//------------------------------// // The Nest // Story: To the End of the Moon // by dashie76 //------------------------------// Breathing shallowly, Wind was gradually losing his composure. His forelegs were wrapped around Kiesh's midsection, gripping it tightly as the mysterious traveler descended into the spider's nest. Both of his forelegs were equipped with swords, and he was routinely plunging them into the tunnel's walls as he "walked" vertically down using them. Despite the small amount of visible sunlight above him, Wind felt as though the blackness lying below could swallow up his last bit of vision at a moment's notice. Hey, are you doing alright? Wind audibly gulped, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just a little bit n-nervous. Well...if you say so. Just try to relax, okay? Uh-huh... Trying to take a deep breath, Wind only managed a rattling gasp. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his gaze to the world above. At this point, the only visible scrap of sunlight was a small circle that was so far away that it didn't even illuminate Wind's level. Wind felt the walls around him pressing together, squeezing the air out his lungs. The air was too musty, too humid, too dank - "We're here. Jump down." Wind took in a breath of air sharply. "T-there's no light. How can you t-tell we're at the bottom?" "I can feel it with my back hooves. Now jump down so I can put on a light." "But what if it's another f-false floor? Like the one we used to come down here in the first place? W-we have to test it first, I can't just - " "Jump now, Wind." Wind's eye twitched slightly. Come on, do as he says. You'll be fine. I promise. Tightly shutting his eyes, Wind let go of Kiesh. After a frightening moment of free-fall, Wind's back hooves connected with the floor, and soon after, his front hooves followed. Wind closed his eyes, took a steady breath, and savored his brief moment of victory. A bright light appeared, illuminating Kiesh's grim, cloaked face. The moment was shattered. "GAAAAHHHH!!" Wind promptly fell onto his backside, his breathing short and shallow once again. After a few seconds, Wind composed himself and glared up at Kiesh. The traveler simply sighed and offered Wind a hoof, which he rigidly accepted. Upon being pulled to his hooves, Wind noticed that the earlier light had been emanating from a small lantern that Kiesh had now placed on the ground. Frowning, Wind leaned in towards it as Kiesh turned to look into the surrounding darkness. "Um...isn't this mine?" Wind asked. Kiesh responded by casually lighting a second lantern and hoofing it to Wind. "Hold on. Both of these were in my saddlebags. How did you...?" "Don't worry about that right now," Kiesh said, cutting Wind off. "For now, we only need to concern ourselves with finding the mask that you agreed was down here." Knowing that Kiesh was correct, Wind sighed and turned his attention to the cavern surrounding him. The floor beneath him was not as dry or featureless as the land above, and it held a slight bit of moisture. Despite this, it felt far more solid than the dry, hollow clearing, as though it had been worn down by several pairs of hooves trotting throughout the cave. Pairs of hooves...just like his... Wind quickly dismissed the thought. Looking up, he saw that the entrance pit above him ran parallel to a wall of the cavern. Feeling the wall with his hoof, he felt it spring slightly at his touch. So the wall isn't hard and packed like the ground...odd. he thought. (Gilimarr - I'm not sure about how to format the preceding sentence in which Wind thinks to himself. Do you have any suggestions? It just feels slightly...off, to me.) As he pulled his hoof away from the wall, he felt it stick to him slightly. Not enough to prevent his hoof's escape, but just enough for him to notice. He then saw that his lantern's sphere of light only extended so far around him, and only lit the one wall underneath the entrance. Beyond that sphere lay only a murky darkness. Wind gulped and spoke to Kiesh over his shoulder. "Uh...I've never really been in caves or anything. How do you think we should traverse it?" Kiesh remained silent for a few moments, prompting Wind to turn around to face him. The cloaked traveler seemed to be staring intently at the darkness beyond his lantern's light, his expression unreadable - unseeable, for that matter - beneath his hood. Wind walked over to stand by his side, and Kiesh still made no motion to acknowledge Wind's presence. "Uh...Kiesh?" Wind waved a hoof in front of his partner's face, after which he finally, albeit slowly, turned to face Wind. "Ah...my apologizes. I was simply thinking on something." Kiesh visibly relaxed from a tense stance that Wind hadn't even noticed, and the traveler sat down on the earthen floor. "I'm listening now." "Uh..." Wind stuttered, slightly unnerved by Kiesh's behavior. "I was just asking how you wanted to go about exploring this cave." "I see..." replied Kiesh. He shuffled over to the only visible wall and pressed the side of his head up against it, appearing to be looking down the length of it. He looked in the opposite direction and turned back towards Wind. "Our lanterns only light up so much. If we follow the walls, we'll have a point of reference so that we aren't wandering about in complete confusion," Kiesh explained. "We can each choose one direction to follow. If we each follow the walls without fail, we'll meet up again at some point. By then, one of us will have the mask and we'll head out together, retracing our steps together along one of the walls." "I guess that works..." Wind muttered. "...wait a minute. Doesn't that mean we'll be separated for half of the trip?" Wind noticed that Kiesh had turned his head slightly to once again stare into the darkness surrounding the pair of ponies. However, before Wind could repeat himself, Kiesh spoke. "That matter is of little consequence. With the creature inhabiting this cave destroyed, we no longer have anything significant to worry about. Just watch where you step and follow the wall - you'll be fine." Wind felt the cavern grow slightly hotter. "I...uh...suppose you're right..." Kiesh nodded and began to walk off along the wall in one direction. "Good luck. We will meet up soon enough." Wind's next statement died in his throat. He slowly plodded along the wall away from Kiesh, muttering to himself. "Oh, boy..." After a minute, the glow from both of the lanterns had disappeared, swallowed by the darkness. For a few moments, the space below the cavern's entrance was dark and quiet. However, one light soon reappeared, hurrying its way back to the opening. Kiesh placed his lantern on the dusty floor and turned, crossbow already drawn, to stare into the darkness for a third time. He gritted his teeth beneath his cloak. "Alright, punk," he muttered. "Come on out. I know you're down here..." ~~~~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~ You've seriously got to snap out of this. Wind barely registered the Hero's words as he crept his way through the underground tunnel. Although he was sure that he only just started walking, he felt as though he had already spent days wandering the cave. He guessed that the feeling was due in part to the monotony of his journey. Nothing about the cavern changed, no matter how far into it he marched. The wall remained brown and lifeless - and occasionally sticky, when he rubbed up against it - the floor was rock solid underhoof, and the darkness around him constantly gave off the uneasy feeling of being watched. The darkness was the worst part, probably because it was always there. He could walk a foot or so away from the wall or trod lightly for a few minutes, but there was always darkness in his field of vision. Perhaps even worse was the fact that there was always darkness behind him. There was always the potential that, over his shoulder, there was something squatting or scuttling or oozing its way through the darkness just out of his line of sight ready to rush into his circle of light - Wind whipped his head around, eyes wide. As always, there was nothing behind him. Turning his head back to face to tunnel before him, Wind continued on. I really don't like this, Hero... I understand that it's not ideal. Believe me, I do. But there's no way around this - we have to keep going. I-I know...and you're r-right, but... Wind panted, gulping in the musty air of the cave. I-I don't think that I can do this... Well, if you think about it like that, then you'll never be able to. T-that's not what i meant. Wind replied, audibly sighing. It's not just about this cave, it's about everything. I've been trying to keep calm and laugh off most of today, b-but...I don't think that I can anymore. I mean, earlier today, I walked into a crowded bar filled with all of those tough ponies. I mean, some of looks that they gave me...and then t-they all laughed at me...m-mocked me...over something that I was trying to be serious about. The worst part about it was that I k-knew in my heart that, if they wanted to, they could laugh at me, spit at me, and even hit me...and I wouldn't be able to do a t-thing to defend myself. Wind stumbled along through the darkness, his head hung low. And then that thing...that spider, up above. I know that it turned out okay, and that it's over now, and that I'm safe...but that doesn't change the fact that, if Kiesh wasn't there, t-that thing would have ripped me apart. I know that it would have. I was weak a-and defenseless a-and... Wind trailed off. The lantern fell to the floor with a loud clatter that echoed throughout the darkness. As the farmpony fell to his knees, he felt a few drops of moisture run down his face and touch the corners of his mouth. He tasted salt. A-and now I've just got to walk through this t-tunnel...walk straight ahead...a-and I can't even do that without breaking down. I s-shouldn't be here, o-on this journey...because it's so much bigger than me, o-or Crystal, or Sugar, or the fields that I slave over every day...so much bigger... He squeezed his eyes shut so forcefully that he began to see red and yellow blots swirling around underneath his eyelids, trapped by a sea of darkness that surrounded them on all sides. I shouldn't have been chosen for this...I-I'm completely out of my league. I-I'm not strong like Kiesh...I'm n-not brave like you...I'm j-just...me. The Hero had remained silent for several minutes while Wind had been speaking. Now, that silence dragged on, broken apart only by the sound of Wind's tears hitting the cavern's floor. When the Hero spoke, her voice was filled with both the care and comfort of a mother and the confidence and authority of a father. Flowing Wind...let me tell you a secret that I've learned in my time here, in Equestria. It's about ponies and the ways that they think. We as individuals judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing - our limits as ponies. Outsiders judge us by what we have already done - our actions. But some ponies see beyond that. A select few who know everything about the ponies around them judge not by what they feel their limits are, not by what they have done, but by their potential. By what they know that pony could become. By what actions that pony could and will take and the limits that pony could and will break. And after being up in your head for all of today, seeing your limits, actions, and even your thoughts, I know you well enough to know your potential. Wind raised his head slightly. His eyes opened a crack...and a small spark went off in his pupils. I judge you by your potential, Flowing Wind - and your potential far exceeds this journey's expectations. For a few moments, neither of the ponies spoke. Slowly, silence returned to the cavern once again as the sound of teardrops faded. Wind sniffed and wiped a hoof across his face, the salty taste in his mouth waning. As he rose to his hooves, a small smirk worked its way onto his face. ...I suppose that makes you "special" for judging me differently? Heh...if you say so. Wind picked his lantern up with his mouth and stared ahead into the darkness before him, head held high. Sorry about that...I'm okay now. Don't worry about it. Wind's smirk broke into an ear to ear grin. Alright...let's do it! A faint noise sounded ahead of Wind. "WAAAGH!" His moment of glory gone, Wind shrieked. As the scream reverberated around the corridor, the lantern once again clattered to the ground. Ugh...so much for bravery. Uh...ahem. Sorry. Picking up the lantern, Wind squinted into the yawning cavern before him. As always, there was no visibility, and so Wind continued walking forwards. Although he was still wary of the cave, it was a controlled wariness. No longer trembling, Wind glared into the blackness surrounding him, as though daring it to leap out and strike. The tunnel wound its way through the earth randomly, turning left, right, up, down - every which way. All of Wind's sense of direction had been lost despite his simple forwards progression, and he moved to walk closer to the wall, keenly aware of his dependence on it. Wind's eyes narrowed. ...can you see that? Uh...yeah. Yeah, I see it. Off in the distance, there was a faint but unquestionable glow of light. That...that must be Kiesh! And seeing as how I haven't found the mask yet, he must have it! Upon this realization, Wind quickened his pace, eager to meet with the cloaked pony. Wind inwardly congratulated himself for successfully traversing the cavern and overcoming his fears. In his mind's eye, he saw Kiesh step into his lantern's light, brandishing an ancient wooden mask before him. The two ponies happily trotted out the cave together, one step closer to their ultimate goal, and as Wind ran forwards, his spirits high, he failed to notice that the walls around him had been coated with a white, almost gelatinous substance - a substance whose presence was rapidly increasing with every hoofstep towards the golden light.