Chapter 7: The Wizard's Sacrifice.
"We need to find shelter!" gasped Lightning as she and Joskye tried to lift Fluttershy out of the snow.
"There's something over there. Looks like a tree. Come on. Lift!" Joskye yelled.
~The force of the blizzard hampered every step as Lightning and Joskye struggled to half-carry, half-drag Fluttershy to safety. Their task was made harder because the only way the Rainbooms could keep alive was by clinging onto them and each other. To make matters worse, the driving snow crusted their faces and made it almost impossible to see. The tree that Joskye had spotted completely disappeared in a blur of white and they just hoped they were going in the right direction. It took a terrific effort, but with much puffing and panting as last they managed to drag Fluttershy to the shelter of what appeared to be a spruce tree that had snow-laden branches right to the ground.~
"Round this side, guys! It's out of the wind and there's no snow!" Rainbow shouted.
~They made it into the lee of a spruce and discovered to their relief that there was a hollow under its branches. Lightning gasped as she dragged Fluttershy into the shelter and onto bare earth.~
"Made it!"
Argie shook the snow from his body and wiped it from his face. "I thought we were done for then." he puffed.
~The spruce made a wonderful shelter from the wind and the snow and it felt almost warm compared to outside. The six Rainbooms, who by now looked like snowmen without noses, shook themselves free of snow and fluffed up their hair, Rarity and Pinkie especially. Then they gathered anxiously around Fluttershy.~
She began to stir. "Wh-Where am I?" she groaned. "What's happening? Oh, my head!"
"It's alright now, darling. You're safe." Rarity reassured her as she brushed the snow from her and sat her up.
"We all are." Sunset breathed. "I think we've beaten that old Crone's magic. Anyway, I'd sooner be here than stuck in that dungeon of hers."
Lightning nodded and looked around at the others. "Thank you for getting us out again, everyone." She gave them each a tight hug.
"I'm sorry I made it hard for everyone...I just couldn't go on…" Fluttershy sighed.
"It's alright." Swift smiled. "I'm just glad we all made it out."
"Where are we, anyway?" Fluttershy asked.
"We're sheltering under the branches of some trees." said Joskye. He peered at the bark. "I think it might be a type of spruce. Anyway, we need to get moving."
"But, how do we find our way back to the forest?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know..."
"I'll have a look." Rainbow volunteered. "I can shoot off like a rocket!" She reached for her goede.
Lightning suddenly panics. "Wait! Rainbow! Don't use your-"
~Without thinking, Lightning tackled Rainbow to the ground and when doing so, she made enough force to break the earth underneath. Within a second, the ground gave way and all eleven tumbled down a tangle of earth and roots. They screamed and exclaimed until they landed with a sharp bump in a tangled heap down below at the bottom of a deep pit.~
Glumly, Joskye shook the earth from his clothes and peered upwards. "That's done it." he said. "We're stuck. Now what are we going to do?"
"Sorry." said Lightning, feeling like it was her fault.
"It's not your fault, Lightning." Swft assured her.
Rarity picked a piece of root out of her hair. "Yes. None of us could have known the ground was weak."
"Do you think it's another of Hexia's tricks?" Argie asked.
"Dunno." said Applejack. She shrugged her shoulders. Right now, she was beginning to see that nothing had gone right ever since they had arrived in this strange world.
Fluttershy knew how she was feeling and she put her hand on her arm. "It'll be alright." she said. "We'll find a way out."
"Here, wait a minute, everyone," Argie called with sudden excitement. "Look, there's a tunnel here. It got half covered in by the earth when we fell." They turned and saw Argie vanish into a small hole.
"Hey, you can stand up in here." Rainbow's voice boomed as she stepped a foot in the tunnel. "It must lead somewhere."
"Probably back to Hexia's castle." moaned Sunset.
"No...No, it's going in the opposite direction. I'm sure." said Twilight, brightening up.
"Let's try it then. It might just lead us out." Lightning held out her hands. "Let's face it, we've got to do something."
~What she said made sense so, very cautiously, the other squeezed through the gap and began to follow Argie along the underground passage. It was so dark, he had to feel his way along the earth walls to keep checking his steps to make sure there wasn't another hole. He had read about ventilation shafts in mines and didn't want to fall into one. But it made the going very slow.~
"Why don't you let one of us lead?" suggested Pinkie after a while. "We understand the tunnels."
"I'll do it." volunteered Lightning.
"Good idea." Joskye agreed.
~Argie didn't mind. In fact, he was relieved as they sorted themselves out so that Lightning took the lead with Joskye holding her arm, followed by Sunset who held Twilight's arm and the others, while Swift brought up the rear holding Argie's arm. Soon they were on their way again.~
"It's a bit scary, isn't it?" Fluttershy whispered.
"Yes, but at last it's warm and dry." Joskye assured.
"And away from Hexia." Argie added.
"We hope."
"Oh, don't say that." Swift feared.
Lightning stopped everyone for a second. "Shh, hey, there's a light ahead."
~Everyone stopped dead, except for Pinkie, who somehow tripped on Applejack's foot and wrapped around Rarity's legs, leaving Fluttershy wondering where her arm had gone.~
"Pinkie Pie! Since when did you become so clumsy? You haven't been taking after Fumble the sprite, have you?" cried Rarity.
"Shh." ordered Lightning. "This could be dangerous. Let's go carefully."
~The pale yellow glow was still a long way off and it took them quite a time to reach it. Swift could hear her heart beating loudly. She had lost track of how long the had been underground but her stomach told her it was well past lunchtime. At last, they reached a left turn in the tunnel and it was from around this corner that the light came. By now everyone's hearts were thumping. Full of trepidation, first Lightning, then Joskye, and then the others peered around the corner to see what awaited them. What they actually saw was not very much. Just a fairly large underground chamber lit by burning torches set in brackets on the walls. The flickering light cast long shadows behind them as they emerged into the room.~
"I wonder what this place is?" Lightning asked, beginning to think she might have been wrong about the direction. Perhaps this was part of Hexia's castle after all.
"Well, it must belong to somebody." answered Twilight. "The question is: Who?"
"Good afternoon."
~A smooth and low voice was heard and it almost made everyone jump out of their shoes. Swift stifled a scream. Huddling together, they turned to face the owner. Before them stood two of the most bizarre characters any of them had ever seen. The taller one was a gaunt figure with hard features and a leering mouth. The boys noticed at once the straggly black beard and moustache too. It reminded them of a pirate captain, except that the figure before them wore a long silken scarlet robe covered with a mysterious yellow design that included lots of planets and signs of the zodiac. His partner, who was very short, made Argie think of an egg, for he was a round creature, totally bald, and apparently no neck. His robe of green silk was covered in a curious pattern of maths symbols and snakes.~
The short one was the speaker. He smiled a bland, oily smile and continued in his smooth low voice. "Good afternoon. Did we startle you? I am most sorry. Welcome to our humble abode." He raised an eyebrow. "And may I ask to whom we owe this pleasure?"
For a moment, nobody spoke. Applejack recovered her voice first. "We're humble folks and we've just escaped from Hexia's castle."
"We accidentally fell into your tunnel trying to hide from a snowstorm." Sunset added.
Rarity chuckled nervously. "Ye- Yes, and we're very sorry about that and don't want to inconvenience you, so- if you will kindly show us the way out- we'll be off."
~Rarity turned to find an exit but the taller one spoke for the first time and that made her stop. His voice grated hard and Rarity gave a small shiver.~
"Not so fast. How do we know this is true? How do we know you are not friends of Hexia come to spy on us? What are you strange beings anyway?"
"What? Has no one seen a human before? And why are we always assumed as spies?" Rainbow Dash complained.
Joskye spoke up. "Please, sirs, my name is Joskye White and this is my brother and sister, Swift and Argie."
"And we are their friends. We've come a long way and all we really want to do is to get back to our other friends. So, if you don't mind, we would be ever so grateful if you could show us the way out." Rarity repeated, smiling at them.
"Quite, Quite." said the short one. "Only it is a fair journey to the exit and you all look very tired and dirty. And, I should think, hungry and thirsty as well. Won't you stay and have a small meal before you go?"
~The mention of food and drink made them all aware of their stomachs, especially Lightning, Sunset and Rainbow, who, of course, had not eaten or drunk since they first arrived at Tad's cottage. It was difficult to know what to do.~
Lightning turned to the Rainbooms. "What do you think?" she asked.
"Well, it would be rude to refuse, and I take it y'all haven't eaten since we first arrived at Tad's, right?" Applejack answered hesitantly.
"Yeah, I guess." Rainbow said.
Lightning nodded. "Well, ok. Um, thank you very much." she said. "Only you will let us go soon, won't you?"
"But, of course." replied the short one smoothly. "Now we must introduce ourselves. My name is Sireal, and this is my colleague, Wentor. We are explorers, delving into realms of knowledge, trying to understand the secrets of the earth and the heavens."
"Oh, we call those scientists." interjected Argie.
"Scientists? Why, Yes. Yes indeed. Scientists. Now come this way, please."
~They were led through a door into another much larger underground chamber. Lightning and Joskye glanced around trying to take everything in. Drawings and strange instruments littered a bench in the middle of the room, and rolls of yellowed parchments and books lined shelves on three of the walls. A sour smell of chemicals and decay hung in the atmosphere. Almost at once, Joskye wished they had not accepted the invitation. It reminded him too much of Hexia's castle. Fluttershy walked around a flagstone and saw something lying under the table. She gasped with horror when she saw that it was a dead mouse. She glanced up to see a whole string of mice hanging by their tails under the bench. She shivered and decided to stay well out of the way, and to keep an eye on things.~
"Come and sit by the fire. We will prepare a drink."
~Wentor's invitation sounded more like an order, and the kids obeyed with reluctance. They sat before the fire rigid with tension, their hands pressed together between their knees and their shoulders hunched and said nothing. The two figures approached a bubbling cauldron and began to work on several drinks. A few moments later, the shorter of the two, Sireal, returned with a jug of steaming liquid and several metal goblets.~
"Comfrey tea," he beamed. "Very thirst- quenching and refreshing."
~The teenagers watched in suspicion as he filled the goblets and they waited until Wentor and Sireal began to drink before savouring the brew themselves. Except that Swift and the Rainbooms just pretended to drink theirs by holding it to their mouths without taking any in. Lightning, Joskye and Argie stared into the fire- and then the room began to spin. They tried to stand but found her legs wouldn't hold them. Faster and faster the room span until first Lightning and then Joskye, and Argie slumped unconscious to the floor.~
"Lightning!" Everyone screamed.
"What did you do to her?!" Pinkie shrieked as she saw her friend pass out.
"You've drugged her, haven't you?" Swift said furiously, rising to her feet with her fists clenched and her jaw set.
"They must be with Hexia." Twilight exclaimed. She suddenly remembered. "Wait, The mirror…Lightning has the mirror! Get the mirror!" She hissed from the side of her mouth.
~Swift made a dash for Lightning but before she could reach her, Wentor pounced on her and pinned her to the floor.~
"Let me go!" she gasped. "Let me go!"
~Swift punched and kicked and scratched for all she was worth but it was no use. The tall wizard was too strong for her. The Mane 7 leapt in to help but Sireal lashed out at them and they banged their heads on the sharp stone wall so hard that they were instantly knocked out. However, he missed Pinkie and she jumped down and hid under the table. The Mane 6's limp bodies dropped to the ground and Sireal turned to his henchman.~
"Tie those six up." Wentor ordered from where he held the still struggling Swift captive. "Don't worry about the boys and that girl. They'll be out for a good while yet. We'll use them for experiments later." he hissed. "Meanwhile, this girl will make a nice sacrifice for tonight. What a stroke of luck, eh?"
Sireal gave a sinister laugh as he bound the Mane 6 with cord. "Yes, this should get us nicely into Hexia's favour, and please her Harats. By the way, weren't there 9 girls? We only have 8."
"Yes. The pink one must be somewhere about. But no matter. We'll get her later. Let's deal with this one first."
~Swift struggled and screamed as they hauled her to her feet and twisted her arms into a painful hammerlock behind her back.~
"Why are you doing this?" she sobbed. "Please let us go. We haven't done you any harm."
Sireal smiled. "Foolish child. Did you really think we would let such an opportunity pass? We told you we experiment in...shall we say…strange matters, and here you are, creatures we have never seen before. Those boys will make excellent subjects for our studies, and those other girls, too." He sniggered. "But you, my dear, you will be offered as a sacrifice to Hexia's Harats. That way we shall keep her happy as well."
"No, No! Let me go!"
~Swift struggled in their iron grip as the two wizards dragged her across the room and up a short flight of stairs to a wooden door. Opening it, they forced her outside and on to a stone threshold. Straight in front of them rose a long staircase cut into the rock. Each step was covered in strange symbols that had been cut by an ancient hand. The wizards forced her to the foot of the stairs.~
"Start climbing or I'll break your arm." Wentor grated.
~Swift dug in her heels and tried to resist but it was no use. As the late afternoon sun began to set, the two wizards forced her protesting from up the steps. A cold breeze below across the darkening forest. At length, and in spite of Swift's struggles, they reached a high stone platform at the summit of the stairway. There they lashed ropes tightly to her wrists and tied her arms outstretched above her head to two pillars on either side. Sireal drew a slender wand from the folds of his cloak and touched torches affixed to each post. Instantly, they burst into flames and the two wizards chuckled as they watched their victim writhe in the flickering light.~
"Heh, heh. The more she struggles, the more appetizing she will be." gloated Wentor.
~Hearing this, Swift ceased struggling at once. She would give no pleasure to her wicked captors, she decided. The stone stairway stretched like a grey corrugated ribbon below them down to the yellow glare of the open doorway. The wizards turned and began to descend the steps leaving Swift in the gathering gloom under the flitting light of the blazing torches. The door below closed with a dull thunk and, alone and helpless, Swift awaited her fate.~