“Does it ever end?”

Jester jumped, hooves skidding briefly on the stone floors as her gaze shot to Dorian. “I don’t know.”

The overo hummed in response, the noise apparently catching the ears of Pandora and Rattler. The older Coursers were watching them with equally indecipherable expressions: Jester hadn’t quite figured them out yet. Beside her, Dorian’s steps faltered and he offered them a sheepish smile.

“Come.”

Rattler appeared to be an equine of few words, her tail beckoning them more than her voice, but Jester always wanted her to say more. She wished that of Pandora, too. She’d never been with a group that made her feel this disconnected from their knowledge.. Maybe it was an experience thing. Jester couldn’t deny the envy that burned within her - Pandora and Rattler had obviously been doing this for some time, and they could nearly communicate without speaking. Jester and Dorian were lucky to keep up.

Sighing, she flicked her tail - thumping Dorian with it - and trotted after them. “Keep up.”

Dorian snorted in mock offense. “You keep up!”

“I’m not the slow one!” Jester teased, cantering a small circle around the overo as if to prove her point.

“I’ll show you slow!” Jester wasn’t quite fast enough to dodge Dorian lunging for her, and yelped when he grabbed a rather large chunk of her mane between his teeth. 

“Let go!”

“Who’s slow now?” He asked, around a mouthful of hair.

“You.” Jester gasped, pinning her ears playfully just as her phantasmal hand, affectionately known as the Slapper, did what it did best and slapped the nearest thing, which just so happened to be Dorian’s hind end. The crack echoed through the corridor, and Dorian yelped and danced away.

“Cheating!”

“Not-”

“Silence.” Rattler’s voice cut through whatever response Jester was cooking up, her tone leaving no room for argument. “Listen.”

Pandora had stilled, about twenty or so horse-lengths ahead of them, and her ears were pivoting wildly. Jester strained her own ears, taking a few steps closer to Rattler who had her crimson eyes trained on the puck. What struck Jester as odd was the way Pandora's hair was moving in the breeze, there shouldn't have been a breeze this far underground. The realization that the temperature had dropped came seconds later. Dorian gave himself a shake and stepped closer to both her and Rattler, his silver eyes also trained on Pandora. Nothing seemed to happen, but the chill in the air was steadily growing more and more noticeable.

"What's going on?" Dorian asked, ever impossible to keep quiet if his curiosity was roused.

"A trap?" Jester offered, looking to Rattler for confirmation.

The heraldic didn't spare them a glance. "Yes."

"Oh, good. What kind?"

Jester groaned. "Shut up."

Rattler looked briefly amused. "Let's hope you don't find out, hm?"

There was a long stretch of time where everything was quiet, and Jester almost released the breath she'd been holding - only to choke on it when stone began grinding against stone and a forceful gust of wind doused their torches. Beneath their hooves, the ground was shifting.

"Stay calm." Rattler was saying, far too relaxed for Jester's taste. "And stay with me."

Panic flared in her breast and she stepped closer to Rattler, who was already in motion. It seemed effortless to Jester, the way the white courser so easily manipulated their positions so that the three of them were pressed tightly together: all on the same sheet of rock. The ground was opening up and Jester couldn't entirely fathom how: they appeared to be simply.. floating. Pieces of stone and pathway crumbling away even as more platforms seemed to break away from the wall and casually float around. She pressed closer to Dorian, then immediately stepped forward again when the platform tilted.

"Don't move." Rattler said.

"What do we do?" It was Dorian, silver eyes wide with fear.

"We wait."

Jester was sure she'd misheard. "We what?"

"We wait."

The Slapper gave Rattler a rude gesture even as Jester gaped at the white mare, "For what?"

"A plan," Rattler said, with some infinite immortal patience Jester could only dream of. "The one with the plans is.. somewhere. Pan?"

The response was distant. "I'm working on it! I, ack-" A pause, the sound of hooves landing on stone somewhere far to their left. "It's a bit dark, you know."

Jester couldn't believe this had happened. They were trapped on a floating rock, suspended perhaps hundreds of feet in the air, and these two were acting like it was the easiest thing in the world? She needed to lay down.

"We don't have all day, Pan."

"Oh, shut up."

They were doomed.