Siktral's Life in the Dark

by Ralfil

4. Captured Pain

I knew that I didn't have any idea where I was going, but something just told me I needed to get down there and rescue them, somehow. I wasn't even sure that they needed rescuing. For all I knew, they could have dug the hole themselves. There were many possibilities there, but only one of them felt right even though several were logical. Something came from the ground and kidnapped them. Or would that be ponynapped? Hmm.

I mused on that for a bit as I slid down the hole. It was fairly steep, but still slanted enough for me to not be free-falling. Eventually the hole began to level out into a regular tunnel. When my sliding came to an end I reached out with my limbs to determine the dimensions of my surroundings. I found that I was encompassed by dirt all around me. The tunnel was not as wide as my wingspan, but it was close. From top to bottom it was big enough for me to be comfortable. I could stand up straight easily enough, and I could touch the ceiling if I reached my arm above my head a little bit.

That was good to know, but I didn't think that I could rely on it being the same the whole way. So, I crouched down on all fours, giving myself the ability to feel the ground ahead of me. I didn't want to fall down a deeper hole unexpectedly. I sniffed the air a bit to get a feel for it as well. It reminded me of rich garden soil. While not a gardener myself, I had helped my mother with weeding a fair amount growing up.

That seemed fairly strange to be honest. Normally the soil wouldn't smell quite this rich as far down as I probably was. I concluded that I was sufficiently aware of what was around me to continue, or, at least as aware as I could be. I moved forward, adopting a pattern of feeling ahead with my hands similar to what I had done earlier before meeting the two ponies, only faster.

I was feeling a couple of conflicting emotions. I wanted to be cautious because of my blindness, but I also felt that time was somehow very important. I didn't want to run into anyone hostile unprepared. It took me a bit to realize that since I was underground, sight wouldn't really help me there anyways. This encouraged me to go a little bit faster.

I came to point where the tunnel widened a bit and seemed to open up somehow. The second thing I noticed after that was a sound. There appeared to be a crackling noise coming from the sides. That was certainly different from the repetitive sounds of my claws and tail shuffling forward. As I felt around the walls I found that I was actually in what appeared to be a room. The floor and walls were also much harder than in the tunnel. I must be in a more established section of whatever this place is.

I knew that the tunnel would lead somewhere, but I had hoped that it would be an above ground somewhere. I didn't quite like the idea of being overly constrained with my movement if something dangerous occurred. I felt towards the crackling noise and found what appeared to be something metal stuck into the wall with a slot for a wooden stick. I realized the sound must be coming from torches. Curious, I reached for the ceiling again and found that it had relatively small holes in it. Well, at least I don't have to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning.

I thought for a bit about that. Clearly, whatever had made this place was intelligent, or at least sentient, if it could use fire like this. It also needed light to see. I, however, was blind. I didn't need these things. If whatever was here was hostile, I could handicap them by removing their sight advantage over me. With that in mind I plucked the torch I had found out of it's bracket and plunged it into the dirt. The slight sizzling told me it was still moist enough to extinguish the thing. This was good.

I moved around the room and repeated the process until I couldn't hear any more torches in the immediate vicinity. Having plunged the room into darkness – hopefully – I felt around some more. I found that there were three tunnels branching out of there in addition to the one I had come in from. I listened at each in hopes of finding Silver Rain and her cousin. Unfortunately there wasn't much to go with.

I could tell that there were clearly torches in each tunnel, but there were only slight variations in the background sounds coming from them. I determined that the middle path had slightly more noise coming from its depths. Huh. I guess I just have really good hearing. I'll find out that for sure once I know just how far away the sources of the noises are. I crept into it and moved onwards, but only for a moment.

I paused as I thought about the torches in here. I might as well extinguish them too. I knew about what height they should be by that point, so I commenced with that plan using my tail. It allowed me to continue onwards without having to slow down very much. I just hoped that there wasn't any luminescent moss or something similar as a backup around here. That would make this action rather pointless.

I soon got used to the rhythmic sounds of my claws dragging slightly through the dirt and the flames around me hissing to an end. It was becoming very useful to have a tail this capable. I definitely needed it. As my wings brushed lightly against the walls I came to a branch off to my left. I paused for a moment to lean towards it. It led somewhere, but the majority of the sounds were still ahead of me. I could only make out the familiar crackling of torches in the offshoot. I resumed my journey.

I quickly found that there were several branches off to the sides as I continued. The tunnel I was in seemed fairly level though. Every now and then one of the side tunnels would have sounds in addition to their torches. I paused at these ones before moving on. They weren't what I was looking for. One had the sound of several creatures snoring loudly, so I guessed that it was where the beds were. Another had merely the sound of eating. I could tell that there wasn't any talking. I guess they're not much for dinner conversations here.

As I doused another torch I began to wonder if I would ever find the unicorns. I didn't even have much of a plan for what I would do once I found them. If they were being held captive and guarded I would be at a loss. I certainly didn't know how to fight. I stopped as I reached yet another branch. I held a claw in front of my face even though I couldn't see it. I considered my current abilities. If worse came to worse I felt that I might be able fight, but it would be dangerous. I had weapons I had never used before in any way.

I listened to my right – where the side tunnel was – and considered the fact that not only was this tunnel flat, it also seemed to be rather straight. I guess efficiency is important for them. Not many things are more efficient than a straight line when you need to get somewhere. This tunnel's particular sonic ambiance suddenly piqued my interest. I could hear someone crying in there. It was faintly familiar to me. That sounds like Silver Rain!

I changed my direction and hurried down there. I was so focused on getting there that I forgot to keep extinguishing torches along my sides. As I scrabbled forward the sound of my breathing was suddenly overwhelmed by a noise that seemed to be a combination of barking and laughter. This spurred me forward into a four-legged run with my wings still brushing against the walls around me.

Suddenly my wings encountered air on both sides. Without the slight resistance they had been pushing against they flared out slightly. I knew I was in the room. Fortunately it seemed that the laughing characters I had heard had their backs to me, as they didn't react to my entrance. I was also glad that despite my haste I hadn't made much noise. What I had made was easily drowned out by the laughter and sobbing ahead of me.

In addition to the sounds, I could clearly smell the room. It held an atrocious scent. Gagging, I quickly probed my surroundings on the sides with my wings and found what I guessed to be a pile of wooden crates off to my right. I dove behind them as I heard Silver Rain's crying evolve into words, “W-why are you d-doing this to us?”

My breath caught in my throat as I heard the sound of a whip and the pony's cry of pain. Her captors screamed at her in a menacing, though not very intelligent manner, “Stupid pony shut-up! Pony belong to Diamond Dogs now!”

Despite their anger, her sobs grew in volume. I worriedly thought about what I could do. Since I was blind and the self-proclaimed Diamond Dogs seemed to want her alive, I figured I could just wait for now. When they left she would be bruised, but I could get her out of there. It wouldn't be too hard then. Nonetheless, it hurt me to think that I would help her more by not doing anything at the time.

I heard their feet shuffle across the floor as they neared my hiding place. I stiffened, hoping they didn't look behind the crates. They stopped in front of the pile and instead opened up one of the boxes. Silver Rain gasped out, “Stardancer!” A whip cracked, and she cried out in pain.

The stakes had suddenly been raised. Both girls were in here, and the Diamond Dogs had the younger one in their hands. I was trying to think about what to do when one of them spoke again, “Small pony too little for work. Useless. Big pony be quiet or small pony suffer.” That was not good.

“Please don't hurt her!” Silver cried out. Unfortunately, it seemed that speaking at all was exactly the wrong thing to do. These creature knew about incentives, but they didn't care for pleading at all. They growled loudly back at her, and I heard what I guessed was the sound of their claws rattling against the bars of her cage.

“Big pony not listen. No second chance. Little pony suffer.” Though I couldn't see what they did then, it still shook me to the core. The sounds were enough. With Silver Rain crying out for mercy, they began to tear into a fortunately unconscious child.

I knew I needed to do something. I tried to think of how I could save her. I thought about jumping over the crates I was hiding behind and attacking the cruel beings on the other side that way, but I stopped because I was afraid that I might hurt her by accident from not seeing where she was. I considered tearing straight through the wooden boxes, but I couldn't be sure of their location. I only had my hearing to guide me.

I heard the sickening sound of bones cracking. My mind raced as I tried to think of a way to stop this awful thing. I considered letting out a bellowing roar in hopes that it would scare the Diamond Dogs away, but they might be brave enough that it wouldn't make a difference. I didn't know what criteria they used for their guards here. They might just attack me and kill me. I didn't even know what they looked like. I could assume they resembled dogs somehow with a monicker like that, but how big were they?

There was a sickening snap followed by something clattering across the surface of the crates in front of me. I tensed as it fell on my head and bounced onto the floor. They just laughed. I guessed that they had tossed it behind them. Fearfully I reached down and felt around for it. As my fingers closed around the object I realized what it was. It was Stardancer's horn.

Another wrenching sound and a thump on the ground told me that my hesitation had led to the death of Stardancer. The realization hit me like a fist in the gut. I could have stopped it, but I sat there and cowered behind a bunch of crates. The empty eye-sockets on my face welled up with tears of frustration and guilt. I was confused and didn’t know what to do.

Cupping the horn in my hands, all thoughts fled from my mind. Perhaps I could have done something to stop this from happening, but I was too lost to know what would have worked at the time. The shock of what had just happened consumed my mind until I was completely unaware of what was going on around me. I stroked the horn, committing its form to memory. I couldn’t see it, but I somehow felt that I needed to remember it.

I was startled out of my musings by the sound of an wet slap. I don’t know quite what happened, but it seemed that the Diamond Dogs threw something at Silver Rain that knocked her senseless. They gruffly told her to be silent, so she must have yelled at them or something for them to be so upset again. Then the screaming started.

“You monsters! You aren’t anything more than beasts! What is wrong with you?! I-”

Silver Rain was cut off by one of the Diamond Dogs who must have been grabbing her throat. She made a gurgling noise as the beast screamed back, “You be silent pony! Obey or suffer like little pony! Then you be dead pony.”

A new emotion welled up inside of me. It wasn’t the fear and uncertainty from before. Rather it could only be described as rage. I felt something similar in my chest to when I had found that my eyes were missing. Only this time there wasn’t any choking. I felt warmth in my throat growing.

I would have jumped over those crates immediately, but I was stopped by the sound of another blast. Silver Rain was screaming in rage herself. One of the Diamond Dogs crashed into the other side of the boxes from me with a thud. There was a click, and the other one responded by throwing something else at her which let out a muffled explosion. It then made a noise similar to the one made when you cook on a stove and the pot boils over.

I heard a body crumple to the floor. My claws dug into the ground in frustration and anger. Even if I did jump in and fight, I had no way of knowing what other weapons they had. If they could subdue her so easily, I probably would only be a little more trouble for them. I wanted to do something, but again I felt trapped and unable to attack. I wasn’t uncertain anymore though. There was just no point in attacking when it was clear I would still probably lose.

The Diamond Dog who had been blasted by Silver Rain’s magic stood up from the crates and stomped over to her loudly. “You suffer now! No moving or magic from you anymore!” I heard a whining noise that I assumed was her. They must have completely immobilized her with whatever they had used. There followed the sound of a fist hitting hide. I hadn't been sure, but this told me at least that they weren't quadrupeds like the ponies. It also told me that I needed to do something to stop them.

Again I readied myself to burst through, hoping to surprise them fast enough to prevent them from using on me whatever they used on Silver Rain. Again I paused when the other Diamond Dog shouted for his companion to stop. “We punish, but we try breaking spirit first. Could still use stupid pony in mines. We come back later.” The angrier Diamond Dog grumbled acquiescence, but I was pretty sure I heard him kick the unicorn again spitefully. They left without saying anything else.

I couldn't take it anymore. The warm feeling inside me began burning, and I let it out. A whooshing sound escaped my mouth, and I soon heard the sound of wood crackling in a fire in front of me. Realization struck me. What?! I can breathe fire! I punched the burning wood, and it crumbled before me. I figured, and was right thankfully, that if I could breathe fire I was probably fireproof on the outside as well.

The bad guys were gone, so it wasn't too hard to reach Silver Rain. I could hear her heartbeat as I held her. It sped up when I picked her up, so I could tell she was still awake. I couldn't think of much to say, but I was able to squeeze out an apology for what had happened. “I shouldn't have left you girls alone on the ground.” She responded with a whining noise from her throat since her vocal cords weren't working apparently.

As I turned to leave the awful room with her in my arms, I stumbled across a body on the ground. I realized immediately whose it was since her horn was still in my closed hand. I quietly knelt down and felt it with my wings. The wounds on the body were plentiful. Gashes were all over it. I wasn't sure, but I thought there were some degrading pictures carved into Stardancer's hide as well. Strangled sobs escaped from the throat of the pony in my arms.

I didn't want to leave this here to be desecrated any further, but it would be difficult to maneuver around carrying both of them. I came to a quick conclusion of a way to give her body a true rest from these horrors. “Silver Rain, where I come from there is a method of burial that can ensure someone's body isn't touched anymore by evil.” I figured I could embellish a little. I had never done this before. “We take the body and burn it. The smell wont be nice, but those Diamond Dogs wont be able to do anything bad with it anymore.”

I set Silver Rain down and picked up Stardancer's body, being careful to not injure the one still alive by stepping on her or something. I carried Stardancer's corpse to the burning crates and laid it down on them. I then let loose the fire from my chest again. The stench of burning flesh reached my nostrils, but didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I didn't have time to consider that since I wasn't sure how long the Diamond Dogs would be gone.

I scooped Silver Rain back up into my arms and hurried forwards. Having my wings outstretched turned out to be a good thing again since the exit was actually a little to my right. Correcting my direction, I left the area. I just hope we are able to get out of here as easily as I got in. Plans to use my new-found talent with fire ran through my head just in case we encountered any more enemies. We continued forwards, my ears attuned to my surroundings as well as Stardancer's heartbeat.

Author's Note:

Yeah, sorry it took so long to finish this chapter. Truth is, I've been going to College the whole time I've been a brony. My cousin, who went by Ace2401, introduced FiM to me just before I started my Spring Term. Let me know what you think I could have done better here.

Edit: Just changed a couple of words.

Comments

[Max]

Update, Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

[Captain_Savage]

....

[revilO]

finally, I really like this story. Could you please write the description of Sikral, I tend to forget some descriptions.
edit*
Damn, that was sad. I feel bad for Sikral

[Max]

sad chapter saaaaaaaaaaaaaaad

[Out of Place]

Man...that's gonna haunt him.

[BlackWing]

He updated finally? !! .............. Why? Why would you do that?

[Doctor D]

Ahh, character death. The source of infinite drama.

Want more!

[Max]

Okay now that i remember, this shouldnt be rated for everyone, in fact not even teen...

[Ralfil]

1238663
I'll admit that the 4th chapter merited a teen rating, but I deliberately avoided the details that would lead to a mature rating (at least in my opinion). It's changed now.

[Judoon_Warrior]

MOAR

[More Dakka]

wow...

[TigeR]

I really like your story! It really let me feel the atmosphere, well done. I realize you haven't written for months, but please continue?

[Ralfil]

2148589
I do intend to continue this story, but I only write when I'm really in the mood to do so. This story in particular requires a fair amount of forethought to get the descriptions right.

[TigeR]

2148869 I know exactly what you mean. I want to write my own stories and publish them, too, I have even begun a few, but it's hard sometimes to get into the right mood. But I appreciate that you take this story seriously!

[Judoon_Warrior]

Is this story dead?

[Vinyl Nexus Scratch]

A blind dragon?... Seath the Scaleless?!

[Ralfil]

4855545 Who?

[Thuban]

4855639 Late answer but:
Seath the Scaleless is a defective dragon in the Dark Souls universe, he's albino and lacks scales that grant immortality, so he's relatively weak for a dragon.
darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/file/view/Seath%203.jpg/523742490/681x440/Seath%203.jpg

[Phobos]

I have a feeling silver rain might hate him. Mebbe just a little

[Autumn breeze24]

I am pissed Of now thanks for making me angry.