//------------------------------//
// 10 - Forging Towards the Light 
// Story: Tarnished Silver and Clouded Diamonds 
// by David Silver 
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Silver Spoon woke first. Though she still felt the sting of the injury she took on herself, she was alive, and mostly intact. She smiled at the impossibility of it all and squeezed the slumbering form of Diamond Tiara on top of her. "Are you awake?"

Of course she wasn't, but the squeeze and question did the job of stirring her. "Huh?" Diamond was groggy at first, but rapidly came into focus as she remembered the situation. "Silver Spoon! Are you alright?"

Silver Spoon sat up as Diamond Tiara got off of her and the two looked around together as she replied, "I'm fine, mostly. How about you? You..."

Diamond Tiara pointed at herself. "Me? I'm not even scratched."

Silver pointed at the blood on Diamond's thighs. "You were scratched! You were bleeding so much... I thought you were gonna, like, die or something."

Diamond rubbed behind her head. "Well I'm not dying, today or anytime soon. We have big plans we need to be alive for, right?"

Silver bobbed her head. "Right!" She pushed up to her hooves. "I... I don't know how... I'm so confused."

Diamond shook her head slowly. "I'll agree with that..." She rose to her full height. "Tell me everything, Silver Spoon. Every moment."

Silver dug out a ration and Diamond slapped it out of her hoof. "Put that away. We don't know how long we'll be out here!" She glanced around suspiciously. "Go on, start talking."

After retrieving the ration and tucking it away, Silver Spoon began relating the tale of her run with Diamond through the darkness. "They were never that far behind, so I just kept running. When I finally stopped, you were..." She sniffed softly, rubbing at her nose with a fetlock. "You were so still. I was scared, like, more scared than ever before." She put her hooves on Diamond Tiara's shoulders. "I didn't... We're together, like, forever, right?" She smiled nervously.

Diamond Tiara's ears fell at her friend's confession of loyalty. Would she feel exactly the same way, had the situations been reversed? She decided it was unlikely. She was the leader. She nodded firmly at Silver Spoon. "So what'd you do? Why aren't I bleeding anymore?"

Silver clopped her hooves together. "I prayed. I thought about the book goddess, and she said she could help me help you. And then you got better, and it hurt so bad." She glanced down at her still sore wound.

Diamond frowned. "What? Are you sure you weren't just freaking out?"

Silver tapped at her head a moment then it clicked inside of her. "No, no I am very sure. It's still inside me."

"Inside you?"

Silver smiled. "Gifts. She's like you."

Diamond pointed at herself. "How is a book goddess like me?"

Silver sat on her haunches and nodded. "Simple. As long as I treat her like the boss, she'll be nice to me." Diamond raised a brow, but Silver continued, "She gave me gifts, to protect myself, and to know about things, and to heal."

Diamond pointed at Silver's thigh wound. "So heal that."

Silver reached for the wound, prodding it. "I got that for healing you. I can't..." She frowned thoughtfully. "I don't understand it all, but I can't."

Diamond did a slow turn in place before pointing uphill. "We need to get to a peak and see if we can't find the capital. Did you see what happened to Dark Streak?"

Silver shook her head. "It was dark, and I was just running. I was too scared to look back." She started for the peak Diamond had pointed to, hobbling a little on her injured leg. "Do you think anypony's coming for us?"





Pinkie swung down the side of the building, rappelling with the rope she had looped about her midsection and bottom. She peered into the darkened window and pushed it open carefully before slipping inside. "Phase one complete."

A thin voice whispered in her ear, "Good, proceed to the objective and wait for further commands."

"Okie Dokie Lokie." Pinkie creeped through the hallways, avoiding the lights held by the guards when they went by. She was a pink shadow of the night, unseen and unheard. She arrived at the target, an ornate door with golden and silver filigree decorating it. She settled on her haunches only for the loud ripe noise of flatulence to fill the air.

Guards came rushing from all directions as she rose to her hooves and looked under herself to find her missing whoopie cushion. "Oh that's where I put it!"





Diamond Tiara and Silver scaled the mountain quietly through the morning. Diamond asked as they went, "Do you remember that shot you did? That was pretty good aiming."

Silver flipped an ear back. "I had my eyes closed... I'm just glad we got out of there. What were those things anyway?"

Diamond didn't know, and silence returned to them until Diamond held up a hoof. Ahead of them stood one of those creatures, reptillian snout poking free of its cowl as it looked around. It appeared alone.

Silver pulled out her bow and held it up, Diamond shook her head quickly. "Let's try talking. It's alone."

Diamond pulled herself to her full height and approached the reptile-person with a thick armor of her bravado. "Hello there. What are you looking for?"

The creature drew a dagger almost instantly. "You can't have it! It's mine!"

Diamond held up a hoof. "Easy there, friend. We're here to help, not take your things."

"Help?" He squinted at her. "How you help Gneech? Just a stupid horse."

Diamond huffed softly. "Scoff all you want. If you show us the problem, my associate and I will have it solved in no time at all."

He waved his dagger at her. "And what you want? Gneech not rich kobold."

Diamond shrugged. "If it's worth all this trouble, we can share whatever you're going after. Whatever amount you think is fair."

"What Gneech thinks is fair? Huh, you are stupid horse, but OK. Follow Gneech." He turned and scurried along the trail, tucking the dagger away as he went.

Silver moved to follow with Diamond. "He's going to try and keep it all, whatever it is."

Diamond rolled her eyes. "Of course he is, that's why we're going to get rid of him first, the moment he shows whatever it is has him so excited. I'm no dummy, Silver Spoon."

They followed after Gneech, coming to a darkened tunnel. Diamond fished out a candle and a lantern. She lit the candle and placed it carefully in the lantern before they advanced into the tunnel by its dim light. He didn't seem bothered by the darkness at all, moving at full speed.

Soon, they arrived at a massive stone door with pictures of griffons and suns adorning it. It looks quite heavy and thoroughly sealed. "See, this is problem. Behind it, treasure. Gneech knows this. Open door, horses. Not try anything funny, or Gneech stab!"

Diamond waved a hoof. "Relax, we're on it." She looked around curiously as Silver Spoon pointed up at it.

"Hey, that's the Sun King."

"Who?"

Silver Spoon frowned. "Another god, I think. The griffons like him."

Diamond nodded lightly. "Does that translate into getting this thing open?"

Silver tapped her chin before looking to Gneech. "Do you have mirrors?"

Gneech started searching pockets and produced a mirror and some flat metal that reflected light well enough. Silver took them and got to work, setting them up to reflect the light from outside down the tunnel and up onto the icon of the Sun King. Nothing happened.

Gneech grunted with annoyance. "See, stupid horses." He reached for one of the mirrors just as a dull rumble came from the door. With falling dust and the noise of stone against stone, the door began to roll out of the way, revealing the dark tunnel behind. "Nevermind..." He left the mirror where it laid and scampered forward, leaving the fillies behind. 

Silver and Diamond followed at a more sedate pace. They heard an odd noise of metal striking stone rapidly for a moment. "Gneech?" called out Silver Spoon. "You alright?"

"Gneech is not alright! Help Gneech!"

They found Gneech slumped over, perforated with darts from a trap. "Gneech was maybe little too eager..."

Diamond advanced on him, nodding. "We can help, give us that dagger."

"What for?" Gneech squinted at Diamond Tiara.

"For medicine, duh."

Gneech hesitated a moment before surrendering the dagger to her. Diamond Tiara hefted it up and down, glancing at Silver Spoon, then back at Gneech. Silver Spoon shook her head rapidly. "No!" She rushed forward and swatted the dagger free of Diamond Tiara's hoof. "We can help him, for real."

Diamond hissed at her, "What are you doing? This is our chance!"

Silver Spoon put her hooves on him and said a soft prayer, invoking a wash of positive energy that repelled the darts from inside Gneech, though he still seemed weak.

Gneech nodded at Silver Spoon. "You are nice pony, yes? Gneech is poisoned, will need to rest." He glanced ahead, then back at the ponies. "Gneech lose this time, but not forget nice pony. Take what you find. Gneech must return to warren or big trouble." He rose to his feet, wobbling, and staggered off.

Diamond Tiara moved to reclaim the forgotten dagger and tuck it away. "That was dumb, Silver Spoon. We could have put him out of our misery and taken his stuff."

Silver Spoon crossed her forelegs. "That would have been, like, completely wrong. Instead we made a friend, and you got a dagger."

Diamond glanced at the dagger. "Huh, so I did, but you shouldn't be contradicting me." She huffed and stepped forward cautiously, looking for trouble as she went. "Let's not be as stupid as Gneech."

Careful and methodical searching had them avoiding other pressure plates as they came across them, but care and time were of no help against magical deterrents. The ground beneath Diamond Tiara glowed a soft cyan before she abruptly shrank, becoming the size of a cat.

Silver put a fetlock over her mouth. "Like, oh my gosh! You're so adorable, Diamond Tiara."

Diamond Tiara glared at Silver Spoon. "This had better be temporary!" she squeaked in a higher pitched voice. "Silver Spoon, carry me" She held up her hooves and Silver faithfully plucked her up and tucked her in her backpack. "There, your turn."

With a sudden rumble, the door leading out sealed itself, locking the fillies in the tunnel.

Silver's ears fell. "Maybe there's another way out?"