The gondola lazily floated towards a shore of gray and aqua colored sand. To Bright Spark, it almost looked metallic. And forboding. Definitely forboding. The tiny boat slowly approached the shore, and along with the shore came a small, well-trodden path leading towards a large cave and a massive wall that followed the shoreline.
While Bright Spark was eager to get off the creaking gondola, he couldn't help but notice Virga looked perturbed. He stared into the glowing souls of the river below him, deep in thought with a frown dominating his features. Bright Spark had figured a member of the servants would easily look past the death of a fellow soldier, but the loss of the fillies was obviously troubling him. What was he supposed to say? Should he say something? Was it best to leave him alone, or offer him a word of comfort? He was under the impression the Night Court were unattached things or others. They were heartless, merciless soldiers, specializing in the dirty jobs no pony else would do. And if they were all dead like Nettleglum was, he could believe they didn't have emotional bonds either. Suddenly, an icy chill raced down his spine. Were they all dead? Is that how Princess Luna granted them their powers? Enchanting a soulless corpse?! Would that mean he would meet his end at Luna's hoof?! Was that why they were all so loyal to her? Why they'd be willing to march into Tartarus for her?! It suddenly made entirely too much sense. Slowly, Bright Spark cast his gaze over Virga, looking for clues of his demise. He didn't seem to notice, instead briefly peering at Nettleglum.
"Nettieglum," Virga asked stoically, still staring into the vibrant river. It was enough to shake Bright Spark from his terrified thoughts. He perked and ear, listening in on the conversation as Virga continued unabated.
"The connection?" he asked sourly. Nettleglum shook her head. She had her eyes closed but seemed to be taking in the surrounding area anyway.
"Oh, I've felt nothing since we've arrived." she intoned. Virga scowled and peered at the flat side of his hoof. There, it glowed faintly, a brief shimmer of white that depicted princess Luna's cutie mark. Bright Spark stared in awe. It was a Royal Rune: A symbol of significance and devotion to the crown. It was rare to see one, and even rarer to be granted such a rune. Once, while visiting his grandfather, far before he had ben inducted into Celestia's royal guard, Bright Spark had seen Full Plate's Royal Rune. As a member of princess Celestia's personal guard, Full Plate had a mark that softly glimmered on his hoof, when Celestia had need of him.
"Connection?" Full Plate asked quietly. Virga shared a glance with Nettleglum.
"We each have a unique bond with Luna. It allows us to feel the presence of night. It is difficult to explain," Virga mumbled. He sounded like he didn't understand it entirely himself. Perhaps he didn't with the way he kept fidgeting.
"Think of it is as if we were connected to the shadow of her soul," Nettleglum explained. Full Plate perked his ears, silently imploring Nettleglum for more information.
"Well...what that means for us, is the princess may not be down here if we cannot feel her. We simply must continue searching as we've been doing. The magical connection between Luna and us, broken or not, has no baring on rescuing our dear princess." Nettie explained, ignoring the increasingly frustrated look on Full Plates face. Bright Spark had noticed too, but he was too busy watching Virga to comment. He turned away from the rest of the group, mumbling to himself and of the words Bright Spark could hear "impulsive" and "irresponsible" were two that caught his attention the most. Immediately he was thrown back into the choice of wanting to comfort the other stallion, or simply let him be. Luckily, a distraction came into view as the little boat bobbed up to the shore at the other end of the river.
"What, the buck, is THAT?!" Bright Spark shrieked in horror. In front of them, was a massive rock wall that seemed to hug the shoreline, but it wasn't the wall that he was staring at. It was the creature slithering along the wall that dominated his attention. The wall itself had a number of deep dark holes burrowed into it and out of them wriggled a creature much like a centipede. It had row after row of grotesque, elongated legs, and at its front was the body of a pony, only it wasn't like any pony Bright Spark had seen before. It was like a centaur with a dozen extra legs and no arms. Its nose was far too long, and its eyes were much too small. Its mouth was a gaping hole on one side of it's 'face' and its ears were thin and wiry. As the boat came to a stop, the creature made a shrieking sound and clambered down to the shoreline towards them. It was charging!
Virga had already taken flight, leaping from the gondola into the air with a flourish of his wings and Bright Spark followed suit. He leapt onto the sand in front of him and pointed his horn at the creature. Immediately he found himself mentally shifting through his list of spells that would take this creature down. An acidic burst? A magic torpedo? An ice rocket? Perhaps a jolt of-
"Scylla." Nettieglum purred, striding past Bright Spart towards the creature as if it were an old friend. The creature, the ponypede, crept closer, making chattering whimpering sounds, and drew its appendages towards Nettieglum. Bright Spark stared but didn't dare drop his guard. His horn flickered with arcs of trembling magic, and he kept his eyes fixed on Nettie and the creature.
"Scylla is one of the lifeguards here, everypony. She is extremely strict about pool safety and the rules," Nettie explained, gesturing towards a large nearby wall, with a radiant glow behind it.
"That's the main pool and sauna behind there. Be careful if you plan to visit and do not go near the popsicle vendor without armor. Scylla, I'm terribly sorry to bother you during working hours, but we have need for some information. Charon tells us Princess Lu-" Nettieglum began, but 'Scylla' immediately turned away from her and scampered along the shore before she vanished from view into a nearby cavern the moment Nettleglum had mentioned Luna.
A moment passed and then another and Scylla poked her head free of the cave, to see if she were being followed. Nettie gave a grim sigh and turned back towards the group.
"That path she's taking leads to Titan territory. If Princess Luna descended, we may have combat to consider soon." Nettie explained. Bright Spark felt a grin starting to tug at his lips. Combat? Without the need to babysit foals? He could really let loose if he were unrestrained by the fear of some wayward filly stumbling onto the battlefield. He nodded his head boldly.
"I take on any challengers in the name of the night!" He announced. Virga shot him a scrutinizing glance.
"You make bold claims. Tread carefully, " he growled. Bright Spark winced. Wasn't Virga also doing this in the name of the night? What was wrong with him making the same claim? Did he realize Bright Spark was a contender for a position in the Night Court? Was he threatened by his raising status? He nodded his head never the less. He needed to keep focused on the task ahead of them.
"Do you think it knows where the Princess is?" Full Plate asked. He had already taken point and was marching towards the tunnel Scylla had taken. Nettleglum made a thoughtful sound, moving to keep in line behind Full Plate.
"She may not know the location of the princess, but what she leads us to will probably be able to point us in her direction. Scylla will assist us in our search. She will help tremendously. " Nettie explained. Behind them walked Bright Spark, who kept glancing behind him at Virga.
Virga wasn't moving. He sat at the mouth of the cave where they had entered and stared quietly into the past. He sadly sighed. Had he been faster, perhaps. Had he been more attentive, surely things would have gone differently. Diamond had convinced them to let her tag along, and she had brought Dinky, and now their souls had been lost to Tartarus well before their time. It was his fault. Try as he might, he knew deep down this was his fault. Diamond had trusted him to lead the mission and he'd already failed in getting everypony home safely and soundly. He wondered if-
"VIRGA!!!"
The scream from the tunnel drew him to his hooves instantly. They hadn't gone that far ahead, did they?! He only needed a moment to sort out his guilt before resuming duty, but that scream sounded like a 'moment' they didn't have the luxury to afford. He took off in a wild gallop, throwing his hooves out in front of him, as fast and far as he possibly could. He'd failed once this mission, but he would not fail again