“Hay! You alright?” The voice sounded muffled, like there was water in my ears. “Oh good, you're moving, even if you're still not breathing.” I didn’t understand what the stallion was talking about, not doing what? “Miss Vibraphone, open your eyes, I’m getting worried.”

“Y-yeah, just... give me a moment.” I stirred, moving my legs around and trying to get my hooves under myself again. The ground felt uneven, and it had a sort of give to it, like sand I guess. My hooves kept sinking into it as I pushed myself up. Opening an eye, a purple earth pony stallion stood in front of me. His main was pale blue with a jade streak through it, and he had old stable barding on. Not old as in age, rather, in design. It looked like some of the original styled barding that didn’t cover the flank like the style was back in the final days of the war.

“Ahh good,” Slowtrot spoke sincerely. “I was worried you might have drowned.” First of all, what was he doing here again? Secondly, what the hell did he just say?

My fur stood up straight as I looked around. “Drowned!” I shouted out.

I was… on the shore of a beach. The water behind me was lapping at the sand just short of my hooves. In front of me, was a path to a large building depicting the Stable-Tec logo on it, which meant it had to be a very old place… wherever this was. With the fear of drowning subsiding for the moment, I started feeling calmer, and looked at Slowtrot again. Not to say him being here made me feel less calm about why I was again, wherever here was, but at least it was a friendly face.

“So… where are we?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to even get an answer to that.

He scratched his chin as he looks back at the building. “Don’t know. I think remember hearing about Stable-Tech having their own resort on the Marewaii Islands. Maybe that’s it.”

I thought about it for a moment, remembering something similar. “Stable-Tec’s grave, I think that’s what they call it. It’s one of the few real structures still on Friendly Island.” The building looked decrepit, moreso than for it’s age compared to other buildings on the other islands. Still it was standing strong, albeit covered in vines and cracks as wide as my forehoof. My attention turned from the building to myself as my legs started feeling a little tingly. Lifting one up if found a fully flesh and fur leg there… but it was alomst translucent.

“What the hell?” I studied my hoof as I moved it, watching as it moved more fluidly than any high-end prosthetic could ever hope to.

“It’s called phantom limb syndrome.” Some pony spoke, their voice was more like a deep echo then it being spoken itself. Looking around, I found a cloaked pony sitting on a boat that rocked softly just a hoof’s length away in the water behind me. Strange that I didn’t see them there before. The pony was holding a pole not unlike one used for fishing, which even had a line set out into the water. But the fishing line wasn’t the thing that drew my eyes the most. The rod also happened to have a curved blade at the end that looked vaguely like the scythes the harvesters used on the Harvest Island.

“What?” This was all getting more than a bit confusing.

“Commonly it happens to those who lose a limb.” The cloaked pony spoke as he shuffled about in his boat. His black cloak wavered in an ethereal breeze, but even when looking toward me, it revealed nothing to me about the identity hidden beneath. “The brain sometimes has problems remembering that it does not have that appendage anymore, so it tries to fill in the sensorial gap. You on the other hoof, your spirit is getting used to having them, even though you’ve never had them before in your life. It’s silly, I know, but that’s how things are.”

“Okay, what?” I was still confused.

“Oh, him. Right.” Slowtrot spoke up, “That’s Charon. He gave me a ride when we parted ways before. He needed to do his job, and I was in no rush, so we were on the water when you happened to drop by. Had to fish you out of the water and well, now we’re here.”

“Okay, even with as crazy as that all sounds...” I had to take a deep breath. The sound of me being under the water disturbed me, but yet I didn’t feel panicked. “How did I get here?”

“Simplest way to explain it, you died.” Charon spoke bluntly, and Slowtrot and I looked at the cloaked pony. “Well only a little bit, as you’re still dying as we speak. At the very least think of it this way, your soul is not where your body is.”

“That’s not possible.” I closed my eyes and rubbed at my temple with my ‘phantom’ hoof. Felt real enough right now, and I only say that because like always, I wasn’t any less frustrated than a few moments ago. Opening my eyes, I deadpanned at the hooded pony. “None of this makes any sense.”

Charon sighed, and turned to me. His cloak shifted in the ethereal breeze again, but still didn’t give away any of his features beneath. But I didn’t have to wait very long to find out what those features were, as he reached up and dragged his hood back.

“You live in a world of magic.” The hood of the cloak slid down around his neck, revealing the nearly featureless skull of a pony. Clean, bleached white, and overall a bit feminine looking, it was… an odd sight to say the least. The sleeves to her cloak rolled back as she lifted her clean boney hooves, bringing them together before separating them in an arcing motion. As she did, a monochrome rainbow formed in between them. “Ta-da, magic.”

I stood there stunned. Just… what? I didn’t know what to think or say. This had to all be some weird fucking nightmare, or maybe an aftereffect of all that crap that got shoved into my brain.

Slowtrot cleared his throat, getting my attention.

“What I think Charon is saying,” He began, sounding a little nervous. “is that it’s better to not think about it. Weird and unexplainable things are just something that happens to some ponies. Me included.”

“Right, just…. give me a moment.” I took a deep breath, which was weird, as I had not been breathing this entire time. “Right, don’t think about it, just accept it for now.” Yeah, telling myself that unsurprisingly didn’t really help all that much either. “So am I dead?”

“Let me check the book...” Charon pulled out a small leather bound black book with golden gilded pages. “Oh this little thing makes my life… unlife, so much easier. Plus as a bonus, I don’t have to go find you if it is indeed your time.” The book opened and the pages flipped. “Right, here you are…” She leaned forward, holding the open book closer as if to study it. “It says... maybe…?” Looking up towards me, she gave a shrug before looking back at her book again.

“Maybe?” I asked flatly.

“Yes, it definitely says maybe. So you could be dead, or not, who knows.” Charon’s skull looked over at me, her empty voided where eyes should go sent a chill down my spine. “Look, I’m not a social worker like Mort, so if the book says maybe, it’s a maybe. I simply take the dead where they should be, and that’s where my job both begins and ends. Ponies stuck in the middle like you are should either seek out that old bag of bones, or get back to their body.” She put her book down, and her hooves back on her scythe, the fishing line glinting in the light of what I just now realized was a nonexistent sun.

I leaned over to get a look at the book, but found myself unable to understand what I was looking at. The pages were laid out just the same as every other book but… I couldn’t read what was on it. Not just because it was in something other than standard equestrian, but because there was so much writing on the page that there was hardly any space between what I assumed were letters.

“Don’t bother.” Charon said as she gave a little tug on her fishing line. “It’s written in the language of the dead. Each letter represents several words, and each word could fill in a page or two of a dictionary to explain them.”

“Then how do you understand what you're reading?” I had to ask.

“You don’t,” Charon shrugged. “This is for the dead, and only old bones like me have had the time to understand it. It’s like asking a bunny who has never seen a plasma television in itself, how a plasma television works, they can’t. You need to know the fundamentals, of the fundamentals, and work yourself up from there.” The undead pony scratched her bleached white head. “Now that I think of it, there two or three kinds of plasma at least, so you would fist need to know which kind first.”

“How about weaponized plasma?” I asked. “I remember seeing that it was green from the technology museum” I also remembered that they were at the peak of tech in equestria.

Charon shook her head. “No no, you don’t understand. Playing with plasma is no different from playing with fire. There practically the same thing.” She sighed. “Anything can be a weapon, as long as you can hit your enemies with it. This book conveys information. There's more skill involved.” She lifted the book and showed me it.

Frowning at her, I tried to look at what she was showing, but it was just impossible to read. “Okay, I have no clue what I’m looking at, but if it knows so much, can it help me in any way?”

“No,” Charon shook her head. “ it simply tells what has already been, and what will possibly be. It’s not a book about fate, and changing it, simply a guide to help understand what is, is. I use it toy determine if a soul is ready for travel, or if it still needs time. The reast is what you call wight noise, too many interesting possibilities to properly read.”

I sat back on my flank. “Then how the fuck is that even useful?”

The skeleton pony sighed. “This, this is why I hate dealing with the living. None of you ever understand that things work quite differently here.” Her empty eye sockets seem to look through me. “Wait, yes, that’s it!” She pointed to the building with one hoof while reeling in her fishing line with the other. “if you take this bait and go up there for me, I’ll guide you back to the living world. Deal.” At the end of the line was a small piece of bone connected to a hook.

I was going to ask another question, but all of this was too confusing. “Ya, whatever. I do you a favor and you get me back to where I should be.”

Charon swiped the hook at me, and it stuck straight into my ear with a muffled, but still sickening squelch. I was about to complain about the pain, but strangely, I didn’t feel any. Whatever. So long as this is quick so I can get out of this place...

“Now go,” She waved her boney hoof to shoo me off. “I have a lot of ponies waiting for me, and this bitch has already taken up too much of my time.”

I looked over at Slowtrot, and he just simply shrugged. A deal is a deal, so I trotted up the path. Surprisingly, Slowtrot followed, sticking beside me.

“You know,” Slowtrot spoke up, “last time I was at the beach, it was crowded, noisy, and there was garbage everywhere. This place is quite nice. Sorta what I always imagined beaches to be like. Makes you think about expectations a bit.”

He did have a point, that nothing’s really as good as it’s made out to be. The beach for me meant that I had to wear a gas mask to enjoy it. Not to mention the last real beach I was on, I was being taken to an equalist home station. I also happen to be in a really bad condition, and pumped full of drugs.

“Do you think things will ever be back to how it was before the great war?” I asked as we trotted further toward the old ruins.

“From what I know,” Slowtrot nodded. “Given a while on it’s own, the world always finds a new normal. It’s more a question if ponies will still be around when that time comes, or if we’ll use what little we have left to finish what we started.”

We reached the top of the path, and were greeted by a courtyard full of gravestones.

Slowtrot paused at three gravestones bundled together “Oh my, that gravestone has a Dot and Cross Cutie Mark, and the one next to it looks like a Brass Badge…” The look on his face dropped, looking over at the gravestones I saw a third one next to the two he was looking at, smaller, and unmarked. “Must be their foal.” Was all he said before moving on.

I didn’t say anything as he walked hesitantly along the path, slowing down to mutter something now and then. “Doc Life Beat”, then on to the next, “Prancer”, “Candy Pop” He spoke softly. He stopped at one gravestone, it had the face of a pipbuck stuck into the stone “June Log Baird”

“You knew them?” I asked.

Slowtrot nodded. “Ya, they were good ponies, they truly wanted to help others.” He sighed. “I think I ruined that opportunity for them. Lead somepony evil to them. It wasn’t entirely my fault, but still, I was nothing more than a tool to make the war worse. To make it grow.”

“How so?” I asked. Not much about any of this made sense, but I did owe him at least this much for helping in the last fight that took place in my head.

He put his hoof on the gravestone. “It’s all hazy, but I think I was turned into a trap for the R&D Stable.” He lifted his left hoof, the overly large pipuck almost shimmered in the sunless light. “This thing actually. It was once used by an evil pony, and then she cast it out like bait on a fishing line, hoping the R&D Stable would bite. And of course, they did. In the end a lot of good ponies died, including June.” He gave a soft laugh. “She hated the fact that pipbucks could be used for aiming weapons. She never wanted that spell to make it in as a feature.”

“June… I think I might have read something about her. She was a co-inventor of the pipbuck, right?” Slowtrot nodded. “Wow, and you knew her…? Wait, then did you know one of my ancestors, Hydrangea was her name.”

Slowtrot scratched his chin and nodded. “I remember a filly by that name, lots of energy.”

Amazing, the ponies back at Orthrus would see him as a historical artifact, if for the fact he was not some ghost stuck… wherever here was.

“What else do you know?” I asked. I mean, while I’m here, I might as well get some questions answered I’ve always pondered about.

He looked back at me with an eyebrow raised. “About what?”

“Hmmm.” I thought about for a moment. “How about the ministry mares?”

He shrugged. “Only ever met Pinky Pie, and that’s when I was wandering around out here. Gave me a cupcake and a letter before running off.” He dug through one of his pockets, pulling out a frosting stained letter. “Sorry, couldn’t help but dig into the cup cake. She said it was a get well soon gift, but the letter, is actually for you.”

For me? How… nevermind, asking more questions wasn’t going to get anything done when the answer was probably in that message. I took the letter and opened it up

--------------------------------------------------

Dear miss Vibers Phones Echos

First off, sorry if I got your name wrong, it’s been getting harder to, well, know ponies. Mort says that it’s closer to my time to stop. But would you stop working if you were still waiting for one of your friends? No? Well, good, because neither would I.

But on a serious note, not super serious, but not silly serious, just slightly above normal serous note. Great job on keeping her out! I know that it’s hard keeping some ancient eldritch abomination from getting to you, but you’ve done a good job. Strangely enough, so has that princess you’re looking after. Her mind is like a brick wall, even if she needs a hug from time to time… oh, which reminds me! Give her a hug for me, both of you need it. That, and a cake. You should also have a talk with your sister next time you see her. Take it from one younger sister to another, big sisters may be a bit overbearing, but they do truly want the best for you. So don’t keep your feelings from them, it hurts you as much as them.

Another thing, as soon as you can, get yourself clean. Trust me on this, you may think you need it now, but it’s going to destroy you in the long run. Just another piece of wisdom I too can relate to. But that’s all for now! So much to do, so many friends to write to!

Sincerely, Pinky Pie.

P.S. that feeling on your back leg, it’s, well… EW.

----------------------------------------------------------

I let go of the letter. As it fluttered down toward the ground, it vanished in a poof of smoke and confetti. It even made a startling honk sound that made both Slowtrot and I blink a few times in confusion.

Looking back behind me, I had felt that one of my legs did feel weird. Well, weirder than normal. Lached onto my leg was an albino looking mirage pony. Her body was mostly transparent, all except for her brain. She looked up at me with eyes so pale blue and clouded that she almost looked blind.

“You came for me, I knew you would.” She smiled, but it wasn’t a friendly kind of smile. It was so wide that it looked like it could reach from ear to ear. “You can be my mare, and I’ll be your stallion.”

I looked down at the mare, and something clicked. “Theremin?”

“Yes!” She shouted. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I knew, I knew you would come to your senses and come back to me.” She wrapped her ghostly hooves around my leg tighter. “We can run away from here, start a family!”

I could feel it well up inside of me, the anger, the disgust she filled me with. I lifted my other back leg. “What makes you think that I ever wanted you!” My hoof connected with her face, and she rolled back, hitting one of the gravestones. Turning around, I locked eyes with the dead reaver, stomping closer to her. “A monster like you, after what you did to me? I should skin you alive.”

“You’re angry, I u-understand t-that,” She studdered, but seemed undetured by my attack. “But I also know you forgive me in your heart!” She opened up her arms. “We can start over, just the two of us. I’ll became a stallion again, and we can have the family we always wanted.”

“We!?” I furrowed my brow at her. “There was never a we!”

“Don’t lie!” Theremin shouted, “Stop lying! I know you, so stop acting like a whore! Come back to me, and I’ll forgive you like you forgave me. We don’t need to keep playing this game.”

“What is your malfunction?” I took a step back, this… This was insane, Theremin was insane.

“You.” She said, placing a hoof over where her heart would be. “From the moment I saw you, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. Like the others, I wanted to share my love with you, all my love.”

“Others?”

“Oh, don’t worry about them, they’re all gone now. The republic took them from me, called me mean names, you know.” Theremin shook her head and pressed her hooves against it. “No, they’re wrong! We were a family. I washed them, brushed their manes, kept the fly’s way.” Her eyes locked with my own, and I felt a shiver down my spine. “I saved them you know. The world had tainted them, like it had done to you! But with me, I made them pure. No pony could taint them, hurt them. Forever my perfect lovers.”

“Lovers?” I took a step back, as Theremin got back up. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

““You, me, together forever.” Theremin smiled as she trotted over toward me. “Of course, I will have to fix you first. I learned a lot from the others. My first love was so noisy. Always saying hurtful things, so I had to cut out the vocal cords. My second love was so prone to using violence against me that had to paralyze her legs. My third love, bit her own tongue off and died rather than love me, so I had to remember to remove the teeth from the others.” She licked her lips. “My fourth love, looked just like you... but she was so much more innocent.” The excited look on her face flattened, the look in her eyes became annoyed. “She also had some sort of chip in her head that led the republic straight to me.”

If I had a stomach right now, I think I would puke. “You’re a monster.”

She got up close, head to head with me. “Why would you say that when we could be together, forever.” her eyes locked with my own, and I didn’t know what to do.

*Smack*

Theremin rolled back, hitting the same grave stone. “Crazy Bitch.” Slowtrot spoke. “I don’t like hitting mares, but talking about stuff like that?” He pointed his hoof at his mouth and stuck out his tone like he was vomiting. “Anypony starts spouting shit like that makes them fair game I’d think.”

“Already found another stallion!” Theremin looked right at me, her face warping in unbridled rage. “You whore, slut, dirty mother fucking bitch of a mare!” Her face relaxed as she took in a deep breath. “But I’ll forgive you, if you just return to me and promise to never leave again.” She got up and trotted to me, but as she got closer, her head seemed to be pulled back. “What!” The bone and hook was now on her ear, and was tugging.

Before Theremin could even attempt to remove the hook, it pulled at her, dragging her along the ground. “Help!” She cried out as she grabbed onto one of the gravestones, fighting Charon’s pull. “I don’t want to go.” She pleaded with now full bodied fear written in her eyes.

I sighed. “Not your choice.” I trotted to her, and she smiled at me with a final hope filled grin. “So, go fuck off to Tartarus!”

Her smile turned to a scowl as I raised a hoof. Fear, I saw fear in her eyes as I brought down my hoof, knocking her free from the gravestone. I watched at I saw Theremin get dragged away, as she futilely hoofed at the ground until she slid out of sight.

“So…” I took a deep breath, feeling a little satisfied. Exhaling, I turned to Slowtrot. “What next?”

“Next you both get out of my nonexistent mane.” Charon trotted past me before she paused and scratched her skull. “You know what, I need a wig. Nothing over the top of course, but maybe something cute.”

“How, where?” Slowtrot asked.

She pointed at a grave. “For a phantom like you, you dig.”

Slowtrot trotted over to the grave and froze. “Why... is my Cutiemark here?”

“Maybe you died here too?” I gave an answer. Sure it probably wasn’t the one he’d wanted to hear, but given everything so far, it sort of fit.

He sighed. “That would make sense, but then wouldn’t I just go with Charon?”

“Woah there, no,no!” Charon spoke loudly and waved her hoof before jabbing it sharply at him. “I gave you one free ride already. If you want to get to the afterlife, then you’re either going to pay me double, or swim across the river yourself. Now start digging. You will know the next step when you get deep enough.” Charon then turned around to poke at me. “Now for you.”

“Do I click my hooves together three times and say there’s no place like home?” I said with a smile.

“No, I just need to wake you up.” Charon shook her bony head, and lifted her scythe. “Though it’s going to come at a price.”

“But didn’t I already do something like that?” This annoyed me a bit. “I mean, I already have more than I care to handle on my plate.”

“Right, you’re quite right.” Charon drew her scythe, hanging it over me. “Sadly, even if I let you wake up naturally, you would not be in the state to be doing anything.”

“What? What the fuck!” This had better be a joke. A weird joke to say the least, but still a joke none the less. “What’s wrong with me now? How did I get hurt this time?”

“Physically?” She wiggled a hoof side to side. “I would not recommend moving around much, having fluid in the lungs is not something that just goes away, even with healing potions. Nut if you must, you can still push on, though the drug problem is only going to get worse if you ignore it.” She reached out and touched my head. “The problem is there, you did nearly drown, remember?”

“You said nearly, so I should be fine enough, right?” A cold shiver ran up my spine. “I mean, I’m fine right now, right?”

“You were so scared of drowning that your mind ejected your own soul from your body.” Though the skeleton had no facial emotions, somehow, I knew she was frowning at me. “Which bring us to another problem. Your soul shouldn’t just be bound loosely enough to your body for this to happen in the first place.” Her book floated out, and open.

I cocked an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing good.” Charon brought her scythe down lower, it’s blade touching the back of my neck. “Have you come across any dark magic users, like that of necromancers, forbidden arts specialists, or any powerful supernatural beings?”

“Maybe?” I responded, “There’s Phobetor… if she counts?” I wasn’t really able to think of anything else that would fit, and she did seem fairly powerful, as Slowtrot could attest to.

The book slammed shut, and Charon nodded. “Say no more, you did have the stench of a nightmare on you.”

“So… what does that mean?” I asked worriedly.

“At best, you’re going to have to live with some bad dreams for the rest of your life.” The blade of Charon’s scythe slowly cut into the back of my neck, but it did not hurt, just felt cold. “At worst? Let’s just say that it’s a good thing that we met at such a time.” The scythe on my neck cut into me, and I suddenly felt weightless.

*Plop*

My head hit the ground, which startled me. But what was worse was when I looked up, and saw my body still standing, but without my head. Charon pointed her scythe at me, at my head.

“If all things go well, this will all be pushed to the back of your mind as nothing but an odd dream.” She pulled her scythe back and rested it onto her shoulder again. “Now wake up. The sooner you do, the sooner we can both get back to our jobs. And as you know well enough, there is still so much work left to do.”

_________________________________________________________

Fire.

I felt like I was on fire. Not from the outside, but inside. My fur and skin didn’t burn, but sure as Tartarus my lungs did.

“Easy now, don’t rush it.” It sounded like, some had gargled gravel, a stallion maybe. “You almost drowned back there, so you need to take it slow. Your lungs can still fill up with water if you don’t take it slow.”

“What happened?” I managed to get out as I spat some foul-tasting water from my mouth.

“By Celestia, you’re okay.” I was Harp, her voice made me feel a bit at ease, but didn’t lessen my confusion.

“Not yet.” The stallion spoke. “she breathed in too much water. Even if she walks away, she can still drown. I’d suggest she go seek medical help, but... well that’s not going to happen right now.”

I slowly opened my eyes, but the light that flooded my vision blinded me. “What’s going on?”

“Well, you nearly downed like some panicked foal.” The strange sounding stallion gave a long sigh. “I swear, even a filly knows how to hold their breath. What did you do? Breath in the water as soon as you went under?” I felt a sharp jab in the side of my neck. “This should help in case you swallowed a nasty disease or two in that fetid water. But how in Tartarus did you manage to drown so fast? I saw the splash and you were nearly gone by the time I wrestled you to the surface.”

“I..” I wasn’t quite sure what to say, but as it turns out, I didn’t have to say anything.

“Don’t be mean, she’s aqua phobic, or something.” Harp spoke up. “It has something to do with being underwater, and it’s my fault that she’s even down here in the first place.”

“Well, excuse me princess. Maybe next time you should pick a bodygaurd that’s not so inclined to panic when she so much as dips slightly underwater.” He rubbed his chin. “She knocked off some of my skin when I was dragging her out of the water, and it should be apparent that I’m quite attached to what little I have left of it as is.”

“And I’ll see that you are compensated for the trouble.” She responded.

“With fucking what!” he barked at her with his wheezing voice. “You’re as low as royalty gets, a promise from you might as well come from a rad-roach”

Picking myself up, my eyes finally adjusting. Next to me was Harp Melody, looking drenched, and looking less pink, and more red. On the other side of me was a… a Ghoul!?

“How the fuck!” I gasped, making my recovering lungs burn again slightly.

“Calm down missy,” The ghoul rolled his eyes, and the parts where his skin had peeled off moved slightly. It gave me a quick and disturbing lesson on how exactly pony muscles moved in the body. “I’m not going to bite you, not yet at least.”

“But didn’t you all die out?” I spoke out. “Other than the ones who went, well crazy?”

“Right, Orthrus.” The ghoul Shrugged. “Ya, I was not interested in being put to sleep, no difference to me to how Orphic did it. Probably would prefer the bullet myself, rather than slowly fading away through drugs.” He picked up a bottle of booze, and chugged the bottle. “Fuck your last Overmare. That cunt of a ghoul had a bad habit of thinking she knew what was best for all of us.”

“But... how did you survive?” I asked.

“Like any good Metro dweller.” He said at me, some of the booze dripping from his lip. “Found a home out of the way, kept my head down, and made myself useful to folks with tight lips.” He trotted to a curtain that surrounded me. “In the short term it seemed silly, a bit crazy even. These days however, no pony calls me crazy.”

The curtain swung open, and I saw that I was in a tunnel cramped with mirage ponies. Many of them not suffering from the same deformity I did, but the range of birth defects I saw were still very common. Many of them had their legs, but lacked hooves, replacing them with basic prosthetics. The toxins were not as bad further south, but ponies were still affected by them. But that didn’t answer just why there were so many down here.

“I warned the others too, the ones who didn’t make it here. I’ve seen it all before.” The ghoul spoke up. “When the current leader is about to die, the princes and princesses have a bad habit of conducting purges of the undesirables.” He looked back at me, no, at Harp. “They make room for their friends to breed, and fill whatever stations are left wanting from their ‘purity’ raids.” He huffed annoyed. “This is the third fucking time I’ve seen this happen here. Good thing some ponies listened to me, got off their flanks and came down here. The rest who didn’t make it? Well, you almost drowned with them.”

I felt my gut wrench, and my fur stand on end. If I go near a body of water, it be too soon. “What’s your name?”

“Pipe Grime.” He sighed. “But you can just call me Grime. I was among the original workers here, helped built his tunnel with my own two hooves.” He pulled back at the rest of the curtains, and I could see the rest of the tunnel, all of it cramped with even more huddled masses of ponies. “I wanted to do my best by others, and have been for over two hundred years. Still remember when ponies first flooded this place. A bad time it was, but we persevered.”

I rolled off the cot I’d been on, and got back on my hooves. As I did, I felt short of breath. Hacking, water and phlegm filled my mouth, and I heaved it onto the ground with hacking coughs. My lungs still hurt. No, everything still hurt.

“You got any pain killers?” I groaned as I wiped the dribble from my muzzle. It was more than just the constant aches, but I felt wet and cold. The wet sound of a drenched pony dripping onto a tiled was unmistakable, and thought it took me a moment to realize, I found that it was coming from myself. “And something to dry me up?”

“Ran out of them days ago.” Grease shook his head. “But some folks around here might have brought some down, so if you want them, you’re going to have to deal.”

Fuck. “You got anything to help? I’ll take anything.” No painkillers and nothing to make things feel tolerable was going to leave me a bit more than a bickering mess if I had to trade.

“Miss, we got nothing left to spare down here.” He sighed, “Anything I did stock up on has go to the ponies already here, so if you’re willing to take food from a foal’s mouth, best you shut up and just deal with it.”

I looked at Harp, and she nodded. “We should recover our own supply’s, there’s nothing we can do here.”

“Fine, I understand.” I took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled in a forced manner, trying to vent my frustration at all this. I rotated my right foreleg, checking if anything new was wrong with it, seeing as it did give up the ghost when I needed it most. But it seemed to be in working order, though I no longer trusted it to hold my own bodyweight, that or the connectors on my shoulder are going bad. This did make me worried that I might be getting fat, of all the things I needed right now, some chub. “What’s our next step, Harp?”

The princess looked around nervously. “I don’t rightly know, this is all so new to me.” She rubbed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Big Brother has never been one to take such risks before. He has always been the kind to take things step by step, never so rash.” She rubbed her hoof on her temple, obviously forcing out a thought. “Something must have happened at stable 50. He must have been forced out by one of my elder sisters, or something similarly drastic.” Her hooves moved from her temple to her chin. “Brother has always been a good position, not a schemer. That’s Silver Magaly’s strong point.”

“Though, I think I have an idea.” Harp nodded to herself a few times before continuing. “Brother is not experienced with violence, so he may act to slow to for his command to be effective, or he may act too quickly and not assess the situation, most likely making a mistake. If we cause a commotion, and call him out, he will show himself. I’m sure that if I can talk with him, I can convince him to stand down.” She nodded to herself once more, but with some hesitation to it. “I know he can see reason, I just need to talk with him first.”

If she could, it would be the best case sanrio. But that wasn’t the Golden Rule with us back in that room. He seemed focused on killing us and nothing else. I was willing to trust Harp, but I wasn’t going to bet on a miracle.

As Harp left the makeshift medical tent, some old mirage pony mare gabbed her leg. “You’re the princess right!?” The mare was very thin and sickly, and behind her stood two young foals who looked to be in no better shape than the mare. “You can send help, the royals will listen to you, you’re one of them!”

“I um… I don’t think..” She was cut off by another pony grabbing at her

“Harp Melody, help us, please!” This time a stallion spoke up. Picking him out of the many ponies around, half of him looked burnt, but he still carried a look of hope in his eyes. “Make them see reason, you’re one of us, right? They’ll have to listen and understand we’re good ponies.”

““Were starving here,” Another mirage pony cut us off from Grace, walking on four basic prosthetic hooves. “I know the royals can spare some food. Please help us, Princess.”

It was like a wave of ponies moving in on us. Each one as dirty as the next, and in need of help as the next. Harp herself looked panicked, and I did my best to stand in the way of the flood, but there were too many ponies.

*Bang*

The gunshot made my ears ring, but also stopped the advancement of the crowed. There weren’t screams of panic, rather only startled gasps came from the crowd as they took a few hurried steps back. A pony holding an old looking revolver stood next to Grease, the old ghoul holding his ears and grimacing from the ringing he probably too heard.

“That’s enough! You all know as well as I that there is no help coming.” The mare was a mirage pony in a tan uniform, though far dirtier than the guard’s ponies we had seen before. “Now make way, the good princess doesn't want to burden us with her presence more than she already has.”

The ponies pushed themselves to one side of the tunnel, and we quickly made our way passed them. The guards pony following us as we followed Grease, walking through the open path. I glanced back, watching as the path behind closed in behind Grease as we moved, but all eyes were on us.

We eventually came to an open space, mainly populated by other mirage pony guards in tan uniforms. I cleared my thought to gain their attention, and spoke up. “Sorry for sounding a bit paranoid, but the last ponies we saw with that uniform were trying to kill us.”

“Ya, that’s the fucking royal guard for you.” The mare who helped us out rolled her eyes. “A useless bunch of ass hats, all of them.” She saluted Harp stiffly, shortly being followed by similar salutes from the other guards ponies. “Squire Chime Breeze. Happy to know your alive and well, Princess Harp.”

Harp looked flustered for a moment before straightening herself out. “A pleasure to meet you, squire.”

I took a deep breath, catching the attention of the squire. “Sorry to be late on just what the hell is going on, but I just woke up. Can I get some info please?”

“Of course, Knight Dragon slayer.” Chime nodded as the other guards seemed to stiffen up when hearing my ‘title’. “Golden Rule ordered a purge. All Mirage ponies are to be collected, executed, and dumped. Good sir Grease had heard the imminent consideration of such an event, and offered us a hiding spot days before it happened. It gave us time to store food, water, and other basic essentials. Though a majority of the station’s mirage ponies have been captured and killed, many of the fouls and their caretakers made it here without incident. Sadly, more than half of our division stayed behind to divert Golden’s forces to help hide the entrance to this place. Thanks to their sacrifice, we’re still alive.” She pulled out a neckerchief to wipe some tears from her eyes. “It’s been a rough few days, but we’ve managed so far. They still don’t know we’re down here, but we’d thought maybe they found us when you and the princess had arrived. I’m… sorry that you and Grease had to wade through were Golden had dumped the bodies. I could hardly imagine what that must have been like to experiance.”

“What!?” The hairs on my neck raised up. “That… that wasn’t just normal sewage?”

“The water you almost drowned in, it was thick with dead ponies.” The mare explained. “Only old Grease Pipes has been willing to go near there due to the smell. He happened to be doing his rounds in the area when you arrived. The poor ghoul almost cracked his skull when he was pulling you out of the water.”

““Anyway...” I felt cold, so cold. “I… goddess.” I began to drive heave. Spitting up spit, but nothing more.

Chime simply nodded. “I know how you feel.”

“It is commendable that you all have saved as many as you have in the face of such terrible circumstances.” Harp stepped up, patting e on the back. “Is there any way in which we may assist you?”

“Sorry,” The mare shook her head. “but all we can do is wait for things to calm down. We still have enough rations for a few days at best.”

“You're right, I can’t do anything for you.” The princess closed her eyes for a moment, and nodded her head. “But I know who can. Orthrus. If you can help get these ponies to Orthrus, I know they can help you.”

“And how are we to even try to get to them there, princess?” Chime narrowed her eyes. “We can’t risk even a single one of us leaving the tunnels to scavange for supplies. If they discover the location of the entrance, were all dead if they find us in here.”

“We could provide a distraction.” Harp looked over at me. “Right?”

I sighed. “Maybe.” It was a risk, but I did ow these ponies something, and they were all going to die if they stay here. “There’s a good chance that Golden Rule has a stronger urge to kill us right now than you all. So if we can reconnect with our friends, and recover our weapons, then maybe we could pull off something that would give you all a shot.”

“Now if you could do something that gives these ponies a chance, that would be beyond miraculous.” Chime looked at Grease, and he looked at us. “Though, there is a small army up there, you think you can do it?”

“It’s the princess and the dragon slayer!” one of the guard ponies shouted. “Of course they can!”

“Aye, they can do it!” Another guard spoke up. “We’re saved, I just know it!”

“All Hail the Dragon slayer!” another cheered.

“All Hail the Mirage Pony Princess!” the rest of them cheered.

Chime Stomped on the ground. “Oh shut up!” she snapped back at the others. “We can celebrate after we get out of here with the civilians. They are our priority, so you will not lose focus on them.” With a grunt, she looked back over at us. “Do you really think you can do it?”

“We can try...” Before I could say anything else, Harp cut me off.

“No… we will!” She spoke up and glanced over each of the guards. “As Harp Melody, daughter of Gilded Gold, decedent of Majesty, the direct descendant of Princess Platinum. By my word, I’ll do whatever it takes to help you. Even if it kills me.”

The guard’s ponies all sat up as straight as a pony could, saluting Harp. Chime smiled, and gave Harp a hug.

“Thank you, even if things don’t turn out well, thank you.” Chime nodded with a sniffle. “We will do our best to get the civilians to safety. This hope you’re giving us, is something we can never repay you for.”

“You already are repaying me.” Harp hugged her back. “Honor and loyalty is all we nobility should expect, we are nothing without it. Just make sure that these ponies get to the Friendly Island, and offer your aid to them. There’s a fight to come, and they will need your help.”

I felt my stomach settle, and I was ready to go. Grease pulled at a barrier that was blocking a doorway and smiled at us. His cheek had long lost not just it’s fur, but it’s skin too, so I could see his muscles pull up his lips. “This way, young ladies. We can’t have you go straight up, or risk them finding the ponies down here. This tunnel here will take you to the other side of the station, just… mind the cobwebs, and good luck.”

I stepped through into the dark tunnel, and a chill went down my spine as the cool, stale air hit me. Turning on my pipbuck lamp, it illuminates some of the tunnel, but only for a few hoofsteps ahead of us. Past the meager light, sat only a silent and still darkness.

“Oh my,” Harp said quietly. “this tunnel looks…”

“foreboding.” Pipe Grime spoke up, stepping through the doorway. He held an old hellsing rifle at his side, and a mining hat on his head. “This maintenance tunnel never got finished. No lights and the such, so it’s always been a bit tricky to navigate.”

I cocked an eyebrow at the old ghoul. “You’re coming?” he nodded. “And with that rifle?”

“My faithful Hog Slayer? Most certainty.” The old earth pony ghoul tapped on the old air rifle. “This beauty has been with me for what, over a hundred years now? Used to be an Iron Shod .44 revolver before the barrel got warped. Had it converted into a hellsing long before your mirage talismans were anything but an idea on paper. Pumping the air into it may be a pain, but if anything, it helps keep my legs strong.” He turned to his side, revealing a small air pump that had definitely seen better days.

“Father had one…” Harp trotted over to the ghoul, looking at his gun. “I mean the former king, of course. it’s still displayed next to his portrait. I was told that he was an avid hunter in his youth.” She scratched her chin. “But it looked a bit different from this one.”

Grime chuckled, though it sounded more like he was gargling gravel. “Well this gun may not have any fancy parts that a fancy pony may use. But it was hoofed forged the earth pony way, unlike most you see these days that were made with scrap. Eight barrels, reinforced valves, even the arrows are hoof forged.”

Sighing, I looked back down the dark tunnel. “Well, I guess we’re in your care”

More of the tunnel light up when Grime turned on the lap on his helmet. “Good, you will need to remember that, this tunnel is very dangerous for green horns.”

“How dangerous?” Harp asked.

“In most of the normal way.” Grime responded. “But also in ways that I can’t properly explain.”

“That doesn't sound very good.” Harp whispered.

Grime shook his head, “No, no it dose not, but if you do as I say, you will be just fine.”

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_________________________________________________________

Unlike the tunnels I was use too, this one made me feel uneasy. The unfinished state of it, the darkness, the fact that moss was everywhere despite moss should not be rowing here. This was a wild tunnel, like that of the big island. A place we ponies did not belong.

“Now, if you hear anything strange, don’t go off following it. Same if you see or smell anything out of place too.” Grease advised us. “Places like this has a way of confusing the mind, making them see what’s not there. Or, as this is a world of magic, see things you’re not meant to see.”

“What do you mean?” Harp asked.

“Ehhh, I don’t understand it myself, but think of it as a tear in what is normal. It’s like the world we live in has layers, and we can only see the one we live in. But here in this tunnel, some of that layer is torn, and we now have a glimpse into the layer beneath. Because we’re not meant to see it, it’s all blurry, and out of focus to us, and that messes with our heads.” Grease stopped for a moment to look at us. “Now I don’t expect you to understand, but trust me on this. Whatever you see, don’t touch it, just follow me.”

Harp nodded, looking a bit frightened. I on the other hoof bet the old ghoul was simply dilutional, as they tended to be. I hadn’t met many ghouls in my life, but the few I did were all stuck in the past. Though, with how insightful Grease was, I was in no position to stray from following him. Though, it’s more than a fair bet that this otherworldly stuff he talks about is probably just faulty wiring, and not just in his head. I didn’t know much about it, but I do remember hearing somewhere that uninsulated high voltage wires could affect a pony’s heath, long-term exposure could even affect their mind.

From what I could see, it seemed to confirm my suspicion. The power lines that still hung in here were old and rusted in some parts. The protective lining having peeled off on much of it. I also saw one damaged fuse box, and another line where some pony had tried to tap into the power and just left their cables lying around.

I also saw a shadow of a pony looking at me…

Blinking a few times, it disappeared from sight. Shaking my head, I turned my focus back to the other two. I probably needed to take my medication, I was likely going through chill withdraw.

“So, what are the bad times you said this tunnel remembers?” Harp inquired.

The old ghoul was quiet for a moment before sighing. “Well, if I were to start from the beginning, There was one incident where a zebra was found down here. I don’t know the details, big old coverup happened right after, so only we construction ponies knew about it, but it was the first of many delays this tunnel had.”

“A zebra?” Harp gave a quiet gasp. “as in, like a spy?”

“Maybe.” Grease huffed. “Like I said, I don’t know the details, but that was what every pony thought at the time. The anti-zebra propaganda hadn’t gone into full swing yet, so there were just as many ponies that thought it might have been some foolish teenager, and that’s why it was kept quiet. You know, to protect their family and all that.”

“And the other incidents?” I asked.

“Yeah, the other incidents.” Grease said in annoyed tone. “Before the end of the war, this area was prone to accidents. It’s probably because of how deep it is, and that there was work going on nonstop once we got full project funding. Putting a metro station and a sky port in the same spot sounds like a smart idea, but the logistics behind it were huge and damn inconvenient.” The old ghoul stopped for a moment and sighed. “It also didn’t help that Stable-Tec and Solaris chose this area to do a lot of their fighting.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Both companies got deals to work here. The sky port was a big deal, and though Solaris won the contract, Stable-Tec won the contracts to build everything around it. So they started having their own private war, working around the law to discredit the other.”

“Which side were you one, mister Grease?” Harp asked.

“Side? None.” Was his response. “I worked for one of the smaller contractors, and that was all way above our pay grade. Our job was to do all the insulation, or fix the mistakes the big companies were not bothered to do with their own crews. It was funny at first, and lucrative. But as the two companies really started to tear into each other, I saw a few friends get badly hurt.” He stopped and pointed to a dark spot on the wall. Looking closer, It was a black ‘X’ “This was where we lost our first pony, the Forepony. Didn’t even see the loose live wire. How could he when it had been purposefully left just out of sight?” The ghoul shook his head. “Let’s get moving, I’m sure they’re waiting for us.”

“Their, as in they!?” I picked up my pace. “Who’s waiting for us.”

“Shhh!” the ghoul hissed. “Keep your ridicules panties on. I’m not selling you out for Celestias sake, that’d be suicide for me. If I’m going to kill myself, I’m not going to drag two pretty young mares with me.”

I slowed down. “So then, what’s up ahead, more ghouls?”

“If only.” Grease said with a sigh. “Just do as I say missy, and you will be just fine.”

We continued down the tunnel, with only a light buzzing of electricity in the air to mix with the sound of our hoof steps. Every now and then there was another ‘X’ or other markings, sometimes a vase with what looked to be a plastic flower in it. This tunnel also gave me the feeling of being watched, and every now and then I’d see some shadow that should not be there.

We came to what was the end of the tunnel. The doorway had been blocked off by garbage, and old wooden boards had been forcefully propped up against it. Giving a soft kick to it, Grease knocked off a healthy layer of dust from the pile.

“Been how long?” Grease grumbled. “Forty, fifty years?”

“What do you mean?” Harp whispered.

“Last time this door’s been opened.” I began moving the wooden boards off the door. “Past this door is a military tunnel which connects the sky port to a supply depot. Sadly that depot is on the surface, so we have to keep the doors blocked off or risk some nasty critter getting in.” The ghoul paused for a moment, remembering something. “Silly me, you should probably put a gas mask on. Mind you, last time I cracked it open, I remember the air here isn’t all that bad, but better be safe than sorry.”

We looked at each other, then at Grease with a look of annoyance.

“Oh, right.” He pointed to the side, where we could just about see a locker in the dim light. “Before the air went bad, there was still the problem of the air going toxic down here, the downside of using heavy construction machinery underground. So, we had a huge stash of them.”

I opened the locker next to me and was met with a bunch of gas masks as they fell out. They seemed in good condition, but they weren’t any kind of gas mask I’ve seen before. These masks had one wide eye visor instead of two lenses like most had. And instead of being clear, it had a golden bronze shine to it that made nearly impossible to see through. It also had two filters over the normal single one I was used to, which would make changing them out less risky, depending if it had an internal seal or not. The rest of it was a thick black rubber, that still looked strong for its age.

I put the mask to my face, and was amazed how clearly I saw through the slit, even if it gave everything a slight yellow hue. My range of vision was only minorly obstructed, meaning I didn’t have to move my head as much to look around. The top of the mask rested gently under my horn, meaning it was at least partially made with unicorns in mind.

“I’ve never seen gas masks like this before, where did you find them?” I asked as I tightened it against my head to force the seal. A point to note, breathing was smooth with it on. The normal suction feeling most masks gave was only half as bad, including the noise gas masks tend to make. The only drawback was that this mask was more than a bit heavier than others, but not enough to be a problem for me.

“The advantage of living near a military depot.” The ghoul chuckled. “These are advanced gas masks, so a lot more material went into them. One of my friends from the depot told me that they were prototypes, and had been meant to be delivered onto a thunderhead before the bombs dropped. Unfortunately for that thunderhead, that friend happened to owe me a favor, so they were officially ‘misplaced’ in transit.” Showing another grin that gave me too close a look at the inside of a pony's face, he glanced fondly at the collection of masks. “The visors are actually made from a highly impact resistant crystal, and the filters are magically infused so to be twice as effective. Supposedly, you can take out the filters, and attach an air take, meaning you can take that thing underwater.”

I shivered a bit at his suggestion. “I’ll stay on dry land thank you very much.” Putting on the mask, I secured it to my head. “So then, these are super gas masks?”

The ghoul shrugged. “From what I was told, they’re okay. Better than your average gas mask, but not better enough to justify the price. It was something like three or four times the cost of the normal gas mask that were already being made at the time, and after a few runs were made, they were deemed too expensive for anything past their initial limited production run.”

Harp put her mask on. “Wow, everything is… orangey?” Her voice was slightly muffled from under the mask, which also made her look really out of place to me.

“You’ll get used to that.” Greasy chuckled. “It helps sharpen your vision, and keeps you from getting blinded by bright lights.”

“Neat.” harp responded as she secured the mask on.

I secured my mask on as well, making sure that it was on tight. “So, anything else we need to know?”

Grease slowly began to open the door. “Right, don’t go assuming that the mask protects you from radiation like I did. Over two hundred years may have past, but the fallout from the bombs that hit the depot is still strong.” He then scratched his chin. “Oh, right. Some of my friends are still there, the poor bastards. So if you ever half to go through the depot, try not to wake them up.”

“Noted.” I responded. The old ghoul nodded back before opening the door with a rusty squeal. I looked back at harp, her gas mask completely obstructing her face, while the visor reflected a bit of my own image back at me in a golden bronze hue. “Let’s go.” I grunted, pointing through the door. She nodded and followed me into the tunnel beyond, while Greasy stepped through with us, and sealed up the door again.

_________________________________________

The private military tunnel was as overgrown as I had feared, looking a lot like that of the tunnels on the big island, albeit much wider. The tunnel itself was built to fit three train carts, with some extra space on the sides for clearance and maintenance. Scattered all around us now and again was also the remains of numerous previous attempts to reclaim this part of the tunnel. Gnarled vines wrapped over what was left of lookout posts, and discarded armor laid about, heavily corroded beyond repair. Even the tracks for the train carts were damaged, with whole sections of steel cut away, warped, or altogether missing.

“Ms. Vibraphone?” Harp quietly called out, getting closer to me. “Do you, well… feel that?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Just stay close” The uneasy feeling of dread was thick here, oppressive in that it pressed down on me like the weight of a paradise dragon. Movement and bits of rubble skittered around in the corner of my eyes, while long shadows danced around there too. Of course, nothing was ever there when I looked at it directly.

“What wrong with this place.” I asked as I looked over at Greasy. Though, the old ghoul seemed entirely unfazed by all this.

“Quiet,” His gravelly voice was stern, but he was keeping his volume down. “a little further, then we can talk.””

We passed by what was the remains of a home, or maybe it had once been a barracks. The frames of the cots were completely rusted over, and the cloths that once stretched over them were nothing more than a few dusty strips barely clinging to the corroded metal. Even the graffiti had not survived here, with roots, cracks, and water damage making the ancient colorful wall art muted and unreadable.

Something smelled. Not something normal for here, or at least, I hoped it was not normal. There was what I’d come to expect from the surface, the permeating stench of ancient rot and mildew that clawed through the filters. Even with the mask on I could sell some of it like always, but something else came through with it. Something strong and familiar… like oats. Some pony was cooking an apple stew!?

Looking around, I quickly found what the likely culprit was. An old pot on small portable stove that looked like it had sat in this spot since the war bubbled away, still steaming and warm as if it had just been tended to. Trotting over, everything was covered in dust, and cobwebs, the oversized spiders skittering away as I got closer. It all didn’t make sense, but as I looked in, there it was, apple stew with some hearty chunks of apples.

“Hay Cobbler, looks like another hungry pony.” A blue unicorn stallion in military fatigues called out. “Go get lost, this not enough to go around.”

I looked to my side, and sitting next to me was an earth pony in metal armor. I’d seen that style of armor before, as one of the pirates back at the theme park had it on. This mare was wearing power armor. But this suit didn’t have a speck of rust, just burn marks all over. Her helmet was off, revealing the older mare under the armor. Her Toffy coat and yellow main was striking against her dark gray armor, and it all struck me even harder as odd with her sitting right here.

Who I assumed was Cobbler, looked down at me and smiled. “Don’t mind him, here, take some.”

“Really, Cobbler!?” The stallion called out. “Stop giving our food away like that. We can’t save everypony here.” Looking at the stallion a bit closer, he was missing an ear, having only a black stump. He wore a simple uniform, but like the armor Cobbler wore, it was singed all over a stiff looking charred black.

“What do you mean, everypony?” I asked as I looked around the empty… tunnel…

I froze as my eyes gazed across ponies. Dozens, hundreds of ponies even were all around me, crammed inside the tunnel and huddled together. The young, the old, injured and healthy. Military and M.o.P. ponies trotted between the mass of them, seemingly keeping order, but it was hard to tell with the crowd as big as it was.

“What?” Cobbler asked back to me, scrunching up her muzzle. “You must know by now.”

“Know what? What’s going on?” It was... strange. I didn’t see one mirage pony among them, which was just another odd thing. Was Golden purging the deep dwellers too? I honestly wouldn’t put it past the crazy bastard to go that far.

“Oh my, you must have hit your head on your way here.” Cobbler dipped a ladle into the pot, and poured the stew into a metal cup. “Here take some of this, it’s should help calm your nerves.”

I took the cup into my hooves. “Thanks.” I pressed the cup to my lips, and…

*Clank*

Oh, I still had my mask on. “Well this is embarrassing.” Putting the cup down, I reached back to undo one of the straps…

*Wham*

I blinked, and found myself horizontal, on the floor. “What?”

“See, told you that she just needed a good smack!” Greasy spoke.

I got up onto my hooves, brushing the dirt and dust off me, though the cobwebs stuck to my hooves. Looking around, I was back in the tunnel with only Harp and Greasy in sight. The hundreds of ponies had simply vanished, the same as Cobbler and her friend.

“Right, what just happened?” I asked slowly, trying to wrap my mind around all of this.

Harp sighed. “You wandered off on your own, and when I tried to call you back, you didn’t respond. When you were about to take your mask off, mister pipes pushed you over.”

“I told you the tunnels were dangerous.” The ghoul groaned. “This is what happens when you don’t listen to me. So next time you get the idea to go wandering off, don’t.”

“But…” wait, none of that was real? “I smelled stew, and there was this pony in... powered armor, I think. Cobbler was her name, and She was just... here.” Was I just hallucinating all that? How is that possible?

“Sorry to tell you this, but Apple Cobbler died long ago.” Greasy Pipes said with a sigh. “If you saw her, you saw a ghost, nothing more. Now let’s keep going, there's still more tunnel to get through.”

Greasy did not give me any time to respond, simply trotting further down the tunnel without waiting. I tried to race after him, but felt a tug on my wing. Harp had locked her wing with my own, forcing me to stop.

“Let’s take it easy, okay?” Harp sounded calm and sincere, but she was shaking like leaves in the wind. It made me feel a little ashamed by how she was putting on a brave face while here I was, losing my damn mind.... again. I let Harp take the lead, but held her close. She needed me, and I was not going to fail her a second time.

As we got further through it, the tunnel turned into a graveyard. The remains of long burned out candles, dead flowers, and other offerings to the dead were littered all over the place. It all started to look like a shrine, like some morbid religion to the dead.

More movement from the corner of my vision, but this time it didn’t go away when I looked at it. This… pony looked like it was only skin and bones, it even had a few melted candles on its head. Harp gave off a quiet whimper, and I looked to see what had spooked her. Again, it was another pony like the first with the candles.

“What are they?” I asked Greasy.

“Feral Ghouls.” He said in a matter-o-fact way. “Don’t worry. My friends and I chained them to the floor a long time ago, so they won’t hurt you. We didn’t have it in us to kill them, and I still don’t. Now, all they do is stare at passersby. Good at scaring the shit out of normal ponies, and a good reason of why nopony’s come looking for that entrance to the tunnel back there.”

“And the candles?” Harp asked this time.

The old ghoul sighed. “Remembering the ones, we lost. Giving comfort to the others forgotten.”

Harp loosened her grip on me only ever so slightly. “Where are your friends now, Mr. Pipes?”

“It’s been what, over two hundred years?” He stopped for a moment. “A lot can happen in that time. I’m the only one who wanted to wait for the good times to return. You can say, I wanted to remind ponies that things can still get better. That at one time, we didn’t really know what the true cost of war truly was. I want to see a day where all ponies understand what it took too long for us to learn.”

Harp seemed to calm down, her shaking subsiding a bit. “That sounds lovely. I hope it happens soon.”

The ghoul snorted, which like most ghoul sounds, didn’t sound right. “I doubt it, but I still hold out hope.”

With our quick and morbid break finished, we continued further in. The tunnel this far in was even more cluttered by feral ghouls and trinkets for the dead, making the tunnel now only have one set of train tracks to follow. It made the large tunnel seam both more cramped, yet bigger and full of energy. It was still creepy as all fuck, and the shadows kept messing with me in the corner of my vision.

It all just felt... tragic. Like we this place was full of sorrowful emotions, desperation, anger, and hopelessness. It was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Holding onto Harp, she seemed to help keep me grounded here, reminding what was real, what my mission was.

Greasy Pipes stopped at a large metal door, and in front of it, stood a rusty suit of power armor. It was holding two gatling guns, one on each side. Hanging off the power armors neck was a shit ton of dog tags, more than I could simply count. It all looked so very sad.

“What’s power armor doing here?” I asked, feeling uneasy about it. “What’s with the tags?”

Greasy sighed, and trotted passed it. “I rather not talk about it. Let’s just say a good mare had to make a very hard decision, and she now rests there.” He trotted over to the door control switch, which had the skeleton of a unicorn in a old military uniform sitting in front of it. “Beyond here is Polynices Station, and so this will be as far as I go. So good luck ladies.”

Harp let me go and trotted over to the armor. “It’s like it’s guarding the door”

“Cobbler probably was.” I responded. “From what I can recall, lots of soldiers had to keep ponies from flooding into the station. They gave their lives blocking the many entrances.”

I heard a groan from Greasy as he pulled the switch. The old door made a loud grinding noise as it slowly opened just slightly before stopping cold only an inch or so open. “Shit, looks like the wires need adjusting, just give me a moment”

Trotting up to the monument, I placed a hoof on the old soldier's armor. It’s old, empty eyes looked sad, and I give it a little nod in respect.

“Miss, I’ll have to ask you to step back.” The power armors head turned to me, and I nearly jumped right out of my skin. “The station is already over max capacity, we can’t let anyone else in.”

“FUCK YOU!” some pony behind me yelled as an empty can flew over or heads. Looking back, there was a crowed of ponied, practically forming a solid wall of them. “Let us in! We’re going to die down here, don’t you get that!?”

“At least let my foals in!” another pony called out. All the ponies looked ragged, and a bit burnt. Many looked so sick that they could die at any moment.

“My sister is a manager here, I’m sure she left some space for me!” A third cried out before she broke into a coughing fit. I started to recognize the symptoms, I see it all the time with the drunk idiots who wander through the checkpoints to the surface. Toxin poisoning, the air here must be slowly turning toxic, meaning that all these ponies were slowly dying.

““Will you be quiet!” Apple Cobbler stomped her foot, shaking the tunnel a little. “Were all stuck down here, and causing a ruckus will not solve anything. We must work together to make this situation work. So please understand that when I say there is no more room inside, that includes room for us as well.” Her head turned back to me. “You and your friend need to stay back, so please just do as we say.”

I looked behind me to see Harp in shock. “What… What!?”

“So, you see it too?” I asked, and Harp nodded.

“Then just stay with me, and keep your mask on.” I looked back at the crowed. A few of them had their mouths covered, but it was not going to be enough to save them. No, that’s wrong, there were already far beyond saving.

“Miss Apple Cobbler.” I spoke up. “I’m sorry, but we have to go, so please let us pass.”

“I can’t do that.” The motors on her guns revved up, and the barrels started to spin around. “Once those doors are open, every pony is going to rush inside. If that happens, then the whole station is doomed, and this will all have been for nothing. Now do as I say, and get back behind the line.”

I placed my hoof back onto her armor. “It’s okay, you’ve done your duty, soldier.” The feeling of cold wrapped around my neck, then traveled through my body, and out through my hoof. It felt strange, but also felt right. “I’ll take it from here. You can move on now.”

“I… I see. If you say so, ma’am.” Cobbler turn her head back to the crowed, and sighed. “Fine, open the door, but close it behind you.” I looked away, but she cleared her throat and pulled my attention back for another moment. “One last thing, ma’am?” I looked back as she spoke, finding her eyes only looking back at the crowd. “Make sure this wasn’t all for nothing.”

Everything seemed to fade away. Cobblers armor quickly being covered in rust, and the crowd of ponies turned to nothing but shadows that they themselves sank back into the dark of nothingness. I don’t know what happened, but the feeling of depression turned to that of a tense anticipation.

“What the fuck are you two standing around!?” Greasy Pipes yelled at us, his hoof on the doors switch.

“Just open the door will you.” I tugged Harp along as we joined Greasy Pipes. “Hay, do you have two bits I can borrow?”

The ghoul raised what was left of his eyebrow, and shrugged. “Ya, but only two.” He digged into a pocket and pulled out two bits, tossing them to me.

“Thanks.” Taking the two bits, I trotted back over to the power armor, and placed the bits over its eyes. The sound of the door opening hit my ears as I felt the air pressure change. At first the air rushed out of the door, but then it went in reverse, rushing to it. Quickly trotting to the others, it seemed like the shadows were moving to the door, like they were ponies stampeding to salvation far too late.

“Alright ladies,” Greasy gave us a nod. “like I said before, this is where we part. I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thank you, Greasy Pipes.” Harp sniffled “We could not have gotten this far without you.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little. “Take care of yourself you old stallion, and let’s hope the good times return soon.”

We both stepped through the doorway, and the doors began to close. The smell of apples hit my nose, forcing me to look back. Next to the rusted set of power armor, was a bright earth pony mare. Next to her was a black robed pony stretching out it’s bony hoof, it’s identity cloaked by it’s dark hood. Apple Cobbler dropped two bits into Charon’s hoof, and then the two seemed to fade away as the closing door obscured them from sight.

Once the air had settled, I took a deep breath. “Right, If I have to deal with anymore dead ponies, it’s too soon.” The cold feeling around my neck had not gone way, it was concerning, but not enough to let Harp in on the problem, She had enough to worry about as it was.

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Footnote:

New perk added: Grim Reaper's Sprint – Any kill in S.A.T.S. will recharge your T.P. Death becomes you!