//------------------------------//
// Chapter 32: Cast No Shadow 
// Story: Sisters of Willowbrook 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//

"She's gone, right?"

Derek shifted in her seat, lowering the curtains back over the window. Risk watched her from across the carriage, though she couldn't quite read his expression. Not anger, exactly. Annoyance. The way he usually looked whenever Charlie was around.

"Yes. Hopefully she doesn't report back. If the Lightless Star is still using the mine, it's going to make this process a lot harder than it needs to be."

She settled back into her carriage-seat, getting comfortable again. Derek had a proper change of clothes in the carriage, but she didn't want to switch with Risk still watching. It didn't matter if she spent most of her time around this colt naked—the act of changing was still a deeply personal thing.

"They will eventually," Risk said. "For the same reasons as you. Can't bring back the true gods without a low place, and I don't know of any others."

They might, she thought. But that was more wishful thinking than anything. Derek could imagine a world where the Lightless Star wouldn't interfere with her life anymore. But pretending wouldn't make it true—only escaping back to Earth could do that. She had a little more fighting to do before she could see that world. "As long as they aren't using it now, that's all we need," Derek said. "They won't be able to tell what we did."

Risk was silent for a few seconds, glancing to either side. When he did speak, it was with a voice nervous and hesitant. "Are you sure you don't, uh... are you sure we should be doing this without their permission? Doesn't it feel like we should be on the same side? You're trying to summon your brothers and sisters, just like them. Just because you understand it better than they do..." Risk knew things, maybe more than any pony but Iris. But that didn't mean Derek had told him just the truth. The whole city was loyal to the Lightless Star, and Derek didn't think he would be able to handle that particular truth. 

And once we can open the way back to Earth, it won't matter what he thinks anymore. Some part of her felt guilty about the lie, but it was a vanishingly small part. Derek had been pulled into Equestria against her will—anything she had to do to get home was fair game. Hopefully no one else would be harmed along the way.

"We can stop here," she called, loud enough that her voice would carry through the thin carriage walls. The servant bringing her home today was Long Haul, one of her favorites. He never asked any questions, no matter how bizarre her requests. Let them think she was a god all they wanted, so long as it meant she could make it back to Earth one day.

The cart rattled to a stop. "Of course, Miss Vale." 

Derek nodded towards the door. "Gimmie a second, I'll be right out."

Risk rolled his eyes, then hopped past her out the door.

She changed quickly, or at least as quick as she could. Really that just meant ditching the skirt and fancy vest, and replacing it with a thick adventuring coat. It hung long behind her, a little like a trench coat. Except this one had a lining she'd stitched herself, tightly reinforced with powerful enchantments. It also made her look a lot less girlish, particularly when she paired the old-fashioned cap with it. All she needed was a tommy gun and a cigarette, and she could fit right at home in any of Lovecraft's novels.

She left her school clothes folded on the seat, but brought the bag over her shoulder. She'd need everything inside for what was waiting for them. She walked past Risk, over to where Long Haul stood in his harness. "You can continue to the mansion, Long Haul," she said. "Maybe see my clothes brought back to my room, if you have the time for it. It would be better if nopony knew to look for me."

His eyebrows went up. "You don't plan on upsetting the mistress, do you?"

She shook her head vigorously. "Back before midnight this time, I promise. If anypony asks, just tell them I'm hiking with Firefly again. It's mostly true."

The old stallion nodded. "As you wish, Miss Vale." He trotted off, carriage rattling as it rolled down the road. She watched him go, at least until he was out of earshot.

"You don't have to dress up like that," Risk said. Like her, the colt had grown in the last few years. He was a full head taller, lean and muscular in a way that no mare could ever look. Not even Charlie, despite her bottomless athleticism. He kept his mane as perfect as his uniform, even when he was about to go underground on a dangerous mission. "Lady Vale has a personal tailor. Give her ten minutes, I'm sure she would find something perfect for you."

Now if only she could find a way to look as masculine and confident as he did, maybe she wouldn't hate looking in the mirror. "I'm not trying to look perfect, I'm trying to stay safe. My enchantments aren't in the dresses Mom wants me to wear." She glanced down the road in both directions, then darted forward. The trail they were looking for peeked out between a pair of overgrown fields, entirely unmarked now. Nopony wanted new move-ins from Los Pegasus wandering down forgotten roads and getting themselves killed in the old mine.

"Yeah, but they could be," he said. "At least promise me you won't come to the Fetlock Fete in a suit." 

Derek grinned sidelong at him. "You asked me, you had to know what you were getting your hooves on. I'm a disgrace! Did she lose her horn in an accident? Did anypony tell her she was an earth pony?" She leaned forward to a skeletal tree emerging from the corner of the field, smacking her hoof against it. As she did, she whispered the secret words the earth had told her, the ones she'd sworn her cutie mark to learn. Bright green sprang from its branches, bursting forth in new life.

A few seconds later, an apple dropped from the edge of one branch, right into an outstretched hoof. She took a dramatic bite, chewing in frustrated silence. She didn't bother stopping with the core, just ate through the whole thing in a few short bites. "I'm dangerous to be around, Risk. Firefly doesn't have a choice, we're both flames from the same branch. Not you, though."

He didn't look away. "I don't expect you to act like a pony exactly, Lilac. You're from ancient history—and if I understand the Doctrine, you were probably an Alicorn back then. I can't even imagine how hard it must be, only able to express one aspect of that magic. Like your body is a prison, and until we can fix this spell... you can't escape it."

She broke into sudden laughter, smacking him on the shoulder with one hoof. "You have no idea how right you are, Risk. At least you understand how badly I want to finish this. That means accepting any help we can get. That means you don't try to send Firefly away. She's as much a part of this as I am."

He looked back, obviously skeptical. "I know how much you feel like that," he said. "And you're from the same place, I get that part. But don't you think if you were so closely related, you would share more in common? I always thought she must be some... servant of the true gods. The same way we divide labor in our world, you did there. Her being a pegasus..."

Derek cleared her throat, loudly. "Don't follow that reasoning much further, or you'll realize where I should be. I don't need Firefly ranked—she's my friend. You can be my friend too. Is that not good enough?"

Risk didn't answer. She didn't bother arguing with him further, focusing on the magic they were about to perform. The difficult hike was an effortless thing for an earth pony, even if it left the unicorn gasping and panting for breath after just a few minutes. She barely even watched the ground under her hooves—every step was confident, and it didn't matter how much she brought with her.

He still would've carried all her equipment if she asked, but that wasn't a mistake she was going to repeat. She didn't want to hurt the poor stallion. Only his preconceptions needed to be taken down—she could keep working on those.

Finally she saw the mine entrance, with the pair of pegasi waiting just beside it. Firefly saw her at the same moment, opening both wings to wave. "Hey! Wondered if you were gonna show up."

"Not everypony can soar over the cliffside," Risk muttered, voice pained. "You should consider those other than yourself, and be a little more patient."

Firefly started giggling, high and feminine. "That's... yeah, sure kid. Think of someone else. Truly I receive wisdom from my betters today. I didn't think of that."

"We've got magic to do," Derek said loudly, shoving her way between them, up to the mine's wooden entrance barrier. She nudged it aside with one hoof, then lifted it upward. Some part of her realized it was heavy—but that part was distant, barely on the edge of her perception; a bad smell in a room she couldn't leave.

That perception didn't reach her body, however. Her limbs didn't shake with the effort of holding a great weight, though she did adjust her other three legs to keep them firmly on the ground. Even if her body had the strength, she could still tip over if she wasn't careful. "Come on. Places to be."

The others hurried inside. Well, Risk hurried. Charlie and River were a little slower, hesitating just outside the mine. Charlie looked up one final time, wings twitching. "You sure we have to go down there? Every time we do I get spiders or something in my feathers."

"I'd rather do it up on the surface too. If this works, we can go to Thermal Springs after, okay?" She had the pegasus there. Her family couldn't afford to frequent any of the finer establishments in Willowbrook. Frankly, they probably wouldn't let her in if she went alone anyway. But if Derek took her, it would be a different story.

She sighed, and crawled through the opening. Her friend River hurried in behind her, barely leaving a wing's distance. Derek ground her teeth together, staring after her for a few seconds. There was somepony here who didn't belong. But trying to convince Charlie of that was a losing prospect.

She darted inside, letting the wooden barricade rattle down behind them. They went from the light of full day to an instant, oppressive gloom. For a moment she couldn't see anything at all, until Risk’s horn started to glow. 

That was enough light for her to fish around in her satchel, and withdraw a sliver of glowstone crystal. She fought with it for a second, wrapping it around her cap. The brim would keep it out of her eyes, while reflecting it back up into the space around her like a miner's lantern.

Even then, the group huddled far closer as they set off through the old mine. The corridors were meant for adult earth pony stallions, so there was plenty of space. But it still felt oppressive, like the stone itself was crowding close to suffocate them.

Even with firm wooden supports buttressing the tunnel, the earth seemed to shift uneasily around them as they walked. Their hoofsteps echoed and stretched, coming back multiplied. 

This wasn't a mine connected to some natural cave, at least not up here. There was no natural beauty to reveal, just rough rock blasted apart with explosives and magic. There were no gemstones to be seen, or veins of glittering ore. Just different shades of brown with occasional veins of black rock. Granite, maybe? That was one aspect of her nature Derek hadn't embraced. Well, one of many.

"How much further do we have to do?" River asked, her voice quiet and fearful. Then they emerged from the tunnel, into a wide shaft stretching down. A metal cage hung there, suspended by a thick cable. A complex mechanism was set into the rock beside it, equal parts magical and mechanical. 

Risk levitated the cage door open, and Derek stepped inside. 

"Not much further forward," she said. "A lot further down."