I don’t know how long I cried in her arms.
Ten minutes? An hour? Too long.
But I needed it.
The unconditional sense of safety and tenderness Fluttershy offered at a moment’s notice made even my deepest anguish seem insignificant. I gripped her tight with my hands, trembling from desperation and fear, without a word of complaint from her. In fact, I don’t think she said a single thing the entire time. She let me bawl like a child without even asking why, stroking my head and staying completely quiet.
I failed her, twice.
More than just failed, I let her die twice. She and the others, including Pinkie’s family, who we were supposed to help. Or maybe not. Perhaps Applejack and Limestone beat the diamond dogs by brute force; I died before I could know.
I came into Ponyville a complete stranger, yet they all helped me in their own way, or tried at least. Admittedly, I only joined because I didn’t want to be away from Fluttershy for that long. The Pie Family, while having been more than hospitable, were hardly more than strangers.
Even so, after that party and the advice Pinkie gave me, I owed her. To save them, to save Fluttershy, I had to give my life.
However many times it took.
“Chara, are you feeling better?”
I wanted to bury my head deeper and pretend the outside world didn’t exist, that there weren’t diamond dogs hiding in the ground we walked on prepared to kill us. That wasn’t an option though, not that I would have taken it if it was; I’ve already wasted enough time. I didn’t even hear Rainbow Dash knock on the door and ask if we were awake; she probably heard me through the door and decided to leave us alone.
Which meant everyone downstairs was going to be staring at me. Great.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong? It’s ok if you don’t.”
“I…” the memory of Fluttershy and Twilight’s mutilated cadaver’s flashed in my mind. The gurgling as Fluttershy choked on her own blood, trying to say her last words that I’ll never know, a sound that I can never wash from my mind. “Can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, it’s ok. You can when you’re ready. Are you alright to go downstairs with me? I’m sure Twilight and the others are waiting for us.”
I knew they were. Not only that, but I could even tell her how things are going to play out down to what each of them are going to say; practically even hear the sound of the table’s legs giving out. Part of the reason I didn’t want to get out of bed was not wanting to experience all that again.
I can’t fathom how Frisk did it so many times.
“You’re right. Can we stop by the bathroom at least? My…” I bit my tongue as I began to inch away from her, rubbing my hands against my shirt as I tried to get rid of the unnerving sensation. Though some part of me was aware it was more in my head than anything else.
“Face is sticky.”
“There are tissues on the nightstand. If you want to go to the bathroom though, we should have time.”
I glanced at the box she was referring to, having completely forgotten about them even though I’d used them before. “Oh.”
While my face actually was sticky, it’s not why I wanted to go to the bathroom. I needed to be alone for just a minute or two. The last reset told me a lot, and I have to try to come up with some sort of plan. As much as I appreciate Fluttershy, her presence made it hard to focus sometimes.
As I opened my backpack, I only got the pencil and notebook out this time. The cupcake was by far one of the most delectable things I’ve ever tasted, but I didn’t have any appetite left. I’m not sure if I’ll even be able to eat until everything is over.
I put the fourth tally mark in, just as quickly depositing them back in my inventory and slipping my backpack on. It’d become such an automatic thing that I almost questioned if I’d even done it. All the resets began to blend together when it came to minor stuff like that.
The bathroom was small, but had all the necessities. Fluttershy stood outside patiently when I locked the door, making my way to the sink to turn on the water. It was easy to wash my face and get my annoying hair to stop sticking to it, but my hands…
Scrubbing them with a nearby bar of soap did almost nothing. My hands felt raw; the skin on my fingers was pruning up, but I still couldn’t get rid of the feeling that there was residue in between them. No warmth, just the consistency of blood that wouldn’t go away, Fluttershy’s blood.
Rationally, it wasn’t there. I was aware that the feeling was superficial, that it was in my mind and no amount of washing would make it go away. Despite that, I had to make the effort, as pointless as that was.
Eventually, I sighed in defeat as I placed the soap bar back. While using a nearby rag, I exhaled and closed my eyes. Trying to ‘compartmentalize’, as I heard Twilight say a handful of times.
“Ok, what do I know for sure?” I muttered to myself, turning my back to the mirror. “The diamond dogs don’t want to negotiate peace; Whatever they’re here for, they want it badly enough to kill. Or are they being forced to? Would explain why they apologized afterwards, well, why one of them did.”
I’d already felt like I'd spent too long in the bathroom; the idea of making Fluttershy stand outside bored out of her mind or worried about it didn’t help. I pulled the journal out again, flipping to the next blank page and drawing a bare-bones copy of Twilight’s map. I could say for certain that two of the areas were safe, and that the third one was a trap. Meaning the fourth one Twilight was saving for tomorrow had to be their den, right?
It could also be that we were close to their den, and they were attacking us because we were getting too close? It’s a gamble either way, one I had to take. Either the fourth one was their den, or the third one was and whatever group went there would just end up getting killed.
Unless I could convince Twilight to not send a group there; a hurdle of its own considering she’s already suspicious of me and wasn’t a fan of her plans being messed with.
“Even if I get there, what do I do then? There’s no way those three are the only diamond dogs here. There has to be more of them. Hiding out in the den? Why? Were the others hiding in the den? Wouldn’t it be better to have them split up in groups to attack all of us? Unless they weren’t expecting us to split up.”
I absentmindedly doodled on my drawing of the map; putting x’s over the two sections I knew they wouldn’t be, skulls over the one I did, and question marks on the one section I didn’t know about.
“I doubt Marble would be much help, and Fluttershy…” I bit the tip of my fingernail on my thumb, then stopped as soon as I started. “I’d rather avoid bringing her if I can help it. What about that anti-magic rock? Only one of them had it. Do any of the others? The other two didn’t, but maybe they split up into groups like we did and each group has one? How do I know so much, but still so little? It’s so-”
“Chara?” Fluttershy asked through the door after knocking. “Are you talking to someone?”
“No.” I retorted, hoping she couldn’t make out much of what I’d been murmuring. “Just myself.”
“Oh.” she awkwardly paused. “Sorry for interrupting your conversation, but are you ready?”
“...not really. But I don’t want to make them wait any longer.”
I found some relief in that the living room had changed, even if the changes were only minor. The table had already given out and its part moved to somewhere else; Applejack and Rainbow Dash were standing where it was and talking about something. Pinkie was sitting down beside Twilight and was placing random objects on the map like it was a strategy board game. That left Rarity in a corner with Marble, the former had a strand of the latter’s mane and was presumably saying something about its straightness.
Rarity was glancing at me, and Rainbow was doing a very poor job of trying not to. She almost certainly heard me crying and mentioned it to one of them; Who knows what she overheard? Some of them were undoubtedly concerned about me, which would only make things harder.
“Good morning, Chara. Are you alright? Rainbow checked on you earlier, but she said you needed more time.”
“Yeah, I’m…” as I made eye contact with Twilight, I remembered how she looked when she was forced onto the ground and her throat was gouged out. So sure until she couldn’t teleport us, just as quickly struggling to breathe. I turned away from her, wrapping my hand around my pendant. “Fine. The rock soup last night left me a bit queasy, that’s all.”
Twilight didn’t believe me, as to be expected. I was almost tempted to just tell her the truth to see what would happen, but deep down I knew that would either only make things worse or they wouldn’t take me seriously. Some of them would play it off as a joke. Fluttershy would probably be able to tell I wasn’t joking or anything and become even more worried about me than she usually was.
“Hm.” Twilight lifted the thermos and took a sip from it. “Oh well. Here, I should give you this before I forget.”
I didn’t even try feigning surprise when she floated the scarf towards me. Hastily shoving it into my backpack as soon as she dropped it into my hand, trying to hide how I froze up as soon as I felt it.
I couldn’t wear that scarf again. I just…couldn’t. I’ll deal with the cold.
“I’ll make sure to thank her for it later.” I responded. It was the same thing I’d said before, but this time much more monotone and without even an attempt to smile.
If Twilight was suspicious of me before, she was untrusting of me now. The way she narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips at me was telling enough.
“It gets pretty cold out here, from what Igneous told me, but suit yourself.” Twilight said with a shrug of her shoulders. Dropping the thermos beside her with her magic and opening her bag to pull out the markers. “We should get started, we’re already behind schedule an-”
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Twilight. In private.”
She gave me an annoyed and confused glare, resting the markers on the map. “Can it wait?”
“No.”
Fluttershy peered down at me wordlessly. Furrowing her eyebrows as she was just as confused as Twilight was, but with more concern. It was completely justified; I could only imagine how erratic my behavior must have looked to her and the others.
“Chara?” Fluttershy whispered, nearly inaudible.
“It’s important, really.”
Twilight got up and walked into the kitchen, gesturing for me to follow her. No one else said anything; even Pinkie just watched in silence. I found it somewhat odd, yet I was a bit thankful I didn’t have to deal with any more questions.
She sat down at the table we ate at just the night prior, and I did the same across from her. I half expected to be nervous when I was alone with Twilight, but I was strangely unbothered. Even as she looked at me with hesitation and heavy skepticism, her leer didn’t unsettle me like it did before.
“What is it?”
“I…need a favor.” I stuttered out as I crossed my arms, awkwardly rubbing my pendant. “I know you put Fluttershy and I on the same stick. While I appreciate the forethought, I want to go with a group by myself. I also know it’ll mess with the group numbers, but I need you to trust me on this.”
“How…” Twilight leaned forward in her chair. “Do you know that?”
“Because,” this was the part where I’m basically throwing dice. If it works, I will have to find a way to thank Pinkie extensively. “I can see the future.”
She stared at me for what felt like forever.
The embarrassment that washed over me as I realized how absurd what I said was hit hard. I wanted to recede into my shirt like a turtle and never come out again. Unfortunately, my shirt wasn’t big enough and I was not small enough.
“Chara, that’s a bold claim. However, it would explain certain things.” Her voice trailed off as her eyes drifted to the side, just as quickly turning her attention back to me. “I still find that hard to believe. I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to prove it somehow.”
“Well, uhm…” I drummed my fingers against the table as I tried to come up with something. I really should have figured she wouldn’t just blindly believe me. What could I even tell her? I could paraphrase the explanation she gave about her plan. Though it’s doubtful that’d convince her, unless I could repeat it to her word for word, which I couldn’t.
Telling her that diamond dogs are going to attack us wouldn’t prove anything, either. Maybe bring up the anti-magic rock they have? No, she barely believed it when it was right in front of her. I’d just come off as desperate.
There’s nothing I could tell her that would convince her. At least, nothing I could think of. I have no choice but to try and compromise.
“I’m not lying to you, really. I can see the future, but I can’t prove it. So…” I closed my eyes and deeply inhaled, preparing myself for the can of worms I knew this would open. “If you please just listen to me, I’ll let you do whatever experiments you want, and…tell you whatever you want about humans and where I come from. No more lying, no more on-the-spot excuses.” I lowered my head, admittedly somewhat missing not having hair that covered my face. “For better or worse.”
The widening of her eyes and a glimmer of a sparkle gave away her blatant interest; her lack of shock that I’d been lying up to this point all but confirmed that she’d known I’d been lying. For how long? Where did I mess up? Honestly, I shouldn’t even be surprised. I knew I was terrible at it and I suck at being consistent with them. Twilight, while not as observant as Fluttershy or Pinkie when it comes to some things, was still the smartest person I’d yet met.
I should consider it a blessing it even took this long.
“That’s tempting, but…” she bit her lip, visibly relaxing. If only slightly. “I want to trust you, Chara. Fluttershy’s always had an excellent judge of character. If she trusts you, that should be more than enough. Yet, you just admitted to lying about having amnesia, and your magic…how do I know for certain that you’ll actually be honest with me?”
As easy as it would be to get upset at her, Twilight had a valid point. If I was in her place, I’d be just as cautious, likely more. What could I even offer? I peered down at the pendant in my hand, briefly considering giving it to her until we got back. I haven’t exactly tried to hide how important it is to me. However, I couldn’t bring myself to lift it off my neck. When I tried, the idea of not having it on me at all times just became too much.
“What if…” I tapped the tip of my finger against it, something Pinkie did the other night coming to mind. “I Pinkie promise on it?”
“You know about Pinkie promises?”
“More or less. Fluttershy made Pinkie do one the night she came over. They both seemed to take it pretty seriously.”
“It’s very serious!” Twilight exclaimed, slamming her hands against the table. “Pinkie only makes her closest friends Pinkie Promise on really important things. Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise. If you do, you’ll completely break her trust and the trust of whomever you made it with. And it’s hard to be friends with somepony you can’t trust.”
“This is very serious to me.”
I raised my voice a lot louder than I intended to, startling Twilight and probably whoever was trying to listen in.
“Chara…” she whispered, frowning and lifting her chin. “Say I believe you can see into the future. What’ll happen if I go ahead the way I plan to?”
“You’ll…” I tried and failed to meet her eyes, tightly gripping the edges of the table as I tried to keep my voice steady. “Die. And whatever group you’re in, along with whoever comes after you. They’re not interested in talking, Twilight. They want to kill us. I’m not even sure if peace is an option.”
For a few gut-wrenching seconds, she stayed quiet. Chewing on her lip and staring at a spot on the table in thought.
“No, I don’t… I can’t believe that. I have to try.” she whispered to herself. It was so low I don’t think I was meant to hear it. “Do you know how to do the motions? That’s the most important part.”
I replayed the scene in my head, the motions and what she said coming to mind with relative ease. “I think so.”
“Good. Make a Pinkie Promise that you’ll explain everything when we get home, and I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
I let go of my pendant, placing my hand on my chest. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eyes.” I repeated as I did the movements, closing one of my eyes and pressing my fist against it.
“Hey, did someone make a pinkie promise in here!?”
I jumped out of my chair as Pinkie poked her head around the corner, though only her eyes were visible and she was somehow sticking out horizontally without her hands holding onto the side of the door frame.
“Yeah, Chara did. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she keeps it.”
“Oh, okay!”
She was gone as fast as she showed up. I wondered if she had been listening to us the entire time, or if she really did just know when a pinkie promise was made. I couldn’t decide which was more worrying.
“How did she…?” I didn’t finish as I turned to Twilight.
“Pinkie just sort of knows when somepony makes a Pinkie Promise. I’m afraid to ask if it’s a part of the pinkie sense, or something else entirely. Honestly it’s…” she nervously chuckled as she dropped her gaze. “Kind of scary.”
“Anyway,” Twilight continued. ”What did you want me to do?”
“Uhm, one sec.” I reached into my backpack and pulled out the journal, flipping the page to the mock map I drew earlier and placing it on the table in front of her. Pointing at the sides where I drew the x’s. “These two sections are safe, but-”
I was interrupted by her abruptly giggling like I’d told a joke. “You drew this?”
“Yeah…” I squeaked out. Scanning the sketch over to find what’s so funny about it. “Why? Is there something wrong with it?”
“No, nothing at all. It’s just…” she cleared her throat, using her magic to move her chair forward and leaning closer to get a better look. “I’ve always thought you were smart; you have a well above average reading speed and comprehension, and a remarkable ability to articulate your thoughts. But seeing you draw these in such a childish way is,” she gave a genuine smirk as she used her magic to turn the book towards her. “Such a stark contrast to the image I have of you in my mind. I couldn’t help but laugh a little.”
My face got warm, a flurry of emotions storming inside me. Twilight thinks I’m smart? Sure, we’ve had some in-depth discussions about some of the books I’ve read and events talked about in the history books. But that doesn’t mean I’m particularly smart. Having above average memory and reading speed wasn’t really something I’d consider intelligent.
“I…” the tip of my ears burned as I glanced at my journal, mentally comparing them to some of the few drawings I’ve seen in the books. They aren’t as detailed, yeah, but… ”are they really that childish?”
“A little, but it's kind of cute.” she muttered as she looked over it. “Can I assume the x’s are the sections where the diamond dogs aren’t? If so, then are the skulls where they are? Is that their den?”
“I’m not sure.” As I sat down in the chair, I tried to compose myself. “I know there are at least three of them there and that they’re waiting to attack, but it’s also possible they’re just protecting their den. I don’t know for sure.”
“Shouldn’t you? You can see the future, can’t you?”
“I can see a future.” I corrected. “It doesn’t work the way you think it does. It’s frustrating sometimes. I think when I look into the future, it changes because I looked at it.”
“Still more useful than Pinkie sense.” I heard her say under her breath. “Then the question marks are what you don’t know about? It could be safe?”
“It could be safe, yeah. Or it could be their den. I want you to send whatever group I end up in here so I can check. Hopefully, it’s just a dead end. Either way, please just don’t send anyone to the west. This way, there’s a good chance no one gets hurt. Then we can all go to the west together, and we should be able to handle them.”
“And what if you do find their den?” Twilight asked in a warning tone. “Who you end up with is randomized, so I don’t know if I’ll be there with you or not. Say you find their den, and they try to attack you. What will you do?”
I didn’t respond immediately. Not because I couldn’t, but because I knew she wouldn’t like my answer. She was right in saying that there was no way to know who I’ll be grouped up with; I had two in mind who would be the best for it, but I’ll have to pull the right stick and that’s nothing more than a gamble.
When it comes down to it, that’s all this is; a gamble. There’s so little I know, telling Twilight all this might end up being pointless. It’s not like I have another choice. I have to keep trying until something sticks, for her.
“Whatever I have to.”
Twilight scowled, closing the journal and sliding it across to me. “Chara, no, Ponies. Don’t. Kill. No matter what. Whoever you go with will try just as hard as I will to make peace with them. We have magic on our side and we’ve dealt with them before; This doesn’t have to end in anypony or anydog getting hurt.”
“Magic won’t,” I bit my tongue, stopping myself from letting that slip. There wouldn’t be a point in telling her about the anti-magic rock, at least not yet. I need to know where the den is first. “I know. I’m just saying that, if it comes down to it, I’ll do whatever needs to be done. After all, I’m not a pony.”
She glowered at me for a solid minute, her leer unwavering as I slipped the journal back into my backpack. Eventually, she let out a sigh and rubbed her temple as she got to her feet. Politely pushing in the chair.
“Alright. I can’t help you convince Fluttershy to let you go by yourself, but everything else is reasonable. However, I need you to promise me you won’t kill any of them. If you do, I’d have,” she didn’t finish her sentence, closing her eyes as her arms dropped to her sides. “Please don’t. Chara. I’m imploring you to do anything else.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, a tinge of fear blotting in my gut. I was curious what she was going to say; would she stop me if I killed one of the dogs? Lock me up? As tempting as it was to ask, there’s no way it would lead the conversation anywhere good.
“I promise.”
Once we got back into the living room, Twilight sat down and almost immediately started explaining her plan to the others. None of them tried to ask about what happened in the kitchen. Not even Rainbow, who was doing the worst job of hiding her curiosity out of them.
Everything played out pretty much the same, right until she offered the cup of sticks. Her smile dropped as she extended it a little closer to me than any of the others, something only Fluttershy seemed to notice. Since this was my third time doing this, I had a really good idea of whom each stick belonged to. Thankfully, Twilight didn’t change how she shook it. I was worried she might this time, but she didn’t.
I gulped as I reached for one as swiftly as I could, carrying a hope in the back of my mind that I was right.
________________
Third time was indeed the charm.
I got exactly who I hoped I would; Limestone and Applejack. Unless I misunderstood how earth ponies worked, their magic shouldn’t have anything to do with their sheer strength. The anti-magic hopefully won’t have an effect on them at all.
I hate relying on hope, but my options were very limited at this point.
Rainbow Dash would have also been a good option, just not one I had confidence in. While undoubtedly being the most physically strong non-earth pony, and unquestionably the fastest, that wasn’t as useful in the tunnels as it would be otherwise.
Applejack and Limestone have an absurd amount of strength from what I’ve seen. Limestone wasn’t exaggerating when she said she could crush rocks, and Applejack kicks trees for a living. If anyone can take down the diamond dogs without magic, it would have to be them.
If I fail again, then… I have no idea what to do.
“Chara, you said you’d stay by me. I don’t like not being with you, especially not after this morning.” Fluttershy whispered, not attempting to hide the concern in her voice.
We stood just a few feet away from Twilight explaining something to the rest. Though she was talking to her, her eyes kept glancing towards me, and she was doing a horrible job of trying to hide it. Fluttershy had quietly pulled me to the side after I told her that I wanted to go by myself with my group, even though my stick had both of our names on it.
“I know what I said, and I hate going back on it.” I muttered solemnly, flinching at the touch of her wing more than I would normally. My hands still felt sticky. “But, I don’t want to be too reliant on you. I’ve been trying to be ok with you not being around; it’s part of why I started going to Ponyville on my own in the first place.”
She dismissively shook her head. “That’s not what I’m worried about. Well, that’s not all I’m worried about.” she said as she glanced back at Twilight, who handed a map to AJ. “What if the diamond dogs try to hurt you? Applejack isn’t exactly the best when it comes to talking things out, and Limestone might actually be worse with her family in danger. Diamond dogs can be dangerous if they want. I hate thinking about what might happen to you.”
My hand reflexively went to my chest, the sensation of being so easily pierced through and killed I can only wish I’ll forget one day. “I don’t either. I don’t like thinking about what could happen to you, even if there’s not much I can do if I was around. However, I think I’ll be just as safe with them as I would with anyone else. The moment something goes wrong, I’m sure AJ will protect me.”
Despite my best efforts, there wasn’t an ounce of confidence in my words. Rationally, I knew what I said was true. Yet there was a cloud of doubt hovering over every thought, making me question every single one.
“Chara,” her voice dropped to an even more hushed tone than usual. “What are you not telling me?”
“A lot.” I whispered as I dropped my gaze. My glued together stability wouldn’t hold under her stare. “It’s better if you don’t know, not right now anyway. If I could tell you everything right now, I absolutely would. Let me do this, please. I’ve asked so much of you already, and I hate needing to ask for more. Trust me, please.”
I begged, and I hate begging.
I couldn’t see her face, but I could see her lace her fingers together. Rigidly shaking and her wings flickering between opened and closed. Of course, I could lie. I could make something up to get her to agree, or make up some excuse. Instead, I chose to trust her.
If she trusts me even half as much as I trust her, I wanted to know.
She suddenly embraced me, holding my head to her chest and using a much stronger grip than I thought she would be capable of.
“Ok. Just stay safe.”
At the moment, I didn’t even care that she was hugging me in front of all the others. Giving into it and closing my eyes, I let her warmth and the soothing sound of her heartbeat override everything else.
“I’ll try.”
The problem was, the only place I ever felt safe was with her.
___________
Instead of taking us straight to the section on the map we were supposed to, Limestone actually brought us to behind their house. Back there was a shed which, compared to the one in front of Fluttershy’s cottage, was very well made. Though it was smaller, I assumed that was because their shed wasn’t meant to hold the food for a drove of animals.
She opened it a bit oddly, too. Grabbing the knob and lifting the entire door upward before pushing it open. Inside were various tools, most of which were for mining. Pickaxes, hammers, shovels. Even a small, very old-looking birdcage that sat on a table in the back corner. Some of them didn’t look like they’d been used for a long time, others I didn’t even know the name or purpose of.
“It’s pretty dark underground, we’re going to need one of these at least.” Limestone stated as she walked in, moving to a shelf lined with various lanterns. She lifted one and carried it with her outside the shed, shutting the door behind her with a visible firmness.
Limestone raised it to her side, using a small hook on the lantern to attach it to her pants. It held strong, barely even dropping as she let go of it.
“You should probably put on that scarf my mom made for you.” Limestone remarked as she turned to me. “It only gets colder out here this time of year.”
“I, actually…” I didn’t even notice how much I started trembling when we went outside, trying my best to ignore the stiff wind blowing on my face and prevent my teeth from chattering. “Like the cold.”
Applejack furrowed her eyebrows, narrowing her gaze at me. “You’re an awful liar, Chara.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but decided against it. She was completely right; any further excuses would just be disrespectful.
For most of the way there, I didn’t say anything. Most of my focus was just on trying to tolerate the cold, listening to the occasional thing the two of them would say. Applejack brought up the arm wrestling contest, which Limestone vehemently denied ever even being close to losing. It didn’t take long before she started asking Limestone about what Pinkie was like as a foal.
As it turned out, she used to be completely miserable. No parties or anything. Getting out of bed every morning was a struggle. She never even smiled once. Apparently, it wasn’t until something called a ‘sonic rainboom’ happened that the Pinkie we knew was born. After that she threw her first party, and then left the farm to spread the happiness she felt. She never even visited the farm anymore, just communicating with them in letters. Limestone didn’t even try to hide how much that upset her.
We reached one of the holes right as Limestone brought up Maud. I watched intently as she unhooked the lantern, setting it on the ground in front of her and withdrawing a packet of matches from her pocket. She picked one at random and struck it on the base of the lantern, lighting it up on the first try. She swiftly opened the lantern and used the match to light the fire inside it, managing to close it before the icy wind could blow it out.
“That’s impressive, partner. Ah haven’t seen anypony other than Granny Smith light up a lantern that fast.”
“Yeah, well. We use these lanterns a lot more than you cowpokes do. Like I said; it gets really dark underground sometimes. You either learn how to work a lantern properly, or you mine in the dark. I’m actually in charge of maintaining them, and made sure they were full last night. We should have enough to explore most of these holes, but I’ll say uncle when we need to start heading back.”
“Mighty appreciated.” Applejack stated as she patted Limestone on the shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”
They started to go down, stopping only when they saw I wasn’t right behind them. I felt stuck in my place, shaking for a reason other than just fear. There was roughly a fifty fifty chance that a pack of diamond dogs were waiting for us. My life was in the hands of the reaper, left entirely to a coin toss.
“You coming kid?” Limestone inquired as she turned to me.
“Yeah, just,” I slapped my numbed hands against my face, sharply inhaling and putting all my willpower in walking. “A little anxious.”
I needed to keep moving forward; Until all my friends were safe.