As the group advanced towards the surface, a pony stepped into view. He was slender of limb and pale of fur and mane. His features seemed somehow unfinished, smoothed over. "You have done well, and performed as the mistress has demanded."
Twilight and Rainbow quickly adopted fighting stances as Twilight raised a brow, "Mistress?"
He nodded softly, "Oh, yes. You are now great and amazing heroes. You have saved the pathetic Lashtada's people. Look at them." He raised a hoof to point at the two smallest ponies. "But you are late. So late. Even visitors from another world must know they alone will never restore Lashtada's children."
Soft huffed, stomping a hoof and clenching a fist at the stallion, "Why can't they, if that's what they want?"
He laughed, a short sound. "Two mares won't do that, and their souls are broken. No, you were not called here for any trium--"
The orc captive stepped forward, "Shut your mouth and get out of our way! We are leaving." He hefted up his pick axe, "Or are you another boulder in our way?"
Rainbow advanced to his side, "I like the cut of this guy. You heard him, buzz off!"
The smooth-featured stallion stepped out of the way, allowing the group to proceed. "You are witnesses to Her victory, nothing more."
Lex kept his eyes firmly on the newcomer as the group warily moved past him. "It's clear that you, or some associate of yours, were the one who told them about this place," he said, not even noticing that he still referred to the group as "them" rather than "us." "What was your purpose in doing so? For that matter, who are you and who is this 'Mistress' of yours?"
As he spoke, Lex silently called on his circlet again. It had already expended its ability to fuel a small number of spells for the day, but it could still let him see the ebb and flow of magic.
The unknown male chuckled softly, "Do you not know us? Our mistress only wishes that you chronicle the end of Lashtada's brood. It is a kindness on her part that they will spend their final days in freedom, though it is doubtful they will appreciate it." He perked an ear, "I must go." He faded from sight, though Lex could feel the magic that shrouded him. He fled off into the tunnels as new steps quickly approached the party.
A small squadron of six gem gnolls stepped into view with weapons at ready, but hesitated at the large gathering of ponies and freed slaves.
Twilight stomped a hoof as electricity gathered around her horn, "We're leaving, stand aside."
Sonata advanced alongside her, "Like, she's totally serious. She can blast you all with barely a thought, and that big guy," She gestured towards the orc, "looks like he wants to fight anyway. Buzz off, as Rainbow would say."
Turning his attention from the mysterious figure, Lex let Sombra's power make his eyes glow once again as he faced the more immediate threat. "Stand down or die. There is no third option." Hopefully they'd take the first choice, as he had very little power left that could be easily recovered.
Not liking the odds presented, the gnolls fled into the maze of tunnels, each taking a different direction and almost instantly lost to sight.
Spike raised a claw, "We should get going. They'll tell their friends about us, and I doubt the next group will be that small." The others seemed to agree and they hastened into a jog towards the surface. They could see the light ahead and jogging turned into a full run.
They emerged into the warm embrace of the sun to see gnolls around the bodies of their fallen. These gnolls shrank back at the sight of them. One of them frowned at the group, "Go away. We are tending to the dead. You've done enough harm."
Lex's lip curled at the implication, but didn't bother to reply. The need to withdraw was far more urgent. "If we hurry, we might be able to make it back to Yi Sheng by nightfall," he murmured softly. He hoped he was correct; orienteering had never been one of his strong points.
Twilight looked away from the gnolls, "If I had another chariot, maybe. Let's get away from these caves and find a safe place to camp."
As they began their hike away from the caves, the human moved aside Twilight, "You're the leader, right? Nice job with those gnolls."
Twilight perked an ear, then it began to sag, "I shouldn't be proud of murder."
The human shrugged, "It's a harsh world. Their deaths means we get to walk free instead of dying alone and miserable in those caves of theirs."
The orc nodded in agreement, "They have wronged, and faced quick justice for it. What fault can be found in that? You have my thanks."
Applejack interceded with a nervous smile, "Well thanks to both o' y'all. We should focus on th' walking part for now. Twilight has a lot on her mind, but she don't mean nothing by it." When they distanced themselves a little, Applejack moved in to nudge Twilight, "You alright, sugarcube?"
Twilight shook her head, "They were wrong, but they were still people. We killed them. They had families."
Rainbow landed on the other side of Twilight, "Pfft, so? Didn't you hear tall, gray, and spooky? They killed all the little ponies and you don't see them getting all teary about it."
Spike sided with Twilight, "Just because they're bad doesn't make it alright for us to be bad."
Soft wobbled a hand, "It's done. We shouldn't be happy we had to kill them, but we shouldn't beat ourselves up about it. We did good today. Besides, they were plenty ready to kill us."
Lex nodded. "It's tragic when violence is necessary, but they brought it on themselves. We were justified in being here because we were attempting to undertake an action that was to the benefit of others. By taking up arms against us, they declared themselves to be in the wrong, and thus the blame for what happened rests solely with them." He frowned as he regarded Twilight. How could such a smart pony not understand basic moral philosophy?
Sonata tilted her head at Lex, "That made enough sense." She walked alongside Lex without prompting or many words spoken, glancing in his direction once in a while. The group hiked until the sun began to sink dangerously low.
Applejack looked up at it, "Still kinda hard ta imagine it doing that without Celestia 'round, or Luna ta raise th' moon afterwards."
Twilight turned her gaze to the sky, "They have their own Sun Queen here, but she doesn't live with ponies. I don't know where she lives, to be honest."
Soft made an expensive gesture, "The gods live in their own realms. They can look on Everglow, but most can't enter it very often." When Twilight looked at her curiously, Soft blushed, "I've been studying. I'm not going to be an oracle that doesn't know anything! I wish we still had Lashtada's book though..."
Soft moved over to walk alongside one of the small ponies, "Do you know anything about Lashtada?"
The short legged pony tilted her head at Soft, "What?"
The other short pony shook her head, "We know how to mine. Are you going to take us to a new mine?"
Scowling, Lex moved to interpose himself between Soft Mane and the short-legged ponies. "What do you think you're doing?"
Soft looked quite surprised at Lex's sudden movement, "Asking them about their god?" she offered, "Mine too, as of not that long ago. What's wrong with that?"
"We just rescued them from an indeterminate period of slave labor and who knows what other cruelty they suffered," Lex's eyes narrowed as he regarded the pony satyr. "These ponies need help readjusting to civilized society. They need to know that they'll have a place to live and food to eat and a government that cares about them and looks after their best interests. They do not need to be proselytized at. Especially not about the Goddess of Debauchery or whatever she is."
Soft turned red, a red of anger, not shame, "You're just full of acid, aren't you? It's no wonder you don't have any friends."
Sonata slipped between Lex and Soft, "He has at least one. Calm down, both of you. I'm sure Soft was trying to be nice, and Lex is just looking out for the totally tiny ponies. We're on the same side."
"My side is the side that wants to do things to benefit ponies, not deities," spat Lex. Pointedly turning away from Soft, he directed his attention to the smaller ponies, who had shied away during the exchange of harsh words. "We're taking you to Yi Sheng. Once we get there, I'm sure that Queen Iliana's government will have provisions to help you transition into new, more fulfilling lives."
He paused for a moment, then added in a softer tone. "You don't have to suffer anymore."
The small ponies looked between the larger ones and the half pony, uncertain. "Is Yi Sheng the new mine?" one asked.
The human from earlier shook his head, "They were born in the mines, near as I've seen. They were there before me. There used to be a few more of them. Couldn't even say if they know what the world is like that's not a mine."
Spike called out to the others, "Here!" He had found a viable camp site and was already working to clear debris and set up for the evening. The rest arrived shortly after him. The orc and human had some camping experience they put to work, while the small ponies found a place to curl on each other and fell asleep instantly.
Lex, following his usual pattern, moved slightly apart from the rest and started setting up his own tent. He cast a dark look at Soft Mane before moving inside to settle down for the night.
Sonata flopped down beside Lex, watching him work as she spoke, "Stop looking at her that way. She barely even knows what she is." She rolled her eyes, "Besides, she isn't bothering the little ponies. We did good, right? Let's not end the day on a downer."
Applejack settled in beside Twi as the camp fire was started up, "Say, Twi, can we go over some more magic?"
Twilight perked up, "Of course!" She patted the ground in front of herself, and AJ shuffled over to it. The two quickly began to discuss magical techniques, an activity that brought a bright smile to Twilight's face.
Lex paused, a tent flap open as he considered Sonata's words. Today had been one of the most promising days he'd had since coming to Everglow. Not only had they saved two groups of ponies, as well as other races, from danger, but he had managed to achieve a breakthrough in deciphering the value systems of less logical ponies. Speaking of which...
"Sonata," he turned to face her. "When we get back to Yi Sheng, we should go on a date." Parallel lines of investigation would advance his research considerably faster.
Sonata flashed a bright smile, "Sure thing!" As soon as the flap closed, she bounced to her hooves and galloped over to Soft Mane, nudging her with a hoof, "He asked me out!"
Soft blinked, "Who?"
Sonata pointed at Lex's tent, "When we get back to town! He totally asked, and I said yes!" She looked excited, and yet nervous, "I wish Pinkie was here, I bet she'd have all kinds of advice."
Soft snorted, biting back an unkind statement as she looked at Sonata's innocently excited face. She forced a smile, "Just be yourself. Find something to wear that isn't a bathing suit too. Either you'll hit it off, or you won't."
Sonata wrapped her forelegs around Soft, squeezing her, "You're the best!"