The Trials

by Zee

Ch 12: Foreboding

"Y-you got bitten?!" Speck stammered, walking up beside Echo while both of their light crystals combined in brightness.

"Yeah. It hurt a lot," Echo admitted, feeling a shiver at the back of her neck.

"Nngh... I hate spiders..." Speck said, her armour rattling while they walked. The last of the spider webs covering the tunnel had receded and the group was now trotting on smooth rock. A slight downhill allowed them to trot leisurely.

"We should almost be there," Mosina idly said from the rear of the group. "This stretch took us a ten minute walk from the spider room to the door. Then it will take an hour to get back to the lake."

"Will we be going through the door, or head back to the lake?" Night Watch asked from beside her.

Mosina shrugged. "I dunno, that's up to you guys." She cast a glance to the rest of the group as they walked.

"Might as well. We have the key, right?" Echo pointed out. Speck shrugged and nodded in agreement, and Night Watch gave a smile.

Mosina shrugged and said, "I guess that's that."

The group walked in silence for the next several minutes until the giant stone slab came up on their left. Sure enough, embedded into two of the three sockets were the wooden prism keys with carved, cringing faces on their surfaces. Speck's eyes widened at the sight, seeming disturbed by the imagery.

"This is it," Night Watch whispered, moving to pull the cylinder key from her saddlebags. Speck fidgeted in her spot, and seemed agitated.

"A-are you guys sure we should head through this, now?" she stammered, eliciting glances from the others.

"Why not? Is something wrong?" Echo asked with a concerned gaze.

"I don't know... I just feel like whatever's through that door is... foreboding," Speck whispered, shrinking into an uneasy posture.

"This whole darn cave network is foreboding." Mosina gave out a sigh. "Look, whatever's through that door—we'll face together, yeah?"

Speck gulped. "Yeah... I just feel like we're in for something."

Night Watch had remained silent through the exchange and finally managed to pull out the key with her mouth. She walked up to the door and looked for the final hole, standing up on her hind hooves to slide it in. Halfway in, she stopped and gave a half lidded grin to Echo to the right, winking.

Echo sighed.

Night Watch pulled it out, and then shoved it the entire way.

"Dammit, Night Watch," Echo seethed.

After the key had been pushed in, Night Watch stepped down and backed away. Nothing happened for several moments, until a loud clang rung throughout the cave. It sounded as though the door was operating on metal mechanics.

Another loud clang rung, causing the bat ponies to step back. Finally, a loud grinding sound of stone on stone filled the air as the slab pushed into the wall to the left. Dust fell and clouded around them, the door not having been used for a long while. The ponies remained silent while they waited for the door to retract.

Beyond the small cloud of dust, there seemed to be nothing but darkness. The light from the three light crystal bearers could not penetrate through the entrance entirely. It was as though there was a large room, beyond.

"Does it really have to be this slow?!" Night Watch called out through the loud grinding of the door.

"Call it 'utilizing-rusty-and-slow-ancient-technology-for-dramatic-effect," Mosina chuckled.

Finally the grinding stopped, and the door rested to a stop with a loud clang. The dark entrance to the cave before them gave them all pause. Echo flinched when she felt something brush against her. Speck audibly gasped, having felt it, too.

"A breeze..." Echo whispered, taking a step towards the entrance. She looked to her companions and nodded. "Let's go. Speck and I will take point."

They all moved into a tight formation and began to walk before a loud, distant grumbling gave them pause. Echo gave a confused glance to Speck beside her, who returned one of fear. The ground seemed to be shaking subtly, as though some sort of large creature was shifting. Gulping and putting on a brave face, Echo stoically marched into the entrance, the others reluctantly following.

A small hallway greeted them, narrow enough that they had to move into a single file line. But just before anyone could complain, they found themselves through the tunnel and into a very large room. Mosina gave a gasp when she entered last, seeing where they were.

The room seemed to reach far beyond the light from their crystals, nothing beyond its reach but blackness. Echo could make out distant cave walls in the darkness, but the ceiling seemed an endless distance upwards.

The rumbling continued in short bursts of tremors. For some reason, she couldn't move—she knew that something dangerous was dwelling just beyond their eye sight.

Night Watch came up beside her with a hardened expression, her spear at the ready. Taking the hint, the rest of the bat ponies also drew their weapons.

Echo and Speck unsheathed their swords, and Mosina pulled down the retracted claws of her hoof-blades. Speck prodded the shield on her right-front hoof, making sure it was fastened tightly.

Night Watch grinned. "Ready for our first boss fight?"