//------------------------------//
// Cave Life 
// Story: Shining Diamond 
// by Ponyman130 
//------------------------------//


Chapter Two

I don't even know how long we've been in this cave for. There is no sun or clocks to know by. There is only darkness, rock, humidity and an awful stench. The only way I could judge time is by how many times I slept. I marked it in the corner of the wall, which is either covered by me or a pile of rocks I gathered out of boredom. It's not even an efficient way counting. It would probably be better to tell by how many times I'm dragged off to work.
Sometime during the first night of my capture, a dog mystic came to my cell. I couldn't see anything specific about her because she was wearing a cloak that covered her whole body. She removed a potion from a satchel on her side and stuck it through the bars of the cell, telling me to drink. Of course I hesitated at first, but when she threatened to cut my throat open, I was left with only a few options. With the little energy I had, I crawled over to her and retrieved the elixir. I downed it in one gulp. It was the first time I had something to drink in who knows how long. I was met with a very sweet and syrupy aftertaste.
It was a miracle in a bottle. In the matter of minutes, my head wound closed up. The haze that smothered my mind was lifted leaving clarity in its wake. The gash in my leg healed, leaving nothing but a scar where my cutie mark would be. I felt rejuvenated. It was a bit later when I noticed something odd. Whenever I tried to think of home or in fact, anything about myself, nothing came to mind. Also the elixir seemed to erase my cutie mark. The potion must have had some sort of sedative in it because I never seemed to panic. Maybe I was going insane, but worrying about my past won't get me anywhere in here. 
Sometimes after the white mare and I get back from our slave labor, I hear crying and screaming coming from the white one's cell. The poor mare. Nopony should ever have to endure what we are. Especially a mare. I've noticed her emotions have been slipping away with each work session. That flicker of hope in her eye has long, but burnt out. Leaving only a cold emptiness. Some days she doesn't even look at me as if she was a drone of some sort. I can't say that I'm much different than her but I still have that hope of escape. 

<........>

“Alright get to work worthless mules” said the guard who's name I learned to be is Rex. The same drill every day. I use the lack of a mix up in paths to try and find a way out. It's easy to tell when we get closer to the surface when the air gets a little less heavy and humid. I'm sure Rex knows that too because each time a look in the tunnel towards the opening he says “Eyes forward or I'll cut them out.” Which is usually followed by being poked with the tip of his spear. Which is when I continue to look back to the ground.
The halls in this tunnel seem endless. They twist and turn and always lead to another tunnel. We walked for a long while before finding more gems. The same routine again. Walk, mark, dig and keep going. I try to imagine that sometimes a treasure chest or a hole to safety lies beneath one of the X’s that the unicorn marks. Which leads me to think that I'm losing my sanity. Whenever I do feel myself slipping from reality I repeat the same phrase in my head. I'm trapped by horrible dog demons. There is a unicorn mare trapped with me. We have to escape. I have a plan. 
I looked at the unicorn in front of me. A cutie mark with three diamonds adorned her flank. Maybe it has to do with her gem finding abilities? I thought. My eyes drifted to what I could see of her face. The light blue glow of her horn illuminated her whole face, making it easy to see the beads of sweat collecting on the back of her neck.. I stared emptily into the back of her head when a thought hit me. I never learned her name. During the large amount of time the mare and I have been here I never got to ask her about her name. Due to the fact that if I did talk, Rex would rip my vocal cords out. He wouldn't hesitate to do the same to her either.
We continued to search for more gems. This time when the unicorn sensed a nearby gem, her eyes widened the smallest bit before her neutral mask was put back on. She marked an X on the ground where the gem was. I began digging until I hit the gem. I brushed off its dirt coat and I was stunned at what I uncovered. It was the same kind of gem that I saw the first day of my abduction. Whichever way I looked, azure blue swirled around and flashed dully. “Why you stop dumb ponies? He shoved the mare over onto the ground to see what's going on. She yelped as she hit the ground. “You better have a...” Rex stopped mid sentence when he saw the gem. He swallowed and started to look nervous. He quickly unlatched the harness from me.  “Follow me, NOW!” Rex ordered. I helped her back up as quick as I could. We didn't delay. The unicorn and I shared glances of confusion at the sudden change of emotion. His pace quickened with each step. What is so important about that gem? It must be very important to drive him to act this way. He glared back at us every few seconds, to make sure we weren't going anywhere. We weren't leaving just yet.
We reached my cell first. Rex shoved me and the mare into my small rocky abode. “Stay here.” He fumbled the key in his paw as he locked the cell door and took off on all fours. We sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, she hugged me out of nowhere. I sat still, not knowing what to really so in this situation. She started crying into my shoulder.  I patted her back gently. A little bit of snot started getting on my shoulder. “There, there?”I said not knowing what else to say.
“My sister.” she said to me while sobbing. I looked at her in shock. I didn't even think about her having a family. “She's only a filly. I can't die down here!” She continued to sob on me. I slowly returned the one-sided hug. “And my friends... Oh my... They must be looking everywhere for me.” She said, crying even harder now. Of course that hadn't occurred to me before either. If I had any friends or family they must be searching everywhere for me too. My heart ached a bit at the thought. No. Now's not the time for that. I thought. I pushed it out of my mind without a second thought. Eventually the crying and sobbing wore down. I was her wall to lean against in this time of tragedy. She talked of her friends and what they might be doing because of her absence. I reassured her that things were going to be fine. 
“Fine? FINE! HOW ARE THINGS GOING TO BE FINE!” She screamed at me, while getting off of me. I didn't expect this reaction, but my expression didn't waver. Now was not the time to lose my cool. I had to be the strong one for both of us.
“I have a plan.” I stated alone. A confused look grew on her face as the aggression departed. 
“A plan?” She asked. I smirked at the sudden change in attitude.
“Yes, a plan. I've been working on it since the first night of my capture.” That spark of hope flickered back into existence. 
“What is it?” She leaned in to hear what I had to say. I sighed. It seemed so much clearer in my head, but to put it into words was a whole new challenge. The first step of my plan popped into my head: Getting out of the cell. Another thought just popped into my head the same moment.
“Do you know how to pick a lock with your magic?” I asked. Her eyes widened at the sudden question. She mulled her answer over for a few seconds before responding.
“I don't know an unlock spell, but I know my way around with a sewing needle.” Sewing needle? Maybe she's a tailor? I put my thoughts into words.
“Are you a tailor?” I asked. 
“Yes, the very best in Ponyville.” She froze at the word Ponyville. Her home no doubt. Tears started collecting in her eyes. I braced myself for round two. 
She exploded into tears, falling onto me as she did so. I didn't say anything this time. I patted her back and stroked her dirt-caked mane. I let her run her course. After what seemed like hours, the crying slowed down and a light snore filled its place. It was an odd feeling to have a complete stranger sob on you for hours and fall asleep on your lap, but I pushed that aside to the inappropriate-time bin in my mind. 
I couldn't sleep during the time the mare was sleeping. I sat vigilantly in case Rex or another dog came to check on us. Sometime in her sleep she began to sing softly. “Smile smile smile...” A small grin escaped from me. I have to admit. The mare was quite cute, even in these dreadfully dirty conditions. I always seemed to get lost in those sapphire blue eyes. I shook my head. Nope! Not now. Too much to worry about. I began to think of the plan in my head. It was how I escaped from the problems around me. I have no memories of home, family or friends to worry about. I hate to say that it's a blessing, but from a lack of memory, it gives me a clear view of what's going on right now. With time, my eyelids grew heavy. I was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. The adrenaline that must have kept me going was dwindling. I looked up at the roof of my cell. A small crack caught my eye. I've stared at that ceiling for hours at end. There was definitely not a crack there before. I craned my neck to see from another point of view, cracking my neck in the process. I let out a small groan and shuddered. My neck was strained from the position it was in. I yawned and smacked my lips. I grew more tired by the moment. Maybe a little sleep won't hurt. I resolved. My mind began protesting, but my body crushed all resistance. My head slowly sank to the cold earth. I closed my eyes and sleep came almost instantly.
I always hope that when I wake up, sun would blast my eyes, causing me to snuggle back under my blankets for protection. Or at least that's how I hoped I reacted to the morning sun. I haven't had that luxury for a long time. Nowadays I open my eyes to see the same darkness. An eternal night brought upon by Nightmare Moon.The cave always had a faint green glow to it, but its nothing compared to the power of pure daylight. I raised my head. A sharp pain shot through my neck. I grunted and raised my head slower. A stiff neck was an ordinary symptom of sleeping on dirt I learned. I looked to my right to see the white unicorn huddled against me. I smirked at her adorableness. She seemed to sense being watched as her eyes popped open. She blinked a few times getting her barrings no doubt. I quickly looked forward as to not let her know I was staring at her. She noticed her closeness to me and shifted away. I pretended to be surprised by the sound of of her shuffling and turned my gaze toward her.
“Sleep good?” I asked. She stretched her legs a bit before answering.
“Better than other nights. Thank you.” She looked at my face with a strange expression, seeming to be looking right under my eyes.
“Did you sleep at all?” Were the bags under my eyes that noticeable? To be truthful, I was half asleep right now.
“Yeah. Not much though. Couldn't sleep.” I explained, while standing up to stretch my legs. She gave me a suspicious look. She probably knew I was up most of the time watching over her. I walked over to the small pile in the corner of my cell. The pile consisted of rocks and a small amount of hay I've been saving in case things got worse. This isn't “worse”, but I figured it would be best if she got some food. I picked up the hay and gingerly dropped it next to her. “Here eat. It's been a while.” Hunger flashed in her eyes before disappearing.
“What about you? You need to eat too.” She split the hay in half with her magic and floated my half over to me. I could tell there was no overriding her decision. Both of our hay piles were gone in a bite, but it sure made me feel better. A small amount strength returned. I then realized how skinny we both were. Especially her. Her ribs were practically showing. I was probably the same. It's a miracle from Celestia that I have the strength and courage as I do right now.
We sat there quietly for a few moments before she spoke up. “Rarity.” Rarity? Was that her name or was she talking about the food? “My name's Rarity.” She clarified after receiving my confused look. And there it was. Her name. Rarity. A name that fits just right for her. I wish I could return the my name, but I was empty hooved. I had to think of something. Let's see. Orange coat, brown mane. Orange Brownie? No. Ah hay, I'll just say the truth. I took a deep breath, shuddering in the process. 
“I don't know my name.” I said, lowering her head. She put a hoof to her mouth in shock.
“Oh my.” She whispered. 
“One of those dog... things came to my cell after the first night. She gave me a potion that healed my wounds completely. It was great, but it wiped my mind of all memories of myself, my friends my family. Anything that had to do with me.” I started to choke up on the last sentence. Everything I once was. Gone. I don't even remember how I got here. I sighed, pushing the tears away. No weakness now. Rest after we get out of here. A think silence filled our prison. 
“Those monsters. They're called Diamond Dogs.” Rarity spoke up suddenly. 
“Makes sense.” I realized I was being blunt, but I didn't feel like being compassionate at the moment. She looked back at me.
“This isn't the first time I was captured.” She admitted. Now that caught my attention. “I was caught finding gems for my outfits, just like I was this time. Last time, my friends came to my rescue and I was out in under a day.” She shook her head, more tears appearing. “I went out too far this time. I hoped they would come, but as time passed, I lost all hope. Now, you have a plan and, and we're going to get out. Right?” She was crying at the end. She worked herself up so much during her short story. I did the only thing I could think of. I hugged her.
“Of course.” I said to her. She cried into my shoulder as she did a short while ago. As she drenched me in tears I was going over my mental checklist of the plan. Everything was falling into place. I realized now is the time. Our escape was within reach. My head shot up. “Now's the time.” I said. Her crying silenced.
“What?” She asked.
“Now's our chance to escape.” I said. I got up quickly and walked over to the corner which held my sharpened rock. I almost cut my mouth picking it up. A cold wetness plopped on my head. I looked up. The crack that I noticed a while ago grew. Water was leaking out. I thought back to where we are in the cave. The holding cells were on an incline compared to the rest of the cave. My brain was making sense of what was going on. Then like a puzzle piece fitting into the final space, I knew what was happening. The cave was flooding. We had to leave. We had to leave right now.