Beneath the Surface

Griff sighs and pulls the swords out of dead changelings before returning to the mages. "Eight." He says as he reaches them.

"Erm..." The mages finally allow their shields to fall, panting in exhaustion. "So... what now, sir?"

"I.." Griff starts before shaking his head. "I don't know... any suggestions?"

"Well..." One of them points to the hole the changeling had disappeared down. "Don't know about you, sir, but that strikes me as strange. Do they have an escape tunnel down there?"

"Either an escape tunnel or the whole hive." Would you risk finding out if you were in my hooves?" Griff gently asks.

"I don't know, sir..." The mage eyes the hole cautiously. "I mean, if we had any crowd-clearing magic we could probably spray it in... fire, or acid, or any number of others... but we don't have those, do we?"

"We could always throw a burning tree down there." The other mage offers.

"Right. Down the half-a-metre wide hole."

"Just some branches, then?" He proposes.

Divine pants, her breath slow and hot. "D- Damn blade... Was poisoned... St- strong stuff too..." She moaned, struggling to breathe.

"P- Poisoned?!" Ician rushes to her side. "Damn it, damn it! How did..." He stands up quickly. "Ruby, can you go and fetch High Alchemist Quimia for me? Urgently!" He looks back down at Divine. "Tell her to bring along as many antidotes for as many types of poison as she can!"

Ruby nods and leaps through the burning bushes, the flames unaffecting her. She leapt into open air and sprinted for camp, screaming the name of the high alchemist at the top of her lungs.

"Come on, don't give out on me..." Ician hugs Divine close. "Just you wait. If anyone's got an antidote for anything, it'll be Quimia."

---

Safe inside one of the empty tents, Quimia's ears twitch. "Somepony is panicked. Urgency... is of the essence, it seems." She dashes out and runs towards Ruby. "Did you call me? Of what matter do you wish to speak?"

"I need your antidotes. Now. Like, right low, in the forest, saving my marefriend now." She grabs Quima's hoof and dances from hoof to hoof as she waits for her response.

"Uh... of course. If I may question," Quimia says quickly, "are you aware of the exact identity of the ailment afflicting your, um, marefriend?"

"No I don't. Now hurry up, we don't have much time damnit." She stamped her hoof, wanting her to hurry up.

"Yes, yes. Of course. If you will give me a brief moment..." In the blink of an eye, Quimia disappeared, hooking herself up to her covered wagon and pulling it out of the encampment at full speed.

She returns to Ruby's side in a few seconds. "Lead me. I must see to the weak."

She grabs her hoof and drags her into the burning forest, the flames not coming close to them as she sped through. She pulls her into the clearing, where Divine lays, pale.

Quimia quickly unhooks herself from the covered wagon and gallops to Divine's side.

"... High Alchemist?" Ician asks softly.

"Stand aside." Quimia commands. Ician moves away reluctantly.

Quimia presses a hoof to Divine's chest and closes her eyes. "Mm..." Five seconds later, they reopen. "This is a truly deadly toxin. You are fortunate to have alerted me quickly." She rushes back to her covered wagon. "I require a minute to concoct the necessary brew. Before then, you must keep her from expiring."

"And how do we do that?" Ruby snapped angrily.

"Branches would extinguish too quickly..." Griff said, still looking at the hole. "I suppose we could tell commander Ician about it. He'll know what to do. Who'll volunteer to go speak with him?" he asks the mages.

"Stay by her side." Quimia instructs. "And make sure nothing gets to-"

A bolt of changeling magic lances out from between the trees, hitting Ician in his armoured back and sending him tumbling forward.

"... us." She finishes.

---

"We are under your authority, sir." The mages reply in unison to Griff. "Your wish is our command."

Before Ician even hits the ground, the wall of flame around increases in strength, to the point even magic could not pass through. Ruby panted, horn glowing. "Hurry up."

"Of course." Quimia pulls out the potions. "We just need to add this here, and..."

Somewhere below, the muffled but shouted exclamation of "Fire!" floats up to the four of them, and with the tumultuous cracking of the earth the ground crumbles beneath them, sending them tumbling into a two-hundred-metre deep abyss.

"Gah!" Quimia scrambles into the covered wagon proper, still pulling out potions. "Just keep us safe. I will do what I must."

"We need to survive this fall somehow!" Ician snaps.

Divine tumbled downwards, Ruby holding onto her tightly as they fell. "And how do you propose we do that?"

"Great..." Griff mutters under his breath. He then suddenly turns to the mages. "Stay here, try not to die. It'll be faster if I tell him myself." Griff says and transforms into eagle. "Be back in a bit." He flies off, searching for Ician.

Quimia replies quickly. "Ician."

"... Yes, High Alchemist?"

"You have been saying that you are good for nothing. That you are outclassed by fire, transformation, combat magic." She pauses. "But none of them can do what you can."

"What I can? But-" His eyes widen. "You can't be serious."

"I am serious. Very serious." Quimia says. "You are our only hope, Commander. Don't let us down."

"I..." Ician falters. "I..."

"Don't let Equestria down."

"I..." He hangs his head. "... I'll try."

His horn glows, and his magical aura encapsulates the falling ponies, slowing their descent slightly, but not nearly enough to make in non-fatal once they hit the ground.

"Come on..." His horn glows brighter and brighter. "Come on..."

---

Upon reaching where he had known Ician's last location to be, Griff spots a clearing of burning trees further in in the forest, and a huge, gaping hole leading to an enormous underground cavern.

Griff decides to check the sinkhole a bit closer. He lands on the edge and looks down, spotting the group of ponies. "Damnit.." he says as he flies down, landing next to Ician. "Commander." He says.