//------------------------------// // Chapter Six // Story: Book 1 The Darkness: with the darkest of ponies // by Penelope Anne Ink //------------------------------// The plains they had been wandering on finally came up to a large river. The two ponies didn’t like the looks of the dark murky waters. A search around the bank led them to a quaint bridge connecting across. It didn’t seem to be used for much except litter, though they did find a few items and a sack that might be useful. Starry picked up an old tin can that she reshaped into a water canteen and scooped up some of the water from the river below. She looked closely at the water. I know we can’t be too picky, but, and she looked again at the litter on the bridge and could only imagine what could be in the river itself below them. If the bridge itself was so littered, the water may be undrinkable too. It looked fine though, but just to be safe, she began to use her magic to boil the water. Edgy could only watch as she had set up her own small lab on the bridge to purify the water. She had the same look on her face as she did when she was hard at work in the forge. Her eyes catching every little detail of the water to not waste too much and her hooves as steady as they could be. Her tongue stuck out a little when she was concentrating the hardest. It was an amusing sight, and a welcome one, especially when Starry finally decided the water was good enough to drink and she handed Edgy one of the two canteens she had made. Edgy could only nod back at her for it. Though he was grateful for the water, it seemed to him that he had already had to thank Star for so much on this trip and it was getting annoying. Starry was used to this sort of thing from him by now, however, so she trotted on as they went side by side down the rest of the bridge. The plains continued after the bridge for another mile or two before the grass become sparse and they could see rocky cliffs in the distance. They finally came up to an empty gorge. The sides looked like they could drop on the ponies at any moment, but Starry and Edgy continued on. There was no way they could climb to the top of the cliffs, and it would take them another week off their journey to go around. Starry had seen the Ghastly Gorge in Ponyville, and she knew that one was filled with monstrous quarray eels and all sorts of obstacles. Rainbow Dash even used it as an obstacle course on a regular basis just to test her own speed and agility. This gorge here was different. It seemed empty. There was an occasional screech of a large bird up above, and Starry could squint past the sun and see them soaring by. They had made the mistake of going in at a little after noon, and the sun took it out on them by following directly in the middle of the gorge and directly onto their own heads. Starry wished Celestia knew what the sun was doing right now and would move it at least a degree away. A few times they were able to find a ledge to hide under and drink up the water they had been trying to ration, but Starry’s was near the last drop already. Edgy had about a half of his canteen still full, but he knew it wasn’t going to last him until the end of this trip. They needed to find a new source of water fast. Starry had kept walking behind him without looking ahead when he suddenly stopped. She would have crashed right into him if he hadn’t sidestepped out of the way. He looked directly at the ground and began digging at it with his hooves as hard as he could. With any luck, there may be an underground spring. After all, something must have made this gorge, and maybe they’d be lucky enough to find an underground spring, some remnant of an ancient river. Starry wasn’t going to be bothered with digging. She couldn’t lift her hooves much more than to slide forward, at this point, so she rested under a ledge nearby and told herself it would only be a quick nap. He dug for a good bit before he hit solid rock. His hoof was scratched in the process but he wasn’t going to give up just yet. He was about to start digging in an area about five feet away when the birds that had been soaring above swooped down and grabbed him. Starry perked back up as she realized he was being lifted into the air, and went to grab at the closest one she could get. That one flew her up into the air as well and they were both soaring. They could see the whole rest of the gorge and the clifftops around them. Off in the distance, there was a waterfall, flowing into a pool of water at the bottom of another cliff. The birds had started heading in that direction, but they took a detour and began going toward a cliff with a nest as large as twenty ponies. The ground below them was a few hundred feet away, but Edgy noticed they were coming close to a ledge that would only be about ten feet below. Just as they were above it, he launched himself with all his energy at the bird carrying him and Starry used her mercury to slash at the one carrying her. They both fell on the rocky ledge with a few cuts and bruises, but they had no time to lick their wounds when they heard the screeches of the birds starting to come after them again. The two started running with all their might until they found a cave in the cliffside and ducked in. The birds didn’t see where they went and had to fly off with one last angry cry. With a sigh of relief, they looked around the cave. Starry’s horn glowed and showed that the cave ran along for a few miles. They weren’t sure if they should follow it, but they both agreed to stay when they heard it: the steady stream of cold underground springs. Washing their wounds and refilling their canteens, they decided to rest up in the cave before continuing their journey. “We’re going to have to travel in the dark of night, I guess,” Starry said after a strong gulp of water that hurt her sore throat. She wanted it to sound dramatic and fun, even though her energy was still sapped. Edgy agreed. The rest of the day was spent trying to rest through the soreness. That night, they decided to avoid the rest of the cave. Caves can go on and on, could have dangerous creatures, and might lead to one or both of them trapped forever. Out in the open, they at least knew where they were going. And now, they didn’t fear the birds that were hopefully resting throughout the night. They kept going toward where they had seen that waterfall. It seemed like another two days journey toward it, and Starry was too tired to care anymore about how long their journey was taking. Every now and then, she wondered how Bee and Cass were making it under the Storm King’s rule. It didn’t seem like a stretch to believe Twilight and her friends would end up saving the day before Edgy and she got back there. In fact, Bee and Cass were probably already safe in Ponyville at the moment, wondering where Starry was. But the journey wasn’t all that pointless. Edgy still claimed he knew where he was going. She still had to keep an eye on him, after all. And she had long since realized she wasn’t sure where she was. Ever since the time at the star spiders, she knew they were way too off track for her to find Ponyville on her own. It wasn’t even guaranteed the opposite side of that one path would lead remotely to Canterlot. Edgy right now was her only hope. Sometimes irritating and extremely aloof, but her only hope. As for Edgy, he felt more strongly every day that they were going in the right direction. He couldn’t see how lost Starry felt, because every time they came somewhere new, she seemed relatively comfortable in it. It was like no matter what environment they were in, she would take it in stride. It made it easier to keep her around as a companion. He didn’t want to ever admit it to anyone, but he doubted he’d have been able to make it out here without her. He may be leading the journey, and he may have had to save her hide on multiple occasions, but her skills and talents have helped them just as much. Her occasional bursts of happiness were also welcome. He didn’t particularly like it at first, but over the last week or so he came to expect it. Starry had been a little down the last day or two before they came to the waterfall. She was full of a resigned calm. And Edgy, being unsure of how to handle it, let her be. It took the two days they thought it would and they finally came upon the waterfall. Starry finally perked up again at the sight. At first she dipped a sore hoof into the water, and then another, and then completely jumped in. But she slipped on some smooth pebbles and fully crashed onto the bottom of the pool. With a laugh to feel the frigid water all over her aching body she started splashing and swimming around. Edgy didn’t let it show on his face how relieved he was that she was being normal again. He refilled his canteen and walked around a bit under the waterfall itself. The uniform he had been wearing ever since he woke up in the crate had been helpful to catch his sweat and keep him cool for the most part, but it was good to feel the cold water through it. It was the most welcome part of their journey so far, and it seemed to them that maybe their journey was coming near a close. [Bestiary’s Note: The large bird they came across was a Volatu. They usually keep to themselves up in the highest mountains. They have the personality of a griffon, but are less civilized. Probably from the lack of oxygen up there.