//------------------------------// // Chapter 49 - Inside Mount Comet // Story: Quest For Harmony // by destinedjagold //------------------------------// It took us a few minutes for Kronz to convince Claire and I to continue our little adventure-investigation-thingy. The cave was dark and chilly. Good thing we have our flashlights, but our slightly wet jackets aren't helping us properly against the chilly air inside. It was still bearable, for them, at least. I kinda don't like the cold. With his laptop, my bro led the way. I think I saw the layout of the cave on his computer screen. "This way," he spoke and took a left when the three of us reached a three-way fork. The cave was made of dark earth rocks, and a few bats were flying above. Little winged insects are flying around, busy being scooped by bats. I noticed that our path was slightly inclined upward. The cave soon started to feel like a pathway, with the walls being smaller than the first time we entered the place. "So," Claire's soft voice caught my attention. "What will you do next when you get back to Equestria?" She smiled awkwardly. "Heheh. That sounded weird..." "Very," I replied, "Well, I am probably going to...another mountain adventure yet again." She frowned, concerned. "A-are you going to deal with that smokey dragon?" I shrugged. "I don't really have any other plans." "Why not bring Fluttershy along?" Kronz suddenly spoke as he took a right. "I'm not sure," I replied as Claire and I followed him. "I mean, she's kinda busy watching over the ponies inside the old castle..." Claire quietly squeed, earning herself a raised eyebrow from me. "Oh, Fluttershy's so cute!" she squeaked, "oh, I don't know if I could handle seeing her for real!" I rolled my eyes, and I think Kronz did the same as well. "Anyway," she composed herself, "I think you should ask Fluttershy to help you. I mean, well, the CMC are also helping out, right?" I nodded, but, "...but, I'm not even sure if they escaped the castle..." What if they didn't? Or what if Applejack or one of the CMC didn't manage to escape? What then? Should I go back and rescue them? But what if the unicorns already killed them? Going back to rescue them would be pointless then... Ugh... "...you alright?" Claire asked as I rubbed my forehead. "N-no," I admitted. Damn, I suddenly am feeling a very painful headache... Kronz stopped, and I barely noticed him doing so. Claire and I stopped as well behind him. "If I didn't disable the audio," Kronz spoke as he was typing on his laptop, "my comp's really going to screech." He looked ahead, pointing his flashlight ahead, lighting nothing but the cave's floor. "The frequency is really getting stronger." He looked over his shoulder. "I think we're---are you okay bro?" I shook my head as I waved my hand to dismiss the question. "I'm fine, kinda..." I suddenly felt my phone vibrating... Tsk... My brother frowned as I took out my phone. "Big bro, we can leave if you want." Yeah, my bro's caring if he notices others are suffering or no longer enjoying themselves. Blank... And then... 'I can feel something powerful... What are you doing...? Where are you...?' Yeah, as if I am able to reply. "Any thoughts on who might the voice be?" I asked out of the blue as I returned my phone back. Claire and Kronz looked at each other with puzzled looks. They returned to me with the same response: "no". I sighed and rubbed my head. "Let's continue, then..." We continued, my head really hurting, but I tried my best to bear it, although I'm failing to do so miserably... "You guys noticed that there are no bats or bugs flying around?" Claire suddenly asked, breaking the silence. Kronz shrugged. "Yeah, I did. Must be the frequency. It's getting really strong." He spared a moment to glance at me, and I smiled painfully. He frowned. We continued onward. We turned, walked on, and soon, we saw the path up ahead. We...saw. There was light up ahead. We stopped, turned our flashlights off, and quickly hid behind a large rock. And oh, I wonder if it's just me, or is the place getting chillier...? "Okay," Kronz spoke quietly, "there are really people here aside from us." I rolled my eyes, despite this painful headache. "Gee, and I thought the vans down below were only for decorations..." "I-I think we should go back, now." Claire spoke, and I could agree, but... "...but we've reached this far, and," he looked at his laptop, "the source of the frequency is just up ahead." "...where the light is coming from? Joy..." I sighed. "Well," Kronz spoke, "what if this source-thing is the one giving off the lights?" "A fifty-fifty chance of that, then..." I replied. "Can we go now?" Claire frowned. Kronz looked at me, and grinned. "Well, you heard the lady." And he quickly and stealthily moved onward, completely ignoring my and Claire's whispered calls. Tsk...! I felt my phone vibrating, but bah, whatever! I ran after my bro. Claire gasped, but stood her ground. Kronz crouched behind a tall rock, peeking his head out to see what was up ahead. I reached him, and crouched behind him. Darn, this headache is getting worse... "Bro, we nee---" A powerful roar of thunder cut me off. Thunder? I peeked ahead, and saw that the light was coming from outside. Huh, so we're on the peak already? Or is that just an exit? The source of the light were those light stands scattered around the flat surface outside the cave. Box-like machines stood there, with lights of colors flashing there and there, and wires were running around and down to the edge of the mountain, probably towards the vehicles down below. What is more, there are three people wearing raincoats, but...they're lying on the cold ground. And I just noticed... The light stands were all pointed and focused on something up above. Meters from the ground, was a...hole, of some sort. And that hole was sending off black cloud-smoke towards the sky up above. "Well, that explains the storm..." I whispered through clenched teeth. "AHH!" Claire's loud voice echoed, making my bro and I jump and turn to her. She was in panic and was running towards us. A growl echoed, and we soon saw a pair of yellow eyes chasing after Claire! "T-t-t-t-t!" She was unable to voice out what she was going to say as she hid behind us. Those yellow pair of eyes stopped meters away from us, and the lights from outside were enough for the three of us to see the...timberwolf...taking a step closer as it growled at us. "O-okay," Kronz said, taking a step back. "This is really really weird." The timberwolf growled and quickly ran at us, and Claire and Kronz shrieked in fear. It jumped at us, claws outstretched and mouth wide open. Just before it got us, I kicked it's head, scattering its woody body parts raining down on us. Claire and Kronz blinked...twice. At least now I knew why those men outside are lying on the ground. The rain must have washed their blood away. I groaned as I started walking outside. "W-well," Kronz whispered to Claire. "Th-that was anti-climatic." I turned to look at them, slowly approaching me. "Oh," Claire spoke icily, "so you'd want us to get hurt and die from a cartoon wolf instead!?" Kronz could only shrug. I think I'm seeing things. The timberwolf's pieces of wood are releasing small green fumes. I wanted to point that out, but I wasn't in the mood to do so. Not with this painful headache. The three of us went outside, staring at the black-cloud-releasing hole-thing... "So..." Claire spoke, "now what?"