Chapter 9: Pinkie Promise
She felt herself twitch awake after hours of sleep.
The ground was cool, hard, unyielding against her hooves. Pressing herself upwards earned a desperate kick on the baby's behalf, the first she had felt. She smiled, despite her strange situation.
She had fallen asleep in a warm bed, beside Discord, and had woken up in a strange maze of caverns, glistening surfaces reflecting her desperation back at her. Attempting to step forward sent a jolt of warm pain through her body, and she finally noticed the gaping wound on the side of her body. She repressed a sigh. The pain was not sharp, but instead warm, and she shook her head, moving onwards to wander throughout the caverns. Quickly gazing at her reflection, she frowned at her rapidly deflating mane.
Not to worry, though. As long as the baby was kicking and Discord was coming to get her, all she could do was wander about, looking for an exit. Normally, she'd give up the damsel in distress act and find some ridiculous exit only her superior jumping skills could reach, but given her current condition she thought better of it.
She skipped along, the occasional flash of pain making its way through her stomach before it settled. Eventually, they intensified, and she winced once before slowly laying herself back down on the cool crystal floor, trying not to cry. The baby kicked again, frantically, it's small hooves pressing against the skin of her stomach, and she smiled despite her pain.
Celestia and Luna arrived at the castle only to witness the horrible remains of Discord's fight with Nightlock. Nightlock's horn lay discarded a few meters away, his wings still pinned to his body due to the grass entwining his body. Luna had even refused to look at him, staring pointedly at the toppled remains of the tower that used to adorn the top of the Canterlot Castle. Celestia sighed, untwining the grasses that constrained him and gently levitating him with magic, his legs slowly shifting to stone. His eyes focused on Luna, filling with tears, and he reached a hoof towards her feebly before it also turned to stone. He was entombed now, forever reaching for his lover. A tear slid out of Luna's eye.
Celestia teleported the statue into the yard, placing it in the empty space where Discord's statue once was, before slowly sliding her head under her sisters, lifting it upwards. Luna had grown, her form more imposing now, yet graceful and lithe. Her hair billowed around her.
She lifted her head proudly then, stretching her wings and flying up towards the remnants of tower, leaving her sister to trot inside, her shoulders hunched.
The crystal caverns were located underneath the city of Canterlot. They were expansive, glittering, and extremely dangerous. In olden times, many ponies mined in the caverns. Now, however, they were empty, mere mirrors and reflections.
A door in the bottom of the Canterlot hall would lead him directly into the mines, something which used to confuse him when he was younger. Luna, he distinctly remembered, had been fascinated. He wouldn't ponder on memories now, however. He had something much more important on his mind.
Slipping through the doors, he took a look around himself.
His reflection stared back at him, forcing his pulse to quicken. The air inside of the caverns was freezing, damp, settling deeply in his lungs and refusing to leave without a fight. He slid further into darkness, inhaling deeply and shouting out Pinkie's name.
The silence shattered and Pinkie let out a yelp of surprise. She shook her head, curling up with her back against the wall.
'Hello?' She shouted back, and the baby kicked against her once more, forcing a flinch from her form. The poor child was getting desperate.
'Pinkie!' The shout echoed back, and she struggled upwards, her hooves slipping slightly on the shining surface.
'Dizzard?'
His laugh echoed back at her, and she stomped her hooves furiously, warming herself and giving him a noise to follow.
'Don't move, Pinkie!' His voice was louder now, and she snorted a giggle, the baby shifting at the noise.
'Disco?' She shouted, and she turned around just in time just to see the spirit turn around the corner, his form freezing in midair, staring at her for a moment before tackling her furiously. A laugh ripped out of his throat, not as much amusement as pure emotion, and he clutched her to his chest.
'Pinkie promise me you'll never leave again.' She said rather loudly, shooting him a stern look, and he smiled at her, crossing his eagle claw over his chest, mimicking her infamous promise. She smiled, then shook her head slightly, feeling her hair curl wildly upwards.
'Dizzard! What happened?'
'You don't need to worry about it.'
'Are you okay? You look hurt.'
Her hooves lifted up, brushing a small cut that graced his forehead, and he kissed her on the forehead.
'I'll be fine, Pinkie. You need to stop worrying about me.'
She frowned up at him and he smiled, lifting her fully into the air, and flying her through the caverns, talking to her constantly in an effort to calm her. She glanced up skeptically when he reached the trapdoor. As he moved to open it, she flinched in his arms, her hooves flying to her stomach. A whimper of pain escaped her mouth.
'Pinkie? What's wrong?'
'The baby is- Gah!' She flipped to a side then, her teeth gritting together. Discord paled.
'You're not kidding, are you?'
'The baby's been- Ich! Kicking for a while now.'
'You're only telling me this now?'
'It didn't seem important!'
He shook his head as another gurgle of pain escaped her lips.
Her eyes glanced up at him, cool blue meeting volatile red, and he said no more, instead throwing the trap door open, clutching her closer to his chest.
'Don't worry, Pinkie.'
AN/ Merp. Everything I write feels all wrong! -bashes head on keyboard- Can anyone guess what their kid's special talent is going to be? It's kind of a doozy. Anywho, review pleasey-pleasey-please!
