//------------------------------// // The Flesh Foals // Story: Moon Unit Zappa // by RarityEQM //------------------------------// "So how would one become a Servant of Shadow?" Bright Spark asked quietly. They had settled on a smallish looking 'hut' that had been carved out of a smaller chunk of stalagmite. Virga Nettie and Full Plate were fixed on watching Diamond Dancer prowl through the dark, and Dinky was buried nose deep in a book. The three ignored him, but Dinky gave a scoff and slowly flipped a page in her book. "Bright Spark, having been driven to madness by his surroundings, asked feverishly if he could join the doomed adventurers. I suggest euthanization immediately. It's the only way to be sure the madness doesn't spread, " she grumbled. She hadn't looked up from her book, but her ears were perked in Bright Spark's direction. "Wow. You must be a blast at parties. So I'll just assume you have no idea how then," Bright Spark jeered in reply. Now that Dinky's ever-present ire was directed towards him, he found her to be insufferable instead of occasionally humorous. She rolled onto her side, facing away from Bright Spark and gave an irritated snort. "Princess Luna would tell you you'd need to prove yourself to her and give you a test. In my case, I killed and resurrected a snail and Luna recruited me as a necromancer. Now I'm stuck with a cursed book that's bound in flesh and written in blood and I'm spending my Saturday touring around Tartarus with a group of idiots. So, that's super cool. Can't tell you how glad I am to be a part of this magical journey into the land of never-ending therapy appointments," Dinky grumbled sourly. "If you hate the group so much, why come at all?" he asked. Even with her back to him, Bright Spark could see the discomfort Dinky was experiencing at the question. After a moment passed, however, her voice was still just as cold and unfeeling before. "Simple. I had a dream something terrible would happen to Diamond Dancer and it takes dedication to make dreams come true," Dinky said flatly. "You guys sound like you have some history between you," Bright Spark said. Dinky scoffed again. "The only thing between us is contempt. Have you talked to her? She's an idiot," said Dinky. Bright Spark chuckled quietly, nodding his head. "Glad I'm not the only one to notice," he snickered. He was hoping to find common ground with her. To establish that his views matched her own, and find somepony to say a good word for him to the princess. That's how these things worked, wasn't it? Instead of a response, though, Dinky simply flipped another page in her book. She hadn't bothered to look up for the entire conversation and didn't seem like she was going to start now. "I don't know what Luna needs Diamond for anyway, you could clearly do a much better job, " Bright Spark added, subtly scanning the filly for any changes in her grumpy demeanor. Dinky hadn't moved in the slightest, studying the book in front of her with a laser focus Bright Spark couldn't seem to penetrate regardless of how much he sweet talked her. Teenagers ugh. "Anypony would be a better choice. Not a high bar to clear," She growled. Was she getting colder? This isn't how bonds were meant to be formed. Dinky didn't seem to care at all. He had figured his best bet was getting in cozy with the children to let them put in a good word for him, but after talking with Dinky... "She should be checking in soon, get ready," Virga announced, drawing Bright Spark's attentions back to the rest of the group. They were all gathered around the receiver crystal, watching Diamond explore the rest of the city. He made his way over and sat down next to Full Plate, letting Dinky's words tumble about in his skull. "Where'd she learn to sneak around like that?" Bright Spark pipped, quietly, watching every movement Diamond made on the receiver crystal. "Before miss Dancer was a Servant she was a practiced thief. Those skills seemed to have transitioned well, " Nettie explained, keeping her gaze fixated on the triangular device in front of her. Diamond was creeping along what looked like a store front. Her legs were bent and her ears were peeled back against her skull. Every now and then, she would freeze for a couple of seconds and her ears would twitch. Admittedly, small, quick, and quiet were not the worst traits for a scout to have. "You know, she's pretty quiet. I figured after she messed up with Cerberus, we'd just use her as bait, but she makes for a pretty good scout," Bright Spark chuckled quietly. He caught a flash of a grin from Virga, and Nettleglum bobbed her head slowly up and down. "Alright guys, can you hear me? Those Flesh Foal things? Those things are buckin' everywhere!! They've got red skin, they're about my size, and they've got big black empty sockets for eyes. Jagged teeth and probably hostile. I found a bridge across a huge chasm. I figure this is a good spot to meet, next. Take a left, then a right, then another right from where we were, I'll see you at the bridge," her squeaky voice crackled through the receiver crystal before she returned to silence. Admittedly, being able to detect enemy locations before they tore you apart was a skill Bright Spark could see uses for. "We move immediately. Nettie, Full Plate, take the lead, Bright Spark, stick to Dinky, and I'll bring up the rear. Keep it tight and stay vigilant!" Virga snapped. Almost instantly, Bright Spark found himself obeying without question. Virga's voice was commanding as it was crisp, and it snapped like a whip in the unicorn's ear. They moved swiftly, trotting from the abandoned shop and out into the 'street.' It was almost like he was in some sort of surreal dream, trudging through the bowels of Tartarus to find a missing Princess. Some dark fairy tale you told to foals around a campfire or something like that. A war story. His war story. As he thought about it, another grin crept over his muzzle. Dinky shuddered. It didn't take them long to follow Diamond's tracks, and the path she gave them was particularly uneventful. Still, Bright Spark could see shapes moving in the shadows, and a quiet but incessant clicking sound filled the air. To his immediate right, Dinky walked along beside him, seemingly completely unphased by the concept of wandering through gloomy hellscape. She didn't cower, or whimper, or complain. She almost seemed to only have two functioning emotions: utter indifference or unparalleled irritation. Strange that he found himself envying her nonchalance, at something like this. He doubted she would suffer a single nightmare from this place, given how uncaring and detached to this mission she seemed. Then again, the Night Crew didn't have to worry about things like that, though, according to rumors. Supposedly, they had complete control over the dream realm, and it was yet another thing that tantalized his thoughts. What was that realm like? Could he do anything there? Would he learn to manipulate dreams like Luna could?! Could he have anything he wanted? Infinite power? The world under his hooves? He trembled at the idea and received a rude look from Dinky, who walked quietly beside him. "Your dreamy smile in contrast to our hellish nightmare world is deeply unsettling," The unicorn rolled his eyes. So far, he'd seen nothing terrible. Nothing that stuck out or disturbed him. Sure Prometheus was pretty creepy, and Cerberus was a challenge, but barring those things, he was pretty sure he could take on anything down here. He scoffed. Dinky was just a filly, what did she understand about bravery. What were the two brats so worried about?! Still, a rescue mission was a rescue mission, and Princess Luna would reward him for services to his country. His grin grew wider as did Dinky's look of disgust. He sped up his stride hoping to catch a little distance before her next remark. He was sure she said something about his horn, but he turned his focus towards the little filly in front of him, as he rounded the corner of the nearest 'stalactite' building. Diamond was casually standing a few feet to the left of a small, rickety-looking rope bridge that stretched across a great gaping chasm. "Ahhh...The Titan's Rift. The largest fissure in Tartarus! This is Everscream Bridge. Across it lies less civilized areas of Tartarus, and it is the domain of Titans; creatures both great and terrible," Nettie intoned. Diamond had risen up and fluttered into the air, pointing across the bridge. "Yeeeeeah, I'm cool with dealing with titans, but that bridge doesn't look too friendly. So let's send Dinky across first!" Diamond giggled. "Wrong." the other filly sighed dryly. She peered at the dreadful looking bridge and then around the area, looking for some way to cross the divide. Diamond, however, kept talking, regardless of how much she wished otherwise. "Aww, come on! This will totally work, cause you're really light, and if the bridge breaks, I'll fly down and save you!" Diamond announced cheerfully. Dinky's expression did not change. "Strangely enough plummeting to my doom with you being my only hope for survival is on my bucket list right under "Drink a Bleach Cocktail," She growled. "That's enough you two. We need to find a safer way across. Full Plate, how much do you weigh?" he asked. The large stallion flushed and shook his head. "I weigh enough that I think we need an alternative route," he grumbled. He looked over towards Bright Spark as if expecting the brash Unicorn to unleash a flurry of genius ideas that could instantly be put into practice. Bright Spark, however, remained utterly silent. Perhaps they could send their fliers over to secure the rope and make it safe for travel? Reinforce it, perhaps? He gazed over the group thoughtfully and came to a stop on Diamond. She was staring intently into the darkness of the chasm as if she were looking at something he couldn't see. She had an upright stance with perked ears as if she were paying close attention to something deep in the dark. She frowned and pointed a hoof into the blackness. "Guys...? Do you hear that? Kinda...kinda sounds like ...like claws on a rock? Like scratchy kinda, ya know?" Diamond pipped, looking over her shoulder at the group. Bright Spark shook his head. "Don't hear a thing Diamond," he said. Diamond had stood up now, quite intensely peering into the darkness of the chasm. He peered too, sitting down next to her curiously. "No, seriously, don't you hear that? It's..it's getting louder...I think it's from the chasm." She mumbled. The other Servants had taken notice now, also peering into the darkness, scanning for whatever it was Diamond was looking at. "There's nothing there, but if you like, we could throw you down there to find out, "Dinky chimed in sweetly. "We don't have time for this. There's nothing down there. Let's figure out how to get across the bridge." Bright Spark snapped, forcing Diamond's ears to fold back against her head. There was too something down there! She could see them! There were dark figures looming in the shadows! She gave an indigent snort while the rest of the company pondered over their options. Peering back into the chasm, she quietly she grasped a good sized rock in her hooves and dropped it into the inky darkness below her, and listened again. The scratching sounds had stopped but was replaced by an animalistic howl, that forced every member of their party to stop what they were doing and look up at each other in alarm. Diamond winced, and hastily backed away from the cliff face. "So, guys, I just attracted an alarming number of, uh....things. Something we're gonna wanna be aware of as they're climbing up the edge of the chasm!" Diamond announced in a growing panic. Her feathers were fritzed out around her wings, and one or two flickered off as she fought down her instinct to immediately take flight. Bright Spark narrowed his gaze, staring into the pit, but couldn't find the source of Diamond's panic. There wasn't anything in the chasm, and he didn't hear anything, did he? Then what made that howling sound? He pointed his horn towards the gaping maw of the abyss and fired a single glowing burst of light. Just as Diamond described them, they were small and crimson, covered in pimply skin, and climbing up the cliff face with a terrifying speed. There were dozens upon dozens of them. More than he could count, scrambling to wildly climb out of the canyon. "Damn it, Diamond!! NETTIE! Take the fillies and find a place to hide! Bright Spark, hammer down as many as you can, and I'll give you as much air support as possible! Full Plate, watch our flanks! Tangos inbound ponies!! We'll try to hold the bridge, but if we can't we fall back to Prometheus!" Virga announced, spreading his wings. To Bright Spark's amazement, Ice began to form over his body like armor. Spikes jut out from his shoulders, and a mask formed across his face. He resembled a strange looking dragon made of ice and valor. Diamond paused, unable to tear herself away from the spectacle before her. Every time Virga put on his battle gear and went into combat mode, she felt the pit in her stomach drop out. The Night's Champion was truly a spectacle to behold, and one day, she wanted the power and armor, and respect he so casually slung around. "Now miss Dancer!! NOW! We must make haste!" Nettie exclaimed with a voice that was still somehow flat and monotone. She was ushering Dinky away from the battlefield and gesturing for Diamond to follow. She gathered the fillies together and pulled them into the closest structure that she could find, and the three of them watched as the first battle of Tartarus took place in front of them.