“Call me Filly Scout one more time!” Applebits

We were running for what seemed like an hour, but after checking my EFS I realized we had only been running for five minutes. My voice box was still out on the fritz, and it took me a moment to realize that I had been knocked clean on my plot and was now staring down the throat of a massive metal hound thing with glowing red eyes.

“And just who are you pony?” It spoke in a voice that sounded much like nails on a chalkboard.

I looked around for Skull or Lightning, but could see them nowhere nearby, “Bzzt iz tiz it?” I tried to speak, only proceeding to piss the thing in front of me off even more.

“You here to sell cookies filly?” It shot me the insult as I took notice of several now empty boxes on the edges of the tunnel.

“Bzzt…?” I asked tilting my head for emphasis, What kind of Steel Ranger you think I am?

“Oh well, pony tastes just as good.” It snickered and I suddenly lost my funny bone somewhere in my throat where my voice box was now emitting a high pitched wail as I shot to my hooves and darted to my left.

“Blllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppp bleep bleep!” I sound like that chef from TV… I was more or less screaming for help and my life, as I was also now staring at the remains of what looked like a small filly and her friends in Filly Scout uniforms from before the wasteland.

“C’mere you little pony in a can!” It yelled as it once more lunged at me, though this time twin mini-guns popped out of it’s shoulders and opened fire on me.

Once again I started screaming a multitude of different toned beeps, though I did fire a few missiles, though they seemed to be ineffective at even making the metal dog thing that was trying to kill me even slow down. I began running, I just kind of picked a direction, unfortunately I happened to run deeper into it’s den and was now surrounded by a multitude of skeletal Filly Scouts and large heaps of sealed cookie boxes.

“Nowhere left to run now Filly Scout.” It laughed, though it sounded more like hammers banging on pans.

It then lunged for me before backhanding me into the wall, “Ung, hey… Wait… My voice is back! Hell yes! Oh shit!” I yelled as I both celebrated and dodged for my life. “Somepony needs to teach the doggy a little respect. SIT!” I shouted before delivering a roundhouse buck to it’s face with a resounding crack.

“Bzzt.” It replied.

“Gues it is contagious, oh well… teach you to call me a Filly Scout.” I taunted as I locked a missile onto a small hole, by small I mean hoof sized, in it’s forehead before launching it off and walking towards the cookies.

It’s head then rolled past my hooves and hit a stack, causing it to fall on top of me.

“Damn it a- zzt. Ziit, bizit tiz tiz tiz…” I shouted as I heard hooves thundering down the tunnel towards me.

Remembering that the Enclave was in fact still prowling around I shifted myself under the cookies and got ready to engage any hostile threat that made itself available. Fortunately Lightning shouted at me before trying to move the cookies so I decidedly didn’t shoot him in the face.

“Mind telling me what all this commotion was about, you know what, never mind… Skull dig your mare friend out and lets go. Wait are these mint chips?” Lightning started to order but then got sidetracked and began to ramble on about cookies.

“I don’t even want to know, but I would like you to know that these cookies will be going places that they were never meant to go.” Skull stated as she looked down at me, my eyes only got wider behind my visor as she licked her lips and flicked her tongue a few times for emphasis.

“Bzzt…” I tried to reply, in a mild protest that I would rather eat the cookies than shove them up my, private areas… but all that came out of course was static.

“Hey Lightning wanna fix her yet?” She asked, turning to him.

“Nah, this way she can’t protest.” He laughed as he flapped his wings a few times before continuing, “Found a way out over here, bring the tin can and the cookies.”

“Okay, I’ll load her up.” Skull replied with a mild chuckle before throwing a bunch of cookies into my armored saddlebags and then loading a few into her own.

I merely decided to stop even trying to make any sound and followed the two as we came out to an even large tunnel. Once I closed the steel security door behind us, the loud click seemed to have woken something in the room, or I should rather say a large group of ghouls who did not look like the friendly type either. We didn’t even have time to react to the ensuing onslaught, Lightning and I were fortunate enough because of our armor, though I did lose my rear left leg again. But Skull had now been backed into a corner with her pistol drawn, my battle saddle was unfortunately not working, and even though Lightning’s was, he was barely able to keep the rotten corpses Hell bent on devouring us off of him.

That was when I heard the sounds of rifles chambering, echoing far in the distance. As this new sound reached my ears, so did I notice ghouls begin dropping to the ground, dead. Holes the size of apples were in the back of their heads, each and every one of them precisely in the same spots for each one. In a rapid fashion, the corpses assailing us from every angle thinned dramatically until only a few remained.

The creepiest part of what was happening though, was that we had heard the sounds; but they’d sounded like they were far away. When I saw the casings of the rounds, I realized just how much closer whoever it was that was helping us. They had been but a few steps from the fight, firing away without giving away even the slightest hint of their position.

As we started to work on dispatching the last few who remained, I watched as something collectively began to form in the eyes of the ghouls who were left. Each one suddenly let out a cry, almost akin to pure terror, and I looked on as one who had been meaning to end Skull’s life was pulled into the shadows near her. Its body was tossed out seconds later, bleeding from hundreds of precise knife wounds which ran deep across its entire frame and had cut major arteries and veins.

The rest of the ghouls immediately turned and fled from us, howling like crazy and bumping into each other or tripping over their fellows who were already dead as if to escape.

“Okay, I’m officially creeped out.” Skull said as she side walked over to me, Lightning though had taken to a perch on the ceiling and made no moves to come down.

“Bzzt?” I tried to call out to anyone who might be nearby, but alas my voice as usual was 100% inoperable, go figure.

Silence was the only answer to my malfunctioning voice. Nothing made any movements, nor sound; although off in the corners of my vision I saw a flicker of something in the shadows. A pair of eyes, dark, haunting, finally opening and staring at the three of us.

“Now that is just plain creepy right there.” Lightning finally said, still refusing to come down from above us.

“Bzztizit.” I said, doing a small bow and waving a hoof while trying desperately not to figure out how to fly and strangle my friend.

“I think Applebits here is trying to say thank you, in which we are grateful for your help… had you not aided us I’d be dead right now.” Skull said as I noticed my missing leg.

Levitating my missing leg over to me and reattaching it, I looked closer at our new, hopefully, friend with my headlamp flickering yet on. At first, I was perplexed to see where my light shone, there was nothing. The eyes which we had just seen had disappeared completely, leaving nothing but a few piles of decomposing trash and rusted metal where our friend might’ve been. I felt a chill run by my shoulder suddenly, and when I turned I saw her.

She stood not like us, by any standards. She was on her hind legs, tall, slender. Her fur was black as the shadows she hid within, and her eyes were equally as disturbing as she glared down at me. Mouth sewn shut, throat ripped out with skin and muscle tissue hanging free. The glint of bone was visible up close. Her clothing was that of what I recognized as a standard Army soldier, save a distinct patch on her right shoulder, which was that of something I didn’t recognize at all, archaic, ancient. In her hooves she carried a single sniper rifle, which, to us, almost seemed designed for taking out tanks as it was nearly the size of a tank’s cannon. As she shook her short grey mane from her soulless eyes, I could tell she was waiting for a response.

“Bzzt izzit bzz?” I tried to offer her a greeting but again, can’t really talk without a voice to talk with so I just nodded and looked to Skull, well more of pulled Skull over with my right hoof so, so that she would talk for me.

“Um… hello, this is Applebits, up there is Dark Lightning, and I am Skull, do you have a name?” Skull asked after she introduced herself, though visibly you couldn’t tell, but since my hoof was in her I did notice that she seemed to be shaking in her pony shoes.

The sniper shouldered her weapon slowly, before taking one of her hooves and tapping her lips twice after directing Skull’s attention to meet her terrifying gaze.

“Wha-” Skull began before I jabbed her side and gave her a look through my visor, using my left forehoof to point to her closed mouth, then to my own mouth, then to the dead silent surroundings, “Oh, Silence?”

Silence nodded very imperceptibly, her expression surprisingly softening slightly before her eyes narrowed and she snapped her gaze up at Lightning before disappearing right before us. In the time it took to blink, she was there beside him, crouched down on her back legs and right beside his face before she gently, slightly, ruffled his ear. Never in my time knowing him, had I seen Lightning jump that fast, nor find him to be hiding behind me so scared.

“Bzzt izt bzzitiz izti bz zt?” I asked, looking to both of my companions and pointing to the pony who was now once again gone.

I then hit myself in the head and tried talking again, “Shzzt is jzzt a ghzzzt, zze Genzzt cazzt summon zzem.” I smiled, now at least having a minimal amount of speech back.

Almost in answer to what I had just said, I noticed the blood draining from the corpses left by the battle and moving in front of me. They came to spell out words, before I heard Lightning yelp again and looked back to see him shivering with her standing beside him. “I...Am...Flesh.”

“Anozzt like Gladzzt?” I asked, tilting my head at Lightning before hitting him on the head with my armored tail, earning a small, almost inaudible chuckle from Skull who shut up the moment I looked at her.

At the mentioning of that garbled response, it seemed like something clicked deep within the mind of the sniper who for a moment had been glaring at Skull; her eyes, once set almost in anger, now became deep and thoughtful, as she looked at me and tilted her own head as if curious. “You...Know...Friend?” The blood began to spell before me.

“Yzzt, he saved mizztz lizzt… Lightzzt fizzt izz voiz!” I shouted finally unable to take it anymore.

“Oh, okay Bits.” He replied as he cautiously started poking around in my neck with a small screwdriver after I removed my helmet.

Silence merely observed from this point, thoroughly engrossed in the work that Lightning was doing as if she’d never seen it before. Indeed, she may not have, but from time to time she did turn one eye and looked to Skull, still keeping watch of her as though also curious.

“There, that should do it.” Lightning spoke as he pulled away from my neck and scooted over to Skull a bit more.

“Thank you, finally I can talk again… albeit not in my original voice, but still.” I replied happy to have my voice back before I turned to Silence, “Yes I know Gladius, was actually just with him about a day or so ago.”

“How...Is...Friend?” She said in blood, an eyebrow raised and her head tilted as she returned her attention to me. “He...Okay...Without...Us?”

“He just lost his daughter, last time I checked he was sitting in a graveyard mourning while I was being thrown around like a sandbag at a graduation party… long story.” I replied, watching for what the mare would do next.

The sniper closed her eyes, her head bowing slightly for a moment as her body seemed to start fading into shadows until she was nearly gone. A single dark, bloody tear rolled down her cheek before falling to the floor before me and sizzling into the other bloods that had mixed together. For but a moment, she remained there, motionless, almost ethereal, before beginning to return to her full physical form. “She...Must...Be...In...The...Kingdom...Unlike...Us.”

Wiping away the remains of her tear, her stitched mouth began to smile a little before her ears twitched and her eyes narrowed into slits. “They...Are...Here...Come...To...Me…To...Hide.”

“Roger that, everypony to her, now.” I spoke, my voice commanding, though I found that I had to use my magic to move the two ponies still rooted to the spot behind me before I grasped my helmet and dashed over to her myself.

“Now...Under...The...Shadow...Of...Death...None...May...Find...Us.” Silence spelled one last time in blood, before she embraced the three of us almost protectively.

At first, there was nothing different. Nothing notable changed. Everything seemed the same. That was, of course, until I saw that each of us had vanished from sight. Even myself, as I looked down over my body to see nothing standing where I was. The blood which we stood in no longer produced sound wherever we stood, and we cast no shadows from the dim light which was in this small room.

“Wha!” Skull shouted as she began to have a small breakdown.

“Shut it Skull, freak out later, accept creepy shit now.” Lightning replied as I just watched down the ruined metro station, as I had come to discover it to be.

“See anything on the scope Feather?” A stallion’s voice echoed across the way as two forms appeared in the shadows, the lights on their power armor giving them off clear as day.

“Negative Lt, a load of nothing, wait, woah, that looks like somepony held a massacre party and forgot to invite the next city over.” A second voice, this one belonging to the stallion named Feather spoke.

“Plan?” I whispered to my allies.

“I could try something, I am after all a pegasus in power armor as well, they might just listen to me long enough that I can get a little intel, then we can dump their bodies down here, steal their gear, and get the Hell out of Hoofington!” Lightning excitedly exclaimed in a hushed tone.

After a few moments of listening and contemplating Lightning’s plan, I heard something that didn’t sound remotely like that of the Enclave or any of us. It didn’t sound like anything I had heard before. It was sentient, though, because I could hear it from even across the massive metro whispering a single word which only grew louder and louder. “Rage...Rage...RAGE...RAGE!”

“What the actual buck is that?” Lighting commented as he paused his train of thought.

“Like I would know, this day has officially become the most outlandish out of all my mercenary experiences.” Skull stated.

“If I were to guess, I’d say Silence didn’t come alone, after all, everypony should travel with a companion you know.” I said, thinking about what I would do on my own, and coming to the conclusion that I would have probably died too many times to count.

“Um… Lt, what is that chanting?” Featherlight asked as he landed on the ground just a few yards away.

“Probably just your imagination.” His superior replied, obviously lost in thought.

The entrance to the Metro was suddenly rocked by multiple, massive explosions, in response to the Lieutenant’s words. The chanting of that single word grew even louder, to the point that it was almost deafening, as a single figure started to become visible through the thick smoke and flames. A wall of dark crimson advanced forth, clad only in digital urban camouflage pants and a white tank top with a patrol cap matching the pants. Whatever it was, it was pure muscle, as it stood tall and looked down at the two Enclave troopers. At its waist, it carried a knife, on its shoulders, I saw two large anti-tank cannons, and strapped to its right foreleg was a minigun which it carried with ease before it jumped down and landed at the bottom of the metro platform. Right before the two soldiers.

Closer than before, I could see the blood it was stained with, and saw that its fur was not naturally crimson either. Its eyes were, however, and it was staring right at the two before it as it repeated the same phrase as it had before.

“Take the private, I’ve got a date tonight!” The lieutenant yelled as he pushed the younger pegasus forward.

The latter of which was utterly speechless, both at the hulking mass in front of him, and the fact that his superior just voluntold him to sacrifice himself. “Wait, sir, you can’t be serious! I’ve got a foal to take care of, and you… What?” Featherlight started to panic, fear running through his veins as he tried to backpedal against the officer who was trying to push him forward.

The growling roar of which this monstrous pony that stood before Featherlight quieted some, as his ears twitched as if listening to what had just been said. The minigun in his foreleg, regardless of his moment of thought, still spun up, and he aimed it first at the younger trooper before seeing the faintest glimmer of Silence’s eyes behind him. The pony growled, but did not proceed, and looked to the Lieutenant who had pushed Featherlight forward and he roared again as he began to step forward, brushing past the trooper and towards the Lt.

“Wait, what?” the officer spoke as Featherlight’s mouth merely worked itself over as he had placed both hooves together and seemingly was praying.

The monstrous pony stopped merely paces from the superior, his expression a visage of twisted rage and nothing else as he glared down at the Enclave officer. “You...Date? Your Date...is with me...Now.” The hint of a smile played on his lips, as he tapped on his minigun, still spinning, and leaned down so he was eye level and within breathing distance. “It’s about to be...A Night you’ll never forget...Even in the bowels of Hell, you will remember me.”

“Shit, fuck, damn, bitch…” The officer went into a triad of cuss words as he spread his wings and began to flap.

“You’re not going anywhere!” The raging pony leaped forward, his leg leg smashing out and kicking the Lieutenant in the face and sending him flying across the metro.

His body crashed into a column, making a large dent into it of which he remained, still very much alive and bleeding heavily. His jaw was broken, and gibberish came from his mouth now as the crimson pony advanced forward and paused before him again. His unarmed hoof punched deep into his solar plexus, making the superior cough blood into his face, which he merely laughed wicked at and licked his now wet lips before taking the officer out of his imprisonment and throwing him towards the remains of one of the metro trains. To say the least, the entire train buckled and bent inwards before tipping over, and again the soldier was there, glaring, yet smiling.

“So, how’s the...Date, going, love?” He whispered in the pony’s ear, angrily, before using his hoof to make the Lieutenant look at him.

All he got in return were the glassed over eyes of a dead pony, still holding a pained and fearful expression.

“Damn, who is that guy?” I asked Silence, though to be honest it was mostly just to remind myself that I was in fact alive and I did in fact just witness somepony get crushed into a train to death by something akin to a darker version of my fillyhood saturday morning cartoons.

The blood before me that leaked from the fresh corpse in the train flowed until it formed two simple words. “Husband...Rage.” As those words were spelled, I suddenly noticed when I looked to my side that Silence was standing there, visible once more. Her expression was strange, because she was in fact smiling, wholeheartedly, happily, as she looked at the massive, beastly pony which had just so brutally murdered the Lieutenant.

“...” I truly couldn’t think of anything to say, the Hulk was standing in front of me and I was dumbfounded.

Meanwhile my companions had taken a decided leave of absence from the immediate area and were now sitting far away from the scene, some friends they turned out to be, chickens.

“WHAT ARE YOU MAGGOTS DOING COWERING LIKE FOOLS!? THE BLOOD HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN TO RUN!” Rage screamed, as he caught both sight and smell of the two who had so fearfully fled from being near to him. His twisted expression was a smile, as he drank deeply of their fear and watched them intently as Silence slowly walked over to him.

She placed a hoof on his chest, making him notice her, and she was still smiling as he looked down at her, his own expression calming to a shocking normalcy as they looked at one another.

“The question I have been asking myself since we met your wife here… You’d think they were the ones with multiple replacement parts… well Lightning does have cyberwings, but it isn’t like he is missing his hind legs or voice!” I yelled the last bit for emphasis in his direction as static began to claim my voice again.

“Your metal is weak...My flesh is strong.” Rage said, chuckling darkly before seeing in his wife’s eyes a stern, harrowing look which made even him quiet his laughter before he again called out to my friends. “Come Here...You have no fear...Death does not come for you yet.”

Rather quietly I muttered under my breath, “I would happily have my original body parts, but the Universe had different ideas bub.”

“Uh… hi, I’m Skull.” My newest friend said as she waved a hoof timidly.

Lighting however flew right up to him and put his hoof out to shake, part of me wondered if he had finally grown a backbone, but then I noticed that Skull was watching him intently, I swear if they made a bet on this I’ll remove a few limbs, “The name is Dark Lightning, Shadowbolt Sniper of the MoA.”

“Rage…” The massive soldier replied, looking at the hoof as if it were a declaration of war. “Ranger...Rage.” As he spoke those two words, his shoulder mounted AT cannons lowered to the point that they were both facing Lightning. “Tell me...How much blood do you believe your...newly grown backbone, is worth?”

“...” Lighting slowly put his hoof down before looking at me, “The ponies you know scare me Apple…” He stated before he shot to the ceiling in a orange and black streak.

“I actually don’t… wait did you say Ranger?” I asked as something clicked in my mind, an old conversation Tempest had with Luna one night, when I had first transferred to his unit and he had me still bunking in his tent, “Buck me in the ass Skull, I just had an epiphany.”

“A what now?” She asked as she shot me a surprised look.

“I’ve heard a little about you… I only introduced myself by name before, permit me to do so by rank, Star Paladin Steel Crusher of the Lunar Rangers, General Tempest Knights army, directly under the orders of Princess Luna. I heard the general one night speaking over the camps portable terminal with Luna, I only caught one side of the conversation but I never really pried into them… even as the second most senior officer of the army.” I said as I stepped forward by one hoof.

“What...Have...You...Heard...Of...Us?” Silence said in blood, her expression showing slight surprise that anypony even remotely knew of who they were anymore.

“To be honest, not much… If I recall what Temp had said right, you were super soldiers, and he had agreed to send a supply caravan your way with ammunition during the last weeks before the Steel Rangers were introduced. I never heard about you guys again after that, we had been deployed far beyond enemy lines afterwards.” I replied, kicking the ground.

“We fought in the blood and mud of thousands upon thousands of those zebra whorses… On the frontline of combat, with no rest, no retreat, no surrender.” Rage said, his expression harkening back to the years during the war as he growled ferociously. “None survived us, and none ever will.”

“Speaking of which… HEY YOU!” Lightning yelled as he landed in front of the pegasus who hadn’t been slain, “You haven’t left yet?”

“N… no sir…” He replied, his voice cracking, “I… I…”

“STRAIGHTEN UP YOUR SHIT AND SPEAK LIKE A SOLDIER, LITTLE COLT!” Rage shouted, as he turned on a dime, facing the Enclave trooper.

“Yes sir!” He shouted as he hopped up to attention.

“How come he will do it for you, but not for me?” Lighting asked, before taking a step away from them both.

“Maybe because you are a chicken with metal wings.” I shot back at him, which made him nod his head up and down in small movements.

“You shape up fast…” Rage smiled a little, as he looked at the pegasus before his gaze turned to Lightning and he shook his head. “You on the other hand...You’re the most cowardly little bit-”

Silence tapped Rage’s shoulder, getting his attention mid-sentence and making him turn back around to her. He was met with her fist colliding with his face, which sent him back a few paces and left a little bit of blood coming from his lip. “Enough...I...Tire...Of...This...Place…” She spelled in blood, before looking to the Enclave soldier. “You...Help...Us...You...Live. We...Go...To...Surface.”

“Surface is good, surface is great, surface is this way ma’am!” He shouted as he lifted off with his wings and began to lead us out.

Author's Notes:

Greetings folks, yes I live, yes this story shall continue, and yes you are probably wearing clothes right now… I hope… I’d seriously like thoughts on this chapter, I admit looking at the earlier section of this story my idea of dark was tame… then I met Wolf and damn, he turned me grimdark, lol. Let me know if you think I should add anymore tags, I already turned it from Teen to Mature due to the Hoofington Chapter… hehehehe. I may have gotten carried away with that bit, just a little. Nah, everypony loves a little gore now and then don’t we? Yes, good, you’re next… j/k

I shall return, for your plots! -Tempest Knight (Author)

Hello my fabulous FIM readers, this is author DeathAngelWolf here, (Also known to some perhaps as that of Derpyness Maximus, tehehe). Just checking in to see how things are going. I hope you ladies and gentlecolts have enjoyed the story thus far. If you haven’t, please, leave a comment of P.M. either my friend and co-author Tempest or myself, and let us know how you feel. Remember everypony to thumbs up or down, and have a great day/night.

Muffins, Muffins for Everypony! - Derpyness Maximus (Author)