Two hundred years, and the first person who comes through my door is a smart-ass.

Alone I walked down the lower steel halls of the bunker with my jumpsuit securely wrapped around my form, and my toolbox balancing on my back. I had gotten reports of some pipes bursting from too much pressure down here, so I had volunteered to fix them. It was generally a unicorn's job, but it was my cutiemark. I fixed things.

And I liked it, too. Even in my free time, I'd find myself fixing a busted radio, fried pipbucks, and sometimes, even a busted laser rifle or suit of power armor that was sent to maintenance for repairs.

I couldn't help myself. It was in my nature to fix what was broken.

Three unicorns were observing a pipe that had been shut off, due to a puncture that had come from the inside. Two were mares, and one was a stallion. They all looked over as I approached, then quickly turned away and walked from the scene as I approached, going to another pipe.

Sigh... Damn it... No friends... again.

The unicorns were too scared of us earth ponies, and the earth ponies thought I was too weak, therefore leaving me stuck... alone...

I grudgingly set my toolbox down and opened the case, before examining the busted pipe before me.

"Hm..." I rubbed my chin, frowning. "Lovely... Gotta call in a new F.P..." Looking at the size and width, I'd say it was a model 6.

"Um... excuse me...?" I heard the soft, gentle voice of a mare call out, and I turned to my left to see one of the unicorn mares standing before me, smiling. Something I wasn't used to from unicorn or earth pony.

She had a white coat and a dark blue mane and tail. Her bangs hung over her indigo eyes, curling upwards a little. Her jumpsuit was covered in oil and grease, but that was to be expected with this line of work. Mine was no better.

"Uh... hey." I said awkwardly. Why was one of them talking to me now? "Something I can help you with?"

I noticed her friends were staring silently at the two of us in the background with worried looks.

"Actually..." She nodded to the busted pipe between us. "I was hoping there was anything I could help you with."

I looked at the pipe, then at her. "Uh... yeah! Sure!"

She studied the damage on the pipe. "New forged pipe might be in order."

"I was thinking the same thing." I said, staring at the damage flatly.

"M-6?"

I nodded. "Looks like it." With a smirk, I looked over at her. "You sure know your stuff."

"Same goes for you." She returned the look I gave her with a glance. "It's not uncommon for a unicorn here to know about maintenance hocus pokum, but an earth pony such as yourself?" She turned to face my completely, and her lips curled into a pleased smile. "That's a first. Usually, you're all scribing or going out on the surface."

I shrugged and sighed. "Well... the other earth ponies kinda make fun of me because of my smaller build... Not strong enough to be like them, I guess."

She regarded my body for a few seconds before returning to the pipe. "You have a feminine side to you. Definitely not a bad thing. Certainly doesn't make you weak. I see muscle. I kinda like it, actually. Not too buff. Too much muscle is just..." She gritted her teeth. "Eh..."

Her horn lit up in a white haze, and that same white aura wrapped around the pipe. It detached from the rest of the structure shortly after.

I didn't really know how I felt about that whole feminine comment...

"What's your name?"

"Charger. And yours?"

She looked over and smiled as she reached out a hoof. "Snow Star." We shook hooves and started to walk back to the upper levels together, to which she resumed. "I'm gonna get a replacement fitted to the right size. Hopefully this'll be the last of the busted pipes for a while... Noticed we've been getting them a lot more lately..."

I stared ahead at the empty space across from me, where Petiole was sitting before he locked himself away in the cab. We were back on the move, but the trip was quiet, save for the shrieks of the wheels on the tracks outside. We were moving a lot slower now that we were pushing a minecart with us. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten us stuck out here. I really didn't want to walk in the dark with those things out there... and who knows what else...

Fluky tapped me on the shoulder, causing me to snap back into reality.

"Hm?" I looked down at her as she sat beside me, holding a White Grape Sparkle Cola.

"Can I have it?" She asked with a hopeful smile, looking into my eyes.

"Knock yourself out, kid." I nodded, before looking back ahead at the nothing.

"What's wrong?" She asked after the bottle hissed upon the cap being twisted off the neck. She slipped said cap into the pouch on my barding.

"Nothing." I shook my head. "Just... thinking about stuff." I blinked and looked back at her, offering a smile. The way she looked at me told me it was the most unconvincing smile I had to offer. It certainly felt unconvincing...

"Alright..." She muttered. I could tell she didn't believe me, but she wasn't going to push. "Well... where are we going?"

"Petiole is getting a gun for me, and some healing potions for everyone else."

"Oh..." She looked around at our surroundings, confused. "Are we still in the stable?"

I nodded with a somber look. "Unfortunately."

"What happened to your hoof?" She stared down at it and poked where metal met flesh, to which I groaned.

"No touching." My brows knitted as I stared her down. It was still touchy, and the Med-x was starting to wear off...

She took her hoof away quickly and looked down. "Sorry..."

I sighed and shook my head. "Lost it from the monster we were fighting earlier..." I rubbed my fore nervously, turning my head to face away from her. I didn't want to think about it... About what it was doing to me... Goddess', I could still taste it on my tongue...

Petiole's voice spoke over the intercom, which I found myself thankful for. It was a decent distraction from the dangerous thoughts in my head. Not entirely, but... for the time being, it was.

"I'm dropping you off, Charger. Fluky, you can go with him if you want."

I looked up at the speaker. "Why?"

"I promised food, medical, guns, and ammo. You'll get the food, and I'll get the rest. Take to your heart's content. Whatever isn't being taken with us is going down in flames within the next hour. Two, tops." The tram came to a stop at an isolated station, and the doors slid open.

"The route there should be safe. Just... don't eat any lemons. They're... temperamental... Watermelons, too."

"Sweet Celestia, what have you been doing to the food?"

"Mistakes." He answered. "Now move. Clock is ticking."

I got up, wincing from the pain.

"I'll come with you." Fluky said, hopping off the seat and downing the rest of her soda.

We disembarked, and soon enough, the tram doors slid shut, before the vehicle continued its course.

The station was quiet. There were no machines or monsters. Just the humming of the lights overhead, which gave the occasional crackle that resembled they were going out soon. This station was public, but there was no one here, thankfully. I didn't have to fight.

Fluky and I looked at each other, and then at the escalator ahead. I started forward, and she followed.

"So, who's the guy on the train?" She asked.

"His name is Arum Petiole. He's the last known survivor of 32." I paused briefly, then added as we reached the top step. "Well... kind of. He's a ghoul."

"Oh, I know about them! Kinda ugly, but all the ones I've met were really nice!" She beamed up at me.

"Well, wipe the stars from your eyes. This ghoul isn't so nice. And pray he never sees another one of your nice ghouls... He seems to have a personal vendetta against them."

That smile of hers died in an instant.

We made our way across the tiled hall and past the turnstyles, before I pressed my hoof against the panel beside the door before us. It folded in on itself in three's, then parted ways to reveal a flickering corridor, which went down quite a ways away. Each door had a sign above it.

"I'll... stick with you..." Fluky's ears folded back as she stared down the corridor. "This place already gives me the creeps..."

"You and me both..." I muttered before stepping in. Petiole said this place should safe, but I still didn't want to let my guard down. I didn't want another... tentacle incident taking place...

I shuddered at the thought and looked down at Fluky to see she was staring up at me in confusion.

"Sorry. Just... thinking too much..." I looked to the sign for the first door on the left. It read, 'Apples.' I looked back to Fluky. "Do you have anymore of those needles, by any chance? My leg is aching..."

She shook her head with remorse. "Sorry, Robutt... When I woke up in the cart, they were gone."

I sighed and hung my head down. Of course they were...

I turned and opened the door beside me, only to reveal several apple trees stored within. A variety of different apples were hanging off the branches, and I caught myself grinning.

"Jackpot..."

I stepped inside, checking all corners of the large room as I did. Okay, good... It wasn't a trap.

I stopped at one of the trees and reached up for a green apple, plucking it off the branch. I gave it a good whiff. Didn't smell funny...

I chomped down on it, and my eyes grew wide.

This...

Was...

THE BEST DAMN APPLE I'VE EVER TASTED!

I barely gave myself time to chew as I kept biting into it, scarfing it down. It was so sweet! So sour! So awesome!

I don't know what experiments 32 was running on the apples, but they opened the gates to the everafter with this discovery!

"Floofy!" I turned around, smiling with chewed up apple in my mouth. She recoiled in disgust at my expression, and her ears folded back. I didn't care how I looked. These were perfect! "Graf some affles! Graf as many as ya can!" I started chewing, until I was able to swallow. I removed the seeds from the core and put them in my pouch. I definitely wanted to grow these later if we found a nice, quiet spot to call home.

I went back for more, stocking the rest of my pouch full of the apples. I took different varieties as well. Diversity was always nice.

"Shouldn't we get... other fruits too...?" Fluky asked, looking around the room warily.

My ears perked up, and I stopped the picking with a grin plastered on my face. If the apples tasted this good...

I spun around quickly. "Yes!"

Her ears folded back again as she looked at me in worry. "Robutt, what's wrong with you...? I've never seen you like this before..."

"What's wrong?" I raised a brow and smirked. "Right now, nothing!" I took another apple off the tree next to me and rolled it over to her. "Come on. You gotta try it."

She looked down at it, then up at me for a few seconds, before going back down to it. "Well, alright... I am a bit hungry." She picked it up and took a bite, and her eyes went wide. "Whoa..." She said behind her chewing. "This is... This is great!" She started scarfing it down like I had done, and within a matter of seconds, all that remained was the core. She tossed it to the side and sat down.

"Okay, you're right. That was actually really good." She smiled. "Can I have another?"

"Absolutely!" I grinned before starting to reach up to snag another. Before I could reach however, something struck me in the stomach, causing me to launch back and strike the trunk of another tree. At least these ones were made of wood...

But still... ouch.

I heard leaves rustling, and looking up, I saw the branches coming down like tentacles.

Fuck, NOT AGAIN!

I got up, feeling my stomach turn on itself. Despite that and the growing pain in my rear hoof, I started running for the exit as Fluky stood in the doorway, looking at me in worry.

"Robutt!" She called out as I raced forward.

The tree that I had been taking apples from tore its roots from the earth and started carrying itself along the ground as its branches whipped around, trying to grab me.

I heard the static in my hoof building up.

Just as I was about to get through the doorway, one of the branches tightened around my organic hoof, pulling me away.

"No!" I scrambled, trying to grab a hold of the ground and pull myself away. But I couldn't get a grip, as the surface was of dirt. I looked back to see the trunk of the tree open up in a great, big, wide maw, ready to devour me whole. The inside was black. Pitch black...

I couldn't begin to imagine what was in there, waiting for me...

"NO!" I screamed before glaring ahead. I raised my metal hoof and slammed it against the trunk, just below the gaping hole that I was about to be shoved in. In a thunderous buck, that may as well have been thunder, came the cracking and splintering of wood as fiery shards went flying in all directions.

I heard the current of electricity travel behind me, and looking around, I discovered that my hit had split the tree in half, and was starting to smoke from the inside. I caught sight of a few flames within, starting to build up and grow.

It had let go of my hoof - its tendril... branch... thing gone limp - but now it was getting ready to fall on top of me. The other trees seemed to be keeping their distance after that.

There was more where that came from...

I wasted no time running through the exit, and just as I made it out, did the tree crash down. I slammed my hoof against the panel, and the door closed.

I turned to Fluky, panting. "Okay... I wasn't... expecting... that to happen..."

"Are you okay...?" She asked, regarding me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"I'm okay." She replied, looking down. "Kinda... grossed out about those apples now, though..." She put a hoof to her stomach as she grimaced.

"Yeah... me too." I dumped the apples I had collected out from my pouch. When I looked back at her, she was smiling faintly.

"How did you do that with your hoof? That was... pretty awesome, actually."

I chuckled softly, looking back at my metal casing. "Yeah, I suppose it was..." I turned back to her and waved my hooves around in front of me. "Magic."

She laughed softly and shook her head. "Dork."

I shook the seeds from the apples out and tossed them on the metal floor. "Guess I won't be planting those, then. The wasteland has enough problems as it is. Too many killer trees already." I looked down the corridor. Specifically, the signs in said corridor. The one across from apples was apricots. The rooms appeared to be in alphabetical order. From there, it went on to asparagus, then bananas, blueberries, celery, and so on.

The rest of the rooms weren't as deadly as the apples, but there were a few... odd... selections. Celery wasn't supposed to ooze what both looked and smelled like peanut butter, and cucumbers weren't supposed to pickle within mere seconds of making contact with someone.

This place was bizarre...

"I was expecting normal food..." I said, stepping out of the cucumber room.

Fluky stepped out of celery with a disturbed look on her face. "I don't wanna know what's happening in there." She pointed behind her.

You and me both...

"This place just went from creepy to downright weird." She looked around. "Is any of the food here normal?"

"Probably not. But I say we keep looking."

She nodded in agreement. "Right there with you."

We continued onward, and by the end of our journey, we had grabbed a few hooffuls of kumquats, lemons, limes, mangoes, and oranges. Everything else was just... wrong.

I knew what Petiole said about the lemons, but if that was true, and at this case, it probably was, then we could at least use them as weapons. Combustible lemons sounded somewhat appealing.

Fluky and I both waited at the subway station with a pile of fruit sitting on the floor; the lethal ones separated from the ones we suspected were okay to eat.

Fluky sat with her back against a tiled support beam, drinking a Sparkle Cola she got from the vending machine here, and I sat at the edge of the platform, peeking my head out and looking both ways. I was keeping an eye out for Fluky's safety, in case a zompony was coming this way. It was clear they weren't after me now... but Fluky was still a target to them, I imagined.

About twenty to thirty minutes went by, and I heard the tram in the distance. Then came the headlights of the transportation.

I backed up and let it roll up. It stopped at the station, and behind the glass doors was Petiole staring at me, before they slid open. He calmly stepped out and looked down at the variety of fruits. Then he turned to me. "No apples?"

"Fuck the apples." I shuddered. "You neglected to tell me that the trees were a bunch of splintery tentacles."

"They are?" He said in surprise. "Damn it, sorry about that... Guess they must have mutated after two generations. They weren't like that before..." He looked down at the fruit. "Ghouls don't need to eat, so I never really bothered checking this place..."

My anger subsided, and I sighed. "It's fine. Funny enough, the metal hoof actually helped a lot." I smiled faintly, looking at him.

"I told you it would." He nodded. "Well, alright. Let's get this all on board then. I'll give you that rifle soon." He looked over at the lemons and paused. "You don't... plan on eating those, do you? I did mention that they're dangerous?"

"You did." I smirked. "Got me thinking. Why not use them to our advantage?"

He stared at me for a few seconds before returning to them. "Sounds like a fair point. We'll need all the weapons we can get, after all."

Fluky got up after downing the rest of her Sparkle Cola and started to assist us in getting the food on the train. With the three of us at work, it took no more than a few minutes.

Before too long, we were back on the move in a train full of books, guns, healing potions, ammo, and food. There were even some bandages and a bottle of antiseptic stuffed in one of the bags. That was a decent alternative if we ran out of potions.

The rifle that I had requested was modified since the last time I saw it. There was a shoulder grip around the butt and a scope on the side, while the gun would sit upright if it was equipped. The trigger was connected to a handle that would reach across my muzzle, if I were wearing it.

I looked up at Petiole as he stood before me, expecting something.

"You modified the gun?"

"Hopefully to your liking." He replied. "I'll need you to remove your armor as well. I have something that'll make it better. Plus..." He regarded the bloody patch on my side, around the deep slit that was cut into my barding from a certain... Gutsy... "It needs repairs."

I nodded with a faint smile and stripped myself from my gear, handing it over to him. He took it and went to the cabin as we rolled down the dark tunnels. He closed and locked the door behind him.

Fluky sat down next to me, grabbing the last Sparkle Cola Petiole had given me.

"Hey." I looked over with a blank expression. "That's mine."

She smiled sheepishly. "Can I have it?"

"I was gonna drink it."

"Pleasssssssssssssse?" She gave me puppy eyes.

No... don't fall for it.

"No." I looked at the seat ahead of me, frowning.

"Pleasssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssse?" She scooted closer.

"Nng... no. I want it."

"PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE?"

"Fine!" I shouted with a pout and folded my arms. "Take it."

She did a little celebratory dance in her seat, cheering softly about her victory, before she unscrewed the cap and put it between us. She began chugging.

That was my Sparkle Cola...

She seemed to read my mind, cause afterwards, she looked over and nudged me, smiling. "I'll make it up to you, Robutt. You'll see." And with that, she continued to drink the fizzy, carroty goodness that my taste buds were dying for...

"Honestly though, I think we're gonna need a new water talisman." I said, rubbing my hoof against the back of my head.

"Nonsense." Snow Star answered, looking at the burnt out talisman in the machine before us. "It's bad enough the Steel Rangers have trouble finding just one out there. Replacing one entirely would be a heart breaker."

"But it's just gonna keep breaking down until it can't take it anymore."

She looked over and smirked. "So we use it until we can't. No point in wasting valuable tech."

"But... it's dangerous! If it blows up in someone's face..."

"It's not gonna blow up in someone's face!" She laughed aloud. "You look too deep into things, Charger."

"Better being safe than sorry..." I muttered under my breath, looking away.

I felt her hoof tap me on the shoulder, and when I looked over, her lips pressed against mine, catching me entirely by surprise. My eyes shot open wide, but after a few seconds of the kiss getting deeper, they closed. I could feel her tongue on mine... I could feel her breath...

When she pulled away, my eyes flickered open, and she gazed at me.

"Snow Star..." I said softly, looking around us before returning to her. "It's... not allowed..."

"I know." She replied with that same smirk. "But I trust you. My life is now in your hooves. You could turn around and tell Elder Bristle about what I did. Have me executed for touching another, let alone an earth pony. There's nothing I could do to stop you." She gave me another smaller kiss, before resuming. "I trust you with my life, Charger. Trust me with yours. It won't blow up. I promise."

I stared into her indigo eyes for several long seconds before returning to the talisman. That was... the biggest sign of trust I had ever seen, or even felt, for that matter.

I gave a slight nod of my head. "I trust you."

She smiled back, and together, we went to work on the talisman.

"Charger." Petiole said, peeking his head out of the door of the cab, looking at me.

I quickly shook my head, snapping out of it and looking back at him. "Yeah. What's up?"

"Are you alright? I called your name three times, but you seemed... lost."

I looked over at Fluky to see she was giving me a concerned look. I turned back to Petiole. "Just lost in thought, I guess."

"Well..." He paused. "Hate to burst your bubble, but I need to speak with you." He glanced at Fluky, before returning to me. "In private."

I got up, and he backed away from the door to let me in.

When I stepped inside the crammed cabin, he closed and locked the door behind me.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking down at the barding at our hooves. He seemed to have not only repaired it, but reinforced the padding, as well. It looked just a little bit bulkier than it did before.

"I need you to try on the armor. See if it's to your liking."

"Alright." I started to slip into the barding. "Something tells me you didn't call me in here for privacy, just so you could be my tailor."

"Charger..." He started, looking ahead of the tram as we pushed forward. "I don't know how else to say this, so I'll just get to the point... You're infected."

I raised a brow. "Infected?"

He nodded hesitantly. "With the F-virus..."

I froze in place. "Oh..."

I had suspected it... theorized that I was... Ever since that first zompony ignored me, I was starting to think I was infected with their virus. But I had also hoped that I wasn't... A small, dying hope... but a hope nonetheless.

And now that hope was dead and gone entirely...

"I'm sorry, Charger..."

"How long do I have left until...?" I couldn't finish my question. The words didn't want to leave my mouth.

"Judging by what I saw when I was in your head... my estimate would be about a year. Maybe a few months extra. You didn't get a large dosage, which means it's going to take time to grow throughout your body and infect other cells." He shuddered and looked down. "I'm sorry you had to experience that... Not to mention the taste and smell..."

"You've tasted it before...?"

"No. You did. I was living through your memories through your perspective. I imagined it was the same for you, when you were in my head."

I sighed and shook my head. "Is there anything you can do?"

"I'm sorry... but I don't have a cure or any remedy to stop it, except pink. And that would only kill you. You'd be unlucky to come back a ghoul such as myself. Your whole world would be agony."

"Like it isn't already..." I muttered. "My whole life has been shit. Horrible sister. Never met my parents. Kicked out of the closest thing to a home I've ever had... and now I'm the key to a worldwide epidemic."

"I'll try to do what I can, but... I can't promise that I'll be able to cure you."

"Yeah..." I hung my head down, slipping the rest of the barding on. "Kinda figured..."

After slipping my left forehoof through the sleeve, I noticed a section of it was cut out to display the pipbuck. I checked out the rest of my body after the armor was fitted. It was a bit heavier than earlier, but it wasn't enough to overburden me.

"I'm going to need you to open your pipbuck for me." Petiole said, looking down at the device on my arm.

I looked at him as I raised my hoof, giving the middle button a single tap. The screen lit up in red text.

WELCOME, BRUG MANSIA PETIOLE

I looked up at him with a cocked brow. "This was your wife's?"

He stared at me for a few quiet seconds before looking at the screen. "I... thought I took care of that... Hold on..." He pulled my arm toward him and started messing with the pipbuck. I stood there, waiting for him to finish up, and I found my mind crawling back to dangerous thoughts...

Before too long, he let go. "There. That should do it. I have your information now. I can work with that for the time being, but later I'll need some samples."

"My information?" I looked down at the screen to see more red text.

CHARGER

SEX: MALE

AGE: 25

RACE: UNICORN

BLOOD TYPE: PA

"Unicorn?" I stared at Petiole, annoyed that it couldn't even get my race right. "I'm not a unicorn. I'm an earth pony!" I proceeded to point at my forehead. "Do you see a horn? This thing is broken..."

"Hm..." He looked ahead of us for a short while as I continued to stare at my pipbuck screen.

"Unicorn... Pfft..." I rolled my eyes and turned the screen off. Still... the whole body scan wasn't a feature I had heard any pipbuck do before. These must have been specifically designed for 32. I didn't even know what my blood type was before it told me.

But... that could have been wrong too...

"What else can these pipbucks do?"

He continued to stare ahead at the tracks as he spoke, as if he expected me to ask. "They automatically inject medicines into your system, depending on what you need and when you need it."

That sounded pretty useful! "Neat!"

"Just one more thing before I let you go." He picked up the shoulder mounted rifle and started attaching it to my right side.

"Uh, wait..." I started, to which he paused and looked at me directly. "I'm... blind in my right eye." He continued to stare silently, and I resumed, feeling awkward with the staring contest I was having with a visor I couldn't see through. "I mean... not fully blind. But everything's like, wicked blurry."

He stepped back. "... I see. What caused that?"

"Nothing, really." I shrugged. "Just a birth defect."

"Hm..." He nodded. "Well, it's a good thing that this is flexible, then." He put the weapon down and moved the scope to the other side of the gun as if it were a lever, then did the same thing for the handle, pushing it along the underside instead of over the top. From there, he moved the arm that held the gun around like a crank until it was on the side opposite from its original position. "Done." He finally said, looking back at me. "Ready?"

"That's convenient." I replied with a slight smirk.

"Don't act too surprised." He started attaching the mechanism to my armor as I stood there. "Your sister is a cunt, by the way."

"Gee." I deadpanned. "Ya think?"

"She's a monster." He continued. "Bristle too. Even Crimson. But Firebright..." He stopped for a second, looking me in the eyes through his visor. "I'm surprised you haven't killed her."

"I am too..." I looked down, before closing my eyes and shuddering at the thoughts that were sure to haunt me for the rest of my life, considering I had a year left to live.

Things went quiet between us for a short while before I broke the silence.

"So... how does this... medicine injector thing work?"

"S.M.I.P." He quickly corrected as he stopped what he was doing to raise his arm halfway. He slid a part of the frame to the side to reveal a small compartment. "Systematic Medical Injector Program." He continued, pointing at the inside. "You can't really put the bottles for health potions in due to their size, but that was made up for. Just put the neck of the bottle in the compartment, and when it registers the item, it'll open it and empty the bottle. When you're in need of a boost, it'll discharge the required amount into your system. Just enough to get you back on your hooves. But don't rely on it too much..." He coughed and hacked a bit, before resuming his tour of the medical properties of the pipbuck I now owned. "Other drugs, such as Med-x can be put in there too. Same with pills. Just... be careful around it. It won't cure you for addiction."

"Alright." I said as he slid his pipbuck compartment shut. He immediately went back to work on the gun for a short while.

"There." He said, backing up. "Check it out. Just don't fire it in here."

I looked through the scope of my rifle to find the alignment between my eye and the sights was very convenient for me, and it seemed to be easy to move out of my way, too!

My muzzle bumped the handle that was connected to the trigger, but thankfully nothing fired.

"Now..." He continued, and I looked at him as he pulled out a box of red, striped munition from his saddle bag, which he set down before me. "These are extremely dangerous, Charger. But with what we're facing ahead, we're going to need every single round."

"What are they?" I asked, picking one up and taking a closer look.

"They've been crafted from a certain element we had... accidentally made. These bullets originate from a series of red thorns."

I raised a brow and looked back at him. "They burst from a bunch of sacs, right? During an experiment on trying to grow food faster?"

He nodded slowly. "I guess you've been reading along the way. Well, just be careful with them. One shot from those can easily be the end for any organic mass. Though, it takes a bit more for the infected... Still, it disintegrates from the inside."

"Alright." I put the round back in the box and stuffed the box in my pouch. Petiole slipped five magazines in there with it and a full, red striped mag in the side of the gun.

"Now..." I started, looking at him as I moved the arm back so that the gun was secured against my side and out of my view. "I need to tell you something." I stared with a clenched jaw as he regarded me. I could already feel tears burning, and I haven't even said it yet. The thought alone was nerve-racking. The dangerous thought...

"What is it?"

I took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled, letting a few tears escape. "I need you to promise me that... you'll kill me before I turn into one of those things."

He looked down and sighed. "I won't like it, but... I can't afford to let the virus spread. Assuming it hasn't already..." He nodded and looked back up at me. "Consider it done." Not long after, did he reach out a hoof. "I promise."

I took his hoof with my own and gave it a firm shake. I started to turn for the door after wiping the tears away and clearing my throat, but Petiole slipped a box of T-rounds and regulars in my pouch.

"Make sure you have enough for yourself, Petiole. Never know when you might need to end me..."

"I'm not much of a fighter, but I assure you, I'll carry at least one bullet around. For you."

I turned back to the door and opened it, ready to step out.

"Charger."

I stopped once more and turned back to him. His visor was fixated on me, and I suspected he was looking me in the eyes.

"I'm going to do everything I can to cure you..."

I smiled softly, tearing up again. "Cure or kill..."

No one spoke. I stared quietly for a while, keeping my smile up, before turning my head and walking out. The door closed behind me, but this time it didn't lock.

I was surrounded by the steel interior walls of the bunker. My room, to be specific.

I sat up in my bed and stretched. For once, my radio didn't scream at me. Nope. Instead, it was playing a pretty nice tune. Another one of Octavia's works, if I was right. And I believe I was. Her music was an inspiration...

I smiled faintly as I looked around my room, and for once, my door remained locked. Wasn't that a surprise? I would have expected Firebright to pour a bucket of ice cold water over me before I could even open my eyes.

I rolled out of bed to the soothing music that the cello offered through my radio.

I grabbed my uniform, zipped up, then placed my toolkit on my back.

After the locks in my door clicked and it slid open, I found another pony on the other side. A familiar face, but - thankfully - wasn't Firebright ready to pull another 'joke' on me.

"Oh... h-hey, Charger!" She chimed nervously. "Ready for another big day?"

"Another big day, huh?" I smirked.

She nodded. "Yep. Working with you is always fun."

I laughed softly and stepped out. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked me."

She rolled her eyes and giggled. "Well, duh. I mean... you're nice to me, you're highly attractive... Plus, we are dating." She kept her voice low as she looked around, making sure we were alone.

With a chuckle, I ran my hoof through her mane, causing her to back up and gasp.

"Hey!" She glared for a second, before calming down.

"I like having you around, Snow Star." I booped her muzzle and she blushed, smiling and looking down.

"I like having you around too, Charger."

I turned to my left, looking down the end of the wide corridor. I closed the door to my room behind me, and we started for the end, where the stairs to maintenance resided.

"So." Snow started as we trotted side by side. "Did your sister pull any pranks this morning?"

"Nope. And I hope it stays that way."

After a short trot down the corridor, we turned right and opened the door to the stairwell, descending further into the bunker. On our way down, a Steel Ranger was walking up. Upon noticing him, the two of us stopped and moved aside. He casually passed by us, and along the way, glanced at me and Snow Star. From there, I heard him mutter beneath his helmet. "Fucking horn heads..."

My mare friend tensed up as he continued up the stairs. When we heard the door open and close above us, she sighed, slouched, and hung her head down.

"I'm sorry, Snow Star..." I moved in and wrapped my hoof around her shoulder. She pressed her head against my neck and closed her eyes. "Some ponies just don't get it..."

There was a brief moment of silence between us before she spoke in her soft voice. "Charger...?"

"Yeah?"

She looked up at me and smiled, though there was a sadness behind it. "I'm glad you understand... I'm glad to have you as a friend, and more... You're the only earth pony around here that actually cares about us."

I nuzzled her mane; smelling the wonderful aroma that found its way in my nostrils. She must have showered this morning, as it was still wet, and smelled of lavender.

I gave the tip of her horn a little kiss, to which she shuddered and moaned softly. "W-whoa... Charger..." She giggled. "Not in public. You know that's a sensitive spot."

I laughed softly, to which she looked up into my eyes, giving me that adorable smile that, no matter how many times I've seen it, never got old.

"I've always had a good feeling about y-" She started to say, before a familiar, raspy voice invaded from behind... Therefore ruining the moment and making my skin crawl...

"Hey, lil' bro!"

I sighed, but kept my head forward. "Hey, Firebright..." I let go of Snow Star and glanced back at my sister. She and two others stood at the top step, dressed in their power armor and looking down at us. Fire's helmet was off.

"What's this?" She asked, regarding the two of us with a cocky grin. "You a unicorn lover now?"

I turned around to face her directly, smirking. "Yeah. Pretty much."

She clicked her tongue a few times as she shook her head in disapproval. "Bad business, lil' bro. You know it's against the rules. Elder Bristle wouldn't be too happy if he knew you were bangin' some unicorn mare."

"Um..." Snow Star kept her head down. "Actually, we haven't-"

"Quiet!" Fire snapped. "I'm not talking to you!"

"Okay then." I said, glaring up at her. "Since you won't let her finish, I'll finish what she was going to say. We haven't had sex. We've been obeying the rules. There's nothing that says we can't be together. We just aren't allowed to have sex."

"Likely story." She said, giving me some stink eye, but soon enough a smile grew. "But hey... you don't gotta worry about me, lil' bro." She stepped forward and patted me on the head. I backed up; my brows knitting. "You can go sucking horn for as long as you want." She turned back to her two accomplices. "Come on, boys. Salvage duty is calling."

The two followed as she descended the stairs, heading for the hangars. After about a minute of total silence between me and Snow Star, she finally looked back at me.

"Do you think she'll be a problem?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Hardly. Firebright is many things, but I've never known her to be a snitch."

That didn't seem to sway her. "Do you think she knows that we had sex...?"

I shook my head with a smile. "I don't think she does. We've been careful."

She looked down and sighed. "I hope you're right... I love you, Charger." She immediately tensed up, going bright red. "I-I uh..."

I balked as I looked at her, but after a few seconds, the shock turned into a grin. "Did I just hear the 'L' word?" My heart pounded in my chest with excitement.

"S-so what if you did?" She looked back at me, smiling nervously. "I don't take it ba-"

She was left interrupted with my lips pressed against hers. Both our eyes stayed closed as we held each other in a loving embrace.

"Robutt?"

I looked over from my seat to see Fluky sitting beside me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." I said with a shake of my head. I wasn't smiling though. I couldn't smile. Not now...

"I don't believe that for even a second."

"Well aren't you the skeptic..."

She sighed and shook her head, looking mildly irritated by my comment. "You've been spacing out ever since we started moving again. Come on, Robutt. You can tell me."

"No." I snapped, looking away. "I can't."

I refused to vent to a pony that I helped make an orphan... Venting wouldn't solve this matter anyways. It wouldn't solve my past, my present... or my future. It was all carved in stone. I was infected with a virus with no known cure. Not to mention everything in my past had already happened...

So why was I thinking of it now? Now, of all times...?

I looked back at the filly and sighed upon seeing her hanging her head down as if she did something wrong. "Sorry, kid... Fluky. But I can't tell you. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough..."

After Petiole drives a well earned bullet through my skull...

She kept her head down as I examined the rifle attached to my barding. I wasn't a big gun fanatic like the other rangers back in the bunker, but I had to admit, this thing was a beauty. And like many beautiful things, it was a force to be reckoned with.

There were three options to choose from on the side. Semi, auto, and safety. I kept it on the third for obvious reasons.

The tram slowed, and I looked out the window.

"Why are we stopping?" Fluky asked, looking around in confusion.

I got up and tapped my hoof on the door to the cabin, but there was no response.

"Petiole, what's going on in there?"

By the time the tram stopped, the door opened, and he faced me directly. "I'm afraid we can't continue any further."

"What?" My brows knitted. "Why?"

"There's debris in the way ahead."

"Okay." I said simply. "So we go out there and clear it out."

"That'll take time we don't have."

I shook my head hard, feeling an annoyance grow within me. "How far are we from the reactor?"

He didn't reply, and I smirked.

"Exactly. So let's stop bickering and just get this over with. I'd like to get out of this shit hole before I..." The words still didn't want to leave my mouth. I didn't want to believe it... but I knew it was true.

He nodded in agreement. "Alright, then. Let's go."

I nodded back, and after Petiole opened the tram doors, we started to head out together. I looked at Fluky as we started to pass by her.

"Stay here, alright? We'll be right outside. I promise."

She gave me a worried nod. "Be safe, Robutt..."

Petiole looked at her next. "I need you to do something."

Both Fluky and I looked at him; her expression filled with confusion, and mine with worry.

"Do you know how to read?" He continued.

"I know a saddle bag full of comic books that seems to think so." She smirked, pointing at the bag on her flank.

"... Okay. Look for a button that says 'open/close tram doors' in the cabin once we leave. There are things in these tunnels that you don't want getting in here."

She nodded and got up from her seat.

"And keep your eyes and ears open. If you can't see us when we want back in, I'm going to knock on the door three times, but it's going to be spaced out, like this." He proceeded to stomp his forehoof on the ground three times.

Knock, knock... knock... slide.

He had slid his hoof along the ground after the few knocks. "Can you remember that?"

She nodded. "Mhm."

"Good." He looked outside and started to walk. "I'll be right back, Mansia."

"Mansia?" She raised a brow.

He froze in the doorway, staring outside for a while, before turning to her. "... Fluky." With that, he left.

She looked to me for answers, but I just shrugged, before following him out.

The tram doors slid shut behind us as we walked along the side of the vehicle. I really didn't like the idea of being out here, but I guess that didn't really matter anymore...

"What was all that about, Petiole?"

"What was what about?"

"You called her Mansia."

We walked in silence for a bit, before coming up to the front of the tram.

"She has her eyes..."

Things grew quiet between us as we moved scraps of metal out of the way. The headlights of the tram offered us sight for us to work.

"Hey, lil' bro." Firebright said, lying on her back as I stepped into her room.

"You... wanted to talk to me?" I asked, looking around at her posters of the Steel Rangers and their emblem. I've never really been in her room before, so this was all new territory for me.

She sat up halfway, her arms supporting her weight as she smiled at me. From there, she spread her hindlegs, revealing her marehood.

"Uh..." I backed up towards the door, but my rump pressed against the front of a Steel Ranger that stood in the way. I looked back to see them towering over me in their armor.

"Where you going, kid?" Crimson asked in a sinister tone. He forced me forward, and the door closed behind him. It locked soon after.

I turned back to my sister. "Fire... What are you doing...? What is this?"

"I want to see how good you are with that tongue of yours. Seeing as you've had loads of practice with that unicorn..." She smirked.

"I don't... want to..." I looked down a bit at her parts.

"Pfft." She rolled her eyes. "I don't care if you don't want to. You're going to."

I glared. "No. I'm not. I'm a living thing, Fire. You can't just treat me like some sex toy."

Crimson chuckled beneath his helmet, and I looked back at him, glaring. "And why are you here? To rape me if I resist?"

He shook his head. "I'm more of a voyeur."

I spun back to Fire. "You can't do this! You can't treat me like a sex doll!"

"Oh, you mean how Bristle is with Snow Star?" She grinned as she rubbed a hoof over her slit, and my jaw dropped.

"What are you talking about...?"

She pointed a remote at the screen behind her, and it showed Snow and Bristle in a room. She was backed up against the wall as he stepped forward.

"What's this?" Crimson said, taking a step forward, therefore pressing against my flank and forcing me forward a bit. "A two in one special? It seems I'm getting more than I paid for."

"Only you, Crimson." Firebright smirked and blew a kiss to him.

"Are you going to give me what I want, or am I going to have to take it from you?" Bristle said, approaching her.

"Please, no... Just... let me go... please..."

"Turn, or I swear, I'll kill you... I already know about you and Charger. Consider yourself lucky I don't do it right now."

His statement made my heart sink deep in my chest... and the way she looked up at him, she felt it too...

Reluctantly, she turned around, hanging her head down and crying softly to herself.

Bristle raised her tail with a hoof and examined the area. "I can see why Charger likes you. You're very... attractive. For a unicorn." Then he raised up and mounted her...

I couldn't watch anymore. I could hear it. Her whimpers, his groans... The slapping... Hearing it all was enough to destroy my heart...

"I'm gonna keep that playing for you." Fire said, putting the remote down. "At least you'll get to hear Snow's voice when you're down there. Help you pretend it's her you're playing with." She pointed at her nethers. "So what'll it be, lil' bro? Are you going to get down to business? Or am I gonna have to make like Bristle and threaten somepony you love?"

"Fine..." I muttered, stepping forward. "I'll do it..."

"Good boy..." She smirked and laid back, looking up at the ceiling as Crimson continued to stand there, watching both the video and us. "Don't stop until I say you can."

I got up on the bed and prepared myself before licking... All while I was forced to hear Snow struggle with what Bristle was putting her through...

Fire's pleasure helped block the sound on the screen, but not entirely.

It didn't take long before she forced my muzzle in, making me lick the walls on the inside. I closed my eyes, just waiting for all this to be over...

With the tracks clear of debris, Petiole waved at Fluky through the window of the cabin. She opened the doors for us and we got in. I sat down as Petiole made his way for the cabin. Fluky was just about to leave, but Petiole spoke up.

"Stay in there. There's a few things I need to show you."

Fluky hesitantly nodded before backing up in the cabin, allowing him to enter.

"I'm gonna show you how to start the tram, in case none of us are around and you need to escape." There was a brief pause before he resumed. "So first, you press this button..."

I lost track of their conversation rather quick as I started thinking about the bunker... again. Thinking about how quickly my life shifted. I went from being sexually abused and harassed to being post-assimilated by tentacles. At this point, I couldn't tell what was worse. They were both awful experiences...

We were both 17 when Bristle took her...

It was hard to imagine that in a year, I was going to die...

The tram started to ease forward, and Fluky stepped out shortly after. Petiole followed.

"Not bad..." He said, sitting down and looking at her. "For a unicorn."

She sighed and looked at me. "You alright, Robutt?"

"Ask me in a year." I looked out the window behind me "How long until we get there? A year?"

"About forty minutes." Petiole stated with an unamused tone.

Great...

Moments passed.

I don't know how long. I wasn't exactly counting.

I looked up from the ground after a sorry attempt of pulling myself out of my catatonic state to see Petiole seemed to be lost in his own world as well. I took a glance at Fluky to see she was reading one of her comics again.

Wait...

I peeked at the cover, and... Okay. Good. It was nothing more than a comic. She didn't need to be looking through adult magazines. She was too young for that.

I stood up and sat next to Petiole, who looked at me in silence. His helmet was still on, as it had been since Fluky came by.

"I have a question." I asked quietly, trying my best to not disturb Fluky from her reading.

"I have an answer."

"You saw my memories..." I started, then looked at him; my muzzle inches from his armored one as I stared into his visor. "Which means you most likely saw what happened to Snow..."

He nodded and spoke in a whisper. "I did."

"Do you... do you think she did the right thing?"

He stared in silence for a moment, thinking to himself. "She saw a chance, and she took it. Even if it meant leaving you." He paused before adding more. "Call me biased, but I say yes. She did the right thing. She sacrificed her 'safety.' I'd... give anything to have her opportunity..." He looked down and sighed.

"What do you think... happened to them?" I asked.

"Hard to tell. I've not been on the surface in over 200 years... I think. I don't really know what it's like up there."

"Fair point..." We both went silent for a few seconds as he continued to look down. "I'm sorry if I upset you..."

I wrapped my hoof around his shoulder and he looked over at it, then at me.

"Just what in Tartarus do you think you're doing?" He spoke aloud in annoyance.

I reluctantly took my hoof away. "What?"

"Don't. Touch me. I don't. Like. Being. Touched."

"S... sorry." I scooted away from him.

"Go sit over there." He pointed a hoof at my original spot. "Away from me. And leave. Me. Alone."

I quickly got up and sat over in my designated spot, looking away from him. Way to make a pony feel awkward...

Fluky had watched the whole thing, I had just noticed... Thankfully, she didn't really offer anything to that conversation. No, instead she looked through Petiole's bags, after I had sat down beside her. She pulled out a small sack of candy canes.

"Hey, you have candy canes...?" She asked, looking through the different colors that resembled different flavors.

"Yes." Petiole answered, regarding them. "I gave one to each of my patients after doing a check up."

Fluky and I shared the same, sad look, with the same, sad thought...

Para would have loved those candy canes...

A few minutes went by in silence. Fluky had put the canes back where she found them and went back to her comic, and Petiole went back to his own private world, which left me back to my deep, dangerous thoughts...

Thankfully, those minutes were short lived. The tram came to a stop at a dead end, next to a station on our right. The alarm inside the vehicle screamed at us as it did whenever we were about to stop at a station, and the doors opened.

"Guessing that means we're here." I said, standing up and flipping the gun out in front of me from my side. I switched it to semi.

Petiole stood up soon after. "Fluky. Stay here. Where we're going is too dangerous for you... and you may need to start up the tram by the time we get back... We might have some company."

"Why are you coming?" I asked, regarding him. "You said you can't fight."

He stared back at me. "You need someone to override the system."

"I can manage. I was maintenance and engineer, remember?"

"You're not doing this alone. You don't know what's in there..."

"Do you?" I frowned.

He nodded. "And I assure you, it doesn't care what you are. Infected, healthy, or even machine... you're still a target."

"Fine." I cocked the rifle. "Let's quit talking and kill the sorry fucker."

I walked down the corridor of the residential wing. Two fully armored Steel Rangers walked behind me as we made our way to the exit of the base. No one spoke to me, nor I to them. The march was silent, save for the stomps of metal hooves.

The heart in my chest pounded. Filled with worry for what was going to happen next. Was it happening to me, or was it going to happen to her? I prayed that it happened to me... I wanted to spare her... I was willing to do anything to keep her safe...

... But I was only praying to a dead goddess that couldn't hear me or anyone else in this age of decay...

We traveled up a short flight of stairs until coming across a big metal door that looked almost like an intricate wall than anything else.

Firebright, CrimsonThunder, and Bristle all stood behind Snow Star, who hung her head down as she sat there, facing me.

Fire looked up at me from her, smirking. I didn't share it.

I hated her. But there was nothing I could do to keep her away. We all lived in the same, damned steel box in the ground, and leaving wasn't really an option. I had to tolerate her...

"Congratulations." Bristle said, looking over me coolly. "You impregnated the unicorn bitch sitting before you."

"I know what you did, Elder." I said, staring him down. "You raped her. I saw it."

Firebright stifled a giggle behind her hoof, and Bristle scowled down at her. She went quiet after that.

"Perhaps I did." He started, looking back at me. "But she confessed that it was you. She was in heat when you two shared your... sentiments for each other." He looked at me with disgust. "It's sickening."

I looked down at Snow Star, who glanced up at me, keeping her head down.

"Snow..." I started to step forward, but one of the rangers held me back.

"I love you, Charger."

I looked up at Bristle, who loaded a laser pistol with a fresh energy cell. "Please... don't kill her..."

He regarded me. "You can't go through life without consequences." He pressed the gun to the back of her head, and I saw tears slide down her face, dripping down on the floor below her.

"Please!" I begged. "I'll do anything!"

"I want you to watch." He said behind clenched teeth as he started to squeeze the trigger with his tongue.

"Elder, wait." Fire said, stepping in after a few seconds of looking at me. He froze and looked at her, taking his tongue off the trigger.

"Maybe we should give her a chance." Her smirk came back, and she moved closer, whispering into his ear.

He nodded in agreement; his lips curling into a mirthless smirk as he took the gun off her head. "Very well. You have two options, unicorn."

She looked up at me, then turned to him, awaiting the two options.

"You can abort that parasite growing inside you and stay here with that parasite..." He pointed a hoof at me. "Or... you can leave the bunker, leave him, but keep that foul bastard growing inside you. Raise it, if you survive out there long enough. The choice is yours."

She looked back at me with tears streaming down her face. "I can't just... choose..."

"Let me clarify..." Bristle continued. "Choose, or a third option will be in order." His gun pressed against the back of her head again. "A shot to the head. You have one minute to decide."

"I..." She bawled. "It's not that easy! Please, can't I just raise our baby and stay...?"

"We don't have enough resources to feed you filthy things. The last thing we need is more unicorns. We have enough as it is..."

"Please, Elder..." I pleaded. "Let her stay..."

"Forty seconds." He declared, glaring at me, then looking back at her. "What'll it be, Snow? The baby, or Charger?"

"I... I can't just..." She shook her head hard and looked away from me. "I..." She wept.

"30 seconds!"

She turned and looked up at him. "I'll... leave..." She turned to me as Bristle put the gun away.

I... I couldn't believe it...

"I'm sorry... Charger..." She sniffled, and more tears gave way from both of us. "I'm... sorry..." She moved in to hug me, but Crimson pointed his rifle at her.

"Nah, ah, ah! Get moving, freak."

She froze, and I tried to move toward her, but he pointed the gun at me next.

"Stay put."

Bristle went to a control panel on the side of the door, which soon raised open, revealing the gray outside.

"Get moving." Crimson said, pointing the gun back at her.

"I love you, Charger..." She said before turning around.

I couldn't say anything... It hurt too much...

She started to walk among the surface of a dead world...

Before she took her first step outside, I heard one more thing from her.

"... Goodbye..."

Before I knew it, the door slid shut...

She was gone...

"Well, would ya look at that?" Firebright stepped towards me. "She chose an unborn thing over you, Chargie." She patted my head. "Think about that for a second. She chose an unborn freak.... over your love. Ain't that just sad?"

"What do you want from me!?" I cried out, shuddering under the burn in my eyes as I closed them tight.

"For you to learn." Bristle stated.

"You're all a bunch of fucking assholes!" I shouted, glaring at Fire first. "This was all your fault, wasn't it!?"

Crimson looked to the two rangers that escorted me here. "Please escort Charger to his room and make sure he stays put. We wouldn't want him playing around with another unicorn..."

One of the rangers behind me nudged my flank. "Move it."

I spun around and stormed off back downstairs. I didn't want to see them anymore anyways. I didn't want to think about them. I wanted them dead. To have never existed! Fucking monsters!

The two rangers followed me down, and as I stormed off, I heard Fire speak.

"Do you think he'll become a problem?"

"Hardly." Crimson stated.

"We'll see..." Bristle said softly. "Give him some time to think... Then we'll put it to the test..."

Nine years...

They had given me nine years to think...

Through those nine years, they played tricks on my mind. I had always hated Fire, Crimson, and Bristle after that. Even before that... but again, there wasn't much I could do about it. I wouldn't have even gotten away, had it not been for the roots in the Saddle Forest.

This station was like the one that Petiole brought me to when he went to operate on my... stump...

It wasn't meant for the public, so this one was smaller than the one I started at, but bigger than the one that held Mansia.

There was a door at the end, and upon opening the door was a much longer stretch of hallway. There were no doors on either side. Just one where we were, and another at the far end.

I slid the compartment to my pipbuck open and looked at Petiole. Without a word, he gave me two potions, which I emptied into the pipbuck, one by one. I put the empty bottles in the pouch opposite my ammo, after sealing the housing of the device on my arm. They could be useful later, if we ever found a way to manufacture the purple liquid.

"Don't forget to use your SATS."

"My what?" I raised a brow as I looked over.

"Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell." He replied. "It'll make a huge difference in combat. And I know you know that, because I've been in your mind. I know the Steel Rangers have them built into their armor."

"Okay..." I said, gritting my teeth. Honestly, I kinda forgot that it existed... I never really did anything with it. "How do I use it?" I examined the pipbuck on my arm.

"Your cerebral cortex will send a message through your aorta, which will then travel through your arterioles and capillaries, where your pipbuck will read the signal. From there, depending on what that message is, your SATS will be triggered."

... What the hell did he just say to me? What the... fuck...?

I stared, dumbfounded by his... whatever the fuck that was.

He sighed and shook his head. "Your brain is sending a message to your pipbuck, which is constantly reading the brain waves to check and see if you want to activate your SATS."

"Ohhhh...." I paused, looking ahead. "Well, why didn't you just say so?"

He let out another sigh and hung his head down. "I weep for this generation..."

"So all I have to do is mentally request for this... SATS thing, and it'll happen?"

"So long as there's enough energy built up, yes. Then SATS will send a message to your brain, showing you the possibilities of what you do next, and give you extra time to think about your next move and what you want to do."

"SATS!" I shouted, and he quickly turned to look at me.

"It doesn't work like th-" Suddenly, his voice became deeper and a lot more drawn out. Everything became slower for me.

Highlights appeared around his body.

Head, 95 percent. Torso, 78. The forehoof closest to me was 50, and the opposite of that was 43.

... Huh. Interesting. Okay, so how do I get out of this then?

... Oh no... He never told me how to get out!

Uhhh...

I heard a sudden click, and two red brackets appeared around Petiole's head.

Oh fuck! Shoo! Go away! Out! Undo! Cancel!

The brackets went away, and I thought the word 'cancel' again.

Suddenly, the world went back to normal speed.

"-at." He finished, then stopped and stared in silence. I looked back, wide-eye'd. I noticed a red compass bearing appear at the bottom of my vision, like an E.F.S. Exactly like an E.F.S., actually. Petiole's marker was blue. It was nice to see that the red hud didn't add confusion to what was an enemy and what wasn't.

"What?" He asked. "Wait... did you target me in SATS?"

"M-maybe..." I grinned sheepishly, backing up a bit.

"Sweet Celestia, be careful Charger!" He raised his voice slightly, then winced and groaned, holding a hoof to his throat. "Fuck me..." He looked back up at me and spoke a bit softer. "I'm not target practice."

"Hey, I didn't actually shoot you. I managed to pull out! So you don't get to complain!"

He sighed once more and laughed softly. "Yeah, I suppose you did. I commend you for that." He continued walking. "At least you have... a little... experience with it, now."

I followed beside him.

We got to the door, and he pressed a hoof against the panel on the side. The door slid open to reveal a massive bridge. In the center of the colossal room was a large, humming machine that I could only imagine being the reactor. We both stepped forward.

Looking down, I saw nothing but black. Looking up was the same view as looking down... Just infinite black...

"Stay alert..." He whispered, leaning in close. "I don't think we're alone here..."

I looked around, but the only blip on the E.F.S. I had was his.

We quietly made our way across the bridge. Wrapping around the reactor in the center was a platform that seemed to be able to disconnect from the rest of the bridge. There was a support beam that ran through the reactor, which had evenly spaced pulses of blue running into the machine from both the top and bottom.

All around us, along the walls, was a series of green lights on the edges of slabs that jutted out. They certainly weren't bright enough to light this place up.

Petiole stepped on the middle platform and walked around to the right, until he stopped at a terminal built into the reactor. He looked over and waved me over.

I stepped onto the platform and stood beside him as he scrolled down to something titled 'Zero.'

"Last stop of 32..." He whispered, before hitting enter.

The platform we stood on jolted a little, causing me to tense up as we descended down the dark shaft.

I did not like heights...

Petiole gave me a Med-X dose to my leg once he removed a small part of the legging of my suit, and I sighed with relief as the pain subsided. He put it all back in place as I looked down at the darkness.

"How deep does this thing go...?" I asked quietly, afraid to make too much noise.

He looked up, and then down, before answering. "Deep."

... Very descriptive of you...

The platform continued to lower as I looked at our surroundings. Some of the lights on the slabs flickered, or just didn't work at all. I made note that some of the slabs were also missing from the walls, or were severely damaged.

As we descended down the colossal, dark shaft, I kept my mouth around the handle of the rifle, ready to fight if one was headed our way.

Eventually, the platform reached the very bottom of the shaft, and we were greeted with another long, yet much wider hall that led to a large, metal door, much like the one at the bunker. The lights flickered in the stretch, so I caught glimpses of what was ahead.

Petiole started walking, and I joined his side.

"Please tell me you have a gun..." I muttered.

"Don't need one. If worse comes to worse, you'll distract it, while I overheat the reactor."

I sighed as we made our way forward. "This plan would have been a lot better if you brought a gun with you... You're not a pacifist, are you?" I stared flatly, to which he chuckled softly.

"Tell you what... Set me up with a meeting filled with ghouls, and I'll start carrying a gun with me."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as we continued down the flickering hallway.

"So... why are we going over here? Isn't the reactor back that way?"

He didn't answer my question. Instead, he pulled out a red pill and held it out to me. "Swallow it. You'll need it for what's ahead."

I hesitantly took the pill and swallowed. It was bland, but that was better than tasting something awful. Like tentacles.

When we got to the door, Petiole started operating the control panel. The door screeched as it slid open to one side, echoing throughout the emptiness of the shaft.

I looked behind us, but thankfully, nothing was trying to sneak up.

Then I turned ahead at the sound of machinery, and the soft clicking of geiger counters from our pipbucks.

There was the reactor...

A massive beast of a machine, thumping and humming as pistons within cranked and pumped in and out of the apparatus. A soft green glow emerged from the space of the top of the arms that held the pistons whenever they went up.

Looking up was another shaft that seemed to go on forever, and a bright blue beam of light shot out from the top of the reactor, reaching for the ceiling that seemed non-existent.

There were slabs in the walls here, as well, with the same green lights.

Petiole's clicked a lot faster than mine for some reas-

Oh. The pill. Right. Rad-x.

I didn't know a whole lot about ghouls, but I knew that radiation was their primary source of healing. So this wasn't really a problem for him.

"Be careful..." I said quietly as Petiole made his way forward. I didn't know if he could even hear me through all the machinery.

I circled around, checking my surroundings as he approached the terminal built into the machine, ready to shoot something.

Petiole tapped a key on the terminal, and the screen lit up. He started to input a password, and first try, he was in.

From there, he began typing in codes and bypassing security locks while I stood around, making sure to keep our surroundings in check.

Minutes passed, and a klaxon blared in the room. I had nearly fired a shot from the surprise, but I loosened my grip around the handle and looked at Petiole, who continued typing, but at a rapid pace, as if he were in a hurry.

"INTRUDER DETECTED." The same A.I. voice from the tram said. "SECURITY IS EN ROUTE. PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE MACHINERY."

The klaxon resumed, and all the while, my heart was pounding. I suspected that if anything was around, it'd have heard this.

I stood there impatiently, eager to just get out of here. I didn't want to stick around in the same place for much lo-

There was a roar from above, and looking up the dark shaft...

... Fuck...

The thing from Petiole's memory... The beast that consisted of hundreds of other ponies and machines melted together dropped down on the floor and roared at me, spraying slimy spittle my way. I turned my head fast enough that it only splashed against the side of my helmet and visor. The front of my armor was hit, but that didn't matter.

The smell though... Ugh...

Once it stopped screaming, I backed up and started firing; looking through the scope of the gun. A few shots to the chest sent it crawling back and writhing about in agony as it tore at its chest.

"Petiole, what's the status?" I called out, keeping my eyes locked on the beast.

"Don't bother me!" He said in a raised, rushed tone, which had him coughing and putting a hoof to his throat from the strain to his vocals. It seemed he was incapable of yelling. He quickly went back to typing, and he was going faster than ever.

"INTRUDER DETECTED. YOU ARE NOW IN VIOLATION OF MULTIPLE SUBSECTIONS OF STABLE-TEC. STAND CLEAR OF ALL MACHINERY IMMEDIATELY."

The beast looked at me and started to approach; each step a stomp that shook the ground I stood on.

I resumed fire as I backed up against one of the slabs, aiming at its shoulder. The bullets burrowed deep within, but it wasn't enough to stop it. In fact... it seemed to be regenerating...

"WARNING. REACTOR SHIELDING HAS BEEN LOWERED."

My pipbuck started clicking faster, and the slabs started flashing blue in rhythmic waves, moving up the shaft.

I ran to the left as it moved forward, ready to swing one of its appendages and crush me. Just as I booked it, it came down on several of the slabs, knocking them out of place from the wall. I spun around, sliding on the slick floor on all fours for a bit as I continued blasting away at the monster, who seemed to completely ignore Petiole's presence.

One of the tendrils wrapped around the broken slabs and swung it around, before flinging it in my direction.

I ducked as it came hurling towards me like a frisby. If I hadn't done so when I did, my head would have been no more than slush...

I got back up as it started chucking the other broken slabs my way. I couldn't keep ducking. It knew better than to throw them like that again. So instead, I ran. I ran as fast as I could possibly go, around the reactor that had my pipbuck scream at me. The sound of metal crashing just inches behind me was my motivation to keep going, even when I was out of breath. This armor was getting heavier... I was exerted... Stitches in my sides, fire in my lungs... But I kept going. I dared not stop.

As I circled around the bulky reactor, I bit down on the handle before me, ready to squeeze and fire away when it came back in my view. I took a sharp right at the corner of the machine and started blasting away again.

Leg, torso, arm, neck.

Great way to get the adrenaline pumping!

It reeled and screeched as its insides burnt. Its tendrils whipped around violently, striking other slabs that were still in its walls; breaking them, but not removing them from their initial location.

I couldn't help but grin behind the handle as I continued to run. This was fun!

I spun right again, rushing past Petiole. I had nearly slammed into him, actually. But I had managed to jump to the left a bit before continuing on. Seems the Run-n-Gun technique was great for me. Exhausting, but great!

I spun around once more at the door, sliding on my hooves a bit, just like last time.

"OVER HERE, FUCK NUGGET!" I called out, grinning. "GOTTA TRY HARDER THAN THAT!"

It roared and started running over to me... Something I hadn't expected it to do.

Guess it was trying harder...

I fired a few more blind shots, two of which missed, and the other, not, before spinning and running down the hall again. I had to get it away from Petiole, in case it decided to focus on him.

As I bolted down the hall, so did the beast. But it was bigger, which made it travel farther distances quicker by default. That was a problem...

I felt its stomps getting heavier and more powerful with each passing second.

"Come on!" I shouted to myself, trying to go faster. Damn it, this armor was heavy to run in!

Just as I exited the hall, I jumped to the left, taking cover behind the wall. Not even a second later, did the beast come sliding out, trying to stop and take the same turn I did. It's body slammed against the pillar in the center that supported the platform that was going to be our escape once Petiole had gotten through the mainframe of the reactor.

Thankfully, when it recovered, I didn't see any damage inflicted on its frame.

I looked through the scope to make sure none of my shots struck the terminal, and started firing at its torso again. One shot, two shot, three, click!

I ejected the magazine, caught it before it could hit the ground, buried it in my ammo pouch, and pulled out a fresh one, before slamming it home and cocking the rifle. All the while, the beast cried out and thrashed around in agony.

I didn't stop there.

I switched to full auto and bit down on the handle, firing a rapid stream of lead at the abomination before me, pausing every few seconds only to recover from the recoil. Even then, it wasn't that bad. The arm that held the gun helped reduce it by a landslide.

The monster growled and looked down at me, before walking forward.

Wait, why weren't the bullets doing anything anymore...?

I checked the magazine for a brief second.

Damn it, I put normal rounds in!

I didn't have time to replace it, so I just slammed it back in and gave it the run around. However, this time, it was playing its moves smarter. Instead of chasing me around the pillar, it wrapped one of its arms around it and swung around, cutting me off from the path ahead and trying to swipe at me.

I jumped back, falling on my flank as I stared up at the beast that was about to consume me like it had done to so many others, long ago. I scrambled to get back up on my hooves, but before I could, it grabbed a hold of my metal hoof and lifted me off the ground, bringing me up to its head.

Your mistake.

I grinned, slipping into SATS. Three shots were targeted for its head, as it was a 95 percent chance of success, before I executed the order.

Most of the bullets had struck home, but even then, it didn't do anything. And now I was out of ammo.

"REACTOR UNDER IMMINENT MELTDOWN. EVACUATE THE STABLE IMMEDIATELY."

The klaxon's roar put the beast's to shame.

Bursts of fire came from the reactor in the distance as Petiole casually walked his way back. The blue lights in the shaft all flashed red, traveling up to the top. Some of them had burst from the walls and came plummeting down atop the beast, who roared at the annoyance.

One of the slabs struck a part of my body.

I gasped as a sudden pain ran through me.

And then it was gone, once I felt a large dosage of the health potion heal the physical damage inside me.

Phew...

I glared up at the monster, and that's when I heard my hoof crackling with electricity.

It looked down at me and brought me to its chest, ready to fuse me in with the rest. Before it could, my hoof flared with power; bolts of red electrical currents traveling up its arm. It screeched and let go, causing me to fall on my back. I quickly rolled over, stood up, and ran to the lift. Petiole had just stepped on board and was accessing the terminal. Not long after, did it start to rise.

I looked at him, baffled. "You couldn't hoof it?"

"Running hurts." He started simply.

"Living hurts!" I ejected the magazine and stuffed it in my pouch, before slipping out a red striped one. "How much time we got?"

"Can't say." He answered, looking up as the station shook and rumbled. Bursts of fire were heard below, followed by the monster's screams.

I cocked the rifle and gazed down at the fiery abyss.

"We ain't done yet!" I called out as I watched the beast climb up the slabs, after us. I looked through the scope again and started firing down at it, but this wasn't exactly a sniper. Plus, I failed to realize it was still on full auto.

I switched to semi and carefully planned my shots on its limbs. A lot were misses, as it was climbing up with haste. To get away from the fire below, to get to us, or both, was beyond me.

Some of the slabs bent under its weight, threatening to give way and fall. Some did, but it only stalled the abomination momentarily before finding something else to use as support.

The rounds were hurting it. But due to its mass, it wasn't stopping it entirely...

Then the gun clicked.

"Petiole! Reload me! Thorns, double time!"

He stepped up to me, reached into my pouch, pulled out my last red magazine, and ejected the old one.

"Put more thorn rounds in the empty mags!" I grabbed the full magazine and slammed it into the gun before cocking it and resuming fire. It was almost caught up with us.

Meanwhile, Petiole was working on getting more bullets in. He was moving at a normal pace though, and I really didn't like that...

"It's not going down!" I shouted.

"Keep trying." He spoke calmly.

I shook my head and bit back down on the handle before giving it all I had.

It had reached the slabs directly ahead of me, before turning, staring me down, and lunging across. It grabbed a hold of the ledge of the platform we stood upon, pulling itself up and snarling.

I switched back to full auto and unleashed the rest of my mag on the tendril that kept it up. It looked at me as it started to pull itself up, and I heard the electricity crackling again.

I spun around, raised my hoof, and screamed.

"Get. OFF!"

With the boom of thunder and the discharge of electricity, the beast wailed at my wrath and slid off the platform, falling to the flames below, where it'd be consumed.

I looked to Petiole, who had just finished one mag and was starting another. I replaced the spent one and started slipping thorn rounds in as we ascended.

Fire and I walked down the corridor of the living quarters as I made my way back to my room. I wore my jumpsuit, and my tools were resting in the box on my back. Fire wore her armor, but her helmet was off, as it usually was when she was in the bunker.

"So, I fixed the speakers that were busted from last month's incident." I said as we walked past a few other rangers. "Examined the pipes of that sector, too. They shouldn't burst any time soon, but I'll supervise some of the horns there and have them keep it under control. They'll report to me if anything looks suspicious."

"What happened to the ones responsible?" Fire asked, looking down at my hooves.

"I dealt with them personally..." I said with a smirk. "Speaking of which..." I looked down at the blood stained around the hooves of my jumpsuit. "I need to run this through the wash. They left quite the mess, but I got their names." I pulled up a paper containing the list of unicorns that were involved with the incident last month. Three scribes and two rangers had been killed because of it. "Bristle may want in on the fun." I grinned.

She grinned back and looked into my eyes. "Damn, lil' bro." She placed a kiss on my cheek and put a steel hoof around my shoulder as we stopped outside my door. "I'm loving the new you."

"Hey." I shrugged, pulling her in close. "I have you to thank for this, sis. If Snow hadn't been exiled, I'd still be some blind, dumbass horn lover. She was distracting me from my work, and she needed to go. Now that she's gone..." I pulled away, still smiling as I looked into my sister's eyes. "I can focus on serving the Steel Rangers. That's all I need."

"One hell of a way to look at it, lil' bro." She ran her hoof through my mane, messing it up as she grinned.

I chuckled and pulled away. "Come on, Fire. Stop." I started fixing it and looked back at her to see she was smiling sincerely.

"I'm proud of you, Charger. Really, I am. Unicorns are nothing but trouble. So... I'm glad you realized that."

I nodded and hugged her once more. "Thank you, Firebright. See ya tonight?"

I felt her nibble my ear, then whisper softly. "Let's try and break last week's record."

I chuckled, blushing as I pulled away. I caught a shade of red on her cheeks as she bit her bottom lip.

"I'll see you around, Charger." With that, she winked and walked off.

I turned and opened the door to my room, walked in, and closed and locked it behind me. I took the jumpsuit off and reached in the inside of the collar, only to pull out a small photograph.

It was of Snow Star and I, holding each other close. I was kissing her on the cheek, and she was laughing.

I put the photo to my lips and closed my eyes as I held it there. I missed her...

But I had a plan, and it was put in place. It took patience to build Bristle's trust... But once I was there, I'd get out of this place...

Admittedly, I didn't want to leave the comfort of my room. That one, small comfort that I could call my own. But it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. It'd just... take some getting used to. There was nothing really left for me here. I just had to play along...

I would also have to do some unexplainable things to gain his trust... Like what I had done earlier that day to five harmless unicorns...

... But sometimes, in order to do some good, I had to be the bad guy...

Maybe someday, I would do something good...

Maybe...

The lift stopped at the bridge that we had used earlier. The station was shaking, while the slabs in the wall burst into flame. Shrapnel flew from the blasts, but we were far away enough that it didn't get us.

I started to run across the bridge, and looking back, I- UGH!

I ran back and stopped before Petiole, who was casually walking across the bridge.

"What the hell is your problem!?" I shouted through the explosions and rumble of the station. I was nearly knocked off my hooves, but I kept my balance in check.

"I can't run. It hurts too much."

I didn't have time for this... "Fine!" I got down on my stomach. "Get on my back!"

"What?" He took a step back. "No."

"Do you wanna die... again!?" I glared at him.

He shook his head.

"Then get on my FUCKING back! We're going!"

"I don't like being touched..." He backed up another step.

Ohhhhh you have got to be...

I stood up, grabbed him by the shoulders, and forced him up on my back. He gasped and groaned.

"I don't give two shits if you don't like being touched!" I started as parts of the ceiling started falling down on us.

I heard a familiar roar from below, and peeking over the ledge of the bridge, I saw the monster crawling out of the fire, coming up for round 3.

"BRING IT!" I screamed, before continuing on ahead. If outrunning it was a possibility, I had to try. It was kicking up my adrenaline again, for sure. Put a grin on my face as I hoofed it.

We went through the door and bolted down the hallway that led to the tram station, which was receiving a lot of damage from the meltdown. It was getting really hot in here...

The tram was just ahead, and through the side window of the cabin, I could see Fluky operating the controls. She glanced at us, and in an instant, her eyes grew wide with fear. She started scrambling for the controls, and the tram started to move the way we came.

I heard the stomping of the beast behind us, and I groaned behind clenched teeth as I picked up speed. I couldn't turn and fire. Not that it would have mattered.

Fluky kept the doors to the tram open, and she waited inside, waving us over. "HURRY!"

We had made it out of the hall and were cutting across the station floor. If it had been a public subway station, we were sure to miss the train. But due to the shorter distance between the vehicle and the hall, we had a chance...

It wasn't 100 percent guaranteed... but it was a chance.

The beast was close. The floor shook with each stomp, and my hoof started to crackle with electricity once more.

The rear of the tram disappeared from our sight as it pushed into the dark tunnel. Then went the first set of doors.

Halfway across the station, a little less than half of the tram was in the tunnel. No matter how fast I ran, it felt like it was a million miles away...

"It's right behind us!" Petiole shouted.

Fuck it!

In that instant, I spun around and slipped into SATS to see he wasn't lying. Another second, and we would have been pummeled piles of meat.

I plotted three shots to its chest and fired away as everything moved no more than a snail's pace.

The beast's slowed screeches warped into real time as we did, and I turned back around, resuming my course for the tram as it struggled with the bullets that ate away at its insides.

The last door of the train had disappeared from view, and all that remained was the cabin windows and the nose.

I screamed at the top of my burning lungs as, with all my effort; all my strength; all my will, I pushed forward. My hoof flared up with the electrical current. Bolts of red lightning were traveling ahead of me!

If only it made me faster.

With a running leap, I smashed through the side window of the cabin and landed on the floor. Petiole was lying atop me, holding his hooves firmly around my neck and shaking.

"Get off me!" I snapped as I tried getting up, panting from the high exertion.

He let go and looked down at me. "We made it?"

"Get the fuck off."

Trembling, he raised on all fours and stepped out of the cabin. I joined him shortly after getting some of my breath back.

I looked down at Fluky and smiled, removing my helmet and tossing it on the ground. "Good job, Flukes."

She sighed, smiled, and rolled her eyes. "Stop calling me that."

The tram shook a bit, and the station we were just at had been engulfed in flame.

"Everyone, pack up what you can." I said, staring at the explosion behind us. "Don't overstock, though. Once this ride stops, we need to hoof it as far as we can out of this place."

I looked back to see Fluky and Petiole packing up the saddle bags. Petiole grabbed his journals, along with a few others. Fluky gathered up her comic books.

Petiole was biting off more than he could chew, however...

He wore four saddle bag pairs all along his body, which added up to 8 bags in total. Four of them were stored with food, medicine, and ammo, and the other four were filled with books.

"I said don't overstock!" I put a hoof to my face and groaned.

"I'm not." He replied calmly. "I can manage this."

"Am I going to have to carry you?" I stared flatly.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't..."

"Are you going to start running when I tell you?" The tunnels shook a bit to another distant explosion, and we stumbled around a little. When we recovered, so did the conversation.

"No." He replied. "I already told you, it hurts too much."

I groaned and buried my face in both hooves. "I'm carrying you... But if we make it out of here alive, you owe me." I pointed a hoof at him; my brows knitting as I looked into his visor. "Big time." I looked away and muttered under my breath. "My body is gonna be so sore after this..."

I started putting a few thorn rounds in the mag, in case there was anything else ahead. Unfortunately, we had went through most of the box with the monster back at the reactor. I only hoped that monster stayed dead... But probably not.

There were only two bullets left inside when I finished reloading.

With nothing else to do but wait, I sat down and stocked my right pouch with the food they didn't take. No point in letting it go to waste...

"So, do you have a name for the thing back there?" I asked, looking at Petiole as we raced down the tracks toward the exit of 32.

"Not exactly. No one survived long enough to give it one. And I didn't care much to do so."

I looked down at Fluky, who was sitting there quietly on one of the seats.

We had switched tracks once we got on the main line, and proceeded forward; nose and cab pointing to our destination.

Petiole stepped into the cab and looked at the map, before stepping back out. "We should be there in less than a minute."

I nodded, then returned to Fluky. "How you holding up?"

She looked up at me as I slipped my helmet back on. "I'm okay..." She got up off the seat. "I just... hope we don't see Para's body..."

I sighed and hung my head down. "Yeah... me too..."

The tram jolted abruptly, causing the three of us to lose our balance and fall. I quickly stood back up and looked through the cabin window to see a much larger set of green, glowing eyes, followed by a bigger wooden mass attacking the front of the vehicle, preventing us from going any further. The glass shattered, and several tendrils broke through, reaching out for Fluky.

"Go!" I shouted as I stood in the way, blasting the fleshy tentacles with lead.

The zompony screeched as the appendages whipped around. One of them had struck me before burning off the rest of its body. I fell back, feeling more of the health potion from the pipbuck seeping into my system. The impact on my chest was feeling better already, but it wasn't fast enough.

Still, I didn't waste time getting back up and turning to Petiole and Fluky. The ghoul slammed his hoof against a red button on the side of the door, to which they slid open. The two of them ran out into the tunnel. Well, Petiole didn't...

I turned back to the zompony covered in wood and blasted away at it once more. Even with the armor, it didn't stand a chance against the thorn rounds. I watched as its body burnt away on the inside.

But still, burning, it attacked the tram, destroying the system's controls in the process. Sparks flew from the cabin, while gas leaked out from the flooring.

Oh... shit...

I bolted through the doors just as fire spread through the inside of the vehicle, dousing the monster in flame. The force of the explosion had slammed me against the wall of the tunnel. My entire left side ached horribly, and the pipbuck notified me that the last of the health potion that was stored within was used to treat my injuries.

I looked back at the train to see all the windows had shattered. I could feel the immense heat beaming off the vessel. The inside was fire, and that was it. Nothing else remained.

"Let's go!" Fluky shouted as the facility continued to rumble. A light grew from the end of the tunnel where we came from. A bright, orange, fiery light...

I got up and lifted Petiole on my back, who reluctantly accepted, and made haste down the tunnel. My left side was still aching, but the potion had taken away most of the damage.

Fluky ran alongside me as the zompony burnt to a crisp, screaming in its final moments.

The station was just ahead. I could see the opening.

The hissing of a great fire grew from behind as explosions continued to rock the area around us. Bits of ceiling crumbled down on us. Fire and steam burst from pipes and walls, launching tile at us from both sides, but we kept on track. Every second mattered.

The merciless beast called Time didn't do any favors for anyone or anything. It always had its own agenda... and it was to chase us.

Eventually, it would win. It always won.

But that didn't mean that it had to win today.

Upon reaching the opening of the station, I stopped and lifted Fluky up onto the tiled floor. I let Petiole climb off my back and get up next, before I jumped and pulled myself up onto the platform. I heaved Petiole on my back once more, who grumbled under his breath, and the three of us bolted for the stairs ahead.

The roar of fire had grown to ear deafening levels, ready to devour all.

We reached the top of the stairs to see a set of turnstyles. Beyond that was a door. Fluky and I jumped over as we ran for it.

Tiles burst from the floor, ceiling, and walls around us, and water hosed us down from burst pipes. Better than fire.

I tried the door, but it didn't open.

"Fuck!" I slammed my hoof against it, noticing the electrical current was starting up again.

Petiole slipped off my back, pulling out a card from his suit. He held it out before a small, circular red light on the side, which soon turned green. The door slid down, revealing the corridor that Fluky and I had walked through when we first entered the stable.

This time, Petiole jumped on my back on his own accord. We turned right and hoofed it through the corridor, as the left was the stairs that led down. Thankfully, nothing was in our way. The infected must have all cleared out... which I wasn't so thankful for. It meant we had an epidemic on our hooves...

The hall shook violently, causing all of us to lose our balance and fall over. I quickly lifted myself up as the fire behind us roared loud enough to make a dragon proud. The temperature was rising to unbearable levels...

I lifted Fluky back on her hooves, put Petiole back on my back, and continued our marathon. Sparks flew from the cables and lights overhead, some of which shattered.

Upon reaching the end, we turned right and bolted down the next corridor of moss and dirt. Reaching the end of that, we turned left. As Fluky ran for the stable exit, I looked down where we came from to see a blazing inferno coming at us at speeds none of us could outrun for very long.

I charged for the exit as Fluky hoofed it to the outdoors. She jumped to the left, seeking shelter from what was coming.

Outside, I could see fire was already burning away at the forests. The cloudy skies were red, just like in my visions...

Parts of the ground burst, and pillars of fire broke free, reaching for the skies.

It must have been night, since a lot of that sky was dark.

I ran through the cogwheel shaped doorway and jumped to the right, taking cover just as fire spat out from the stable's opening.

Petiole was on the ground covering his head, while my back was pressed up against the metal, exterior wall of the stable. I closed my eyes as the roar of fire surrounded us.

The ground shook beneath us, and soon enough, I heard the distant rumbles of explosions from below.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Fluky ahead; her coat covered in black. She was hacking before she looked at me and started shouting. I couldn't hear her, but I understood what she was trying to say.

I picked Petiole up, put him on my back once more, and started running again. The air was becoming unbreathable here. It was time to go.

A little more than halfway through the park, Fluky and I froze at the sight of a pony standing before us...

With the scorching roar in the distance, we were able to hear the radio blasting a tune while he danced happily, holding the robotic bunny rabbit that I still had a hard time comprehending.

Here comes the sun

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right

Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right

There was a fresh, bloody wound in his chest... One of a bullet.

Yet there he was, ignoring it completely and dancing to the music in a burning park in the middle of the night.

His golden eyes locked on mine, and he smiled. "Hey there, Churro!" He continued dancing with his pet bunny. Bunny...

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right

"P... PARA!?" Fluky and I looked at each other for reassurance that we weren't crazy, but she was just as baffled as I was. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"Not for long, if we don't get out of here." Petiole said, hanging off my back.

I glanced back at him, then nodded, realizing he was right. "Para, we need to go!"

"Say no more! I'm in!" He grinned before nuzzling his little bunny buddy and putting her in the cage beside him, which he tied to his back soon after.

"Can you run?"

"Sure can!" He beamed at me.

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's all right

The bullet wound in his chest had me concerned... Not just for his safety, but... Happy had that same gunshot in my vision...

Right now it didn't matter... We needed to get out of here... I'd think more on it later...

From there, Fluky and I started running, and Para followed close behind with a happy canter as the music continued to play.

Author's Notes:

So this is the end of 32, folks! Gotta say, it's been fun writing the adventure of Stable 32, but now a new one must take place. An adventure among the wasteland.
Unfortunately, there won't be any new chapters for about 3 months, as Pines has left for the military, and now that Para is back, I can't exactly continue on without him editing his dialogue. I could make an attempt at getting his character right, but I usually focus on making characters like Petiole and Charger. So it'd be a challenge.
However, I'll continue working on more chapters while he's away. I just won't be able to release them until he's reviewed them.

The song in the end belongs to The Beatles. There's a clue in the lyrics, but it shouldn't be too hard to find now.

Also, I was listening to this song when I was revising the reactor battle scene, and I realized how well it fit. Sucks the radio wasn't there to play it.
Shrugs.
This was another song that I listened to when working on the reactor fight.
Shrugs again.

Also, red text like that generally means there's a youtube link behind it. I am addressing this, because one of the readers didn't understand. This goes for both the author notes, and the chapter. But for the chapters, chances are it'll only be for single words like song), or tune. Or beat. So if you see anything like that, like you did in the end of this chapter, you might wanna click on it, cause technically, it's a part of the story. That, and music is a beautiful creation that makes life worth living. What's not to love? ^^

Pines: When you are having a bad time, sometimes it's good to lay back and remember the good times. The things that you once had. For some, even you, you might get those things back. We can all get our Paras back. Well, by the time you're reading this, I'll be in Marine Basic Training. But that won't stop us from making more! Stay tuned for more RADIO STATIC!