In which we learn walking can be good for the soul as well as the body—so long as one watches that first step.
“And so it was that an unlikely partnership was formed.” The Alene concluded his story. “Skifer found Rolig to be the ideal student, quick, observant, endlessly curious and willing to devote himself to his studies with a discipline that astonished the stone drake. Dragons, you see, are impulsive creatures and find prolonged study of anything severely challenging.”
“For his part Rolig reveled in the knowledge Skifer imparted. His tuition was to act as Skifer’s scout and generally find ways to be useful to the stone drake. In return Skifer declined to eat him, and let him come and go freely, blocking only his passage back home. In this way did Skifer learn the goings on in the lands that lay at the foot of the range of mountains where he laired.”
“Thus passed a dozen years. Clan Fottrinn assumed that Rolig had met his end somewhere in the Deep Dark and his passing was not mourned, save by his mother—and she mourned only in secret.”
“During those years Rolig grew strong in magic. On more than one occasion his mastery of the Hidden Path served Skifer well. Finally there came a day when Skifer told Rolig he had nothing more to teach the troll and unblocked the passage through the Vegg so Rolig might return to the clan.”
“When the clan leader asked him how he had returned from the dead Rolig simply answered ‘I walked alone’. In our language this is Jeg gikk alene. And thus he became known as Alene Rolig. In the fullness of time, when more small clever trolls were born, Alene Rolig took them under his protection, taught them the secrets he held, and then brought them to Skifer to be trained in magic. Their tuition, like Rolig’s, was to serve Skifer while they learned. When they returned to the clan they too took the title Alene.”
“Rolig’s return and his eventual winning of an honored place in Clan Fottrinn is another tale, my friends. But this was the tale of how Alene Rolig gained his title. I have said this.” He bowed his head ritually.
The snow cave filled with the rhythmic stamping of pony hooves as his audience applauded the story. Matt and Teagan clapped enthusiastically.
The story had taken a couple of hours to tell, so Twilight suggested they all try to get some sleep. The four humanoids set up shifts to keep the ventilation holes clear, using Matt’s watch to know the time. The trolls were fascinated by the device, an analog chronometer which used actual hands instead of a digital display. This made using it much easier to explain to the trolls than a digital watch would have been.
ooOoo
The storm lasted three days and dumped a little over forty feet of snow on the glacier, burying the base of the ice jumble and forcing the trolls to dig multiple ventilation shafts as old ones were buried. Rainbow Dash only panicked twice the following day. By the second day she had become numb and by the third she slowly recovered.
The candles and the food had to be severely rationed. Only two candles were allowed to burn at a time, leaving the snow cave mostly in darkness. Everyone was on half-rations. Pinkie did not take the rationing well but Twilight finally convinced her to accept it.
Even so the situation was grim. The expedition had cached two weeks of food with the assumption that further supplies would be flown in regularly. Because they now had to proceed on foot across the glacier, in unknown snow conditions, without the carrying capacity of the chariots food was a severe problem. Matt estimated under those conditions they’d be lucky to cover ten miles a day.
But he hadn’t counted on the sheer depth of the snow. The phrase deep powder didn’t even begin to cover it. As the Alene found out the hard way…
ooOoo
The Alene broke out of the ice jumble, the tunnel entrance a mere two inches above the surface of the snow. He smiled in quiet pleasure at this testament to his digging skill. After widening the tunnel so it was large enough for the ponies he stepped out onto the virgin snow.
And immediately sank out of sight.
After perhaps 30 seconds the troll clambered up the side of the ice jumble and crawled into the tunnel, shivering. Upon regaining his composure he strode back down the tunnel to deliver the bad news.
ooOoo
“Chief!” A purple unicorn with a blue mane and tail breathlessly burst into Subtle Dancer’s office, grinning.
“What is it Bluebell?” He asked, raising an eyebrow the intrusion.
“The scrying barrier is retreating!” Bluebell said excitedly. “I got within 60 miles of Tišina’s lair this time!”
“Thank Celestia!” Subtle Dancer got up and followed the mare to the scrying chamber. She sat down at a crystal ball and started casting the complicated Horn version of the scrying spell. Unlike the ordinary spell the Horn version had all kinds of additional capabilities, such as the ability to move the scrying focus.
“Here’s where the original barrier was. 100 miles from her lair.” Bluebell said as she established the initial focus point. “Notice the range indicator, Chief.”
“I see it.”
“Flying now. Range to lair 95 miles, 90, 85…” As the countdown approached 60 the Chief Horn held his breath.
“…65, 63, 61, and here we are at 60.” Bluebell said with excitement. “This is where I finally lost the image just before coming to get you. Should I keep going?”
“Yes. Let’s see how far the barrier’s retreated.” Subtle Dancer said, not wanting to show his eagerness.
“Continuing flight, crossing 55.” The count continued to decrease until it hit 17.3 miles when the picture in the ball suddenly started to develop large sparkles.
“Losing it.” Bluebell said. The image snapped out.
“Lost it completely at 16.6 miles.” Bluebell said. “That’s what, a retreat of over 40 miles in five minutes? I’d guess the barrier’s failing. It’s shutting down.”
“Looks that way.” Subtle Dancer said. “Reestablish the link. Start at 20 miles out and let’s see if the barrier’s going to stabilize or vanish.”
“Yes, sir.” It took less than a minute for a picture to form in the crystal. “Ok, focus is established, starting to fly. Moving in, we’re at 16, here’s 10, 5, 3, 1, and here’s the magic goose egg! What the hay?” Bluebell and the Chief Horn stared in disbelief at the image in the crystal.
“Go up. Give me a bird’s eye view.” The Chief said quietly.
“Right. Sweet Celestia, what happened to the camp?” Bluebell wondered aloud. “Hovering two hundred feet up. Rotating view.
The image in the crystal slowly panned as the focus point circled, centered on the massive hole that seemed to be all that remained of the expedition.
“I’m not seeing anything.” Bluebell said quietly. “You think those bombs did this?”
“I don’t know, Bluebell. The idea was to dig a hole down to her lair, but that hole looks awfully big to be ponymade.”
“I’m still not seeing any trace of the campsite. I could understand moving it, given the size of the hole, but where are they?”
“What’s the diameter of that hole? And how deep is it?” Subtle Dancer asked.
“Um, let’s see. Holy horse-feathers! It’s 450 feet across!”
“How deep?”
“Checking.” Bluebell said as the focus sank into the massive crater. “Um, passing 500 feet, 1,000 feet, 1,500 feet…wow, we’re below the ice! What happened? Two thousand, 2,500, there. Bottom at 2,738 feet. We’re a thousand feet below bedrock. There’s no way those bombs did this. Even if they set them all off at once it couldn’t dig a hole anywhere near this big, Chief. Something else must have happened. Could they have triggered some kind of—yaaaahhh!”
Both ponies flailed away from the crystal in terror. They pressed against the walls as far from the crystal ball as the room would allow. The ghastly image winked out as Bluebell’s concentration shattered.
“Sweet Celestia! What the hay was that thing?” Bluebell demanded as she pressed herself further into the corner. “If it can climb we’re dead!”
“Calm yourself, Bluebell.” Subtle Dancer forced himself to breath slowly. “Whatever it was it’s over fifteen hundred miles from here and almost three thousand feet below the surface. We’re safe.”
“Yeah, until that abomination crawls into my nightmares!” Bluebell retorted, but her panic was fading.
“Tell me you recorded that.” Subtle Dancer moved back to the crystal ball.
“Yeah. Glad you’re as rattled as me, Chief! You know all scrying records automatically. It can’t be turned off.”
Subtle Dancer chuckled nervously. “Guilty as charged, Bluebell. I must admit seeing that—image—was unsettling.”
“Personally I’d say horrifying if I felt like understatement, Chief. Nauseating, disgusting, and scream inducing.” Bluebell shuddered. “I’m skipping lunch and supper.”
“Did you get a scale?” The Chief Horn asked, already calming down. He carefully refused to think about what the crystal had shown before being cut off.
Hesitantly the mare approached the equipment. Taking a deep breath she let her horn glow to activate the system. “Yeah. The frame was twenty feet across given the range of the—creature. Best estimate, the eye was eight feet across, the eye stalk another twelve. The tentacle in the background was the full length of the frame, and each mouth on it was six feet across. Best estimate of the number of teeth, just over two hundred per mouth.”
She recited the statistics the system had automatically compiled in a flat, tight, voice.
“I need you to reestablish the focus point, Bluebell.” Subtle Dancer said quietly.
“Chief! You can’t be serious!” Bluebell looked at him, appalled.
“We are the Horn of Celestia, Bluebell. Her will and her eyes. We are Equestria’s first line of defense.” Subtle Dancer’s voice was hard. “Remember your oath. We see things in the dark so other ponies need not. We face the fearsome so others may live. I need that focus reestablished. Now.”
“Yes, Chief.” Bluebell took another deep breath and ran through the complex spell again. “Focus established, crater rim.” She closed her eyes for a moment, steeling herself. “Rotating straight down into the crater. Flying now. Depth 200, 400, 800, 1200, 1380 feet, we’ve reached the bedrock.”
“Down—slowly. Let’s see if we can get an overall view of the creature.” Subtle Dancer said calmly. His tone made Bluebell relax slightly.
“Yes, sir. Flying—depth now 1500, 1600, 1700—there it is! Oh sweet Celestia! Look at the size of it!”
“Estimates?” Subtle Dancer asked calmly.
“Running now. Width, approximately 400 feet. Length—Chief we’re only seeing part of this thing! Length 450 feet, extending back into the rock for an unknown distance. Height is two hundred feet at the closest point, tentacle length estimated at three hundred feet, assuming tentacles are non-elastic.”
As they watched the creature swelled like a balloon, jelly like flesh pouring out of one end, new tentacles and eyes forming. The creature was now visibly piled up on the crater wall.
“How many eyes?” The Chief Horn asked his crystal viewer.
“Seventy three on eye stalks and another two hundred in the main body of the creature. Tentacle count is over a thousand. That swelling added another hundred feet in length, Chief.”
“All right. We know enough for now. Shut it down Bluebell.”
“Thank Celestia!” The image snapped off.
The chief found a spare recording crystal and slotted it. Bluebell dutifully copied the old crystal to the new one. The Chief Horn pulled it and used his magic to hover the crystal in front of him.
“I have to go report to the Princess.” He said. “Take a break, then see if you can find any trace of the expedition.”
“Yes, Chief.” When she was sure Subtle Dancer was gone she bolted for the restroom and promptly lost the remains of her breakfast. It was a good half hour before she could force herself to return to her station and begin hunting for the expedition.
ooOoo
In the pit Tišina rested after pulling herself free of the hidden cavern. She hated this form, a reminder of what she had been so long ago. Before she had tamed the chaos in her soul. Before she had forged her beautiful new body. Before her brother had mockingly created that sick twisted version of her own perfect form to use as his body.
But this form would prove useful against that pretentious horse. The one who had dared hurt her—repeatedly. She was ugly now, that was true. But she was at her full power. Nothing in this world could defeat her now that she wore her true form.
They would pay for their crimes, all of them would pay. Tišina didn’t care how long it took. She had eternity to scour this world clean. She’d find and eat every creature, tree, and dandelion in this magical hell until there was nothing left but pristine rock and snow. And then, well, then she’d douse that damnable sun. When she was finished the world would be pure again. Like it had been in the beginning.
But first she was going to find the posturing one-horned goat and tear her slowly limb from limb and listen to the screams. Then she was going to take great pleasure in gnawing Celestia’s bones one by one…
ooOoo
“You mean we’re stuck here? How much longer?” Rainbow Dash whimpered.
“Until the snow compacts enough to walk on.” The Alene responded calmly. “Perhaps a week.”
“Gah! Another week stuck in this cave? I’ll go insane!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, collapsing in a despondent heap. “Not to mention Tišina’s pulling herself together while we sit here and do nothing. We’re gonna be toast if we don’t get out of here.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Matt asked calmly. “It’s not like you can flap your wings and soar over the snow, Dash. The snow’s too loose to support the weight of a troll or a pony. It probably wouldn’t even support the Squirt, and she’s the lightest one here.”
“AAARRRRGGGGGG!” Rainbow Dash jumped to her hooves and in a display of temper started flapping her wings. To everyone’s amazement she slammed against the cave roof (now several feet higher from melting) and nearly knocked herself unconscious. She landed in a sprawl.
“She flew! Dashie flew!” Pinkie laughed. “You can’t fly in a little cave like this, Silly! You OK?”
Just then the cave lit up.
Everyone turned to stare at Twilight, whose horn was glowing brightly.
“The magic’s back!” She said, grinning. “We’ll be able to fly out of here now!”
“Anybody get the name of that dragon?” Rainbow Dash muttered as she climbed shakily to her feet. “Gonna give it a piece of my mind as soon as the world stops spinning around...”
She shook her head vigorously to clear it.
“Wait, fly? Did you say fly? We can fly now? Let me out of here!” She bolted for the exit.
“If the magic is back doesn’t that mean Tišina’s back too?” Teagan asked, gripping Crush’s handle.
Hey, wake up! Fighting time!
The eyes in her head sprang open.
Where? The club growled. The handle of the magical club tingled under her grip.
Don’t know. Close. She’s sneaky and she’s fast and she can fly so stay alert. She looks like a big white dragon.
I will watch. The club promised.
“Crush is back.” She said happily. “He’ll keep an eye out for Tišina.”
“Good. Sergeant, get with the two trolls. Let’s see if we can get a tunnel from the chariot cave to the new entrance. The sooner we’re ready to leave the better our chances.” Matt ordered the gray pegasus.
“Yes, sir!” The sergeant saluted and he and the two trolls headed down to the original cave the trolls had dug, now some twenty feet below. The chariot cave was ten feet beneath that.
“I need a volunteer, Squirt. You’re it.” Matt said. “You Royal Guard ponies, listen up. I need another volunteer. I know you guys are gonna hate me for asking, but I want a volunteer to take Teelo on a scouting mission. The snow won’t support anyone so she’ll have to ride one of you. Crush can keep an eye out for our favorite bad guy while the two of you find out what’s going on out there. If Tišina jumps you sprint for home. Teelo and Crush can keep her busy while the three of you are running. Oh, and if you see a certain rainbow-maned maniac tell her to bring it back to the barn. We don’t need her revealing our position.”
“So!” He clapped his hands, grinning. “Who feels like stretching their wings?” The pegasi glanced at each other with blank faces. Teelo cringed inside.
These weren’t horses after all, they were people. She’d ridden Applejack into battle, and Celestia herself had let her sit on her back when she’d sliced her feet open, but as far as she knew only Twilight Sparkle regularly allowed herself to be ridden—and that by Spike who, species aside, was more her little brother than anything else.
Matt asking a near-stranger to let her ride was beyond rude…
“I’ll do it.” A white pegasus with white mane and tail stepped forward. His cutie mark was a fancy gold cup. He’d been the one who led them to the portal.
“Percival, isn’t it?” Matt asked. The white pegasus nodded.
“Call me Percy, everypony does.” He said.
“Percy, thank you for doing this.” Teagan said, bowing. “I’m honored.”
“Lady Teagan.” The pegasus did a full bow with leg sweep and spread wings. “I saw you defeat the fearsome draconequus, it was truly inspiring! It is my privilege and honor to fight beside the hero that defeated Discord!”
Teagan blushed, not knowing how to deal with the white pony’s obvious sincerity.
“All right you two, listen up. No heroics today, got it? This is a scouting mission. If you spot Tišina do not engage her. If she attacks, run. Remember, none of us can walk in this snow, meaning you’ll only get covering fire while you’re on the east side of the jumble. So don’t be brave, be sneaky. Got it? We don’t know where she’s hiding.”
“Won’t the compasses tell us where she is?” Dawn Spire asked. Matt blinked at her.
“Damn, I must be getting old.” He said. “Ok, let’s break them out and see.”
They had five compasses with them. The needles of all of them wandered erratically.
“Are they broken?” Rarity asked.
“No, the contagion spell is still working.” Dawn Spire responded. “But there’s nothing to lock onto.”
“Meaning what?” Matt asked, frowning.
“Meaning Tišina no longer exists.” Dawn Spire said triumphantly, her face lighting up with a smile. “She’s gone! We won!”
Pony cheering and stamping made the cave ring with echoes. Matt let them blow off a little steam then motioned for quiet.
“You really think it’s that easy?” He asked Dawn Spire.
“The compass is working, Lieutenant.” Dawn Spire protested. “If it can’t lock on to her that means she no longer exists.”
“Can the compass spell be blocked by something? Maybe some kind of counter-spell?” Matt asked. “Sorry if that’s a dumb question. I’m not familiar with magic.”
“No, it’s not a dumb question. There are certain ways it could be blocked, but…” Dawn Spire trailed off as she began thinking.
“Matt, it’s really hard to block a contagion spell.” Twilight spoke up. “Physical barriers wouldn’t do it. You have to block it mystically. To do that you need a magical barrier, probably a spell. There are types of stone that could block it, but they’re very rare. You’d never find enough in one place to hide a dragon.”
“What if she created a shelter for herself?” Matt said. “This was her lair.”
Both Dawn Spire and Twilight Sparkle shook their heads.
“She’d have to be expecting that kind of tracking.” Dawn Spire said. “The only reason we thought of it was Evelyn’s suggestion. It’s unlikely she’d have gone to the effort. Twilight’s right, the kind of stone you need is very rare and expensive. Getting enough to make a chamber big enough to hide a dragon—well, the chances of that are pretty much zero. A spell is more likely, but again she has no idea how we’re tracking her.”
Matt nodded slowly.
“Okay. Let me explain why I’m having trouble with this, ladies. I did see nine thousand pounds of tannerite explode right next to her.” Matt said, watching the two unicorns. “What I did not see was Tišina’s body disintegrate. Mind you I did watch her get up after a seven hundred foot fall onto solid rock. I did see her shrug off half a dozen elephant rounds, and I did see her absorb three salvos from Berry Fudge Gumball. I would like to remind you after all that the only thing she lost was a wing.”
“Oh yes, and then I saw her teleport away from an explosion that left a hundred foot crater in solid rock. Forgive me if I’m a little skeptical she’s actually down for the count. Especially since I also saw her very dead body rebuilding itself using magic she stole from us.”
Dawn Spire grimaced. “You’re as bad as Subtle Dancer, Lieutenant. Just when I thought it was time to celebrate.”
“Sorry. It’s my job to be a professional party-pooper.” Matt said, unperturbed. “Tišina’s tough, resourceful, and full of surprises. No way is she gone. Licking her wounds I would buy. That might give us a small window to withdraw but it’s a small window. Teelo, you and Percy get going. Remember what I said about sneaky. I want the two of you back in one piece with Tišina none the wiser, got it?”
“Yes, Matt.” Teelo said. Percy saluted and then the two made their way toward the entrance to begin their scouting mission.
ooOoo
“Did the expedition open another entrance to Tarterus?” Celestia wondered as she watched the colossal horror writhe obscenely in the crystal.
“It’s possible.” Subtle Dancer admitted reluctantly. “But I can’t imagine them being able to create a hole that size, Your Highness. It’s nearly five hundred feet wide and half a mile deep. Even assuming the Alene used a spell to enhance the digging the amount of magic needed for that pit boggles the mind. You might be able to do it, but no one else could.”
“I couldn’t do it either.” The princess demurred. “It’s enormous. Do you think that creature ate Tišina?”
“We should be so lucky.” Subtle Dancer snorted. “No doubt she’s recovered by now and is lying low to regroup.”
Princess Celestia sighed. “You’re probably right. Is there any chance the creature can escape the pit? If it did I’m not sure even the Elements of Harmony could stop it.”
“I can’t say, Your Highness. The way our luck’s been running I wouldn’t count on it staying put.” Subtle Dancer said sourly. “The only good news is that thing is fifteen hundred miles from here and half a mile underground.”
“Why does that not comfort me, Chief Horn?” Celestia asked, gazing at the image frozen in the crystal.
ooOoo
“You ok back there?” Percy asked as they skimmed the snow, the pegasus’s hooves less than five feet from the ground.
“Fine.” Teagan called. “Don’t worry, I won’t fall off. I learned to ride when I was a little girl. It’s not something you forget.”
“You have pegasi in your world, Lady Teagan?” He asked, surprised.
“No.” She laughed. “Just horses—but in my world horses are animals, not people. That’s why I really hate to impose on you like this, Percy. I don’t want you to think I’m taking you for granted. Thank you for being so understanding.”
“Thank you, Lady Teagan. The thought is appreciated.”
“My friends call me Teelo, Percy. You don’t have to be so formal.”
“I’m a Royal Guard, Lady Teagan.” He said after a moment. “It would be disrespectful to show familiarity.”
“Horse apples!” She exclaimed in exasperation. “If Tišina shows up it’s gonna get informal pretty darn fast! Besides, you volunteered, Percy. You didn’t have to do that. The only people who get to call me Teelo are those I like and respect. So please, call me Teelo.”
“All right—Teelo.” He said slowly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. So tell me, how do we do this? I’ve never been on a scouting mission before.” Teagan asked as they flew toward the pit.
In spite of himself Percy started chuckling.
ooOoo
Bluebell spotted Rainbow Dash looping and pirouetting through the sky. She let out a sigh of relief as she watched the acrobatic pegasus zoom through a series of intricate and wonderful maneuvers as though she were putting on a show.
The pegasus was flying to the west of a large jumble of ice and snow that reared above the rest of the flat glacier like a lonely mountain. Given that Bluebell had seen neither hide nor hair of the expedition she assumed they had taken shelter in the mound of broken ice blocks. It was the only possible shelter for miles.
She found the tunnel entrance on the east side of the jumble and followed it in, where she found Matt and most of the expedition members. Not for the first time she found herself wishing scrying spells allowed the caster to hear what was being said.
The trolls were missing, as was Lady Teagan and the sergeant in charge of the wing. She did a quick head count and found another pegasus was missing as well. She wondered if they had been lost during the blizzard.
The Bearers at least were all present, save for the Bearer of Loyalty, who was flying outside. Bluebell relaxed a bit, that meant the Elements of Harmony could still be used.
There seemed no immediate danger and the members of the expedition were discussing something. No one showed any signs of alarm which Bluebell took as a good sign. She still wished she could signal one of the unicorns but there was no way to send a spell through the scrying point, and she doubted any of them could sense it because it was designed to be unnoticeable.
Knowing Subtle Dancer would want a full report she poked around the cave until she found a tunnel leading to another cave, which was empty except for another tunnel. That one had light flickering in it.
Following the light brought her to the trolls and the missing sergeant who, it seemed, were trying to free the expedition chariots. Clearly the expedition was preparing to leave.
That just left Lady Teagan and the pegasus guard unaccounted for.
ooOoo
“No way!” Teagan exclaimed as she got her first look at the pit. “I don’t care how many bombs there were, they couldn’t have done this!”
Percy flew over the lip of the pit and she felt her stomach clench as she peered into the black depths.
“We didn’t do this. There’s no way in hell we did this!” Teagan said. “Percy, you ever see anything like this before?”
“No, never.” The pegasus reached the other side of the pit and started flying around the edge. “You don’t think blowing up all the bombs at once did this?”
“I know it didn’t.” Teagan said firmly. “The Alene said there were a few caves way down deep but this…” She shook her head. “Look at it. The pit’s walls are straight up and down. A bomb crater is like a bowl. If bombs did this the hole should be a lot wider. This looks like something bored its way straight down. You can see the pit walls are shiny, like ice.”
“You’re right.” To her horror Percy casually flew down into the pit a few feet and tapped the wall with a fore-hoof. The sound was unmistakable—his hoof was definitely hitting ice.
“Wonder how deep it goes?” He mused, peering down.
“Um, Percy? How about we don’t hover over a bottomless pit, ok?” Teelo asked, grabbing his mane with both hands and digging in with her knees.
“Ouch! Watch the mane please!” Percy protested, but thankfully flew back over the glacier. Teelo relaxed with a shudder.
“What’s the matter Lad—I mean Teelo?” He asked, looking back over his shoulder at her.
“I’m a little scared of heights.” She admitted.
“Scared of heights?” He asked incredulously.
“Yeah. I don’t have wings, remember? A 20 foot fall would kill me. Even a 10 foot fall could mess me up really bad. That pit was a lot deeper than 20 feet!”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize.” The pegasus apologized.
“Not your fault. Let’s go see if we can find Rainbow Dash and get her back to the cave.”
“On it. Has Crush seen anything of Tišina?” He asked as he arrowed back to the ice jumble.
Have you seen her? Teelo asked the watchful eyes in her head.
No. We are alone in the air. The only other creature is at the bottom of the pit, but it isn’t a dragon.
“Wait, creature? What creature?” Teelo asked aloud, startled.
“Teelo?” Percy asked, turning his head.
In the pit. There is a creature. But it is not a dragon.
“Crush says there’s a creature at the bottom of the pit.” She told the pegasus. “But it isn’t a dragon.”
“What is it?” Percy asked.
What kind of creature? She asked Crush silently.
One I have never seen before. Enormous, with many tentacles and scores of eyes, some on stalks.
Teelo felt her blood run cold. She laid down along Percy’s back and put her arms around his neck.
“Get us back to the jumble now.” She said. The fear in her voice was enough to make the pegasus accelerate hard without asking questions. They shot across the snow field fast enough to leave a wake of snow billowing behind them.
How enormous, Crush? She asked silently.
As wide as the pit and longer than it was wide. Crush replied. It lies like a shapeless pool of flesh, heaped up on one side of the pit.
Do you see Rainbow Dash anywhere?
Yes, she is flying above the ice mound. You can see her above and to the right of us.
“Percy, heads up! There’s Rainbow Dash! Let’s get her and get back to the others! Quickly.”
“Is that creature coming after us?” He asked, climbing to intercept the blue pegasus.
“No. But I think I know what it is—and if I’m right this is a really bad place to be right now!”
“Hey, Teelo! How do you like flying?” Rainbow Dash shouted, diving toward them. Percy made a turn and the other pegasus took up station beside them.
“Dash, Matt says come back right now! Crush just spotted the mother of all monsters at the bottom of the pit. It’s huge! Way bigger than a dragon!”
“Say what?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in disbelief. By now the entrance was right in front of them. Percy flared his wings and came to a perfect landing just inside. Teagan slipped off his back while Rainbow Dash hovered just outside.
“We’ve got to tell Matt! Hurry!”
Teelo sprinted down the snow tunnel with the two pegasi trotting behind her. She came into the snow cave, saw the crowd and tried to stop—with predictable results.
“Ow, ow, ow.” She complained as she pried her face out of the mane of a rather startled Royal Guard. “Sorry, sorry! Matt! We’ve got a big problem!”
ooOoo
Bluebell chuckled as she watched Lady Teagan go skidding across the snow cave and crash into a guard pegasus. Satisfied that all members of the expedition were now accounted for she shut down the scrying spell then got up and stretched. Sitting back down, she started writing her report. She had just gotten a good start on it when both Subtle Dancer and Princess Celestia walked into the room.
“Your Highness!” Rising she performed a hasty bow.
“Hello, Bluebell.” The Princess said in a serious voice. “I’m afraid I have to ask you to do something for me.”
“Of course! Oh, I found the expedition! All members accounted for, and it looks like everyone is fine.”
“That’s wonderful news.” The alicorn smiled at the pony, who basked in the glow. Then the alicorn sobered.
“I hate to ask you, Bluebell but I need you to show me the creature in the pit. I understand how difficult it is for you, but this is very important.”
“Actually, I think I’m getting used to it, Your Highness. Once you learn to ignore the teeth it’s really not that bad. I’ve been checking it every so often. It’s just sitting there, pulsing. It’s actually kind of cute. Well, in a stomach-turning kind of way. I think it’s the color—blood red.”
“Pulsing?” Subtle Dancer asked, raising an eyebrow. The Princess studiously ignored the colorful commentary.
“Yeah, it kind of swells then shrinks again. It hasn’t grown any more since that first surge. The tentacles aren’t moving much either. It almost looks asleep, except the eyes stay open and sort of idly look around.”
Bluebell fired up the scrying spell and was soon diving into the pit. She let the scrying point fall until it was only a few hundred feet above the monster.
“There it is.” She said unnecessarily. “Ugly, isn’t it?”
“Very.” Celestia agreed, studying the creature. “I see what you mean about being the color of blood. Has it shown any awareness of the scrying point?”’
“None, Your Highness. It hasn’t shown much awareness of anything. It might be totally mindless.” Bluebell replied.
“Better not underestimate that thing.” Subtle Dancer said sourly. “For all we know it might be a genius. As big as it is, if it knows magic I shudder to think how strong it could be.”
“Ever the optimist, Chief Horn?” Princess Celestia asked lightly. “Still, you have a point. Have you seen any sign of Tišina, Bluebell?”
“No, ma’am.” Bluebell shook her head. “Didn’t the Lieutenant say she was a coward and would run? If she didn’t—well just look at that thing. Not even a dragon could fight it.”
“Hmm. Subtle Dancer thinks she’s already recovered and is lying low.” Celestia said.
“The Chief is—cautious, Your Highness.” Bluebell said diplomatically. “She’s proven to be formidable so I won’t say it’s impossible. But that massive storm and magical dead zone were completely unprecedented in scale. And now we find this thing here at the bottom of an impossibly large pit? I doubt Tišina could pull all that off.”
“Then what do you think did happen?” The Princess asked curiously.
“I don’t know. Maybe something like the Bridge of Days? No way is Cuddles a local.”
“Cuddles?” The princess asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Well, I thought about Poopsie-kins, but it just didn’t seem to fit.” Bluebell said with such a serious expression the Princess started laughing.
“Cuddles it is, then.” Princess Celestia declared. Bluebell smiled at her.
“I’m glad I could make you laugh, Your Highness.”
“It is appreciated, my little pony. Thank you.”
“Oh, one more thing. The expedition is getting ready to depart. I saw the trolls and the sergeant digging out the chariots. They should be back soon.”
“Let’s hope they bring good news.” Subtle Dancer said, turning to look at the somnolent monster.