Pinkie had been bouncing through the underground caverns for hours now. Each clack, clack of her hooves resonated emptily off the dark walls. The wet ceiling dripped continually, and misted off the floating purple phosphorescence. Her ears had clogged three separate times on her descent into the mountains. This newest cavern she found herself in had an expansive wooden bridge extending off ttowards the end of her vision. The bridge had a rope bannister leading the length. The twisted fibers were coming frayed. In droves, they embedded themselves into her coat and wrapped up in her fetlocks.
“Time for some eats.” She sat down and got an apple out of her saddlebags. “Its so pretty down here.”
The munched apple set down beside her, Pinkie reclined on her bags to get off her hooves. Boredom was mostly foreign to her, and as such, began to talk to herself.
“I love games as much as the next pony, but this is ridiculous!” She sat up. “Is that what we’re playing? Hide and seek? I’m great at hide and seek, so you can come out now!”
Her ruse unanswered she stood up.
“Hellowwwe! Is anypony out there? Anychangeling? You can come out nowwwe!”
The still silent walls answered only with a drip from the ceiling onto her nose. Startled, she looked at the offending droplet. It wasn’t water, but a spider. With shaking hooves she reached into the bag at her side. Cracking a torch and illuminating the walls she held her breath. All along the walls were bas reliefs of some kind of historical drama. It showed the progression from beginning to end of the changeling race. From the earlier section it portrayed many ponies all living in harmony. Underneath it read a script.
“A great love bestowed on our Queen Chrysalis. Year 180.”
Next it showed many ponies approaching Celestia.
“We went to adjoin our hearts with the sun. We are hopeful.” 200
A great section of the wall had been chiseled out. The next relief was of the isles shrouded in darkness.
“We have begun to understand that we were born cursed. Hail the will of our Queen.”201
The ponies had become black and withered.
“Our new life now is loneliness. Our Queen has an idea to bring us together to live in harmony again.” 407
A picture showing Chrysalis curled around many changelings.
“We are no longer starving on our island. Now we can begin again with a new family. All of us, together.” 900
Great towers and artistry adorned the walls.
“We are happy now. Our culture is great. Forever live our Queen.” 1200
Pinkie now neared the end of the chamber. The abbyss that had yawned below the bridge was coming up into view. Above a great stone door lay one more relief. This one was bigger than all the others. It showed Celestia bringing the sun down on the changelings and burning the land.
“The ponies found us after all these years. Celestia still tries to exterminate us like bugs. Our Queen has not abandoned us. We will persevere like we always have.” 1459
She had stopped hopping to read the walls better. Now at the door she stayed her hoof on the handle. A rotting stench billowed out from underneath. A faint laughing could be heard underneath. The handle would not budge. Turning around Pinkie began to walk down the slope towards the clouded abyss below. The mist carried the sound of her steps. With this she began to laugh.
“Greetings friends! We’re all here! Sir Applecore and Madame Bags here to see you! Come out and stop hiding!”
The singular acoustics of the place led her voice to echo back tenfold. The thick haze would lend itself to hallucinations disregarding its already psychotropic properties. Her puffy, cotton candy hair began to fall straight. The light from the phosphorous balls were blinding now. She began to hop again.
“I’m gonna find you! I’m gonna find you! I’m gonna make you so happy to see me! Hahahaha! My friends come out now!”
Her overeager canter landed her hoof in a miniature crevasse. The tip had gotten stuck during her overeager landing, and the rest of her lifted far forward and to the side. The walls reverberated with a sucking sound as her flesh twisted and separated completely off of the bone. She dangled helplessly over the side of the rock. About to scream from pain she saw what lay below the cloud layer. As far as her bugged out eyes could see lay a sea of rotting ponies. All colors of ponies from pegasus to unicorn alike. The clear separation between the kinds was marvelous. Each was laid out with their arms folded. Clearly some design had gone into their grotesque deaths for every one was a foal. Her pinched leg bone swung her underneath the buried mist. She could see stairs in the middle leading downwards still. Helplessly she began to laugh and laugh. Hours went by. A day perhaps had passed before her voice gave out and she fell asleep.
Waking up so exhausted gave her no time to think. Her dreamless sleep now gave way to a chronic screaming. Only for so long could her voice last now. Her saddleback had fallen below and she had no way to extricate herself. In the calm hatred of pain she pulled herself up from being upside-down. With her teeth she began to chew. Not long after the first sinews separated did the rest of her fall from the rock above. A two foot drop onto her back awaited her. She had no expertise in medicine and she began to bleed greatly. Thinking back to her life at home she remembered when Rainbow had broken a wing. Her bandages reminded Pinkie of a splinting technique Fluttershy had taught them both. Her saddlebag emptied she set a tourniquet and stoppered the blood flow. Lucky for her sanity she had not landed on any bodies but in a small clearing where none had been buried. Pinkie’s hair was completely straight and her mouth was set in a thin smile. The hill she had come from was too steep to climb back up. Tottering on three legs she made her way through the rows of children towards the stairs. The steps took more getting used to than she expected. Clop clop clop stop. Clop clop clop stop. Its maddening descent went down many levels. Finally the bottom. Its sudden friendliness was startling. A warm glow surrounded her. The hanging firefly lamps above highlighted the crypt just behind her. The entombed passage went two ways. One stretching off towards the entrance of the cavern above and one going forwards. Never once breaking form Pinkie clop clop clop waited all the way through the hall. The drugs from before had complete control of her system after so long inside them that she felt no pain. Not a far walk from the stairs she turned a bend and reached a cylindrical room with a glyphic dais in the middle. No pain filled her body for she was far too tired now. Her bones ached and the drugs were starting to wear off. She lay down on the raised platform and began to close her eyes. Green flame enveloped her and blinded the room. No one remained there but her sprinkled blood. Its testament the final sight the room would ever know as it began to shake and crumble. The many floors above caved in and would forever shroud those lost forever. Under the farthest engraving in the cavern above through the noise and debris the sound of green flame and a flash of light would be seen through the door.