“How is that possible?” Diamond Tiara asked. Silver Spoon shrugged. None of them could say how the corridor could change so much overnight.
When they’d fallen asleep, they were in a straight tunnel, with floor, ceiling, and walls made of red brick. Now, it was round, and resembled a tortuous pipe, leading downwards. It was still made of red brick, but it was dirtier, as if it was covered in ashes. On the floor, just under Diamond’s hooves, the ashes were forming another word: ܘܪܝܕܐ. Diamond Tiara shuddered and smeared the ashes.
Shady Daze looked around and scratched his mane. “I don’t know... Could the walls just change like that? How do you think, Featherweight?”
Featherweight didn’t notice him at first. “Dunno, maybe,” he muttered, not looking at his friend.
Ruby sighed and turned to Diamond. “You may be rich and shitting diamonds, but you know nothing about magic. We were teleported here.”
“But why?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“Not to mention that there’s nopony here who could have teleported us,” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah, except of all those things scratching at the walls.” Rumble knocked at the bricks. “If they put us here, they could as well move us wherever they want.”
“So, they can teleport us anywhere in this maze?” Sweetie Belle groaned. “We’ll never get out of here...”
“We must try,” Tootsie Flute said, standing up. “We can’t stand ‘ere, waitin’ for ‘em to let us go.”
“She’s right,” Dinky added, looking at Boysenberry who was shivering – the new corridor was narrower than the one they’d been in before. Without saying a word, Diamond Tiara trotted forward.
It was hard to walk through the new corridor. Maybe it was its unusual shape that was affecting their perception, or maybe it was a part of the tunnel’s magic, but they were constantly walking into the walls or bumping into each other. The sharp turns caused them to completely lose orientation. It was getting colder; even though there was no wind, they were shuddering and coughing.
“I don’t like this,” Truffle Shuffle said, staring at the wall.
“What exactly?” Snails asked. “What’s wrong with those bricks?”
“They are covered in something that looks like seaweeds. Do you know what does it mean?”
“Umm...” Snails looked at the rachitic plants on the wall. “We can eat them?”
Truffle Shuffle sighed. “There used to be water here...”
“Good.” Snails sniffed his coat. “Maybe we could wash ourselves...”
“Or drown,” Truffle Shuffle replied, shaking his head. “Maybe they teleported us here and are going to fill this place with water...”
“No way,” Featherweight said. “If they wanted to kill us all, they’d already do that...”
“You still think it’s some kind of test, don’t you?” Rumble asked.
“Of course,” Featherweight replied, looking somewhere into the darkness before them. “What else could it be?”
Rumble only sighed.
“Not this again...” Diamond Tiara muttered, walking from behind the corner and seeing the round, metal door in front of them. She looked at it closer, trying her best not to touch it. There wasn’t a single scratch or mark on it – just a round block of stainless steel with a black knob on the left.
“What are we gonna do?” Tornado Bolt asked. “Come back?”
Tootsie Flute approached the door and lit her horn. Her magic almost reached the door, but suddenly, it disappeared in a stream of sparks. “I can’t reach it,” she muttered.
“I’ll try,” Sweetie Belle said, walking to the door. She aimed her horn at it, only to find out that her magic disappeared with a loud snap when she tried to open it. One by one, the unicorns tried to open the door, but without any effect.
“This won’t do...” Diamond Tiara turned to the group and smirked menacingly. “Ruby...” she muttered. “Would you be so kind and open the door?”
“Would you be so kind and fuck off?” Ruby asked. Diamond Tiara approached her and put her hoof on her shoulder.
“It wasn’t a request...” Diamond Tiara hissed through gritted teeth. “Go to the door. Now.”
Ruby’s horn started to glow. She aimed it at Diamond Tiara. Before the earth filly could react, the spell struck her, throwing her at the wall. It wasn’t strong, but the air was filled with the smell of burnt hair. Ruby ran to Diamond, only to be tackled by Zippoorwhill, who screamed when Ruby bit her hoof.
Another spell echoed through the tunnel. Ruby cursed, rolling on the floor. Snips and Snails caught her, while Tootsie Flute lowered aimed her horn at her.
“Done?” she asked, panting. “Or should I bash ye ‘ead again?”
“You too?” Ruby asked, spitting some blood on the floor. “This may kill me...”
Tootsie nodded. “Since we landed ‘ere, ya’re behavin’ like a Berkeley Hunt...” she muttered. “But ya’re right. I’ll do dat.”
“No!” Dinkie shouted.
“Don’t even try,” Diamond Tiara blocked Tootsie’s path. “She attacked me and she’ll open this door.”
Tootsie approached Diamond Tiara, aiming her horn at her. “Try to stop me,” she said coldly. “I can hit ya harder dan Ruby...”
“You’re okay,” Diamond Tiara replied, sweating. “Why do you want to sacrifice for that scum? She doesn’t even want your help...”
Apple Bloom stepped between Tootsie and Diamond Tiara. “Stop it!” she exclaimed. “Ah think we should–”
“Or maybe you want to follow your cousin?” Diamond Tiara interrupted her. “I’m pretty sure you’d want to see her again–” She screamed when Apple Bloom tackled her. Silver Spoon rushed to help her, but Sweetie Belle pushed her at the wall. She fell down and lost her glasses.
“Stop it!” Scootaloo exclaimed, grabbing Apple Bloom’s tail. Tootsie and Dinky tried to levitate Diamond Tiara away, but their magic was too weak. Boysenberry screamed. Rumble and Shady Daze helped Scootaloo and pulled Apple Bloom away, while Tornado Bolt, Zippoorwhill, and Pipsqueak held Diamond Tiara who was bleeding from her nose. Tootsie Flute was resting herself against the wall, where she’d been accidentally pushed by Rumble.
“Don’t ever say that again...” Apple Bloom muttered, blinking and rubbing her black eye.
Silver Spoon picked up her glasses, put them on and gave Sweetie Belle a nasty look. She then looked at the rest of the group: Snips and Snails holding Ruby, and the crowd of ponies keeping Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara apart from each other. “Are you done?” she asked. “Because I’m going to do something we should’ve already done.” She approached the door and pushed it open. “See? Normal door. It’s never the same thing twice.”
Tootsie Flute hissed in pain when she got up. Everypony looked at her, but she only smashed something with her hoof. Ruby, Diamond Tiara, and Apple Bloom were released and the group trotted forward, led by Silver Spoon.
“It’s never the same thing twice,” Featherweight muttered to himself. “She also figured it out. Yeah, now I only have to wait...”
“What are you talking about?” Boysenberry asked, looking around and shuddering. Featherweight noticed that Dinky and Tootsie weren’t, as usual, walking with her.
“This place is not what it seems,” Featherweight said, checking if nopony was listening to them. “All those sounds...”
“You can hear that too?” Boysenberry asked. “T-they whisper to me all the time... I talked with Tootsie and Dinky, but for them it’s just a noise.”
“What do they say?” Featherweight looked at the filly curiously. He himself heard only scratching, but he’d never admit it to her.
“Our names,” Boysenberry replied. “They’re calling me... Sometimes they say words from languages I don’t know...”
Featherweight nodded. Of course, there was a possibility that Boysenberry went nuts, but if he wanted to survive, he had to know everything about the maze. “And how are you, in general?” he asked.
“Better,” Boysenberry replied. “Dinky and Tootsie help me a lot...”
“And where are they?” Featherweight asked, turning back. He saw Dinky talking to Zippoorwhill and Tootsie walking slowly at the back of the group, even behind Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. “Tootsie?”
“I’m comin’...” Tootsie muttered. Featherweight waited for her and saw that her fur was drenched in sweat. She stopped next to him and rested herself against the wall, panting heavily.
“Are you okay?” Featherweight asked.
“Sure...” Tootsie’s voice was barely louder than a whisper. She took two steps and almost fell down, grabbing Featherweight’s wing.
“Somepony help!” Featherweight exclaimed.
The group stopped. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle trotted to them. “What’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Something’s wrong with Tootsie,” Featherweight replied, pointing at the filly. Dinky joined them and gasped, seeing her friend barely able to stand on her own.
“I can walk...” Tootsie muttered. Dinky and Sweetie Belle approached her and she rested herself against them.
“What happened to you?” Dinky asked, when they walked slowly behind the rest. Several ponies looked back at them and shuddered, seeing Tootsie.
“Dunno,” Tootsie replied, her voice raspy. Sweetie Belle gave her some water from her food supplies. She drank it and continued, “When Silver opened da door... I felt someffin’ like a pin prick...”
Dinky froze. “You may have been poisoned...”
“I’ll be good,” Tootsie said. “I ain’t brown bread yet...”
“I think we should stop.” Scootaloo looked into Tootsie’s eyes and shivered. “You need rest.”
“I can manage.”
The rest of the group stopped anyway, listening to their conversation. Some of them started to whisper to each other, pointing at Tootsie.
“I ain’t dead!” Tootsie exclaimed and coughed. “Let’s go!” She took a step forward, but then the light suddenly went off.
“We’ll lie you down,” Sweetie Belle said. “Try not to fall asleep, okay?”
“Sure,” Tootsie replied as firmly as she could in her situation. “I ain’t gonna give up. Not like dat...”
“I’ll stay with you.” Dinky’s voice sounded as if she was at the verge of tears. “I can talk to you, you know...”
“Do what ya want,” Tootsie muttered and hissed.
“Something’s wrong?” Dinky asked.
“It hurts...”
“It’ll get better, I’m sure...” Dinky whispered. “You... You said it yourself, right? You didn’t die immediately, so there’s hope.”
“Mhm.” Tootsie sighed.
“Mom says that there’s always hope,” Dinky said. “Even when it’s dark and we’re scared, we shouldn’t give up... Because tomorrow there’ll be light again and... Tootsie? Tootsie!”
“Shut up!” Ruby shouted from some other part of the tunnel. “I wanna sleep!”
“Tootsie!” Dinky wept, trying to pierce the darkness with her gaze.
“I’m okay...” Tootsie muttered. “Just dozed off...” She coughed. “Y’know, dat’s funny... Hope. It’s like, we’re still together, right?” Something about her voice changed. “But it won’t last long. And it ain’t gonna be nice...”
“What?” Dinky asked. She managed to find Tootsie in the darkness and hugged her. Tootsie’s body was burning, as if she had a fever; her fur was drenched in sweat.
“Split... apart... Kill...” Tootsie’s speech became slurred.
“Tootsie!”
“What?” Tootsie asked, this time more clearly. “Did I fell asleep?”
“I’m not sure...” Dinky felt tears flowing down her face. She sunk her face in Tootsie’s coat and closed her eyes, hoping that her warmth would keep her friend alive.
“Well... I’m toast, ain’t I?” Tootsie asked soon after the lights were turned on. The look Dinky was giving her was a clear answer.
“The whites of your eyes...” Scootaloo muttered, joining Dinky. “They’re yellow...”
“How are you?” Pipsqueak asked, giving Tootsie some water. “Can you walk?”
“Like I was run down by a steamroller...” Tootsie whispered. “My bones... Burnin’...”
“We can’t go any further,” Dinky said, giving Diamond Tiara a pleading look. “She needs time to get better...”
“We need to find more food,” Diamond Tiara replied. She was far from her usual self; she couldn’t look into Tootsie’s eyes without shuddering. “I... I’d like to stay here too, but... We can all die...”
“Leave me,” Tootsie whispered. “I’m only a load... And soon I’m gonna count worms anyway...”
“No!” Dinky replied. “I... I can carry you...”
“Listen, Dinky...” Tootsie coughed. Her body twitched and for some time she couldn’t speak. “Look at me... Ya think I’m gonna get better? ‘Cause I feel I’m gonna shit myself and snuff it. End of story.”
“No...” Dinky muttered. “You must be strong...” She lifted Tootsie and put her on her back. Apple Bloom helped her and together they carried her to the front of the group. The rest of the foals followed them in silence. Even Ruby lowered her head and trotted behind weeping Silver Spoon. Zippoorwhill didn’t fly. Instead, she walked next to Boysenberry who looked into Tootsie’s eyes and cried.
“I... know... what ya meant...” Tootsie whispered a few hours later. When Dinky and Apple Bloom carried her, she was frequently losing consciousness and regaining it. A few times they thought that it was over, but Tootsie wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
Boysenberry looked at her unsurely. “What I meant when?”
“They’re callin’... us... me...”
“Don’t listen to them!” Boysenberry exclaimed. The group stopped. Dinky and Apple Bloom gently put Tootsie on the floor.
“My... time... H-he...” She reached her hoof, pointing somewhere. “He’ll be next...”
“Who?” Rumble asked, shuddering when Tootsie’s hoof landed on him for a moment, before moving to Snips, Pipsqueak, and Truffle Shuffle. Tootsie coughed and looked at the ceiling. Her hind legs twitched and her body finally went limp.
“No!!!” Dinky cried, hiding her face in her hooves. Boysenberry hugged Tootsie for the last time, while Apple Bloom closed her eyes.
“Let’s go,” said Diamond Tiara in silence, interrupted only by cries.
“And leave her?” Zippoorwhill asked.
“Oh come on...” Diamond Tiara muttered. “Are you going to carry her? We already left Button and Babs...”
“B-but we should do something for her...” Tornado Bolt said. “Like, a funeral...”
“Where are you going to bury her?” Silver Spoon asked with a sigh. “We can only put her here... I don’t know...” She lowered her head. “It’s all my fault...” she whispered quietly.
Diamond Tiara looked at her unsurely, but shrugged and went to Apple Bloom. Together, they moved Tootsie to the darker part of the tunnel and put her there, resting her head against the wall, so she looked as if she was asleep. The foals looked at her for some time, but none of them could think of any words to say.
“Goodbye, Tootsie Flute,” Boysenberry muttered under her breath, breaking the silence.
The foals slowly turned and walked deeper into the tunnel without looking back.