Why did they always seem unlucky enough to have such things happen to them? Twilight didn't know, the only thing on her mind at the moment was to get out of that place as quickly as possible.
"Spike! Get out of there right now!"
Twilight tried to shout a warning at the dragon, but the sound of her voice was drowned out by the constant noise of rocks crashing against each other and hitting the walls of the hillside, while the earth seemed to shake from the force of the slide.
Spike stared completely petrified in the direction of the uphill mountain, where the disaster that was brewing at that moment covered every portion that the detached terrain touched, in a clear threat to take everything in its path.
Without wasting another second, Twilight galloped toward where the paralyzed dragon stood. Spike only reacted a bit when he heard the faint clatter of her hooves even above all that noise. He turned in her direction and stared at her wide-eyed, as he let out a cry of surprise as a magical aura completely enveloped his small body, covered by the cloak that almost hid him.
It only took an instant for the alicorn to lift him up in her levitation, moving him from that place and then placing him on her back. Moments later a mass of rocks fell very close to where he had been standing. She quickly ran away, following the unicorn that had moved away from them as soon as he noticed the situation.
Twilight couldn't help but curse in her mind as her eyes drifted upwards. From her position she saw the stretch that was still missing for them to be completely safe. She just had to be faster...
Small rocks spun with alarming speed as it slammed against each other's hard mountain wall and then tumbled off the cliff, but not before being a nuisance that the two fleeing ponies had to overcome.
Twilight managed to make the attempt to flap her wings to soar in flight, even though the layer that kept the cold away from the environment and still covered her body was a challenge of her own. That meant, after all, a much greater effort.
And as they continued on their escape, in an attempt to outwit the forces of nature so strange that they had been appeared, Twilight's thoughts went for a moment to the fact that this need not be happening. That surely didn't happen every day of being a normal place. But her mind could not be silenced by that fact, emphasizing it once more.
"You're not in a normal place."
"Almost, Spike!" Twilight shouted as she felt him tremble and hold tightly to her mane. "We're almost out of this."
Twilight was right to try to reassure him, though she still needed to get rid of the tricky stuff.
The large boulders hurtling down the mountain seemed to slow down a bit when only the remnants of the hillside earth began to remain, but further down it was a different story when those same rocks threatened to pounce on the group.
Both ponies dodged them quickly enough and Twilight was emboldened when she realized that there was only a small stretch left before the slope completely collapsed. But that was why she couldn't pay proper attention during her flight when a shadow rose from the left of her vision field.
"Watch out, Twilight!"
Spike's eyes widened and he shouted a warning when one of the boulders brushed against them as it passed too close. Twilight could almost feel the rough edge of its surface that had scraped against her wings feathers. Even though it all happened on a minimal timescale, to them it had felt as if they had made their own time stand still. A second later was that their minds were able to react.
Twilight's heart beat even faster in surprise, sending adrenaline through her body as her wings made an unconscious spin that took them away from the crevices, reaching a relatively safe area where they weren't at risk of being swept off the cliff. However, everything happened so quickly that Twilight didn't have the time to slow her fall, sending them both to the ground.
She gasped as her body rolled to the ground and only had enough time to protect her head and the weak areas with her front legs. Spike did the same when the force of the crash threw him off Twilight's back, after holding back a gasp of pain as the rocks on the wall hit his back. The layers covering them both cushioned the blow a bit.
Her ears were ringing with an annoying noise and her head was starting to ache, but she forced herself to dispel it when she noticed Spike's lying down way that seemed to rub a painful spot on his head. The alicorn tried to get up while breathing with some difficulty and coughing from the dust that had been kicked up by the accident.
At that moment, Twilight's mind highlighted the fact that they were the only ones who had managed to escape. Then she turned her head and focused her gaze in a certain direction.
The few remaining rocks continued on its way to the depths of the cliff, but it hadn't happened yet when Twilight noticed the dark form of the stallion galloping straight towards them, stopping some with his magic and dodging the rest.
But a sudden scream echoed above the recent chaos as she rose. She immediately turned her head to where she had last seen Sombra.
Twilight took a quick breath and opened her eyes in surprise when she saw how one of the falling leftover boulders seemed to hit the stallion on one of his hind legs, after an ill-intentioned movement slowed him down on his way. It all happened too fast.
Twilight's heart raced with adrenaline as conflicting emotions swept over her, but a twinge of fear began to strike above all others at the precise moment the force of the impact caused him to slip straight to the edge of the cliff, threatening to fall into the abyss. It was just then that her mind cleared enough to allow her to react quickly.
"Oh no! Sombra!"
A frightened expression formed on Twilight's face as she quickly discarded her cloak and the saddlebag at her side, leaving it lying and galloping without wasting time in his direction while Spike closed his eyes and covered his face so as not to see that potential disaster.
Even if they had previously argued, Twilight couldn't just get carried away with those issues and condemn him to a possible downfall.
Despite having most of his body practically facing danger, Sombra somehow managed to hold on to his front hooves, though for every second he continued like this, the slippery dirt left over from the debris of the avalanche gained ground in its attempts to carry him further.
With a loud snort and some effort, he tried to turn on his magic again with the intention of helping himself to give himself an impulse to climb up and escape from that damn inopportune situation. To his confusion, however, it only managed to envelop his body in a crimson aura for a second before it sputtered and died in a burst.
Refusing to give up, he began to press down on the rock face with his hind legs, but suddenly a purple blob filled the right side of his vision field. He looked up and narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed the alicorn running in his direction. There was bit doubt about her intentions.
Twilight dodged several rocks and debris to get to him. Although the cloud of dust that had risen managed to clear enough for her to see without squinting, she couldn't help coughing on her way as the fine particles slid into her nose. And it was in one of those moments that one of her front legs accidentally brushed against the sharp surface of a rock.
Twilight slowed down a little and hissed at the moment of feeling him, although the adrenaline of the moment quickly washed away the pain that the blow had caused her, but even so she wasted no time in renewing her gallop to reach him.
Even if she didn't care too much about his well-being and even if he was a pony who had done bad and very questionable things in the past, she didn't want to just leave him to his fate while his life was in danger.
The alicorn spread her wings as soon as she reached in front of him, rose above his head and approached one of the legs with which the stallion was holding. Sombra looked at her with a suspicious expression at whatever she planned to do, but Twilight ignored him as she grabbed the limb with her own hooves.
After she wrapped it up, Twilight began to flap her wings a bit more vigorously, trying to lift him high enough so that he would finish sliding more easily and so that his own weight would no longer push him over the cliff. However, despite all her efforts, trying to elevate him began to become a rather difficult task. Had she lost strength or was it something else?
"Try pressing down with the other hoof to help you climb up!" Twilight suggested with a grumble, annoyed by the fact that she seemed to be the only one doing anything to keep him from falling into the abyss.
"I can't unless you want the earth to make me slide more than it already does!" He replied with an equal degree of annoyance when he noticed that she hadn't noticed something as simple as that.
He was still trying to press down on the rocks on the wall with his hind legs to move his body to safety. But every time he seemed to gain even a modicum of ground, the sharp vertical slope below him caused his hooves to slip off without any other choice, making his effort in vain.
"Can't you think of another way?" Sombra growled when he saw that she didn't seem to be making any progress.
Twilight frowned once more at his words, shaking her head to push away the sweat that beaded her forehead and threatened to sneak into her eyes. She gritted her teeth tighter as she tried to put all her strength into the wings of her back. Why did he have to be so heavy?
"Do you want to shut up for a moment? I'm trying to help!"
After a grudging murmur from him, Twilight forced herself to adopt a determined expression and this time used the magic for the purpose of achieving her goal. Just a second later, the glow of her aura began to spread throughout the stallion's body, enveloping him in her levitation.
From that moment on, their efforts became much easier and it only took a few seconds for Sombra to begin to gain ground and slowly move away from the edge.
Twilight only let go of him when his hooves finally touched solid ground. With tiredness seeping into her features, she slipped very slowly to the ground and lay on the spot, breathing with some difficulty. She ran a hoof across her forehead to wipe away the sweat that had clung to her coat, then took a brief look at the unicorn just a few feet away.
He didn't seem to feel any better than she was, and he certainly wasn't. His chest rose and fell equally wearily as his breath came out in faint exhausted gasps. She noticed that his eyes were closed, even though a few strands of mane partially covered his face, preventing him from seeing completely. From what she had been able to notice, he didn't seem to have any intention of opening them anytime soon.
But before Twilight opened her mouth and could say a single word, a familiar voice made her ears turn animatedly.
"Twilight!"
At the sound of Spike's voice, Twilight turned around and although she was tired, she found a way to give him a small smile when she saw him fly towards her with a worried look on his face. Wasting no time, she greeted him with a hug when he landed in front of her.
Despite his effusiveness, Spike was careful not to brush her too far with his claws. The two parted ways as he sought to externalize the question on his mind.
"Are you fine, Twi?"
Twilight didn't answer with words, instead shook her head in clear assent to his question. She gave a slight sigh as she cocked, just a second later she noticed that he was carrying her saddlebag with him. She closed her eyes, relieved to know that she didn't need to get up from her place to go get what she really needed at that moment.
"I'm fine, but could you give me some water? It's what I need most now," She asked, pointing a hoof to her bag. She couldn't stand her dry throat for long because of the dust.
"Oh, wait a second," Spike replied and slid the saddlebag in front of him. He clicked open it and searched for what she needed inside. A few seconds later he showed the waterskin in his claws when he pulled it out, so he handed it to Twilight.
It didn't take her a second to grab it with her hooves. She used her magic only to open the lid with a snap. Twilight bent it over herself, and when she was completely satisfied, she put it back down. She ended up wiping her muzzle with a hoof while sighing with pleasure.
"Thanks very much, Spike," She replied in infinite gratitude to the little dragon.
"You're welcome, Twilight," He said with a small smile, but then his face took on a serious expression. "Why didn't you use your teleportation?" He asked, giving her a look of slight reproach. "It would have been easier."
Twilight lowered her gaze, but then let out a small sigh as she slowly shook her head.
"I couldn't, Spike, remember how I told you that my magic felt limited?" He nodded at her question. "Well, since we had to escape from those creatures, it's taken me a bit longer to get it back. If I use it more than I intend on spells that require more energy, it might be possible that in another situation where we need those, I will run out of it. That's why I have to be very careful."
"Are you saying you're just going to limit yourself to levitating things?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Twilight nodded, in a sign of her thoughts.
"For now, my levitation is strong enough.
"Then I'll trust you, Twilight," Spike finished saying as he put a claw on her shoulder, this made his support clear. "The truth is that you're still very good, even if you don't use your magic completely."
Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof as she let out a small laugh. But suddenly, a snort behind her paused her moment, reminding her that they weren't alone. She turned around just in time to see the stallion move from the spot, though he was still sitting in place. Twilight noticed that he looked more recovered now.
"Now I remember why I hated this place," Sombra muttered under his breath in an annoyed tone as he ran a hoof over one of his front legs, trying to get rid of the dirt that had stuck to his coat during his escape.
But he didn't realize that somepony else had come to hear his comment.
"Did you know this could happen?" Twilight asked, looking at him with some suspicion.
Sombra glanced at her briefly without changing the expression on his face, frowning as he noted that he still had to deal with the alicorn's questions.
"Of course I didn't. Divination magic was never in my range of interests."
Twilight snorted as she noticed the biting tone of his comment, even though she had realized that he was telling the truth with it. Too bad she didn't have Applejack by her side at that moment to be safer.
But in spite of everything, her face took on a look that betrayed in part the ruminations that now existed in her mind. She had to make sure that her efforts had not been in vain.
"I guess you don't like me asking, but uhm... At least... Are you fine?..." She asked doubtfully and with a certain hesitation in her voice, as if she didn't know how to act in front of him. The truth is, she didn't know it yet.
Sombra wrinkled his muzzle as he snorted hard.
"Do you think I am fine?" He grumbled angrily, pointing to himself.
However, his tone wasn't suggestive enough for her to leave him alone. Twilight rubbed a hoof on her head as she tried her best not to lose patience with him again.
"Could you stop that attitude for a second?" She replied, tired of dealing with his bad mood. "I literally just saved your life."
"Just because you and the dragon need me to get out of here," Sombra exclaimed in a complaint and gave her a suspicious look. "Admit it princess, we are enemies. If we were in another situation, the outcome would probably have been different."
That ended up being the straw that broke the camel's back. Despite the tiredness that had been spreading throughout her body, Twilight could feel a kind of renewed wave spreading through her, as if her own body was helping her prepare herself again for a stressful situation. She ended up frowning, angered by his last words.
"Do you think so badly of me? Do you really think I'm the kind of pony who would have left someone to fend for themselves just because I don't like them?" The alicorn gritted her teeth, annoyed that he thought that way of herself. "I saved you not because you are necessary, but because it was the right thing to do. How could I have imagined this would happen?" She replied decisively, only adding a comment to herself in her mind:
"Nopony deserves to end their days like that, not even a pony like you."
Sombra wrinkled the expression on his face slightly as he took a brief glance past her, as if he had something on his mind at that moment.
"Of course nopony could have imagined it," He replied as he finished fixing the look he had ended up with after his unfortunate and near encounter with his ancestors. "However, we don't know each other at all, I don't have to show credulity to you just because of what you decided to do."
Twilight lowered her gaze and gave a slight sigh, trying to calm herself.
"I'm not talking about that, I don't care much what you think of me or what you plan to do when we manage to escape from this place, just... Let's try to get on with this as peacefully as possible," She said, looking at him again, convinced that she had to be the one to take the first step in trying to secure a possible truce between the two. "Can we agree on that?"
She cocked her head slightly, as she waited for his answer. Sombra looked at her for a brief second with a serious expression on his face, before rising from his place.
"We'll see," He replied in a deep tone as he slowly resumed his walk, passing by them.
Twilight gave another small sigh, as she nodded slowly and leaned her body toward the support Spike was giving her beside her. She knew that from somepony like him, that was the closest thing to getting a good resolution. Her mind consoled herself with the thought that it was at least some progress.
However, her mind still highlighted a more pressing fact at that moment. She turned in place, calling out to him again as she slightly extended a hoof toward him.
"Uhm... Sombra..."
The unicorn stopped and turned in her direction at the mention of his name. A raised eyebrow was reflected on his face, indicating the clear sign of wanting to know what she needed him for now. She concentrated for a moment to say what was on her mind.
"I mean, even though I know you didn't give it to me..." Twilight shrugged. "You're welcome. Anyway, for helping you get out of that problem."
He looked away, giving a brief snort as he made a slight gesture of denial. That princess had more surprises than he really imagined. He looked up in her direction again, this time with his snout slightly puckered.
"I suppose... that now you'll want me to make it up to you somehow." Sombra cleared his throat slightly, making it clear that his comment was in the affirmative.
Twilight looked at him with a raised eyebrow, though she then slowly shook her head.
"Don't worry, I don't expect anything in return," She replied with a sigh, glanced at Spike, and then looked at the stallion again. "What will we do now?"
"First of all, we must get out of this area," Sombra replied as his gaze turned to the slope destroyed in the recent disaster, as he muttered in a low tone that the mare and the dragon managed to catch. "It is dangerous to stay for a long time, the earth here is more fragile than it seems.
"And that, in the end, is not a good thing," Spike whispered to Twilight, and she nodded at his words.
"We have to start walking then," Twilight determined as Spike handed her back the bag and cape, she buttoned it and made sure it was properly positioned. "It's almost nightfall."
Twilight made a move with the goal of getting up while stretching her legs. However, when she intended to rest her hooves on the ground, a slight current of pain rose from one of her front legs to her spine, causing her to shiver slightly. She frowned at the situation in her body that she had ignored until that moment, probably because of all the adrenaline that had been going through her before.
When she turned the paw in front of her, she was actually surprised to see a short trail of dried blood tangled a bit in her coat, partially concealing the wound below. Trying to use her front hooves for support had caused the pain to resurface again.
"Ah! Twilight! That doesn't look good!" The dragon exclaimed, opening his eyes wide.
"I don't think it's that serious, Spike, you don't need to worry too much," She tried to reassure him in a calm tone of voice, managing to achieve some success. He just nodded as he looked at her with a stiff expression. "I just need to heal it."
She searched for what she needed in her bag and what she had brought just for situations like this, the same thing she used to heal the scratch caused by one of her spells on Spike's wing. She was tending to her wound, which did not turn out to be as deep as she had said, when the dragon opened his mouth again with a question.
"But doesn't it hurt?"
"Of course, but I can bear it," She replied with a sigh. "Only..."
"What's the reason for such a delay?" Sombra interrupted her sentence, approaching them both.
"I've got to fix this," Twilight said as she did her work, and finally put a small bandage over the wound after she cleaned it. "I'm almost done."
He only frowned slightly before going back the way he had come. Twilight finally finished, put it all away again, and got ready once more. She was careful to put her hoof back down, but relief swept through her as she realized the pain had subsided. She just had to be cautious.
Both ponies and the dragon continued on their way, with the evening sun in front of them to illuminate them in the search for a place to spend the night.
It took only an hour for the three of them to notice the entrance to a not very large cave that was carved into the surface of the rock, though it seemed to be just an opening large enough for them to fit.
After entering, each one settled into their respective places, except for Twilight who stayed next to Spike's sleepy form after he made use of his fire by lighting a small fire for the three of them.
"I hope that's enough for now..."
"It will as long as there isn't another vibration again," Spike said casually.
Twilight quickly turned to him.
"What do you mean?" She asked with a slight arched eyebrow.
"I'm talking about the shaking I felt before that happened. You couldn't feel it because you were arguing, but I could," he clarified with a shrug. "It's a very strange thing, I know."
"I don't think it was an earthquake, but whatever it was caused the slide," Twilight said, running a hoof over her chin. "How did you feel it?"
Spike lowered his head for a moment, thinking about a possible answer.
"It felt like something was moving, and I don't mean the earth."
After that, Twilight simply heaved a sigh.
"This is all so strange," She finished saying as she looked in the unicorn's direction.
Sombra had positioned himself, as usual, at one end far away from them and close to the entrance. However, at one point when Twilight had turned her gaze away from Spike, she noticed out of the corner of her eye when the stallion grimaced slightly as he looked at one of his hind legs.
"You're not completely fine either," Twilight pointed out when she noticed his behavior, frowning slightly. "When did that rock hit you?" She had already risen from her place and was making a point of going to him as she picked up her bag. "You should let..."
"It's just a scratch," Sombra interrupted her without turning around in a tone that left no doubt as to what he really wanted, causing the alicorn to lower her ears.
"I just wanted to help," Twilight whispered with a slight frown. However, she opened her saddlebag and pulled out another bag on which a small red cross was printed. With one movement she put it between them. "But I'll leave this here anyway, just in case."
She returned to her place when Sombra closed his eyes. Twilight adjusted the nearly sleeping Spike's cloak to her as she stood there, then glanced back at the stallion that had his gaze on the entrance, seemingly looking something beyond it.
"We've been traversing these mountains for almost a day," She said in a tired voice. "How much longer will it take to do so?"
"Mid day," Sombra replied quickly.
Twilight raised both eyebrows in an expression that betrayed mild astonishment, though she quickly remembered why he said it with such certainty. In spite of everything, she smiled with some sarcasm at his attitude.
"You seem very sure of that."
"It's because I am," he replied in a deep tone, and gave her only a brief glance.
"If you say so," She replied in a somewhat amused tone as she rolled her eyes. She returned to her normal demeanor as she fixed her gaze on him again. "Tomorrow will be another day after all."
After saying those last words, Twilight settled down and closed her eyes, ready to rest from the day. It didn't take long for her to fall completely asleep.
But while they slept, Sombra stayed awake much longer. After all, somepony had to watch and somepony was simply deep in thought. Thoughts of a certain mare who had recently saved his life, even if he had a hard time admitting it.
Right now, however, he had to turn his priority to something else.
Sombra turned to the bag the alicorn had left between them. He glanced over at it and then took a brief look at the mare, wondering inwardly what she really wanted to accomplish.
He thought about it for a long time until finally, after giving a low growl, he wrapped the small bag in his magic to attract it to him. Maybe he needed it.
Just maybe.