He was dashing towards the Phantom, the artillery already sending chunks of dirt into the air as soldiers left and right were blown into bits, their bones becoming shrapnel that impaled their comrades.
They had just made it past the first brigade when the loud honking of a warthog got his attention.
“Yapyap look out!-“
BANG!
Yapyap stood rim-rod straight in the darkness, his beady eyes already examining the sleeping silhouettes of his fellow comrades.
“Just a spook-dream…” Yapyap muttered to himself.
Seeing as sleep was no longer an option, the unggoy decided to stretch his arms and take a stroll around the damp cave. It was an impressive structure that, according to Rainbow Dash, was constructed by Diamond Dogs in order to harness the power of a legendary crystal that, as of now, was lost to Equestria.
Despite this, riches still lay hidden in the cave’s depths, enticing countless explorers and remnants of the Diamond Dogs to find it.
However, instead of inspiring awe, it only brought upon a deep sense of regret. How many planets had the Covenant wiped out in the blink of an eye? All in the name of the Prophets and the Great Journey. How many secrets that were non-holy did each planet hold? How many secrets were destroyed due to religious zeal and uncontrolled fanaticism?
He barely recalled his home world Balaho, but it was filled with wonders beyond imagining. The hidden glacial caves and the methane swamps teeming with wildlife. Their planet was not a paradise like the others, but it was home. Despite its frigid temperatures and methane-filled environment, he still dreamed of home. He had had a farm back then…but alas life changes in mysterious ways. Life. The one bane of every creature’s existence.
And yet here was a planet untouched by violence, or so it seemed. A planet that had no worries of large-scale invasions, slavery, or even religious expeditionary extermination. No, this was a planet free of Covenant. Perhaps it was only right that so few made it out of the crash.
He was gazing at a couple of stalactites when he noticed the fluorescent hue coming off the walls. A blue aura that caught his eye and beckoned him forward like a moth. As he slowly made his approach, he noticed the light was coming from an underground stream that ran under the mountains. In fact, the reason for the glow was because the water was flowing through some oddly shaped crystals found nowhere else except under the stream.
“Beautiful isn’t it?”
Yapyap nearly gave a howl of alarm before a soft hoof muffled his cry, his eyes turned to see no one other then…
“Mare-Do-Well?”
The mare simply nodded, her eye-slots directed at him so that he could see his reflection clearly. When she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle, like drop of morning dew. And yet it was eerie and sinister, maybe even cynical to keep a guise over such cheerfulness. Yapyap was sure that under that façade was a morning pony. One who rose early and greeted cordially. But at night, they must have changed into their polar opposite. Regardless, she was still his savior.
“I owe you life.”
The mare tilted her head in confusion. Yapyap merely chuckled. “You are modest mysterious mare, but you save me and therefore I owe you life. I cannot give riches so life is all I can give.”
“I do what I can because I care about others.”
“If only it were so common on my world.”
“So I was right to say you are not from here.”
Yapyap gave a grunt in reply. “You could say that, but I’ve been away from home for so long I might as well come from nowhere.”
“I used to feel like that too.”
The grunt’s eyes widened in curiosity, “How can you come from nowhere. Rainbow Dash said you were a great hero. Well, at least you seem to be somepony I met before…”
“Ahhh…” Mare Do Well seemed to grin under her mask, “Perhaps we have met and perhaps we haven’t. Perhaps I am merely a shadow in the night. You seem to have the same thing.”
Yapyap’s blood ran cold. “You don’t know that.”
Mare Do Well took the moment to escalate her argument, “Oh but I have. You aren’t as boastful or as, and forgive me for this, idiotic as your fellow comrades.”
Yapyap nearly wanted to slap her for that, but then again, this mare could be just as scared as he was. Was he not also probing into her life.
“Perhaps both our alter-egos shall remain…at this stage at least…hidden.”
“Agreed.”
“So,” Yapyap began nonchalantly, “what brings you here?” His face was directed at the stream but his eyes were trying to pinpoint Mare Do Well’s expression.
“It seems a certain somepony was foalnapped by an unknown assailant. I am merely assisting her would-be rescuers should something happen to them.”
Yapyap didn’t need to hear it twice to know she was referencing to him. As if it was his fault that the seemingly peaceful ravine was a deathtrap.
“Well are you going to rest?”
“I already did,” Mare Do Well chuckled, “sometimes meditation is the best rest one can get in these dire times. And I would have gotten more if a certain someone hadn’t stumbled upon me.”
“Well like I knew you were there.” Yapyap protested.
Mare Do Well merely crossed her hooves, “Perhaps we will see each other in the coming battle Yapyap.”
“I look forward to it.”
And then the mare darted off, dissolving in the darkness, her cape being the last thing he saw. For a while, Yapyap just sat there, meditating by the banks of the tranquil stream. The rushing water rubbing and eroding the stones. The crystals never ceasing in the mysterious hue they projected. He had meditated before, when he had the time. What was it about his past that made him so afraid.
There was a time he thought it was justified. To leave the past as it was. But then he saw Twitchy, and the recognition on his fading eyes was a tell-tale sign of change looming over the mountains. He was a unggoy known by everyone and yet recognized by no one.
How could someone…anyone…understand it?