Beneath the Surface
Prologue
A small unicorn filly, flanked by two guards, headed deeper into a dark cavern, thinking about the daunting task that lie ahead of her. On both sides, the cave’s walls curved upwards, meeting at the top far above the filly's head and creating a tunnel that seemed to go on forever. She shuddered. Aside from the glow coming from the horns of the two guards beside her, it was completely dark.
"Be careful where you step," one of the guards warned her. It was the first time he’d spoken since their journey had begun.
The filly nodded, not looking at him. She made sure to keep her eyes focused on the cave walls. She didn't like staring into the yawning emptiness that loomed straight ahead. She kept her attention on the crystals embedded into the walls, some of them bigger than she was. She even allowed herself to smile a bit as she walked past one, looking at her own red coat and yellow mane reflected back at her. She had to admit, there was a bit of beauty to this place, and it made her feel less afraid. However, she couldn't shake the wrongness that seemed to overshadow everything in the tunnel, darkening even the thought of the beautiful crystals.
She turned her attention to the guard on the left. "So...are you really sure that I have to be the one to do this?" she asked. "Is there really something special about me?"
"Of course," the guard replied gently, ducking his head as he passed under a jutting rock ledge. "You've shown more potential for magic than any foal in the kingdom. We all believe you can do it."
The filly turned her attention to the rocky ground she walked upon. "And...you believe this will help us?"
"It will," the other guard replied. "Trust us, it will."
"Only if I succeed, though...right?"
"And succeed you will. Just remember what you were taught."
The filly said nothing in reply as they continued to walk. She wished someone else, at least one of her friends, could be going with her. But no, they had said her friends were not strong enough. She was the only one allowed to attempt this journey.
“Wait,” muttered one of the guards beside her.
She paused, frightened, as the guards both stared into the blackness ahead. She wasn’t sure if some monster was about to leap out at her, or if some unseen force of magic was going to descend upon them. She wanted to run back, but she forced her hooves to stay still. She glanced from one guard to the other, wondering what it was they had sensed.
“It’s nothing,” the other guard said nervously. “Let’s keep going.”
They carried on, and the filly noticed that the guards were hurrying their pace. She had to strain a bit to keep up with them; they had walked such a long way already and she was exhausted. Something about the look in their eyes frightened her, like they had realized something she hadn’t. However, she didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, she thought over and over about the ponies back home, the ones who were depending on her and her alone to save them. She could not disappoint them. So, she kept going.
She was almost running to keep up with the guards now, not wanting to ask them to slow down in case there was a good reason for their haste. She couldn’t tell what had gotten them to act in such a way; the tunnel still looked the same to her, but she didn’t want to ask. If there was something she needed to know, she reasoned, they would tell her.
After what seemed like ages, they came to a halt. In front of them was a wall, blocking further passage through the tunnel save for a relatively small space at its base. The filly tensed; the wrongness she had felt earlier throughout the journey was intensified here. She glanced up at the guards.
“This is where you go on alone,” one told her.
“I…” she tried to force the fear out of her voice. “The opening looks big enough. One of you could come with me.”
“You know as well as anyone else that there is powerful magic down there,” the guard responded. “Magic that even we are not equipped to handle. But for you, the most gifted unicorn we know, it will be different.”
Something about the guard’s words unsettled the filly, or perhaps it was simply the way he’d said them. She couldn’t, however, pinpoint what he’d said that actually seemed amiss. She had been chosen. She had been trained. That was very true. But something seemed…off.
“Okay…” she replied, pushing the feeling away. There was still a part of her that wanted to protest, wanted to shout, ‘But I’m not an alicorn!’ or ‘Can’t you send somepony else?’ Yet she knew better. If she had been chosen, it was for a reason, and she had to put trust in that. Thinking of what was happening back home, she felt a little less scared and a little more determined. She was going to make things better for everyone. She took a deep breath. “I’m ready,” she said, illuminating the tip of her own horn as she turned to the dark opening.
As she walked into the small passage, she pretended she didn’t hear the fading hoofbeats of the hastily retreating guards. She pretended that the inky blackness didn’t unnerve her. She pretended she couldn’t hear the alarm bells ringing in her head as she descended deeper into the earth. When she emerged on the other side of the rock wall, she gazed in both awe and terror at what surrounded her. Then, forcing down her fear, she kept going.
When she returned to her home days later, she brought back what the ponies of her village had so longingly desired. But with it, she also brought something terrible.