Somehow, against sheer force of whatever the hell was out there mocking him, Shadow ended back in the disgusting goopy dungeon he had explored previously. Though that time was with different company, there were two familiar faces with him this time.

Phantom was basically glued to Shadow’s side most days and he didn’t really care. At least this way he could keep an eye on the grey stallion so he wouldn’t hurt himself again. Daravna tagged along as well and the black stallion was shocked that he even left Desiree’s side. He thought the two inseparable, but maybe that was just because Daravna willingly followed without question.

The new courser seemed to be sure of herself, though not in a condescending way. Every step she took was calculated, every movement thought out way before she moved. Shadow paid close attention to her; she could be useful in future endeavors.

…

Though Shadow knew what was to come, Daravna and Desdemona didn't seem to know what they were looking at. Phantom looked confused but also like he wanted to eat it, and he was concerned for his friend’s sanity. “Gross, isn’t it? I think the slimes might’ve used this for a playground!” Shadow exclaimed, Daravna shooting him a look of concern.

“What do you mean by that?” The heraldic exclaimed, still staring at the black stallion. He didn’t like the chuckle and the ‘you’ll see’ that came out of Shadow’s mouth. Phantom looked equally as concerned but also amused like he wanted to see what the black courser meant.

As if on command the ground shifted slightly and the group of horses started their descent further into the belly of the dungeon. Desdemona shot a look backwards at the others with a look on her face like she was scared she was going to die. “What did you do??” Shadow tilted his head slightly with a look like he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“I didn’t do anything, that’s just how this dungeon is. If it feels like you’ve been in here too long it sends you on your merry way. You’re not going to die.” She let out a huff but seemed to let herself relax a bit. They needed to focus on getting to the bottom without crashing into whatever they had next.

“Uh… Shadow.” Phantom said, looking nervously in front of him. “What if we don’t end up in another room?” He furrowed his eyebrows at the grey’s question.

“What do you mean? You really think the dungeon is gonna spit us out into a void never to be seen again?” He shrugged his shoulders at the thought, who said that wasn’t the case. “We’re down here to fight monsters and grab whatever we can find, not to be murdered by some sentient rock.” 

Shadow seemed to be less concerned this time around and it felt like the slope wasn’t as inclined as it was last time. It seemed like the group of them was going slower than he previously thought.

“We’ll be fine, we’re not going as fast as I had last time. Seems we’ll have a nice drop off at daycare and the dungeon will be on its way.” He laughed at his own joke; sometimes it felt like they were all children being taken care of by a giant sentient rock.