//------------------------------// // The Escape // Story: Moon Unit Zappa // by RarityEQM //------------------------------// "DIAMOND!!! DIAMOND WAKE UP! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW YOU IDIOT, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!! WAKE UP!! WAKE UP DIAMOND!!" Diamond groaned quietly, trying to clear her dizzied vision and bring herself out of the dark place she went to when she crashed. It was something like sleep, but not quite the same. If she had to describe it, it was as if she were awake, but asleep at the same time. All outside stimuli were blotted out for a haunting silence. She could still think, sort of, in fractured thoughts and fragmented ideas at least. Try as she might to pull out of such a state, she found she always had to take a few moments to recover from a crash. She called them Crash-naps, and she'd discovered the higher she was the longer it took for her to regain at least some functionality. Was this a crash-nap? Had she crashed? Of course, she'd crashed. She always crashed. But why? "DIAMOND!! NOW!! MAKE A WISH!! DO IT NOW!!" She groaned. She couldn't think with Dinky screaming in her ear the way she was. It came back to her all at once, memories slamming into her consciousness like a dam bursting open. Dinky had fallen from the bridge and Diamond had spotted it amidst all the chaos of the battle. With no second thoughts, Diamond threw her wings into overdrive and hurled herself at Dinky's plummeting form. From the angle she was descending and the speed of her momentum Diamond realized she wouldn't be able to safely catch Dinky without the two of them splattering into the chasm below, but she had to try! She had wrapped her body around Dinky's trying to slow their fall. Once they connected, Diamond tried to pull them both into the air moment Diamond had grabbed her, but she knew it wasn't going to work. Dinky was too heavy for Diamond's tiny wings. No, she needed a new plan, but there just wasn't the time! With no other choices, she opted to reduce the damage as much as possible. She twisted the two of them around in midair, making sure her body was between Dinky and the chasm's wall as she fell. Things would have been slightly easier if Dinky wasn't screaming, but she couldn't really blame her. There! Even if Diamond couldn't feel the impact of her body hitting the chasm wall, she could detect the way her vision jostled that she had hit something. Now they were spiraling. Spinning through the air in a wild free fall, now that Diamond's trajectory had driven them close enough to the wall to make contact. If slamming into the wall had slowed the fall enough, Dinky might survive impact with the ground below. Diamond could only hope. They spun and tumbled in the air, with Diamond paying careful attention to the ground below her. She was slightly smaller than Dinky, so it was important for as much of her body to take the crash to the ground as possible, and that meant she had to maneuver the both of them into a position at the perfect second, and that meant - Everything went dark as the two of them connected with a roaring thud. ***** They had crashed into the ground, hard, with Diamond slamming into it first, and Dinky landing on top of her. The silver filly lay prone and unmoving, while Dinky wobbly pulled herself to her hooves. As impressive as Diamond's heroics had been in rescuing her from the fall from Everscream bridge, the situation had not improved in the slightest. Diamond wasn't moving and her stunt brought them a lot of attention. The Flesh Foals that had been skittering along the walls of the chasm and attacking party had changed tactics. Now that Diamond and Dinky were separated from the others, the creatures focused on them, much to Dinky's dismay. She reached over to rub Diamond's shoulder, watching in terror as the creatures began to stalk towards them. Things were quickly turning from bad to worse. "Diamond...Come on Diamond, wake up!" Dinky snarled, rubbing Diamond's shoulder urgently. The other filly did not respond. The flesh foals were getting closer and closer, taking their sweet time, stalking towards the downed fillies with murderous intent. Dinky stole a glance at Diamond's condition. If the other filly wasn't up to defend her, she wouldn't last long at all against the creatures. One of them, in particular, had been eyeing Dinky warily and pounced at the unicorn when she leaned down to try and rouse Diamond. Dinky caught the flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and leaped to the side, nimbly avoiding the assault. With Dinky out of the way, the creature opted for the unconscious girl instead. The creature seized Diamond in its jaws, trying to tear into the girl's flesh but with little success. "PUT HER DOWN!" Dinky screamed. Her horn sparked to life for an instant, and the creature, surprisingly, did as it was told. It politely placed Diamond on the ground and turned towards Dinky, curiously. As if it were awaiting further instructions. Dinky's brain put two and two together instantly. Undead creatures. She was a necromancer. "DEFEND US!" Dinky demanded, watching in awe as the beast turned sharply and attacked the closest stalking Flesh Foal. Suddenly an open brawl broke out around them. The creatures were ravenous, fighting each other for the first taste of tender filly, Claws and fangs flashed and flickered and sprays of blood splashed through the darkened chasm. It wouldn't take long before one of the creatures was lucky enough to pounce them without interference from another. They had to escape!! "Come on...Ugh...Diamond..." Dinky grumbled, trying to drag the girl by her collar. If she could just find a place to hide for a few seconds. The hectic chaos of the fight wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon, though. Dinky froze when she noticed one of the creatures leering at her again. No! "DIAMOND!!! DIAMOND WAKE UP! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW YOU IDIOT, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!! WAKE UP!! WAKE UP DIAMOND!!"Dinky screamed, shaking Diamond as hard as she could. The other filly was groaning quietly. A good sign!! She was awake! Now Dinky just needed to get her to act. "DIAMOND!! NOW!! MAKE A WISH!! DO IT NOW!! She screamed, shaking Diamond as hard as she could. Diamond yelped and squawked and finally reached up to bat Dinky's hooves off of her. "Leggo! I can't make wishes with you shakin' me like that!" Diamond snapped, wrapping her arms around Dinky regardless. "Alright, this place is getting rough! I wish we were anywhere but here!" Diamond squeaked. Briefly, Dinky watched the little star Diamond wore around her neck come to life with a small but brilliant light. It glimmered, and the whole world turned white with it, as the star granted Diamond's wish, teleporting Diamond and Dinky twenty feet to the left. Anywhere but here. Ugh. The white light deposited Diamond on the ground and Dinky on top of her. "Get. Off, " Diamond groaned. Dinky shuffled to her hooves, staring in dread at the horrific number of creatures that had turned towards them. "You make lousy wishes," Dinky sighed flatly, helping pull Diamond to her hooves. The star had only deposited them twenty feet to the left, but it was no longer in the middle of a gang of filly hungry Flesh Foals. In fact, it has set them down with a good distance in between them. A distance they were quickly eating with swift lunges towards the two Servants. "Run!" Diamond screamed, bursting from her position into a frantic run. Now was their chance! The Flesh Foals were far enough away they might be able to make it if they put their all into a wild burst of speed. Diamond made it several steps before she realized Dinky was lagging behind. She groaned. All that studying... Realizing Dinky was next on the menu, Diamond turned sharply on her hooves. Most of the Flesh Foals were behind them. They'd probably go for the easier meal. They were simple creatures with little in the way of tactics. This would work. It had to! "Dinky! KEEP RUNNING!" Diamond screamed, turning to charge directly at the other girl and the army of creatures chasing behind her. She hoped Dinky got the message, but Dinky usually did, she was a smart girl. She nodded, frantically, as she raced through the canyon, doing her best to dodge rocks and anything else barring her path. Now was definitely not the time the time to experiment with her new found powers over the undead!! She threw herself forward, racing madly away from the horde of creatures chasing her while Diamond did the opposite. The tiny pegasus hurled herself passed Dinky, leaping high into the air with a flutter of her wings and crashed into the ground behind her. "MY KNEE!! I'M DOWN!! ARRGGHH!!! GET OFF ME!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" squealed Diamond with an ear-splitting shriek as the monsters descended on her. Biting and chomping, they seized the fresh target and forgot all about Dinky who raced through the darkness of the chasm and left Diamond Dancer behind, screaming into the gloom. She didn't even look back when the screaming stopped.