There were books and papers strewn around the throne, which was illuminated now by more than merely moonlight. Though the magical spark by which the black alicorn read was a cold light, and it did nothing to warm the bitter chill in the air.
The ice statue stood beside her, a motionless thing of glittering crystal. As yet it did not live. But the spells were nearly ready. "Soon," crooned the alicorn gently. "Soon. I could animate you now, my beauty, if I wanted only a mindless automaton. But I want more. I want what these pitiful creatures of daylight and warmth have never given me. I want you adoration and worship. I want your admiration and respect. I want your love. So you must be more, much more, than a mindless servant. You must be perfect. And soon you will be."
A faint scrape of hoof on stone made the alicorn look up. One of her Night Guard, a senior officer whose name she did not recall, stood just inside the room, head bowed, waiting for her. She smiled. She was finally getting them trained. It was ridiculous how many she'd had to punish before they started to figure out proper behavior.
"You may approach and speak," she said regally.
The burly earth pony walked along the narrow path through the increasingly thick frost that covered everything in the throne room. He reached the throne and bowed once again. "Your Divine Majesty. There is an incident in Manehatten that you may wish to be aware of." He paused and looked up at her for approval. She nodded gracefully and he continued. "One of the new stables where those who unwisely opposed you have been put to work was burned to the ground two nights ago. Your loyal servants all escaped, but the slaves within could not be freed, and all perished. And the fire itself was clearly magical. Several unicorns have confirmed this, and one told me he felt that the unicorns who had done it were of unusual power."
The alicorn's eyes narrowed. "Unicorns of unusual power? Yes, you did well to tell me of this. Now go."
With another bow the Night Guard withdrew.
For the time being her spell was forgotten. There were unicorns of unusual power working against her. Or were they working against her? If they were they must be unusually stupid, to have killed those who should be their allies while allowing her servants to go free. Surely she need not worry about foals who would make such a mistake. They would certainly reveal themselves to her, and be defeated, if they were that inept.
But what if they were not? What if they had gotten the result they intended? What then? What possible reason could some alliance of unicorns have to destroy rebellious slaves, and leave those loyal to her untouched? Could this be some potential ally, making a subtle statement? She neither needed nor wanted allies, but it was possible that this coalition of powerful unicorns felt otherwise.
It might not even be unicorns. There were few of them outside of Equestria, and surely those inside it would know better than to do anything that she didn't directly sanction! But unicorns were not the only creatures that could use magic. Dragons could, though their magic was limited in scope. And there were the kirin, and the kudu... Both lived far from Equestria's borders, but both were very powerful races. And this kind of indirect action would be very typical of kirin in particular. Though kirin who were willing to kill were very rare...
And what if this was related to that sense of beings watching that had come some time ago? What if incomprehensible beings from beyond the stars were here now, working some alien magic to some alien purpose? Would an ordinary Manehatten unicorn know the difference between unicorn magic and that of such beings? Their purposes would be unguessable, and their power might well be very strong.
She would have to be on guard every moment, alert and ready for whatever attack might come. But she would be. She was the goddess of night. By her command the moon reigned eternal over her palace. She could defeat any challenger, even the subtle kirin or the mighty kudu! With her head held confidently high she floated a book once more before her. When the world was truly frozen, and she was served by her perfect creations, she would have no need to worry about attack. There would be none left to challenge her; no other races, no troublesome ponies, only the goddess of night and her flawless servants of ice. And if beings from beyond came to challenge her, she would meet them easily, with her adoring servants at her side. Nothing could threaten her then.
Luna's wings flapped slowly, just enough to keep her aloft. A part of her was aware of the quiet pegasus magic that was enabling her to hover in contravention to gravity and physics, but most of her mind was focused on her current predicament. Surrounded by eight other winged ponies, she hung in the center of a sphere of protective magic. It would have been pitch black had not the sphere itself glowed with a gentle light. That light illuminated the dirt and rock that completely encapsulated the sphere, trapping the ponies within it.
"Sweet Celestia." The voice was awed and panicked at the same time. Luna looked over to see Spitfire hovering beside her, the mare's eyes wide and stunned. "We're trapped."
"Only for a moment," said Luna soothingly. "I shall get us out as soon as I figure out which direction to dig in."
"What about the others?" spoke up another pegasus. There was a murmur of worried agreement.
"Just a moment..." Luna reached out mentally. :Dale?:
:I'm here. Though it was a near thing. I'm still digging out, actually, I was about half buried. Be free in a moment. Though...: He paused, and Luna could tell that he was looking behind him, at the wall of earth and rocks that filled the tunnel. :I'm not sure all of us made it. I was near the end, I'm not a fast runner. But I think somepony was behind me. But I can see that most of them got clear in time. Big Mac is helping to dig me out. We'll all be free in just a moment.:
Luna relayed that to the others. "It looks like they are mostly fine." None of the ponies questioned how she could know this. She wondered, for a moment, what they thought of her. She was an alicorn, when the only alicorns they knew were their near-divine ruler Celestia, and the demonic Nightmare Moon. Did they think of her as a goddess? It seemed unlikely to Luna, who did not feel remotely like a goddess. But they showed no signs of thinking she was like Nightmare Moon either, they seemed to trust her. "'Tis still chaotic out there," she said, "but it looks as though they were clear of the tunnel before it finished collapsing."
"Thank Celestia," breathed Spitfire, and Luna knew she must be thinking of Rainbow Dash.
:I'm going to be one giant bruise,: Dale said to her with a rueful mental tone, :But I'm loose. Now...: Suddenly a shock of awareness ran through him. :Curse it. The dogs must have another entrance, maybe several. There's a group of them coming our way.: He paused, and Luna could feel his dismay. :A big group. A really big group, more than we were fighting in the tunnel. I didn't know there were so many dogs in the whole mine. Luna... I'm not sure what we're going to do. If they corner us up against the blocked tunnel we'll all be captured or killed:
:Damnation. If it were just you, and if it were just capture... but I do not want you killed, and Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack are all with you. We need to get them free. You shall need to run for it and leave us.:
:That's what I was thinking. Looks like Pinkie thinks the same, she's already ordered everypony to scatter and run.: Luna could tell, in face, that Dale was running flat out even as they spoke. :Over open ground outside I'm sure we can outrun them, even a slowpoke like me. Though you know if it were only me I'd stay.:
:I know. Protect the other elements, get them out of there. You are still being a distraction, so the plan has not fallen apart completely.:
:As far as we know, anyway,: was Dale's rather pessimistic response. :But hopefully Twilight is having a better time of it.:
:I hope so too.:
Three unicorns and one pegasus stood in a circle, the dark tunnel around them illuminated by a light that hovered at the tip of Twilight Sparkle's horn. "What do we do now?" she said, her brow furrowed with worry. "We have to get out somehow."
"They'll be guarding all the exits, and patrolling outside, and that plain has few hiding places on it." That was Colgate, the pale blue, practically-minded unicorn who was Rarity's companion in servitude.
"If they're patrolling, we have to be able to sneak past them somehow. Or... something."
"Diamond dogs have very excellent hearing, I'm afraid," chimed in Rarity. "They're hard to sneak around. Quite a lot of ponies have tried to escape, and even with the aid of magic they've all been caught so far."
"We have a secret tunnel out..."
"They'll find it and fill it in," said Colgate. "They dig faster than anything. And even if they don't find it, I bet the entrance is probably inside the range of their patrols."
Twilight sighed. "This suddenly got a whole lot harder."
"Most things worth doing are. And defeating Nightmare Moon is worth doing. Don't give up yet."
"Indeed," chimed in Rarity. "We have all thought of escape many times. Your diversion will still be diverting them, for they will be concentrating on their outside patrols, seeking to capture any attackers they can find. We shall have some freedom to plan here, and perhaps we can come up with something. I had nearly given up hope, but the thought of that despicable tyrant gone is quite motivating. Let us see what resources we have."
"Not many. I'm good with magic, but if I use too much power I might draw the notice of Nightmare Moon, and we're not ready to face her yet, we need Luna and the others with us."
"What about you, darling?" Rarity turned to Fluttershy.
"Oh. I can't do very much. I'm just good with animals."
"So. Three unicorns, but no magic. One pegasus, underground, who is good with animals, but no animals." Colgate made a face. "I don't suppose 'good with animals' extends to doing something about diamond dogs?"
"No. Sorry." Fluttershy looked as though she might try to hide behind Twilight again.
Colgate sighed. Twilight wanted to echo it. What were they going to do? She wished she had some paper and a quill so she could write things down. She always thought better when she could make lists. She would list their assets on one side, three unicorns and one pegasus, and their obstacles on the other side. "What exactly do we face here? These patrols, for example. If we can sneak out my tunnel, and we're inside the area they're searching for the others, what will we run into? How many dogs, do you know?"
"They always go around in threes," said Rarity. "At least here inside. But I am fairly certain they do so outside as well."
Twilight considered that. Four ponies against three dogs. Numbers favored the ponies, but the dogs were probably better fighters. They were certainly bigger. "And do they ever go into the forest? If we get that far would we be safe? How fast are they?"
"Slower than a pony, at least over flat, straight ground. They're nimble, but not fast. And they avoid the forest. I've heard them talk about it, they don't like it."
Twilight nodded. "So we could out run them."
"In theory," said Colgate, "and probably over a short course, but..." she looked at Rarity, then down at her own cracked hooves. "But we're not in prime running shape here. And even if we can out run them, we have to get past them, otherwise where will we run to?"
"And getting past will probably mean fighting them." Twilight sighed. "So that's still not a solution. I'm not much of a fighter, especially without magic."
"None of us are fighters, and none of us are strong with magic either," said Rarity. "All the really strong unicorns are imprisoned at Canterlot, not out here."
"How many of you are there here?" asked Twilight, suddenly getting a flicker of an idea. Their resources weren't enough, and the obstacles in front of them were large, but there was one more piece of the equation she hadn't been thinking about, and that was their goals.
"There are six more, so eight of us altogether. Ten counting you two."
"That might be enough to temporarily overwhelm a scouting group then."
"Possibly, yes," said Colgate with a thoughtful frown. "But there are some of us who definitely aren't up for a run all the way to the forest."
"They wouldn't have to be. Our goal, after all, isn't to rescue everypony here tonight. We need myself, Fluttershy, and Rarity to face Nightmare Moon, and then we can free not only everypony here, but everypony in Equestria. That's the real goal. So if there were seven distractions, the three of us might be able to slip by them."
"I see! Yes, that could work. That could work very well indeed!" Colgate grinned.
Rarity smiled as well. "I shall lead the way to our fellows then."
"Yes. And hurry. I don't know how much longer they'll be occupied with Luna and the others."
Rarity nodded, and started down the tunnel with the other three trailing behind.
It took longer than Twilight had hoped before they collected the other six unicorns. Rarity told her that in actuality they were all remarkably close, working different parts of a recently discovered seam of particularly nice gems, but to Twilight it seemed like it took a small eternity to find the rest of Rarity's companions in servitude. She could feel the seconds trickling away, and with who knows what gone horribly wrong with Luna's distraction she wanted to get the three Elements of Harmony out of the mine as soon as possible. She was already realizing that bringing Fluttershy along had been a very bad idea. She ought to have had the pegasus order the badgers to dig, and then immediately fly back to the relative safety of the forest. And what of Luna? Just the thought that she might be dead filled Twilight with unbearable dread. Twilight found herself surprised, in fact, at how much that image twisted her stomach. Though it's only logical, she told herself. Without Luna our chances of besting Nightmare Moon are much slimmer. Getting all of us into the castle, right to the throne room, may well require Luna's magic. But that was just the start of Twilight's worries. If things had gone badly at the front gate what about Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash? Any one of them might have been killed or captured! Twilight felt her stomach knot with guilt. She should have somehow convinced them all to stay behind, and put one of the other ponies in charge of attacking the main entrance. It had all seemed simple and fool-proof when she'd first thought of it, but in retrospect the entire plan seemed to be madness. And was her new plan to get Rarity out any better? What else might she be overlooking?
But at last she had to push her worries aside, for they had reached the last of the six mine workers. Now Twilight stood before three stallions and five mares, all very much the worse for wear, thin and ragged and obviously ill-used. Their eyes were on her with something like hope, and Twilight wished she had a better plan, one that would free them all. But there was no time, and they would just have to do the best they could with what they had.
"Okay," she said, looking at the gathered unicorns, "here's what's going on. Rarity is absolutely vital to a plan to defeat Nightmare Moon. Fluttershy and myself are needed as well," she added, gesturing to the pegasus behind her. "So we three need to get out now, before the dogs give up their patrols and come back inside. Here's the plan I have--"
"Wait," said a light gray stallion with a strong Canterlot accent and a quaver in his voice that mixed outrage with fear in equal parts, "you three are leaving, and the rest of us have to stay is this wretched hole?"
Twilight winced. "Well, we'll all be outside the mines, so some of you might manage to get away, but I need you all to lead the diamond dogs off, so that the three of us can make it to the forest. I really wish I could rescue everypony, but I can't think of a plan that would get us all out, and we have to get us three free in order to beat Nightmare Moon."
A white stallion, who looked as though he might once have been a match for Rarity's perfect grooming before the mines had served him as they had her broke in. His accent made it clear that he too was from Canterlot, but tone wasn't the least bit fearful. "Jet Set, my friend, she is absolutely correct. If there is any chance at all of toppling that tyrant we must take it, even at the cost of our own lives."
"Trust you to go right to the heart of things," Rarity said to him with a warm smile. "Yes. I wish I could take all of you, but Twilight tells me that I am the one needed, and I am forced to agree with Fancypants. Any chance at freeing Equestria is more important than other considerations. So I am with Twilight and her plan all the way."
Twilight felt a warm glow to hear Rarity stand up for her, even though in this world the white unicorn hardly knew her.
"Yes indeed. Now tell us of this plan of yours, my dear," said Fancypants. "I'm sure we'll all do our utmost on Miss Rarity's behalf." He shot Jet Set a stern look and the other unicorn looked away, obviously cowed. Then he turned to Twilight expectantly.
"Okay," said Twilight with renewed determination. "Here's the plan."
"Here is the plan," said Luna to the worried pegasi hovering next to her.
:We're almost to the forest,: Dale reported silently to her even as she spoke. :I have no idea if they'll follow us past that boundary. A few of us have had trouble keeping up, but the dogs have been having some trouble too.: She could sense a sort of fierce excitement to Dale's mental words, and with them came images. When the ponies had scattered Dale had stuck with Pinkie Pie and the other Elements. Big Macintosh was still with them as well and the two stallions were bucking any dogs that caught up with them right in the teeth. It hadn't stopped the dogs, but it had slowed them. The ordinary grunts seemed reluctant, and the leaders had to goad them with curses and threats in order to keep them chasing after the ponies. It wasn't over yet, but it looked like Dale, and more importantly the Elements of Harmony with him, might well make it. Unfortunately the dogs had numbers enough to send some after the fleeing ponies and keep a second force right outside the door, so there was no easy escape for Luna and her trapped fellows.
"The diamond dogs are outside in force, so we are going in, not out. There are so many out there that they have to have pulled every dog they have out of the mines." I hope, she added silently to herself. "The other ponies are already nearly free. Once we're into the tunnels I'm sure we can find one of the other exits that they have been using, and as we're all pegasi once we're into the air they will not have a chance of catching us."
She looked around orienting herself. She couldn't see her goal with her eyes, of course, but her magic could find the way. Maintaining the spell that kept them all safe from being crushed under tons of rock while searching for the tunnel that must lead inward was difficult, and digging was going to be even harder, but she had enough power to do it.
It was risky, of course. Earth tended to muffle magic, and thus Nightmare Moon might still never notice the amount of unicorn energy Luna was pouring forth, but it might be enough power to bleed through, they weren't that deep. The alternative, however, was death, so she could do nothing but work as swiftly as possible. So as soon as she located the uncollapsed portion of the tunnel she immediately released the seeking spell and began a digging spell. She strained, her horn glowing brightly, trying to hold the sphere intact around them while creating a tunnel to it. The fallen rocks she dug through were unstable, and pieces kept falling into the tunnel. In frustration, her horn glowing brighter still, Luna extended the shield that kept them safe into the tunnel she was digging, shoring up the ceiling with pure force. Rocks and earth flew as she dug faster and faster. She was reaching the limit of her power. If she exhausted her personal reservoir of magic without finishing the tunnel out they would be trapped indeed, and doomed as the unstable bubble collapsed around them, burying them in tons of stone and earth.
Just as her worry was turning into certainty that they were all doomed, the tunnel broke through into open space. With a feeling of massive relief Luna said, "Quick, everypony though the tunnel."
Derpy Hooves was the first to swoop down and land on the bottom of the bubble. She ducked and climbed into the narrow tunnel Luna's magic had dug. One by one the others followed her. Spitfire went last, looking hesitant. "If I get stuck I'm going to freak out," she said.
"You will not get stuck, it is wide enough. But hurry, I cannot hold this much longer."
"Right. Okay." Spitfire swallowed, then ducked in as well.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Luna followed. She was a bit taller than the others and nearly had to crawl, but it was just big enough. As soon as she was well clear of the bubble she let the spell holding it go. Instantly there was a roar as it collapsed behind her. Spitfire stopped with a squeak of terror, and Luna bumped into her rump. She had to nudge the mare a bit to get her to move forward again. Her magic was still steadily draining away, since she had to keep the ceiling of the tunnel up. But soon she was out in the open and she could let that go as well. It didn't fall in quite as spectacularly as the bubble had, but it was no longer passable either.
With just enough magic left to summon a tiny spark of light to the tip of her horn, Luna looked around her. Behind was a tumbled slope of debris from the cave in. Ahead a vaulted empty space, leading off into the unknown darkness. And eight pegasi were looking at her, all of them fearful, worried, or nervous. Luna had a moment of panic. Twilight was the one who'd made all the plans. How was she supposed to proceed now, with their plans completely shattered? What was she supposed to do? Then she felt Dale reaching out to her again, even though though she knew he himself was still in danger. :You'll do just fine. Calm down. Think through your options. You're a princess, you can lead a few ponies.:
:I am a princess in name only, I have never lead anything or anyone.:
:Well, perhaps it's time you learned how. We've reached the trees, and it looks like the dogs are even more reluctant to go into the forest than they are to chase bucking ponies. So we're probably safe. We'll need to regroup, hopefully we didn't lose anyone when we scattered. But Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack are still with me, so the plan proceeds with only trivial interruptions: She could nearly see him grin as he said that.
:Trivial. Right.:
:Remember. Think over your options, don't panic, and then just do the best you can.:
:Don't panic. Easier said than done. But I shall try.:
"Luna?" asked Spitfire, looking worried.
Luna blinked, and looked once again at the scene before her. Think over my options. I have only one right now, go forward. "Forgive me, I let my mind wander," she said to the fearful, hopeful pony faces turned towards her. "The only way out is further in, for now at least. Let us be off."
"Almost to the tunnel," whispered Twilight. She shot a silent prayer towards Celestia that the tunnel she'd dug in would still be open, undiscovered.
Behind her eight unicorns and one pegasus tip-hooved through the mine. They went in almost complete darkness, only the faintest of glows coming from their horns. Up ahead Twilight heard a faint sound. She stopped and extinguished her horn light, then peered cautiously around the corner. Up ahead was the hastily-dug tunnel they'd entered by. But standing around it, examining it by the glow of a small lamp, were three diamond dogs.
Twilight bit back a curse. She'd hoped to get clear of the mine before having to fight. But there were ten of them, even if one was Fluttershy and the rest were hardly in peak physical condition. They should be able to take three diamond dogs. All they had to do was get past them.
She turned back to the others. "All right, this is it. There are three dogs at the tunnel entrance. We have to get as many of us as possible past them. If we can take them out that's great, but just getting past them is the main goal. Ready?"
Nine faces, showing varying degrees of fear and determination, nodded.
"Then go!" Twilight spun and led the charge, staying silent as she could, though her hooves were loud on the stone. The diamond dogs turned when she was still some distance away. She hit one with a magical shove, and it tumbled off its feet. The other unicorns were right on her heels. Fancypants even pulled level with her, his horn blazing.
Then out of the little tunnel itself came three more dogs. "Bucking Horseapples!" Twilight swore. There was no way they could fight past all six, and there might be more in the tunnel or at the other end. She skidded to a halt, unicorns piling up behind her. "Retreat!" she shouted, making a split-second decision. Running was the only option that didn't end with them all captured.
"I shall give you time," said Fancypants in a calm voice. "Run swiftly."
Rarity, who had turned to run, halted and turned back. "Fancypants! No!"
Colgate shoved her. "Go Rarity! Go! If we don't get you free this all fails, run!"
Twilight reached the halted pair and shouted, "Come on Rarity! Run!"
Rarity gave Fancypants one last glance. His horn was glowing so brightly it was blinding, and he had set himself in the center of the tunnel, facing the diamond dogs, who were all hesitating, squinting against his brilliant light. Then she turned and ran. Twilight, running at her side, saw tears streaming back from her eyes as she ran.
Twilight was almost in tears herself. They had failed to get out, and now the Diamond Dogs knew that the mine slaves were trying to escape. They would be guarding all the exits! The rebellion was going to fail here, with half the Elements trapped in the mine.
The silence in the mine was eerie. Somewhere outside the Diamond Dogs would be regrouping, having chased the fleeing rebels into the forest. Somewhere deeper in the mine slaves must be working, though they were hopefully now short one white unicorn, if Twilight had been successful. But where Luna and the other pegasi were the only sound was the clopping of their own hooves.
Spitfire was walking next to Luna. The others trailed behind, following the feeble glow of Luna's horn. "Do you think we'll find a way out?" she asked Luna in a low voice.
"Yes. We know there are many exits. It's just a matter of time until we find one." Luna tried to sound confident, though she felt anything but. She was choosing passages at random whenever they came to a fork. She had no idea if they would ever find their way out.
Luna looked over at the mare walking beside her. Spitfire looked horribly nervous. She kept glancing up, at the rocks only a few feet above her head. The ceiling was low here, Luna had to duck from time to time to keep her horn from hitting it. And though Spitfire had plenty of room she sometimes ducked too, and shied for no reason.
"Are you well, Spitfire?" asked Luna.
"Yeah. Yeah, just... I don't like it when I can't see the sky. Buildings are okay, though I'd rather be outside, but this..."
Luna nodded. "Yes. But we should be out soon. Meanwhile... talk to me. Tell me about yourself. How did you come to be at the stable?" Luna hoped that if Spitfire talked she would be distracted from her fear. Phobias could cause irrational panic, and having one of the group break down would be a very bad thing in this situation.
"I was in the Ponyville rebellion. We'd gone there to participate in the Summer Sun Celebration, you know. The Wonderbolts, I mean. I was the captain..." She sighed. "It seems like much more than a year ago. The whole world was different then."
"Were you and Rainbow Dash together back then?" Luna regretted the question as soon as she had asked it. It was nosy, and none of her business.
"No. The battle was the first time I laid eyes on her. And she didn't... we didn't... I got to know her after. In the stables, she did everything she could for us all, even though that wasn't very much. That's what made me admire her. That's what made us all admire her. You notice that the rest of us were reluctant to fly. We'd all decided that we wouldn't, when she was there. Because we respect her. But the battle... I didn't come away from that liking her, no." Spitfire's tone was bitter.
"I am sorry Spitfire," said Luna. "I should not have pried. 'Tis none of my business."
"I dunno, it's kind of a relief to talk about it to somepony. I've spent too much time thinking myself in circles about what happened there."
"Well... if you wish to talk, what did happen? I know only that there was a battle, and that Nightmare Moon's forces won."
"Yeah. I didn't see it all. No one pony could, it was complete chaos. At first we were doing all right. The Shadowbolts look flashy, but they're not actually very good. The Wonderbolts are much, much better, and some of the locals weren't half bad too. Her unicorns had a little bit of an edge, but not much of one, and with the skies in our hooves we were whittling away at it pretty good. And Rainbow... she was everywhere. She pulled a sonic rainboom over the battlefield early on. Knocked the Shadowbolts on their sorry tails, and startled the buck out of me, let me tell you. I'd thought that was just a myth. But she did it. She was so fast. I... I wasn't fast enough."
Spitfire fell silent, and her head dropped. It was some time before she continued. "Soarin... He was like the brother I never had. We were very close. And he was right in the thick of it. When Nightmare Moon entered the fighting herself he caught a bolt in the wing. And he'd been really high up. I saw it... I saw it but I wasn't fast enough to catch him. And Rainbow... she was fast enough, she pulled another boom right after that, she still had enough left, she could have done it, but she didn't. She didn't. And he hit the ground hard. Dead, just like that. Gone, and I wasn't fast enough."
Luna hesitantly gave Spitfire a nuzzle. "I am sorry."
"That's life. Lots of ponies bought it in that fight. Lots more have bought it since. I just... I don't know, some days. If I could change just one thing about how that came out, would I save Rainbow's wings, or Soarin's life, you know? Rainbow is something special, but some days I can't help but still hate her for not saving him. And some days I know she hates me for being able to fly when she can't. I don't think we'll ever make it work. There's too much pain between us."
"Spitfire, I..." Luna suddenly stopped, her head going up, her ears pricked. She heard the clatter of hooves in the distance. And since Dale and the others were all accounted for outside, it was either the mine slaves, or...
"Quickly," she said, "This way," and ran in the direction of the sound. The hoofsteps in the distance grew louder, and up ahead Luna saw a spark of light, shining from the tip of a unicorn's horn. A moment more and she could make out the purple coat, the flying indigo mane. It was Twilight!
Luna's heart leapt, though she knew that was irrational. Seeing Twilight here was a bad thing, she was supposed to have escaped during the chaos of the attack on the front gates. But Luna couldn't help but be glad to see her all the same.
The two groups of ponies, pegasi and unicorns, came together. "Twilight!" said Luna.
"Luna! I'm glad to see you. But aren't you supposed to be outside?"
"We got trapped when the diamond dogs collapsed the ceiling on us."
"Where's everyone else?"
"Outside, most of them ran for it in time, but we were deeper in when it happened."
"They're all right then?"
"We haven't been able to do a head count, but most of them made it. The other elements did, at least."
"Thank Celestia."
"But what about you? You're supposed to be out by now."
"We're trapped." Twilight frowned. "Well and truly trapped, and you with us too. When we got a little distance on the group after us, they stopped even trying to catch us, and I'm afraid that probably means they've sealed all the exits."
Luna had to bite back a stream of very impolite words. How were they supposed to get out now?
A noise in the distance made Luna whip her head around.
"Horseapples." Twilight muttered it under her breath. "They're following us after all, just slowly. We've got to get out of here. But now that you're with us..." She turned to one of the unicorns with her. "Colgate. What's the deepest shaft in this mine? Can we get there without going near any of the exits?"
"The... deepest? That'd be the one where they found all those sapphires, I guess. We dug that one really far down before giving up on it. But why do you want to go deeper?"
"I'll explain on the way, but they're catching up fast, we need to get moving."
"Right. That way then." The blue unicorn pointed, and Twilight took the lead, setting off down the passageway back in the direction Luna had come from.
"Twilight..." Luna ran by Twilight's side. She trusted the purple unicorn, but going deeper seemed like complete insanity.
"Stone insulates magic, right?"
"Yes."
"We can't get out by the regular exits, right?"
"Right."
"But we could use magic to make an exit... if we can keep Nightmare Moon from noticing it. So we need to be deep."
"But we'll have to tunnel to the surface, so going deeper will only make us need more magic."
"Not if we use a portal spell."
"But... but Twilight... you have not cast one before. Are you sure it will work?"
"You've cast several now, why would I need to?"
"Oh dear. Twilight, I used up most of my magic saving us from the cave in. Supporting tons of stone takes a great deal of power. I can barely keep my horn alight. And down here there's no moonlight, I cannot replenish myself."
Twilight looked panicked. "What? But... but... No, let me think this through. There has to be a way! I refuse to give up!" Her brow furrowed with thought as she ran. Colgate directed them through several branchings, and the tunnels they chose began to slope noticeably downward. They were committed now, but Luna had to admit that with the exits guarded there were not many other options. The diamond dogs had them outnumbered and outmaneuvered. Only something unlikely would get them out.
"Aha!" Twilight grinned over at Luna. "The horn-touch! I can transfer magic to you! Uhm." Suddenly she blushed. "If you don't mind. I mean it's... uh... personal I know, but this is an emergency and..."
"I do not mind, Twilight. As you say, it is an emergency." Luna was not going to say what she was thinking, which was that she had been secretly hoping for the chance to touch horns with Twilight again since that first time.
"Great! Thank you."
They ran on, galloping through the tunnels in a clatter of hooves, pegasi and unicorns together in one long string of ponies. The faint sounds of pursuit were always behind them, the diamond dogs were in no hurry, they knew they had their quarry trapped, but they weren't going to give up. The tunnel they followed twisted downward, corkscrewing into the earth.
Ahead an irregular wall loomed. Twilight halted her headlong run just short of it. They had reached a dead-end.
"We're here," said Colgate. "This is the deepest part of the mine."
With everyone halted Luna pricked her ears, listening. The sounds of pursuit were very faint. They should have enough time.
"Luna?" said Twilight.
"Yes." Luna stepped close and touched her horn to Twilight's, trying not to be nervous. She felt the touch of Twilight's soul immediately. It was much like that first time. Twilight was still a bright, lively swirl of thoughts and ideas, strong and intelligent. It was wonderful to feel that brilliant soul touch her own. But Twilight was harder now, with a core of grim determination that was much more a part of her than it had been. Her experiences over the past few weeks had changed her.
Luna tried not to feel guilty for that, and concentrated on pulling the magic she would need. She thought, as the power welled up in her, that she could stay like this forever, just her and Twilight, together. Something in the way Twilight's soul touched hers suggested that Twilight too wished to prolong their contact. But it took only a few seconds before she was finished and, reluctantly, lifted her head, breaking the connection. Twilight looked up at her. Luna looked back. They were both slightly flushed, and it was Luna who looked away first, not willing to face what had passed between them.
"Better cast the spell quick," said Twilight. The barks and shouts of the diamond dogs were growing closer. They didn't have much longer. Luna shut her eyes and started. She hoped Twilight was right and they were deep enough. The shield she'd created earlier had been draining, but not that energetic. But portals were "noisy" spells, they had to be. And nothing could hide the flash of power at the other end when they came out. Still, the worst of it would be right here, a flare that absolutely would draw Nightmare Moon's attention if Twilight was wrong.
Her horn blazed to life and she built the spell quickly. Soon the end of the tunnel was ringed in light, and with a rainbow flash the ring became a sheet became a doorway to elsewhere. The other side was Fluttershy's cave. "Quick, go through!" Some of the ponies hesitated, awed and fearful, but Colgate leaped through and the others quickly followed. Soon only Twilight and Luna were left. "Go," said Luna, and Twilight nodded and followed the rest. And then, with her magic once again nearly spent, Luna followed her, and the portal collapsed behind her.
They had done it.
All they had to do was rendezvous with Dale and the others and all six elements would be together! And then... Fear and eagerness warred within Luna at the realization. Then it would be time to face Nightmare Moon and bring an end to her eternal night.