Chapter 2 - here we go!

The one of a broken horn

Ch. 2: Web of light.

The six ponies had just left the entrance chamber of the meteor. Applejacks and Rainbow Dashes advancing trot had turned down to a slow walk as their adventurous spirits were replaced by awe. Thus, the mane six walked together in a tight group, still with Rarity in the furthest back.

Rarity threw back a glance towards the previous chamber with a chilling feeling in her hoofies. Upon seeing nothing, upon hearing nothing she turned right back with a small smile on her lip.
[Ah, silly Rarity, you! Getting so fidgety by a little noise. At this rate I will become as much of a scaredy cat as Flutters...] Rarity thought to herself when suddenly her ears perked at a muffled sound behind her. The sound of... laugher?

Quickly, the refined pony threw up her front legs and twisted about in a pirouette. Turning her around to face the other way of the tunnel. Nothing! There was nothing there.
Reluctantly she turned around, keeping her gaze from the direction they had come from. [Really now! This is becoming quite un-lady like of you, Rarity!] She chided herself.

Again, her ears perked. This time from the other way. "Rarity?" she heard somepony ask.

Swiftly turning around, spotting the pony and gasping for air to only a second later scream out! Luckily before she could release her built up scream, a hoof quickly covered her mouth. "Sweet Celestia, Rarity! Do ya' want this 'ere cave to come down on us!?" Applejack whispered with a serious tone to her voice.

"I-I..." Quickly breathing in and out, the white unicorn caught her breath. "I am terribly sorry, Dear! I seem to have gotten a bit jumpy." She embarrassingly admitted. "I could just swear that... I heard... laughter?"

"Laughter?" AJ asked, reaffirming she heard right. Leaning past Rarity to watch down the tunnel behind her before returning her gaze to meet her friend. "Look 'ere, Rarity, I kno' this cave is messi'n with ya' mind." The yellow-manned earth pony raised a hoof to cover one side of her mouth. "An' between you an' me... Ah'm seeing manticores in ever gosh darn corner 'ere!"

While Rarity understood her friends intentions for to make her feel better, she couldn't help but feel belittled. "Listen here, Applejack, I am not some little scared filly who need..." She paused only to see the orange coated pony's eyes wide open, staring. "...why are you looking at me like that?"

AJ's answer came in the form of a hoof pointing past Rarity.

Turning around, the blue manned unicorn saw as the crystals along the wall slowly lit up in a pattern moving towards them. The hallways filling with a faint sound of whispers. To faint, and to distorted by other sounds to make out what's being said. Her mouth fell agape. The temptation to scream out so near, yet she contain enough composure to remain silent.

The earth pony yanked Rarity with her, away from the lights. "Com' on, girl! Time ta' move!" Rarity didn't protest and joined at her friends side in a gallop down the tunnel. Towards where the rest of their friends were.

They quickly pasted one turn, and then another before - *BAAM!*

The blue pegasus quickly picked herself up and brushed of the cave dust, her helmet having fallen off.
She looked at her friends who just ran straight into her face as she was coming to check up on them. They seemed to collect themselves rather quickly as well. "Okay, what's the big id-"

"Be quiet an' run!" AJ whispered sharply and pushed at Dashie with one hoof, while the other massaged her nose.

"Wow! Calm down there, AJ! What's the matter?!" She asked. Before her ears perked at a sound. "Do you guys hear that...?" Meanwhile, the light was getting closer. RD could see the flickering light approaching with the whispers getting louder.

"JUST RUN, GOSH DARN IT!" The earth pony barked and pushed the pegasus with both front hooves. For obvious reasons didn't Dashie feel the need to question her friends any longer.

The three ponies, one unicorn, one pegasus, one earth pony moved as fast as they could, gaining distance from... whatever it was that was following them!

They all rounded the corner and saw Twilight in the end of the tunnel, with Fluttershy still at her side.
The alicorn had turned to them, noticing the sound of their gallop. Her eyes were filled with concern and wonder for their rush.

The three friends skidded to a halt right in front of Twilight. They were now in another carved out room. Smaller than the previous one.
There were no other exit or entrance, only the tunnel they came from - and the evidence of a previous continuation of the tunnel that appears to have collapsed.
They were so far into the meteor right now that this room was filled with crystals so dark they seemed almost black.

"Girls, what's the matter?!" Twilight quickly asked with great urgency.

"Twilight... we.. *gasp*... we *hack*" The unicorn tried to explain, unable to. Her eyes becoming rather dizzy and dark due to the lack of air. Fear had rendered her forgetful to ignore the simple notion to breathe during their mad dash. She fell to her knees. RD taking her side in the blink of an eye.

Taking in only one swift breath, AJ spoke; "There..*hah* there's somethin' coming our way!" She said, turning around to see if they were still followed. She didn't see anything... yet!

The butter-yellow pegasus next to Twilight hunkered down and hid under her friend.
Twilight looked at the end of the tunnel. "What is it? Diamond dogs?" the purple alicorn asked, hazarding a guess.

"No!" Rarity stated and got back on her legs, albeit wobbly. "Something strange we couldn't see. The crystals light up and there is this strange..." she said before the tunnel started to dance with the approaching light. And the sound pouring into the room. "It's here!" She said with fear in her voice. She slowly backed away from the doorway to the tunnel till she was standing slightly behind Twilights right side.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash took the same action and positioned themselves right night to Twilight. Both giving as menacingly looks as they could muster right now.
Fluttershy looked past Twilights front legs and rapidly return to curling up like a little ball, whimpering.
Twilight put her front hooves more forward and raised her head high, ready to cast any spell she might need.
Pinkie Pie had stopped bouncing behind Twilight. She gazed down towards the light with a eerie seriousness that rarely you'd see from Pinkie.

They were ready, or as ready they could be. For they didn't yet know what it was they were dealing with.

The light was getting closer, and the whispers was getting louder.
The light moved through the crystals like a glowing spider web. Passing unseen trough the cave, till it came in contact with the crystals where it's presence illuminated the cave. The threads moved in the roof, the walls and the floor of the tunnel, as could be seen.

All of the ponies held their breaths for the approaching entity.

As the glow advanced, it's light kept changing, passing trough darker and darker crystals the further it got.
The whispers was morphing to. From a untangleable murmur it had, the sound became pleading, mourning, desperate!

The changes only became more and more disturbing for the band of ponies. Adding to their already escalated horror. They felt their presence being pushed back, and with it, they slowly started inching away from the opening.

The light was right at the doorway now. It didn't come any closer.
The preciously combined whispers now resembled more of a dragons hostile growl.
It's glowing threads having turned from a eerie, but warm, light into something abnormal. Glowing with what appeared as 'dark' light. But that couldn't be possible! Could it?

The ponies stood completely motionless for what seemed like an eternity. Sweat was starting to build on each and every one of them. Dashie, AJ and Twilight were all gritting their teeth together. Dashie lip, quivering a little, like that of a dogs.

Shadowy spider webbing reaching around the doorways crystals. But for whatever reason, the threads quickly retreated back and seemed unable to progress any further. The mass of light seemed to heave left, right, upwards to pass further. But whatever forced that stopped it progress stood strong.

The entity slowly went back the way it came from.
Then suddenly dashing forward, entering and enveloping the doorways crystals in a sickly light, expressing a soundly roar. It appeared to have shattered any barrier that once held it!

Twilights horn started beaming with energy, ready to propel the 'thing'!

Before any spell were cast, the sound suddenly seized, and the light hastily faltered back from the tunnel it had come from.

Still completely motionless, the ponies erratic breaths could clearly be heard. Their breaths were hasty, and shallow. Their adrenaline was pumping into their bodies with a intensity they had never experienced. Yet they remained motionless.
Soon, their bodies was starting to lose up, not out of will but out of the lack to keep still. Their limbs were starting to tingle and shake profusely from the mental strain they had just endured.

"Is... *sss* Is it gone?!" Twilight hissed trough her clenched teeth.

"I-I am not sure!" Rarity answered. "I... I think it is." She blinked, noticing water running down her face. She raised her hoofed and wiped her eyes. Tears had been starting to flow. For Celestias sake, she hadn't even been this afraid when the Diamond dogs kidnapped her!

The orange pony gulped. "Thank tha' stars Twilight!" she said as her head fell forward, dropping her helmet. "What ever tha' hay ya' did, seem'd to fend it off."

"I didn't do anything at all!" Twilight explained. "I didn't get a spell off before it disappeared." Twilight inspected the cave. Glancing all over to see if she could spot anything to aid them in their lack of knowledge. Yet all she saw were all the same deeply dark colored crystals.

"T-then... then wha-what was it t-th-tha-that scared i-i-it away..? Fluttershy stuttered. Peeking out from under Twilight.

"Release..." a weak voice echoed in the cave with its source originating from behind the group.

Everyponys head swiftly raised straight up with their ears perked. Altogether they turned slowly around towards the sound. "...me.." the voice continued.
In the dark crystals behind them, they saw a hand in the crystal Furless, non-scaly and with five fingers.
The hand was pressed with its palm against the confines of the crystal from the inside. It's wrist gradually disappearing into dark mist.

The ponies screamed out for all their worth! They emptied their lungs from air as their overwhelming fright finally gave away! Their screams were brief, yet very loud.
They threw themselves away from the crystal. Stumbling on each other, the group feel on the hard floor.
When they looked back at the crystals, the limb was gone.

That one brief scream kept echoing in the cave as it kept gaining strength! Increasing in volume, the sound of their screams distorted. Rising to what resembled more of a powerful roar, shaking the very air.

Small rocks fell from the roof. The stone cracking under the efforts of the trying to keep itself intact.

The sound finally seemed to die out. The ponies all held their own mouths muzzled in a frozen state of fear. After a few seconds of silence, they breathed out, thinking the danger had been avoided.

Sadly, they were mistaken, as they realized when they all heard the subtle sound of something cracking.
A moment later, a huge boulder fell from the roof which landed in front of the passage they had just come from. Forcing the rest to collapse on itself.

Upon its landing, the boulder gave away the sound of rock meeting rock in a monumental proportion, and the entire cave was shaken by its impact. Cracks was forming all over the roof above them as well as the walls holding it up. All the while, small and medium sized rocks and crystals fell from the gapes that was forming between the bigger boulders.

Panic taking it's sudden grip on the ponies as they all scattered, some of them trying to seek shelter. Some stuck in their place, unable to move by the impending realization of what to come next. Rainbow flew through the shower of rocks, dodging them with her trademark agility until she reached the previously blocked of exit. She desperately tried to make her way past it.

Applejack ran to the boulder that was blocking the path they had come from. Doing an impressive mid-run turn, she delivered a kick to the boulder with all her might, and with the extra force generated by her sprint.
Even with a lifetime of bucking trees, her hooves meet the solid object with naught but a jolting pain in her rear-limbs as its only effect.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie held each other dearly and stared at the roof with gripping fear in their hearts, not seeing any way to escape the current situation.

Twilight sat on her flank with Fluttershy tightly in her embrace. Her head lowered, and her wings embracing, to cover as much of the frightened pegasus as much as she could. Fluttershy in her turn were clinging to Twilight with all her might, hiding her face in her fur. Tears forming in her eyes.

The noise of a exceptionally long-lasting series of cracks drew Twilights attention to the roof.

Her mind, racing. Going through each and every book she have ever read in her life, trying to find that one thing that could save her and her friends!

After each book she closed in her mind, she screamed to herself "No!" as she failed to find the answer.

All the while, bigger and bigger pieces of debris fell from the roof.

Each book flickered before her faster and faster, and for each book she continued to shout out in her mind; [No! No! No!]

A big rock loosened from the roof right above Rarity and Pinkie. They looked up as they saw the rock descending upon them.
They made an effort to separate and move out of the way. Although they got caught up in each other flailing to move out of the way.
A multi-colored streak darted towards them. "GET DOWN!" RD yelled as she extended her front hooves, grabbing a hold of her two friends - pushing them both out of harm's way.
The three ponies landed roughly besides Twilight before the rock collided with the ground. Throwing sharp flying parts of rock all around it.

Twilight witnessing her friends almost passing right before her eyes, returned to her concentration.
The building, primal fear within her, blurring her memories even further and only added to her frustration and desperation of finding the solution. [No! No! No-no-no-nononononon!] Her magic starting to cloak her entire being.
Twilight herself gained height, being lifted from the raw energy that took a hold of her. Along with Fluttershy who was still clinging to Twilight for her dear life.
Any small rocks that fell atop twilight started to slow down, or avert to the sides.

Looking up, Twilight briefly saw the rifts growing in the roof, forming around a huge crystal.

For what first looked like a stare of fear, suddenly turned into a menacing scowl. An animal being hunted, and suddenly turning to face it's predator. "No..." Escaped her clenching teethes.
Closing her eyes, she focused.
Light, escaping between her tightly closed eyelids.

Moments later, too much instability eventually gave up and let a enormous boulder fall, with the rest of the roof caving in behind it.

"NO!" She screamed out with a voice that was her own, but there was also something else, something powerful and pure.
Her eyes opening instantly to reveal them completely illuminated in pure light. From her wings, her feathers were given seemingly a life of their own, creating long, glowing tendrils of magic with the same color as her coat.

Instantly, the tendrils shoot out towards her friends, and wrapped around them. Before anyone of them could hope to react to exactly what was happening, they were pulled closer to Twilight.
While her friends were pulled towards her, Twilight extended the aura surrounding her - expanding it outwards.
The final tendril wrapped around the leg AJ had used to kick in the rocks with. Not given a chance to protest, she was whipped towards the center of the room where Twilight were positioned. They all landed roughly at the ground beneath Twilight as she floated above them with Fluttershy still in her clutches.

As soon as they were all gathered in one spot, an electrical like surge emanated from Twilights very core. The pulse went through her entire being and outwards in a shock of magic. The lavender colored aura passed her friends by without even moving a hair on their heads, but the wave forced all rocks away from them.

The instance the cloak of magic had enveloped them all, it instantly morphed from its fluent mass to a rigid form, taking the shape of a fine cut diamonds structure. Strong, endless, unbreakable!

It barley even took a couple of milliseconds after the magic had solidified when the huge boulder impacted on top of Twilights magical creation.
The force of the confrontation sent cracks trough the magical barrier and the floor beneath them.

For a second, it seemed as if the barrier was holding.
The second after, a web of cracks was forming in the cave floor under the magical construct.

The barrier was forced down through the floor itself by the sheer force from above!
It fell trough into a new chasm.

The hole they came trough was instantly sealed up with boulders.

For a second, the barrier fell free in perfect darkness. Before the deafening sound rang trough everyone's ears as the barrier meet the floor. Shattering the magical construct.

End Ch. 2