//------------------------------// // Chapter 6. The crystal museum. // Story: Silent Ville // by RoyalUnicornJohn1994 //------------------------------// It doesn't matter if you try to hide it... it was your fault. Your fault Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. "Wah!?" John opened his eyes, instantly noticing the darkness surrounding him. Waiting for a few moments, John could finally see the light weakly filling the tunnel. As his eyes finally got used to the weak light, his eyes focused on a pair of lifeless eyes right in front of him. His eyes widened as the creature that almost killed him came back to his mind, sending a jolt of Adrenalin through his body, forcing him to jump back to his feet and back as fast as he could. Once that he was at a reasonable distance, he looked at the two pair of eyes of the being who seemed to be staring right at his very own soul, only to realize the body they should be attached to was nowhere to be found. Only the head was present, the rest of the body had vanished under a huge boulder. John sighed in relief as he got up, ready to leave all that behind. A flashing light suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts, as he turned around to see a small light bulb shining over a sign. Diamond dog's cart. The ultimate attraction for the family! Follow this tunnel to the next checkpoint. Be sure to ask the manager, Grey Hoof, about the touristic travel. John's mind flashed with image of the stallion tossing the coin to the chasm. "... Damn, but the entrance's sealed." John said as he walked towards the sign, noticing an arrow pointing towards a small wooden building with a big sign flashing under the same name as the one at his side. Assaulted with doubts, he turned his sight to the cave (as little as he could see), searching for another way. That place seemed to set traps under seemingly important buildings, John deduced. Therefore, as long as he could avoid important-looking buildings, he might be safer. Unfortunately for him, when one is trapped inside a cave, there are almost no other ways aside from the main one. Who knows how many of those side ways were actually closed caves with dead ends. Not to mention the fact that more of those diamond dogs could still be roaming out there in the cave. With a long sigh, he glanced back at the shack. Not really seeing another option, he started to walk. As he entered the shack, he noticed two things: It was definitely too small for him, seeing as he had to lean forward slightly just to be able to walk. The second was that the shack was actually another tunnel, seemingly built to be some kind of museum, dedicated first to the diamond dogs, and then the ponies who seemed to work after the dogs left. It was the later John stared at in confusion, seeing as the equipment the miner ponies had was strangely similar to the ones human miners had. In fact, even the pick was similar, only smaller. "How does that even work?" "We use our hooves." John jumped slightly in shock at the voice behind him. Turning around, he saw another pony, this one wearing the very same equipment the one behind the glass had. That was strange enough, but the other thing John noticed was the heavy bag at his side. "These are diamonds, in case you're wondering." The pony said as he started to walk past John. "Hey! Wait!" John said as he ran after the pony. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" "The name's Silver. Silver Plate." "What's with ponies and their names? Alright, Silver. Look, I'm looking for a way out of here, and... now that I think about it, how did you got here?" "Ah work here, ya know. Digging out diamonds and all that stuff." "Yeah, I noticed by the gear and all." John said as he watched the pony's back. "But what I meant is... Isn't this mine abandoned?" "Yeah, it is abandoned. But there are still a couple of us that still are around here." The pony said as he got closer to a wall with a small twinkle on it. "Most of the others weren't that lucky." John raised an eyebrow at that phrase. "What do you mean with most of the others?" "How many ponies have you seen in here?" Silver asked as he took his pick on his mouth. "Ah'm shure none offher, wight?" John thought about Grey Hoof, and the pony at the cottage in the outside of the city. And maybe even Pinkie. And the... mailmare... Aside from them, none other. "Hello? Can anypony hear me?" Both, John and Silver turned their heads towards a radio in a small table, where a female voice could be heard. "Hello? If anypony can hear me..." Before the female at the radio could end her phrase, static started to sound. John took out his small radio, too, turning it up, searching for any signal. "We're a couple hundred hooves down here, fella. Don't get your hopes too high." Silver said as he started to dig once again for another diamond. All John could hear was static once again, but there was something strange about it. It seemed to increase in frequency at each moment. John's eyes widened as he turned to Silver, seeing him about to dig for another diamond. In the fastest way he could, he stretched his hand, taking away his pick. "Hey! Watcha doin-" "Shhh!" Silver watched in confusion at the human, until a strange sound was heard. Silver's eyes widened as he removed the human's hand from his muzzle. The two turned at the end of the tunnel, where a red light started to shine. "Oh, no." John said, a sudden chill running up his back as he looked at the light. Still with fear on his eyes, he turned towards Silver, who had the same look of fear as him. "Mate... It's time for one of us." Silver said as he pushed the human off of him. John stared at him in confusion, when he noticed the light becoming brighter. By instinct, both broke into a full run, going back towards the shack. Suddenly, John noticed the pony going towards a small hole in the cave's wall. "Where are you going!?" "Ya better look for another way, Mate. Yer too big for this one!" Silver said before vanishing through the tunnel. John turned around, looking for another exit while the light shone brighter with every passing second. At last, he found some kind of door with the label "mining" on it. Without a moment to lose, he made a full sprint towards the door, the red sphere of light now shining fully into the cave he was in. Once the door was fully into reach, John opened it quickly, allowing himself a glance back, only to notice something strange. The sphere of light actually seemed to be inside the wall, while its movement was followed closely by a series of runes craved into the wall. Fear overdrove his common sense, and instead of look for any other clues about what the light did next, his arms quickly pulled the door, sealing it completely. The static on his radio still was present, but it was almost ignored as John held the door shut with his body, sweating profusely as he hoped the door could resist. Daring to look down, he noticed the light pouring out from below the door, signalling him the sphere was still on the tunnel. It was in vain, he thought. He had seen the light pierce through walls, to just phase through them as if they were nothing, just air. Then, if it was in vain, why did he insist so much on pushing the door. Finally, after moments of tense waiting, the light finally vanished, while his radio stopped all the static that signaled him of any occurrence. Instead, it was replaced with silence. A silence which was broken with far sounds of water dripping down on another part of the tunnel, and even some rocks rolling down in the distance. Those were the natural sounds of caves, under other circumstances, relaxing and calming. But no there, no. It was eerie, a reminder that a silence like that only meant that other things were out there, just waiting. And that was the only thing he could do: wait. Wait for anything, be it good or bad. His nerves rushed as he watched the cave with concern, just as he waited for anything to jump at him. Finally, after a few minutes, he realized only his imagination had been in the move for the moment. He was completely alone. John sighed in relief as he finally let go of the door, finally allowing himself to take a breath. That moment of relative stillness was interrupted with one single sound that sent a chill down his spine: the lock of the door. "Hey!" John instantly started to try and twist the knob, only to find it to be as resistant as an iron bar. "Hey! Open up! Silver! Is that you!?" John's heart sank as he heard a feminine giggle on the other side of the door. It was a sweet voice, but it also carried a certain dementia to it. The fog and the bridge came to his mind as those blue manic eyes came back at full force on his mind. "There's nothing left to do here~!" John stared at the door for a few moments, waiting for something bad to happen, his body already reacting in the only natural way as he got on guard. Yet, that didn't happen. The door simply remained shut. Suddenly, another giggle. "You have to keep going! The surprise is up ahead!" John turned around and lit his flashlight, instantly seeing a sign on the wall that immediately caught his attention. Now entering the immersion section of the mine. Feel the life and sensations of the ponies who once mined here! John turned his head towards the door, but sighed as he realized the pink pony wouldn't open it until he played by her rules. With no other option, he started to walk into the darkness of the mine. It had been a while since John started to walk, and the only things he had seen yet so far, were more exhibitions of mining tools, carts and other stuff. In some parts he could see some mannequins with the shape of the little ponies he had met before, each and all of them with gear and a pick next to them. Even with all the stuff he had seen, he couldn't just process how ponies were able to use a pick with their hooves. Crack John turned sharply at the sound, finding one of the mannequins had fallen onto its side, as well as some stones laying next to it. Just to be sure, John turned to the ceiling, almost expecting to see a pair of yellow eyes, just like before. Much to his relief, no eyes were present. He let out a deep sigh he was holding back, afraid that it might alert something. His eyes drifted down, ready to get the mannequin back to its place. Of course, had the mannequin been there. His eyes widened when the only thing he could see in the dim light of the cave was the gear on the floor, but in the place of the mannequin, hoof tracks were only in there. Instantly turning his flashlight on, he started to look everywhere with the light, only managing to find more tracks, but no mannequin. His hearth started to beat faster each moment that passed, by every turn he took to look at what had taken the mannequin. Finally, after many tense moments of searching around, his eyes caught sight of something. At the other side of the exhibition, was a pony, staring at him. "Uhh... hi?" John asked cautiously, causing the pony to lean its face slightly to a side. However, there was a loud cracking noise that was made when the pony turned its head. Chills went down John's spine as he flashed the pony with his flashlight, revealing it to be the mannequin that had fallen over. Lipstick was used to crudely draw a sickening smile, while mascara had been used to mark where its eyes should be. Messy strips of a mop had been put into its head, resembling a mane. The mannequin started to move once again, each of its articulations making sick cracking noises by every twist they made. "... Y-Y-You are a-a-alive..." John's hairs stood up as he heard a sickly sweet female voice coming from the mannequin. "... H-How i-isss that... posssib-ble." John, though nervous, decided to speak with it. Any other thing might have already attempted to kill him. "... I'm not from around here... I just stumbled upon this city after having an accident." "O-Oh, w-we ssee..." The mannequin turned its head away from him, John assumed in deep thought. "... Sso you a-are... the one the p-pink one sspoke ab-about." John's senses stood on edge at the mention of the pink one, almost expecting something to jump at him from the darkness. "I-It's alright to b-be afraid..." The mannequin turned its head at him once more. "... But y-you do not have to be affraid of me... it'ss the otherss you m-must be aware." "... Why?" "... If they find you... t-they will want you to join uss..." John's nerves were already running wild with fear, but the mention of possibly dying definitely broke the calmness he had left. "... I must get out of here." "I-indeed..." The mannequin started to move once more, heading towards where it had been moments earlier. "... You will find a-a mining cart a-at the end of thiss tunnel... it will lead you to t-the other sside of the miness... you'll be ssafe there..." As the mannequin ended its speech, John's nerves were once more racked as the makeup on the mannequin's face suddenly fell to the floor, with an almost liquid consistency. Not really knowing what to do, and seeing as he wasn't dead already, he decided to follow the mannequin's advice, not that he had much choice. Steeling himself, he turned at another section of the tunnel, seeing as it was the one he had been pointed to. Before he left, he turned to look at the mannequin one last time. If not for the fact of seeing it with his own eyes, the rows of seemingly lifeless dolls would have been intimidating but only that, not as terrifying as seeing one moving and talking like that. But apparently (and without much choice), he decided to believe these... dolls were there to help him, or at least that one. "... thanks." About half an hour later, John was a nervous wreck, a deep feeling of paranoia filling him every time he saw a small movement, or heard something. Of course, being in a dark and creepy cave didn't help a lot, adding to that the creatures he had seen yet so far. Still while pondering what he had done to deserve being in that place, John's ears caught more sounds of water dripping. Usually, when in a cave, water dripping down can be distinguished when it falls, as it makes a solid sound when it hits a rock, a stalagmite. But when it makes a metallic sound, it's far more surprising. John's nervous expression was replaced by a surprised one when he turned a corner and found another wooden platform. As the others before it, it also had a barrier to prevent people... er, ponies to fall down, but in one section, there were a few missing boards. Upon a better look with the help of his lamp, he noticed some signs at the side of the literal hole of the barrier. Now entering The mining cart. An attraction for the whole family! Jump in and see with your own eyes the rest of the mine! See ponies on their usual agenda of mining and extracting the necessary diamonds. "Not the most appealing description." John said in a flat tone as he moved the light ahead of the sign, only then noticing the iron tracks. The iron tracks! The cart! John realized that this was what the others must have been speaking about! The cart that could lead to safety! To that other pony who could maybe show him the exit! Yes! His excitement died instantly as he moved the light around the tracks, only then noticing something that made his heart not only stop beating for a second, but to also feel strangled, and a cold feeling to move up his spine. There was no cart! Looking ahead and behind through the tracks, there was simply no carts! Not even a couple of wheels, if anything!! Nothing!!! John shouted in rage and desperation as he kicked away a small stone, the loud crack of its landing sounding what seemed like miles away. The last vestige of hope had just vanished, and he was left with nothing. All the walking had been in vain, the fact he barely survived before had been in vain, everything had been in vain!! He fell to a knee as he rubbed his head in desperation, trying to decide what to do. He couldn't stay there, for god's sake! He had to move away, he had to escape! *Hiissssss* The harsh chirring of metal scrapping against metal filled his ears, softly damaging them while he struggled to cover them, least he wanted to get deaf for life. "HEY THERE!" That voice... a cold chill ran down his body as he heard that voice again. With wide eyes, he turned to the tracks with a soft buzzing on his ears, instantly locating a small engine with several carts attached to it. On the engine, with her sweet smile and life filled eyes was the pink one. "Want me to give you a ride? It's free!"