//------------------------------// // Always Bring a Light // Story: Dimension Pool // by HazzMania //------------------------------// KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Hello? Nyx? You in there?" Twilight questioned, face bound to the door in an attempt to peek behind the makeshift spyglass. "Hang on! One... second..." a voice echoed out, footsteps of an erratic nature being heard shuffling about behind the sculpted slab of oak used as a door. "Alright." The door swept open revealing the newly welcomed human, face portraying stories of a late night, but moderate energy despite the look of death on his face. A moderately tall figure, however slouched, lethargic motion with a hint of awareness about him "Hey - YYAawwn - hey Twilight, what's up?" He asked the purple alicorn, stumbling out of the building with an attempt at polite etiquette. "Did you not hear that rumble last night?" She asked, mildly perplexed at his question, although she had a rough idea of what answer he would retaliate with. "Apparently not. I must have been sleeping pretty heavily last night." He responded, much to her assumption. "So what rumble did you hear?" He then queried, intrigued by her words. "It sounded like an earthquake, but no-pony really knows where it came from. My guess is that it hit the Everfree Forest. Applejack's just come over and mentioned some of the land over near Sweet Apple Acres was disturbed." Twilight stated, leading the human through the town and towards AJ's barn, bypassing the mayor in the process. "Oh, Twilight!" Mayor Mare called, slightly startled in her appearance. Mild bags under her eyes and a lethargy to her movements. "Could you P-lease investigate what that tremor was? Everypony is getting worried and I need some good news to break to them." She then asked in a mild panic, glancing at the ponies surrounding her in discomfiture. "Well, that's just what Nyx and I were going to do." She retorted, gifting back a hint of a smile on to the mayor's pale face. "Oh that's where we're going?" He asked, a much healthier tone spreading across his skin as he had started to wake up. "Absolutely! We need to make sure everything is safe, before Princess Celestia gets worried and comes out here to investigate it for herself." The purple pony stated in confidence, before wishing the mayor farewell and dragging Nyx with her. "Goodbye, Mayor Mare!" Approaching Applejack's barn, the light blue streak of a familiar pegasus pony blinked across the horizon and landed near enough to us that we could feel the shock-wave from where we were standing. Although, the look on Twilight's face and the haste in her step gave enough of a clue to assume she wasn't too ecstatic about the pegasus' nonchalant smashing of the ground - especially after a large tremor had also struck the ground no more than a few hours ago. "RAINBOW!" Twilight yelled from a good distance away, still marching towards the landing zone with a quickening pace. "yyeessss, Twilight?" The pegasus' voice emerged from behind a stack of hay, revealing herself after in a melodramatic show of innocence. "Oh, Nyx! Hey!" She then added, dropping the act instantaneously and rushing over to greet him, numbing his arm with a murderous hoofshake. "Agh, okay... uh huh, that hurts." The human retorted, forcing blood into his constricted hand. "Hey Dash, what's going on?" "Checking out the damage! Like i'm assuming you two are, right?" She responded, posing sideways with wings flexed out. "Well, not so much checking out the damage, Rainbow Dash." Twilight intervened, passing the pegasus and heading over to the nearest place that looked disturbed. "Instead, we're going to make sure everything's safe before reporting back to Princess Celestia." "Gah, bo-o-o-ring." She exclaimed, falling onto her back, hooves behind her head. "HEY! I've got a better idea. I'll go and survey the area and let you know if there's any cool changes!" "Rainbow Dash! That's... not actually a bad idea." Twilight replied, heading over to the site of the destruction, Nyx following her, Dash trailing above him. Following the cobbled route leading down the local orchard, Dash had darted away with valiant haste, while Nyx and his pony companion lagged behind at a much less athletic pace. Arriving at the nearest site of destruction, not much seemed out of place, nothing more than some altered ground and some torn roots. "Hmmmm..." Twilight muttered, analysing the newly surfaced soil, rich with newly created twigs. "Not much else to see here. Looks like we'll have to enter the forest." She then commented, raising her volume in pride, while remembering to remain professional. "Hey Guys!" Dash then called from beyond the border of trees, presumably from just behind the regiment of trees. "Come follow me, I've found something!" "Rainbow! Where are you?!" Nyx replied, calling for the pegasus before entering the first line of trees. "Come one Twi, if she's just disappeared, it must be something important." "I should hope so." Twilight responded cautiously, making a note of the pathway he had started foraging through before entering. There wasn't much to reveal what direction Dash had taken, aside from the occasional sound of impatience from her, calling out exponentially faster each time. Eventually, with a decent idea of where to go, the two had managed to pierce the forest's coating and were on a trodden pathway. Despite this, the cobbles seemed ancient, almost falling apart from the rumble of their steps. "Guys! Over here." Dash exclaimed from a small distance away, appearing from atop the canopy, hanging from a branch in boredom. After tracking Dash's movements a little further, since she just upped at bolted away once again - Twi and Nyx met up with her at ground level beside a break in the land level. A cave squire grasping at our attention. "Looks like this is what that tremor was about then." Nyx commented, examining the details of the cliff face. A clean crack pierced through the lining and seemed to be a few feet deep. "Have you looked inside it yet?" he asked the pegasus, now taking a close look at the penumbral entrance. Almost beckoned in by it's breath. "Not yet, I was hoping we could all look inside together, just in case something's in there... Not that I couldn't handle it myself of course!!!" Dash retorted in exuberant confidence. Cramming her wings into place after she felt she had made her point. "So are we going in or what?" ""Sure. "" Nyx and Twilight simultaneously replied, before entering the mouth of the newly formed cave entrance. The rock surrounding the trio had already started to constrict them down to a smaller space, although the quality and finish of the cave walls, floor and ceiling had started to become more smooth. Almost marble-like. "Be careful." Twilight mumbled, making sure both of them had acknowledged her words. "Pshaw, I'll be fine. I can fly remember?" Dash snarled , rolling her eyes while giggling. "So can I, but i'd still be careful. You never know what's about to hap- AHHHHHHHH!!!" ""TWILIGHT!!!"" Dash and Nyx both scream, rushing over to the location from which she fell. "Guys!!!" Twilight, called from a crevice carved into the floor. "A little help?!" Nyx peeked over the opening, witnessing her clawing for any scrape of grip she could find. "Here!" He then exclaimed, gifting as much of his arm as was possible for her to grasp - Rainbow Dash also offering a wing for Twi to hold. A few gruelling moments of panic and indecision later, Twi had finally mustered up the courage to reach a hoof up, barely attaching herself to the human's arm before traction abandoned her, inhaling the loose rock down the crevice. Dash had also wrapped her wings around the petrified pony, pulling her up also with all she could offer. The strength of Rainbow and Nyx appeared to be enough to raise Twilight out of the bottomless trench, with a little room for them both to breath also. With one last effort, she was hauled over the kerb of the opening and dragged a safe distance away. With Twilight just barely making it to safety with her organs intact. A group breather seemed to be in order, although not voluntary since the purple pony leapt towards the human backing both him and her against the ribs of the cave. With just enough oxygen in her lungs she whispered with a scarce breath, "Oh my Celestia... thank you, Nyx. Thank you Rainbow Dash. Thought I was gone there for a second." "Don't worry about it." Dash commented, catching her breath also, despite efforts to conceal her panic. "So, why didn't you just fly back up here? Or use magic for that matter? "I- I don't know..." She replied, looking more healthy in her speech. "I guess... in times like that, you just forget you're not a unicorn anymore." Nyx, now mostly recovered, piped up with, "That still leaves out the fact you didn't use your magic. Is there something blocking it?" "I don't know." She replied, now returning to a crisp purple complexion. Twilight then attempted to cast a simple brightness spell, just to check magic still functioned in the belly of the cave. Despite some slight difficulty in her efforts - enough to be visible - she was able to create a wisp to light the way, if only slightly. "You still want to head further down?" Nyx asked, turning to face Dash as well, now concerned for their hospitality. "We can call it a day here and some back with Celestia." "No." Twilight argued. "We need to check what's here, it could be dangerous... or really dangerous." Dash then approached the pony and stated, "I think we've seen enough danger today already, we can head back if you want." "No. Let's just go a little further. We have light now and we'll double back if we see any other danger areas." She retorted, blinded by curiosity. "Alright." Nyx, acknowledged. "but one of us says turn back, we all turn back. Okay?" ""Got it."" Twi and Dash both replied, returning to their normal faces as they once again set their eyes on whatever lay down there.