Fools and Drunks

by Jordan179

Chapter 21: A Flight for Dear Life

"So began my existence as a Wraith," said Ruby, "for to Starlight the Greeter I had pledged my Loyalty to my kin, and thus I share their fate, though somewhat less bound by the Curse of Nightmare Moon than them, for Luna doubtless did not mean to trap me in its toils. And ever do I strive to keep my kin from evil, and reconcile them to their fate that they may Pass On to a better world. Thus in saving ye from them, I save them from sins which would weigh them down all the heavier.

"I could say more. Much more. But the tale of the thousand and five years since then is far too long to tell, nay, not unless ye do become trapped here in the curse your own selves, which is what we do strive to avoid.

"And now, we must hie and away, for the Sun stands high, just passing her zenith outside the Mist that protects Sunney Towne from her harsh radiance. Now, my kin will be at their weakest and least watchful; now, we have a chance of bringing ye safe out of here."

"Sure," Snails nodded. Ruby's tale had fascinated him, though he feared there was much in it he did not fully understand. It was about a different and a darker world than modern Equestria, and it made him glad to be alive today instead of back then, when there were bandits and plagues and wars all around peaceful little farm villages like Sunney Towne had been.

"Yeah," said Snips, "We should blow this popsicle stand." His stomach rumbled. "Boy, I'm hungry. Got any grub for the road?"

"Alas," said Ruby. "I have no mortal food here. And 'twould be unwise to stop and search for fruit in the forest. We will have to move fast, lest ye become food in your turn, for my less-friendly kin."

Snips paled at the thought. "Then we oughta move it!"

"Follow me," said Ruby, and she rose up and glided ovr to the same section of wall into which Mitta had disappeared the night before, her hooves very gently sculling the thin air beneath, as if pushing against some surface invisible to normal Pony eyes. The motion was subtly different to the one Snails had seen before, and he wondered how many different air-gaits she had.

"Spooky," commented Snips, his own eyes wide as he watched Ruby float through the air.

"But it's pretty," said Snails. He found Ruby, even when she was being unearthly, to be strangely beautiful. He had problems putting how he felt into words, though. Glittershell wished she could be even half so graceful, and briefly imagined how similar motions might be used in a singing act.

Ruby might have overheard them both, but she gave no sign. Her mane worked the catch as her mother's had the previous night, and the hidden door opened in the wood paneling. She stuck her head into the rectangular space thus revealed, pausing a moment.

"The way be clear," she announced. "Come on."

She drifted through the hole.

Snails followed, Snips stepping close behind him.

---

The tunnel beyond was broad enough for them to go comfortably in single file. As in the earlier tunnels, countless tiny crystals twinkled as they reflected the light of Ruby's spectral golden glow. It was beautiful, and Snails almost wanted to linger, to spend more time drinking in its wonder. Glittershell wished she had a gown that sparkled like that; it would look so beautiful on her.

As they proceeded further, Snails could see the tunnels they were in repeatedly split and join, foring a maze that would have been impossibly confusing had they not been following Ruby. He realized that Ruby's back door, like her front, was well-hidden within a labyrinth. It was plain why none of the other Wraiths had, even in a thousand and five years, ever stumbled on Ruby's Sanctum.

Their path slowly trended down as they continued, and soon Snails heard the sound of running water, which they had left behind the night before. Snails wondered if this were the same stream. At the same time, he thought that he could discern some light ahead, one which looked greenish combined with Ruby's golden glow. Pretty, Snails thought. He wondered where this new illumination was coming from.

"Not much further now," said Ruby, slightly quickening her pace.

Snips and Snails increased their own pace to keep up.

Snails could almost feel the excitement boiling off the teenaged ghost girl. It was obvious in her perked ears, her high tail, her eager energy Her attitude cheered and heartened Snails: surely she knew her kin the best, and if she was so optimistic about their chances, these must be good?

That made sense to Snails, allowing him to relax into a state where he was ready for whatever might happen.

Snails always did best when he just stopped worrying and let things flow. Thinking about the future never really helped much, anyway. If Snails tried to think too hard about his future right now, he'd be frozen in fear; that would be bad. Better to just take life one trouble at a time.

They were all trotting as the way rose to a sort of lip, dipping in the center to make a smooth groove. They climbled to the top of the slope, where it broadened so that Snips and Snails might stand abreast with Ruby; Snails standing to Ruby's right and Snips on Snails' right, the shorter stallion rearing and scrabbling his hooves on the lip, striving to peer over it.

Without thinking twice about it, Snails reached over, scooped up Snips, and placed him atop his withers, so that his friend could see what lay beyond. Snips briefly protested, but did not struggle; Snails knew that Snips was curious to catch glimpse of whatever sight might be seen.

And it was a sight well worth seeing.

The grotto was smaller than the one by which Snails had entered the caverns the night before, and it boasted nothing so impressive as a screening waterfall. Instead, water dribbled from a crack on the left wall, burbling into a shallow-seeming pool that filled most of the floor. From there, it flowed out through a descending passage. Several tunnels debouched into the grotto, which was rather larger than Ruby's Sanctum. The whole was illued by indirect sunlight coming in through a twisting cave mouth, affording it a certain somber beauty.

"Behold my back door," proclaimed Ruby. "'Tis one of several caves letting out on the northeast of mine own hill; this mouth is low enough to make it easy to bring in furniture. From here, we may slip by narrow trails northwest, back toward Sweet Apple Acres, and Ponyville beyond. We should soon be beyond the range of the others; then ye shall be safe; my duty to ye discharged." She smiled at them. "Fear not, my friends! I have done this many times before!"

Snips screwed up his cute, chubby face and gazed at Ruby with some skepticism. Snails simply smiled at the teenaged ghost. He trusted Ruby; she was nice and smart, and she had a thousand years of experience. They were as safe as they could be, under the circumstances.

And Ruby had, after all, done this many times before.

---

Ruby leaped over the lip, and Snips and Snails followed; Snails boosting Snips over the stone divide and then easily clearing it himself with his longer legs. They trotted through the hidden grotto, their hoofbeats slapping wetly on the damp rocks, and echoing from the rock walls and the surface of the pool. They made for the twisting tunnel of the cave mouth.

Snails' eagerness grew as he approached the exit and the light from outside grew ever brighter. Ruby's subterranean world of caverns and tunnels and hidden treasure-laden Sanctuary was strange and mysterious, and in many ways beautiful, but it was not a world meant for living Ponies. Snails was a creature of sunlight and warmth, and he wanted to return home. He feared that if he stayed too long in this spectral realm of ancient sins and shadowy secrets festering across cold centuries, he would become trapped, doomed to remain among them as a hapless thrall.

Ruby was first to step into the light. As she did, Snils saw her form waver like a candle-flame in the wind, and he realized he could see right through her to the rocks that rimmed the tunnel mouth. Ruby staggered slightly, then stood straight once more.

"'Tis like a strong, hot wind," Ruby said to her companions, "the sleet of sunlight. And 'tis not even that strong here, for we are within the upper fringes of the Mist. See!" She pointed upward with her muzzle.

Snails followed her indication, noticing that the sky was overcast, with clouds filling the airs above, and a thicker fog flowing through the valley below. In the place to which Ruby pointed, the clouds were a bit brighter.

"'Tis the Sun," Ruby said, "through the vapors that do ever swathe Sunney Towne. They are not always so high, but right now Father and Three Leaf have strengthened the Mist, to let them venture beyond the village by day. Sunlight sore weakens us -- right now, 'tis all I may do to keep my Aspect from snuffing right out, and I have little power to lift, let alone harm.

"And this is but the effect of sunlight through thick clouds. Were its rays direct, I should entire lose my my form, and have to hide my naked spirit within the rocks for shelter. And I do bear sunlight better than do most of my kin."

"Then -- we're safe?" asked Snips, looking about dubiously, as if he feared a horde of Wraiths might appear at any moment to surround him.

"For now," Ruby replied, "and for the most part. Only my father and Three Leaf are strong enough to stand where I now am, and they would be weakened even more than me."

Snips and Snails sighed with relief.

"But we cannot remain here," Ruby said. "I must get ye out of town, before I must play my part at the daily Feast. And even if I resist that call -- which has its dangers if I do -- night will fall, and when the Feast ends, my kin will be free to roam these hillsides. The vales of Sunney Towne are no safe haven for the breathing, and ye would not wish to spend the rest of your lives in my Sanctum!"

Snails gasped at the thought, then said "Not that it's not a very nice Sanctum, Miss Ruby, but we have to get back to our homes."

Ruby grinned at him. "There be nothing wrong with favoring Life over Death," she said, "even when the realm of Death be well-decorated. Ye both do breathe, and the Realm of Life is yours to enjoy, for your alloted spans. 'Tis but the way of Nature."

She gazed down into the valley to their left, and Snails -- who was looking for it -- thought he saw the magnifying glass on her flank faintly glow. Ruby opened her eyes, and frowned in concentration.

"I think the way be clear," she said, "but I am not sure if it is clear wholly. I think that there may be one or more of my kin or their thralls in the valley, but if we use the side paths and remain quiet, I believe that we may slip right past them."

Snips and Snails exchanged a worried look. Then they looked back at Ruby.

"Our other choice," she said, "is to take the right hand path. 'Tis unguarded -- but it leads toward Sunney Towne itself -- the old village. Even if 'tis unguarded, we may well stumble into my kin in that direction if we travel that way too far."

"I think we wanna get away from Sunney Towne," urged Snips, his voice quavering.

"Yes," agreed Snails. Surveying the landscape before him, Snails could see that to the right -- the direction in which Ruby had told him lay Sunney Towne -- the overhanging clouds thickened and darkened, joining with the fog beneath. He could not see clearly through the haze, but there was somethig very foreboding about tht murk, something that spoke of ancient and murderous malice. Snails did not want to get any closer to anything that looked like that.

Ruby nodded in affirmation. "'Tis mine own thought too. If luck be with us, their watch will have by now waned, and we may thus win through their warding." She turned to the left, where Snails saw a ledge which looked broad enough for one Pony to walk with ease. "Let us make haste then, and see ye twain safe on your way home!"

Ruby led the way; Snails, trailed by Snips, followed the ghost girl. The ledge, which had looked broad enough from the top, mostly fulfilled its promise; its surface was soft and flat and dry. At points it did narrow, and sometimes seemed to have been shored up on the outside shoulder. In places, Snils could see the crude timber pilings. At one point ahead it had completely fallen away in some landslide; there, it was bridged by boards.

"I did this work," Ruby commented. "On dark days or by night, oft-times with the help of my mother." she smiled. "We bring up treasure by this trail, so that the waterfall does not wet it."

Snails remembered that much of Ruby's hoard was of paper or cloth, so he saw why that made sense. He also saw that this made descending the hillside much easier. "It's sure helpful," he said. "Thank you!"

Ruby looked back and smiled at him. "Thou'rt well come to use our path, dear Snails. Even though 'twas not for thee that we first made it." She walked acoss the light footbridge, testing it with her hooves as she did so. "'Tis also some-thing to do that has naught to do with the Feast." She spoke that last word with loathing. "'Tis safe," she pronounced, indicating the bridge. "Ye may cross."

Snails regarded the bidge with some trepidation; he well remembered the one on the lower stream that had been rotten, and given way under the combined weight of Snips and himself. That had been but a few hooves above a small stream; if this span failed, it might dump them down a steep hundreds-hoof hillside, into the fear-hauted foggy valley below. But there was nothing else to do: the way back toward Sunney Towne might be still worse, and what awaited them there even worse.

So Snails screwed up his courage, and crossed the bridge. The planks rattled and shook alarmingly beneath his hooves, but showed no signs of giving way. Snips quite ran across; the shorter stallion's hooves pattering hard and fast on the roughly-hewn planks of the makeshift crossing.

Then, they were both across, gasping in relief on the far side, and Ruby smiing archly at them.

"Prithee pardon,"she said. "My mother and I be no expert bridge-wrights. Still, we have bourne goods heavier than either of you across the chasm, and rarely have our bridges fallen down beneath the burden. So we must know our craft fair well. And the bridge did not fall down this time. SO -- no harm done!" She grinned in good cheer.

Snails, quite forgetting his fright, grinned right back at her.

Snips was less happy about the crossing.

"That bridge is dangerous!" protested the short stallion. "We coulda died!"

"Snips,"said Snails. "That's not nice ..."

"But 'tis true," replied Ruby.

The two young stallions blinked at her in suprise.

Ruby drifted over to Snips, who held his ground.

"Snipsy Snap Fields," she said very soberly, looking deeply into his eyes with her own golden orbs, "what we do here is dangerous. We are no foals, sporting in some sheltered meadow under the protective warding of our dams. Ye do flee for your lives from madness and evil, and I ... I fell to that madness ad evil, over a thousand years agone.

"I will try my best to keep ye alive," Ruby promised. "But I can not, in honesty, promise ye victory. We are outnumbered, and though I am mightier than most of my kin, my father is mightier than me. What is more, if I must fight two or more of my kin, I shall be outmatched. Your only safety has in evasion and flight. And to do this, we cannot tarry. To do this, we must take chances. And doing that, there is a chance ye will do taking those chances.

"But ye have no chance if ye fall to my kin. They shall slay ye, and keep your spirits enthralled as long as they can.

"Do ye ken?"

Snails was chilled by what Ruby had said -- and by her tone of voice, which was much colder than was the ghost girl's wont. But he had already known it to be true. He just hadn't liked to think too hard about it, because thinking too hard about bad things never did him much good. So, he simply looked at Ruby, and nodded solemnly at her. "Yes, Ma'am," he replied, unconcsicously adding the honorific.

"Yes, Ma'am," chimed in Snips.

Snails was awed at how decisive and forceful Ruby had become. Hearing her now, it was easy to see why Princess Luna had wanted her for the Night Watch; easy to imagine Ruby as a military officer. Strangely, despite the fact that Ruby had stated flat out that he and Snips might both die, Snails found himself trusting her even more now. Ruby was a straight shooter.

"We need to move fast," Ruby added, "and silent. The thralls can see and hear better than ye might think, given their lack of fleshy eyes and ears. They can scent life, too, though not as well as can we Wraiths. But as long as we meet no true Wraiths, it should be easy to get through, provided that once we are through we keep running away from Sunny Towne. Even we Wraiths weaken as we draw apart from the center of our haunting, and the thralls are lesser still. And as we leave the lands of Sunney Towne, the Mist will part. Got it?"

Snips and Snails nodded.

"Good. Then let us make haste!"

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Story time's over, boys. Time to start running for your lives again. And I get the feeling that they'll find something worth running from.

[The Wind King]

Ruby might have overheard them both, but she gave no sign. Her mane worked the catch as her mother's had the previous night, and the hidden door opened in the wood paneling. She stuck her head into the recgangular space thus revealed, pausing a moment.

1) - rectangular (got a "g" and a "t" mixed up here)

As they proceeded further, Snails could see the tunnels they were in repeatedly split and join, foring a maze that wouuld have been impossibly confusing had they not been following Ruby. He realized that Ruby's back door, like her front, was well-hidden within a labyrint. It was plain why none of the other Wraiths had, even in a thousand and five years, ever stumbled on Ruby's Sanctum.

2) - Would (one "u" too many methinks)

3?) - labyrinth (I'm fairly certain you're missing a "h" here)

"Behold my back door," proclaimed Ruby. "'Tis one of several caves letting out on the northeast of mine own hill; this mouth is low enough to make it easy to bring in furniture. From here, we may slip by narrow trails northwest, back toward Sweet Apple Acres, and Ponyville beyond. We should soon be beyond the range of the others; then ye shall be safe; my duty to ye discharged." She smiled at them. "Fear not, my friends! Ihave done this many times before!"

4) - my friends!_I_have (You've double spaced after the exclaimation point, and removed the space between "I" and "Have")

Snips screwed up his cute, chubby face and gazed at Ruby with some skepticism. Snails simply smiled at the teenaged ghost. He trusted Ruby; she was nice and smart, and she had a thousand years of experience. They were as safe as they could be, under the cirucmstances.

5) - circumstances (you've got the "c" and the "u" the wrong way round here)

Snails' eagerness grew as he approached the exit and the light from outside grew ever brighter. Ruby's subterranean world of caverns and tunnels and hidden treasure-laden Sanctuary was strange and mysterious, and in many ways beautiful, but it was not a world meant for living Ponies. Snails was a creature of sunlight and warmth, and he wanted to return home. He feared that if he stayed too long in this spactral realm of ancient sins and shadowy secrets festering across cold centuries, he would become trapped, doomed to remain among them as a hapless thrall.

6?) - Ruby's subterranean world of caverns and tunnels and hidden treasure-laden Sanctuary was strange and mysterious (something about this sentence fragment just feels off, might be the "and" density)

7) - spectral (you need an "e" here rather than an "a")

"Yes," agreed Snails. Surveying the landscape before him, Snails could see that to the right -- the direction in which Ruby had told him lay Sunney towne -- the overhanging clouds thickened and darkened, joining with the fog beneath. He could not see clearly through the haze, but there was somethig very foreboding about tht murk, something that spoke of ancient and murderous malice. Snails did not want to get any closer to anything that looked like that.

8) - Sunny Towne (capitalize names)

Ruby nodded in affirmation. "'Tis mine own thought too. If luck be with us, their watch will have by now waned, and we may thus win through their warding." She tuned to the left, where Snails saw a ledge which looked broad enough for one Pony to walk with ease. "Let us make haste then, and see ye twain safe on your way home!"

9) - turned (missing the "r" here)

Snails remembered that much of Ruby's hoard was of paper or coth, so he saw why that made sense. He also saw that this made descending th hiside much easier. "It's sure helpful," he said. "Thank you!"

10) - cloth (missing the "l" here)

11) - the hillside (missing the "e" and the "ll" here)

Ruby looked back and smiled at him. "Thou't well come to use our path, dear Snails. Even though 'twas not for thee that we first made it." She walked acoss the light footbridge, testing it with her hooves as she did so. "'Tis also some-thing to do that has naught to do with the Feast." She spoke that last word with oathing. "'Tis safe," she pronounced, indicating the bridge. "Ye may cross."

12?) - thou'rt (not 100% certain, but shouldn't this be thou art or thou'rt)

So Snails screwed up his courage, and crossed the bridge. The planks rattled and shook alarmingly beneath his hooves, but showed no signs of giving way. Snips quite ran across; the shorter stllion's hooves paering hard and fast on the roughly-hewn planks of the makeshift crossing.

13) - stallion's (missing the "a" here)

14?) - pattering (I'm fairly certain this should be pattering,)

"snips,"said Snails. "That's not nice ..."

15) - Snips, (capitalise)

"Snipsy Snap Fields," she said very soberly, looking deeply into his eyes with her own golden orbs, "what we do here is dangerous. We are no foals, sporting in some sheltered meadow under the protective warding of our dams. Ye do flee for iives from madness and evil, and I ... I fell to that madness ad evil, over a thousand years agone.

16) - lives (need to switch out that first "i" for a "l")

17) - and (missing the "n" here)

Snails was awed at how decisive and forcefu Ruby had become. Hearing her now, it was easy to see why Princss Luna had wanted her for the Night Watch; easy to imagine Ruby as a miitary officer. Strangely, despite the fact that Ruby had stated flat out that he and Snips might both die, Snails found himself trusting her even more now. Ruby was a straight shooter.

18) - forceful (missing a "l" here)

19) - military (missing another "l" here)

"We need to move fast," Ruby added, "and silent. The thalls can see and hear better than ye might think, given their lack of fleshy eyes and ears. They can scent life, too, though not as well as can we Waiths. But as long as we meet no true Waiths, it should be easy to get through, provided that once we are through we keep runing away from Sunny Towne. Even we Wraiths weaken as we draw apart from the center of our haunting, and the thralls are lesser still. And as we leave the lands of Sunney Towne, the Mist will part. Got it?"

20) - thralls (missing the "r")
21) - wraiths (missing the "r")
22) - wraiths (missing the "r")
23) - running (missing the "r" here, wait no sorry, you're missing a "n", man your "r" key must just be in the middle of an open revolt, or something)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And now we're out of the past, where everything is a foregone conclusion and we all know how it's going to end, but we can't look away from the slow-motion train wreck. Now we don't know what's going to happen and all the tension is back.

This gunna be gud!

[Jordan179]

7932763

I'm glad you like the return to the main story from my huge long flashback.

[Jordan179]

7932745

Oh yes. We still have a couple of Wraiths to meet, yet. At least Snails does.

[Ardashir]

Something tells me that Snips and Snails will soon be wishing the worst they must face on the way out is a rickety bridge.

[Jordan179]

7933593

Oh yes. The bridge didn't even break.

[howard035]

I'm proud of Snips for not sniggering and saying something stupid when Ruby told them to behold her back door.

[Jordan179]

7940195

Snips thought of it. In a rare display of common sense,he chose to remain silent.

[howard035]

7940339 He's learning!

[The Great Derpsby]

Wouldn't it be awesome if these two actually ended up being instrumental in saving all those poor souls? I think it would be.