//------------------------------// // Titus/Bedim - Chapter 26 // Story: Dawn of Crystal Empire // by TopWanted //------------------------------// Titus was goofing off once more. He knew the guards schedules by heart now so it was pretty easy to determine when he should be pretending to work and not working. He was determined to make this stay of his at casa del Pit as painless as possible. Still that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun. He also liked to spy on the guards when he could. As he was doing so now, having followed a guard to the entrance to his team’s wing. The guard seemed to be waiting for somepony. Titus hid behind an outcropping of rocks waiting for something to happen, which it most of the time didn’t. He spent the time waiting practicing his pocketing techniques for the gems he stole from the mines. So far he had smuggled out nearly five diamonds and emeralds. Not a bad haul. But he needed more if he was ever going to get out of here. Suddenly another pony approached from further down the main tunnel. Titus stopped what he was doing and squinted as the pony approached. He wore no uniform but a small dazzling in his left molar signified to Titus that he was the Warden. Odd, Titus thought, why was the Warden out of uniform so deep below? The Warden began to talk quietly to the guard in hushed whispers. Titus frowned as he tried to listen but couldn’t get anything. Then an old lesson about stone walls came to mind. It was something his egghead sister had always impressed on him. So many useless facts and tidbits. “Did you know,” he recalled her saying, “that if you stand on the opposite end of a large cavernous room with somepony, then you can hear every word they say?” Titus rolled his eyes at the memory. True he missed his sister dearly, but not that knowitall side to her. Still, that was some good advice. He looked both ways before dashing to the opposite end of the cavern. When he was properly in place he turned his attention upward as the sounds of the ponies’ conversation on the opposite end of the room traveled upward and over the walls down to him. “Do you get it yet?” the Warden asked with a harsh whisper. “No, not really,” the guard replied. “You want to seal off the tunnel?” “No!” the Warden shouted. He darted his head back and forth seeing if his mistake was noticed but there was nopony there to his knowledge. “Well, yes. But only at the end of the day. When everypony’s leaving for the night, start the quake. Doesn’t matter who else you bury but just make sure that that black stallion gets his.” The Warden strengthened his words with a clean motion of his hooves across his neck. Titus’ eyes popped open as he heard. They were planning on killing somepony? Titus tried to remember just who in the tunnel wing had a black coat. They had all been so dirty the past few weeks that everypony started to look similar with black ash covering their bodies. Then he recalled his first day. The pony that greeted him. His bunkmate. The one that kept wanting to be his friend. They were going after Bedim. “Aw geez,” Titus sighed as he rolled his eyes in disbelief. A few minutes later Titus was back at his post pretending to work. The shift guard was right on cue to pass and check up on him. He waited silently as the guard passed, debating what to do. He could easily slip off and go warn Bedim about the impending attempt on his life. Then again, he could also get himself killed in the process. He didn’t know why these ponies wanted the kid dead but something was telling Titus that getting involved would not be in his best interest. What had the kid said? Something about him being framed for murder? Titus knew about bum raps. His entire life was one. Still, whatever that colt had gotten himself into was on him. He didn’t owe the kid any favors, in fact if anything the kid owed him. Suddenly his mind and conscience began to work in tandem. Yeah, if the kid died then he wouldn’t be able to pay him back for all the help he’d given him. Heavens know, it’s good to have a pony in your pocket, especially on the inside. When the time came, he would definitely need someone like the kid during his great escape. He nodded to himself at his conclusion and gave a victorious grin. A few hours later night fell, while the ponies of the Pit had no idea. Night in the mines was the same as day. Titus smiled as the final horn of the night blew through the tunnels. All the workers were going to leave soon. This was his moment. He slipped away and dashed from the wing to where Bedim was. Luckily, Bedim hadn’t moved yet. The young stallion appeared to be waiting for something. Titus ducked behind an outcropping of rocks and peeked his head over to “psst” at him. Bedim took notice and cautiously walked over with a confused expression. “What’s up?” he asked. Titus pulled him behind the rock to talk. “We’ve got to get you out of here,” he said. Bedim frowned. “What are you talking about?” “Today I listened to a very interesting conversation between the Warden and one of the guards.” Titus smiled unseriously. “Apparently somepony wants you dead and their willing to collapse the tunnel for it.” Bedim’s eyes shot open. “Are you serious!” he shouted. Titus grabbed the kid by the mouth and stealthily looked around to make sure he wasn’t heard. He took a look further down the tunnel and noticed that the other prisoners were already beginning their march outside with a soldier making his way down to them. Titus cursed to himself. “We need to get you to the front of the line where you can slip in,” he whispered. “Listen, I’ve got an escape plan in place but its not going to be ready for another day or two. If we can just get you out alive and hide you somewhere, everyone might think you’re dead already and we can escape.” Bedim nodded slowly at the logic but then removed Titus hoof from his mouth. “Wait! I need to wait for Gentry.” Titus gave him a weird look. “Who the buck is Gentry?” “The old stallion that got assigned with me,” Bedim said. “I’ m not leaving without him.” His words were resolute. Titus facehoofed. “Are you serious? They want you dead and in a matter of minutes they’ll succeed. We don’t have time to worry about some old geezer!” Bedim’s eyes grew cold as a scowl Titus had never seen on the kid surfaced. “I’m not leaving a pony behind.” Titus growled. “Grrrrrraaaah. Fine! Where is the old fogey?” “He went to take a piss,” Bedim replied. He peaked over the outcropping to where Gentry had gone and to his surprise found the soldier that was approaching them had already made his way over. Gentry had reappeared but only to find the guard who began to nag and prod him about where Bedim had gone. “Damn it.” “What is it?” Titus asked as he peeked over the edge. When he saw the sight he let out an even worse swear. When Gentry couldn’t produce Bedim, the soldier began to prod the old stallion further. It started with nudging but then the two hiding stallions saw Gentry backslapped across the face. Bedim’s eyes grew wide with rage as he saw his friend fall to the ground. Titus took notice. “I seriously hope you’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do.” In a cry of rage Bedim rushed from his hiding place and back tackled the soldier. “He did.” Titus thought he saw something weird going on with the kid’s eyes as well. Did they turn green for a second? Bedim thrashed on top of the soldier as he began to shout for backup. Blasts of magic shot out of his horn in random direction causing stalactites to fall from the ceiling. Titus continued to hide as he saw one fall and pierce Bedim in the leg. He cried out in pain but didn’t let go. Finally Titus took action and sprinted forward as fast as his chains would allow. He unpocketed the diamond he’d been hiding and jumped high as he brought the incredibly hard mineral down on the helmet of the soldier. With a resounding thud the unicorn crumpled to the ground unconscious. Bedim rolled off of him with a groan as he clutched his back leg. “Thanks,” he murmured. Titus grinned but his face fell when he noticed several shadows approaching from the tunnel entrance. “Alright, so a little change in plans,” he said. “We go now!” Bedim nodded through the pain and wearily stood up to raise Gentry off the ground. The old stallion seemed pretty dazed from that hit. Titus waved them over to another tunnel out but to his surprise he found more shadows approaching from there too. “Damn it! We’re backed into a corner.” Bedim took a look behind him. There was still one more way to go. Deeper down the tunnel. Titus saw him look. “What? No! Are you crazy? That’s where they want us!” “There could be an outlet,” Bedim reasoned. “There could also be a hundred rocks and a mountain falling on our heads!” Titus shouted. “Nopony knows where that tunnel leads! Even the guards are too scared to go down it!” Bedim took another look down the dark lightless path. For a second he seemed to grin at something he saw. Titus turned back quickly but saw nothing. “It’s the best chance we have,” Bedim said. Titus rolled his eyes and groaned as he debated with himself about just ditching the kid and turning him in. Unfortunately more moral ponies won over. “Fine!” he shouted. The three turned and hightailed it down into the deep dark cavern just as the soldiers ran up to find the unconscious unicorn. Titus grit his teeth as he descended into the darkness. He was going to regret this. He was sure of it. ---------- Bedim struggled to carry Gentry while at the same time limping on his wounded leg. Titus seemed to have no quarrel with Bedim carrying the old stallion all alone. He looked back to see the first of the guards run into the area they had just been in. Luckily they were deep into the unlit part of the cavern so the guards wouldn’t be able to see. At least they would have been if the guard hadn’t flashed a light from his horn into the darkness to see the three escaping figures. “There they are!” shouted the guard as more came in. “After them!” Bedim swore to himself as he turned back and increased his speed, his leg killing him. Titus had dashed quite far ahead and Bedim was stunned to see him stopped. “What is it? We have to keep moving!” he ushered him. Titus gave him a stern glare. “We can’t! The tunnel ends here!” he shouted. Bedim felt around the wall as he found this to be true. How? He could have sworn he saw that thing in the darkness. There had to be a way out, it couldn’t just disappear. Titus punched the cavern wall causing a few pieces of rock to scatter. He turned angrily on Bedim. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you! Of course this path just ends! Why wouldn’t it?” Bedim did not pay attention to Titus’ insults as he continued to scan for an alcove or something that could help them. Then his eyes spotted it. That blue light. Bedim caught a glance of the blue light he’d seen before as it darted into a hole just a little further up the wall. A hole just large enough for a pony to get through. Bedim turned to Titus who continued to berate him and slapped rolled his eyes as he slapped some sense into him. “Titus!” Titus reeled at the slap and almost came back at him with a right hook but something in Bedim’s eyes stopped him. For a brief moment Titus went rigid and Bedim could see fear in his pupils. Then he returned to normal. “What, kid?” he muttered. Bedim pointed to the tiny hole above. “That’s the only way out,” he exclaimed. Titus tilted his head up and began to shake his head in defiance. “Oh hay no! I’m uncomfortable enough as it is in these mines! Why in heavens name would I want to go into someplace even tighter and more likely to crush me?” The guard’s lights were getting closer and yells and orders for their heads could be heard threw the caverns. Bedim nodded over to them with a look that said “really?” Titus turned to them as well and pursed his lips. “Point taken.” Titus quickly climbed up the wall and wiggled his way into the hole. “Wait!” Bedim shouted. Titus barely squeezed enough to turn around and look down at him. “What?” he shouted back. Bedim struggled to raise the unconscious Gentry up to him. “Take him!” he shouted. “I can’t carry him up on my own.” Titus groaned and rolled his eyes but complied taking a hold of Gentry’s hooves and pulling him up. Just as Bedim finally pushed the old stallion off him and into the hole, he felt the weight of a unicorn plow into him from behind. Another guard soon followed and dogpiled him, holding him down and putting his head beneath one of their hooves. Another guard walked over and looked down at him, his horn glowing with power. “Orders say to put you out to pasture,” the guard joked. “But I seriously can’t see what somepony like the commander would want somepony like you dead.” “The commander?” Bedim asked as he continued to struggle. The guard held a hoof to his lips. “Damn,” he muttered. “I stink at this secret mission stuff. Aw well, doesn’t matter since you’ll be dead in a minute.” The guard leaned down to finish his threat. “By the way, so will your friends.” Bedim’s eyes grew wide. Not only did they want him dead but they were still going to go out and slaughter Titus and Gentry just because they knew him? And the commander. Just what did he have to do with all this? There were so many questions he had and he was not going to die here with no answers. Anger began to seep into him. An anger he’d never really felt before. Other times he felt this way he had been overcome with greed or lust or even envy. Now his eyes began to blaze with a green aura as wrath overcame him. The guards on top of him went sailing as he pushed himself up in an impromptu burst of strength. He felt the stub of his horn tingle and crackle with energy as he turned to the guard that had threatened him. “You dare to threaten me?” he shouted in a voice that was not his. The guard felt his knees began to shake as the pony before him moved closer, his hoofsteps shaking the cavern with every step. “You dare to take from me!?” In a desperate act the guard lit up his horn and caused a stalactite to fall on top of Bedim. He smirked as the long pointed rock pierced his side and Bedim screamed in pain. However his smirk died when the stalactite broke off of Bedim’s body and the wound immediately began to heal itself. Bedim’s eyes now blazed like two green stars giving off a purple corona of death. His face grew cold as he continued to march on the guard. The guard took another step back, one final trick at his disposal. His horn began to give off an even stronger glow as he stomped on the ground as hard as he could. The cavern began to shake. Rocks began to fall around them as the guard smiled triumphantly. “You’re going to die here!” he shouted. He turned around to run but was surprised to find that Bedim was in front of him once more. He looked into the guard’s face with cold glowing eyes as they stood mere inches apart. “So will you,” whispered Bedim. The young stallion reared up and drove his hooves down onto the guard’s chest. His armor did nothing to stop the blow as bone and flesh gave way. The guard dropped like one of the many rocks falling around them and Bedim stared into his lifeless eyes. He looked down at his hooves, now stained with blood, and felt something that he’d never felt before. He felt strong. He smiled at the thought of how strong he was. With this kind of strength he could free himself from this cursed place. Return to Crystal Falls. Then he would take care of that deceitful commander. He would kill, maim, destroy, annihilate, disembowel, crush, behead- Bedim grabbed his head as horrible thoughts of atrocities flew through his mind. Images of those he loved and cherished began to fill the bloody images as well. He stood over them all, blood decorating his coat and mane as he towered supreme above all the dead. Stop it! He shouted to himself. Stop it! That’s not me! But it was no use, he could feel himself slowly begin to slip away into the darkness. Suddenly a scream came from outside his head. Bedim darted his gaze toward the hole in the wall. Titus had just screamed in pain. His friend, Titus. Or at least the best friend he could ask for in this hell. Something within him clicked and Bedim shook off the dark energy surrounding him, his eyes returning to normal. The cave was still coming apart and he needed to get out. Titus was in trouble. He grabbed a hold of the stone wall and lifted himself with the last bit of energy he had. Finally he crawled through the hole just as the cave behind him was blocked by falling debris. Bedim breathed a sigh of relief and began to wiggle through the darkness. Once the cavern behind him had stopped caving in, all was quiet. Bedim stopped to see if he could hear a shuffle or a movement from where Titus must have gone. “Titus?” he whispered, not wanting to risk another cave in. “Titus, are you there?” When nopony answered Bedim continued to crawl through the hole. After what felt like an eternity but was only a few minutes, Bedim noticed a small blue light in the distance. He began to crawl faster, his leg still killing him. Finally he made it to the edge of the hole. He peered down to see that it ended in a perilous drop, one that Titus hadn’t prepared for as he was splayed at the bottom, Gentry off to the side. “Titus!” Bedim shouted. He slipped out of the hole and slowly but carefully climbed down the wall, constantly thinking of what had happened to his friend. When he reached the bottom he let go and rushed over to Titus’ side. To his relief he found his friend still breathing. He walked over to Gentry who seemed to be in worse straits. A leg was clearlt broken, but the old pony held on since he was still breathing. But just barely. A small mewing sound came from behind him as Bedim turned to finally noticed the blue light which had led him here and probably saved his life in the process. It floated in the center of the large cavernous room they were in and Bedim could even make out a form now. The ghostly image of a pony holding a lantern looked back at him, tilting its head at the odd look he gave it. “Uh, thank you,” he muttered. “Really I can’t thank you enough for helping us escape.” Gentry had said that this being was a fairy. Bedim had to be careful. He’d never dealt with fairies before. While it had saved their lives it still was unknown and could try anything. He held out a hoof as he approached it. “Easy there,” he assured it. “I’m not going to hurt you.” The fairy leaned a little forward as if taking in his scent like a dog. It reached the lantern toward him as if for him to accept it. “You want me to take this?” The fairy didn’t respond. Bedim shrugged as he reached forward and touched the lantern. Suddenly images played through his mind. They were images of him and Gentry, even Titus. It took him a moment to realize that this is what the fairy had seen when it spied on them. For some reason it had taken an interest in him. Bedim laughed to himself at the thought. Then he became serious once more. He drew back from the lantern and stared at the fairy. “I really appreciate what you’ve done for me. Really. But we still need to find a way out of here and to the surface.” He emphasized his point by pointing to the ceiling. “Surface. Can you tell us how to get there?” The fairy nodded its ethereal head and held out the lantern once more. Bedim touched it without hesitation this time and images flooded his mind of a path. The fairy had apparently taken this path many a time and it led to a small opening up into the light of day. Bedim released the lantern and smiled at the fairy. “Thank you,” he simply uttered. With a grunt of effort he lifted his two friends over his back and limped slowly away into the dark tunnel. To his surprise the fairy began to follow, giving off a guiding light for him to follow. “Well, glad to see you feel like sticking with me for a little longer,” Bedim chuckled through the pain. “If you’re going to stick around then we probably need some introductions. I’m Be-” But Gentry’s warnings rang through his mind of never giving a fairy your true name. Despite the fact that this fairy had helped him greatly, it was probably still best to play it safe. “… Haze. Call me Haze.” The fairy did not respond but Bedim continued to talk. “So what’s your name? Or do fairies even have one.” Bedim couldn’t quite make it out but it almost looked like the fairy shrugged. He smile to himself. “Well, Gentry called you lot Bluecaps. How about… Capper? That sound good to you?” The fairy turned to him and let out a mew of appreciation. He was pretty sure that if it had a face then it would be smiling. “Capper it is then.” They continued down the path for a good two miles. Bedim felt the weight of the two ponies on his back grow worse as time passed. His leg was now literally killing him as he noticed the wound had not healed at all, leaving a trail of blood as they walked. Bedim could feel his head grow light as he looked up at the opening Capper had described. Capper did not approach the morning sunlight beaming through the hole as Bedim did. He looked back to the kind fairy and smiled. “You’ve been a good friend, Capper. I really can’t thank you enough.” Capper mewed in dismay at the state he was in but Bedim did not respond. Instead he started the arduous task of lifting his friends through the hole above and into the surface air. First came Titus who moaned slightly at the mishandling of his chest being pushed upward. Bedim heard his body land on some soft grass and he went back down for Gentry. This pony was easier as Gentry was lighter, however he was also growing colder. Bedim struggled up the side of the cavern to the hole once more. He let Gentry go with a push and heard him land on grass as well. He gave one last look to Capper and nodded to him in appreciation. With his final burst of strength he lifted himself out of the hole and rolled out onto a small patch of dried grass. He could barely lift his head as he scanned the area around him. What he saw surprised him. Standing in a circle around him was a group of yaks. Their fur was matted and covered in dreadlocks and colorful threads. Around their back were heavy hoofwoven saddles and nearly all of them had their eyes covered by fur. One in a dark blue hand woven poncho stepped forward with a grin. He leaned down to Bedim and held out a hoof for him to take. Bedim wearily accepted it and sat up. “Welcome, puny pony,” the yak uttered. “To Yak country.” Without so much as a warning the yak thwacked Bedim in the back of the head and he went down once more. Darkness encroached on his vision and all went black.