//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Silly Filly // Story: Daring Do and the Lost Tome of Shadows // by whiterook6 //------------------------------// A chill had settled over Rose. Rushing water and a constant splashing sound dulled her hearing. The bottom of the tunnel had turned shiny in the reflection from her lantern, and the air was more humid than it had any right to be in an otherwise dusty old cave. So, she wasn’t entirely surprised when the tunnel opened into a small cave with a short waterfall falling in from above and draining somewhere off into the darkness. Nor was she entirely surprised when she saw a ladder on the other side of the rushing water, connecting to a path that continued onwards. What did surprise her was that it led upwards. Daring Do joined her at the entrance and whistled. “That’s new,” she said, loud enough to be heard over the rumble. “Been awhile since we’ve seen anything normal down here,” Rose agreed, stepping inside. She took a slow, deep breath. It even smelled nice, compared to the dust and stale air in the rest of the temple. The ground was soaked and covered in small puddles. A gentle mist flowed over her, reflecting and scattering their lantern and torch light with a soft orange glow. Moisture was already starting to cling to her coat. The way forward seemed obvious. “Here,” she said, passing the lantern to Daring. The ladder was on the other side of the waterfall from them, but there wasn’t enough room on the other side to stand on all fours. To get across she’d need to walk her way along a slim ledge and span the gap over the stream; having a lantern swinging under her chin seemed like a bad idea. She walked her forehooves up the wall to her right until she was only using them for balance, putting all her weight on her hindlegs. Her saddlebags slid alarmingly down her back but the belt kept them in place. She carefully walked sideways, more shuffling than not, right up to the stream. It was small, maybe as wide as her leg was long, but it was sure going fast. The waterfall was to her left, or behind her as she was sideways against the wall; to her right the stream opened into another spout and fell into the darkness. She couldn’t hear anything except the roar of rushing water. Despite the narrowness of the gap, the speed and pressure behind the water was alarming. On the far side was a nice hoofhold she could use to get across. She reached and slid her hoof over the rock until she found purchase, then shifted her weight and stepped across. Water pummeled her hind hooves until she could move them out of the way. Without the rough, jagged edges for grip she wouldn’t have been able to stay upright; below her the rock had been worn smooth, and she had to be careful to not push or slide her back hooves any. It was slow going, probably slower than she needed to go; but after what felt like hours she was across, down on all fours, letting out a sigh of relief. Daring stood near the entrance, looking at the rocky ceiling and the rushing water. “You comin’?” Rose hollered. “Yeah, just . . . It’s pretty wet.” “So? I’m sure even you bathe once in a while. Just hold yer breath. It ain’t that cold.” That was technically true—she could call it very cool, or maybe chilled. “Ha ha. If I get my wings too wet I won’t be able to fly. I like flying.” “It’s not that far. Just climb across. Ah can darn near reach ya from here.” Only if she were to lean out over the water, of course; but without much room for a landing Daring couldn’t even jump across, so climbing was Daring’s only option. Daring looked to be fighting a mighty big battle inside. Finally she reached out with the torch and the lantern. “Here, take these.” Rose took their lights. Spray from the waterfall hissed against the hot metal of the lantern. The torch was even more worrying, but they managed to get them both across without incident. Rose kept the lantern close, sucking up its warmth. Daring carefully made her way across, slipping partway through and leaving Rose particularly tense. “Shut up,” she said once she had all four hooves on the ground. “Ah didn’t say nothin’,” Rose said politely. “I normally fly through these things. I don’t go rock climbing all that often.” “Ah know.” Daring tried to shake off the droplets from her wings. “Alright, let’s get out of here.” She reached for the torch. “We’re not done yet,” Rose said, pointing upwards. Past the top of the ladder she could see the base of another. “We might be climbing a while longer.” She kicked the ladder under her hooves. “At least they’re good and sturdy.” This next ladder was taller than the first, and steeper, enough so that Rose could only move one hoof at a time or risk falling backwards. Her legs were gonna be sore afterwards. Worse still were the saddlebags that threatened to slide off, even after she cinched her straps tighter around her chest. She was not designed for climbing ladders. At the top of the second ladder the cave bent and twisted away from the river. Unlike the tunnels and halls of the temple, here the ground wasn’t flat or level; watery erosion had randomly worn away and dug at the cave system, rarely concerned with whether a pony could navigate it. Walking was slow going: Rose had to firmly plant each hoof on the least slanted surface she could find before moving the next, and often found herself leaning against the cold, slimy walls for balance, or walking sideways with her forehooves on a higher ledge than her hindlegs. Rose paused and heard Daring grumbling. “Y’alright back there?” she asked, turning to look. Daring shrugged. “Once we’re somewhere warm we’ll be fine.” She gave her wings a shake, showering the ground with drops and buffeting the stream back and forth. “I don’t like being wet and muddy. Too cold.” “Ah’ve seen weather Pegasi in the rain all the time.” “We try to stay above the clouds when it rains.” Daring unfolded a wing and held it in front of Rose. In the lantern light the moisture wicking down and off her feathers shimmered. “The outer feathers are slightly oily, so rain usually rolls right off. But if it gets into these,” she gestured, ruffling her inner feathers, “I’m in trouble. Light rain’s no problem, but a downpour means I’m grounded. Gotta wait for them to dry.” “They look dry to me,” Rose commented, peering close. “Yeah. No problem. So far. As long as I don’t have to go swimming, we’re good.” She looked up the tunnel. “Hopefully it dries up a little, too.” Rose grabbed her lantern in her teeth and led the way. The path curved further from the waterfalls and climbed reassuringly. Might even see get to the surface in time to see the sunset, she mused. --- By the time they arrived at the next waterfall the humidity was already soaking into Rose’s coat and she couldn’t hear Daring’s steps over the roar. She squeezed through a narrow opening, crawled low through another, and pulled herself up onto the floor of another chamber, this one taller than the previous. Rose guessed it had been dug out by the large waterfall dominating the far side of the room. The waterfall emerged from a small opening near the top at the head of the room, and splashed into a small pool before draining down a steep and narrow edge behind them. Scattered over the rocks around the waterfall were soggy lengths of rope and splinters of wood, the remains of what Rose assumed was a ladder. The walls narrowed in around the waterfall, suggesting the room had been dug out by the rushing water and not leaving much room beside it. It was a dead-end. She looked up. Above the mouth of the waterfall was an opening, out of which the rushing water had carved a small channel through the bottom. Rose shifted so she was blocking their light; without glaring reflections she thought she could see some faint illumination on the other side. There was room for a pony to squeeze through above the surface of the water, if she was careful. Maybe not a dead-end. “Ya think it goes somewhere?” she asked, edging as close to the pool as she dared to see through the opening. “Daring?” Daring did not look impressed. “Nope,” she said, expressionless. “I’m not climbing up that.” “Ah don’t think there’s any other way up.” Rose pointed behind them, down into the darkness. “Unless you wanna try climbin’ down some more.” Dash turned and followed the rock lines up and around the chamber. “Maybe,” Daring said finally. “It’s definitely too narrow to fly over it.” “Look, there’s plenty of ledges and stuff. We can just climb up the sides, right? And stay above the water.” Daring paced around the base of the waterfall. “Yeah, yeah. I can live without flying, and they dry quick enough. Let’s get this over with,” she grumbled. “You go first. Ah’ll help you up—” “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What makes you think I’ll need help?” She shrugged off her saddlebag, passed her helmet to Rose, and put a hoof into the water. She winced but didn’t mention how cold it was. “We Pegasi are pretty light, you know.” “Not when yer waterlogged.” Daring glared at her, then pointedly looked away, flapped into the air, and hovered before the waterfall. Carefully, without blocking the flow of air over her wings, she reached out and grabbed hold of the wall on either side, then propped herself up onto her hindlegs. Spray from the waterfall spattered over Daring’s front and down her back, quickly soaking her mane and her wings.  Daring looked aside and spat water from her mouth, grumbled, then took a deep breath and started climbing. It was slow going: each step only moved her a couple centimeters, and even with Rose holding the lantern close Daring Do had trouble finding ledges sturdy enough to hold her weight. When her hoof slipped Rose was right there to catch her and give her a boost. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard Daring grumble out a reluctant Thanks. It was hard to tell with the constant roar of rushing water. Daring pressed up the final couple inches and heaved herself through the opening above the water. It looked snug. Rose had the sudden image of Daring getting her butt stuck, her legs dangling helplessly. Her soggy tail was the last Rose saw of her for several long moments; then her face appeared in the lantern light. Her mane was a mess, stuck to her face and dark with water, and she did not look impressed. “Pass the bags!” she yelled over the noise, reaching through with one foreleg. Rose grabbed Daring’s bag with her teeth and inched as close as she dared before swinging the bag at Daring’s waiting hoof. On the second try Daring caught it and heaved it out of sight. Rose opened the second bag, shoved Daring’s hat inside, and rewrapped the sparkstone, hoping that it at least wouldn’t get too wet. She called up above the roar, “Be careful with this one!” Daring quickly pulled it through. Next went the lantern. Despite the risk of burning oil splashing over her, she couldn’t bring herself to extinguish the lantern. Passing it up to Daring’s outstretched hoof was a stretch, and nerve-wracking, but by now Daring was an expert at blocking some of the water with one hoof and keeping the passage somewhat dry. That left Rose and the torch, her last source of light down there. “How do we get the torch up?” she asked, totally sure she didn’t want to pass the torch on ahead anyways. “Don’t worry about it!” Daring called down, teeth chattering. “There’s more up here.” Rose grabbed the torch and carefully set it on a nearby rock so she could have at least some light guiding her way. Then it was her turn— Almost. “Your hat!” Daring called down. Rose paused. She hadn’t even considered that her hat might not survive on her head—she rarely took it off—but she reluctantly passed it up to Daring. “Got it! Now you!” --- Applejack gulped and tried not to think about the narrowness of the opening or the lack of light—tried not to imagine what would happen if she slipped and smacked her head on the rock around her, or if she got stuck partway through and couldn’t get free. A pony’s legs dangling helplessly had seemed funny at the time; feeling the rock pinching around her waist and pulling her back down into the darkness did not. If she got stuck, would Rainbow Dash stay with her? Would she be able to find another way out? Would she freeze before somepony came to the rescue? What if she hit her head? Little wonder she didn’t feel like Rose at the moment. “Uh, is there enough room?” she yelled. “Of course. It’s not that far. I could basically reach you from here.” Great. Now she’s taunting me. “Okay, AJ. Rose,” AJ muttered. “Whoever. One hoof above the other.” Slowly she walked her hooves up the wall, putting weight on her rear hooves, and started pulling her way up. It wasn’t much harder than the trek through the rest of these caves. She tried to remember which rock Rainbow had slipped on, but couldn’t recall if it was on her left or her right. No matter; so long as she took it slowly she could handle a slip or two, and although she was having trouble finding a hoofhold she only needed her forehooves for balance. No problem. She pushed up. The water had been splashing and misting over her; now it started pouring down her back. It was shockingly cold, bucking the air from her lungs and causing her to slip and nearly smack herself on the head. She swung out to her side like a barn door, and scrambled to regain her stability, but even as she stood straight the water fell over her head, instantly soaking through to her scalp, then down her forehead and face. C’mon, Applejack! If the bird can do this, so can you! Another step. She had to duck her head to breathe, and looked at the pool below her hooves. She hadn’t even climbed that far. She took a deep breath and pushed upwards, almost immediately shoved aside by the surprisingly strong force of water. She fought to keep her balance and reached for the next hoofhold, then ducked her head low and took another gasping breath. The waterfall was hitting her almost square in the face; she couldn’t even open her eyes. It was so cold! Applejack took another deep breath that was mostly water and reached to find another hoofhold, but everything she found was slippery and smooth. Her heart raced and she couldn’t breathe and it was so, so cold. How had Rainbow Dash made it up so easily? She couldn’t ask for help or even cry out without opening her mouth and letting the waterfall in. Forget getting stuck, forget falling on her back—she was gonna drown! Rainbow! She saw motion in front of her, then a pair of hooves pushed her head to the side, wrapped under her shoulders, and heaved. Her face broke the surface. She coughed out a mouthful of water and inhaled a desperate, Princess-blessed breath of water-free air. “Hold on!” Her hindlegs dangled helplessly, and all her weight—and the crushing weight of the water pushing up against her—fought the grip the pony had around her. She grasped for the forelegs trying to pull her out. “Ah’m slipping!” she gasped. “Help!” The forelegs holding her fought to haul her up, but the rushing water pushed her back, and she was wet and slippery. She started sliding free, even as the hooves wrapped around her scrambled to get a better grip, grabbing at her neck, her mane, her hooves—Applejack fell backwards, and the water rose up over her mouth again, then over her nostrils, finally blocking her vision. No. No! Her back hoof struck rock. Applejack found holds beneath her and pushed, rocketing out of the water and onto the rock beside the stream. She coughed and spat water from her lungs. The hooves rolled her onto her side. “Easy! Easy. Just breathe.” Applejack nodded absently and tried to calm her working lungs, without much success. For several moments she coughed and hacked, but the hardest part was her hammering heart and the adrenaline coursing through her bloodstream. When she opened her eyes she could only make out a blurry, dark shape hovering over her, blocking the starry night above. She wiped water from her eyes and squinted. Too big to be Dash. A stallion? “Y’alright, kiddo?” It was a stallion, with a flaming red mane that ignited when he moved the lantern closer—a tall, hulking stallion with an at-ease posture. She nodded, unable to speak between breaths. “Here.” His voice was deep and calm. “It’s a little wet but Ah kept it safe, just for you, silly filly.” He slid something over her face and set it on her forehead. My hat. She reached up and felt its reassuring weight and familiar texture, felt herself start to think straight—felt the weight of what was happening. “Ah don’t know how much more of this Ah can take,” Applejack muttered, looking away. The pony was silent for a moment, then Hmmed. “It’s okay. Don’t forget, kiddo—” “Nopony messes with Apples,” Applejack said slowly, nodding. She understood. Her foreleg brushed against his, and he stood up and backed up out of the light. “Wait!” she cried. “Don’t leave!” She tried to push herself up, but all she managed was to slip on the wet rock and bang her head. Dazed, she wiped her eyes, sure that she’d already done so. The dark blur focused into a dark blue silhouette. “Yuck. You spat all over my face,” Rainbow Dash complained, wiping her eyes with a foreleg. “S—sorry,” Applejack apologized, her jaw chattering. Every single bit of her was wet, from her face to her tail. “Heh. You were supposed to go over the falls, not through them.” She peered closer. “You alright, Rose?” Rose? She rolled onto her gut, wiped the wet mane from her face, and glared at Dash. “Well.” Where to begin? “Ah just inhaled a waterfall. Ah’m pretty sure Ah hit mah head a bunch. And a Unicorn is trying to kill me. So, yeah. Ah’m fuckin’ peachy, Rainbow Dash.” “But you’re okay?” Dash asked. There was concern on Dash’s face, even if she insisted on pretending it was still some game to her. Applejack exhaled, which turned into coughing and spitting out another mouthful of water. “Yeah, Ah’m good. Just a little rougher than Ah thought it’d be. How are the saddlebags?” Dash looked over her shoulder and reached for one of them. “I dunno. I haven’t had time to check them; I just flung them onto the ground and reached down to help. Probably soaked.” Applejack forced herself to stand, even though she was shaking quite badly. Adrenaline spilled free like the water from a two-legged bathtub. She gulped. Say something. “You said there were torches?” Dash must’ve answered, but Applejack didn’t hear her. She looked up. Daring was staring at her from far away, and mouthed, “What’s wrong?” Applejack tried to reassure her but just couldn’t get the words out. Her legs buckled, she stumbled to the right, and the ground twirled sideways. Once again she felt a pair of hooves wrap around her, this time setting her down gently on the ground. Applejack grabbed at her and refused to let go when Dash went to pull away. “Thanks, Dash,” she whispered between shuddering breaths, certain that if she lost her composure she wouldn’t find it again. Rainbow’s voice floated over. “It’s okay. I got you.” The last thing Applejack felt before she decided to take a very short nap was Rainbow pressing Applejack’s hat to her sopping wet forehead. --- While Applejack rested, Rainbow Dash pulled the lantern close and looked through their saddlebags. As she’d feared, almost everything inside was wet, and sloshing her hoof through the bottom of one to find the sparkstone was almost enough to make her give up entirely. Trying to air dry the stone on her own reminded her just how useless her wings were when soaked. With the sparkstone on a flat surface to dry, she inspected their surroundings. Their tunnel had broken onto a large, mostly flat ledge at the bottom of an otherwise steeply-slanted seam in the rock. Above the crack opened wider; in all directions the rock surface retreated into shadow without closing together, and looking outwards she could only just see the other edge off in the distance. Water was pouring down from several ledges, landing in large pools and flowing down a couple large streams, one of which they’d just climbed up, while some others continued down the seam. Every surface was wet, judging by the reflected lantern glow, and the sound of falling water quickly turned into background noise. A cool breeze pushed through every so often, causing her to shiver. A pile of wooden planks and rails crowded along one section of the ledge, some pieces with rusted nails or torn lengths of rope attached, as if some large wooden construction had fallen from far above and caught and shattered on the rock. The rocky surface was scattered with pulpy wood soaked from the constant flow of water all the way down the slope. Dash looked up. Above, the wall receded into darkness. If there was still some sort of construction up there, she couldn’t see it. Only a narrow ladder leading out of sight was still intact; at some point in the past there might’ve been more set up, judging by the pieces of wood and rope lying around. She shoved some of the debris over the edge and cleared a small section in front of Applejack, still out cold and trembling. They needed a fire, so Dash turned to look for any dry scraps she could find. They were surrounded by wood, but it was all waterlogged and worthless. She left the lantern with Rose, grabbed their saddlebag, and wandered further down the ledge until she could barely see where she was going, and started poking around for drier debris. She quickly filled one of the sacks, stopping only when she felt a particularly smooth, boney stick crack under her hoof. “Nope,” she muttered, and hurried back. With a small bundle of mostly dry sticks, she sat and reached for the sparkstone. It was still damp and shiny, and she had nothing to dry it with, so she was surprised when it still sparked some. She wasn’t too surprised, though, when strike after strike failed to make anymore than a little smoke. Not being able to fly was bad enough, but she’d forgotten about all the other things her wings were good for, like freeing her hooves or fanning fires. “Ya gotta let it breathe.” Dash nearly jumped out of her coat; she hadn’t even heard Applejack wake up. AJ continued, “Don’t just jam it all into a pile. Here.” She stood over the clump of wood and started pulling pieces from it. Her jaw was chattering, she was shivering all over, and her legs were still a bit shaky, but Applejack managed to build a small pyramid, and slid some small pieces through the middle. “Try that.” The sparkstone sent a shower of sparks into the construction; after only a few strikes the tinder caught. Dash hmphed. “If my wings weren’t soaked, I could’ve had that going, no problem.” Applejack smirked. “Just shows y’ain’t never built a proper fire before,” she sassed, and kept Dash from replacing any wood until the tinder was burning brightly. Heat bloomed over Dash. She sat on her haunches and lifted her hooves in front of the small fire, sighing. Applejack made room for her wings. After what must’ve been hours down in the temple, she felt relaxed. It smelled of bonfires after heavy rains. She could even pretend she was looking up at a night sky, if the sparkling rocks were stars. Too bad they didn’t have any of the Apple Family’s private reserve. “How did we get ourselves into this mess?” she wondered. Applejack was looking through her saddlebag. “Ah was just wonderin’ that same thing.” She smirked. “Wasn’t it yer suggestion that we should have an adventure?” “Well, yeah, but I didn’t think we’d wind up at the bottom of a cave.” She watched AJ rummage. “What are you looking for?” “Food. Ah’m starved.” “Eh heh heh . . . you’re not gonna like what you find.” Applejack pulled out a pair of bruised, lightly-crushed apples, stared at them for a moment, then shrugged. “Ah’ve eaten worse.” She tossed one to Dash and bit into the other. Dash wrinkled her nose but the smell of apple juice reminded her how hungry she was. It certainly didn’t taste any different—just a little mushy. She gave her wings a shake, loosening a surprising amount of water. “How long does it take yer wings to dry out?” Applejack asked around her mouthful. Rainbow shrugged. “If it were warmer or drier . . . twenty minutes? Dunno about in here, though. Normally I’d just roost for the night—” “What? Roost? Ha!” Applejack laughed, spraying chewed apple chunks everywhere. “Like a chicken?” Dash raised an eyebrow and shook loose some water in AJ’s direction. “Yeah. Just like most birds. Pegasi roost.” Applejack chuckled. “Crazy.” “I suppose that’s crazier than grazing, right?” Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Sure. Earth Ponies graze.” “Like cattle.” “Just like cattle,” Applejack confirmed. “It’s perfectly normal—” “Eating off the ground—” “Shaddup. How long?” Rainbow Dash turned slightly, letting the warmth soak into her wings. “An hour or so. Maybe two.” She slumped. Sitting still for two hours was difficult at the best of times. Sitting still and trying to keep her teeth from chattering? While really, really hungry? She took a bite of the apple, grimacing. “This sucks.” “How does Daring Do pass the time? Ah’d assume she spends lots of time travelling between places.” “Oh, sure. Her trip to the Badlands to rescue the Princess’ daughter took days and days by train. And whenever she crosses an ocean, nearly a month.” She grinned. “Unless she’s interrupted by pirates.” She frowned. “But . . . I’m not really sure how she spends that time; the books usually skip past it. Reading? Talking to the crew? Sordid romances with attractive strangers?” She laughed. “Not really helpful here.” They sat and chewed. Dash gulped down a particularly large mouthful and said, “But for Daring Do, even when she’s waiting, she’s going somewhere.” She let her eyes travel up the scaffolding. “I don’t know how long we can spend just waiting down here.” Applejack shoved the rest of the apple in her mouth and swallowed, grimacing. “Gross?” Dash asked. Applejack shook her head, thumped her chest, and let out a very proud belch. The look of satisfaction and pride on her face in the firelight was too much and Dash started laughing, forgetting for a moment that they were stuck in a cave deep underground without much to eat. Applejack looked over at the ladder and followed it upwards. After a moment she stopped and pointed. “What’s that?” Dash peered into the darkness above them. “I don’t see anything.” “Something’s attached up there . . . It goes out over the opening. It might be a bridge!” Dash slid around to the other side of the fire, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness without a blinding flame in the way. She followed where Applejack’s foreleg was pointed and squinted. A dark smudge on a darker patch of rock . . . maybe? It reached off into the darkness ahead of them; whatever it was, it was the only thing she could see that reached the other side. And there was something moving over it, a bouncing purple glow. Dash gasped and leapt to her hooves, nearly knocking over their saddlebags as she lifted her wings to block the firelight. “Hay! What are ya—” “Shut up!” she hissed, waving Applejack silent. Dash knew she couldn’t block the reflected lantern light from the rocks around them, but she hoped Cairo wouldn’t know exactly where they were. The purple glow stood still, long enough for Dash to start really worrying that a well-aimed spell was about to strike her in the face, or that boulders were about to slide down from above and crush them, but after another moment it started moving again, continuing across to the far side before blinking out. Dash sighed and relaxed. Applejack whispered, “What is it?” “Cairo! I saw him crossing the bridge.” Applejack looked behind them, at the ladders and platforms climbing up to the bridge. Her eyes went wide. “So we can still catch him! C’mon!” she said, standing and shaking some of the stiffness from her joints. She looked a lot less likely to collapse than she had earlier—and a lot angrier. “Uh, shouldn’t you be resting, still? You were just passed out.” Applejack turned slowly and glared at Dash. “He tried to bury me alive,” she said calmly. “Ain’t no way Ah’m letting him go.” “Alright, alright. Lead the way, Applejack—” “Rose,” Applejack corrected, cinching her saddlebags tight. “You want Rose? You got her. Cairo tried to kill Rose. Rose is gonna get him back for that. Got it?” Dash leaned back and held her hooves up. “Totally.” --- Rose Gambit attacked the ladder with a ferocity that surprised Daring Do. Normally easy-going and in control, Rose didn’t often let her rivals get under her mane. Usually, those rivals would simply find themselves in unfortunate situations—trapped at the bottom of a pit, tied up and hanging from a tree, or bound and gagged and waiting for somepony to find them. Sometimes she’d even help luck along, typically through inaction or petty violence that served her more than the bad guys. Tomb raiding was as much an adventure as it was a career, and she was largely successful. Her victories outweighed her failures enough that she didn’t really pay either any mind. Whenever Daring would beat Rose at her own game, there was always that smirk that said, “Next time, then,” with a hint of provocation. Even when Rose won, she wasn’t insufferable or insulting, not really. And this certainly wasn’t the first time somepony had tried to kill her. She had her enemies, an impressive list of notorious, well-known ponies across the world that would very much like her returned home in a wooden box. But very few ponies actually managed to get themselves on her bad side, and while Cairo was a scumbag criminal that likely deserved whatever he got, Rose had only known Cairo for a few hours. So, her enthusiasm at climbing the ladder and catching up to the Unicorn was a little unexpected. By the time Daring had her bags around her barrel Rose was already a couple meters up, carrying her lantern in her jaw, and Daring had to hurry to keep up. This is a terrible idea. She really, really needed to sit and dry her wings before any sort of climb; if she or Rose fell they’d both miss her wings in a hurry. Rose reached the top of the first ladder and scrambled onto a wooden platform that was barely wide enough for a pony to stand sideways. It was attached to the rock seam with rope tied to some stakes pounded into the rock, and the whole thing shook as she thundered across to the other side and the next ladder. “Rose! Slow down!” If Rose had heard her, she didn’t acknowledge it; she was climbing the next ladder by the time Daring had pulled herself up the first. The ladder itself wasn’t attached to the lower platform and shook under her motion. Daring heard a crack followed by vicious swearing and watched Rose’s right hindleg dangle off the side of the ladder. Rose eventually caught the ladder and continued hauling herself up. Daring followed, very aware of how slippery the rungs were from the water splashing down from higher up the rock seam and the constant mist in the air; even so, she still nearly slipped on the same rung that had fouled Rose’s climb. Daring finally caught up to Rose on the next platform, but only because Rose was struggling to hold onto her lantern while climbing the next steps. The platform shook as Daring slowly walked up behind Rose. “Rose, stop. You’re gonna fall.” “No, Ah ain’t. Ah do this kinda stuff all the time.” She tried to hold the lantern with one hoof and lift herself up with the other three, but she tipped dangerously close to the edge. Daring reached out and grabbed her, pulling her back to the rock face. “Ah got it,” she said, clearly irritated. “Lemme go.” Daring released her but kept her foreleg outstretched incase Rose decided to take another plunge sideways. Rose finally managed to get a solid bite around the lantern handle without burning herself, and pulled herself up. It wasn’t a ladder so much as a wooden wall with several horizontal beams missing, spaced just close enough to climb if a pony were careful, which Rose definitely was not. Daring looked up the wall and traced the path they’d need to take to continue towards the bridge. From her guesses they were a quarter of the way up the seam, a good ten or so meters above their little campfire, which was still putting out helpful light. The wall itself continued another couple meters, stopped abruptly, then . . . what? No platform. Only a narrow ledge with a chain to hold onto . . . “Aw, blow me. Rose! Stop!” Rose ignored her and started climbing the wall. If she slipped from that height Daring wouldn’t be able to catch her, and Daring knew they couldn’t rely on Rose’s luck forever. “I really don’t wanna do this. . . ” she muttered, but reared up, bit down on Rose’s tail, and pulled. Rose yelped and slipped immediately—no surprise given her haste—and fell to the platform, landing on her backside and nearly tipping over. Daring grabbed her and balanced her, shoving her back towards the wall. “What they hay?!” Rose cried. Daring braced herself and—Smack! Rose tried to kick Daring’s hooves out from under her, but only succeeded in knocking their shins together. “You nearly pulled me off!” She kicked Daring again. “Ow! Stop kicking me!” “You tried to pull me off!” Rose yelled. Her eyes were wide and she was panting. “What are ya tryin’ to do? You wanna be the hero, swoop down and save me from falling? Is that it?” “Rose, you—Rose. Rose!” Daring took a deep breath. Rose kicked her again, and kept yelling. Daring couldn’t get more than a word in edgewise, and eventually one of them was gonna fall over the edge, so resigned herself to doing what she knew she had to do. “You glory-stealin’, attention-hoggin’, showboatin’ Pega—” Daring slapped her. The impact echoed loudly over the sounds of cascading water. Rose froze mid-word, stunned. Daring released Rose and she slid to the floor, but Daring didn’t let go of Rose’s shoulder. “Rose,” she said, quietly and slowly. “Calm down. You’re gonna fall if you don’t slow the fuck down.” She waited for Rose to yell some more, but Rose was still and silent. “Got it?” Rose nodded once, eyes wide and staring out into the distance. “Okay.” Daring let go of Rose and sat beside her. “What’s going on?” Rose was quiet for a few moments, looking out at the darkness. She rubbed her cheek. “Ah don’t like bein’ underground,” she said finally. “No kidding,” Daring said. “Me neither.” “Ah’m afraid of the dark,” Rose blurted out. Daring looked at her, but Rose faced forward and kept going, “Pa wanted us to be strong, but Ah’ve been trapped in this cave for hours now, and it’s so far down.” She leaned forward a little, looking over the edge, and gulped. “And so high up.” Daring grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back to the rock wall, turning her so they were facing each other. Rose was silent for a few moments, then looked up at Daring. “Ah can handle statues comin’ to life and tryin’ to crush me. Ah can handle death traps. Hay, Ah can even handle monster jungle cats tryin’ to eat me.” She closed her eyes. “But down here it’s just tunnel after tunnel, dark and narrow and always this close to trapping me.” Rose was breathing deeply, but regularly. Daring said, slowly, “And then Cairo comes along, and you find a way to prove yourself—” Rose nodded. “And we’re goin’ up. Finally, Daring Do, we’re goin’ up again. We’re climbin’ and we’re gonna break out onto the surface and it’s gonna be bright and warm again.” Daring chuckled. “I hate to break it to you, but the sun’s probably set by now.” Rose sighed. “Of course it has.” “And you know, we’re not just gonna find an exit. There’s gonna be more danger, and more tunnels, and the chamber with the treasure’s gonna be trapped for sure. Then we might find a way out that doesn’t involve tracing our steps back. Okay?” Rose levelled a stare at her. “Ah ain’t some foal you need to coddle. Ah know it’s not over yet.” She took a deep breath. “Just let me have mah little panic and then we’ll be good to go. Ah’m pretty sure Ah have one these each time Ah’m deep underground.” Daring laughed. “Sure.” “And, Daring, Ah swear to Ma if you hit me again Ah’ll pour water all through yer wings an’ knock you off this here platform.” She glared. “Ah will literally pull you back down here, empty mah canteen and waste all mah water, then kick you off. Got it?” Daring gulped. “Got it.” Rose sat for a moment, grumbling something about apples and rubbing her cheek, then reached out a hoof. Daring helped Rose to her hooves, and together they tied the lantern to her bags, careful to keep the hot metal touching fabric and not her bare back. “Try picturing the floor following you up the ladder, just under your hooves,” Daring said as they approached the wall. “I’ll go first so you can have something to focus on.” “Ah’m goin’ first,” Rose insisted. “I’m not gonna be able to catch you any more than you could catch me.” “Maybe, but Ah don’t wanna be focusin’ on yer plot the whole way.” Daring coughed. “So you want me looking up yours?” “Yeah, like you mind, Derrière-Do,” she snorted. Daring reached out to smack her but Rose was already scrambling up the wall. --- The lantern was pleasantly warm against her back, especially given the cold mist of the cavern, but it sure as hay didn’t light anything ahead of her. If anything, Rose was pretty sure it was painting a big, bright target on her. They’d managed to climb a little more of the ladder setup leading up the wall, and from the black splotch high above she reckoned they were about halfway. She paused, pulled herself in tight, and shook her head. “Nope. Ain’t more than a couple steps off the ground.” She avoided looking over her shoulder as much as possible, and focused on the steps and rock wall, but she felt exposed all the same. All Cairo had to do was stand on the bridge and look down, and she’d be spotted. The fact that only water had come shooting their way reinforced how large and empty this cave system was. Cairo was likely very far ahead by now, and it was that certainty that kept her putting hoof over hoof, even when she started hearing a groan echo through the cavern. “You hear that?” she asked Daring. Daring listened for a second. “Yeah. Like a creaking ship, kinda, or a creepy old train.” “This whole place gives me the creeps,” Rose admitted. After a moment she realized Daring was waiting for her to continue so she reached for another rung and heaved herself up. Ponies weren’t made for ladders, not really, and this was tiring, especially with waterlogged saddlebags weighing her down. The structure yawned and shuddered. Rose stopped and held tight, waiting for the shaking to pass. “You know,” Daring called up once the worst was over, a nervous hesitation in her voice. “I don’t think anypony has used these ladders since those traps were built. They might not have been built to stay up this long.” “Wonderful,” Rose said, putting as much sarcasm into the word as she could. Only a hoofful of the railings and platforms were attached to the rock directly; the rest hung from their neighbors, attached with ropes and wooden planks. Whole sections were suspended from the rock wall with only a few parts holding them all in place. At no point had any ledges or shelves shot out from the wall—without the platforms and scaffolding, it was all fall and no landing for some distance. She reached for a hold, grunted, and scrambled over an edge onto the next platform. She moved just far enough for Daring to climb aboard then collapsed onto her gut, panting. Daring eventually flopped down beside her. “Phew,” she sighed, then, when the shaking increased, “Whoa.” The groaning grew louder, the shaking grew more violent, and then Rose’s fears came true with a loud SNAP from high above. The whole structure buckled once, and if she’d been standing Rose would’ve been tossed over the edge. She closed her eyes, pressed up against the rock, and covered her head. Something large whistled past them and crunched against something just below. “Oh, feathers,” Daring muttered. Rose opened her eyes. She and Daring were still firmly attached to the wall, at the same height, and the whole construction had stopped shaking. Rose wondered what had fallen. She stood and looked around. It was much darker, now, even with the lantern behind her, and she could barely see the bridge, high above. They peered over the edge. Whatever had fallen had clearly trashed the fire and swept debris off the edge; if she listened closely Rose could still hear the scattering of wood falling down the slope. She could already feel the creaking building in the structure, a little slower and restrained than before. Hopefully they could make it all the way to the top before the next section decided to let go. Daring chuckled nervously. “Uh, after you,” she said, pointing ahead. Here the path broke away from the surface, as a narrow walkway hung suspended out into the blackness. With only the lantern light Rose could barely make out a stalactite at the other end of the wooden bridge, and even then couldn’t see where it attached to the ceiling, nor where the path went after it. There might once have been railings—maybe ropes or chains—but now there was nothing. “It’s a stalactite,” Daring said helpfully. “Ah spend more time in caves than you do, Daring. Ah think Ah know what a stalactite is.” “Yeah? Then what’s it called when the rock reaches up from the bottom?” “A stalagmite.” Rose grinned. Daring stared at her. “Lucky guess.” Rose rolled her eyes and looked back to the bridge. “Thank the Princesses Ah’m so fond of heights and the dark,” Rose muttered. The moment her hoof touched the walkway the whole construction shuddered. C’mon, Sug’, ya got this. She prodded the bridge—little more than a few planks of wood, really—but it felt sturdy and held her weight as she moved her center of mass forward. She concentrated and, looking only straight ahead, walked out onto the platform. It was surprisingly long, despite how close the stalactite looked, or maybe it was because Rose was taking her time to cross it, pausing every time the thing shuddered and only moving a hoof once the previous was good and settled. “How sturdy is it?” Daring asked. She was back at the start of the walkway, clearly waiting to see if Rose was going to fall to her death. Thanks, Daring. Rose ignored her—turning her head might well tip her over the edge—and focused on putting one hoof in front of the other. It looked so frail: a bunch of thin wooden slats lashed to the runners underneath. Maybe Daring was right to wait. The bridge reached the stalactite and connected to a platform that circled it. She carefully peered around the rock. In the dim lantern light she could see a ladder that climbed so steep it was nearly tilting backwards over the void. Rose gulped. At least it didn’t go very high: a platform wrapped around the ladder and the stalactite a few meters up and reached out again, at a different angle. Leaning into the stalactite, she slowly edged her way around it towards the ladder and reached a hoof for the first rung, leaning way too far back for her liking. Her hat shifted slightly, and she nearly fell reaching to secure it. After a few tries she grabbed the railing with her other forehoof and tried to relax her heartbeat. “You got it?” Daring asked. Rose couldn’t quite look around the rock to see Daring but could hear her carefully edging her way across the planks. “Ah dunno,” Rose finally answered. It was gonna get mighty crowded back here if she didn’t move. She pulled on the top rung and lifted her hooves off the platform, kicking to find the next step. Once her hooves found their place she could push higher and reach for the next rung. “Ha!” She allowed herself a little moment of pride. “Ah’m a regular climbing pony.” “You’ve gone up one step.” “Hush, you. A little help?” Rose asked, stretching to reach the next rung. Daring slunk around the stalactite and crawled under Rose’s back hooves, standing and giving Rose a boost. After that, Rose was on her own. Thankfully the landing above was only a few rungs away—and, though she wouldn’t admit it, thankfully the floor was following her, only a rung or so behind her. “Hurry up!” Daring insisted. Rose wondered if the heights were finally getting to her, as she grew accustomed to being unable to fly. “You wanna go first instead?” Rose panted, heaving herself up. She knew she wasn’t a fat pony, but damn was it hard. Another rung, and she could finally reach the next platform. It was awkward to bend her legs to support her weight and pull herself up, and when she finally settled onto the platform she was shaking from the effort. “Move, Rose!” Daring called up, her voice higher and louder than normal. “Weren’t you just hollerin’ at me for goin’ too fast?” she yelled back, looking down the ladder hatch. Daring was definitely going faster than she had been, but she was cursing and looked frightened. “Daring! What’s goin’ on?” she asked. “Can’t you feel that?” Daring asked. Rose held her breath and pressed low to the platform. It wasn’t just her sore muscles that were shaking; the whole construction was dancing wild again. “Something’s gonna break! We don’t have much time!” Daring yelled. Rose leapt to her hooves and peered around the stalactite. At this level the platform didn’t quite make a full turn around the rock, instead turning and shooting towards the rock wall at an angle. No railing here, either, and this bridge was at least as long again as the first. “Go. Fucking go!” Daring urged from close behind. Rose reached for the lantern and held it in her jaw, needing every bit of light she could get, then lowered her head, eyed the planks of wood, and ran. The bridge shook and thundered beneath her hooves and she didn’t dare imagine the bridge snapping in half beneath her hooves, sending her tumbling into the darkness and stranding the helpless Pegasus . . . She gulped and tried to focus on her balance. The rock wall swam out of the darkness at an angle and Rose threw herself at the landing, impacting sideways and using her momentum to carry herself ahead. Stairs, now, almost boring compared to lean-back ladders. Behind her, Daring slammed into the rock and swore, then they were both climbing stairs that doubled back and forth. The rumbling ceased. “Look out!” Daring hollered. “Jump!” Rose threw herself forward. Just as her hind hooves left the stair it buckled and twisted. A large section of wooden supports and rope rigging tore clean through the stairs, pulling them out from under her. Suddenly Rose was leaping over empty space. She could actually see the rigging and supports collapsing below. She landed clumsily on the next platform, losing her step and nearly falling off the side. As she scrambled to her hooves a blur rushed over her. Daring landed ahead of her, having glided more gracefully. Once Rose had found her balance she scrambled to catch up. Rose looked ahead, slowing as they reached a ramp. As the light from the lantern hanging bounced and shifted across the cavern it passed over their end of the bridge above. They were close: hiding among some ropes was a wooden tower that reached nearly all the way up to the bridge. Rose nearly whooped for joy, remembering only at the last moment that she was carrying the lantern in her jaw. Daring saw it too. “Almost there!” she yelled, a note of excitement in her voice. She really was crazy. A quick glance to ensure Daring hadn’t fallen too far behind, but Daring was right with her, and when they made eye contact they shared a grin. Racing against Daring was a dumb idea, especially in the darkness of the seam with rickety and collapsing structure all around them, but her enthusiasm was infectious. They made another turn and headed straight for the base of the bridge. Ahead the scaffolding shot straight up, even breaking away from the rock wall for the last bit. Daring swung around to the other side and began climbing, panting loud enough that Rose could hear her. The tower looked far too skinny to hold them, and her lungs and her muscles and her joints burned, but there was no other way out, and she was pretty sure the walkway behind them was quickly disintegrating. Rose swore, leapt and caught a beam in her forehooves, swore again, and began climbing. The rungs were close enough together that she ascended quickly without having to stop at each step to find her next hoofhold. After several meters the tower pulled away from the rock wall, and after Rose and Daring passed the last attachment it started swaying alarmingly. “Daring!” Rose hollered. “We gotta balance it together or it’s gonna fall over!” Daring paused, holding herself close to the tower. She looked down at Rose, then at the top, watching it dance left and right. “Climb a little to the left,” she finally called down, and slid herself to the right. Daring waited for her to catch up, then together they reached for the next rung, balancing their motions and passing the lantern back and forth. “Where do I put my hoof?” “To yer left. Can ya hold this?” “Hold up, it goes a little sideways here.” “Gotcha. Ready? Up!” Slowly the tower steadied, as the scaffolding below faded into the darkness. Quick glances showed the bridge growing closer with each move. Even as the swaying became noticeable and the noise of crashing wood grew louder Rose allowed herself a moment of hope, in amongst the surging pride of teamwork. Wait— “Daring! It’s not tall enough!” she cried. The tower was swaying because it wasn’t attached to anything. Her hope sank into the pit of her stomach. They reached the top of the tower. By now it had narrowed enough that the platform was barely wide enough for one pony to stand on without hanging out over the edge, but not enough for two. Daring and Rose pulled themselves up to the edge and held on, legs not quite dangling. Rose willed the tower to stop swaying so much. A pair of ropes hung down from the bridge, hanging still as the tower rocked back and forth, and in the center of their little spire sat a pair of large crates, balanced precariously. We came all this way for a dead end? Daring reached for the ropes as she and Rose rocked past, grabbing them on the third try. “Think you can climb it?” Rose could barely get enough air into her lungs, and her limbs were shaking with exhaustion. She shook her head and panted, “What do we do?” Daring tugged on one of the ropes, shoved the crate a little, then smiled. “I got an idea. Here, hang on.” “What?” Rose asked, grabbing the rope with a hoof and letting Daring attach the lantern to her saddlebags. “Hey! Whoa! What’cha doin’?” Daring quickly took the other rope and knotted it through a hook on the crate. She grabbed Rose’s rope, pressed up against her, and smiled a manic grin. “I’ve always wanted to do this!” she exclaimed, before shoving the crate down the side. “Oh no no no!” Rose cried. The rope pulled tight and yanked her upwards. “Daring!” Daring and Rose slammed together. She scrambled to get a sturdy grip on the rope. The crate crashed down into the center of the tower and picked up speed, and so did Rose and Daring. The scaffolding collapsed just as Rose lost sight of it. Rose clenched her eyes shut and hollered. Daring let out a whoop, even as she squeezed Rose tight. The slight breeze in the cavern turned into a rushing gale, and Rose felt her saddlebags sliding down her sides. “Watch out!” Daring cried. Rose risked a glance upwards. The pulley their rope was shooting through was racing down towards them, along with the bridge above. “This is gonna hurt!” It happened in an instant, but it felt like it took forever. The assembly holding the pulley shattered as they passed it, whipping them inwards in a shower of shredded rope and splinters. The rope was wrenched out of her hooves and Rose was flying upwards, flailing and scrambling to hold onto anything solid, which pretty much meant Daring. Daring was yelling, either in fear or excitement, or maybe both, but Rose couldn’t really hear her. The bridge dropped past and they soared over it, slowing and slowing until Rose felt weightless. Then time resumed and Rose crashed onto the hard surface of the bridge. Head ringing and muscles screaming, Rose coughed and rolled onto her side, ignoring the uncomfortable bulk of her saddlebags. In front of her, Daring was groaning and cursing, but Rose could see a smile on her face. She struggled to find her breath, then croaked, “Ah guess Pegasi get used to crash landings, huh?” Daring nodded, wincing. “Sometimes I’m not totally awake when I roll out of bed. Those are rough mornings.” Rose pictured the air beneath Cloudsdale on a Monday morning, and chuckled. Her chest hurt but the rush of the climb and the energy in her blood hadn’t yet faded and she found herself laughing along with Daring. After a few minutes of resting, Rose slowly pushed herself to a sitting position, wincing and gritting her teeth against the ache. Daring hauled herself up beside her. The bridge connected both sides of the seam, and at either end a tunnel bored into the rock. They’d landed nearer to one side than the other, and the tunnel behind them lead back towards the trap chambers. Far down its length she could see the faint orange of a torchlit room. The tunnel on the other side passed under a massive stone archway, carved nearly perfectly smooth as far as Rose could tell with their limited light, and continued off into the darkness ahead. “That’s where Cairo went,” Daring said. “The Tome’s gotta be there.” Rose pushed her hat tight to her forehead and the two set off. --- Twilight released her tenuous hold on the scaffolding and let it collapse into the abyss. As the load on her horn lessened she deflated and slid to the ground, leaning back against the wall. Without weight on it her left hindleg no longer ached. Far below, the sounds of crashing wood and spilling water echoed around the seam until it faded to background noise. She rubbed a hoof over her forehead, wiping her brow free of sweat, and tried to calm her breath. She was grinning, maybe a little madly. She caught the book watching her, and quickly hid her smile. “What?” The book stared at her, teasing her. “Look, there’s something satisfying about just letting something go and seeing what happens. Not that I had any trouble keeping them completely safe, of course,” she hurried to add, “but every now and then I feel a pang of jealousy towards Discord, although I suspect he plans more than he lets on.” No response. “Ha ha . . . I don’t usually tell ponies that. Most ponies see me and my lists and either assume that controlling things around me comes naturally, which isn’t true, or that I enjoy keeping things in order, which is only partly true.” She sat in silence, mulling her thoughts, before continuing, “I’d rather not have to plan out every little detail of my life. Other ponies don’t seem to care; they don’t see every consequence and possibility of their actions and balk at the fog. Maybe I haven’t been living in Ponyville long enough to relax and just enjoy my days. I don’t know how they do it.” She reached under her pile of checklists, found a small rock, and tossed it over the edge. It cracked and rolled down the slope. “And now I’ve let go, and I have to wait and see what happens.” Something growled behind her, but she tried to ignore it. “I’ve gotten better, maybe, but only when it comes to my daily routine and things I do often enough to do without thinking. That’s not letting go and relaxing, it’s just habit. I can try new things and see what happens, but it’s always secretly an experiment, always with a way out, all the possibilities covered.” She waved a hoof at the remains of the scaffolding. “Always fixing things . . . letting that break was fun. Satisfying. Its collapse had no impact on anything else, posed no danger, and in fact has eased the load in my horn. Tipping things over and seeing what happens is much more . . . fun. I’m jealous of Discord because he doesn’t have to hide that facet of his personality.” She stood and shook the stiffness from her joints. “Stupid, really. I just want it to be easy. If I can let go of something and not have to worry about what’ll happen . . . it’s so much easier. I think I’d like that. Maybe. But then I wouldn’t be a Princess.” She knew she was rambling, but she needed the distraction only a conversation could provide. She was cold and tired and hungry, breathing deep and fighting a monster headache, but describing—informing—lecturing helped her forget all that. “Those things, though?” She shuddered and looked back down her secret tunnel, in roughly the same direction Rose and Daring were now heading. “I don’t have a choice with them. I can’t control them. There’s too many for me to manipulate without them being jerky and stupid, but that means so much more risk and I can’t let down my guard even once or they’ll attack Rainbow Dash and Applejack and they aren’t ready yet.” She reached for one of her checklists with a hoof she swore wasn’t shaking and scanned down the parchment. “I don’t know if they can fight them on their own or if they’ll attack us instead. So many personalities invariably exhibit surprising and dangerous emergent behaviors. But without them none of this works, none of the threads tie together at the end, and the final boss makes no sense. All of this would be for nothing. They fit a hole in the puzzle.” Even with the light from her horn she could barely see them, her prototype monsters that kept to the shadows. Twilight said, absently, “A normal pony wouldn’t mind a missing jigsaw piece, but I do.” Apparently she minded enough to torment herself. A low hum and the wail of static passed over her. “However.” She took a deep breath and slowly released it. “If I cannot control them—or myself—then I need to know before I commit to the climax. And there’s only a hoofful. It’s going to be okay,” she said, pausing to take another steadying breath. “I don’t have to fight them. I don’t even have to see them. I just have to keep them away from Applejack and Rainbow Dash for long enough. There aren’t even that many. They won’t overpower me. I can do this.” She even sounded convincing, though she knew the book wasn’t buying any of it. She could hollow out a mountain, manipulate evil Unicorns, and generate the history of a whole civilisation, all in a single day. She was the Element of Magic, the Princess of Magic, and the strongest magician of her age, according to an Alicorn that moved the Sun. For the past several hours she’d watched her slightest whim become reality. So why does everything feel like it’s spiralling out of control?