Whatever the gun mounted up on the roof was, it was loud, even through the armor plating and the ARHUD protection. I could feel the vibration of the vehicle as our gunner engaged targets. I must have looked horrible, because the guy across from me leaned forward and tapped his hand on my hooves.

"It's allright ma'am, it's like this every time. Nothing to be concerned about."

"Th-thank you," I squeezed out, jumping every time the guns fired again.

"Nearby creatures get up and make a go at our convoy sometimes. Most have figured out by now it's a bad idea, but not all of them are particularly bright. Which is probably a good thing, considering."

"Can they get us in here?"

"Not likely. And if it gets really dangerous, we have a shield crystal up front." He pointed at the unicorn mare sitting next to the driver. She was relaxed in her seat despite the sporadic firefight, almost appearing asleep.

"What's she doing? She looks awfully comfortable."

"That crystal is linked to her magical barrier ability. If we come under heavy attack, she will raise a shield around us. She's concentrating right now, that crystal gives her the ability to sense threats farther out around the vehicle. All the trucks here have a unicorn sitting up front, didn't they tell you?"

"i don't think so, or maybe I forgot," I grinned, sheepishly. "They kind of threw a lot at us at once, ah, what's your name?"

"Ah, sorry, how rude of me," my new friend said. "I'm James, it's a rare pleasure to meet you."

I grinned wider, reaching out my hoof to shake his hand. "Eris," I said, blushing a little as I realized he already knew my name since he'd called me by it when he took my bag back at the dock. The embarrassed smile dropped off my face as the armored truck rocked to the side and I was tossed up and down in my harness. "Eeek!" I squealed. The involuntarily shrill noise embarrassed me even further.

James hummed part of the Indiana Jones theme. "Dun dah dun dun, dun dan duuun. Guess we ran something over," he said with a wink after the lurching motion died down. "Or maybe someone? Never know what kind of weird crap is still hanging out here in the trees. Heh heh. Splat, eh?"

Forcing a sickly smile on my face, I tried not to think about slimy chunks dripping off the hardened tires. "Uh, what if the tires get punctured...?"

"Not to worry. Got some big ass run-flats in these babies. Just relax and enjoy the ride. We should be almost there, by now."

I gulped and nodded jerkily, trying to appear calm but sweating despite the cool air circulating in the passenger cabin. Both my hooves clung to the straps across my chest in a close-range telekinetic death grip. I was glad I didn't have fingers or they would have been white.

“By the way,” James added casually. “Your ARHUD can tie into the camera feeds from outside if you want to see what's going on.”

I fiddled with my controls. “How do I work that?” I asked, finally.

“You just- oh hey, we've arrived.”

I craned my neck see out the small, thick armored windows. “I can't see anything. Oh wait, there's a fence.”

“Yeah we're headed into the compound. Be careful though, even with those fences, this area still isn't a place to stroll around, especially at night.”

“So no picnics?” I asked.

He wagged a finger at me. “Now you're just being silly, young lady.”

“What can I say, I'm a silly filly.” I tried to smile as I watched the incredibly tall steel reinforced chain link gates clang shut behind our convoy, but I felt like I'd just entered a prison stockade, and I'm pretty sure my face betrayed me. I'm not very good at faking my emotions.

“All right everyone, we'll be disembarking momentarily, make sure you don't lose your belongings,” the unicorn in front said, her voice echoing in our ARHUDs.

“I can take that.” James reached out his hand.

“It's fine I've got it,” I said, hovering my bag in the air with my magic.

“I insist,” he said, snatching it out of the air. “I can't allow a lady to carry such things in my presence.”

I tugged the bag. “I'd rather have you with both hands free to use your rifle if need be.”

He released my bag reluctantly. “You have a point.”

“Don't worry. I take full responsibility for turning down your kind act of chivalry.”

We both turned as the door clanked open, then hissed to the ground with a thud.

A blast of hot, humid air entered immediately, overwhelming the air conditioning and making me feel like I'd just entered a sauna.

“Wait here a moment.” James jumped up and scrambled down the stairs ahead of me, his ARHUD darkening into sunglasses as the light hit his face.

I leaned forward to watch, and mine darkened as well. James visually scanned the area, and began talking with the nearby security personnel.

I took the opportunity to look around. It seemed we were parked at the base of a hill or maybe a mountain, since it seemed to reach up rather steeply. Looking back the way we had come, the blacktop road snaked back through the jungle and disappeared into the trees. We sat nestled in an indentation, sheer rock walls reaching up behind and around to form a defensible gully. Across the entrance of this, the massive fence had been erected. From where I sat, I could see a sign attached to the metal:

As I watched, a buzzer sounded briefly and a beacon came on below the sign. Making a mental note not to ever touch the fence, I sat back in the sweltering heat and waited for James to return.

Soon he turned back in my direction. “Okay Eris, we're good to go. Come on.”

He waited for me to make my way down the steps, then led me alongside the parked convoy to a large door leading into the rock wall at the base of the cliff. As we walked, security personnel and scientists were sorting belongings and talking to each other. Everyone carried weapons. I glanced reflexively down at the pistol on my hip, issued to me by ProteC. Yep, still there. I felt safer around James though. Even with guns and magic, nothing makes up for having another pon- er, person, around to keep you company.

As we approached, I looked up the cliff face. "Uh, James, what keeps monsters from dropping down the cliff face on us?"

James laughed. "Well, there's another fence across the top up there. Quite a few have ended up roasted on it. A couple have made it through, and when we came out in the morning, it was pretty much wet cleanup on aisle 3."

"Nothing with wings?"

"We get a few of those, but see that thing over there?" he pointed at a tower with a strangely cylindrical dome and gun assembly on it. "The C-RAM makes short work of them."

"Seems a bit quiet here right now."

"They mostly come at night. Want to scan your badge, missy?"

I swung my wristband towards the door panel, and it lit up green. "Additional personnel detected, please sca-"

James swung his arm through the hologram too, and the voice cut off. The massive door unlocked with a heavy thud, and hummed open on hydraulics. "Entry granted, Eris Sky and James Ruttege." He quickly stepped through the door ahead of me, and I could see he was visually checking the area. Satisfied, he nodded and continued in, my hooves close on the heels of his heavy boots.

The artificial lighting inside the next room was bright and my ARHUD went transparent immediately upon entry, but it still took my eyes a moment to adjust after the brilliant sun outside. I turned briefly as the door shut behind us, and noted the reinforced metal beams sliding into the wall. I doubt anything would be coming through that door unbidden.

Or getting out, I thought to myself, suppressing a shudder. Of course I had clearance, so I could still get out. If there is power. "Okay that's enough mind, stop trying to freak me out," I whispered.

"Huh?" James asked.

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud."

"Oh. Well, here is where we keep a few smaller vehicles." He waved his arm at some small vehicles stashed around the large entryway. There were ATVs and some other things that looked like motorcycles with big fans attached.

"What are those?" I asked.

"Hoverbikes. ProteC always kept this stuff here for emergencies, most of it has been in place since long before the Gate event. Trust me though, you don't want to rush through that jungle all exposed now. It's asking for a brutal death. The hoverbikes used to be pretty safe, they'd buzz you along the roads or just over the treetops, if you wanted. Now, there's some nasty things that'll happily snatch you right out of the air and ruin your day."

I shuddered, but even so my curiosity was aroused.

"Over there is the freight elevator," he continued, pointing at a large horizontal door, heavy and foreboding. "Mostly we use it for taking, ah, samples, to the lower levels. And this stairwell is where we go in."

He stopped in front of a smaller personnel door, and we did the bracelet waving thing again. There was the small hiss of escaping pressure, and then behind the door was the promised stairwell, a long flight with metal railings, leading down into the subterranean depths, lit from above with non-glaring tubes. The feeling of being underground really began here, the tunnel seemed to absorb vibration and sound, like deep caves do.

"Ohh," I gasped, the enormity of just how different this was from Canterlot finally hitting home as I stood at the entrance to the bowels of the mountain. "Oh, my."

"I know, right? Welcome to your new home," James said.

I managed a lopsided smile. "Yeah. Good thing I'm not claustrophobic."

"Not that it would matter if you were," James said ominously. "It's getting dark outside soon. We don't travel at night, it's too dangerous."

I said nothing, but my eyes must have betrayed my thoughts, because he gave me a concerned look. "Sorry, that didn't come out right. You'll be okay, it's not so bad once you get to the lower levels."

I nodded, and together we entered the place that would forever change my life.