The Elder Scrolls: Equestria

Chapter Three

Ambiguity

“A discrete and undetected arrival is more often the best policy.”

~Aurora~

Aurora relished flying.

The wind caressing her dark mane, blowing it into the windswept mess that she was so well known for; the light tingle in her wings as the breeze ruffled her pitch feathers; the exhilarating rush of adrenaline when she folded into a dive, or flowed into a barrel roll; and the quiet that only existed in such a place as the sky, where she was alone with her thoughts.  It was... serene.

She straightened her wings, catching an updraft that carried her through a layer of clouds, the mist coating her in a refreshing layer that shielded her from the midday heat.  She took a slow breath, enjoying the clarity and purity of the air.

Woosh.

Broken from her thoughts, Aurora craned her neck to search the area for a sign of disturbance.  She scanned the horizon, and even rolled onto her back to check behind her, but there was nothing.  Wierd, she could have sworn she saw something black in her peripheral.

Deciding that it was a mirage, her thoughts turned to the prize hidden within the pouch she wore underneath a wing.  It was pure luck that she came across it, just a glint of light out of the corner of her eye. Hoping to come across a good score, she flew down to investigate.  She imagined that it might of been a stray gem, dislodged by a traveler and forgotten, or perhaps by a wild animal.  Maybe it was the glint of gold, dropped carelessly by a robber who was fleeing capture.  Or it could be a cache left abandoned.  However, when the pegasus approached the bush in which the shimmering light escaped, she found that it was something much different.

There, lying in the throes of vines was the most beautiful orb Aurora had ever seen.  It was moderate in size, about as large as a phoenix egg, but made of some unknown crystal.  The center of it shone, varying colors of light illuminating the leaves around it.  To Aurora, it almost seemed... alive, as if this strange orb held the soul of some magnificent creature.  Immediately she gathered it into her pouch, realizing that this beauty was worth more gold than she had ever seen before.

It was surprisingly light, considering its size.  It barely registered as she soared through the sky, its presence betrayed only by the softest of tugs on her skin, and the familiar warmth it emanated.

She burst through the cloud layer, staring in wonder at the picturistic view around her.  The light blue sky stretched onward into infinity, illuminated by the majesty of the Sun high above.  Underneath her, the soft clouds shifted, their rolling white hills going on and on and on…

But something was wrong.

 She could feel it – the world was quiet, no birds enjoying the midday warmth; the swirls of clouds were almost too uniform; and the air was still, as if the world around her held a bated breath.  But... for what?

She stopped mid-flight, landing softly on a nearby tuft of cloud.  Her hooves sunk an inch or so, but her attention was elsewhere.  Aurora studied her surroundings, ears flicking to catch telltale sounds, and eyes wandering to catch sudden movements.  The air was heavy, damp.  She sniffed.  There was a storm coming, she was sure of it.  It was a part of her natural ability to sense oncoming storms, but was that what was bothering her?

Deciding that it would be better to dwell on it as she made headway toward her destination, Aurora spread her wings wide and launched off the cloud, adjusting her position to allow for her package.  Both wings stiffened as she hit an air pocket, drifting for a time before–

BAM!!!

Something black collided with her!  At first she thought it was a large bird, until the creature wrapped itself around her.  A hard, cold hoof tightened around her throat, cutting off her air as she tried to disorientate herself.  The world spun around them, faster and faster as the two pegasi tumbled and fell through the sky.  Blues and whites blurred, adding to the disorientation as she attempted to fight back.

Aurora managed to wrap a forehoof around her attacker’s, trying to pull it away.  Suddenly, he let go.  At first she was relieved, until her whole body was whipped around, and then yanked.  The suddenness of the motion made her go dizzy, and she felt a peculiar loss of weight.  Before she could react, an intense pain jolted through her midsection.

 She tumbled through the sky, her vision a blur of whites and blues and greys and greens.  Instinctively, her wings snapped open to slow her fall.  She stopped for a second, just long enough to feel the fire rage through her muscles, and she instantly began plummeting to the ground once more.

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She was alive!

Oh, thank the gods she was alive!

The first thing that went through her head when Aurora awoke was ecstatic joy that she had survived the fall.  How?  Who gave a damn!  She was alive!

Then the pain hit.

Every muscle in her body was sore.  The pulsing ache was most apparent in her wings and neck, but there was still a hot flame held to her hooves as she tried to push herself up.  She collapsed back onto the ground almost immediately, the shock eliciting a sharp grunt of pain.

She just laid there for an unknown amount of time, relief setting in as rest washed away some of the pain.  But as the soreness left, it was replaced with weariness.  Her eyelids grew heavy as she lay prostrate on the soft grass.  Birds chirped precariously as they grew accustomed to her presence, a rustle of leaves and gentle flap of wings as the took back to the sky.  A cool winter breeze drifted over her, tenderly mixed with the warmth of the midday sun.  She listened to the grass whisper, and the wind whistle.  She closed her eyes.  Yes, this would be a great place to just... sleep...

Then her head shot up, hissing in pain as her neck muscle fought back, as she realized something rather important.  Ignoring the pain as her legs and wings disagreed, she jumped up and searched her immediate vicinity.  When she saw it wasn’t there, the grounded pegasus began to search nearby bushes and shrubs.  Damn it!  It was gone!

Whoever had attacked her had stolen her bag!

Aurora kicked at the ground, scoring a muddy slash in the dirt, and bucked at an old tree, the birds using it abandoning in a flurry of wings and caws.  Her worn muscles began to scream in protest, but at the moment she didn’t care.  She had lost the mysterious orb! It was gone, taken from her, all of its worth now benign to her.  But that was the least of her problems now.  True, the mysterious crystal orb may have been worth a fortune for her, but it was nothing but speculation.  How was she to know of its true worth?  She couldn’t.  There was every chance it was worthless.  But the orb wasn’t the only thing in her pouch.  All of her bits were in there, along with healing potions and items of... varying importance.

As of now, Aurora was broke.  As of now, she had two choices:  She could stay here, surrounded in self-pity and wallowing in misery; or, she could get her ass off the ground and do something!

But what was she to do?  Her wings dragged on the ground, marring the primaries with dirt.  By now, most of her muscles, while tired, were no longer exhibiting pain, but the muscles running down her wings still burned with a fierce intensity.  It was as she feared: whip wing, a condition when a pegasi’s wings were lashed backward with extreme force – such as when she tried to slow her descent – possibly tearing muscle.  Any movement of her wings incited a burst of pain, and Aurora knew that, however bad it was now, it would be ten times worse tomorrow.

The pegasus knew she would need to find a town soon, where gods willing there would be an alchemist.  She would need a silver tongue, given her lack of funds at the moment, but with luck she might be able to charm the pony into giving her a potion or two.  Or convince them she was terminal, whichever garnered her more goods.

First things first, before she could unleash her wily charms, Aurora need to find somepony to use them on.

Well, she was... not in a clearing.  Trees, bushes, flowers and other assorted foliage covered the landscape.  The light was filtered by a canopy of the tallest trees, giving the area a slightly green overtone.  There was a break in the treeline, but after some inspection the pegasus found it led to water.  Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem, she would have just unfurled her wings and took to the sky, but, in her current condition, that was about as likely as the earth ponies and the unicorns making nice.

Opposite the break, however, was a fairly steep bank, the roots of trees and vines covering the face of it.  No, she wouldn’t be able to climb it.  But... hmm... interesting.  The vines were rocking, as if in a slow breeze.  That in itself wouldn’t have been suspicious, if the lengths of grassy rope were blowing to the side.  Instead, it looked more like they were being drawn into the rock face, which would only be possible if there were an opening.

Trotting cautiously up, Aurora brushed aside the vines with a black hoof, revealing a generously sized hole in the wall.  She had absolutely no idea where it led, and absolutely no reason to believe it led anywhere.  It was entirely possible some sort of bear or wolf, or another sort of carnivorous animal was waiting for its lunch to canter on up to it.  What reason could she possibly have for placing herself in such a risk?

Oh, right.  She was bored.  And tired.  And wounded.  And broke.  And just slightly pissed off at being broke.  Perhaps a bit more than slightly.

However, before the grounded pegasus had ventured more than a few steps in, she noticed a disturbance on the rock face.  Adjacent to the entrance, highlighted only by filtered sunlight reflecting off of moisture condensed over it, was a mark.  Upon further inspection, the mark looked more like it had been gouged into the stone.  Moss covered the rest of it, and Aurora wiped away the stale green growth, revealing the symbol carved into the stone.

Aurora gasped when she saw it, stealing a quick glance further into the tunnel.  No, it didn’t matter.  She would carry on.  The mark was old, so whatever caused the artist to scratch it was possibly gone.  That didn’t stop a small part of her mind reminding her she left her bow back home.

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It was true!

It was all true!  That damn mark was right!

However, which danger the mark alluded to was in question.  The pony who carved the image may have etched it because of the possibility of collapse.  Apparently, this tunnel was once a mine for mana crystals, however long ago, abandoned and deserted by the workers.  Whether it was because the miners drained the deposits of crystal, or because of another reason was still up for question, but one thing was certain: years and years of disrepair and erosion had done no good.

The support beams that were supposed to be holding the tunnel up couldn’t possibly have in great condition while the miners worked the mines, and now they were nothing but rotting mold, hollowed out by termites and beetles.  Not even a few meters in and part of the ceiling had collapsed, caving in the portal to the outside, and forcing her to move onwards.  Here and there Aurora had also found evidence of less recent collapses, some of which even concealed mashed pony skeletons.

The second possible danger was the large black bear that had just barreled her into a boulder, stunning her.  The dark pegasus was only trotting casually through the atramentous passage, the only light to guide her way dripping off scattered mana crystals left behind by the miners.  Rare enough as they were, and otherwise useless to her, Aurora had begun to shave off some of the magical formations when she remembered that she was no longer in possession of her handy knapsack.

Bummed that she was robbed (both of her possessions and the gold from selling the crystals), she walked off, carrying down the passage and no longer giving thought to the distractions around her.  Quickening her pace at the groaning of the rocks overhead, the normally-keen-eyed pegasus completely missed the opening in the rock face, or the giant bear that emerged from it – until its paw connected with her flank.

The stone walls shuddered as she fell against them, shaking the dust off the ceiling.  Pain blossomed in her rear, and jolted through her wing as it was crushed between a rock and flesh.  Dazed by the sudden attack, and numbed by the renewed fire in one of her wings and burning wounds on her flank, it was dumb luck that caused her to fall as the incapacitated pegasus tried to stand up.  While she could now add her face to the list of things that hurt, it was a welcome trade to being bear chow as the bear in question missed her, slamming into the cave wall instead.

One of the nearby supports splintered at the impact.  A crack resounded through the walls, followed by a shudder as a dust cloud floated down.  Aurora’s eyes went wide as she realized what was about to happen, backpedaling away from the ponicidal bear and the soon-to-collapse cavern wall.  The bear didn’t, however, continuing its menacing approach unaware of the imminent catastrophe about to befall it.

Aurora wanted to cry out a warning, but her voice was lost in the roar of the beast mingled with the much louder roar coming from above, as the rock ceiling split, pouring boulders and stalactites on the unsuspecting animal.  She swore as a large spike of rock smashed through the bear’s skull, mercifully killing him instantly.

Aurora continued to backpedal away from the destruction raging toward her.  It was apparent that this collapse had been building up inside the weakened rock for a long time, just waiting for the opportune moment and the right straw to fall in order to break this pony’s back.  There was no way all of this came from one support beam shattering.

The falling chunks of stone were advancing on her faster than she was moving, and she needed to do something quick if she was to escape this alive! Aurora decided on sacrificing time for speed.  The pegasus halted for a moment, just long enough to twist back into a standing position.  The cave-in did not heed her need for a time-out, and raged onwards; Aurora broke into a gallop just as a boulder larger than her flattened the area where she was just standing.

The race only lasted a few seconds, before a large slab of craig collapsed, its shear size able to support the surrounding walls and countering the oncoming torrent.  The shock rattled the cave, prying dirt and an odd assortment of small rocks and stones off the adjacent surfaces.

Aurora continued galloping for a short stretch, slowing down her canter.  She took a few more steps in, then promptly fell over.  A pained grunt as she landed on her wing, a slight adjustment off of the appendage.  Breathe in, breathe out.

Never again, Aurora thought to herself, never again.

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Unfortunately, with the danger of another cave-in lingering everywhere, Aurora could not stop to rest.  She would have to wait until she got out of this underground nightmare.

On the contrast, the mare did discover some fortune in where she ended up.  With only one way to go, Aurora didn’t have much say in where to go, and so pressed onward.  Much to her surprise, the dim blue light of the mana veins gave way to a much more vibrant yellow that signalled the path of torches that lay up ahead.  As she rounded the corner, the rock walls opened up into a larger hall, where her path ended on an overhang overlooking the hollow.

A waterfall emptied into a small lake opposite her, a wooden bridge connecting two shores perpendicular to her position.  The floor of the cavern was, at most, a ten to fifteen foot drop from where the wounded pegasus lay.  It shouldn’t have been a problem, just a hop, skip, and a jump into the water, assuming it wasn’t too shallow.  What stopped her, however, was the voices she heard.  There was a flicker of movement, and Aurora could see a shadow move on the adjacent wall.

“What if somepony wanders in here?” one of them questioned.  The other one groaned in aggravation before answering gruffly,

“Nopony’s gonna come in here.  Why would they?  The mine’s been abandoned for divines’ know how long.  Blade set up that rock trap near the entrance, an’ Cleaver is up on guard duty outside.  Now, shut up or get out an’ let me get some damn sleep!”  There were only two types of ponies who holed up in an abandoned mine, and trapped the entrance:  Paranoid ponies, and bandit gangs.  The pegasus swore under her breath; this day just got better and better.

“What’s got you so tired, huh?  It’s the middle of the damn day!” the first one continued, either unaware or uncaring of his ally’s growing hostility.

“I was up all bloody night doing a raid with Soul an’ Blackthorn.  Now, go bother Blade at the forge, or I’m gonna bother my knife into your neck.”  It appeared that was the end of their conversation.

Definitely bandits, she thought.  Bandits were a bunch of unruly bastards, having absolutely no code of ethics.  They raided wherever they wanted, whoever they wanted, whenever they wanted.  They saw no problem in killing another pony for gold, and had no concept of the idea of subtlety.

There was a shuffling sound below her as the second bandit wrapped himself in his makeshift sleeping bag.  The first one came into view as he made his way across the bridge, presumably towards Blade.  The stallion’s dark hide was covered by a set of ironically-named hide armor, a more simplistic and unvaluable version of leather armor.  A blunt iron sword was strapped to his back, and an indiscernible dagger hung off his shoulder.  The pounding of his hooves slowly faded as he disappeared further into the mine.

With the one gone, and the other asleep, the only hinderance to Aurora’s escape was the distance to the ground.  Being a pegasus, this would normally not be a problem, but with her wings out of commission this was no longer the case.  She would need to find a way down that was quiet, and that wouldn’t require her wings.  She peered over the edge of the outcrop, looking down at the body of water.  It would be safe to land in, but the splash would alert the bandits nearby.  Would she be fast enough to escape them though, should that be the case?  Aurora decided that she didn’t want to risk it if there was another way.

She turned back the way she came.  Somepony strung up several lanterns, so the tunnel she came from was meant for a purpose.  There was only one exit, apart from the opening she sat by, but it didn’t seem sound to not have a secondary exit, in case of a cave-in.  The hole she sat in couldn’t possibly be used by earth ponies, not unless they were expected to jump into the lake every time, which while possible was extremely unlikely.  There had to be another passage, one that all ponies could traverse to get from up here to down there.

Unless... she was going about it the wrong way.  The main sector of the mine was down there, and whomever worked down there would need an escape route in case of the not-so-hypothetical cave-in.  More than likely there was already an escape route at the other end of the mine, but just having one would be ridiculously risky, just tempting fate.  There had to have been a secondary route to the surface, but what if she was in it?  If this tunnel she found was the secondary (or even primary) escape route, then there would have to be a passage connecting the two.  Aurora needed to find some sort of lever, or pressure plate that would open the hidden tunnel.

The walls shuddered, more dirt cascading onto her ebony coat, and marring a small patch a dull brown as a deep rumble echoed through the tunnels.  Apparently the storm she sensed earlier had come.

Aurora scoured the shadows for a trigger of some kind.  Examining the wall decorated with lanterns revealed an outline of a door disguised as rock, but there was no way to open it.  She should have expected that – the miners wouldn’t want anypony sneaking in, so of course the lever was on the side only the miners could access.  Damn.

Aurora glanced at the overhang.  There was no choice; she would have to chance it and hope she could outrun them.  Then there was the bandit standing guard outside, although if she took him by surprise she could gallop past him hopefully before he could hinder her.  Her wings itched and her flank burned at the thought of all that running.  She looked back over the edge, and down at the water below.

“Kill him if he talks to me like that again... get him while he’s sleeping... or poison his meat, see if he likes it,” murmured the half-asleep bandit.  There was a shuffle as he rearranged himself in his sleeping bag.

Well, it was now or never.  Aurora back up a few steps, cantered forward, and jumped.  For a moment she was airborne once more, and her wings ached to be unfolded.  Or perhaps they were just aching from the strain.  Whichever it was, she was only in the air for a second before she hit the water.  With all the luck in the world, just as she broke the surface there was a loud crash and the sound of somepony swearing from just outside.

The water was freezing, shocking her as she pushed herself to the surface.  However, that was nothing to the shock when her wounds were exposed to the dirty, cold water, sending an ice-like fire through her rear.  When she broke through, she scampered under the bridge.  With a modest amount of luck, that racket covered up her arrival.  Otherwise, this was a grave mistake.

“What in Tartarus?” came the voice of the previously asleep stallion.  “What was that?”  There was a rustle of cloth as he removed himself from his bed, and the unmistakable sound of him unsheathing a weapon.  The sound of hooffalls signalled another entering the cavern.  “Is that you Cleaver?  Why ain’t ya outside?  An’ what the bloody hell was that racket!”

A new voice reached under the bridge.  “Can’t you hear the thunder?  It’s pouring out there, and I’m not standing guard while it’s pouring.  Go back to sleep you irritable codger!” the one called Cleaver yelled at the elder bandit.  He didn’t seem to take too kindly to being called an “irritable codger”.

“What did ya say to me?  I’d cut your throat for that, if you weren’t Blackthorn’s brother.  An’ what was that racket?  You do that?”

“Yeah, that was me you insufferable git.  I tripped Blade’s trap; it’s dark as night in there ‘cause somepony went and removed all them torches!” Cleaver growled.

“Ah course I removed ‘em, it’s bright as day with ‘em there, an’ I’m trying to sleep!” the old one barked back.

“Then go back to sleep!  You ungrateful bastard; lucky if I don’t slit your throat...” Cleaver added the last part under his breath as he walked away, his hoofsteps leading deeper into the mine, following the path the other bandit took.  The old one mumbled curses and threats under his breath as he crawled back into his sleeping bag.

This was a prime example of why Aurora loathed bandits.  However, she could ruminate on the uncouth behavior of these uncivilized rogues later.  With Cleaver gone, leaving the entrance unguarded, and the other sleeping, now was a prime chance to take her leave.

Slowly she raised herself out of the cavern lake, going step by step so as to not alert the dozing bandit.  There were numerous but quiet splashes as excess water drained onto the rock below, but crouching low to the ground seemed to help rectify that.  The cold stone was like frozen ice to her wet hooves, the inconspicuous chill in the air now much more tangible.  Her flank still burned with a cold fury, numbed slightly by the cool air.

She watched the elder stallion shuffle in his sleeping bag.  Nearby him he had lain his sword: a steel longsword, and in moderate condition, by the look of it.  Aurora wasn’t one for using swords, or any other weapon requiring the mouth, but a steel sword could go for several dozen gold – enough to buy some small healing potions.

She cautiously trotted up to it, glancing at the snoring earth pony to confirm he was sleeping.  But her eye was caught by a cloth purse tucked underneath his pillow.  The mare bit her lip; it wouldn’t be too hard to carry it and the sword, and pooling those resources could certainly garner her what she required, plus a little extra.

Decision made, she gently tugged at the bag of gold, all the while keeping her eyes on the back passage, in case one of the others wandered in.  As soon as it was out, she tucked the top of it under her tongue, and started towards the sword.  She went stiff when a chuckle echoed from deeper in the cave.

“He he he... two threes?”  The voice grew closer, and she turned to see a shadow making its way to the chamber she was in.  “What was he thinking?  Fool never saw me pull that ace out of my boot.”

Slightly panicked, Aurora swiftly grabbed the hilt.  In her haste, the blade clanged against the ground, eliciting a sharp chime that echoed off the rock.  She glanced behind her, praying to the sun and moon that nopony heard.  It was a ludicrous hope.

The previous asleep bandit jolted awake, glaring at her first with befuddlement, then with malice as he saw the pouch of gold and steel sword hanging from her mouth, and realized what the mare was attempting to do.  “Intruder!” he screamed.

Aurora didn’t think, she just acted, and that included regrettably dropping both items and galloping as fast as her legs could carry her.

She made her way through the tunnel leading to the exit, and just as Cleaver had said, all of the torches were either blown out or removed.  Being a pegasus, this did not hinder her movement by much, adjusting to different levels of light one of the avian abilities adopted by her kind.  However, the two bandits chasing her had no such luck, as she heard grunts and swears behind her as the two lost her in the darkness.

Aurora found the rock trap mentioned before, the one that had been tripped.  Several rocks ranging in size from as big as her head to a few large boulders littered the ground, having fallen from a wooden chute above.  The trigger lay on the ground – a thin rope, easily missed and easily broken.  The one called Cleaver was lucky he wasn’t killed, although right now lucky wasn’t the word she’d use.

Aurora tucked herself behind some of the larger boulders, hoping her pitch coat would conceal her in the darkness.  Pain bit through her when she landed on her wing, but she forced down any sort of whimper when she heard the hoofsteps from the two pursuing her, along with more grunts and curses as they waded through the minefield of rocks.  Their hoofbeats stopped in the middle.

“Damn, where’d she go?” came a voice from right beside her.  Aurora held her breath.

“This is why you ain’t supposed to be sleepin’ during your shift, you damn codger!” the second pony snorted.  “Forget that mare, she’s gone.”  Another roar of thunder rattled the cave, disturbing a cloud of dirt that rolled over her open wounds.  Aurora bit her lip.

“What do you mean, forge’ her?”

“Did she get away with any of your loot?”  There was a moment of silence as the other pony presumably shook his head.  “Then shut up!” spat the second.  “It’s not like we’ll see the bitch again.”

Aurora continued to hold her breath until she heard their hoofsteps disappear.  Then, when she was sure neither of them would return, she gasped, not entirely sure why the sudden release of breath was going to ease her pain.

Not far from the pile of rocks, up a small slope, and through wooden double doors was the outside. Just as the bandit said, the rain was pouring hard.  The sky had grown a dark grey, filtering the sun through layers upon layers of cumlionimbus.  There was a flash of light, signaling the roar that followed shortly after.  The only shelter at the moment was the small, little roof that housed the entrance to the mine below.

Free from the bandits for now, Aurora observed where she was.  The grass was lush, sectioning off juts of rock that escaped the ground, and was host to a multitude of bushes and flowers.  From where she sat, Aurora could see various mountain flowers, dragon’s tongue, and if she was right, snowberries.  Numerous conifers clouded the landscape, offering shelter to the families of birds and rabbits.

What stuck out to her most was the thing she had been most hoping she’d find; down a worn dirt path that had once led to the mine, across a bridge, was the pegasus ground-colony of Nimbustall.  While the pegasus was not a fan of getting her feathers wet, the warning fire still present in her flanks convinced her to limp on in the rain towards the civilization.

Now to practice that silver tongue.