"So... have you ever been to jail before?"

"Shut up Camo..."

"I mean, its either that or..."

"Camo. If you keep talking I'm going to shove my rifle down your throat and pull the fucking trigger until it goes click click click. Got it?" He asks as he stops and stares him down.

"... is that an innuendo...."

"SON OF A..."

"Boys." I say, gaining their attention. "If Miles doesn't want to talk about it then its his business. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get this over with." The two of them look to each other before continuing on. I just shake my head and walk along with Miles. "So... did..."

"No." He says flatly.

"Sorry. Just curious. Usually fears don't just come out of the blue..."

"Soror..."

"Right. Anyway, are you ready for this?" I ask as we make it out of the edge of town.

"After what I've been through, I'm ready for anything." He says as he takes in his surroundings.

"Have you ever seen a Burrow Spider? They..."

"Whats a spider?" He asks. "Look. I already said I'll do it, so that's what I'm going to do. Thank you for worrying, but don't. I can handle this."

"But..."

"Alright, here we are." The guard says as he stops in front of a small cave. "Go in, deal with them, and then you may leave. There's only one entrance so don't try any funny business. We'll be watching the surrounding area for any magic so..."

"Shut up already." Miles says as he marches straight in.

"Don't you..."

"Nnope." Big Mac says as he follows after him.

"Fine. Do it your way then." The guards says as he steps in front of True Will. "Only they get to go in. The rest of you will wait out here until they return."

"WHAT!" The rest of them yell as they all start to try to argue with him. He just motions to another guard to seal up the entrance.

"Guard." I say, silencing them all. "Explain this to me at once. Did they not all break through the law?"

"Those two were only being arrested for resisting arrest. The others will only have to pay the fine. Sorry Princess, but its in the city charter."

"Very well." I say as I straighten out and begin to walk away. I motion to Twilight to follow me, getting her to run to my side.

"Yes Princess?" She asks eagerly.

"You wouldn't happened to know the city charter for Detrot, would you?" I whisper to her as I lean over, feeling slightly guilty for not knowing it as well as I should.

"Sorry Princess, I never could get a copy of it. That, and it changes all of the time due to their constant town meetings. You don't think he's lying to you, do you?"

"I don't think so, everything seems correct, I jusst can't shake this eerie feeling. I will be back as soon as possible. I need to go read up on something...."

"Do you need my help? I could..."

"No. Stay here and make sure nothing happens to Miles. I can tell something is wrong, I just can't put my hoof on it." She leans in and gives me a quick hug before running back to her friends. I look back to them and sigh... wait... one, two, three, four... two of them are missing. I can't help but grin as I teleport back to my balcony.

"You're laaate." Luna chimes as we walk to the edge.

"You sound a little happy about that." I say with a smirk as I begin to lower my beloved sun. "Should I be worried?"

"Mmm... yes." She says with a big smile. "But I will be forgiving if you join me for dinner tonight."

"That sounds lovely." I say as the sun dips beneath the horizon, giving way to the moon. "Shall we?" She offers me a smile as we begin to walk down to the dinning hall together.

"Where did you go?" She asks as we walk down the marble hall.

"I had to go to Detrot to stop Miles from starting a riot..."

"HE WHAT?" She yells as she comes to a halt.

"He burst through main street and tried to resist arrest. Apparently he has an irrational fear of going to jail because... well.. ahem..."

"Why?"

"He seems to think that... if he goes to jail... that others... well... uh..." I stutter as Luna waits patiently for me to answer. Why do I find this so hard to talk about? She's my sister, this should be easy. "He thinks that..."

"That?" She says as she tries to get me to say it. I take a deep breath as I try to force myself to say it, feeling sweat form on my brow.

"Uh... he... thinks that.... aren't you hungry? I'm hungry. I could eat an orchard right about now. Lets hurry up and get something to eat." I say before taking off down the hall. I make it to the dinning room and quickly take my seat, hiding my blushing face in the menu.

FLASH

"Well? Why did he refuse to go to jail?" Luna asks.

"He... Nevermind." I say as I pivot away from her.

"Tia..."

"It was... why don't you just go and ask him yourself." I say as I flip the page, turning further away from her.

"... really?"

"Yes little sister." I say as I continue to try to keep my mind on other things. I suddenly lurch forward as Luna reaps me up in a hug, squeezing me tightly.

"Thank you! I'll get going right away!"

"Wait..."

"Bye!"

FLASH

I look back to her empty seat and curse my ignorance. Why didn't I see that coming? *sigh* well, I'm sure nothing will come of it...

"What would you like to eat your highness?"

"Something banned from my diet please." I say flatly as I set my menu down and rub my eyes.

"Are you sure..."

"Yes. I know, I'll deal with the consequences later."

"As you wish," he says as he takes the menu and walks away. I just look out the window and sigh again. Oh Luna... please don't do anything rash.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

We make it down the main tunnel keeping completely silent. Keeping low, I pull out my trench knife and prepare for anything to show up. Based on what I saw of spiders back at the farm, this should be fairly easy...

"Do you hear that?" Big Mac asks. I pause and listen to hear a little girl singing.

"Lets hurry up." I say as we both hurry down the tunnel. The farther down we go, the louder the echos become. We come to a stop in a large open area. The walls are spotted with different sized gems and have been mined in three different direction. In the center of the room is a little light blue filly with messy grey hair. She's just sitting there, facing away from us as she sings.

"Little.."

"DON'T GO NEAR HER!" We spin back to see Camo and Dust Devil running towards us at full speed. Camo slides to a stop as Dust Devil runs past us, heading straight for the little girl.

"WHAT ARE YOU..."

"AHHHH!" Dust Devil yells as she tackles the little girl to the ground. I try to stop her, but fail to do so.

As soon as Dust Devil was securely on top, she pulled out her knife and drove it into her throat. Big Mac and I just stand there in a daze as Dust just sits there, breathing deeply.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!" I yell as I march up to her. She ignores me as she feels the back of the her neck.

"Its still alive. Stand back." She says as she stands up and rolls the body over.

"What the..."

"GUYS!" Camo yells as he drops down in front of me. "She was already dead."

"What are you talking about?" I ask as I try to go around him. "You just killed that little girl..."

"No I didn't." Dust says quietly. "Let me show you." She takes her knife and start cutting at the back of her neck. I turn away and try not to listen to what shes doing. This... this is wrong.

"Have either of you eve seen a burrow spider?" Camo asks. I turn back and watch in horror as Dust Devil carves into the neck of the little girl.

"No ah haven't...."

"Well look closely." Dust Devil says as she sticks her hoof into the little girls neck and begins to reach for something. I turn away as I begin to gag. If I had anything in my stomach, it wouldn't be there now.

"Be careful DD..."

"I know." Dust snaps. "OK, I've got it." She pulls back to reveal... "This... is a burrow spider." On the end of her hood is a small, fist size creature. It has eight long black legs that are smeared with blood. They look like they end in hooks and are extremely thin. Its body is fairly small, being about the size of my thumb and flat.

"What the fuck is that?" I ask as I look it over more closely, only to back away as it hisses and tries to grab onto something.

"Burrow spiders. Typically you only get them in the Elemental union, but they can make their way up here easily." Dust says as she looks it over. "They live by feeding off of anything they can climb into. They climb in, through the mouth, and attack themselves to the brain stem. From there, they release their eggs into their host and keep them alive until their offspring are old enough to live on their own..."

"Is there anyway to keep the host alive?" I ask.

"No."

"Are you sure? Maybe..."

"I'm sure." She says sternly. "They hook onto your brain stem and hold on tighter then a dead orc. If the host is alive after they attach themselves, they don't live much longer afterwards."

"Why is that?" Big Mac asks.

"Because the hatch lings eat the host... slowly." I walk around Dust and kneel beside the little girl.

"She was singing..."

"No. She wasn't." Dust Devil says as she squashes the spider, making a small pool of blood form underneath her hoof. "That was the spider. They can bite onto the brain and control you. It can be pretty convincing depending on the experiences of the spider. She was dead long before we were here." I look down to the girl and slide my fingers over her face, closing her eyes.

"How many do you think are down here?" I ask as I hold my hand on her chest.

"Dunno. She could of been the only one, there could be fifty, its impossible to know without going throughout the entire mine."

"Do we need to worry about her?" Camo asks as he looks down to her.

"I don't think they even hatched yet. To be safe we need to cremate her. Its the only way."

"I'll do it." I say as I stand. "I can d it without fire, I'll take care of that." She nods to me and steps away from her. I take a deep breath as I flare my hands.

"Do it." Dust says cruelly.

"I'm sorry." I push my palm towards her and send a beam into her small body, turning her to ash.

"Come on, there's probably more of them." Dust says as she stands and walks down the left most tunnel.

"Come on Miles, lets go." Big Mac says as he nudges me along the way. I stare at the pile of ash until its out of view. "Ya gonna be alright?"

"... yeah. Probably. I just.... I hate seeing children suffer..."

"Ah know. Ah don't like it anymore then you do. But we have ta do this. Ta put em out a their misery..."

"I know. But knowing doesn't make it easier." I say as I walk after Camo and Dust Devil. We make it to the end of the tunnel where we hear some whispering, so we crouch down and sneak to the corner. I can hear what sounds like a child crying and an adult.

"...filly. Just open wide and say..."

"Where's my sister? Why did you bring me down here? I want to go home..."

"You are home. Just come here and...."

"HEY!" I yell as I walk out into the opening. OK, there are at least twenty adults in her all huddled around the same point. "Leave her alone."

"Miles, this is kind of stupid." Dust Devil says nervously as she peers over to the crowd. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving that kid."

"She could already be infected! This could be a trap, we need..."

"COME ON!" I yell as I step forward. "One child or three adults? Pick already."

"Oh buck you Miles." Camo says as he pulls his sword out.

"Shut up and get ready fer a fight." Big Mac says as he pulls out his halberd.

"Put that away and take my sword." I say as I toss him my sword. "Fire and caves don't really mix well."

"Right."

"You with us?" I ask Dust as I pull out my trench knife.

"*sigh* yeah. Just do me a favor, don't let me get infected." She says as they all stand by my side and get ready to fight.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! COME ON!" I yell as I charge straight for them.

They all scream out as they charge straight for us. I thrust my free hand forward, sending a beam of soul fire into one of the charging ponies and turning him to ash. I spin back and slam the blade of my knife into the neck of one of the others as the rest slam into me. They try to bite and scratch at me, but my armor stops them from doing any real damage. I push and kick them away as I try to make my too the little girl. As I move, I stab and grab at them, killing them as I puncture necks and turn them to ash.

"AHHHH!" The little girl screams.

"HOLD ON!" I yell as I push the lines on my arms to my potestatum anuls and slam my free hand down on the ground, sending a wave pf energy around me and sending everyone flying away from me. I push myself forward and run to where I thought I heard the child.

"AHH!" I look over to see a small black form running down some tunnel being chased by two adults.

"KEEP RUNNING!" I yell as I send a beam at one of them, turning her to ash.

"MILES!" Big Mac yells.

"I"m going after her, take care of the rest of them!" I yell as I run after the little girl.

I take the corner to see the stallion standing over the little girl as she kicks and screams. He lowers his face and opens his mouth as several bulges crawl their way up his neck. As several long black legs stick out of his mouth I send my energy into my blade and punch forward, sending a blast of energy that knocks him into the wall behind. The girl continues to kick around as a single spider sits on her face, trying to pull her mouth open.

"Hold on! I've got you!" I yell as I run over to her and slide to my knees. I grab the spider and go to pull it off, but it just latches on to her face. She screams out as blood falls from her cheeks and lips. I tighten my grip on the spider as I pump my magic into it, burning it away. "Hold still so I can heal you...'

"STOP! I JUST WANT MY SISTER! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screams as she continues to kick. I push my hands through and lay them on her chest as I pump the healing energy into her. She arches her back and stops kicking as the wounds on her begin to heal.

"Feel better?" I ask as I pull my hands back. She takes a few deep breaths as she looks up me. She must still be terrified... of the human she's never seen before. "You don't need to be scared. My name is Miles. What's your name?"

"I...I'm... my name is Shadow." She whispers as she sits up.

"Shadow. Are you hurt anywhere else?" I ask as I look her over. She has an all black coat with long messy grey hair that has a streak of blue in it. Her eyes are the deepest blue and she seems to be fairly small. I'm guessing she's Appleblooms age, maybe less.

"No." She says as she wipes her fore head. Oh, she's a unicorn. "What's going on? What are those icky spiders doing to those ponies.... have you seen my sister?" She asks as she looks up to me with her hope filled eyes.

"I... what did your sister look like?" I ask, knowing all to well what happened.

"She has a light blue coat and grey hair like mine. We're the same age and she has a cutie mark of a lantern."

"What was her name." I ask as I sheath my knife.

"Why did you say was? Is Light ok? Where is she? What..."

"Shadow." I say firmly as I look down. "Light... had a spider in her... like the others. She's... she's... I'm so sorry shadow."

"No.... no. She can't be dead. She's my big sister.... she can't be dead." She mutters as tears begin to fall from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Shadow..."

"No, why are you telling me this? I want Light back, bring her back! I want my sister" She yells as she jumps into my lap and hits my chest, crying heavily. I wrap my arms around her and hold her as she cries for her lost sister.

"Ohhhh..." Shadow freezes up as the pony from before begins to moan. I look back to see bulges appearing all around his body, a few breaking open to reveal long black legs.

"What is that? Whats going on?" Shadow asks as she latches on to me, wrapping her arms around me.

"Spiders. Don't look." I say as I stand up, still holding onto her. She buries her face in my neck. I take my free arm and shoot the body with soul fire, turning it to ash. "Whew, that was close." I chuckle.

"Heh... yeah." Shadow agrees as she keeps her face in the crook of my neck.

"MILES!" I hear Dust Devil scream. She, as well as Camo and Big Mac, come running down the tunnel at full speed.

"Whats going...."

"SPIDERS!" They scream as a torrent of spiders comes after them. The walls and floor are covered in a mass of black spiders chasing after them. Camo pivots back as he swings his sword at them, sending a wave of black energy at the front of the flood. It explodes, but is quickly over run by more spiders.

"GET BEHIND ME!" I yell as I raise my hand. I concentrate on the area around us and throwing my arm down. A large chunk of the wall falls down, crushing a good number of the spiders. I throw my arm out and send another wall down....

"STOP! YOU'LL BRING IT ALL DOWN ON US!" Dust Devil yells as she looks around. "We need to get out of here..."

"Are all of the infected people dealt with?" I ask.

"Only these spi..."

"Good, gather around!" I order, getting them all to run to my side. I push the lines on my arms and push up, sending us straight up and through the earth above. We appear in what looks like a light forest filled with light tan leaves. We take a moment to check ourselves before laughing.

"Think they'll get mad for us leaving early?" Camo asks.

"I really don't care right now." I say as I check on Shadow. "Can you walk for a bit? I need to do something." She just nods her head and loosens her grip on me. I kneel down and set her on her hooves. I stand up and flare my magic on both arms, pushing it up to my elbows.

"What are ya doin Miles?" Big Mac asks.

"Making sure they don't leave." I say before slamming my hands down onto the ground. Cracks appear all around us as sections begin to fall down. I push all of it down until I'm sure that all of the mine is buried. "There. Mission accomplished." I say as I kneel down beside Shadow. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"*sniff* I..."

"Where is home?" I ask as I pick her up.

"I... don't have a home." She says as she begins to tear up again. "I lived with the miners and my sister. Without them.... I dunno... I..."

"Hey, it's ok." I say as I rub her back. She buries her face i my neck again as she begins to cry again. I look over to Big Mac and the others before pulling her slightly off of me. "Don't you have any family? Mom? Dad? Uncles..."

"My mom and dad died when I was really little. It's always been just me and Lantern. Where do I go now? I don't want to go to the orphanage, please don't take me there! I.. can still work! I can...."

"Hey, hey, shh..." I say as I hold her a little tighter. I look back to the others before taking a deep breath. "How about you come with me to Ponyville? It may only be for a while, but I can take care of you for a bit."

"*sniff* really? Why? Why would you do that?" She asks as she rubs her eyes. I take a deep breath as I think about the best way to answer. Why am I offering her this?

"Several reasons." I say as I begin to walk towards Detrot. "But mainly because you need a home. I know you don't know me, but I.... can't help but feel as if I have to do this. What do you say? Lets try it for a week and see if we can't work something out."

"O...OK." She says as she lays her head on my shoulder. "Thank you Miles." I look back to Big Mac and see his bewildered face. I just shrug and continue on.

I have to do this...

I killed her only family.

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