Author's foreword:  Since the Pinkie chapter (albeit inspired) didn't really fit the theme I was attempting to fit, I am going to take a more serious approach to the story.  That said, should I write a chapter that doesn't seem to fit, but is downright hilarious, I will tag it with (Lost Chapter) these will not be canon for the story.  Just for laughs and all that.  And yes, augmented Pinkie would both be scary and hilarious.

Hissing noises filled the chamber as the air pressure changed once again.  Hermetically sealed lockers in the wall were breaking their seals after an eternity of disuse.  Formerly trapped noble gasses finally mingled with the stale air of the vault as their preservation services were no longer needed.  After so long of a slumber, my weapons were returning to serve again.

***Please note:  Weapons will need lubricant application post storage.  Ammunition should remain

***unaffected by storage times.  Please use caution when engaging potentially hostile parties.

“Thanks for the warning 73.  I don't suppose you have any idea what the hell happened in this complex anyhow?  How the hell are there talking horses?”

Mostly it was just idle musing as I sorted through drawers and stacked combat equipment haphazardly.  Magazine pouches locked into place quickly and easy with small clicking noises on my chest and left hip.  A holster quickly adorned my right.

***Unable to process query at this time due to corrupted data.  Please try again after reconnecting to

***network

“Well that just sucks.  Could you at least tell me where the creatures are now?”

***The creatures identified as “ponies” have returned to their encampment.  It appears that they have

***set guard and are preparing for their nocturnal cycles.

“Good to know 73,” I mused mindlessly as I squirted oil into the internals of my weapons.  After so long, they were still in the same shape I stored them in.  My 1911 was still battered and ugly, especially with the suppressor attached to it, garish scrapes running down the black finish everywhere.  Even after two hundred years of military service the design was still nigh unstoppable.  The small noise of metal on metal marred the quiet of the room as I slid a magazine home and release the slide.  A familiar weight settled onto my hip as I holstered my handgun.

The final thing I reached in for was my rifle.  It was a near duplicate of the M-4 rifles of old.  It even had the ancient direct impingement gas system so many people complained about.  So long as it was lubricated, the rifle would function to the end of time.  With modern materials, the archaic design was able to hurl a heavier bullet faster and further, even having the ability to pierce the hard armor of the less well equipped countries.  Idle memories disappeared as I pushed the bolt release, a sharp metallic noise rupturing the silence with finality.  One final thing left to do.  With a twist of my wrist and a ratcheting noise, the suppressor threaded onto my rifle.  Better quiet than not.

“Okay 73, first thing is to secure our base of operations.  You are sure there are no ponies in the next few chambers, correct?”

***All cataloged specimens have been recorded at their campsite.  99 percent chance of no contact.

***Additional:  Considering I am the last known AI on our network and my full designation is

***unavailable, I would like to request a status change to “Seven.”

***It is a prime number, and like myself, cannot be divided.

All I could do was shrug.  Once an AI decides on something, barring new information they are in for the long haul.

“Seven, kill the lights.”

The room disappeared into inky darkness, punctured only by the occasional blinking light from the wall mounted displays.  After a moment my vision shifted to a field of gray, greens, and black.

“Time to go hunting”.

As I walked down the darkened hallways, I minded every step, every moment.  Granted, the creatures supposedly were asleep, but giving myself away before the game even started was a bad idea.    Unknown creatures, unknown damage to the base, hell, unknown everything.  This was just a just a clusterfuck of epic proportions.  

***Vault 18 Bravo to your left is free of hostiles.  Please place IR reflective marker on doorway.

From a pouch on my thigh I pulled out a simple thing.  It pretty much was nothing more than a reflective strip of clear plastic with a pressure sensitive adhesive on the back.  It pretty much blended in with whatever you stuck it to, but under my night vision and the security cameras, it fairly well lit up the doorway.  One simple task complete.  So many more to go.

Two hours later, I had finally marked and cleared every passageway I thought was passable into my section of the tunnels.  Two hours of trying to be quiet.  Two hours of pausing and listening to every movement, even if it turned out to be things crumbling from decay or falling due to the pony things poking at them.  Fuck it was boring.  Still was better than sitting in a FOB in Canada waiting for something to happen during the wars.

I lost track of how many tubes of grease and oil I used trying to open and shut doors and panels to secure the area.  I was on my third pack of IR tags even.  I had barely even used those things before in my life, but now they seemed ever so important.  The constant passing of dark hallways seemed to be getting to me though.  I could swear there were noises like footsteps down here with me.  One last junction and I could head back to my vault in safety and security.  One last junction.  I would swear that I could see the occasional flicker of light, but it was probably just my eyes from staring at a display so long.

***CONTACT LEFT 28 meters and closing.  1 Unicorn and 1 Pegasus in sensor blind spot.

***Activating camouflage on emergency settings.

“Son of a fucking fuck fucker fuck fuck!”

Thankfully I didn't yell that out as my vision flickered.  The IR lamps died and all extra system power went into the textures imbedded in my armor.  To most, it just looked like a series of small polygons embossed the metal.  To an engineer who understood how it worked, it was far more.  Either way, the colors of my armor faded to match the bleak surroundings.  Naturally, this was the worst time for a rock to get stuck in the tread of my boots.

“Did you hear that Midnight?”

“Yeah, that was way too close.  Lets take a look and make sure it was nothing...Like every other time we've checked.”

Of course they would come and check that noise.  Every step I made backward cause by boots to click and scrape against the concrete floors.

“There it is again.  I'm pretty sure its moving.”

“This is the Royal Guard!  Everypony is supposed to be confined to camp after hours!  Come out now!”

Well screw that.  

“Seven, somehow I think they are on to me.  How close am I to the nearest blast door?”

***The nearest blast door is 12 meters behind you.  At your current rate of movement you will be

***discovered before reaching it.  Perhaps disregard stealth to reach safety at this time?

“Good enough idea Seven.”

One long scrape echoed down the hallway as I turned and ran.  The stomping of my armored feet on the ground certainly seemed to draw the guards out.

“HEY!  GET BACK HERE!”

***They have not discovered you at this point.  Please continue current path toward blast door 18.

***Locking mechanism overridden.  Hydraulics inoperable at this time.  Door requires manual closure.

Great, one more thing to worry about.  Whatever smart ass thought I had coming to mind was quickly forgotten as a white light spilled into the hallway.  Have to find the damn door latch fast.

***Due to rapid movements and increasing proximity to light source, optical camouflage effectiveness

***is decaying rapidly.  Maximum of 15 seconds before defenses are ineffective.

Thankfully, right as that message appeared on my screen my wildly grasping hands found the cold metal of the emergency release panel.  Every ounce of adrenaline in my body was put to great use and my muscles screamed out in agony, but the door started skittering shut.

“Do you see that Warden!  The door up there is moving like somepony is messing with it.”

“This is your last warning!  Come back to camp with us or there will be severe repercussions.”

I couldn't even see down the hall toward the damn things from the light being so bright.  The visor and electronics of my armor were simply unable to dim the pure light stemming from one of the creatures.  One more tug on the door.  Please please please.  Come ON!

With a foul screech of mistreated metal, the door slammed shut with my hand already on the locking bolts.  A small twist and there was no way those things could get in here with me.  3 inch thick bars slid out of the door and into the wall at several points.

“Seven, that was too fucking close.  What the fuck happened?”

***Unknown.  Ponies recorded as “Midnight Blaze” and “Crimson Warden” are recorded at camp site

***currently.

***Starting system diagnostics...

“God damn it Seven...  Fuck it, they know I'm here now.  I have a few hours to figure out what is going on before they try to breach the door.  Lets just head back to my vault and figure our options.”

As the door squealed shut, it left two stunned and worried guards in its wake.  The orange pegasus looked at the unicorn, grimacing from the harsh light.

“Is it just me or did you see a shadow in the middle of the light you were casting Warden?”

His compatriot just looked at him perplexed.  

“I thought that was just me.  Either way, there is no way we can get through this thing without some extra help.  Lets get back to camp and see if we can figure out which pony is stupid enough to play this prank.  We'll probably need to wake the Princess to get her help rescuing the idiot who shut this thing.”

“You are probably right.  Some stupid prank.  Either way, this is going to be a long night.”