Above and Below
A shuffling to her right woke Aurora. She jerked awake, confused by her surroundings. Tall, brown pillars with green, overhanging tops surrounded her, swaying slowly back and forth. She pressed herself backwards against something solid, her breathing fast.
“Aurora!” Her head snapped left at Boots’ voice. Her eyes focused on him, and she recalled the previous day. They had crossed into the forest. These were trees. Plants. They weren’t going to hurt her for waking up late. There was no waking up late now. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Safe. She was safe. Boots was here.
“Are you alright?” Her eyes opened, looking back into his face. The pools of blue examining her face spoke concern as Boots hunched over her. She shook her head.
“I’m fine. Just, it’s all so new.” She got to her feet. “I’m not used to plants yet.”
Boots straightened his back. “I suppose I’d be frightened by trees too. New stuff and change are scary things.” His face smoothed over, as though something new had struck him too. “Here.” He tossed her a red orb. “Another fruit for you, though I don’t know entirely what it is. I find it highly unlikely they’d be growing here, but it looks like a peach. Smells like one too.” He popped his own open, juices spraying out. “Yeah, that’s a peach. Weird. Well, that’s good news too. Hopefully there are other fruits growing in the wild like this.” He bit into half, licking the juices back from around his mouth.
Aurora looked down at the fuzzy fruit in her claw. Her mind was still reeling from waking up somewhere other than a cave. The trees had seemed so ominous from afar and their height still confused her. She shook her head, splitting the peach in half like Boots had done, watching the juice drip from the tender flesh inside. Well, if Boots thought it was okay to eat, then she could try it too. Her first bite overwhelmed her with sweetness and she almost spit it back out. Could food even taste like this, so sweet and tender? A memory shot through her mind, from early in her life.
A speck of a gem, pale yellow, rocks still attached to it, popped out of a minecart in front of her. She scooped it up without thought but paused before depositing it back in the cart. She looked around. Only fellow dragon-slaves nearby, eyes glazed over with the internal workings of their minds. She opened her claw, looking at the speck within as she walked along, pulling her cart behind her. It sparkled in the light and she felt a bit of drool escape the side of her mouth. Surely, no one would notice a stone this small missing? She looked around her again and slowly put the gem in her mouth. A taste like none other melted over her tongue and she had to constrain her moan of happiness. She dared not risk another though.
This was that flavor, experienced so many years ago she had forgotten it. This time she popped the whole thing in her mouth, not bothering to hold back her voice. The juice flowed around her mouth and she chewed thoroughly, trying to get every squish she could out. Another hum escaped her throat. A small cough brought her out of her reverie. Boots had his fist to his mouth, head turned away as though… embarrassed? “You, uh, enjoying your fruit there Aurora?”
“Yes, it’s quite good. Why?” She cocked her head in confusion.
“Oh, no reason.“ He finished his fruit quickly and got to his feet. She finished hers off slowly, enjoying every bite to its fullest while he gathered their hide bags. His head frills twitched oddly . “Welp, whenever you’re ready then.” She stood and they began their climb through the jungle.
They walked in silence for a time, which let Aurora take in her new surrounding with a mind fresh from sleep. The trees lost the menace they’d held for her that morning, once again reminding her of the protection from the skies they gave. Her head swam with all the things Boots was explaining to her. Who knew that the stuff that made the sun made her as well? Or that these plants didn’t eat but got food from above? There was so much to learn it was overwhelming.
Her mind returned to Foecruncher, and worry plagued her again. She had no doubt he was still hunting them but… somehow, that menace seemed far and away, not so immediate when surrounded by this lush, green matter around her, so inviting and full of life. How could that dragon keep them from such things, such beauty and happiness? A spark of anger grew in her and her fear couldn’t crush it. She’d felt it before when she had shot fire down the dragon’s throat but this time it refused to leave.
She was changing, she realized. Boots was opening the world to her, one leaf at a time, and her fears were falling with her ignorance. She giggled as she thought of her panicked state when she’d captured Boots, almost a week ago now. Goodness, had it been that long already? And yet, no sign appeared of another dragon pursuing them. She looked forward at her guide, who seemed to move with more purpose today. Maybe he was right after all. It had been three days since the last dragon. Maybe Foecruncher HAD given up.
They crossed a stream and Boots stopped, peering at the sky for something. Smiling at what he saw, He motioned for Aurora to begin walking again. “I got a bit of good news last night.” She looked at him, startled. News? “Well, It’s a bit hard to explain but I can say with utmost certainty that we can find Equestria now.”
She sped up to walk beside him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I have a vague direction to go in. We need to head south, far to the south. Moreover, we’ve entered the land of the Diamond Dogs now. You’ve heard of them?” She nodded slowly. Where was he getting all this from? Yes, he’d always been smart but never so sure of his direction or position as he was now, always lamenting the lack of a map; “sarcasm” he’d called it. She didn’t really understand it.
Her confusion must have been evident as he spoke again. “I had a dream. Now, normally I wouldn’t put much stock in dreams. But this was different, for a very specific reason. I met one of the most powerful dreamwalkers this planet has to offer. One of the rulers of Equestria, Princess Luna.” Her eyes widened. She wasn’t sure what he meant by dreamwalker but one of the pony rulers? If he’d met her that must mean he was pretty important, right?
“So are you a king or something?” It seemed reasonable to her but Boots smacked his forehead and laughed.
“Oh goodness no, Aurora. Hahaha, no, no, I’m not that important-“ A frown flickered over his face. “Well, I shouldn’t be at least. No, I’m no king. Why did Luna visit me in my dreams? Well, apparently, it was because I was admiring her moon.” He snickered to himself and mumbled something like “Luna’s full moon”. She couldn’t quite make sense of it. “No, apparently, as I took my walk last night, I attracted her attention by admiring the night sky. It doesn’t quite get the attention she’d like it too and my reverence for it somehow reached her. So, she made a visit to my mind. As in, yes, she entered my mind. She’s quite powerful.”
Aurora reeled back. The pony leader could enter a dragon’s minds? She felt a little self—conscious now, remembering guiltily some of her thoughts regarding Boots. Like how she felt so safe when he was next to her or patting her head or how his li- No, no further with that thought. She promised herself she wouldn’t think of that or how special it made her feel or how it brought warm fuzzies to her stomach or-
She groaned and smacked her face. How did she get from pony princesses to Boots? Now he was staring at her, eyebrow raised in that questioning look he gave. She coughed. “So, she can read minds? Is she reading our minds right now?”
“Well, it’s not so much mindreading as dream reading. She’s the princess of the night and so, the realm of dreams is her domain. She guides ponies through the night and uses dreams to teach lessons – or something like that. So no, she’s not reading our minds right now.” Aurora breathed a sigh of relief. “In any case, like I said, she made a visit last night. Not only does this confirm that Equestria is real but more importantly, it gives us direction. One direction.” He pointed towards the sun and then through the woods. “South.”
Having woke up late, Aurora and Boots found the sun approaching its zenith earlier than the past few days. After their initial conversation, Aurora had asked to learn more about plants and nature, especially what Boots could tell of her surroundings. All the green enraptured her, made her feel free, removed from her past in a way she’d never felt before. He wasn’t familiar with many of the plants but he could at least give enough broad strokes to let her figure things out on her own, even as she learned from him.
He delved into other subjects as well, he said, like chemistry and physics, though she had a little trouble making the distinctions when everything flowed into one another. The most basic stuff, atoms, made everything and, when combined, made bigger and bigger things until they reached the level she could see. That this structure had to be divided to be examined was lost on her. She supposed she would pick it up eventually but for now, she was content to just absorb all the knowledge she could.
After another lunch of primarily fruit with small portions of meat from what they could catch, they went two hours before discovering a large but shallow crack in the forest floor.
“Now now, what have we here? This formation doesn’t seem entirely natural.“ He crouched, pointing as he explained. “There, see how the striations in the rock are visible? There’s also no valley leading away, so this hole isn’t the result of erosion. The hole is also a little too straight and in fact…” He peered over the edge. “Yep! That’s a tunnel. Still dirt walls but a tunnel none the less. I think I can even see a torch.” The bottom was about 12 feet down, rubble having fallen down from both sides.
“A cave-in happened here but not enough to cover the openings, probably because of how close to the surface it was. I think we’ve found our first signs of diamond dogs. Let’s hope this tunnel is old enough that there’s nothing to worry about nearby.” He cocked his head, frowning, as though hearing something far and away but shook his head. “Let’s just press onward. Better to put distance between this and us just in case.”
They walked around, moving forward into the forest, when a shadow passed over the canopy, drawing Aurora’s attention upwards with a crack. Boots, turned to look at her-
“ROOOOOOOOAAAAAA-“
“RUN!” A red dragon flew through the treetops, burning them as he swooped in for the pair. Boots was already ahead of her. “Into the tunnel!” He was down the slope in a leap, only slowing to grab an unlit torch from the wall. Aurora sat where she was, terrified. He sent another one! I knew it was too good to be true.
The dragon was making for a second pass and Aurora found she couldn’t move. Her mind was locked into a cycle of all the things she would be forced to endure when the dragon dragged her back. Here he comes. She shrank, cowering. Just as the red dragon’s claws came to snatch her, something else was faster. The claws snapped closed just where she had been and she watched as the dragon was forced to swing upwards, away from the ground. She was rushed down and away from the light, as the tunnel slowly closed around her. The angry roar echoed around her and she saw the dragon land, peering into the tunnel. Its mouth opened and a jet of flame spewed forth, illuminating the cave.
Flames soon lost their ground as the view retreated. A minute or two of heavy breathing later, her rescuer slowed and, finally, slumped to the ground. “Haaa, haaa, you know, haaaa, when I said run, I did mean run. Hooooo…” She felt Boots lean against her, breaths coming erratically. Aurora found herself doing the same.
The dragon had come for her. For them. Foecruncher had NOT given them up for good. This dragon hadn’t even spoken. Straight in, no questions asked. Straight for them and no one to stop him. And- and- She looked to Boots, even if she couldn’t see him. He saved me, again. Tears lept unbidden to her eyes and she grasped for him in the darkness, pulling him close. “Aurora?” Tears fell freely, holding him as close as she could. Here, again, he’d risked himself for her. No one had ever treated her like she was even worth looking at, much less saving, yet here he was, having done it twice in a single week.
Boots seemed to understand, and shifted so she could pull him in closer. “Shhh, it’s okay. We’re safe now. He can’t reach us here, wherever we are.” She shook, sobbing into his neck. “There, there. Heh. It’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe.” His hands stroked her head quietly, and as she sat, unable to quench her tears, he began to softly sing, wordlessly. The tune was unrecognizable to her, though she knew little music to begin with. Eventually, her tears slowed and stopped and she just held him, as he sang, slowly drifting to sleep.
It was a few minutes before I noticed Aurora’s slow breathing. It had taken a while for her to fall asleep. Slowly, I extricated myself from her grasp. Thankfully, that time was what I needed to recover from the half mile sprint through dark tunnels carrying a 250 pound dragon. For some unknowable reason, such a task took a lot out of me – one can only wonder why. Not to mention the scars on my chest barraging my head in protest. They weren’t quite recovered yet but at least the soreness indicated recovery. Still, I could not see well in the pitch black tunnel. I felt around for a torch, finding one a couple of feet away on the wall. There were still rags wrapped around it and *sniff* yes, they still had oil on them. Not as old a tunnel as I’d hoped then.
Now, how to light it. I didn’t want to wake Aurora – poor girl needed her sleep. Hopefully I’d be able to get her going again when she woke up. The resilience she’d shown me before was surprising. Which really left one other option: figuring out if I could, in fact, breathe fire. So, how does one begin breathing fire? Assuming I was right about the glands in my throat, I needed some way to activate them. A cough? Spike shot fire when he sneezed…. Maybe it was like hawking a lugie. I tried feeling for nerve bundles in my throat.
Well, I’ve found them. Now, I have to use them. I moved to what I hoped to be a good distance away from Aurora, so as to not disturb her already deep slumber. Supposing they were glands, that meant I had to get something out of them. The muscles tightened and I felt a trickle of something odd in my throat. Whoa, don’t swallow that. Breath out like you’re trying to blow your nose. And ‘blow my nose’ I did, as a spurt of flame escaped my mouth and caught the torch. “*hech, hah* Bleeeh, that does not taste good.” I massaged my throat, suddenly feeling a little raspy, like I was actually sick. At least I have my torch. Let’s not try that again until I’ve got some expertise on hand.
I returned to Aurora and tried to plan our next move. The tunnel so far had no branches or at least none I could see. We couldn’t go backwards, as the dragon would certainly be waiting. Which meant going in the depths and trying to find another escape. Well, at least there won’t be spider spawners. Next I had to figure out how to carry Aurora. I could walk with her, no issue, but how to do it and still carry the torch, especially when she was actually a little bigger than me – that was the question. A bridal carry was out of the question; my arms would get tired too quickly. She was no shawl to be draped around my shoulders either.
Could I piggyback her? She wasn’t awake. As slowly as I could, I snaked her forearms around my neck and crouched to pick up her hindlegs. A barely noticeable sniff happened right next to my ear holes and suddenly the arms around my chest constricted mightily, nearly pulling me back to the ground. Maybe I could just wait for her to wake up… but no, not if this was only recently vacated. The dogs may wander past and then we’ll be in a world of trouble. Best to keep movi- “F@$&!”
I cursed as my head split open again and I nearly fell back to the ground. I’d been doing so well at keeping my thoughts sporadic that I hadn’t had to worry about the headaches for nearly two days. All the more reason to keep walking. At least she seems to cling to me enough to walk. Regaining my posture, I wrapped her hindlegs around my waist and sighed when she constricted them. Let’s just hope my bladder doesn’t build up soon. Raising my torch in one hand and holding Aurora’s arms on my neck with the other, I began my hunchbacked trek into the earth.
Aurora woke to a mix of strange, yet familiar smells. She was lying against a dirt wall, facing a figure hunched over two burning torches. As she began to move, one of the torches went out. “Boots? Where are we?” Her friend turned around and helped her up.
“Underground, in an abandoned mine. Have to admire the dogs work, nice, straight and level. Nothing to hit my head on. You’ve been out for a few hours now. Ready to get moving?” As she stared at him, her nose was attracted to something wonderful smelling in the wall. “Wait a moment...” He’d said it was a mine. Did that mean it had gems? She didn’t know anything about diamond dogs other than they existed. But that smell… she dug into a nearby wall and smiled at her prize, then, immediately frowned. She was good at mining but it just meant she’d been a good cog for the machine at Coldfire Mountain.
A machine lead by a dragon that still chased her. “Boots, I- You should have left me with that dragon.”
“What?” She couldn’t turn around to look at him. He was didn’t even know where he was and he was helping her escape and she was just putting his life in danger.
“I’m just a burden to you and now, those dragons are going to kill you because of me. I… I should never have left, I should have just-“ Without warning, he spun her around and she melted into the comfort of his arms, forgetting the rest of what she was going to say.
“You are not a burden to me, not now, not ever. You’ve saved me just as much as I’ve saved you.” He tilted her head up to look at him as her tears threatened to break free. “What would have happened if you hadn’t found me?” She remembered the scene well. “I was being chased by half a dozen predatory animals, all far larger than me. I would have died if you hadn’t pulled me away. The same goes for the first dragon. If you hadn’t smoked him, we would both have been dead. And no,“ He clasped his hand around her mouth. “It is not your fault he was there. Cap’n Cruncher is just insane. He sent the dragon, not you.“
He stepped away, staring down at her claw in his hand. “I wouldn’t be half as calm as I am now, if I didn’t have you here. I wouldn’t even have a purpose to drive me. I’d be sitting dead in those wastes, with no idea how to get home. You’ve given me a reason to survive, to get to a place we can be safe.” He looked at her, the torchlight flickering darkly against the wall behind him. “I will get you to Equestria, to a better life, okay? I’ll make sure of it.” His eyes drooped downwards and he smiled. “We’ll be okay, yah? We can get through this. So, no tears young one.” She smiled slowly as he picked up the torch. Maybe he was right. Two dragons Foecruncher had sent and they’d escaped both of them. She reached over and put her claws around the torch, taking it from him.
“I’ve got it.”
“You sure?”
She shook her head. “I’m not really sure of anything. But we can’t give up hope. You’ve given me so much and protected me when I…“ She faltered.
“There’s nothing wrong with being afraid.”
“But I can’t keep being scared anymore. I’m free now; I should act like it. I don’t have to be afraid anymore.” She straightened her shoulders. “Now, here, hop on my back.”
“What!? Nononono-“ She wrapped her tail around him and plopped him down just before her scarred wing joints. Despite being roughly the same size, she felt he fit there perfectly.
“No buts now, you’ve carried me for long enough. And don’t think I haven’t noticed those twitches. You’re still hurt and shouldn’t be carrying me around like you have.” Aurora began her walk forward. “Please, let me do this. I have to do something at least.” Her comment stopped whatever rebuttal he’d had. “I’ve been leaning on you so much and never even thought what it might be doing to you. Please?”
“Fine, fine, if you insist. I’m not used to letting peo- others do things for me.” The torch flickered ahead of them, illuminating the way forward. “You know, I’ve never thought about it before. I’m 22, how old are you?
She blinked up at him in surprise as they disappeared down the tunnel “Only 22!? How do you sound so old? I’m 65 and I don’t know half the things you do!”
“WHAAAAAAAAAAT!?”
The pounding of Aurora’s feet did nothing to stamp out the skittering whirlwind behind her. Her legs could not carry her away fast enough from the horrible, horrible monstrosities behind them. How such creatures existed in such an amount, or at all, she couldn’t imagine. Never had she seen anything scarier in her life.
“I swear, why do mineshafts always come with cave spiders?” Boots had that tone like he was talking about something but it was lost on her. All she cared about was putting as much distance between those crawling, feeling legs, with their eight-eyed heads and herself. Boots wasn’t much help on her back – he was constantly ducking to void the ceiling. They’d been walking for hours and Boots had been trying to wrap his head around her age.
Apparently, humans only lived 100 years at most, nothing compared to the millennia she’d heard of some dragons reaching. Granted, most of the dragons on Coldfire had died before 200 but by then, they’d been worn out by the mines, despite having just barely entered early adulthood. “The earliest of the earlies” Boots had snorted, more of his sarcasm, the concept of stating the reverse to make a joke confusing her. Still, herself having only just finished her second growth spurt, she found it strange that someone so much younger than her was beyond her years in physical maturity.
Regardless, their conversation on relative lifespans and physical aging was interrupted when the sounds had started. Soon, swarms of spiders had come barreling out at them, most smaller than Boots’ fingertips but some nearly as large as Aurora. She was ashamed to admit her shriek at the horrible beasts but they were terrifying! Now, they rushed blindly down passageway after passageway in their escape.
“We’ve got to figure out a pattern soon!” Spiders streamed from some of the side passages, and even if she thought she’d lost them, they’d pour from a new direction entirely. Aurora was too concerned with running to give his words any thought. She couldn’t go forever though, and she couldn’t tell what Boots was doing on top. She could feel him twisting his torso this way and that but he could have been avoiding spiders as much as anything else.
“I think I’ve got something!” Aurora swerved as a particularly large spider led a swarm out of a passage to her right. “The directions are going to come quick though, so make sure you’re listening.” She nodded, not caring if he could see her. Anything he had to get them out of here was fine by her.
“Left!” She swerved down the passage that opened. The path was clear and she kept her pace. The torch fanned wildly in her wake, straining to reach ahead of her to light the path. “Right!” She hoped whatever Boots had locked onto was working. The millions of legs behind them were keeping pace. “Left!” She reared back at the horde ahead of her. “You’ve got fire, use it!” She dropped and belched a gout of flame, wondering as the swarm in front of her scattered from the heat. “Go!” Boots’ voice broke the hold on her and she leaped away as more spiders swarmed the passage behind them.
The dark tunnels moved swiftly by as Boots directed Aurora, their pace never ceasing. She wasn’t sure, but there were times she thought she was headed uphill, hopefully away from the caverns they’d traversed for hours. “There it is.” After the last turn, light spread from somewhere up ahead. “Let’s hope I was right.” The spiders, as if sensing their direction closed in. Small, scuttling bodies appeared on the edge of her vision, growing closer than any such creature should. To anyone. Ever. She put on as much speed as she could, hoping the light was the outside like she was hoping.
Light flooded around the pair, though not the bright light of the sun. A full moon shone down over the tunnel entrance. Rubble lined the outside edge and tripped Aurora as she flew out of the cave and Boots rocketed from his perch. Still, he managed to flip over and land on all fours, absorbing the impact of their speed.
For a moment, the entrance to the cave teemed with the arachnids of varying size but a queer light fell across them and they scattered in the moonlight. Aurora looked for the source but the light, only barely brighter than the ambient moonlight, disappeared almost instantly. She breathed relief as the spiders flew back, screeching, into the depths.
Boots came over and knelt next to her. “You alright? I doubt I’m the light thing I used to be as a human.” Before she could give her affirmation, her stomach rumbled. Aurora groaned. She’d just had to have self-doubts just before finding gems for food. “I guess that answers my question.” He rose and looked around. “No fruit trees I can see and it’ll be hard to find other eatables, even with a full moon.”
“No worries.” Aurora sniffed and was glad to find there was probably still a gem or two at this entrance to the mines. Clearly, the dogs hadn’t spent a lot of time mining this area. Boots looked at her curiously as she once again began digging into the walls. In half a minute, her prize was made clear – and more abundant than she’d thought. What could only be called a stash of gems tumbled out of the cave wall, easily enough to fill one of their hide bags.
“Whoa! How’d you know that was there?”
“I did work in a mine for 60 years.” She smirked at the surprise on his face. Finally got one on him. “Youngster” She picked a few of the gems up and popped them in her mouth, the flavors flowing on her tongue as she let the gems wash down her gullet. Boots’ frills began twitching as her uncharacteristically loud voice made clear her enjoyment of the hard stones.
“Here!” She tossed him a few and he eyed them skeptically. “They’re good, don’t worry!”
“That’s not what I’m concerned about. Well, here goes.” He placed a gem in his mouth and tried to bite, squinting as his teeth failed to break through the rock’s hard surface. He spit it back out into his hand. “Thought so, I may be part dragon but… Wait, this is sticky.”
She snickered. “Of course it is, you spit it out.”
“No, like, it seems like it was kind of melting.” His eyes widened at a thought. “Of course! My teeth may not be hard enough but the saliva can still break it down. Well, I guess I’m on a diet of hard candy now.” He put the gem and a few others back in his mouth. Aurora snorted at the way his cheeks puffed with the shiny stones.
“Hutsh. Itl haft tu dew.” She couldn’t contain her giggling as he made faces getting the gems settled.
“Guess, it’s my turn to talk, huh?” She smiled at the half-dragon, the adrenaline finally leaving her veins. He motioned for her to continue. Sighing, she leaned back and looked at the stars in thought. A particularly bright star caught her eye. “You know, my parents always taught me that the specks in the sky we’re our fallen brethren.” Boots nodded.
“Long ago, there was a great war for the planet. A terrible beast of woe and destruction broke hard and fast upon the land, stealing the life from all who lived, his hordes of darkness preparing his path. The queen of the ponies found a child of the stars and set the being at the head of the queen’s armies. The son of the dragon king joined the child, leading the dragon’s forces and together, they fought alongside the wolves of the sky to bring destruction on the six-limbed beast.
“But he was too strong. Even as his army fell, the beast fought alone and squashed dragons, ponies and wolves alike. Then, six artifacts – elements, I think my mother said – found their bearers and together, they banished the beast to the world beneath the world. And the child of the stars brought her kin to Equis, living in peace with all the world. The prince of the dragons became king and shared himself with the child of the stars. Ever since, dragons find their deaths strung to the sky, their spirits dotting the blackness above.”
Aurora coughed. “Or, at least, that’s the tale. It happened so long ago, no dragon – or anyone - knows what truly happened. I’ve never really believed it but, well, I guess it could be true.” Boots watched her silently, his cheeks smaller than before as the gems shrunk in his mouth.
“That’s quite a story.“ He swished his tongue around his mouth and swallowed the last of the gems. “You’ll have to tell me more. But for now” Boots crushed himself against the dirt wall behind him. “I think It’s time to sleep.” Her eyes glanced at him as she struggled with an urge she thought she’d repressed days ago.
“Um, Boots…
“Yeah?” He left his eyes closed
“Can, um… can I sleep next to you?” Maybe confidence would grow on her one day, like it had when she took the torch from him. Today was not that day though. She readied herself for his scorning rebuke but it never came. She ventured an eye open to look at his. He was not frowning but looking at her, eyebrows cinched together. Then, he smiled.
“Yeah, I don’t mind.” He patted the ground next to him and she sat, head on his shoulder, as they drifted to sleep.