> Deep Delver
>  by Night_Writer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 - The Fall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1 - The Fall




This was not how our journey was meant to go.

My friends and I plodded our way up the Smokey Mountain as a sort of "escape" from the city. The point had been to have some peaceful time away from our daily commitments and jobs; just be devoted to enjoying each others company, the world, and otherwise getting away from the typical toil and commitment of life.

You know: the whole 'run to nature when real-life gets too real to center yourself,' or something like that. 

I wasn't used to going on such hikes with my friends Granite, Slate, and Sterling, and to be honest, it was the first time I'd really done anything like this since I'd moved out onto my own in Vanhoover.

But, my friends always had so many stories... and I always felt completely left out as they joked with each other. And, while they clutched their sides and wiped away tears of merriment, I would just awkwardly sit at the edge of their group: a massive plastic smile plastered to my muzzle as I supplied little innocuous comments in response. I'd get the occasional word in and just laugh along. 

I'd always been a bit of a social-misfit, even amongst my friends. So I'd just sit by quietly as they shared their jokes, snorted at their own personnal stories, and I essentially smiled and stayed as quiet as possible.

I suppose the situation I found myself in now is really no-ones fault but my own for having volunteered for a hike way beyond my ability. But as the annual 'friendship mountain hike' came around, I found myself becoming more and more stressed as I imagined the new batch of stories they'd be telling for months after I might have been their friend, but I felt like I'd been slowly letting myself slide further and further away from them.

I was just the pony who filled in the fourth chair in any given room with them: there wasn't anything memorable about me that I could claim to have done wiht them. No great even that I'd partaken alongside them. No great tale to boast about, or inner-joke that I might break out of nowhere to get a quick secret laugh amongst them.

I might as well have been a ghost. and so, despite myself, I'd decided that instead of declining their yearly offer to go on the week-long hike they always planned, (as I usually did), I would instead accept.

And so far,It had been absolutely, and utterly, shitty.

The hiking made my hooves ache, the daily-climbs up the steep mount were absolutely horrid, and I swore I could feel artheritis developing in my pained joints with every step. And even the downhill portions were hard! the trail was typically so gradiated, that everything was just physically exhausting by the time we stopped!

But I was finally doing what they did, getting into the thick of it and experiencing life with my friends on the frontier! And part of me was quite satisfied with myself (while, of course, also realizing that I was going to feel like a beaten soccor-ball after a pro-game match, with how much constant pain my muscles were in at the start of every single day).

I could also tell I was holding everyone else back as I gasped for every breath, and had to occasionally take a break. But, I suppose, my friends always seemed willing to take short pauses. Typically it was Sterling who would call out for everyone to take a 'quick five.' I'd just thankfully come to a stop with the rest of them. 

I don't know if it was just because Sterling noticed my own struggling, or if it was just how they typically went on hikes: but I was Thankful for the minor pauses. Allowed me to catch my breath, (and have a few snacks to get my energy back up!). 

My friends had always sort of been like my adopted family. We weren't related in blood (of course), but that didn't stop them from looking out for me. I'd never had a lot of friends growing up and after cutting ties with my family and moving from Canterlot to Vanhoover. I'd lost what few acquaintances I'd had growing up, or left them behind as I left to figure out and find my own life away from my parents. But Granite, Slate, and Sterling, gave me something more to look forward to for a reclusive pony like myself: ponies who I could pretend to not be such an introvert with for short bursts of time. 

My blood-family had always been a bit back and forth on the whole outdoor “family bonding” idea. My Dad was a professor at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns; and had always insisted that it was just a waste of time to be running around outside when one could be expanding one’s mind instead. He was excited when I was born; a little red unicorn colt he could train to grow up and be just like him: a prodigy of the magical art.

Mom was probably the only reason I was even allowed to get out at all as a little foal. She’d always been the more adventurous of my parents, but then again she probably saw it as just a phase of "growing up." Mom loved to tell stories of her own time as a young pegasus filly growing up in Cloudsdale and going through flight academy, and all the stupid stunts, tricks, and risky pranks her and all the other young fliers had gotten into. She had never said so, but I always felt she'd been disappointed when I wasn't born a pegasus like her.

They'd even named me after everything they'd wanted me to be in life, and thus my name was created: Flash Wit Acumen. It certainly was a name that invoked images of a brainiac colt, but I simply found the name (in time) simply came to represent everything I wasn't. I certainly wasn't very fast or flashy, my wit was sub-par, and I'd never really felt like I was all that fast thinking, or very clever. 

I hated my name. It was a constant reminder of what I wasn't, but was expected to be. 

To make matters worse I didn't exactly inherit the abilities of my skilled parents. I wasn't a genius or academically minded like my Father (quite the opposite, really). My pegasus genes had left me with a small and scrawny body, and I most certainly hadn't inherited my Mom's natural dexterity or grace she was so proud of. 

Don't get me wrong, it's not like my parents abused me or treated me poorly, they'd loved me regardless as only parents can with such a clumsy untalented pony as myself. but I'd seen the disappointment in their eyes as I grew up and continually failed to live up to what they'd hoped and dreamed for me. 

but I suppose that whether your born an earth pony, pegasus, or, like me, a runty unicorn, you just make do with what you got despite everything. Besides, being a unicorn wasn't all bad. It most certainly had one heck of a perk: magic!

Even though I sucked at the wide variety of magic beyond some very basic tricks, and simple telekenesis, I was at least proficient enough to function adequately enough to take care of myself. My magic had always been a rough patch between Dad and me as he tried to improve my talent in vain. It made it pretty stressful between us, and eventually, I left to go live on my own away from my overbearing Father.

Just the natural way of things, I thought numbly.

I took a moment to acknowledge these memories, and my own thoughts: reflecting upon the odd things that popped into one’s head before they were about to die…

I stared down dumbly into the yawning black abyssal pit beneath me. The soft red light from horn briefly allowed me to watch as the remains of the bridge slipped quickly into the abyss beneath me, followed closely by the thick slabs of rock that had fallen from the ceiling and crushed said bridge as it disappeared into the unknown beneath my dangling hooves.

I think I might have been screaming earlier, but if I had been, it'd been quickly cut off as my breath was driven from my lungs when I'd slammed into the hard stone with an almost comical "smack."  A thick hard lip of stone protruded just above me out of hoof's reach. I stared around me as I continued to float in midair, slowly twisting and turning around in gravity defying circles as I tried to figure out what the hay had just happened to me.

I had to think. Remember what was going on. Where was I? What was happening?

My thoughts slowly collected themselves as I tried to focus blearily. There was some sort of an… earthquake. And then the bridge collapsed, and stones were falling, and now I’m floating? Ugh, My foreleg and chest hurt.

I groaned as my head giving subtle little thrums of pain as well.  

I could feel something snagged around one of my forelegs as I looked up in my daze. One of the support ropes from the shattered bridge. How did that get there? Oh right, I’d been holding onto it when we’d been crossing the rickety bridge. My chest was starting to feel painfully tight, and I wondered faintly if I’d possibly fractured a rib or two. Not that any of that mattered as I hung over nothing but empty space. I was about to die, and as my Dad has always said, 'luck only gets a pony so far in life before they actually have to start figuring out what to do with it, Flash.'

Thanks, Dad, wonderful advice. Really making me feel better about my situation right now. I thought, scowling as one of his little bits of 'wisdom' annoyingly floated through my head. The last thing I wanted to be thinking about was some two-bit piece of advice he probably got from a fortune cookie. Dad always loved throwing out little inspirational and educational tid-bits like that out. I wondered if he actually believed them or if he just liked hearing himself speak when he lectured.  

I heard a shout above, and ducked my head to protect it as a shower of pebbles and loose rock came tumbling down the sheer stone around me, hitting against me with light little "paps" across my skull and barrel before bouncing away harmlessly. A massive dusty-gray earth pony, Granite, was leaning over the edge with a flashlight, eyes wide with fear and worry before the flashlight hit me. He gave a cry of surprise and stared at me with amazement.

“Flash! Oh my gosh guys, he's alive. Flash are you alright?” yelled Granite. I groaned painfully in response as I swung back and forth by the rope wrapped around my leg tightly.

“One second Flash, we’re gonna get you up, just don’t let go!” shouted Granite, disappearing back over the edge.

I groaned again in response, “Sure. No problem, I got this,” I wheezed and slowly remembered how to breathe.

 I'm not going anywhere anytime soon except for straight down, I thought darkly. My stomach did a flip at the thought, and I quickly tried to not think of what was beneath my hooves (or, more specifically, everything that wasn't beneath my hooves). 

I need to get up, I groaned internally, trying to struggle up weakly. 'wait, your horn! use your horn idiot, you're a unicorn for Celestia and Luna's sake!'

I tried to focus my horn, hoping to somehow give myself a little telekinetic push up. If I could get atop that stone-lip just above my head, then I could just sit on it and hopefully my friends would figure out some way to get me to safety.

Pain flooded my skull as I tried to focus my magic. I nearly blacked out as my skull felt like it was being rent in half. I gasped for breath as I immediately stopped trying to build magic into my horn, just wishing for it all to end. I whimpered and continued to hang on the brink of consciousness, praying for a release from the spikes of pain rolling through my throbbing skull.

Crap. I think I broke my horn, I thought with a whimper. Guess that explains the constant minor head-ache.

Out of everything, and anything, a unicorn could damage, the horn was possibly the worst. Besides the obvious pain, seeing as how a horn was essentially just a mass of delicate nerves and neural connections within a hardened shell of bone, it was also simply essential to nearly everything a unicorn did day-to-day. Losing your horn was like a Pegasus losing their wings, or an earth pony suddenly losing sensation in their hooves. It might not be permanent, but in a life-or-death situation like this it certainly made all the difference. 

The thick rope which had served as a support of the now destroyed rope bridge was still tugged securely around my forehoof. It was so tightly wrapped around my left I doubted I’d be able to “let go” without my entire foreleg popping off at the socket as well. I’d probably be lucky to keep most of the skin on that leg from the joint down with it constricting as roughly as it was.

Through pain blurred eyes, I could see the grey form of Granite as he reappeared yelling something behind him that I couldn't make out. I could hear more shouting and the scrabbling of hooves as my friends above started doing whatever they were planning to try and save me.

Oh please, please, please let this work... I really don't want my death being me becoming a stain on a cavern floor at the bottom of oblivion, I thought.

A second later, I saw a terrified unicorn mare, Sterling, being slowly lowered off the edge towards me. Above me, Granite and his brother Slate, were carefully keeping a hoof on the sturdy climbers rope they'd snapped into Sterling's harness: repelling her down in safe little bursts. The pale white glow of her horn illuminating the rocks around herself brightly.

“I’m coming Flash, just hold on!” shouted Sterling, her voice cracking a bit with worry as she slowly slid towards me. But while her voice wavered, her eyes showed a deep resolve as she continued down towards me. I just hung over the pit desperately; watching hopefully as she closed the distance.

I grunted, and tried to scrabble up the edge towards her. My chest burned painfully as it rubbed roughly against the raw stone, but I struggled to push through it and get up to safety. To get away from my fate. 

I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Sterling’s silver eyes were, the way they seemed to sparkle along with her silvery-coat in the white light of her soft magic.

What in Tartarus was I doing thinking about her eyes. I mean honestly, her eyes? At a time like this Flash? Climb idiot, you're going to die! 

I grabbed the rope and started to haul myself back up. As I did though, the rope gave a jerk around my forehoof and I was dropped a few inches with a sickening lurch. my joint gave a crunch as it was wrenched by the sharp drop.

I screamed.

I looked up through tearing eyes at the rope around my hoof. Above, I could see the thick wooden-post it was tied around. It was shattered, barely holding together after the earthquake had nearly split it. And now I watched with horror as it slowly bent towards me: splinters popping out from the stressed wood as my weight slowly, but surely, began to finish the job that the earthquake hadn't.

“S-Sterling! Sterling, hurry! The wooden support, it’s breaking!” I yelled, trying once more to scramble against the smooth stone to find purchase and take some weight off the over-burdened support and keep myself from the fatal fall beneath.

Sterling looked up, and yelled at Granite and Slate to rappel her faster. Her magic suddenly surged as she focused on me. I could feel its warm orange energy slowly pulling around me as she began to slowly hoist me up, trying to do the same thing I was: take my weight off the rope. I grabbed the edge of the stone-lip, finally getting a firm hoof hold on the edge with her assistance. I reached out a hoof for Sterling, I was going to make it! I wasn't going to die!

Sterling gave me a little anxious smile as she grabbed my hoof with her own, “I got you. C’mon Flash, just let go of the cliff and let my magic pull you up with me so I can hook you to my harness," said Sterling, using a free hoof to pull off a metallic hook from the climbing harness snapped around her middle and reaching it out for my own rig to connect us so Granite and Slate could just pull us both up.

I gritted my teeth, grabbed Sterling’s hoof firmly as I ignored my terrified screaming thoughts and let go of the ledge. I trusted Sterling to keep me safe. I had too! My only other choice was to fall into the utter dark below.

She winced as my full weight pulled heavily against her magical field supporting me. I gave a squeal of fear as I completely let go of my teetering grip on the rock wall and slowly felt myself being pulled up towards Sterling as she grunted, her magic hefting me closer as she ground her teeth in concentration, her grip on me staying strong.

It was then another tremor hit, as violent and sudden as the first quake just minutes before.

Sterling yelped in surprise as she was whacked hard into the cliff wall and I was wrenched out of her grip, the impact causing her to lose her telekinetic grip on me, the telekinetic grip that I’d been depending on when I’d let go of the cliff face to grab her hoof.

I felt like my heart stopped as I reached out a hoof towards Sterling, but without the magical assistance to keep me in place, and with Sterling still reeling from her own headbutt with the wall, I could only watch in horror as I slowly began to slip away from her. Her eyes widening as she looked back at me and realized what was happening. I felt it as she tried to grab at me again with her magic once more. 

That orange warmth passed across my coat, and for a second I almost believed myself safe. But then it suddenly dissipated, my own weight, and amassing speed. Whatever magic she’d attempted to weave together to catch me bursting apart as I fell through it.

“Flash!” screamed Sterling, eyes wide as she reached down for me with a hoof. Realization was slow to set in as I began to drop further and further away. It was like everything was stuck in a sickening slow-motion.

I tried to scream, to shriek for help, but I couldn't: my body just seemed to seize up, the shock of the situation simply cause me to freeze. I just stayed in that pose, one hoof reaching up futilely towards Sterling, fleeting salvation, as I dropped like a rock from the pale glow of Sterling's horn: gravity pulling me into its terminal embrace.

So, this is how I die, I thought numbly, Mom, Dad, everypony... I’m sorry. I'm so sorry. I was always such a disappointment. Celestia, please, just let it be quick…[/i

Blood was rushing to my head. I felt myself slowly starting to lose consciousness as the pinprick of Sterling's light flew away. She was so far above me now. Just a quickly disappearing twinkle in the distance above.

My eyes fluttered as blood rushed to my head. It was getting hard to stay conscious. A shape slowly floated into view above me, wings splayed majestically out as it fell down towards me, forelegs outstretched.

Is that you, Celestia? I thought, vision fading.

Something warm and soft wrapped around my body as I listened to the quiet calming 'swoosh' of my body as I continued to cut through the air. That warmth seemed to spread across my body, teasing me to just let go. To just give up and sleep.

and a second later, I did: welcoming oblivion. 
> 2 - First Encounters of the Deep Kind
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A black pit of a mouth lay beneath me, maw opened wide to swallow me whole. I watched the corners of the stone jaws turn up in a malicious smile as it slowly neared me, preparing to savor the kill.  I tried to scream for help, but I couldn't breathe.

Air, I needed to breathe!

I woke up with a gasp and lurched up and the nightmare faded. I immediately regretted it as my chest exploded in pain. I let out a stream of muffled curses and shivered in pain as I collapsed back down. The rough stone of a stalagmite gently curved up against my back me as I clutched at my chest. The pain eventually subsided, and I took in short gasping breaths. It hurt to even breath. 

The hiking harness that held my bag and essentials for what should have been a simple splunking trip was still hooked around my neck and barrel. it pressed uncomfortably against my bruised barrel. I  gave a pained grunt as I unclasped the constricting buckles criss-crossing atop my chest, sighing in relief as it slide off of me.

"Oh man, what happened?" I coughed as I tried looking around.

Darkness. Utter and impenetrable, darkness surrounded me.

Suddenly, like a switch being clicked on in my head, everything rushed back. I remembered the catastrophe on the bridge and my fall to certain death, and... princess Celestia? As I tried to make sense of everything that'd happened, a bigger question continued to circle around my brain,

How in Equestria am I alive?

"Oh Celestia I'm dead, I really died!" I said, shocked at the implications. But I was most certainly somewhere, and this definetly didn't seem like the rolling green pastures of some post-life paradise to me.

"Oh no. I may be socially awkward, bumbling, clumsy and a little slow, but I've never been a bad pony..." I mumbled, realization setting in.

"If I'm not in paradise... then I must be in," I gulped audibly as I hissed the last word fearfully. "Tartarus!" 

I looked fearfully around myself, waiting for some horrible monster or demonic abomination to pop out, but nothing happened. I sat in place, my pulse racing as my heart hammered painfully in my chest.

"Luna and Celestia, don't let me be in Tartarus, I'm too young to die! I mean, I know I was a stupid annoying little colt sometimes, and that I stole my Dad's spectacles just to spite him, but I always gave them back! honest!"

I sat completely still, eyes and ears strained for anything. This was always the part in the movies where the monster jumped out, and scared the living hell out of you. It would happen, any second now!

... and second now...

I heard nothing though. As the seconds turned to minutes, I gave a shuddering sigh. I forcibly relaxed my tensed muscles, nestling back against the stone at my back.

It's too dark to see anything. how am I supposed to even know what's around me at all? I thought glumly, Wait a second! Flash, you bucking idiot! You're a unicorn, use your horn, stupid!

"Ugh, I really am an idiot," I said, slowly focusing energy into my horn. As I coalesced the energies, though, I hissed in pain and gripped my head. That headache from earlier raged back, and I whimpered pitifully. 

Reaching a hoof up, I carefully felt around my head for any wounds or bruises that might explain the pain. I found a long delicate crack running neatly up the length of my horn from the base, to tip, of my horn. My horn definetly, irrefutably, had a fracture along it.

I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth as I groaned. This was the worst possible thing that could have happened. I was out of my element in some deep dark cave, apparently dead and stuck in Tartarus, probably going to be eaten for eternity by the other denizens of the cursed place. And to make matters worse, now my horn was broken and I had no way to see or possibly defend myself!

This sucks so hard, I thought, I wonder if its possible to die twice. Where do you even go if you die in Tartarus? Super Tartarus? or like... you descend levels? is Tartarus that organized? and for that matter where's everypony else that got sent down here?

I growled slightly in irritation, smacking my cheeks to snap myself out of it.

Stop thinking of random crap, now is not the time.

I took a slow deep breath to calm myself.

Wait a second, my hiking harness! of course, I should still have all my gear that was strapped onto it, I thought giddily. 

I suddenly wasn't feeling so bad about all the bits I'd paid to buy it. My friends had assured me that I would have regretted not buying one to help distribute the weight of all the gear I would need to bring with me after the first few days. I grinned victoriously as my hooves found the straps where I'd stashed the high-power glow sticks. My friends had told me about their plan to do a bit of shallow splunking, and had advised me to buy a few.

Thank you, Sterling. You always were the smart one.

My hooves brushed across the thin slotted pouches holding the rods, and I eagerly tore the Velcro open to find them empty. I rapidly began to pat the harness. I tore through my saddlebags, the other pouches on the harness, and even traced all the straps of the hiking harness itself. 

They're gone! 

Not just the glow sticks either. As I felt through my belongings, I noticed that a lot of my other things had been taken. I was missing my bedroll, a blanket, most of my food, my canteen, my map of the surface, some socks, a compass, and even the tiny pen-light and book I'd brought along. Had someone come and taken my things?

"Are you KIDDING me?" I shouted, giving a frustrated snarl. " Cut me a damn break!" I clenched my eyes shut, and pressed a hoof against my face. After my little outburst I didn't feel angry anymore, I just felt defeated.The fall down and my sudden awakening slowly pressing down on me as the full realization of my helplessness began to crash down on me. 

Don't cry, Flash, don't cry. You can't break down now, not with your life on the line like this. Maybe they're just somewhere nearby! yeah... and maybe I was just going to starve to death in this cursed pitch black darkness. Never to see my family and my friends again. Soon I'd just be some unnamed skeleton to be forgotten in the dark until I was stumbled upon by another explorer.

I began to feel tears roll down my muzzle. I tried to stifle my sobs, but it just continued to come out in choking bursts of pathetic-sounding cries.

I felt a hard tube-like piece of plastic being pressed against one of hooves covering my face.

I took it, gratefully, rubbing at my tears as I took it. "What's this?Oh, a Glow stick! thanks. I was looking for one of these."

A quiet lilting voice responded just in front of me, "no problem..."

Huh, that accent sort of sounded like a more flutelike, musical Sterling.  

Thinking of Sterling didn't help my mounting depression. I could only imagine how horrible she must have felt accidentally letting me go like that. She was probably blaming herself for my death. I just wished I could tell her that it wasn't her fault, and thank her for trying. I was such a burden to my friends...

Wait a second. Something just handed me a glow stick and spoke...

I sat there stunned, glow stick in hoof as I stared at the impenetrable darkness in front of me.

Something is there... right in front of me! I gave a quiet yelp of panic as I almost dropped the glow stick in my hurry to crack the plastic tube and ignite it. I firmly grabbed it, my heart fluttering with trepidation. 

I cracked the rod against the ground to break the internal seal, and shook the tube hard to quickly mix the phosphorescent chemicals within. A bright neon green began to slowly spread from the glow stick as I gave a sigh of relief and the darkness was slowly peeled away around me. I Looked around myself for whatever had spoken. 

My breath caught in my throat at what I saw before me.



Wide amber eyes with a slit for pupils glinted back at. The eerie green light revealed sharp canines as they flashed from its scowled ghoulishly and squinted,  shying from the glow stick. The creature scowled as the light shone against its eyes, and it flapped large leathery wings irritably against the light. It had the body of a mare, and it was lithe and athletic. its large tufted ears were pointed directly at me as it continued to squint at me, focused as intently upon me as I was now on it.

Princess-damned, I thought numbly, I found an actual demon.

My hoof began to shake as it held the light out and just continued to stare. The creature began to advance, nearly inaudible as it moved across the hard stone.

I found my voice again as it neared. "N-no! S-s-stay back. Leave me alone, I don't want any trouble!"

The creature responded with that same flute-like, musical voice from before as it quietly murmured, "I'm afraid you've found trouble whether you wanted it or not, surfacer."

"Please, d-don't!," I squeaked. The creature towered over me, reaching out a hoof towards me.

I screamed, "Don't eat me, I'm not tasty Miss scary Demon mare, I swe-Hmmmfffghkk!" My scream was cut short as it stuffed a hoof in my mouth and growled at me threateningly, sharp fangs fully bared. Its muzzle was dangerously close to my face and throat.

"Shut up," hissed the monster. I immediately did, eyes wide.

It glared at me for a second more before sitting down and slowly continuing to reach out a hoof to press the glow stick down and away so the it wasn't shining directly in her eyes. As it did, the creature looked around to slowly scan around us with its odd slit-like eyes; large tufted ears swiveling around alertly to listen all around us.

Now that I could see I noticed we were in a small tight little cave. Other stalagmites like the one I was leaned up against poked up towards the ceiling at stalactites, and it looked like a small opening led off towards somewhere else further beyond the creature before me.

What's it doing, checking for other demons? maybe it just wants to eat me itself. I guess that makes sense, I wouldn't want to share either if I found a free tasty unicorn snack to munch on, I thought. 

Wow, did I just think of myself as a tasty unicorn snack? I have issues. 

It was official, I'd gone completely and utterly insane. Also, still stupid (just to keep the record straight so far). No unicorn worth their salt lets themselves get stuck in a situation where they're defenseless and about to be eaten and then thinks that they'd make a good meal. But it did make me wonder if I was tasty... what did I taste like?

Sheesh. I gotta figure out how to install an off switch on my brain, I thought, shaking my head to clear it.

I noticed the demon was starring at me intently again, done with her sweep of the surrounding area.



"Don't scream. It only attracts unwanted attention, and the last thing I need is some changeling or diamond dog coming to investigate you while you're screaming like a newborn foal in the dark. You're being loud enough to wake the dead," said the demon-thing. It leaned in as it spoke, scrutinizing me. When It spoke I also noticed it seemed to carry loudly as it bounced around the small cave walls.

Guess sound would behave differently in such tight quarters, I noted.

"Now," she said sharply, "I'm going to take my hoof out of your mouth and you're not going to do something stupid like yell, scream, or even talk louder than a whisper. Otherwise, I cut out your tongue, and then you definitely wont be loud. got it?" She said quietly and calmly, speaking of horribly maiming me as patiently as a Mother talking to a senseless foal.

I nodded rapidly my understanding. Anything to placate the angry demon mare from Tartarus.

"Good," she said simply, slowly removing her hoof. 

I sucked in a shallow breath of air, quivering with fright. "A-are you going to-" I was cut off as she growled at me, and I realized I was talking loudly. I dropped into a whisper quickly, "are you going to eat me?"

"Eat you?" she looked surprised, "why in the black void would I eat you?"

"Because you're a, uh, well, a demon?" I asked, feeling awkward. 

She stared at me, surprised, before making a choking-squeaking sound and covered her mouth. It took me a second to realize she was laughing at me. I felt my cheeks flush red a bit with embarassment.

"What? You're a demon, that's what demons do!" I insisted, continuing to whisper insistently.

"No, I'm not a demon you moron. Demons don't exist. At least, not in this day and age," she snorted, smirking at me.

"Well... you have those big nasty sharp looking fangs, cat-like eyes, leathery demon-wings, and you're all scary looking," I said, slowly mumbling into silence as my embarrassment grew. I fiddled with my hooves awkwardly.

She seemed to puff up a bit as I said she was scary. The thicker fur of her coat standing out a bit as if to make herself more imposing as she grinned toothily. 

I shuddered, I didn't think I'd be getting used to those fangs anytime soon. In fact, I decided that with the green lighting throwing shadows across her face combined with her own unsettling proximity, the image ranked somewhere between 'haunted for life,' and 'I pissed myself.' I hoped that I didn't do the latter.

A quick check confirmed I hadn't. 

"yeah, I'm pretty scary," said the demon-mare nonchalantly, polishing a hoof against her thick coat. "I can see why you'd think that, but no I'm not a demon. I'm a bat pony." She stated. I swear even her short spiky mane stood up a bit taller as she just oozed satisfaction and pride in stating that to me.

Ego trip much, I thought, watching her. 

"Oh," I said, feeling relieved, finally relaxing a bit. But as I thought about it I suddenly realized that there was something important about that, the simple little fact that I was still confused about.

"Wait," I said, scrunching up my face in confusion, "what in Tartarus is a bat pony?"
> 3 - Introductions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3 - Introductions




I hissed in pain as the bat pony mare gently traced her hoof across my chest, murmuring to herself quietly as she tended to my wounds.

Next to us lay the meager pile of what little I'd had on me when I'd fallen. Apparently, she'd removed them to check me for injuries. I was a little annoyed that she would had gone through all my stuff, but she seemed to have had good intentions in doing so. 

Besides, she'd saved my life. It wasn't like I was going to complain.

"So, you caught me?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes. I heard the shouts and screams echoing down the tunnel I was in, and by the time I had arrived you were just falling. So, I swooped over, grabbed you, and was able to glide us both down to safety before pulling you into this small cave."

"Wow, so... I, like, owe you my life or something now? Just like in the movies?" I said.

"I guess?" she said with a shrug and a snort. "I was simply in a position to catch you and not kill myself in the process. So I did. If I didn't think I could have, I wouldn't have. Besides, you might still die in the next few hours if any of these injuries get worse..."

"Um... thank you?" I said. Not really sure what to say, and more than a little scared at the thought of just suddenly dying from some internal injury I may have gotten.

"Thank me when you're out of here. If I can get you out of here, that is." she said nonchalantly, still carefully examining me.

"Wonderful... simply wonderful," she grumbled, still talking with that quiet but powerful flute-like voice of hers as she lightly pressed against my chest. 

I quickly noticed two things about this mare. One: that she was not a very gentle pony as she roughly moved her hooves over the big nasty bruise along my chest with little regard to my discomfort. Two: her hooves were warm and REALLY soft. I mean, now that I was getting a good look at her I supposed it made sense since she did have that thick coat of fur to keep her warm, but it felt simply amazing to feel. If it wasn't for the fact that I felt like she'd probably rip out my throat and then wear my skull as a new hat, I might have been tempted to run my hooves through her coat and see if it was as soft as her hooves were.

Celestia, I wished I had a thick coat like that. It's not super cold or anything, but it does seem a bit chilly. I shivered a bit from the cold stone beneath me. 

That was one of the stranger things about being underground: no wind. Well, perhaps saying there was no wing wasn't true because there was certainly a bit of air-flow, but it wasn't in the same way as you'd feel it walking through a park, or down a street, or down a country road. It was more like quiet small breezes moving across your body without any of the sounds of wind lightly pushing leaves, trash, and other small objects by. It was as if the world was holding its breath. It was a completely alien experience to me, just another reminder of how far from home I really was.

I also realized how lucky I was that I wasn't claustrophobic. I felt scared enough with how battered and bruised I was without worrying about the earth itself closing in on me and crushing the life out of me. Ugh, the more I thought about it, though, the more terrifying it began to get as I tried to comprehend the sheer amount of dirt and rock surroundings me.

Stop it Flash. No need to give yourself more things to worry about. Focus on the present.

A deep purple bruise had formed across my chest. It hurt incredibly badly when the bat pony mare pressed her hoof against it.

"Bad news is you definetly have some fractures. The good news is I don't think any of your bones broken," said the mare calmly. 

"Yeah, wonderful," I croaked. I released a held breath as she finally stopped massaging my messed up chest. She started examining my right foreleg next, the one that'd been snagged by the thick support rope from the bridge.

The foreleg looked disgusting. Dried blood caked it, and it looked like a good section of the coat, and skin, had simply been shorn away by the rope. I grimaced and tried not to look at it. the bat pony just rolled her eyes as I did so. I swear she called me a pussy under her breath.

She reached into a saddlebag strapped to her hips, pulling out a small first aid kid and grabbed some disposable latex gloves from it. They were pink, I noted. 

Next she pulled out a transparent plastic tube filled with a mushy yellow paste. A thick dark-colored bandage quickly came out next, and some dark colored medical tape to match.

"This is going to sting," she said bluntly. Before I could ask her what she meant, my foreleg erupted with a searing hot pain and I yelped as she rubbed that tooth-paste like ointment over, and into, my bloodied limb. 

It felt like hot-sauce was being slathered into the wound. 

Suddenly, as horrendous as the pain had been a second ago, the burning sensation vanished. I looked at my forehoof in surprise. It was still just as caked in blood and gross looking as the wound had been before, but the pain that had been lancing up my arm was simply gone.

"wow, what did you do to my arm?" I asked, amazed. I could hardly believe the absence of all that pain as I wiggled the arm out of her grasp and examined it like a curious little colt. She snatched it back and held it firmly in place as she fixed me with a glare. I smiled sheepishly in response and stopped moving it so she could get back to her work. 

"I applied a potent topical sedative derived from the distilled essence of a special type of deep-dwelling fish that lives in a lake nearby to my home city, called a..." She stopped talking as she noticed I was just starring at her stupidly, obviously not understanding a thing she was saying.

What? big words are hard for me sometimes...

She sighed and started over, speaking slowly. "It's a powerful pain killer that dulls the nerves so that way you don't feel the pain. That's why I'm wearing the gloves, because if I didn't I want to not feel my hooves for next 24 hours."

"Sweet Celestia, that stuff lasts for 24 hours?" I gasped.

Amazing, what an awesome medacine for any pony to have at their disposal! I noted that I'd have to figure out where to get the tropical-potent-whatsimakallit for myself next time I went to the store... or wherever you got it. I watched as she lapsed into silence and pulled out a canteen of water to wet the wound covering my leg before going at it with some bacterial wipes to clean the dirt, grime, and pebbles out of the open wound. It was a little creepy and awesome to watch as she patched me up while I couldn't feel it. Creepy, but awesome.

"Soooo...," I said, breaking the silence between us as she worked, "you didn't exactly answer my question from before..."

"Oh really..." she said, uncaring, "I must have forgotten..."

"Oh, well that's easy to correct. I asked what a bat pony was," I said, happy to repeat myself.

She gave me a flat look as I continued to speak. 

"What needs to be said?" said the mare. She paused for a second to start wrapping the bandage around the leg. "I'm a bat pony. I'm sitting right in front of you, and I am what I am. You may have already noticed my strange and different 'demonic' qualities, as you call them, and how I'm not the same as you..."

"Whoa, so you really do have demonic qualities. that's awesome!" I said.

"I was being sarcastic again," she said, scowling at me. Have I mentioned I'm not always a very smart pony?

"Oh..." I said. I cleared my throat awkwardly and rubbed me neck, feeling fairly dumb now for all the whole "demon" stuff I'd spouted earlier.

I cleared my throat, and tried again. "Well, what I meant was I was curious about bat ponies as a culture. Like, what you guys are doing down here in these caves and stuff? I mean, If you don't want to tell me you don't have to answer or anything. I just was-"

"Good, because I wont." She said, cutting me off. She continued to robotically wrap the bandage around my foreleg. 

"My business down here is none of your concern, Surfacer. The reason for my species living underground is also not relevant, or important, to the real objective here, which is getting you out of my mane and back up to the surface. I'm simply your guide for the remainder of your time down here in the Everdark, and not by choice. So drop it," she said. I yelped as she give the bandage around my leg a sharp tug before beginning to tape it down.

Now, most ponies would have stopped trying to talk at this point, but I wasn't like most ponies. But I got the feeling that if I didn't attempt to keep talking right now it was only get harder and harder to initiate conversation again with my strange new companion as the silence stretched out between us.

"Um, just one more thing?" I said with a little awkward smile.

She sighed, exasperated. obviously annoyed at my continuous talking. "... fine, Surfacer. But you only get one more question."

"What's your name?" I asked. "I just realized that neither of us know the other's name, and I thought that, well... it would be just something simple we could share with each other. That way you stop calling me Surfacer!"

I then added quietly under my breath, "and then maybe I can stop thinking of you simply as the 'demon-mare.'"

Her ears twitched, and her eyes slowly tilted up to stare into mine. I suddenly realized that those large tufted ears on her head were very big... and probably very good at catching noises and hearing. I gulped as she continued to stare at me... unblinking.

"Glint," she suddenly said, "Glint Surehoof, of Deep-Hollow."

"Glint. pretty name," I said. She grunted in reply as she finished up on the bandage now securely taped to my leg. Now that I looked at it, I realized that it would blend in quite nicely with the dark stone around us.

Hmmm... perhaps its like a camouflage meant to keep the individual hidden? a white bandage would surely stick out in an environment like this. Oh stupid me, names. I haven't told her my name yet!

"My name is Flash. Flash Wit Acumen, of Canterlot," I said. "It's a pleasure to meet you Glint." 

What? She told me her full name so I figured it was only fair I tell her my full name. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

"Flash... kind of a dumb name," said Glint bluntly.

"Hey, its a fine name." I said defensively, "I mean, it might not accurately represent who I am as a unicorn, but then again Mom just always had a taste for the more, well, flashy things in life." 

Glint raised an eyebrow at me.

"My Mom is kind of your stereotypical pegasus. Into stunts, and crazy gravity-defying acrobatics. I think she thought naming me Flash would somehow make me like my namesake," I said. Glint just shrugged, accepting my answer. I assumed, and hoped, she at least generally understood what I meant. I mean, she has wings. these bat ponies has to have some sort of air shows, or sports events, or something... right?

"Alright," she said, finishing up her hoof work, "that'll hold your leg. You can still walk on it fine since you just lost some skin and didn't damage anything important. Aside from some minimal scarring, the leg will most likely heal over fine as long as we change the bandage and keep it from getting infected. the ointment will help to alleviate any discomfort while you would otherwise experience moving for the duration of the numbing period, so it shouldn't bother you. The bigger problem now, is your horn, and chest..."

"nice, thanks a lot," I said, "Well... maybe now you can go fetch me some help? or find somepony who can come and collect me, or help me get to a nearby hospital?" I asked, hopefully.

Her lips twisted into a snarl as she glared at me. "Lets get something very clear between you and I, Flash Wit Acumen. I do not fetch. I am not your lackey, and I am most certainly not your friend. I'm a Dark Strider, and I'm simply doing my job."

I squeaked an affirmative, cowed by her sudden rage. She continued to scowl as she pulled my unbuckled hiking harness off me abruptly without asking and started to work on my chest again, rubbing more of that pain-killing salve on the tender skin. It took me a while before I could respond again to her as she just scowled angrily and continued to work diligently.

I made a note to myself to try as much as possible to not make her angry. She was already unsettling in general, but when she'd snarled at me it had downright terrifying. My heart was still fluttering a bit as my pulse raced. I had to do something quickly to try and amend this.

"W-what's your job then?" I asked, hoping she'd calm down.

She was quiet for a second as she worked. "... expedition scout. I've been mapping out these tunnels for other ponies. Why do you care? just shut up and be happy I saved your sorry flank from becoming a pile of red goo on the floor of the Everdark."

My ears pressed back. " Sorry, I was just... curious," I said meekly, "if you just point me in the right direction, I'll just start heading for the nearest exit."

She growled lightly. "And I'd LOVE to do exactly that. But I know you wouldn't last longer than a few seconds with a busted horn and only four more of those high powered glowsticks to light your way through unfamiliar territory. Also, there's no way you're hobbling anywhere for long with a messed up leg and a chest full of fractured ribs," she said with a huff, clearly annoyed at her situation as my impromptu caretaker and babysitter.

She started to wrap my chest with another one of those thick dark-colored bandages. "stop squirming, its making this harder than it needs to be."

"Sorry..." I said quietly, keeping myself still as I realized I'd been fidgeting nervously.

"Don't apologize, just shut up," she said, scowling deeper. 

And yet again, I did exactly that as she ordered me to. 

I admit I have a bad habit of simply talking when I shouldn't, especially when I'm nervous, scared, or overly excited. It's a coping mechanism of mine, and I just... do it. When it happens, I tend to simply just start speaking about anything to break the awkward pauses or continual silence in a room.... or cave in this situation. I hate awkward pauses, or continual silences. 

So I initiate pointless small talk to create a distraction from my problems. It gives me something to do besides fret. But sometimes, you just had to know when to lid your own nervous twitches. So I did. I clammed up and shut up.

I went ahead and took stock of my bleak situation.

First and foremost, I was stuck in a cave with my body all banged up. Secondly, I was now with a strange bat pony mare named Glint, who apparently hated my guts for simply existing and burdening her life with said existence, and for getting in the way of whatever task or job she was doing down here. But, for some reason, despite her clear and obvious disdain for me, Glint was still helping me out. I had no idea why or what a 'Dark Strider' was, but I was clearly very lucky to have been somewhere Glint could swoop in and grab me as she had.

Maybe it's like her offical title as a scout? No, it sounds more menacing than that. She obviously doesn't want to share much about herself or her mysterious culture with me. She made that abundantly clear clear. So I guess I'm just going to have to live with that, and hope that I can just get to the surface fast with her leading the way. 

So I continued to sit in silence as Glint finished wrapping my chest and taped the bandage down. Even when she rubbed some sort of goopy transparent glue to seal over the crack in my horn and then applied the magical Tabasco pain reliever onto my horn I did my best to not make any sounds. The entire process hurt like hell, but I just quietly took it as she finished up her thorough work to apply some first aid to my injuries.

"Alright. That should take care of those injuries," said Glint, sounding perfectly calm again. I suppose the silence had helped her to compose herself. She had slipped back into the emotionless mask of neutrality she'd been wearing when I'd first met her. 

As I looked at her cold expression I gave a little shiver and averted my eyes from hers. it was chilling to see her so suddenly emotionally detached after her little spat of anger at me. As if she'd simply erased any such feelings or antipathy she'd once had towards me. 

Glint stood up. "That'll have to do. come on, lets go."

"Come on? what? where are we going?" I said haltingly, not quite sure what she meant by that.

"Come on, get up," she said, rolling her eyes. "There's no way I'm carrying you, and the nearest exit to the surface is at least a few days away. We have quite a journey ahead of us, and it's only going to be made slower by you and your injuries. So come on. Let's get started."

"A f-few days? down here, in the dark?" I squeaked. and by squeaked, I mean in a very stallion-y and husky way that didn't make me sound like a little filly... at all...

"Yeah, a few days," she said.

"But, why don't we just go and meet up with the expedition you're scouting for? wouldn't that be faster and safer?" I said, not so sure about running off into the dark with just her for company.

"No. My expedition is too far away, and it would just be faster if I simply took you to the surface now. That way you get out faster, and then you're not stuck down here longer than you need to be," said Glint quickly. 

Perhaps a little too quickly.

Now I narrowed my eyes. Something about what Glint had said seemed a bit off. But despite her seeming reluctance to go find her expedition, wherever it was, I had to admit; getting out of these dreary caves sooner than later certainly seemed like it'd be nice. 

Glint sneered at me, breaking me out of my thoughts. "What, you thinking about asking me to take you to the big safe expedition? Don't have the grit to stand a little walk in the dark like a big pony? by the Void, even the foals where I come from are more stallion than you are, big sissy," Glint mocked. 

I scowled a bit and set my jaw in anger at her words as I grabbed my personal effects and repacked them and wiggled back into hiking harness. I snapped the rig snug with sharp angry movements, ignoring the dulled pain in my chest as I did so.

"Oh, I've got the grit, and I'll prove it too!" I growled, struggling up onto my hooves painfully with a grunt. "I can do anything just as well as you can, and I'll do it while injured!" I said as challengingly as I could muster, glaring at her. 

Glint watched me, face still that unreadable mask. 

"We'll see..." said Glint simply. "If nothing else you certainly know how to talk big. We'll see if you can live up to those words soon enough." Glint turned around to head off. As she did, though, I swore I saw the smallest of smiles subtly twisting the corners of her mouth.

"Hey, wait up!" I said as I scrambled up and threw my small re-packed bag up and over my sides before snagging the glow stick and looping it into my harness as I hobbled off frantically to catch up with Glint. 

Glint might be scary, and she might not like me: but she was my best bet for getting out of these nightmarishly-dark caves. Besides, I got the feeling I'd be in for a whole lot more trouble without Glint than if I stuck with her.
> 4 - The Shuffle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4 - The Shuffle




Glint led and I followed.

Glint's treatment had certainly helped, and my leg had gone mercifully numb, but it was incredibly odd to not actually feel your leg or anything it was touching. It was like I had a ghost leg, and I'd found it incredibly entertaining as I walked along.

Aside from the occasional stumble over a loose rock, or clunking my hooves against the uneven stone around us as I misjudged a step with the nerve-dead limb, I was able to keep stride with Glint. Her medicine had done wonders, and aside from a slight strain in my chest, I felt as if I'd never hurt myself to begin with.

Despite the glow of the glowstick stuck through my rig, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something lurking out in the dark unknown caves surrounding us, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Stop thinking about the dark! Its only that dark because there isn't any sunlight to make it bright down here. You have your  trusty glowstick to light the way, and the darkness isn't going to leap out and you and attack like some beast. You're going to be fine Flash. 

I took a deep breath to keep myself calm. The last thing I wanted was to have a panic attack underground. 

Watching Glint, she didn't seem to share any of my discomfort with the rocky environment and simply strode forward purposefully with a quiet determination that was inspiring. Her sharp eyes slowly scanned the dark world around us, ears occasionally ticking in a different direction at some new or imperceptible sound to me. With every sudden twitch of her ears I jumped a bit and my pulse would skyrocket. But she'd just nonchalantly continue walking and I'd hobble along as I stared wide-eyed around us. 

I noticed, with great interested, that Glint also didn't use any lights to reveal her path. I assumed she probably had some sort of natural night vision to help her see in the dark. It made sense if her entire species lived underground without sunlight to light their way.

I wonder if she'd have problems seeing in natural daylight. She seems to squint slightly even from the light of my glow-stick shining in her eyes, I can barely imagine what the sun would be like to her.

I continued to watch my silent guide, focusing on her to take my mind away from my thundering heart and the damned darkness.

She's so graceful. Its like she's just gliding over the stones without even touching the ground. 

If it weren't for my light, I wouldn't even know she was there. The thought was a bit concerning, but it was also comforting. She was like some sort of silent guardian of the dark, and I knew that as long as I stuck with her I'd be fine. 

Or at least, I hoped I would be.

"Would you stop starring at me already?" 

I blinked as I was abruptly interrupted from my thoughts by Glint's voice. I realized I'd been ogling her while I'd been daydreaming. "What? Sorry I was sort of day-dreaming while we were walking,"

"Well, If you could bother yourself enough to snap out of dreamland for a second, I'd like it if you stopped looking at my ass," said Glint dryly. I blushed. "Maybe if you spent less time examining my butt you could start actually paying attention to what's in front of you and beneath your hooves. Seriously, are you trying to kick every loose rock and pebble in the Everdark?"

"Hey, I wasn't looking at your butt! It was just... in front of my eyes while I was thinking," I said as I looked down at my hooves

"You, think? As soon as you can prove to me that little brain in your big head is capable of doing something beyond either 'talking' or 'looking scared,' I might consider believing you," chuckled Glint. 

"I'm not dumb, I'm just... a little mentally challenged sometimes," I mumbled.

"A little mentally challenged. What does that even mean?" said Glint with a smirk. I blushed deeper.

"Just leave me alone. Some of us haven't lived in caves our whole lives. It's not my fault my leg is all numb after you put that stuff on it, it causes me to have a hard time walking. I don't see you trying to help me out with it," I mumbled, sullenly looking at the ground as I continued to walk.  

perfectionist bitch I thought with a little internal snarl.

She hopped up a pile of thick boulders and perched on a rocky incline above, watching me intently. I watched her and then immediately looked down again as I realized I was starring again. I scowled and continued to look at my hooves as I plodded forward, intent on proving her wrong and ignoring her.

Ugh, I wasn't even thinking of her that way, and now that she's brought it up, its ALL I can think about. Stupid brain, stop it!

"Ugh. You're as noisy as a bat pony patrol in full armor. Even when you are trying to be quiet," said Glint irritably. 

She hopped down from her perch, and quickly made her way back over to me. 

I scowled angrily, "Look, I know I irritate you, and, honestly, I'm trying here. Just get off my back."

"What, upset little Flash? Can't take a little shit-talking from the big bad bat pony mare?" cooed Glint. "Awwww, well aren't you just precious." Glint gave my chin a little shove a forehoof before I pushed her hoof away in annoyance.

"Oooo, looks like the kitten's got some claws after all. Good, its about time you showed a little fight. Some words of advice, Flash: toughen up. Soft ponies don't last long down here, and If my words are enough to cut you then I'd hate to see what you'd look like after an actual fight." said Glint as she gave me a little push.

"So what, you're just going to bully me now? Is that it?" I said, glaring up at her.

"No, you told me that I "wasn't helping' with your little problem of walking, so here I am. Wish granted, flash, I'm helping you. Now get up, and I'll show you how to 'walk,' you big baby," said Glint.

I mumbled some fairly rude things at her under my breath, but stood back up. She just grinned at me.

Glint started to walk around me, gesturing at my body and posture as she spoke. "Now. First up, loosen up. You look like you're trying to walk with stilts for legs. Second, stop sliding your hooves over the ground. You need to pick them up and bring them down. None of this... lazy walking-shuffle crap you're doing right now. Think of it as if you were... marching." said glint thoughtfully as she continued to poke at my legs. 

I stopped moving, sighing. "Look. I know you're doing a lot to help me, but I'm not some... bat pony super soldier pony or whatever you are..."

"Dark Strider," said Glint, reminding me.

"Right, a Dark Strider," I said. "Whatever that is," I added with a mumble.

"I'd try explaining to you, but I doubt you'd honestly appreciate what it means."

"Try me, you might be surprised," I said.

"If you can actually manage to not make as much sound as a tunneling Diamond Dog every time you take a step, maybe I'll consider it.... maybe," she said.

"Look Flash, this isn't hard to do. Anypony can do this, it just takes a little discipline. Tell me Flash, do you control yourself?"

"What?" I asked, confused by her question.

"Do you control yourself? Even a slow unicorn like yourself has to have at least the basic mental capacity to decide your own actions. So Flash, I'll ask again. Do you, as an individual, have the mental capacity to control yourself? Or are you going to admit that you're as brain-dead as you seem and that your body is just running on auto-pilot," said Glint. She raised an eyebrow at me expectantly.

"Well, obviously I control my own actions. I'm not just a robot or something," I replied.

"Exactly, you're not a robot. You're a fully capable pony, injured or not. You decide what you do and don't do, and right now, you need to decide to be quiet and learn to do what I'm trying to teach you," said Glint matter-of-factly.

I sighed. She did have a good point, even if It was irritating to have her essentially force me into agreeing with her.

"I'll... try," I said, swallowing my pride. "Just... can you try to be a little nicer? I don't need to tell you that I'm completely out of my element here. And Maybe you can just push your way through injuries unlike me, but I'm not used to pain like this. Hell, I don't even typically leave my flat most days!"

"Sorry Flash, but pity-parties aren't my thing," replied Glint. "You want me to 'be nicer?' Well I am, whether you see it or not. Despite your shit, and how annoying I find you sometimes, I'm taking the time to help you. And in doing so, it'll probably help to keep not only you alive, but me as well. We're a team down here, and I'm not going to simply carry you the whole way because you don't have the determination and passion to take care of yourself."

I looked at the rocks. I wanted to scream at her, but I knew it wouldn't make anything better.

"Now, since you look like you're ready to murder me, you have something you want to say to me?" said Glint, sitting down.

"Actually, I do have something to say," I said, taking a deep breath.

"No surprise there..." replied Glint, rolling her eyes.

I ignored her and continued. "Why the heck are we walking off into who knows where?" I asked.

"What do you mean," asked Glint with a frown.

"I fell down some massive hole-thing, right?" I said.

"Obviously. Unless gravity is somehow reversed for you surface ponies above, I would assume that when you fall you do, indeed, fall down?" said Glint.

"Right. so I fell down here to... wherever we are now," I continued, motioning idly with a hoof as I tried to remember the name Glint had called this place.

"The Everdark," supplied Glint.

"yes! The Everdark. So, why aren't we just going back up that hole? We're spending all this time traveling through the mountain when we could just go back up it, right?" I said. " Also, why didn't you just fly up and tell the ponies I was traveling with where I was? Or why didn't we just try climbing back up the hole? I mean, you do have wings afterall. It's possible that you could just pick me up and fly us both up. I couldn't have fallen super far, right? And for that matter where the hell are we even going? It feels like we're walking in the complete opposite direction than where we should be going." 

I'd been thinking about this for a while as we'd been walking, and the longer I thought about it the more confused I'd felt about it. It felt good to finally voice my worries out loud.

Glint just looked at me steadily the entire time, quietly absorbing what I said. 

"That it?" she asked.

"Well... everything I can think of off the top of my head, yes." I said, rubbing my neck.

"Well, Flash, since you're suddenly the expert on the Everdark, let me fill you in on exactly why we're walking at the speed of a snail out for a casual stroll through a mushroom glade." said Glint, clearing her throat. 

"News, Flash Wit Acumen, you're hurt. As for your questions, Firstly: You fell a distance of a couple thousand feet. By the time I had caught you and got you safely down to the bottom of that pit and medically stabilized, I couldn't find your friends. Secondly, you're in no shape to climb and I'm not strong enough to carry you a few thousand feet straight up, even without all your gear weighting you down. I don't know if you can comprehend how hard it is to fly few thousand feet nearly straight up with a chunky pony like yourself weighing you down, but trust me; it's really bucking hard."

Wait... did she just call me fat? I thought, stunned. Wasn't that like some sort of social taboo with mares or something?

"And yes, I am calling you fat if you're wondering. You could stand to work out a bit more," said Glint casually.

Damn, she could read me like an open book. 

"Also, sure, I could have tracked down your friends, but that would have meant leaving you alone in that tiny dark cave while wounded and vulnerable to any predator, or hungry creature, that happened to wander by. And judging by the way you were essentially crying and whining in the dark when I came back and handed you the glow stick, you were in some dire need of help and wouldn't have lasted very long without me to help you along."

"I wasn't crying," I said stubbornly

"Sure you weren't," said Glint, chuckling.

"Oh c'mon, I wasn't crying, I was... clearing my eyes!" I said, stomping one of my hooves as I tried to defend what little shred of stallion-ness I had left.

"Whatever, you going to continue actually answering my question? You still haven't' answered why it feels like we're just walking in circles here. Are we actually heading to an exit out of these cursed caves or not?" I huffed. 

"Sorry Flash, but you're simply going to have to trust me to know where I'm going. The Everdark isn't a civilized place. It doesn't have nice little hoof-built paths or official road like what I've read you have up on the surface. It's a rough collection of ancient tunnels, holes, and gaps between the stone. The passageways also don't always travel in straight lines, and can be very twisted and confusing to those unused to navigating them. Its easy to get lost. Let me assure you, thought, that I most certainly know where I'm going, and that we'll get to your exit in due time. That is, if you survive that long," said Glint, giving me a wicked fang-filled smile as she stepped unnervingly close with those sharp fangs of hers.

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean," I said, feeling a little nervous as she moved closer. 

"Oh, just that there are many creatures of these dark tunnels that would loooove to take a bite out of your soft tasty hide," she hissed.

"Um... if you wouldn't mind, you're getting a little... c-close," I said, trying to lean away from her.

"You have a problem with me getting close?" she murmured, flashing her fangs. She had to know I hated it when she did that. "Afraid of me, little Surfacer?"

"N-no," I lied, falling back onto my haunches, shivering.

"Of course you're not," she whispered circling me. "Then you wouldn't mind if I did try a little taste of you, would you? You know... 'cause it'd prove how brave you are..." I felt her fangs scrape across the back of my neck, her hot breath brushing against my coat. I gulped, nearly hyperventilating.

"Well? Better say yes or no Flash, or I'll just help myself," said Glint.

I shot away from her and scrambled across the stones from her, "W-wow, would you check that out! we've been standing here for like... a whole five to ten minutes! we should... keep walking. Onwards. You know, losing daylight...er, darkness... while were standing here. Lots of distance to cover..."

she smirked at me.

"What do you know, you're actually fast on your hooves when properly motivated," she said quietly, moving past me. I sighed in relief as she finally moved away.

"I understand, you'd rather think on this. Don't worry, We can always just continue this later."

"I thought you said you didn't eat ponies," I squeaked.

"I never said that I did, or didn't," she said, heading off into the shadows.

Great. If this place doesn't kill me, then now it appears Glint most certainly will.  I thought. 

"I hate this place..." I said, cursing as I stumbled over a rock before picking up my hooves and marching off after Glint into the darkness once more. 

Gotta keep my hooves up. Pick them up, don't slide them. Like I was marching, just like the Royal Guards in the Canterlot Parade each year.

I sighed. I missed my parents. 

Mom, Dad, I'm going to have one hell of a story to tell you two when I get out of here... if I get out of here.
> 5 - Whispers of the Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5 - Whispers of the Past


After what had seemed to be an eternity of walking, Glint suddenly stopped. l groaned, my muscles burning. I just closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Ugh, its impossible to tell how long I've been down here. I wish I'd brought a watch or something.

"Glint, are you there?" I asked. I opened my eyes when nopony answered. 

Glint was gone.

"Glint... Glint!" I said. I felt my heartbeat beginning to pound. "Glint, where are you? This isn't funny."

Where the heck did she go? she was just standing right there. I got up and began to move over to where I'd seen Glint last. I stopped in surprise as a squealing voice hissed at me.

"Coooome clossser..."

I screwed up my eyes in confusion. Did the rock wall just... talk to me? I edged closer hesitantly, my heartbeat fluttering faster.

"Closser, Flash.... closssssser..." 

I gulped and whispered into the gloom around me. "C'mon Glint, this isn't funny... just come out again. I'm sorry if I made you angry or anything, but c'mon this is just cruel. Come on out, would you?"

A a fanged face suddenly popped out of the rock right in front of mine, yellow eyes flashing.

"Boo!"

I gave a high pitched yelp of surprise as Glint's head poked out from the side of rock wall in front of me. She gave a barely contained giggle as I clutched at my chest and felt my heart painfully pound against my bruised ribs.

"Don't do that!" I shouted as I sat up, glaring at her as she continued to chuckled at me. 

"What? you asked me to come out, so I did. Don't ask for something if your going to be a little foal about it. Also, I enjoyed that little high-pitched filly scream of yours."

I glared at her, cheeks red as I coughed and cleared by throat.

Glint covered her mouth with a hoof as she failed to contain her quiet laughter as I got back onto my hooves and tried to salvage whatever was left of my masculinity. She gave a few more barely stifled giggles from behind her hoof before finally taking a deep satisfied breath and finally calming down. I glared at her. 

Glint rolled her eyes at me, still smiling. "Oh, stop it with the glaring, Flash. I've been dealing with your whining all day, This is nothing in comparison. Besides, you'll forgive me soon enough once you see where I've taken us."



Glint motioned me to follow as she disappeared once more from view. I walked right up to the rock, investigating the spot I'd seen Glint standing just moments ago.

There was a crevice in the stone of the wall, nearly invisible unless you were looking directly at it. It looked like it would be a bit tight since the rough passage was just barely a pony's-width wide, but it looked like I could make it through as I pushed into the passage to follow after Glint.

It took a little wiggling, but I eventually was able to squeeze through the tight space, having a little more difficulty than my skinny guide had.

Ugh, I'm not fat, I'm just... larger. Yeah, that's right. Stallions were typically larger than mares anyways, that made sense. It definitely doesn't have anything to do with my being fat... nope, not at all. I'm just... large.

I finally pushed my way through the crevice, and stepped into a sandy-floored cave. I looked around in surprise at the quaint little place, a trickling pool at its center held what appeared to be an endless supply of cool and clear water. But the most magnificient part of the little cave was the ceiling. I gave a gasp of surprise as I looked up.



Stars

Hundreds upon hundreds of twinkling blue stars hung overhead in a nebula of twinkling lights. I looked up, my mouth hanging open.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" said Glint off to the side as she also looked up with a small smile.

"But... that's impossible. We're still underground, aren't we?" I whispered, bedazzled by the twinkling lights.

The stars stretched off in all directions, an absolute infinite-looking stretch of soft blue and white light hanging above. I continued to stare, flabbergasted with the beauty hanging above us. It was awe inspiring. I suddenly felt the urge to draw it, to try and capture this moment and that beauty in some way that I could always look back on it. I really wished I'd thought to bring a camera with me, I'd give anything to capture the serene warmth of the vista above. 

But as I looked, I began to notice little irregularities with the stars. I'd never paid much attention in astronomy class when I'd still been going to the academy, but even I could identify the most obvious constellations; like the Big Princess and the Little Princess, or Starswirl the Bearded's Belt. Also, the color just seemed a bit off and not quite the same as I'd remembered it. I frowned, trying to figure out why it seemed so familiar yet strange.

"Noticing the abnormalities yet?" asked Glint off to the side. "They' not really stars, Sorry if you had your hopes up."

"Then, how is it glowing like that? magic?" I asked.

"Actually, all those little lights are glow worms. An entire ceiling of them. All up there, gleaming through the darkness." replied Glint, continuing to look up and grin.

"Glow worms?" I said incredulously, looking back up in surprise. "That's all being put off by glow worms? That's... absolutely amazing."

"Is it really like that?" asked Glint in a hushed tone.

"Is what like that?" I responded, still looking up.

"The night sky, is it really like that?" asked Glint, her eyes twinkling almost as brightly as the ceiling above.

I looked at Glint in shock. Had She really never seen the night sky? I'd just assumed that since she knew a way out to the surface she would have at least glimpsed it once or twice before. 

I said as much to Glint questioningly.

"Oh, no, I've never been up to the surface personally, I just know the way. I'm not... allowed to go up there..." said Glint, her smile faltering as she continued to look. 

Glint was quiet for a second as she continued to look up wistfully. "But I always imagined it would be like this. So many dots of light, hanging upon a never ending ceiling."

"This is nothing like it," I said quietly. She looked at me with a scowl as I quickly waved my hooves to cut her off. "No wait, I didn't mean that in a bad way. I'm just saying that this doesn't even compare to the real thing. It's like... " I tried to come up with an analogy that she'd probably understand, "It's like measuring up that small pool over there to an ocean. They're both made up of water, but the ocean is just so much more massive and awing in comparison. The sound, the smell, the look, it's just totally different!" I said at last, smiling. 

Good job Flash, that was a damned good analogy, even for you!

Glint looked at me blankly, "What's an ocean?"

I looked at Glint in disbelief. "You've never seen an ocean before..."

She shook her head.

I sighed, and facehoofed in disbelief. The one time I say something that could have been considered a bit smart or poetic, and the pony I tell doesn't even know what a damn ocean is. Wonderful. Then again, she did say she'd never been outside... so maybe I was the real idiot here.

"Look, it's just... different. That's the best way I can say it."

"Why aren't you allowed to see it?" I asked.

"Its prohibited for ponies of my station to go up to the surface. Such actions can be... punished, depending on the circumstances."

"Wait, but you're taking me up to the surface. Doesn't that mean you're going to get into trouble?" I asked.

"Like I said, except under special circumstances. I'm helping you, and outsider, get home. They couldn't get mad at me for helping out a lost unicorn."

"Wait, but you're just a scout for an expedition, right? Why not just sneak off and just... I dunno, catch a glimpse," I said. I didn't see any reason why Glint couldn't just sneak up and see it on her own.

"It's... complicated," said Glint, the smile fading slightly from her face. 

"Lets just say that if I did, it might come back to cause problems for some ponies I know... and I'd rather not mess up their lives anymore than I already have..." 

Now I was simply burning with questions. But I stayed quiet as Glint continued to look up at the ceiling with an almost sad expression.

She almost looks like she's in pain. Whoever those ponies are she's talking about, she must really care about them if she'd be so cautious of even sneaking a peek at the surface for fear of causing them trouble. 

"Maybe when you lead me up, it'll be night time and you can see for yourself," I said, "and you know... I am injured. I might need somepony to watch over me while I'm sleeping outside when we get out. Protect me from dangerous predators and stuff..." I said casually. 

Glint looked at me in surprise as she listened to me. A small grin worked its way onto her lips again as she looked up and gave a low hum. I smiled a little in response, it felt nice to see her so happy for once instead of so serious and dour.

"I think I could do that..." said Glint, responding just as casually. "I mean, you are injured... besides, you'd probably just stumble down another hole and fall right back down and then I'd have to walk you back out again. Might as well be thorough once we get you out."

"Definitely."

We stayed like that for a while. Just sitting there as we looked at the organic ceiling of stars overhead and drank in the peace of the moment. 



Glint was the first to get up and stretch before she moved across the cave and started to pull her gear off.

"Go ahead and get some water from the pool over there and get comfortable, we'll be staying here for the night," said Glint.

Glint pulled her harness and saddlebags off and began to unpack a simple bedroll and a blanket onto the ground to sleep on. It was about this time I realized I didn't even have a bedroll or a blanket. None of my friends or I had been expecting to explore the cave for very long.

"Um, Glint," I said, "I just realized something..."

"Yeah?" replied Glint as she continued to work.

"I don't have anything to sleep on..." I said lamely.

"alright, what about it?" said Glint, continuing to set up her spot.

"Well... what am I going to sleep on?" I said, looking at the sandy ground.

"Use your hiking harness and saddlebag and lay on those. Besides, the ground is mostly soft sand anyways, you'll be fine," said Glint. I whined a little and sighed as I kicked a hoof half-heartedly into the sand.

"What, were you expecting me to share my bedroll or something? In your dreams, buddy. I carried it, I'm using it."

"B-but, I've never slept on the ground like this before!" I complained.

"Black void, Flash. Sleeping on the ground isn't going to kill you. Honestly I think a little bit of 'roughing it' might help to toughen you up before you get back to your big comfy bed back home."

I pouted a little as I pulled my hiking harness off. I tried to set up the webbing into something resembling a bed, with my bags as a sort of impromptu pillow. I messed with it a bit until I decided that nothing I did was going to make the cured leather any softer.

I sighed, realizing my 'bed' wasn't going to get any more comfortable no matter how much I fidgeted with it. 

Perhaps a nice long drink at the pool would help raise my spirits.

I raised my head up from the pool after taking a nice long refreshing drink, wiping my mouth with a foreleg.

Well, at least the water is nice around here, I thought sullenly as I glanced at Glint and scowled a bit. 

Glint wasn't paying attention to me as she pulled out a couple objects from her bag and moved over to the entrance with them. Shortly thereafter, the sound of a hammer hitting something metallic began to "tink" through the cavern quietly.

"What's that?" I asked as I curiously followed after her, peeking over her shoulder.

"Just a little trick I learned to help ensure us a nice restful nights sleep. Also, if you wouldn't mind could you not look over my shoulder? it's distracting," said Glint. 

"Oh, sorry," I said as I stepped off to the side and continued to watch her work. She was hammering some pitons into the rock around the entrance, just like I'd seen Granite and Slate use in the past for rock climbing. I watched with some confusion as she looped  a piece of rope through a circular hoop on the end of the pitons. It all made sense, though, when she began to add small bells to with sides of the rope, and gave the rope an experimental little tug and caused the bells to give a jingle.

"You made a trap!" I said, enthralled. It was so clever.

"Alarm, actually," said Glint.

I scrutinized the alarm-trap. I'd always been interested in clever little contraptions like this built by ponies. "So, If a pony, or a critter, walks into the ropes looped across the entrance, it'll trigger the bells and should wake us up. ingenious."

"Not bad, for a brain-dead unicorn. looks like you  actually can rub two synapse together and make a spark. Yes, that is the general idea of how its supposed to work," said Glint with a nod.

"You don't have to be mean," I said, looking at the ground.

"You are seriously way too sensitive, Flash." Glint walked back into the cavern, carrying the tiny hammer she'd been using on the pitons back to her bags.

"I'm not sensitive!" I mumbled with a huff as I slowly followed her.

Glint rolled her eyes, and finished putting her tools away. I just pouted past her, and trotted back to my own bags as I pulled out what little food I'd packed into my bag: three granola bars, a big bag of trail-mix, and one honey-oat candy bar.

Well Flash, guess its time to go on that diet you've always thought about. I opened one of the granola bars and munched into it sadly. As I ate, I suddenly realized that Glint was just watching me eat.

I stopped for a second and looked over at her mid-chew, feeling a little awkward as I ate and she just stared at me. 

"Um... you want some?" I asked, offering the other half of the granola bar lamely to her.

"No, I'm fine," said Glint as she continued to watch me.

"okay..." I said, rubbing my bandaged hoof. It was beginning to itch a bit, and it only seemed to get worse as Glint stayed focused upon me.

Wow, this isn't awkward at all.

Now that I thought about it, I realized that I'd never seen Glint stop to eat, drink, rest, or even go to the bathroom. Either she had the bodily control of a god, or she was the sneakiest ninja in the world. I wondered if bat ponies ate the same foods as unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasus. Although, if Glint really did drink blood like she'd hinted at earlier, she might just be waiting for me to go to sleep so she could sneak over and sink her fangs into my neck.

Its okay Flash, she's not going to hurt you. Besides, she's a regular pony, she probably just eats the same food as you. She was just trying to shake you up. It's not like she's going to try and jump you in your sleep or anything...   I shivered at the thought, and suddenly felt even more uncomfortable as she continued to stare at me.

"Hey Glint," I said as I licked some stray sticky crumbs from my muzzle. She flicked one of her large ears towards me, the other one facing the entrance and her alarm. 

"Are you in something like what Equestria has for a military? Like some sort of underground Equestrian guard?" I asked, pulling out another granola bar.

"Something like that," said Glint, finally breaking her stare as she began to draw little symbols in the sand with a hoof. I waited for her to say something more but she didn't as she continued to play with the sand.

"Well..." I prompted, "would you mind telling me?"

"Why?" asked Glint quietly, "it's not like it actually matters in the long."

"Well, I was thinking I might go ahead and record what we've been doing done here. like a... 'memoirs of' kind of thing, " I said. 

I rustled around in my bag it until I pulled out a small worn-out black journal with a smile. I blew some sand off of it, and opened it up as I pulled out a pen to begin writing down in it all that'd happened since my fall. It'd been a while since I'd put any new entries in it, but as I'd been walking I'd begun to get the idea of writing a short book detailing this entire little venture of mine.

"Like what? a book?" asked Glint as she looked at my journal.

"Exactly, a book! I mean, it plays into my cutie mark... " I said, happy she was getting it. I angled my hips so she could see the image emblazoned onto it. A blank page with a quill and mostly-full inkwell. I'd never really understood cutie marks, or even my own for that matter. I mean, its not like I'd ever been especially good at writing research papers and stuff at the academy, and who used an actual quill or an inkwell these days? Weird...

"Hey, what do you know Flash. Your cutie mark matches you perfectly; blank, just like your brain!" said Glint with a chuckle.

"Ha-ha-ha," I said, emphasizing my words.

"Look, I've always enjoyed writing, even though I've never been able to do anything with it for myself, and I was thinking that this... well, situation, might make for a nice story."

Glint smirked," So once you're on the surface you're planning on writing a big story about this and becoming a famous author?" 

I nodded enthusiastically, smiling at her. "Yeah, exactly! the tale of my journey through the Everdark, and of the mysterious bat pony I met! Sounds exciting, does it?"

"Your journey? Oh please, Flash, you're making it sound like you planned this entire trip. We both know that there was no way you could have ever 'planned' any of this, empty-headed as you are."

I snorted, ignoring her jibe at me. "Well, be that as it may, this 'empty-headed' pony happens to know that most ponies like in a good adventure story, having read quite a few myself. So I was thinking that this would make a good story. And, I mean, its not like I need to present myself as a total loser for it. It'd be kinda lame if I did," I said reasonably. "Besides, I could always just label it off as fiction and say its based on "true-events". Then it'll be okay!" 

The smile disappeared from Glint's face as I continued to speak. She began to growl faintly.

"So, you're going to write a little book about your adventures down here, and pretty it up so its more exciting for somepony else to read? Give the world your epic tale of your daring adventure through the Everdark? how you courageously voyaged into the dark tunnels, and came out the other side?"

"Well, maybe not quite like that, but yeah that's the idea," I said, not really paying attention as I continued to write and finished off the second granola bar.

"Don't belittle me, unicorn," spat Glint. I looked up in surprise, eyes getting wide as I saw her advancing on me.

"Whoa, Glint, why are you so angry? I didn't mean anything bad by it, I just want to write about you and everything we've gone through so far. About this!" I said, motioning around us.

"By twisting the facts and making some story about you being some sort of super-pony, Flash?" She scowled, hissing at me as she flared her wings out threateningly.

"So what, you can sell stories about this to wide-eyed foals and other surfacers? Probably mention that some bitch bat pony mare helped save your life? And don't deny it, I see how you look at me. How you shiver when you see my fangs. You fear me, and you should. The only smart thing you've done since I rescued you is fear me."

She bared her teeth at me to make her point as I scrambled back from her until I felt the cold cave wall press up against my back. I raised up shivering hooves as she continued to stride towards me, eyes glinting threateningly.

"You'd be setting this up under the pretense of doing me a favor, while all it would be doing is lining your own pockets," she growled. "And in the end, you'll forget about me... about all of this. All it'll be is a little fairy-tale you pack away onto a book shelf and pull out occasionally to share with your friends for a few laughs or to impress some mare."

She snarled, and pulled her hoof back. I gave a little squeak of fear, and wrapped my hooves protectively around my head awaited the inevitable blow. 

A soft "whump" smacked into the rock right by my ear. I peeked out fearfully to see Glint's hoof shaking against the rock wall next to my head, her eyes narrowed at me. I trembled before her rage.

"You'd just twist the facts. Make yourself into some sort of damned hero and paint me as the freak. You're no better than they are..." she murmured quietly, closing her eyes as she gritted her teeth and took a deep breath.

Whoa, where did that all come from. I didn't dare say a word for a second as I slowly remembered how to talk.

"Glint you saved my life," I said in a hoarse whisper, scared that speaking to her might cause her to actually lash out at me. But I was also afraid that not speaking to her might cause her to attack me anyway.

"Maybe saving a ponies life is common or something down here in the 'Everdark,'  but up in Equestria it's not. I've heard that ponies will swear themselves to other ponies for such a tremendous deed. I can't offer you anything as extravagant, but I wouldn't do that to you... even if you do piss me off someteimes." I said. Glint just continued to glare at me, I did my best to meet her stare evenly, but I felt myself trembling.

"So, you're completely set on writing this book?" said Glint menacingly.

I shuddered, not sure if I should nod or not.

"Maybe I should just kill you now. Then I wont have to worry about you and your stupid book."

I'm dead. This is it, I screwed myself. I'm totally dead. I whimpered, and tried to sink lower from her.

Glint grabbed me by the neck and shoved me up against the rock so I was looking her dead in the eye. 

"Now you listen here Flash. Because I'm a lot of thing, but a murderer isn't one of them. But If you dare to write that book, and you lie about what happened down here, or present anything in a way that doesn't express the 'truth,' then I will find out about it. Don't ask me when or how, but I wear I'll find out. And when I do..."

Glint gave a low growl and squeezed my neck tightly, choking me as she whispered into my ear.

".. Then I'll do things to you that'll make you wish I had killed you down here in the dark instead of letting you live. Do we have an understanding?"

I gave a squeak as she pressed against my neck painfully.

"I said, do we have an understanding!"

I gave a gurgle, and nodded quickly as black spots began to swim across my vision.

"Good," said Glint simply as she let me go and I slumped back down, gasping for air. She stomped off back to her bed, and fell onto it as she continued to scowl at the wall.

I just sat there, taking in shallow breaths as my brain slowly registered I wasn't dead.

I cautiously walked back over to my bed. I felt a few tears ran out of my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away. I looked over at her, but decided that trying to do anything else would be extremely unwise. I lay down, and tried to get comfortable on my sandy bed.

That was... intense. I always thought Glint was a little freaky because of the wings and fangs, but that was something else. 

I closed my eyes and berated myself for calling her a freak in my head.

Dammit Flash... you're doing everything she just said you might. You're not like that, you wouldn't do that to another pony, would you?

That thought gave me pause. I'd never thought of myself as a bad pony. Sure, I might not have always gotten along well with others, and I certainly had my less than glamorous moments, but who didn't? It didn't make me bad. Sure, I was a social introvert, I knew that, and I'd made peace with that part of myself... but did I really have Glint's best intentions, or really anypony's, in mind when I'd thought writing up this story would be fun?

No, I'd just thought it would be cool. A cool way to show off to my friends.

Dang it... she's totally right. Maybe not about everything, but she's generally right about what I would have treated something like this had aI created it. Hell, knowing me, I'll probably never even make it...

I continued to lay there and think about that for what felt like an eternity. I didn't know if Glint was still awake, but I felt like I had to say something, anything, to smooth over this tension between us.

"Look... I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean to make you angry or anything. I just... thought it'd be cool to write a story about this. You're right... I wouldn't have respected it. I'm just so scared about everything right now. I don't know what I'm doing, and it just felt good to think I could do something useful with what I'm doing for a change."

Glint didn't respond.

I awkwardly continued, getting a bit more courageous as I continued to speak into the dark, "I guess I just don't really know anything about you or where you're from... so it's gonna be really hard to tell the truth about you if I don't even know anything about you."

I was burning to turn over and see if Glint was awake, but still didn't dare to move.

"It would... mean a lot to me if you'd be willing to share something about yourself and your mysterious race. Anything at all..." I added quietly, trying to be as sincere and humble as I could muster to be.

I jumped a bit as I heard a quiet sigh from where Glint was resting.

"Fine," said Glint, "But I'm not telling you this for Free. In return, I'm going to require you tell me something..."

"What do you want?" I asked, curious as to what Glint might want from me. I pulled out the journal to another blank page, holding the pen at the ready.

"In return... I want to know about the surface. And about you and your family." said Glint.

"Kinda weird thing to ask for in return... ." I said with a frown.

"Do you want to know more about me?" asked Glint.

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then you agree to my terms?"

"... yes, I do. I'll tell you about my family in return for you talking about yourself and stuff," I said. "But I'll warn you, I'm the least interesting unicorn on the face of the planet."

"I don't care what you think about yourself, if you're asking something personal about me then I want to be able to pry into your own life as well," said Glint. "A fair trade in information, is it not?"

"True enough, I suppose," I said. It made sense in a sort of language-bartering sort of way.

"Also, I wont promise to tell you everything. Some things are just too personnal, or weren't meant to be shared with others, alright?" said Glint.

"That's fine," I said. Pen poised as I prepared to write down what she told me.

"Good. Just making sure we understand each other on this," said Glint. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. I waited excitedly. She didn't respond for the longest time, and for a second I was afraid she'd decided to not tell me about herself after all, but suddenly in that quiet lilting tone of her's she began to speak.

"DeepHollow, my home city, is one of the few remaining great bat pony cities left beneath the deep earth," started out Glint simply, her quiet voice floating through the air to me in its musical tones. "Before the purge there were many such bat pony cities and underground settlements, but over the last thousand years our race has become much less and thinned in number. Today we live in large clans of our kind for survival. Where once we were a wide-sweeping race, we are now only a shadow of our former size and power." She spoke with a quiet intensity, her quiet voice floating through the air.

"Wait, why are there so few of you?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Glint. Glint glared back at me in return as I interrupted her.

"Do you want to actually hear the answer to your original questions, or are you just going to interrupt me with evermore of them? You asked for the story of my people, and I will share it to the best of my ability." said Glint irritably. 

I made a point to shut my mouth, and listen.

"... thank you. We'll get to the why in due time, so patience, Flash," said Glint. "First you must know that we have not always lived beneath the soil."

"Wait, you haven't?" I asked, surprised.

"No," replied Glint

"But, you just said you have an entire city built underground. It just seems like it'd take a long time to tunnel something out like that if you weren't living in it all the..." I stopped talking as I noticed Glint scowling at me again. 

I shut my mouth again. I really did need to get better at listening.

"... now, as I was saying, we didn't always live beneath the soil," said Glint. "Before we moved deeper into the earth, documents tell that a majority of our race lived in shallow caves upon the surface. We cannot confirm when, or how, or at what time, age, or era; but at one point we, the Bauht, lived above ground."

"The Bauht?" I asked.

Glint sighed," you're going to keep interrupting me, aren't you..."

"Probably," I said, smiling sheepishly.

Glint gave an irritated growl before continuing. "Bauht is the proper name for my species. When your ancestors first met my ancestors they mistook the word for 'bat,' and thus the term bat-pony has existed ever-after."

"Well, to be fair they sound very similar..." I said.

"How would you like it if I called you a Dony?"

"What? but I'm not a... whatever you called me, I'm a pony. with a P..." Glint just smirked at me as I started to defend the proper pronunciation of my racial name.

I flushed and mumbled, "alright, alright. Point taken."

Glint nodded. "All we know is that something drastic happened. Old documents and records of the time talk of the world shattering, of the ground breaking and forests burning. It was a time of unspeakable horrors, and our race began to worry that the land itself would eat them up. It's said that in an effort to escape the terrible calamity that plagued the surface, our kind slipped beneath the cracks in the mantle of the world and carved our own place in the dark rock and stones of the deep, to create a safe and stable home we could live in peacefully for all time."

Wow... how about that for ancient history.

"Our race flourished for a time. Our bodies adapted to our new home quickly and our hearing became more keen, our sight clearer, and our noses more sensitive to the scents of our new home. The Everdark is filled with many horrors and creatures of the dark, but we were not so weak as to let them conquer us. We fought them, and pushed them back. Our martial prowess grew over the years, the tradition of fighting became an art to our race, and we passed it down to each and every foal so that none would be defenseless from the creatures of the Everdark."

"And so we thrived within the deep stone, and spread out to claim ever more territory. Unlike your kingdom of Equestria though, you must understand that bat ponies are not united into a single country or under a single banner. We are many spread out clans, tribes, settlements, and colonies of separate families, groups, and clans. We all have our own histories, traditions, and teachings, and it is only during times of great war, duress, or trouble, that we bat ponies have ever united to fight side by side."

"We can be a very violent race when tempers flare, and in the past it wasn't uncommon for entire bat pony clans to fight battles against eachother over slights or insults to their honor or families. Because of the near constant threat of danger, battles, and minor skirmishes fought nearly year-round, many of the smaller clans did unite into larger clans to make bigger and greater tribes; to found 'cities' in an effort to better protect themselves."

"Through these alliances, our greatest cities were built, such as DeepHollow. And for a time, it was good. We were even beginning plans to build an actual subterranean highway through the Everdark between the other great bat pony cities. We continued to mine deeper and deeper, learning to craft more cleverly and exquisitely in our everlasting push for supremacy of the deep and the world around us. Our race felt as if the entire world were opening up to us, and for a time it seemed exactly as if it were so.  But that was all before... before the incident occurred. Before our race's Fall." 

"The 'Fall?'" I asked, pausing in my furious note-taking for a second.

"It is a time that is still upon my kind, and what many bat ponies now call loosly 'The Fall.' It is a story that tells of our races diminishing... and in the end, it will only end with our extinction..."

"holy Celestia," I said, "that's... kinda dark."

"It is simply the truth. I don't like it myself, but that doesn't make it any less real. The truth is always ever-present, no matter how hard we might try to run from the past..." murmured Glint. I had the feeling that sentence meant a bit more than she was letting on, but I almost felt like a looming weight hung in the air.

I really wanted to offer Glint some solace as I watched her look at the ground sadly. Obviously, something hurt her badly to think about this, and I wished that I had the capability to comfort her as she hung her head.  But she would most likely see any offer of "sympathy" as an insult, or patronizing on my part.

I was happy to hear her share the history of her race with me, but I was beginning to feel horrible for asking as I watched a lingering depression seem to take hold of her.  I rubbed my neck awkwardly, and waited for her to continue patiently.

"About 2000 years ago, our race made contact with an Alicorn. Specifically, the Alicorn of the moon," continued Glint finally.

"Princess Luna?" I asked.

"Yes, Gol'kai Luna," said Glint with a nod. "Gol'kai is an ancient honorific. I believe the Equestrian equivalent for our term would be Commander, but what it roughly translates out to in Bauhtin, my native language, is 'destined to rule.'" 

I nodded in reply, finding it strange yet intriguing. 

Baughtin, I should look into that, it sounds really interesting.

"The story of how She achieved such an honor is a truely epic tale to be sure, but it is long and not crucial towards the one I'm telling now. A story for another time, perhaps. All that matters is that you know is that Luna impressed our kind immensely." 

"In response to the deeds Luna undertook for our kind, many of our race gathered and for the first and last time, all the bat ponies present, regardless of status, tribe, or family, pledged their loyalty to Princess Luna and said they would aid her in her time of need should she call upon us. To settle this alliance and oath, we also agreed to send her a contingent of our best and brightest warriors. A hoof-full from each clan, to show our continued dedication."

"We shared our knowledge of fighting and war, and in turn helped to found and develop your modern day 'Lunar Guard,' and to this day many of us still uphold our oath of service and send warriors to protect and serve princess Luna. Bat ponies do not make promises lightly, and to break one is considered a horrible dishonor."

"Wait, then why aren't there more bat ponies around?" I said, confused, "if you guys helped to found the Lunar Guard and have been sending warriors every 10 years for the past 2000 or so years, there should be... well... a lot of you guys, even if you go by a typical ponies life-span."

"True, but you're forgetting the Nightmare Moon incident," said Glint. "During those years, many of our race began to venerate Princess Luna as a true goddess, not just a ruler."

"Well, that's not so odd. I mean, lots of ponies do that these days," I said with a shrug as I grunted and rolled over to look at her so I wasn't craning my neck at her.

"No, Flash, you don't understand," said Glint, turning over herself to look at me. "We worshiped her. she became more than just somepony to look up to and be in awe of. She became the focus of our entire civilization. many of us become zealots and proclaimed her as the one true ruler of  not only our entire race, but the world. That she was considered our true creator, and that we, her children of the night, owed her not only our lives, but our very souls."

Glint rubbed her face, "During that time, what we now call the 'purge' occured. Entire families, settlements, and respected families were removed from power, or had their titles and honors stricken for not adhering to the new religion or for speaking out against Luna. It got... bad."

"Wow, that's..." I didn't even know what to say.

"You don't need to say anything. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and we most assuredly see our mistakes for what they are now. Fanaticism blinded us to the truth of what was happening to our beloved living goddess as she slowly became the dreaded Nightmare Moon. And so, when Luna rose up against Celestia and tried to overthrow Equestria and lay down an everlasting night, the bat ponies took it as the destiny of our race to follow Luna and return to the surface once more, to rule it as we once had."

"But, our living goddess was quickly banished from this world to the moon. And we, her 'chosen,' were chased back into the deep places of the world. Celestia cut off our supplies, and left us to fend for ourselves beneath the ground. She wouldn't dare send her soldiers into our tunnels, knowing we would simply send back out their corpses, but Celestia also knew how much we'd depended upon the supply of food and goods to keep our mighty civilization and cities alive. So Celestia starved us out as so many of our rulers proudly refused to meet her talks for peace or diplomacy. We were too proud to admit our defeat, and so... we began to perish for it..." 

"Entire cities died out... others turned on each other, killing other ponies for what supplies remained, or even..." Glint shuddered, "eating others to survive."

"But... don't you eat meat?" I asked. My ears pressed back on my head as Glint glared at me. "What, j-just saying... with the fangs, and all the stuff you were saying earlier, it just seems like its possible. I'm not saying its bad or anything, I mean, Griffins and the Minotaurs do that."

"No. I don't eat meat. I'm not some filthy wraith," growled Glint.

"A Wraith?" I asked.

"A blood drinker," growled Glint, "they're a dirty stain upon our kind, and they represent the worst of us. Those that drink blood and eat the flesh of other creatures... and of ponies. So no, I am NOT a wraith, Flash."

"But... I mean... you.... what do you eat?!"

"fruit," said Glint.

"Fruit?" I said, surprised.

Glint smirked, "yes. fruit. I'm a 'fruit bat,' like the majority of my kind, idiot."

"Oh.... oh! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! All this time I've though I thought... Oh wow, I feel so dumb." I stammered, burning with embarassment.

"What, thought that I might try and take a nibble out of you?" offered Glint.

"well... yeah," I said.

"Sweet Luna, Flash. If you were any other pony I might actually feel offended by your ignorance," chuckled Glint.

"Thanks... glad my sub-par intelligence is paying off for me here," I said with a little pout. "Will you continue the damn story already?"

"Fine, just hold your ponies," said Glint, waving a hoof back and forth for me to calm down. "Suffice to say we had a bit of a civil war, and in the end the last of us decided to meet Celestia and come to an agreement. By this time the only cities left were Eventide, DeepHollow, and Duskhaven of the great bauht cities, and only a few outposts and colonies close to the surviving cities. Surprisingly Celestia was quite kind to our kind and treated us with respect in return for our submission to her authority. We agreed to never raise arms against her again, and to return to our duties, as we had promised to her sister, Luna, as protectors of Equestria in the Lunar Guard. In return she would once again give us the much needed food and goods so that we could survive."

"Wow, that's pretty awesome. Did nothing else happen? No secret or sneaky ways to get back at you guys?" I asked. I doubted that such an awesome pony as Celestia would do such a thing, but if the bat ponies were such a threat in the past I was surprised that she'd simply let them go with a relative pat on the head.

"It was degrading," said Glint. "Celestia didn't have to do anything. Us coming crawling to her to admit defeat was all the force she needed to use against us, and then she spared us and showed us mercy she made it clear that she put our entire race into her debt for saving it. We're just lucky Celestia seems content to leave us alone underground as long as we carry out our oath of protecting Equestria."

"Damn," I said, giving a low whistle.

"Indeed. So we returned to our original positions, fewer in number but still strong if not a little less proud. The Lunar Guard is now mostly just regular ponies, but there is always a standing garrison of our kind in Canterlot and across Equestria to help wherever we're needed." But, our troubles were far from over we'd soon discover."

"While we recovered some of our power, a new problem arose. A genetic deficiency which has now become a raging problem among our kind. infertility."

"infertility? but... that's natural, every society has ponies that can't give birth or whatever reason."

"Oh really? and is it as prominent in other species as to occur in six out of ten bat ponies?" growled Glint. 

I balked, six out of ten?! That was... that was insane. I sucked at math, and even I knew that was REALLY bad for any society, let alone a species!

"Are you kidding, six out of ten!" I said, sitting up. "But that's... how are you sustaining yourselves? How are you guys going to keep making it?"

"We aren't..." said Glint simply. "Many of us say its the price we must pay for our arrogance, that we were cursed for not stopping Luna before her madness took hold."

"That's bullshit. You guys make it through all that shit, and in the end you're just going to disappear?" I said.

"Flash, calm down..." said Glint quietly.

"No, this is ridiculous! How are you so calm? this is horrible! Your race is dying, we have to.... there has to be something, a doctor, or a scientist, or somepony out there that can help you guys out!" I ranted, pacing back and forth in place.

"Flash," said Glint a little louder, a warning tone in her voice.

"No, I'm not calming down. You saved my life, and while you may be a total bitch and I sometimes hate you for giving me shit, I refuse to hear of a species being wiped off the map simply for making a... a few bad choices! I'm not going to sit by while you all die!" 

I didn't even see when she'd stood up and moved over towards me, but I felt it when her hoof slammed into my cheek. I stumbled back, landing on my rump, shocked.

"You... you hit me..." I gasped.

"Yes, I did," said Glint, suddenly standing in front of me. She popped the bones in her hoof absentmindedly as she looked at me calmly. "you were getting hysterical, and being noisy/"

I scowled, and crossed my hooves. still angry about the entire situation. "I can't believe you're being so calm about this..."

"You think I'm calm about this?" whispered Glint, and I looked at her. Her face was no longer holding the mask of indifference. In its place was a deep pain. One of extreme loss, of knowing one's end and having no power to stop it.

"You think I'm not mad that I wont ever have a foal? That I'm just going to die out with the rest of my generation, and leave our kind smaller and smaller? That I enjoy watching as our cities shrink decade by decade, knowing that soon our only legacy will be empty ghost cities and towns to be taken over by diamond dogs and filthy changelings; to be remembered only as the "oppressors" of Equestria. The dark creatures that aided a monster, Nightmare Moon, and were defeated and forgotten for it. Just another bad memory, like discord... and Chrysalis..."

I sat quietly, looking at the floor in shame.

"Flash... you just feel bad about it. I have to actually live with it." 

Glint silently turned back to her bedroll, and crawled into it, pulling the simple blanket over herself as she rested with her back to me.

"Get some sleep... we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow, Flash," said Glint.

I sat on the ground for a while, just looking at the glowing pinpricks of light as I felt the pulsing sting of Glint's punch. I felt wished that the blow hurt more than how I felt inside.

Glint was right. Celestia and Luna be damned, she was right! I had just been throwing a tantrum over something I had little to no idea about, and now I looked and felt like the little foal I'd been being.

I rubbed at the growing bruise on my cheek, and suddenly felt like I deserved a lot more than a smack to the head for what I'd said earlier about writing some stupid fake book about all of this. 

I don't know a damn thing.

I noticed my journal laying on the ground nearby. I quietly picked it up, and looked at where I'd stopped writing. I finished up the sentence, and closed the journal. 

I considered saying something to Glint. That, somehow, maybe I could say some magic words that would just automatically make everything better.

I had nothing to offer. I'd said enough today to offend her anyways, might as well stop while I was ahead.

I lay back down on my simple bed and just tried to sleep, the leather journal clutched against my chest. I quietly wished that Glint would forgive me for everything that I'd said as I lay there and looked towards the ceiling. 

I tried to get some sleep, but I just stared at the ceiling and the soft light of the worms glowing high above.
> 6 - Rocks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6 -Rocks


It felt it'd only been a blink of an eye before I was being shaken awake, Glint tersely telling me to prepare to leave.

Neither of us said much as we packed our things. 

Glint moved away from me to disarm the simple alarm at the entrance as I stretched out. Sand or not, I felt stiff as a board and sore all over as I tried to brush the sand from my mane and coat. I yelped in pain as my right foreleg brushed against my skin. 

I guess Glint's sedatives finally worn off while I was sleeping .

Glint walked over. "Leg hurting again?" 

"Y-yeah," I said through gritted teeth. Glint silently motioned for me to sit back down, and began to carefully undo the bandage on my foreleg.

"I have a limited amount of supplies Flash, and I can maybe change this bandage once or twice more with fresh bandages and that numbing paste of mine. After that, though, you'll be on your own and I guess you'll just have to make do with the pain," said Glint. 

She pulled me over towards the pool of cool water in the cave, instructing me to hold my leg out as she undid the bandage and proceeded to splash water onto the raw looking skin; digging a clean rag into the pool from her bag before proceeding to gently try and clean the leg off.

My leg also didn't look much better with the bandage off of it. In fact it looked worse. I tried to ignore all the dried blood and pus caked across it, or the sickly smell that emanated from it. Glint just continued to work on it intently without so much as batting an eye, calm and efficient as always.

"Is my leg alright? It's looking a little gross..." I said.

Understatement of the century. I grimaced as I looked away, my stomach gave a lurching twinge. 

"It's just healing, Flash. Injuries such as this rarely ever look pretty," said Glint calmly.

"But is it going to be okay? It just doesn't seem like its getting healthier," I said, still looking away.

"Flash, just give it time. I'm sure it'll be fine... in time," said Glint. I thought I might have detected a hint of doubt in her words, but when I peeked at her she seemed sincere. I hoped Glint knew what she was talking about, because the thought of my leg rotting away and falling off was disturbing to say the least.

Glint finished re-wrapping my cleaned and salve-rubbed leg. It had gone from feeling like the leg was burning to a prodding needling sensation of deadened nerves. It was certainly better than how it had been. I sighed in relief. 

I couldn't help but feel my thoughts slowly slipped towards last night, and what had been said. I coughed awkwardly as I turned my head and began to mumble, embarrassed as I thought about it.

As Glint let go of my leg after checking it once more, I wiggled it experimentally and a bit nervously as I prepared myself for my next words. 

"Look, Glint, about last night..."

"Don't apologize," said Glint quietly.

"Glint, look I just have to do this. seriously, I'm really, really-"

"Dont..." said Glint, looking me dead in the eyes, "apologize."

I was quiet for a second as I looked into her amber eyes. She oddly enough didn't seem either angry or annoyed with me. Instead, she was just looking at me calmly without a speck of judgement in her eyes. 

"Why?" I asked, curious. Most ponies would at least accept the apology and move on, if just to be polite.

"Because you don't need to apologize to me," said Glint simply.

"But, you were right last night, I was being a little foal about it. I was just getting myself riled up and-" I stopped as Glint lightly pressed her hoof again my muzzle to quiet me.

"I know," said Glint calmly, "You were simply caught up in the moment. We both know you were simply reacting in the moment. But apologizing doesn't make something alright. It's a nice gesture, and one that I appreciate, but when it comes down to it, Flash, it'll ultimately be up to you to actually prove that you meant that apology. I give everypony I meet the benefit of the doubt, but I've found its rare for somepony to actually carry through on their word."

Glint scratched at her ears, rubbing at some hidden itch.

"Promises are cheap. What's truly impressive is not a pony who will promise you the world to please you, but the one that doesn't need to in order to make you happy."

I soaked all that in, and gave a nod.

"That was pretty cool what you said just now," I said, thinking about that. "You come up with that?"

Glint smiled, shaking her head. "Void, no! That was something my Dad used to say a lot. He always seemed to have these little bits and pieces of Fatherly wisdom he'd say when he talked to my sisters and I."

"He sounds nice," I said.

Glint smiled," he really was. But he was also really quirky. He even had a habit of pacing when he lectured, so my Sisters would always mime him talking while he wasn't looking. We'd try to make faces and little sounds to make each other laugh, and then Dad would look at whoever was laughing while the other two slipped away." 

"Jeaz... getting your siblings in trouble? Sounds kinda mean-spirited," I said.

"Flash, are you an only child?" asked Glint.

"yeah, what about it?" 

"Then you have no idea how annoying siblings can be," said Glint with a smile.

"Still... getting your sisters into trouble with your parents? That just seems really nasty," I mumbled.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad Flash. Dad just talked to us firmly, its not like he beat us, or screamed at us, or anything bad like that. He was a wonderful stallion who loved me, my sisters, and my Mom. And we all loved him in return." Glint gave a nod, still smiling warmly as she talked her family. 

"Was?" I asked

Glint's smile faltered slightly. "Um... y-yeah. He passed away a while ago. Natural causes, apparently..."

"Oh," I said quietly.

"It's alright, he died happy... or so I was told," said Glint.

"You weren't there?"

"No. I was out here at the time and too far from home to receive word until I got home and found out he'd died and been already buried in my absence. My line of work affords for few to no breaks for its... workers."

"Wait, you don't get any breaks? what the heck is with that?"

"Well, its not that I don't get breaks. When I return to DeepHollow I usually get a week or so off, but there's always more to do. And if I'm out on assignment, then it'd be very... unwise... if I were to return before completing my task."

"Jeaz, you expedition scouts really get it rough. I had no idea bat ponies were so intense about these expeditions. You guys looking for something down here or something?"

"Dunno," said Glint, shrugging.

"Wait. You're down here working your flank off, and you don't even know why?" 

That's... odd

"Look, it doesn't matter Flash. Just know that my job doesn't care much for its members personal lives. We just do what we're told." Glint knotted the bandage down with a sharp pull. I was thankful the pain-killing ointment seemed to have taken full effect. She started doing the same thing for the bandage wrapped around my chest as she pulled it off and applied the cream to the massive purple bruise there as I grimaced.

"Well I, ugh," I had to stop talking as Glint's rubbing caused my bruised ribs to flare uncomfortably. It took a moment for me to talk about, my voice strained, "I guess if you say so." 

"Just saying it sounds fishy to me. I wouldn't work for somepony who wouldn't even give me leave for family-reasons. Maybe you should consider getting a new job?" I asked gently. Ponies could be very personal about their occupations, and others giving them advice no how to go about it. But if Glint was really getting screwed here, I'd be a worse pony for saying nothing at all.

"Oh, I'd love to get a new job..." mumbled Glint, scowling. She finished re-wrapping my now mercifully re-numbed chest, making sure the bandages were taut. 

"Then why don't you?" I asked. "I bet you could find a new job with better benefits for its workers. Probably less dangerous too."

Glint was quiet for a second, her eyes glancing up into mine before quickly looking away. Why was she suddenly so pensive?

Is Glint... Is she nervous about something?

"Maybe, but not yet. I'm not done in DeepHollow yet," murmured Glint quietly. "I have something I need to finish before I completely leave..."

"Leave? Wait... are we talking about the same thing here? I was talking about quitting your job, what's this about leaving?" I asked. 

Glint looked back up at me, her mask back on as she smiled mirthlessly, "Obviously, I'm talking about my job. You know? leaving my job? You just said a second ago I should think about it."

"But... the way you were just talking it kinda sounded like you were, uh...." My words slowly tapered off as I looked into Glint's eyes. My heart froze as Glint's eyes took on their signature piercing chill and seemed to scream at me to stop talking. The message was loud and clear to me, "don't pry." This was not to be discussed, and I imagined that if I were to try and push the issue, Glint would shove right back, hard. 

"Well, uh... I wish you luck! With the whole...looking for a new job... thing, that is." I said hastily, awkwardly trying to back out of the conversation.

"Thank you Flash. I'll be sure to take your advice under consideration," said Glint primly

"Uh, thanks Glint. For taking care of my leg and chest again," I said, taking a shallow breath. aside from a slight tightness, chest didn't feel all that bad today either. Glint had done an amazing job once again taking care of my battered body, and it certainly felt better than it had a minute ago. 

"Don't worry about it, just be careful not to hurt yourself more." Glint moved back over towards her bags, sliding her harness and packed bags on and belting them down with practiced and efficient movements.

I hopped up, quickly grabbing my own things and finished shoving the last of my oddities back into my pack.

Glint hummed as she headed for the crack in the cavern that would lead back out into the tunnels. I gave a curse of annoyance as I struggled into my rig and hoped off after Glint awkwardly.

"Hey Glint, wait up!"

Glint's voice echoed back to me, "Keep up Flash. We have a long ways to go and no time for dawdling."

I gave a whine as I squeezed through the passageway and finally popped out the other side to find Glint waiting for me.

I let out a deep, relieved breath. Part of me had been truly afraid Glint might have really left without me.

"Ready to go now?" asked Glint, smirking.

"That wasn't funny," I huffed.

Glint just ignored me as she headed off, giggling. "Next time I should just wake you up and leave, you move much faster when you're worried..."

"Don't you dare. I'm injured, you know. I deserve a few luxuries, the least of which could be comfortably gathering my things!" I said, dusting myself off as I glared at Glint after she gave me that little scare.

I cracked a new glow stick as we walked and slipped it into my rig next to the old dim one from the day before.

OOooo, Blue this time.

I took another deep breath. I felt refreshed despite my sore muscles, and not as depressed about my situation. The talking had really helped to ease my mind. 

I certainly wasn't looking forward to another day of forced walking, but maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be all that bad.


*   *   *


Quiet.... so quiet... 

Glint of course just continued walking ahead of me, leading as usual while I lagged behind. I was stumbling a little less so, thanks to her short lesson in cave walking "etiquette".

The silence was killing me. This place was too alien for me to comfortably just walk along contently as Glint seemed to be able to.

"... I'm from Canterlot," I said suddenly.

Glint glanced over a shoulder at me as she continued to walk silently. 

"My Dad is a professor at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Saying that he's smart is an understatement, honestly. Natural genius in his study of magic theory. Heck, I'm pretty sure he created his own sub-field in magical relativity."

"What did he call it again?" I mumbled, frowning as I tried to remember. "Oh yeah! The 'synergy of applied magics upon inanimate objects.' Essentially just a fancy wording for advanced telekinetics for unicorns. Dad always liked to brag about how his craft was all a unicorn needed to succeed in life. He absolutely loves to always point out that Princess Twilight Sparkle took a few classes from him when she was going to the academy, and how successful she became in life since leaving the academy. Like his classes were the reason that she became great or something. " I rolled my eyes.

I paused for a moment as we both climbed up a short natural staircase of thick rocks before I continued rambling on.

"Dad took it the hardest when I dropped out of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I was always rubbish at magic; can barely do anything more impressive beyond lifting a quill or pen with it. Pretty sure the only reason I got in was because Dad pulled some strings for me. Mom seemed to take it a little easier, but then again she's always been the hard working kind of pegasus. Kinda stereotypical that way. Really into the whole ideal of a pony carving out their future with the power of their own two hooves. Mom stayed in touch with me over the years a bit, but I think Dad still resents me for leaving. We haven't spoken still since I left nearly 7 years ago."

"I told Dad that I wanted to be a writer... and when I told him I didn't want to do academic writing on research, and instead that I wanted to write fictional stories, he pretty much just blew his top. I've never seen him so angry..." 

Glint gave me a questioning look over her shoulder, and I shrugged in response, just continuing to talk.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking... kind of a weird thing for a pony called 'Flash Whit Acumen' to want to spend their life writing stories for little kids of all things. Trust me, I've felt the irony. Everypony seemed to have their own idea what I'd do when I grew up. My Dad assumed it immediately had something to obviously do with Celestia and magic, since I was a unicorn. Like it was my destiny to be her next number one pupil because I had the symbol of a book magically appear on my flank."

"Mom's was a little more broad in her thinking, and she always seemed to think that my ability was undecided and limitless. And that I would be able to... I dunno, write my own future or something silly like that. I actually kinda like that idea though, it's nice. A bit romantic, perhaps, but nice. But personally? I know its not the truth. I'm certainly not limitless, more like very limited."

"You're only limited if you let yourself be, Flash," said Glint over her shoulder quietly.

"Oh, please. Don't try and tell me I can do whatever I want, because otherwise I'd just sprout a pair of wings and turn into a princess. And that's obviously not going to happen anytime soon..." I said, sighing.

"Flash, don't be dramatic. Obviously you're not going to magically turn into a pegasus or something... unless, I suppose, there's a spell for that. I mean that you shouldn't limit yourself by thinking of yourself as limited. Sure, you might not have any skills others see as impressive, but I'm sure that if you worked hard enough you could maybe create something that you could be proud of.."

"Just keep working at what you want to do, and maybe one day you'll be able to make something you'll be proud of," said Glint

I snorted. "So what... I should become a craftspony or something? I'm just lacking the right tools then? Great... so now you're telling me I have no skills. I barely even know you, and you're already labeling me as some sort of failure," I said, scowling.

"You're completely missing my point Flash... which is no surprise since apparently your brain leaked out of your ears and left you as a complete idiot. I meant that if you set your mind to something Flash, or what little of it remains, then you might be surprised by what you can actually do," Glint stopped for a second to look at me pointedly. "It was meant to give you inspiration to not give up, you brainless moron."

I opened my mouth, and then closed it. "Oh..."

Glint rolled her eyes, "Oh indeed. You know, Flash, you can be really dense and whiny." Glint continued walking, moving around the next bend in the tunnel.

"What? I'm not whiny! Glint, c'mon, I thought you were making fun of me or something. I'm sorry, I'm just sensitive to stuff like that!" I said, chasing after her.

"Oh, boo-hoo. Get over yourself, oh 'sensitive' one. Stop making excuses and just pony-up. Seriously, its annoying watching you try to victimize yourself," said Glint.

I was about to give a heated retort, but it was quickly forgotten as I rounded the bend after Glint. 

As I rounded the corner in the thin tunnel Glint and I had been in, I walked into what I can only describe as some sort of massive natural steam-room. The entire cavern was like a big sauna you might find at a gym or spa, but more cave-y and filled with rocks. The air seemed warmer in here, and as I looked around I noticed a pool of water become illuminated by the bright blue light of my new glow stick. The water bubbled briskly, and a comfortable warmth seemed to emanate from it an heat the air.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing at one of the nearby bubbling pools. I trotted over to the bubbling pool to get a closer look.

Glint glanced at the pool and looked away with disinterest, "Thermal vent. Don't touch it, the water might scald you..."

I pulled my hoof back quickly, just about to touch the bubbling water.

Glint rolled her eyes at me and kept moving on. "C'mon Flash, it's just some heated water. Nothing special..."

"Right," I said, giving the pool one more look. It really did look comfortable, like some sort of big hot tub. But, if the choice was between a hot-tub bath or keeping up with Glint, my choice was obvious. I quickly trotted after Glint, avoiding the watery puddles that had accumulated in the natural depressions and cracks of the cave. 

I examined the cavern a bit more, intrigued as pools came into view, spread out seemingly in a random pattern. None of them seemed very large, or deep, and while not all of them bubbled, they all let off steam from their surface and gave the cavern a wonderfully balmy temperature.

"Wow, so this is all like... thermal heat or something? That's awesome! I think I learned something about this in my geology class."

"Yes, it's thermal heat. Now I need you to please shut up for me, Flash," said Glint.

"What, why? I was just asking. No need to get all uppity about it, I was just trying to verify what was making the pools bubble like that," I said defensively.

Glint tilted her head around, and glared at me. 

"Flash," said Glint, an edge of annoyance now coloring her words. "Shut the buck up..." It wasn't a request anymore, it was a command. Didn't mean I had to like it, though, or how she was talking to me. 

I buttoned up, but continued to scowl, glaring at the rocks under my hooves.

Glint looked around the humid cave for a while before finally speaking again, more quietly now. "Good. Now follow me, and you do exactly what I tell you to do. And for the love of the void, keep your trap shut... got it?" 

I pouted, but nodded, remaining quiet.

Glint moved forward slowly, continuing to carefully watch around us. I itched to ask her what she was looking for so intently. I  was getting more than a little worried with how carefully she was checking our surroundings. Had she seen something? It felt like we were walking into a minefield, and I kept getting this dread feeling in the pit of my stomach that something horrible was going to happen.

But ten minutes later, nothing had happened. And twenty minutes later, still nothing had happened. And wouldn't you know it, thirty minutes later there was still nothing.

"Glint, what are we-"

Glint gave me an enraged look, and I coward a bit back from her. "Not. One. Word." she hissed at me.

She continued to stare at me as I cowered lower, giving a little whimper as I submitted to her. No more talking from me for a bit.

She gave a grunt, and motioned for me to follow her again. I followed, keeping a little distance. I didn't want to be close to Glint while she was angry at me. No point in making myself into an easier target for her to smack if she felt like getting violent.

She's not going to hurt you Flash. Glint's a good pony. She just wants to help you get to the surface. Her wanting to know more about your family will most certainly not lead to anything bad... nothing at all. I felt myself feeling uncertain of that though. Why did Glint want to know so much about me and my family anyways? Kinda oddly specific. 

Ugh! I hated worrying about little details like this, like what would be socially acceptable, or what was the 'appropriate' way to speak to an individual. It'd be so much easier if I just asked Glint, but if I did she'd probably just get pissed. This is why I dropped out of the academy in the first place, too many silly details to get a headache over.

I sighed. 

This stuff should be left to smarter and more courageous ponies who can actually stand up for themselves do stuff with their life. Or at least to a unicorn who can actually still use magic...

I groaned, rubbing my temples as my self doubt grew and grew. I gave an annoyed growl and tried to just stop thinking about how under prepared and qualified I was for this entire situation.

Wow. Is that what I've come to now? Self pity? Celestia's sun, Glint's right: I really am being pathetic and whiny..

"Flash, you are to wait here," said Glint, motioning at a pony-high chunk of stalagmites for me to hide by. Warm water droplets dripped down from the stalagmites littering the ceiling, but it wasn't an especially bad place to wait, if not a bit wet.

"Hey, why do you get to talk!" I protested.

"Flash, I swear," said Glint, her voice sounding strained, "If you press me right now." 

Glint gave a frustrated growl. "Look, I just need to check on something real quick. shut up, and stay here, okay?"

I opened my mouth to ask what, but Glint shoved her hoof into my mouth.

"Don't you dare speak right now," she hissed, "There's a time and place for everything, and now is not the time to give me lip or back-talk."

Glint shoved me back onto my haunches and against the stalagmites roughly.

"Now. I'm going to go and make sure the path ahead is safe. All I need you to do is sit here and be quiet. Nod once if you understand, twice if you don't understand this simple task I've laid out before you Flash..." said Glint, cocking an eye at me.

I nodded once, pouting slightly.

"I'll be right back. don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," said Glint as she turned around abruptly slipped away into the darkness beyond my glow stick.

I mumbled to myself, and huffed. 

Stupid Glint, stupid bat ponies! Ugh, she was so impossible to get along with. I thought we'd gotten past this, I thought we were friends now! Weren't friends supposed to treat each other better than this?

Thinking about friends made me think about my other friends. 

Did... I treat my friends okay? Why am I even out here. I should be home, in my apartment. Just getting ready to work at that restaurant before going to Daisy's Pub to end the day with Granite, Slate, and Sterling.

Thinking back on it, I hadn't really done much for my friends. In fact, now that I thought about it, the hike had been one of a hoof-full of things I'd actually opted to go with them on. 

Why did I agree to come along. This is so out of my comfort zone its unreal, I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around everything that's happened in just the last day.

Flash rubbed his head, and sighed. His headache was feeling worse.

Just stop thinking about it Flash. It's not important right now. What is important is that you're supposed to just wait here, be quiet, and be patient.

But I didn't want to just wait there and "be patient." I wanted to explore the weird bubbling pools, look around the cavern, maybe even discover something interesting. But I knew that if I left this spot Glint would be angry, and the idea of her treating me like a little colt because I wouldn't manage to sit in one place for more than a few minutes irked me more than my need to explore.

So, I waited. Time seemed to slip by, but without a watch it seemed like an eternity was passing as I just sat in the darkness by myself.

I sighed, slouching. Wow I am bored

My stomach growled. 

And hungry it would appear...

I gave a small smile as I suddenly as I suddenly realized something. 

Glint may have forbidden me from moving, or talking... but she never said anything about eating! I rooted through my saddlebag and pulled out one of my granola bars with a little chuckle as I touched its glossy wrapper. 

Oh, I could already taste its delicious honeyed-oats and peanutty flavor. It made my mouth water as I ripped the wrapper off and took a big bite. 

I gave a little moan as I chewed. Celestia that was good!

I heard the sound of something soft clicking against the stone nearby. My ears perked, and I looked around in alarm. I heard a faint hissing sound, and I felt my heart rate beginning to pick up.

What was that!

I froze, scared. I strained my ears, eyes rolling back and forth as I tried to see beyond into the darkness. I gave a little jump as I a quiet tapping noise again, and gave a quiet yelp as some flecks of warm water peppered my shoulder.

My neck snapped to the side as I watched what I'd mistaken for just a puddle of water in front of me suddenly give a hiss of released air, splattering out a bit more water as a pocket of pressurized air leaked out and caused the little puddle to bubble vigorously, sending splatters of water out to patter against the wet stone.

I clutched my chest, my heart racing. My Fear melted into relief as I realized I wasn't actually in danger.

It's water Flash... just water. Sweet Luna and Celestia, I need to chill out. 

I took another bite of the granola bar, sighing as my muscles relaxed as I returned to my treat.

The little pool of water continued to bubble and hiss next to me. It's one startling sounds now kind of soothing, and the warmth of the water misted over towards me pleasantly. I edged closer to it, trailing a hoof through the water to test it. 

Oh, wow, that's the perfect temperature! I should try to convince Glint to let us stop so we can take a little soak in the water. Heck, she seems super wound up, she could use a nice relaxing bath I bet.

"Nothing like a tasty snack to take away the edge," I murmured happily. As I said it, I saw the smiling face of Glint in my mind as she smirked and called me a "fatty."

"Shut up imaginary Glint. You don't know nothing... about anything," I said, scowling. "I just like eating. It's not like its a crime..."

The rocks around me gave a slight tremor, as if rumbling their agreement as the water gurgled, almost like the water was trying to talk to me.

Huh. Strange conversation partner... but I suppose I could do with worse. I always did enjoy playing with imaginary friends as a kid.

I leaned back, wiggled around as I tried to get comfortable. I found a particularly soft rock, and closed my eyes pleasantly as I listened and continued to take little bites and continued to talk quietly to myself, imagining the cave was talking back.

"I mean, honestly, Glint's known me for what: a day now? Maybe two? Like she has the right to judge a perfectly nice guy like me. The way she acts, you'd think she was some high-born noble pony or something!"

The rocks gave a sympathetic rumble. 

"Yeah, you get it. I've just been so out of my element lately. It's nice to just have somepony, er, some-'rock' I mean, to talk to. Even if you can't talk back."

The rocks responded with a happy rumble. I chuckled.

"Well, at least you seem to be an attentive audience. It's too bad you don't eat granola, otherwise I'd share some with you."

The rocks gave a questioning sound.

"What, never had honey covered granola? It's delicious! I mean, I was never a big fan of granola growing up, but wow when you're hungry I guess you get a whole new appreciation for foods, am I right?"

The rocks gave a purry sound, and nudged my neck, causing me to giggle as it tickled my neck with its tongue.

I laughed, "Hey, that's ticklish! Come on, I'm just trying to--"

My eyes popped open as I suddenly realized something. The rock just purred and licked my neck...

...

I turned around and looked behind me slowly, dreading what I'd see.

The rocks stared back at me. The rocks made another purring sound and the eyes blinked

Wait a second... rocks don't blink!

a purry grunt sound came from behind me, sounding questioning. Almost... surprised sounding. A wedged head of what I had thought to be stone suddenly raised up. The rough texture of a torso soon followed, long and sinuous as the thing before me pulled itself up; thick meaty scaled arms meant for climbing and scaling walls reaching out lazily to grip the stones around itself as it pulled its thick torso up.

Rocks aren't supposed to stand either!

A pair of large reptilian eyes started into my own. I just looked back, mouth wide open as I tried to finally register that my comfy head rest was actually a lizard.

A very, very, large lizard



A strained sound slipped from my open mouth as the lizard calmly ate a chunk of my granola bar still held in my hoof before it. It gave a delighted hum as it munched on the tasty oats, and then licked its tongue out to catch any stray crumbs.

I did the only sane thing anypony in my horseshoes would have done. 

I screamed like a little foal, and threw the granola bar at its face and leaped to my hooves to dart away.

I heard a chomp as it ate up the entire granola bar, followed by a loud gulp and another delighted purry rumble. It hadn't even bothered chewing by the sounds of it, and as I ran away and began to splash through the pools, I heard a bellowing roar from behind me and the sound of something large and heavy landing on the cave floor with a padded "thwump."

I didn't bother turning around, I knew it was chasing me. I just hoped I'd be fast enough to escape it before it ate me as easily as that granola bar.

The creature gave little delighted hoots as it splashed and crashed after me through the pools.

"Glint! Help me, it's going to eat me, oh Celestia, it's going to eat me!" I screamed hysterically as I moved faster than I ever had in my life.

I heard some sort of response from across the cavern, and I just hoped it was Glint and not more of these things coming after me.

I saw some sort of light ahead, and bee-lined for it; leaping and hopping through the warm boiling pools, ignoring the painfully hot water in some of the pools as I panted. I could imagine the creature racing after me, I could almost feel its breath on my rear end. Strike that, I could feel its breath on my hindlegs.

A dark shadow suddenly zoomed over me and I heard the sound of a surprised squeal of pain from the large lizard behind me. I still didn't dare look back, my heart racing with adrenaline as I pushed myself as I surged out of the pool and ran towards the light.

Glint suddenly zoomed right up next to me, causing me to stumble for a second before I realized it was her. "What the hell did you do!"

"I didn't do anything, why does it have to be my fault this is happening!" I screamed

"It's always your fault when something stupid happens Flash. Now keep running, there's two more coming and the last one will be following after you shortly."

I could hear them. The sound of many-limbed padded feet smacking against the stone or sloshing through warm bubbling water as I suddenly burst through a small arching stone-way into the lit cavern beyond. 

I slid to a halt and scrabbled for my footing as I nearly flew off a steep edge, my heart falling into my stomach at what I saw..

I was standing on the edge of a short drop into what appeared to be a pit of steaming mud, The poweful stench of sulpher and filth wafting through the warm air. Some sort of glowing lichen, or fungus, covered the walls and caused the light that lit up the room, just as brightly as my own glowstick. While, at any other point, I would have been intrigued, I honestly didn't give a crap about the weird glowing cave-stuff as I looked for a way to escape. 

Suddenly Glint shot past and flew out above the pit.

"Glint! where do I go!"

Glint quickly scanned around where I was standing, and pointed. "Left, go left!"

I looked, and gulped as I saw the thin edge of stone. It seemed to lead around the entire edge of the pool, but it didn't look to be much wider than 5 or 6 inches at most.

But I didn't ask questions, I simply leaped onto it. And none-to-soon, it would seem, as a thick padded hand slapped into the stone where I'd been standing only moments before. The lizard-creature looked at its empty three-fingered hand in confusion before sniffing for me. Soon a second head poked out above it to stare at me, and a third below that as well. 

Their stacked heads all blinked slowly and simultaneously at me in surprise.

"Glint... Glint, they see me!" I squealed.

"Yeah, no crap. You have three hungry and excited Rock Geckos behind you. Toss me your light," shouted Glint as she flew closer to me. 

"What? I need that!" I shouted back as I scrabbled along the stones frantically to get some distance between me and these "Rock Geckos."

"Idiot, they're attracted to light and they're following you! Rock Geckos have horrible vision, so just... oh buck it." Glint just swooped over to me and grabbed the glowsticks in my rig, wrenching the two sticks away from me as she swiftly flew back over towards the Geckos at the mud-pits entrance.

"Hey! Hey uglies, over here. Yeah, that's right, I'm talking to you, rock heads. Look, flying food. Come and get me!" shouted Glint as she zipped around just in front of them above the mud pit. 

The Geckos stared at her, entranced by the bright shiny above them. They all made little excited chirping sounds as they snapped their mouths. One tried to leap out and grab Glint, but fell short and flopped into the mud below. Apparently the mud wasn't very deep, since it seemed to only come up to its belly as it wiggled to re-orient itself. The second one just kept snapping at Glint, and the third actually began to climb directly up the wall to try and reach Glint.

Sweet merciful Luna, they could climb sheer surfaces? What am I talking about, of course they climb. Nothing is ever easy down in this hell hole.

Glint continued to shout and make lots of movement for the Rock Geckos to follow as she carefully kept herself tantalizingly out of their reach and tried to lead them away from me. My stomach did somersaults every time she zipped by them and they snapped at her, expecting the crunch of bones and screams of pain that would surely follow.

I mumbled to myself frantically as I continued to shimmy across the rock ledge, sending out a quick prayer. "Celestia, if I get out of this, I'll devote my life to not being a lazy, stupid, unicorn. I promise to do nothing but good from now on, and to pay back Granite the twenty bits I owe him. I promise, oh Celestia and Luna, please!"

Glint threw one of the glowsticks and smacked the ascending Rock Gecko in its head. It snapped at the falling Glow Stick before quickly running down the wall to chase after it. Glint kept the second one, and kept bouncing around to distract the large lizards. 

"Flash, I'll be right back, so just keep moving. The ledge widens out and leads to another passageway if you keep going that way" shouted Glint, as she moved towards a tunnel at the far side of the cave of mud.

"What! Don't leave me Glint, they'll kill me!" I shouted in fear.

"Calm down, you're fine. They're only supposed to eat cave moss and mushrooms... I think," said Glint, only sounding half-convinced herself.

"You think? Oh great, I'm feeling much better already as I cling to this ledge for my life!"

"Just keep moving you big baby, I'll go get something to make them leave you alone. I can see another passageway further down that ledge, just reach that and you'll be safe."

"No wait, Glint. Don't leave me with-" I watched as Glint zoomed away with the glow-stick still firmly in her hooves, looking like some sort of massive firefly as she zipped away and left me in the soft glow of the lichen-covered walls.

The three Geckos had seemed to get a little frustrated and sad now that Glint had disappeared, and called mournfully for the return of the wonderful glowing-thing to return to them. 

Okay... you can do this Flash. They're not trying to get you now, and you just need to walk along this ledge. walking, you can do walking. You're great at walking, the best in fact. Why, I bet you'd be hard pressed to find a unicorn who is better at- why is the mud moving... 

I watched as, to my horror, what had appeared to be rocks sticking out of the mud turned into the mud-drenched bodies of yet more Rock Geckos. 

There were more than three. There were a lot more than three, and now they were starting to wake up from all the noise and hubbub Glint and I had made as we moved into the cavern. As I took a closer look, I began to identify what appeared to be risen banks of stone and hardened mud, bones, and other odd-assortments from the caves that seemed to make nests. Broken eggs and half-digested food lay upon them.

No, this wasn't just some mud pit. This was a nesting ground: more specifically, their nesting ground.

The Rock Gecko that had been climbing on the wall suddenly leaped into the mud to snap up the glow stick Glint had thrown into the mud, half of its glowing mass sticking out from between his rubbery lips. The Gecko from before which had slipped into the mud "shlucked" his way over to the new Gecko and grabbed the other end as the two tug-of-warred over the small thing. More and more Rock Geckos were beginning to move towards the two, also attracted by glowing object they were fighting over .

I was suddenly very glad Glint had taken my glow sticks as I imagined myself being fought over by the multitudes of lizards below. 

As I stood in place, watching the spectacle unfold off to the side, my hoof slipped as a rock gave away from the edge. I gave an "eep" and watched as the rock fell seemingly in slow motion towards a Rock Gecko below. I drew in a worried breath as it landed with a painful smack right onto the tip of Rock Gecko's sensitive nose.

The Rock Gecko gave a hiss of pain as it looked up, and locked eyes on me. It flared its nose, and then began to climb out of the mud up towards me, continuing to hiss angrily.

It's smelling me... oh, Princess damned, it's smelling me! I thought as I began to scrabble my way along he edge

My fear once again drove me, but with such difficult footing my movement was staggered in comparison to the smooth and fast movements of my angry pursuer as it quickly closed the distance towards me. 

Through the light, I could just see the wider ledge that Glint had told me about from earlier through the dim light of the cave. But, to my surprise, I saw that it appeared a section of the ledge and shorn away and slid down into the mud below, making a rough if not natural ramp of stone up it towards the ledge above.

I was never going to make it if I continued to take my current path. But maybe... just maybe... if I jumped, I might be able to leap most of the remaining distance towards that bank sliding into the mud and then just run up and out before any of the lizards noticed me.

I coiled myself up, bracing myself against the wall.

By this point, the big nasty lizard was getting close. It's breathing picking up in tempo as I could only imagine it smelled my tasty pony flesh, and began to move with more intent towards me as I stopped moving.

Alright... here goes nothing! 

I jumped

I heard the snap of thick jaws clamping onto stone behind me as I soared out into the air above the mud, flying towards my destination. I felt the elation of victory as I sailed out... and then the plummeting feeling as gravity took hold and promptly pulled me down to splatter into the mud below. 

There was mud everywhere and all around me as I floundered up. I gave a gasp of air as I pulled my head out of it. It's thick material was matted into my hair, in my ears, covering my eyes and dripped from my nose.

I sputtered as I surged out of the mud, eyes burning as I squinted through the mud mask; coughing up mud and spitting it out as I gagged on the sulpherous taste in my mouth and back of my throat. If I'd thought the mud had smelled fairly pungent from the ledge then it didn't even compare to the rank-smell of having that very mud literally shoved up your nose. 

I wiped and rubbed to get the mud out of my eyes as tears ran from them at the stinging stuff.

As I squinted around me, I could see the majority of the lizards from before were still all wrestling for the glow-stick. I almost felt safe until I heard the slap of another creature flying into the mud, and then craned my neck to see the angry Rock Gecko from before fuming at me as it shook the mud from its body and glared death at me, all the angrier for my escape from it earlier.

Time to go!

I could make out the hazy shape of the mudbank, and began to slog for it through the thick mud. I was close... so close. 

Just... a little... more!

I stepped up onto the mess of rocks at the bank of the muddy pools edge, and began to scramble my way up them towards the exit. I quickly looked behind me to see the Rock Gecko making steady progress towards me, but that I would be able to outpace it if I just moved quickly. I gave a a silent cheer as I continued to move. 

But, as I began to move upwards over the thick stones, there was shuddering from beneath me. I lost my footing and smacked forward onto my face with a grunt.

As I pulled my muzzle up, and rubbed at it in pain, I watched as a few of the stones tumbled off into the mud as an eyelid slowly peeled back to reveal a cold yellow reptilian eyeball. The eye blinked slowly as its slitted pupil turned towards me lazily and dilated.

No way...

I stared at the giant eye, petrified. The giant eye slowly blinked again as it looked back... and then the entire "embankment" I was on moved as the biggest Rock Gecko I'd ever seen stood up and out of the rocks I'd been climbing over. As it reared up, its own large rugged body emerged as It wiggled gently to get the rest of the boulders off of itself.

As it wiggled itself lightly, I felt my grip slowly failing before I slipped off and gave a yelp as I fell into the warm mud below with a "plop." I once again pulled myself up and out of the mud, I looking up in shocked awe at the massive Rock Gecko before me.

If I'd thought the Rock Gecko's from before were big, they were just babies in comparison to this beast. its head was easily a good eight or ten feet above me as it craned its neck up and turned its head to continue regarding me with one of its massive eyes.

The Rock Gecko which had been chasing me from before seemed to be as equally stunned as I was, and took a few steps back from it; no longer focused on me.

I felt a thick padded hand reach through the mud and wrap around me. I just stayed limply in its grip as it pulled me up slightly out of the mud, more of the filthy stuff slopping off of my body and from between finders. It's hand easily wrapped around my entire torso, only my head and limbs poked out from between its thick fingers. I shivered in its grip.

Oh Luna, I'm going to die.

It's large orb of an eye began to get bigger. No, its eye was just getting closer as its head shifted over towards me.

It's going to eat me. There's no way I'm going to survive this... not without Glint.

A long slender tongue slipped out to taste the air and what I could only assume was my own tantilizing scent. I watched and felt as the massive Gecko's tongue ran across my neck and face as it got a taste for me.

I was literally shaking with fear now, giving feeble little squeaks of terror.

The Rock Gecko from before was quickly moving away now, wanting nothing to do with the monstrous creature I was being held by.

As the big Rock Gecko continued to lick me a few more times, I thought about the smaller Rock Gecko that had licked my granola bar before taking a big powerful chomp out of it. I could imagine this big lug doing the same to me. Something about that image struck something very comical inside me, and I think I felt something snap in my head (probably my last strand of sanity).

I began to laugh.

I continued to laugh louder and louder as the massive Rock Gecko tilted its head at me. Trying to figure out this strange-new noise coming from its prey. Even as I watched its horribly wide black maw open wide, and felt as it lifted me up towards that final darkness of its powerful jaws, I kept laughing. 

Now I know what it feels like to be a granola bar...

It's jaws closed over me, and the comfortable glow of the cave was replaced by the bleak-black of its mouth. I just closed my eyes, and hoped it would be over quickly as its jaws pressed against my skull. 
> 7 - The Pit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 7: The Pit


Warm.

Death was warm.

Those were my first thoughts as my entire head and upper torso were shoved into the giant gecko's mouth. Not that any of that mattered since I was going to be dead soon. 

My laughter choked off as I got a whiff of its breath; It was staggering to say the least. Considering where this thing lived, though, I supposed it was to be expected. When you're about to die you never expect something like what the inside of your killers mouth smells like to be your last concerns before being eaten. Even if it did smell terrible. 

And so, I waited to be eaten.

But, things were made all the more awkward and confusing for me when it just continued to hold me in its thick padded fingers and started making this odd... chewing motion around my upper body as it happily gurgled. It's lips were actually oddly soft and rubbery; not all the unpleasant in a terrifying - 'I'm being eaten, but at least its a gentle eating' - kind of way.

It was after perhaps a few minutes of the giant lizard continuing to use me like some sort of pony-sized chew toy that I came to two strange realizations: One, the giant beast had no teeth, and Two, that it was gumming me and not, in fact, actually eating me. 

In fact, it almost felt like...

Is it... nomming me?

Indeed, it seemed to be nomming me, and judging by the pleased rumbles emanating from its throat, it was immensely enjoying doing so (Despite  me being covered in grime and mud from my earlier fall).

If it wasn't for the powerful bone-crushing jawbones of it's mouth that I occasionally felt squeeze me tightly, I might have not actually minded it so much.

Suddenly, a blinding light entered my vision as with a wet saliva-covered "shlick" I was pulled from its mouth. I coughed as I blinked and sucked in a gulp of fresh sulpher-scented air, my eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden change from complete darkness to light. I wiggled my head, trying to blink gecko saliva from my eyes so I could see as I looked around through squinted eyes.

I was still in the massive mud-floored cavern, which bubbled below me. As I looked back towards the Giant Gecko still holding me I was met by a massive pink tongue as the Gecko started licked me enthusiastically. The tongue seemed to also have gentle barbs, sort of like a cats, that pulled the mud from my coat in powerful strokes; slowly revealing my red coat beneath the thick coat of sludge I'd amassed falling into the pit. 

"Ah, hey! Stop that, Ew!" I protested as I squealed and wiggled with each massive licks.

The Giant Gecko just snorted at my complaints, and continued to lick at me, getting the mud off of me. 

Now it's cleaning me? I thought it was going to eat me, maybe it wants me cleaner before it eats me? I wondered.

No. I doubted that a creature like this would really care whether I was covered in mud or not if it wanted to eat me judging by how it simply seemed to be enjoying the mud it was currently licking off me, and apparently eating. Besides, I doubted I'd even count for much of meal; it could just swallow me whole! 

But, if that were the case, why was it taking care of me? I wasn't a lizard myself, and, technically (even if by accident), I'd invaded their home and even hurt one of them. Was it playing with me? Torturing me before it feasted upon my bones? Or perhaps it DID mind all the mud, and was cleaning me up to 'sanitize' me before it ate.

As it finished cleaning me, it gave a quiet rumble and tilted its head and turned me this way and that. I yelped as I was suddenly upside down, and then right-side up again only to be rolled sideways. 

"Hey, stop that!" I yelled. 

The Gecko did... and then seemed to pull me back up so it was cupping me in its massive hands, starring at my little head poking out from between its cupped leathery hands. 

I gulped as I realized I was literally face to giant-face with it. 

"Um, I mean, thanks for, you know, doing that... whatever it was," I said, trailing off as I tried to cower down further into its large hands to hide from its gaze anxiously. 

The giant gecko just squeaked at me as I spoke, the curve of its lips making it seem to smile. 

"Wait, can you understand me?"

It squeaked again.

"Really?" I said, sitting up a bit straighter in surprise.

It squeaked happily once more as I stopped talking.

"Oh my gosh, thank Luna and Celestia! I thought you were just some big stupid critter that lived in a mud pit and ate ponies. Whew, you really had me worried there."

The Giant Gecko stuck its tongue out, squeaking.

Wait... all it's done this entire conversation is squeak whenever I talk. Does it really understand what I'm telling it?

"... Squeak twice if you can understand what I'm saying," I said. 

The Giant Gecko gave a rumble, and licked my face again. I shivered at the wet sensation.

I sighed. "Well... I guess it was too much to hope for intelligence. But, at least you don't seem as keen as the last Giant Gecko was to do me harm." 

"Or would that last Giant Gecko actually be just a regular gecko? You seem to be the real deal when it comes to big," I mumbled, tilting my head as I examined the massive critter. 

The Gecko tilted its head as well, almost as if it was...

Oh, no wonder! it's mimicking me and everything I'm doing.

But that gave me an idea. What if I could get the gecko to do what I wanted by making it mimic me? It was genius! now to just make my genius plan a reality...

I tilted my head the other way, and the Rock Gecko tilted its head as well as it mirrored me yet again. 

I grinned. I could make this work!

I tried out some other tests after that; bobbing my head, rolling it in circles, making sharp little pokes with my nose in the air. The Rock Gecko copied it all, and I couldn't help but laugh as the Giant Lizard poked its nose forward like some sort of large freaky neck-less bird. 

The Rock Gecko surprised me even more when after a few seconds of listening to me it opened it's mouth and gave a rumbling gurgle laugh of its own. 

"Good! Very good!" I said. The Gecko seemed to pick up on my enthusiasm, and once more leaned forward to stick its mouth around my head.

I squealed in panic for a second as it once more nommed on my head. 

"No, bad! Very bad! Let me out, no eating!" I shouted, worried voice muffled within its cavernous mouth. 

Confused, it pulled me back out of its mouth. It didn't seem to understand why I'd gone from happy to panicked so quickly. My heart was racing from it suddenly biting around my head like that.

"no biting like that... okay? Bad. Very bad," I stuttered, trying to take deep calming breaths. I gagged as I inhaled some of its globby saliva through a nostril

The Giant Gecko crowed quietly and softly as it started nuzzling me. I grunted a bit as its muzzle rubbed against me, the large lizard being very careful to be gentle.

I was surprised to feel that the leathery-looking skin of its face was actually not as hard as it appeared around the tip of its nose, and actually very smooth. the scales were actually all quite small and pleasantly rounded. Of course, that didn't appear to be the case for all of its body. The thicker skin and rocky-looking scales of its upper brow, head, and back looked fairly jagged and pointed. Thankfully, it seemed to at least understand that rubbing those bits of itself against me would hurt me as it only ever touched me with the softer parts of its head, neck, and soft insides of its massive three-fingered hands. 

It continued to rumble, almost apologetically for making me scared. That, or I just imagined that it was. It wasn't like I spoke 'giant-gecko-warbble-ease.'

I grumbled. "Okay, okay. I forgive you, you can stop doing that now."

The Giant Gecko pulled me back happily and squeaked in delight, moving its head in the same motions I'd made earlier as it bobbed its head, rolled it in a circle and then gave one single sharp poke before giving another happy squeal. 

I just watched blankly as it came to a stop and looked at me expectantly. It repeated the gesture, continuing to look at me as if waiting for some sort of response. 

Maybe it wants me to do it again too? 

I hesitantly began to repeat the motion back. The Gecko rumbled, pleased with my slow head bobbing. With what I could only assume to be the lizards encouragement, I began to move a bit faster, rolling my head in a circle. And then I gave a sharp poke forward. 

The Gecko gave a huff of approval, hugging me happily

"Y-yeah. See? We're friends, great friends. We even do the same... head-thingie now."

As I spoke, the giant Gecko suddenly rose the rest of the way out of the mud. It slipped me back up towards its mouth, and I squealed as I was once more moved back towards its face and jaws.

"No, no bite!" I said fearfully as it positioned me closer to its smelly mouth. But, this time, it tilted he around and simply wrapped its mouth around my middle. My hindlegs, forelegs, neck and head stuck out as it carried me, and I got the feeling I looked like a small kitten being carried by its big Mother. 

With its thick forearms free, the Gecko shifted the rest of the way out of the mud. I'd known it was big, being up and close to it, but truely looking down and seeings it full mass slide out of the mud only helped to hammer home just how much larger it was. It began to plod slowly but surely deeper into the mud-filled chamber with me securely in tow; my legs danging over the empty space below. It moved slowly and kept its head steady so I wouldn't be thrown around. 

Well... at least if I fall, I'll have a soft-ish landing. Better than simply falling on regular cavern floor.

After a ways, the Rock Gecko came to a large island of flat upraised rocks and dried mud that poked out of the mud in a sort of small hill. 

It slid up atop it, and approached what appeared to be a circle of carefully stacked and smooth stones, some of them as small as my hoof and others as large as my entire body. Within I could actually see what appeared to be a thick bed of lichen within, what appeared to be some half-digested mushrooms, the broken pieces of what looked like long-hatched eggs. Perhaps more disturbingly, I could also see the yellowed bones of some smaller creature in a pile to the side. They didn't appear to be equine in shape, but then again, I wasn't exactly well versed in anatomy. Other little oddities were also spread throughout the nest. I could even see what looked like some gold coins and pieces of dulled-metal spaced around the nest among the odd trash that had been collected in it.

I hope that those coins didn't come from the last pony to be brought here... although it'd certainly be strange if it took all this time to take care of me only to suddenly eat me now. It doesn't seem malicious. It actually seems quite friendly, I thought. But, looking over at the aged meatless bones, I got the feeling that it might be a safe bet to assume that the geckos weren't entirely herbivores. 

Perhaps Omnivores? 

As I pondered this new revelation, and my possible fate, the massive gecko leaned its head down, and with deliberately careful motions, set me down gently upon the nest. As I wiggled up, stumbling a bit as I got my hooves back underneath myself, I felt the ground tremble as the massive gecko flopped down onto the ground heavily next to the nest. It laid down with a pleasant sigh, stretching out and yawning before looking back down at me. 

I just sat in place for a while, wondering if it would get angry if I did anything or messed with the nest. But as I stood there, it used one of its thick fingers to poke the battered remains of a helmet over towards me. It made a quiet clattering noise as the dented helm and the ear-flaps rolled across the stone and bumped into one of my hooves. the Giant Gecko looking at me excitedly, looking between the helmet and myself. 

"Uh... thanks?" I said uncertainly. I reached down, making very obvious motions as I picked up the helmet. The helmet gave a quiet squeal of protest as the rusted metal hinges on it moved.

The massive gecko chirped, and I immediately stopped. frozen once more. I didn't want to upset my new large 'friend,' and every noise it made I felt held crucial importance.

But as I just stood there, frozen, it seemed to grow confused. I tightened up as its massive hand reached out towards me, but was surprised when it plucked the helmet from my grip. It held it up before me, and wiggled it. 

Now I was confused. What the heck is going on here?

It continued to wiggle it at me, trying to entice me with the jangling metal object, but soon stopped as I continued to do nothing in response.

"Sorry... I don't get it," I said, shaking my head, utterly befuddled by this odd display.

It shook the helmet a bit harder, seeming to still try to communicate something to me with it. When I continued to not do anything, it dropped the helmet back to the side of its nest, grunting as it rooted around for something else. It rumbled quietly as it dug through its nest, pulling out strange knick-knacks from the nest to either throw them to the side dismissively or demonstrating each one to me much as it had the first. 

It brought forth an amazingly dry book that it would flip through with its thick fingers to making a papery-rustling sound, a tiny bell that it wiggled quickly too and fro to make a high-pitched flurry of dings, a bowl it clapped against the ground to make a hollow "clank" noise, and even the hilt of what have must been some massive two-hoofed sword that it put on the ground and spun like a top quickly before it clattered to the ground with a metallic clatter and clang.

The Rock Gecko looked at me excitedly the entire time, looking between me and each item as it showed them off.

I still didn't quite understand what it all meant, but as it began to more frantically pull out item after item while still looking at me, seeming to almost be worried I began to get the feeling that it was... perhaps trying to entertain me? It was a strange notion to be sure, but the more I watched it the more I felt that it was trying to do exactly that.

It picked up a pair of stubby brass pikes and began to clunk them together, the hollow poles "dinging" with each hit. The noise was obnoxious though, and I had to cover my ears against as I gritted my teeth, stepping away.

It stopped quickly when it saw me flinch away. glancing at the metal poles in its hands, it sighed as it dropped them back upon the lichen nest and stopped. I rubbed my ears as it picked at the rocks absently around us, flicking them around.

"Hey, watch where you're knocking those rocks around!" I yelped as one shot past me dangerously close. I scowled up at it, but stopped as I looked. It didn't look like it'd meant to be harmful, instead, it looked very sad. It ducked its head down from when I'd shouted at it, it seemed to have its head tilted down in a way that was only describable as 'defeated.'

I suddenly felt like I'd kicked a puppy.

"Like I, uh... c'mon. No need for that, you were... er," I fumbled, trying to soothe the big beast with my words as I tried to figure out a way to salvage the large geckos glee from before. "Hey, It wasn't all bad. You were just very, uh... enthusiastic?" I said, smiling awkwardly up to it.

It just gave a rumbling grumble, and wiggled around to face its back to me.

"dammit, c'mon Flash. You can do better than that," I breathed, scolding myself quietly.

I looked at it, and tried to walk up to reach out a tentative hoof to rub its rough back. The giant lizard just looked back at me, and wiggled further away, clearly still feeling like it'd done something wrong.

 good lord, I'm trying to console a monstrous lizard. What is going on with my life anymore,  I thought, rubbing my head.

I sat down, and immediately gave an uncomfortable grunt as one of the brass pipes poked me in the flank. I pulled it up, tapping it against the ground sullenly.

"Great job Flash, you're a real ponies-pony alright: total life of the party. No wonder none of the other fillies and colts liked you back in school," I grumbled as I tossed the pipe gently to the side of the nest, the hollow tube clattering over the stones.

The giant gecko seemed to tilt its head over, but when I looked up towards it it quickly looked.

So, I sat there in silence and regretted my thick headedness. Feeling stupid for feeling bad about upsetting a lizard I'd been worried, not even moments before, was going to make me its latest snack, but also feeling like I still needed to make it up to the massive creature.

Ugh, why does it even matter? Whispered a voice in my head. It's not like you cared when you were foal if you upset others. Why should it matter with this big dumb beast? continued on the ugly voice in my head.

But as those thoughts crossed my mind, I sat up straighter, resolved. Because, despite everything, it's been nice to me. And just because I did something in the past, doesn't mean that action defines me in the present. And more importantly... because I'm better than that. I thought. The ugly whisper in my head died down, quelled by my sudden fire. 

I pushed myself up, and move over to retrieve the hollow pole. Examining it, It looked like it might have been part of some plumbing system at one time, but time and age had left the lightweight tube tarnished and dented: simply another strange recovered artifact of the tunnel. I wiggled the surprisingly light pole around, and I smiled a bit as I realized it almost looked like some comically over-sized drumstick for a drum kit, just like the snares and massive base drums I'd used to play back in my old Canterlot school's marching band.

I began to beat a simple beat against the ground with it, the light muffled "tings" of the metal ringing off the soft ground. As I did, I noticed the lizard perked up again, its head tilting towards the noise before realizing I was looking at it, once again quickly looking away.

I suddenly stopped... a new idea forming in my head.

 Wait. It likes the noise,  I realized,  it loves sounds, and mimicking them, and making them. Everything it showed me made noises in some fun strange way. Maybe... maybe if I show it how to make some new cool noises, it'll be happy and forgive me!

I grinned. this could actually work!

I hopped up, running around the nest to collect the other massive copper tube. I deposited them to the side, and started running around the nest to collect everything else I'd need. 

I grabbed the old rusty helmet, pieces of sheet metal, the massive sword handle, and every other manner of strange thing it had around its nest. I even grabbed a few rocks, grunting as I rolled them into place eventually and started to use them to make my insane plan come to life.

It certainly took a long while, and it didn't look nearly as pretty as it had in my thoughts, but I couldn't help but feel a bit proud as I finished. I smiled happily at my rag-tag creation: a drum set..

Now, granted, it was very simple, but I was quite pleased with the end result considering what I had to work with in creating the simple drum set.  I'd taken the pieces of varying-sized sheet metal I'd found to the side and set them between and atop some of the boulders as ad-lib symbols, the rusty helmet was mounted on the end of the long sword-hilt that I'd stuck into the ground to help hold it up, acting as an impromptu snare. and I'd found another thick pipe, and wedged it between the boulders on either side make a sort of rack upon which I'd hung the large bell it'd rung at me earlier using some hardy twine I'd found in a knot off to the side of the nest. Using that same twine, I'd even managed to make some hanging symbols from the more rusted holey-bits of metal I'd found layring around. I'd even taken the book, and the bowl, and added it to the kit as another thing. I had no idea what I might use them for, but I got the feeling the gecko would. 

But now, the real trick was to see if the drum kit actually worked, and more importantly, if it tickled the geckos fancy. 

I took a deep breath as I settled down, looking over my creation one more time. I'd never been very good at percussion in school, and I'd quit band practice the first chance I'd had (much to my parents dismay). Now, I wished I'd taken my Mom's advice and stuck with it.

I cleared my throat nervously, setting the much larger hollow metal tubes to the side and instead pulling up a pair of bones, holding them up as my drumsticks. I wiggled them around, suddenly feeling a bit gittery with stage fright. It was almost like I was really back in band practice about to play in a concert for a bunch of parents. Except that my concert-hall was a mud pit reeking of sulpher and inhabited by massive pony-sized and larger geckos of questionable appetite ready to devour me if I sucked in my performance.

Yeah... sounds about the same alright, I thought. 

I took another deep breath for good luck. I'd begun to notice that the longer I was down here, the less I noticed the sulpher smell. But, I ignored this new tract of though as I inhaled, and without further adieu, smacked my new drumsticks against one of the metal plates, making it give a resonating "spliishhhh" with the hard hit.

Before I could regret my decision, I clacked my drumsticks together in an awkward beat, and started playing full force.

(ignore the vid, its just about the sound)


As I finished, I rolled the drumsticks to an awkward pause. I was breathing lightly, face flushed with embarrassment. 

Suddenly, I heard a squeak, and turning around, I saw that the massive gecko was sitting up, watching me intently. As I finished, it chirped and squeaked excitedly, jumping up and down in big "thumping" jumps of glee.

I laughed, "Yeah! Hey... you wanna play?"

It came to a stop, trotting over It began to lick me again. I suppressed my annoyance, and patted at its nose. "No, no, I don't need a bath or whatever you're doing, do you want to play," I said as I pushed it off, stressing the word 'play' to it.

It just looked at me dopily, and I went ahead and pulled up the large hollow tubes, offering them towards it. It looked at them, but as I continued to hold them out, hefting them up gently towards it, it slowly took them in its mouth.

I shrugged as it took them, "Well, I meant for you to hold them, but whatever, you'll figure it out."

I picked back up a drumstick, and smacked it against one of the sheet-metal plates, looking up at it. The Gecko watched very carefully.

"See? Now you try," I said, moving back. The Gecko watched me move away, still seemingly unsure if it should approach my creation.

"Go on, play it. It's for you!" I said, pointing at the kit. But as the lizard continued to stay, seemingly unsure if it should approach my creation, I rolled my eyes irritated.

"Ugh, look. You can play with it," I said, trotting over towards it. I pushed up one of the big hollow tubes in its mouth up, and tilted it towards the kit before dropping it on one of the metal plates, a hollow sound coming from the metal tube. The gecko gave a little jerk in surprise as the tube reverberated into its gums. It dropped the tubes, opening and closing its jaws.

I chuckled, but took the tube and dropped it on the symbol again. "See? It's fun!"

The gecko rubbed its jaw, but watched me as I dropped it on the symbol before slowly picking up the large pole. I quickly moved to the side to give it some room, and it looked at me as it hovered it over the kit. I nodded enthusiastically at it, and it frowned back at the drumkit before dropping it onto the kit by itself.

As the metal plates once more rang out, the gecko seemed to finally figure out what I'd been trying to do, and started just picking up and dropping the poles onto the kit. I once more ran over as it picked up the pole, and it stopped as I neared.

"Very good, very good!" I said encouragingly, "But try hanging onto them now, like this!" I said, directing its hand over towards the kit. I wasn't really lifting its massive fist so much as it was letting me simply guide it (thank Celestia, there was no way I could have lifted its meaty hand by my scrawny self), and as I tilted its hand, keeping my hooves wrapped around it so it wouldn't drop them, the Gecko gave a surprised grunt. I stepped back again, motioning at the kit. 

"Now, you try," I called up. The gecko slowly started to tap the pole against one of the larger boulders I'd managed to roll over, giving pleased little crowing sounds as it started hitting the rock a bit harder with the pipe, the pipe bending. It wasn't going to last long it if kept doing that.

I Yelled out ot it. "Don't hit it that hard, try doing lighter taps!" As I moved over it, came to a stop, but I started once again directing its hand to tap against the metal, this time at a much more moderate pace. I continued to watch, sometimes intervening to once more control its tempo and beat. It seemed to learn as quickly as it had before, and soon was tapping out a good strong moderate beat.

"Haha! there you go, now you've got the beat!" I called out. The Gecko smiled at me and came to a stop. 

"Hey... that's not such a bad name actually. Beat." I mused, the gecko seemed to be listening, and cocked its head at me.

I contemplated it, and the more I thought about it, the better it sounded. It just fit the big soft giant. "Beat. What do you think, do you like it?"

It tipped its head, and grunted. Clearly not understanding.

"You. Your name, you know... like, uh.... my name is Flash!" I said, tapping my chest. "Me Flash. Flaaaaaaash. Can you say Flash?"

It rumbled, making a strained noise. I repeated my name, drawing it out again for it to listen to. It continued to try and grunt out the sound.

"C'mon, you can do it. Flaaaaaaash," I said, pointing at myself.

It pursed its lips, and peeled its lips back as its tongue moved in a way unfamiliar to itself. "Rhhhaaaaaaasssssshh."

I blinked in surprise. "Wow, you actually.... I mean, you mispronounced it, but yeah! flash!"

"RASH!" it bellowed, smacking a bar into the drum kit happily to make a ting.

I chuckled as it happily tapped it. "Yes! Very good! And your name is Beat! Can you say that?"

The Big gecko pointed a finger at me, mouth open in a big lizardy-grin. "Rash!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm Rash. But YOU-" I said, grabbing its finger, and slowly moving it back to point at itself. "You, are Beat."

It seemed to be confused by this notion, furrowing its brow and scrunching up its nose. "Bh-eat?"

"Yes! Beat! You Beat!" I said, letting go of its hand. 

I pointed at myself, smiling wider. I felt like I was really getting somewhere here. I pointed at myself, "Flash!" I then pointed at him, "Beat!"

The geckos massive tail started to thump against the dirt-island happily as it gave another gurgling laugh. "Rash, Beat!"

I wobbled to the side by the sudden mini-earthquake. "Y-yes! I'm Flash, and you're Beat."

"Beat, Beat, Beat, BEAT!"

Suddenly, the other pipe was in its other fist as its tail slapped against the soft ground, and it too was beating against the rocks again as it continued to yell its name to ceiling above. And before I could say anything, it was tapping everything on the drum kit. It played with the symbols, it tinkled the bell, it rattled the snare, and even played the sticks against the metal rack-bar, delivering a barrage of percussive sound as it explored every part of my creation.

I smiled as I sat down so as to not fall as it continued to shake the ground with its massive tail, the bowl I'd placed down by the kit forgotten at my hooves. And with a wider grin, picked up the bowl, and without thinking, began to clap a loud "snap" sound against the smooth rock nearby to me, tapping out a slow easy beat.



As I did, the gecko slowly came to a silent stop, listening to my beat as its face got suddenly very serious and it bobbed its head with my clapping rhythm. And, to my amazement, it began to tap along with it. And then the other hand joined in, adding in another beat. I started to get a bit more complicated in my beat and opened the book, rustling the page to add some more noise. the gecko echoed my own sounds with an increase of its own, and before I knew it we were jamming out. 

My hooves slammed the bowl against the rock, and I started thumping the book against the ground while Beat played the drums, the hollow tubes ringing out a rhythmic storm of sounds as we played together. And then over our own playing, I suddenly heard another sound. The sound of a thumping tail.

To my surprise, there was a muddy gecko right by me, its large tail thumping to Beat's beat. I felt like I should have been more worried, but for some reason, I simply accepted it. It simply seemed right for it to join in with us.

All around Beat's island I could also see more muddy geckos were pulling themselves out of the sludge as they ran up excitedly towards the noise, and began to thump their tails along in unison. And what had started out as only a handful of the large geckos, suddenly turned into a wave of them crawling up to join us.

Suddenly where there had only been one gecko, there were two. And then four, and suddenly it seemed like the entire island was simply covered in the large critters as they thumped their tails and cried out to Beat and me. Some simply lay down, watching or quietly thumping along, not as enthusiastic to join in.

scardy-cats, I grunted to myself. 

Some saw what Beat and I were doing, and tried banging objects together from around the nest, adding to the din. Others ran off and quickly came up, hauling up plastic barrels, metal hoops, pieces of rotten wood, or any other imaginable piece of little turned improve-instrument.  But through it all, a powerful and tribal beat empowered the beat and kept the music focused, all the geckos playing together in a discordant harmony. And as we continued, some even rose up a chorus of squeaks and squeals to accompany the music in a discordant harmony of voices that oddly seemed to aid to the percussive music as they tried to mimic the sounds of the trash-can band around them. 

I just beat along with the rest of them as I was swept right up into that soul-pounding rhythm. It almost felt like some silent energy had taken us all over, driving us on to drum like a mad-creatures. I found myself screaming and hollering with the rest of the lizards, suddenly feeling like lizards and ponies weren't all that different from each other as I let that energy surge inside my spirit.

And with a sudden slam, the entire improvised percussive war came to a halt, and as a few geckos clinked bottles, pans, and other oddities (I even saw what looked like a gecko using a comically large back-scratchier with a cheese-grader), we came to a thumping stop, panting.

A joyful screech came up from the geckos, and they all thumped their tails against the ground in what I imagined to be an applause, jumping around excitedly as Beat raised up his head and belched out a mighty roar, and began to beat his drumsticks together in a "tanging" countdown  and just as I had when I first played the set. 

I chuckled to myself, Guess Beat doesn't share my shyness when it comes to giving a live performance

We played until we could play no more. And Even as I lay down, exhausted amongst the lizards all around me, I couldn't help but smile widely as I fell asleep to the sound of powerful drums, clanging symbols, and the click of metal all around me.