//------------------------------// // A Trot Amidst the Stars // Story: A Disparate Bond // by the7Saviors //------------------------------// As the two fillies followed after the thestral colt into the unknown depths of the Fortress, Starlight couldn't help but become more and more nervous, and she wasn't alone. Twilight had been supportive of the idea of following the colt, despite her own troubled thoughts, but even she was starting to feel like this might be a bad idea. Still, Firebrand's sudden enthusiasm and grateful smile was enough for the two to keep their worries to themselves, at least for the time being. On top of that, they both had felt something change within the many confusing corridors. The path felt somehow more... solid than before—more real. They didn't realize it until it was gone, but it had felt like they were galloping through some kind of haze or fog that left them slightly disoriented. Everywhere they went, the halls had a strange dream-like quality to them that they hadn't even noticed until Firebrand had said the halls were enchanted. It was enough to make Twilight wonder if she really had killed that manticore—if it had indeed existed at all. The thought that it all may have been some sort of illusion lifted the lavender filly's spirit, but only briefly. Her hope came crashing back down when she remembered Firebrand saying that some thestrals didn't make it out of the trial. Add to that the fact that the manticore's presence was the most solid thing she'd felt back then. She could still feel the weight of its massive paws shaking the ground, the sound of its low growls, its piercing eyes boring into her and Starlight, and the bloodlust coming off of it in waves. Despite the fact that it was magic, she could even feel the impact of each and every one of those black crystals as they bit into the manticore's flesh. It had brought about raw, conflicting thoughts and emotions. It sickened her, it thrilled her, it made her feel like she had no control, it made her feel like she had all the control, she felt more powerful than she ever had before, she felt like she was being crushed beneath the weight of that very same power. She was just as horrified at what she'd done as she was gratified by the dark deed... and it had all happened in a near instant. She'd had no time to think her actions through before it all ended. She was simply left with the gruesome consequences of her rash, panicked, and angry actions. All of this, more than anything, was enough to convince Twilight that the thing was real. It was enough to convince her that the atrocity she'd committed had actually happened. As more and more time passed, Twilight became less affected by what she'd done and more concerned with her conflicting emotions on the matter. She didn't know what to feel at this point, and had been so focused on trying to center herself, that she hadn't realized the other two had come to a stop until she bumped into Starlight. Twilight shook her head and gave a small apology before looking ahead. Her eyes widened and she gasped at what was before her—all thoughts of her past actions temporarily shunted to the side. Just ahead of them, the darkened walls of the wide Fortress corridor gave way to the mouth of a large cave. Even standing right before it, Twilight couldn't see past the impenetrable darkness that lie within. Or rather, it would've been impenetrable, had it not been for the myriad motes of light that shined inside the cave itself. It looked as though they were stepping right into the night sky, and the sight nearly took both fillies' breath away. "Well, this is it," came Firebrand's voice, his tone suddenly quiet and unsure, "once we pass through this cave, we'll be in the heart of Nightshade... the underground village of the thestrals." "Underground?" Twilight asked, turning to the colt with a furrowed brow, "you all live in a village beneath the earth?" "Well, yeah," Firebrand replied, raising an eyebrow at the incredulous filly, "it's not that strange. From what I've heard, diamond dogs have all sorts of subterranean villages and cities all over Equestria." "Oh... right," Twilight replied, blushing slightly, "I... I remember reading somewhere that most diamond dogs preferred to live underground. Something about rarer gem deposits the further down you go and..." She trailed off into unintelligible mumbling and Starlight rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Firebrand. "So what can we expect from the other thestrals once we reach your village?" Starlight asked warily, "these elders of yours aren't gonna throw us in a dungeon or something like that, are they?" "What? No, they wouldn't..." Firebrand paused, "well... I don't think they would anyway. I'm... actually not too sure. This would be the first time a non-thestral other than Aeon ever entered Nightshade." Starlight looked at the colt for a good long minute before suddenly turning to the filly beside her. "Twilight, I've decided I don't want to do this, can we please go back?" "Wait! Hang on a minute," Firebrand interjected, raising his hooves placatingly, "I'll... I'll go in first and talk to them. My grandfather is one of the members of the Council of Elders, maybe he can vouch for you." "Wait, you're grandpa is one of these important elders?" Starlight asked, narrowing her eyes at the colt, "and he'd be willing to just go along with the others and throw his own grandson out of the village?" "In a heartbeat," was Firebrand's swift and unhappy reply, "he... takes his job very seriously." Twilight and Starlight gave each other dubious looks before Starlight turned back to Firebrand and spoke again. "Yeah... I'm not gonna put my faith in the 'kindness' and 'generosity' of a guy like that," the pale pink filly deadpanned, "if you're trying to convince us that everything's gonna be okay, you're doing a terrible job." "I'm not really too sure about this either if I'm being honest," Twilight added somewhat reluctantly before letting out a sigh and turning to Starlight, "but we did agree to help, and... and I'd feel bad if we turned back now." Starlight went to argue, but groaned in frustration instead and whipped back around to face Firebrand. "We'll go with you," Starlight conceded in a begrudging tone, "but if they tell us to leave, we're gone, got it? I've had enough trouble for one day." "I... but..." Firebrand looked between the two fillies, sighing in defeat as he saw Twilight look away guiltily, "alright fine... I guess that's fair. Just... if the worst happens and they banish me... can I come with you two back to the upper levels?" "Upper levels?" Twilight asked, frowning in confusion, "what do you mean 'upper levels'?" "Of the Fortress," Firebrand explained, "did you not notice how we've been heading downward this whole time?" Twilight blinked and turned to look behind her, then looked up. While the filly had been lost in thought, the three of them had descended down a long stairwell. They'd gone so far down in fact, that Twilight couldn't see the bottom of the floor above—the few sconces lining the walls not able to penetrate the darkness from where they were. Twilight hadn't even noticed. "How did I miss that?" Twilight muttered to herself, "that... that's a lot of stairs..." she shook her head and looked back to Firebrand, "if they kick you out, then I don't see a problem with it, just... I don't know where you'd go afterwords." "I'll... think of something, I guess," Firebrand replied, pawing at the ground. He closed his eyes for a moment before turning and heading into the cave, "c'mon, I'm pretty sure the Elders already know about Tenebris, so we need to hurry and explain things." "What?" Starlight asked, furrowing her brow as she and Twilight followed the colt into the cave, "how would they know? They didn't see it happen." "I don't know how they know," Firebrand replied with a small shrug, "but whenever something happens during the trial, the Council is always the first to know about it." The two fillies were silent for a moment as they let the information sink in, both of them wondering just what they'd find beyond the cave. Once they were inside, the strange nighttime sky effect the fillies had seen from outside became even more prominent—the glow bright enough for them to see the interior of the cave. Along the way, the thestral colt explained that there were thousands of minuscule gems embedded into the walls. The gems gave off natural light from within, causing the starry effect they were witnessing. Firebrand had called it the Starlight Cave, causing the filly of the same name to roll her eyes and Twilight to give a small, brief smile of amusement. Thankfully the path was fairly straightforward, though Twilight wondered just how far down they really were. Her worries and fears were slowly beginning to give way to curiosity, and she welcomed the change with open hooves. "So, I'm assuming we're under the castle?" Twilight commented, still marveling at the sight of the glowing gems around them, "how deep below the ground are we anyway?" "Not too deep I don't think," Firebrand replied, looking back at the other fillies, "at the end of this cave is a lift that'll take us further down... although..." Firebrand slowed his pace and hung his head slightly, his tufted ears drooping. Starlight narrowed her eyes at the colt's sudden hesitance. "Although, what?" she pushed, "what is it this time?" Firebrand winced at Starlight's tone and gave the fillies a sheepish smile. "We'll... well, we're gonna need to convince the guards to let us down," he explained with a weak chuckle, "I shouldn't have any problems getting in, but you two..." Starlight was about to make an exasperated retort when Twilight put a hoof over her muzzle, causing the pale pink filly to give a muffled cry of indignation. Twilight ignored her glare and gave Firebrand a determined nod. "We'll manage somehow," she said reassuringly, "just keep leading the way," removing her hoof from Starlight's muzzle, she looked around and smiled, "now that I've seen this place, I'm kind of interested to see what Nightshade looks like." Firebrand's ears perked up and he puffed out his chest with pride as he spoke. "Well, if you like this place, you're gonna love Nightshade," he gushed, "the whole village is inside this massive cave, and it's all lit up by huge glowing plants and gems! It might be a little dark for you ponies, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem—because of the glowy gems and plants I mean..." They all continued to make their way deeper into the cave as the ecstatic colt spoke. As Firebrand continued to ramble on about his village, both Twilight and Starlight glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. The more the thestral talked about his home, the more the two fillies were reminded of Chrysalis's hive, and as they trotted through the gem studded cave, the image only continued to strengthen in their mind. They could only hope the village of Nightshade wasn't as creepy as the Changeling Queen's kingdom had been.