Hi all (if any), another chapter, hot off the keyboard. A little longer than the last, if only by a bit. Enjoy, and I'll see you at the end of the chapter.

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It's a dreary place, with downtrodden ponies and lazy songs drifting in and out of tents and markets. The lights are flickering weakly, only serving to add to the saddening effect.

"Downset here is a bit of a downer station, if you haven't noticed," drifts the voice of the guard that's leading them through the station on a visual only tour of sorts. "The place is almost as defeated as the ponies that live here. We thought that the station down there, Outreach was it?, was either deserted or overtaken. Apparently we were wrong, though."

"Downset, huh? No offence, but the name fits, if you ask me." Dash says, looking over the sad station as she walks. The guard chuckles, turning to face them, walking backwards.

"You're funny, you are. What're your names, by the-" his eyes widen slightly, looking down at Dash's arm, his smile melting on spot. "Medic! We need a medic over here!"

The friends follow his eyes, down to Dash's arm, where they are both shocked to see several thick streams of maroon blood flowing down her wrist and hand, trailing behind them. Rainbow then remembers the earlier confrontation with the mutants in the tunnel. She had blocked with her arm. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She thinks as a new pony arrives at a run, a white rucksack with a red cross on it slung over her back. Rainbow winces as she dabs the cut with alcohol, quickly applying a bandage.

"Alright, that should do it. It'll be better in about a day, maybe two," the medical pony says as she walks off, meshing into the crowd.

"Alright, that taken care of, what are your names? You never answered."

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend, Rainbow Dash. We're, of course, from Outreach. We decided to go and see the metro, though." Twilight explains. He nods in understanding, turning around once again, continuing to his destination, the two friends following.

"So I guess you haven't heard about the hell that's spread over the metro in Outreach, have you?" The guard asks, his saddened tone returning. He takes their silence as a 'no'. "Well it's been nothing but war after war further north. The Soviets are rumored to have reformed, as have the Nazis, cults are forming all over. It's chaos." The mare's eyes widen at the news. The horrors that must be going on in the north are enough to make the blood drain from their faces. And they know that their friends are up there somewhere.

"It's been battle after bloody battle all over the place. As if the mutants aren't bad enough, ponies still haven't learned how to stop killing each other over relatively trivial matters."

After some moments of silence, they arrive at a small building, practically a box of sheet metal, a cage for the poor pony that had to stay there. Walking around to the back, the guard knocks on a small door.

"Hey! Open up!"

"Who goes there?"

The guard sighs. "Unit D.S.-1307, now open up."

The door opens, revealing a communications booth with a short range wireless transmitter/receiver, and a long range wired transmitter/receiver.

"Send a message down the line: Outreach is still inhabited. Their comm. unit must have taken irreparable damage, but the station is still alive." 1307 says as he walks into the already cramped booth, sitting down on a small wooden crate.

"'S anything interesting going on here?" He asks with a bored tone.

"Nothing. How 'bout by south?"

"If there was, would I be here right now? Nothing EVER goes on at south. I'm almost insulted that they stuck me at that hell-hole of boring." Agitation creeps into his voice. Dash understands exactly what he's talking about, being from the outer-most, and therefore most boring, post herself.

"Watch what you say, there was a breach at south in Outreach almost a week ago. These weren't the common tunnel trash, it was completely new. Sons of bitches were near impossible to kill, too. It took the full crew, a heavy machine gun, and a high-power explosive to kill eight of them," Dash says plainly, looking at the ground as she remembers the excruciating pain in her fallen comrade's face, and the military funeral which was held a day and a half after. The faces of the Downset soldiers were blank with shock.

"Okay evolution, seriously, what the fuck?" the stunned comm.s operator says.

Discussion continues for a few hours before all of them go to sleep.

"Well girls, consider yourselves privileged, you're the third and fourth ponies to EVER sleep in the comm. booth. I don't let just anypony do this," the operator says, making the two tired mares give a tired-high laugh. Minutes later, all of them are asleep.

The tunnel just stretches on endlessly, not curving, inclining, declining, nothing. There aren't even any offshoot tunnels or rooms. Dash is weighed heavily down by an invisible force, making each footfall send a renewed wave of pain up her tired legs. Her eyelids are heavy as led, and it takes all of her willpower to keep them open. Something is strange about this tunnel, but she can't really tell what. Suddenly, all of the lights die. Wait, lights? The tunnels didn't have any working lights anymore. She reaches to where she keeps her flashlight, but feels an intense stinging in her wrists when she tries to move them. She looks over her shoulder to find them bound with a glowing blue wire behind her back. A rhythmic thumping starts, enveloping the entire tunnel. All clear on this for- AHHHH! She hears the haunting scream behind her, turning to find the contorted face of two-seven, her fallen brother in arms. He is suddenly joined by two other ponies, both mares but one clearly older than the other. They are crying over his now limp body. A horrible remembrance sweeps over her: he had a mare friend, and they adopted a little mare together. They had planned their lifetimes together, she remembered Derpy's strange, but reliable voice, filled with unusual sadness. Tears start to well in her eyes. She closes them forcefully, but the image is still there, taunting her behind closed lids. She hears a small sound joining the thunderous booming still filling the empty tunnel. A soft dripping, as she feels burning trails of moisture run down her face. She feels a stinging pain as she falls to her knees, burying her face in her hooves, her shoulders shaking lightly with her sobs.

The noise suddenly stops, leaving the tunnel with nothing but a blue pegasus on her knees, the quiet sound of regretful sobs, and the drip of tears hitting the ground.

Why him? Why somepony with so much to live for? With a family? What did he do to get that? Her pained thoughts echo in the empty blackness.

"Dash?" a familiar voice calls out, forcing her head out of her hooves. "Dash! What's wrong?" She feels a light shaking on her shoulder, and a gentle hand petting her mane.

As she wakes up, Dash sees the concerned face of her friend hanging over her. Her throat is sore, as are her eyes. The dream washes back over her like a wave of overpressure, forcing a new stream of tears down her face.

"What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

She nods her head, unable to form a sentence without choking on her words.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Through her silent cries, she manages to explain the whole dream, leaving Twilight nearing tears as well. She looks over at the clock that is hanging on the wall. 05:48, they should probably go soon. She stands up, gathering her things quietly and going to the door.

"Where are you going?" Twilight asks.

"It's almost 06:00, we should probably get going." Nodding silent agreement, Twilight grabs her things too, joining Rainbow by the door, leaving a small note of thanks for the soldier and comm. operator. The two make their way past the outskirts of Downset, leaving the station behind, continuing on their journey to Central.

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Dear all who were expecting Uncle Bourbon, I'm SO sorry! I really am. Next chapter, Pinky Pie Promise. I'll try to get it up in the next few days, but I've run out of pre-written stuff, so you're getting it only as fast as I can make it, which is, sadly, pretty slow. Until the Bourbon chapter, Do Svedan'ya. /)*(\