//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: Memories (1 HOUR UNTIL DAWN) FINAL PART 
// Story: Blackhoof Mountain 
// by DeskManiac 
//------------------------------//

6:27 a.m.

Water droplets dripped from the ceiling rhythmically, as the ponies trodded beneath them. Occasionally, they’d fall onto one of their unsuspecting muzzles, earning a disgruntled groan from them.

The group of three have been walking for almost an hour, and if the thought of sore hooves hadn’t sent them running back, the thought of bloodthirsty monsters should have. But Pinkie was yet to be found, and they couldn’t just go back without her. The three ponies walked in silence.

“Another dead end? Come on!” Rainbow whined, wondering if they have been walking in circles the entire time. Starlight sighed at the back.

“Guys, it’s hopeless,” she sighed, “We’re never gonna find Pinkie in all these tunnels. I’ve spent the entire night here, and even I can’t find Spike!”

Twilight closed her eyes, her head hanging low, “But we can’t just give up Starlight. We have to keep trying.”

Starlight bit her lip, she knew she shouldn’t have mentioned the caves earlier, now nobody wanted to go back until they found Pinkie. It was dangerous to stay in the caves, magical ponies or not, because she knew she only barely made it out alive of them.

“Twilight, what I’m saying is, what if Pinkie’s gone for good?” she argued, “The thing I said back in the lodge… It’s all hypothetical. We don’t know if Pinkie’s already been eaten by the wendigos by now!”

Rainbow burst out in anger. “No! You’re wrong! Pinkie can’t be dead! She’s waiting for us! I know it! We can’t just give up now!”

Twilight stood silently, her mouth parched, her knees aching. A single tear shed from her eye, as she tried to take in the reality of the loss of a friend. She opened her mouth, trying to speak though her throat was beginning to sore.

“Rainbow, she’s right. I don’t think Pinkie’s alive anymore and we’re just endangering ourselves by being here. Our friends are waiting for us at the bottom of the mountain. We need to make sure they’re okay too,” she said before ending it, “I’m sorry Rainbow.”

Rainbow’s heart broke into two. She stared at the two purple ponies, her mind in complete disbelief.

“Quit?! We can’t quit now! What if Pinkie is waiting for us? What if she’s still alive?! We can’t leave her behind!!” she cried.

“Dash!” Twilight scolded, “I know you’re upset, but we can’t attract any wendigos to us, remember?”

“Yeah, but…” Rainbow stopped. “Whatever! I don’t need your help anyways! I can find her all on my own!” she shouted, covering her face as she flew away.

“Rainbow Dash!”

The voices grew softer and softer. Rainbow was certain that if no one wanted to help her, then she’d just do it all alone. Yeah, she didn’t need them. Who needs lame ‘o quitters anyway?

Rainbow wiped away her tears. Deep down inside she knew she was a goner, but she didn’t want to believe it.

Pinkie couldn’t be dead, she just couldn’t be. After everything they’ve been through, she just couldn’t be. Could she?

Rainbow wiped her tears again. It was all her fault. It was all because she didn't stop herself. It was all because she didn’t listen to her. It was all because of stupid Rainbow Dash.

Her eyes welled up in tears again and she tried to wipe them away. Before she knew it, she slammed into a rock wall and fell onto the ground. She winced in pain as blood started trickling down her forehead. She felt like the stupidest pony in the world.

This whole thing started because of what? Me trying to get back at everyone for a prank? F*ck. How stupid was I? She cried, tears falling onto her sides.

The pain continued to grow as she laid helplessly on the ground. She wished she could turn back time. She wished she could have stopped everything from happening. She wished she could have stopped herself from doing this in the first place. She wished she could just get out of this stupid…

*HISS*

She froze. She remembered that hiss. She remembered that hiss way too clearly. Her eyes went wide opened as she spotted the same creature from the woods attached to the ceiling. She froze in horror. She couldn’t fight back right now even if she wanted to. She had no gun, and she was bleeding loads from her head. Her breathing quickened, fate had finally caught onto her.

“No… Please no…” she begged the creature. She was too young to die for all the dumb things she’s done, she knew she just was. “Please don’t…”

“RAINBOW DASH!!” Twilight shouted, charging at the beast. “STAY AWAY FROM HER!” She summoned a fire spell, firing it directly at the wendigo. It fell from the ceiling, almost crushing Rainbow underneath it, but it disappeared into a pile of ashes before even hitting the floor.

 “Are you okay?” Twilight knelt down next to her, instantly realizing she had a major wound on her head, “Oh my god you’re bleeding!”

Rainbow sobbed. She didn’t care about that, she didn’t care if she had a massive wound on her head right now. There was only one thing on her mind. “It’s all my fault Twilight…” she said through the tears, “It’s all my fault Pinkie’s gone…” she wept.

Twilight looked at her, compassion in her eyes. Even though Rainbow had put them through one of the most unpleasant nights of their lives, she knew deep down, Rainbow was just a kid trying to grow up. And even if she matures slower than everyone else, she didn’t have the right to make her feel worse than she already felt right now. She wrapped her scarf around her wound and started to comfort her.

“Whether it’s your fault or not can be settled later. Right now, we need to get out of here.”

Rainbow dried her tears, trying to pull herself together. But the two weren’t left alone for long as they heard screaming coming from the tunnels.

“Guys! We gotta go!”

It was Starlight, and behind her was a massive hoard of wendigos.

Both mares eyes widened as Twilight hurriedly picked Rainbow off the ground. All three mares began running down the tunnels, the wendigos hungry for a taste of them. Rainbow’s head continued to throb, but she couldn’t care less about it right now.

The three galloped at max speeds, Starlight keeping a look out on the creatures who were gaining on them. Twilight halted suddenly, the trio confronted by another hoard of wendigos approaching from the front. They were trapped.

“Oh no. We are not becoming wendigo dinner tonight!” Starlight shouted, a bright glow erupted from her horn.

They pony trio teleported past the wendigos, into the far end of the tunnel, giving them a much needed lead over them.

“What are we waiting for? C’mon!” Starlight shouted, leading the way. The two mares followed without hesitation.

The chase continued. The wendigos quickly spotted them again and were coming down the tunnels. Rainbow looked back. They now had a distance advantage over the wendigos, but she knew they would catch up soon, and then they would need another plan.

Rainbow’s train of thought was interrupted when Twilight stopped in her tracks again. Rainbow noticed that they were now stepping on planks, and that there was a giant hole right beneath them. The planks ended not too far from where Twilight was standing. It was a dead end.

She looked up. Fire crackled above their heads as they stood over the shaky platform. Twilight squinted at the fire, confused. But soon she recognized the fiery structure above them. It was the radio tower. Or what’s left of it. Because all that was remaining was a flaming pile of debris hanging over them.

“Great! Where do we go now?” Rainbow shouted.

“The fire is blocking our way out. We can’t fly through that!” Twilight said, “And there’s no way we can fight that many of them!”

“Then what do we do?!”

Twilight panicked. Time was ticking away and the wendigos were getting closer. Was this the end? Is this how they were going to die?

Starlight spoke.

“You guys can’t fight them, but I can.”

“WHAT?!” Both mares turned around in shock.

Before they could say another word, they were teleported out of the gorge, landing in a pile of snow. The shrieks and hissing were growing near, but Starlight was ready.

“Starlight no!” Twilight got out from the snow, running to the edge of the gorge. “Starlight!”

But Starlight ignored her. She smirked. The shapes and figures were growing closer, and she pointed her horn down.

“Time to send you all back to Tartarus where you belong.” She gritted her teeth.

“Starlight no-”

Immediately, the blast shook the entire mountain. Twilight fell back, as fire spewed from the mouth of the gorge. She shielded her eyes from the incoming flames, she could not advance any further.

She felt a tug on her right shoulder.

“C’mon! We have to go!” Rainbow shouted, pulling her away from the fire.

“But Starlight-”

“She’ll be fine! C’mon!” Rainbow urged, already running ahead.

Twilight looked back at the chasm. The flames went on and on, drowning her hopes that Starlight would survive. But Rainbow was right, they had to go. The snow around her was thawing really quickly, and if she didn’t go soon, she’d get washed down by the rushing waters.

She clenched her teeth and ran.

Oh Celestia please be alright.

Rainbow dashed into the woods, already having a head start over Twilight. She was defenseless, so all she could hope for was that she wouldn’t be jumped by a wendigo at any moment. She sprinted past the shed, and the generator, over the river and up the steps, until she finally reached the lodge.

“Dammit!”

The doors were shut tight. She had to think of a fast way in before…

“AAHHH!”

“Rainbow it’s just me!” Twilight shouted. Rainbow fell back, wiping her brow and breathed a sigh of relief. Twilight used her magic to open up the door from the other side, and the two went into the basement.

“Finally,” Rainbow smiled, “We’re safe.” She sank into the stiff musty old sofa, glad to be out of danger for now. Twilight paced around worriedly.

“Rainbow, did you see any flares on your way back?”

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow, surprised at the sudden question, “No?”

Twilight shook her head, a sign of distress. “Me neither, but Discord and the others should have reached the bottom by now, I hope nothing’s happened to them…”

“Maybe they just forgot or something?” Rainbow mused, knowing that that was not quite the answer Twilight was thinking off.

“What if they were attacked? What if they didn’t make it off the mountain alive?!” Twilight hyperventilated, putting a hoof to her head.

“Twilight!” Rainbow grabbed her. “Pull. Yourself. Together!” she shouted in her face, “I’m sure they’re alright!”

Twilight still looked stressed as Rainbow held onto her. But the two were cut short when they both heard a loud growling. They both looked at each other, fear gripping their hearts. Before either could say anything, a giant claw reached through the walls.

“Run!” Rainbow cried. Twilight was way ahead of her, darting back up the stairs in a flash. Rainbow followed suit, but the wendigo had already broken in.

“Dammit!”

Rainbow slammed the basement door and ran.

She finally made it to the top when...

"Don't. Move. A. Muscle."

Twilight stood frozen in front of her, and soon Rainbow caught on to what was going on. 3 more wendigos had broken into the lodge, and they were crawling about on the ceiling. Their beady eyes twitching for every signs of movement.

The wendigos didn't notice either pony, which was good, but not for long.

Soon enough, the wendigos started to notice each other's presence. They glared at one another, neither recognizing the odor the other one had gave. They eyed one another, as enemy would to enemy, before they pounced at one another.

The two engaged in an intense fight, but it ended quickly when one grabbed the other by the neck and ripped its head apart. Twilight closed her eyes. Rainbow felt her heart stop.

The victor flung the corpse across the room, smashing the fireplace and destroying it completely. Rainbow couldn’t stand being around like this, they had to get out now.

That's when they smelled it. Gas.

Twilight looked at Rainbow, and Rainbow looked back at her, both their gazes falling onto the light bulb nearby.

Twilight inched forward carefully, avoiding the gaze of the wendigos. She eventually made it to the light bulb seated over the fireplace, the smell of gas more pungent than ever. She held her breath, her purple aura enveloping the light bulb.

*CRACK*

The wendigos turned. All eyes were on her. One wendigo dropped from the ceiling and moved towards her, eyes never shifting.

Twilight tried to stay still, but it was no use.

"Hey!"

The wendigo turned to Rainbow Dash, who had now moved across the room. Rainbow stood still as it inched closer menacingly, placing its face inches from hers, breathing heavily. Rainbow held her breath, standing as still as she could, hoping that the griffin’s advice was true. Suddenly, a snap came from the other side of the lodge, making the wendigo turn away.

It was another wendigo, and it was as hungry the first one. They growled, leaping at one another, locked in a fight.

Rainbow finally turned back to Twilight, who was moving closer and closer to the front door, successfully avoiding all attention.

Twilight gave her one last look before running out of the lodge. The wendigos continued to fight, not noticing, each matching the other in terms of strength and speed.

It was now or never.

Rainbow galloped as fast as she could towards the front door. The wendigos spotted her immediately, chasing her down the halls. Her head was still hurting from the wound but she knew she had to resist it. With every trot she stepped she was racing for her life, the wendigos proving that they had much more speed over her without even trying. But as she neared the front door, and felt that death was only a few mere inches away, she clenched her teeth and flipped the light switch.

The entire cabin exploded in a huge blast, sending Rainbow face first into the snow. Twilight was hiding behind a snow mound, watching the ski lodge spout flames from its windows and doors. The sight was truly gruelling.

Rainbow tried to pick herself up from the snow, her right ear charred from the explosion, and the wound in her head hurting more than ever. She tried to get up, but could only remain in a crouched position. Everything hurt like hell.

"Rainbow!" Twilight cried, running to her. "Oh sweet Celestia you're burnt!"

Rainbow winced. First she gets a head injury and now she gets burnt. Karma sure knew how to make her pay for her sins.

Twilight dragged her away from the flames, falling over once they reached past the picnic tables, safely away from the fire. The two laid in the snow, backs aching as the rest of their bodies.

Suddenly, they heard a loud whirring sound from above, as well as a voice over the radio. They looked up.

"We have visual. The main structure is completely destroyed, over."

"Hold on, I'm seeing something."

"I have confirmation on two survivors, over."

"Alright, let's pick 'em up."  c