//------------------------------// // A Deal // Story: Left Behind // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// Sunny followed the two while they carried Moon through dirty, uneven corridors dug into what could be best described as mud. Had the iron fencing and supports not been present, then the unicorn was sure that everything would have already collapsed at this point. The darkness would be periodically broken by the oil lamps hanging from the wooden support beams, but they gave off an acrid stench that burned away the nose hairs of the pony. He couldn't help but levitate a handkerchief to his face while he traveled through it. The two escorts saw him and laughed heartily. "You'll get used to it soon enough," the minotaur explained with a deep and grumbling voice. "Of course, the smell is strongest in these tiny tunnels. In the main sections of our little home, the fumes dissipate fairly quickly." "Most of us tend to stay away from the tunnels, because of it," the bird added. After several minutes of walking, the group finally reached the exit. "And here we are, my smelly abode," she said. Sunny was stunned. There was a massive hole dug underneath the land. Shabby wooden cabins hung onto the dirt walls for dear life, held up by planks of wood beneath them. There were a plethora of blocky 'digouts' in the area, making everything look like a group of steps angled in bizarre manners or big enough for a dragon to use. Large lamps dangled from the ceiling, illuminating the 'city' while glowing, green fungi provided light to areas blocked off by the wooden buildings on the ground. The city smelled damp and rotten, like it had been resting within a bog and was just now uncovered. Sunny saw multiple shabby, crooked metal pipes rising high and vanishing into the ceiling. These constructs had been made with several different types of metal and were bolted together, but that didn't stop them from deforming from the heat and letting smoke seep through. The unicorn looked to the two with a marveled gleam in his eyes. "Is this an underground city?" Sunny asked. The bird slow-blinked at him. "Yes, of course it is!" She knelt down and hugged him close to her, smothering him with her feathers. "It's a magnificent little place where all of us workers go to live after a hard day's work." She looked at him with a smile, then Sunny was slapped on the back of his head by the minotaur. "No, it's not a city, you idiot!" The bird stood up, shaking her head. "It's a hideout where all us unwanted go." "Well, it's one'a them," the minotaur interjected. "Bla bla bla," the bird mocked. She flinched when Moon coughed, spitting out a black substance. "Hmmm." She and the minotaur leaned over. "Looks like her body is removing the poison remnants." "You said she was treated?" the minotaur asked. "Yes. By the thestrals," Sunny explained. "They fed her a bunch of food meant to flush out the poison." He was met with annoyed grunts by the bull. "Of course they did. Those idiots only know how to sing, dance, and feast." He readjusted the alicorn again. "If her vitality wasn't so tremendously impressive, she would have already died." The unicorn rubbed the back of his head. "So, where are we going in this...hideout?" Sunny asked. "Gonna go to my little home-sweet-home," the bird said. The group went down the large 'steps', dodging many piles of refuse around. Sunny expected some of the griffins here to approach them for something, but the moment they saw the bird, they fled into the boxes, cans, and other piles of junk littering the streets of this poorly illuminated area. Most of the people here were shabby looking, with a lot of them wearing dregs to cover up feather loss due to malnutrition, a lack of sunlight, or some other cause. They looked at the unicorn with a stern eye but still waved the bird as she passed. They arrived at the steps of a run-down shack. Climbing up three steps stressed Sunny as it seemed that each creaked louder than the last, like they were about to snap at any moment and break his leg. The interior was dark and dusty, but even in this, the unicorn could see that there was only a single table in the middle of the room. Three closed doors on the three other walls were kept shut. Moon was dropped softly on the table by the minotaur, then he dropped down, cross-legged, just as the bird did. Said bird leaned forward and tapped the empty space in front of the table all without breaking eye contact with Sunny. He obliged. "S-so, what are your names?" the pony asked. "First things first, tiny. What are you two doing here?" the minotaur asked. "There's no reason for ponies to hang around here." He looked at Nightmare Moon, and his scowl deepened. "And what is this thing? It is neither a unicorn nor a pegasi, but it has the traits of both of them." Sunny cleared his throat. He wanted to tell them, but he wasn't sure what would be the best way to come about it. He didn't know these creatures, and for all he was aware of, they were going to try and kill both him and Moon, something the bird noticed right away. Said avian leaned forward on the table with her arms crossed. "We brought you down here because you might be of some value to me." She pointed a finger towards Moon. "The magic power she displayed was unexpected. I have no idea what you two are or what you're doing here, but--" "I just asked them that," the minotaur sighed. "But, I'm sure we might be able to come to a compromise." Her smile darkened. "Or else." The pony gulped. "She's an alicorn," he said with a trembling voice. The two stared. "She's a pony goddess? She's part of our legends. Popped up out of nowhere one day and took over my home. She even has her own castle now." The two were skeptic. "Are you sure she's a goddess? That sounds absurd," the bird laughed. "Feels like--" "Feels like somepony has been sharing too much." An angry and tired voice growled. Moon struggled to sit upright and held a deep frown. "You're awake," the bird noted. "I'll be right back," the minotaur said. He stood and walked through one of the doors, shutting it quietly behind him. "So, Miss Goddess, what should I do with you?" the bird asked with a grin. The alicorn looked to the bird with eyes half-open and pale face. "Leave me be or die gruesomly?" she suggested. The bird slammed her palm against the table several times. "Very hilarious, but in your condition, you have no leverage here." Her demeanor turned somber. She grabbed Moon's horn and twisted her head to face her own. "Who are you? I want to know, and I want to know what you want." "We're looking for Canterlot!" Sunny yelled. "Sunny..." Moon grunted. "I'm sorry, but they need to know. We came here to look for help, didn't we?" Nightmare Moon grunted in annoyance and gestured to continue. "We are looking for an old pony city called Canterlot. She thinks it's further south." The bird rubbed her chin. "And you came here looking for clues because we're on former pony territory." She nodded to herself. "Makes sense. Why do you want to know?" "Looking for information...about the past...and why all of this is as it is...Sister became Sun Tyrant...Makes no sense," Moon groaned. A handful of a blue sludge was suddenly jammed into her mouth and shoved down her throat by the minotaur who had somehow came upon everyone unseen. The alicorn coughed and shivered from the horrid flavor coating her mouth. "That will absorb the toxins in your body. You will poop funny for a few days but that will pass. Best I can do on hand without knowing the poison." The bird leaned forward. "Considering your behavior, I believe we might be able to help each other, but first, introductions. I am Calostell, and I control most of the unsavory business in the downunder down here under up there." She hopped over the table and hugged the minotaur's arm while fluttering her eyeslashes at him. "And this is my boyfriend, Bombastic." She started speaking dramatically. "We've known each other since childh--" The minotaur grabbed Calostell by the face and slammed her head multiple times against the table until she stopped moving. "Sh'ain't muh date. Hired me years ago after she lost her place'n got sent'n here. Been actin' cookey ever since 'er eyes got'n lik dat," he said whilst tapping his right eye with a finger. Moon raised the stunned bird up with her magic and observed her eye. "Have you been visited by any strange magics?" she asked. "Weird thing told me my line was it, then it zapped my eye and this happened," Calostell explained with a slur. Moon let go of the bird, causing her face to slam into the table again. "You've been touched by chaos." Moon felt herself recovering somewhat. At least she could speak mostly clearly. "Chaos magic flows through you." "Chaos magic?!" Bombastic gasped. "It would explain a lot...Is there a cure?" "It's magic. She needs to adapt to it." Calostell held her forehead and cast the minotaur a glare. "Didn't have to be so rough. Ouch..." she took in a pained breath. "So, who are you? We presented ourselves. Your turn." "I-I'm Sunny Dimples," the unicorn explained. "I'm the aid of her highness." "Nightmare Moon. I was once the ruler of Equestria and will be so once again, but its in a fractured state." She clicked her tongue. "It disgusts me. Equestria is pony territory, and it will be once again." "Well then, your highness, you'll need someone to govern the griffins while you're off conquering." Moon raised a brow. "And you are the one to do it? Why should I entrust this territory to some random criminal over simply vassalizing the current ruler? Or, why not simply slaughter all of the griffins until they submit through fear?" The bird chuckled. "Because we both know that rule through fear never lasts unless there are benefits." She rubbed her talons together. "And losing so much griffinpower would be costly and lose you a lot of productivity, not to mention instill an intense amount of hatred towards you which can lead to constant rebellions, or worse." Calostell's expression darkened. "Because I was meant to ascend the throne. Me! Not him! He took my place and tried to murder me!" She started cackling. "But I made it, and I'm here, still." "Another on a quest for vengeance, then?" Moon shook her head. "And you know about Canterlot?" The bird shrugged. "I know it's a pony city of myth. Some of them come by our lands in search of it or information on it. After all, you have to comb every bit of Equestria to find legends of the past." Moon smirked at her remark. "Firstly, when you start conquering, I want you to come to us first. Aid us in retaking my home, and I will look all the better for it. A duel will be needed." "Because griffins value strength, I know. Continue." Calostell clenched her fists. "That idiot thought he was so powerful after stealing the throne, then he lost us our homelands." She glared at the alicorn then pointed at her. "Lands that your kind now inhabit and own." "I suppose, then, that you'll be wanting those lands back." The bird raised her hands. "Oh no. We'll be staying here. It will be a lesson for the griffins to not praise someone for winning a battle instead of the war." She cast a glance towards the pony. "What say you, pony?" "Deliver the information you have. If I found Canterlot, then you will know, and I will uphold my end of this bargain." The room darkened, and Moon's eyes started glowing a blinding white. "But if you betray me at any point, you will know what an alicorn can do, now tell me what you know." "Is it a very tall building?" the minotaur asked first. "Yes." "Is it made of white stone?" "To my best recollection, yes. That is what it was to be made out of." Bombastic pointed downwards. "Then we probably found it a few years ago while digging for additionnal space."