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?

Blunt ivories clamped down over his neck and dragged him back before the colt had made it more than a few yards up the path. He tried to resist with a surprised yelp but was quite securely dragged back down, legs sprawling and pawing for traction; when he was released the unsteady knees gave in and delivered him onto the floor, huffing with slate gray wings ruffled and the slender tail whipping in anger.

"I go where I want!" he squawked and looked up at the horse that stood looming over him, cutting into her monologue without caring for politeness introductions or words of wisdom. The startling blue eyes of the colt would have shot lightning if they could, and as Kari clumsily began to rise for the second time in mere minutes he studied the creature before him, wariness apparent in his entire demeanor.

"I'm not scared of the dark." The little head bobbed up and down as he said it, thready wisps of mane bouncing from the neck in a show of confidence he couldn't honestly say that he felt. Hearing that she was of the Throat should probably have made him feel relieved at any other time, but right now he couldn't care less; it would be annoying if this person thought that he was easy to scare, it might make her think that she could tell him what to do. So Kari only gave her a contemptuous glance and a snort before he began to move forward again, stubbornness written all over his face; he had a mother to save, and no time for chitchat.

The horses down here seemed bored however, because as he moves a shadow solidifies and steps out into the reddish glow, black as another mare he knows yet infinitely less pleasant. Why he stops Kari doesn't know; the drawl of the voice is nasty and even more so its words - they remind him of the beast that had approached on the surface, only lacking the scent of disease and madness. This one... The yellow gleam of her eyes sends a shiver down his spine, and for the second time that day Kari feels trapped, caught in a spell of dread.

Monsters above, monsters below... Were there no safe places left?

"What do you want?" the colt asked and licked his lips uncertainly, gaze moving between the two mares. "Wait, no.. I don't care. I'm going to find my mom. Bye." He took a new step forward, hoping that the crawling feeling at the back of the neck only was imagination and not the predatory stare he imagined it to be.