Dark Blue

Ponies always tell me to be careful of the caves just outside Ponyville, and with good reason.

Not that it ever stops me.

They are dark and treacherous, with winding, twisting paths and sudden drops. According to my friend Twilight, old rivers and streams used to flow through the caves, having carved out the routes I walk today. Sometimes I swear I can hear the flow of water somewhere deeper in the rock.

Then there are the native creatures who nest here; insects and spiders and bats and whatever else I dare not imagine. They all make me uncomfortable, and while I have an image to uphold, I am not so stuck up I can’t admit I might come running out of the caves once in a while.

Yet I always return. While I’m driven back by my need for precious stones, I could always purchase those in the long term even if it would bite into my overhead. Instead I enjoy the act of spelunking in and of itself. I swear if my calling wasn’t in fashion, it would be in exploring dark, damp, wet caves for all their secrets.

This very day isn’t much different. Spurred on by a lack of sapphires and rubies I needed for some new project Rainbow Dash of all ponies commissioned, I find myself drawn in deep, deep into the caves by my dowsing spell. I had already located a few gems, which were now weighing down my saddlebag, but they weren’t enough.

A lantern hangs from my neck, illuminating the way ahead of me, while I focus on the spell illuminating the gems hidden in the walls. It takes some searching but I manage to find the beginnings of another seam and I giggle in glee.

I follow the tendril, looking for the largest concentration, but after a few more steps one of my hooves doesn’t connect with the floor when I expect it too. I lurch forward then manage to catch myself, before gazing down at the drop below. It’s sharp, almost doubling back on itself, and a few ledges and outcroppings make me thankful my reflexes saved me.

I suppose keeping a better eye on where I was walking would be better. No matter.

Looking up, I follow the seam once more, and to my delight the biggest concentration is just nearby. Also to my frustration, it is also almost overhanging the drop down below. I hadn’t brought the tools to collect something like this, and while I could try and break apart the wall around it, extracting the gems, I couldn’t do so carefully enough, and I certainly don’t trust myself not to try to lean forward and fall.

With a sigh I turn around. I’ll have to remember this seam, come back with some tools to hold myself up and catch myself if I were to fall. Maybe I could bring Spike along—

Hooves beat rapidly against rock. I stop in my tracks, tilting my head and turning my ears down the tunnel. Somepony is running my way.

“Hello?” I call out, and for a moment the galloping becomes crystal clear. A moment later, a cloaked pony tackles me and we both fall.

Down into the pit.