Thump
Thump
Thump
"Nope... nothing. This isn't hollow Lance."
"I swore I heard something from behind it!"
"Nothing I can here. No echo or anything. Maybe it was from above?"
"I don't know... I don't want to be in here anymore!"
"That makes two of us..."
Ugh... Lance was still freaked out about Blooming Lily being alone in the cell. Spent the whole night looking for something to bust us out with.
"There's gotta be someway outta here..."
"Lance, we've searched through this room, top to bottom. There's no way out."
Lance growled, turning to me with an angry glare.
"We can't just sit by idly! Blooming's out there, by herself! She could be in trouble!"
"Scaring yourself isn't going to help. Just calm down, Lance."
"Horsefeathers." She groaned with a deep breath. "Bucking 'noble and generous queen'... noble and generous my flank." Lance muttered, sitting against the wall. She laid her head against the wall, making an audible thump.
There must be some way out of here. I trotted to her side, sitting down beside her. She lifted her head again, sighing before laying it back down, making another thump.
Thump
Thump
Wait-- was that an echo?
I leaned up, putting my ear to the wall. "Lance, do that again."
"Do what?".
"Hit the wall."
"Why?"
"I'll explain in a moment. Just do it."
Lance stood, hitting the wall with her right fore-hoof. An echo came from the other side. I knew it!
"The wall's hallow!"
"How can you tell?"
"I'm a miner, remember?" I stood, pushing against the wall with my left fore-hoof. "I know when a wall's hallow or not. And this one is."
"Okay... so, what's on the other side?"
"Only one way to find out. Help me push against the wall."
Lance pushed against the wall, using her right shoulder. The wooden wall cracked under the pressure.
"Just a little bit mo--"
The wall snapped, and fell. I landed with a thump against the wall, now against the floor.
"Ouch. You good?"
"Yeah..." I groaned, standing up. "Just got the wind knocked out of me." The hall in front of me was pitch black-- too dark to see anything or anypony. No torches or lights or anything.
"Horsefeathers..." Lance sighed. "How the hay're we going to see?"
"We can use the candles." I trotted passed her, grabbing one of the numerous candles. The wax stick was already halfway burnt out. "Grab a sheet for when we get out. We'll need something to keep us warm."
"Er..." Lance's voice swayed. "Yeah. 'Course. Let's go." She said grabbed the sheet of the bed, throwing it over her shoulder quickly, allowing me to step ahead.
"What?" I stopped, glancing back to her. She was still in the light of the room.
"Nothing." Lance said, nearly immediately after I asked. Her ears were flat on her head. "Just ready to get back to Blooming." She trotted behind me.
"Let me know if you see any changelings around. I'll cover up the candle."
"J-just don't blow it out."
"You sound a little anxious, Lance."
"And you aren't?! We're in the middle of a dark-- no, pitch black hallway with changelings lurking around."
"Calm down. They'd be down here already if this was someplace important."
"Just-- hurry. We need to get back to Blooming as quickly as possible."
---
Twilight Spike and Spike entered the library. "I've made some progress. I'll show you--?"
"Show me what?" Spike asked, glancing up to her. Twilight quickened her pace, looking over the table to make sure it wasn't there. She leaned down, looking under the table. Nothing.
"What, Twilight?"
"My notebook's gone. I left it and the book I was getting information from on the table before I went to rest." Twilight turned, trotting back to the shelves in case a servant had placed her notebook on the shelves on accident.
"I don't see it anywhere." She turned back to Spike. "We need to find it, Spike. That's got all the notes I've taken about the counter-sell inside. If we can't find it..."
If we can't find it, then we won't have enough time to finish the counter-spell.
"Come on, come on..." Twilight magically slid different books out of their position, looking for her notebook. None of the books looked vaguely similar.
"Why don't you just look back in the book you were reading in and just get a different notebook?"
"Because that's missing too. We need to find them both. You look in the bookshelf behind me for the book. It's called. 'Experimental/Theoretical Magic: Modern Edition'." Twilight said as heard Spike step behind her and began to take out different books.
"Okay... no... not that..."
---
Shining Armor passed by the white beds of the infirmary. He opened the door to the back room and stepped in. A unicorn stallion was sitting at the desk, wiping over his ice-blue mane as he read through his book. His white shirt hung to his knees, matching with his white coat.
"Hm--" He glanced up to Shining. "Ah, your highness. Anything a matter?"
"One of the doctors I spoke to a few days ago said that I should come back in a few days to get my bandages removed."
"Ah, I see." The doctor stood, trotting up to Shining. His horn lit with a white glow as he unraveled the bandages covering Shining's horn and mane.
"Just a moment... and..." He pulled the bandages away from Shining's head, his mane hanging down to his eyebrows. "Huh? Strange."
"What?" Shining asked as he looked up, surprised to see that his horn was no longer black. Nor were his mane and ears.
"Should I be celebrating?" Shining questioned with a chuckle.
"Hold on a moment, your highness... I need to examine your horn to make sure nothing else is going on." The doctor pushed Shining's head down gently, inspecting around Shining's horn.
"I don't see any sign of the spell or the blackness." He trotted over to the chair, picking up the small book he was previously reading and placed it on the ground, at Shining's hooves.
"So, am I free to go?"
"Not yet, your highness. Please, try to lift the book or flip it's pages using your magic."
Shining focused his magic into his horn and pointed it towards the book. His horn fizzled, sending out a small burst of his rose magical aura. He sighed.
"Strange. Come back to me in another day or two and we'll see if you can create spells then. Otherwise, you're free to go, your highness. My apologies."
"All right. Thank you." Shining trotted out of the back room.
---
I trotted onward, into the dark hallway. Lance kept close, almost holding me.
"Please tell me you've found something-- anything."
"No doors or anything I've seen."
"H-horsefeathers." She took a step closer. "We have to get out of here. Now."
"What's up? It's just a hallway."
"I-I know, but.." Lance's voice trailed away. She had a slight blush across her cheeks and snout.
Wait-- is she really- no. No way.
"Are you afraid of the dark Lance?"
"Wha-- no! Just... no!" Lance pushed away from me, to the other side of the hall, turned away from me.
"Then why're so nervous and anxious down here? You weren't even this anxious back in the room."
"It's just that we're in a cramped hall. I'm claustrophobic, not afraid of the dark."
This gives me an idea.
I covered the flame using the boards of my splint, making sure the light was only on my side, then took in a sharp gasp.
"Horseapples-- I dropped the candle!"
"What?!" Lance quickly rushed to my side. I chuckled, putting my fore-hoof down. She punched my left shoulder once she saw the flame of the candle.
"Not cool! That was not cool Rocky!"
"Calm down. It was only a joke."
"Just-- focus on getting us the hay out of here. Back to Blooming."
---
Twilight and Spike had looked through two of the three bookshelves, and neither her notebook nor the book on theoretical magic had been found.
"This isn't good, Spike..."
"I know, Twilight. I-I'm sure we'll find it in this one."
Creak
"Princess, do you need anything?"
Twilight looked over her shoulder and saw that a servant was standing at the library entrance.
"Actually, yes. Have you seen my notebook? It's a purple, small book with my cutiemark on the front of it."
"I thought I saw Prince Shining Armor with it going into his room, your highness."
"Shining?" Spike asked, confused. Twilight had the sane reaction, but didn't say anything.
"Yes. Do you need anything else, your highness?"
"No... no thank you."
"Okay, your highness. Please, come to me if you need anything else."
"I will. Thank you."
What would Shining be doing with my notebook? It isn't normal of him to take my things without him telling me about it...
"Spike, come with me. We're going to go talk to Shining."
---