Segment 0.2

/The universe may have been created and destroyed many times before this moment. There is no way to know if we were ever the original “us”. We shouldn’t focus on it for that reason./

Ruby was convinced that the two of them were on the right track. Her mind flooded with ideas of what they would encounter when they found the place where the tether was housed, but Buck had other things on his mind. The stallion wondered what form such a tether would take. He also pondered what made him so possessed as to follow this mare on such a mad quest. There was little doubt he’d get scolded for leaving his post.

While Buck descended the ladder, Ruby turned on a light she had brought with her, strapped around her neck. The sewers were about as unpleasant as Buck expected, foul-stench beyond anything he could even describe filled his nostrils, making him want to puke. It was clear that Ruby wasn’t exactly enjoying it either as she coughed and hacked. “Sweet Luna…” She managed to get out between coughs.

Buck retrieved some nose plugs from his bag and offered me to the redhead. She took them with a nod of her head as a thank you gesture. Buck nodded back before placing some in his own nose as well. Protected partially from the smell, Ruby retrieved the diagram she had scribbled onto some parchment. With a nasally tone to her usual raspy voice she spoke and pointed. “It’s about a half kilometer that way.”

Adjusting his bag, Buck nodded as the two began their march toward where the tunnels would grant them access to the mines. The spot they needed to break through was a bit west of where they needed to be, but after going over the sewer layout, Ruby determined it was where the wall between the sewers and the mines was the weakest. They could break through and descend down to the chasm they needed to be in from there.

The mines themselves were only partially uncharted, though what was documented had been outdated before even the return of the empire nearly thirty years ago. Sombra himself had closed off the mines due to too many cave-ins, and there was nary a reason to suspect more hadn’t happened since then. With the support system for the mine left in disrepair for nearly half a century, there was no doubt their plunder would be dangerous.

Staying out of the sewage water, the two stayed silent for some time as Ruby kept checking her charts. Buck, feeling a bit awkward broke the silence. “I bet Twilight’s trip through the mines didn’t stink this bad…”

Ruby, kept her eyes on her charts as she replied, her namesake fitting her nature perfectly, studious she was indeed. “Who knows? The mines have some sulfur in them, so it’s very possible that parts of them stank as well.”

Buck rolled his eyes. “Great, so we have more to look forward to…” His tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Ruby glanced over her shoulder at her companion. “Well, our journey may be bit more dangerous than Twilight’s… And in the opposite direction. The lower parts of the mines are more dangerous and potentially flooded.”

“I can, I just don't think treading water in an underground cave system where nopony knows where we are is my idea of a good way to spend Hearth’s Warming Eve…” Buck complained.

“Where’s your sense of adventure? Chin up, you’re being a negative Nancy.” Ruby giggled.

A crimson blush came to Buck’s face. He frowned and looked away in embarrassment. “Yeah, you’re right, sorry.”

“No need to apologize, I’m only teasing… Anyway, we’re here.” Ruby pointed to a nearby wall.

Dropping his bag, Buck looked the wall up and down while he pulled out the drilling tool. The wall definitely looked like it had seen better days. Much of the sewer was likely due for maintenance work, he made a mental note to send a letter to the city council about getting some work done when he got back.

The drilling tool was relatively light weight for how versatile it was. Many advances in construction equipment had been made in the last decade thanks to finding more unique ways to combine magic with technology. Princess Twilight had led the charge since her ascent to the throne. She was regarded well for her intellect and how she levied it to improve the lives of the average citizens.

Placing the device against the wall, Buck glanced back at Ruby. “This thing isn’t going to like make the place collapse, right?”

Ruby shook her head. “Not likely. The support beams are nowhere near this spot. We’re more likely to cause a disturbance in the mines than here.”

With a wink, Ruby responded. “And can you believe I don’t get invited to parties?”

“Well, when we get back, you can come to our Hearth’s Warming party. The station has one every year.” Buck smiled at her as the drill began to cut.

Ruby gave a more serious smile. “I’m glad you said when we get back, and not if.”

The drill continued to work as Buck guided it. He didn’t respond to her statement because truthfully he never considered that they wouldn’t make it back. It was true though, there was a distinct chance this was a one-way trip. Buck decided it was best to clear the air.

Ruby rubbed her neck. “Well… My research suggests that when we disconnect this reality from our own, it’ll collapse slowly. We should have enough time to get back before that happens.”

His attempt to lighten her mood proved effective. “Well, hopefully they portray me as prettier, I didn’t even brush my mane today.”

Looking her up and down, Buck commented. “You look fine. Messy mane suits you.”

Ruby rolled her eyes but didn’t get a chance to respond as the drill finished. “I think we’re done here.” Buck spoke.

Approaching the wall, Ruby examined it, there was still many bricks in the way. “Guess we have to do a bit of work clearing things, huh?”

Shaking his head, Buck gestured for the young mare to move. “No need, allow me.”

Getting out of his way, Ruby moved off to one side as Buck turned around. He readied his hind legs and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he kicked the wall, shattering what remained, and created a hole large enough for the two of them to walk through side by side even. The stallion lowered his leg and grinned as he turned around and gestured for her to go before him. “Ladies first.”

Stepping past him into the opening, the mare glanced at him. “When this is over I have some furniture I need moved…”

Buck didn’t answer, however. He was in awe at what he was witnessing. He pointed with his hood, and Ruby looked forward. The mare’s eyes lit up as she removed her glasses, wiped them off with a microfiber cloth and placed them back onto her face. The mare’s mouth formed an O as she saw the sparkling gemstones before her. The entire mine sparkled magnificently, even from the low light pouring in from the sewer light system.

Ruby’s stallion companion flicked on a light of his own around his neck. He shined the light into the cavern and nodded. “Guess the lights are out, which is to be expected as the mines have been out of use for decades…”

Looking all around her, Ruby twirled in excitement. “This is amazing! We’re seeing history here! Nopony has seen this place in over thirty years!”

Chuckling, Buck gestured for them to keep moving. “Come on, we’ve got to keep moving. We can play historian later.”

With a blush, Ruby agreed. “Sorry, I got carried away… Anyway, we should be able to take the lift nearby. If you brought the magic battery, we can restore power to it and get it operational.”

The two trotted for a few minutes before reaching the lift in question. Buck looked it up and down and frowned after seeing how much rust was on it. “Are you sure this thing is safe?” He asked while retrieving the battery from his bag. He began to set it up while Ruby checked over the lift.

“Seems sturdy enough. With our combined weight we should be fine. They made the cables from a tough alloy back then, they should withstand thousands of kilos of pressure.” Ruby adjusted her glasses.

“Well, I’m leaving the math to you…” Buck shrugged. “I’m all set up over here.” He added.

Ruby pulled a nearby lever and could then hear the sounds of gears and machines coming to life. “They don’t make them like they used to…” She commented with a smile.

With the door to the lift opening, Buck lifted his bag and placed it back on his side before stepping inside. His mind felt uneasy as he heard the thing creak loudly. Ruby joined him shortly after and pressed the button to go down. As the door closed, Buck found himself fidgeting nervously.

As if just to defy her, the lift suddenly stopped, a loud screech could be heard outside. She blinked and looked up through the grating above them. The sounds of wire snapping began to echo through the cave. “Okay… I may have miscalculated a tad…”

“This isn’t good…” Buck said as he looked up, watching strands of the cable begin to snap.

“I got this.” Buck quickly removed his bag and retrieved a rope, two harnesses and several carabiners. He tossed one of the harnesses at Ruby. “Quick put this on.”

Not hesitating, Ruby fastened it around herself and snapped one of the ropes to herself with a carabiner. Buck attached the other end to himself just as the lift thrust to one side as one of the two cables snapped entirely. Ruby shrieked as she was thrown to one side. Buck forced himself up and gestured for her help. “Hoist me up! I can open the escape hatch!”

Ruby blushed and frowned. “I’m like half your size! How am I going to hoist you up?!”

“Exactly the point. You’re smaller than me, so if this cable snaps you won’t be able to support my weight from the rope between us, so it has to be me. Help me up now!” Buck instructed.

Ruby sighed when she realized it was pointless to protest. Instead, she readied her front hooves and Buck stepped over her. She strained herself and groaned as she tried to get him as high as she could, wishing she had wings at that moment. “Hurry up, I can’t hold you for long!”

Buck rattled the hatch only to see an old padlock had it sealed shut. “What airhead puts a padlock on an escape hatch?!”

“Hang on, the lock is really rusty, I might be able to break it!” Buck called out as he began to bash the hatch repeatedly. “Come on, break you old rust bucket!”

Feeling her front hooves start to give out, Ruby called out to rush him. “Come on! I can’t hold you much longer!”

Just as Ruby was about to drop him, Buck broke the hatch open and climbed through it. He glanced up at the second cable, noticing it was about to give way as well. He glanced around for anything to latch onto, but couldn’t find anything. “There’s nothing up here to connect to!”

“Well find something because this thing is about to…” Ruby didn’t get to finish her sentence, the cable snapped and the lift started to fall. She screamed as she closed her eyes. However, she then felt a quick whiplash sensation and then the falling stopped. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around, she was dangling. Looking up she saw Buck latched onto an old pipe. He grinned and waved to her.

She stopped herself from panting after a few seconds and stared at him above her. “I think we can check near death experience off of our bingo cards…”

Buck chuckled as he began to slowly make his way down, setting up mounts in the cave walls so he could bring the two of them down, until eventually they reached the bottom where rhetorical destroyed lift rested. Unhooking from the wall, Buck brushed himself off. “I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll take the stairs from now on…”

He laughed and walked past her, ready to continue their journey. “We’ve only known each other a few days, what do you expect?”

He had a point. It occurred to Ruby she didn’t actually know much about Buck Sapphire. He was a cop in the city, but that was about all she really knew about him.

She took her mind off of it by checking the map once more. Shining her light on the map she could see the two of them were fairly close. “I think we’re about a hundred meters above the chamber. The way there is…” The mare shined her light and frowned at what she saw. There was a steep ninety degree descent in front of them. “Down there…”

Passing her a set of tools from his bag he gave her a brief rundown of how they worked. She recalled from her reading that everything he said was accurate, she felt a bit more at ease knowing he wasn’t pulling her leg about being able to rock climb. As he adjusted her harness for her, she made small talk. “So where did you learn this anyway?”

Buck finished up and headed to the edge of the cliff and began to nail in some hooks for the two of them. He attached her carabiner before his own and then began to descend, she followed cautiously, trying to remember what he taught her. “Well, my dad and me used to go all the time.”

“Oh, father-son thing then?” Ruby asked as she started mounting another hook.

Buck was going slower than he usually would, but he wanted to keep an eye Ruby since it was clear she was a rookie climber. “Something like that…”

Ruby blinked. “That’s right, you’re in the investigations department right?”

He nodded as the two approached the end of their descent. “Dangerous job. We got into it one Hearth’s Warming about how I was worrying my mother. We haven’t really talked since then.”

The mare frowned as the two set foot on the bottom of the caves. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

He waved his hoof dismissively as he removed his ropes and began to pack everything back up, then assisted Ruby in doing the same. “It’s not your fault. Besides, your situation with your parents is worse, disappearing and all…”

Ruby bit her lip, she wasn’t sure how to answer that, but all her research pointed in that direction. “That’s the most logical explanation, I mean they wouldn’t just abandon me, that’s not like them.”

Truthfully, Ruby wondered the same thing. The most feasible explanation though was one she hated to admit. “I mean… The best explanation is… They can’t come back, right? Something is keeping them there, or… They’re…”

Buck quickly placed a hoof over her mouth so she wouldn’t say it. “Don’t think like that. We’ll find them, and bring them back with us.”

She felt at ease with Buck’s support. “You’re right. Sorry for getting weird there for a second. I guess I just let my imagination wander…”

Buck shook his head. “Don’t apologize, you miss them, nothing wrong with that.”

Ruby stared at him for a brief moment. Buck was surprisingly supportive for a stallion she had only known for such a short time. His motivation for helping her wasn’t clear to Ruby. Buck stood to gain nothing by helping the mare, so why was he risking so much, she wondered. He didn’t even seem swayed by the fact they might not even be able to come back.

She just nodded as the two made their way toward the chamber they were looking for. Ruby tripped and her glasses fell off of her face. The mare felt around to try and find them only to feel Buck’s hoof extend to her. She took it and the stallion helped her to a stand. With his other hoof, he scooped up her glasses and offered them back to her.

Smiling, the redhead placed them back on her face. She chuckled awkwardly. “Perhaps I should have gotten contacts before making this trip?”

The police officer laughed and shook his head. “No way am I holding you down to put eye drops in.”

Shining his light toward the chamber, Buck cleared his throat to get Ruby’s attention. She blinked and adjusted her light to see what he was trying to show her. She blinked and gasped at the large cave-in blocking access to the chamber.

Approaching the large pile of rocks blocking their path, Ruby tapped her chin in thought. She retrieved the map from her pack. Most of the levels around where they stood were either uncharted or had their maps lost over time. No other known passage to the chamber they sought existed to knowledge.

Pulling out the scanning geode she had used to track the location in the first place, she did another reading. Checking the results, she was confident they were heading in the right direction. She glanced around in thought.

Ruby shook her head. “Not recommended. Most of the caves down here are uncharted, we could be looking for days, not to mention if we get lost we’d be out of luck.”

“Well that peeves me off…” Buck grumbled. The stallion blushed once he remembered he was in the presence of a lady. “Oh… Sorry… Forgive my language.”

“Only way is through, we have to dig through this stuff, it’s gonna be the fastest way…” Ruby pointed out.

Checking her hoof, Ruby observed the watch on her forehoof. It was counting down and was sitting at 30 hours, 29 minutes and 16 seconds left.

“What’re you doing?” Buck asked as he lifted a rock from the debris, and tossed it aside.

Approaching carefully, Ruby began to toss rocks aside with her companion. “I set a timer so we’d know about how long we have left. Hopefully it’ll keep going as normal when we enter the other reality, assuming that my theory is correct and the laws of physics remain unchanged there…”

Ruby tossed aside another half dozen rocks with him before answering. “It should be like our world. Over there just as much time has passed since the day that Sombra made the tether. So from that moment onward, thirty years have passed. They have likely spent thirty years serving Sombra… It’s also most likely Hearth’s Warming Eve there too.”

“I guess we’re not spending the holiday in the worst possible way compared to them…” Buck guessed.

“Somewhat. If your theory is correct though, wouldn’t there be a reality where we fail this task?” He raised a brow.

Ruby shook her head before pushing more debris out of the way. “No. This reality isn’t the same as others. It was created artificially, meaning in any other reality it never existed, so there is no alternate version of us trying to destroy it.”

“I’m not going to lie… This is all insanely confusing. I’m just lucky that you’re wicked smart…” Buck could feel his head spinning just thinking about everything she had explained up to that point.

Ruby began to climb the debris to try and make an opening at the top. She ripped through rock and dirt hastily, not wanting to waste more time. “Well, I spent almost a decade studying this stuff, so that’s to be expected. I skipped most social milestones in my life to pursue this stuff.”

“It’s pleasant to think about, but ultimately we live in this reality, so we shouldn’t waste our time fantasizing about a place where things went differently. This is the only reality we get to have after all,” Ruby explained.

Buck’s face contorted to an awkward expression, but he chose to stay silent. Breaking through a bit more rubble, Ruby could see through an opening. She shined her light and gestured for Buck to come closer. The stallion obliged and approached carefully, shining his own light into the hole. The two crouched down and shoved through the hole only to feel their hooves slide.

Before either of them had a chance to even shriek, they slide downward to a drop neither of them expected.

/There is no way to know what truth is. Isn’t a lie more comforting anyway?/

Ruby groaned after coming to. She blinked a few times and attempted to turn her light back on, but had no luck. It had been damaged on the way down. Feeling it with her hoof it was cracked beyond repair. Grumbling, she ripped it off and tossed it onto the ground.

It took a few seconds for her to remember where she was, but once she did, her ears twitched and she tried to peer around, only to find her glasses had fallen off her face, not to mention it was too dark to see anyway. She prayed Buck had made it down with her. She started calling out to him. “Buck!? Buck!?”

Her tone became more panicked as she called out to the stallion again. “Buck!? Where are you!?”

The sound of groaning only a few feet away made her regain her composure. “Buck is that you?”

“Yeah, I’m here… Shoot that was quick a drop wasn’t it?” He responded.

Ruby could make out a source of light that switched on, and Buck’s silhouette. She approached it cautiously. “I’ll say… My light broke and I think I lost my glasses, do you see them anywhere?”

Buck sighed before shining his light onto the ground as he began searching. “Perhaps goggles would have been a better investment?”

Ruby couldn’t deny that, so she nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’ll remember that next time. Did you find them?”

Spotting them on the ground, Buck picked them up and inspected them. He confirmed they were undamaged before giving them to his friend. “I got them. You’re lucky they’re not broken, that’s for sure.”

The messy redhead giggled as she placed them back onto her snout. She stood proudly. “I guess I have luck on my side?”

“Something is playing guardian for us, that’s for sure…” Buck nodded before turning his light upward. Looking up the rock slide, he sighed. They had gone down a good twenty meters, far too high to climb back up. “We’re not in a good position here though… That rubble isn’t going to be possible to climb back up. Hooks have nothing to latch onto…”

“Regardless… We have no choice now, we have to go forward. Hopefully there’s a way out somewhere else, but this really is starting to look like a one-way trip, don’t you think?” Buck spoke.

Ruby shook her head and grinned. “No way. I think the universe is telling us we’re meant to be here. Everything that could have happened to set us up for this adventure has fallen into place to keep us heading forward.”

Buck was about to respond but when he blinked, everything around him had changed. Ruby was standing there in a tattered dress, it looked like something that had been dug out of a trash can. She grinned happily in the dress as she did a small twirl. The two of them were standing in front of a run down cottage just outside of the empire, near thick woods.

Ruby adjusted her glasses and giggled, Buck noticed she now had a small scar on her snout only barely hidden by the bridge of her glasses which wasn’t there prior. He felt like he wasn’t in control of his own body as he watched her. She seemed so proud of the tattered old rags she was wearing. “What do you think, Buck? Does it suit me?”

Buck could hear his own voice leave his throat, but he wasn’t in control of it. “Yeah, it looks great on you, Ruby.”

The girl blushed and grinned. “I got it from a trader. He said it was from Rarity’s Boutique back in Ponyville, so it’s really old! I had to really barter with him to get him to give it up.”

Buck’s own voice echoed in his ears as he just witnessed what was happening. “Hopefully you didn’t trade too much for it…”

She stuck her tongue out. “Nah, I just threw on the charm. He couldn’t resist!”

Ruby giggled as she approached. “You know I only have eyes for you, Buck! Still, it’s too bad it’s in such rough shape, I’ll bet it was even prettier when it was new…” She frowned.

Watching, Buck saw his own hoof reach forward and caress the girl’s cheek. She leaned into it affectionately as he spoke to her kindly. “It’s not about the dress, it’s the girl in it that matters.”

“You always know just what to say… Then it’s decided, I’ll wear this at the wedding! I am sure Fluttershy will be excited to see something from her old friend.” Ruby stood proudly.

“Alright, alright, just try and contain your excitement it’s not for a few more days after all.” Buck chuckled.

She pointed at him defiantly. “Just remember soon I’m going to be Mrs. Ruby Sapphire!”

After blinking again, Buck found himself back in the cave at the bottom of the Crystal mines. Ruby had been replaced with the girl he had met only a few days ago, no scar on her face, no dress, just regular Ruby.

“Where were you just now? I was talking to you and you just froze up for a few minutes, you weren’t responding at all… You had me worried there for a second…” Ruby frowned.

Buck shook his head. “I think my mind is playing tricks on me… I was seeing things…”

She tilted her head curiously, her red mane swaying to one side, dragging on the ground as it did. Ruby had incredibly long mane, but it was incredibly messy. “What do you mean? What did you see?”

Deciding it might be too awkward to reveal the exact contents of his hallucination, he dismissed her. “It’s not important… I think this place is doing something unnatural…”

She gave a small pouty face before accepting he wasn’t going to talk about it. Instead, she looked around. “Well, maybe because we’re so close to the tether and the two realities are about to collide… So this place might have memories from other realities bleeding out?”

Her explanation definitely made the most sense. He shrugged. “I guess that’s possible… I wonder if our minds will keep playing tricks on us if we keep going…”

“Buck, I imagine everypony is going to be experiencing this in the next few hours. If we don’t hurry those won’t just be memories, they’ll be our reality.” She reminded.

Looking around with his light, Buck noticed a large shattered gem shard that looked out of place. Most of the gems at the lower levels that they had encountered were darker in color, but this one was a vibrant lavender. “I think there might be something behind that gem. It looks like it was placed here.”

Getting closer, the studious mare couldn’t help but agree. This one looked like it had been shaped using tools, not breaking off of a larger stone. “I’d say this is likely where the entrance is. Figures that Sombra would hide it…”

Buck rubbed his chin trying to make sense of all of this. “I don’t get it… Sombra had time to do all of this?”

Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes. “I guess I need to explain it again, so listen closely. Sombra’s apparition that was documented was just that, his apparition. It wasn’t at full strength because he split his essence in two. One of those two was down here in the mines.”

“Why down here? Why not make the tether somewhere far away?” Buck questioned.

Ruby shook her head. “That wasn’t possible. His essence couldn’t be too far from his other half. When Twilight and Spike the Great defeated him, his other half went into action. He created the tether, it was his contingency plan…”

“And he had no way of knowing how long it would take for the reality he created to take over this one…” Buck spoke, following along.

Ruby raised a hoof triumphantly. “Right! He was in a bind so he couldn’t fuss over the details.”

“How exactly did he do this though? This sounds like some pretty hardcore magic…” Buck asked.

Ruby frowned and turned away with an embarrassed blush. “Well… That part I don’t know… but I’m hoping we can figure that part out together!”

Buck laughed. “Well, I guess we won’t know until we move this thing, right?”

The duo both got onto the right side of the rock and began to push as hard as they could. Buck was doing a majority of the work due to his size and muscular build, but Ruby was giving it her all as she strained herself, groaning aggressively as the two pushed with all their might.

The rock proved a formidable obstacle as the two struggled for several minutes before it finally gave way and allowed itself to be moved. The first signs of it giving way could be felt, and after only a few more minutes of pushing, the stone gave way and toppled over, making a loud crash that shook the earth. The two were thankful it didn’t cause another cave-in.

Looking into the newly opened room, the two were surprised to see it was fully illuminated by a purple glow. They entered and stared in awe at a massive portal that shimmered purple light, sparkling greater than any diamond. Ruby stepped forward and her mouth hung open as she gazed at it.

Ruby found herself stuttering. “I-I… I was right… all this time… I was right… it was right here…”

She turned to Buck, and he stood there admiring her smile as she was illuminated in the purple glow around them. He had never seen her more excited. “It was here the whole time! We actually found it, Buck!”

Buck stepped forward as he realized what he was about to do. They were on a journey through the abyss itself. There was no way to know if they would ever come back, no way to know if their quest was in vain, but they stared down the abyss with smiles on their faces, ready to meet it, knowing it could swallow them whole.

Buck grinned widely as he stood at her side. “I was right… This definitely will be an interesting way to spend Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

Hearth’s Warming in Reality

by Mist

Segment 0.2