A whistle was sent through the air. One that caught the attention of every remaining anthronies that stood at the foot of the mountain. Three sets of eyes turned around in order to see what would be going on and what would be happening. Confusion struck them all as they noticed how both Twilight and Fluttershy were standing at the rocky formation.
They didn’t knew what had happened but would discover the facts soon enough, perhaps a little bit too soon for their own liking. They all had just managed to adjust themselves to the atmosphere that laid above the ground.
The admiral, the major and the pirate all joined up by the doctor and the soothsayer, who both gave them a worried look. At first didn’t they understood the reason of why such looks were given off to them, but the question would soon enough be answered.
For the other three mares didn’t had to speak a single word as Twilight had taken it upon herself to answer the things almost instantly. She only had to look one time in the questioning eyes of the other mares before she knew what was going on. What followed was that there was a deep exhale left through her nostrils and she hunched over to the entrance way.
Her eyes shifted a little bit between both the darkness and the mares that she called her friends. It was actually a silent plea, a silent plea for help. Their help was required perhaps one more time until the whole adventure could have gotten to a closure.
Yet the mares were thick. They didn’t understood a single thing of the emotions that were going through Twilight. Nor did they had any idea about what they could say other than the fact that she was staring at a giant hole. Fluttershy on the other end released an annoyed exhale as she almost wanted to point out the fact that Pinkie Pie had just vanished from the face of the lands.
It only took a couple of seconds, but then Twilight finally spoke up the words that she wanted to say to them all. “None of you noticed that Pinkie Pie has gone? No? Well, she has. And according to Fluttershy has she crawled right into this hole,” explained Twilight to the three of them.
Nothing of imminent responses were received by the unicorn. Rarity only rose an eyebrow, Rainbow remained standing and Applejack crossed her arms. It almost seemed like as if the three of them weren’t interested in the fate of the lamia at all.
The fact was understandable for Twilight, but it still made her just furious about it. The creature had shown them the way through the darkness of the caverns and that was the way how she was going to be repaid for her work? Twilight just found it unethical to say the least.
Her attention shifted once again over to the hole as she said the words that laid the most upon her heart. “I beg of you three, even with all of this over. I beg of you to join me one last time. One last adventure before we are going back home and possible, separate our ways again.” The tone in which Twilight spoke her words was filled with sadness, she couldn’t bare it to herself that Pinkie had just gone like that.
She thought that she was to blame for the fact that the lamia was just gone. But not even she remembered the way they had used to travel back to the surface of the lands. Fright, that must have been the cause for the actions. The fright of the world above, it was the only answer that Twilight could give properly to the matter.
At the same time was she still waiting for the other mares to give their answers upon the question. She had hoped of course for the best results from the lot of them. Though at the other end had she already prepared herself for disappointment. It had taken Twilight already a great effort to bring them all together in the first place. So why would they give up their differences then and help her once more?
The worst thoughts of the unicorn came true when she listened to the replies that were given by the others. Replies that were only spoken mere seconds after the beg and plead for help had been given. Applejack shook her head and the eyes went shut for a moment or two, she denied.
“Ah’m sorry Twilight, but Ah can’t do this anymore. After everything we’ve seen and done, Ah ain’t going back underneath the ground to get her out of it again. She’s made her decision and we made ours. Our quest is over, simple as that,” the admiral said in a dead serious tone. But that some tone didn’t wanted to either disrespect Twilight or make her feel even more uncomfortable.
Rarity and Rainbow did share that same thought, which brought the pirate to another matter that had to be done for her personal gain. The matter of her own escape. And she didn’t wanted to admit the facts as they were, but she was just glad that the lamia had made the decision to leave.
Yes, it had cost her a shirt but at least she was rid of that hyperactive snake thing. No, Rarity had never managed to see the good inside of the creature. Perhaps from time to time she saw bits and pieces though. But she never believed in Pinkie as much as she had placed her faith in others.
“Okay, so this is how it’s going to be then?” Twilight replied as she turned her gaze back to the lot of them. “Fine.”
“Uhm, Twilight,” the doctor then spoke before she would have laid a hand upon the arm of the soothsayer. The body of the unicorn turned around just a little bit further as she then looked Fluttershy in the eyes. The glance that was caught in those precious eyes, meant the literal world to her. It seemed that Fluttershy would mean her every single word that would be spoken next. “If you want, I want to go down there as well. Pinkie Pie is special, not just because she’s a lamia. She as a person. I, I can’t explain it other than, being special.”
The words were almost enough to bring a tear to Twilight’s eyes as she couldn’t believe that the doctor was actually willing to go down with her once more. Out of everypony that was present, it happened to be perhaps the most unsuited anthrony for the job who was willing to go with her.
There was a massive weight that fell down Twilight’s shoulders for just a moment as there was at least one another mare she could be building upon. Only to have the realization kick in that it actually was Fluttershy that she was talking to.
Straight away there was a new weight dropped upon her shoulders that spoke of the fact that she had to keep an eye out on her as well. Though there was one thing that could have been considered her luck. The very fact that Fluttershy wasn’t the kind of mare who would be going out there and exploring all by herself.
At worst would she be removing herself a couple hooves away from the unicorn. The two anthronies nodded to one another as a sign that they were ready. Afterwards would Twilight turn her head to the rest of the mares with a rather serious message for them. “Don’t leave yet, we’re going back together as a completed group. I hope that this doesn’t take long.”
“Best of luck you two, you’ll need it to find her again,” said Rainbow Dash before the two mares nodded to her in a thankful manner. Only to then just disappear in the darkness of the cavern once more. They had done it, they had actually managed to crawl themselves through the tunnel and had entered the mountain again. The search and wait had begun for both of the parties.
Deeper and deeper did both Fluttershy and Twilight walk in a hunched position. The very ceiling of the cavern was a lot shorter than they had anticipated. “Looks like this was just made for them and them alone,” the soothsayer mumbled while she had her horn charged. It provided the much required light in the darkness and they both held their arms out to the sides.
Fluttershy nodded to the spoken words before she said her own ones. “I just hope that Pinkie is okay, where do you think she could have gone to Twilight?”
The question struck the unicorn literally at every possible side as she didn’t knew were the lamia possibly could have been gone off to. Yet the ideas quickly began to flow through her mind. Countless places went through her as she imagined every last one of them. Her eyes went from right to left as they not only watched the tunnel, but also the rooms she visited mentally. Out of that she could make only one viable assumption.
“I would say she has gone back to the spring. Or at least she tries to. She can’t be that far ahead of us,” commented Twilight after which she increased her pace a little bit. The doctor would have just followed in silence and she listened more to the spoken words. “Yet something just doesn’t add up, why didn’t she just tell us that she was terrified. Instead she just left like that…”
“She’s an animal, Twilight,” returned Fluttershy with the difficulty clearly audible in her voice. It was even hard for her to say the words and Twilight understood that she didn’t mean them in the way they could be picked up as. “She’s a creature of nature. Instincts act before anything else. She was terrified of the land she saw, so she returned straight to what she knew. Animals don’t say their goodbyes either, they just do what they need to survive.”
The soothsayer nodded with her head in a calm manner as she did understood the direction out of which the doctor came. But it still stung like hell in her heart. “No offense taken in your words doctor, as they do speak only truth. It seems like the lamia have evolved more into beasts than anthronies, but who can blame them?”
The question went unanswered as the two mares continued to pick up their pace once more. They felt the need to close the gap between them and Pinkie as quick as possible. The last thing any of them needed was that they would have been lost inside of the mountain.
~~~~
Deeper inside of the mountain was Pinkie Pie slithering away. Her heavy breathing indicated that she had been giving her everything for some time already. All of the fears and frights that she seemed to have had for the word above had vanished completely. For she was back in her own world.
A world that existed out of nothing else but stone, low ceilings and countless upon countless rocks. Not to mention the daily spider or two. The lamia granted herself the time to just catch her breath in the darkness. Luckily for her had her eyes actually managed to adjust themselves to it again and she saw as she always had seen the things.
The eyes of her kind were specially made to see through the dark. Even with the little amount of light that there was did it still looked like a normal day in her eyes. Night vision was something that all of the lamia had developed over the course of their evolution thanks to the subterranean style of living. It was perhaps the most needed thing in their entire lives. The ability to see where nopony else could see anything.
The coast seemed to have been clear for her to catch up with her breath. Which she then did gladly. For the lamia was exhausted beyond belief. She didn’t knew for how long she had been fleeing but it was a terrible long time. That was all that she knew and remembered.
Her eyes went shut for just a moment after the body was thrown against the side wall. Her entire body just lost all of the tension that it carried as she felt herself comfortable again. The stone cold rocks resting against her scaly body had an interesting effect to say the least. Pinkie knew that she was back on the place where she belonged and didn’t wanted to leave under any circumstances.
Yet to all good things must come an end, as the saying went. The reality of the situation kicked back into her after maybe a minute of relaxation. Within her ears she caught that sounds of something she had never wanted to hear. Not after the initial encounter at least. It was just impossible for it to have been there, with her, at that specific time.
Within her ears she caught the slithering of a creature which she had only seen once before. But Pinkie knew more than enough to identify what and whom it was that went there. Instantly had the eyes opened up again and she looked all around the place. Fears and frights once again filled her as the lamia tried to get away from the location.
No matter which way she looked or wanted to move, there always have been a stone cold breath blown straight into her face. Pinkie didn’t saw who it was, but she knew that it was around there somewhere. And it had her cornered.
“W-Who are you?!” Pinkie Pie yelled while she tried to remain a tough act against the unknown thing. Yet if there was listened carefully to her tone, it could have been clearly heard that she was utterly terrified. She was terrified for the unknown and with good reason. For dark magic had been used against her. Which naturally excluded the fact that perhaps Twilight was trying to torture her. “S-Show yourself to me!” the lamia exclaimed before she even knew what she had said. The hands were brought to her mouth in order to prevent her speaking any more stupid words.
But the thing that roamed through the darkness heeded the call that was given to it. It went straight into the words and would be doing anything to utterly terrify the lamia even further. Suddenly there was a voice among the darkness, one that was just as dark as the surroundings and as low as it could possibly be. Yet it was crystal clear to listen to at the same time.
“You know, exactly who I am, my child. You know exactly why, I have come for you. Time’s up,” were the words that were spoken by the creature in a dark tone. Not much later could the slithers over the surface be heard again. Pinkie became more terrified as all of her thoughts indicated that there was just one being in the whole of the land that possibly could have said the words.
“I see you realized now, go ahead, speak my name, child,” the voice spoke to her. It almost seemed to have captured the glister of realization that went through the eyes of Pinkie Pie. Which meant that the thing was close to her. Perhaps a little bit too close for her own liking.
“You reek of the fear they always drenched about me, you thought I didn’t exist anymore, yet here I am, lurking at you like a predator and a prey. Can you guess which one you are? Hahahaha, go ahead and speak, my, name!” the creature among the darkness demanded from Pinkie Pie.
But the pink scaled lamia was utterly terrified. She couldn’t bring out a single word, let alone say the name of the demon that was haunting and hunting her. But she also knew that he would continue to taunt her in various and horrifying manners of she didn’t do anything to possibly save her own skin.
The lamia turned her attention from left to right as she wanted to make certain that the thing wasn’t standing too much in her general direction. Only once she had deemed the coast clear would the lamia had turned away from the wall and slithered a little bit more towards the middle. There she took a deep breath and looked straight ahead.
“I know who you are, and why you’re here,” she spoke just before the eyes narrowed down, “Gorgon One.” The lamia didn’t had a clue of how much guts it took her to say those words. Yet they came out just so fluently. Pinkie didn’t know why and the fears only became worse.
The events of what followed up next all just happened in a flash of lightning. Pinkie didn’t saw it coming but before she knew it was she staring right in a pair of green and scarlet eyes. They were followed up by a low growling hiss and a high pitched scream of terror before the silence returned to the place.
~~~~
Further away in the caverns walked both Twilight and Fluttershy. They tried their best to remain on the course that Pinkie Pie had been slithering. They followed all the possible leads that showed them that a lamia had gone through the place. Which was actually a whole lot easier than that they had expected it to be.
They didn’t knew when they would be meeting up with the lamia, but they made use of the time to tackle the plan for when they would be back out again. “You really think she’s going to come with you?” the doctor asked in a genuinely surprised tone.
Never had she expected that Twilight would have spoken up the plan that she had said only moments ago. “If she desires to do so herself, it seems like the most logical answer to me. She would be having a better life, that much is a certainty and what will happen afterwards is a fact that remains to be seen,” replied Twilight before she took a look over her shoulder.
Fluttershy was still having her doubts about the whole plan, but it was better than leaving the lamia just down there. The strokes over her chin told the unicorn more than enough as she gave off a gentle smile. “It’s going to be alright with her. Besides, how much further can she possibly have gotten?”
The answer upon the question was given in a form that neither of them had expected. Because the answer was given right in the form of a high pitched scream that travelled all over the place. The eyes of both Fluttershy and Twilight went wide the instant it happened. The echoing scream of utter terror haunted their minds before the silence returned.
Twilight turned her head back around to see where it came from as the words were released from her mouth. “Things just never go easy, do they?!” she muttered in an annoyed voice. The entire tone in which she spoke was also filled with anger while she also became afraid for some reason.
Twilight had become afraid of just what might had happened to Pinkie Pie and what horrors just the two of them would be facing. Trouble laid once more ahead of them as the increased their pace. They had to get to the place of the scream as fast as possible.
“W-Wait for me, Twilight!” the doctor exclaimed when she noticed that the other mare had already kicked her gears into the highest possible. They both began to run as fast as they could in the faint hope to be on time. Hopes had to be kept high while the preparations were made.
The preparations would hopefully have soothed up the bitter taste of defeat in their mouths. Twilight had cast a spell that allowed them to find the origin of the scream a whole lot easier. Once they finally arrived on the place where Pinkie last was, the two mares only found an massive emptiness. They were already too late.
Something had taken away Pinkie Pie to who knew where inside of the place. The doctor and the soothsayer both felt as if they had been crushed by a massive boulder. They had let the lamia down and neither of them had a way to get her back. Not without blowing up the whole mountain that was.
Ideas of madness rushed through the mind of the unicorn as she paced up and down. The ground beneath her hooves managed to endure the constant trembling that was made as Fluttershy had so her own manner of finding the traces she needed.
The pegasus had initiated an actual investigation in the faint hope to find some kind of trail that would be helping not only her, but Twilight as well. She had to find something that could be helping the both of them.
Her eyes went from left to right as she just gazed over everything cast in the raspberry light. It perhaps wasn’t much from which they could be working with, but at least it was something for her. The pegasus moved over to the wall and placed her hands gently on a couple of places. “Cold,” she whispered to herself before she moved it again.
“Again, cold,” she said before the action had been done a couple of times. Yet the next time she had placed her hand upon the wall, there was something strange. It almost seemed as if it felt warmer. Warmer than the rest of the wall at least.
The hands of the pegasus would have shifted around to find the exact spots of where the wall appeared to have been warmer. She thought of a ludicrous idea that probably could have been leading her to something of interest. For if the wall was warm, it meant that something had placed itself against it.
Not all too long ago either. It was a massive boost in the morale of the doctor. Fluttershy felt herself almost relieved on the matter for some unknown reason. But they still weren’t a single step closer in getting the lamia back. And Twilight wasn’t doing all that much either.
An outline could finally be made by the doctor as she took a couple of steps back. With her finger she then traced then the area’s where she had felt the separations of cold and warm. Much to her own surprise it took the form of the upper body of an anthrony. Which meant only one thing to her. “Pinkie was here,” she whispered to herself. Then she turned around and took a step forward.
Yet just as her hoof had set itself down on the ground, there was another feeling that rushed through her. For one hoof stood on the stone, stone cold floor while the other had been set on a place that seemed to have been a whole lot warmer.
The eyes of the mare went wide as she realized that she needed Twilight more than ever. “Twilight!” she exclaimed a little bit louder than she would have liked. But the unicorn was drawn out of her concentration and looked over to the doctor with a confused expression. “Do you have a spell that can trace heat? Like, lead you to the source of a heat signature?”
The unicorn had to think about it for a second or two before she nodded in confirmation. “I indeed do have a spell, but I do not see why it would be needed here,” she said to the doctor, “she’s cold blooded, remember?” Obviously she had no idea just what had been discovered. But Fluttershy almost straight up ignored the last part as she gestured to the mare that she had to just conjure it up.
Twilight didn’t have the slightest of clues about why she had to do such a thing, but if the doctor ordered it, it was best to just go with her plans. The horn charged up even further before the spell was being released. A tiny raspberry colored orb was called into existence and before the two could speak another word, it had gone. Gone to find the heat signatures that were scattered all over the place.
“I seriously do not understand why you wanted me to perform this spell, Fluttershy. There is nothing here and you can clearly see that,” commented Twilight to her. Her voice sounded like they had wasted an opportunity of some sort.
“You may see it, yes. But when you feel around there might be something left,” returned Fluttershy with a small smile that went across her lips. The soothsayer still didn’t understood a single thing about the matter and just gave it up. The results of the tests would probably reveal more to her than that the doctor would actually give away.
When the orb was finally done with its search, Twilight had expected it come back to her as if nothing happened. But instead it began to travel away from them. It went straight past Fluttershy and further into the caverns.
Neither of the mares could have believed the sights that were given to them before the smile of Fluttershy only would have gotten bigger upon her face. “I’ll be damned, you were right. Fluttershy, I’m just so glad that you have decided to come with me,” the soothsayer said in response. Twilight just couldn’t thank the mare enough for everything. She wouldn’t had thought about the actions that the doctor had done or to summon the orb to begin with.
“Thank me later, we first have somepony else to find,” said Fluttershy just before she placed a hand upon Twilight’s shoulder. The soothsayer nodded in return as the two of them then went onward to follow the orb. It was the only thing they could have done.
All that they could have done was to follow the orb and keep on following it until it had reached its final destination. Where it would have been and what they would have encountered all remained music for the future to play. What they did knew for certain was that they were one step closer, one step closer of getting the lamia back.
Silence had taken both of the mares over as they wandered deeper and deeper into the caverns. The light of Twilight’s horn had decreased down to the point of which she could only see a couple hooves in front of her. She had hopefully made them as small of a target as possible. For the last thing that she wanted was that they would have been spotted by anything or anypony.
Neither of them knew what horrors were housed inside of the mountain, but one was about to be revealed. For the little orb continued to dance around and about more and more vividly. It only meant to Twilight that they had gotten closer and closer to their final goal. She made the orb return to her before it simply vanished out of existence.
Something didn’t seem right in the eyes of Twilight while the formation of rocks opened up before them. She could have been wrong but it seemed as if something big laid just around the corner. Caution had to be given off by both of the mares as they quietly approached the place.
Their eyes turned around the corner and the mares were granted a sight that would be burned on their retina for times to come. There was indeed an opening in the formation of rocks and it walked out into a massive chamber. A chamber that was actually lit up by numerous torches. At least they were having light that could be of aid to them.
But the most horrifying part had to be the stone statues that stood there. The statues that stood scattered all over the place. None were arranged in actual ways that represented any kind of symmetry. One feature seemed to always have returned to the statues though. The fact that they were all from lamia that had struck a terrified pose. Whether the statue was still whole or whether it had crumbled by force, the frightful pose could always have been seen.
Fluttershy wanted to just walk straight into the room just before she was stopped by Twilight. The soothsayer turned her head to the doctor and pointed to one of the statues. “Sentries,” whispered Twilight to her. Fluttershy didn’t seem to understand just what the unicorn meant with her words and had a better look.
Terror managed to strike down deep in her heart when she finally did notice it. The doctor released a deep gulp as she noticed that something was moving. But that was impossible, it was a statue right? How could something about it have moved to begin with? Yet it was presented to her there and then.
The very eyes on the statue that Twilight had pointed to were in constant motion. A gasp for air was given off by the doctor as she was just utterly terrified. And for all the right reasons. It just seemed like a horror tale played out before their very eyes.
Whether they wanted to admit it or not, they realized that the fears of Pinkie Pie and the mysterious Gorgon One perhaps weren’t as far-fetched as originally thought. Not to mention that they would have shattered the words of Rarity flat on the ground.
The two of them looked even further into the room and finally there was a little bit of good news for them both. For they had found Pinkie Pie. The lamia laid on a table at the far end of the room and seemed to have been held unto it by dark magic.
It didn’t matter to them anymore. They had found the being for who they had come for. The doctor and the soothsayer were strong enough to overcome anything that would have been thrown right at them. At least they hoped that they were that. Though they just never showed that doubt as they walked into the room.
The second that the mares had entered the room were all of the moving eyes pointed straight at them and they kept following them. As creepy and eerie as it seemed, that it felt as well. Dozens of eyes stared at them but they didn’t look back. The mares only had eye for Pinkie, who looked back at them with a horrified expression.
“Go back! You shouldn’t have followed me back here! You just, just doomed yourselves!” she exclaimed as she tried to throw everything at them just to make them disappear again.
Yet that easily wouldn’t the two mares give up. They had gotten such a long way and they would return with her. “We’ll never leave a friend hanging, Pinkie. Never,” said Twilight before Fluttershy supported the words with a powerful nod of her own.
But the words were in vain, the laughter of another being had filled the room. The deep and low tone in which the laughter came forth from caused a shiver down all of their spines. Pinkie knew exactly what being it was and wanted to call it out.
Before she could even speak one single word, the body of a giant lamia had dropped down upon the ground and send a cloud of dust upwards. Hidden among it, it would be speaking the next series of words. “How precious, you two have come to rescue your already dead friend. Tsk, tsk, tsk, seems like I’ll be having dinner for three, mwhahaha!” the low toned voice spoke to them. Both Twilight and Fluttershy noticed that there was a genuine insanity in the tone.
“Spare us your threats and tell us your name!” Twilight yelled towards it, she released a growl afterwards. Only to then assume a pose of battle ready. She was ready to just give another fight if it meant that Pinkie Pie would have been saved.
The creature among the dust chuckled up once more before the words left the mouth. “Some call me, the Gorgon One. Others from times long ago remember me by a different name.”
“And how does that name ring?” Twilight dared to ask. The magic was already collecting itself around her horn in case it would be needed.
The Gorgon One grinned through the mist before it finally would reveal the words not spoken by ages. “You must know, you are from the world above. But perhaps you don’t remember it. Mhmhmh, the name I carried when I was a surface dweller was Lord Sombra.”