It's About Time, part 2.5: Journey to Tartarus

[no_vampires_plz]

As the three humans, one Hyrulian, one unicorn, and one demon-dog press forward, the character of the woods around them changes. The undergrowth gets denser, the canopy above lets in less light, and the flora in general is much more... exotic than what one usually sees in the woods by the lake.

"Now, I know that the pathway to Tartarus starts somewhere in this general area," says Twilight. "But I don't know of its exact location. It's not something that ponies really want to advertise."

Comments

[fiss84]

This little super hero isn't though she does look over her shoulder from time to time as they run to make sure they aren't being followed. Her eyes are finally clearing so she darts over to Moon Shadow.

"You wanna walk for a bit or fly again?"

[basic_powers]

"Fly again, just please let me know before you drop me off next time?"

It takes a little of a balancing act to stand up so she can grab his harness again and they can light the way down the tunnel.

"I'm out of flares anyways."

[fiss84]

"Sorry," 84 replies with a wince as she lifts him. "I'll be more careful next time."

[no_vampires_plz]

Once the light from the firebugs has well and truly faded behind them, Twilight drops the shield. She sags down onto the floor, panting. "How does Shining Armor do that all the time??" she wheezes.

[gorgonfondness]

"Don't get discouraged," Mia says, dropping her own shield and giving Twilight a gentle pat on the ear. "It takes time to build up stamina. This might be a good opportunity to see if my starlights will work for you."

She takes two small, wrapped orbs from her bag. They look (and feel) a bit like blue bath beads. Mia unwraps one for herself and holds the other out for Twilight

"These give you a boost of magic energy in case you can't afford to wait for it to naturally build up again."

She pops the starlight in her mouth.

[no_vampires_plz]

Twilight takes the other starlight in her mouth, chews, and brightens immediately. "Mmm, spearmint!"

[basic_powers]

He's going to just wait til they get back for a pick-me-up. Not being remotely magical in nature, he's trying to scan into the darkness ahead, by light of his glowsticks.

84's getting a couple for herself, just in case she gets separated again, since she's the one nice enough to carry him.

"...those sound really handy."

[fiss84]

84's fine now that her eyes have recovered, part of the strength package of a FISS is endurance as well.

"If I have to drop you quick like, would you prefer the ground or Cerebus again? Uless there was lava, then I'd know where to put you. Are you sure you don't want to fly? Those wings of yours looked really big on the soccer field."

Someone might be a little nervous again.

[basic_powers]

"Cerberus, and I can't use the wings right now...there's not enough room for me to spread them in here and use them."

Sure the giant dog the size of a house can fit easily enough...but propelling him is another story entirely.

"Not without hitting people, or the walls anyways. Don't worry, you're doing great, just like when you helped take on Brigman."

[no_vampires_plz]

They walk in silence for a long time, before Twilight speaks up.

"Is it just me, or is the ceiling getting lower?"

[gorgonfondness]

Mia looks up to see what Twilight's talking about. It was harder to tell from the perspective of the now-lost carpet.

"Is Cerberus still getting through all right?" she asks, glancing ahead to the canine.

[sky_child]

He looks up to the ceiling and frowns. "It's definitely getting smaller."

[basic_powers]

"Are the sides the same width?"

There's a good chance Cerberus could probably crawl or squeeze through if the ceiling continues to get lower.

[fiss84]

"Should we fly ahead and see if it gets smaller?"

[no_vampires_plz]

"It looks like--"

Twilight stops short.

There's no question of why. Everyone's looking up, and everyone else just saw the ceiling move.

Something is crawling along the ceiling of the tunnel. Something so impossibly massive that, were it not moving, it could be (and indeed was) mistaken for the ceiling itself.

[gorgonfondness]

Mia looks up in awe, remaining silent as she watches the gigantic creature move.

She wonders if she should ask Twilight if they should keep quiet and still but decides actually doing so would be counterproductive.

[sky_child]

Link lets out a quiet sound of surprise, his face soon adopting a look of wariness, determination.

(This would also be the part where he automatically pulls out his sword, if he were not too busy carrying a bag of dog food.)

[basic_powers]

"Hgnnnngk."

Moon Shadow is just going to be turning -on- the tazer gauntlet and trying to turtle his helmet between his shoulders.

"What in the great name of the moon and the stars is THAT."

[fiss84]

"That's not fair," 84 whispers as while she's strong and invulnerable, she has no idea how to fight something that large. Barely aware she's doing it though, she looks for eyes or a face, anything that might be a place she could hit and have it matter.

[no_vampires_plz]

"A night-crawler..." Twilight breathes.

The creature shifts its weight, and drops down into the cave in front of the party. It looks like a gigantic millipede with a pitch-black carapace supported by millions of tiny wriggling legs. It rears up in front of them, its mandibles writhing hungrily.

[gorgonfondness]

"Any weaknesses?" Mia asks, muttering to her bag for any available antidotes to get to the top just in case.

[no_vampires_plz]

"I..." Twilght bites her lip. "I don't know."

[sky_child]

Well, if she doesn't know, and if he's the only one here with a sword...

"Someone take this," he says, holding out the bag of food.

[basic_powers]

"84, drop me near Link and grab the jerky, please."

Technically, he has swords, but neither of them have a cutting edge. He can however, provide Link with some support if need be.

[fiss84]

84 does as she's asked while watching the monster. Those pincers are scarey.