The Festival of Lights

by Dusk Melody

Chapter 4 - Attack of the Spiders

The spiders had spread their webbing across the city itself, transforming it into a great nest web. The four could see the invading creatures tying up ponies who ran screaming in a state of mass confusion. The city’s guardian Golems were attempting to hold the spiders back, but they were vastly outnumbered.

For every spider a Golem crushed to paste under its stone fists, twenty spiders would swarm another and bring it crashing to the ground. Ponies who tried to fight back found themselves quickly overwhelmed and subdued.

Down below, at the base of the huge pillar, they saw a dark, shadowy form several times the size of the other spiders, with a ridged black body striped in scarlet. Confronting this mammoth beast was none other than Evenlight, stood alone on the steps of the Tomevault with flashes of magic bursting from her horn, a powerful shield around herself protecting her from the creature’s vicious attacks.

“Hurry!” Flash Hoof urged them to a gallop over the High Bridge, “We have to save the city!”

Unusually, Sparkler was at the front of the charge. “We have to save the Tomevault!” Desperately, Sparkler thrust her palm forwards and she shot several fireballs at the city, only for them to dissipate well before they reached their targets, “Damn, out of range! We need to get down there, quickly!”

Stonecutter was appalled and spurred on by her fear for the scattered ponies, “It's all covered in webs!” she could barely make out any of the buildings. Second by second, the webs grew thicker.

“Oh my goodness!” Cloudy Skies flew alongside Blackbeak as they helped the guards they had rescued down into the overrun city; she had never seen chaos like it in her life. Everywhere she looked, ponies were fighting for their lives, and all the time waves of spiders descended on webs from above, reinforcing those that the Golems killed, “There's so many!”

Captain Flash Hoof, while healed in the fort by Stonecutter’s magic, was far from fully restored. Still, he was ready. “Help Evenlight,” he ordered as he drew his sword and his fellow guards did the same amid the terrified screams of the beleaguered populace, “We will help the ponies up here. Quickly now!”

Blackbeak shared a salute of swords with the guard Captain. Both warriors knew the chances of seeing each other again were slim to non-existent. He respected the earth pony stallion for charging into the plaza. “Just some bugs, let's move it!” he was determined to not waste Flash Hoof’s sacrifice.

“The Tomevault!” Sparkler cried, her horn lit ready with a host of spells, “We need to save the books!”

As they raced down the steps of the pillar that Umberfoal stood on, Evenlight the Wise was busy fighting a losing battle with the Queen of the spiders. Her magic had managed to hold her at the plaza for a short time, then she had been swarmed by thirty of the creatures.

The distraction had worked. While the powerful mage had been able to defeat the spiders with relative ease, the Queen had forced her way down into the Tomevault from above. Smeared in dark green spider blood, covered in scratches and bruises, Evenlight ran at a gallop down the stairs.

“Books?” Stonecutter gasped, the fat mare breathing heavily from the exercise, “You seriously think of books at a time like this?”

“Yes!” Sparkler grabbed Stonecutter’s hand when she saw her out of shape marefriend start to slow down. She ran as fast as she could, following the much quicker Blackbeak and Cloudy Skies who were flying down the spiraling stairs.

On the flight down the stairs, Cloudy Skies squeezed Blackbeak’s clawed hand like she did when she was scared, and she needed her big strong griffon to save her. To Tartarus with the argument or the bad air between them. That was for later. Giving her a glance, Blackbeak smiled grimly as they swiftly descended the pillar. “Look, it's Evenlight!”

“Ma'am!” Stonecutter forgot about being out of breath and running so hard she could throw up. She pushed all those thoughts to the back of her head, “Are you okay?” she asked, realising as she did so that it was a pointless question. Evenlight, bruised and battered, looked like she had been through a small war.

“Where did that big spider go?” Sparkler asked, a note of urgent panic in her voice, “Stony, I think she could use some of your healing.”

“I'm on it, Sparks,” Stonecutter walked over to Evenlight, her hands raised, “Ma'am, if I could just touch your face and your waist?”

“No time!” Evenlight cried, “You have to get the Festival of Lights Arcast out of there to safety!”

“It won't take but a moment, Ma'am.”

“Take it where?” Sparkler asked, “To Canterlot?” that was the first place she thought of, because Celestia and Luna were there, and they would surely be able to easily remedy the situation, dire as it was.

Evenlight didn’t stop Stonecutter from laying her large strong hands on her face, though she did flinch when she felt the earth pony touch her broken ribs where the spiders had breached her shields with her other hand. “N-No...” she gasped as the magic flowed through her body, healing bruises knitting bones together, “To the Agaricus Forest. Find the Agari to help you.”

Blackbeak walked to the closed doors of the Tomevault and looked through the vaulted stained-glass window. What he saw made his feathers stand on end. “That red pony is in there with the spider and they are both touching the Crucible!”

Cloudy Skies found her knees knocking together, “Th-The big size-of-three-houses spider is in there?” she pointed a shaking hand to the doors, “And we have to go in there?” She wasn’t scared of spiders. She was terrified of spiders that were the size of the town hall in Ponyville!

“What's Lady Alethea doing with the spider?” asked Stonecutter as she finished healing Evenlight’s many wounds.

“She...She…” Evenlight couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence she had started, because her brain simply refused to accept the truth of what she had seen. It just couldn’t be!

“Is she being mind controlled?” asked Sparkler gently. When Evenlight shook her head, she confirmed what the young unicorn had suspected ever since Blackbeak had pointed out in the Overlook. Only Alethea used the Crucible. “Then she must be helping it!”

Evenlight just lowered her head, the full weight and gravity of the situation hitting her full on now she had a moment to breathe and gather her thoughts into some semblance of order. Alethea helping the spiders. It was unthinkable, but the evidence spoke for itself. “What's the plan?” Blackbeak asked, drawing the venerable unicorn from her reverie, “I don't think I can kick its ass.”

Given its size, he didn’t think anything short of a small army could kick its ass.

The beginnings of a plan began to form in Sparkler’s analytical mind. “If you and Stony can run distraction on the spider, and Sky can divert Alethea, then I can teleport the Arcast to me. Evenlight, does the Crucible have a magical defense?”

“Yes, when it is activated,” Evenlight forced herself to think clearly. There would be time enough for emotion later. “As long as they are touching it the defense mechanisms are activated. They prevent anypony from accidentally pulling out the Arcast while it is being read.”

“Ma'am,” Stonecutter spoke up, trying in vain to put the distant screams of the Umberfoalians out of her mind, “If we do get the Arcast, how do we get to this Agaricus Forest?”

“Through the Deepwell,” Sparkler replied for the older mare, “I wasn't planning on going there this visit.”

“Yes,” Evenlight nodded, “That's right.”

“To the Umber Depths through the Overlook back in the fort?” Cloudy Skies found herself looking at four incredulous stares and she shot them a defiant look of her own, “What? I read too you know!”

Sparkler smiled and she laid a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I know Sky. Let’s go and get that Arcast.”

~ ~ ~

Inside the Tomevault, Insidira, the spider Queen, was half hanging from the surrounding columns, half standing on the floor, such was her immense size. “Quickly,” she hissed to the only other creature in the vast library, “I've waited a thousand years and I'll wait no more. Start the ritual Alethea, before that bothersome pony outside finds reinforcements.”

“As you wish,” Alethea wrinkled her nose in distaste, and she set her hand on the receptacle on top of the Crucible. “There should not be any reinforcements. I made sure the guard Captain and was fed to your spiders in the fort. If they can be relied upon...” Wisely, Alethea chose not to finish that sentence when the huge spider hissed threateningly at her, “I-If y-you can touch the Crucible too, my Queen, the ritual can begin...”

“I have many eyes on you, Librarian. Don't dare trick me this late in the game.” she narrowed those many, many eyes and she reached out one of her front legs to touch the Crucible. She knew how the ritual worked.

“As if I would, my Queen. I am your loyal servant, we need each other, do we not?” she rested her hand on top of the receptacle that housed the Festival of Lights Arcast, “For the future of Umberfoal!” the Chief Librarian cleared her mind of all other things, she silenced the sounds of the fighting, she put aside the muffled screams from the city above, and she activated the Arcast.

In an instant, faster than the blink of an eye, the vision of the Festival was given to Insidira and, a split second later, the gigantic spider used her considerable willpower to rewrite the Arcast, redesigning it to her own design. “Join me in creating a new Umberfoal Alethea,” her moment of victory was at hand. A victory she had waited many years to realise. “We can have the city we desire, the home we deserve!”

“As you command, so it is done!” Lady Alethea then added her own not inconsiderable willpower to the rewriting of the Arcast.

A moment later, and the terrible deed was done. A wave of dark magic erupted from the Crucible, surrounding Insidira like a swirling cloak of sheer power. Insidira used her formidable willpower to shape the wave of dark energy and send it blasting out of the Tomevault. “Yes!” she cried in delight, for she could feel the magic beginning to transform the city into a home more suited to her children. “Now raise this to the plaza and all will share our vision. You will rule this city Alethea, while I shall rule the world!”

“I shall rule Umberfoal!” Alethea declared, visions of her victory filling her mind. “The city and all its knowledge will be preserved forever!”

All around the city, the desperate fighting paused as one by one, the glowing blue crystals went dark. In the Burrows, where the fighting had been house by house and room by room, the lights went out. Umberfoal was cast into an eerie, dark red half lit darkness.

Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, stallions, mare and foals, the incredibly young and old, fell as the Spectral Stair on which they had been trying to evacuate vanished under their hooves. Fresh screams filled the still air as they fell. The few pegasi managed to catch some of the falling ponies. They were few in number though and those tens, those hundreds of ponies they couldn’t help fell screaming to their deaths.

While the city was transformed above them, Blackbeak, Cloudy Skies, Stonecutter and Sparkler all crept quietly and, they imagined, discreetly into the Tomevault. However, even with their Duskloak armour, they were not as sneaky as they thought. “The meddling fools!” Insidira hissed as her many eyes caught the intruders, “Raise the Crucible! Raise it quickly Alethea! I will deal with these mayflies.”

“It’s the saviours!” Alethea exclaimed in alarm, “My Queen, do not underestimate them!”

Now they were inside, the sheer size of the spider hit them like a ton of bricks. “That. Is. One. Big spider!” Cloudy Skies exhaled before flapping her wings and taking off, heading straight towards Alethea to harry the librarian.

Blackbeak let out a vicious war cry as he charged straight to the spider Queen with his sword raised in his hand. To cover his somewhat reckless charge, Sparkler aimed a spread of bright fireworks right across the giant spider’s eyes. Unlike the griffon, Stonecutter went around the sides of the columns that the spider was resting on so she could attack at her legs.

Alethea’s first instinct was to protect the Crucible, but she couldn’t. Try as she might, the jets of water that Cloudy Skies threw at her forced the earth pony back down one of the aisles of books and away from the fighting.

Sparkler crouched for cover behind a low bookcase where she continued to fire blinding blasts of fire at the gigantic spider. She could see the Crucible from where she was hidden, but until the spider’s leg was removed from the receptacle, she could not affect the Arcast.

If blinding Insidira meant she was any less of a threat, they were dead wrong. Stonecutter only narrowly dodged a thrust from the Queen’s foreleg as she wove around the columns where she could attack the other foremost leg, in an attempt to unbalance the shrieking blinded spider.

While Stonecutter and Blackbeak attacked the Queen, Cloudy Skies was busy making sure Alethea stayed away, although the Chief Librarian showed no attempt to get in on the fight. She was content to hide. One of the spider’s legs came crashing down, narrowly missing Stonecutter’s head by mere inches. “How's it coming Sparks?”

Just then, a wickedly sharp pincer bounced off Blackbeak’s armour, leaving a long deep gouge in the metal pauldron protecting his shoulder that almost reached the leather rerebrace covering his upper arm. “We could do with leaving about now!”

Sparkler grunted in frustration, for she could do nothing until Insidira let go of the Crucible and the shields lowered. “Back the spider away!”

Upon hearing Sparkler’s frantic yell, Stonecutter summoned forth a furious rage and she swung her warhammer so hard that she almost broke the tip off of one of the spider's legs in front of her. Following her example, Blackbeak hacked at the spider with his sword, and, just for a split second, Insidira was at last separated from the Crucible.

It may have only been the span of a heartbeat, but it was all the time Sparkler needed. As soon as she saw the leg move, as soon as she felt the magical shields drop, the gifted young unicorn teleported the Arcast into her hands. “Run!”

“Sky!” Stonecutter yelled at the top of her lungs, “Time to go! Let's go!”

Blackbeak had lost interest in fighting a fight he couldn’t possibly win. There was no honour in just feeding himself to his opponent, and he had no inclination in becoming the spider’s next snack. “Come on! Fly!”

Insidira, who was still temporarily blinded, thanks to Sparkler’s constant fireworks display, was thrashing about, smashing three of the huge stone columns in her rage and pain. “Alethea!” she screeched, “Stop them, now!”

Lady Alethea though, had no stomach for a fight, in particular a fight with those who had saved Umberfoal. Their reputation preceded them. The red earth pony mare was paralyzed into uncertainty, unable to take any action but to hide. “You fool of a pony! I'll do it myself!” Insidira screeched, not in anger or pain, she called down several of her soldiers from the city to give chase.

As they fled the Tomevault, Stonecutter caught a glimpse back over her shoulder at the spiders coming down on webs to assist their Queen. Outside, she slammed the doors shut. “Evenlight, we got it, we got the Arcast, let's go!”

Evenlight though, did not run. She turned to face the closed stone doors and she used her magic to erect a powerful forceshield over the Tomevault exit. “Run, my friends, you must save the Arcast!”

Sparkler reached out for the venerable unicorn, “But...your shields will fail! They'll get you!”

Stonecutter pulled on her marefriend’s other arm. “She knows what she's doing, let's go!”

After a second of indecision, where she was sorely tempted to try and teleport them all away, Sparkler sighed in resignation and nodded her head grimly. “This way!” she led the gallop up the spiral staircase, holding the Arcast close to her chest.

“Stony keep her safe,” Blackbeak ordered as he shoved Cloudy Skies ahead of him, “I have rear guard.” In that fashion, with Sparkler and Stonecutter at the front, Cloudy Skies behind them and Blackbeak at the rear, they ran all the way back to Capstone Fort.

They didn’t stop, not once on the way up the vast stone pillar, or on the way through the city. They ran at a high gallop, not looking at what they were running through. They ran through puddles of still wet blood, both red and green. They ran past the bodies of the fallen – equine and arachnid – without stopping.

Once they were back inside the fort, they barred the thick wooden doors on their side and retreated to the Hearth Hall. “Pl-Please...stop...need rest...just a minute!” Stonecutter heaved on her knees, gasping short of breath like a fish out of water. Now she had stopped, and her brain had the time to work, she saw the bodies they had ran past and she felt like being violently sick.

“So...” Cloudy Skies panted hard, a haunted look on her face. She could still hear the sobs of the wounded, begging them for help as they had fled the city. What was worse was the silence of those that had pleaded for help then breathed their last. “Wh-What's the situation?”

Collapsed on one of the centuries old couches, Sparkler held up the Festival of Lights Arcast which, unlike it’s formerly glowing white appearance, was filled with dark black smoke. “Um, not good? Adventure? If CB says, 'I told you so' when we get back, please drop a rain cloud on her.”

“Princess Twilight!” Blackbeak exclaimed, and when he got three stunned looks, he continued, “Can't we get out to call her? Or the other Princesses? Or the Royal Guard?”

Stonecutter shook her head, “The Spectral Stair is gone, that means the outer doors are closed. Umberfoal sealed itself off.”

“I can't teleport out with the doors closed,” Sparkler added with a deep sigh, “It acts as a warding shield, a last resort defense.”

“And we have no phone signal down here!” added Cloudy Skies gloomily.

“So...” Blackbeak breathed through his nostrils, “To sum up, we have a corrupted Arcast, no way out, no way to call for help, no help if we could call for it, and thousands of giant spiders on our asses.”

“That about covers it,” Stonecutter chuckled humourlessly as she watched Blackbeak tick off the list of reasons why they were bucked on his fingers, “Shame we can't call for Caldera. We could use a dragon about now.”

“Why are they called dragons?”

“Why?” asked Stonecutter, Cloudy Skies and Blackbeak together.

“Because they are always dragon their tails.” Nopony laughed. Sparkler didn’t expect them to. She thrust herself up to her hooves and took a step towards the door. “Come on, let’s head for the Deepwell. All we can do is what Evenlight asked us to do. Now, before the spiders catch up.” she placed a hand on her mare’s shoulder. “You good?”

“I'm good, Sparks.” she didn’t feel good. She felt even worse for lying. She’d deal with that later.

“We get to the Deepwell through the trapdoor in the Overlook,” Cloudy Skies said as they passed through the Long Gallery into the large round circular stone room. “There's a rope ladder down.”

“Rope ladder...right...” Stonecutter wasn’t exactly thrilled at that prospect.

In the Overlook, Blackbeak pulled open the trapdoor and she stared down into darkness of the void below. It seemed to stretch on for eternity. “I can help you down if you don't trust the rope ladder, Stony.”

“Look at me!” the stocky earth pony mare gestured at herself, “That is a thousand-year-old ladder!”

“You're looking beautiful,” Sparkler said with a chiding tone in her voice, “And they did build things here to last. Follow me.”

Blackbeak watched the unicorn descend into the darkness and he turned to the fretting pony, “I got your back, Stony, trust me.”

Cloudy Skies spread her wings and she hovered through the trapdoor, using the light from Sparkler's horn to see. “So,” she asked tentatively, “Does this happen to you guys a lot?” she was starting to see now why Cloudburst had been so eager not to come.

“It all started with this cute little demon bunny...” Sparkler said as she descended the rope ladder. The bright green light from her horn shone out, illuminating a ten-foot bubble around her.

“Do you mean Angel? Professor Fluttershy's bunny? Aw he's adorable!” Cloudy Skies giggled. Above her, Stonecutter swore on the way down, partly in response to Cloudy's comment and partly to the swaying ladder.

“The good news is I got my relationship with Stony off from a rocky start to solid ground because of that infernal rabbit.“

Flying down alongside his mare, Blackbeak shook his head, “That was so bad!”

Cloudy Skies giggled, “Adorably bad!”

“Yeah, yeah, very cute and all,” Stonecutter complained on the ladder, trying extremely hard not to vomit due to the swaying of the ladder. She figured throwing up on Sparkler wouldn’t be particularly good. “H-How much further is this damn ladder?”

“Only to the bottom,” Blackbeak snarked, “And then it stops.”

“Oh ha, ha, ha,” Stonecutter didn’t find falling to her death very funny, even though there were two fliers who could save her. “Have I mentioned how much I am bucking hating this!?”

Sparkler sighed, “Not that I know of, love.”

When they were at last at the bottom, of the three-hundred-foot rope ladder, the four stood on the small shoreline of a large underwater lake. By the light of Sparkler’s horn, they could see the circular cave walls were filled by the dark cold waters. “That's it?” Blackbeak didn’t sound all that impressed, “That's the Deepwell? It's just water!”

Cloudy Skies laid her hand on her lover’s arm, “It is a well, baby...”

“I hope you can all hold your breath,” Stonecutter muttered under her breath, “Because Celestia knows how deep that is.”

“I'm sure you can, my love.” Sparkler giggled, the tension getting to her and releasing itself by way of giggles, “Can you break out the potions, Sky?”

Cloudy Skies wanted to facepalm. Why hadn’t she thought of that? “I have the potions! Everything you need if this is what you're looking for!” she opened up her potions case she had gotten from Doctor Fizzbang with a flourish like she was a magician’s assistant, “Water Breathing potions, get them while they're free!”

While the potions were handed out, Sparkler took a moment to look at her Umberfoal Flora and Fauna book. Blackbeak downed his faint blue potion, noting it tasted a bit like aniseed. “I hope your pack is waterproof, or your book's gonna get wet.”

Stonecutter saw Sparkler and her book, and she couldn’t help but feel uneasy, “Anything we should be aware of?”

Sparkler blinked and looked at Blackbeak like the griffon had grown three extra heads. “Like I'd let a book of mine get wet! The Deepwell Angel fish are friendly, but the plants like to eat ponies. There is something about a giant crab, which is basically a spider with a shell. We should avoid that.”

Blackbeak threw up his hands in exasperation, “This just gets better and better! Carnivorous water plants and a huge crab. We best get A stars for this when we get home...”

Stonecutter though had something else on her mind. “How long do these potions last?”

“An hour,” Cloudy Skies answered quickly.

“An hour?”

“Give or take, yes Stony. Come on, let’s get them drank and get on,” Cloudy Skies, Stonecutter and Sparkler all drank their potions together. Nothing outward happened, which disappointed the earth pony mare. She was expecting to grow gills at least.

Sparkler lit her horn, creating a dull glow. “I'll keep a low light. Stay together. We want the exit with the water current to get to the Agaricus Forest.”

Just as the last of the four potions had been drank, three giant spiders dropped down from the Overlook far above them on white silken webs. “AAAARGH!” Cloudy Skies and Sparkler screamed as one.

“Dive!” Stonecutter yelled as soon as the spiders landed, “Quick!”

Sparkler was in the water right away, closely followed by Cloudy Skies’ elegant dive and Stonecutter’s awkward bomb. Blackbeak as ever bought up the rear, “I hope they can't swim!” he exclaimed as he powered himself under the cold dark water.

Fortunately, they couldn't.

Once they were in the water, the four paired off. Stonecutter swam like a brick beside Sparkler up front and Cloudy Skies swam effortlessly next to Blackbeak behind. They hadn’t gone down extremely far when they passed a small shoal of Angel fish. Out of the corner of Sparkler’s eye, she caught sight of Stonecutter struggling. “Just breath normally. The potion’s magic isn't letting any water into your nose or mouth.”

Unfortunately, Stonecutter found it harder than usual to follow her marefriend’s suggestion. “This...is really bucking weird!”

Sparkler could see the panicked breathing coming from the struggling earth pony mare and she knew what to do. “So, do you want to get it on in the swimming pool at school?” she asked slyly.

In mid-swim, Stonecutter paused and blinked, her breathing suddenly a lot calmer that it had been just a moment before. “W-Well...I wouldn't mind...” she answered with a deep blush.

“Go you!” Sparkler grinned as she floated over and gave her lover a quick kiss on the cheek, at the same time steering her away from the carnivorous Maneweed plants, “I'm not feeling any current yet, we should go deeper.”

After a few moments swimming straight down, past a few more shoals of the Angel fish, Stonecutter nudged Sparkler’s side with her elbow. “How are you doing, baby?”

“Adventure. I'm saving my melt down for chocolate ice cream and being held in your breasts.”

“You don't feel the need to write an essay to the Headmare about killing spiders?” Stonecutter was only teasing a little bit, and she held hands with Sparkler as they swam. “All that stuff back there wasn't nothing, Sparks.”

It was a very subdued Sparkler who answered. “They are intelligent creatures, Stony. Evil, maybe, but intelligent.”

That confirmed it for Stonecutter. “You were in the Badlands back on the wagon again, huh?” she asked as she squeezed her hand gently.

“Your life was and is what matters. You may hug me till I fall asleep and keep away the nightmares.”

“I'm hoping there's a place to rest up in this forest we're going to,” Stonecutter said, resolving to do just as her marefriend had said. “Between getting here, exploring the city, the fort and the escape, I'm well and truly bucked!” she looked at her watch, which had stopped at eight pm, when they had entered the water.

“t's Alethea,” Sparkler answered after a few moments of silence, “I really liked her, but this. You think the power of friendship will fix this one?”

“If not, I can use the power of a hammer upside her head,” Stonecutter smiled grimly. She understood why her lover was taking it so personally. Alethea was a book pony, like she was. “Honestly? I dunno, Sparks. I mean, this isn’t like Moonbeam. Those spiders weren't playing around, a lot of ponies died back there.”

“Evil doesn't value life,” Sparkler said determinedly as they swam, “One step at a time, find the Agari.”

“And sleep! At least for a bit. I'm whacked, and so are you.”

“You heard Evenlight. This is no time, not even enough to save herself...”

“And what good are we if we're fighting our own fatigue as well as an army of giant siders? Maybe my healing skill can keep us going? Besides, Evenlight's powerful. I bet she teleported somewhere before they um...you know...”

“I know, and I hope you're right. She was nice too.” Sparkler then turned to face Stonecutter in the water, “You're okay, so I'm okay.”

When Sparkler squeezed her hand, Stonecutter returned the gesture. “I love you, Sparks.”

“I know, I love you too.”

Bringing up the rear, Cloudy Skies followed the light from Sparkler’s horn as they passed groups of the Angel fish and clumps of the billowing Maneweed plants. “You're quiet.”

Blackbeak pointedly looked dead ahead. “Mission first. Talk later.”

“I thought you said we needed to talk. Why not now?”

“We do need to talk,” Blackbeak admitted with a deep sigh, “I just need to figure out when I got so stupid.”

Putting on an annoyed face, Cloudy Skies lightly slapped the griffon’s claw, “You are many things, but you aren't stupid, love.”

“I talk before I think,” Blackbeak admitted, though it pained him a great deal to make the admission, “If I think at all.”

“At the time, I don't think you were thinking with your head,” Cloudy Skies affectionately stroked her lover’s dark brown head feathers, “Not this one, anyway.”

“What I said was true,” Blackbeak took a deep breath – the oddity of doing that while being underwater was not lost on the griffon – and he looked to his mare, no, not just his mare. His mate. “You will always be better than any toy. But I didn't mean it the way you thought I did.”

“While we’re admitting stuff, I should have said something before now.” Cloudy Skies managed to blush underwater. “Nightmare Night was a month ago now.”

“Sky, you'll always be better than a toy,” Blackbeak rephrased what he was trying to say. He cursed the fact that he wasn’t as good with words as he would like to be. “Before, now, and after. You, are better than any toy, not just what’s between your legs.”

“Blackie...I...I can't believe I let it eat at me!” she wanted to kick herself for being so dumb. But she couldn’t, because she was swimming. “Of course that was what you meant. It just...struck a nerve, I guess.”

“For being your lover, I don't think about what I say to you. I just say things.”

“I know,“ the pegasus smiled softly, “It's just...I want this operation so badly! You were right, in the fort. It is what I've dreamed of. For an awfully long time.” An awfully long time was an understatement. Since she was five, she had known she was supposed to have been born a mare.

It was just a shame her parents and her brother didn’t believe the same thing.

Blackbeak though wasn’t quite finished beating himself up. “I was mad at myself for being unable to make that dream come true. I really thought telling you about what Stony offered would make you happy.”

“It did make me happy. It genuinely does make me happy, Blackie, now I know I'm not going to lose you over it; it makes me even happier.”

Lightly, Blackbeak punched the pegasus in the shoulder. “I may be an idiot, Sky, but I'm not stupid enough to give you up.”

“Damn right, you aren’t giving me up! Where in Equestria would you get a sub as hot as me, huh?” Cloudy Skies swam underneath Blackbeak and she gently kissed the tip of his beak. “I'll gladly accept Stony's offer.”

“And I'll gladly accept a toy as long as you're the one wielding it,” Blackbeak snarked at his mate, “Spear me, oh mighty warrior!”

Playfully, Cloudy Skies pouted up at him, “No fair, now you know what your Hearths Warming present's going to be!”

“Before you climb into the box remember to put air holes in it,” Blackbeak gave her a cheeky wink.

“Wise as always, Master,” Cloudy Skies kissed his beak once again, “And thank you for fighting off those spiders. That was scary!”

“I may need to replace this set of armour to take home with me. Not sure that gouge will buff out.”

“You should keep it,” the pegasus objected, “It shows you were brave, it's a marker to your honour, my love. That Queen was a Princess level threat for sure, and you didn't hesitate to get up close with her.”

“You know griffons, death before dishonour.”

“As long as you remember to keep yourself alive, Master.”

“Well, duh,” Blackbeak rolled his eyes at his mate, “You're much more fun to play with when I'm alive.”

About to say something very witty and extremely clever, when she saw Sparkler up ahead wave at the mouth of a wide underwater opening in the rock face. “I think she's found the tunnel we need.”

“This at least is going easy!”

Playfully, Cloudy Skies swatted the griffon upside the head, “Don't say that! You know that phrase is cursed!”

“Glad you two caught up,“ Stonecutter grinned broadly, “Sparks thinks this is the tunnel that leads to the Agaricus Forest.”

Sparkler swam in place by the opening in the rock. “This should be the forest,” she then pointed downwards to the dark depths below, “That way should be the Sunken Temple.”

“Um...guys?” Cloudy Skies pointed downwards, but she could see what the other’s couldn’t. “That down there, the really big shape? It's a crab. A really, really big crab.”

“Okay, let’s move.” that made up Sparkler’s mind for her. “That’s a Carcinus. I don't need that much more adventure in my life.”

“Ditto,” Cloudy Skies shuddered, “That thing is massive!”

Since it was decided, the party all swam into the wide mouth of the tunnel. Almost immediately, they felt a strong current take hold of them and pull them along the horizontal path. After a very quick ride, light began to appear at the other end of the tunnel. At the head, Sparkler just made out a shimmering wall of energy. “Brace yourselves! There’s some kind of magic barrier ahead.”

Before any of them could respond, the current carried her and the rest of them into and through the barrier, where they were unceremoniously flung out onto the rocky floor beyond. Fortunately, Sparkler landed on Stonecutter, who absorbed the force of the impact. Hovering in the air, Blackbeak and Cloudy Skies looked behind them where they saw and heard the crashing of the water against the magical barrier.

When Sparkler got off of her, Stonecutter hefted herself up to her hooves and dusted herself down. “Thanks for the warning, Sparks...”

“Eeeeeew!” Cloudy Skies squealed as she landed on her hooves on the rocky floor and shook out her wings, “I have wet feathers!”

“I have bruises in places that shouldn’t ever be exposed to bruising!” Sparkler retorted, while Stonecutter got on her hands and knees and kissed the sweet, sweet dry land.

Blackbeak stared at the tunnel up ahead of them. He could just make out the faint glow of ambient lights that caught his eye, almost inviting him forwards. “Now what, oh glorious leader?”