“DRAGON LORD TORCH!”
The three ponies reeled back in terror. Dragon Lord Torch was an immensely large and powerful draconic dictator that ruled the Dragonlands with an iron claw. He was one of the few creatures that could actually hold his own in a battle with the princesses of Equestria.
Despite his brutish appearance, Dragon Lord Torch was incredibly clever and crafty, which fooled many of his opponents right into his merciless jaws.
Clenching his teeth to stop hyperventilating, Sky exclaimed, “WHAT! Dragon Lord Torch!? Why would a cruel, ruthless dictator want a bunch of small fry treasure hunters like us dead?”
Hawk hung his head and groaned, “Do you see why I was so terrified? Now that the changeling has reported our failure, The Dragon Lord will surely send even more dangerous assassins after both of our groups to tie up any loose ends.”
Peering morosely at them, he repeated, “We’re all dead. There’s nothing we can do now…”
Cloud shook her head to clear away the rising panic. “No way! There’s no way I’m just going to lie down and let a bunch of assassins kill me in my sleep.”
Grabbing Hawk by his feathers, she shook him and yelled, “Why did that scaly mosquito want us dead? If we do something about his motive, maybe he’ll stop attacking us.”
Any hope they had of preventing the assassination plots vanished as Hawk mumbled, “It’s no use. He wanted you dead because you arrested his subordinates, The Diamond Demolishers, and confiscated the treasure they were after, The Lost Diadem of Diamondpaw.”
Sky’s eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, arresting his lap dogs I can understand, but why would Dragon Lord Torch want the diadem? It was only worth 3,000 bits, which must be less than pocket change to a guy like him.”
Hawk shrugged, “I have no idea. He wouldn’t tell us anything other than what we needed to get the job done. If you want to know his other motives, you’ll have to ask him yourself.”
Cloud let out a scoff. “Oh yeah, that’ll be a pleasant conversation. Excuse me, Dragon Lord Torch, would you mind extrapolating to my compatriots and I as to your motivations behind our premature demise? That would be most appreciated, good sir.”
All four of them laughed at the ridiculous notion. After regaining their senses, Sky turned to assess Hawk with a more serious glare. “So, now that we both have marks on our backs, can my friends and I expect not to be followed and riddled with arrows?”
Holding up a claw, Hawk promised, “Now that the contract with my previous employer is void, your group has nothing to fear from The Wind Slashers.”
Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Until someone else comes knocking with the same business opportunity?”
He smiled with a bit of cockiness in his expression. “Business is business. I have neither the ability nor the desire to see into the future.”
They glared at each other before Hawk stood up and started helping his fellow assassins recover. “Well, it’s been a pleasure talking, but my brothers and I must be leaving now. Good luck with whatever treasure you all were trying to excavate.”
The three ponies watched him until he and the rest of his guild disappeared from sight. As they rounded a corner, Flitter whispered, “I’m not sure about them. They don’t have a reason to want us dead anymore, but they’re still highly trained assassins.”
Cloud nodded in agreement. “Yeah, let’s get the sword and leave before they have a chance to heal up and come back for revenge.”
The three of them turned to face the ominous descending staircase. “So, shall we?”
The inside of the prison dungeon was exactly what they expected. The slippery stones made wet slaps as their hooves slid across the slimy surface. More than once, one of them stepped on a crumbling tile and fell to the ground, sending several echoing clangs down the dark passageway.
Cloud scrunched her muzzle at the musty smell emanating from the tunnel. “Jeez, first a dirty cave and now this? Why couldn’t these founders hide their relics in a well-lit ski resort?”
Sky snorted while Flitter rolled her eyes. “Sis, these relics are some of the only records of our world’s history. They’re an important part of each nation and identify the values and morals of each race’s societies. While they might not have much material worth, they still make a huge impact on the sociopolitical attitudes that still affect us to this da--”
Cloud cut her off with a groan. “Okay, Flitter, I get it. Cultural identity blah blah very important legacy blah.”
Flitter looked scandalized as her red face puffed out with indignation. Sensing the oncoming tirade, Sky interrupted them by pointing towards the end of the corridor. “Look out! There’s something moving up ahead.”
They all readied their weapons and edged down the stairs. As they approached the moving object, Sky felt a strange tingle race up his spine as the other two showed similar signs of discomfort.
After confronting the mysterious entity, they discovered it was nothing but a broken door swinging lazily on its hinges. Sky let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness. For a second, I thought we were going to have to fight our way through another wave of assassins.”
Pushing it aside, he peered at the dungeon that lay beyond. The walls and floor were just as slick as the staircase, and an old wooden stool meant for guards was flipped over near the entrance.
Holding up a torch, Sky’s eyes narrowed at the suspicious lack of defenses. If this really was the hiding place of The Sword Of Griffonstone, shouldn’t they have run into a challenge or test by now?
As if reading his mind, the previously broken door suddenly snapped shut with a bang, trapping them in like the prisoners it held hundreds of years ago.
Flitter gave a squeak of horror and rushed to pull it open, but hesitated as she noticed the lack of a door latch. “W-What the hay!? How is the door locking itself without a lock to keep it in place?”
Cloud pushed her aside and raised her broadsword. “Move, Flitter. I got this.” Normally, bringing her heavy broadsword down on the rotten wood would have reduced the door to splinters, but instead Cloud’s blade bounced off it as she was thrown backwards through the air.
“Cloud!” Flitter yelled, rushing to her sister’s aid. “Are you okay? Do you feel any injuries?”
Cloud groaned and sat up looking dazed. “No… but I do feel like I got run over by a dozen carriages.” She glared back at the offending door. “What in Equestria was that? I should have turned that decrepit old thing into matchsticks!”
Sky reached out a hoof and felt the door. A familiar buzzing feeling traveled through his foreleg as he remembered the sudden chill they’d experienced on the stairwell. "Damn it..."
Turning to face the other two, he flapped his wings and growled, “It looks like this is the trial. The door is sealed by magic, and some kind of spell is preventing us from flying. Try to get airborne.”
They all flapped their wings as hard as they could, but none of them could get an inch off the ground. Searching around with a worried expression, Flitter trembled, “O-Okay, we know that this is the right place, so where is the test?”
Once again, the dungeon seemed to answer their questions as a bright red light suddenly illuminated the closest jail cell. The blinding flare was accompanied by a resonating hum that vibrated the entire chamber.
They all staggered away from the miniature sun, fearful that some evil monster was appearing before them, but nothing happened aside from the steady hum sounding throughout the room.
After thirty seconds of eventless waiting, Sky lowered his shield and gazed expectedly. “Huh… I thought something would have happened by now.”
Cloud relaxed the grip on her sword and stared at the shining cell. “I wonder what it wants from us. I mean, it’s not like there’s a riddle written on the wall this time.”
Flitter pulled back her bow and fired an arrow at the light. It shot forward and passed right through the shimmer, hitting the back wall with a clatter. “Whatever it is, it’s definitely not a solid or liquid. Based on the sparkles, I’m guessing it’s some sort of spell.”
Sky nodded and asked, “Do either of you know anything about magic? I’ve always been more of a physical kind of pegasus, so I got nothing.”
Both sisters shook their heads. Cloud tried to open the magically locked door again as Flitter replied, “I’ve studied basic magical spellcasting, but I’ve never heard of a spell being used without a unicorn being nearby.”
Searching around for any form of instruction, the three pegasi spent over an hour scouring every inch of the prison dungeon before finally accepting that there were no other clues in the room.
With all other options exhausted, Sky turned to the other two and sighed, “It looks like there’s no other choice. We’re going to have to find out what that spell does on ponies.”
Stepping forward, he prepared to enter the spell’s area of effect before being violently yanked back by Flitter's frantic hooves.
“What are you doing!? You can’t just approach an unknown magical spell! Who knows what could happen?”
Cloud nodded. “Yeah, man, for all we know, that spell could blow you into smithereens the second you walk in there!”
Cringing at the messy image, Sky flapped his wings and pointed at the shining spell. “What other choice do we have? Either one of us goes in there to investigate, or we all starve to death in here. I don’t think that door is going to open until we pass this trial.”
“Shouldn’t we talk about this first?” Flitter asked. “I mean, maybe we could all go in together to reduce its effect on each of us.”
Sky closed his eyes and sighed before gazing at the two sisters with a subdued expression. “No, I have to go in alone. If it really is dangerous, I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”
He gave them a sympathetic smile. “You two are family. The only family you have left. I couldn’t forgive myself if I let one of you get hurt and leave the other with no one else. At least this way, if something does happen, you two will still have each other.”
He unstrapped his shield and offered it to Flitter. “If I don’t make it, take my shield and use it to protect yourselves. Even if I can’t be there myself, at least I can still have your back this way.”
Flitter stared down at the offered shield, gazing with eyes that didn’t really see the metal plates. Then, tossing it to the floor, she flung her hooves around Sky’s neck, eyes streaming with tears.
No words were needed as the two embraced each other, neither wanting to let go out of fear of never feeling the other again. Sky could feel his own eyes starting to water. He didn’t want to leave yet. Even though they hadn’t gotten off on the best hoof, the three of them had been through so much together.
From discovering treasure and chatting in the marketplace to fighting side-by-side against hunters and assassins alike, their sacred time together had been the most fulfilling moments of his life.
Their intimate contact lasted several heartwarming minutes before Sky pulled back. Flitter clung to his coat, desperate to hold him for as long as she could, but he gently pushed her away with his wing. “Flitter,” he started, smiling softly at the sobbing, heartbroken mare, “look at me, please.”
Flitter peered into his golden eyes, her own shining pink ones giving him a pleading gaze, begging for reassurance. His heart gave a lurch as her beseeching expression pierced it like one of her arrows.
Leaning down, he whispered, “Flitter, no matter what happens, promise me that you’ll keep going. Promise me that you and Cloud will do whatever it takes to survive, even if I don't come back. Can you do that for me?”
Wiping her eyes with her hooves, she gave another sob before choking out, “I’ll never be happy if you aren’t there. I don’t want you to go…”
A calming hoof gently brushed her delicate fur. “I won’t be going anywhere. No matter what happens, I’ll always be with you.”
Placing the metal disk into her hooves, Sky planted a kiss on her forehead, causing her to let out a squeak of surprise.
Standing up, he gave Flitter one last smile before turning to her sister. “Cloud, I don’t really know what to say. We’ve always been stepping on each other’s hooves, but I don’t want to leave without saying how I really feel about you.”
Taking a deep breath, he prepared to express what he had worked so hard to contain. “When we first met, I thought you were an aggressive, brawny tomboy who got her rocks off by kicking other ponies in the barrel.”
Cloudchaser’s face contorted into an affronted glare of indignation. Before she could start on him, he continued with the latter part of his confession. “But, as we worked together, I realized that there’s so much more to you behind the brazen personality you display. Yes, you’re strong, brash, and like to eat meat, but you’re also compassionate, intelligent, and, despite the messy way you like to keep your mane, incredibly beautiful.”
He met her startled eyes with an affectionate gaze. “The way you got Griffy to open up and pour his heart out to us showed the caring maternal side that you hide out of fear of appearing weak. The way you saw right through me both when we first met in the cave and after I confronted Griffy about his problems perfectly displayed the intelligence that is so often overshadowed by your sister.”
Sky blushed scarlet as he forced himself to expose his innermost desires. “Cloud, you’ll never know how much I admire you because there’s no way I’d fit the words in this lifetime. So instead, I’ll just show you.”
Swallowing hard, he tenderly wrapped his hooves around her soft barrel and neck. Cloud gasped before slowly relaxing into the sudden act of affection.
Something about this hug felt different than the ones they had shared before. It was no longer two teammates congratulating each other for a job well done. It was no longer two friends hoof-bumping after a particularly witty joke. Now, it represented two ponies expressing their mutual desire to be more, to go beyond their current boundaries and explore this new feeling they shared.
As he pulled away, Cloud’s eyes began to fill with tears. Lowering her gaze, she tried to discreetly wipe them away with her wings and mumbled, “Y-Yeah… thanks, Sky.”
Then, turning her tear-stained face toward him, she grinned, “But there was no need to get all sappy on me! You’re definitely going to come back, so I’ll have plenty of time to tease Flitter about that mushy stuff you said to her.”
Sky gave her one last smirk before turning to face the mysterious red light. As he stared at what could be the end of his life, his mind urged him to make one final confession before it was too late.
His heart was beating out of his chest as stepped forward into the illuminated cell. The iron rod door slammed shut as the humming around the room grew louder. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught one last glimpse of the two mares, Cloud holding her sister back as Flitter tried desperately to pull him out.
Tears falling down his face, Sky's lips trembled with the effort of saying the most powerful words in existence.
“I Love You.”