The Anthropologist

by Weavers of Dreams

-88- The Soldier Down Below

With a final cry of "oof" Twist fell out of the twisted slippery slope of a hole she'd uncovered, promptly landing atop of the bogey that had gotten tangled up with her at some point during tumble trip. With a sound somewhere between a groan and a whine, the little filly rolled over onto her stomach and stood up on all fours to get a quick glance around.

"W-where are we?" she asked, frightened of the surrounding pitch darkness. She let out a terrified squeak when she heard something move beside her.

"In the down below," Midge answered in a disgruntled fashion.

The filly let out a sigh of relief. It was just the bogey. Good thing she didn't say that out loud. She was already scared and getting rather cold, no need to make her only, if reluctant, companion moodier than he already was. The last thing she wanted was for him to abandon her.

"H-how do I get back?" she asked, swallowing as her throat began to feel dry.

"That is not Midge's problem," the bogey snorted, soon followed by a series of scratching noises as he departed. Words no good little filly should say flowed through her head at that moment.

It was all too much. Twist burst into tears, plopped down on her rump, lifted her chin and wept.

"Daddy, Mommy," she cried bitterly. "I'm cold... and it'th dark. Thomeone, help me. Pleathe."

"Hello?"

Twist's mouth snapped shut with a click and she looked about for the voice she had just heard. She had heard it right? She was so distraught it could have been imagined.

"I-ith there thomeone there?" she asked timidly, getting up on her hooves and turning in a little circle. It was all just darkness around her. The inky scary black. "Pleathe. Who'th there?"

"You're lost."

Stating the blunt obvious would have been rather annoying on any other day. But the filly was all too happy to know someone was there.

"Where are you?" She knew she was hearing someone this time. "I can't thee anything. Do you have any light?"

"There is light."

It came from behind her. The little candy maker whirled around in time to see a dim light in the distance of the... tunnel? Sewer? The down below? Whatever, that wasn't important. There was light up ahead. What else mattered?

Well, it was a stranger. Stranger danger was something every good parent taught their children. However, a drowning pony will grab even the blade of a sword if it means hope. She galloped towards the light as fast as her legs would carry her.

Well, stumbled would be more accurate. But, she did make good progress, for what it was worth. Up an short incline and around shallow bend, she found herself coming to a sudden halt at the sight of her rescuer. A royal guard stallion.

Actually, not quite.

"A... a toy?" she asked herself in dismay, slumping at the withers and groaning.

Holding a small lantern in its mouth, the wooden soldier stared unblinkingly at filly with it's one good eye. It appeared old and weathered, even a bit moldy and rotten in places, as well as much of the paint having peeled off under the test of time. Yet, it still stood, a testament to it's creation.

"I know I heard a voithe from thomewhere," Twist stated as she began to circle the toy. It's golden armor was faded and filthy, but, was also made of a padded cloth. "Well, it'th not a total lothth."

She promptly plucked the helmet from the soldier's head and placed upon her own. It was a little large for her, but her thick curls still barely managed to squeeze through the hole in the top. Already she could feel a good barrier between herself and the cold. Even though it was a rather itchy with all the frayed threads and dirt that were now working there way through her fur.

Taking hold of the armor's main body, she gave it a sharp tug. The toy soldier fell atop of her.

Squeaking in shock, she kicked out with her hind legs, causing the soldier to rock back up to a standing position. It wasn't one of those stupid toys that had the clothes attached to the body, was it? Those were always frustrating. How else were you supposed to play dress up with them?

A closer examination showed that this was not to the case. There was a rusty metal key sticking out of the soldier's back. A windup toy. Had it been sent wandering into the down below by it some irresponsible colt long ago? It was a colt's toy, that much was certain. Though, she did know a few fillies who would love to have one. If they could afford it.

With a flick of her hoof, the key was removed and the rest of the armor was free to save a little filly from freezing. She pulled the padded costume tightly about her body and shivered gratefully. Although, there was one other thing she could use. The lantern.

She paused as she reached for the soldier's final accessory. It almost felt wrong. It had been all alone in the down below for who-knows-how-long, and the first pony to come across it in all that time decides she gets to take all his stuff.

"Well, I really need that light," she said guiltily, reaching out and grasping the lantern between her hooves. She soon found it was firmly stuck. And no wonder, it was dangling from the mouth of the soldier. That is, where she deemed to mouth to be, the paint was too faded and chipped around there to really tell. To top it all off, it was made of metal.

"Why?" the little candy maker pleaded as she twisted and tugged the light to no avail, no matter how hard she tried. "But, I jutht want to go home. I'm not thtrong enough to carry you all the way back."

This needed some thought. Tugging the padded armor about herself, she plopped down and reviewed the circumstances. First she had fallen down a hole in the house, the second thing was winding up in a dark tunnel, for a third she had heard a voice and followed a light, and then she had found clothing to protect her against the cold and a light to conclude with the fourth. Step five would be to somehow use the light to guide her path through the darkness and hopefully find a guard. A real one, that is.

The thought of what she should do came when her eyes fell upon the soldier's rusty key.

"That'th it," she declared excitedly. Snatching the key from the ground and praying her idea would work, she turned the soldier so that it faced the direction opposite where she had come from and then leapt upon it's back. "Pleathe, oh pleathe let thith work."

Placing the key inside the hole, she gave it a twist. To her horror, it spun freely, as if its mechanism was broken. Turning it the other direction rewarded her with the clicks of a clockwork mechanism. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued winding it up until she heard the more pronounced clicks that signaled it was at its limit. With a deep breath, she let it go.

Twist gave a surprised yelp as the soldier lurched forward, almost throwing her off. Now she had some semi-warm clothing, a light, and a ride. On any other day, it might have been quite fun... heck, it still was.

The soldier marched stoically on through the tunnel, rusty joints squeaking and grinding all the way through the darkness.

Comments

[pahnazd]

Twist has a guardian angel... spirit... something looking out for her. And yay, a companion, even if not a biological one! That can help to calm her down a lot, even if she can't speak to the guard.