It was just another day in Ponyville. The sun rose, the streets bustled. There were ponies everywhere, all working and enjoying the day. All of them except Rainbow Dash of course, who should have been clearing the light clouds for this spectacular.
“Hey Applejack, lets go to that new hole we found the other day,” Rainbow Dash said with excitement.
“Eh... Ah don’t know Rainbow. Ah got some work to do right now, and you should be clearing these clouds anyways.”
“Oh come on. This can all wait. The apples are just going to sit there, pick them tomorrow!”
“You still have to clear the clouds. Mah apples need tha sunlight ya know.”
“Fine, I will do it in 10 seconds flat. You just watch and see!” said a prideful Rainbow Dash.
She took off with great speed and began rounding up the small clouds into one great mass in the middle. She then flew straight into it, and the clouds all dispersed into a light mist, then into thin air. She then flew straight back to Applejack. Applejack got nervous at Rainbow charging her, and fearing a collision, began to turn and run.
Rainbow tackled Applejack to the ground in a great cloud of dust, laughing when the commotion ceased.
“An just what the hay did you do that for,” said a giggling Applejack.
“Well why not? Can’t we all have a little fun? Now let’s go to that hole we found and check out what’s in it!” Rainbow said in a renewed excitement.
The two girls got up and dusted themselves off. They looked at each other, smiled, and began walking towards Applejack’s barn. They walked into the barn, which door was wide open, and dropped off some bins full of apples.
Applejack closed the barn door without a word as Rainbow eyed her from behind, looking at her flank with a spark in her eyes. The two fillies then walked to the road out front of Applejack's house, and proceeded to walk away from Ponyville, towards the hills a short distance away.
“So what do ya think is in that hole?” questioned Applejack.
“Only fun, adventure, excitement, and maybe something else,” Rainbow said with a smirk.
“Well ah sure hope ah can make up for my missed work tomorrow. Ah couldn’t let my brother down so early in the harvest.”
“Please, we both know he can buck all of those trees alone.”
“Ah know, but ah still want to help. Ah have to run it all one day too ya know.”
With that, the two proceeded into a little cutout in the rocks. A few feet in they saw the hole. A medium sized black pit in the middle, seemingly endless.
As they approached the hole, they looked at each other in confusion.
“So how are we supposed to get in there?” asked Applejack.
“Well I was thinking I could fly down and you could be up here just in case.”
"Ah don’t know Rainbow, it seems a little dark.”
“Oh don’t worry. You know me, I can do it all alone.”
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and lifted off the ground. She hovered over to the hole, and began to methodically lower herself in, careful not to hit the walls of the hole with her wings. It was quiet a ways down to the bottom, and every foot seemed to grow darker. It felt like a hand of silence and black reached up from the pit to grab her and drag her down.
She pushed on despite the feeling in her gut. When she reached the bottom there was a scamper of rat feet. Rainbow jumped and stirred up some long settled dust on the ground.
Everything went dark. She couldn’t figure out what to do. She just couldn’t see anything around her. Maybe this is just a dream,she asked herself. Maybe none of this is real. There has to be something here. It can’t all be like this. A voice broke the thick blanket of silence.
“Hey, Rainbow! Where’d ya go? You alright down there?” yelled Applejack.
“I can’t see anything in here! Can you give me some light?” Rainbow replied in a quavering voice.
“Sure thing. Ah’ll have it in a jiffy!”
Rainbow was unsure of what she had gotten herself into. She frantically looked around her to see if there was anything. Nothing. The light from the surface didn’t even come halfway down the wall, but she was still determined to push on. “Why can’t Applejack go any faster?” she thought to herself.
“Hey! Applejack! You back yet?”
The mine wasn’t very far from Ponyville, yet it took Applejack a long time to get a source of light. Maybe it wasn’t that long, maybe the shroud of darkness was playing tricks on her.
“Hey! Rainbow! Ah got it!” echoed a voice from above.
“Yeah?”
“Even better. I got your light and a rope. I’m comin’ down with you!”
“Alright, but be careful. It will be hard to get out once we are done exploring this place.”
As Applejack lowered herself, Rainbow heard a noise to her left. She looked frantically around, but saw nothing, for it was pitch black. She let out a little whimper, but stayed strong. She couldn’t let Applejack know she was scared. “Please hurry,” whispered Rainbow Dash.
Just then another sound behind her. Louder now. Something dropped. Quickly a light flashed on blinding Rainbow.
“Ahhh!” she screamed in terror.
“Shhh Rainbow! It’s only me. Nothin’ else.” said Applejack in a rushed manner.
“What do ya think is down here? Some lost treasure or something?”
“I would hope so, otherwise this whole thing is just a waste of time.” replied Rainbow Dash with a new confidence, trying to make up for her scream.
“Well we better get searching then. Here, follow me Rainbow.”
The two friends walked towards part of an earthen wall. There had a small opening in it, just big enough for them to fit through.
“You go first,” said Rainbow.
“Haha! You scared of the dark Rainbow? Ah never took you for a chicken.”
“I am not scared of anything. It’s just that you have the light. That’s all!”
“Well then, how ‘bout Ah give you this light, and you lead the way? It was your idea after all ta come down here.”
“Ugh, alright. I will, but only because I know you would never set a hoof in there.”
Rainbow grabbed the light from Applejack and shined it into the opening. She hesitated for a moment then, mustering all her courage, plunged into the darkness. She searched for an end to the ‘hallway’ they were in, but she couldn’t see anything at the end.
“I don’t think this goes anywhere AJ.”
“Well how do ya know? Maybe it just sloped down and you cain’t see the exit.”
“I don’t think we should go too far from the exit though. It is getting later in the day. We should come back tomorrow with Twi and maybe she can help us figure out what is down here.”
“Ah think you’re just scared of what’s down this here hall. Maybe Ah should lead
because you cain’t seem to lead.” Applejack said with smirk.
“That isn’t it at all! You know I would walk through here all alone if I could. I just—“
“You’re just chicken” interrupted Applejack.
Rainbow let out a sign and turned back towards the darkness. “I am not going to let her think I am a coward.” She started moving forward again, this time with Applejack right behind her. She could feel Applejack’s breath of her back. She was so entranced by it she forgot to look where she was walking.
There was a loud noise and everything went black.