The Anthropologist

by Weavers of Dreams

-90- Bogeyland

Whizz! Whirr! Clicketyclick! Whizz! Whirr! Clicketyclick! Whizz! Whirr! Clicketyclick!

Hard to believe that these sounds could have the same effect as a certain grandmother's lullaby. Twist was struggling to stay awake, not wanting to fall asleep for fear she might fall of the soldier's back and lose the light entirely. She wasn't scared of the dark, but this was advanced darkness, cold and heavy. If only the soldier's lantern was atop his head, so she could be illuminated as well. She couldn't see the tip of her own snout as it was.

She hugged the soldier's neck for what comfort she could find. How long had it been? An hour? Maybe two? Could have been just a few seconds for all it mattered.

"Daddy would hug me back," she sniffed, talking to the soldier. She didn't really want to complain, he was doing the best his rusty gears would allow. She almost felt like apologizing.

Perhaps, when it was all over, she could get him repaired and cleaned up. She and Henry could have lots of fun with him then. And she could perpetually annoy the colt by putting dresses on the proud soldier. She could practically see his face. Having a brother was so much fun. She prayed he got home soon.

Safe and sound. That would be nice. Playing with him and... Auntie Lyra... when they got back... home...

"Do not fall asleep."

"Aaaah, whothe there?" the tired filly's cried out, eyes snapping open to look about the tunnel. "Uhm. H-hello? Wath I about to fall athleep?"

She quickly repositioned herself upon the soldier's back, sitting in an upright position. She took a couple deep breaths and shook the vapors from her head. "Okay. I've gotta focuth. Gotta find a way back to... is that light up ahead?"

She rubbed her eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on her. No, there was still a golden sliver of light up ahead. Almost as thin as one of her mother's sewing needles. And it didn't seem to be getting any bigger, the closer she got.

Then, with a final few clicks, the soldier came to a stop just a short distance from the thread of light. Oddly convenient, even to Twist's her tired little mind. But she didn't have any time to dwell on it. Light meant ponies.

She scrambled off the soldier's back, giving him a quick hug for some odd reason, and then rushed towards the source of her hope. Which was closer than it had appeared.

Promptly colliding with a wooden wall, her depth perception somewhat askew, Twist flopped backward onto the ground to rub her forehead softly. Thankfully, the faux armor had taken most of the impact. It still stung some.

Getting back up, she glared angrily at the light. How dare it betray her like that. Then she noticed that it was slightly wider than it had been before. That was very promising.

Setting her shoulder against one side of the light, she dug her hooves into the stone ground and, with a grunt, she began pushing the wall with all her might. Earth ponies were really good at that sort of thing. That's what daddy had said anyway. And it seemed to be working. Goody.

The wall began to move, slowly at first, than gradually got faster. A moment later, she was picking herself up off of the stone floor of the basement, having not noticed that the tunnel she was in was not actually placed at ground level. Also, the wall, as it turned out, was a crate, a wooden box marked "This". She blinked, that name giving her pause. She prayed that whoever lived there was not some weirdo, like Hugh Jelly.

Then she noticed the other crates.

"That" and "The Other Thing". Red flags were popping up everywhere. Then again, she had just ridden on a toy soldier, after falling down a bogey hole. Lots of weird stuff was happening of late.

Looking about for a staircase to take her upstairs to the main house, she noticed an inordinate amount of bottles. Bottles holding a golden liquid that could have easily been mistaken for cider. But, there was something off about them. Why would someone not label those things? How else are you supposed to know what's inside?

Unless, whoever lived here, didn't want anyone to know what was inside.

Now there were so many red flags it could have been mistaken for the USSR. The candy maker felt like turning around and leaving back the way she came.

"What tiny guard doing here?"

"Yeeeep," Twist leapt into the air in fright, legs scrambling. Her heart had been racing fast enough before. But now, now she was sure she had just shaved a few years off of her life. She turned to see who it was that had caught her.

It was a familiar face, and the voice matched.

"Midge?"

The bogey blinked at her in confusion for a moment. Then it appeared to dawn on him. "Mean filly? What you doing here? How you follow, Midge?"

"Well, I wathn't meaning to," the filly said, frowning. The fact that the bogey had abandoned her in the dark, was still very prevalent in her mind. "You're the latht perthon I wanted to thee."

"How you find way here in dark?" the bogey asked, looking through the hole. "The way twisty with many paths and holes"

"Holeth?" Twist cried, aghast. "You mean... I could have fallen off of Canterlot?"

The bogey nodded. "Filly very very lucky to be alive. Very lucky indeed."

The filly was mortified. How could he? "Bogieth aren't thuppothed to kill ponieth."

"You'd have killed yourself, wandering in the dark," Midge countered, sticking out his tongue defiantly. "Stay till morning, and sun would have shown the way. Not Midge fault you not stay in place."

"Well, luckily, I had thome light," Twist snorted, pushing past the bogey to point at the toy soldier. Only, he wasn't there. "W-where'd he go?"

"Where who go?" Midge demanded crossly, picking himself up of the ground and peering into the tunnel as well.

"The toy tholdier," Twist explained. Light was now flooding the tunnel, she should have been able to see him, even if his lantern had been extinguished. "He couldn't have jutht walked away."

"Thought armor looked familiar," the bogey muttered, blinking slowly.

"You know about the toy tholdier?"

"Of course," the bogey responded indignantly. "It been down here long time... long time. Too heavy for bogey to move. Trash anyway."

"Hey, he'th not trathh, he carried me all the way here," the filly protested, upset at the bogey's accusation. "I followed the light of hith lantern and then rode on hith back all the way here."

The bogey blinked again. "Toy broken and rotting. Filly tell lies. Do not lie to Midge."

"I'm not lying," Twist protested angrily. "He wath right here. He thaved me."

"Filly just stupid then."

"I'm not a thtupid," Twist yelled at the bogey, tears starting to crawl down her cheeks. She sniffed and sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "Pleathe. I jutht want to go home. I'm tired and mithth my mommy and daddy. Jutht Thhow me the way out and I'll go home, and I'll never bother you again."

Twist turned away from the tunnel to go back to searching for the staircase. What she saw instead almost stopped her heart.

A small sea of cranky-looking bogeys had snuck up behind her while she was arguing with Midge. This, in and of itself was just unsettling. The fact that they were all riding upon rats made it terrifying. Though the tiny cocktail swords almost made it comical. Not quite though.

Twist, scrambled backwards until her rump hit the wall below the hole. "Wh-what? Where'd you come from?"

One bogey stood out from the rest. He, or she, again it was hard to tell with bogeys, wore a golden ring upon his/her head and rode upon the biggest rat of them all, a vicious-looking albino. The bogey just seemed to smile as he/she looked at the frightened filly. Even Midge appeared to be scared of this bogey.

"Oh, little filly," he/she said, slowly shaking his/her head. "You are home. Welcome to Bogeyland."

Then, a multitude of bogeys bearing brightly colored yarn descended upon the hapless little pony from above. She barely had time to let out an echoing shriek of terror before her mouth was wrapped shut.

Comments

[KnightMysterio]

Uh oh

[pahnazd]

And then they name her Gulliver.
... wrong story?

[Wacky]

8181140 No, no, I think you got it right...

[Lancerlot]

It's always the same. You get a bunch of those guys there, and they start doing the Bogey March.