//------------------------------// // Silhouette // Story: Terror Puppet // by Windrunner //------------------------------// ' Vowed that you and I would be two silhouettes in the shade. For all our days. - Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, two wary travelers have found themselves entangled in a quandary most foul. Against better judgment having parted ways while menacing shadows cast themselves forth as though to impede quick passage away from this darkened abode of the light. A cautioned glance reveals nothing untoward to be present, but that prickly feeling on the back of the neck says otherwise, as though some unpardoned spirit watches ones every move. Perhaps seeking some unnamed redemption. The feeling does not lend itself well to adventurous endeavors. "I knew it." Twilight might have patted herself on the back for finding the entrance in the wall were it not for one thing. There in the depths of the castle a torn chunk of wall left in shambles, revealing a darkened entrance into the side and underground of the mountain. Somewhere above could be felt more than heard the rumble of a passing train heading above into Canterlot city. The engineers clever enough to have devised such a path for the tracks had not thought to look deeper, there was no need. In the dimness below lay mines long untouched save for a very brief and disturbing sojourn some time ago. Dark, lonely corridors lay untouched for nearly a millenia. A minor part of the very construction work that laid the foundation of Canterlot itself and long out of most living memory. Her horn lit afire with a bright spell of light which somehow did little to clear the gloom as if the dark itself refused to let such an intrusion tear the shadows away from their long slumber. Every fiber of her being said this was a dead place, and should be left to the dead. There was no choice but to press on into that world below the world. A pocket of darkness so thick it may never have been cleared away. If anything could crush the spirit, this singular perception hidden beneath it all may succeed in that. Could anything really linger down here? The air still and stifling as she passed by collapsed mining tracks. The wood barely preserved against the passage of time, but the metal held up surprisingly well. Pitted and rusted bits of the past, but giving no clue to the present. This was merely a mine, long ago walled off from the castle and since forgotten by the majority. The true scope and scale however were boggling to the mind and senses. "This place is enormous. Celestia, Luna, hang on. I'm coming." Twilight proceeded to place a teleportation anchor before leaving sight of the entranceway, she felt a much needed precaution. Getting lost in this place could prove a deathly trap in itself. Scraping hoofmarks at lengths into walls and leaving purposeful indications of her passing not only for any who may follow, but also to prevent herself becoming lost in this maze of depths. Wandering in circles wastes valuable time. "Oh, it's so warm down here." The princess of friendship huffed and found breathing ragged and difficult. The mines left improperly vented for who knows how long. Whatever worn and well-considered mechanisms once made for airflow having ceased most of their function ages past. Crumbling trestles and dangerously tumbling ramparts were mostly intraversible. Fortunately for her, the gift of wings was proving invaluable here. Not all of her friends could easily follow, if they should manage at all. The chilling feeling of eyes upon was everywhere and nowhere. A second look still confirmed she was completely alone. She was not fully prepared for such a journey, but time being of the essence she rushed. Choosing a path was not so difficult as imagined, following the increasing feelings of dread and stark terror was easy enough. Just go that way. The deep had thus far not heralded any revelation or great subterranean secrets withheld from those above, but something must wait below. That feeling of inevitable confrontation is not something to be cast aside. A terrible foe lay in waiting. This was perhaps never in doubt. Something along the walls here calls itself to attention. Great scorched grooves as though a grand conflagration once roared unbounded throughout this particular tunnel. Hopefully no ponies were trapped in such a pit as the fire raged. Whatever it's cause, it could only engender regretful feelings. Imagining this may have been the case gave her pause to halt a moment and consider. This place was dangerous. Barely thinking she had come running headlong into danger already known to be present. "I didn't think and rushed, and now I'm here. I should have waited for my friends." Shaking her head and owning to this possible error she dared venture on ahead into the sometimes claustrophobic halls and caverns. If there was some logic present in the placement of their carving it currently escaped her eye. A map would be most useful, but such a thing likely did not exist. Loneliness is a thing quick to rise from within one so far from friends and home. She felt very alone indeed. "Perhaps there will always be more that I do not know.." Despite all her learning and knowledge, this place held fear and uncertainty rarely felt. She'd gathered such knowledge for the sum of nearly her entire life, yet here she felt to know nothing as if taunted over it by the walls themselves. No spirit abided within them to hurl such accusations. Merely a nagging prick in back of the mind that this might be a mistake to have undertaken alone. Despite these misgivings there was no choice but to push forward and on into this vast network of tunnels. They seemed to go on forever downwards. How far out and down could they possibly have dug? Were there truly souls that greedy to have pushed this far? "This would be a grand discovery under other circumstances. These tunnels go on for miles!" She exclaimed mostly to comfort herself, but then the echo of it only served to remind she was very much alone down here. Somewhere out in the dark, it was waiting. Something vile and terrible and ancient. It must be. She could feel her heart beat faster as though drumming in anticipation. A skipped beat as a rock fell over at random almost sending her to flight causing the realization that as powerful she might be, was at present frightened of the dark. For the briefest instant that once little filly shone through before catching herself and pressing onward into the surrounding pitch. --- Mirror darkly in the wall..