The tunnels were deathly silent, being occasionally broken by the drip of water, shuffling of dirt, and the two ponies hooves hitting parts of the ground that weren't covered in moss.
"We're going to have to go above ground because you caved in the only underground way to the area," Rosebed's voice echoed around in the silence. "Not that I'm ungrateful for you saving me of course." She hastily added.
"No, no. In hindsight there were probably easier ways to get you out but I panicked." Dusty tome reassured her.
"Well I'd rather you did too much than too little." The tunnels returned to near silence.
"Well, we head up here." Rosebed nodded toward the gentle slope. "You really did a number on that poor tunnel. I must have been a couple o' hundred meters away from this exit when you found me and you nearly took that down too," she said flying up and taking a closer look at the roof.
Dusty Tome, however, was distracted by the pile of rubble. There was a distinct mint green object amongst the dirt and debris. It looked too bright to be anything that naturally grows in the tunnels or even in the town. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him (as they often tried to). As he neared the pile he could make it out a little clearer. It had fur. The realization hit him like a runaway carriage. He had killed another pony. More than that; he had killed about twenty of them. Dusty Tome lurched to the side as his stomach threatened to empty itself.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. That guy was a bastard and deserved everything he got. So were the others." Rosebud half-heartedly replied while she glanced over to what could now be recognized as a hoof.
Her eyed widened as the dirt began to twitch.
"H-hello?" A young filly's voice called out.
"Is someone still alive in there?" Rosebed and Dusty Tome asked at the same time.
"Yeah, I can't find my mum. She told me to run when the roof started coming down. Could you help me get out?"
The pair began digging with Dusty tome moving the large chunks and Rosebed shoveling soil. After a small while she stopped and motioned for him to do the same.
"Wait, how do we know you won't try to hurt us?" Rosebed questioned accusingly.
"This filly sounds thirteen at most. Even if there was the slightest possibility that she wants to harm us, I don't think she would be able to."
"I've seen a foal fight off a manticore. A small vocal alteration spell would be no trouble for a unicorn that has just started magic training as long as they know how sound waves work. And anyway, she must have been in the middle and there is no way a young filly could run that far so quickly." Dusty tome frowned. Rosebed raised a fair point. The two of them had only just made it out. In fact, most of the faster ponies he knew would never be able to maintain their speed over the distance the pony would have had to run. Then again did it matter? It was still a pony and even if they were part of the mob, they knew what he could be capable of. With renewed vigor he began to telepathically shovel away the soil until he found a section of the arched roof that had fallen straight down. Most adult ponies would have still been killed but if a foal kept their head down they would have come out relatively unscathed.
A young filly that looked about fourteen crawled out of the space under the arch. She was a dark cream with an aquamarine, lime green streaked, mane that was tied into a braid. Her smiling face was littered with freckles.
"I'm Fleetfoot. I came here with my ma a few weeks back. Have you seen her?" She politely asked. Her accent was strong for her age and her voice was surprisingly deep.
"Fleetfoot, look behind you... It's a miracle you made it out, let alone anyone else." It was harsh to tell her so bluntly but then so was most of this city. Especially for an orphan.
"Nah. Ma's a unicorn she can teleport an' everything. She jus' can't teleport two ponies." Fleetfoot stated simply.
"How did you make it then?" Dusty tome couldn't tell if Rosebud asked because she was curious or if she was still suspicious.
"Well my ma told me so I ran. An' when I saw the fallen arch, I hid under it. Simple as that." They could tell she wasn't lying but her story didn't add up.
"How did you run fast enough to escape the falling rocks?" Rosebud frowned slightly while asking and subtly took a more defensive stance.
"My cutie mark." Fleetfoot turned to her side so they could see it clearly. It was a messenger bag with two scrolls poking out of it. "My Ma and Pa ran a farm before they came here. I carried supply lists and trading deals to other farms and villages. Most the folks in the area said that I should have been born a pegasus," she beamed. The infectious smile began to break out on Dusty Tome's face.
"How about you come with us. We'll see if we can find her." He put a foreleg around her and gave her a small hug but Rose bed pulled her to the side.
"Are you sure that's safe. Even if she means us no harm, one slip of the tongue put her in deep trouble and maybe even us," Rosebed whispered.
"Well we can't leave her here, can we?" As if on cue, Fleetfoot's eyes began to tear up and her lower lip began to quiver. Rosebed shook her head.
"I guess this has already been decided." She glanced over to Fleetfoot. "Besides, Who could say no to that face."
Fleet foot dashed up and hugged Rosebed's leg as they began the accent to the surface.