//------------------------------// // Vidi: I Saw, // Story: Semper Fidus // by leafz pegasus //------------------------------// “I am… a Legate… of Rome...” I couldn't tell anymore whether or not I was speaking coherent sentences- or even words for that matter- but I knew that I had to find the Temple, or at least a priestess, before I succumbed to blood loss. There had to be a temple here. There had to be. I was betting my life on it. Before I could repeat my mantra again- or was I in the middle of saying it?- I was tackled to the ground. “Who are you and why did you attack my friend!” asked a horribly scratchy and grating voice. “I am a Legate of Rome.” “You, what?” ‘I am a Legate of Rome.” “Okay, I got that, but why did you attack my friend?” “I am…” “Yeah, yeah, you’re a Lego of Rum I got that!” “Temple…” “Your name is temple?” “Temple…” “Yeah, temple. I said it right.” I blacked out, thinking that I had failed my legion and would die, pinned under a petite girl who had no business holding down a veteran legionnaire. At least I had a good tale to tell my men in Elysium. <++=++> “Cutie Mark Treasure Hunters, go!” “Okay, girls. Today! Marks a great day. Today! We shall go into the White Tail Plains. And we shall find buried treasure lost to time! Or at least however far this metal detector will see stuff.” A purple haired girl ende flatly, holding up an industrial grade metal detector. “I have a complaint.” A rose haired girl began. “Ugh, what is it, Bloom?” “If we’re tryin’ to get our cutie marks in treasure huntin’, isn’t usin’ a metal detector cheatin’?” “Of course not! We’re just using the tools we have at our- and our sisters’- disposal. It would be the same thing if we used a skateboard to get a skateboarding cutie mark.” “Yeah, but, the metal detector is doin’ our job. Ridin’ a skateboard still requires skill.” Applebloom pointed out. “Bloom, Bloom, Bloom. The skill in treasure hunting is knowing where to look. That’s what we’re doing! We are deciding where to look, and the metal detector is just telling us where to dig.” “I suppose…” “Sweets! What do you think? Think we’re ready to go?” Scootaloo questioned. “Yeah! I’d say we’re ready to go spe… spela… spul... “ “Spelunkin’?” “Yeah! That!” “Cutie Mark Treasure Hunters, go!” <++=++> “Temple…” The strange man, Temple(?), slurred out that last word and went limp. Now, I was the paragon of cool, calm, and collected. I jumped off him. “It wasn’t me!” Alright, that may have been just a slight exaggeration, but without exaggerating a few things, how can you make your stories cool? “Rainbow! I told you to not attack the poor man!” “It wasn’t me! He just… went bleh!” “Went bleh?” “Yeah. Ya know… bleh.” “He’s dead!?” I was quick to correct her. “No, not BLEH. Just bleh.” “So he’s just out cold?” “Yes.” “Why didn’t you just lead with that?” “I forgot the word for it for a moment.” “Dear Celestia, Rainbow.” She sighed. Lyra took a few steps closer to the man, and crouched down next to him. “He looks really beat up. He’s got a lot of cuts and scratches. I can’t even count the number of places he’s bleeding from.” She stood up quickly. “We need to get him to Ponyville General, now. I think he’s out from blood loss.” I didn’t know what to do when someone was bleeding out, but I knew how to carry people, and it was something I could do. “I got him!” I picked him up and lifted him next to me while Lyra got his other side. A determined smirk crept onto my face. “Let’s go.” <++=++> “Did either of you guys bring the instruction manual for this thing?” Scootaloo questioned. “I thought Sweets had it.” “Well I thought Scoots had it! She has the metal detector after all.” “Sweets, why would I be holding the manual if I’m also holding the metal detector? Think for a second, sheesh.” “But- I wha- uh- buh-” “I think ya broke Sweets, Scoots.” Scootaloo took Sweetie Belle by the shoulders and shook her vigorously. “Are you good now?” “I’m good now.” “Good! Now let’s hunt some treasure!” Unfortunately, the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ idea of treasure hunting was walking in a wide circle, staring at the ground, and hoping treasure would appear from sheer force of will. “We’ve searched for hours and we haven’t found a single thing!” “We found that old coin from two thousand years ago.” Sweetie Belle pointed out. “Yeah, but it’s only worth a bit, that’s not treasure.” “True.” Sweetie agreed, tossing the coin behind her. Dink “What was that?” Bloom asked. “I dunno.” The CMC gathered around where the coin fell in the tall grass, in awe of what it struck. “C’mon, girls! Let’s stand it up!” Scoots pushed. All three girls struggled to lift the pole, but after a few moments of bickering and teamwork, managed to stand it up-right. “What is it?” “I dunno." "Can either of you read the writing there?" Bloom shook her head. "Eenope." "Hmm... yeah I've got nothin'." Scoots shrugged. "What does ex, vee, I, I, I, mean anyway?" "Maybe they didn't know how to spell?" Sweetie Belle suggested. "Yeah, because they couldn't spell but could sow and stitch." "That's actually entirely possible! I listened to Twilight this one time talk to Spike and I about way back in time when people would trade skills but not be taught reading and writing!" Sweetie beamed. "Huh?" both Scootaloo and Applebloom stared. Sweetie Belle sighed. "They could know how to sow but not write." "Oh, why didn't you just say that?" "I did- you know what, yes, I do not know why I did not, Scootaloo." Sweetie Belle said flatly. "...Sooooo wanna show our sisters?" “Yeah!” Bloom and Sweetie agreed in unison. In all of the excitement to run to Ponyville and show their treasure to their sisters, none of the girls noticed the golden eagle tattoo appear on Scootaloo’s shoulder.