//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 (part 1) // Story: An Expression Of Love // by Fluttershy20 //------------------------------// Twilight staggered forward a few feet and fell flat on to her back, panting heavily as her chest rose and fell quickly, while her body ached with exhaustion from the rather tiring experience she had just gone through. Despite the aching she could feel in her legs and her heart pounding against her chest like a rapid drum, she regretted nothing. A few seconds later, Fluttershy fell on her side beside her, panting as well, and feeling herself ache with fatigue, too. “Wow,” Fluttershy rasped, finding herself unable to say any other coherent words. Twilight looked at her and nodded. “I know,” she said, breathing deeply. “We did it. We actually did it.” She rolled onto her side facing Fluttershy. “I can’t believe I was able to do all of that in such a short space of time.” “So do I,” Fluttershy admitted bashfully, rubbing her hooves together. “I really thought after so many days and nights awake that we wouldn’t be able to do it. But I am glad we did, for it was the best thing I have ever done.” “And the best thing is,” Twilight added happily, “we did it together.” Fluttershy smiled beatifically, and then placed her forehooves against Twilight’s. “I wonder what our friends would say if they saw us just now?” Twilight shrugged. “I’m not sure. I imagine Rainbow Dash would be impressed we kept it up for so long. Rarity would be astonished. Pinkie would want to throw a party for us. And Applejack… well, I’m not sure what she would do, but I bet she would be happy for us.” “I hope so, too,” Fluttershy said. She squealed in happiness. “Oh, I can’t wait to tell them what we did together.” Twilight took another deep breath, and nuzzled her marefriend. “Neither can I,” she said, grinning. “I can’t wait to see the look on their faces as we tell them…” She jumped up onto her hooves, and looked down at the steep incline they had just climbed. “We climbed the tallest mountain in Abyinisia in just under half an hour!” She punched the air in victory. “Try doing that, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy jumped up onto her hooves as well, and stood closely to her marefriend as she stared proudly at the sloping ground before them, while smaller mountains, plains and valleys stretched out from around the goliath’s base. ‘Anypony sent after us will never catch us now,’ she thought gladly. ‘They’ll be too scared to come up here.’ She swallowed her growing worries back down when she felt them crawl up her throat. ‘Does that mean that we’re the bravest ponies on Terra, or the most foolish?’ It had been at least two days of endless walking since they were forced to flee Esperius, and were sent forth on their quest to make their way through the three kingdoms and get to the flower. But the travel was uneventful and the view was breathtaking throughout. Large, solitary trees stood vigil over great, rolling plains, where molehills and burrows were scattered amongst the tall grass and colourful plants. Tiny streams crossed their way through the main road, joining to a larger river that ran along the right edge of the valley, miles from the two ponies. And here and there were forgotten houses of broken stone and timbers, their frames angling slightly to reveal how close they were to collapse. After making their way to the end of the valley as Welara had instructed at the dawn of the first day, they had found a thin path hidden among the woods clustered around the valley exit, which slithered through the forest and clung to the mountain on the other side, spiralling up to its peak. “Do we have to go up that?” Fluttershy had asked, shaking in fright. “We have no other choice,” Twilight replied tiredly. “We either do this, or go back to Esperius with an execution block to greet us. Which one would you pick?” Though the idea of climbing a mountain was scary and possibly very dangerous, Fluttershy could not deny that it was more comforting and less risky than going back to Esperius to be at the mercy of Grey Spot. She replied with a nod, and with that the two ponies galloped ploddingly through the trees, following the path placed before them. By the time night fell, the couple had made it through the woods and to the base of the mountain, where they huddled together and set up camp for the night within the shadow of a great pine tree, a small fire going to keep them warm till they fell asleep. Few words were exchanged between them, but the words that were spoken were those of comfort and love. The next day, the sun was barely in the sky by the time they set off again, this time ready to head up the first mountain that led into the mountain range, which was but the first gateway into the old kingdoms. Both ponies knew as they started up the path that there would be more climbing to do before the end. A lot more. By midday, they made it to the very top of the mountain, and found themselves staring at the largest mountain range they had ever laid eyes upon. Rows and rows of mountains, connected by thick ridges of ragged and sloped rock, spread themselves out from their view and right back to the horizon, with vast wells between the pointed behemoths that plummeted into darkness. ‘Not even a goblin could live in those,’ Twilight thought as the pair made their way along one ridge, with the unicorn using the map to follow the route. The ridge was as thin as an alley in Ponyville, and several times did Twilight and Fluttershy place their hooves in the wrong place and nearly paid for their mistakes with their lives. Once, as they crossed a rather thin stretch, Fluttershy slipped and fell tail-first down the side and towards a large bottomless chasm, screaming, before Twilight caught her with her magic. After pulling her back to the top, they took a moment to catch their breaths and their nerves in each other’s embrace, before moving slowly on again. A few hours later, the adventurous couple made it to the end of the widening ridge, and fixed their eyes on the largest mountain they had ever seen; about halfway up, it disappeared into the cloud cover, with no hint as to how high it went up, while the base gradually faded into darkness. “According to this map,” Twilight had said as she looked at the map floating in her magic, “that is the tallest mountain in Abyinisia by literally a mile.” Fluttershy turned her head to look at her oddly. “How can you know that?” Twilight prodded the map. “Says it right here in Equestrian,” Twilight replied cheerfully. “Welara must have added it when he planned out our departure.” “Aw, how considerate of him,” Fluttershy said, smiling at the image of Welara writing the Equestrian translations rapidly. She looked up at the mountain again, and gulped. “So, um, I take it we have to go up it?” “Yep,” Twilight said as she tucked the map safely away in her mane. “And once we’re up there, we follow it around until we come to the entrance of the city of the earth ponies.” With that said, Twilight walked ahead once more, leaving a very confused Fluttershy. “The entrance?” Fluttershy enquired as she caught up with her marefriend. Twilight turned her head and smiled in response. “I’ll tell you about it when we settle down for the night.” She looked right and saw to her shock that the sun was only starting to set. “Which will be sooner than I thought.” With that, she looked back and gave Fluttershy a grin. “Race you to the top!” she shouted, before galloping off the ridge and to the top of the mountain. Fluttershy, despite her exhaustion, grinned and ran after her. Fluttershy smiled at the memory as she pictured Twilight in front of her, laughing without a care about what they were possibly about to go through. The thought made her smile fall a little. Before, in Esperius, she felt determined to go up the mountains, past the strange and terrible creatures that dwelt before the valley, and then see the flower and learn of the truth of her feelings for Twilight – or not, depending on whether they would lose their memories to the flowers’ power. Now that they were up here, and with the choice to turn back now lost to them, her guts began to tell her that this was a bad idea. ‘Is this worth the risk?’ The worst part of the question was that she did not know the answer. She knew she would have thought that she should have turned back when she had the chance, but she wasn’t thinking straight then, and she surely didn’t feel like thinking straight now. ‘What is wrong with me?’ she wondered as she turned away from the edge. “Ready to go on so soon?” Twilight asked surprisingly as she watched Fluttershy head away from the edge. Fluttershy stopped when Twilight spoke, and then turned around to look at her with a small smile. “Oh, um, yes, if you don’t mind, sweetie.” She glanced behind Twilight, and her eyes widened in alarm. “I think it might be best, judging from that storm coming in.” She pointed to the closing mass of vicious black clouds coming slowly towards them. Twilight looked over her shoulder, and her eyes widened at the sight of the oncoming storm. “Then let’s keep moving and find shelter before it hits us,” she said, before looking around and observing their surroundings. The top of the mountain was not exactly the very top; the rest of the mountain in front of them was a large, ragged cone with no other way up. The pair stood on a large space with what looked like a pathway jutting out of the rock face to their right and running around the mountain and out of sight. “Come on, this way,” Twilight said as she walked towards the path. Fluttershy, however, looked hesitant. “Um, are you sure that’s the right way to go? It doesn’t look very… safe, if you ask me.” Twilight stopped before she could set her hoof on top of the path, and scrutinised it carefully with narrow eyes. ‘It has to be; there’s no other way around. But just to be sure…’ After a moment, she pulled her head away and set her hoof on the path, pressing all her weight onto it to be sure. She did not notice that Fluttershy had both of her hooves over her mouth and was shaking in worry. After a moment, nothing happened, prompting Twilight to press her weight on her hoof and take another step forward with the other. “See Fluttershy? Totally fin– whoa!” she screamed as a part of the path beneath gave away and she fell forward and off the cliff edge. She closed her eyes and tensed for what she knew was going to be a heavy landing further on down, when suddenly something latched onto her tail, leaving her dangling over the edge. Twilight opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to see Fluttershy with her tail in her mouth, struggling hard to keep a firm hold on it. “Hold on, give me a minute!” Twilight called, her tone indicating her panicked state. “What do you think I’m trying to do!” Fluttershy yelled through gritted teeth. She tried to walk back and haul Twilight to safety, but the unicorn’s weight was keeping her from gaining the grip needed to bring her back onto the ledge. In fact, she could feel herself begin to slip towards the edge and fall along with her. ‘Whatever you have planned, Twilight, you have to do it fast!’ she thought as she felt Twilight’s tail slip from between her teeth and her body being slowly dragged towards the edge. ‘I can’t hold on much longer!’ Twilight took a deep breath to calm her ever-tarnished nerves and to think straight, and with her eyes closed to envision where she wanted to go and a burst of magic from her horn, disappeared out of Fluttershy’s grasp, only to re-appear beside the exhausted pegasus. Fluttershy, in surprise of Twilight’s disappearance, fell forward and nearly went over the edge herself. Quickly, Twilight caught her with her magic, and lifted her through the air and away from the edge. When she was away from danger and beside the unicorn, Fluttershy leapt into Twilight’s embrace. “I thought I was going to lose you for a second,” she whispered as she held Twilight close. “No you weren’t,” Twilight assured her, rubbing her lover’s back comfortingly. “I would have remembered my levitation-on-caster spell… sooner or later.” She gently kissed Fluttershy’s forehead, making the pony blush. “Thank you for catching me, though. It’s nice to know you will be looking after me.” Fluttershy smiled, gently stroking Twilight’s mane, which sent amazing tremors across the unicorn. “You would do the same for me, sweetie, so why shouldn’t I do the same for you?” She pulled away from Twilight, got up and stared at the path they had to take with wary eyes. “I’ll go first,” she blurted out, surprised to hear that coming from herself. Twilight’s eyes widened in horror upon hearing her, and opened her mouth to usher a protest. Before she could say any coherent words, however, Fluttershy shot her head around and glared her into silence. “I don’t suppose you’ve noticed, though you may have done and I am sorry if this sounds like bragging, but I am lighter on my hooves than you are, so I can find the weaker elements along the path and prance over them. Oh, and I have wings,” she said, emphasising the point by spreading her wings out and flapping them. Twilight opened her mouth and raised a hoof to make a valid argument against her, but any that might have made the pegasus change her mind vanished from her brain completely, leaving a blank space. ‘Thanks a lot, brain,’ Twilight thought, sighing in defeat. ‘No morning cereal for a week for you when this is over.’ “Fine,” she replied, making Fluttershy grin. Before the pegasus could begin to cross, however, Twilight pointed a warning hoof at her. “But I’ll be right behind you at all times, and I will hold you magically by the tail so if you fall, I will catch you. And no heroics, okay?” Fluttershy’s grin grew wider as she hugged Twilight. “Of course not, sweetie. You know me.” After giving Twilight a quick peck on the cheek, she spun around and walked up to the edge of the path. “I know; that’s what worries me,” Twilight muttered under her breath. She followed Fluttershy until her chest was against her tail. Twilight’s eyes widened as she felt her coat come into contact with her lover’s tail, and immediately considered backing off. However, suddenly Fluttershy’s tail began to tease the unicorn by stroking her chest, making Twilight lose her breath to its feel. ‘Oh, Fluttershy’s tail feels like silk,’ Twilight thought pleasurably as the tail that was entrancing her swished and swayed gracefully before her. She was brought out of her mind before it could go into more vulgar thoughts when Fluttershy stepped onto the path with one hoof, and then leaned forward and rested her other hoof on the other side of the gap created by Twilight. The tip of Fluttershy’s tongue appeared from between her lips as she pressed her weight down on the other hoof, until she was leaning on it with all her weight. Thankfully, the rock under her hoof did not budge. “Phew, that’s good,” Fluttershy muttered to herself as she slowly leaned forward and placed her other hoof another foot or so ahead. She looked back at Twilight to see her waiting patiently, though her eyes seemed to be focused elsewhere. “Watch my hooves, missy,” she said sternly. Twilight blushed and groaned in embarrassment, prompting Fluttershy to giggle before looking at the path once more. She set her hoof down, and felt how sturdy the rock was as she pressed her weight down. Feeling more secure, Fluttershy pushed herself slowly forward, with Twilight right behind her and her magic wrapped around Fluttershy’s tail in case the path broke away again and she suddenly fell. A quarter of an hour later, which felt longer due to the amount of times they had to stop and wait to see what happens before moving on, the pair had made it to the other side of the path. They found themselves standing on a large triangular ledge, with the path continuing around the mountain on the other side, and against the rock face was a large circular entrance to a cave inviting them into the eerie darkness. “Ar-are we going to go in there?” Fluttershy asked fearfully as the pair gazed into the entrance, just as the first rain drops started to fall on their bodies. “Not yet,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “I want to be sure that it’s empty first. I can imagine any caves in these mountains are seldom occupied,” she said, her tone stating her concern of such a possibility. Swallowing down her nervousness, she took a few steps forward, lowered her head and powered up her horn. While she was busy with that, Fluttershy crept around so she was standing directly behind Twilight, and lowered her head so the unicorn would protect her from anything big and nasty that could potentially be lurking inside. Suddenly, a bright light shot out from the tip of Twilight’s horn and hurtled into the cave like a javelin, bringing up the narrow passage of the cave and lighting up the interior. Fluttershy peeped over Twilight’s shoulder, and when she saw that the cave looked free of scary and predatory creatures, she broke into a trot and prepared to enter. Before Fluttershy could get past Twilight, the unicorn held up a leg and stopped her. “Not yet,” she advised. “If there’s anything in there, they might be hiding somewhere, waiting for whoever it was that created that to come out and show themselves. If we go in there too early, whoever’s in there may strike.” Fluttershy saw sense in Twilight’s words and backed away once more, shaking in fright. “So how do we know that it’s empty? As nice as the view is,” she said with a swift sweep of her hoof at the mountainous region around them, “I don’t want to go to sleep wet again.” She began to shiver lightly as the rain started to come down harder. Twilight bit her bottom lip and her ears folded at the sight of seeing her marefriend look so cold, yet she had no way to warm her up or dry her off. ‘Times like this I could do with some wings. That’s all I’m saying. Wings. A nice lavender-coloured pair of feathery appendages to wrap around my marefriend and keep her warm.’ Fluttershy had done that several times to her in the past few days, so she felt annoyed that she could not return the favour. “We’ll give it another few minutes, sweetheart. Then we’ll go in,” she said. She looked up at the sky with a thoughtful look, and quickly cast another spell, this time creating a small shield in the shape of an umbrella over Fluttershy to keep the rain away. “I may not have wings to keep you warm with, but I think this is a quite appropriate alternative. Don’t you think?” Fluttershy stared up at the rain battering against Twilight’s shield like glass, and looked to her and smiled. “It’s better than anything a wing could do. Thank you, Twilight.” She nuzzled the side of Twilight’s face affectionately. Twilight smiled, and swiftly returned the nuzzle. “It’s the least I could do for you,” she said lovingly. She pulled away, then walked out of the umbrella, through the heavy drizzle, and cautiously into the cave. “Um, Twilight, I know this might not seem like such a good time, but do you happen to have a spell that makes food?” Fluttershy enquired with a hopeful tone. Twilight looked back, and saw Fluttershy’s hopeful eyes and her cute little smile boring into her heart like a sword. It felt painful to her to know the answer, and that she had to say it to the one pony she hated disappointing the most. “I’m sorry, but there isn’t any spell I am aware of that does something like that.” She winced when she saw Fluttershy’s smile fade away. “Sorry. I wish there was, though. I know I wouldn’t go hungry ever again if there was such a spell.” Fluttershy waved the apology away with a hoof. “No, it’s okay, I’m sorry I asked. I was listening more to my belly than my head. Come to think of it, I don’t think we’ve eaten since we left Esperius.” Twilight paused a few feet from the cave entrance when she realised Fluttershy was right. They had not eaten a thing. Since departing from the city, the pair had only stopped for rest and a chance to cuddle together. They had not risked eating any of the grass or the flowers along the way, in case they became ill or worse because of them. Now with the valley behind them, and up in the mountains where the valleys and plains that made up the three kingdoms ahead, she doubted they could get a lot of food. However, the thought of having food in their stomachs wasn’t her main concern. She wondered how many creatures that now inhabited the three kingdoms wanted them in their stomachs. She knew the goblins were not a major problem; they were vegetarians that preferred to rob and use intelligent creatures for slavery only to later release them than kill and eat something. She was thankful about that – it gave her the idea of starting to come up with escape plans should they fall into goblin hands – but, other than the things Grey Spot mentioned, what else could they find down there? “Twilight?” Fluttershy called worriedly, her head tilting as she looked at her marefriend, who was staring into the cave blankly. “Is everything all right?” Twilight sighed, breaking out of her reflection of what might happen. ‘Trust Fluttershy to come and give me a suitable distraction.’ “Everything’s fine, sweetheart,” she called in response. “I was just thinking about stuff, that’s all.” Without waiting for the pegasus to reply, Twilight ventured further into the cave. She soon made it to the main chamber, and strengthened the power of her light to have a better look around. The cave was spacious in size, with enough room for about her friends, her family and the Princesses. Two columns, or stalagnats, as they were technically called, stood at each end of the chamber, as though they were holding the ceiling with their fat fingers. A small pool rested in the far left corner, and a small hole was above it leaking water in. And to its right, encased in darkness, was the entrance of a thin passageway leading deeper into the mountain, with some ancient writing etched into the rock above it. Twilight could only stare at the path ahead with wide, fascinated eyes and an opening mouth. ‘Could this really be the…?’ she wondered. “What you looking at?” Fluttershy abruptly asked, gazing curiously at the passageway beside her. “Whaa!” Twilight squeaked and jumped in fright, nearly banging her head against the ceiling in her alarm. She came back down to earth with a heavy crash and an “Oomph!” leaving her lips. Fluttershy gasped in shock, and quickly helped her up. “Oh my goodness, are you all right?” she asked as she hauled the trembling unicorn onto her hooves. “I’m so sorry, sweetie, I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I thought you would have heard me come in!” She squeaked in fright and back away once Twilight was able to stand by herself, shielding her face behind her mane. “Sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.” Twilight shook her head to clear her dazed vision, and then turned to Fluttershy with a neutral gaze; a look that made Fluttershy feel awful. “I thought I said you should wait outside until I knew it was clear.” Fluttershy whimpered from behind her mane. “I know you did, but I was getting wet since your umbrella spell broke and, well, I don’t want to get wetter than I did in Esperius. And, um, I could see that the cave was all right when you came in; it’s quite slim, if you think about it.” Twilight looked around once more, and saw her marefriend was right. Other than the passageway before them, there were no dark corners for carnivorous beasts to hide in, wait until they slept and then gobble them up in one bite. She felt safe enough to sleep in the cave with her marefriend cuddled up beside her. Even so, the two entrances needed to be guarded; just because nothing predatory was in here now didn’t mean there wouldn’t be later. “You are right, as usual,” she relented, prompting the pegasus to come out of her hiding place. “But I better put some guards up just so we won’t get interrupted.” With a quick flash of her horn, two magenta shields as thick as the strongest glass appeared on the entrances at each end of the chamber, keeping the two ponies safe from any would-be attackers and preventing the increasingly powerful rain from coming in and flooding the place. Twilight looked to each shield with a smile of satisfaction. “There. That should be enough power to keep the shields up till dawn,” she said. She turned around, and brought her head back in surprise when her eyes fell onto Fluttershy. She tilted her head and smiled daintily. “Comfortable?” Fluttershy was resting against the wall; her legs tucked under her stomach and her right wing pointing to the ceiling, ready to grab a certain unicorn with its feathery fingers. “Very, thank you,” she replied, grinning mischievously. “But, um, I would feel better if a certain mare was cuddling here beside me.” Twilight giggled as she cheekily looked around. “Hmm, she doesn’t seem to be here. Guess I have to go in the other corner and be all on my lonesome tonight,” she teased as she gestured with her head to the corner furthest from Fluttershy. She moved to turn, but was stopped when Fluttershy’s adorable giggles played sweetly through her ears. “I meant you, silly filly,” the pegasus responded, fluttering her wing. “Now come on, get under here so I can keep you warm with my wing.” Twilight saw no reason to complain; she didn’t want any reason to complain. She crouched down beside her marefriend until her back was against the pegasus’s belly, her legs tucked under her stomach and her head resting on Fluttershy’s shoulder. Once she was comfortable, Fluttershy draped a wing over her, and sighed contently. “This is nice,” Fluttershy whispered, as she let her head rest against the wall of rock, while feeling Twilight’s breath lightly tickle her neck. “That it is,” Twilight agreed, swiftly nuzzling the pegasus’s neck. The two fell silent for a while as they heard the rain begin to pound against the rock outside, and the sound of rolling thunder echoing across the valley, making Fluttershy jump a little in fright and tighten her grip on Twilight. “Shh, it’s all right, Fluttershy. The storm can’t hurt you in here,” Twilight cooed softly, nuzzling her when she realised she could not use her hooves. Fluttershy relaxed a little, and loosened the grip on her wing. “I know. I just get jumpy even after so long when it comes to thunder and lightning. Sorry.” Twilight chuckled as she used her muzzle to push some of Fluttershy’s mane back into place. “No need to be sorry,” she whispered, and rested her head on Fluttershy’s shoulder once more. The pair went silent as they listened tentatively to the rain outside and the high mountain winds howling like wolves across the region. “Twily?” “Yeah?” Fluttershy glanced over at the passageway behind them with nervous eyes. “What do you think is down there?” Twilight sighed, and then brought her head back to look her lover in the eyes. “It’s just a hunch at the moment, so I could be wrong, but I believe that passage leads directly into the capital city of the earth ponies: Eareskay, the city under the mountain.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened in surprise as the name of the city went through her ears. She looked back at her lover confusedly, licking her lips. “Hold on, the earth ponies had their main city built inside the mountain?” she asked, her tone stating her disbelief. Twilight nodded. “Yep. You see, according to the earliest recorded story known about Eareskay, when the earth ponies first came to this part of the land, they wanted to find a suitable place to settle down and live, while having ample space outside to farm crops efficiently enough to feed themselves. Therefore, when they found that this mountain was hollow, they were ecstatic, to say the least. They soon got to work constructing the buildings out of the rock itself, until they finally had a huge city literally hugging the undersides of the mountain and connected by huge viaducts of stone that were suspended over a deep chasm, which was also mined for whatever valuables could be found in the rock. “Since the founding of Equestria, ponies have been trying to find the city again and relieve it of its riches, as well as the possibility of reviving it to become an actual settlement. Obviously, none of them were successful, which would make us two the only ponies to lay eyes on it in over a millennia.” Twilight paused to let out a dreamy sigh as she let her head fall on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Oh, what it must have looked like back in its heyday? Strong two-storey houses made of never-aging stone. A great, towering palace of shining white stone that yells the power and strength of the earth ponies, and amazing statues of the finest legends among the earth pony tribe lying around the outskirts as though protecting the city, or on sparkling fountains in the many gardens and courtyards that made up its wide spaces.” Fluttershy cracked a small smile at seeing the dreamy look on Twilight’s face; the unicorn was always cute when she looked simply delighted about something. “Um, forgive me if this sounds a little silly, but I thought the earth ponies had settlements outside of the mountain?” Twilight nodded, though it was an affectionate nuzzle as well as she rubbed her face against Fluttershy’s chest. “That’s not a silly question at all, sweetheart. And you would be right, too. The earth ponies were the only pony tribe to have multiple settlements around the area. Most of them were large farming communities that could support the main city, but when the pegasi and the unicorns demanded food from them, then the earth ponies started building more and more settlements to keep up the demand. Needless to say they were not too happy about the increase in tithes.” Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “I see. So, um, how is it the earth ponies had to leave their city once the windigoes began their attacks?” She turned her gaze away, frowning. “I know it sounds silly, but well, I thought…” The air carried her voice away when she heard light-hearted giggles from the other mare. “Again, that’s not a silly question,” Twilight said assuredly. “In fact, it is quite a good one. Why would the earth ponies abandon their finest city when they could have hunkered down in there and waited for the winter outside to pass? Well firstly, there was the problem of food; supplies were out and the stocks were empty when Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie left to find a new land. Secondly, according to some accounts, the winter storm was said to cast itself over the city inside the mountain, covering the city in snow and freezing buildings and ponies wherever it spread.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the mention of frozen ponies, and began to shiver as an unwanted thought crept into her mind. “Could we… I mean, is there a chance we might find any…” Her shivers grew fiercer as the words were caught in her throat. “Frozen ponies down there?” Twilight stuck out her tongue as she gave that a little thought. She knew that once ponies started to freeze inside the city, the ponies abandoned it and made their way into the other settlements. The last time ponies were recorded to passing through the city was on the long exodus to Equestria, and even afterwards there wasn’t a recording to what had happened to those frozen by the windigoes’ powers. Did they die after being encased in ice for so long? Or are they down there now, waiting to be released and shown a new world? “I don’t know, to be honest,” Twilight replied, shaking her head lightly. “I seriously hope we won’t find anything like that, though, because I wouldn’t know what to do. Do we release the pony from the ice, or leave him or her be?” Fluttershy tilted her head at an angle. “Now why would we leave the pony frozen in ice for? That sounds awful.” “I know, I know, but… think about it, what would he or she say if a unicorn and a pegasus, two of the earth ponies’ most hated enemies at that time, were the ones to free him or her from ice? And how would they react to the fact that their ancestors abandoned them to whatever fate was given to them should there be any living ponies still down there?” Fluttershy hadn’t thought of all of that. It was true that any earth ponies still frozen down there would most likely welcome their appearance aggressively, and again it would take a long time to get used to a world that has moved on and progressed since the Time of Strife. They might even find a pony with a cutie mark of a talent that had long since died out! What then? However, if she knew something about history, she knew ponies, no matter how bad the situation was and how long it would take, would and could eventually adapt to anything. “That’s all true,” Fluttershy agreed. “But then again, when the windigoes left, the ice encasing the ponies might have melted, so they might have simply followed the other ponies in the Great Exodus.” Twilight smiled at the hopeful tone in Fluttershy’s voice. “I hope that was the case. But we’ll have to wait and see tomorrow morning.” She shifted about in her position, and sighed as she let her body start to fall asleep. ‘That’s the best plan I’ve heard all day,’ Fluttershy thought as she felt Twilight drift to sleep. She rested her head on top of her hooves, and very slowly started to close her eyes. “Good night, sweetie,” she whispered. “Good night, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied drearily. “I love you.” Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply, but stopped short when she heard faint snores coming from the unicorn. “I love you too,” she whispered, smiling softly, before allowing her eyes to close and following her marefriend into the realm of dreams. Fluttershy was awake even before the dawn started to shine through the cave entrance. She let out a wide, quiet yawn, and then wiggled out from under Twilight, while taking great care not to awake her marefriend by using her wing to lower her to the ground. With Twilight safely on the ground and still snoring quietly – a sound that Fluttershy could not help but giggle at – the pegasus fluttered into the air and flew out of the cave and to the tip of the ledge. She set herself down onto her rump, and took a deep breath in and out at the fresh, morning air. ‘What a lovely morning,’ she thought cheerfully. A huge blanket of white clouds covered the small mountains, hills and valleys that surrounded the giant mountain they were on, with only a few peaks tearing through. Above the clouds, the sky was a dark, morning blue with a fast but fresh breeze running around the mountain and sending shivers down Fluttershy’s spine. It still howled like a wolf, but that was understandable; they were so high up it was only natural the wind was fierce. Fluttershy took another deep breath, smiling thinly as the few clouds that were not with their brothers glided briskly through the air like dolphins across the waves. Ever since she was a filly, Fluttershy always loved mornings like this one. They were always serene and peaceful; a time to make her feel relaxed before the scary stuff happens. Fluttershy sighed as she glanced over her shoulder to the cave entrance. She did not doubt that they would encounter the goblins reputed to be within the ancient city, but she was worried about how would they react to them. She knew from many books on the subject that goblins were cowardly, weak and puny creatures that lived in the Badlands south of Equestria as well as other mountain ranges across Terra. If the goblins felt threatened by them, they would kill them on sight. If they found them wanting, however, then they would be captured and taken prisoner, to be used as slaves for whatever purpose they would put them to. Either way, she knew they could soon be running for their lives once more, and that’s what scared her. ‘What if one of us falls behind?’ she wondered worriedly. ‘What if Twilight decides to stay behind and give me time to get away?’ Though she didn’t think Twilight would do that, she knew the unicorn would certainly guard her with her own life. ‘Do I mean that much to her, if it meant she would put herself in harm’s way? And if so, would I put myself in harm’s way if it meant she would live?’ She shook her head to rid herself of the thought. ‘I really hope she doesn’t. I could never forgive her if she did, and I could never forgive myself for letting it happen.’ Even though she utterly despised them, she had read many romance stories as a younger, more naïve mare where the two lovers would meet, and in one of every five she had unfortunately read, one of the lovers would give his or her life to defend the one they love. It sounded quite sweet to give one’s life for the one they loved, but at the same time it seemed terribly selfish. The lover that survived would have to live in grief for the rest of his or her life, not to mention the emotional trauma such an act would create. If Fluttershy believed anything from romance fiction, it was that. If Twilight died on this journey and she lived, she would have to live in grief for the rest of her life, and wonder why it had to be Twilight to die and not her. She knew she would feel pathetic and useless, and her friends and Twilight’s family might think the same thing once they found out. For that reason, she felt compelled to stop cowering and confront whatever beasts they would face by Twilight’s side. ‘We need to get through this together, and the only way we are going to do that is by working together,’ she thought, smiling bravely at herself. Celestia knows she needed to be brave. Not just for Twilight, but for herself. The familiar groan of somepony waking up brought her out of her brooding. Smiling to herself, Fluttershy turned away from the edge and walked back into the cave to greet her marefriend. She smiled when she saw Twilight still lying on the ground and stretching her legs out, groaning pleasurably as she did so. Afterwards she rolled onto her stomach, and twisted her neck with a few cracking sounds as stiff joints were loosened. “Good morning, Twilight,” Fluttershy greeted her warmly as Twilight slapped her lips together and groggily opened her eyes. “Did you sleep well?” She leaned forward and nuzzled the side of her face. Twilight’s eyes snapped open to their widest when Fluttershy’s cheek rubbed against her, but she relaxed, smiled, and quickly returned it. “I slept very well, thank you,” she said sloppily. She giggled at herself as Fluttershy pulled away. “Sorry about that. I haven’t slept that good in ages that I don’t think my mind wanted to wake up just yet.” Fluttershy giggled too. “I wish we didn’t have to, to be honest. I would rather sit in here and wait until help comes.” Her smile faltered. “But that won’t come, will it?” Twilight frowned, and threw a foreleg over Fluttershy’s shoulders. “Try not to think about that at the moment, sweetheart. Like you told me when we set off from Esperius, let’s try and concentrate on what we have to face first.” Her eyes glanced over to the passageway beckoning them deeper into the mountain. “Like going through there first,” she pointed. Fluttershy took another deep breath to calm her nerves as she followed Twilight’s gaze and pointing hoof to the tunnel. “I guess we’re gonna have to go in there soon, right?” Twilight nodded slowly. “Yeah. Soon.” She pulled away from Fluttershy, sat up and turned to the cave entrance. “I’ll be ready in five minutes and then we’ll go in.” Fluttershy nodded, and with that, Twilight trotted outside and out of sight. A few minutes later, Twilight returned to find Fluttershy sitting in front of the passage entrance and shaking nervously. Twilight rushed over to her side in an instant and wrapped her forehooves around her neck in comfort. “Hey, sweetheart, what’s wrong? You look as though you have just seen a ghost.” Fluttershy glanced at her marefriend. “I’m fine, really,” she replied timidly, “it’s just my nerves getting to me at the moment. I’ll be fine once we’re in there and out the other side.” Twilight withdrew a hoof to pat Fluttershy on the back. “Then let’s not waste any more time and get this over with,” she declared determinedly, though her voice cracked near the end, stating her nervousness. Fluttershy nodded in agreement, a shrilled breath escaping her lips. Slowly and carefully, as if she would stand on something that would explode in her face, Twilight took a step forward. She moved to make another step, but before she could, Fluttershy set a hoof on her shoulder to stop her. “Not yet. I want you to promise me something first,” she said. Twilight turned her head to face her with an inquisitive look. “Promise you what?” Fluttershy’s look turned serious as she slowly retracted her hoof from Twilight’s shoulder. “I want you to promise me that you will not sacrifice your life for me for whatever reason,” she requested. “I want you to promise that you will not endanger yourself just to keep me safe. Please, Twilight? For me?” Twilight knew what Fluttershy was going on about. The idea of sacrificing your life to save the one you love was an ideal that had existed for thousands of years, and it was one of those beliefs that many ponies blindly believed in. Twilight, however, was not one of those ponies. Though it seemed to be the greatest act of kindness – to know your marefriend would live – she shuddered at the thought of the consequences the poor pony who lived would have to go through later. Twilight spun about and placed both her hooves on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I will promise you that, but only if you promise me this.” Her marefriend’s ears pinned upright, giving Twilight their full attention. “I want you to promise me that you will help me face whatever is down there, and anything else we might face beyond the mountain. I want you to promise me that you will guard my back, as I will guard yours.” She moved her forehooves onto Fluttershy’s cheeks. “I know you are scared, sweetheart,” she said softly, caressing the pegasus’s puffy cheeks in slow circles. “Believe me, I am scared, too. But when I am scared, I try to remember something about fear my brother told me after he underwent a tour of duty a few years ago. True courage is not charging in recklessly, but is acknowledging that fear, and yet still facing whatever creates it. And I know you are braver than anypony else.” She leaned forward and kissed Fluttershy’s bowed forehead. “Do you promise?” Fluttershy didn’t take too long to think about what Twilight had asked of her; she had expected such a promise from her, and was prepared. “I promise I will do what I can to help you, and I will guard your back, as I know you will guard mine,” she said, and meaning every word of it. She smiled sweetly. “Shall we promise together?” Twilight nodded. “Of course.” The pair sat down facing each other, and then simultaneously chimed, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” complete with the moves. The couple giggled as they set their hooves back down. “At least you didn’t poke yourself in the eye this time,” Fluttershy guffawed. Twilight giggled also. “Yeah, thankfully, that wouldn’t be a good start to the journey, would it?” She looked up at the ceiling with a pondering face. “At least I would get to wear an eye-patch for a time again if I did.” Fluttershy giggled as she walked past Twilight and towards the passageway. “Did you like wearing that eye-patch, then?” she asked, remembering when Twilight wore an eye-patch for a whole week after the time spell incident. Twilight broke into a trot until she was beside her marefriend. “Oh yes. I don’t know why, but I felt a lot cooler with it on.” “But it must have been awful to only be able to see out of one eye?” Twilight shook her head. “It’s not that bad, actually,” she corrected. “Sure you lose a bit of your eyesight, but I got used to having a single eye for a long time, till I was able to take it off, of course.” Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, well that’s good, then,” she said. She stopped suddenly and her eyes widened in realisation. “Twilight?” Twilight stopped and turned to face her. “Yes, sweetheart?” “I didn’t realise we were in the tunnel until now.” Twilight’s eyes bulged as she stared at her marefriend, and then looked around at the jagged walls around the pair. “Ah. No wonder it was getting dark in here quickly,” she said. With a subtle flick of her head, the tip of her horn lit up with a bright light. “That should help.” She turned to Fluttershy, who began to shake in fright, and held up a hoof. “It’s all right, sweetheart.” The four small words were all Fluttershy needed to hear. She took a deep breath and took Twilight’s hoof with her own. “I’m okay,” she assured her, though it seemed to encourage herself more. “Really. I’m fine.” Twilight nodded, then wordlessly led Fluttershy through the passage, their path lit up by the light of her horn. “How far do you think it goes?” Fluttershy asked suddenly. Twilight shrugged. “I’m not sure, to be honest. It could be a few minutes, maybe an hour or twelve, or possibly days before we reach the other side. We’ll just have to wait and see, sweetheart.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she realised she wanted to talk to Twilight about that. “Oh, um, Twilight, about that, um, little pet name you’ve given me… or is it a pet name? Oh I don’t know, but, um–” Twilight’s eyes widened in fright. “Oh? Have I been using it too much?” Just as she asked, her mind showed the innumerable times she had called Fluttershy by ‘sweetheart’ alone. “Oh, what am I saying, of course I’ve been using it too much!” she exclaimed, before facehoofing herself and groaning. Fluttershy looked away as her eyes wandered around the walls. “Well, yes, you might have done,” she admitted quietly. She lowered her head sheepishly. “But personally, I didn’t mind.” “Oh, I am so sorry about that, swee- I mean, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, bowing her head in shame. “I was just so excited and delighted about being able to call you my marefriend after so long of holding it in that I… I couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry. I won’t use it as often, promise.” Fluttershy giggled as she nuzzled the side of Twilight’s face. “There is nothing to forgive, sweetie,” she said softly. “It’s just you being you at the end of it. But that’s not what I wanted to say, really.” Twilight brought her head up again, giving her full attention to Fluttershy. “Why sweetheart, exactly? You could have gone with many other things, yet you went with that one. Why?” Twilight smiled lovingly. “Because you are a sweetheart,” she replied, making the pegasus blush. “I-I’m not really one, but, um, thank you for thinking so,” she said. She broke into a nimble trot in the hope it would cool down the heat she could feel on her cheeks. “Why not?” Twilight asked as she caught up with her. “You have a heart of gold, the one pony anypony can go to if they feel down and need a hug and some great advice. You are a good pony.” “But I’m not, though,” Fluttershy countered, her ears falling flat across her head. “I have done so many terrible things in the past: I kidnapped the Princess’s pet phoenix, I yelled at two of my best friends because I was so stupid, I ate a cake I shouldn’t have because I was too greedy, and I… I hurt you before your brother’s wedding.” Twilight stared at her lover for a long time in shock, her ears copying Fluttershy’s movements. “Hey, now,” she said softly, nuzzling her. “If we are going to judge ourselves by our failures alone, then I would be considered the greatest monster of them all.” Fluttershy shot her head about to face her. “Don’t you ever call yourself a monster!” she said sternly. “If you are thinking about the ‘Want It, Need It’ spell then that was just a mistake.” “And so were all the things you have listed out to me,” Twilight said plaintively, smiling as she watched Fluttershy’s expression change. “We all make mistakes, my love, big and small ones, and no matter how old we get we will still be making mistakes; it’s all part of growing up, after all.” Fluttershy smiled wryly at Twilight’s wise words, though she saw she wasn’t the one who originally made them. “Did Princess Celestia tell you that?” she asked casually. Twilight blushed as she rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe,” she oozed ponderously. She giggled. “But it is still true. Even the Princess admits to have made many mistakes in the past.” “I know it is,” Fluttershy giggled, as her tail wrapped around the unicorn’s. “But it sounds better coming from you than from her.” She rested her head against Twilight’s, and sighed contently. “You would be my favourite Princess if you were one.” Twilight blushed again, this time more fiercely than before. “Well I might be one day.” Fluttershy giggled again. “I hope so, too, but I think you need a few things to be a Princess first.” Twilight eyed Fluttershy curiously. “Like what?” “Well, um… you might need some wings.” The pegasus flapped her wings for emphasis. “I’ll stick some on with wood glue,” Twilight replied, grinning teasingly. Fluttershy snorted loudly like a pig, prompting the pegasus to cover her face in embarrassment, while Twilight turned her head away and stifled her laughter through her hoof. “Um… fair enough, I suppose,” Fluttershy said once she had recovered, grinning happily. “So, um, what about that necklace thingy Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wear on their chests? Oh! And a crown?” Twilight shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Eh, I just make some out of paper or something,” she replied. Fluttershy tilted her head, raising an amused eyebrow in Twilight’s direction. “You’re not taking this seriously, are you?” Twilight rapidly shook her head. “Nope. Sorry, but I don’t think I will ever be a Princess of Equestria, and I don’t know whether I want to be one or not; I prefer being a librarian like my dad.” Fluttershy smiled. “Well we all think that yo–” She bit her bottom lip tightly to stop herself, drawing a bit of blood. Twilight threw a studious gaze at Fluttershy. “You all think, what?” Fluttershy sighed; she knew it was best to let out now. “When you were in Canterlot for a weekend, the rest of the girls and me gathered at our favourite café. You know, the one on the edge of Ponyville?” Twilight nodded. “We started talking about you – oh, in a good way, of course, not a horrible one! And, well, um, we all concluded together that you…” She looked up and stared into Twilight’s eyes. “That you are being trained by Princess Celestia to become a Princess.” Twilight felt her eyes widen to the point she thought they would fall out of their sockets. She wanted to argue with Fluttershy and say that was not the case. However, as she thought about it, the more truth she could see in her friends and Fluttershy’s words. And it scared her, as was evident to the pegasus. “I… I don’t think I…” Twilight stammered, paling. Fluttershy’s wing reached out and caressed Twilight’s back and shoulders. “Hey, it’s okay, we were only suggesting what might happen at the end of your time as a student. It does not mean we are right, and it would not be the first time we were wrong.” Fluttershy’s wing wrapped around Twilight’s back and belly in comfort. “But what if you all are right, though?” Twilight enquired fearfully. “What if I do become a Princess, and Princess Celestia makes me leave Ponyville to live in my own castle? What if I never get to see any of you again?” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “I highly doubt that, sweetie,” she replied. “When Princess Celestia saw how upset you were about having to leave after we defeated Nightmare Moon, she gave you the task to study friendship from Ponyville. I don’t think she would force you to leave after that; she cares about you deeply, we all can see that, and she puts your feelings and wishes before anything else. You give her less credit than you should.” Twilight’s ears fell flat when she realised Fluttershy was right. “Oh, you’re right, as usual,” she conceded. “I don’t know why I fear her like this, though. I’ve known her long enough and she has always treated me like a daughter first and a student second.” “It’s probably because you have rarely seen her angry with you,” Fluttershy reckoned. “Your mind doesn’t know how she would react to when you do something bad, so it comes up with the worst fears imaginable. It’s how I felt when I knew I was going to get into trouble with my parents.” Twilight nodded, seeing sense in Fluttershy’s words. “Like when you were found skipping school?” Fluttershy nodded rapidly, her ears falling flat in shame. “Yes. Like then.” Twilight’s ears fell flat once more, annoyed of herself for letting Fluttershy feel bad about that. Luckily, however, she knew just what to say, and chuckled in remembrance. “Would you be surprised to know that I skipped school loads of times when I was just a filly?” Fluttershy’s head sprung up from its slow descent, her eyes expressing her disbelief of the suggestion. “Yes. Yes it would. Why would you do that, though? I thought you loved school.” “Oh, I did when I first started,” Twilight replied. She sighed ruefully. “But then I started getting bullied badly at school because I was so clever and the way my mane is cut, and the teachers kept going onto topics that were repeated over and over again throughout the years. Eventually, I grew tired of it all, and simply took walks from the school to the main Canterlot library and began looking up the topic I loved most and yet was barely put into detail: magic. Before the day was out I would sneak back into the school yard and make it look like I had been there all day.” Fluttershy nodded attentively, though she felt her teeth press together in rage at the image of Twilight being taunted by other fillies because of her mane cut. ‘I love her mane, and if anypony else disagrees with it then they can go somewhere else.’ “Were you ever caught?” Twilight bit her lower lip and shook her head. “I came clean to my parents after I began to feel terrible for doing it. I was lying to them all, and it was starting to hurt me really, really badly,” she replied. She shivered lightly as they turned a corner. “I take your parents were none too pleased?” Twilight chuckled. “I still shudder every time I remember their looks of utter disappointment,” she replied, shaking her head at herself. “But after they discovered why I kept skipping school and what I had been doing instead, they enrolled me into Princess Celestia’s school for Gifted Unicorns when they saw I had a talent in magic.” Fluttershy smiled as Twilight finished her tale. “That was a lovely story, Twilight,” she said. “How is it you never mentioned it before?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I just didn’t find a right moment to tell anypony,” she answered. “Something like that would be a conversation somepony like Pinkie Pie would come up from out of the blue, but not me.” Fluttershy tilted her head away, nodding in contemplation. “Good point, I suppose,” she conceded. She abruptly shivered as a cold chill swept around her. “Is it just me, or is it getting a bit chilly in here?” Twilight stopped, prompting the pegasus to do the same, and after a moment took a step forward to feel a breeze of cold air coming from a sharp turning ahead of them. “I think we’re approaching the end,” she said, earning a frightened squeak from the pegasus mare. Twilight was nervous, too, but at the same time excited to find what was beyond the corner. She backed up until she was by Fluttershy again, and tapped her with her tail. “Ready, love?” she said encouragingly. Fluttershy nodded as she gingerly wrapped her tail tight around Twilight’s own. “I’m ready now,” she said confidently, earning a grin from her unicorn lover. Together, the pair walked to the end of the tunnel, and rapidly rounded the corner. They soon found themselves in a large chamber as high as the building the Elements of Harmony were kept in, with glistening dark grey walls of smoothed-down stone and based along the edges with boulders of varying size. However, the focus of their attentions was the arched doors barring their way. They were massive in size, easily the height of Ponyville’s town hall, and were connected to two pulleys with levers attached to them by ancient but giant chains, which were connected to the door by giant O-shaped hooks attached to large hinges at the top. The doors themselves were made of grey stone, with no murals or anything meant to make them stand out; for gates to a great city, they were quite boring. Nevertheless, the plain, boring doors did nothing to quell Twilight’s growing excitement. ‘The doors might not reveal what awaits us on the other side, but I am quite happy it doesn’t actually,’ she thought, nearly hopping as Fluttershy and herself walked further into the chamber, their eyes wide in wonder. “Hmm?” Twilight pondered as her eyes wandered between the two pulleys in front of her. “I take it we have to pull each of these levers to get inside?” Fluttershy stopped looking around and examined the pulleys and chains along with her marefriend. After a moment, she nodded in agreement. “I think so. But do you think these doors will open after so long?” She pointed to the chains. “They might be brittle and break up if they haven’t been used since an age ago.” Twilight briefly considered Fluttershy’s words, and shrugged. “The only way to be sure is to open them both at the same time and pray that the space they create is wide enough to squeeze through.” She backed away from the pulleys and when she was at a certain distance, spread her legs apart and prepared to use her magic to its full potential. “I pull on this one, while you pull or push on that other one. Sounds fair?” Fluttershy nodded, though her eyes stated her uncertainty of ever pulling something like these. “I’ll try,” she said nervously. She fluttered into the air, and spat on her hooves and rubbed them together. Twilight stared incredulously at her marefriend as she watched the pegasus rub her hooves together. “You did not seriously just do that?” Fluttershy stopped what she was doing with a squeaky, “Eep,” leaving her lips, and turned to face her lover with a sheepish grin and embarrassed blush. “Oh, well, yes, sometimes I find it easier to get a grip onto things when I do that; makes me feel stronger, too.” Twilight slowly raised an eyebrow as she took what Fluttershy had just said in, before letting out a hearty chuckle. “Fair enough, I suppose. Just wash your hooves afterwards.” She turned her attention back to the pulley, and licked her dry lips. “Right then, let’s not waste anymore time and get this over with. On the count of three. One.” Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around the lever. “Two.” Fluttershy slowly flew backwards until she felt herself stopped by the weight of the lever, while Twilight attached her magic to her own lever. “Three!” Both ponies pulled with all their might, and with slow, groaning movements, the levers followed their orders. Twilight glanced at Fluttershy to see the sweat pouring down her face as she pulled, using her wings and her hooves to give her better leverage. Twilight stepped back and reared her head up, her magic struggling to get it to budge. “I’m nearly there!” Fluttershy yelled as she pulled it back a little bit further. She glanced over to Twilight, and smiled encouragingly at her. Twilight saw it, and smiled back, before putting all her power into pulling. Fluttershy followed with putting her all into it, until finally the pair heard two echoing clicking sounds from below the levers. “We did it!” Twilight cried as the sound of the levers locking into place echoed across the chamber. She looked over to Fluttershy, who fell back to the ground sharply, panting furiously. “Are you all right, sweetheart?” the unicorn cried as she rushed over to her lover’s side. “I’m fine,” Fluttershy replied, as she took Twilight’s offered hoof in her own. She parted her lips to speak again, when a whiny groaning sound echoed from the doors, and ancient dust began to fall from the ceiling. Fluttershy and Twilight backed up from the levers and watched in awe as the axels began to turn clockwise and wrap the chains around themselves. Then, with an oozing groan that sounded like a call of a whale, the doors that had not been opened for centuries began to slowly part from each other and reveal the city on the other side. When the doors finally opened, and the world returned to silence, Twilight turned her head to face Fluttershy, and grinned. “High hoof!” she exclaimed, throwing her hoof up into the air. Fluttershy stared at the offered high hoof for a second, before grinning and slamming her own hoof against Twilight’s. “Bump cha!” she squeaked. She smiled sweetly at Twilight once more, which the unicorn returned, then looked at the open doors. “Shall we go in?” Twilight stared at Fluttershy for a moment, before grinning and taking Fluttershy’s hoof. “Let’s make history,” she stated, before breaking into a gallop past the pulleys and towards the doors, dragging Fluttershy behind her; the pegasus recovered quickly and took to the air, smiling at Twilight’s infectious enthusiasm. They raced through the doors, onto a large ledge the size of Fluttershy’s garden – and even showed signs of a beautiful garden once displayed there – and came to a sudden stop when they made it to the edge of a cliff. Twilight let her jaw drop as her eyes took in her surroundings, while Fluttershy dropped to the floor and moved to stand beside the unicorn, her eyes bulging in fascination. “Fluttershy,” Twilight said hoarsely. “I would love to introduce you to Eareskay, the city under the mountain.” The city itself was split into two halves, with both halves – each side was the size of Ponyville – resting on opposite sides of a giant chasm, as though it were carved from the rock-face itself. Both sides of the city were mostly situated on elevated platforms going right to the top of the cavern, with many of the bigger and heavier houses built on stone ledges carved from the rock-face, while the smaller cottages and shops rested on great timbers of oak wood. Between the two sides, connecting them together via two long ledges was a huge arched bridge of bricked and polished stone, with a cylindrical column connected beneath it and spiralling down into the darkness. Above and around the old bridge, hundreds of little wooden ones, suspended by giant but aging rope, connected houses together as though keeping contact with old friends. Twilight’s head flicked one way and another as she tried to take it all in. “This place is amazing,” she whispered, finding herself unable to speak louder. “That it is,” Fluttershy agreed, though her eyes spoke of her confusion. “How is it the city is in such a miraculous condition? I would have thought that some of it by now would have been destroyed.” Twilight stopped in her excitement, and after a brief pause to let it sink in she tapped her chin in thought. “That’s a good point, actually,” she conceded. “Why is it that the whole city is standing after centuries of neglect?” After a minute to think about it, she shrugged. “We’ll go through and have a look around. Maybe we’ll find something within the ruins.” Fluttershy nodded, then looked around at the area around them. “So, uh, which way do we go from here?” Twilight instantly fired two bolts of light, both in opposite directions, where each rocketed into the air and exploded above the cavern, showering the entire chamber in light. Twilight firstly looked left, and could see halfway round that the path suddenly broke away and collapsed. ‘If that area is gone, then who’s to say the rest of that path is unstable?’ she thought. She then looked right, and saw the path veered around the cavern, and entered the right side of the lower section of the city. “We’ll go right and try to find out how we get out of here.” Fluttershy nodded, and then tilted her head a bit. “You mean, you don’t know how to get out of here?” Twilight nodded enthusiastically, only for it to turn sheepish as she saw the aghast look on Fluttershy’s face. “Well, yes, I don’t have a clue on how to navigate through here. But!” she quickly added, “I am sure we’ll find something that would give us a clue on how to get out of here.” She spun around, and began to follow the path at a trot. “Let’s keep moving while my spells are giving us light!” Fluttershy broke out of her shock, and trotted hurriedly after Twilight, wondering how on earth the pair of them were going to get out of this huge cavern. “Where should we start looking for a way to get out?” she asked, as she slowed down upon returning to Twilight’s side. Twilight’s eyes wandered as she thought of something. “We could try getting to the top level and see if we could make out the path leading out of here,” she said as they passed the remains of a great fountain. Half of the stone statue that had sat on top was gone, and the walls around the main bowl were broken up and its remains scattered across the floor. Fluttershy nodded, her eyes not leaving the broken fountain as they walked around it. “That’s a… good idea, I guess,” she said. She looked around as they entered the right section of the city proper. The buildings on the lower levels were mostly houses built on weathered but tall wooden platforms, held up by pillars as tall and as wide as a pony. The houses themselves were mainly two-storey homes made of stone, with an open frame for a door to sit in, and two rectangular spaces for windows on either side. The second floor was just two windows on the face, and one on each side. “I wonder what they are like inside,” Fluttershy wondered aloud as she stared at one. Cautiously, she trotted up the creaking wooden stairs onto the platform, and peered inside the old house. She was surprised, and a little bit disappointed, that there was nothing inside to show what this place was like once. No beds, sofas, paintings or anything a house would usually have. Nothing. “They must have taken it all when they left,” she realised, her tone revealing her disappointment. She turned away and fluttered back down to the stairs to join Twilight, who was waiting for her by the base of another flight of stairs; these ones, however, were made of stone, and went up through the different levels to the highest one. “Found anything interesting in there?” Twilight enquired when Fluttershy came within hearing distance. Fluttershy shook her head. “No. There was nothing in there at all. They must have cleared it all out and taken it with them when they left.” Twilight’s ears fell, but she kept her brave smile on. “That’s okay. I’m sure we’ll find something up there,” she said, pointing to the stairs she stood beside. Fluttershy’s eyes widened as though she had only seen it for the first time, and then slowly followed the stairs as she began to shake nervously with fright. “It looks very… dark, up there,” she pointed out. Twilight grinned. “That’s where I come in,” she said boastingly. “Come on. Keep your voice low and your steps quiet, too. Maybe then our presence here will go unnoticed.” Fluttershy nodded, giggling quietly to herself. “You don’t have to worry about my voice being loud. My hooves, on the other hoof… let’s just say I can be like an elephant sometimes.” Twilight giggled as she led the pegasus up the stairs, their hoof trots echoing across the chasm loudly, and causing the unicorn to grimace. “So much for being quiet,” she muttered to herself. They quickly made it to the highest level of the old city, and briefly looked around. The dozen or so buildings on the high level stood on the long ledge sticking out of the underside of the mountain, and were three storeys high and built of stone. The first two floors were the same size with similar structure to the other houses below. The third floor, however, was split up with a small square-shaped room, and an outdoor platform to watch the city from. Twilight snorted as she looked at the better-looking houses, and then back at the ones below. “Even with the earth ponies’ talk of freedom and equality, there were still those that lived better off than others.” Fluttershy nodded in agreement, even as her ears fell. “Shame really. Maybe they weren’t so different to the pegasi or the unicorns,” she said, as she looked towards the other side of the city. “Hey look!” She pointed. “I think I can see the way out of here!” Twilight turned away from the house she was looking, and followed Fluttershy’s outstretched leg. As she looked, a plan started to form in her mind. They had to cross the old bridge, then make their way up to the middle level of the city, and then turn right and follow the path through a tunnel and back into the open. ‘That should be easy enough, shouldn’t it?’ Twilight thought. She immediately regretted conjuring that thought. “Right, then I suggest we head down there and over that bridge as quickly as possible,” Twilight said. Upon Fluttershy’s nod of agreement, Twilight’s horn began to light up. “Hold on.” “To what?” Fluttershy asked, before disappearing in a flash of light. A few seconds later, the pair reappeared in the space between the city and the bridges, which was guarded on either side by two rearing earth ponies, their ears pinned back, their teeth snarling in rage and their forehooves kicking out to any unwanted visitors. “I doubt those will do anything, right?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight shook her head. “Nah, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” she assured the pegasus. With that, the pair began to walk. “Now let’s get over this bridge and – ah!” The pair screamed as a piece of hidden rope wrapped itself around one of their hind legs, and flung them into the air. Fluttershy continued to scream as she covered her face with her hooves, and felt herself stop mid-air, only to feel herself plummet back to earth again. ‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!’ she thought frantically as she felt her insides break out from their places and force themselves up as she dropped. Just as she thought she was about to hit the ground and die, she stopped again, and felt something slam into her side like a hammer. “Fluttershy!” Twilight cried, gritting her teeth in pain. Fluttershy peeped over her hooves to realise it was the unicorn who had hit her. “Fluttershy, are you all right?” she yelled again, her tone indicating her shame. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to ram into you like that!” Fluttershy removed her hooves from her face and inspected her body and her surroundings. Despite being suspended upside down by a long piece of rope wrapped around her hind leg with her marefriend – creating a rather uncomfortable feeling as Twilight’s bony hind leg pressed itself into her own – she felt fine. Well, as good as she can be with the whole world around her now the wrong way around. ‘Oh dear,’ she thought, as she started to feel nauseous. “I’m fine,” she replied, looking around her nervously. “Well, as good as I can be considering the circumstances.” She looked up again, and quietly sighed in relief when she saw her tail fall down between her hind legs and down her belly. ‘Priorities, Fluttershy, we need to get out of this.’ “Are you all right?” “I think so,” Twilight answered, rubbing the side of her head. “Just a bit achy where I slammed into you.” She shook her head again, and looked up at the rope trapping them there. ‘Too easy,’ she thought, giggling to herself. “Well, I think I’m done ‘hanging’ around here, aren’t you?” Fluttershy stopped squirming to release her leg, and threw incredulous glares at Twilight. “Oh, you did not just go there!” “Hehe, oh I went there all right, baby,” Twilight replied, grinning devilishly and offering a wink. She stuck the tip of her tongue out and began to channel magic to the tip of her horn. “Give me a minute and I’ll have us teleported out of here.” “Okay, and don’t call me baby ever again,” Fluttershy replied, wincing as if the word had punched her. “It sounds wrong coming from you.” Twilight stopped casting her spell and faced Fluttershy with a wry grin. “You didn’t complain the first time I said it to you.” The pegasus’s mouth formed into an O as she remembered Twilight calling her that not long after she discovered Philomena was in her cottage. ‘I should have noticed,’ she chided herself upon realising how long ago the signs showed how much she actually meant to Twilight. “Okay,” Twilight said, as magic began to glow around her horn again. “And we’re…” She didn’t have time to finish her sentence as the pair disappeared from their entanglement, leaving a rope dangling from the ceiling. “Free!” Twilight finished as she reappeared on the ground and before the bridge, with Fluttershy popping up beside her a second later and looking rather dizzy. Twilight turned to face her marefriend. “See, I told you we’ll be fine.” Fluttershy rapidly shook her head to clear her vision and thought, and then turned to face Twilight. Before she could open her mouth to agree, her eyes widened in fear and she took a step back. “Y-you might want to rethink that, sweetie.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed agitatedly as she looked at her lover. “There’s a goblin on the bridge and coming towards us, isn’t there?” Fluttershy swallowed a lump on her throat. “I thi-think so,” she replied, her legs quivering in fright. Twilight turned to look at the creature, and immediately backed up until she was beside her marefriend again. There was no doubt in her mind to what the creature was. It was definitely a mountain goblin. The creature somewhat resembled a pony that stood hunched over on its hind legs, and a muzzle resembling a pony mare and a stone grey coat across its whole body. But that was where any resemblance ended between the two races. The goblin was as bald as a poodle’s backside and had two dragon-like claws where the forehooves should be and hooves on its hind legs; its eyes were a bright yellow and cat like in their appearance, and the rotting teeth they could see on its grinning face was as blunt as a spoon. The goblin stopped when it was a couple of feet from the trembling pair, and crouched low, ready to pounce with its small axe made from a stick and sharpened rock in one claw. Twilight and Fluttershy looked behind them upon hearing screeches and such, and saw to their horror that more goblins appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. “Oh gosh! Where are they all coming from?” Fluttershy whispered, her tone raised to a squeak in her fear. Twilight shot her head around, and watched as another goblin appeared from below the ground. ‘Trap doors; tunnels built right under the city,’ Twilight theorised. “They must have realised we were here when we activated their trap,” she whispered back to Fluttershy as the goblins surrounded them. “Don’t worry, I can teleport us out of this.” Fluttershy began to shake even harder as she looked ahead. “I don’t think you should.” She pointed to the bridge with a shuddering hoof. “Look.” Twilight looked to where she was pointing, and saw more goblins waiting on the other side of the bridge, blocking their escape. She looked up to find an alternative route, but found that more goblins armed with bows were on the high ground, arrows notched to their strings and ready to loose at a moment’s notice. Twilight gulped in fear as she realised they were trapped by the goblins, which waited patiently for them to make the first move. She nodded briskly to herself as an idea, though a terrible one, came to her head. “Follow my lead,” she whispered to Fluttershy. Fluttershy glanced over her shoulder. “And do what?” “Try your best at looking intimidating. They might get scared and back away; goblins are cowardly in nature and will back off if they see their opponents are stronger,” the unicorn explained. With that, Fluttershy faced the goblins once more, lowered the front of half of her body, and spread her wings out, her eyes narrowing in mock anger. Twilight, meanwhile, stepped forward and lowered herself into a fighting stance, her horn glowing faintly as she prepped a few combat spells if she had to use them. She knew the pair of them couldn’t defeat so many goblins on their own, so they had to rely on intimidation to win and get through. “Goblins!” she yelled, her voice echoing across the cavern with great authority. The goblins took a step back in fright, but mostly they held their ground. “I am only gonna give you this one warning. Go back to your homes and leave us in peace. You might be thinking you have numbers on your side, but you haven’t met my friend here or me. The pair of us has fought hundreds of changelings, and we both came through on top. We crossed a great ocean ripe with danger, sent a dragon fleeing from its home in a mountain, and have defeated gods and goddesses! “So think on that before you charge in on us! Think about what I just told you all, and then, do the smart thing and– hey!” She was cut off as a goblin picked her up by the tail and dumped her into a huge sack in the goblin’s claws. The goblin pulled a piece of string and closed the sack up, trapping the unicorn inside. “TWILIGHT!” Fluttershy screamed in horror, as she watched the unicorn try to escape. She rushed forward to push the goblin down and free her marefriend, but felt herself fall to the ground as something grabbed her by the tail. She looked back to see another goblin had her, and struggled to get free. “Let me go! Please!” she yelled. The goblin sneered, and with such strength, picked her up by the tail and dropped her into another sack. Fluttershy scrambled to get up and stop the goblin from trapping her, but before she could reach a hoof out to stop it, the goblin pulled a string and sealed it, encasing Fluttershy in darkness. Fluttershy felt herself being lifted into the air and then went, “Ow!” as she felt her body make contact with the goblin’s back. When she felt the goblin begin to scurry along with the rest, her breathing began to quicken in her panic. ‘Oh no, oh what’s going to happen to us?’ she fretted, her hooves over her mouth as she curled into a frightened little ball. She peered through the small hole in the sack to see where they were going, but she couldn’t see much other than a long dark tunnel. ‘What would they want with us?’ They obviously didn’t want to kill them, as they would have done so when they first appeared, so that would mean they were needed for slave labour. But what? ‘Twilight probably knows,’ she thought as she looked through the small hole, gazing at the tunnel and their only route of escape disappearing from sight. She couldn’t see the sack Twilight was in, but she knew she was close and still in her sack, even when she could have teleported out ages ago. ‘She doesn’t want to leave me alone,’ Fluttershy realised, smiling thinly. That smile faded when she felt a sharp bump on her side, rudely reminding her of her current position. ‘But first, we gotta think of a way to get out of here.’ Thinking of nothing else to do – she didn’t see the point of struggling to get out, for she knew there was no hope now that she was in a sack – she relaxed and closed her eyes, praying that Twilight was okay as well as coming up with a remarkable escape plan.