Spike the Knight

by vadram

Chapter 83 Should we go deeper?

Should we go deeper?

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Among the decrepit stone walls of the ruined city, Spike and Apple Bloom kept walking, searching for Zecora. Even with what little light their makeshift torch provided the city still looked as dead as the forest that surrounded it.

Only Discord could have built a more chaotic mess of a city. Some streets were small and narrow, occasionally leading straight into buildings. They twisted and turned without rhyme or reason, often leading towards a dead end. Others were ridiculously wide, built upon massive stone pillars; although, the majority of them had collapsed after centuries of neglect, and seemed to cut through the city like a great wound.

The buildings, or at least what remained of them, were as varied and as oddly built as the streets that separated them. But for now, Spike and Apple Bloom only knew of the remnants of a massive wall that once separated the city from the outside world, and of a tangled mess of smaller constructions resembling the houses the ponies lived in. Small mud brick houses, most no more than two or three stories tall, stood clumped together partially collapsed walkways and metallic ropes connecting them.

Since passing the ruined archway that once held the city’s massive gates, Apple Bloom had not been feeling well. Her head was hanging low, and Spike could feel her entire body was shaking. Thinking it was because of the cold wind that relentlessly blew through the narrow street, Spike walked next to her, allowing the filly to lean against him, braced herself , and also allowing her to feel the radiant warmth of the torch he held in his hand.

Several times Spike tried to convince Apple Bloom to stop and rest for the night, and every time she vehemently rejected his offer, insisting that they should push on and find Zecora.

They continued to walk through the narrow streets, often having to backtrack after reaching a dead end. The city was built so that anyone who entered would neither find what they were looking for, nor a way out.

By a stroke of luck, they managed to find a path that cut straight through several collapsed buildings, allowing them to make some visible progress and head deeper into the city. This shortcut took them into a different part of the city, at least judging from the noticeable change in architectural style.

The buildings here were larger, or at least the piles of rubble that once had been buildings were, as well as the materials they had been built out of. While the buildings located near the wall were smaller and built out of mud bricks, the ones in this part were larger and built out of stone and steel with large open spaces separating the piles of rubble.

It was easy for them to move through this part, but their speed came at a price. The open space meant that there was little standing between them and the bone chilling winds that did not stop blowing since the night began.

The tree branch that acted like their torch was almost gone, and they had no chance of keeping the flame lit until they found some cover.

Spike could have sworn he heard a voice telling him to rest, but he thought it was just the wind.

“Rest...” this time, Spike could clearly hear the voice echoing in his head, even if it was only a whisper.

He nudged Apple Bloom towards the closest building he could see, and when they were at least partially shielded from the wind, he took his backpack off, and placed it on the ground, urging the filly rest her head upon it. She did not want to stop here; in fact, she did not want to stop at all, let alone fall asleep, at least not until they had found Zecora. But, Spike insisted, and she reluctantly agreed, if only for a minute.

“Close your eyes...” Spike could hear the voice whispering to him.

“Imamu is that you?” he asked the voice, but no response came.

“You are tired... Rest... Sleep...” it tried to persuade him into doing so.

“Zecora?”

“Spike... We should get going,” Apple Bloom said getting up.

“Just a few more minutes,” he replied. “I think someone is trying to tell me something.”

“The voices again? Is it Zecora? Where is she?”

“I do not know who it is,” Spike replied. “The voice is muffled... I can’t hear it very well, but I think it is telling me to go to sleep.”

“Are you sure?” she asked Spike.

“Not really, but there is little we can do but blindly wander through this place.”

“But Zecora...”

“Zecora will be fine. I am more worried about you.”

“Don’t be,” the little pony said trying to act tough. “I am stronger than I look.”

“I’m sure you are,” Spike said in agreement, “but we have been walking since dawn, and you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. Besides, you don’t look well.”

“I told you I am fine.”

“No you are not!” Spike said, raising his voice at the stubborn filly. “You have been shaking since we entered this place; you are freezing,” he paused. “Look, I know you are worried about Zecora. I am too, but we are both tired, and we don’t know what we are going to run into if we keep going deeper.”

“But this place is abandoned. We haven’t seen anything since we entered,” Apple Bloom said, trying to stop herself from yawning.

“We will search for her in the morning. Now let’s get inside and rest for a few hours.”

“Fine,” she said, finally admitting that she was tired.

Spike threw his backpack over his shoulder and they walked inside the ruined building.

Inside, Spike lit up what remained of the branch that served as their torch and looked around. Most of the room was filled with rubble after the collapse of the upper floors. Partially buried pieces of wood, metal bars, and shards of glass popped up from place to place from the debris.

With a loud thump, Spike dropped his back in a corner of the room. Apple Bloom gently placed hers next to it.

After they gathered all the wood they could find and got a fire going, they fell asleep, following an unusually long and exhausting day.

Opening his eyes, Spike could see Kirabo standing on a large stone, looking at them.

“You are late,” he told Spike.

“You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had,” Spike replied.

“Too bad, today we are moving to something a little more interesting.”

“Great.”

“Don’t be like that,” Kirabo told him, “most enjoy this lesson.”

“So what are you going to teach me today?” Spike asked with no enthusiasm in his voice.

“Tonight you are going to learn about stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Spike asked.

“The dangerous kind of stuff,” Kirabo replied smiling.

“Great.”

Comments

[khatre]

D'oh! That was the perfect chance to tell a (hopefully) responsible adult that you and AB are lost in a deserted city .. with NO Adult Supervision!