//------------------------------// // Chapter 08: Baby, It's Cold Outside // Story: The Equestrian Survival Guide // by Gherkin //------------------------------// CHAPTER EIGHT: BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE Darkness. Nothing surrounded the two of them but darkness. For a moment The Courier blinked and rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out if something was wrong. "Shit," he muttered. "Did I go blind?" After a pause, he gasped slightly. "Oh fuck, I didn't die did I? If I'm dead, that's some bullshit." "Don't shit your pants, I can't see anything either," came Christina's voice from somewhere nearby. Feeling some relief, he fumbled around for a second, eventually finding something to lean on. He couldn't tell what it was, exactly. What's this wall made of? Some sort of smooth rock? he thought to himself, running his hand down it slowly. Ain't like anything I ever seen before. "Hang on, I got this," they both inadvertently said at once, looking down at their Pip-Boys and switching on the light. Squinting a little, she looked across at him. "Heh, I guess two lights is better than none." For a second a bout of dizziness overcame her and she shook her head in an attempt to dispel it. "Where the hell did we end up, anyway?" With a groan, he rubbed his eyes and looked around the cave they had found themselves in. Thankfully, there seemed to be a tunnel that led upwards, hopefully towards the exit of wherever they were. "With any luck, the same place Boone and Molly ended up." "Moira," she corrected, rolling her eyes and sighing as she took in her surroundings as well. "Oh, yeah," came his sheepish reply. "Sorry 'bout that." Eager to put that awkwardness behind him, he cleared his throat and motioned to the walls of the cave. "What the hell is this stuff, anyway? This ain't like no rock or stone I ever seen before." She gently ran her hand over the smooth surface of the wall, thinking. "I'm not too sure. Looks like some kind of crystal." With a shrug she looked back at over at him. "I guess it doesn't matter. The important questions are, is there a way out of here? And is that device of yours broken again?" "That is a good question," he agreed, only now looking down at the Transportalponder gripped in his hand. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, as far as he could see. "Looks right as rain to me. I'll stash it away for safekeeping." He stuffed it back into his bag, before pointing to the tunnel leading out. "Hopefully this leads to the surface." "Surface of where?" He chuckled. "Yet another good fuckin' question. One I don't have no answer for right now." The sound of his heavy footsteps echoed around the cave as he walked over to it, peering up through the passage. "Only one way to find out, I guess." "Yeah, you're right," she agreed, following him as he started to move up the tunnel. Shivering, she pulled her arms around her chest. "Damn, it's cold as hell." "Tight leather vault suits aren't exactly the best when it comes to keeping warm, girl," he called out to her. She groaned. "They're not too bad, but it is really damn cold. How on Earth would you know how warm a vault suit keeps you, anyway?" Another chuckle escaped his lips, with a slight hint of embarrassment. "Heh, that's a long story. Let's just say the gal who runs the Vault 21 hotel really likes vault suits. Even when she's..." He trailed off awkwardly. "Yeah, I think you get the idea." "Okay then," she replied, clearing her throat. "Anyway, how come you're not cold? That duster of yours doesn't have sleeves, for God's sake." "Guess I just got a natural resistance to it. I don't feel the cold." "You live in a desert!" She pointed out, thoroughly confused. He shrugged with a hint of a smirk on his face. "Eh, details, details. Does it matter? Hopefully it's warmer up on the surface of this place." "Yeah, wherever this place is anyway," she noted, stretching and sighing as a few bones cracked into place. "I have a feeling we're not in the Mojave any more." "Yeah, no shit." He crept up the passage, keeping one hand resting on the wall to make sure he did not lose his balance. There was a faint light at the top of the tunnel, but it was still too dark to see anything properly down where they were. I hope this god damn cave doesn't go on for too long, he thought, sighing with annoyance. I've been through enough of these damn things to last me a lifetime. Nevertheless, they pushed onwards and upwards. Soon enough, they found themselves in a cavern, that happened to be much better lit. Finally they could see more than a few inches in front of them, so they checked their weapons and armour to make sure that they were all in good shape. Satisfied, they turned to each other. "So," Christina began. "What now?" She glanced around for any way to continue, and soon found one on the other side of the cave. "Let's keep moving," he told her, taking a few steps forward before pausing suddenly. He quickly held his hand up, indicating for her to do the same. She froze as he instructed. "What is it?" she whispered over to him, her hand hovering near the holster strapped to her leg. "Quiet," he hissed sharply, perhaps sharper than he intended. There was silence again, before an echo came from somewhere up the passage on the far side, coming closer. "Voices. Someone's coming," she deduced, confirming their suspicions. He drew his gun and ducked down behind a tall pile of rocks and crystal nearby, pulling her along with him. "Get down, let's see what we're dealing with first." With a nod she pulled out her Blackhawk and hunkered down, listening out for the unknown voices once again. After a few seconds, they became clearer and easy to make out. They must have walked down here from somewhere. "What exactly do you expect to find down here, Quartz?" came one feminine sounding voice. Are there other people down here too? They're speaking English. Another voice replied to her, this one sounding decidedly more masculine. "Just take a look around, my dear! Come, look at this crystal, it is unlike anything I have ever seen before!" "By Celestia..." the female murmured. "What is it?" Confused, and with his Sequoia gripped tight in his hand, The Courier peeked over the rock slowly and quietly, hoping to get a peek at whoever was down here with them. As he laid eyes upon the two crystal ponies, however, he had to stop himself from voicing his surprise and confusion. What the fuck are those things? Christina popped her head up too, and let out a barely audible gasp that the ponies did not hear. Are those... horses? Horses made out of crystals? She rubbed her eyes to make sure that she was not seeing things, then watched as the mare ran her hoof over a strange type of black crystal embedded in the far wall. Whatever it was, it did not seem too safe, as she quickly drew her hoof back in pain. "Ow!" she grunted, shaking her hoof a little. "That hurt. Quartz, I do not like the feel of this place." Her gaze returned to her injured hoof, and she yelped in surprise as she saw that a chunk of the crystal she had just touched had somehow spread onto it. She tried to rub it over, but it stuck fast, and even seemed to start spreading up her leg. "Quartz?" She looked to her friend desperately. The stallion had noticed it too, and looked as worried as she did. "Glimmer, I… I have no idea what is happening!" He gasped as the dark crystal kept spreading, and she fell over in pain. "What do we do?" Christina whispered to her friend, looking on in horror as the crystal began to corrupt the terrified mare. "We have to do something." He didn't answer her, instead narrowing his eyes and studying the ponies before him. The stallion was shouting his friend's name, but it didn't look like she could hear him. He noticed her eyes shift in colour, turning a dark red and surrounded by a purple and green haze. She groaned in agony, before lunging towards her friend viciously. Jesus Christ, what the fuck is going on? He glanced down at the gun in his hand, unsure as to whether or not he should use it. The stallion, Quartz, had scrambled away from the possessed mare, and was still begging for her to come to her senses. Naturally, it had little effect, and she lunged towards him again. "Fuck this," he growled as Quartz ran back up the passage that he had come from. He hopped over the rocks they had hidden behind and into view of the corrupted pony, who suddenly looked at him. "Stay back," he ordered, pointing his gun at her and scowling. Oblivious to his warning, she lunged forward, making him fire twice. Both shots connected, and sent her sprawling to the floor. Jesus, what a fucking mess, he thought, as he watched her twitch for a moment before going still. His friend looked on in shock. "Christ, you killed her!" she exclaimed, looking at the mare's body sadly. "Yeah, well," he sighed and slotted the Sequoia back into his holster. "She wasn't herself. Looked like she was gonna chase after her friend." After inspecting her body, he looked over at the crystals that had corrupted her in the first place. "Just what the hell did those things do to her anyway? They ain't radioactive, far as they can tell. Pip-Boy hasn't started clicking." She still stared down at the dead mare, sighing a little. "I don't know, but it certainly wasn't natural." The two of them backed away a little from the strange crystal. "I think we should follow that guy and see if he can lead us out of here. I've seen enough of this damn cave to last me a lifetime." "I hear you there," he agreed, turning around and heading up the passageway the stallion had fled up. "Hopefully the surface of this place isn't too far away." The two of them continued upwards through the winding twists and turns of the cave's tunnels, listening out for the unmistakable clopping sound of the stallion's hooves as he fled for his life. There seemed to be more light than there was back down where they arrived, something that they were extremely thankful for. "I think I see an exit," Christina pointed out, peering up towards a source of light while shivering. "I think it's colder up here than it was down there." He smirked towards her. "Oh, don't you worry none. We'll get you out of here and into some place warm, brew up a hot batch of coffee, maybe get you a blanket to keep you nice and toasty. That sound good?" "Oh, piss off, you sarcastic prick," she replied, earning a smug laugh from him. Thankfully, she had been correct just before. They had quickly reached the mouth of the cave, and were now looking out at some sort of frozen tundra, stretching out across the landscape as far as the eye could see. What did catch their attention, however, was what looked like some kind of city a fair distance away, dominated by a castle of sorts right in the very centre of it. "Yep, definitely not the Mojave," he muttered, squinting and stepping forward a bit. "Just where in God's name have we ended up?" Christina leaned against the wall of the cave, staring down at the strange city as well. "I guess that we should go and find out, huh?" She shivered a little and rubbed her hands together, before checking her Pip-Boy. No map data, no time or date... guess I should have seen that coming." Frowning, he looked down at his as well. "Damn, you're right... must have come a long way, if not even a pre-war Pip-Boy knows where we are." With a sigh, he looked back out of the cave again, studying the landscape before the two of them. "This whole thing is just fucked. I hope we can use that damn thing to get home again once this is all over." "I hear you there," she concurred, scanning the horizon for any sign of the stallion that had been fleeing before. After a few seconds, she noticed him not too far away, hanging back behind a large group of other ponies. "Uh, I don't mean to alarm you, but I think we might be about to have some company." "What, more of those horse things?" He glanced up from his Pip-Boy and followed her gaze, quickly spotting the group heading towards them. One figure in the back, however, caught his eye. He squinted a little, trying to get a clearer view. "Hold on a sec, that don't look like one of 'em... Shit, is that Boone?" She shrugged, one hand on the grip of her gun. "I can't tell, this snow makes it hard to see. Besides, we don't even know if these guys are going to be friendly or not." Hostility between them and the ponies was not something they wanted, and The Courier knew it. "Hand off the gun, Christina," he warned, nodding towards the tense stance she had assumed. "Let's see what these guys want first; try and explain everything to them." Despite his cautious advice, the giddy excitement in his voice was apparent, now that he was potentially about to reunite with his friend. "Yeah, yeah, good idea," came her muttered response, as she reluctantly pulled her hand away from her holster. Tentatively, she stepped out of the shelter of the cave and onto the snow and ice, trudging towards the approaching party. They weren't screaming or yelling any war cries towards them, which she figured was a nice change of pace from what she was used to. Still, she made sure to keep her hands visible and away from any weapons she had on her. Well, I'll be damned, that's him, she thought, noticing Boone and raising her hands peacefully as the leader of the party reached her. He looked like some sort of fantasy creature; a unicorn, with a two-toned blue mane and some sort of shield tattoo across both flanks. "Boone, right?" She looked towards the sniper, whose usual stoic demeanour had been replaced by one that could only be described as 'mild surprise'. The unicorn turned to look at him. "You know this person?" he asked, in perfect English. That's weird, Christina thought, furrowing her brow a little. How on Earth can these things speak our language? Boone gave him a nod. "Yeah, I know her." He looked over her shoulder at his friend heading towards them as well. "And I know him. Guess I was right in thinking they'd come looking for us." "Us? So Moira's here too?" she asked. "Where is she? Is she okay?" "She's fine," the unicorn reassured her, backed up by a nod from the sniper. "In fact, she's probably talking my wife's ear off right now." He chuckled a bit to himself, before holding out a hoof. "Anyway, I think some introductions are in order. My name is Shining Armor, Prince of the Crystal Empire." He tilted his head towards the city in the distance. So, are these things aliens or something? Christina wondered to herself as she took his hoof and shook it tentatively. They certainly don't look like those aliens I saw back on Zeta. "I'm Christina Mills," she replied politely, smiling a little despite the freezing cold. "Who's your other friend, Craig?" Shining asked, nodding towards The Courier as he looked back towards Boone. "Just call me The Courier," he piped up, having his hand casually. "Everyone else does, and I prefer it that way." He shrugged and then looked at his friend. "Well, fuck me, this is convenient. What the hell happened to you after that Legion guy tried to shoot you?" He stepped aside to reveal the corpse that Shining Armor's soldiers were lugging through the snow. "I'd tell you to ask him yourself, but, well... He's not in any condition to be answering questions." The two of them were interrupted by another voice popping up from behind the prince. "More humans? Did you come from that cave? Did you see what happened to my friend? Glimmering Jewel?" The stallion, Quartz, looked up at The Courier and Christina pleadingly. "I do not know what came over her! That strange crystal... Please, tell me she is all right." He sighed and looked down at the gun inside his holster. "Listen, pal, I... I don't really know how to put it. She saw us after you ran and tried to attack us." The look in that stallion's eyes wasn't making this any easier for him, but he knew that he couldn't lie to the poor guy. "That crystal changed her somehow. I had to shoot her." Quartz gasped and instinctively backed away a little. "Shoot her? Then, you mean..?" "She's dead," Christina said, walking forward gently and kneeling down to match his height. "I'm sorry." He didn't seem to react much, only closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly even as she put her hand on his back in an effort to provide some comfort. She looked back up at The Courier, who sighed again and turned away. "So, what now?" she asked, looking up at Shining Armor. After a few seconds of thought, he frowned. "I suppose we better go and find Glimmering Jewel's body, and investigate this crystal you've been talking about." "All of us, sir?" Flash Sentry inquired, shivering a little and flapping his wings to shake off the snow that had accumulated on them. The prince shook his head. "No, no. I want you to escort those dragging that corpse, along with our human friends, both new and old, back to the Crystal Palace. No doubt Cadance will want to see them." With a small smile, he turned to Christina. "And no doubt you'll want to be reunited with your friend, right? I won't keep you from her." "Anything else, sir?" Shining considered for a moment. "No, thank you. Cadance's birthday is in a couple of days, so we'll have to sort out any final preparations for the ball at the palace..." He shook his head. "But I can sort that out for myself when I return." The pegasus beside him saluted. "Okay then, sir." He nodded to the humans and to the soldiers hauling the body of the Legion soldier, and began to lead them back to the Crystal Empire in the distance. The three humans walked together, glad that they could be reunited again. He would never show it, but The Courier had been worried for Boone. After all, he had no idea where he could have ended up. He can take care of himself though, he mused as he trudged through the snow. Still, it's good to have him back. Hopefully, everything's gonna be just fine from now on.