I trotted down a dim passage. My steps echoed far into the distance. My fur stood on end. A shiver ran down my spine. I was safe. I gulped. This close to the sarosian housing area, I was safe. There were guards nearby. They kept these tunnels secure. A bang reverberated throughout the cave. Yelping, I spun around to face… nothing at all.
Somepony had dropped something, far away. Nothing to be worried about. Everything was fine. I was merely restless. I chuckled, only for it to come out forced and nervous.
Why had I come down here, again? I had planned for an entire month. Twenty days of research, yet I remained woefully under-prepared.
I required a distraction. Badly. However, much to my dismay, the only objects of interest nearby were the lights embedded into the arching brick wall: simple kyanite crystals resonating at sub-critical frequencies. Though far too dim for inhabited areas, they could last multiple decades, making them ideal for many of The Tower’s passageways and tunnels.
And… and… it was really dark. I gulped. That... that would merely facilitate hiding. Yes. Should something happen, I would hide in a shadow. Yes. I would be safe. Perfectly safe. Why was my breathing so damn loud?
Come on, come on, devise another avenue of thought. A spell, a novel, anything! I needed to stay calm. Clop. Calm. Clop. Calm. Clop. I took a deep, shaky breath. Stay calm. Calm, calm, calm, calm. Calm. Distraction. Needed a distraction.
Why was I this jumpy? There was nothing to be worried about. I would never achieve my goals if I failed to overcome simple fear. I was a mage of tremendous potential. Were I to encounter any hostile creature, it should dread me. It remained the only logical conclusion.
Besides, these corridors were safe. I was safe.
The distant chatter of ponies reached my ears. Though still out of sight, they would soon cross my path. With practised ease, I pulled the surrounding shadows over my form. A deep breath taken, I carried onward.
On the next step, my fears resurfaced. What if they noticed me? What if they caught me? The spell made me invisible to the naked eye, but did not fully conceal my presence. It only muffled my steps, and only masked my odour.
A few more steps, and they appeared from behind the bend. My gait slowed, nigh instinctively. I watched as the four sarosians trotted onward, their conversation merry and their tone light. Two had purple manes of similar shades as well as grey coats nearly identical. Another possessed a much lighter shade of grey, golden eyes set on her friends as she brushed aside a bang of carmine. The last trailed behind slightly, her mane and coat various hues of blue. I stared in awe at the group. The last time I had seen such a large and colourful crowd was during my fifth birthday, and these memories were blurry and distant.
I turned my attention back to the present. These ponies cared so very little about The Tower’s dangers. They merely trotted along in content ignorance. None of them showed any sign of noticing me as they walked past.
When the distance between us grew comfortable, I sighed and began walking. Finding myself relaxed, I speculated as to why. Certainly such a display would ease the belief of safety, would it not?
I let go of the shadows, allowing the spell to dissipate. Though I had no issues maintaining it, the inability to see where I stepped disconcerted me greatly. With my worries quenched and heart calm, time flowed freely, and I soon walked past a tight corridor branching off, opting to ignore it. Its claustrophobic space, coupled with its poor illumination, would surely rekindle my fears.
Likewise, the risk of losing my way outweighed any potential reward this path may promise. While I could retrace my steps with a spell, it was wiser to leave such exploration for another time, for my plan only included a single layer of contingency.
In contrast, if I followed the main artery between the serf layer and the sarosian housing, as I currently was, I could never get lost.
Shouts echoed out from the side hallway, tearing my mind away from its reverie. Thank fortune I had the clarity of mind not to set out on that path. I briefly froze before once again disappearing into thin air. Just in time, for the voices drew closer. “Left! Go left! We’re much closer to the serf layer at this point!”
A moment later, a group of knights burst into the corridor, flying towards me. Two mostly intact sarosians each carried on their backs a pony trailing blood. The remaining two, though injured and hardly able to stay airborne, led the way and were the first to pass me.
As the rest of them rushed past, the extent of their wounds became apparent. Blood poured from deep gashes at an alarming rate, while barely attached chunks of skin and fur flapped in the wind. My gaze caught on the hindleg of one of the two. Not only was it bent at an unnatural angle, but how it dangled twisted my stomach. With every flap of her wings, it swung in a different direction, threatening to come off.
I stood there for an eternal instant, unable to tear my eyes from it. Only when the second half of the group came near did my gaze land somewhere else. Somewhere worse. One of the knights being carried clutched something pinkish grey and glossy against her side.
When the smell caught up to me, I realised what it was. Only the paralysing horror kept me from screaming and vomiting. Perhaps I did scream, only to be muffled by my spell.
The dull thud of a pony crashing reverberated weakly through the tunnel. It was so far away.
One of the mares right next to me snapped, “Leave her. If you try to save her, you’ll both die.” She too was far away.
“But…” Everything was so far away.
“At best you’ll lose consciousness trying to carry her. At worst, that thing got past Carmine and will be here any second. So go, and that’s an order!”
I blinked. They carried on.
Who were these ponies? Why were they here? Where was “here”? How had they been injured?
The world fell into place, shattering my peace. Without a second thought, I broke into a canter, heedless of the noise. Though my lungs soon began to burn, the knights still outpaced me. Within a few moments, seconds, or minutes, I lost sight of them.
I was alone. My heart thumped, threatening to give out, as I reached another split in the tunnels. Panting, vision blurring, I slowed down and took a few precious seconds to think.
To my left, the staircase to the serf area, the knights’ trails of blood leading down. To my right, a smaller tunnel, even dimmer than the one they had come from.
The beast was bound to follow their trail, was it not? Could I run down these stairs without hurting myself? Was it even still pursuing its prey? My heart’s thunder eclipsed any sounds the monster might have made.
I gulped and stared at the right tunnel. It was the safe option, but oh so horrifying.
I took a step forward. I needed to be quiet again so that it wouldn’t follow me. Step. Slowly. Step. No, not slowly. I had to keep a normal pace. Step. I had to stay calm. Step. There was no reason to be nervous. Step. The beast still had a considerable distance to cross. Step. I didn’t even hear it. It had to be far away.
Step. If it still wasn’t here, it wasn’t even pursuing them. I was safe. Step. Yes, I was safe. At least twenty seconds had passed already. No, definitely more. It had to be more. Yet the tunnel refused to change. Barely lit up by the gems. Dark.
It had been so easy before, why could I not relax? Step. I needed to stop thinking. Step. Or think about something else. Step. Every time my hoof came down, my heart pounded faster. Could I survive this? Step. Even if the monster never caught up to me, my weak heart might not survive such stress. Step. The sound of a pebble rolling far, far behind me reverberated softly. Step. It was just a pebble, and not the first I had heard. Everything was fine. Step. Everything was fine. Step.
An ear-shattering screech echoed throughout the tunnels. I had not recovered yet, but I broke into a gallop. The clang of my hooves on stone thundered, but I didn’t care. The sound was overshadowed by the pounding of my heart. The fire in my lungs burned away any thoughts other than to flee.
A dozen stairs, leading up. My legs betrayed me, unable to keep up. I tripped. The hard edge of a stair dug into the underside of my jaw. My throat slammed shut as I tried to gasp, tried to scream. Tears filled my eyes. Pain spread throughout my entire skull, eclipsing even the fiery agony in my lungs. I couldn’t keep running like this.
No, this was nothing! My surgeries hurt more than this, and for longer! For months! I had to keep running. I had to. I picked myself off the stairs, wiped my tears, and broke into a canter. I would go further if I paced myself.
The pain held my panic at bay for a while, but soon my vision was swimming, my ears ringing. My heart would give out at any moment now. Running was as likely to get me killed as—
A large pebble dug into my frog when I brought down my entire body weight on it. My throat croaked as I gasped, then yelped. My lungs on fire, my hoof searing with pain, I collapsed, tears running down my cheeks. My last thread of concentration snapped, and my spell dropped.
Tears of pain mixed with tears of disappointment, blended with those of fear. I was going to die. The monster would catch up any moment now and it would rip me to shreds. I lay there, my quiet sobs echoing throughout the tunnel. Me, an adventurer? A jest lacking any comedy. Mere, tiny noises drove me to panic. I was no dashing noblemare rescuing bachelors in a bind. I was a damsel who had never before left the confines of her cushy home. A weakling, a coward.
Mother only knew how long I lay there, wallowing in self-pity. Dying here was possibly the best outcome for my life. No more deluded dreams, no more delirious reveries. Just like the old gods, I would be killed by a monster unnamed.
Except I was still alive. Was my mind truly so feeble that such trivial pain had me crave death? No, I would not tolerate it. I could not let it come to pass. Slowly, I breathed out and allowed my eyes to flutter open.
Sniffling, I wiped away my tears. Though it was still dark, the tunnel had grown much clearer. Neither end was visible, but the quiet rush of distant water meant the exit was close.
I should run, I’ll die otherwise!
No. Were the monster still after me, it would have caught up already. I sat up and massaged my sore hind hoof. I winced from the pain, but breathed a sigh of relief when I failed to find any open wounds. Groaning, I heaved myself into a sitting pose.
My neck, however, had not fared as well. Sticky blood seeped into my fur as I touched my foreleg to my jaw. The wound burnt, though would soon scab. The crust and bruise would be difficult to hide, however, and I lacked any means to disinfect the cut right now. By the time I returned to the estate, it would already be too late.
Groaning, I pushed myself onto my legs, shaky as they were, and started towards the sound of water. A few steps later, I once more donned my cloak of shadows. Despite the strange tranquillity washing over me, I opted for safety.
Before the minute turned, my mind wandered again.
I was indeed no dashing noblemare, and would woo nopony with my bravery. Were I to try, it would naught but be a front. Yet my plight was my own to overcome, and overcome it I would. It was long past time I seize my destiny and assume my role. My role as the hero and protagonist of a story my own. Though I was little more than a skittish filly, this would only serve to sweeten my journey’s reward.
And I would have a neat scar to mark the beginning of said journey.
In the distance, the wall grew brighter with every step I took. I would become a knight, no matter Father’s protests.
My mind abuzz, I reached the turn far faster than expected. Excited, I rushed forward, ignoring my tired legs’ complaints. A gentle breeze blew through my sweat-drenched coat, coaxing a shudder from me. I ignored it as well. The air was far too light for me to stop here.
As I stepped into the open, the sound of water boomed, but my grin froze a second later. Endless black stretched out in front of me, only broken by occasional stalactites lit by the town’s lights far below. Tiny ponies milled about small buildings, their features indistinct from such a distance. The void beyond the edge so close grew infinitely more terrifying as my mind finally fathomed the fall.
Through willpower far beyond possible, I managed to tear my eyes away from the horrible cliff. The stalactites possessed a blue tint, their sharp tips glistening in the cold light. They only grew wider and wider as they reached further up, never stopping, blending into the infinite black above.
I screamed, overtaken by vertigo as I fell onto my rump. After an eternal instant, the echo of my own voice tore me out of shock.
I trotted out onto the main artery of the servants’ quarters, making a deliberate effort not to look up. Near the main road, some buildings stood two or even three storeys tall, blocking out most of the… sky? Perhaps the most fitting word to describe an endless black above.
This early in the morning, most serfs were preparing for their shifts, while some were already running errands. On the one hoof, more ponies implied more eyes to notice me. On the other, I would stick out far less. I checked over myself one more time to make sure I fit in, comparing my accoutrement to theirs and looking for other ponies covering their heads with cloth. Fortunately, nothing had changed since my previous assessment, and my simplistic garb hardly attracted attention.
My worries were highly unfounded. Were somepony to find me out of place, they would remain ignorant of my identity. With the many slight magical alterations made to my appearance, nopony short of Father or Aurora would recognise me. An illusion even hid my recent scab.
The complaint of someone trying to squeeze past me snapped me out of my thoughts, and I followed the stream of ponies heading into the market.
I looked around for interesting stalls or shops, but amongst so many others, none stood out. Everything caught my attention; picking a starting point proved difficult.
I walked past the alley where all the weapon handlers held their stalls. Despite myself, I took a few steps back and glanced between the buildings. It would hardly hurt to look, would it? They had so many items of interest, and I had not seen half of them yesterday!
My eyes landed on a dagger, as sharp as it was beautiful. It would help me gather my courage. Without a shadow of a doubt, it would allow me to drive back my fear when venturing out to the prison layer.
I gritted my teeth and turned away. I had nothing to pay with. No, perhaps that was not the entire truth. While I did not carry any tokens, I had lost no blood in recent times. I genuinely needed that dagger, and its price of nineteen tokens was far from unreasonable. Losing almost two litres of blood would weaken me, though not beyond repair. Such a dagger, however, would solve all my issues. I pivoted once again, almost crashing into a stallion.
I shone him a timid, apologetic smile, and he grumbled something under his breath before walking past me.
Was this really a good idea? Such severe blood loss carried non-negligible risk. I started trotting back down the main road. I could always acquire tokens from somewhere else and save up. My family owned The Tower. Certainly I could devise a plan to line my own pockets. If I failed to find any valuables lying around, I could always skip a dozen meals here and there, and eventually I would have my dagger.
Besides, the alley’s additional guards watched closely, in case a serf attempted to seize a weapon. One stroke of bad luck, and I might end up detained for one reason or another. Then, Aurora would find out, and would ruin everything. It would only be a matter of time before—
I needed to think about something else.
What else could I look at? Clothing, tools, food, some stands even sold books! What a wonderful place, filled with so many wonders. Instead of wasting any more time, I turned to the nearest stand. It sold clothes.
I soon lost track of time, and after close to an hour of staring at wares in the market, I now stood just outside the town’s lower exit, in desperate need for a break from the crowd.
A stallion trotted past me, heading for the gate to the prison layer. His face betrayed his concern at the idea of heading down there. His features remained delicate, despite the emotion painted over them. Was this my chance?
“Hey, you,” I called out to him. This would be my first opportunity to test my peasant lingo. How exciting!
He turned his head, his ornate tin collar pressing uncomfortably into his neck. “Me?”
I nodded. “Are you heading down?”
“Yes…” His eyes scanned me for a moment. “Do you… need anything?”
“I’m, uh, headed down as well, and I wanted to ask if you wanted to go with me.” I rubbed the back of my head and let out a nervous chuckle. “I’ve only recently started working here, you see.” I had more experience navigating these tunnels now. I was not scared anymore, and the desire to show that off would surely make me braver still.
“The Reindusk Prison. I have a message to deliver.” One of the richer families, as expected given the intricate design on the collar. “I’m pretty new too.”
“Oh, that’s near where I’m headed as well.” Mentally, I pleaded for him not to ask about my precise task. That part of my cover story was… patchy, to put it in polite terms. I took a few steps towards him, and he waited for me to catch up.
"So, uh, what family do you work for?" he asked as we trotted.
"Farrier." One of the smaller houses who nevertheless employed many ponies and owned as many serfs. A good bet to blend in. "Name’s Avens, by the way." The rest of my backstory claimed that I was the bastard, hybrid child of one of the lower-ranked bats in the family, and that only recently turned old enough to work. My supposed status as a hybrid was intended as a way to explain my lack of batlike appearance.
In theory, I could have done without any sarosian ties, but without a connection to the bat families ruling The Tower, the odds of getting into trouble rose dramatically. For instance, somepony might wonder why I wore no serf collar. With a clear link to an influential family, nopony would question why I was free, at least not immediately.
Or perhaps, I was being overly cautious. After all, non-sarosian employees existed, and though they were rarer and—
"I’m Andesite, good to meetcha. What kind of name’s Avens, though?"
"It’s a flower name."
I sat on the ground. The cold, hard ground. As long as I focused on the discomfort, my thoughts would remain where I wanted them, away from—
The ground was cold and hard. Maybe a little damp, too? Difficult to tell. Perhaps the cold was seeping into my bones. Would I risk illness from this? My rump was awfully chilled. How long had I been sitting here, watching the gate to the estate? An hour? Ninety minutes?
I habitually pulled out my watch, only for my gaze to pass right through the invisible device.
I groaned, the sound muffled by the spell. How much longer? I had made sure to be back before Aurora left the estate, but I had severely underestimated how long she would stay inside. Did she usually stay as long? Then again, part of the issue came from me coming back early due to—
I tapped my hoof on the cold, hard rock beneath me. I wanted to take a bath, not wait around. There had to be a better way in and out of the estate. Having to stand by until somepony opened the gate was utterly infuriating and such a gargantuan waste of my time. Perhaps another passage existed?
Minutes ticked by as my thoughts idled, wandering through forests of speculation and ideas. I found myself growing less and less patient for Aurora to finish her dinner. I craved being back inside and exploring my options, and I needed to rest up so that I could try again tomorrow. I did not want to wait. Today had been a huge failure, but I would not let that stop me. I would make sure to learn from my mistakes and grab onto my courage with all four legs. Never again would I let a simple dog reduce me to a screeching, babbling mess hiding behind the colt I had vowed to protect.
I gritted my teeth as I remembered the scene. I could never see him again, not after such embarrassment. I had been acting so tough, and I even made up a story about fighting off a monster twice my height.
I buried my head in my hooves, as if it could help me escape the shame. Maybe… maybe I needed to go back to the drawing board. I could not endure another failure like that. I needed to learn more magic, read more horror, and more romance. I had barely even known what to say to him past the basic introductions, and here I had thought myself an expert on these things!
I wanted to scream. So what if the posted guards heard me? I needed to evacuate this from my system…
In agonising boredom, I waited for another twenty or thirty minutes. Every passing moment, the temptation to fess up grew. Father would hear about it, and would treat me like a foal, but this boredom was poisoning my mind.
Just as I was telling myself to be patient for the forty-third time, the lock clicked, and the heavy door started moving. Before it could fully open, I stood in front, ready to slip past Aurora.
But when she did step through, I was shocked to see another pony.
Father’s guest, the awfully rude pegasus, walked alongside Aurora. An unfamiliar coat of arms was crudely emblazoned on his garb. What in Tartarus was he doing here?
Well, whatever he wanted down there was no skin off my back.