Rumble in the Dark
“So girls, what do you think the center of the earth looks like?”
“Like this?”
Scootaloo gestured out to their general surroundings.
The dark corners of the earth seemed to get ever darker as the girls left the Diamond dogs caves above them. It swallowed up the faint light of their flashlights as they waved them up into an ever thickening darkness above them.
Applebloom and Scootaloo tried to make general conversation as they were bout hurled together on top of sweetie belle - pretty much riding on their friend as they traveled downward at an angle just too steep to walk down. Their combined weight keeping the drill digging downward into the soil.
Sweetie was only able to partially follow the conversation. The rest of it was drowned out by the sound of the drill. None of them complained about the dust being kicked up (apart from the occasional cough from those not fortunate enough to be able to turn of their lungs) A good scrubbing of dirt seemed almost preferable after finding out what the dogs used the crystal clear lake water for.
Her mind went to her skin, that was now resting safely in one of their saddlebags.
Sweetie did not feel like putting it again – Not after where it had been.
She was probably gonna have to shower for weeks just to get the smell out.
Because of that, Sweetie was drilling in the general direction of away. Away from those nasty smelly Diamond dogs, and their awful smelly water, and their awful awful … prejudice.
Something about the way those dogs spoke to her, or more correctly around her, had gotten under her gears.
For such a simple minded species, they had been surprisingly unaffected by the sight of full fledged pony robot. Sweetie suspected that they might simply bee too simple to think to much about it. As long as she worked – that was all that mattered.
Sweetie knew that body was machine through and through – But she did not want to be treated like … that.
-:: Stupid meatbags ::-
“ … I'm pretty sure the planets core would be a concentrated mass of molten magma.”
“ … If that's the case – Should it not be getting hotter the further down we go? This place is getting as cold as an old earth cellar.”
“Maybe the core is made of the single biggest crystal in the world?”
Sweetie would lick her lips if she would not get a mouthful of gravel. She felt like she could sure go for a good molten core right now.
She had not mentioned it to the girls. But her energy reserves were past the halfway point. Her “cargo hold” that had previously been stuffed to the limit with 'The Pillar of crystal goodness' was now half empty. Her belly rumbled as it grinned up those precious gemstones. Another part of her consuming energy in order to keep her running. The sound of her digestive system was concealed only by the drill itself. She was burning through calories faster then a dragon on greed growth. (She briefly wondered how spike had felt.) If she had not stuffed her face like she did – she would have blacked out for real in the Diamond Dog's caves.
Which was ironic – considering that cake was the reason she was doing this to begin with.
“ … Unless there is no center. And we are about to fall out of the bottom of the world.
“ … Scoot – I very much doubt that the world is flat.”
“ Why not? How else would they make a map off it?”
“Well … they do say Luna And Celestia raises the run and moon, not circulate them around the world. So maybe they simply drop them below the horizon? ”
In when quiet for a while (As quiet as can be expected in the hum of the drill.) while the girls contemplated what the nature of moving celestial bodies meant for the rest of the world, and their place in the narrative.
Sweetie only knew that The sun in her life was also setting on another front. She had not said anything to the others, but the magical energy of the compression spell that resigned within the crystal in her horn was getting noticeable smaller.
Every time she had to retract the drill, it took a chunk of that magic. And another one when the reactivated it.
It was still like sun to her – though it would not last forever. It was clearly the last part of the that would run out.
A tap on the head bough her back into the real world.
“Say Sweetie. Do you think we will come out on the other side – Or find Tartarus first”
Sweetie stopped.
“Ok girls – hold on to the walls.”
As her friends complied, Sweetie retracted the drill and got her hooves on the bottom of the tunnel, using her in built spirit leveler to find the proper ups and downs before putting her horn to the wall and reactivating the drill again. Mowing forward at a not so steep angle.
"What was that about?" her friend asked, as they walked behind her.
“I just realized something Button once told me." Sweetie said. "You should never mine straight down.”
***
“... Or whats if its just hollow?”
“Or a concentrated swirl of concentrated energy.”
“Or maybe its a big beating heart?“
The discussions continued as the party continued their steady march forward. So far, no unexpected caverns or poets of lava had opened to swallow them. The ground in front of them continued to be a endless mass of rocks and moisture that was just barely soft enough to push through at a trots pace.
“ … What do you think Sweetie?”
“I think Its weird that we have yet to run into anything of worth.”
The girls swept the flashlight around, the walls were devoid of anything shiny.
The darkness seemed even more oppressive now that their tiny flashlights were the only light-source.
“If anything – gems should for further down – because of the pressure.”
“Are you sure that's how gems form? Maybe we need to find a pocket of lava where rocks have melted and then crystallized?”
“Maybe the ground here is simply to moist.”
“ Have we left the quarry?”
“Do you have any Idea of how we are gonna find a big pocket of gems?”
“Don't look at me like that Scootaloo – I've told you that not all earth ponies are able to just sense such things.”
“What sound do you think gems make? Can you hear them sparkle? Maybe there is some kind of tune you can make that makes the gems call back – Like a resonance of an echo or something?”
Scootaloo let out a whistle. But whatever echo it might have made drowned in the sound of the drill.
“Wait … Do you hear that?”
Sweetie stopped and retracted the drill. Turning around she found bout of her friends with their ears to the right wall.
“Is that the heart?”
out of curiosity. Sweetie joined her fellow crusaders in the new activity of leaning and listening.
There was indeed a sound coming from the walls. Sweetie turned her hearing up and put her own ear to the wall. There was a sound like distant thunder. Or maybe an avalanche – Or whatever sound that a ton of rocks make when they are being pushed out of the way.
It was coming and going, like whatever making it was literally moving back and forth, causing the sound to rise and fall in a rhythm.
“What is that? Some kind of underground river?“
“Do you think its the gems? Are the gems finally calling to us. Like – an echo or something?”
Scootaloo let out another whistle. And the distant rumbling stopped.
Then, for just a second - Although Sweetie imagined it must have been an echo from Scootaloo - she thought the heard a second tune answer.
Then she felt the vibrations.
Before she could react, before she even knew what she would have been reacting to - Applebloom shouted. And Sweetie suddenly had bout of her friends slamming into her. All three of them were knocked over and tumbled backwards just as the tunnel erupted inwards.
The girls screamed as through the geiser of gravel and dirt –their flashlights revealed something pushing its way past them.
Something big.
Something long.
“What was that?” Shouted Scootaloo.
“The sign that we need to get the hay out of here!” Applebloom answered.
The earth pony was already on her hooves, and pulled the others up before breaking into a gallop, back the way they came.
Sweetie stared at the holes that had appeared in the walls – there was now a second tunnel crossing with theirs. It was only about half as wide – but still, the thing that had made it had shot through the earth like a Pegasus would through the air.
Choosing not to dwell on the matter, she turned her naked tailbone around and galloped after her friends.
The flashlights were swinging back and forth. The girls trying to hold on to their only source of light by their mouths as the ran down the only road that was open to them.
Sweetie blinked and turned on her infrared vision. The girls and the rest of their tunnel becoming far clearer to her then it must be for them.
… As a second tremor approached them with the speed of a bullet.
“DUCK!”
You heard it before you saw it – Because when you saw it, it would probably be to late. That canonball that shot through the earth with all the subtlety of a derailing train. Luckily the girls were quick on the update. And threw themselves to the floor as the tunnel erupted for the second time.
Sweetie stared in horror as a long pink tube rocketed out from the tunnel wall. And almost curved mid air as it passed just above their heads before impacting with the other side.
Sweetie leaped up, and headbutted the big pink snake like a cannonball.
The think jerked above her, twitching her away before disappearing down into the floor.
“Are you Ok?”
The girls scrambled up on their hooves. Scootaloo accidentally kicking her flashlight so that it went into the new hole in the floor.
She cursed as the thing disappeared down an almost vertical drop.
“And you can choke on it too!” She shouted.
“Is it gone?” Asked Applebloom. Shining her won flashlight down the hole.
Not wanting to wait to find out. The trio set off on another gallop. Applebloom taking the lead to let her flashlight fill the corridor in front of them with illumination.
Is that a Quarry Eel!? Scootaloo screamed as she ran.
Sweetie did not think so, she had barely got a second to look at it up close. But it looked more like a worm. But way - Way too big!
Things were quiet for several seconds before a new rumble filled their ears. But not from behind or beside them. From in front of them.
“STOP!”
The other two slammed into Applebloom as she skittered to a halt. The flashlight flew out of her mouth and bounced several times, and several meters in front of them before coming to a stop – Landing just so that its light illuminated what was in from of them.
It was a worm alright. But way – Way too big
And it was coming towards them from the other side of the corridor – riding on the edges of circulate runnel in a spiraling pattern.
The thing was literally doing a barrel roll down their tunnel. Knocking down dirt and rocks as it surfed on the earth towards them.
“Oh that is just IT!”
Scootaloo reared up. And started running forward. Her wings beating furiously to give her speed as she started running up the side of the tunnel. Her forward momentum carrying her over the tunnel roof as she matched the worms looping approach.
Just as the two reached each other. Scootaloo slid down on her back and kicked upwards with the back hooves impacting with the worms front and redirecting its course so that it disappeared up through the roof and out of their tunnel.
A sigh of relief got stuck in their throats – for as the dust settled, the flashlight made Scootaloo's shadow spread out over a wall of gravel and dirt that that had then the way from which they came.
The worm had collapsed their tunnel. And from the vibrations in the earth, it planed to do a lot more besides that.
“THIS way.” Scootaloo shouted – and started running back the other way.
Applebloom just barely managed to get three hooves on the other side. The expression of horror clear on her face as she realized which way she had almost gone – and what one little mistake had cost them.
“APPLEBLOOM!” Scoot Screamed, And started running towards the hole before Sweetie grabbed her tail.
“Im ok, Im ok.” Applebloom reassured “But where are you!”
“I'm here – and Sweetie...”
Scoot looked back, and screamed!
“A MONSTER!”
“where!?”
Sweetie looked behind her – but saw only rocks.
She looked back just in time to see Applebloom And Scootaloo Stumble into each other. The two grabbed at each other before realizing what they were.
“Scoot? Is that you?”
“Yeah! But where is Sweetie?”
“I'm right here!”
“Didn't you see the monster?”
“What monster?”
“The one with glowing red eyes.”
The two of them looked around, before zeroing in on Sweetie.
“Right there! RIGHT THERE!” They shouted, and pointed straight at her.
-:: Oh pony-feathers ::-
“STOP!” Sweetie yelled. Before the two of them back down the hole. “Its only me!”
It finally dawned on Sweetie that she was the only one here who could see anything. And the very souse of her sight was the cause of their fright.
“Infrared eyes, remember?”
Her friends continued to stare at her, as her eyes were literary the only focus point in the total blackness. How she wished she could share her vision somehow. If only she had gotten a flashlight installed. What was she to do?
-:: Come on Sweetie, think! ::-
She though so hard that some excess energy shout out her horn.
-:: That's right! Keep thinking! ::-
She might not have a flashlight, but the sparkling glow of her over charged horn provided just the faintest hint of illumination.
A new rumble shook the cave.
“We don't have time for this – follow me!”
With no other way to go, the girls bolted back to the end of their own tunnel before taking a sharp left and diving down the tunnel from which the worm had first come.
Sweetie went in first, on accountant of her having the only pair of eyes able to see where they were going. Applebloom followed the light on Sweetie's horn, while Scootaloo grabbed Applebloom's tail.
This tunnel was only half the size of their own – which had in turn been just about filly sized. Here, all of them had to keep their heads low, and even then their backs and saddlebags scraped against the confined space.
The thin road ahead curved left and right in a zigg zagg pattern. Like the worm had indeed been swimming left and right while homing in in its prey. The girls hurried the best they could – Witch was not easy given the crammed space slowed them down considerably.
It was the perfect place to develop claustrophobia. Especially since the vibrations were getting closer again. From behind scootaloo there was a series of thunds as something burst through several walls.
In horror – Sweetie realized that the worm was cannon-balling through the walls of dirt that separated each corridor in this zig-zag pattern. And with the tight space – there would be no where to dodge.
“STOPP!”
Appleblooms shout was followed by a quick tug on Sweetie's tailbone.
“He's gonna hit right in front of us!”
A second later, the tunnel in front of Sweetie exploded, as the worm crossed right past its own path. It did not take long for it to realize it's overshott it's target. And came back around the next corner. slowly pulling itself into the crawling space.
Sweetie stared it down, her infrared eyes taking in the featureless faceless front of the worm. And it stared back – Its pink mass fitting perfectly into the tunnel. Like a bullet loaded into the barrel of a gun. A living missile ready to shoot forward.
It was just Sweetie in between this bloodthirsty maggot and her friends.
And she was not letting it have them.
“Come on you oversized Fishbait!”
-:: Combat mode Initiated ::-
Sweeties horn sparkled as she and the worm ruched each other – the one spell she could cast busting into effect as her horn seemed to grow several times its size as she reactivated the drill.
The worm disappeared behind a spinning shield of steel and jagged teeth.
Sweetie continued to run forward. The act of drilling made a lot easier when there was already half a tunnel made beforehand. Scootaloo's howls of encouragements let her know that her friends were following right behind.
She pushed on. first out of fury, then out of fear. Fear about what exactly had become of that oversiced worm when it dissapeared behind her drill.
Before she knew it, she had punched her way to the next turn in the tunnel, where Sweetie instinctively retracted her drill to turn down another direction, when Applebloom grabbed her by the neck and all but shoved Sweetie into the Roof. Not wasting time being gentle.
“Up!” She screamed. “We've got to dig up!”
Sweetie reactivated the drill – this time going up at a steep angle as her friends pushed her on from behind. Trying to make her go faster through the thick earth.
And fast was how Sweetie wanted to get out of here. It would not matter where they ended up. Just as long as they got out of here. She did not want to stop to think about that she might just have skewered a living creature
But the road to the surface was long – and even with three girls pushing they barely managed a speed faster then a brisk trot.
And in that time … thought started to form in Sweeties mind.
-:: I've … never killed anything before ::-
-:: It was self defense ::-
-:: Butt still – I did not want to … ::-
“HE'S BACK!”
-:: WHAT!? - I'll kill him! ::-
Sweetie pulled the drill back, And turned back to Applebloom.
“Point me towards him!”
The earth pony grabbed Sweetie and turned her to face the direction of the sounds. where she punched the drill straight through the earth – Planing to meet the slimeball head on.
No collision came. Instead the earth gave way as the drill pushed into the worms tunnel and Sweetie quickly became accustomed with which way the worm had turned to avoid being skewerd.
Down.
Her friends tumbled after her, and their combined weight pressing the drill down even faster through the softened up earth. Chasing the worm as it fled in a panic.
The journey down was swift as the worm turned to flee back into its former tunnels. Sweetie and her party quickly gave chase. Cutting through some of the older tunnels to intercept the worm as it turned and swayed trying to avoid them.
The chase quickly became a frantic mess of twists and turns as the two parties did their utmost to outmaneuver each other. A chase that went back and forth through old tunnels as well as new that was punched through previous tunnels and sometimes straight through the earth in a disorienting tunneling feud.
A feud made all the more disorienting by Sweetie having to keep check on her two friends, who she sometimes had more trouble keeping check on then the worm as they blindly ran down different tunnels.
It quickly became unclear who was chasing who as both parties tunneled back and forth and criss-cross on bout the vertical and horizontal plane, and everything in between.
Their three dimensional battleground started to look more and more like an old cheese with way to many holes in it – So many in fact that if a cheese like this was ever brought to a customer, said customer would have very right to demand a refund over the fact that the space which the cheese occupied contained more air then dairy product.
This is also where the laws of Physics starts to take out its right, as the number of supporting pillars were quickly shrinking in comparison to all the loose dirt they had to hold up.
Anyone who has ever played the game of Brick-Tower (a game in which the goal is to one by one remove a brick from a tower made of the things) Knows that the inevitable outcome is that someone always looses.
The difference this time was that there was no winner.
Both parties had run each other to a standstill when the first rocks started to fall – And the ground underneath their hooves fell away.
With the roar of an avalanche – the tunnels gave way. And three little fillies world quickly lost its solidity, as they were suddenly falling through a void of dirt and darkness.
Sweetie instinctively pulled the drill back into her horn as an orange hoof reached out through the darkness and grabbed her and Applebloom. The Buzz of bearing wings was almost audibly over the roar of the earth as Scootaloo beat her wings as hard as she could. By sheer endurance she managed to slow the fall of one metal filly and some sturdy earth pony, even as rocks rained all around them, by just enough that the girls only got reconnected with the new formed floor at a non-lethal velocity.
***
Sweetie opened her eyes.
An quick systems check told her that – apart form a few scrapes on her armored shell – there was nothing for her repair program to take care off.
She tried to sit up, and found herself sliding back a few times as her hooves sank in the soft bed of loosely packed earth that had formed on the bottom Wherever-this-was.
Looking up, She could no longer see the roof of this massive cave that had formed under them. (She could only think of this place as “Below”, as it felt they had fallen further then anything they had been digging.) Not even with her infrared vision.
Not when this strange light kept making bright white blurs appear in her vision.
Sweetie blinked, and turned her vision back to normal. And suddenly there was light.
Not the light of the sun – a far fainter, green-ish light filled the cave. Almost like a night light.
A strong yellow hoof grabbed her shoulder.
“Are you Ok?”
Sweetie looked around. And found the sickly pale-green form of Applebloom looking at her.
“Yes … But … You don't look so good...”
“What? This? A few scrapes and burns, nothing I wont live through. I've had chores that taken more out of me then this.”
It took Sweetie a second to process that it was the Pale green light that was making Applebloom look so sickly.
“Um Girls – Hate to interrupt the reunion – but we are not done here!”
Behind her – An almost black orange shape with wings pointed to another bed of earth.
The pile turned, and out of it came the worm. Unlike her Friends – It was easy to make out the smiley body in the pale light. Even though it appeared wounded, Its still reared up when it noticed them.
The red returned to Sweeties eyes as she got her hooves under her, and the fillies took up a combat stance.
The worm made the first move. Having much easier to move on the loose earth it once again launched itself at the girls.
Sweetie threw up the drill as a shield again the onslaught of pink flesh. She worm jumped at the last second, sailing over her. But it never got to land on the other side as Scootaloo leaped over Sweetie - delivered a flying jumpkick to the closest thing it had to a head. Followed by Applebloom giving one of her families signature Applebucks to its mid section.
The worm tumbled over so bad that it hit the ground like a ragdoll rather the drill straight into it.
As It swirled around trying to get its bearing, Sweetie an up to it, her horn no longer a drill but sparkling with blue energy and she rammed it straight into the pink flesh.
-:: Firing! ::-
The worm almost tied a knot on itself as a huge dose of unrefined electricity surged into its flesh.
Sweetie jumped away, her horn glowing with another dose if needed be. It was the one spell the could be proud to call her own.
-:: I call this one: 'The Shocker' ::-
The worm wrangled around for a bit, Its thrashings ceasing as the shock slowly faded from its body.
It stopped moving for just long enough that Sweeties friends could check if they had earned their marks in worm-kicking.
Sadly - even if that had been their talents, this had not been a realizing moment just yet - for the worm stirred, and slowly rose again.
The girls took up a fighting stance, ready for round two.
Then – A tune filled their ears.
The worm went still. Still Regarding them with its faceless front – But not attacking.
Then- something emerged on top of its “head”.
A mole.
It held up something to its mouth, and made another tune.
The worm bent down until its head touched the ground, allowing the little furry creature to just off and look up on the three fillies with the biggest eyes (especially for such as little creature.)
“Blessings from the heaves ” it muttered.
And bowed.
***
Sweetie looked down on the larva. Calling it green would be a bit misleading since it seemed to be that Its innards were emitting a faint green glow that shone out through its transparent skin.
It was barely enough to give the small insect its color.
But with the thousands of them that populated the area, it it became a shine strong enough to let one see with normal eyes in the otherwise pitch black darkness of the underworld.
“Wow. So, you actually farm these things?”
"Yes, I do." The mole said in a squeaky, somewhat broken accent, but still perfectly understandable Equine tongue. "Though Id't be more Accurate to say that I am hunting. Oh yes, very few dare to come this far out into the dark Tunnels - but its only place where the glowy ones glow ..."
They did not seem that hard to hunt, though Sweetie, as she picked up the larva in her hooves. The things did not even move when you touched them. And they did not scurry away like normal insects. They just sat there and... glowed. Sweetie had no idea what they fed on, maybe they just sucked something straight from the earth?
Hunting them would be like saying that one was hunting for mushrooms.
"Anyway - I was lucky when I found this chasm full of the glowy ones, but then I though myself cursed when hear a rumbled from the above. So ... I sent worm-guard to investigate. "
He dropped to the ground in a bow again.
"Again – Please accept my sincerest apologies.”
“No problem” Said Scoot. “We could probably have taken it if we wanted to. “
“Yes of course – you truly are magnificent, oh children of the sky.”
The little one barely watched here he walked, as he was unable to take his eyes of the three fillies. Ever since he'd first laid his eyes on them he had been stuck in a state of constant awe. He had not been able to stop referring to them as "the children of the sky". In fact - the very first word out of his mouth had been:
"Are ... are you from the plane of the sky?"
Scootaloo had been the first to answer the awestruck little creature with all the dignity she could muster:
"Um ... Yeah?"
The fillies had questions of their own, but few chances to ask them, as the mole assaulted them with a nearly endless supply of rapid fire questions, squeaking like a guinea pig out of pure delight. He wanted to know everything, how they lived, what they ate, and above all what their sky looked like.
"Oh! Its just like he described it!" The mole shouted in delight, upon receiving the very simple information that the sky was blue.
"Who is he?" Applebloom asked?
"And - Is it true that there is a great stone in the center of the Sky - shining bigger and brighter then the greatest fire-ruby?"
"Um ... yeah, its called the sun ..." Applebloom began.
"OH! SUN ... yes. Sun . S - U -N. Praised be the Sun stone!"
... though I would not call it a Stone ...
Sweetie got the sense that the mole did not hear any further explanation, as he was lost in a new hissy-fit of over-exited squeaks.
"Oh greatest of all holy stones. Shiniest, most perfect crust ... "
... I think its more made of gas ..."
"Oh, to be blessed with the light eternal - to just gaze upon its magnificence ..."
"... Actually we have this thing called night ... "
"Why don't you just go ans see it if means so much to you? In fact - We could probably take you there."
The mole looked like he was about to have a heat attack at Scootaloo's mere suggestion.
"You .. you would do that? Me? A simple Huntsmole? To be blessed by such ..."
He threw himself at Scootaloos hooves.
"Oh Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! I would very much love to ... But No, no, no, no, no, NO! It would not be right for me to take such a gift all by myself ... Oh how selfish of me!"
"It ... Its cool" Scootalloo waved dismissively, as the mole began to prance around sweating bullets. "No one is calling you selfish"
"Not selfish ... No ... yes ... I mean ... When something like this happens. surely he would like to hear about it.. In fact, He must hear of it! they all deserve to hear that ... "
He threw himself at their hooves again.
"Oh blessed children of sky." Please allow a simple Mole like me to be your escort to our humble home!"
"Um ... sure?"
"Oh blessed ... Blessed!"
"... Nopony is listening to me any more, are they?"
***
And so, Because no one else had a better idea - and because the girls might just be a teeny, tiny, ippsy, bittsy, little bit lost in the ever expansive darkness of the worlds underbelly - the CMC followed the mole through the tunnels.
Their path was illuminated by tiny transparent sacks filled with glowing worms. The mole had insisted on carrying them all himself, but had eventually been talked into letting the ponies help him.
The sacks now hung in tiny strings around their necks. Acting as a form of tiny lanterns. Even more worms filled their saddlebags, something that had almost sent the mole mad with delight, aw he would not be bringing home an far greater harvest then he normally would. The Girls just thought about it as a way to repay the favor for finding a way out of here (and there had been the promise of some great rewards in the end.) Sweetie just though about how the worms might affect the skin in her bag.
Speaking of worms - The big one, though it carried bruises from the beatdown, tunneled ahead of them. Opening paths and whitening walkways just large enough for the girls to squeeze through. (Though their saddlebags still scraped the edges.)
Sweetie though about her own drill - But would rather not use it.
She felt the last of her crystal reserves deplete as her belly grinned up the few pieces of gemstones that remained in her tummy.
She was now running on battery power alone. Fully charged as it might be – there was no way she would be able to off a frantic chase like that again – not without blacking out.
Thinking about it – she realized she had no idea how long she would have been able to run the drill on battery power alone – she had just run the course with a belly full of crystals.
Their guide never stopped drilling them with questions, and never stopped being as fascinated by the tiniest, insignificant detail. (like that grass is green as emeralds). The girls mage a silent agreement to keep their answers short. They were sure their guide would have suffered 3 continuous heart attacks if they had described everything they had in too much detail.
It did not escape Sweetie that, to a creature that must have lived his whole life underground, the very color of the sky must be a ting of legend. And if fact - so were they. These three little ponies were visitors from a world this little creature had only dreamed of. No wonder the little guy treated them with such awe - they were creatures of legend made flesh and blood.
Well - Two of them were.
Applebloom could not help herself but to snicker at how their guide marveled at three dirty little fillies from a Backwater town like they were some perfectly sculptured deities of perfection.
Scootaloo probably got a massive ego boost as the mole marveled at her underdeveloped wings.
Even so - to a creature that had apparently never seen ponies before - Sweetie stood out,
The one word he could not get enough of repeating was "marvelous."
"The sky truly knows no bounds." he squeaked. "To procure such marvelous children of ... of living, breathing metal."
"Um ... thanks?"
"Looks like someone truly appreciates your alloys Sweetie." Scootaloo said with a sly grin, as she elbowed Sweetie in the side.
"Please don't call me that."
"I sorry!" The mole answered "It just ... you are living metal. The Sky truly knows no bounds."
Sweetie cracked a smile, of all the things she had been called today - living metal was not one of them.
Ahead of them, there came a loud rumble crash as the worm used its body to move several large rocks out of the way.
“About the worm.” Said Applebloom, taking the chance to ask a question of her own. “How did you get it to … do the things it does?”
"Oh, I sing it the tune of the Earth mother." Said the mole.
"Earth mother?"
"With this!"
He held up in his paw a simple, pipe like flute – seemingly made out of rock. It had a few holes (five to be precise), and the mole explained that each tune was some kind of simple command.
To demonstrate - he put it to his mouth, and played a short melody. The tunnel shook in front of them as the worm returned.
It seemed to watch them with its featureless face, before another tune was played, and it disappeared back into the next tunnel.
Sweetie noted that while he could play the flute with his tiny paws – the thing was so small that it could fit all into the open hoof of the foals – too small to be played by them.
"This has been in my family heirdom for 3 generations." The mole proudly stated "With this - We can communicate with the Earth mothers children. To think my grand-papa used to tell me stories of how they were our worst enemies, always hunting and fighting for our tunnels. But then - he came - And taught us the song of the earth mother. My grand-papa was taught the tune. As was my papa, and now me.
Now, her children are as our children. Without them we would not be able to built out humble home."
"Again - Who is 'He?'" Asked Applebloom.
"Our great king!" Exclaimed the mole. "Oh, I'm sure he be but a simple mole to you, but to us, he is great enlightened one. He is only mole to ever see great sky and return! And when he did - he brought back many gifts and knowledge. He brought us out of age of blindness And into great new age of enlightenment!"
The moles eyes shone with pride as he spoke.
"Oh, but I'm sorry, I am not greatest storyteller. there are many who would tell stories of our great king far better then me.
In fact, he will probably tell them best himself. I'm sure he can't wait to meet such great visitors from the blue beyond."
The party emerged out into a widening chasm, and as they rounded a corner and found there was light coming from the other end.
At first. Sweetie though they had reached the surface. But her senses told her they had barely been traveling upwards. If anything. They were further down now then they had ever been before.
Stepping out of the last tunnel – the girls ended up on a platform overlooking the largest cave either of them had ever seen. A tunnel that despite being buried in the untold depths below the surface, shone like Celestia herself had lent out one of her suns rays.
Having spend what must be hours in the dark underbelly of the earth – it was blinding.
Unlike the sun however, it did not shine from above, but from down below.
The three of them were almost blinded again as they looked over the edge of the platform.
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Name him grubby!
Don't you worry about name, I went to pony convent and didn't ask for names of friends I made there until it was time to go home (two days later).
Also, somepony played a bit too much "Death Worm" android app on their smartphone.
And
You meant "which" - because Witches would probably put a curse on them
Lol. Nice chapter.
Oh good, the worms are actually harmless if you whistle at them correctly.
Sweetie should totally record that!
Hey! Maybe the moles have no use for gems and would like to trade! Infinite power resource get!
Keep going! ;)
Huh, a mole kingdom, using (likely pony) artifacts to command death worms. It's interesting, but I still don't get why they didn't turn back a long time ago. Sweetie's just too eager to keep going, and wants to pretend she can get more crystals later?
8169651 She can play back any sounds that she's heard, I think? For Sweetie Belle, recording and listening are the same thing.
Technically, that is where the term "cliffhanger" comes from.
8670880
Realy? Huh...
I am pretty surprised they didn’t fell headfirst in to something.
loving the fact that minecraft is canon in this fanfic
why does this worm thing remind me of the eater of worlds from terraria?