(NOTE: The following scene with Shamrock and Poppy was moved here from the last chapter. If it seems like you already read this scene, you probably have. It's only 800 words long, though. Sorry in advance.)
"I would also like to remind you that getting a decent amount of sleep each night and eating enough food every day is crucial to your health. You probably think that goes without saying, but you'd be surprised how many patients I've had that don't satisfy those two criteria," Poppy lectured a brooding Shamrock, who laid on the bed.
Shamrock groaned. He couldn't be more miserable, and Poppy couldn't be more cheerful. Truth be told, her happiness was a small contributing factor to his bitterness.
The gleeful nurse had finished her lecture, and began to tidy up the building for no reason in particular than to tidy up. Shamrock figured it was just so she could give herself something to do while they remained locked inside.
Shamrock, on the other hoof, had absolutely nothing to occupy himself with. His thoughts were all that he had, and they infuriated him more often than not. His mind kept turning to his bandaged head, and the cause of it. Who injured him and why? What possible purpose could it have other than to harm him for harm's sake?
He was an easy target. He was weak.
He pivoted his head, his gaze falling upon the four-leafed clover that graced his flanks. Some luck his cutie-mark brought him.
Shamrock laid back down on his cot, smashing a pillow into his face, though careful not to put any pressure on his wound.
Poppy noticed, breaking out of her cleaning spree to address the situation. "Are you alright there, dear? It seems like something's on your mind."
"Leave me alone," Shamrock snapped, removing his pillow.
The smile didn't leave Poppy's face. "Alright! But if you want to get whatever it is off your chest, I'm right here to lend an ear."
Poppy began to trot away again, and something inside Shamrock forfeited.
"I feel so pathetic," he blurted.
Poppy silently turned back to him.
He sat up slowly, and continued after a brief pause, "Even before that wretch Sombra ruled, I haven't been much use anywhere. I could barely hold my job at the local library, I couldn't sleep at night, and I had very few friends. The only positive thing to come out of Sombra's rule was that I was forced to converse with others just to get through each day." Shamrock rubbed his foreleg, gazing at the floor. "But that's all it is with me. Just... getting through each day. Sometimes I even need a visit to the tavern to help." Shamrock noted that the Nurses ever-present smile did not grace her visage anymore, instead replaced by an unintelligible stare.
Shamrock avoided eye contact.
A few moments of painful silence later, she spoke, "I can tell you right now that you're not pathetic."
Shamrock snorted. "It's not befitting of a nurse to lie to her patient."
"It's as much of lie as it is to say the sun rises at dawn," Poppy retorted without skipping a beat. "I could lie some more if you'd like. Did you hear that grass is green?"
"Oh, stop it. I don't want your patronization." He narrowed his eyes.
Poppy's smile had come back in full swing. "What do you want?"
Shamrock gazed away towards the window. "I want to feel relevant again. I want to not see a waste of space when I look in the mirror." His hoof went behind his mane, touching his bandages. "I want to be stronger."
Poppy didn't falter. "Then what's stopping you?"
"Huh?"
"What's stopping you? Honestly."
Shamrock was dumbfounded. "I... I mean... but Sombra—"
"—I'm sure Sombra didn't help matters, but I don't see him anywhere." Poppy turned side to side. "Maybe it won't be easy, but nothing worth fighting for ever is. You have to make an effort and be the change you want."
Shamrock was rendered speechless.
"The way I see it, you've been trudging through everything life has thrown at you, so now it's time you start throwing back! Show the world what you can do." Poppy pointed a hoof in his direction, specifically at the clovers adorning his flank.
Shamrock was slow to respond, "...Yes, you're right." His eyes widened. "Yes, you're right!" He shot up from the bed, a strong look in his face. "You're right! You're absolutely right! I'm not going to do this anymore. I'm going to show everypony what I'm made of!"
Poppy beamed at her work.
"Thank you, Nurse," Shamrock grinned. "You've set me on the right path."
"Oh, it was nothing. Just, please take it easy. You're not doing your head any favors."
Shamrock frowned again, sitting back on the bed.
"Now you just rest there for now, alright? I'll be right back," Poppy assured, trotting away deeper into the empty building.
Shamrock simply sat on the bed, this time with resolve. With determination. He would not be pushed around by life anymore. From now on, he would be the one doing the pushing. He would make his own luck, rather than waiting for it to come to him.
Shamrock giddily schemed as Poppy's singing voice echoed throughout the room. Shamrock's eyes narrowed. For now, he would rest. As soon as he got out of bed, whoever the beast was that injured him would pay dearly.
Shamrock would take control.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
My heart was racing. My breathing was rapid.
I was in no shape to fight anything, or even flee. I was still exhausted, and everything ached. Whatever little sleep I received hadn't seemed to help at all, either.
I blame the vivid dream, the damn thing.
The wall of rocks I had fallen asleep next to had been dismantled, revealing a small hole I doubted even a smaller human than I could fit through. Out of the darkness of the hole came a bright light, nothing like the luminescent glow of the gems embedded in the cave walls. This light was more warm, and inviting. Candlelight, I assumed.
I grit my teeth, expecting a million soldiers bearing weapons of all sorts to erupt from the rat tunnel like angry bees from a destroyed hive.
Instead, two armor-less ponies plopped out, dirty and obviously uncomfortable. The purple one carried a lantern in her mouth, but besides that they had nothing on them. These were not soldiers at all.
"What the fuck?" I blurted in confusion.
The two ponies jumped out of their skin, and they gazed towards me with the wide-eyed, fearful looks I've been seeing much too often lately. For only a moment, nobody utters a sound. Then one of the horses releases a scream that banshees would be jealous of, dropping and extinguishing her lantern in the process. I cover my ears as her wailing reverberates throughout the caves, and I notice her partner doing the same thing with his hooves. Then the other pony started to babble his nonsense at her, I assumed to try to get her to calm the fuck down.
Of course, that was just my guess. These horses still confused the shit out of me.
Come to think of it, though, these two specific ponies looked familiar, somehow. I wondered if I had seen them before, but It'd have been a lot easier to concentrate if I wasn't feeling like shit and this pony wasn't adding to my headache by loudly panicking. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me again. Certainly wouldn't be the first time today. Really would've been nice to remember the bits about my bachelor party way earlier.
My calves were quivering again, and one leg decided it couldn't hold me up anymore. I fell to my knees, but the two ponies didn't seem to notice. They were too busy hectically trying to talk over one another.
Both of them seemed scared out of their minds. The white-haired one was completely panicking and yelling, and the blue one was visibly shaking as well. Although he seemed like he was actually trying to remain calm.
Emphasis on "trying."
What were these two even doing here? They were the first things alive I had seen since entering these boring ass caves. Did the ponies live down here, too? Maybe these two are also on the run from the law.
Their constant attempts at communication wore thin on me. The headache in my cranium was fast becoming a migraine. I just needed them both to... to...
"Shut up!" Yeah, that.
They fell silent at my outburst, and turned back to me. They weren't hollering anymore, but their breaths were still heavy. I was slightly embarrassed to be seen on my knees like I was, so I attempted to stand up again. Only this time when my legs gave out, my entire body crashed to the rocky floor.
Sneaking a glance at the two newcomers, they looked even more confused than before. Maybe they were wondering why I was so out of energy to the point of collapsing. Well so was I, god damn it.
It would've been so easy just to fall asleep on the floor again. I didn't even mind how uncomfortable it was anymore.
In a strange turn of events, Ms. Screamsalot was brave enough to step forward towards me. The male, however, stayed behind saying more things I couldn't understand. Probably 'what are you doing' or 'get away from him.'
She finally stopped in front of me, though careful to stay out of my reach. "Dsl ziv blf? Dsb ziv blf sviv?" She said, as if I was just magically going to understand her.
"Please, spare me the bullshit language. I really don't want to deal with it right now."
The male spoke to her again from his safe distance away, and she responded. They conversed a bit more like this, never taking their eyes off me.
She addressed me again, "Ziv blf Hlnyiz'h nrmrlm?"
I ignored her. Against my better judgement, I decided to try one more time to stand up, giving it my all. I made good progress this time, standing upright on my right leg first, and then focusing on the left one. The ponies seem to find it really interesting too as they won't take their eyes off of me. Slowly I rose, while the two aliens gawked in awe. I stretched my arms out for balance, and finally I was standing on two legs.
Then it threatened to literally come crashing down. I stumbled again, and I hit the floor.
My resulting groan evolves into a frustrated scream, and my fist pounds against the ground. The two horses backed away, I think in fear.
Why is this happening to me now? I thought. Why can't I even stand up? I'll never find a way back home if I couldn't use my fucking legs!
My body surrendered, and I flopped against the floor while my balled hand continued to pathetically beat the ground.
Then, in the middle of my angst, came a purple, sparkling hoof. It trembled slightly, sluggishly advancing towards me. I'm not sure what prompted this action. Hell, one look at her expressive face told me that even she seemed unsure of what she was doing.
Just what was she doing?
---———===———---
"What in Celestia's name are you doing?" A stupefied Glass Pond inquired.
"Quiet," Amethyst Glory responded.
"Don't touch him! He could bite your hoof off!"
Amethyst considered his argument. Here was the unknown beast, easily three times as big as she was and wanted by every guard in the Empire. Sure, at first glance it was terrifying, and the two ponies were scared out of their minds just looking at the thing. She expected it to leap at them, thirsty for their blood. Instead, it hadn't attempted any attack at all. It was simply writhing on the ground, failing to even stand up.
Was this really the thing she had feared all this time? The evil servant of Sombra, determined to bring back it's master and rule at his side? Doubts began to form in Amethyst's mind.
"Amethyst! For the last time, get away from that thing! It's just trying to lure you in!" Glass barked at her.
She hesitated, slightly reeling her hoof back in. A moment passed before her curiosity got the better of her again, and she found herself reaching out towards the beast.
The creature gave a puzzled look from his small eyes, switching it's gaze between Amethyst and her outstretched hoof. The strange specimen slowly reached out to wrap it's fleshy claws around her foreleg. What came next was one of the strangest feelings Amethyst had ever received.
As the pale appendage gripped her leg, it was as if a vacuum sucked all of the energy from her while a cold breeze washed over her very being. She recoiled her foreleg, and she regretted her actions as her body collided with the ground.
Glass Pond's eyes widened, and he ran to her side. "Amethyst!"
---———===———---
Man, did I feel like a million bucks! I felt like I could lift a train car!
The touch of that horse's leg gave me a sensation I couldn't possibly describe right. It was the same feeling I got when fighting those soldiers on the surface. I felt as though I was being warmed from the inside, and a spring breeze had washed over me at the same time. I know it sounds cheesy, but it was almost felt like it filled me with hope.
Whatever this alien had done, it was invigorating!
I only wish I could say the same for her; She hit the ground with a grunt immediately. I don't even know what I did to her.
The other one came running to her side, spewing random bullshit both at her and at me. I didn't need to comprehend the language to know he was spouting some choice words at me. I didn't quite appreciate that.
I ignored him, deciding to give my attempt at standing another shot. I prepared my legs once more, and to my amazement I did so without any issue. My legs felt fine, I didn't feel like I needed more sleep, hell my headache had completely disappeared too.
Well, what the hell was different!?
It had to do with that handshake. I know it did. These ponies and this world were fucking with me. "You know what, I don't care. I'm just glad I can stand again!" I declare with a smile.
Then a ballistic rock caught me right above my left eye. As I yelped and recoiled in pain whilst clutching my forehead, in the corner of my eye I could see the other horse readying another stone in his hoof.
Now I really didn't appreciate that.
"What the fuck!? Stop it you cock-sucker!" I indignantly insulted while he let loose with a barrage of stones he just found on the ground. How he was even able to throw anything with hooves is beyond me. All I knew was that he wasn't keen on stopping anytime soon.
I was perceptive enough to know he was just scared and lashing out. Acting out against him wouldn't really solve anything. I mean, sure, fifteen minutes ago I would've probably clocked him over the head, but I was in a much better mood ever since the magical handshake of power.
So I opted to run away and give the two horses some space so they could chill the hell out. "Okay, okay, fine! I'm leaving! You two do whatever you want!" I knew they couldn't understand me. Why did I still try to talk to them?
I hurried away from the hail of rocks, still clutching at my head.
---———===———---
Amethyst Glory began to rise again, seeing her companion chuck rocks at a fleeing creature. "Pond, stop it!"
A startled Glass Pond stayed his hoof, and directed his attention to helping Amethyst Glory. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Glass. I was merely disoriented for a moment," She shrugged off his help, standing perfectly on her four hooves. "Where has it gone? Which tunnel did it take?"
"I don't know, and frankly I don't care," Glass Pond huffed. "You found what you wanted, and now we're going to get out of these blasted caves before anything else happens."
"We can't just leave! We've come so far, accomplished so much!"
Glass Pond rolled his eyes. "Really? What have we accomplished then, huh?"
"We've proven the monster to be an enemy! Nothing that sucks the life out of you with a mere touch can possibly be good for the Empire!" Glory protested.
"What do you suppose we do then, Glory? What goose chase do you want to lead us on now?"
"Don't you belittle me," She growled. "We can follow it. Track it down!"
"And for what purpose!?" Glass yelled. "What possible reason do you have to keep following the thing that nearly sucked your soul dry?"
It was Glory's turn to roll her eyes. "Have you not been paying attention? It's a threat to the Empire, and the guards aren't doing anythi—"
"NO!" Glass cut her off. "The real reason!"
"I... I am telling you the real reason!" Amethyst averted his eyes, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.
Glass glare shifted into a flat stare. "No, you're not."
As if a switch was flipped, all fight in Amethyst Glory melted away. She found herself unable to even look in Glass Pond's direction, sitting on her haunches with her head low to the ground.
Though he wasn't sure of the cause of her sudden depression, Glass Pond didn't think he needed to. Feeling a pang of pity for Amethyst, he trotted up to her side, placing a hoof on her withers. "Look, you've won, okay? You proved yourself right, and everypony who doubted you was wrong." He spoke calmly. "Why can't that be enough?"
Amethyst said nothing, but instead gave him a brief, heartbroken gaze before sighing very loudly.
The two ponies sat there, nearly as still as the caves themselves with only the sounds of their breaths to accompany them.
Both of them blissfully unaware of the unnatural abomination quietly lurking from the tunnel on the far end of the cavern. Both of them oblivious to the fact that they were not alone.
---———===———---
Sheesh, feisty little horses.
I hadn't gotten very far in the cramped tunnel I chose to flee. I honestly didn't want to continue any deeper into these caves because I had no idea where the god damn hell I was going and it wasn't like there was a directory anywhere nearby.
I double-checked my surroundings. Nope. Definitely no directory in this narrow cavern.
I could go back and try to communicate my situation to these two horses, though judging how that went the last couple times, it would likely turn out for the worse. I also wasn't interested in getting into another scuffle. I could most likely slip around them and retrace my steps back up to the surface, but there's a good chance I'd be captured by those pony guards and...
You know, now that I thought about it, that didn't seem like a bad thing anymore. Sure, they weren't exactly nice to me, but it wasn't like I handled that conflict back there any better. If I went up there and turned myself in, maybe then I could negotiate myself out of trouble and even find a way back home. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but damn if it wasn't actually the best idea I had right then.
And you know what? the more I thought about it, the better that plan became. "Why the fuck did I even come down here in the first place? Stupid," I berated myself.
I could still hear Seabiscuit and Agro back in the open cavern loudly conversing about something. Probably still about me. Whatever they were talking about, I couldn't have cared less. I was going to go up to the surface, find the nearest guard and—
The cramped tunnel echoed as my foot collided with the objects on the floor which I hadn't noticed. The dusty chains rattled, noisily sliding among the rocky ground before coming to a stop near something else. At first glance I thought it to be just another rock in the expanse of this cave, but I noticed that this one looked... off. It was a lot larger, rounder, and colored a bit more pale. I lumbered over towards it, crouching down to inspect it.
Now, I should have learned at this point that this world was full of surprises, and I should expect one at every turn, but I wasn't expecting the item I turned over to have teeth and eye holes. I quickly retracted my arm, gazing wide eyed at the skull of one of those alien ponies. It definitely wasn't a cheap prop; Some poor soul had been left to rot down here.
My thoughts raced. Is that what this place is? A burial ground? Have I been trampling over the remains of the deceased this whole time without knowing? Why havn't I seen any marked graves if that's the case? My eyes shifted to the chains that had slid to the corner, and I understood.
This wasn't a cemetery, it was a prison. These ponies were more than willing to kill each other. Whose to say that wouldn't happen to me if I was imprisoned!? I was right to flee from the law!
From where the two ponies where, I heard a shrill scream.
"No. Fuck that. Fuck this. I'm getting out of here," I proclaimed, and started hobbling in the opposite direction of the pony's scream as fast as I could. If there was someone executing them right now, I wouldn't let them find me.
...Unless they knew these tunnels better than me, which could pretty much be guaranteed. They'd find me sooner or later and I'd just be wandering around with my thumb up my ass.
My hustle came to a standstill and I decided I had to go back. Not only because it was my only surefire way out of these death caves, but I'd also feel really bad about letting those two other horses get the axe. Damn morals. These aliens were lucky I was so caring.
I turned, and backtracked to meet whatever doom awaited me.
---———===———---
Glass called out in fear, "Run! Don't let the golem stun you!"
Glass Pond followed his own advice as the new adversary pursued him. A monster, made entirely of large, floating, blue gems had found the two ponies, and was carrying out the old orders of its late master. One large spire of a crooked jewel rose above the two crystal ponies, pulsing with a sinister glow while its five spider-like legs carried the mass swiftly despite it's awkward size and shape.
It made an echoing noise, extremely deep in pitch, before its body burned brightly. The point of the walking spire shined a sparking white, and from it fired a magical blast towards Amethyst Glory.
Knowing full well that the blast would paralyze her should it hit, Amethyst barely leaped out of the way. The spell splattered against the rock wall behind her, and faded away entirely. She turned to her partner, "Pond! We need to get out of here!"
"Come on!" He was ahead of her, sprinting back for the hole they came through.
The hulking pile of moving crystal made its otherworldly noise that haunted the two ponies memories. The golem aimed at Pond, its top sparking again with the same white energy as before.
Glass focused instead on the exit, desperately trying to make it to the hole before the monstrosity of gems could reach him. By a cruel twist of fate, the golem was faster than he was, and skittered in front of the hole before the two ponies could make it there. Pond skidded to a halt in stunned fear of the white charging spell on it's spire, realizing he was about to be captured by this enforcer of Sombra.
He was going to be caught again.
"Pond! Look out!" Amethyst galloped to him, throwing her body weight against his just before the fired magic could hit him.
Instead, the violent spell hit her.
"Amethyst! No!" Glass cried out.
Amethyst's body convulsed in pain, but the scream she attempted mustered no sound. Instead her muscles tensed up, and she froze in an uncomfortable pose on the floor of the hollowed cavern. She could only move her eyes to see either Glass Pond's horrified face, or the imposing crystal golem turning to pursue him next. She wanted to scream at him to run, but her mouth refused to move.
It was at this point where Amethyst Glory realized their fate to be. They were going to be trapped down here again. This monster would imprison them both and they'd be stuck again like the days when Sombra ruled.
Nopony would come to save them.
Then, from her peripheral vision, out of a cave came a familiar shape.
"Dszg gsv ufxp rh gszg."
The attention of every being in the room turned towards the visitor.
---———===———---
I felt like I had said the term "what the fuck" on enough occasions to last a lifetime, but every single time I thought my situation couldn't get any crazier, my reality received an uppercut square to the jaw.
That being said, what the fuck was that thing?
I honestly didn't know what to expect when I came back, but this... horror before me was nothing I would have ever imagined possible. It looked like a giant turtle made out of crystals, only it's jewel of a shell was a lot taller and it had five threatening crab legs which looked ready to impale me with ease. It had no mouth, or eyes, or anything but legs and a body. The thing was just a moving pile of minerals that floated together all on their own.
I internally wondered how much this thing would be worth back home.
The noise it made was the stuff of nightmares. It was a deep sound, kind of like the error noise you would get from one of those old windows computers, or the whoosh of a lightsaber. Descriptive, I know.
The situation in here wasn't looking very bright. I could see the lantern still fallen on the ground, only the iron casing had been smashed into several pieces. Not to mention the fact that one of the horses was shaking with fear, and the other horse from before still lay on the ground unmoving. I'm sure I wasn't the cause of that, since she had moved far from the spot where we had the magical handshake.
I had little time to react before the crystal monster thing turned. Whether it was facing me or not, I wasn't sure; The thing didn't have a clear front side to it, but it did begin to crackle with a strange energy at the top of its largest, gnarled crystal.
With only the warning of another deep noise, it fired a fucking magical beam at me. I leaped out of the way, skidding my chest and chin on the dusty rock of the ground. It stung quite a bit, but I was certain it was a hell of a lot better than getting hit by the sparkling magic fired by an angry jewel monster.
This is around the point I decided these two horses I didn't even know weren't worth dying over, and attempted to fuck off down some random tunnel. I didn't get far before another blast of white plasma shot by me and gave an audible wham as it slammed against the wall. With all the grace of a rhinoceros on a unicycle, I fell backwards on my ass. It seemed the crystal spider was extremely intent on making me its prey.
I scrambled to my feet while trying to keep an eye on my opponent, not quite sure of what to do. There wasn't anything I could use as cover in this vast expanse of a cavern, and it seemed like charging the thing head on would be suicide. It seemed my only option was to keep trying to escape and hope the thing's aim kept being off.
In the corner of my eye, I saw the ponies attempting to escape, with one carrying the other on his back. They were moving really slow, but they would make it if I kept this over sized geode occupied long enough.
Another sound from the crab beast snapped me back to reality, and I steeled my nerves. My legs broke out into a sprint, carrying me to the nearest of many paths in the cavern. I looked back at the crystal thing just in time to duck under his next shot. The ball of energy came so close to nailing me in the brain that I'm pretty sure my hair stood on end.
I looked back up just in time to see the mineral monstrosity charging at me, its tip more ablaze with blinding light than ever before. I don't know if this thing had the capacity to show emotion, but damn did it seem pissed off.
I almost said to myself that it couldn't get any worse than this. Almost. Even I knew better than to curse myself like that.
---———===———---
"Hold on, Amethyst! Just hold on!"
With the golems attention shifted to the mysterious creature, Glass Pond saw his opportunity to flee. Picking up and carrying Amethyst was turning out to be a harder task than he judged; not because Amethyst Glory was a large mare, but mostly because Glass Pond himself was a bit lacking when it came to physical ability. As a result, he found himself shuffling towards the escape hole a lot slower than he would like. If only they hadn't strayed so far away from the exit!
It was all such a huge mess. The creature they had been chasing after was now sprinting around the area dodging the spells of a crystal golem which was somehow still lingering around after all this time, and the mere notion of being inside the slave mines was still triggering terrible memories for Glass Pond. For the sake of his pride, he didn't mention this fact to Glory. Speaking of, a strand of her drool was currently trailing down his side as he hoisted her across to the exit. She was going to be out of it for a while.
All this, and the day was still far from over.
"We're almost there. We won't be taken again, Amethyst!" he reassured, knowing she couldn't respond in her state. By now, the spell had taken control of her, putting her into a hypnotic trance.
A quake rumbled throughout the room, and Pond's slow escape came to a halt. Shards of rock and jewels were shaken loose from all sides of the mine, a couple specks landing on Glass Pond's nose. He gave his surroundings a quick scan, wondering what could possibly be causing the cave to rumble. The bartender looked ahead to his destination, and his heart stopped.
The tunnel he and Glory had entered through, their nearest exit, had caved in.
"No! Not now!"
Pond set down Amethyst a bit harder than intended, but his panic was overtaking him once again. He rushed to his secret tunnel, ready to dig away the rocky refuse. He didn't get far before another shake of his surroundings alerted him to look up, where larger boulders plummeted and threatened to bury him alive. He retreated in time to evade the smashing debris. Although he wasn't crushed, his hope certainly was.
The situation only decayed from there.
As if fate was laughing in their faces, Glass Pond spotted another crystal golem lurk towards them from one of the many mine shafts. This one was more crimson in color, and resembled a slithering snake more than it did an arachnid. The faceless crystal being sparked with the familiar glow of a paralysis spell.
Then came another golem composed of topaz from a hole in the ceiling, where there should have still been rock. The tiny, four-legged creature clinged to the roof and dashed around as several others that looked just like it poured out of the hole.
The rumbling of the cave only increased. From every crack and crevice, golems of every shape, color and size began to swarm the cave.
Pond stumbled back to Amethyst's motionless body as the gem monsters surrounded them. His mind raced, seeking a way to get them both out of this predicament. When nothing came to mind, he simply shouted and cursed at the abominations that circled him.
He was in mid sentence when a bolt struck him in his side. Glass Pond writhed in pain before he could no longer move, and he too fell to the cold, hard floor.
His vision was entirely filled with the devious creatures everywhere he could possibly look, except in one direction, where a small opening between a purple and yellow golem showed the creature they were originally chasing, fleeing down a random corridor. Several golems of different colors gave pursuit.
Pond knew in the back of his mind that the beast had no chance down here. The golems apparently still ruled these mines.
The various rock beings swarmed the two ponies, and Glass Pond could do nothing more than wallow in regret as the secondary effect of the spell kicked in.
Glass Pond remembered nothing more.