//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 
// Story: Daughter of the Moon 
// by CartoonNerd12 
//------------------------------//

"Never thought we'd be back here again…" Pip said as the large group walked in the jungle terrain.

"No kidding…" said Apple Bloom. "I hope we don't run into those wild hamsters again…"

Button pointed out, "I'm starting to think that every single myth surrounding Marendelle is real…"

Twilight said, "Well, most legends do contain a seed of truth."

"It's true!" said Discord. "Why, when I was still a statue in the Canterlot gardens, oh, there were many versions of me being stone. How I was this horrible, ugly, powerful creature that once terrorized Equestria! Of course, as the years passed by, I was a just an old legend and no one thought I was actually in stone, but just a statue to represent the myth. Oh, how very wrong they were…" he smirked.

At the back of the pack, Rumble kept looking behind him and Soarin' noticed.

"Something wrong?"

"I just feel guilty about leaving her… Ever since she told me that she was pregnant, I made sure to keep being at her side, giving her support and anything she needed. But for her to give me a day off… I don't know… It feels like I'm abandoning her…"

Soarin' chuckled, "I know exactly what you mean… When Rainbow was still pregnant, I was needed to fill in for one of my teammates who got sick and I didn't want to leave my wife and unborn child alone. Spitfire and Fleetfoot practically had to drag me away after Rainbow gave me assurance that she'd be all right."

"Wow…" Rumble looked back again and could have sworn he saw rustling. He thought nothing of it when he realized that he must've been overreacting by worrying about his pregnant wife so much. He faced Soarin' again.

It turned out that Rumble wasn't losing it and three ponies had to keep ducking into bushes whenever he looked back.

Suri Polomare grunted under her breath, "Stop looking back here!"

"Are… are you sure it was a good idea to have all three of us follow them?" questioned Silver Shill.

"The master ordered us to follow them, so we best do as he says." answered Suri.

Silver gulped, "Good point."

"Oh… I hated how we had to sneak on their ship and waited until they came out of the castle…" said Coco Pummel.

Suri scoffed, "If we had followed them on a separate ship, they would have gotten suspicious!"

Coco hung her head, "I guess so…"

Silver still didn't like how poor Coco was treated by Suri. He himself didn't like how they had to sneak on board just before the royals did. They stole away to the brig where they wouldn't be found for the entire voyage. Once the ship had docked and the royals left, they quickly followed them to the castle, where they had wait until they came out and started going to the jungle. Now they were trying their best to stay hidden from sight.

"Finally!" Suri had said when she noticed that the young grey Pegasus had stopped looking back and kept talking to the stallion next to him. She went on ahead, but Coco looked sad and Silver went to console her.

"Don't worry. I didn't like what we had to do, too…"

She looked at him in surprise, "You didn't?"

"No, because it's bad enough we have to do Tirek's bidding and we end up hurting others along the way…"

She nodded in agreement.

"But the sooner we get this out of the way, the faster we can to get on with our lives."

Coco thought grimly, What life? I'll be Suri's assistant for the rest of my days… She keeps reminding me how I owe her for taking me in and how I have to repay the favor… I try my hardest to do just that, but it seems whatever I do for her, it's not enough to please her… I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I feel she uses me and I want to get away from that…

"You okay?" he asked.

She snapped out of it and faced him. Today, he was wearing his glasses. There were a few occasions that Coco caught him without his glasses, and to her, he was actually pretty cute. She replied, "Um… Yeah… I'm… fine…" she gave an unsure look.

"You're sure about?" he raised his brow.

She sighs, "The truth is… I'm…"

"What are you two doing?!" Suri startled them and harshly whispered to them, "Come on! We're going to lose them!" She stomped off as they quickly went after her in fear.

For the remainder of the walk, Coco and Silver stole glances of each other, but stayed silent with Suri being in front of them.

Twilight looked at the map, "We're almost there." They kept walking.

Sweetie looked at Apple Bloom and Pip, "Where did you guys say that you found the temple?"

"It was behind a waterfall." said AB.

"But it's gone now. It sunk into the ground the minute that Flim or Flam touched a part of the treasure."

"Ah!" Button felt and saw bugs swarming him. He tried swatting them away, "You could have warned us about the bugs!" He yelped, "I think a mosquito just bit my flank!"

Soon, everyone else was having a bug problem and began swatting while yelping to the pain from being bit. Discord couldn't take it anymore and summoned up a can of bug spray.

"Back! Back, you bloodthirsty parasites!" he sprayed away.

They sighed in relief as the bugs began to drop off.

"Whew! Thanks, Discord." said Twilight.

"Never leave home without Discord's Spray-Away bug spray!" he wore a suit and had a poster with a picture of the bug spray and a pointer pointing at the picture, "Available in a store near you!"

"Ooh!" Pinkie's eyes widened and turned to Cheese, "Remind me to buy one when we get home!"

This caused a group laugh as Discord poofed away the items.

Then, Twilight looked down at Cadence and Shining Armor sleeping in the birdhouse. Obviously, they were up all night. She cleared her throat, reminding the others of the seriousness of their mission.

Fluttershy took the little house and admired the scene. She whispered loud enough for the rest to hear, "Aw, they are so cute like that…"

Pinkie came over and tried to contain her excitement, softly saying, "So stinkin' cute!"

Rarity made a point, "They are adorable, just adorable…"

Twilight smiled back at the pair and her sisters gawking them, unaware that three figures with paws who were watching the group approach in the bushes.

A small Diamond Dog by the name of Spot said, "Ah, excellent… More slaves to help mine our diamonds…" He noticed the purple alicorn leading them, "We shall take the leader, for the rest will surley follow…"

"The leader…" the two other Diamond Dogs said, and they moved away to wait for the right moment.

Twilight took a few steps ahead of the group and examined the map, saying, "According to the map, we should be right on top of where the Diamond Dogs reside."

"So, what now?" asked Applejack. "Just call them out?"

"I don't know, but we'll have to just-" Suddenly, three pairs of paws grabbed for Twilight, causing her to shout out and disappear!

"TWILIGHT!" they all screamed.

Flash stiffened as he had a backlash of horrible memories that came back to him, No… No… It's happening all over again… I… lost her… He cried out, "NOOO!"

That shout woke up Cadence and Shining Armor. Cadence saw the worry etched of everyone's face as they were rushing.

"What's going on?!" she questioned.

Fluttershy answered, "Oh, Twilight just got taken!"

"No!" Shining yelled.

They got to the place where Twilight disappeared. It turned out there was a hole beneath covered by a bush. Flash was about to make the jump, but Discord held him back with his magic.

"Let me go!" he demanded.

"Now hold on right here. Since when do you usually rush in somewhere without a plan?"

"Where my wife is concerned, I don't need one!"

"Flash," Soarin' came up, "you can't just expect to fly down there and get her back just like that."

Cheese examined the hole, "This has 'trap' written all over it."

"Why are you guys holding me back?! You know exactly what I'm feeling! We've been through this before! You know what I'm talking about: the day the girls got kidnapped by the Changeling Queen!" his nostrils flared.

The boys cringed as they remembered that day like it was yesterday and the heartbreak of seeing their beloveds gone…

Spike sighed, "Look, we understand. We really do, but how can we help Twilight if we end up getting captured ourselves?"

Fancy nodded, "I must concur."

"Then you'll just have to send in someone that won't get noticed." spoke Shining Armor and fluttered up to Flash, who was still struggling to break free from Discord's magical grip. "I know the pain of not being able to help the one you love… Let me go to see what can be done to free Twilight…"

"We both will." Cadence said as she came up to her coltfriend.

Flash faced the two Breezies. He pondered on this until he finally calmed down and said in a low voice, "Go…"

Shining and Cadence nodded and headed for the hole. As they descended deeper into the ground, their antennae began to light up, helping them see better on where they were going.

Twilight scowled at her captors from behind bars as they talked among themselves.

"Soon, we will have more prisoners and our diamonds shall be mined at our expense." Rover said.

"Yes… but we must wait until they come for their leader." pointed Spot.

Twilight then spoke, "You are the guardians of the Ancient Book of Secrets, are you not?"

The trio turned their heads toward her.

"Who wants to know?" Rover gestured.

"I request the book for a friend of mine. She has been under an enchantment, and only the book can tell us how we can lift it."

"Um. Maybe we have it, maybe we don't. What's it in for us?" Spot pointed.

"Ooh, maybe they can be our slaves for the rest of their lives!"

"They're already going to be, you knucklehead!"

The Dogs bickered back and forth as Twilight rolled her eyes. Then, she drew her attention to the strange runes on the walls surrounding her and the Diamond Dogs.

She thought, What do they mean, and what language are they in? Old Equestrian, or something much older from even before Equestria was founded by the three tribes? Could we have just discovered an ancient civilization long forgotten? Her eyes gleamed at the possibility, How exciting! But when she remembered the situation she was in, she knew that she would have to research such a find later. Right now, her cousin needed the ancient spell book more and by golly, she was going to get it to her! That was mainly the reason why Twilight didn't teleport out of her cage. She wanted to stay on the Diamond Dogs' good side, knowing they were in charge of guarding the book. So she was biding her time and learning anything that might be useful later.

I hope everyone else doing okay… I know they must be worried about me… Especially Flash… And hopefully, Cadence and Shining Armor are still being watched over…

Her cousin and her boyfriend, however, were amazed by all the tunnels and the gems stuck on its walls, along with runes etched in. Cadence was fascinated by the odd markings, knowing if Twilight was there right now, she would want to study every single one.

"Which way should we go now?" Shining said as he saw the three tunnels up ahead.

"Hmm…" Cadence contemplated. "We should go back and get the others. That way, we can each take a separate tunnel."

Shining nodded to that plan.

A few moments later, once everyone was at the different tunnels, they glanced at each other until Flash spoke.

"Discord, you, Fluttershy, Pip, Apple Bloom, Spike, and Applejack go down the left tunnel. Cheese, Pinkie, Fancy, Rarity, Rumble, and Soarin' go into the middle. Shining Armor, Cadence, and I, with Sweetie Belle and Button, will down the last one."

"Right!" they all said.

"We'll meet back here in an hour to see if we found Twilight or the book." He started going off with his team into the tunnel. The rest of the teams did the same.

Just shortly after they went into the tunnels, three ponies came at the cross roads and each took a separate tunnel, following after the groups.

Pinkie and Cheese led the pack while the flyers were in the back. Rarity noticed how dirty her hooves were getting.

"Ugh! All this dirt is ruining my hooficure!"

"Once we're out of this place, I shall personally shine your hooves, my dearest." said Fancy.

Feeling touched, she replied, "Oh, thank you, sweetheart. You always know what to say to me…"

"Anything for the mother of my two wonderful children…" he winked.

She pecked his cheek.

From seeing the mush-fest, Rumble made a note to himself to shine Scootaloo's hooves when they got back. It was the least he could do since she was carrying his child.

Pinkie and Cheese were chatting when suddenly, Pinkie slipped and Cheese had to grab her before she fell into a chasm.

"Goodness!" Rarity exclaimed after seeing her sister nearly fall, "Are you all right?"

"Don't worry, I'm good!"

"Whoa…" said Soarin'.

The group looked down at the wide space between them and the other side of the abyss.

Rumble looked down and stated, "Gee, I wonder how far it goes?"

Pinkie gestured, "Only one way to find out!" She was gathering up spit, nearly grossing those around her.

Her sister scolded, "Princess Pinkemena Diane Pie! That is unsanitary and very unlady-like!"

She gulped and gave a cheesy grin.

Cheese pointed out, "So how do you think we can get across?"

The group gave unsure looks.

Discord had to get down on all fours to avoid hitting his head on the low ceiling. He grunted, "That book better be worth it if we have to go down these tight spaces! I'm getting a crimp in my neck just by keeping my head down!"

"You could always shrink down," pointed AJ, "so quit your whining! We've got to find Twilight and that book!"

The spirit of chaos mocked her, "'You could always shrink down!'"

"Hey! I do not sound like that!"

"Actually…" started AB, "You kind of do…"

Fluttershy slowly nodded her head.

Discord had a smug look, "Ha! See?"

"I don't believe this! My own sisters! At least my husband doesn't think so…" she smirked at Spike, "Right?"

Sweat started rolling down his brow, "Uh… Well…" he gulped.

"Gosh darn it! Seriously?!" she grunted and moved forward.

Spike glared back at the spirit, "Thanks a lot!"

"Hey, you weren't the one who didn't lie or butter her up! You could have said 'You have a beautiful voice, honey!' or 'Your voice is so unique, others can't help but imitate it because they wish they could have a voice just like it!'"

Fluttershy frowned at this bit of advice, "Oh… so you're saying whenever I have a beautiful voice, you're trying to stay on my good side?!"

Discord froze, slowly lowered his head to face his wife's eyes, and gave off a forced grin, "Darling! Of course not! You have a very beautiful voice!"

"But suppose I didn't… Would you lie to my face and claim otherwise when it's not true at all?"

He gulped and nervously chuckled, "Of… of course not! I would just hide the truth!" Realizing what he said, he covered his mouth, "Uh, I mean…"

But Fluttershy heard enough and moved up to where her sister was.

Discord sighed, "Looks like we're both in the dog house now…"

Spike nodded, "First Flash, now us. What is it about now that's forcing us to drift away from the girls?"

Pip looked at the disputing couples and looked at his wife, asking, "You think that'll be us someday?"

She shook her head, "Nah…" But she thought, At least, I hope not… She said, "Applejack and Fluttershy just need to cool down and the guys need to think more before they speak…"

Fluttershy wrapped her wing around her younger sister, "I'm sorry if we offended you and hurt your feelings…"

"It's fine…" AJ gave a small smile. "It'll take more than that to break me down."

"Spike meant well… He just didn't know what to say…"

"Oh, I know that… But as much I like honest answers, I wouldn't mind a white lie once and awhile… The truth is I was hoping Spike would have said something to contradict what you were all saying… As strange as it sounds, but I like the fact that Spike comes to my rescue, mainly because he came to my rescue before and nearly lost his life. It shows he really cares about me…"

Fluttershy sighed, "I know Discord can't help but be a little manipulative. It's in his nature, after all… But how do I know that he's being sincere to me and not covering anything up?"

"I can usually tell when someone is lying, and whenever I see you two together, I know it's real. Discord doesn't have to pretend with you. He can be himself because he knows you love him for who he is."

"I do! I really do!"

"Then there you go!" Suddenly, a bright light shone on her, "What in the…?" They quickly moved towards it.

Cadence and Shining were on top of Sweetie and Button's heads while Flash was up ahead, focused on his goal of finding his wife. They noticed his somber mood and Button whispered.

"Can't say that I blame him… After all, I know how it feels to lose the one I love…" He looked at Sweetie Belle.

"You and me both…" Cadence and Shining unknowingly said together. They looked at each other in surprise and then shared a smile.

"I still can't believe you were willing to turn yourself into a Breezie…" Cadence said.

"I couldn't help it. I'm destined to be with you, Cady…" he grinned.

Sweetie exclaimed, "Just like me and Button! And Twilight and Flash!" But she quickly quieted down for fear of Flash hearing her and reminding him he was without his true love at the moment. But Flash didn't seem to take notice.

Cadence nodded, "Exactly."

Then, there was muffled yelling up ahead.

Flash heard this and quickly shushed to his companions, "I hear something…" They went after the noise as it got louder.