Very different beneath the surface

by Slick Dash

We will not hesitate to kill...

“Ummm, hello? Are...are you ok down there?” Twilight called shakily into the crater below them. Immediately, the sniffing and sobbing stopped. The tension could be cut with a knife, as everypony around the gaping hole in the ground waited to see what would emerge.

Twilight strained her ears to hear anything at all from the smoking hole. Surely enough she heard hushed whispers from within. Certain words floated along the breeze and reached her ears, which chilled her very soul. ‘Hostiles?’ ‘deffensive measures.’

She looked around at her friends, she opened her mouth to tell them to get away quickly, but before a single word could pass her lips hoofsteps began to approach her across the scorched earth. Through the smoke and dust, a large mangled figure could be seen making its way towards the magenta unicorn. She took a step backwards, her horn began to glow slightly in preparation for an attack. If she needed to get out she could teleport everypony here to the library. To safety.

As it came closer, the silouhette became clearer. It wasn’t one figure, but a tight group of ponies. Each (by the looks of the positioning of their hooves) had their back to the others, ensuring there was no spot the group couldn’t see in the dusty darkness.

The leading pony stopped just short of the end of the wall of smoke and dust. Twilight could almost see her, or at least she judged the pony as a she, her body was smaller and more slender than any stallion or buck she had ever seen. The figure seemed to turn its head to another one of the group, and with an unbelievably familiar voice, it issued an order.

“Back off! We’re not here to fight! If you attack, we will not hesitate to kill...” There was a stunned silence from everypony around the crater. Twilight looked to the closest pony to her (Rainbow dash) and exchanged worried looks. The Blue coated pony swallowed hard, and with the bobbing of her throat her face grew stern. She nodded back at Twilight, then looked to each of her friends in tern, giving them the signal not to go near them. When everypony complied with Rainbow’s silent order, she took one step forward, and yelled loud and hard.

“We don’t want to fight either! Now calm the heck down and come out!”
“Dash! Shut the hell up ok!” The sudden outburst came from within the dust cloud. The head pony seemed to be looking at another member of her party now. The pony’s head bobbed up suddenly in protest.
“But it wasn’t me Pinkie!” Pinkie? Twilight’s ears rang with the single name echoing through her mind. She looked at the pink pony far over to her left, she stood there still, just as confused as the others (If not looking a little less serious and more with childhood curiosity gleaming in her eyes)

“Of course it was yo”-
“Actually, she’s telling the truth, she didn’t say a word!” Said a horse but confident voice.
“I heard her voice!” Cried out the leader of the still unseen group angrily. Yet another voice joined the argument from within the smoke. This one was shy and timid, and it sent Twilight’s skin trembling with shivers.
“Actually... you heard their voice.” A forehoof seemed to gesture towards them, waving away the thinning smoke and flashing a glimpse of purple fur. Twilight knew that voice... better than anyone. But...how...? She looked at all her friends, all of whom had grown silent and unsure; they all stared horrified into the smoke. Had they recognised the voice as well? Or any of the others? It seemed like it judging by the look of sheer terror and confusion plastered on each of their faces.

“That’s it I’ve had it! Twilight, clear the smoke, now!” Twilight looked around to all of her friends to see who had spoken, this was all so confusing. But each mare simply looked back at her with the look of confusion that she was probably wearing too. She looked over to Applejack, who was pawing over her brother, ensuring her was ok. Her efforts were for nothing however, as the stallion simply brushed her aside, got to his hooves and moved the closest to the figure, ready to stop the group if they meant harm.

She looked to Dash, who shrugged with a “Can’t do any harm” look on her face. The purple unicorn turned back, making her horn glow and palpitate with magic as she prepared to move the dark cloud. All she could do was stare however, as the cloud was parted by the same purple hue of magic that belonged to her. How could that be happening? She relaxed her body completely, allowing the magic to dissipate from her horn, just to ensure it wasn’t her, and surely enough...

The dust cleared, leaving five ponies standing in a fast expanding clearing. Each one of them looked back at a member of the group that surrounded the hole in the ground. Twilight stared in disbelief, as did everypony else. The leader, was a pink pony, female, her mane was a slightly darker shade then her coat, it was long and straight. The long strands nearly reached just below her shoulders and then suddenly stopped. Her eyes gleamed with menace, as they darted from pony to pony, analysing them. A single scar lay beneath her left eye, a vibrant red scratch that stood out noticeably against her pink fur.

To her left, stood a yellow coated Pegasus, her mane was pink, her eyes were a beautiful teal, but they were etched with prominent red blood vessels. Had she been the one who was crying? It didn’t seem like it, besides the leader, she looked to be the strongest and most hardened of the entire group. Yet, there seemed to be some kind of sadness looming in her eyes as she looked around.

An orange coated pony stood by her side, her long blonde hair hung raggedly across her face clumped and messy. She looked out with a similar sadness, but yet she seemed to still be dry eyed. She looked out, staring straight at Applejack, who stared straight back at her in complete disbelief.

A blue coated Pegasy, her mane was cut so that a long flap of straight mane covered her right eye. Her tail jutted out and ended jaggedly. She huddled up to the backs of her companions, she almost seemed afraid. She stared back from behind her fringe, ready to dive for cover at a moment’s notice.

And finally next to her, the one who completed the circle. The Unicorn’s mane was long, a dark shade of purple, with a lighter shade that ran down as a streak through her fringe. Her horn glowed slightly, but even as Twilight watched; its light began to stutter and fade. This pony looked straight into Twilight’s eyes, staring at the pony that looked just like her.

Twilight and her friends stood in awe, looking at the group of five ponies before them. Each one-though seeming slightly different- looked just like a member of the group of friends. A scarred Pinkie Pie, an angry looking Fluttershy, a bedraggled and weary Applejack, a terrified looking Rainbow Dash.

The final pony, the one that matched Twilight’s appearance down to every last detail, closed her eyes. She breathed a sigh of what seemed to be relief, and her legs began to shake under her own weight. With no warning at all, and to the horror of all ponies around her, she collapsed to the dirt covered floor beneath her. Her mouth stayed shut, very little air seemed to escape or intrude her lungs. Her companions swarmed around her. Each one of them watched, in stunned silence, by their counterparts around the crater.

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