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Prologue110 words
Chapter One: Collapse2,358 words
Chapter Two: Awaken1,625 words
Chapter Three: Greetings4,208 words
Chapter Four: Confrontations6,096 words
Chapter Five: Regret3,536 words
Chapter Six: Memory6,572 words
Epilogue322 words

Chapter One: Collapse

"C'mon dude, pick up the pace!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming! Don't rush me!"

You called out to your friend as you made your way through the thicket of the Everfree Forest. He had made some headway, while you struggled with a rather pesky vine. Of course, that didn't seem to faze your friend, as he continued to pester you.

"Dude, you're slower than my grandma! We're burning daylight, get your flank moving!"

"Would you shut up already!? Kinda got my hooves full here!" You yelled back, attempting to free your hind leg from a rather uncomfortable knot.

You couldn't help but think back, trying to figure out just how you got into this mess...

***************

It had been a rather uneventful day down in the mines. As a miner, you were used to the feel of caves, and the sight of stone walls grew rather monotonous to you. After having had been yelled at by your boss for "misuse of equipment" or whatever (you tended to tone him out after the first twelve seconds), you headed home to, surprise, nothing of interest.

While attempting to take a nap, you were interrupted by an unwelcome, and excessively loud, knocking on your door. Seriously, you think to yourself, I just got home like, twenty minutes ago!

You open the door and were greeted by the familiar, if not obnoxious, face of a dark blue colt with an even darker mane.

"Dude, what took you? I've been standing out here forever!"

It was none other than your old friend, Russ. You had known Russ since your days in high school. He had always been a sort of hothead, seldom thinking about the consequences of his actions before diving headlong into them, but he had always had a way of making you laugh. He became your friend after a certain incident you'd like to forget.

But right now, you only want to forget about him interrupting your sleep.

"Ugh, what do you want Russ," you said, very heavily lacing your words with annoyance, "I was trying to sleep!"

"Seriously? Wow, dude, it's like, in the middle of the day. Why are you sleeping?"

"Does that really matter? Why are you here?" You snap back, heavily implying you aren't pleased with his visit. You don't know why you tried, as you knew he was never fazed by thing like that.

"Well, I was at the library, and-"

"You were checking out that purple mare that works there, I've heard it a thousand times." This wasn't the first time he talked about that mare, and it had grown quite annoying to you.

"No!...Well, yes, and she's lavender, by the way. But that's not the point!" You couldn't help snicker at his little defendant stance he took.

"Okay, well, if that's not it, what is it then? Surely YOU, of all colts, weren't actually reading for once!"

"Aha!" he exclaimed in that prideful way of his, "That is where you are wrong! I actually was reading today!"

"Oh, really?" You said back, with a layer of sarcasm laid over your words. Not that he seemed to notice, or care.

"Yes, and I found something amazing! Deep in the Everfree Forest, there's supposed to be this incredible, underground temple, filled with insurmountable treasure!"

Insurmountable? Look at you, using big words! You think to yourself. "Okay, and what does that have to do with interrupting my nap?" You ask, though you already had a good idea of where this was going.

"I'm gonna need a pal to go with me! It's dangerous, maybe even deadly out there, and I'd like to have some backup....not that I would need it, or anything." You couldn't help but roll your eyes at his pride.

Way to think about the safety of your friends there, mate, you think to yourself. Of course, this didn't surprise you. Russ was always coming up with some ridiculous, over-the-top, "get rich quick" scheme. His hotheaded nature even carried over to his bank account, making all sorts of deals and whatnot attempting to make a quick buck.

"So, you want me to go with you, into the Everfree, to try and find some ancient pile of rock, so you can get some cash?"

Russ taps his chin for a second before replying. "Sounds about right! What do you say?"

"Ugh, fine." You reply back. Your mind screamed at you. You knew this was stupid, and you knew it wouldn't end well. But you also knew how stubborn Russ could be, and that he absolutely refused to take "no" as an answer.

That, and you loved archaeology. The talk of temples, or possible ancient ponies, never failed to catch your attention. It was a reason you became a miner in the first place.

"Alright!" Russ exclaimed, "Let's get moving!"

"W-wait, what!?" You staggered backwards, unable to believe what you were hearing. "You want us to go, like, now!?"

"Well, yeah." Russ said, seemingly oblivious to the implications of such a brash decision. "If we don't go now, someone else might get to it first! Then there'll be no treasure left for m- us!"

"Are you crazy!? It'd be a wonder if this temple even existed! And who's to say it hasn't already been discovered yet!" You yell back.

"Exactly! Which is why we gotta get moving now!" He says back. You couldn't help but feel dumbfounded by his logic.

And you also knew it was pointless to argue. Why were you his friend again? You weren't sure, but you went ahead and played along with his game.

After much, fruitless arguing, you finally convinced him to give you an hour to prepare. He was anxious to allow any more time than that, afraid his temple would be under someone else's claim if you took too long.

The two of you met just outside the Everfree, not too far from the cottage of that yellow pegasus. It was a little later in the day, around seven you guessed. While you had saddlebags full of supplies, Russ had nothing but the jacket on his back.

"Packed a little light, don't you think?" You sarcastically say to him.

"Packed a little heavy, don't you think?" He sarcastically says back.

"...Let's just get moving."

***************

After much trekking, fighting your way through flora, and suffering from several small cuts from plants you hoped weren't poisonous, you ended up in the situation you are in now. A strange, multi-hued vine wrapped tight around your hind leg.

"Don't help or anything, Russ! I totally got this!" You yell to your friend, sarcasm dripping from your words, as he continues off in the other direction.

"Okay!" He yells back, totally oblivious.

You couldn't help but facehoof. You knew he was hardheaded, but not to the point where common sense rebounded off his skull.

With one last tug, you managed to free your ensnared leg, and quickly made a dash to rejoin your travel "companion."

***************

"....Well I'll be damned..."

After much more exhausting hiking, you had made it to your destination. You'd managed to fall into a river and lose most of the supplies you were carrying (how you managed to do that was beyond you), only left with a few apples afterward, but you finally made it. The temple Russ had told you about had been no mere myth, as it was standing right before your eyes.

Russ interrupted you awe-filled gaze with some useful information for once.

"The book said that most of the temple is underground," he said, "and what we're seeing here is merely a sample of what's inside."

"Are you sure we should do this?" You couldn't help but ask. "I mean, yeah, this temple is cool and all, but how do we know it's, you know, stable?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. All we have to do is go in, grab what I- we're looking for, and get out. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy!"

You immediately knew this was a bad idea. Anytime Russ said that phrase, things never turned out well.

"I don't know man, this looks dangerous.."

"Well of course it is!" Russ said, apparently unsure of how to comfort somepony else. "You got to be willing to take some risks to get the best!"

"Well...alright, let's get going. But no messing around, okay? I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Alright dude, let's do this!"

You and Russ made your way into the temple. The main room had nothing of particular interest. Stone walls and stone pillars. It wasn't unlike your "workplace," just more refined. What appeared to be shattered mosaics lined the walls. Whatever images they once held were completely unrecognizable now. Almost immediately, a stairwell led deeper into the temple. Cautiously, and a little bit regretfully, you made your way deeper into the abyss with your pal.

At this point, you were incredibly frustrated with yourself that you fell into that river. Among the supplies you lost was a flashlight, which would have been incredibly useful by now. While you could make out shapes and objects in the room, all details were impossible to make out due to the darkness. If there were any hints of ancient ponies in this room, whether it be drawings or artifacts, you would never know. Right now, you were feeling this journey wasn't leading you to any form of fulfillment.

Russ, on the other hoof, wouldn't shut up. Everything he saw, he had to stop and ogle at. Apparently, he had forgotten your request to make this quick.

Eventually, your eyes had adjusted to the growing darkness. The details of the room became more clear. There had been more pillars holding up the roof, and at the end of the room was a pedestal of sorts. Though it almost looked like some sort of shrine, whatever it was supposed to honor was very much absent.

You look over to Russ, who wore a completely blank expression.

"Um....Russ?" You ask, unsure of what was going on.

"....This temple was supposed to hold a great treasure." He said, in a completely flat tone. "...and from what I read, it was supposed to be on that pedestal..."

"Russ, are you saying...?"

"This whole trip...was for NOTHING. Somebody beat us to the damn treasure!" Russ was beside himself with anger.

"Dude, calm down, it's not like-"

"NO! I WON'T calm down! I'm sick and tired of this happening to me!" You'd seen Russ get frustrated with his own schemes failing before, but this was unlike anything you'd ever seen.

"Dude, it's okay, I mean, it's still cool that we-"

"That we what!? Wasted our time coming out here so we could look at some stupid rocks? I've had it with this happening! No matter how well I think something is going to go, it always turns to shit!"

"Russ!"

"Nothing ever goes well for me, I just, I....ARRGH!"

Russ, in his blind fury, started to deliver powerful kicks to a nearby pillar between each word he spoke.

"I...am...tired...of...this...happening!"

You could only stand in fear, watching your friend vent his anger onto the temple.

"I've...had...IT!"

*CRACK*

You both immediately freeze. Russ steps to your side and looks at the pillar that suffered his onslaught of kicks. You begin to worry as-

*CRACK*

You begin to sweat as-

*CRACK*

You begin to panic as the damage of the pillar began to build. Suddenly, the entire temple starts to shake.

Your experience as a miner has taught you how to deal with cave-in situations. Some instances call for using boards to provide stability to the roof. Other instances called for shoveling out certain parts of a cave and relocating the material. No matter what there was always a technical way to deal with any disastrous situation that arose.

But of course, there was always the Golden Rule that any miner could use.

"RUN!"

You and Russ begin a mad dash for the stairwell. As dangerous as it was, it was the only way to the exit of the temple. At this point, the walls and ceiling begin to cave in on you. Large portions of the roof begin collapsing around you.

You try to keep a cool head as your multitasking skills are put to the test. Watch the roof to avoid being crushed, look forward to not trip or run into anything, keep an eye on Russ so he doesn't get in your way.

You'd finally made it to the stairs. Luckily, they hadn't broken down beyond the use of escape. With Russ in the lead, you took the flight of stairs back into the main room of the temple.

There it was, your exit. You had never been happier to see a door in all your life. Chunks of the temple still falling around you, you continue your mad dash. This is a day you would tell your grandfoals about, a day you would look back on and-

*CRUSH*

You scream out in pain. It took a second to register what had just happened, but when you look back, you get a pretty good idea.

You had been crushed. Your hind legs were pinned underneath a boulder, and you couldn't move.

Words couldn't describe how terrified you were at that moment. You feebly push against the boulder, but due to it's shape, size, and the angle of your push, the boulder didn't even budge. Your only hope was Russ.

You look forward, and see him, standing there in pure terror about twenty feet away.

"Russ! Help me!" You scream at him.

Russ didn't move, even with the temple still falling around him. "I...I..."

"Russ, please!"

"I...I just..."

It was at that moment, your world was shattered.

Russ turned, and ran out the entrance of the temple.

"Russ!? Russ!" You scream his name in vain. Even though you knew he was still within earshot of you, he didn't return.

"Russ! Russ...."

Please...don't let this happen to me....not again...

You decide it would simply be best to close your eyes, and accept your fate, buried in this temple, forever.

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Discorded Q

Discorded Q #1 · Jan 17th, 2012 · 1 · ·

TRAITOR!

Whirring Gears

Whirring Gears #2 · Jan 17th, 2012 · 1 · ·

My God, Russ just rubs me the wrong way simply because I know people like him exist.

You've given your characters a nice little kick off from the start, firmly establishing personalities as ones I'd like to see develop (and possible get a comeuppance) along with nice foreshadowing that I can't wait to see explained.

All in all, a good start and I look forward to seeing more.

Random Duty Guard