow’s blade cut apart the monster, but Twilight’s magical blast flew through the body, and impact Vandal square in his chest. Vandal flew backwards into one of the power consoles. Luckily for him, his armor took most of the blast. He slowly stood, the three ponies rushing to him. “Vandal! Are you ok? I’m sorry!” Twilight exclaimed, her helmet was lying on the floor of the elevator.
“Gh… I… Don’t know. Tell me what my Rig says…” He grunted. Twilight’s face explained it all. 
“Red!” She called out. Vandal groaned and sat for a moment. “Is there anything I can do to help?” 
“No. Just give me some time. My Rig’s auto injector will fix me up…” True to his words, the three noticed the bar slowly climbing back up, the color changing back to its bright green. Vandal stood, brushing his scorched chest plates. “That was a bit to close.” He muttered.
The group returned to the elevator, and began back up. Once they got to the top, a new monster showed. It made a terrible screech, followed by a moaning sound as it showed its thin framed body. Though, its left arm was a giant glowing orange sack. Vandal took one shot at the sack on a hunch, and the creature cried out in a dying gurgle before the sack exploded violently. The four quickly took note of this, and continued on. They came to their first elevator, and started it, heading higher into the mines.
Vandal led the way down the catwalks, coming to a door as another monster crawled up. This one was not alone though. About six little fleshy things were crawling towards them. Twilight quickly disposed of the monster, as the things jumped on Vandal. “Fuck!” He yelled as they crawled all over him, trying to slip into his armor. He brushed them off, and stomped them into the ground.
“What were those?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No clue. But make sure you keep them away from you.” Vandal told them as he opened the door and led the way in. They came to a locked door. 
“Vandal, that doors part of the quarantine lock. You’ll have to backtrack about 300 meters, take a right through the utility area, get over the mine shaft…” Tyler laughed a bit. “I’m just screwing with you all. Try it now, it’s open.” A collective sigh came from the four. The door clicked unlocked, and they passed through it. They were in a large mine tunnel.
* * *
The group had returned from their meal and continued to watch the orbs. The ponies and Vandal were in a large mine tunnel, but something was wrong. Vandal stopped. He looked at his own arms, and they were bloodied, bladed, flesh torn weapons. He looked down, and his stomach was torn open with two smaller arms sticking out.
He roared in an unusual fashion, and began hobbling down the tunnel. “That can’t be right…” Celestia spoke, looking at the other orb. Twilight’s vision showed Vandal slowly stumbling down the tunnel, his weapon lowered and him mumbling to himself. 
“Vandal?” They heard her ask. Vandal turned to face her once he got to the end of the tunnel, and they saw in his eyes, that she looked barren of her armor. 
Vandal’s voice gurgled out, “MEAT!” As he glared them down. His vision blacked out quickly, and he saw his armored body fine and normal. He shook his head, and looked around confused. “What the fuck is going on?” He asked.
* * *
“Vandal? Are you ok there?” Twilight asked him. Vandal stood by the door. 
“I… I don’t know Twilight. I keep having visions… They are getting worse…” He sighed. “Never mind that though, let’s continue moving.” Vandal opened the door, and walked through without another word. The door shut behind him, and the ponies looked at each other. 
“Twalight. Are ‘ya shur we can be trustin’ him? He seems like he got whacked by an Apple during bucking season.” Apple Jack input, removing her helmet.
“Ya Twi. He doesn’t seem all right in the head. How do we know he won’t turn on us?” Rainbow Dash added.
“I… I don’t… But what other choice do we have? Until the princess can find a way to help us, we have to stay with him. It’s not like we know how to get to the Public Sector.” Twilight sighed. The three now stood together without helmets on, breathing in the strange smells of the rocks. At that moment, Vandal re opened the door, and poked his head through.
“Hey! We gotta go! Don’t just sit around!” He took his head back, and the three donned their helmets, following him off. Vandal led the three through a room and hallway where the made quick work of the whole two monsters that stood in their way. He finally led them into a large, long room. Vandal walked down to the end of the room where the console was he needed to activate. He did such, and another lockdown followed. Obviously, these monsters did not want the group to get to the seal.
* * *
“Oh, I hope my decision will not be regretted…”  Celestia spoke after watching the human be smacked and sent flying backwards by one of the glowing orange arms. 
“Don’t worry princess! We’re the ponies, and nothing too bad ever happens to us!” The pink mare tried to reassure her. As they began to force a smile, a loud scream was heard.
* * *
“GAH!” Vandal heard Twilight’s scream as he noticed one of the bladed monsters had impaled her leg. Forgetting all safety concerns, Vandal shot a ball of stasis, slowing down time on Twilight and the monster. He yanked out his plasma saw as he ran, smashing himself into the monster, the saw quickly hacking the arm apart from the blade before it could do any more damage. 
“Die you piece of shit!” Vandal screamed as he slammed the saw into the chest of the slowed hostile, ripping the blade up, then slamming it down, cutting the creature in half vertically. The stasis effect ended, and the body fell over. The lockdown lifted, and Vandal walked over to a whimpering Twilight.
“Shit…” He mumbled as he looked at the massive blade that had passed through her left hind leg. He touched it, and got a pained whine in response. Twilight had removed her helmet, and her eyes displayed all the fear and pain possible. Vandal pulled out his saw, spinning it up.
“What are you going to do?” Twilight asked, almost leaping away.
“I’m cutting the blade… We need to move, and that blade will cause problems. Plus, we can’t exactly remove it until we find a bench or store…” Vandal told her. As gently as he could, vandal cut the blade ends as close to her leg as possible. She whimpered and whined, but he had nothing to do for her. After he finished, he asked, “Can you walk.”
An all to quick shake of the head was his response. Vandal sighed. “Alright. I’m gonna carry you then. You’ll have to do the fighting for me though.” He told her as he grabbed her, hoisting her onto his back. Her head was just higher than his, giving her a clear line of sight. He noticed the other two standing nearby in shock.
“Let’s move.” He said to them, exiting the room. The passed the hallway, and came out onto another catwalk. This was a short one, and they entered the room they had first shown up in. A collective sigh came as they walked back onto the tram platform. Vandal set Twilight on the bench now, and walked to the store. He quickly bought a medkit, bringing it to Twilight. 
“This might hurt…” He warned her. Before she could respond, Vandal grabbed what was left of the blade, and yanked it out of her leg. A pain filled scream echoed down the empty tram tunnels. Vandal used the med kit to bandage her leg, using everything and anything to fill the hole. Once he finished, he lifted her back on his back. “Sorry…” They left the tram, and exited the only door not opened by them. 
Coming to an elevator, they activated it, and continued up.
* * *
Celestia stared in horror. As did the rest. The pink mare’s claims were quickly disregarded as they witnessed the horrible scene of Twilight’s treatment. “I’m sorry… I thought she would be fine…” The mare sighed. Her form was dull and ashamed. 
“It’s alright Pinkie dear… No pony could have predicted that…” The white unicorn comforted her. The three elements embraced in a hug.
Celestia leaned over to Luna, and whispered, “I’ve made a mistake. This was a terrible Idea.” 
Luna whispered back, “Then bring her back. Before she and her friends meet their demise.”
Celestia only sighed. “I wish I could… But I cannot endanger myself or others going to get her back. She will have to fight on… And we can only hope for the best.” 

> Leaving Traces
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Author's Note: If you've not noticed, Chapter 4, Identity Crisis, Has had a small update and is only one part. As always, any comments, suggestions, or concerns should be brought up and adressed. Please enjoy my loyal readers and first timers, and here's chapter 5!)

The group reached the top of the elevator. The little voice called, “Director Tiedemann has updated your locator.” The group walked down the single catwalk, and entered a room. The door was locked with a power lock, and vandal spotted the power core sitting nearby. 
“Twilight. My kinesis is useless while I’ve got you. I need you to use your magic and place that core in the power slot.” Vandal explained to her. She nodded, and did as instructed. A smile crossed her lips as Vandal looked back at her. He saw her helmet was missing. “Twilight? Where’s your helmet?” His concern rose, not wanting to have her most valuable body part exposed.
“It’s right here.” She lifted the currently dark helmet. Vandal sighed. 
“Please put it back on. We could be ambushed at any moment, and I’d like if you had your protection on.” She sighed now and slipped back into it. “Thanks. Now, let’s see if there’s anything good in these lockers…” Vandal knelt and set down Twilight, herself limping to lean on a wall. Vandal checked the lockers and storage units, finding nothing much of interest. He ejected the almost spent plasma cartridge and replaced it in his cutter.
He then tossed some blades to Rainbow Dash, who aimed it right and caught them in the storage pouch she had on her side. He was about to walk away from a locked locker, but something in the back of his mind told him there was something of major value in it. He took his saw, and sliced through the door, revealing to his pleasure, three stasis modules. Oh how convenient. Vandal took them, and attached them to each pony’s armor. 
“Just stick you han- er… Hoof at what you want to hit, and think Stasis. But be careful, it is highly dangerous to hit each other with. You may slow us down and leave us defenseless to those monsters out there. You have a limited number of shots, but they recharge rather quick depending on your node placement.” Vandal explained.
“Uh, Vandal? What’s a node?” Apple Jack asked. Vandal dug in a pocket, and pulled out a circular device with a glowing light on it. It was rather small, fitting neatly in the palm of Vandal’s hand.
“This is a node. We can use them to open special locked doors, or place them in our weapons and armor to upgrade them.” Vandal pointed out. He pocketed the node and walked over to Twilight. “They can also upgrade your Rig to speed any healing processes.” He picked her back up, not bothered for she was rather light, besides the armor. In total, she probably only weighed about 150 pounds. A medium lift for Vandal.
* * *
The group stood wearily. It was late into Luna’s night. She had left them to perform her duties, and the group was growing rather tired. Celestia had ordered for some beds to be brought into the throne room, beings as three of their group had already fallen asleep. The others lay down and quickly made their ways into Luna’s dream land. 
All that remained was Celestia. She stood, unwilling to leave the orbs. ‘Sister… Please… Sleep…’ She heard in her mind.
‘You know I can’t Luna. I must know how she does.’ 
‘Come sister. She is your student. She will be fine.’ 
‘I don’t know…’ Celestia heard no reply in her mind, but instead felt an irresistible urge to sleep suddenly. She knew who was doing this, and sighed in defeat. ‘Ok Luna. You win. I shall sleep…’ 
‘Good. I will keep an eye on her for you. Fret not dear sister. I have the upmost faith in her. Do you?’ And with that, Celestia found herself in a bed, eyes closing for the night.
* * *
The four came to another set of tunnels. But they found a door locked by two power cores. “Damnit…” Vandal groaned. He backtracked to the second tunnel, and instantly lost the will to move on. The tunnel was pitch black, it’s support light’s obviously broken. And as he had walked past the door the first time, a moaning noise came from inside.
“Vandal? Do we have to go in there?” Twilight asked. 
“Yeah. Can you give us some form of light?” He asked.
Twilight’s helmet tip lit up, revealing a small ball of light. “Here, it’s not very powerful, but it also isn’t draining my energy.” 
“Alright. Dash, Jack, I need you two to stick close and cover us.” Vandal instructed. He got two nods, and began into the dark tunnel. After a few screams and growls, some blood and guts, and even a curse or two, the group came out with the two cores. The door was opened, and the group glad to be out of that damned tunnel.
“Hey guys, this is Tyler. I sent a little present for you down the service chute. Should come in handy.” The four approached it, and picked up the credits and node. A monster jumped from behind them, and pinned Apple Jack. Rainbow reacted quite quickly, and tore the monster off her. 
“Thanks…” Apple Jack muttered. 
“No prob. I’d never leave a friend hangin’” Rainbow Dash assured her. The group left, and Vandal began another log.
“Audio log, Rig number 438642. Maybe I can make this right. Director Tiedemann asked me to repair the quarantine seal on Crossover Tube A. I don’t know if I’ll even make it there… But it’s my fault these things got loose in the first place. I have to try!” He ended and noticed the heads were turned his way.
“Did you say it’s your fault these monsters are everywhere?” Twilight asked, her voice full of disbelief. 
“Yes… It was an accident… But no time for that. We need to get out of here.” Vandal admitted. They then entered, yet again, another tunnel.
“Ahm gettin’ real sick of these darned tunnels…” Apple Jack muttered.
“That makes two of us…” Vandal growled. Luckily, this was a short one that led to a small catwalk.
“Incoming transmission!” Called the voice.
“Vandal. This is Director Tiedemann. You must hurry! The monsters are gaining speed, and you still have Water and Food Processing between you and the Crossover Tubes.”
“Going as fast as I can Tiedemann. It’s not exactly an open road. Plus… I picked up a little extra cargo.” Vandal sighed out.
“I don’t care what you mean by that, just hurry!” He cut out.
“Well, he’s a bucket of sunshine.” Twilight commented. 
“Yeah… Tell me about it…” The group moved on. They came to another catwalk above a bottomless pit. This one had a consol on it though. Vandal went to activate it, but that’s when he saw it. A replica of him and Twilight stood on the opposite platform. “Hey! Who’s down here?” Vandal called out.
No response. The replica just mirrored their movements. “Vandal… I… I see it…” Twilight gasped.
“You what?” Vandal was shocked. 
“I see the copy… Am I going insane?” She asked him. He had ignored the replica and gone to activate the panel. As he did, the lights flashed for both of them, and it turned out to be a bladed monster with a baby on its back. Twilight blasted them away as they tried to grapple with Vandal. The two sighed as Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash ran up to them.
“What in the hay is wrong with you two? We tried to warn you of those monsters!” Apple Jack yelled.
“We didn’t hear you…” Twilight admitted. Vandal sighed once more and activated the panel. But was no more surprised when a lockdown proceeded. 
“To the door!” Vandal yelled, suddenly aware of how venerable they were on the catwalks. They fought for a few brief moments, before the lockdown lifted and they were quickly leaving. 
“Vandal, there’s another tram ahead of you.” Tyler informed them. They couldn’t have been happier to hear that. They stepped on the new platform, and Vandal set Twilight on the bench. 
“Ok Twilight. I’m going to upgrade your Rig. This should speed your healing, so I won’t have to carry you the entire time.” Twilight nodded, and Vandal made his quick work. He shortly after herded the three into the tram car, staying inside with them as he shut the door. “Rest now. You all seem very tired.” And it was true. The three were almost ready to pass out.
Vandal activated the tram, and he lay with them, physically strained. The three had already removed their helmets, and were instantly sleeping. Vandal sighed. He knew his and their journey was far from over.

> Lumbering Beast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(AN: (Edit) Chapter update! Sorry it's been a while, but, Government sucks... Now, I'd like to begin with something important. 300 Views. Serriously guys? Thanks! We're on our way to the top, (Or maybe anywhere between 75% to 80%) Now, this isn't finished yet, but do keep an eye out, as I do have more time, and can work on it a bit more. Not this weekend though. I'll be getting high at work.(Edit(Edit)) Chapters done! Enjoy!)


Celestia was the first to wake that morning. She blinked a few time. Luna was sitting beside her, lost in her own thoughts. “Good morning Luna.” She smiled.
“It is almost morning sister. Night still lays over the lands.” She replied.
Celestia smiled. “Well… I’ll take care of that soon. You won’t believe the strange dream I had…” Luna turned to face her.
“Would it happen to involve you sending Twilight to a hostile world, where she met up with a human named Vandal, and with whom she and her friends, Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack are fighting for their lives on a place called the Sprawl?” Luna cracked a small smile before it faded. “Because that was not a dream dear sister. It was not a dream…” Luna looked back to the two orbs, one showing a group of sleeping ponies.
“Wha… So… I really did it?” Celestia was dumbfounded as she stood.
“Yes… And fortunately, nothing too bad has happened.” Luna told her, rising as well.
Celestia sighed and walked for the doors. “Right. Well, I guess I must go raise the sun now.”
* * *
Vandal had dozed off. The ponies’ body heat radiated out of their suits and to his as he lay on the cold floor. He snapped awake as the tram came to a screeching stop. He shook the ponies. They had only been able to get roughly an hour’s rest. “Come. It’s time to move on.” Vandal told them. He stood and opened the door. The three ponies yawned, and two stood.
“Now entering, Water Processing”
Vandal yet again lift Twilight on to his back. She seemed to be getting better, but he did not want to chance it. The four then stepped onto the platform. “Alright. We are closer, but we still have a ways to go. Is there any concerns any of you have before we move on?” Vandal asked.
“I have one small one…” Apple Jack spoke up. “What if we get to the seal, and it’s too late? What if we can’t get to the Public Sector?” 
“Well… I guess I can cover you all enough for you to teleport somewhere safer. Then you can try to go.” Twilight gasped slightly.
“But what about you Vandal? Won’t that mean you’d die?” Twilight had genuine concern in her voice. It made Vandal feel a little more attached to her. 
“Probably… But if it means you all can escape, then it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to do.” The group sat in silence for a moment. Vandal finally broke it. “Now let’s move. We’ll face these problems when, no, if they show.” The group made their way to the door, Vandal picking up some more ammo from the store and getting fresh bandages for Twilight’s leg.
As they opened the door, Tyler came over, “How you hanging in there Vandal? You coping?”
Vandal sighed, “Sure. I guess… Just exhausted. This is not how I expected today to go.”
“Me either, but you’re doing fine. Just get back safely, ok? That goes for all of you.”
“We’ll try Tyler.” Twilight confirmed. The group made their way down the long halls, which in fact, were quite large. They descended a large hall which kept turning as they went down. They finally got to the end and opened another door.
“There should be a Line Gun in one of these lockers. Go get it.” Tyler informed. Vandal did so, inspecting the room before he saw the locker. He picked up the weapon.
“The IM-822 Handheld Ore Cutter Line Gun is recommended for cutting operations that require more power than a Plasma Cutter can provide. Standard mode is horizontal-only, and a secondary mode ejects a timed explosive plasma charge.”
“Well well well. This will sure come in handy… Hey, uh, Apple Jack. Come here.” Vandal looked to the orange visor pony.
“What? Are ya’ gonna put that thing on me so I don have to get close to faght?” She asked, removing her helmet.
“Yes. It will be tricky, considering there isn’t a bench, but, I’ll make do.” He knelt to her.
After a few minutes of work, and some small talk, Vandal had successfully mounted the Line Gun to Apple Jack’s suit. He went over the instructions with her, and then stood back up. They continued on beings as there were no bodies to target with. They entered a long hallway, and that familiar quarantine lock engaged.
“Here you go Apple Jack. Try it out before we die.” Vandal said a bit to calm. Two monsters growled from the end of the hall and made their way to the human and ponies. Apple Jack stepped forward, and let off a round. The bright line slowly traveled, cutting both monsters clean in half before it continued down the rest of the hall and hit the door.
They left the hall, proud they had another piece of equipment that may lead them to survival. They came to a maze of hallways, and Twilight activated her locator. The fine purple line led them right through the maze. After killing a few more monsters, they found the door. A few more short doors and locks, and they entered a massive room with a river in the middle.
“Woah…” Commented Rainbow Dash. “Now this is big…”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Vandal commented, whom of which was probably smiling under that helmet that never left that head. The group made their way across the river, and down the other side to the door. Vandal decided to make small talk in the massive, eerily quiet room. “Hey Tyler. You never told me where you’re from.”
“I shouldn’t really say, but I guess secrecy’s hardly important now… I was born on Mars. Couldn’t wait to get off-world. How about you?” The small chat seemed to lighten the mood slightly, and kill some time from the long walk.
“I was born in space. Colony ship to Borealis. I’ve never been to Earth, or Mars… What’s it like?” 
“Mars? It’s a shithole. You’re not missing anything. Hey, how about you ponies? Where you all from?” 
Twilight started in, “We don’t exactly have a name for our planet… But we come from Equestria.”
Vandal looked over his shoulder to Twilight. “Equestria? What’s it like there? Nothing like this, I’ll guess.”
A chuckle was shared by all. “No. It’s nothing like this. Heck, we don’t even have half the technology you humans have. We’re still on only our planet. Our ruler Celestia keeps the peace and harmony for us all to live happily.”
“Sounds like vacation.” Tyler laughed.
“Maybe we could visit if we make it off this hellhole.” Vandal added.
“Yeah! That would be awesome!” Rainbow Dash input. The group had reached the door by now. They entered the door and came to a long tunnel. Making their way down, they came to another new monster. This one was pretty big, fat, some may say. Rainbow Dash leapt forward, letting loose a Ripper blade on the creature.
Its stomach tore open, spewing out the little fleshy creatures, who in turn, jumped on Rainbow Dash. “Gah!” She cried in surprise. Twilight blasted them off her, while Apple Jack ran over to help stomp them to the ground. They left the tunnel and entered another massive river room. But this one locked down.
“Oh come the fuck on…” Vandal growled. The group cornered up, engaging what they could. Apple Jack laid mines, Vandal and Twilight shot what they could at a distance, and Rainbow Dash tore up whatever came too close. After a bloody fight, they had cleared the room. They left and found, yet again, another large room.
But as they entered, they heard a terrifying growl. Not no normal monster growl. This one sounded very, very mean. “Stick close…” Vandal warned them as they continued on. Suddenly, from a catwalk above, came flying down a body. It hit the ground hard, and the group looked up. 
A massive monster swung from the catwalk and hit the ground, causing the group to stumble. It grabbed the body in its mouth, shook it like a dog, the threw it into a wall once it saw the group. Tyler came over, “Alright guys, listen up. I already met one of these things. Just stay calm, and focus. The front’s covered in plating, so you need to get behind it and cut it up. You can do this, I know you can.”
“Split up!” Vandal ordered. He saw the two other ponies run to the sides, and then noticed the monster charging. Right at him and Twilight. 
* * *
The group had fully awoken once the monstrous roars of this new creature had come forth. They watched in terror as it began charging. They saw Vandal throw the injured Twilight aside. She yelped in pain, but not nearly as much as Vandal when the creature hit him, and grabbed him.
“Shoot the bastard with stasis! Don’t worry if you hit me! Just freeze this bastard and kill him!” Vandal yelled as he was lifted up and slammed back down. Twilight focused her magic and froze the creature.
“Go! Now! Kill it while I keep it immobile!” Twilight hollered. She was straining, for this monster was gigantic and very hard to keep still. Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash moved in unison to open up on the exposed back of the monster. Quite a few blades and mines later, the monster broke Twilight’s hold, and glared at her. It tossed Vandal like a ragdoll, and began charging at her instead. 
Twilight did all she could to not scream. She was helpless. It was getting closer. Closer. Thirty feet. Twenty. Ten. A loud shot rang out from Vandal, who had sat up with the plasma cutter. He scored the kill shot, and the monster toppled over, skidding to a halt right at Twilight’s hooves.
* * *
It howled a dying growls, raising an arm to swipe at Twilight, but falling motionless as it died. Twilight lay there panting. She was terrified. Everything they had put into that, and it kept going. She hoped dearly they would meet nothing else like it…
“Twilight!” The concerned yell broke her trance. Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash stood next to her, asking if she was alright. 
“Yeah… I’m fine… Just a little shook up.” Vandal limped over at this moment. He knelt and gently pat her head. 
“You did good Twi… You all did good… “ He coughed. He scooped up Twilight, and returned her to his back. They moved on, leaving behind the corpse of this beast. They left the room, and continued on down a hall.

> Bounds and Leaps
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(AN: This took one hour to write with 200 words... This too 18 hours to revise to what it is now... So please, do enjoy my readers. Next chapter is underway.)

The group entered the room. This was one long room though. A collective sigh passed out. “This is getting tedious…” Twilight complained. The others muttered their agreements. They came to the door, and opened it. What they saw surprised them. 
“Zero G room…” Vandal informed them. 
“You can jump pretty much anywhere in zero-g. Just aim at where you wanna land and jump.” Tyler told the group. Vandal looked over at the other two ponies who were looking in amazement at the room. 
“Hey Twilight, see ya.” Vandal joked as he let go of Twilight. She began to float off to the center of the room.
“AHH! Help!” She cried in surprise. The group shared a laugh at her distress. 
“Listen up. We’ll take a break here. Shake off your armor if you want, stretch out. We’ll be here for about an hour. Take a nap if you want.” Vandal told them, hopping off to fetch Twilight who was frantically trying to swim in the air. Rainbow Dash wasted no time following his advice.
Twilight sighed as she removed her helmet, trying to appear angry at Vandal. Rainbow Dash flew around the rather large zero-g room. Apple Jack had stretched out and was floating lazily, sleeping deeply.
* * *
The ponies and human had stopped. They were resting, and seemed cheerful despite their situation. Celestia smiled softly. The others had left her and Luna, beings as they had lives to attend to. The two royal sister watched in mild amusement at their subjects.
* * *
The hour break had passed. Vandal gathered the happy ponies, and led them to the exit door. They sighed, having to return back to hell, and opened the door. A long hall. They worked their way down it. “Hey guys, there’s another little something waiting for you nearby. Check the service chute.”
They picked up the ammo and node left for them. Coming to the end of the hall, they entered a room with a store and bench. Vandal took a quick moment to inspect Twilight’s leg, and redo the bandaging. They left before wasting any more time. After having their nice break, the reencountered their nightmares as a pretend dead body jumped them.
They passed the halls, and came to another very large room, similar to the one they fought the massive creature in. This one was separated by large containers and had an elevator on their side. They made their way up the elevator, and a body at the top got violently yanked into a vent. The group disposed of the monster who tried to jump them.
They began to walk around the top, on one platform, across a catwalk, on the other platform, on another catwalk. “I’ve been thinking, maybe I need a codename too, to go with Vandal. Vandal and ‘The Russian’. What do you think?” Tyler came in from nowhere.
“I think you’re crazy.” Vandal chuckled. “But in a good way.” They got to the second elevator, and activated it, beings as it was at the bottom. Once they did, an exploder, or as the group had begun to call the thin monsters with the orange sac, emerged from a vent across the catwalk. This distracted the group and they attacked.
The elevator got to the top while they were killing the exploder. A growl got the attention of Apple Jack, who was right next to the elevator. She turned right into one of the fat monsters. She yelped in surprise as she launched a mine at point blank. It exploded, and sent the group tumbling. Vandal cursed and looked to the others. “What the fuck was that?” 
“S-sorry… That one scared me a bit…” Apple Jack apologized. All four Rigs slowly climbed back to green, and they boarded the elevator. They got to the bottom, and walked to the door, leaving the room. They quickly navigated the halls until they came to a four way split. One way had a locked door, another was the way they came. The other two led off, and looked as if they split at some point as well.
“Twilight, check your locator. See where we need to go.” Vandal ordered. The group was surprised to see it split to three lines. “Oh… What?” Vandal was confused. He picked one line, and followed it down the hall. Opening a door, there waited a power box. 
“I see now…” Vandal sighed. He cut the box, and the one line flashed and disappeared, leaving the other two now. They followed them, seeming as they were side by side, and they came to a semi-long room. They split, and each went into one of the two doors. “I got this.” Vandal told them. He set down Twilight, and walked to the first door.
He cut that box, and then went to the second door. Cutting that, the door locked. “Shit!” Vandal yelled as he slammed a fist on the door. He heard the monstrous growls of what they had come to identify as slashers on the other side. The sound of weapon fire and magical blasts were heard shortly after. 
Vandal simply banged on the door, trying to get through. He heard an increase in fire as more growls were heard. Suddenly, all grew very, very quiet. “Twilight? Rainbow Dash? Apple Jack?” Vandal called. He tried again on the radio, but got nothing. Suddenly the door opened, and he toppled over. 
Vandal leapt to his feet, and saw the three bloody ponies. Twilight was on her feet, or rather, hooves. She was shaking, but she was standing. Vandal picked her up. “Let’s not stress that leg just yet.” He got a nod in agreement. They left the room, and entered the door that had originally been locked.
The passed through some more halls without incident, and came to ANOTHER large room. This one had a few broken elevators, and nothing blocking a straight path to the door. They walked along, and Twilight spoke up. “I got a real bad feeling about this.” 
“You and me both…” Vandal replied. The got to the end of the room, and another lockdown commenced. They turned, and realized they were at a great advantage. Not only did they have plenty of space, but they could see everything a while before it got to them. The monsters almost seemed to come in waves.
It began with a lot of exploders. The monsters seemed very intelligent, but they seemed to prove that wrong with the side by side exploders. One shot killed all eight of them. Next came the slashers. They presented a little more of a challenge, but the group could hold their own.
They had killed a number of slashers and a few more exploders when two little baby monsters managed to flank the group. One jumped an unsuspecting Rainbow Dash, and one jumped on Vandal’s face. This caused Vandal to drop Twilight. Her scream distracted Apple Jack, who was then forced to try to grapple with a slasher. 
Twilight rolled over and blasted the monster off Vandal’s face. He turned quickly and shot off the raised blades of Apple Jack’s slasher. She reared up and bucked the creature to a wall, where it gurgled and died. They turned to Rainbow Dash as her monster’s tenticles had been raised, and brought down on her fused pack. They passed through it, and a scream of pain sounded.
Rainbow Dash grunted loudly as she rolled over, and shook the monster. She stood back up and stomped the creature into the ground. All the while, blood began to seep from the three holes in her pack. The others fought off the remaining slashers and fat monsters. Once done, they turned back to Rainbow Dash who was still stomping on the dead monster. 
They became aware of the sobbing sounds from her. Apple Jack walked up and gently touched her. “Sugarcube?” Rainbow Dash fell down crying. Vandal walked over and helped her onto Apple Jack’s back. The two walking now made their way out of the room. They found a tram station.
Vandal lifted Rainbow Dash onto the bench, and stripped away her armor. A collected gasp erupted once her pack was removed. Her beautiful cyan wings were bloody and twisted. Three puncture wounds were in her back as well. “Fuck. Get me a medkit from the store!” Vandal ordered as he tried to straighten out the mangled wings. 
All the while, Rainbow Dash bit her tongue and cried on. Vandal took the newly acquired medkit, and began to bandage the now set wings. He folded them back to normal stance, and tightly wrapped them up. He then patched the puncture wounds in her back. The other two ponies, Twilight leaning on a wall for support, watched pitifully.
“I’m so sorry…” Vandal tried apologizing as he patched her armored pack. He then helped Rainbow Dash back into her armor, and carried her to the tram car. Laying her on a row of seats, he returned for Twilight. Carrying her in, he set her down as well, and started the tram. 
T	hey knew things would get worse… They could feel it…