Parks and Wilderness

by stphven

Chapter 19 - Starlight

This is nice.

The sand crunches beneath my hooves. Stars twinkle overhead. Cool night air fills my lungs, carrying the reassuring scent of my companion.

I am Sergeant Glacier, and I am enjoying this.

I was so busy last night - what with all the running and fighting and nearly dying - that I didn’t get a chance to properly appreciate the moonlit desert. During the day, this place is overwhelming. It leaves me feeling blind, dizzy, and smothered. But at night, with the light and heat drained away, I find myself exploring a tranquil dreamscape.

Beyond the light of my horn, the world fades to streaks of grey and black. No colours. No depth. No movement. Just a silent, surreal vastness. It's oddly beautiful. With the cold air nipping at my ears, and the powdery sand underhoof, I can almost imagine myself back home. Trekking through some midnight snowfield.

Of course, back home I never went for a stroll with a towering, skeletal monstrosity. The human, peculiar at the best of times, looks downright alien in the gloom. And to make the whole scene even more bizarre, the terrifying monster of legend is currently whistling.

It’s actually pretty catchy.

I shake my head at the weirdness that is my life. But I'm smiling all the same.

Funny how things can change so much in the span of a day. Yesterday, I spent the evening running in terror from Anon. Today, I spent the evening sleeping with him.

Ahem. Next to him. I spent the evening sleeping next to him. Admittedly, the two of us were a bit… entangled by the time we woke up. But we were probably just, er, trying to stay warm. Deserts get cold at night, everypony knows that!

Well, anyway, the two of us awoke about an hour after sunset. After a quick breakfast (dinner?) of leftover sandipede and the last of Anon’s fruits, we packed our things and set off. By that time, it really was starting to get cold. We were both glad to be walking. Or in my case, hobbling.

It’s been barely 24 hours since the sandipede bit a chunk out of me. Even with medication, my back leg is still swollen and painful. I really shouldn’t be walking on it for at least a few days. But I don’t have much of a choice.

I’ve found I can just about manage to limp along with minimal discomfort so long as I'm not carrying anything. Thus my armour and saddlebags are all floating along beside me, suspended in a green glow. Anon, meanwhile, is hauling a pair of heavy water jars, dangling in simple rope slings I fashioned for him. They’re glowing faintly, too: I'm partially levitating the jars, making them just a little lighter. Anon shouldn’t have to carry all our supplies by himself.

It’s hard to tell how long we’ve been travelling like this. A few hours, at least. Time and distance have all sort of blurred together. It's like moving through a dream. Still, as far as dreams go, this is a pleasant one.

I start whistling, too.

---

The tunnel entrance yawns before us. An even deeper darkness against the shadowy cliffs.

I was expecting something a bit more… conspicuous. Maybe some wooden scaffolding, some old mine carts, or a big “Keep Out” sign. Instead there’s simply a low, triangular gap between the cliffs and a protruding boulder. No fanfare; just another notch in the hillside.

I’ve no idea how Anon managed to find this place in the dark. It’s completely hidden among the steep ridges and foothills at the base of the mountains. Was there some landmark he’s been following? Well, however he managed it, we’re here now. Time to get this over with.

...

...

Neither of us make a move.

I glance over at Anon. It’s hard to make out his expression in the dark. But I don’t imagine he’s happy to be back here. His last journey through these tunnels nearly cost him his arm. And I'm not exactly thrilled about it, either. Sure, I’d rather be travelling through a nice, cool tunnel than risk another day in the desert. But after yesterday’s encounter with the sandipede, I'm a little nervous about dark, confined spaces.

I suppress a shudder at the memory. Perhaps I’d be better off wearing my armour after all.

I set my gear down and begin putting it on piece by piece. Anon takes a seat beside me, probably glad for the delay.

We end up spending nearly an hour outside the cave. Neither of us are in a hurry to start the next leg of our journey. And the previous one has left us tired and hungry.

We’ve got plenty of water, thankfully. But not much food. Anon brought the very last of his supplies with him: some sort of pale root vegetable he'd had stored in a jar. He offered to share it with me, but I declined. I reasoned that I can subsist on the few bushes around here, whereas Anon can’t. The vegetation has been slowly increasing as we neared the mountains. Tough, spindly desert shrubs for the most part. Unpleasant, but better than nothing.

While sitting there munching on a few tasteless leaves, a thought occurs to me.

“Hey, Anon. How did you manage to see inside the mine?”

He raises an eyebrow at me. A brief game of charades follows. We’ve both gotten pretty good at it, so it only takes a few minutes to get the idea across. Anon answers with charades of his own. He gestures to the cave a few times, and then to... some rocks on the ground? I'm not really sure what that’s supposed to mean.

At length he seems to change tack, pointing to my horn and waving his arms. Seriously, I have no idea what he's trying to say. (So much for being good at charades.)

I give him a flat look. With a roll of his eyes, he stops gesturing, and clears a space on the ground. He then scribbles a familiar stick-Glacier, with little lines emanating from her horn.

Ok. Something about my magic?

After making sure I'm watching, he carefully erases the lines. Then gestures to me.

He… wants me to stop using magic? Okaaay…

I slowly dim my horn, watching his reaction. He nods in encouragement, so I let the light spell drop entirely. For a few moments I just sit there, blind, waiting for things to make sense. My eyes eventually adjust to the darkness. I can vaguely make out the shape of Anon in front of me. (His silhouette is still creepy.) He seems to be gesturing towards the cave. I turn to look. And to my surprise, there’s actually light coming from it!

Just a few tiny pinpricks, twinkling faintly. Like stars peeping through a mist. They’re so dim I wouldn’t have noticed them while my horn was lit up.

Curious.

I take a few cautious steps towards the cave. At the threshold I briefly pause, lighting my horn just enough to check for sandipedes. Satisfied, I dim it once again and approach one of the tiny lights. Up close, I can see it’s a cluster of tiny glowing crystals. They’re embedded in the rock wall in random streaks and swirls - clearly a natural formation. Their light isn’t nearly bright enough to see by. But by moving my head around and using them for reference, I can sort of make out the rough shape of the tunnel.

Significantly, their light is the same cyan colour as my magic.

“Huh. Let me just check something.”

I slowly turn my horn back on, steadily pumping more power into the spell. The cave walls quickly begin to glow a brilliant off-green. I hold my magic for two, three, four seconds. Then snuff it out.

This time, the tunnel stays lit.

The little crystals are now shining like candles. Still individually weak, but there’s dozens of them. Dotted all over the walls and ceiling. Together they provide just enough light to comfortably navigate by.

“Yep, that’s Magicite all right. I wonder if this is what they were mining?”

The gems are highly useful as magical reagents, though they're hardly rare in Equestria.

Anon walks over beside me. With a “Tada!” sound, he gestures theatrically to the glowing rocks.

“Yes, yes. Very good,” I deadpan, smiling despite yourself. “Magicite glows when exposed to magic, everypony knows that. I suppose that’s one way to see where you’re going. All you need to do is- wait. Wait wait wait. How did you get it to start glowing? You don’t have any magic!”

Anon looks down in confusion.

Ok. So I'm not the most magically sensitive unicorn out there. But surely if Anon were capable of magic, I would have felt something by now. And remember how fascinated he was when he first saw my levitation? That’s about as basic as magic gets! Plus, if Anon could use magic, then surely he’d just make his own light, rather than bothering to light up the magicite? There’d be no reason for this roundabout method.

I spend a few minutes trying to interrogate Anon. “Did you light the crystals yourself, or were they lit when you got here?” "Did you notice any residual magic when you arrived?" “Do you actually have any magic of your own?” Unfortunately, most of it seems to go over his head. It's just too complex for charades and our (very limited) shared vocabulary. It doesn’t help that my own grasp of magical theory is, well, minimal. And I'm pretty sure Anon knows even less than me.

I briefly theorise that the human might be radiating magic subconsciously. That could be enough to activate the magicite. But no - one quick test and one confused Anon later, I find the crystals don’t react to him at all.

Hrmm.

Hrrmmm.

So if Anon didn’t light the magicite, who or what did?

My best guess is that some other magical creature lit the passage shortly before he arrived. But what? And why? Anon did mention seeing a figure just before finding the cave. Perhaps there’s some magical wildlife living here?

I really hope it doesn’t have anything to do with the Dust Devils he encountered. Or, worse, the creature that attacked him. Sure, dealing with magical monsters is literally my job, but I’d much rather do it with a full squad of veterans at my back.

Sigh.

Whatever the case, it’s not like we’ve got much choice. Monster or no, these tunnels are still our best chance of getting out of here alive. We’ve got to at least give them a try. I just hate going into danger blindly like this.

I snort in frustration.

"There's too many damn mysteries in this desert!"

---

The two of us finish packing our things, and make ready to enter the mine. We’ve been procrastinating long enough. Best to just get this over with. No more delays!

I take one last breath of fresh air. Then step forward into the tunnel.

”Gray.”

Only to be immediately delayed.

”Graaay.”

Damnit, Anon. I’d just gotten all fired up and everything!

”Gray, Gray, Gray.”

“Ugghh, fine. What is it?”

I turn to see what he wants. The human is just inside the entrance, picking through a pile of rocks. Or at least, that’s what it looks like. He lifts something large and flat, holding it up for me to see.

It’s not a rock at all, but an old wooden signpost! Surprised, I trot over to inspect it.

“‘Danger,’” I read aloud. “‘Badlands ahead. Emergency exit only.’”

Oh hey! So there is a big "Keep Out" sign, after all!

It’s written in Equestrian. The large red letters are faded with age, but still clearly legible. Below them, an old piece of parchment is nailed to the board. With a bit of effort, I can make out the title “Site Map”. And “Hoofrest Mining Co.” stamped in one corner. But the rest of it…

I squint. The page is a mess of overlapping lines and peculiar symbols. It’s clearly some kind of technical diagram. Presumably a map of the entire mine, written in some mining shorthand. Which would be super helpful if I could actually read any of it. All the random characters and squiggles mean nothing to me.

I glare at it. This is just the kind of lucky break we need. But if I can’t read the damn thing, then what’s the point?

Anon seems to pick up on my frustration. He gives me a reassuring pat on the shoulder, saying something in a soothing voice. Placing the board where we can both see it, he points to the end of a particularly long, meandering line.

”Gray, Anon,” he announces.

My ears perk up.

“Is... that where we are? How'd you figure that out?”

Of course, as soon as I ask, I remember that Anon’s been here before. He must have a rough idea of the mine’s layout. In fact, he may have seen this very map before - that would explain how he knew where to find it.

I shake my head.

“Nevermind. Now let’s see here…”

I swish my tail, excitement building.

“So if you’re right, then these lines must be the tunnels. And those symbols must mean "Exit"? So that would make our current position… the furthest point from the rest of the mine? Yeah, that sounds about right. The main entrance is probably on the Equestrian side. According to the sign, this is just an emergency exit.”

I glance up at the slanted stone walls and uneven floor. There’s no sign of artificial tunnelling; it all looks naturally formed.

“What do you think? You reckon this is just a natural cave system the miners found? Maybe ran into while digging, and decided ‘Hey, free tunnel.’”

Anon answers with a surprisingly lengthy response. I’ve no idea if he actually understood the question... or if he’s just gone off on a completely random tangent. I shrug, and go back to studying the map.

At least our path seems pretty straightforward. As much as this tunnel winds and zig-zags, there aren’t many side passages until we reach the main body of the mine. At which point we’re practically home free; just a few short, straight passages to reach one of the main exits.

A small smile forms on my lips.

“Y’know, maybe this won’t be so bad after all.”

Comments

[Munck]

“Y’know, maybe this won’t be so bad after all.”

Famous last words, Graycier.