//------------------------------// // The Treasure // Story: Berry Punch's Last Drink // by Ranak //------------------------------// Berry Punch and Pinkie Pie walk silently down the hall, both ponies, but especially Pinkie Pie, scanning every stone and vine for any sign of another trap. Taking a turn to the left they find a large stone slab blocking the path. “This stone has been moved, and recently. Take a look at the floor.” Berry said. Sure enough, wear marks were seen on the floor. “Yeah, it seems like this is some sort of door! But why would anypony want to have such a large door? It seems a teensy bit impracticable don't you think Berry?” “Well Pinkie Pie, if the dragon was the only one who used this door at all, then it would make sense that would be this large, so that way only he could open it instead of ponies or diamond dogs. The question is how do we open the door so we can get past?” “I got it! Okay we'll need a small rock, and my party cannon!” “What?” Berry's confused telling Pinkie all she needs to know. “Well, it is simple really. We take the rock, put into my party cannon instead of fun stuff like confetti and streamers. Then we aim the cannon at the door, and finally we pull the string and BOOM! No more door.” “Pinkie Pie, the only problem is you don't have your party...” Berry is interrupted by Pinkie Pie reaching into one of the indentations in the wall, and pulling out a large blue and pink cannon with yellow stars on the wheels. “I always have a party cannon silly, I have them stashed all over Equestria, in case of party emergency. I'll just have to unload it so that way we can fit the rock!” The next twenty minutes are filled with Berry looking in awe as Pinkie Pie removes over forty balloons, twenty cupcakes, 500 yards of streamers, sixteen tables (with decorative center pieces), a cake, and a poster of pin-the-tail-on-the-pony (with 5 tails). “Right! Now we just need the rock! Berry, would you please hand me one about the size of Wilson?” “Of... who?” “Wilson! He was this volleyball I met one time on this island in the middle of nowhere! There were these humans there and...” “Alrighty then! One rock the size of a volleyball coming up!” Where does she come up with these crazy ideas? Looking at the mossy floor, Berry begins to dig through the moss in hopes of finding a rock the size of a ball. Casting glances back toward Pinkie Pie to see what she is doing. The instruments that found themselves around Pinkie Pie were confusing. Some tools Berry knew of, such as the compass Pinkie Pie was using on a sheet of blue paper. Others, were beyond her comprehension, an odd protractor type thing with compass type points on the bottom, on top of it was a scope. This tool however, was quickly discarded by Pinkie Pie. Snapping herself back to her own task, Berry Punch looked once more for a volleyball sized rock. Soon finding one, Berry Punch went back to Pinkie Pie only to discover that all of the tools that Pinkie Pie had brought out, had simply disappeared, as had the rather large stock of various party supplies. “Okay Pinkie Pie, I have the rock you wanted.” “Great! With that rock we'll be sure to burst through this rock with ease! Oh, and you might want to put this on your head.” Berry felt a hard hat being placed on her head, “Where do you get all of these supplies Pinkie?” “FIRE IN THE HOLE”, Pinkie shouted, followed by a whisper, “That means you should duck now.” Deciding not to argue with the pony who has a loaded siege weapon, Berry Punch ducks as the sound of a loud boom and crash blows past her ears. Looking up, she sees rubble and an entry way, the door no longer stood in their way of their goal. “Pinkie Pie you did it!” “Of course I did silly, I did all the math, calculus, engineering, and physics necessary in order to calculate the exact mass of rock we needed, and what angle to fire the cannon to avoid debris from crushing us, and the treasure!” She did all that in a matter of moments? This pony is just completely full of surprises! With a chuckle Berry Punch walks past her friend and down into the hall. The large spacious cavern preventing any feeling of claustrophobia. Light from algae that grew on the walls of this damp cave illuminated their path. Soon, they heard the sound of water trickling down the walls and into a stream. The loud sound of a river crashing against the floor could be heard echoing further down the cavern. I wonder what came first? The temple or this cave? Did the dragon connect the two himself? Looking in wonder Berry Punch continues her line of internal questions. Soon, they emerge into the main cavern. The ceiling shot up, and stalactites hung from the cavern. The walls widened from the already huge hall to form the rim of the cavern. The stream trickled its way along until it joined up with a river, itself having fallen from the top of the cavern, producing a loud, yet calming rythem for the ponies to relax and enjoy themselves. “Pinkie Pie?” “Yeah?” “Can we just stay here for a couple of hours, this place is nice. I just really want to relax for a while.” “Of course we can Berry! I mean, we ARE here for your mission! Plus, I like this place, it is really neat-o!” “You can say that again Pinkie!” “Of course we can Berry! I mean, we...” “It was a joke Pinkie!” Letting out a giggle, Pinkie Pie flops down on a bed of the illuminant algae. “Berry! You should try this algae! It is REALLY comfortable! Of course, it is a bit slimy.” “You know what? That sounds like fun!” Berry walks over to a bed of algae right next to Pinkie. Heaving a sigh of contentedness, Berry Punch slowly closes her eyes, falling asleep. Many hours pass before either of the ponies awakes, with Berry being the first to do so. Taking stock of her surroundings, Berry begins her search for the next part of the cave. Behind the water is nothing but a solid wall, and after long studying, and a lot of drying off, Berry is able to conclude there is no way out behind the water fall. Walking around the rim of the cavern, she studies the rocks for any sort of claw marks, scratches, cracks or anything discerning constant disturbance of the walls. Finding Near the far side of the cave, Berry is able to make out an outline the algae was obscuring from afar. A ledge, one that didn't go up to the top of the cave, or even that high up. Compared to the rest of the cave at least. It was still way to high for Berry to want to try and climb, but it was the best place for her to find a way to continue. She continued her check of the cavern walls just in case though. Ending back at the place where they slept, Berry looks at Pinkie Pie. Her closest friend, her only sure, but still, she came back when no one would. She went with her in the first place when the only thing she got was jeers and laughs at how her life has fallen apart. Berry sits, and looks around the cave. Slowly, Pinkie Pie begins to stir from her sleep. “Morning sleepy head! Sleep well?” Berry smiles at Pinkie as she sits up. “Really really well! That was one of the best sleeps I've ever had.” “Pinkie Pie, do you have the streamers from the party cannon at all?” “Of course I do, why would I throw away perfectly good streamers?” “How much do you have?” “Of what color?” “All of them.” “Umm, I think it is around 600 feet. Why?” “How many do we need to wrap together in order for a pony to use it like a rope?” “Only six, so we would be able to get about 100 feet of streamer rope. Why?” “There is a ledge that I want to get on top of, it seems like it is the only way to continue, so we need to get up there.” “Okie Dokie Lokie! Meet you at the ledge!” Berry walks to the ledge. Scanning the ledge for some way to hook it on the ledge. “Pinkie Pie, I think I've found a place to attach the rope.” Turning as she speaks, she finds Pinkie Pie right behind her, the rope clasped in her mouth. “Okay through it up there.” Pointing at an outcropping on the ledge, Pinkie follows Berry's hoof, and lets the rope fly. It wraps cleanly around the outcropping and the end falls to the ground, allowing Berry and Pinkie to climb up. No new hall was seen, no door. It simply ended. “What... but... I... I guess that dragon was the Golden Dragon... but... we...” Slumping to the ground Berry Punch just sighs. “Guess we should go home now Pinkie.” “Ummm, Berry? I think I found something, this dirt is... well there is a bunch of dirt in the cavern made of stone for one, and if I brush some way, there is a bit more beneath it.” “What? Pinkie if that is the way to continue then there wouldn't be any treasure there. The Dragon can't fit in there.” “I found something!” “What?” Berry walks over to Pinkie and looks at the hole she has dug, inside is a large solid piece of gold! “Pinkie Pie this is amazing! Lets get the rest of the dirt out!” Digging for many hours Pinkie and Berry finish excavating the hole. “Pinkie... that dragon. Did you ever figure out if it was a girl or a boy?” “No?” “Well, I think we found out what the treasure SHE was talking about... this isn't gold... these are eggs. Pinkie that dragon was a mother.”