The ground disappeared beneath his feet. For a fraction of a heartbeat the boy felt how the laws of physics ceased to apply and turned him weightless, a speck of dust upheld by wind alone... Then gravity reclaimed its hold over him and he fell, a small bundle of legs and wings and tail tumbling downwards until it slammed into the rocky slope. The force of the impact chased the air out of the strained lungs with a soft huff and as he careened downwards into darkness the foal felt his skin scrape and tear against jagged rocks. Then there was silence, a deep vivid silence as compact as the darkness - interrupted only by his own ragged breath and a frantic heartbeat that did nothing to soothe the panic that haunted his thoughts.

Images flashed through the mind, memories and visions jumbled into a great mess. He saw animals come and go in rapid flashes as seasons changed, indicated only by variations in light and ice surrounding the mouth of the cavern flash A painted stallion made his way down the treacherous path with careful steps, attention torn between the gloom of the cave and the two followers that came behind him flash on the horizon a dark figure approached at a steady pace and he could hear a stream of words leave its maw, horrible with pus and gore oozing and bubbling for every word flash flash more horses entered the cave, alone and in groups, all in varying stages of panic, fear, distress, hurrying and throwing long glances behind themselves as they left the light of day for a life in darkness flash he ran for his life as a black mare reared in defiance against death, air burning his throat and tears pooling beneath the eyelids that he never allowed to fall because his mother had taught him that tears were signs of weakness and he was never to be weak, never to loose faith, never to give up even if he ended up alone flash flash flash flash flash...

With a groan Kari forced himself to stand, wincing as the pain of his bruises returned to him. The only good thing about pain was that it seemed to chase the images away. Visions still flashed at the back of the mind but it was easier to ignore them now, easier to pry open the tightly closed eyelids and peer around the cave to see where he had ended up. To his surprise it wasn't as hard to see as he had thought it would be. Far from a dark, damp hole in the ground he found himself standing in a natural cathedral of stone, dimly lit by the red glow of molten rock that bubbled and stirred to one side of the room. Worried at first that the searing liquid might spill into the cavern Kari inched away from the opening in the walls, suspicious and wary of the new world he had discovered. But as minutes passed and nothing happened he walked over with careful steps, impatience and a sense of urgency keeping the woolly ears pinned to the neck and tail tightly tucked against the spindly haunches yet too curious to stay away. As he got closer and reached out a soft nose to prod the hole he realized that there was something blocking access to the magma; a clear stone of some sort, partly clear and hard enough not to melt despite the intense heat on the other side.

Kari sighed and let the head drop tot he ground. What was he even doing. Shadow was in trouble, there was a dangerous thing after him, and here he was studying geology. Like he had time for that! Rather than hide away in this glorified hole he should be going back, should try to find help or come up with some idea of how to save his mother. Yet, even as he looked back up the steep path that led to the surface Kari knew that there probably wasn't anything he could do. The look she had given him as he tried to turn back... It had been a goodbye, hadn't it?

Tears rose in the eyes once more and with a thick lump in the throat the little horn-bearer grit his teeth and began walking towards the rocky ramp, his gut churning with fear yet stubbornly intent on returning. Shadow could think what she wanted, she could scold him for days and weeks too if she wanted - Kari wouldn't mind, as long as he found her. Mother was strong and brave and scary - there was no way she would be defeated, even by a monster. No way... right?