Arceus stared at the scene in front of her incredulously. A moment later, both Winter Willow and Starcatcher turned to look at her and Luster, who had just peeked her head into the room.

“Arceus,” Starcatcher breathed as Luster gasped at the headmare’s unconscious body. Arceus stared at Starcatcher.

She was sure she looked like an idiot just staring into the eyes of the stallion that had rejected her only a few weeks prior, but believe it or not, she wasn’t staring at him because she had feelings for him. Well, at least that wasn’t the main reason that she was staring at him. She had this sneaking suspicion that he was different somehow. He had the same cream-colored coat, blue mane with purple tips, and fiery red eyes, but there was something that wasn’t quite right. His expression looked much more compassionate than it had before. That was for sure. But that wasn’t it either. She felt as if it was right under her nose, but she still couldn’t quite put her hoof on it.

“You!” Luster said, looking at Winter Willow accusingly. “You attacked the headmare!” she said, horrified. Winter looked a bit shameful.

“I wish I could’ve done something less violent, but she was probably about to attack us, and obviously she’s not a good pony. I don’t know what she’s been doing to Arceus, but there’s no way it’s good,” Winter said. Arceus finally tore her eyes away from Starcatcher, though he was still looking at her.

“What is going on?” Arceus asked no one in particular. “Why did-”

“There’s no time,” Starcatcher interrupted. “We need to get you away from here. Who knows when Starlight will wake up. When she does, you shouldn’t be here to see it.”

“But-”

“You’re right,” Luster said, interrupting Arceus. “We need to get out now. We can figure this out when we’ve gotten somewhere safe,” she announced. She began to run off.

“Okay then,” Winter said, following after a moment of hesitation. Arceus and Starcatcher were left alone for a moment before he looked at the floor regretfully for a moment, and then followed the others. Arceus ran out the door too, shutting it behind her. Once she was out, it took her a moment to catch up to the others. When she did, she mustered up as much breath control as she could in order to speak.

“Wait!” Arceus called to everypony. Everypony pretended like they didn’t hear her, which was quite ironic since she was the one they were breaking out. Well actually Starcatcher turned his head toward her, but he still didn’t stop running.

“What?” he asked.

“Well first of all, where are we going?” Arceus asked.

“The Crystal Caves,” Luster said.

“Away from here,” Winter Willow said at the same time. She flushed in embarrassment when she heard Luster’s much more viable answer.

“That works too,” Winter mumbled.

“We need to make a stop first,” Arceus said urgently.

“Why?” they all called back in unison, still running.

“I have things that I need to get from my room,” Arceus said vaguely.

“What could be so important that we risk answering to Headmare Starlight? I mean, obviously I would never knock out a teacher, but she’s definitely going to blame me at least partially for that. Not to mention helping you escape. There’s no way I’m risking her finding me so you can get some unnecessary garbage from your room!” Luster said. Arceus couldn’t see Winter Willow’s face since she was running behind her, but she could tell by Starcatcher’s weary look in Winter’s direction that she didn’t take the knocking-out-a-teacher comment very well.

After considering Luster’s question, Arceus supposed that keeping her pet-smuggling secret was the least of her worries at the moment.

“I may have sort of smuggled my cat into the school,” Arceus admitted guiltily.

“What?!” Luster said loudly. “That’s against the rules!” she preached.

“Um, I’m all for taking care of animals, but I don’t think this is a good time to try to break into a magically sealed room,” Winter Willow said, trying her best to be polite.

“But I can’t just leave her there all alone!” Arceus exclaimed.

“You talk about your cat like it’s some mythical god or something. It’s just a cat! It’s not the end of the world,” Luster said irritatedly. Arceus was too offended to speak.

“I think if you had been confined to your house for sixteen years with no one but your parents, you would’ve treasured your cat too.”

Arceus was surprised to notice that the statement hadn’t come from her mouth. It was exactly what she’d been thinking, but Starctacher had said it. This was starting to get really weird. He hadn’t even remembered their most recent conversation the last time she’d talked to Starcatcher properly, and now he remembered something they’d corresponded about almost a year ago? There had to be something going on there, but Arceus hadn’t the slightest idea of what it could be.

Luster said nothing in response to Starcatcher’s comment.

“Arceus, we’ll find a way to come back for your cat later, but I can’t think of any way we can do that now. We need time to figure out what we’re going to do first,” Winter said pityingly. After a moment of thought, Arceus sighed sadly.

“Fine, but I’m not leaving her forever. The poor thing doesn’t have any food,” Arceus said worriedly. Arceus could’ve sworn she heard hoofsteps and saw something red and frizzy flit through a nearby hallway, but there was no way that could’ve been. After all, wouldn’t the pony have confronted them if they’d witnessed them running as fast as they could through the halls?

The group stayed silent for a while, starting to get tired from running so long.

“So, am I the only one who has no idea what The Crystal Caves are?” Arceus asked. “Or how far they are?” she added after thinking about the long time they’d been running through the school. Luster looked at Winter and Starcatcher questioningly. They nodded their heads.

“Yes,” Luster said matter-of-factly.

“It’s not just you. Most ponies don’t know about them. The easiest way to get to them is through the library, which just happens to be on the opposite side of the school as the headmare’s office,” Starcatcher elaborated. Arceus was a bit confused.

“But if not many ponies know about them, how do all of you?” Arceus asked them.

“I read a complete history of this school as soon as Princess Twilight recommended me here,” Luster said proudly.

“My b- I mean, my parents told me,” Starcatcher said. Arceus wondered what he was going to say originally, but decided not to ask. Arceus and Luster looked at Winter Willow, awaiting her explanation.

“He told me,” she said with a shrug, obviously referring to Starcatcher. Finally, the group approached the library doors. After Luster opened them so delicately that you’d think she was afraid they would break, they walked into the library, going to a specific spot near the back corner, where Luster sat down and began to feel the tiles with her hooves.

“Around two decades ago, when Princess Twilight and The Friendship Counsel were first establishing this school, some students discovered caverns under the school filled with crystals. The caves were created by the legendary Tree of Harmony. They were a magical place, where illusions were as vivid as real life, and they engulfed many that entered.

“When the Tree died, the caves lost their magical properties. The Tree had protected the caves from erosion and serious rodent settlements. Without those protections, the caves grew wild and dangerous.” After Luster finished her speech, she finally found the tile she was looking for, and then used her magic to pull it out of the floor. Beneath it, Arceus could see nothing but darkness. Luster began to stick her first hoof in.

“Wait!” Arceus interjected. “Why in Equestriaare we hiding in these caves if they’re wild and dangerous?” Arceus asked. Luster rolled her eyes.

“Where else are we going to go? Headmare Starlight put a spell on everypony in the school to prevent us from getting to your parents’ cottage, Starcatcher’s parents are politicians, - so obviously we can’t trust them - and clearly the kirin isn’t from around here, so we can’t really stay at her place either.”

“Racist much,” Winter muttered to herself a bit too loudly. Luster glared at her.

“I’m just saying that not all non-ponies are immigrants!” Winter said. Luster raised an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe I’m an immigrant, but that doesn’t mean anything! And you didn’t say why you can’t house us for a while!”

“First of all, the only thing you need to know is that I can’t, okay? And second, there is no us. I’m protecting Arceus to keep her from being tortured. You two are on your own,” Luster said. Winter Willow got angry. Very angry. Starcatcher widened his eyes in fright, and tried to calm Winter down, but it was no use.

“Are you serious? We help you, and you’re just going to ditch us?!” Winter’s voice got more and more monster-like as she spoke, and then she transformed.

Her pure white coat turned pitch black, her eyes started to glow, and her mane turned into pure fire. She had turned into a nirik.

“Who do you think you are?!” Winter screamed. Luster looked terrified, silenced by the shock. Starcatcher was still trying to calm Winter down, but she ignored him. So suddenly that Arceus jumped, an alarm sounded, and water sprayed down on everypony. Winter Willow had set off the magical fire alarm with her fiery mane. The walls of the schools were soundproof, but they weren’t fire-proof, and any minute now, students would evacuate, and teachers would search for the source of the fire.

“Winter! I know you’re angry, but we have to get to the caves now!” Starcatcher said. Winter looked at Starcatcher.

“Don’t tell me what to do! You’re just like this idiot of a unicorn! You get me entwined with your complicated life, and you just expect me to keep all of your secrets and risk everything for whatever you want! And what do I get for my efforts? Nothing!”

Starcatcher looked truly saddened by this proclamation, and Arceus found herself wondering if the two of them had a romantic relationship. She hated the speck of jealousy she felt just thinking about it. Now was not the time to be thinking about romance.

Starcatcher blinked back a few tears.

“I’m sorry, Winter. You don’t have to be a part of this if you don’t want to. I know that none of this has anything to do with you. It was my idea, and you got caught in the crossfire. Headmare Starlight didn’t actually see who hit her. She might believe that I used magic to do it if you go back and tell her that,” he said.

Was Arceus incorrectly remembering the way he’d treated her the last time they’d spoken? This stallion standing before her was exactly how she’d imagined Starcatcher to be like in real life, while the last time she’d interacted with him, he’d been a huge disappointment.

After hearing Starcatcher say that, Winter Willow started to cool off, going back to her kirin form.

“No,” Winter started. “I got myself into this mess with you ponies, and you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She took a moment to look at Luster. “You’re not getting rid of either of us that easily. Whether youlike it or not,” she added. Arceus looked at Starcatcher and noticed that he was already looking at her. He flushed a bit, and looked away. It seemed cute to Arceus, but there was something hidden beneath it. It almost looked like… Guilt?

“I suppose we ought to-” Starcatcher was interrupted by the doors to the library opening. Arceus heard footsteps from the entrance. The whole group froze in place. Luster was the first to break through the initial shock. She nodded towards the cave entrance, and jumped in. Great. Now Arceus was going to have to deal with spiders, roaches, bats, and who knew what else? Arceus jumped in.

The drop wasn’t as far as it looked, and her landing didn’t leave her with more than maybe a small bruise here and there. She managed to get out of the way before Starcatcher jumped in, followed by Winter Willow. Luster used her magic to move the tile back into place.

The cave was pitch-black. Arceus couldn’t distinguish a single thing, but that didn’t stop her imagination from deciding what was there. There could have been hundreds of blood-sucking bats hanging from the ceiling, just a whisper away from waking. There could have been thick spider webs stretching across everything, holding poor creatures who were unlucky enough to be caught. There even could have been-

Arceus’s thoughts were cut off when Luster lit up her horn. It illuminated the tunnel that they were currently in very well. What Arceus saw within the cave was certainly nothing like she’d imagined. It was empty.

Not empty as in ‘it had plenty of empty space’. It was eerily empty. There were walls made of rock, earth, and crystal, but they had nothing on them or between them. It wasn't even dusty! Everything looked clean.

“Is it just me, or does it smell like cleaning supplies in here?” Winter asked. Now that she said it, Arceus did smell cleaning supplies, along with a subtle scent of something else.

“I smell it too. But there’s another smell. Is that… Pizza?” Arceus asked confusedly.

“As little sense as that makes, I think you’re right. I wonder if they’ll refund me for that book. It was advertised to be high-quality, up to date, and-” Luster stopped mid-sentence, looking at a spot on the floor of the cave. She walked up to it, and levitated something off the floor with her magic to get a closer look.

Clearly Luster was a very powerful unicorn. To be able to use a light spell and a levitation spell at the same time took quite a bit of skill.

“What is this?” Luster asked confusedly, still looking at her finding.

It was a very small piece of paper-like fabric that was bright green. Arceus, Starcatcher, and Winter Willow walked over to Luster to see it for themselves.

“Confetti?” Winter said uncertainly.

“I knew that,” Luster muttered unconvincingly. Arceus smelled the tiny piece of fabric.

“Pizza scented confetti? Where would you even get that?” Arceus wondered allowed.

Creak!

“Please tell me that wasn’t what I think it was,” Starcatcher said.

Creak!

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that it was,” Winter Willow said. They didn’t need to explain what they were talking about. The tile that covered the entrance to the caves was moving. Somepony had found them.

“What are you waiting for? Hide!” Luster commanded. But it was too late. The tile was finally lifted up properly and thrown to the side roughly. Light showered the group as two ponies stared down at them.

Author's Note

Hi again!

You probably noticed that this chapter had quite a few mysteries, and although I will be answering them later in the story, I'd love to see what you guys think is going on. I'll be giving a shout-out in the Author's Notes to anyone who guesses correctly. Please note that I won't confirm or deny anyone's theories until I confirm or deny it in the actual story, so if you're right, it may be a few chapters before you see it in the Author's Notes.

Thanks for reading! If you like this story, make sure to leave a thumbs up, and feel free to comment with your thoughts.