We arrived at dawn, red streaks painted across the sky above us. My friends and I gathered on deck as the port came into view. Our breath fogged in the air, and bursts of wind sent chills through me, even with all my layers. Mountains loomed in the distance, dark and rising into the clouds. The silhouettes of buildings emerged on the shore as we approached. The land around them was dark, glinting with dew and slicks of ice. The town looked about the size of Seeds. Smaller, maybe.

“Welcome t’ Snowbite. Th’ last outpost a’ wasteland civilization, fer all that’s worth.” Hairpins scoffed at her own description. “Ah still can’t b’lieve ah’m back here.”

“We won’t need to stay long,” I said. Don’t worry about it.

She was worried about being recognized, I knew. The last time she was here she had been run out of town for attacking their mayor. I’d helped Midnight throw together a dress for her, and we’d scrounged up some old makeup to make her look a bit younger, but there was only so much we could do. We only planned to stay for a few hours at most. Get something to eat, get supplies, and then head out to the caves. Hairpins already knew where we would make our first camp.

“Ah’m not worried,” Hairpins insisted. “Ah’m just tired. Being up here’s bringing back too many memories. Ah lost a few friends up here too. Super-sized cave bats, like ah told ya’ll about.”

Midnight shivered. “That sounds unpleasant.”

“It’s a gruesome what they do t’ yer corpse, but they go fer yer neck, s’its not too painful.” She said it like it was a joke, but none of us laughed. Our minds and mouths were silent as the ship dropped anchor.

“Alas, that our journey must end here! I thank you kindly, misses and misters, for thine patronage and dear company. I pray we meet again, and I hope ye choose us next time ye sail. But avast! The seas are a fickle friend. Back we must go, before the winds turn against us. Shove off, mister Star Buck, shove off! Farewell, my fine patrons and friends, farewell!”

Captain Pipsqueak waved at us until the rowboat dipped behind the prow of his ship, but by then we had already collected our stuff and began trudging toward the town. The dock we had been dropped off on was missing a few boards, but it held sturdily as we trotted across. The air was still salty, but as we stepped onto a gravel road that went along the shore I noticed how clean the smell was. No undercurrent of fish or rain, no far-off scent carried by the wind; just salt. Everything else had been washed away by eons of snow, ice, and water.

The road was short, leading us directly into the town’s central plaza. We passed only two buildings before entering the square: a storage shack and a small jail. A pony with a blue hat stood outside the jail, and nodded to us as we passed him.

“Welcome. Inn’s just as you’re going.”

“Thanks,” I said, giving him my best smile. I was in disguised as Topaz. This way I could use my magic without anypony questioning me. And she was prettier than Cathode, which was always useful. “Is the market open yet?”

“Not this early, ma’am,” he replied. “Once the sun’s startin’ to go again, most ponies are pulled outta bed, I’d say. Best try the stores then.”

“Thanks,” I said again. Indeed, nopony seemed to be out at this time, so we headed for the inn. It was an obvious building, painted bright blue with yellow trim. A sign that had worn away ages ago still hung above the door, the only writing that remained said ‘I...n.’ I heard voices echoing behind the double doors.

“Huh, they lost a letter since ah been here last.”

Well, it gets the message across.

“True, ah guess.”

I lead the way, stepping through the door into the warm, dry air of the interior. It was a cozy room, longer than it was wide, yet with enough space for a row of circular tables to run down its center. I saw stairs leading up at the far end. Two ponies sat at the middle table, over half-finished plates of brown mush. They stared at the bar, which was to my left. It took up the remaining space, and had as much seating as the tables did in total.

One pony stood behind the bar, a stallion with a jet black coat. He stood at the edge closests to the door, washing a mug with a white rag. He glanced at us as we entered, nodded, and then turned his attention back to the other end of the bar. My eyes focused on what he was watching: a figure obscured by a smothering grey overcoat. A very large figure. My eyes widened.

“Is that a griffin?” Midnight whispered to me as she walked in.

“Could be,” Hairpins drawled.

No, I told them, now frozen with apprehension. Griffin are bulkier. And I see hooves on the ground. Blue hooves...

“Then what—?”

An alicorn. Unity.

My companions froze behind me. I felt Midnight and Hairpins’ emotions dampen as they readied for a fight. The other patrons gave us a curious look. The bartender tensed as well.

“Hello,” he said. “What can I do for ya’ll now?” I noticed he was manipulating something beneath the bar.

We might have to cut our supply run short, I warned. We could not risk fighting Unity, and causing a scene here would only guarantee that the cloaked alicon would notice us. Yet why were they here? Had Unity been tracking us? Waiting for us? Why? I saw no sense to that action. What would they gain by being here incognito? The only other parties who knew about the Heart were—

Oh. Of course.

Chrysalis.

The figure at the bar jolted up, overclock spilling to the ground. She faced us, her horn glowing reflexively. Her body was as it had been: shimmering blue, almost glowing, with dead, empty eyes. Now everyone was on alert. The bartender looked between us, his weapon visible but still pointed downward. He was as confused as he was alarmed.

You... child. Why are you here?

We’ve headed for the Crystal Empire. We’re trying to improve the world, if we can.

“Worker...?” I motioned for Midnight to stay back as I took a step forward.

Fool. What nonsense is that? You don’t even have a single piece of the Heart. What did you expect to accomplish without it?

I expected to find you in the Empire. And here you are. We almost beat you there.

Insolent—!

I am not your slave, Chrysalis. I was you child. You should have treated us better.

You were mine as you were of me; the Hive is it’s Queen. You are but an extension of me.

Then why am I not stuck in that body with you? Why was Fugax able to go off on his own? It was subjugation. You treated us as you treated ponies, like things to be used. Look at what I have done: look at the friends I’ve made. I don’t need to lie or deceive them to get their love and trust. I have found a better way, Chrysalis. And I am here to make sure that way can continue.

...yet it is hopeless without the Heart.

You have it.

You think I will give you the Shards?

Did they help you? Were you able to find what you wanted in the Empire?

I... have not reached the Empire.

Oh?

A storm guards it. The eternal winter that the Heart kept at bay is now keeping anypony from reaching it from the sky, and the mountains block any path from ground or sea. I do not have the power to reach it...

I felt her rage. She was so close, yet locked away from her goal. I smiled.

I have a way to get through. A way through the mountains.

Are you proposing we help each other?

Yes. The Heart’s power is inexhaustible. We can help you reach it, you can restore it, then we can both use it achieve our goals. A better world, and your old body.

My body comes first.

Of course.

“Then we are agreed,” she said aloud. Our mental conversation had lasted the span of ten or so seconds. Our minds were already very similar, so ideas passed faster than words would otherwise allow.

“Yes.”

She nodded, relaxing. Her horn stopped its glow. With one smooth motion she swept up her cloak, then strode up the stairs. She paused on the third step, and look back at us.

“I will be in my chamber when you and your ‘friends’ are ready to depart. Don’t keep me waiting too long.” She trotted away.

“What the hell was that all?” said one of the ponies at the table.

I gave him a charming smile. “Oh, we know each other. It’s complicated.”

“I don’t mean to be unkindly, but would it mind you to explain who ya’ll are?” The bartender had put away his shotgun, but still eyed us suspiciously. “Were ya’ too doing that mind-speak?”

Hairpins rubbed her head with a forehoof. “Ah truly wish they wouldn’t. Gives me th’ willies.”

“How do you know about that?” I asked the bartender. I had almost relaxed before his comment.

“The lady does it when she thinks about being sneaky. No clue who she’d be hiding her words from; we’re all friends around this part. Ponies talk.”

I frowned at his answer. “How long has she been here, then?”

“Near about a month. Lurked about the wastes for a while, few ponies only saw her sneaking around at sun up or sun down. The mayor finally got fed up with it and got together some folks t’ see what was what. She said she was looking to get to the Empire.” He tilted his head at us. “I presume you’re doing the same, since you know her.”

I nodded. “We heard a rumor about caves. A way to get through the mountain.”

The bartender rolled his eyes. “Every sucker that passed through this has said the same. Everypony of them’s a popsicle by now, or worse.”

“Popsicle?” I asked.

“Frozen. Dead. Lost. Caves are a dead end, I swear by Celestia. Empire’s been closed off for the lifetime of everypony in town, plus two, I guarantee.”

I ignored his warnings, not wanting to inadvertently divulge Hairpin’s identity to the townsponies. I was, however, still very curious about what Chrysalis had been up to.

“That mare,” I asked him, “did she tell you here name?”

“Has she told you?” He narrowed his eyes at me.

“You seem to be on good terms. Is she a regular now? She trying to cozy up to you?”

“Ah, you got more alicorn stories in you, then? Alright, I’ll level: I was suspicious of her at first. She wouldn’t give us a name, for a fact, but after we confronted her she showed up at market and started helping out around town. Her magic’s been a right handy, helped us fix up the town a bit faster and all, so we’ve let her board up. The mayor’s thrilled about having an alicorn as a friend, but she’s made clear she only want one thing outta this. And nopony here can help her get across those mountains.”

“Well, we’ll do our best. Thanks for the info.”

“Best a’ luck to ya. You should leave your names with the warden, or the mayor before you leave.”

“Why?”

“Best to remember you by. It’s nice when we can put down the names of the mountain’s dead.” He laughed at my exasperated sigh. Midnight giggled with him.

“Come on,” I said. “Let's get ready and head out.”

“Already?” Midnight asked. “I thought we were going to rest a day.”

“Change of plans,” I said. “With her here I don’t want to wait. If there is a way through, then she might stop thinking she needs us. We should get this through with before her pride overrides her better impulses.”

“Well put. And what about after we make it through? Is she going to... be a problem?”

I frowned as I stepped toward the stairs. She had agreed to my plan, to share the power, but I was not so stupid as to believe she would keep her word. I needed her because she had the shards, and her power might prove helpful for actually getting through the caves, but I knew she did not like to share. Things had ended poorly between us, but maybe, if she could restore her form, she might again see me as something worthy of love. As her child. Or... as her slave. The odds of an amicable outcome were slim. But to fight her? To kill her? I had not yet allowed myself to think those thoughts. I wanted to get away from her, not revenge. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

We’ll just have to see how things go, Midnight, I thought to her. We’ll just have to see...

Chrysalis joined us with little fuss, carrying with her only the cloak and a saddlebag full of, presumably, the crystal shards, and whatever else an alicorn needed. I stepped out of the inn’s cramped quarters and shivered. Midnight and Hairpins did as well.

“We’ll need some thicker clothes,” Hairpins drawled. “Otherwise our s’plise should be ‘nuff t’ last us a week or so.”

“Is it cold?” Pitch asked, looking curiously between the three of us and Chrysalis. “I guess I can’t really feel temperature anymore. Hmm. I guess that makes sense, if my nerve endings are decaying...”

“Well, ‘s about t’ get a lot colder, once we head off t’ th’ mountains. You should swaddle up, even if ya’ can’t feel it. Frostbite still gets the flesh, dead or alive.”

We headed back out to the town square. As our luck would have it, the first ponies to set up their stall were a couple selling all nammer of knit blankets, scarves, and long sweaters. Hairpins stood back while Pitch, Midnight, and I picked out garments for all of us. Once we had decided what we needed, I let Midnight handle the bartering process. I was still no good at haggling.

I glanced back at Chrysalis as Midnight spoke to the couple. “Is that cloak enough for you?”

“Yes. I do not feel the cold,” she stated.

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you afraid of being recognized?”

“What are you babbling about?”

“Your cloak. Why wear it? You stand out by your size alone.”

Her blank eyes narrowed at my words. I felt I had hit a nerve.

That is none of your business.

I had definitely hit a nerve.

“Alright!” Midnight declared before I could probe further. “We’ve got a deal, Worker. I’m ready to go when you are.”

I nodded. We rejoined Hairpins and took a moment to wrap ourselves in the new clothes. Midnight and I had matching green sweaters with red caps that were almost too big for our heads. Pitch was wrapped in several layers of sweaters, scarves, and spare clothes to make up for her complete lack of fur. Hairpins had an orange sweater to match her coat, a red scarf, and a pair of grey ear muffs. Over all this she still had her battlesaddle and saddlebags. I still had my custom armor on beneath my clothes.

“Did you know those ponies?” I asked Hairpins, referring to the couple who had sold us our garb.

“Ah didn’t want t’ get close enough t’ risk findin’ out.”

I smiled at the city guard as we passed him by. He smiled back, nodding his goodbyes. Before us was a barren waste. Frost and dew had turned the ground into mud which had frozen into a glimmering brown slush. It crunched beneath our hooves as we followed Hairpins’ lead. The crunching grew louder as the frost turned to ice, and then to packed snow. We found ourselves surrounded by white powder. Fog billowed from our mouths and nostrils, dispersing into the air or rushing up to join the swirling, dark clouds far above. The mountains loomed nearer and nearer.

I’ve never been so cold!

Me either, I thought.

Midnight jumped, throwing me a quick glance. “I didn’t mean to share that,” she told me. “How long have you been hearing me?”

“Just that one,” I said. “Sorry, I don’t actually know how to control it. Or, rather, I don’t know how to teach a pony how to control it. It’s just something I can do naturally. Like moving a leg.” I looked back at Chrysalis.

“Don’t look at me, child. Our minds are only meant to talk to those within our hive, or those whom I have subsumed into it. You wanted friends, you can figure out how this friendship-hive is supposed to work.”

Ah don’t know if ah like bein’ part of a hive...

Don’t listen to her. She’s never had any friends.

Isn’t she your mother? Pitch asked. It was the first time she had joined in to our thoughts. Shouldn’t you be nicer?

After everything she’s done to me?

Oh, I suppose you have a point...

Parents-shmerents, ah say. If she doesn’t try t’ do somethin’ evil with that heart ah’ll eat my own—

“How much longer?” Chrysalis asked, breaking the silence that had stretched between us while we conversed.

“Not far,” Hairpins said, tossing a smile back at her. “Not far at all, ma’am.”

We walked on for another hour.

“Welcome,” Hairpins declared. “To the Crystal Caves!”

The mountain slope loomed before us. A dusting of snow drifted down from above, adding to what was gathered on the rocks around us. The entrance to the cave was barely visible, a thin black crack in the white and grey ground. I heard a faint wind whistling in the distance. The cold nipped at my nose, but I was still warm in my wrappings.

“That’s it?”

“Aye. It’s bigger once yer inside, ah promise.”

Midnight giggled at her words.

“Lead us in,” Chrysalis demanded. Hairpins gave her a side-eye, but trudged forward. I followed behind her as she slipped into the crevasse in the mountainside. I had to wriggle through with all my layers of clothing, but Hairpins had not lied. The cave widened almost immediately. The five of us were able to stand comfortably just inside the entrance, and Chrysalis was able to stand up straight without brushing the ceiling.

“Incredible,” Pitch stated. “I never would have known this was here.” Midnight nodded in agreement.

“Ah know what ya’ mean. It took us a whole week t’ find this place th’ first time ah was here. An’ we had a good tip too, from one of th’ failed expeditions b’fore us.”

“And where did they get their information?” Chrysalis asked sarcastically.

“From th’ expedition b’fore them. Ah figure it goes all th’ way back, t’ some point where somepony knew how t’ get all th’ way through, then the next pony they told forgot th’ details but knew where t’ start.”

“Makes sense,” Midnight said. She stepped forward into the darkness, and channeled her magic. Her horn glowed, illuminating the rock around us. Black glistened back at us, stretching out before us and banishing into a somehow even deeper darkness. A few patches of ice coated the cave floor, which sloped down gently before us.

“How far will we have to travel?” Chrysalis asked.

“Well, ah don’t know. If ah’d made it t’ th’ other side b’fore, ah wouldn’t be here now.”

“And what, exactly, stopped you and your companions from getting through?” Chrysalis asked.

Hairpins shrugged. “We got lost, stumbled out half starved, an’ decided never t’ come back again. Now, let’s go. Ah’ll do mah best t’ lead us in a direction that don’t look familiar.”

I soon understood how a pony could get lost. The caves were not a simple chute or even a mess of roads like the Fields; they were a labyrinth. Not a minute’s walk from the first cavern the single path split off in five different directions. One continued straight, two smaller holes lead off to the left, one snaked right on a severe downgrade, and the last was just above it, within jumping distance, and seemed to twist upwards. Hairpins had taken the rightmost tunnel, and swore that her group had exhausted all its branches. The tunnel next to it is where she had gotten lost.

“We go forward,” Chrysalis stated. “It will be the easiest to return to.”

I glanced at Midnight and Hairpins, but they only shrugged. It’s a good idea as any, Pitch agreed.

I stepped forward. Behind me I heard Chrysalis channel her magic, and I turned in time to see her blasting the ground with a laser from her horn. She was searing an arrow into the rock, to mark the way back. I nodded in approval.

“Good thinking.”

She said nothing in reply.

I lost track of time as we made our way forward. Twice more the path split, first into three, then into. Each time we picked the path that was closest to straight forward as we could. There was little reason for it, as the tunnels themselves wound and curved, so our orientation was obliterated long before we had reached the second branching.

The sound of our hoofsteps echoed off the rocks around us, somehow adding to the silence. It was broken sometimes by the drip of water from far away, or the crunch of pebbled beneath our hooves. I tried to think of something to talk about, or even think about, but nothing came. Midnight’s horn gave us a small bubble of light. Beyond it the darkness was all-consuming. The rock materialized from it and then returned to the void behind us. Our journey through Maize had unnerved me, yet it was nothing compared to this. My mind skipped passed terror into a numb denial. I could not let myself think about where I was. I would have gone mad with fear.

“Fascinating,” Pitch muttered for the thousandth time. She was in awe of the caves, finding interest in each new rock or trickle of water. This time it finally occurred to me to indulge her curiosity.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Hmm? Oh. The rock, it’s fascinating to look at. I am no geologist, but I’d like to know exactly how these caves came about. It’s very... odd that they would form like this. There’s so much space, with so little water flow or even evidence of erosion. They seem almost designed.”

“Designed?”

“I don’t know if the Chrystal Empire did it—I don’t know why they would—but you can see, it’s all very smooth and angular, not a sign of natural erosion at all. Very strange, especially if so many paths lead to dead ends, as we must assume.”

“Or else there is more than one way in,” Chrysalis intoned behind us.

“Perhaps...”

“Well,” Midnight said, coming to a stop before us. “I sure hope you’re right.”

I turned my attention back to her, my eyes going wide. We had reached another split. This time it was wide cavern with seventeen tunnel entrances. Most were the size of a single pony. Only two or three would be big enough to fit Chrysalis. I let out a sigh.

“Let’s take a break,” I said. “I think it’s evening, anyway.”

“An’ ah’m hungry besides.” Midnight nodded.

We slept after eating, I do not know for how long. I woke first, feeling mostly rested. I channeled a dim light from my horn and looked around. Chrysalis was peering into one of the tunnel entrances, Pitch at her side. I raised an eyebrow and trotted over. The alicorn sent pulses of light from her horn, then waited. After a moment she muttered something to Pitch, who nodded in response. Then she sent another series of pulses.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Oh!” Pitch jumped at my voice. “Goodness Worker, you scared me. We’re taking some measurements. We don’t sleep, you know, and I figured it might help us get through a bit faster.”

“Measurements? How?”

“Yes, with some improvised sonar. Chrysalis has very limited magic—”

“This body has limits, not me!”

“—and I don’t know much about spell casting anyway, so we can’t use a sound spell, but I realized we could get to the same effect with very careful manipulation of a heat laser spell. Heat gradients can produce pressure waves which is really just what sound is. So we’ve been probing the depth of some of these tunnels.”

“Neat... I guess. Do we know if any lead anywhere?”

“We’ve eliminated a few that definitely go nowhere, but it’s very hard to judge by ear. The one thing I can say for sure is that the four largest ones do indeed seem to go on for a long while. They’re worth pursuing.”

I nodded. “Well, that’s good. I’ll go wake up the others, then we’ll decide what to do.”

I roused the others and filled them in. Chrysalis suggested splitting up to cover more ground, but Hairpins rejected it vehemently. It was far to dangerous, she argued, and I agreed. I saw no reason to risk all of us getting lost on our own. Better to get lost together, if we had to get lost at all. We chose the largest looking tunnel, then went through.

We wandered the darkness for two days, and exhausted all routes that tunnel lead us to.

We doubled back, moved into the next tunnel, and wandered for another three days.

“Here,” Chrysalis stated. She was searing another arrow to mark our latest choice. I had lost track of where we were, exactly. We were at least seven tunnels in, but after trudging through dozens and dozens of identical caverns each and every bend had all blurred together.

“How are our food supplies?” I asked.

“Still got about a week’s worth, ah figure. And we still got plenty t’ bargain with, if we retreat.”

I nodded, not bothering to reply. I asked the question at least once each day, and Hairpins had said something similar each time. Plenty of food. Plenty of time to retrace our steps.

Another three days passed. We were back at the seventeen-tunnel split. The third largest tunnel loomed before us.

“It is shorter,” Chrysalis stated. She had been practicing the spell technique Pitch had come up with as we had wandered. Apparently she had grown more sensitive in her measurements. “It will end after a while, or else it narrows severely enough to make no difference.”

“How long until we’d reach that end, do ya reckon?”

She shook her head. “I do not know.”

“I can do another day,” Midnight offered. “We can make it back to the town in just one day, and that leaves us plenty of wiggle room.”

“Ah, tho I miss th’ sun...” Hairpins drawled.

Pitch and I looked between the two, then at each other. “Well,” I said, “you’re the only two that need food. If Hairpins feels like we need to go back now...”

“Nah, Midnight’s right. It won’t hurt to cover what distance we can. ‘Specially if we know there’s a dead end or two t’ find.”

I started forward, eager to find another dead end. I had long ago stopped hoping to stumble upon an exit, and found myself satisfied each time the cave walls came together to block our path. It was one less unknown. One more trail finalized on our map of this place.

The tunnel gradually widened as we proceeded through it. Soon puddles of water began to form at our feet, and soon they grew to shallow pools we could not help but splash through as we walked. The ground became more varied, rising and falling more dramatically. Small spikes of rock poked up up from below and above us, and the trails of water that had created these features twinkled in Midnight’s light. The air here seemed warmer.

“Stalagmites, stalactites... This seems more naturally formed,” Pitch commented. “I wonder, did the Empire create these caves, then? But I know they had a train system before the war... why such a complicated path? Surely the Heart was enough to keep anything threatening at bay... Unless it predates the Empire? I wonder...”

I listened to her mutter on. I enjoyed her speculations, even if they ended inconclusively. Though she claimed to have forgotten a lot, I could always pick out little bits of information about old Equestria, or the mechanics of the world, or even just new words. I glanced back as I heard her come to a sudden stop. We were in the middle of the widest pool we had found thus far. The water was barely up to my fetlocks, but the chill of it crept up to my spine.

“Hairpins,” she asked, voice low and soft.

“Yeah?” The orange mare turned her ears back toward the ghoul but kept trotting forward, toward me. Chrysalis had stopped to look down curiously at Pitch, just at the edge of the pool. Midnight was at my side.

“You said you lost your companions in these caves, and we saw a wall of names in Snowbite, but... these caves have been completely empty. Not even a skeleton, yet there's nothing here to cause decomposition. Where are all the bodies?”

Hairpins stopped to look back this time. I saw her brow furrow in thought as mine did the same.

“Yer right... ah have no idea...”

Chrysalis shrugged, then stepped forward into the pool of water. Pitch followed automatically, even as she continued to speak. Whatever she was saying was drowned out by the deep cracking sound that boomed around us. The tunnel shook. Water splashed around me as we all tried no to topple over. The light from Midnight’s horn sent shadows dancing on every wall. My eyes lost focus on anything but the stray images of rocks. Then there was another great cracking sound, and I felt my stomach leap into my throat.

I realized I was falling.

Oh no.

Oh Celestia!

“Aw fuck!”

I gasped, the air forced from my lungs. I was in water. I was in freezing water. The chill had already drenched my clothes. I felt my limbs going numb. I felt my lungs burn for air.

Help! Somepony!

Not like this, please!

What the fuck!? What the fuck!? Fuck!

Their cries filled my mind.I had to move. I had to act. I had to save them. I triggered my magic.

I’m here. I’m coming for you. Midnight, use your light.

As a seapony I could see through the murkiest of waters, but that power was useless when no light source was present. I wriggled out of my outer layers with my flippers and tail, letting the soaked cloth sink into the darkness. The water was still cold, but my new skin gave me some resistance. I could keep moving. My body would not start shutting down. At least not yet.

Midnight! I need your light! NOW!

A flare erupted above me. In the pure, clear water it might as well have been Celestia’s own sun. In one sweep I saw three bodies falling into the darkness around me, bubbles trailing their paths. I saw no ground or sky or structure of any kind. We were silhouettes floating in a void, drifting downward.

Help! Help!

I dashed to the lowest one. It was Hairpins, judging by the battle saddle. I grabbed her mane in my mouth and jerked upward, swimming with all my might. We broke the surface, I heard her gasp, and then I darted downward. Already Midnight’s light was fading.

I’m coming, I’m on my way Midnight!

Worker...

I had her by the mane. I was swimming upwards. Her light flickered.

One more second...!

I had to support her as she took her first breath. But I could not afford to wait.

Help! Help!

I’m coming, Pitch!

I tried to dive down again, but Midnight clung to me with her forehooves.

What are you—!?

Worker... she’s already dead...

No, I can save her! Let go—!

“Worker—” She coughed. “She’s already dead—a ghoul.”

Oh. Right.

Oh goodness. Pitch thought. I completely forgot. I... yes, it seems I’m fine. Cold, but the water in my lungs doesn’t seem to be an issue.

I almost laughed. But then something else occurred to me.

Hairpins? Hairpins where are you?

Paddlin’. Ah don’t know how much long ah c’n keep this up... it’s too cold...

I started to move toward the sound of her splashing, Midnight still in tow.

“We’ve got to get to land... we’ve got to get... dry...” Her teeth chattered in my ear. Her light still burned weakly. I reached Hairpins, and had both the mares wrap their arms around my torso. It was awkward to swim at the surface like this, especially with my armor and saddlebags, but it was the best I could do.

Sorry professor, you’re on your own for a bit.

Oh don’t spare a thought for me. Get safe!

I swam on, looking for any sign of an end to the water. Then all at once a flipper scrapped against rock, and I found myself beached. I undisguised as Hairpins scrambled out of the last few feet of water. Midnight tried to stand, but she was already too weak. I gripped her neck with my mouth, careful not to bite through any skin, and dragged her up next to Hairpins. Both mares were on their sides, breathing heavily.

Get... clothes off...

I was shivering just as they were, but managed to help them wriggled out of the sweaters and scarves they had been wearing, now heavy with water. I shoved them aside, along with our saddlebags and equipment. We huddled together, trying to get as much body contact as possible, shivering in total darkness.

Thank Celestia...

Gratitude flooded my senses. I did not hesitate to eat it.

“Where th’ hell,” Hairpins asked once our shivering had reduced to an occasional shudder, “is that damned alicorn?”

I have been thinking the same thing. I’ve reached out, but I can’t sense her anywhere. She should have fallen with us...

Did she drown? Midnight wondered, a wave of concern passing through her mind. What a terrible way to go...

I haven’t seen anything but rocks down here, Pitch interjected. And I would be surprised if an alicorn could drown... but then again, I don’t really know what mutations Unity underwent. Oh dear, I do hope she hasn’t died. I think we were starting to become friends...

Really? I asked.

Oh yes. We talked quite a bit whenever you were asleep. She was very interested in some of the theories on science-magic coupling. I think she was trying to find a way to fabricate a new Chrystal Heart, or at least replace a piece.

Just one piece? Does she not have all of the Shards after all?

Hmm... I couldn’t say. Honestly, I was just happy somepony shared my interests. I didn’t think too hard about her motivations, but now that you bring it up...

None of that will matter if we can’t find her again. Whatever pieces she has, only she has, Midnight thought.

An’ none of that will matter if we don’t find a way t’ get th’ hell out of here. Ya’ found anything yet, Pitch?

As we had been communicating, I had begun to get a picture of the thoughts passing through my mind. I was the mediator for all of our thought-speak, and the more we spoke the more firm the connections between us. As Pitch wandered the dark depths of this underground lake I became attuned to the distance between us. My telepathy, it seemed, took some time to travel between minds. Although this lag was nearly imperceptible, I realized I was tracking her unconsciously, using Hairpins and Midnight as reference. She was not as distant as I had first thought, and was moving very slowly. Perhaps the water around us was not as infinite as the darkness suggested.

Pitch, I thought, interrupting whatever exchange she had been having with Hairpins. Turn to your right, then walk forward.

My right?

Yes, just like that. Okay stop. Now walk forward. Try to stay in a straight line. We need to find where this water ends.

Oh yes, I know, but there’s not current. How do you know I need to go right?

It’s complicated... I can feel how distant you are from me, sort of. Just trust me.

Alright worker, I’m walking. I’ll let you know when I find an edge.

And I’ll let you know if you start wandering off.

I felt her move away and then, gradually, I felt her begin to rise closer even as the distance between us increased. I smiled, letting her know she was on the right track. Hope radiated from all three of my friends as Pitch hit a steep slope.

I can feel the pressure dropping!

She was still blind when she stepped out of the water, but at least we knew the limit in that direction. She began to circle back toward us, following the curve of the smooth shore.

You’re close, Midnight stated. I can hear you swimming toward us.

What? I’m not swimming...

Chrysalis?

I turned toward the new sound. Something was splashing toward us. I swivelled my ears around, and thought for a moment I was hearing an echo. I realized I was hearing another splasher. Then another. My veins turned to ice as the surrounding darkness frothed with sound.

Turn up yer light!

The three of us grouped together, back-to-back-to-back. We had left our supplies to dry on the rock around us, and did not have time to dawn our armor. As Midnight’s horn light up I could sense my companions taking stock of their weapons. Midnight held a shotgun in her magic, and had her eyes on her saddlebag where her extra ammunition was. Hairpins held a pistol in her mouth, cartridges beneath her hooves, not having enough time to equip her battle saddle. I levitated two knives before me, knowing I was not good enough with a gun at close range. The splashing surrounded us.

Their eyes glowed in Midnight’s magic light. The figures burst from the water, icy spray stinging my skin as I moved to meet their charge. The monsters were small, almost the size of a filly. Their flesh hung from their bones, wet and decayed hair dragging on the ground around their hooves. This was all the detail I could take in before I slashed at the first one, driving my knives across its face and into its soaked coat. A shrill braying noise surrounded me as Hairpins and Midnight opened fire.

On your left!

Midnight, throw me ammo!

Step back, everyone!

Right! Right!

The monsters did not stop screaming. I slashed and cut at my attackers. As soon as I pushed one back into the lake another was already leaping at me. I slashed one through the face twice and still had to back away as it tried to bite my face. Another three stabs through the head took it down, and it slid back into the water. The next one that charged me was already missing a chunk out of its neck. Whatever these things were, they were zombified.

“Fuck!”

Hairpins broke formation, dodging away from a pair of monsters into the darkness. I tried to compensate, turning to bring my knives down on them. I dragged the blade through their skulls and jumped to Hairpins’ side. Midnight was there a second later, ammo floating around her even as she blasted another beast with her gun. Water lapped at our hooves. We had nowhere else to retreat to.

Another wave fell. I heard a gun click.

“Worker, knife!”

I tossed one of my weapons to Hairpins and she brought it down on an enemy just a moment before it would have put its mouth around her neck. Three of them were coming at me, climbing over corpses that still crawled forward. I charged forward, not wanting to be overwhelmed. I embedded my knife in the head of the middle monster as I jammed my horn into the throat of the one on the right. I twisted, using its body as a shield, and shoved all three of them back into the water. Two rose, and I manged to take one down with my knife before the other was on me. I blocked its teeth with a forehoof. I pushed up with my other foreleg and ripped its jaw off, then drove my blade into its eye. A shotgun blast ring in my ears, and something slumped against me. I stepped back toward Midnight. Something hit me from behind. I rolled forward, flying forward to avoid stumbling. I twisted in the air and brought my knife down blindly. I hit the thing across the nose, then fell on it, pinning it long enough to stab through its brain. Two more figures were on me, biting my leg, biting my neck. I screamed as I brought my knife down. The one on my neck released, but no blood spewed from me. I jumped and twisted to avoid another attacker, landing on the back of the monster that was gnawing on my foreleg. I saw the new one running at Hairpins’ back. I threw my knife into its back, knowing where to hit the spine. I turned my teeth to the one below me, tearing out a chunk of its neck. I swallowed without thinking. I rolled toward Midnight’s position, hearing more shotgun blasts, but I was tackled to the ground. Pain split through my head as I hit the rock. I felt another set of dull teeth chomping at my neck, painful but not immediately fatal. I felt pain from Hairpins and Midnight, dread from Pitch. Panic raced through all our minds. Rage erupted into my chest.

Not like this.

Pain swept through me as I triggered my magic. My body grew, my wings expanded, my forelegs formed into claws. Hunger flowed through my mind. My attackers were driven back by my transformation, but only for a moment. As they leaped back at me I drove my beak downward. Their flesh was soft, weak from years of decay. I ripped them apart with beak and talons, swallowing flesh to sustain my form. Midnight’s light was not enough to stave off the darkness now. I did not register my attackers anymore, or weather I sustained any injuries. I felt the minds of my friends, and killed anything else. I gagged as the taste of rotten meat filled my senses, but my stomach absorbed the matter before it could think to be sick. It was not enough. Weakness filled me. I slashed and stabbed and bit, but the monsters did not relent. I could still hear them swimming. I could still hear Hairpins shouting as she cut at the horde. I could still hear Midnight’s gun. I could still sense their fear.

But the delay was enough.

I dropped my disguise the moment before I passed out, and found I had a moment to breathe. I was covered in gore and surrounded by corpses, but Midnight and Hairpins still stood. The sound of their splashing had lessened. Their war cries echoed faintly.

Help me get this thing on!

Hairpins had immediately taken advantage of the respite. Midnight and I scrambled to her side and helped her put on the battle saddle. We finished up just as the splashing got close again, then jumped back into our formation. Midnight took up the pistol in her magic, with plenty of ammo for both her weapons. I had both my knives back.

Round two.

Three figures jumped at us from the water. Three bodies slumped to the ground a moment later.

The cave went silent.

“They look like... ewes...” Pitch said when she rejoined us. “Rabid, decaying ewes.”

None of us bothered to reply. Hairpins was ready with her battle saddle while Midnight and I salvaged our supplies. Between the fall, the water, and the battle we had lost more than just ammo. We had just under a day’s worth of food left, half our healing potions had been shattered (thankfully the ewes’ dull teeth had not caused more than pain and bruising), and all our bandages and warm clothing were thoroughly soaked. The clothes would dry eventually, but the medical supplies were less resilient. Only three packages of gauze and one roll of tape had survived.

Once we gathered everything up we did what we could to clean and ready our weapons. I knew from Pitch that the shore was not very far. I was not strong enough to fly Midnight and Hairpins over, but I could move our supplies safely through the air. It was a slow but sure process. After our things were safely across, I disguised as a sea pony and ferried Midnight through the water. I stayed with her until she had dried again, then went back for Hairpins. Pitch had stayed with her, but now crossed with us, paddling slowly. I had to fly back to the island to retrieve Hairpin’s battle saddle, and then our transition was complete.

Again we pressed our bodies together for warmth. It reminded me of my hive; of resting with my brothers and sisters, pressed together and awaiting our Queen’s next command. This was a different sort of intimacy. Bodies close but minds still separate. Well, more separate than what I was used to anyway.

Midnight, I thought, are you alright? You’re still shivering. I knew it was not from the cold.

You know, I’ve never been in a battle. A few fights, sure, but nothing like that. Nopony’s ever tried to kill me for no reason. I always had something besides a gun to fall back on, or the other ponies in Seeds to look out for me, but here I felt so... naked...

The three of us were already shoulder to shoulder, but I put a foreleg around her and squeezed. Hairpins gave her a friendly nudge.

“Ain’t no thang. Ah’m sure half th’ wasteland ain’t seen shit like what we just did. Even zombies don’t come in groups that large. Ya’ did good when ya’ needed to.”

Midnight hugged us both back. “Thanks.”

We warmed ourselves as best we could and gathered our things. Our saddlebags, thankfully, had dried quickly, and Pitch volunteered to carry every article that was still wet. I was grateful for her help, but felt a bit guilty of taking so much advantage of her condition. I had been mostly ignoring her since we had fallen into the water except when she could be useful for getting us to safety. But now that we were in (relative) safety, I realize how bravely she had acted during the ordeal. I would not have been able to keep my composure if I had ended up at the bottom of the lake, surrounded by darkness, lungs full of water. Undead or not, I would have been driven mad with panic.

“Thanks,” I told her.

“Oh, it’s no problem dear, really.”

The next step was figuring out which was to go from here. We had lost all sense of direction long before falling into the water, and the combined light from Midnight did nothing but reveal a few more feet of rock around us. The darkness was all-consuming.

“If only Chrysalis were here,” Pitch muttered. “You’re sure you can’t contact her at all? There’s not way she would have ended up very far away.”

I shook my head even as I reached out again with my senses, probing for some other mind. Where could she have gone? Surely she would not have died—

I stopped in my tracks. I felt something. Not Chrysalis, but something. I focused on it.

Ah.

Worker? What is it?

I felt another cold spot. Another statuette, far off in the distance. I double-checked the ones I had. All were accounted for. There was a new one somewhere, not quite in the same plane as me, but very close to it. I told my friends what I sensed.

“Well, somepony probably had one on themselves,” Pitch stated. “So it’s probably at a dead-end.”

The coldness surged from the figurines in my bag. I shivered. Did I even want another one? Whatever they were, they had grown more... well, not powerful, but more aware since I had brought them together. A fragmented mind... I had compared it to such when I first sensed it, but now I was beginning to believe that to be what they literally were. If I gathered all (presumably six) of them, would that be enough? The rational, survival-focused part of me wanted to dump them all out into the water and never think of them again. But my curiosity had long ago won out. I wanted to know what they were. I wanted to see what bringing them together would do.

“I think it’s worth checking out,” I said. Midnight agreed with me. Hairpins had no comment.

We began walking slowly forward as I honed in on the feeling. It was distant but it’s direction was clear. We moved in silence for what felt like an hour but what could have been mere minutes. Suddenly the cavern walls greeted us, and our progress was turned leftward. A tunnel opened up, and I gasped.

We had been lead to the den of our attackers. A trails of wet hair and encrusted rot ran into a passage filled with bones. We stepped through with our weapons at the ready. Midnight’s light was almost blinding. Crushed and broken skulls stared up at us, splinters and dust twinkled. They had been picked clean. If any of these ponies had carried supplies with them, they had been lost to time, or chewed to nothing but rabid ewes with nothing else to do. I kicked at one of the bones near me.

“Ah think we found yer answer, professor,” Hairpins stated. “About where th’ bodies went.”

“I didn’t know bones were so shiny,” I said.

“They aren’t,” Hairpins drawled. I raised an eyebrow at her.

“These are though?”

“Oh!” Pitch gasped. “Normal ponies don’t sparkle, but crystal ponies do. This is fantastic!”

I felt Midnight’s shock at her comment. “Pitch? These ponies died horribly...!”

“Oh, no, I’m not that heartless, I only mean—have any of you ever seen a crystal pony?” We shook our heads. “Exactly. Even in my time they never left the Empire. They tried to remain as far removed from the war as possible. I seriously doubt any would have ended up on our side of the mountains, let alone get lost trying to get back, which means that, for any of their bones to end up here—”

“We must be headed in the right direction,” I said.

“Well, we must be connected. I don’t know about close. Although, I don’t know why rabid ewes would be down here in the first place... I guess it stands to reason we might be closer to the exit.”

“Th’ tunnel keeps goin’ back. Let’s follow it fer a while.”

“I think we should check out the rest of the shoreline. There might be more tunnels,” Midnight said.

The cold spot is still ahead of me. I think this tunnel might be the connection. I thought.

“Well, I guess I’m outvoted,” Midnight stated. “Let’s go.”

I kept my focus on the statuette’s aura even as the tunnel twisted away from it. We wandered for a long time, stopping sometimes to huddle or check on the garments we still had. When our armor finally dried we hissed and cursed as we put it on. It was frigid at first, but after a few minutes of shivering together they became wearable.

“We’re close,” I said. “I can feel it.”

The tunnel narrowed. We had to walk single-file up a bumpy slope. Something glittered before us. I stepped closer and realized it was snow. My heart leapt. I felt the cold spot reaching out to me. I broke into a trot.

“Worker!?”

I sprinted up the last few feet, hooves crunching through untrodden snow. The tunnel ended, and daylight reined. A pure white expanse lay before me. I was at the center of a circle of mountains, which extended far back beyond the horizon. In front of me I saw distant structures buried in snow. They formed a roughly circular pattern, getting bigger as they radiated inward. In their center rose the tower, still brilliantly shimmering. It channelled the sun’s light like a prism, sending rainbows streaking through the sky. There was more blue above me than I had ever seen in my entire life. My eyes watered at the sight, hurting after so long in the dark.

It’s so beautiful.

I heard the others gasp as they appeared behind me. My own trance did not break until I heard Hairpins weeping. I pulled my gaze away to see her curled on the ground. Midnight shook next to her, tears running down her face.

Ah could die. Ah could die right now and it would all be worth it...

Was it like this? Was this what Equestria looked like before the war?

No, Pitch answered. She did not share the same joy as I felt in all three of us. Something deeper filled her mind. Nostalgia, or melancholy; something that went beyond regret or wonder which came from a lifetime I could not fathom. It was green when I saw it. And full of life. Utter hope and desolation mixed in the same image.

“We can make it green again,” I managed to whisper. “Even if we can’t bring Equestria back.”

The cold spot was a few paces away. I brushed away snow to find another skeleton. It stared at it for a moment, confused. I had seen nothing like it before. It looked like that of a pony, but with two long teeth and a few strange notches on its back and head.

Oh, I realized. It’s a changeling.

A Fluttershy statuette was lodged between its forehooves. I tried to recall what we had been doing here. What they had been doing here. Looking for love, I knew. The Empire was the last place we had tried to persist. But why had the statuette been taken? Was this just a last, futile attempt to eek out some love?

I put the small yellow figure into my bag, and piled snow over my long-lost sibling.

Are we ready? I asked my companions.

Yes, they answered.

Chrysalis or no, the Crystal Empire awaited.

Footnote: Level up.
New Perk: Telepathy (Level 3) - All minds are open to you, and you may now send and receive complete thoughts to those you are familiar with, even over great distances.