Hold Your Color

by Quillery

In the Hall of the Mountain Queen

The descent from Canterlot went in silence. Dash lingered behind alongside Edweena, as they followed her father and the rest. They followed the mountain down, below the city. A dense cloud wall drifted in the sky, casting a low fog on the mountain in the evening calm.

Dash had never been this far below Canterlot. It was strange to be this low on the mountain before. Where all the excitement was high on the peak near the castle and the adjacent city, nopony ever really questioned what the base of the mountain was like. Certainly it was a bit darker than the rest of the mountain range that held Equestria’s capital, but there had to be something of note down there.

They passed through the fog, and came into clear sky just before the ground. A thick forest lay below them, dug into the side of the mountain. Vines crawled up the rock, reaching as high as it could. Dash recalled no vines above the clouds.

“Devil’s snare…” Edweena said. “They hate sunlight. We’re in the right place.”

“Great…” Dash said, gulping. “At least they look… cool.”

“Perhaps, just don’t get too close. It tends to get grabby around warm blooded creatures.”

Dash grunted. “Awesome.”

“Do you see anything, Prizma?” Aurora called back.

Dash looked around the trees and the rock. It was an unnaturally thick forest, almost like the Everfree. It wasn’t too far from where they were, and was possible that its influence extended further than anypony realized. As long as the sun kept it at bay, there was no threat to Canterlot. So as long as Celestia is…

Dash shook the thought from her mind. No. She’ll be fine. We’re gonna find the Prism. We have to…

She looked back to Aurora. “No. The canopy is too thick. We need to look on the surface.”

Aurora nodded, and she signaled the descent to the others. They landed in a vacant spot near the edge of the forest. The air was cold and murky, and felt sickening just to breathe. The grass looked sickly and was damp to the touch.

“Ugh,” Dash said, wiping off the muddy muck from her hooves. “Do we even know what we’re looking for? A cave at the bottom of a mountain seems pretty standard a place.”

“Chances are, we’ll know it when we see it,” Edweena said. “The things we’ve been chasing have a pleasant gloom to them, don’t they?”

Dash rolled her eyes. “You really need to stop thinking like a writer. There’s no way it works like that in real life.”

Edweena managed a smirk. “You don’t survive in this business without being a little genre savvy.”

Dash stuck out her tongue, when her dad glanced their way. “Be quiet. We don’t know what’s waiting for us. Either the forest itself or who we’re looking for will get spooked if we are too noticeable.”

Dash nodded and followed silently into the trees. The ground was soft, so at least they had that going for them. Even the stray sticks and underbrush seemed to be mushy to the touch, making their steps quiet, if wet.

The further they traveled, the more the light from above dwindled. Only after a few minutes of walking, it was getting difficult to see, and Dash bumped into their Edweena behind her or Aurora ahead of her every few steps.

“Can anypony see anything?” Dash asked. “I’m about to just trip on my hooves here.”

“Da. It is far too dark, Khroma, “Aurora said. “We’d sooner fall into a carnivorous plant in this darkness than find a cave.”

“We’ll, unless any of you can perform light magic,” Khroma grumbled.

Dash felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around out of instinct, and met Edweena’s face. She held up her claws.

“Easy, Miss Dash. I merely wished to point out that necklace you’re wearing. It seems to glow a bit, even in this dark.”

Dash blinked and took the gem in her hoof. She stared at it a moment, as it radiated a faint glimmer. She smiled a moment as she pressed it to her chest. It began to glow brighter, enough to cast a violet light strong enough to see the immediate area.

“What kind of gem is that?”

“Just an amethyst, attuned to the one I love. All I gotta do is think of Twilight, and it does that.”

“I see. Unicorn magic is so fascinating.”

Khroma grunted. “Very well, it is a useful trinket. Dash, come stand in front so we can see where we’re going.”

Dash glared at her dad. She obeyed without comment and trudged to the front of the group. As she passed Khroma she whipped her tail at him and huffed indignantly.

They continued with no further comment, deeper into the forest. The light served its purpose adequately and Dash was able to point out a few choice hazards that would have slowed them down. Some of the vines she had seen on the mountain side were down in here in mass, but even the faint light of her necklace kept them still.

In the distance, a faint clearing in the trees showed that they were approaching the mountain wall. Many of the trees were pushed right against the rock, leaving little room to maneuver.

“See anything ahead?” Khroma asked.

“No,” Dash replied. “Just more trees and rock. Can’t see a cave yet.”

“Let’s keep circling the mountain, then. It can’t be too far.”

Dash rolled her eyes and kept moving. She grunted, as one of her legs refused to move. She glanced down, and saw that one of the snare vines had wrapped around her leg. She tried pulling free, but it would not let go.

“What’s wrong, Dash?” Khroma said. “Why have you stopped?”

“One of these stupid vines has my leg. I can’t pull free.”

Her dad moved around to her side and knelt down to the vine. He dug at it with his hoof, exposing a meaty portion of the vine that clung to Dash’s leg. He slashed the edge of his hoof against it and began to cut through.

The vine writhed, and Dash thought she heard a high pitched wail come from the plant as Khroma cut. The grip on her leg tightened, and she felt more vines moving under her hooves.

“Dad, stop. You’re making them angry.”

Khroma scoffed. “They are plants, they don’t have feelings.”

A talon grabbed Khroma’s leg, and he looked up to see Edweena’s stern glare. “Perhaps in that frigid wasteland you call home where plant life is scarce. Here in Equestria, you’d best respect the life around you, feelings or not.”

Khroma jerked his hoof out of Edweena’s grasp. He grunted and stomped his hoof down on the plant holding Dash. It let out one last squeal, before it started to recede. Dash felt the grip on her let go.

Khroma shot Edweena a contemptuous scowl. Edweena shook her head and turned to Dash. She took her now free leg and looked at it under the light. “Devils Snare isn’t poisonous, but it does excrete something that tends to give you a rash when it grabs tight enough. Let me have a look at you.”

“Uh, sure…” Dash said. The vines were still moving away from her under her hooves. Nothing new grabbed her, and she allowed herself a moment to breathe as Edweena brushed her fetlocks clean.

Edweena stood when she was done. “There, you should be ok.”

Dash raised an eyebrow. “What about you? You’ve got it all over you now.”

Edweena shrugged. “Talons aren’t quite skin. It won’t have as much an effect on me as it would you.”

Aurora stepped forward. “Surely we can discuss the care of our hooves and talons later?” She stepped next to Khroma. “We have more important things to do.”

Dash shot her aunt a look, when her hooves tingled. She pulled it away from the ground, but noticed that all her hooves were tingling. She kneeled, and listened carefully. The ground was rumbling under them. As she stood, she noticed that she was starting to sink into the muddy ground.

Dash went to say something, when a loud squelch tore open in the ground beneath them. The mud parted aside and sucked them in. Dash tried to fly away, but the mud was too thick around her legs, and she was sucked in with everyone else.

After a few echoing thuds, the rumbling earth subsided as Dash hit a hard bottom. She groaned and looked around. She sat in a large cave that spindled off in several directions. Everyone was piled around her in a heap as they all tried to regain their balance from their sudden fall.

“Everyone okay?” Dash said.

There was a unified groan of agreement as they all slowly rose to their hooves and paws respectively. Edweena was the first to be fully standing. She rubbed her head as she peered down the tunnels. “Well, at least we found a cave…”

“Look how many different directions it leads!” Aurora said. “We have no idea which way we need to go. It is not as if these shadow things would have left a trail for me to follow.”

“Then we go the way the light is weakest,” Dash said. She held the amulet up, casting an equal light on the tunnels, save for one. This one cave seemed to actively shun the presence of the light. The shadows crawled all the way to their hooves, fighting against the glow of Dash’s necklace. A cold breeze wafted from deeper inside. Dash looked up, and saw the mountain wall looming above from the hole they fell into. “Of course it goes right under the mountain.”

“Well,” Edweena said. “It’s as good a lead as any.”

“Then let’s go.” Khroma said. He turned to Dash. “Stay at my side.”

Dash nodded, and the continued their trek into the tunnels. The air was cool, but felt colder the deeper they went. The light of her amulet struggled against the darkness around them. She focused her thoughts on Twilight, of the time they had shared as a couple in the past year. It was a shaky start, as all new couples start out, but they soon found common ground and it wasn’t long before their relationship flourished. It was the talk of the town for weeks, and those were the happiest times in Dash’s life.

The amulet burned brighter with each memory that Dash brought to her mind. The edges of her light carved more darkness away from the path they followed, no matter how much the shadows pushed back. Her heart felt warm and the cold no longer bothered her. She let out the faintest of sighs, longing for Twilight’s presence.

She felt a nudge to her side. To Dash’s surprise, it was Aurora, who chanced a quick nuzzle and smile. “You will be with her again soon, Prizma. Keep her strong in your heart, and she will never be far.”

“Thanks… I guess.”

Guilt invaded Dash’s thoughts as she looked at Aurora. “You know, I never apologised for how I acted last year when I visited.”

Aurora raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” She smiled. “I never expected you to, Prizma. My methods were… not as clean as I would have hoped.”

“But it worked. What you did, it was kinda… well, mean. But it was exactly what I needed to admit it to her. As weird it as it is to say, you’re the one that pushed us together in the end.”

Aurora’s smile deepened, when Khroma chuckled. “Now if only she could apply her talents in matchmaking to herself.”

Aurora scowled as she bore a seething glare into Khroma’s head.

Ditzy grunted. “Khroma. What did I say not two hours ago? Keep your big brother stupidity to yourself. You aren’t helping.”

Dash smirked, but kept her urge to laugh to herself. She wasn’t sure how anypony, least of all her was able to stay positive in light of where they were, what they were doing, and what they were looking for. Family had the strangest effect on her, and no matter the squabbles, she could always smile in the presence of those she loved most. Friends, family, it did not matter which. She always felt at home.

They continued into the earth. The tunnel was uneven under their hooves. Up and down they climbed as the path snaked further into the mountain. Reflections started to emerge from ahead. They slowed at the strange lights in the distance, but as they approached, they saw that there were gemstones embedded into the rock.

“We must be approaching a lower section of the crystal caves under Canterlot,” Dash said. “This is where Twilight said Cadence was kept when the Changelings were trying to invade.”

“Considering how high Canterlot is from us, it must be a massive network of tunnels.” Edweena said.

“Twi said Celestia decided to remap the caves after the wedding, but who knows how much they did. I doubt they came this far down.”

“A cave of crystals would be a good place to hide the Prism,” Khroma said, quickening his pace.

“I doubt it. Why would the Nightmare steal it just to move it from the top of the mountain to the bottom? Wouldn’t you be able to tell if it was close?”

Khroma slowed again and sighed. “I suppose you are right. I may not be the host any longer, but there is still some latent magic left, meant for me to teach you during the transition. I would be able to feel something if it were near.”

“Right. Cause I don’t feel a thing.” Dash felt out her senses, and only felt more darkness waiting for them beyond the influence of her light.

“Let’s just keep going,” Dash said. “I’d rather not be down here longer than we need to.”

They continued through the caves. The light of Dash’s amulet bounced off the crystals in the walls, adding more light further into the tunnel. The shadows started to disperse as the dirt and rock were steadily replaced by more and more gems and other shimmering stones.

There was an eerie beauty to the dim violet light dancing through the crystal as Dash walked. It all reminded her of Twilight, and she felt compelled to maybe show her this place in the future, after it had been properly lit of course.

“Stop!” Aurora whispered.

Dash ducked and looked at Aurora. Her ear twitched as she cocked her head to the sides. “I hear something. Something talking, not far ahead.” She pointed at Dash’s amulet.

Dash nodded, and pressed her hoof to it. The light faded to the faintest candescence. All she could see were thin silhouettes of her friends. Aurora stood beside her.

“When I give the word, make that as bright as you can, Prizma.”

Dash nodded and followed her aunt past the next bend. Dash heard the faint echoes that Aurora had mentioned. There was definitely somepony else down here talking. As they crept closer, they could hear the yelling more clearly.

“What aren’t you telling us about the Prism?!” it shouted. “What secrets are you hiding!?”

A second, weaker voice drifted through the caves. “Come now, dearie. What fun is there in spoiling all the surprises?”

Edweena gasped. “That voice…” she whispered. “It’s her!”

“Do not give our position away,” Khroma said. “We have no reason to think they expect us yet.”

They approached the voices. A bend in the cave lay ahead, where a small source of blue light radiated from around the corner. As best Dash could tell, whoever was talking were just on the other side.

“We paid you for answers, not snide comments! Now tell us everything, or we’ll rip the secrets from your flesh!”

The second voice chuckled hoarsely, and coughed. “Now, all this us and we talk is rather strange don’t you think? If you’re going to threaten me, at least speak proper.”

“Why you insolent little whelp! You speak to a power beyond reckoning!”

“Oh blimey, will you sod off? You ain’t got a spit of power to fit in my pinkie hoof. Ya just a poppet, little one. Why don’t you clean out the fluff from those ears of yours and ‘elp me down?”

Dash reached the corner just as the first voice started screaming. The caves rumbled as its voice roared through the caves. “Do not speak to a goddess in such a tone! You will pay dearly for this disrespect!”

Dash peeked around the corner. The light was coming from two sticks pointing out of the ground with bright blue gems glowing at their heads. They dimly lit the corner of the cave, where a large smooth stone was embedded in the wall on the other side. A pale pegasus was lashed to it with vines and ropes. Her coat was speckled in bruises and blood, but she somehow managed to smile in the midst of her captor.

Just in front of the stone was a hooded figure. The cloak around it fluttered savagely in a phantom wind, as the pony under it writhed in anger. A dark, otherworldly glow surrounded her as the cave continued to shake. Loose rocks and motes of dust trickled down from the ceiling, as dark tendrils emerged from the cloak and drifted dangerously towards the pegasus on the wall.

The pegasus laughed. “Wot, you gonna tickle me to death with those little warbly bits? Come off it, dear. Clearly ya ain’t been in one o’ the temples in Mesopoponyta. Them old magic types would give old Nightmare Moon the skivvies.”

The hooded figure stomped on the ground, and another rush of air erupted down the cave. “I am the Nightmare!”

Dash gasped. She felt a hoof on her shoulder. Aurora was there, nodding. “Now, Prizma.”

Dash stared a moment before she understood. She nodded and stepped out into the cave, with Aurora and the rest behind her. Dash let her memories of Twilight fill her mind, and her amulet sparked to life. The violet light blazed, filling the cave.

The hooded figure spun around. Her eyes glistened in the violet light as she backed away slowly. “We have been discovered!”

The blue staffs extinguished themselves as a pervasive chill entered the cave. Shadows danced on the ground underneath the hooded pony as more magic surrounded her. A dark, malevolence came from the cloak, as more dark limbs came to life.

The hooded pony took a step forward, her focus on Dash and her friends. So much so that she lost interest in the pegasus on the wall, who was struggling against her binds. Dash blinked as she watched the vines snap and break.

The pegasus wriggled out of the ropes with ease, and once free, took her chance. She dove into the hooded pony from behind and tackled her to the ground. They rolled on the cave floor, shouting curses and trading blows as they tore into each other.

Dash rushed forward to help, but an errant tendril struck her in the side and sent her into the wall. Her vision spun as the cave filled with sounds of chaos and fighting. Her vision cleared, as she saw her dad, aunt and Ditzy advancing on the scuffle between the pegasus and hooded pony. The tendrils kept them at bay, while the brawl carried on.

A gust of freezing air exploded from the hooded pony. The pegasus was launched from her back, and the rest of them were thrown away.

The hooded pony stood, its head bobbing as it wheezed ragged breaths. A voice spoke, coming from her direction, but this one was far deeper, darker, and more dangerous sounding than the previous. “We are at a disadvantage. There is no telling how many more are coming. Flee.”

“Yes. Flee,” the hooded pony replied. “Soon. We only need time, now. The host is weakening.”

“Flee!”

Dash charged forward. “Oh no you don’t!” she yelled. “You aren’t going anywhere!”

She lept at the hooded pony, but landed on the ground as she passed through a formless shadow. She turned back, and saw the hood fade into the shadows on the ground and vanish from sight.

The cave went quiet, and the chill had disappeared. They were alone in the cave.

Edweena rushed forward for the her friend. The prostrate pegasus put up a hoof to stop her and smirked. “Not now, Edie. I’m far too old for that now.”

“You’re hurt.” Edweena said sternly. “I’m trying to check your wounds. Remember who you taught first aid?”

The pegasus plopped down on the ground and let out a long sigh. “Right.” She rubbed her head. “Spot of bad luck, I’d wager. That buggering thrall hit me on the head a few times.”

“Who was that?” Dash said. “Was that really the Nightmare?”

The pegasus shook her head. “Nah. Just the host she’s been fancying lately. Got a bit o’ talent that one. The Nightmare couldn’t a picked a better mess to live in. Shame really, she seemed like a nice old girl.”

“And you are?” Dash said.

“Oh!” Edweena said. “I can’t believe I never introduced you.” She cleared her throat. “Allow me to introduce you to the real Daring Do, or at least the mare I fashioned her after: Archaeologist, adventurer, and my good friend, A. K. Yearling.”