I clutched James's waist as we drove into the dark zone. The lights were out behind us, but the weapon lights and portable illumination made things visible in the containment area. As we passed the threshold into the deep gloom beyond, however, my ARHUD began using low-light image enhancement. Thanks to the local mesh network, the cameras of every ARHUD in our group contributed to the overall effect, and I could see slightly better after a few seconds.

The tunnel was crawling with creatures of various shapes and varieties. Keeping one hoof around James's waist, I continued to lean out to the side, firing and reloading as he swerved around bigger creatures. Tentacles and teeth reached for us, met with powerful blasts of magic-enhanced buckshot.

"Be careful!" James's voice came in my ARHUD. "Don't fall off!"

"Don't worry, I've got a good grip," I replied, the wind from our speed blowing my mane behind me. Looking ahead of us, I saw a thick collection of dangerous-looking giant fungi. There was no doubt they were aware of our presence, too, as their tentacles waved hungrily towards us. "James?"

"I see it. I don't see a way around, though."

"Go through it," I said.

"Those mushroom things look nasty. I'm not liking the tendrils. Or the mouths."

"Trust me." I switched to an open channel. "All personnel, follow our lead! Single file!" I switched back to our little team channel. "Go faster, James. I'll protect us. Stay right behind us, Mia."

"I'm practically sniffing your fluffy little tail, boss lady."

"Good. Punch it, James!"

"We'll wreck on that. We need to stop!"

"I can handle it, but we need to be going fast enough or we'll get stuck. Are you gonna trust me or not?"

He hesitated a moment, then growled and twisted the throttle. The engine rapidly increased in pitch. We were doing at least sixty miles an hour as the overgrown patch approached.

"If you're gonna do something, now is the time!" James shouted. Just as we were about to slam into the eager vegetation, I leaned forward and projected a wide high energy magical forcefield in front of our ATV.

Plants and monsters blasted to each side as we plowed through, the barrier shearing them off and knocking them away like a runaway bulldozer. The ride got bumpier as we ran over bits of meat and vegetation, then we were through and continuing down the tunnel. Behind us, Mia followed in our tracks, with a long line of other vehicles on her tail.

"Whew." I sank back momentarily. Projecting that field had been a lot of effort, even if it was only for a brief time. I was pretty drained.

"Whooo! Good job, Eris!" James yelled, pumping a fist in the air.

"Thanks." I leaned back around him, shotgun at the ready. I immediately saw dark objects flying towards us. "Incoming airborne!" I shouted over the general channel.

Heavy gunfire sent hundreds of purple streaks racing out to meet the attacking flyers as we continued down the tunnel. The invading swarm thinned, but some still came towards us despite the frantic gunfire. I fired again and again, wildly swinging the shotgun around with my forehoof and telekinesis.

Then they were upon us. I had an unpleasant vision of a disk with a mouth like a sea lamprey, compound eyes, and a circular arrangement of insectile legs. The little bastards buzzed and hovered, matching speeds with us and closing in. On the backs of several of the ATVs, the passengers switched to plasma blades, swatting the hideous creatures in mid-air and defending their drivers. Gunplay was becoming increasingly difficult, and I did not possess a plasma blade as they were a very limited quantity item. My magic still hadn't recovered from the barrier I used, either. Keeping the "bugs" off James to the best of my ability by bashing them with the shotgun or shooting them when possible, I suddenly remembered Mia was riding alone behind us. I looked back and saw she was driving with one hand, a pistol in the other.

"Mia, are you okay?" I asked, pausing to eliminate a hovering attacker. I reloaded as fast as I could, my telekinetic field flying shells from my belt to my shotgun.

"Yeah, it seems most of them are going for you guys since you're in the front." She fired a shot, splattering a bug in midair. "I also have to be careful how I shoot so I don't hit you by accident!" She swung her pistol and smacked one that had decided to pause right in front of her nose. It veered sideways and hit the ground, instantly being run over by another ATV that looked like a rolling laser light show with the guy waving a plasma blade on the back.

Shooting the bugs was difficult, but their tendency to hover before striking coupled with my weapon laser and ARHUD reticle was certainly helping. "Yeah, this is really-EEEK!" I squealed, whacking wildly behind my head to dislodge the icky feet I felt scrabbling there. The little bastard fell on the tunnel floor, and Mia ran it over with a crunch audible over the screaming motors. "Good riddance," I growled, and looked around for more. I noticed the combat had subsided, apparently we had dealt severe damage to the swarm, and I could see only a few stragglers. A few more swings of plasma blades here and there took care of them, and we were in the clear. I could hear plasma blades turning off around us, then suddenly i heard a solid thud on the front of our ATV.

"Gah! Eris, help!" James shouted as the vehicle began jerking side to side.

"What the hay?" I leaned forward around him, and there was some awful furry dog-thing with centipede legs and fish eyes trying to crawl up the front of the ATV. It had a good grip on the bars, and was apparently trying to flip us by yanking on them. James was effectively locked in a dangerous tug-of-war with the ugly creature.

I leaned far out around him and one-hoofedly fired the shotgun right into its gaping, tentacle-filled mouth, blowing its head into mist and fragments. There was a brief additional spray of guts and slime as the wheels dragged the corpse underneath and crushed it to a pulp.

"Hasta la vista, baby," I said, feeling rather bad ass.

"I got a nice view when you leaned out like that," Mia cooed cheerfully in our private team sub channel. "Ass a la vista, baby."

"Mia, stop!" I was glad it was only the three of us in this particular conversation.

"I'm jealous of you, Mia," James added. "I can't see anything but monsters up here. Does the air rushing by make her tail lift?"

"It sure does. You have no idea how good her little pony butt looks in sheer pantyhose."

"Both of you stop! Oh my gosh!"

"I'm sorry Eris honey, all this excitement kind of got me going. You can spank me afterwards, if you want," Mia suggested helpfully.

"I'll do it if you don't want to, Eris," James offered. "She deserves it, talking about your sexy rear end like that. She should have more respect for her superiors."

"Or you could both do it," Mia added, thoughtfully. "Bend me over and take turns paddling me like a naughty schoolgirl."

"I can't even believe what I'm hearing," I groaned. "What is it with you guys?"

"It's just a bit of- Shit!" Mia suddenly exclaimed.

"What?"

"Look at the floor, Eris! There's a big ass hole! Stop the convoy!"

"Oh, crap! Everypony, halt!" I called out on the general channel. The sound of ATVs screeching to a stop filled the air, and then we fetched up at an idle, the others pulling onto a line with us.

Mia giggled a little.

"What now?" I asked.

"Big shit ass hole," Mia said, chuckling. "An ass hole big enough to drive a convoy into!"

Ignoring her, I frowned at the dark area just ahead. A number of the floor grates had apparently fallen in, leaving a deep chasm stretching the width of the tunnel. "Well, crap. Now what?"

James touched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, there's no way to jump it, but you notice how the walls are kind of curved? It's like being inside a pipe, here. I think maybe if we took it at the right angle and gave it some gas, we could wall ride past the hole."

"Hmm, I'll give it a try," Mia said, moving up alongside us.

"Hold on a sec, Mia. We should check what's in that hole first," I suggested. "I'd hate to see you ride up there and get snatched off and eaten alive while we all watched in horror."

Mia sighed heavily, but she followed my instructions. "Yeah, sure. Have at it, then." She gestured towards the hole dismissively.

"Hang on," James said. He got off our ATV and picked up a short piece of pipe refuse from the floor, tossing it towards the wall. It clanked down near the broken grates, then something whipped up out of the ditch, snatched it off the cement, and pulled it down into the pit while we all watched in horror. Loud crunching sounds arose, then silence Several seconds later there was a disgusting fart noise, and the piece of pipe came flying back out with a clatter, bent into a U shape.

"Well, that answers that question," James commented blandly. "Anyone in here got some grenades or something?"

"Yeah, I got some," one of the security ponies said, stepping forward.

"Can you chuck a few in there for McSnatchy to juggle?"

"Caaaaan do!" He flung two grenades into the air, then turned and bucked them towards the hole with astonishing precision. Sure enough, the tentacle snatched them down again, followed almost instantly by a muffled explosion. Chunks of green slime flew up and splattered against the high ceiling.

"Well, that looked promising," James said. He picked up another piece of debris and chucked it towards the hole. It landed on the edge and stayed there. "Even more promising."

"Let's take a closer look," I suggested.

"I'll do it for you," the grenade pony said. He unfurled his wings and took to the air, peeking into the gap without nearing it. "Pretty sure whatever was in there is dead now," he called down after a few moments. "At the very least, it's quite unhealthy and in a good number of small pieces."

I hadn't realized he was a Pegasus until he flew, but I wasn't going to argue with such convenience. "Thank you, good work," I said to him with a wave of my hoof. "You ready for this, Mia?"

"Yeah, I sure am," Mia stated. "Oh, and thanks for probably saving my ass, Eris. I don't think it would have fared as well as that pipe."

"You're not getting out of your spanking that easily," I replied. "Now be careful, I don't want to be trying to dig you out of that hole."

"Aye, boss lady." Mia gunned her engine, swinging the ATV around so she could hit the wall at an angle. "Here goes!"

She barreled towards the side of the tunnel, leaving the floor and describing a long arc along the wall over the dropoff. Arriving on the other side, she slid to a stop and waved. "Piece of cake, come on over!"" her voice said in our ARHUDS.

Several minutes of revving engines and whooping yells later, the last of our ATVS had safely bridged the gap.

James positioned us back at the front of the pack. "Onward!" I shouted, assuming my signature one-hoofed shotgun pose.

"To infinity and beyond?" James asked innocently.

"Just drive, you goon," I said, giving his waist a squeeze. "And try not to kill us, please."

"I'll try to resist the temptation, Boss." He revved the engine and we took off again, tires squealing.
"We're almost there," I announced after a short distance, blasting a couple of flying scaly tacos with eyes out of the air. I'd given up even trying to figure out what these monsters were anymore. There were too many of them, and most of them seemed to have the same "see something, try to bite it" response. Better to shoot first and wonder about it afterwards. "Two mike till arrival," I reported. Two squids, one mushroom, three dog-sized rats, and a couple more tacos later, we approached a T-junction and slowed to a stop.

"Should be right around here," I said. The tunnel looked deserted, which in itself worried me.

"Why is it so quiet in here?" James asked apprehensively.

"And that smell," I added. "What is it?"

"Ozone," Mia replied, sniffing the air. "A byproduct of electrical discharge. Perhaps from the broken power conduit?"

"Speaking of which, where is the power conduit?" I asked. "The ARHUD map shows it as being right here."

"Hundred yard margin of error on the power condui-" James began, then the reflection of a massive arc discharge from the intersecting tunnel interrupted him.

Our ARHUDs darkened from the brilliant light. "Guess we found the spot," I said dryly.

"The power is off in the primary." James pointed at a large conduit just below the floor grates. "That must be the auxiliary taking damage now. We have to hurry, or we're screwed!"

"That kind of an arc blast is deadly in proximity," Mia added. "The heat alone can liquify our flesh. Try to stay back from it."

We crept forwards at a much lower speed now. As we approached the intermittent flickering and occasional guttering flare from the adjoining tunnel, we finally got a glimpse of exactly what was causing all the trouble.

Near the mouth of the tunnel was a monstrous worm at least fifteen feet in diameter, armored and revolting. The head looked like a mining drill. Small discharges of electricity flowed over its body, leaping between segments. The creature did not appear to notice us immediately, instead attacking the auxiliary conduit with the spinning bits of its drill head. Sparks flew, and the monster paused to siphon a massive pulsating plasma discharge.

"It's feeding off the electricity," I gasped. "It must have moved to the auxiliary after power was cut to the primary."

"If we don't do something soon, it's gonna sever this conduit too, then it'll be a monster mash in the Menagerie," Mia warned. "Got any plans, Boss?"

Crap. Now everyone is looking at me. I looked at the worm. It looked back at me.

"PHRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" it blasted, sounding like an air raid siren. Even the ARHUDs couldn't deaden THAT sound.

I was out of ideas, and the awful noise had disoriented me. "SHOOT IT!" I shouted, firing my shotgun in what felt like a feeble effort to injure the huge creature.

Glowing bullets streaked forward from our raid party, many ricocheting off the metallic armor and flying away down the tunnel.

It shifted its massive bulk toward us with an ugly hiss, then it opened its mouth and belched a massive plasma ball in our direction.

"Ball lightning!" I screamed. "Take cover! Take cover!"

James twisted in his seat and grabbed me with both his hands, picking me up and hurling me roughly off the vehicle and onto the ground, where I lay on my back, stunned. When he then leapt on top of me, it knocked all the air out of my lungs. I gasped and choked into his chest as he straddled me and covered me with his body.

I had the vaguest impression of Mia's ATV roaring past, and then the world shattered into deafening noise and light and pain.