Chapter 14: Delving Into The Dark
The abstract shapes of volatile purple smoke crept its way along the landscape of the cold north like a snake in tall grass, moving with a blazing speed unlike any other form of transportation could allow them. Staying low ensured that nopony would notice them, even if they had become brightly colored smoke on a white backdrop. The mild snowstorm further helped conceal them from any prying eyes in the Empire, making their arrival very promising.
Loré suppressed a painful groan as she first formed from the smoke. Purple sparks bolted all over her body, pricking her skin like hot needles and jolting her core like electricity. The pain didn’t last long, only a few seconds to be exact. But, although the pain had subsided, a lingering feeling of tension stayed behind in every aspect of her body, breeding ground for concern. Though, the thoughts were pushed back in her mind as Namworth emerged from the smoke soon after her.
“I can’t believe it… we made it, Namworth,” said Loré with an unnaturally calm voice.
From atop the frozen hill, they had a spectacular view of the Crystal Empire. Its obelisk streets shone warmly even when contrasted with the grassy surroundings, the uniquely shaped crystal houses withstood the test of time as even a thousand years after their making, they still looked remarkable to live in, and like a bright beacon of hope in an otherwise dim world, the Crystal Palace stood out in the center like a glowing evening star atop a Hearth’s Warming Eve tree.
“This place is… beautiful,” mumbled Namworth in return.
For as wonderful and beautiful as the town looked from their perspective, they were in a completely different world. It was a place of uninhabitable cold, blistering winds, and dangers that most ponies didn’t even know about, and even fewer would dare to seek out.
“It’s been a while since I’ve felt the cold. It’s kinda nice,” remarked Namworth as he twirled his forelegs around in the snow, making a few weird shapes.
“Brr… yeah, it’s definitely gotten colder. Perhaps my clothes weren’t as sufficient as I had thought.” Loré pulled up the collar to help shield her neck some from the winds, doing her best to concentrate on how to approach their task at hoof.
“I can help with that,” said Namworth while brushing his side up against Loré’s. “Body heat is the best kind of warmth you can get in the cold. Feel a bit better now?”
A mixture of a smile and a frown battled it out for Loré’s outwards appearance. She appreciated his kind attitude and desire to help her. But after what had happened, she couldn’t help but feel she didn’t deserve any of it it.
“Thank you, Namworth. I do feel a bit better now.” In return she leaned a bit into him while she avoided looking at his right eye. The reminder of what she had done was too painful to look at when presented in daylight. It was remarkable to Loré that he could even muster up an ounce of vigor, joy, and excitement, or for that matter stay by her side after she had mutilated him.
“You’re a good friend,” added Loré as the smile had overcome the darker feelings stirring inside her.
“It’s what friends are for, Loré. I’m glad that you finally seem to get it,” said Namworth while playfully nudging her side.
“Yeah… I guess I do… Though, enough of this friendly banter, Namworth. We still have a task to do, and I really need to think before we make any moves.” Loré’s brow furrowed with intensity as she kept her eyes locked on the Crystal Empire.
Even with the winds rushing past their eyes with a steady supply of snow, the naked eye could still clearly see hundreds of crystal ponies who went on with their daily habits inside the city, and it was also painstakingly clear that they were expecting the arrival of something dangerous. Guards could be spotted on every single street along with groups of them patrolling the snowy borders around the kingdom.
“What do you think we should do?” asked Namworth while glancing over at Loré. “I mean, do we even know where we should go to?”
“We kind of do, Namworth,” answered Loré while creating a telescope with her magic, using it to get a much clearer view of how everything was in the city. “I don’t know the precise location inside the Crystal Palace, but I know we need to head into the throne room. Sombra spoke of a magical door which we need to break. I’m certain it’s hidden inside that place.”
“How can you be certain about it?” he asked confusedly.
“Well.” She lowered her telescope to look over at him, talking in an oddly friendly and less snarky tone than usual. “I know this might sound a bit strange, but I sort of have a gut feeling about this. It’s like I’m walking into a déjà vu, an old memory of a past life. I know I need to get to the throne room, and from there we’ll find our way to the magical door. In fact, it’s almost like Sombra’s ghost or the darkness is compelling me to head into the Palace to find the throne room. Regardless of which one it is, they both wish for me to end up in the same place. I think we can trust this, Namworth.”
“How can you be so sure that we can trust them?” asked Namworth while raising a suspicious brow.
“Because Sombra wants me to remove the darkness, and the darkness can only think it’s far more powerful than I am… In a sense it’s right about that, but it doesn’t matter as long as I got the one item to empower me. The one thing that will secure my victory,” mumbled Loré while running a hoof across the artifact on her horn. Sombra’s words had stuck with her and with them came an unshakable certainty in herself. “Sombra has pure confidence in me. The darkness is too arrogant to see me as a threat. They both want me to end up in the same place, even if it’s for different reasons.”
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for this one, Loré. I still think you should be careful about trusting a gut feeling. It could be a trap,” added Namworth while taking the magically made telescope so he could have a look at the city as well.
“Don’t worry, I won’t just trust a gut feeling, Namworth. While studying Sombra back in Canterlot, when I was actually doing my job, I came to learn oodles about the history of this place. Although some facts have been proven wrong, I can assure you that most of it should be accurate.” A confident smirk found its way to her face now that she had a chance to be an insufferable know-it-all. “I have read about Sombra having an obsession with magical traps and deceitful weapons. I have a fairly good idea of what I’ll be getting myself into, Namworth. And, I have read about a magically sealed door hidden in the deepest depth of the Palace. It’s only logical to assume that it’ll lead to the underground caverns stretching out from the mountains up north.”
“It does sound like you know what you’re talking about, Loré. But, how are we going to get inside without a horde of guards being on our tails?” asked Namworth while moving the telescope’s sight from one guard to another. “They’re everywhere… Do you think they know we’re here?”
“No,” said Loré while shaking her head. “I don’t think they know where we are. I’m almost sure they’ve been told about our impending arrival and they’re just watching out for us right now. Guards would have been swarming us by now if they knew we were here.”
“Hhhmm… why don’t we use that smoke teleportation thing you used to get us all the way up here?” Namworth looked over at her with a hint of excitement in his eye. “We moved really fast, and it kinda made us smaller than we are right now. So we would be a smaller target than if we just walked around. Wouldn’t that work?”
“I’m not sure, Namworth. They could have set up forcefields, or detection fields. I think there’s a very big probability for something or somepony detecting us if I use certain spells, or maybe even if I use magic at all.” She sighed and bit her lower lip as she went over their options. Magic could get them in fast, but the chance felt too risky to her. “But… I know we need to get moving soon. It’s only a matter time before they spot us up here.”
“Then what do we do, Loré?” asked Namworth with a great deal of worry in his voice.
“I can only think of one thing to do… we’re going to bolt for the finish line. There are hundreds of guards patrolling the entire place, and I presume even more inside the castle. We’re bound to get caught if we tried to sneak in. There’s no way we’ll avoid every single one of them, and I rather have them take on to us while we are bolting for the Palace than being spotted without knowing it. So, we’re going all in with your idea, Namworth.” Loré smirked again as she allowed her horn to flare up brightly. “But first a little distraction.”
Like a laser, the tip of her horn focused a beam of magic all the way across the kingdom to one of the many empty grassy fields, causing a large explosion which could be clearly heard even from their distance to it.
“Argh…” groaned Loré as more purple sparks of magic surged her body in an agonizing manner, forcing her to kneel down for a moment.
“Woah, Loré. You’re getting really good at using that ring.” He only smiled for a brief moment before noticing her painful expression. “Loré, what’s wrong?!”
“I’m fine… It just hurts a bit to cast spells, that’s all. We need to execute part two of our plan while they are distracted,” groaned Loré, ignoring the tension building up.
She once more performed the teleportation spell, enveloping the both of them in purple smoke and a bright flash of light before they raced along the ground in an elongated stream, zig-zagging their way through the many streets, roads, and alleyways of the Empire. They could even dash through crowds of guards due to them all rushing towards the explosion with weapons at the ready. The guard’s shortcoming made travelling all the way to one of the four major support pillars of the Palace fairly easy. Loré proceeded then to navigate them up through the pillar in a coiling manner, seeking refuge from the outside through the first available window to them.
From the smoke they stepped into what could only be assumed to be a guest room. Or at least it was what the decorations and furniture in there pointed towards. A big elaborate bed took up a good chunk of the room. Dressers, drawers, and a chair or two took up most of the otherwise available space. Though as rather elegantly looking the room was, their current location didn’t matter to Loré. She was inside, and that was what counted to her.
“Well, that was really easy,” giggled Namworth. “What do we do now? Loré, are you sure you’re okay?”
Loré stood with her head lowered, teeth gritted, and eyes closed. More sparks of purple shot across her body as despite what she had thought of herself, the magic she used was quickly becoming too much for her body to handle.
“I’m… fine, Namworth,” she groaned. “Really I am argh… But, it wasn’t as easy as you think. There wasn’t any forcefields to keep me out, but I definitely felt some kind of magic when I moved us. I think they know we’re here now.”
A screeching alarm went off not even a second after Loré had called it. They knew. They all knew Loré and Namworth had made it into the Palace, and it was only a matter of time before they would be flocked by an angry swarm of guard ponies.
“uh-oh… What do we do now, Loré?” gulped Namworth, already being able to hear the hoofsteps of guards running through the hallway outside the room. “You have an idea for where we should go, right?”
“I think I do, Namworth. Just follow me and I’m sure we’ll get to the throne room.” Loré smirked ever so slightly, rather enjoying the feel of demonstrating her powers, even if they caused some pain.
“Wait…” Namworth held onto Loré before she could take her first step away from the window. “You aren’t going to hurt anypony, right?”
Loré stood in silence for a moment before she looked back at him. Seeing his right eye partially hidden behind drooping tufts of feathers was once again a great reminder to her of what could happen if she didn’t keep herself in check. Whether it was the darkness or herself which brought out the insatiable lust for cruelty when empowered, she didn’t know. But she was more than afraid to find out.
“Of course I won’t hurt anypony, Namworth…” mumbled Loré with a sympathetic look to her eyes. “I’ve learned my lesson… I honestly have. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I will however use magic on anypony standing in our way. But, I won’t use anything lethal, or permanently damaging.”
“Good, I just wanted to make sure…” said Namworth hesitantly, almost in disbelief of her claim. This was after all Loré’s last chance to prove herself.
“You have my promise on this, Namworth, and it’s a promise I won’t break this time.” Loré smiled softly at him before going to the door, opening it as quietly as she could.
Outside the door was a hallway very similar to the rest of the Palace. Then again, every room and corridor of the Palace was bound to be made out of crystals, where the only really defining features were the furniture placed in them, and the carvings in the crystals themselves. However lacking in definitive uniqueness, it was empty from what Loré could see through the little crack she allowed herself from the partially opened door.
“I think we can leave,” she said while pushing the door completely open so she could look both ways. Though, as she turned her head, she came muzzle to muzzle with a guard pony.
The both of them stared confusedly at each other, standing in awkward silence as Loré slowly realized they had been caught, and the guard realized the pony pressing her snout against his was most likely the intruder they’d been on watch out for all night.
“THE INTRUDER IS HERE!” He screamed as loudly as he physically could.
It was however all he got to do before Loré used her magic on him. She quickly reduced him to an incapacitated blob on the floor, all four hooves tied together with magical strings of energy and his lips sealed with what looked like magically made duct tape.
“Okay, we have to get moving, NOW!” yelled Loré into the guest room.
Namworth rushed out to her, instantly darting off in one direction of the hallway as he followed Loré. Their choice however proved difficult as more guards appeared in the distance. They were all fully clad in armor, weapons at the ready, and menacing expressions smeared on their faces, and even more so determined in capturing them now that they had gotten a glimpse of their target.
“Well, not that way!” yelped Loré while pulling Namworth with her into another corridor, the guards in hot pursuit of them.
“Are you sure you know where we’re heading, Loré?!” whimpered Namworth, doing his best to pace his running so he wouldn’t leave Loré behind.
“I’m almost certain that I do!” panted Loré, her horn glowing brightly for a second before a beam shot up into the ceiling, collapsing it behind them.
They could hear the sound of the guards coming to an abrupt halt, quickly using their own magic to break down the barricade. Smashing and breaking crystals kept on repeating even after the crash, as the guards were working fast, and it was only a matter of seconds before they’d be through it. However, even if it was only a small amount of delay, it was all they two of them needed to get out of their sight.
“Loré did you-“ was all Namworth had to say before Loré answered his question.
“No, I didn’t hurt anypony there, I made sure it didn’t fall on them. Just keep running.” Her panting was quickly getting heavier, and it didn’t help her that more sparks of painful magic tormented her body after using the spell.
“Turn this corner. Keep going straight. We need go in here!” Loré commandeered their direction with absolute certainty. She could feel something inside pull her in the directions she shouted. It was almost as if Sombra himself looked over her shoulder to make sure she finished the work he had started.
They rushed their way through one room after another, hallway to hallway, placing their trust in Loré’s ‘gut feeling’. All the while navigating the Palace, Loré created one obstacle after another to slow down the guards after them, and restrains to bind the guards they ran into.
With every spell thrown, the tension in Loré got worse, but it was worth it to her. There, before her very eyes was the final room on their high-speed chase, the big elegant throne room with the crystal throne overseeing it all.
“Close the door, Namworth,” panted Loré with exhaustion written all over her face. “We… made it.”
She quickly did one final spell towards the door before collapsing onto the floor. It caused the metal area from each door touching one another to melt and solidify, turning the door into a metal wall.
“Not yet, Loré,” said Shining Armor as he stepped out from the shadows on the side of the throne. “I had a feeling you were heading this way when you didn’t show up near the Crystal Heart. Though, I thought you were after it, how come you didn’t try to steal it?”
“Who the heck are you?!” growled Loré, already preparing a spell despite having difficulties getting back up on her hooves.
“You really don’t remember me?” said Shining with slight disappointment.
“Should I? And why do you think I’m going for the Crystal Heart? I have no interest in that, thing.” Loré waved a hoof dismissively while taking a step forward, masking her gritted teeth with a smirk.
“Yes, we’ve met before! I’m Shining Armor, Captain of the guard, Husband of Cadence, and older brother to Twilight Sparkle.” He took on a firm defensive stance, his own horn glowing brightly with magic. “It’s not only my duty, but my pleasure to stop a traitor like you. Whatever it is that’s inside the secret chamber underneath us, you won’t get it!”
“Ooooh, that explains your obnoxious personality. You’re the twit’s brother,” teased Loré. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not a traitor. I’m actually the newest savior of Equestria, and thank you for confirming my theory. Turns out I was right about the location after all.”
“You expect me to believe that lie?” snarled Shining. “I know what you’ve done, and if you aren’t after the Crystal Heart, then you must be after something else. I guess my little sis must have overlooked something when she was down there… It’s good that I figured out where you were heading so I could intersect you before you could execute your evil plan.”
“He’s a bit of a tool, isn’t he?” mumbled Namworth to Loré, both of them being rather calm and lax about Shining’s threatening posture.
“Yeah, he kind of is,” responded Loré, looking rather unimpressed with the so called ‘Captain of the guard’.
“Enough talk! Are you two coming with me or are we going to have to settle this the hard way?” His horn flared up even more as he was almost ready to pounce onto them. “I think you’ll find me to be more than a match for you, Loré.”
“I rather doubt it,” replied Loré in a higher pitched voice and with a slight laugh afterwards.
“How can’t you take this serious!?” yelled Shining.
“Because of that.” Loré pointed to a rather large fragile looking vase with fertile soil and a flower in it floating right above his head.
“Oh…” mumbled Shining the second before the pot hit his head, knocking him out cold.
“That was really anti-climatic…” said Namworth as he poked Shining’s muzzle. “He’s out cold. I really thought this was going to be like, some kind of big showdown between you two.”
“Well, reality is often much more disappointing than fictitious stories about great adventures,” replied Loré. “He should have paid more attention to what I was doing than giving me a stupid lecture. He would have noticed how I wasn’t preparing a spell, but just levitating an object.”
She took a big step over Shining’s unconscious body to get right in front of the crystal throne, eyeing the structure with an intense stare despite her tired eyes. Namworth on the other hoof began to drag Shining away from the center, even though he was far heavier than what was reasonable for him to pull.
“The top crystal is the key…” whispered a soft, yet raspy voice in Loré’s ear, sending cold chills down her spine.
“The key? I guess he means I just need to use magic on it?” mumbled Loré to herself, though Namworth picked up on it from the corner across the room where he had placed Shining Armor.
“Key? You found a key?” he asked while running over to Loré who had ascended onto the throne, facing the largest crystal on top of it.
“I think… this is the key,” she answered before her horn glowed bright purple, shooting an extremely intense beam of magic into the crystal, which in turn was forced to resonate till it turned dark black and then cast a shadow onto the floor, changing it into a sinister looking staircase.
“Oh wow! You did it! But… how did you know that would happen, Loré?” asked Namworth while peeking out over the edge of the circular staircase and into the dark abyss awaiting them.
“I think… I think it was Sombra who told me it. Like a whisper in my ear,” answered Loré, joining Namworth’s side to stare into the pitch black darkness.
“That’s an awfully long way down,” gulped Namworth.
“Yes, and we better get all the way down there before anypony comes in to stop us. Who knows, they could be through those gates at any given second.” Loré sighed deeply while using a tiny bit of magic to pull down one of the torches from the throne room walls, lighting it up with a spark before taking her first step onto the stairs.
The stairs down were dark, damp, and carried a fairly creepy vibe to them. No lights followed along the walls down, and it seemed like the stairs were designed only for the use of King Sombra. It was most likely to all of Loré’s knowledge, that this was one of the last remnants of Sombra’s past in the Palace. Remarkably, it had gone unscathed from the warming radiance of the Crystal Heart, which at the same time was slightly alarming to Loré.
“We better be on our guard, Namworth. This could very well be the first time anypony has treated these stairs for a thousand years. A myriad of devious traps could be hidden behind every step we take. Keep your eye wide open, and your ears sharp.”
“O-okay, Loré,” gulped Namworth, staying very close to Loré’s side as he nervously looked around for any signs of trouble. “Though, I think Twilight must have been down here… Judging from what her brother said at least…”
“Hhhmmm… you might be right about that,” mumbled Loré in a fairly annoyed tone.
The darkness became all enveloping the further down they got, and somehow, it was like the bits of light from the throne room had long since died out and nothing was left above them after a minute or two of walking, all except for an impenetrable wall of shadows. It further didn’t help that it seemed like the stairs were never to end, almost like they were stuck in an infinite loop, doomed to repeat their actions, over and over again.
“Loré, we’ve been walking down for like minutes. Aren’t we there soon?” asked Namworth, more nervous now than he was earlier.
“I’m sure we’re almost there,” grumbled Loré.
“But how do we know?” he further questioned. “I mean, we can’t see anything down there.”
“I just know because… why would Sombra or the darkness want to trap us?” grumbled Loré.
“Maybe he or it didn’t mean to do it, but it happened anyway because of traps he left behind?”
“Hhmmm… there might be something to it. Okay, hold the torch,” said Loré while handing it to him. “You stay right here while I try to walk further down. If magic is cheating our perception of reality, I’ll certainly see you again in a moment.”
“Erhm, are you sure that’s a good idea?” mumbled Namworth.
“Of course it is, just stay put. I’m even allowing you the light after all. Just stay put,” said Loré as she disappeared into the darkness, only the echoing hoofsteps allowed him to know she was actually still there.
The little flame of the torch didn’t do much to comfort him. The darkness around him was not natural. The light barely traveled anywhere, they didn’t even make it far enough to light up the wall on the opposite side of him. It all became more alarming when faced with it all on his own, even if he could hear Loré, she wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and the hoofsteps became quieter and quieter.
“Boo,” whispered Loré from behind Namworth.
“ARGH!”
“You were right… we are stuck in a loop, Namworth. I think I must have forced this place open and it somehow activated a trap or something…” groaned Loré.
“How do we get out?! There must be a way out of here. Think, Loré. Think!” whimpered Namworth, still rather startled from Loré’s little prank scare. “M-maybe we can jump down?”
“Maybe…” Loré thought for a moment before breaking off the bottom of the torch to throw it down the hole in the middle of the spiral staircase.
Only a few seconds went by before they heard it hit the bottom. The clear sound rang through with hope and optimism for both Namworth and Loré.
“Huh? Was it just me or didn’t it sound like we’re only a bit above the floor?” asked Loré while looking rather perplexed.
“Yeah… I’m pretty sure we heard it hit the floor,” added Namworth.
“Hhmmm… Perhaps that’s what we need to do!” she said joyfully.
“Do what, Loré?” asked Namworth.
“Jump.” She smirked back widely at him, her face lit up by the torch in a similar way to somepony trying to be scary with a flashlight while telling ghost stories.
“You can’t be serious!” Namworth screamed loudly as Loré pulled him along with a hoof when she jumped off the stairs.
With closed eyes and rapidly beating heart, Namworth embraced whatever horrible fate awaited him. Though, all that came was an uncomfortable shock in his legs when they met the floor a few seconds later.
“Hah! See what I told you. What a sneaky trick you had there, Sombra. Tricks won’t be able to fool me for long, you’ll have to try much harder than that if you wish to stop me. If there is a hole in the trap, I will find it!” taunted Loré.
“I don’t think it’s a very wise idea to taunt him, Loré. Or taunt the darkness or whatever it is…” mumbled Namworth.
“Oh don’t be so scared, Namworth. Nothing bad is going to happen from a bit of flaunting.” Loré smirked confidently as she eyed their dark surroundings through the glow of the torch. “I’ve said it plenty of times, neither one wants to harm us. So, our words won’t do anything.”
Although Loré’s logic was sound, Namworth couldn’t shake the feeling of a sinister presence watching over them, wishing nothing but harm and terror to come their way if they ever managed to step out of line. Though, this was his worry alone, as Loré had become entranced by the only defining feature in the circular room, a door.
The door was neither impressive, nor completely plain. It was simply made with wooden base, metal hinges holding it, and an arch of dark crystals with a center piece embroidered on the top. Everything about it screamed commonplace, yet this was supposed to be the great magical gateway leading to Sombra’s source of power.
“Is this really it?” complained Loré. “I was expecting something far… grander.”
“It looks okay to me,” said Namworth while brushing his side up against hers, not wanting to stand too far away from the light of the torch.
“Yes, it looks fine. That’s my point. I would have thought it to be bigger, darker, more, majestic or something. This just looks like any silly door from anywhere else in Equestria. Maybe I made a mistake with coming down here, Namworth… This doesn’t look like the door leading into the caverns below. I mean really, his source of power is hidden down there.” Loré sighed deeply while shaking her head. “Fine, let’s just get this over with before Sombra finds more ways to disappoint me.”
Loré was just about to grab hold of the handle, but before she could even touch it, the door traveled along the wall with blazing speed.
“What the?!” yelped Loré while taking a step back. “Interesting… I’ll give him that much.”
Both Namworth and Loré watched it as it squirmed about from side to side till it finally came to a stop after several seconds. She was about to approach it once more, but thought that it would only yield the same response.
“A bit of magic should solve this problem,” growled Loré as her horn started to glow bright purple, hurling a beam of magic straight at the crystal above the door.
“Hnng.. it’s fighting me more than the other one did!” groaned Loré while intensifying the beam, causing the coat on her back to stand up straight while magical sparks shot every which way.
The dark crystal above the door suddenly became bright white for a second before erupting into a violent explosion of magic. The sheer force was subdued by Loré as she contained the blast coming at her with a forcefield, though, as much as she could withstand, she could still feel the magic and it only added to the already heavy load surging her body.
“There… I did it…” whimpered Loré while gazing into the open door, an eerie darkness taking up the hollow frame. “Let’s see what’s inside, shall we now, Namworth?”
She took her first steps forward, taking just a quick look inside before turning her head back to her unresponsive friend. “Namworth?”
The torch echoed loudly as it clashed against the ground, its sound breaking the deafening silence in the room. With heavy and shaking steps she approached the small frame of Namworth lying on the floor. His back was turned to her, making it difficult to judge what was wrong.
“Namworth… are you okay?” she asked quietly, taking a few more steps to get near him.
No response, no movement, not even a rising and lowering chest could be made out in the darkness, even when standing right behind him. With a shaking hoof and baited-breath she gently nudged his side, hoping it would elicit some kind of response.
“Did it knock you out, Namworth? Wake up already…” tried Loré in a more assertive and aggressive tone.
His feathers were cold to her hoof, much colder than they should have been. One horrible thought after another streamed through Loré’s mind, but none of them could be accepted by her. Though, one question in particular beckoned itself; he was behind her shield, wasn’t he?
“Wake up, Namworth!” growled Loré with a quivering voice. “I didn’t tell you that you could take a nap!”
She violently shook his body, turning it to see his open, vacant, and unreactive left eye. His expression permanently locked in horror, much like the expression Loré did her best to suppress as the realization crept into her more logical thoughts.
“No… I was careful… I didn’t do this… I didn’t mean for it to happen,” cried Loré while rapidly eyeing him up and down as she kept on trying to wake him up with her front hooves, tears slowly dripping down onto his neck. “Please wake up… please, Namworth… I can’t finish this without you…”
“WAKE UP!!” screamed Loré as loudly as she could while burying her face into his coat.