QueenUmbra#1(ED)

>Be Velvet Sparks.
>You had just woken up to a loud knock at your front door.
>You look over to your still sleeping husband of two and a half years, Onyx Sparks.
>Thinking the loud knock was just part of your dream, you snuggle back up to him.
>*KNOCK KNOCK*
>Ok, it wasn't part of your dream.
>You nudge your husband awake.
>"W-what is it? Crops have already been harvested..."he grumbles.
"Honey, there is somepony  at he door, go see who it is."
>He looks at you like you're crazy."Why would anypony be in our neck of the woods?"
"Just go check, please?"
>He sighs and mutters incoherently under his breath.
>Something about crazy mares and soliciters
>He wanders downstairs and you listen intently as he opens the door.
>Silence.
>*HONEY! GET DOWN HERE QUICK!
>He yelled in a tone of voice you'd never heard before. Somewhere between desperation and panic.
>Fearing the worst, you galloped down as fast as you could, and when you made it, it hit you.
>That smell.
>You'd never forget that smell.
>Blood.
>You turned the corner to see a figure hooded and cloaked,bent over and holding something deperately.
>It looked up to see the new arrival. It was a creature you'd never seen before.
>"Help me."
>It held out the bundle of cloth it was holding to you.
>You took it without hesitation. You looked at he bundle and gasped.

>A small...whatever it is. Just quietly sleeping.
>A loud groan grabs your attention.
>Looking up, you notice that the creature was bleeding badly.
>She looks up at the two of you, and handed your husband another bundle.
>It looked like a book, though. A rather large one, at that.
>"Please...give him that when he is ready...and...look after my child."
>Your husband dropped the book and ran over to catch her as she looked ready to fall.
>He got there too late.
>She collapsed on your floor, making no attempts to get back up.
>She looks at you, or rather, the bundle in your arm.
>"I...hope you...are raised well...Anonymous..."
>She then breathed her last.
>Onyx and yourself just stood there frozen at the turn of events.
>A stranger passed on their child and died in your house.
>What do you do in that situation?

>Be Anonymous.
>It has been fifteen years since you showed up on your parents doorstep.
>According to them, at least.
>Since then, they diligently raised you like one of their own.
>They even said you were their blessing.
>Not long after you arrived, your mother got pregnant.
>That's right, you are a big bro.
>She's a sweet little unicorn called Gumdrops.
>Several years later,  they had a earth pony colt named Sawblade.
>You're the big bro of two great siblings.
>That is your family, even though you're not related to them.
>You lived in a small settler village in the northern reaches of Equestria.
>Or you did.
>Right now all of you are currnetly homeless.
>You took a quick look back to what was once your home.
>All you see is smoldering remains of a house.
>And a burning field.
>You can even hear the screams from the rest of the village.
>Bucking gryphons.
>Their government can't seem to reel in the roaming bandits that are razing small villages like yours to the ground.
>To top it off, you had nowhere to go but north.
>The raiding party would kill you guys on sight.
>Probably eat you as well.
>Let's not think aboout that.

>"Anon..."
>You look down to see Gumdrops pawing your chest.
"Sorry. Let's catch up with the rest."
>You can only imagine how hard this must be for your siblings.
>The only home they have ever known burnt to the ground and being forced to run like refugees from a collapsing government.
>You grabbed what liitle possesions you could and your little sis and booked it.
>Father had to kill one of the gryphons to get away.
>Mother did the same as you, except she grabbed Sawblade.
>Now you were going to a place you've only heard about in hushed whispers.
>An empire up in the chilly wastes.
>"I can run on my own, you know."
>You look down to see your sisters face, almost in tears.
>That hurt your heart.
"It's fine, we need to be quick, or we won't make it."
"I'll let you down soon enough.
>"But..."you heard her say. Her voice sounded squeaky, like it alwayd does when she starts to cry.
"No buts."
>You felt her snuggle up against your chest, making it wet with her tears.
>Damnit. If you ever found a gryphon, you'd give them a piece of your mind.
>Looking forward, you see the rest of your family a bit further ahead.
>You pick up the pace to catch up.

"It'll all be okay, Gums, I promise."
>You quietly saw to help calm her down.
>She sniffled a bit, and she seemed to slow down her crying.
>"But why?"
>You can hear Sawblade up ahead asking why we were doing these things.
>"It will make sense later, okay sunshine?"your mother answers him."Just go to sleep for now."
>"But I'm not tired..."
>You make your way to the rest of the group.
>Onyx looks back at the two of you,"How is she?"
"Don't know. Tired, stressed, and confused. Much like the rest of us I might add."
>"You would be correct in that."
"We should put some distance between us before nightfall."
>"Agreed. Those gryphons can cover a lot of distance if they tried."
>Your father then concentrated on leading the group.
>He had some experiences in dealing with the beasts, since he was part of the royal guard before he took an arrow to the knee and was forced to retire.
>Mother didn't look like she was fairing much better than Sawblade at the moment.
>We didn't have much, but it was home.
>"Anon? Why do we have to leave?"
>It seemed he didn't get the answers he wanted out of our parents, so he asked you.
"Because we have nowhere else to go right now."
>He slinked back, looking like he was ready to cry.
"What did I say about crying, Saw?"
>He sniffled and looked at you.
>"You should only cry when it's raining."
"Yes, and it's not raining yet. But it looks like it will soon enough."

>Mother looked and you and smiled sadly.
>"Thanks for grabbing and carrying her."
"She's my lil' sis, what'd you think, that I'd leave her?"
>Her eyes brightened up a bit and then she turned away from you, looking ahead.
>Sawblade finally calmed down enough to go to sleep.
>With nopony else to talk to, yo let your thoughts wander.
>That house was where you grew up.
>You had so many memories there.
>All destroyed in a single morning.
>Never to come back.
>"Anon? What's that smell?" Mother asked.
"Smell? I don't smell anything."
>She slowed down a bit so she was even with your walikng.
>Then peered around to take a look at your back.
>All the while sniffing the air.
>She then stopped sniffing and looked at you.
>"Do you know?"she ask, very clearly worried.
"Yes. Let's not make a big fus over it just yet."
>"Honey, what's wrong?"
>Looking over to Father, she sped up close to him and told him.
>He turned around and stared at you for a moment.
>The two of you had a mutal understanding at that point.
>"He's fine for now."He said.
>"But..."
>"It's fine. We should count ourselves lucky, we could have lost much more than what we did.
>They talked amongst themselves for a while, and you tuned them out.

>You knew full well what they were talking about anyways.
>That.
>On your back.
>While saving Gumdrops from the burning house, a beam fell on you.
>Leaving a large gash on your back.
>Father knew full well that you probably won't survive this journey.
>He was still hopefull, but facts are facts.
>You can already feel the effects of the large wound.
>Time passed on in relative silence as the group made its way out of the forest into the frozen tundra.
>You feel yourself getting weaker by the moment, as your wound takes it's toll.
>Even the bitter cold winds are amplified on your back.
>A steady pace is kept until it is almost dark.
>"I think it's time to set up camp." Father remarks.
"Agreed. No fire though, don;t want to attract anything.
>Father nods and starts to grab the few blankets he had.
>You set down Gumdrops, and she starts to wake.
>Mother does the same thing with Sawblade.
>The two kids went up to Father and just asked what they could do.
>Which made him smile, of course.
>You drop the small bag you were carrying and pulled out a new shirt and two blankets.
>You gave the thicker one to Mother.
>She looked at you sadly and offered to take the thinner one.
>Which was promptly refused.
>As you rested your back as least painfully as possible on a tree, Gumdrops hopped on over to you.
>"Big bro, can I sleep with you?"
>You looked at her, wondering how she'd fare without her big brother.
>She was always attached to you.
>You could grant her this at least.
"Of course. Come here."

>She snuggles up to you and quickly falls asleep.
>You are just as tired.
>Mother, Father, and Sawblade were already out like a light.
>Deciding that woul be the best course of action, You fall asleep to a dreamless night.

>"Anonymous, get up. It's time to pack up."
>You wake to Father packing the bags, and Mother gently nudging you to get up.
"Alright let me get changed."
>You never felt right not having clothes.
>Must be a human thing.
>You slipped on a new shirt, carefullyavoiding your wound and from showing it to the young ones.
>Father was already packing your bag.
>You must be slower than you thought.
>He threw you bag to you and you caught it.
>"Now you two, keep up with us, and keep up with mom and dad."
>Seems Mother is telling the two little ones what to do for the day.
>"Alright, are we ready to go?"
>Everyone but you said yes. You couldn't open your mouth.
>You knew that if we didn't make our destination today, you'd die.
>Father seemed to know that too, since he didn't make any comment on the fact that as you went along, you were behind the group the entire time.
>You'd go as far as you could.
>The day dragged on.
>As you left the tundra and made your way into the snowy north, you could see a storm was raging ahead.
>The wind didn't help ease the pain either.
>Cold and biting, you felt it in your bones.
>You only hoped that your death would be fairly quick and painless.
>It wouldn't be though.
>Freezing to death is a hard experience.
>As your group made their way through the storm, you had trouble keeping up.
>Eventually, you lost sight of them.
>Having to follow them by way of their hoofprints in the snow.
>Those even faded away after a time.

>Everywhere you look, there is  white, white, and even more white.
>You have no idea where to go.
>Walking as straight as you can, you made your way through the howling winds.
>The winds bite and numb your exposed skin.
>You can hardly feel your arms and legs.
>Before too long, it's too much for you.
>Collapsing facefirst in the snow, you can only hope your family made it.
>That Gums and saw don't hurt too much.
>Your parents will take care of them, as they always have.
>They are great parents. Treating you like their own.
>They could have easily given you up or left you out to die.
>Your conciensness fades in and out, as the world turns from white to grey.
>Are those voies you hear?
>Nah, it can't be.
>You think you see a figure in the distance.
>It's so warm...
>The figure is getting closer.
>So are the voices.
>All you know is you've never been this warm and that it is getting dark.
>Grey turns to black and the voices blend in with the winds.
>Are you being lifted?
>Hopefully to heaven.
>You can no longer hear anything, and the voices fade to static.
>Everything goes black and warm.

>You are Queen Umbra, Ruler of the Crystal Empire.
>You are reading up about a new bill the populace wants passed.
>A series of loud knocks at your study doors grab your attention.
"Who is it?
>"Sorry to interrupt, but a family just wandered into town."
>It was your secratary, Kenzie.
>A cute green unicorn mare.
>But that's beside the point.
>Another family?
>That's the third this month. What is going on down south?
"One moment and I will be right out."
>"Yes, ma'am, but you might want to hurry, it seems they've lost a member in the storm."
>The deperation in her voice is made very clear.
>Great. If there is a storm going on, the chances of finding him or her will be slim.
>You hate breaking that news to family members.
>Getting up, you head out of the study, and almost run into the mare standing outside of the door.
"Do me a favor, and get them some food and water and a warm room."
>Kenzie looks up at you and nods and starts to run off.
"Wait! From which direction did they come?"
>The thinks for a second and replies, "They came in through the blue gate."
>She then disappears from view.
>You start to walk towards the war room, and almost pass up a guard.
"Would you mind getting Collette? It seems we need to do a search and rescue."
>The guard looks at you, nods and flies off to get her.
>You enter the room, and wait for your captain to get here.

>Here you are, waiting, when the door fles open.
>"Queen! You've already heard?"
>An armored mare runs in yelling her head off about somepony missing.
"Calm down, calm down. It seems a new family has come into town and they are missing a member.
>The yellow earth pony looks at you curiously. Then her curiousity turns to a harsher emotion.
>Despair, probably.
>"So, you haven't heard that we are missing two guards that went on patrol today?"
>That is news to you.
>Three people missing. That isn't good.
>Unless, the new family are spies.
>That would be horrible.
>"They were supposed to report in three hours ago."
>A little lateness is to be expected with any storm, but three hours is far too much.
"Where were they stationed?"
>She sat there in thought for a moment.
>"...South of the blue gate."
>Your thoughts immediatly thought of that new family.
>Spies.
"Come with me, we need to talk to that family.
>She nods and follows behind you.
>A few moments later, you arrive at the room.
>Taking a deep breath, you enter.
>And a small family greets you, all four of their faces turning to you.
>"You are?" the large black stallion asks.
"My name is Umbra, I am Queen here. I have some questions to ask you."

>"Queen Umbra, do you know what happened to big bro?"
>A small lavender fillie is looking at you expectantly, tears streaming down her face.
>That hurts your heart.
"Not yet, but I promise we are going to do everything we can do to find him."
>For some reason, just looking at that fillie, you know that her brother is no spy.
>But that doesn't explain why your guards failed to show up for the rendezous.
>You look over the new arrivals, and their tear streaked faces.
>It is too much.
>They look like they've been through Tartarus and back.
"Does anyone know waht condition your family member was in?"
>The father stands up and says, "We should speak about that elsewhere, Queen."
>He looked back to his children and then to you.
>It must be serious.
>You motion him to follow you outside the room.
>As the two of you make your way out of the room, he says, "First, he's not a pony."
>That's new. "Is he adopted?" you ask.
>"Yes, but probably not a creature you've seen before."
"What is he then?"
>"He is a bipedal creature known as a hooman. And he was badly injured last we saw him."
>That makes you stop.
>A hooman?
>You haven't heard that word in many long years.
>In fact, not since you were a small fillie.
>That's not important now, he's injured apparently.
>"I know the chances are slim, but if you were to even look, we would be forever grateful."
>This just compunds on the problems you already have.
>Great. You nod to him.
"We'll do our best."

>You are Anon.
>And you are in a terrible amount of pain.
>Every muscle in your body feels like it's about redy to quit on you.
"Ugh..."
>"Oh, looks like he's waking up."
>"Sure does."
>Are those voices?
>You start to move, and then it hits you.
>Your head.
>It screams in agony.
>Your eyes flicker open, taking in what's i front of you.
>Two ponies are on the far side of what looks like a cave.
>An ice cave, at that.
>You groan, as the pain starts to fade away from your body a bit.
>"We found you lying face down in the snow, so we patched up your back a bit."
>"Then we decided to carry you to town, but fell into a crack in the ice, and here we are.
>"With no way to get up, I might add."
>As your eyes start to get adjusted, You take a closer look at the ponies.
>One unicorn and the other a earth pony.
>Both dressed in the same outfit.
>A dark black armor covered them.
"Who are you?"
>"Oh it speaks!"
>"Go figure, you ass."
>"I am not an ass.
>"Could've fooled me.
>"Anyways, I am Lelouch," the unicorn says.
>"And I am Birch. Pleasure to meet you."

"The name's Anonymous. So, what happened here?"
>"Like we I said ealier, we were getting ready to carry you back to town when we fell through a crack in the ice."
>As the unicorn spoke up first, you decided to get a better look at your new friends.
>The unicorn was light grey with purple eyes and a slightly darker mane with a white streak through it.
>Birch, like his name implied, was white, with a light tan mane, and brown eyes.
"You wouldn't have any kind of food, would you? I haven't eaten in a while."
>The two ponies look at each other, and birch speaks up.
>"Well, we have rations, but they don't taste all that good."
"Anthing is fine, really. I'm going to need my strength if we're going to get out of here."
>"Don't say I didn't warn ya."
>He reaches into a puch on his side and tosses something your way.
>You catch it and look at it.
>You can't really see what it looks like, but you take a bite out of it anyway.
"Okay, that really does taste awful."
>Lelouch laughs, "We warned you."
>You take another awful bite and then laugh with him.
>After you finish your snack, you take a closer look ariund the cave,
>You see a hole at the top, presumably where you fell in.
>And on the other side...
>Some stones.
>They look odd.
>You decide to get up and take a closer look.
>Your muscles protest your desicion.
>So much pain.
>Dizziness hits you as you stand up, so you lean up against the wall.
>"What'cha doin?" Birch asks.
"Looking around. Let's see if we can make it out of here alive, shall we?"

>The two just sat there and shrugged.
>After your dizzines starts to fade, you walk over to those stones.
>Odd, they look like, bricks.
>There's even mortar between them.
>"We already looked over there. There's a hole there, but we have now way of getting back up."
"Says the unicorn with a magic horn."
>You shoot them a cheeky smile.
>"I may have magic, but I by no means know how to levitate things."
>"At least not ponies."
>"Shut up, Birch."
>The two of them must be friends. Or at least able to stand each other's company.
>"So, what are you? We've never seen your kind around."
>The somewhat expected question stops you for a moment.
>How to explain?
"I'm what's called a human. It'll take a long time to explain, so I'll save you time.
>"But long stories are great." Lelouch whines.
>"Dude, this is why nopony likes ya. You whine way too buckin much for a guy."
>"Yeah, well the reason you don't have a marefriend is because when you drink, you act like an absolute buffoon."
>The two of them went off on each other. You're just gald you have your back to them.
>You take a look at the hole they spoke of.
>Buck, you could really use a light.
>Looking around, you notice a small piece of the stone had been chipped off.
>Stone, hole, stone, hole.
>You had a plan.

>After picking up the stone, you held it over the hole.
>Taking another look around, you couldn't see anymore little stones.
>So you only had on shot at this.
>The two ponies were still arguing in the background.
"Can you two be quiet for a minute?"
>The two shut up and hopefully stayed quiet for a bit.
>You can only handle so many arguing ponies, even if it was for funsies.
>Taking a deep breath, and concentrating on what you were about to do, you let go of the stone.
>*clink, clink, clink*
>Less than a second passed betwwen the stone falling and the sounds you heard.
>So you could probably get down there.
>And the third clink sounded like stone on stone.
>Without falling to your death.
>Hopefully.
"Lelouch, do you have a light spell?"
>"Of course I do, all unicorns do."
>"But no levitation spells?" Birch snickers.
>As Lelouch got up, he shot Birch a dirty look.
>"So what do you need me to do?"
"Just light up this hole if you don't mind."
>You motion to the hole.
>He looks at you and says, "We told you, its just we looked. It's just ice.
"I just want to be sure."
>Shrugging, he proceeds to light the hole.
>As you lokk down the hole, you see they weren't lying.
>Just ice.
>Well, it's now or never.

Be Umbra.
>After talking to the family that just arrived in town, you decide that the best course of action was to converse with your captains.
>As such, you and two other captains are in the war room.
>"So, three missing, on top of the other eight that are also missing?"
>Walker, your oldest, most battle-hardened captain asks.
>He is a unicorn with a dark brown coat, and a short grey mane.
>"So, that makes eleven. This can't keep going on." Colette remarks.
"When did it jump up to eight?"
>You had heard that there were a few missing guards, but last you checked, it only made for six.
>"Last night, ma'am. It seems someone can't keep their patrols under watch."
>You ignored Walkers accusation towards Colette, as you didn't feel that she was to blame.
"Around where were their patrol routes?
>Colette walked over to the south end of the table you were standing by.
>The top of the table showed a three dimensional map of the empire.
>Quite amazing, the more you think about it.
>She put her hoof on one part of the map, and made a circle around it.
>"They were all in this area, we believe."
"You didn't think to look during a time when there wasn't a storm?"
>She looks at you and says,"They all disappeared during this storm.
>Things just got a bit more complicated, seeing as this storm has been one of the longest this season.
>You can only hope for the best.

>Be Anon
>You have just jumped down an icy hole.
>The ice sloped down onto some stone.
>Taking a look around, you notice that you are in a perfectly square room.
>There is even a door on the far side of the room.
>A small table sits in the corner.
>It does not look safe to sit on.
>And...some white stuff on the ground in frotn of the door.
>You turn around and walk up to the hole you came from, looking up.
>Greeting you is a blinding light from Lelouch.
>"Anonymous! Youre alive!" he exclaims.
"Of course I am, you dolt. Now get down here, so we can find a way out."
>You back up, letting the two ponies jump down.
>Lelouch loses his concentration and the light goes out.
>"Sorry, just give me a moment."
>"Well, hurry up, I can't see a thing in here."
>The light flickers back on, and you hear the two ponies gasp.
>As the two look around, you head over to the white stuff and pick some of it up.
"Bones. Or whats left of them anyway."
>The stuff disentegrate on touch, but it was unmistakeably bone.
>From what kind of being, you couldn't tell.
>"Really? That's creepy."
"It's old stuff, been here a long bucking time, I can tell you that."
>Your attention is turned to the door in front of you.
>It's old, and the hinges are rusty.
>The wood looks incredibly rotten.
>The two ponies are whispering to each other, and you couldn't tell about what.
>You decide to touch the door, and it falls apart as soon as you touch it.
>Making loud noises all throughout the place, and you can hear it echo for quite some time.
>This place is much bigger than you initially thought.

>You take a peek outside of what was at one point the door.
>Complete darkness greets you.
>Something glinting on the ground in front of you catches your eye.
>Taking a closer look at it, you start to make out it's shape.
>Long, thin, and metalllic.
>With thicker portions on either ends.
>Bending down, you pick it up.
>Well, that wsa unexpected.
>It's a spear.
>"A spear? Why would there be a spear in a place such as this?" asks Lelouch.
>"Who knows. I just want to get out of here."
"Well, we have got nothing to lose, now, do we? Lelouch, lead the way."
>"M-me? Come now, you've got to be joking. You've got the spear."
>You look at him incredulously.
"And I don't have the light. Now move, I'm right behind you. Birch can take the rear."
>Poor pony looked like he was going to piss himself.
>How he managed to get into the guard, you don't know.
>"Well then, follow me." he said shakily.
>He carefully walked through the empty doorway into the dark beyond.
>Stopping , he turns around and says," There are stairs here, do we continue?
"Yes, is that even a question?"
>You heard an audible gulp coming from him, and he starts to decend some stairs.
>The stairs went down in a square
>Completely walled off.
>Remnded you of the inside of old castle watchtowers.
>The three of you decende in relative silence, until you walked into something sticky.
"Gah...what is this stuff?"
>The two ponies looked at you inquisitively.
>As you wipe your face of with your hand, some of it gets into mouth.
>You recognize that taste.
>You've just led the three of them into a diremite nest.

>"What happened, man?" inquires Birch.
"I do believe that we have found a diremite nest."
>The two ponies visibly go uncomfortable as Lelouch mutters, "Well, that explains that."
>What explains WHAT?
"I feel I may regret what I am about to ask, but, uh...what do you mean?"
>Birch answers,"There are a few cases of missing guards recently. They disappeared around this area."
>That does explain it.
>But that doesn't explain why they sent more guards in an area that people have disappered.
"Why were you two out there, then.
>This time it's Lelouch who answers.
>"We were searching for the missing guards when we found you. I just started to radio back to HQ when we fell."
>Hmm. Stuck in a death trap with no way out.
>Wait.
>We may have some measure of hope.
"How recently have the guards disappeared?"
>"Not long, less than two days since the first case, right, Birch?"
>"Yeah, at first it was two guards, but then we've lost six more in the storm."
>"Not including us.
>Ha. Perfect.
>You smile. It wouldn't be easy, but you had a plan.

>Be Umbra
>You are heading to the guard headquarters with Walker and Colette in tow.

>Eleven people missing.
>If the papers heard, it would be a public humilitation.
>Fortunately, they only run twice a week.
>And it would be three more days until the nest printing.
>So that gives you some time.
>You let your mind wander a bit.
>The new family said that they were missing a bipedal creature.
>So they've adopted another race.
>A hooman.
>That truly is a word you haven't heard in many years.
>You barely remember your own father speaking of the great war against them thousands of years ago.
>They brought your people almost to extinction.
>Your people.
>Those are no longer your people.
>Your people are those you love and rule.
>And your subjects love you back.
>You smile as you think about them.
>But still, you are very curious none the less.
>As you approach the gate to HQ, you reel your thoughts back in.
>The two guards standing by at the gat give you salute as you enter.
>Your eyes are met with many guards moving all over the large building frantically.
>All of them have the ame purpose.
>Find your missing men.
"STATUS UPDATE!" You yell as loud as you can.
>The guards look up from what they are doing and salute.
>One of them moves towards you.
>Sunbreaker, another captain.
>He salutes as he reaches you.
>"We have picked up a few things from the quadrant.
>"There was a radio call not too long before the men were supposed to show up for their report."
>"And not long after that, we received multiple transmissions, but they were too weak to figure out where they came from."

"They were all in the same quadrant the rest of the missing men are last to be seen."
>You think about all that informatoin for a minute.
>A single transmission that was cut short, then some more after the fact.
"What was the first one about?"
>"It seems Birch and Lelouch found something out there, but then they screamed somrthing, and the transmission was cut.
>So, whatever happened, it was fast.
>But it seems they may have found that human.
"Did they say what they found?"
>Sunbreker thinks for a moment, then says,"A bipedal creature in the snow. I thought it was a joke or something.
>"They said they were going to bring it to town.
"That was no mistake. A family showed up and was missing a family member. That was him."
>The captain nods his head, then says,"This whole thing is different than all of the other disappearances."
>That is new.
"Pray do tell."
>"Well, all the others never made contact after the initial incident. The others just went without a trace."
>Huh. That is a very noticable difference.
>Your mind works out what it could possibly be.
>It could be a number of things.
"There was some radio noise, right?"
>"Yes, but as I said, we couldn't make it out, almost as if..."
>He looks directly into your eyes.
>Seems you both came to the same conclusion.
"An ice cave.
>"You took the words right out of my mouth, ma'am."
>You walk to the center of the room, where a map was laid out on the large table.
>Looking at the map, you smile to yourself, realizing that you can find the three that have gone.
>Even better, you can find that human you were so curious about.

>Anon again.
>You had just come up with a plan to get us out of here.
>It just hinged on two things.
>One: That we don't get killed.
>Two: That one of the guard is a pegasi.
>Three: You can find said guards.
>Didn't your plan hinge on two things?
>Eh, whatever.
>No, not whatever, this was going to bug you.
>Almost as much as that conversation with that traveling mercant when you were a kid.
>He told you about some insects that he had seen in his travels
>Flying spiders, a mosquitoe/spider/scorpion/hornet hybrid, and a giant hornet almost the size of your hand.
>He even brought some specimens.
>Dead specimens.
>That conversation gave you nightmares for two weeks afterwards.
>Those hornets were apparently very toxic to ponies.
>Good thing the only place they live is in a small area of the minotaur homeland.
>But that's beside the point, you had diremites to deal with.
>You should at least tell the two guards what you had planned.
"You guys ever deal with diremites?
>"No."
>Simultaneous answer.
"Well, here's the deal. Diremites rarely eat their food as is."
"Besides, they don't like their meat fresh."
"Their poison won't kill a pony, no. But it will parlyze one."
"They poison their prey, then drag them to their nests, and keep them in an organic capsule."
"Once in the capsule, they leave them there for a week or two to ferment, or in their view, to ripen."
"But that leaves their victim alive for a few days."
"If we can find the missing guards in here, we can rescue them and get out of here."
>The two of them listened to your story, shiking in their boots until the last bit.
"This only works if one of them is a pegasi, though.

"We sure as hay aren't getting up that hole up there if nopony can fly out."
"So please tell me one of them is a pegasi."
>Birch is the first to speak up.
>"Yeah, there's four pegasi, right, Lelouch?"
>"Yeah, I believe so."
"Good, let's go. And keep an eye out for glowing red eyes."
>That last comment really seemed to bug them.
>The three of you continues on in relative silence.
>It got you thinking.
>They keep talking about this town.
>The one you heard about back home?
>You hope so.
>Waht about your family?
>Did they make it in time?
>One can only hope.
>"Oh. The stairs stop here.
"It does seem so.
>"Maybe we could have a bit more light to see where we are?"
>Lelouch shoots birch a dirty look for that comment.
>"Diremites, remember?"
>"Oh, right."
>You shake your head, and take a look around.
>Seems to you like you have entered into a hallway of sorts.
>And...at the end of the right hallway there is a green glow.
"This way." you say, pointing in the direction you meant.
>"Are ya sure?"
>Nope.
"Nope."
>Uh, okay then."
"Oh, and turn the light off, and keep an eye out.
>The three of you start to walk down the glowing green hallway.

>Making your way through the hallway in silence, you keep your eyes peeled for anything that moves.
>Or red eyes.
>Those bucking red eyes.
>After a while, the three of you reach the source of the glowing green light.
>You had a plan,but you didn't think it would be this easy.
>You had reached one of the diremite's feeding grounds.
>And on the ground in front of you was...
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight."
>Looking around, you see no way for diremites to sneak up on you other than the way you came.
>"Wow. Didn't think your plan would actually work."
>Birch, that cheeky bastard.
"You two get those guys freed, I'm going to keep an eye out for trouble."
>"OK, will do!"
>Simultaneous again. Huh. For how much they bicker, they get along rather well.
>They must be pretty good friends.
>You hear the two trying to open the capsules to no avail.
"Let me help."
>Thanks, man. these things are tougher than they look."
>After examining the capsules for a moment, you take the spear and stab it in to the base of the capsule.
>That should keep it from hurting anything in them.
>You go around and do this for each capsule you see.
>It takes some time, but you eventually do this to each capsule.
>Birch and Lelouch are right behind you, opening each one and helping each pony get out from their would be deathtrap.
>Eventually, the three of you manage to get each guard up and moving.
>Birch even gave them some rations.
>Those guys ate em right up like it was their last meal.

end part 1