‘Again and again and again and again.’ 

Shadow felt like he was slowly losing his mind as he kept ending up in the same stupid slimy dungeon with the same stupid slimy floors. Daravna had stayed back this time, Desiree opting to go in his stead. The other wondered if the heraldic was finally tired of them or if he just needed a break from all the craziness of the dungeons. Phantom was along for the ride, and for some reason he seemed more ecstatic than usual. Maybe because they had a new courser joining them, or maybe it was the fact that they ended up in the same room they had been in not even three dungeons ago. 

Speaking of the new courser, he kinda freaked Shadow out. He had introduced himself as Edrusi, and after a few glances at the horse he realized that where his pupils should’ve been were just white orbs. It sent a shiver down his spine and made him feel like the other was staring into his soul. Thankfully Critter was there to help calm him down and he snuggled into the orange tom.

Edrusi didn’t seem to mind, a flick of his tail and a polite smile. Desiree clung to him like a breath of fresh air, memorizing every inch of what he looked like and how he talked. He seemed to have an air around him; something that dragged others in. Even Phantom seemed to be ignoring Shadow and paying attention to this new guy.

It was at that moment that Shadow decided he didn’t like him. No way was another horse going to come in and steal Phantom away from him. A quick snort and a forceful grab of the torch from the wall, the dark courser started to make his way into the dungeon. He knew what was to come, he had been here before. Critter mrrwed at him curiously, and the black courser almost forgot that the cat hadn’t been down here yet. He gave the cat a quick smile and turned back to the room ahead of them. The slime still made him feel disgusting but what could you do about it when the room was covered in it?

‘Say my name, say my name, say my stupid name.’ 

Phantom had so many questions to ask Edrusi, why did he seem to come from outer space? How could one horse look like three other horses and how come he had no pupils? How could he see, was he blind? 

Though the grey asked a lot of questions, Edrusi wasn’t focused on them in the slightest. He was more curious about the situation unfolding in front of him, one he realized the black one didn’t realize. A smirk appeared, Edrusi started to follow the black stallion.

“Hey… wait! You didn’t answer my questions!” The grey whined after him, hopping up from the spot he was laying to follow the ether. 

“Does the answer not unfold before you?” That was one thing about Edrusi that others didn’t like, always acting like everything needed to be cryptic when all it needed was a simple answer. 

Phantom tilted his head, confused as to what he had meant. “You… what?” He was stumped and let out a defeated sigh when he also noticed Shadow. Why did he seem so angry? Everyone was just having a friendly chat. 

‘You’re so stupid and perfect and stupid and perfect.’

Desiree had been following along with the conversation, trying to keep her giggles to herself. Phantom felt like such a ditzy courser, but in a good way. There was never a dull moment with him and the puck was thankful to have met him. 

Shadow on the other hand rarely ever smiled or laughed, except when Phantom was involved. She had noticed that the two had been growing closer but she wasn’t sure that Shadow had noticed. Phantom had been hinting subtly at it but it still didn’t help. It seemed that Shadow was stubborn in every aspect of his life, not just when it came to meeting others. She did notice he smiled more around his cat as well, but she understood when it came to cats. Desiree had her own back at home, so she couldn’t blame him. 

The puck wasn’t sure what it was about Edrusi but it seemed to put Shadow on edge. He seemed angrier than usual, making his way into the dungeon with attitude, ripping the torch off the wall before entering the room. The ether had followed after with Phantom trailing behind, Desiree picking up the rear. Guess this was how they were going to go through this.

The bay roan hung her head as she followed along, a feeling that she knew how this was going to go down. As she entered the chamber she wasn’t surprised by the sight before her. Shadow was huffing at Edrusi, the torch he grabbed now laying on the ground, slowly dying out. Edrusi had grabbed one while she wasn’t paying attention and Phantom was also holding one. 

“....are what you want to do. I have been here before, you have not. Why do you think you can just come in here and act like you know everything” Shadow snapped and his eyes went wild with anger when the other just smiled at him. Critter was hiding in the little bag that Shadow carried for him, his eyes wide.

“Some horses have eyes but do not use them, and some do not need eyes to see.” He nodded to Phantom and Desiree, taking a couple steps back and whipping around to drop down the slanted floor. Desiree ran after him, somehow managing to stay on her hooves as she looked behind to see Phantom falling over and landing on his back. A smile on his face the entire time; she didn’t know how he stayed positive all the time. 

Last to go was Shadow and he slowly backed down the slope, hoping that having some sort of balance would keep him from moving too fast. Why did Edrusi have to make him feel all these emotions, why couldn’t he just leave Phantom alone? 

Speaking of the grey, he looked backwards to see Phantom’s head right behind him, and his blue eyes met brown ones as the grey smiled at him. Shadow felt his heart flutter and had to quickly turn away to not fall right then and there. There was a time for that, and this was not the time. Plus, Phantom didn’t even feel that way for him, so why did he care?

Little did he know that Edrusi was watching them the entire time. A satisfied smirk on his face knowing that his job was complete; he turned his head back to face the darkness. Desiree had been watching too as Phantom slowly gained speed and caught up to her, almost knocking her over.

“Phantom, you do realize how gross that is, right?” She asked, genuine concern on her face.

“Who cares if it’s gross? It’s not like water doesn’t exist, it’ll wash off.” He gave her a beaming smile and she realized that he was right. She also realized that everything would be alright in the end, even if they didn’t all get along.