Caltrop’s sudden bellow of surprise was cut off as suddenly as a radio being unplugged as the six very startled ponies dropped right through the solid wood of the closet floor. It happened so quickly that they only managed a sharp intake of breath before the rush of the passing air filled their ears, drowning out every other sound as they plunged into utter blackness. Unable to see or hear, they tumbled downward, their speed increasing every moment.

As Wind Song’s daily workout routine regularly consisted of succumbing to the demands of gravity, his head was the first to clear. His first instinct was to open his wings and bring a stop to what would otherwise inevitably be an instantaneous and bloody end. However, two thoughts stopped him.

For one thing, opening his wings here, in a place where he couldn’t see his surroundings, could spell disaster. The words of his flight instructor, which had been drilled into him time and time again, momentarily drowned out the roaring of the passing air.

“Your wings are your most precious asset but also your most vulnerable. Think twice before opening them in unknown places.” she had said.

For another, Fairweather was a trusted friend and would never do anything to put either him or any of his five friends in harm’s way. If she had wanted them to plunge down a deep dark pit into only Celestia knew where, then she must have had a good reason for it. He only hoped that Moonlight also had the presence of mind to resist the urge to open her wings.

This particular concern, however, was put to rest as his fall carried him face-first into what could only be the folded feathery wings of another pegasus.

It was impossible to tell how long they fell for. It could have been a few seconds or a few minutes for all Wind Song could tell. Without warning, a dim glow came into existence, forming like bubbles around the six falling ponies. As the light grew in intensity it began to sparkle and shimmer hypnotically. Wind Song felt as though he had been laid gently into a large warm blanket and, almost at once, felt the speed of his downward descent beginning to slow.

The roaring of wind in Wind Song’s ears quieted and he let out a great sigh of relief when he saw that his friends were slowing as well. Willow and Snow Star, who lay in a more or less upright position much like Wind Song’s own, stared wildly about, their pupils tiny pinpricks of alarm. Honeybell and Moonlight both seemed to have been caught with their noses pointing downward as they scrambled to right themselves. Orange Blossom, however, was completely upside down, legs scrambling haphazardly in the air as she screamed at the top of her lungs trying to find which way was up.

Honeybell, who after a moment had succeeded in pushing herself into a more comfortable position, reached out toward her flailing sister. Her leg passed right through whatever the spell was that held them and she succeeded in pulling Orange Blossom right side up.

By now, the magical auras of light were almost like little bonfires around each of them and Wind Song was able to get a look at what it was they were falling through.

A vertical cylindrical pit of rough dark rock surrounded them. It was about five yards across and Wind Song immediately concluded that it had only been through some spell or another that they hadn’t struck its jagged sides as they tumbled through the air. He was especially glad now that he’d chosen to keep his wings at his sides.

Their downward progress continued to slow until the walls of the pit widened suddenly into a huge octagonal chamber. The walls of the chamber were smooth stone, though this was difficult to tell because every inch of them was covered haphazardly in multicolored drawings which Wind Song couldn’t quite make out.

Below them, the eight-sided floor of the chamber, about thirty yards from edge to edge, was rising rapidly to meet them. At its center, a pile of hay lay in the middle of an eight point compass rose painted on the floor.

The six friends’ rate of descent slowed first to a crawl, then to a complete stop about half a yard above the pile of hay. With a faint “pop”, their bubbles vanished, dropping them into the hay and once again leaving them in complete darkness.

“Is everypony okay?” were Wind Song’s first words as all six ponies lay breathing fast, hearts pounding frantically.

“I don’t know about you, but if I ever get a hold of Fairweather, I’m gonna pluck her like a chicken! And damn that Black Rose bitch to Tartarus!” Honeybell’s frustrated voice came from a short distance away.

Orange Blossom, whose voice was hoarse from screaming, rasped from near where Honeybell had spoken, “Never better.” This proclamation was followed by the sound of her retching onto the floor.

The two unicorns both gave a noncommittal grunt from Wind Song’s left.

Moonlight, whose rapid breathing Wind Song could hear from just next to him, said shakily, “I’m...fine...I...think...”. Each word was punctuated with a gasp for air.

A moment later, a flash of orangish-red light came from where Willow and Snow Star had been lying. Wind Song thought for a moment that they were trying to strike a flame, but a second flash a moment later revealed that the glow had been coming from the tip of Willow’s horn, which dimly illuminated her strained features as she attempted to cast the spell.

As the second flash of light died, Willow let out a cry of frustration which echoed off of the high chamber walls, reverberating back and forth and sending Wind Song’s head spinning as his sense of direction was obliterated.

“A light charm!” Willow sobbed miserably. “I can’t even do a damned light charm!”

A few seconds later, however, the light came to life ten times stronger than before, revealing Willow and Snow Star with their horns touching. The two unicorns gazed at each other, their sad eyes locked. Once again, Wind Song saw the enviable closeness between them that he had noticed on the balcony above the Town Hall.

As Willow and Snow Star separated, their lights continued to glow, although now they flickered uncertainly, almost like a candle that was about to go out.

For the first time, they were able to really take stock of the room around them. Though the ceiling of the chamber itself was lost in darkness, the light of the unicorns’ spell revealed the drawings on the walls he had seen before. Wind Song noticed now that they weren’t quite as disorganized as he had thought. They were divided into sections about two yards tall and three yards wide, each of which depicted two alicorns, one black and one white, repeated over and over again in varying patterns of ever-increasing complexity and detail.

His eyes followed the drawings all the way down toward the base of the wall where he noticed that each of the wall’s eight sides had an empty doorway in it leading into utter blackness. Each door was crowned with a mantle on which a letter indicating a point of the compass was carved. He stared for a moment at the word “South East” above one of the doors, feeling that something was wrong about it, but he wasn’t quite sure why.

As he continued to look downward he saw the compass, at the center of which they all lay. It was enormous; nearly as wide as the room itself, and covered in elaborate scrollwork. Each of the compass’s eight points terminated directly in front of each of the eight dark doorways. Just below each point was a depiction of one of eight phases of the moon. Further toward the center, just visible under the pile of hay, was a large and ornate drawing of the sun whose eight tendrils of light spread out to meet each of the compass points.

Wind Song felt his hair stand on end as he quickly realized he was looking at the legacy of an Equestria even older than that of Princess Twilight. Willow and Snow Star seemed to have noticed this as well. They had stood and begun to move about the chamber, causing his own shadow as well as those of the others, to shift hauntingly about as the source of light changed position. Even in the unicorns’ states, they seemed to marvel at what they saw with expressions of open amazement.

They likely would have continued on like this for hours had Honeybell not chosen that moment to say, “Now, I like fancy pictures ‘n such as much as the next pony, but don’t y’all think we should get a move on if we’re gonna avoid getting caught by these minions of Rose’s?”

As Honeybell said this, Wind Song noticed that she kept glancing nervously around. Orange Blossom, who lay next to her, had shoved her head into the hay up to her neck. He made a mental note to ask them about this behavior later before replying, “You’re right. Seems we forgot why we’re down here to begin with.”

Willow, who had been looking closely at a series of drawings at the base of the door labelled, “North”, looked up and said sourly, “It would help if Fairweather had told us which way we needed to go.”

Moonlight rolled herself upright and replied, her voice still shaking slightly, “She did. She told me and Windy as she was leaving the room. We have to go west.”

Honeybell didn’t even wait a moment before reaching down and pulling Orange Blossom’s head from the hay pile.

“Perfect.” she said, standing quickly. “Off we go then.”

Honeybell and Orange Blossom broke into a trot, aiming for the door labelled “West” before Moonlight said to the room at large, “But wait, don’t you think we should check the packs Fairweather left us first? Judging by how far we fell, it’ll be a long while before we get to the top.”

Honeybell, who had turned to glare incredulously at Moonlight, was not easily deterred, however.

She replied, “No, Moonlight. It can wait til we get up to the top.”

“Honeybell is right. Let’s get some distance between us and those goons up above before we stop. I would hate to get caught by them down here.” Snow Star said grimly.

Honeybell nodded to Snow Star appreciatively.

“Exactly, Snow.” she said before turning and walking through the doorway in spite of the fact that it was totally dark.

Wind Song, who had been staring at the word “West” on the mantle above her, called out, “Wait!”

“Oh come on!!” Honeybell’s voice echoed from where she stood in the tunnel, just beyond the unicorns’ light.

“What is it, Windy?” Willow asked quietly.

Wind Song continued to look at each of the labels above the doorways in turn before realizing that he now knew what was wrong with them.

“That’s not West.” he said.

Honeybell emerged from the dark tunnel, ears laid back in irritation. She swivelled her neck around and looked up at the mantle above the low doorway. After a moment, she turned around, looking sarcastically at Wind Song.

“Now look, Windy.” she began levelly. “I’m no Daring Do, but I can sure as sunrise read the word ‘west’ when it’s right in front of my face.”

Wind Song rolled his eyes.

“No.” he said. “I mean, those compass points are mislabelled. That door doesn’t go west.”

Everypony stared at Wind Song for a moment as though he were insane. Suddenly, from close by his left side, he heard a long whispered, “Oooooooh!” from Moonlight.

Orange Blossom and Honeybell both looked at each other quizzically. Willow and Snow Star cocked their heads comically to one side.

Seeing their confusion, Wind Song elaborated, “Pegasi have compasses in their heads. We can feel which way is north. It’s like a tiny tugging sensation at the front of our minds. I assumed you all knew that.”

Honeybell and Orange Blossom’s jaws dropped in surprise while the unicorns’ mouths formed small “o’s” of comprehension.

“You mean to say,” Orange Blossom replied, “that we’ve been friends for near ten years now and y’all never thought to tell us that?”

Moonlight said understandingly, “It’s a part of who we are, just like Willow or Snow’s horns. We wouldn’t have thought to explain that to you any more than we would think to tell you we had stomachs or lungs.”

“Well, that would definitely explain why Fairweather told you two and nopony else.” Snow Star said, pondering this new information.

“So, which way is west, then? If we don’t get outta here I’m gonna...” Honeybell asked with a hint of agitation.

At this statement, Wind Song’s resolve to remain silent to Honeybell’s obvious impatience broke like a stepped-on twig.

“Look. I know we’re all in a rush here, but what exactly is your problem?” he asked, dropping all pretenses of restraint and letting all of his frustration roll out over her like a tidal wave. “We’ve got enough to worry about here without your attitude making things worse!”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them, but as Honeybell opened her mouth to give an equally angry reply, she paused. After a few moments of indecision, she seemed to droop slightly before saying, “Look, I’m sorry, Windy. I’m not tryin’ to make things harder, but we earth ponies have a...uh...born fear of tight spaces and places underground, like this ‘un.”

Wind Song’s tension deflated.

“I’m sorry.” he said, hanging his head slightly. “I didn’t mean to lose control like that. I guess I’m letting the stress of this whole thing get to me. I wish I’d know that before and we could have all gotten out of here sooner.”

“Looks like you pegasi ain’t the only ones with secrets ya haven’t told anypony, eh?” Honeybell replied with a wry smile.

“I guess so.” Wind Song looked up with a little smile of his own. “Just goes to show that…”

“Great, great!” Orange Blossom interrupted. “Now that we’re all friends again, can we pleeeeease get going?”

Moonlight giggled and started for the door labelled “South West”. Orange Blossom and Honeybell rushed by Wind Song so quickly that he felt the wind of their passing before he and the unicorns followed.

In spite of their urgency, it was inevitable that they couldn’t all keep up a quick pace for long. Willow and Snow Star, who had taken up the head of the little column of ponies, progressed slowly, their hooves dragging and heads hung low. Wind Song thought the lights coming from their horns looked dimmer, but he wasn’t certain. Behind the unicorns, Honeybell and Orange Blossom stayed alert and squinted into the darkness ahead. Wind Song and Moonlight brought up the rear, plodding slowly along, the “clackity clackity” of their hooves the only sound reverberating off the low ceiling and close walls of the narrow tunnel.

In this manner, what must have been several hours passed without a word, although Wind Song heard a stomach growl once or twice. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Moonlight give him the occasional glance. However, every time he turned his head to look back at her, he found her looking forward, her wavy mane hiding all but the tip of her nose from view.

Another hour passed. The intermittent hissing of a whispered conversation could be heard coming from the Willow and Snow Star though Wind Song never caught any of what they were saying.

“Windy?”

The word spoken from his right pierced the silence like a gunshot, making Wind Song jump with alarm. He saw a sudden flash of blue and white in his vision as he cracked his skull against the low ceiling. A whispered stream of curses issued from his mouth as he sat down hard, holding his now throbbing head.

“Oh Windy, I’m so sorry!” came the voice again, which Wind Song now realized belonged to Moonlight.

“Hold up, everypony!” Honeybell called after the unicorns, exasperated. “I think Windy back here needs a minute.”

“I’m fine.” Wind Song said, rubbing the bruise which was rapidly forming on his head. “Keep going. Moonlight and I will catch up in a minute.”

The earth ponies didn’t need telling twice before they turned back around and continued to march forward. Wind Song felt Moonlight’s warmth as she sat down next to him. He opened his eyes, the retreating glow of the light spell making it difficult for him to see her.

“I’m really sorry, Windy. I didn’t mean to make you jump.”

“It’s fine.” he replied. “You didn’t mean to. Is everything alright?”

A brief silence followed as they both stood and started walking again.

“I don’t know, honestly.” Moonlight said. “This whole thing has me wondering how it’s possible we got involved in this...and why.”

“What do you mean?” Wind Song asked, staring fixedly at the floor in front of him, acutely conscious of Moonlight’s closeness.

Moonlight looked thoughtful for a moment and said, “I mean, you, me, the others...We’re all just your regular run-of-the-mill ponies from Ponyville but somehow we got caught up in a fight between gods.”

This statement made Wind Song look up.

“Gods?” he asked.

“Sure. Just look at Princess Twilight. It’s been said time and time again that even Celestia and Luna’s powers pale in comparison to hers. Some also say that Twilight herself was the one to turn the council into spirits, although nopony has any clue how she did it. Then there’s the council itself. Five immensely powerful immortal spirits, Windy.”

Wind Song turned these words over in his head for a moment, the still-throbbing knot where he’d hit it against the ceiling momentarily distracting him.

“I suppose I sort of see what you mean.” he said.

“And then there’s this Black Rose. If what Spike wrote in his letter is true, she managed to capture Twilight and scatter the council. Whatever she is, she’s a power unlike anything Equestria has ever seen. And if that’s not enough, assuming all goes well, we’ll be speaking with Spike himself in a few days. Where do we come into all of this? It’s not natural. It’s not right.”

This gave Wind Song quite a bit to think about and he was silent for a long moment before replying, “You know, Twilight and the council themselves were once normal ponies from Ponyville, just like us. Rainbow Dash came from Cloudsdale just like you did. Honeybell and Orange Blossom’s citrus field might be small, but it’s barely a mile from Sweet Apple Acres where Applejack lived. Rarity’s Carousel Boutique isn’t there anymore, but Willow and Snow’s cottage is just around the corner from where it used to be. If you think about it, we’re not so different from them. Instead of asking ‘Why us?’, it might make more sense to ask, ‘Why not us?’”

It was Moonlight’s turn to look thoughtful. “I guess so. It’s just that we used to spend so much time studying them in history class or reading about them at home that we never took the time to consider ourselves doing great things.”

Wind Song chuckled. “Speak for yourself. I basically worshipped Rainbow Dash when I was growing up in Cirrus. Living with my dad was rough so I never really had anypony to look up to until mom told me about a little blue pegasus from Ponyville who became one of the greatest fliers in history.”

Moonlight gazed up at Wind Song.

“I wanted to be an athlete but pops would always tell me that I was ‘delusional’ and that I should ‘get my head out of the clouds’. My mom always encouraged me to follow my heart, but dad would almost always cut her down. I don’t think it was until after mom got sick and died that dad really came to terms with what he’d done.”

Moonlight looked aghast.

“I’m so sorry, Windy. That’s terrible!” she said sorrowfully.

“I was crushed, obviously. Mom always reminded me of Rainbow Dash, always telling me I could do great things and be whatever I set my mind to. After she died, I packed up what little I had and left for Ponyville. I figured that if Rainbow Dash could become great in Ponyville, then so could I.”

The two pegasi walked along for several moments, Moonlight never taking her eyes off of Wind Song.

She looked back down and said in barely more than a whisper, “It sounds like you’ve had a hard life, but I’m glad fate brought you here, Wind Song.”

The glowing red flicker of Willow and Snow Star’s lights had been growing farther and farther away from Moonlight and Wind Song as they spoke, but now it appeared to have come to a stop. Cantering to close the distance, the two pegasi found that the others had stopped not to wait for them, but because they had come up against a wall of solid rock. To the left, a pile of stacked stones, each about the size of a buckball, blocked what seemed to be the only way forward. Near the center of the pile, a narrow beam of orange light shone through a small gap in the stones, illuminating the opposite wall in a dim glow of tawny gold.

“Whadaya s’pose this is all about?” Honeybell whispered.

“I’d say it was a cave-in if those stones weren’t so well arranged.” Moonlight replied.

“Fairweather didn’t say anything about the tunnel being walled in.” Wind Song added. “I sure wish we knew what was past that wall. Any ideas, Willow? Snow?”

Both unicorns had taken the time to sit down on the cool stone floor during the exchange. They both looked exhausted as they stared fixedly downward, breathing heavily. Snow Star merely gave a shrug, not taking his eyes off the ground.

A moment later, Willow spoke so quietly as to be nearly inaudible, “Snow, help me.”

Snow Star looked up at his wife, cocking his head quizzically to one side.

Willow nodded at the stone wall. “I can’t do this on my own.”

After a few seconds, Snow Star seemed to comprehend what Willow was talking about.

“Oh. That.” he said, bending his head forward and placing his horn against Willow’s and closing his eyes in concentration.

The red glow which had been coming from their horns vanished suddenly to be replaced by a thin ribbon of pale blue magical light. This ribbon fell to the floor almost like water before snaking its way across the floor to the stone wall. The magic seemed to diffuse through the stones, working its way between them, and presumably, into whatever lay beyond. From where the ribbon met the rocky wall, the magical tendril flushed suddenly from blue to the same orange color as the beam of light just above it. Without releasing the spell, Willow and Snow Star both looked up and opened their eyes.

Moonlight, who was staring at the unicorns, let out a gasp of surprise which drew Wind Song’s mesmerized gaze from the ribbon of light to the wide open eyes of Willow and Snow Star. In those two pairs of eyes was reflected neither the dingy wall of the cave nor any of the four ponies who stared at them in awe, but rather a grassy meadow, lit in the red and golden hues of a magnificent sunset.

Willow and Snow Star closed their eyes and the ribbon vanished suddenly, throwing the whole tunnel into darkness save for the beam of light coming from between the stones which had now turned a vivid pinkish orange.

“What was that?!” Orange Blossom asked in amazement.

Snow Star, whose outline was just visible in the beam of sunlight, spoke out of the twilit tunnel.

“Liquid sight spell. Let’s us see through anything with a hole in it larger than a needle.” he said, lowering himself the rest of the way down and lying his head on his front legs.

“And it uses far more energy than we had to spare.” Willow said with a heavy sigh of exhaustion, lying down next to Snow Star.

“So exactly where are we?” Wind Song asked eagerly.

“Bell Meadow.” Snow Star replied.

Neither of the unicorns said anything more, but as the pink light faded to darkness, Wind Song heard a loud snore from Snow Star.

“I guess that means we’re staying here tonight.” Wind Song said, feeling around in the dark for the canteen that was hanging from his saddlebags.

He found it and took several deep draughts. Gratified gulping from around him told him that the others were doing the same. After that, there was nothing to do but wait for morning and hope that as close as they were to the treacherous meadow, the wall of stones would keep them safe for the night.

A little shower of sparks momentarily lit the wall opposite him and soon the glow of a little flame from a small oil candle soon lit Honeybell’s satisfied face, bathing her in a pool of warm light.

In that light they all sat and quietly nibbled on some oatcakes before they lay down on the cool ground and, without a word, fell fast asleep.

Author's Note

The Thorn of Equestria - Chapter 6

The Thorn of Equestria

Chapter 6

By Wind Song

REVISED 20OCT20