• Published 20th Jun 2021
  • 465 Views, 57 Comments

Fluttershy Digs Deep - MagicS



Angel Bunny disappears down a rabbit hole one morning and Fluttershy follows in search of him.

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Fool's Gold By Any Other Name

Gently, ever so gently, Fluttershy floated down the deep hole further into the depths of the earth below Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. It was an almost perfectly round hole that made Fluttershy think of it as an artificial mine shaft more than anything. The problem with that though was she was pretty sure ponies had never made such a thing. Applejack, or more likely Granny Smith, would know for sure if anything like this had been made in Ponyville before her time. She had never heard stories or even rumors about something like this though. And what purpose would it even serve? Why would the ponies of Ponyville make such a thing and make it so far out of the way and tough to get to? It had to have been created by something, or someone, else.

She mostly kept her eyes down to make sure she wasn’t going to hit anything but she also kept her light swiveling across the walls of the hole in case she was missing something. It just looked like dirt and more dirt all around her though. And of course below her was just total darkness. It made her shiver in frightful anticipation about what could come next, but she tried to remind herself that so far nothing bad or scary had happened. It had all just been her imagination and worries that were troubling her. Things were fine. That’s what she had to keep in mind.

And to keep doing it for Angel Bunny. If it was Angel Bunny or Discord or any one of her friends, Fluttershy would do whatever it took to help them. Even as her nerves and fears got the better of her, she knew she had done so in the past already, she just had to do it again. Usually her friends were by her side when she needed to be courageous though… right now there wasn’t a single one of them.

Fluttershy shook her head. They were with her in spirit. Yes. Certainly. If her friends knew what she was going through they’d support her. She could picture Twilight levitating them all down here right now, aside from Rainbow Dash, who would’ve flown ahead all on her own. And then they’d go searching for Angel together. All the while Pinkie would keep their spirits up and everyone would contribute in their own special way. Fluttershy didn’t really like adventures but she loved being able to do things like that with her friends.

And yet here she was, still all alone in the darkness.

“Stop it, Fluttershy. That isn’t helping anypony,” she said to herself as she continued her slow descent. The deeper she went the less dirt she saw in the walls around her and the more she started floating past solid layers of rock. She remembered being told once when she was together with Maud that there were multiple different types of rock layers underground, what kind of rocks there were and what they were made of changed the deeper you went. And Pinkie Pie had chimed in that her sisters were named after some of the common types of rocks that made up deep caves. Limestone and marble. Is that what she was looking at now? She thought it looked a little different though from what she knew about marble and limestone. Admittedly not a lot but she had seen a lot of marble statues and the rock around her in this hole didn’t quite look like that.

Her light was showing her that this rock around her was kind of a sandy orange color. It may have been a little warped because of her eyes and the only source of light being artificial but that’s still how she saw it. Sandstone? There was a rock called that, right? Did it really matter? Maybe she was just being curious to try and take her mind off things.

Either way the hole kept going down and down and Fluttershy now kept her eyes glued to the bottom of it. She was certain it had to open up into a new cave or chamber soon. There was no way something could be so deep. Although really she didn’t actually know how deep caves could go…

If mountains could be thousands of feet tall then couldn’t caves be thousands of feet deep? Is that how it worked?

She hoped not. She had wings and she hardly ever liked to be that high up. She didn’t need to be that far underground, stuck in a dark and claustrophobic place instead. Even if the caves did go very deep, Angel Bunny probably couldn’t have gotten that far into them yet either. Fluttershy kept telling herself that once this hole ended she would find him. Or he’d be right around the corner. Or in the next chamber.

Now it was actually starting to get not warmer the lower she went but more humid. She could feel the condensation in the air around her as it gathered on her wings and mane. It almost felt like some hot summer days in Ponyville or the times she had visited Hayseed Swamp. Warm and wet was better than being icy cold but depending on the air quality deeper in the caves it might start becoming a trouble to breathe well. If she started sweating like she was in a sauna she’d lose energy faster. And where was she going to find something like clean water down here? Or any sort of regular food for that matter?

Fluttershy bit her lip. “I’m sure there will be plenty of moss to eat...”

She knew there were underwater rivers and lakes and groundwater, stuff like that, but was it healthy? Probably not. Was it going to be her only choice? Probably.

At least Fluttershy had a lot of first-aid knowledge, even if it was predominantly animal related and not pony. If something bad happened to her, like she got sick or injured, she was confident enough to treat herself. That was all a worst-case scenario that she really didn’t want to think about though. She just needed to be careful and take things slowly and nothing bad would happen.

It was then that Fluttershy started to feel a light breeze in the hole she was going down. It was coming up from below, there must’ve been an air current somewhere down there. Either a new tunnel or chamber had to be coming up soon. Fluttershy—perhaps against her better judgment—flapped her wings gently and lowered herself faster down the hole. She kept the light on her hardhat tilted down to see not just directly below her but also slightly on the wall of the hole so she could tell when it ended.

Fluttershy could pretty much sense something coming up down in the depths. The way the air felt, and she even thought she heard the sound of it blowing through a much larger cavern, it was all telling her that she was finally getting somewhere else. Her heart started to pound in her chest as she hoped that she would finally find the place down here where Angel was.

In an instant, her light dropped away from the wall as it disappeared and Fluttershy exited the deep hole, emerging from the ceiling of this new chamber. Whatever it may be.

Her light spread out and shown further, no longer held back by endless shadows or a wall of rock directly in front of her. It glinted and reflected off what was down here and illuminated so much more of this deep cave. Fluttershy couldn’t help but gasp in wonder at what she now saw all around her.

“Oh my, this—this is incredible!”

The world around her glittered. Because Fluttershy now found herself in a massive, massive, underground cavern full of and made up of crystals and gemstones. She had entered possibly the largest and most elaborate geode in all the world. Sparkling white quartz made up most of it, shooting up in huge spears near her that were wider than her entire body (including wingspan). An uneven bed of purplish crystals she didn’t know the name of made up the floor below her. She’d have to be careful to not slip or accidentally cut her hooves on them but they were at least certainly stable enough to land on. To give her wings a rest, Fluttershy descended once more and took a more detailed look around at the geode.

Her hooves trembled slightly when she landed and Fluttershy took in a breath of relief when she was now safe and sound, raising a wing to her chest to feel her heartbeat slow down back to normal. “There we go...”

Atop the bed of purple crystals, Fluttershy for the first time since starting this adventure actually felt good. It helped that there was something beautiful and wondrous around her for a change. The gigantic geode stretched in every direction, with arches and bridges of gemstones all over it. It wasn’t just one big sphere either, the bottom went up and down in valleys and hills of purple crystals. Huge shafts and growths of quartz were all over it too, Fluttershy’s light reflected and refracted off all of them, giving so much more light to the geode than she would’ve expected to get down here. The quartz was fairly white and it shone brightly whenever Fluttershy brought the light from her hardhat directly on it. One spear of quartz was close by where she landed, almost going all the way up the height of the geode like it was a pillar supporting it. Fluttershy walked towards it curiously (being careful on the uneven footing) and gently tapped her hoof against it. It was hard, very hard. She knew quartz was a pretty tough mineral and it definitely felt harder than the other crystals and gemstones in here. She just didn’t know enough about rocks to know how a geode like this was formed.

The shelves of quartz were huge solid chunks that oftentimes were bigger than any house Fluttershy could think of. It really was a massive cavern that she had floated down into. More and more gems came to her notice, glittering in the distance, forming almost a rainbow of color the more she shined her light around. If it wasn’t for the circumstances she’d want to travel around the geode just for how sublime and beauteous it was. It was more beautiful than a quiet forest in the morning or a clear night sky, two things Fluttershy already loved to appreciate. Oh how much she wished she could appreciate it.

However…

“I’ve got to find Angel. He must have come through here,” Fluttershy said to herself with determination in her eyes. The how of the matter wasn’t exactly important, she knew in her heart of hearts that Angel had been here.

“Aaaaaaangeeeeeel!” Fluttershy called out into the geode. “Aaaaaaare youuuuu heeeeeeere?”

She had to do it even though she knew by now she probably wouldn’t get an answer. This geode was just so huge—so cavernous—too that even if he was here it could take ages to find him. There were arches of stone and deep holes in the crystals that led to deeper chambers of the geode, it just stretched and went on like a labyrinth. Unlike before, Fluttershy didn’t just have a single path to keep going down. She had to figure out where to go now on her own. Make the choice.

Every direction could lead to somewhere new but she knew there was only one way she wanted to go: Whatever direction the air was flowing in.

Fluttershy brought her left hoof up to her mouth and licked it, then stuck it up into the air and waited to feel the gentle breeze of the air through the geode. Like this she could figure out where to go next. If Angel or any other creatures were down here they’d naturally be where the air was. Finding the air currents was also a way of possibly finding any entrances and exits to this gargantuan cave system. She floated out to a more open area of the geode, where so many different paths and possibilities branched off, and held her hoof up high. Her saliva-coated hoof felt ugly and uncomfortable, especially with how humid and sticky it was down here to begin with. She wanted the opportunity to wash it off as soon as possible. Who knew when that chance would come to her though.

Fluttershy kept the flapping of her wings to a minimum as she hovered in the middle of the geode, waiting for the breeze that would tell her where to go.

“You would’ve definitely found your way to the right place, Angel. With your big ears and animal instincts you know where to go...” It was helpful to her to voice her thoughts like that sometimes.

Soon after just waiting a few moments the breeze came through the geode and Fluttershy felt it slightly cool her wet hoof. She could feel the direction it was blowing in thanks to that. With a slight nod, Fluttershy began flying in the direction the wind was going. Normally she’d probably just take a light trot instead but with the somewhat dangerous “ground” of the geode and how there would’ve been some difficult spots to climb through she decided to just fly from the start. She still had to maneuver around outcroppings and large growths of quartz but Fluttershy was a decently nimble flier.

Eventually she did come to a small hole in one portion of the geode that led to the next, it was rimmed with jagged purple crystals and looked a little dangerous to fly through carelessly. Fluttershy had to be careful. It was just barely going to be enough room for her to make it through with her wings spread. She didn’t need to get cut up down here. Taking a deep breath she ever so gently floated herself through the maw and went straight on to the other side. Only once ducking her head down out of fright when passing under a particularly large crystal.

“That was a little more dangerous than I like,” Fluttershy whispered to herself as she held a hoof to her chest after making it through. Now it was time to see if this part of the geode was more of the same or something different.

Yes and no.

There was still nothing but crystals overflowing everywhere, but there was far more than just the common quartz and purple crystals she had gone through in the first massive chamber of the geode. Her light glittered off of so many different gems and jewels it was even more beautiful than before to her. Ruby reds, sapphire blues, emerald greens, sparkling diamonds, all up close to her now instead of just glittering stars in the distance. She wished she could share this sight with someone, anyone! Her friends most of all but what a joy it would be if she had a camera with her…

Fluttershy giggled as she imagined what Spike would do if he was down here. “Oh my, he’d eat himself sick...”

And then of course Rarity especially would be absolutely awed, she’d never have to go on another gem finding outing in her whole life! This one geode had the amount and variety of gems for a million dresses. Fluttershy should definitely tell her about it when she got back to the surface. Even though getting back here might be a problem, Rarity was a surprisingly determined and strong-willed pony. If she wanted to do something she would do it.

Just like Fluttershy had to do now with finding Angel.

She floated down to the “ground” because it was much more even now in this part of the geode. It was easy for Fluttershy to land her hooves on the layer of gemstones and start walking. She did wonder, with such a huge gathering of gems, if somepony like Maud may have already found this place in the past. Or if the Diamond Dogs had ever tried mining it. It looked undisturbed aside from the holes leading into it, but it was also so big that Fluttershy couldn’t really be sure.

Either way her hooves now easily clopped over the gems beneath her as she continued going the way of the wind. Fluttershy’s overall situation hadn’t changed but this was much better than crawling through a narrow dirt tunnel or going underneath a bunch of gnarled and twisted roots. The only real downside was how humid this geode still was. Mixing with the dirt that was already all over her from her previous endeavors and she didn’t exactly feel or look too good right now. Again she wished for some water that she could both use to drink and clean up with.

Fluttershy passed by a crop of brilliantly orange crystals that glimmered when the light from her hardhat reached them. She had to squint her eyes shut thanks to how bright they glowed. Another group of yellow crystals coming out of the wall leafed off everywhere like an aloe vera plant. Fluttershy saw numerous other units of yellow crystals like that, it must’ve been the unique way they grew. A radiant blue gem the size of a house then came up, jutting out of the purple crystals. It was partially see-through and Fluttershy looked inside it to see her distorted reflection. Her body warped so it was like looking in a funhouse mirror. She couldn’t help but laugh a little in amusement, remembering Pinkie Pie’s words was really helping her right now. The more she walked by the crystal the more it changed her body. From skinny, to fat, to tall, to short, to looking like she was squished and being stretched in every direction at once. The next crystal she walked by was totally clear and when her light shone upon it it acted like a prism and created rainbow rays of light that jumped across the rest of the geode and lit up more and more crystals. It was like a cascade effect, as long as Fluttershy kept her hardhat light trained on it, practically the entire chamber was illuminated.

Of course she had to turn away and keep going on her path eventually.

Things got more cramped and crowded the further she went in this chamber away from the hole in the ceiling she had entered the geode from. Soon Fluttershy was almost boxed in by walls of gemstones all around her. The gems beneath her hooves were still clustered together enough that she didn’t have to worry about getting stuck in a hole and twisting an ankle at least. It was almost like a complete sheet of purple crystals. Because things had gotten narrower the wind picked up a little bit and Fluttershy could actually hear it whistling through the walls and beds of crystals around her. It wasn’t a strong enough breeze to do more than ruffle some errant locks of her mane but at least it was proof that the air was still flowing down in this cave system.

Her light was proving to be an indispensable tool as Fluttershy easily traversed the narrow gashes of the geode. She couldn’t imagine how impossible this journey would be without Rarity’s gift. Even if the light was just a bit weaker she’d be in a real bind. She’d probably be scuffed all over and bumping into things.

Speaking of which, the light danced over the nearest few feet of crystals and made them light up and sparkle like somepony had thrown glitter all over them. And beyond that was a hole. Not just another hole lined by crystals that led to another part of the geode, but a hole much like the one she had flown down from. She had found her exit from the geode. And the entrance to a new part of these caves and her subterranean adventure in search of Angel.

Fluttershy smiled even though the crag that the wind blew into was dark and foreboding. She was happy to know she was making progress. And while she couldn’t say she had conquered any of her fears she was doing a very good job managing them. Fluttershy was tough. Tougher than most other ponies thought she was. Especially when she kept her friends in her heart.

Fluttershy paused right in front of the crag, still standing atop the purple crystals of the geode and peering inside this new place she would soon go. Her light illuminated a little bit of it, enough so that she could see the ground was stable and level, but not much else. Tilting her head up she saw that the ceiling of the crag was fairly high too and nothing seemed to hang down from it. As far as narrow passages in an underground cave went, the crag was probably one of the better ones she could find herself forced to travail. The crag still seemed damp with moisture and humidity though so Fluttershy clearly wasn’t getting a reprieve from that. And of course before she entered it at all she had something to do first.

She cupped her hooves to her mouth and took a deep breath. “Angel! Can you hear me?!”

In the back of her mind she knew it was probably pointless. He hadn’t responded yet and if he didn’t hear her when she called out to the entire cavern earlier he probably wasn’t going to hear her now.

And while she didn’t hear Angel, she did finally get a response from something.

At first it sounded like leaves rustling but then the sound grew—heavy fluttering coming from deeper in the crag. Chirping, high-pitched squeaks, the sounds of hundreds of tiny wings beating. Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide and she ducked as suddenly a massive swarm of black bats shot out from the crag, flying off into the geode.

“O-Oh my, this must be your home, I’m sorry to intrude!” Fluttershy called out to the huge swarm. She gulped and stood up as the bats continued to fly all about. They were just some more of her beloved animals, nothing to be afraid of, in fact they kind of made her a little happy to see. Though they didn’t look happy to see her.

“E-Excuse me! Can any of you tell me if you saw a white bunny rabbit come through here earlier?” Fluttershy asked them.

One of the bats stopped in its flight and turned to her with a glare on its little face as it beat its wings to stay hovering there. Chirp Chirp Chirp!

Fluttershy gasped and clasped her hooves over her mouth while her eyebrows shot up. “Such language!” Her face quickly turned into a pout. “I was only asking if you had seen a friend of mine.”

The rude bat blew a raspberry at her and flew away with the rest of its brethren. Shortly afterwards, they had all vacated the crag and went off further into the geode.

Fluttershy frowned after them. “Really now, there’s no need to be like that.” She sighed and looked down at the ground. “I guess I can’t expect every animal to be friendly… especially not in a place like this that’s so strange and unknown.”

She turned around and looked back into the crag the bats had come from. It was still where she needed to go after all. With another sigh she began her walk on in. It wasn’t big enough where she could extend her wings to their full length but she still didn’t have any trouble just walking on her hooves through it. In a second she had left the geode behind and was now in a new cave, the crag seemed to tilt down slightly, meaning she was still going deeper and deeper underground. Fluttershy wasn’t sure how deep she was already but she had to guess she was deeper than Diamond Dogs or most mines usually went. At least her light was still working and she had no problem seeing ahead.

The further she walked into the crag though the more she noticed something. Fluttershy had to crinkle her nose, there was something funky smelling coming up ahead.