//------------------------------// // Present Day: Trapped // Story: The Pony, the Sphinx, and the Immortal // by HapHazred //------------------------------// If there was one thing to be thankful for, it was that the statues didn’t have much in the way of strategy. There was no overwhelming rush to force through the barricade, no attempts to flank them or try anything more than slowly walk towards Twilight and Applejack in ones and twos. Some of them fell to pieces all on their own, the cracks generated by their movement shattering them before Twilight could even fire a magical blast at them. The bad news was that magic rolled over  them and had little effect on their hard, reflective surface. It was a far safer bet to try and hit them with rocks and debris, and smash them physically. Unfortunately, levitation, even on small objects, was more tiring than a little blast, and Applejack was getting too tired to keep throwing. Not to mention, the broken glass was creating a carpet of dangerous, razor sharp spikes, trapping the pair behind the barricade. Worse still, some would fly over to their side. Twilight already had two small cuts on her hooves, and Applejack had gone from throwing stones to cleaning up the mess, halving their efficiency. Twilight would throw anxious glances towards the collapsed corridor, hoping that somewhere on the other side, somepony was trying to dig through. Applejack’s eyes were drifting closed. Twilight gave her a forceful shake. “No time for sleeping,” she snapped. “Go listen at the collapsed end, see if you can hear anypony.” Applejack, glad for something to focus her waning attention, trotted over to the rubble. Twilight looked over the barricade. Another target. She levitated a small stone and took aim. She tried not to think about the glass statues having been living, breathing ponies. She tried not to even think of them as ‘undead’. In Twilight’s mind, undead wasn’t very different from ‘alive’, and she didn’t like the idea of killing. It helped to think of them as just mindless pieces of glass. That happened to be shaped like ponies. Who looked like they were screaming. Twilight closed her eyes as she shot the stone, throwing off her aim. It bounced off the side of the lumbering statue, ricocheting off to the side. A small crack had appeared on its surface, but little more than that. Twilight grit her teeth. Why couldn’t she be as cold as Zerephonzidas, or as strong as Rainbow Dash? Why did she always have to think? “I can hear scrapin’!” Applejack exclaimed. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. Her magic fluctuated briefly before she regained control and levitated another stone. “They’re coming?” “They’re on their way,” Applejack confirmed. “Twi, that one’s gettin’ awful close…” “I know!” Twilight snapped. She blinked. She needed to focus. She tried to pretend she didn’t care about smashing yet another pony. No, she thought. Not a pony. Just glass. It was like smashing a window. The stone shot towards the statue like a bullet, and went right through. The statue crumbled to pieces. Applejack let out a relieved sigh. “I was worried you were losin’ your grip,” she admitted. Twilight still was worried. She didn’t like that all it took to put aside thoughts of wrongdoing was a moment’s hesitation and a little resolve. “We’ll be out soon,” she muttered. “We’ll be out soon.” “How long until we can get them out?” Rarity asked. All of her wounds had been bandaged up and treated appropriately, but even the unbandaged places showed bruises and bumps that would take a few days to disappear completely. Even so, she insisted on being with the diggers who were trying to get Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Douglas and Zerephonzidas out of there safely. Assuming they hadn’t been… Rarity swallowed. It didn’t help her to think that any of her friends had been crushed by falling rock. Hopefully, Rarity had been injured the worst. Hopefully. Even if they had survived, though, there were still glass statues on the other side, and then there was the… thing… Rarity could feel its pressure on her skull. It was both inside and out. It was like the kind of music colts these days liked, except much, much worse. It had a frequency to it that bored through bone and soft tissue and caused her brain to throb painfully. Some of the other diggers were complaining about migraines. Rarity thought it best not to reveal what might be truly getting inside their heads. Frankly, Rarity herself didn’t want to think about it. It made her feel uncomfortable. “It’ll take a few hours to dig through this bit,” Pick said. “Thing is, lass, the other corridor is a lot worse.” “The one with Rainbow, Douglas, and Zerephonzidas?” “Yup. If they’re in there like you said, then it’ll take at least a day to get ‘em out,” Pick said. “Bloody cave-in did a number on the ceiling. We’ve gotta set up supports or it’ll just get worse as we dig.” Rarity bit her lip. “Will they last that long?” “If they don’t starve to death, sure,” Pick said. “Sphinx is pretty tough, right? And that pegasus, you said she was the fastest pony in Equestria.” “Yes, but if they were injured…” “Then they’re probably gonna die,” Pick said. Rarity thought of Rainbow Dash, and bit her lip. It wasn’t fair, she thought, to lose a friend to something like a cave-in. “Just… please keep digging.” “We could dig through and save Twilight and Applejack faster if we focus our efforts here,” Pick said. Rarity flinched. “Are you asking me to choose?” Pick shrugged. “Well, we can get through both in time, but Rainbow’s chances are pretty small as it is. We can make sure Twilight and Applejack get out in half the time, but only if we move the ponies setting up the supports to excavate the rubble. Then we can focus on getting Rainbow out, but we’ll be starting from scratch.” Rarity grit her teeth. This was not a decision she cared to make. Was there even a right answer? Or were there just several wrong ones? She hung her head. “Just… get Twilight and Applejack out,” she muttered. “Once they’re here, they can help… probably.” Pick nodded. “I’ll get it done.” He put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “You should take a break, lass. Still not looking great, if you don’t mind me saying.” On a normal day, Rarity would. Today, she just rubbed her eyes. “Just get Twilight and Applejack out,” she repeated. “Got it.” There was the sound of smashing glass, and Douglas covered his ears with his hooves. The agonising noise of claws tearing through glass was deafening. Zerephonzidas watched with an emotionless eye as more statues lumbered towards him. One face in particular he recognised. Zerephonzidas grinned. “Ha,” he chuckled. “Long time, no see, Grass.” Douglas removed one hoof. “What?” Zerephonzidas pointed towards one of the shambling glass statues. Despite the cracks, Grass’s face was still recogniseable. Zerephonzidas slid in-between the broken glass and examined the former captain of the guard. “I used to know him,” he said, examining the statue. “He was a very irritating pony. Quite a stickler for protocol. He loved worshipping the Emerald King.” Zerephonzidas dodged the statue, who tried to put its hooves on the sphinx’s coat. “If I recall, the queen had a bit of a thing for him.” Douglas’s eyes were wide open. “Just kill it, for Celestia’s sake!” Zerephonzidas looked from the statue, to Douglas, and shrugged. “Very well,” he said, and swiped the glass to pieces. “I was caught up reminiscing. It’s very hard not to remember the past when you reach my age. There’s so much of it swimming around your head.” Zerephonzidas leaned over the broken statue of Grass. “Funny. He always irritated me, but I confess I’m rather happy to see him again after all this time. It’s nice to revisit old times.” Douglas shuddered. Nothing about this situation was ‘nice’. “Can we just… move away from the broken glass? It’s getting dangerous here.” “Hmm,” Zerephonzidas muttered. “The more we get pushed back, the more the glass will corner us,” he said. “With our backs against the wall, these things will finally start to be a tangible threat.” “I’m more worried about hunger,” Douglas said. “I took a look at that cave-in, and frankly, it’ll take the others a long time to get through.” Zerephonzidas frowned. “We’ll have to find a way to survive.” “Well, there’s nothing for me down here,” Douglas said. “I checked. No plants, no edible mushrooms, nothing. No life at all.” Zerephonzidas didn’t reply. He merely stared down the corridor, looking at the broken glass. He spread his wings and, with a powerful flap, blew the small shards down the corridor. “See if you can pick up the big ones I couldn’t shift,” Zerephonzidas said. “I’ll keep watch. If we keep this corridor clear, we won’t get cornered.” He looked over at Douglas. “And try not to think about starving. It’d be in our best interests if we try and push the thoughts of hunger to the back of our minds.” Douglas nodded. “Sure thing, boss.” Zerephonzidas’s eye scanned the corridor. More than once he glanced over at Douglas. “Would you consider yourself a friend of Twilight’s?” Douglas tried to pick up the bigger pieces of glass without hurting himself, and was failing. “Uh, we’re probably more colleagues. Or acquaintances, or something. Hey, I can’t pick these up without cutting myself. We should switch jobs. I’ll keep watch, yeah?” Zerephonzidas nodded. “Very well.” “What about yourself?” “Hmm? Well, by my standards, yes, but I suspect Twilight has different expectations of her ‘friends’.” “What are yours?” “I like to see friendship as a give and take relationship. Twilight helps me explore these ruins, and in exchange, I’ll keep her and her friends safe.” “That’s… more like a business exchange than friendship.” “Is it?” Zerephonzidas asked. “Well, perhaps I’m a business minded friend.” Douglas said nothing, and kept on staring down the corridor. “If you say so. I think trust is a big part of it, though.” Douglas looked over at Zerephonzidas. “I mean, I’m a pretty trusting stallion, but you do make it a bit hard sometimes.” “If I spent all my time telling everyone I met everything I’ve seen and done, I’d never have a minute free.” “Just the relevant stuff, then?” “If Twilight knew nothing about what’s in these ruins… less than I, even… we would be in exactly this same situation. If you knew nothing more than where to dig, you would still be here, right now.” Zerephonzidas brushed some of the larger pieces of glass away with his shielded paw. “My telling you all my little secrets seems like a rather petty luxury, wouldn’t you say?” “Not really.” “Hmm. Perhaps you and I simply have different mindsets.” Douglas did not reply. There wasn’t really anything to add to a ‘let’s agree to disagree’ comment. It felt like a defeat, somehow. Douglas wasn’t sure if he had hoped to convince Zerephonzidas to become a more open and approachable sphinx, but whatever he had wanted to show him, Douglas had failed. “Let’s just focus on getting out of here alive. We still haven’t heard back from Rainbow,” Douglas said. Zerephonzidas darkened. “She might be trapped.” “Or dead.” “Or escaped to somewhere,” Zerephonzidas added. “Slim though her chances are, we cannot ignore that possibility.” “She might be able to help the diggers from the other side.” “Do you really think that?” Zerephonzidas asked. Douglas sighed. “Not… really. She wasn’t really a very helpful pony.” Zerephonzidas brushed away the last of the glass. “Watch out. I see more statues. Get behind me.” “Applejack! Please stay awake!” Applejack jolted herself awake. Twilight bit her lip. There were two more glass statues marching towards their makeshift barricade. She levitated two more pebbles and took aim. She was beginning to get really tired, and all the small injuries she had sustained from the cave-in had begin to really hurt. Her head throbbed from the constant use of magic as well as the bruises on her neck. Applejack was in an even worse state. Lack of sleep had made her stumble and slip at every turn, and she was barely aware of where the statues were. She had developed countless small cuts from stepping on shards of glass that had flown past the barricade. Twilight herself was getting tired. They likely couldn’t last for much longer. If Twilight had to guess, most of the glass statues had been concentrated around the column. They had poked a hornets nest, and likely wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. What Twilight would have given to have Rainbow, Rarity, or even Zerephonzidas with her right about now. Anypony who could just relieve the pressure a little bit. Even something as small as making sure Applejack was going to be all right. The pebbles shot  into each glass statue. Both crumbled. How many more would come walking down the corridor? Beyond Twilight’s makeshift barricade was nothing but a sea of broken glass. Trying to charge past the glass statues was suicide now. Their hooves would get cut to shreds. Well, Twilight could fly… but that would leave Applejack alone. In these tight corridors, Twilight couldn’t carry Applejack whilst flying. She could barely carry another pony even when fully rested and out in the open. Maybe if she tried to bring down the ceiling, she could cut the glass statues off… and maybe make life harder on the ponies trying to dig them out, or even crush her and Applejack flat. Could she clear the glass and try to get Applejack to follow her past the statues? Could she… What could she do? Twilight rested her head on the barricade. She was sweating, even though it was hardly warm in these ruins. “Applejack? You awake?” There was no reply. “Applejack!” “I’m awake,” Applejack said, shaking herself awake. “I’m really tired, Twi’.” Twilight could tell. “I know it’s hard, but I’m sure the others will get to us soon,” Twilight said. “We just need to hang on a little longer.” “You said that half an hour ago.” “You said yourself you heard scraping,” Twilight said. “That means they can’t be far.” Another glass statue came into view. Twilight grit her teeth, and levitated another pebble. Her aim was off, and her vision was beginning to blur. Her breath was ragged. Who knew simply tossing rocks about would be so tiring? How many statues had been shattered whilst they had been trapped down here? When would this all end? And how? Twilight fired the pebble. Not for the first time, she missed. She spat, and levitated another. The sound of rocks falling behind her caused her to drop it. She grit her teeth together and levitated it again, and let it hover right in front of her. She couldn’t miss this time. “Twi’!” The pebble fired at the glass statue. It glanced off. “Twi’!” Applejack repeated, and grabbed Twilight by the shoulder. Twilight turned towards the collapsed tunnel, and widened her eyes. A small hole had been made, and on the other side, Twilight could make out the shapes of the other diggers. They had made it. Making the hole wider had been a straightforward issue for the experienced diggers. Applejack had been the first to make it to safety, and was pulled through by Pick and one of the more medically minded ponies. Twilight scrambled through next, glad to get away from the glass statues. “We need to plug that hole,” Rarity said. “We can open it again later when we’re ready.” Pick nodded, and quickly used wooden planks they had been using for supports to cover the small, pony-sized hole. It was unlikely that the clumsy glass statues could clamber over the rubble and through the uneven entrance, but it paid to be more safe than required than not enough. “Twilight! Are you all right?” Rarity asked. Twilight breathed out, exhausted. “I’m fine, I think,” she said. “Where’s Rainbow? Douglas?” Rarity bit her lip. “If they’re alive, they’re still trapped down another corridor,” Rarity said. “It’ll take much longer to get them out…” Twilight rubbed her eyes. “How long?” “At least a day,” Pick said, carrying Applejack, now asleep, towards the exit. “I’ll get on working as soon as we get these lasses to the camp…” “You’ll start working now,” Rarity said, and took Applejack from him. “The sooner you start, the better their chances are.” Twilight could imagine how slim those chances would be. Twilight herself had been on the edge of falling unconscious. Admittedly, perhaps Zerephonzidas and Rainbow combined could hold the glass statues off for much longer, but there was still things like hunger to consider… She got to her hooves, her joints shaking. “I need to rest,” she said. “Then I can help…” Pick nodded. “Right you are,” he said. “Come on, lads, let’s get back to work. We’ll work shifts around the clock, all right?” He pointed towards the wooden planks they had used to block the hole. “Grab some more wood and get the supports up, pronto.” Twilight trotted away, Trying to help Rarity carry Applejack. She examined Rarity’s many injuries. “Are you okay?” “I’m doing fine, darling,” Rarity said. “I’m just a bit bruised is all.” Twilight examined Rarity’s many bandages and cuts. She must have been hit the worst by the cave-in. “You don’t look fine,” Twilight said. “You shouldn’t be moving so much with those cuts…” “No, I shouldn’t,” Rarity admitted. “Life is tough, though.” Twilight didn’t reply. The pair found themselves in the camp, and gently put Applejack down. “How is she?” Rarity asked, examining the sleeping farmpony. Even after everything she had been through, Applejack still couldn’t sleep comfortably. She would shake every now and then, her eyes closed tight. “She’s not doing very well,” Twilight said. “She described her nightmares to me. They’re worse than I thought. I think the column is trying to ‘talk’ to her.” “Column?” “The… thing we saw in that chamber.” Rarity scratched the side of her head. “I didn’t get a good look.” “Neither did I, but I recognise it all right. I think it might have a mind of its own, and for whatever reason Applejack is sensitive to it.” “Perhaps because she’s closer to nature than us,” Rarity suggested. “She always has to listen to her trees to get a good harvest. Perhaps that talent at ‘listening’ is backfiring somewhat?” Twilight shrugged. “There’s a lot I don’t understand. Too much I don’t understand.” Rarity sat down, and put her head in her hooves. “I really want Rainbow back,” she said. “I had to tell Pick to focus on getting you out first. I never want to have to make that choice again.” Twilight put her hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said. “Rainbow’s tough. She can make it.” Rarity sighed. “If you say so,” she muttered. “I wish I were as confident. After all, Applejack is at least as tough as her, and you’re… an alicorn princess, but look at you! You barely made it.” Twilight bit her lip. “That’s true, but don’t forget that Rainbow is with…” “I’m well aware,” Rarity said, cutting Twilight off, “And that doesn’t exactly make me feel much better, now, does it?” “How long has it been?” Zerephonzidas’s bright eye shone in the dark. “Twelve hours,” he said. “I suspect our ‘rescuers’ have had to focus on getting the others out.” Douglas ran his hoof through his mane. “We really will starve,” he said. He looked at the broken mess of glass. “At least those are easily dealt with.” Zerephonzidas scratched the ground. “Please don’t remind me of food,” he said. “Sphinxes don’t handle hunger well.” “I suppose you guys need more nutrition to feed that big body of yours,” Douglas said. “What do you normally eat?” “I can eat pretty much anything that was alive. Plants, bread, animals, leaves… We’re the ultimate omnivores.” Douglas sighed. “We eat mostly plants, but also some proteins. Eggs and milk, mostly.” “Yes, when you evolved to think and use more magic, your diet went from pure vegetarianism to what it is now,” Zerephonzidas said. “Quite a strange transition to watch.” “I bet,” Douglas said. “Y’know, I kinda wish I could have seen that kind of thing.” “I suspect you wouldn’t find it as interesting. It takes a very long time. Most other sphinxes got bored and went to go find something else.” “I suppose.” Zerephonzidas clutched his stomach. “I would rather not starve to death,” he said. “It would be a cruel irony to be so close and die like a common short-lived animal.” Douglas swallowed. His throat felt dry. Zerephonzidas sighed. “Well, we can only hope they get here in time.” “Damn it!” Pick roared. Rarity and Twilight trotted over towards the digger. “What’s wrong?” Pick pointed up towards the ceiling. “Supports are buckling,” he said. “We need to replace and reinforce ‘em.” He ran his hoof through his mane, sweating. “We only just got ‘em up, too.” Twilight bit her lip. “What about Rainbow?” “I don’t know!” Pick exclaimed. “She’s… I dunno, all right? She’ll have to last even longer, now.” Pick rubbed his forehead, and turned to shout at his diggers. “Come on, lads, take them down. We’ll have to change the orientation, all right?” “Right, boss!” Twilight bit her lip. “Please hold on, Rainbow,” she muttered. Douglas rested his head against the wall. His stomach was killing him. “How… long?” Zerephonzidas was invisible now. The flashlight had run out of battery hours ago. “Thirty-six hours.” Douglas closed his eyes. “I wish I just had something to eat…” he muttered. In the darkness, Zerephonzidas’s eye flashed. “I told you to not remind me of food,” came his voice, which was cracking due to thirst. It had been over forty-eight hours since the diggers had started work on clearing the tunnel, and finally they had dug through. Pick leaned inside the hole, sticking a flashlight through and seeing what was on the other side. “Careful,” he said. “Might be glass statues in here, lads.” “Rainbow? Douglas?” Twilight shouted. Pick swivelled the flashlight around. Eventually he determine the outlines of Zerephonzidas, slumped against the wall. “Zereph’!” Pick shouted. “You all right, mate?” Zerephonzidas lifted his head. “I’m… I think I’m fine,” he said, and tried to lift himself up. “Where’s Rainbow? Douglas?” Zerephonzidas walked over to the hole. His eyes, even his good eye, were sunken and grey. “Rainbow Dash disappeared into a hole,” he said. “We didn’t see her again.” “What about Douglas?” Twilight asked, as Rarity backed away, her hoof over her mouth. Twilight couldn’t concentrate on Rainbow’s disappearance. She simply couldn’t. “There was a second cave-in shortly before you broke through,” Zerephonzidas said. “Douglas didn’t make it.” Twilight looked down. “You’re all that’s left?” Zerephonzidas nodded slowly. “I need… water,” he said. His voice sounded like it was coming from across a desert. “Please,” he said, an unfamiliar sensation of powerlessness in his words. Twilight, her mind blank from the discovery, handed Zerephonzidas a bottle of water. “Just hang on,” Pick said. “We’ll make this hole bigger for you.” He looked over at Twilight and Rarity. “You girls should head back,” he said. “I think this has been a long two days.”