//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Holiday Troubles-Part 2 // Story: Darkside Equestria: Redemption and Resurrection // by DarksideEquestria //------------------------------// Tor Ironclad “Well that certainly was odd.” Tor didn’t quite know what to make of those strange visitors, but he did know there was something incredibly familiar about the one with the moustache, the tall stallion with the good manners. Regardless, Tor and Seething were back to work. The day wore on, but by now most of the jobs in town had been completed. The small crowd that had gathered had grown since then, and now ponies whispered on all sides as they watched Tor and Seething working. Tor didn’t really mind, his large bearing and the Royal Decorations meant he was used to such attention. Seething Mass, on the other hoof, wasn’t taking it so well. It started with the little things, Seething getting distracted when Tor was telling him where to place a board, tripping a few times more than he usually did when they moved onwards to another place in the valley. As the crowd grew, Seething began to drop boards just as Tor was about to nail them in. He was fidgety, and Tor knew something was wrong. At lunch they took a break, and all the other ponies left. It was just Tor and Seething. “You don’t look so good, is everything alright?” Tor asked, genuinely concerned. “I feel, would better, I-I-I-I-I…” Seething paused to catch his breath. “I would feel better if there weren’t so many puh-puh, so many other ponies watching. It’s harder to concentrate; I don’t like what I think heard, what I think I hear when they think I don’t look.” Tor spoke. “Well you really can’t blame them; they are interested in what you are doing.” Tor heard a small noise, and Seething nearly leapt to his hooves as a purple stallion walked by, giving a glance and a smile at Seething. Tor continued. “They’ve never seen anything like you before, what you’ve done with some old farm equipment is amazing and they can’t help but be intrigued. Trust me, I can read a pony’s character from a mile away. These ponies don’t want to bring you down, they want to see what you do best.” Seething’s face merged a worried expression with that of one deep in thought. “Interested? Like me I suppose, interested, intrigued, they just want to know.” His expression brightened. “They want to see what I’m good at, they’ve come to learn like me, to learn, to see my special….” Suddenly Tor heard something. Well, more like felt it. A deep rumble channeled through the ground, up his iron hooves, and into his eardrums. It sounded like something big. Seething Mass went quiet, and the two turned around slowly to look back up the sandy valley. A gust of bitter cold wind swept over the sandy dunes, carrying with it the oddly out-of-place smell of burnt cinnamon, and Seething mass wrinkled his nose as the scent seemed to burn into it like acid. Everything went quiet for a moment, and a few streams of sand broke down far above as the world went deaf. Suddenly what looked like a cloud of sand erupted from the fire salamander cavern at the top of the valley. It started to pack together on its way down, and soon became a massive moving sand dune. The two friends looked at each other; they had been warned about the avalanches, but they hadn’t counted on one happening while they were working. Frantically searching their minds for what to do, they looked back up to the avalanche. There was something that was not right about it. Through the sand storm kicked up by the avalanche, they could faintly see an orange glow that grew in intensity. Then an earth-shattering roar broke through the crisp autumn air. Through the dusty cloud of sand, all of the ponies could see the terrifying visage of a monstrous lizard. Its scales were smooth and shiny, almost seamless, and the skin of the creature was polished making it look slippery and wet. But the beast radiated an orange and red glow so bright that anypony would know was hot without even being near it. The orange coloration of its scales flickered and pulsed in hot veins, like a burned log that was still red hot. Its eyes were black as charcoal, yet filled with the malice of a thousand infernos. As the creature roared again it revealed grimly curved and pointed teeth positioned perfectly to tear a pony apart. The roar let loose bright red flickering flames, which continued to leak from the creature’s enormous and gaping maw even after it was closed. The enormous salamander began to scuttle down the hill, faster than any average pony could gallop, and as it slithered the sand underneath its grubby monstrous feet began to glow and promptly melted to a liquid. Soon a clear glassy trail traced its path down the valley as it slide slipperily straight towards Seething Mass and Tor. Tor, thinking quickly, pulled out the piece of equipment that he very nearly left behind at Rarity’s boutique. It was a large steel grappling hook attached to a chain. Seething had been trying to design a cheaper fuel source for the Apple family tractor engines about a month ago, and had discovered (in a comedically explosive way) that distilled zapapple jam was a powerful jellied energy source. It was too expensive (and explosive) to fuel the tractor with, but after hearing Tor’s stories of fighting crime as a bounty hunter Seething mass had been inspired. The hook he created fit firmly clamped to Tor’s front leg, designed to attach to the joint on his Decorations. With a simple movement he could deploy a small charge fueled by compressed zapapple gas, launching the grappling hook and chain at an incredible velocity. At the time Tor had explained that he wasn’t a bounty hunter anymore, that he would probably never need such a device, but Seething Mass had insisted on measuring Tor’s Decorations and experimenting with the firing mechanism if only for the science. Well, if there were ever a time to use it this would be it. Tor quickly surveyed the landscape further down the hill where the salamander was headed and judged that it’s track would lead it to a tall overhang with a single dead tree on top of it. He let loose a bit of chain and swung the hook above his head, tossing it at the tree. The sharp point now firmly attached to the tree, he quickly swung forward on the chain and simultaneously shouted a single command. “Seething Mass! When that thing comes under the overhang, I need those boards at my hooves!” The gray pony blanched, mechanical limbs sagging into the sand as he watched the salamander approach. “Seething! Wake up!” Tor landed somewhat off balance on the tree, all the time keeping track of the movement of the salamander towards him. This would be close. ---------------------------------- Seething Mass I fully understand that Tor is speaking to me, but my limbs seem frozen. Approaching fast, almost impossibly fast, and Tor needs me. I’m far enough away, don’t know what Tor is doing, but I have to act. If only I could move. A twitch, Tor is still shouting, the salamander is still moving towards us, and by now a crowd has gathered. So many of them, and here I stand mute. If I could only MOVE. Wait. Stop thinking about them; at this moment they don't matter. Tor matters, he needs me. Turn quick and run to the board pile, nudge lever, extend arm, snatch boards one in each mechanical gripper. Turn back, salamander is so close now. I don’t have time to get closer, have to manipulate the controls just right. It’s a good thing I installed those new pistons, because the tractor pistons would never have the speed to do what I am about to attempt. Pull arms back, lift up, pull back, fully extended backwards. I have to rear up, I am on my two back hooves now, balanced precisely. Salamander is closer, almost beneath the tree where Tor stands looking at me. I nod once and he leaps. slam mouth down on lever, my tooth cracks on the porcelain ball on the end. The arms jut forward with full power, I have to move impossibly quick to release the grippers so the boards can fly but this is much easier to do because time has slowed to a dramatic crawl. Boards sail, Tor flips grappling hook as he lands on the Salamander’s back, boards already burning beneath his hooves on the red skin of the creature. He almost lost the leftmost board on the way down, but he was able to retrieve it by doing a quick flip in the air. The two slide down a slope and I can no longer see them, I have to run and see if I can follow, help and follow. What would have happened had I continued to be frozen? ---------------------------------- Tor Ironclad Tor almost didn’t think Seething Mass could do it, the way he had frozen stock still. The boards had landed true, however and had begun to catch fire the moment they were a foot away from the skin of the beast. Thinking as quickly as he could, Tor launched a hook down to the salamander’s top jaw to create makeshift reins. No sooner had he done this than the chain began to turn red hot and emit numerous sparks which flew through the air. A crowd had gathered and the beast veered towards them, but Tor successfully steered it away from them. It was still running rampant, however, and Tor was running out of board to stand on. In an act of desperation, he cried he name of the one pony he knew could calm the beast. “Fluttershy!” The shy pony, who was standing shocked in the crowd, gathered her courage and flew as fast as she could, racing the beast and eventually landing right in its path. She braced her legs and stared as hard as she could into the salamander’s black eyes, and what she saw there frightened her. Salamanders were grumpy creatures, and their skin made them dangerous, but this creature wasn't on a rampage fueled by rage; Fluttershy was shocked to discover the beast was in some sort of horrible pain. Tor was rapidly losing board to stand on, now forced to stand on his hind legs in order to avoid the flames. No sooner had Tor’s hoof decorations begun to glow red hot than the creature slid to a halt in front of Fluttershy, who now looked even tinier than normal. “We need more help!” She had tears streaming down her face. “It’s hurt!” Tor leapt off of the back of the creature, and it collapsed on the ground. The thunderous roars no longer came forth from the creature’s maw; instead there was a sort of pained wheezing sound. Seething Mass, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had also gathered around the salamander. “They aren’t usually this mean.” Fluttershy said, sorrow easy to see in her eye, “I think he’s in pain. Excuse me, mister salamander? Could you, I mean, if it’s okay, turn over so we could see your belly? But not if it’s any inconvenience to you, that is.” She requested kindly and softly. The salamander groaned and rolled onto its back with a sound like a collapsing bonfire, and everypony saw what was wrong. The underbelly of the creature was made of thick plate-like scales, irregular masses of what looked like black stone with bright red seams in between them. However, a patch of its underbelly had turned white and shiny, and looked like a shell. Fluttershy picked up a stick and gently probed the area. When she touched it, the sound was like when a teacup clinks against its dish. “Uhhh... Do Fire Salamanders usually have those?” asked Tor, exhausted. “Definitely not. This is something we’ve never seen.” Twilight Sparkle responded, clearly perplexed. “Look!” Shouted Rainbow Dash. The salamander gave a twitch and the white spot began spreading rapidly, creeping along the prone form. A burst of chill air swept through the manes of the ponies and traveled up the creature, and the odd scent of burnt cinnamon that came upon the breeze burned in their noses. The salamander was writhing in agony, but soon was unable to move any of its body as the hard white layer spread. As the infliction was slowly enclosing the salamander’s head, it let out a horridly quiet whisper of a roar. The beast was dead, its form completely overtaken by the strange malady. Rarity had been unable to watch the horrible occurrence and was leaning hard into Tor’s shoulder. Fluttershy let tears fall freely, evaporating into puffs of steam when they hit the sand heated by the salamander’s skin. Everypony else was dumbfounded, staring wide eyed, mouths agape at the terror before them. The first to speak was Twilight. “I think we should check out their den deeper in the cave at the mouth of the valley." “Do you have a deathwish?” Exclaimed Applejack. “Applejack is right, seeing that first salamander should have persuaded you otherwise. Darling, I know you’re worried about the creatures, but they are still quite dangerous!” Rarity replied. “We need to investigate! These creatures are very rare; this is one of only eight known nests in the world, the only one in all of Equestria! If the salamanders are all dead, we’ll lose our supply of gems. Rarity, I know you need them for your dresses, and they are vital to this town’s economy. If something bad is happening to the salamanders, it is up to us to stop it.” said Twilight. “YEAH! It’ll be really super fun! Don’t worry Rarity, if any of them some near us, we can use our Kung Fu on them!” Pinkie Pie said as she reared back on two legs and demonstrated Kung Fu to everypony. “I think... It would be good... To uh... go see them.” sniffled Fluttershy quietly. “I’ve never seen a disease like this before, and the thought of all those poor little salamanders left alone in the dark t-to, to die, *SNIFF* I can’t bear it. “Oh alright. I suppose we should go, but we need to be careful.” Rarity admitted. “Right, let’s do this LEROOOOOY..!” Shouted Pinkie Pie. Twilight quickly interrupted. “Wait Pinkie. You’re forgetting somepony. Now that Tor and Seething Mass are our friends, we have to consider their opinions too.” She said, motioning to the two. “There’s something odd here, but I could, I could help. I want to help, if I can.” Replied Seething Mass. “Did you really think I wouldn’t go for an opportunity to have an adventure?” Asked Tor in response. The six mares smiled in response, friendship really was magic. "Alright then, what are we waiting for?" Rainbow Dash said. ---------------------------------- Seething Mass The ordeal is settled. Twilight grabs a map and is trying to find the best way to enter the caverns. She says that salamanders live in underground colonies with multiple entrances, but she was able to find a path to the entrance of the cave that was most likely to be the one that the salamanders originated from. The one that lies, rests, sits d-dead at our hooves must have burst through the side of a tunnel, but Twilight says she was able to find the most likely entrance. We’re walking up now, Twilight Sparkle is reading, “There seems to be only one similar disorder that matches the one the salamander had in my book of Magical Ailments. This is strange; the disease described in the book turns creatures to stone. It was a tactic used during the last Great War, listen to this! First a rock was enchanted with a specific petrification spell, then a complex Influence Charm made the petrification able to spread to any surface the stone touched. It was then placed in an area that the intended target was likely to come in physical contact with it, and when they did the enchantment began to turn the target into the same material as the rock, a Latent Petrification spell.” Fluttershy looks worried, I’m worried too. Since when did Equestria have wars, what is this Great War? Fluttershy speaks. “That’s horrible! Who would do that to somepony?” Twilight responds in kind, “What I want to know is who would know how to? Things like this don’t exactly happen on accident.” “Well it couldn’t possibly be that anyways, that salamander wasn’t rock.” Rainbow Dash speaking now. “Well true, but the way the book describes it the enchanted object doesn’t need to be a rock. It only needs to be a mineral that could produce the desired effect.” Twilight Sparkle now. “You could make the same spell work with table salt or a chunk of ice. The material that the salamander turned into was pure porcelain.” I feel, now I can speak. “It seems the salamander’s death was no accident. Who would do, have a reason to, have a reason to do such a thing to these creatures?” Twilight glances at Pinkie Pie and the two share a glance. I wonder why? “I’m glad to see you using logic Seething,” Oh yes, MMMystery on the Friendship Express, that makes sense now. Twilight is still speaking. “I have no clue. Nopony I can think of would have any reason to dislike the salamanders. They don’t hurt anypony. Not a single death has been caused by a Fire Salamander in the entire history of Ponyville, despite how dangerous they are.” Tor replies, thoughtfully. “Then maybe... This pony doesn’t have anything against the salamanders. What if this is just one of the means to the end of his plans? What if he or she is planning something much bigger and this is just one of the many steps?” “Just a gear in the machine…” I muse. None of the ponies around me look at-ease. “Let’s hope you’re wrong Tor, Let’s hope you’re wrong.” says Twilight Sparkle. During the trip I can’t shake the feeling that we are being watched. The others feel it too, but no amount of looking about reveals our stalker. Pinkie Pie even darts around, behind boulders and piles of melted glass faster than our eyes can track, so fast it seems like she teleports from hiding place to hiding place, but if we are being observed our watcher is incredibly stealthy. Finally we arrive at the mouth of the cavern, and we all take a moment to catch our breath. Before us is the opening to the Salamander dens, a cavern so dark a pony can’t even see their hoof in front of their face. Twilight Sparkle lights up her horn using an illumination spell, and we stand there in awe. The cavern is truly the most beautiful I have ever seen. It is as if somepony had made a mosaic of gems on the wall, or more accurately, it is as if somepony had built a mosaic IN the walls. Glistening clear glass, and imbedded, formed within the walls; beautiful, pure, faultless gems of every color imaginable, even in several hues you would have trouble naming. Aquamarine and chartreuse, fuchsia and cyan. The colored light of Twilight’s horn plays off of the crystals in a way that makes the entire cave brighter than it perhaps should, brighter, brighter than it should be. We can see miles and miles through the cave walls; I can see the tunnels we will soon be walking through. “Well, nothin’ much to do but get on to the doin.” Well-spoken Applejack, we move forward. Further into the tunnels a dull red glow seeps into my vision, dull flickering red, like the fires of hell. Or is it Tartarus? Hell, hell, hell where does that word come from, and how do I know it? I could swear I’ve never heard Rainbow say it, or Twilight, perhaps…wait, I should concentrate on the light. It looks like it is coming from far below, spreading through the walls until the gemstones sealed within are groups of glowing eyes, watching us. Eyes, watching the ponies… Tor, being the largest of us, takes the lead in case there is danger ahead. The tunnel floors are smooth but covered with ripples and ridges, providing me with adequate hoofholds. The glass is somewhat slippery on the downward slopes, but otherwise the trip down into the cave, towards the red light like hell, like that word I know and don’t know, is fine. Just fine. ---------------- It has been about a half hour since we started down the tunnels, and we all decided it would be best to be as quiet as possible. Even Pinkie Pie is quiet, sneaking along like some sort of ninja. The red light fills everything now, but I can see spots of pure smooth white porcelain in the floor and walls just like the diseased salamander. Rainbow Dash moves towards a patch of clean white porcelain on the wall but she stops when Twilight harshly whispers after her. “Wait! Don’t touch that! In fact, don’t touch anything that looks like that. It could get you contaminated too. I don’t think I need to remind you about what happens then.” She’s right to be worried, being turned to stone is unpleasant. The porcelain spots look truly ominous, more so when they are seen in this red, this hell-light. They seem malevolent, I swear I can see them pulsate, twitch, twitch ever so slightly, about the edges. As we walk down, shifting, sneaking past patches of smooth white, Fluttershy gives out a sob. Everyone but me jumps at the sound, but before we can hush Fluttershy we realize what she is looking at. Huge forms nearly block our path, and it doesn’t take long for us to realize what the large motionless forms are. They were salamanders, frozen in time as porcelain statues, every expression of their pain and terror evident in their huge coiled bodies. Fluttershy barely holds back her quiet sniffles, it is painfully clear the salamanders did not gone down quietly. “How did we not notice this?” Rainbow Dash is shaken. “Surely they must have made some noise before they, well, you know.” “Because,” An unknown voice with a fancy Canterlot accent answered, “somepony sealed the sound magically from the cave and prevented it from getting outside.” ---------------------------------- Tor Ironclad The group whirled around suddenly, and standing in a small tunnel a suitable distance away was a male unicorn wrapped completely in black strips of cloth. Tor’s mind reeled as he looked at the stallion. Around his shoulders was draped a blue cloak trimmed in golden thread, his mane was a scraggly thing the color of a dusty red rose. His skin and horn were hidden entirely by strips of cloth that wrapped him from head to hoof, and he seemed to be missing an ear, but the detail that Tor noticed first was the two square glass lenses through which the pony watched the party. A shrill sound split into his head and his vision shifted uncomfortably as Tor struggled to reconcile what he saw with reality. There was no denying the resemblance to the pony from Tor’s dream. “Everyone stand back!” Tor shouted and leapt forward, pushing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy out of the way as he stood defensively between the mystery pony and Tor’s friends. “Stop! Who are you? What are you doing here? Who are you, tell me!” The pony started to lean over to the side, almost falling until he caught himself and took a step forwards. Tor hadn’t played the intimidating bad-pony act in quite a while, so it felt odd doing it now. Perhaps he had gone too far, he really hoped not. This pony didn't look healthy, and Tor was preparing some sort of apology in his head. As if to refute Tor’s thoughts, the figure laughed dryly and spoke in a gravely voice. “Woah, down boy!” The figure mocked. “A fine way to treat somepony who’s trying to keep his hide from being tanned, I say!” Tor was breathing heavily. “Just tell me who you are”. He tried to shout, but it came out in a whisper. The pony before him seemed amused. “Very well then, I am Barnabus Thom, good sir, how do you do?” Barnabus attempted a cordial bow here, but quickly lost balance and barely managed to keep himself from falling to the ground. Tor stood down and tilted his head slightly to the side in suspicion. “What are you doing here?” Tor wasn’t about to let his guard down, not when a figure from his nightmares had suddenly appeared in front of him. He suddenly grew worried that this might be a hallucination, concerned about what the others might think seeing him act so crazy, but Twilight Sparkle soon saved him from this self-doubt. “Tor’s right, what are you doing here?” Asked Twilight. Barnabus took another few steps forward, but he appeared to be constantly off balance and nearly toppled until he caught himself. “I saw, Tor, is it? I saw Tor and the renowned inventor, Seething Mass, taking action outside when that poor salamander went on the rampage. I was watching in AWE at the performance, goodness, why, I could barely keep my urge to cheer wildly contained! I myself work with the jewels that come from the salamanders’ caves, so I was MOST concerned to see the creature in such a state. I watched the beast’s transformation into porcelain, and that is where I truly became intrigued. I am, heh, a somewhat unfortunate expert on latent petrification spells I am afraid. It is a very detailed and beautiful, but terrifying process, to be sure. I was wandering around here, looking for the source object when I heard your friend Tor’s rather loud footsteps. I followed the cacophony and here we are now. A nice little tale, isn’t it though?” Tor recognized an insult when he heard one, and he was also good at telling when somepony was lying. This Barnabus Thom was hiding something, but even though Tor had a few guesses as to what that might be he didn't want to jump to conclusions directly. Tor thought back to the last time that had happened, when Seething and him had tried (and failed. Miserably) to apprehend that unicorn criminal. Things had turned out to be different then, maybe they would be different now as well. “How did you recognize the spell? It hasn’t been used for centuries, not since the last great war.” Asked Twilight Sparkle, clearly not impressed by Barnabus’ story. “Oh ye’ of such suspicion and error. I probably know more of this spell than even you my dear. You see I am most unfortunately afflicted with it, have been for quite some time now!” He exclaimed as he motioned to his face. This brought Tor’s attention to the wrappings around Barnabus’ narrow skull. As Barnabus moved his mouth, tiny flecks of white dust filtered through the wrappings and floated to the ground. This aroused Tor'a suspicion even more. “I wear these clothes in order to protect my frail and fragile body, my skin is almost pure porcelain.” They all noticed he was somewhat shaky on his hooves. “If you have the same disease, how can you still move?” Asked Twilight Sparkle. “Why, that’s a bit of a touchy subject. No need to get nosy.” Barnabus replied sharply. Fluttershy spoke up. “How did you catch it?” “Also touchy. You lot are very good at being inquisitive, aren’t you? Try something a little less rude and a little more of your own business.” Fluttershy's eyes brimmed with tears and she visibly shrank. Applejack's face clearly reflected her frustration, Barnabus wasn't even hiding his disdain now. “Well fine then, if'n you're gonna act so darn snippy about it, do you even know how these Fire Salamanders are catching it?” “Ah, now that’s the right question. It is my expert opinion that they have probably dug too deeply into the earth, accidentally uncovered something that was supposed to stay covered. I am a student of history, among my many other pursuits, and I know that despite the royal sisters' efforts many dangerous items were lost in the Last Great War. Still I can’t say for sure, for I am of course but a humble music box maker.” “Why would you know where the entrance to this cave is?” Asked Twilight. Barnabus scoffed viciously at Twilight's question. “And now back to the foolish questions again? Honestly, we are in the midst of a tragedy here my little ponies! Could you be troubled, at the very least, to put forth a relevant query?" Rainbow Dash flew at Barnabus' face. "Alright you jerk, if we're so bad at asking questions how come you don't just tell us what you know so we can get on with things huh? You're so worried about us asking the wrong questions, do YOU have something to hide?" The cloaked pony stared down Rainbow Dash from behind the amber lenses, then started to giggle. The laughter was a horrible sound with little joy in it, and as it grew Rainbow Dash landed and took a few nervous steps back. Barnabus' snicker grew to a chortle, which grew into laughter, which then grew into the most horrid coughing and hacking sounds the group had ever heard. Cracks and the sounds of chipping glass punctuated each movement that bent the pony's body, mixed with a wet gurgling sound, and it didn't take long for Barnabus' knees to give in. Soon he lay at their feet, wearily shaking with the pain and what remained of his horrid amusement. A burnt red glow surrounded his bandaged horn, and a wave of mending energy swept across his shaking body as he slowly rose to his feet with the help of Fluttershy and Seething Mass. He chuckled wearily a few more times, more like a wet pained sound, then spoke. "What do I have to hide? Look at me, look at me now and ask yourself what I have to hide. I'll tell you the answer; everything. I have EVERYTHING to hide." He was now standing, and shook off the two ponies' help. "At any rate, to answer your...clever inquiry... I can’t suffer to make bland, boring music boxes, can I? I would make no money that way! I come down here every once in a while to replenish my stock of gems, of course. A fine mechanism is nothing if you cannot *cough* appeal to ponies' aesthetic sensibilities." Barnabus replied. “You... You make music boxes?” Asked Seething Mass. "Gears, twists of wire, springs, somewhat like a clock? Like, like so many clocks on hardwood shelves?" “Why, yes my fine sir, I certainly do! Why, I’m getting flustered! A famous inventor, taking interest in my work? This is not something that happens every day! We must discuss machinery and clockwork some time! I do know a thing or two about gears.” Barnabus said. “Of... Of course! It would be my pleasure.” Replied Seething Mass. Tor thought Barnabus seemed a bit too impressed, like he was putting on a show. He was certainly a lot friendlier with Seething Mass than with everypony else. He also seemed slightly nervous and on edge, and some of his shifting back and forth didn't seem to be because of his lack of balance. The signs were subtle, but they were there. A flick of the tail, a slight anxious pawing at the ground, the occasional rolling of the head as though to shake of a fly, he tried to make it seem like he was annoyed but Tor knew these were textbook indications of unease in ponies and he had seen them many times when ponies' were lying. Tor snuck a glance over in Applejack's direction and caught her eye, nodding slightly towards Barnabus with what he hoped was an inquisitive expression. Applejack looked for a moment, then shook her head grimly, negative. Applejack didn't trust him either, at least Tor wasn't alone in his suspicions. After making sure Tor's yelling hadn't attracted any hostile salamander attention, the group continued to ask Barnabus questions about the affliction plaguing the salamanders. Tor, sitting outside of the group, silently got Applejack and Rarity’s attention. . “Uhhhh... I’m not sure we should trust this guy. He seemed a bit too excited to see us. And I think he’s lying to us about why he’s down here. I don’t know... I may not be good at math, but this doesn’t add up.” Tor warned them. "Applejack, this is your turf, how much of his story was the truth?" “He's darn nervous for all that bluster, an there's somethin' he ain't tellin us. You're right Tor, his story don't add up. How in tarnation did he manage to get up here before we did? And more importantly why didn't we see his tracks in the sand?" Rarity spoke. "Well he's horribly rude, but he seems to know quite a bit about this sort of magic. I don't think we can do much but trust him. " "I think he's just being a grumpy-meany pants because I haven't thrown him a party yet! That's not a good excuse, but he might cheer up if we throw a surprise one today!" Pinkie Pie popped up right in the center of Applejack, Rarity, and Tor's huddled discussion. After recovering from the small fright, Tor couldn't help but chuckle. "I think this one needs more than just a party Pinkie, I think he needs a shrink..." Tor looked over to the strange pony only to find the square sockets staring straight at him. Tor shuddered. "...and a better choice of head gear. " ---------------------------------- Seething Mass We are once again moving forward. Barnabus seems out of place here, among the ponies. He doesn't like them, I can tell, and as a result they don't like him a substa...very m-much. He seems to like me alright, however. As we walk he chats, all sorts of things. Speaking of music mechanisms and things called orgels and lamellae. This talk reminds me, I can hear the clicking gears and whirring clockworks, so many clocks... And suddenly I am in a cold white room. There is no heater on, everything is cold and white and yet there is such a clear detail to everything: I get the feeling it is not here, not really. There are wooden shelves on the walls; simple, cheap, and on them rest the clocks. Not one is the same, not one of them has the same hands or the same body or the exact same mechanism inside because each was made piece-by-piece, by me. They may not have the same hands, or the same bodies, or the same mechanisms, but they do have one thing in common; each and every one chimes at the exact same moment. Flawless, pure, regular, antiseptic. And that is where I was. Or am. Or will be. "*ahem* Seething Mass? We are getting closer." Barnabus Thom stirs me from my imagination's work, reminding me of where I am and what I am doing. We stand at a crossroads, with a glass path leading either way into the black which is not so black now but instead a horrid hell-red all around, so red I can only describe it with that strange word no one speaks. The others gather to speak, Twilight stepping forward. "Ok fillies and gentlecolts we must be very close to the fire salamander's central chamber. We have to be quiet, I for one really don't like the idea of being chased out of here. " Tor steps forward, clanking slightly. You know I never really realized it before, but Tor is a bit loud. “Mister Barnabus, about how far down do you reckon you’ve been in this cave? And don't you dare say that is an irrelevant question.” Barnabus seems slightly nervous but he manages to keep a sharp wit. I really don't like how he talks to, them speaks friends don't...I really don't like how he talks to them so harshly. But then again I do not know him well yet, I don't dare correct him. “Why, I ‘reckon’ I’ve been almost to the Fire Salamander nest. That’s about when the salamanders started to chase me off.” Tor is up to something, something interesting. “Do you think you can lead us down there? You are the only one who's seen it." Barnabus is nervous, even I can tell. "Are you insane? In my fragile state? No no, I think I will be content to guide you from the middle of the party, much less hazardous to my delicate skin. " Tor looks pleased. "Your 'delicate skin' got you down there safely before didn't it? And with no help at all! Now that we are here we can defend you against any monster you are too weak to defend yourself against, or for that matter not clever enough to get away from. I suppose I can go in front, if you don't think you are strong enough." oh no, now Tor is being rude as well. Perhaps they shouldn't yell, perhaps it would be too loud if they yell and wake up the engineers down the hall. The engineers would try to stop us if they woke up, they would know what I was up to and shut it down before I could make it through all the way.........back to the present Seething! Barnabus looks flustered “Why, I hardly feel safe with YOU at the head of the party, at least I have some skill in traversing undetected! Follow me, and I shall be your guiding light down this tunnel. Wouldn’t want somepony as clunky as YOU accidentally taking a wrong step and destroying the entire glass cave, would we?” Tor looks pleased, despite the backlash. ---------------------------------- Tor Ironclad You can put up with this for a bit longer, Tor. Contain your irritation. He thought to himself. “Grrreat! I suppose that means you’ll be at the head of the party then, doesn’t it? Well, lead on, our fine guide!” Tor replied, keeping the urge to sound mocking hidden. After a few seconds, Barnabus realized how surely he’d been tricked. Grumbling and frustrated, Barnabus lead the group on. The stretch of cave that remained was littered with porcelain salamanders, even more so than before. This was likely where the salamanders who couldn’t escape the nest fast enough frantically crowded up on the way out and died. Thankfully, there was a nice, wide path through all of the wreckage, which Tor found odd. It didn’t look like a natural path; some of the salamanders had obviously been moved out of the way. Barnabus must have had time to make it on his way up. Time is not what somepony being chased by giant lizards had. The further they got, the more nervous Tor noticed Barnabus was getting. As the oppressive red light grew near the end of the cave Barnabus was having trouble just staying upright, and almost fell heavily on several steep inclines that surely would have shattered his skin had Rainbow Dash not been fast enough to stop him. "Are you doing alright Mister Barnabus? Shouls we stop and rest for a while, or is there something we could get you?” Fluttershy asked, truly sincerely. By this point even Tor was starting to worry about Barnabus, he thought this sudden lack of balance and nervousness might be an effect of his sickness. “No, I’m fine. My constitution is stronger than that of SOME ponies.” Barnabus replied, quite pointedly. “Just trying to help...” Fluttershy squeaked to herself. Rarity leaned in close to her and whispered rather loudly, “I’m sorry you have to deal with his meanness Fluttershy. I’m sure it’ll be over soon, darling.” Barnabus merely scoffed in reply, the motion sending small streams of porcelain dust trickling through the folds and layers of cloth that covered his face. By the time they came to the opening of an enormous chamber, the dominating red light had removed all other hues from the scene. The entire party was cast in varying shades of red, and a pungent Sulphur odor exuded from the cave. The room they were in was huge, and surrounded on two sides by massive lava flows whose glow pervaded the glass caverns above. Petrified salamanders filled the room, huge mounds of icy white creatures contained forever in their suffering. Half of the cavern was a harsh black rock, and at the far end there was a cave. They took a step in and noticed that this chamber was much darker than any of the other parts of the cave. The ground they were standing on and the walls were pure basalt, deep cracks glowing orange from the hot magma that bubbled far beneath them. The chamber was unbelievably, but bearably hot. At the far end of the room, they all could see a large pool of glowing magma. It seemed as though it was slowly moving, but not enough to cause alarm. The room had an almost sacred quality, and everypony to feel the need to whisper. All of this scenery was somewhat expected, but there was one thing that was terribly out of place. In the center of the chamber, there was a large patch of porcelain. “Look!” whispered Twilight Sparkle. She was pointing to the center of the patch of porcelain. There, completely out of place in the deep cavern, was a pillar of rock that had been turned to porcelain. Atop this pillar a statuette poised precisely in the center, a small pony doll dressed in a fancy dress. “That must be the source!” She quietly exclaimed. “ I'll need to do some pretty complex magic to break the enchantment, but someone needs to shatter the doll at a critical moment during my spell casting." she looked over to Tor, but before she could speak he replied. "Oh sure, you need something broken and you call on me. " Twilight stammered, but Tor stepped in to save her the embarrassment. "Well good, because that is what I'm best at. Breaking things! Start the spell, Miss Twilight Sparkle!" During the time it took Twilight to charge the spell, Barnabus was getting much more uneasy. “Ok, here we go.” whispered Twilight at the moment she was prepared to release her spell. The glow of her horn encompassed the chamber and a transient hum signalled the release of the magic was approaching. “WAIT, the Broodmother!” Shouted Barnabus loudly as he lurched forward and attempted to dive in front of Twilight. He was too late, as the spell was already careening down the chamber toward the statuette. At the same time Tor launched a concussion wave towards the small finely-crafted doll and as it shattered the chamber shook and rumbled and a blood curdling roar came from the magma pool. Slowly, a fiery figure rose from the pit. As it slowly shook off the molten rock that remained on its hulking body, the ponies all froze in awe. The enormous salamander had a flat, pointed head with monstrous spines coming out of the sides and going down its back, starting with a massive row of spines starting at the end of its snout and ending at the tip of its tail with spines. Its eyes were charcoal black, as the other salamanders were, but in the center flared a hot orange. As it opened its gaping mouth for another roar, bright flames flew past is easily ten-foot long teeth. It moved slowly, and as it closed its mouth the giant teeth fit together in such a way that it appeared to be grinning at the intruders, with fire and brimstone spilling between the cracks. It shifted it's gaze across them, smelling the air as it move forward and focused that grin on one of them in particular: Barnabus Thom. Tor began to stare at him too, wondering what Barnabus could have done to make the monstrosity so angry. This creature was afflicted by the porcelain disease as well, but the heat of the magma appeared to have stopped it from spreading. Half of its head and most of the body, as well as patches on its legs, were porcelain. “That must be the broodmother. Everypony, back away slowly. I read that its vision is based on movement. Make any sudden movements and we’re toast.” Whispered Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash gulped audibly. "Literally!" At first, everypony complied and the entire cavern was still, save for the bubbling and dripping of molten stone. But after a few more sniffs the broodmother came after them nonetheless. The commotion woke more salamanders, who seemed not to be afflicted by the disease at all, and as the party ran into the glowing red room more salamanders filled the space. They moved towards the broodmother, towards the black cavern, and the giant female salamander did a most curious thing. As soon as the other lizards approached the entrance to the cave where the doll had been the broodmother stopped chasing the ponies and instead turned on her subjects, launching rocks at any who approached with her tail. "She's...she's protecting them." said Fluttershy, smiling sadly. "Protecting them against the infection." "Yes yes, very heartwarming Fluttershy but we gotta leave!" yelled Tor, narrowly dodging the stray tail of one of the salamanders. A cacophonous roar hit the chamber and the ponies were able to look back for just long enough to see the broodmother rear her head for another blood-curdling scream, then finish her transformation into porcelain. She fell to the ground, shattered into several large pieces. The other salamanders, of which there were about twenty now, whimpered piteously at the loss of their queen. Unfortunately, without her to distract them, their attention fixed on the ponies they now perceived as a threat. "I think n-n-now would be the proper t-t-t-time for dep-de-depar...RUN." stammered Seething Mass. "Could not have said it better myself good chap, cheerio!" replied Barnabus as he turned and raced limping ahead of the others into the glass caves. Racing ahead, the ponies lost track of the correct tunnels and came to a deep chasm. They all either flew, bounced, or teleported across, with the exception of Seething Mass. “What are you doing?” Shouted Tor. Seething stammered, seemingly frozen in place on the other side. The Fire Salamanders had nearly caught them; Seething Mass was effectively committing suicide. Suddenly he snapped back to reality, took a few steps back, and took a running bound across the chasm. The next few moments moved slowly for him, slowed by the almost euphoric feeling of success that filled him as the other side grew closer. For a moment he thought he would make it all the way, that his weak limbs would not fail him, but he was wrong. He hit the side of the cliff with a soul-wrenching CRACK and scrambled madly to hold on to the edge as his back legs flailed over an abyss. Tor leapt into action to help Seething Mass, but as he started to move forward Barnabus Thom shoved him out of the way. When Seething Mass had caught the ledge, it was Barnabus who had helped him up, not Tor. Everypony cheered for Barnabus for catching Seething Mass. Tor felt shunned. “Thank Faust you're all right, we make a pretty good team, don’t we? Barnabus asked Seething Mass as he struggled for air against the broken ribs. “Yes, *gasp* we certainly do!” Replied Seething Mass. The salamanders had made it to the opposite ledge, but were unable to make it across, due to their stubby legs. The ponies were home free now, free to go at their own pace out of the caverns. “It looks like none of the other Fire Salamanders are infected! One of them will become the new broodmother, and the whole lifecycle of the nest should return to normal. Destroying that statuette should have removed any traces of the disease, without the focus object the spell will begin to unravel so we should be safe now!” Twilight informed them all. “When we get back to town, I’ll have to start investigating who might have put it there.” Barnabus and Seething Mass were at the front of the group again, but this time, Tor sunk to the back. After a while, Rarity noticed and went back to him, to see what was wrong. “What’s the matter, darling?” She asked. “Well, don’t make a big deal about it, but Barnabus shoved me out of the way when I tried to catch Seething Mass earlier...” Tor Replied. “What? That’s ridiculous! I could barely take how mean he was being to you, but that is the last straw!” “Wait, no, don’t make a big deal out of it!” “Twilight Sparkle, come here please!” Rarity requested. “What’s wrong, Rarity?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “Are you aware that Barnabus shoved Tor out of the way when Tor was trying to save Seething Mass?” “No. Is this true Tor?” Tor silently nodded his head. He didn’t want to cause a fuss, but there was quite obviously a fuss now. “Barnabus!” Twilight shouted. The pony in question looked back at them and replied. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle?” “Why did you push Tor out of the way when he clearly was able to catch Seething Mass?” “Why, that’s simple. Tor’s clunky metal would have obstructed his grip on Seething Mass. There was no time to ask politely, so I had to shove the mewling quim.” “While that may be true but you need to put more trust in Tor! He’s a very capable pony, you know.” '...that may be true...' those words sent a chill down Tor's spine. Was Twilight, agreeing with Barnabus? “But does one leave caution to the wind to trust somepony when somepony else’s life is on the line? I think not.” Barnabus countered viciously, then turned around he and Seething Mass continued their conversation as if they hadn’t even been interrupted in the first place. Nopony could logically refute this last point, so they carried on without addressing the subject further. Twilight gave a apologetic look back at Tor, then shrugged her shoulders and continued to walk. Meanwhile this whole conversation about trust confused Seething Mass, and even caused him to doubt his new friendship for a split second, he still wanted to be friends with Barnabus. He was the only pony who he could talk to about gears and mechanisms and other such things. Rarity stayed near Tor for the whole rest of the trek out of the cavern, but he didn't speak again. He just tried to stop thinking about the whole incident. They had made it out of the cave by nightfall and noticed that some of the ponies had finished Tor and Seething Mass’s job for them. Snow was already covering the ground, and it was continuing to fall softly. The avalanches had been safely diverted, and there didnt seem to be a snowflake out of place. Everypony went to their respective homes and slept warmly. Everypony except for Tor, that is. Thoughts just wouldn’t stop running through his head. Thoughts like: Who is this pony, this Barnabus Thom? Why does he so closely resemble the pony of my nightmares? Why was he after Seethe’s friendship so badly? Why did Seethe not seem to care that Barnabus was being so rude? Does that mean he doesn’t care about me? If it does, does that mean he doesn’t want to be friends anymore? Disconcerting thoughts flew wildly around his head. He had no sleep that night; he just stayed up and stared out at the snow. "Should I tell Rarity about this, the dream and everything?" he wondered. "No, probably not. I don't want to cause a stir, to cause trouble." He realized then that winter was a a magical time of year in Ponyville. A time for changes, and the cold. Change for the better, or for the worse.