Sweetie was hopelessly lost. Her map had become squiggles that meant nothing. Going left had never ended in a dead end, and she had made four lefts! Why hadn’t she found any intersections that led her back to the jail? It wasn’t going up, nor was it going down. It was like this was designed as a maze.
Sweetie shivered as a drip of water landed on her back, making her jump and give a tiny squeal. After calming down, she took a moment to look around, and realised she had no idea which way she had come. Sweetie bit her lip, feeling a headache coming on. What was the best action to take?
“Wait, of course!” Sweetie chided herself for being an idiot, and dug into her saddlebags, pulling out a slip of paper. Recalling the moment Twilight had given her the spell to send letters via magic, Sweetie couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought to try using it yet. Twilight said the distance to Canterlot was too far, even for her. But maybe…
“Dear Twilight, fell down hole. Please help, can’t find exit. Sweetie Belle.” Sweetie spoke out the words as she quickly scribbled down her note, and folded up the letter. Placing it on the ground, she poked her horn into it, and concentrated. Gritting her teeth, she winced as her magic exploded in her face, incinerating the letter.
“Attempt number two…” Sweetie placed down the letter a second time, and concentrated. Casting the spell, she gritted her teeth in disappointment as the spell simply fizzled out, the letter flopping back to the floor. This spell required so much control, Sweetie wasn’t sure she could cast it yet.
“One last try.” Sweetie concentrated, taking care to make the spell as strong as she could, while ensuring it didn’t blow up in her face. Pausing, she made extra sure the spell had enough juice to cast it, and then let it rip. Sweetie watched as the letter hovered in the air for a moment. Leaning forward, Sweetie felt hope brimming in her chest.
With a disappointing view as the spell ripped the letter to pieces, and then exploded in a small burst of flame, Sweetie knew no one would be able to read it even if it did make it to the other side. Kicking the ground, Sweetie watched as a stone came loose, and cracked into the wall. Sweetie watched as the stone rolled for a moment, and fell still.
Rumble...
Sweetie pivoted, and ran. The roof behind her came crashing down, and she looked straight ahead, ignoring the thudding heart and the fear eating at her hooves. Turning a corner, Sweetie saw a second cascade of rubble coming toward her, and paused. Surrounded, Sweetie crouched, closing her eyes and cowering under her hooves.
Sobbing, Sweetie heard the collapse tear through her eardrums, and felt dust and debris hit her body, sending her flying toward the wall. Gasping for breath, Sweetie felt her lungs clog with dust, and tried to blink her eyes open, pain throbbing through her body.
Looking around, Sweetie noticed she had somehow made it to a small section where the two collapsing forces had met. Looming over her were two large pieces of rubble, creaking and groaning. Sweetie looked at her injuries, a few scrapes and bruises.
“Okay, *cough* I’m alive. Now what?” Sweetie looked around, quickly working out that air would become a problem sooner rather than later, and scowled. Ears flicking back, she silently hoped somepony came to save her before she suffocated, falling into a death loop. Closing her eyes, Sweetie leaned against the wall, and sighed.
Opening her eyes as a strange tinking sound reached her ears, Sweetie realised half of her prison had turned into crystal. Looking through the transparent material, a pony figure was visible. Sweetie leapt to her feet and waved, beaming a smile. The pony’s horn glowed, and Sweetie found herself slowly levitated through the crystal, coming to stand beside Twilight.
Sweetie leapt at Twilight, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed. Sweetie didn’t understand why her body was moving all on it’s own, and felt her mind slightly detached from the situation as Twilight comforted her. Why was she still afraid of death? Why had Twilight’s rescue moved her to tears?
“I think that’s enough exploration for today,” Chuckling, Twilight slowly carried Sweetie outside. As they walked, Sweetie rubbed her body over, still feeling detached. And yet, this was her body. The pain from the cuts and bruises still hurt. But the feeling lingered. Sweetie shook her head, and instead focused on Twilight.
“How did you know I was alive?” Sweetie watched as Twilight teleported up the hole Sweetie had fallen down, and began to head out of the castle. Sweetie silently cursed her inability to teleport such distances. Maybe in the future, she supposed.
“Well, when I heard the collapse, there was only two possibilities. Either you were alive down there, or you had...been killed and we were out of the loop. I uh...took the risk of it being the former, and tried to find you anyway.” Twilight scratched the back of her head, ears flopping down as the morbid option that was tied to her deduction hung in the air.
“No more ruined castles,” mumbled Sweetie, closing her eyes and shuddering. Twilight gently hugged the filly, taking to the sky and slowly beginning the fly back to Ponyville. Twilight normally conserved her energy, as the air currents were a lot more punishing over the Everfree, but was willing to put of with wingache for Sweetie.
“I can imagine why.” Twilight smiled, and winked at Sweetie, who let a small chuckle escape her lips. Sweetie looked ahead, and let her smile fall. The feeling still clung to her, like a flea from Winona, Apple Bloom’s dog. Shaking her head, Sweetie instead focused her thoughts on what she should do next loop.
Thoughts focused on that, her mind finally let go of the feeling.