Verve

“Tia, why did you send the Elements of Harmony away?” Tempest questioned, the party gazing deep into the dark crafted caverns far below. The small lanterns once lining the sides of the chasm had notably been crushed, along with the elevator’s rigging and supports. Leaving it likely dangerous to push into the Managem Mines.

“It’s all part of the plan, Tempest.”

Luna glared at her sister in fear of that; in other words, ‘if we die, they’re Equestria’s last hope’. Tempest - unaware of the grave danger they were in, rolled her shoulders and nodded to Oarkin. “Very well. I trust your judgement, but I still believe they could assist us now. If you will, Great Seraph - carry me. I don’t think I’ll survive the fall.”

“Very well, Tem…” He scratched his beard, trying hard to speak the name. “...Tempest! Aha, I learn after all. Your names are strange on my tongue. Come. The Mountain does not bow to the dark or cold.”

And with that, the giant gently placed the tall Unicorn on his shoulder, but not before Tempest seized her little witch as well. Dirty hat in-tact, and broom stored for the moment - with a jump, they began to slowly flutter down the wide tunnel.

“Falon, why are you here? Where’s Aster?” Arin eventually asked, once their path was revealed, and they began the trek downwards into the scratched tunnel proper. The buck sighed, slumping his shoulders between casts of his vine hook - as Arin carried Umbra down on stiff wings. Just above, Celestia and Luna engulfed the air in their royal pinions, fluttering gracefully ever downwards.

“Aster has fallen ill without the vast magic he carried in his ember. He is currently resting under the aid of no less than two dozen breezies. I am afraid that if I continue to cast magic as I do now, I may suffer much the same fate. But it is a risk I’m willing to take. As long as Glimmergale holds on, I should be fine.”

From the back of his hood, the tiny breezie popped up from their protective winter iron shelter. They looked sleepy despite the coffee, and chattered quietly in Faespeak - before sneaking back inside for more rest.

“It saddens me to hear this, Falon - I’m sure it must be hard on the deer,” Celestia called from above.

“Not so much once traitors were rooted from our midst. If you had not snapped sense into Aster a week prior, we might have all died to the Entity long before Nightmare Moon’s defeat. You gave him the confidence to challenge his own Senators, something the stress had sapped from his boughs as of late.”

Vee had managed to flap her wings down without help, despite one having the feathers left an entire mess and nearly destroyed. The moment her hooves touched down, she started preening once again - she had to snoot the bad feathers out so the new ones would grow in, after all. But she noticed something peculiar, as the group reformed as a singular unit.

“Hmhm? Sun-fry, do you smell that? It’s definitely not good for the feathers, whatever it is.”

Celestia paused to sample the air, shaking her head. “I don’t smell anything…”

Umbra settled on the floor, faint echoes reaching her from the tunnel beyond. Immediately, bad memories came to mind - as voices whispered silently within her. She recognized them all too well, something she thought had long since been abandoned; her Umbrum hive mind. “It is not a smell, but it is indeed something foul. I can hear them. The voices of the lightless shells of spirits, deep within… but why? We are hundreds of leagues beyond the domain of the dark forces pervading the Northern Wastes. I should have no connection to Umbrum, yet…”

“And I should have no bond between the Nightmare, either. Yet we both stand here, Umbra. It will be a test of our wits. I will not let the Entity have me again. Even now, I feel familiar pangs of her power, echoing down the caverns.” Luna joined her side, giving a nod.

Umbra sighed, collecting her wits; the group of eight sprung lights galore from their magic when available. Celestia and Luna, a gold and blue gleam - with a green orb sparkling from Umbra’s own spire. Arin lifted his palm up - summoning Mage Light to do his bidding. Oarkin had no such light spells, as he only knew simple levitation - his ancestry made it hard to wield magic, even if his power was strong. Pumpkin and Vee lit tail lanterns, the little mare floating quietly alongside her lover and sister both. Tempest’s cracked horn gleamed in a fractured nova, helping bring light to the dark. Falon’s antlers shined a bright green light.

Before they ventured deep forward, weapons were renegotiated. Luna wielded her blade, Nocturne, once more. Tempest was granted Sun Song, while Celestia had her favored Halberd returned. And Oarkin was left with the mighty bastard blade, Dreamcutter. The last of the preparations made, they steeled themselves - Tempest taking point, Arin and Falon claiming the rear. The two Princess stuck to the middle, in their weakened state, under the protective gaze of Oarkin, who was pleased to find plenty of room for his tall head.

“Which path should we follow? This place is a maze, Sister - and the rattling earth does little to soothe Our nerves.”

At that, Celestia couldn’t immediately answer. Thankfully, Tempest - being the expert tracker she was, called their attention.

“We follow the marks of the stone; where the tentacles have strayed, they jarred pointed gem spires free of their roots - but only in one direction. I will guide us. But I can not assure our escape, Princess. It will be up to chance.”

Celestia nodded; “If there’s time, we’ll try to form a Portal Gate and escape. If not, well… I guess we’ll ‘preen it’.”

“Wing it works too, Sun-fry - but some days you wing, some days you preen. It’s all about what’s on the checklist.” Vee d’ohoho’d, smiling - she was definitely rubbing off on her, no matter how much the Purple annoyed the Princess. Maybe one day, the alicorn will start cleaning up her feathers, too - blech! Vee had noticed at least thirty unsnooted bent pinions in her white wings. Definitely a sign of neglect, her wing license should be taken away. And Pumpkin’s carriage license should be found. Probably.

The tunnels began to lead ever downward, Tempest occasionally stopping to read the markings on the floor in the assorted lights - the occasional jagged stone leading them down a bend in the path.

More than several times, something slithered in the dark before them - vanishing into fresh holes in the tunnel. Downwards they crept, a sense of dread welling in their stomachs.

Tempest ordered another stop in a turn of the mine tracks, her eyes peering at the ground for clues. Falon hesitated behind - drawing Arin’s eye as the Seraph brought his glowing mage light to flutter in the darkness behind the party.

There stood a pony. Not a unicorn, or pegasus - just a simple earth mare. Her eyes closed, as she whispered faintly in the dark, head hanging low in sorrow.

Falon made to approach her, but Arin’s hand stopped him right in his tracks. “Don’t.”

Oarkin turned his head, as the duo hesitated. His eyes fell to the little mare, beaten and broken with ruffled fur and a boring gray coat. When the Mountain moved, Celestia and Luna did the same - the rest of the group’s eyes falling to the little pony in the shadows.

Umbra froze on the spot, drawing the massive scythe tight in her grasp. “Everypony. You do not see what I see. But if you did, you would all turn tail and run. Now.”

Luna blinked her eyes - dimming her horn as her gaze shifted to familiar slits, peering in the dark. She fell back in terror, bumping into the confused Pumpkin and Vee both. “W-What is that?!”

“It is a small horse, nothing more. But it is strange it is here.” Oarkin said, as Falon and Arin both drew bows - danger sense running wild as adrenaline spiked in their blood. The quiet of the tunnel began to fade, as more voices joined the single mare. Gray bodied ponies stepped into the edge of the light, first a pegasus - then a unicorn. Their closed eyes hung low as the whispers picked up, in a strange, foreign language.

Vee, having learned her lesson from her encounter in the Deepwoods - gently plucked a flash vial from Pumpkin’s bandolier. She popped the cork down, and gave it a shake - before gingerly placing it in Tempest’s - the stronger pony - trusty hooves.

The armored commander flexed her leg and threw it hard, deep into the upwards climbing tunnel. It shattered in a flash of white light, illuminating dozens of shadowy ponies in the darkness.

All at once - the dark mumbling ponies tilted their heads up. Eyelids opening to expose their missing, blackened sockets. Then, the whispers stopped - as they all let their jaws fall open.

Instead, one sound filled the cavern. A sick and disgusting noise, like an echo through the ponies before them. A single heartbeat, a connected mind - the Entity’s heart that pumped through them all.

The army of husks did not walk, nor attack - they simply began to drag along the floor towards the group, stiff muscles unmoving as the Entity’s pull drew them deeper into the tunnels.

In absolute and unbridled terror, a call to run came from the commanding Unicorn - as they bolted deeper into the dark and gloom of the foul-scented mines. Behind, the heartbeat grew closer - as Arin made the terrible mistake of looking behind him.

They were gaining on them; black sockets and bloodied tongues repeating that disgusting rhythm.

Thump-bump. Thump-bump. Thump-bump.

Out of desperation to not fall to the horde of tainted soul-husks, Arin reached his hand forward - using his astral connection to tug his body onto the back of Oarkin’s. His vine grapple shot back, seizing Falon by the jerkin - and yanking him on top of the massive Seraph. Oarkin nearly spun around to punch them, but seeing Arin’s wings flapping to find balance - quickly adjusted his gait to keep the two Rangers steady. His large hands sliding back to offer hoof holds and places to stand.

“Falon! Shoot! Oarkin - I’m going to point out a weak section of the tunnel, smash it as we pass!”

The reeling buck nodded - facing the haunting spectres with his bow. With expert precision and years of practice, he began to thin the herd - the arrows landing quickly into the once lively corpses. But it was a tide, a wave; an endless surge. And even with his trained eyes for labor, Arin was having trouble seeing the mine’s walls in the dark - that is, until the tunnel began to tighten around them, narrowing their path and forcing claustrophobia to flourish in the beating gem halls.

“WHAT ARE THESE CREATURES?!” Luna screamed, in her Royal Canterlot Voice - Celestia’s magic zipping her lips shut.

“Husk! Shells! Ancient ponies that had fallen long ago, their souls ripped from their forms and their bodies animated by the Entity! The Umbrum are spirits drained of the light - these are bodies ripped free of their souls!” Celestia yelped, a split in the path ahead looming before them; illuminated by the echoes of their light refracting from the crystalline quartz and mineral-laced rock.

Tempest had to make a call. Fight, split up, or run down a tunnel at random. And with the redesign of the maze-like structure following Celestia’s architectural advice - the wrong path would loop back into the herd of echoing husks. So splitting up wasn’t an option to begin with.

“Pumpkin! Fly ahead - look for signs that we’re on the right path! Anything!”

“Why m-me?!”

“Your broom doesn’t rely on horizontal space, Vee can’t fly well - and the Princesses wings are too big - GO!”

The little mare threw herself forward on her broom - speeding off ahead into the dimly lit crystal hollow. And there, she hesitated at the fork.

Both sides looked identical! Purple and blue stone, purple and blue - wait! Feathers?! Pink feathers, on the right side! Not gray! They were frayed and worn with age, as if they’d been sitting here for years!

Either a pony went down this path once, or came from it - regardless, it didn’t matter! It was the only sign she had.

“R-RIGHT!” Pumpkin called, before Tempest jumped and grabbed her - slinging the little mare over her back. The witch’s hoof shot forward, cupping her broom in her returned solar magic - stuffing it in her hat as the pace doubled. With a path to follow, the blind gallop turned into a full on stampede - and in that dark, Arin spotted it.

“There! Oarkin! That wall! It’s slumping - it’ll collapse!” Arin threw his magelight towards the rock, before spinning to face the dark. Using his vine hook to stay on the sprinting giant of a seraph.

He drew Sonata, and pulled hard at the astral string - a pillar of flame erupting in his grasp. The coursing fire shot forward into the crowd of heart-beating husks, exploding in an arc of flame, igniting several of the unwavering corpses that only seemed to grow enraged. The arrow’s light was enough to give Falon guidance, as the buck popped three arrows into the faltering mass. Each shot didn’t claim a body - simply slowed their movement, sending them back into the crowd.

Oarkin’s fist swung at the wall, as they darted down the tunnel - rock groaning and cracking along the stony face before the roof collapsed; sections of old gems caving in onto their path - locking them inside the mountain, free from the corpses for the moment.

Panting, the worn down party’s hoof falls slowed, as they clearly lost their followers. At least, for now. A few other feathers lined their path, Celestia plucking one from the floor to gaze at.

“Cadence’s?...” she whispered, as the tip naturally color shifted to a soft purple. Vee gave it a sniff, ho-humming quietly.

“Hmhm! I’d say around… five years, maybe five and a half? Fell right off! No snooting needed.” Vee clutched the feather in her teeth, giving it a gentle lick. “Hmhm… yes, it tastes a bit like your hair, Sun-fry. Definitely alicorn related, though not as strong.”

“Princess Cadence is a half alicorn, much like Twilight. Her blood will give her magic, size, stature - but she is still limited by age. Immortality can not be so easily obtained. And… wait, you tasted my hair?”

“Plucked a couple of the nasty red strands for purple reasons, d’ohoho~ You don’t mind, do you, Sun-fry?”

Celestia glared right through her, as Luna shushed them - her ear flicking up.

“The heartbeat… it continues farther on. But it isn’t approaching Us.” Luna frowned, as Umbra held her aching head. Arin fast approached her side, running his hand along her withers. Worry filled him to the core, as his lover struggled against unseen forces.

“We are getting close. I feel it. It is deeper within…” Umbra stared blankly down the hall, sweat dripping down her body. Again, that feeling of unease began… but this time, it came from the dark mare herself.

“Umbra, you’re still with me, right? You’ll be okay?...” he asked, tilting her muzzle up to meet his eyes. She nodded softly, giving a weak smile.

“It is… clawing at my mind. I thought myself free of the dark - but… perhaps I was wrong.” Umbra shook her head, “I should stay here. If I persist, I may lose control - unicorn or not, I am still tied to it by ancestry, at this point.”

Luna too, looked pale - Celestia joining her side with a white wing, engulfing her in its comfort. She said nothing, only understood the pain she was facing right now. At least she was free of the Nightmare’s embrace, for this moment.

“And you are above it, Umbra. We need you. I need you. If we leave you here, we would be a crucial member short - please. Just… Come with us. You’re stronger than the shadows. You’ve proven that time and time again. And I’ll be by your side, every step of the way.

“I…” The dark mare hesitated, locking her green eyes with her lover. Eventually, she gave a soft nod. “...You are right. Nopony should be left behind. I will never forget the light, Arin.”

Luna perked up, rubbing her aching head. “And I will do the same. If Umbra can be strong against the tide, then so can I. Let us move. I wish to be done with this, I crave sleep beyond reason.”

“D’ohoho!~ You and me both, Moon-fry! I haven’t slept in seven hundred years! Ish. What do I look like, somepony who keeps track of time?!” Vee waved her hoof around, the ‘purchased’ deer watch ticking on her leg. Right above her shield bracelet, too - she hasn’t used it yet, surprisingly.

And so, the party travelled deeper into the looming dark. Tunnel widening with each step they took.