Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Castle of the two sisters

by MorganaTheNotCat

First published

Trapped in the Castle of the two Sisters, the Crusaders must work together to escape the dark confines of the decrepit hallways while avoiding plenty of traps along the way.

"C'mon! It'll be fun!"

"I mean- Are we really sure we should be headin' into the Everfree forest?"

"Yeah... Rarity told me to not go snooping around places like that..."

"Oh come on! Don't be a bunch of chickens! It'll be fun! And plus, we could even get a cutie mark in archaeology maybe!"

"What's Ar...charcoal or, whatever the hays that name."

"The study of cool castles full of mysterious secrets, like Daring Do does in her book: Daring Do and the Secret of the Sphinx!"

"Right."

"I mean, sure, if we can do anythin' to get our cutie marks faster, I'm in!"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ARCHAEOLOGISTS!"


A short story made for the dialogue only contest. I had fun making this, and I think it turned out well.

Down the hatch

View Online


“Gah! I can’t see anythin’! Sweetiebelle! Do that magic thingamajig!”

“It’s not working! And I don't even know how to do that spell anyway!”

“Relax girls! Just follow my lead and I’ll get all of us out!”

“You’re one to talk, Scotaloo! You got us all in this mess to begin with! Ain’t nopony know where we are either!”

“Hey! I just wanted to go exploring!”

“In the castle of the two sisters!?”

“Well- It was a better idea in my head okay!? How was I supposed to know that there’s hidden trap doors that drop you down to damp and dark rooms in the middle of a hallway?!”

“Oh Rarity isn’t even home, she’ll never know I disappeared, I’ll die alone!”

“Applejack’s probably too busy with farm work to realize I’m gone!”

“And I'm gonna die before I ever get the chance to fly high with the wonderbolts!”

“WE’RE GONNA DIE!!”

“Huff… Huff… I can't breathe! This room is too tight! And dark! Are there even any air holes?!”

“Quit pushin’ me Sweetiebelle!”

“That's not me!”

“Sorry Applebloom! But I'm just trying to get us outta here!” “Scootaloo! Stop- Pushin!- Me-!”

“Hold on! I can feel something with my hoof! I just gotta-”

“WOAH!”

“GAH!”

“AAAAAH!!!”

“HUF!”
“OW!”
“OUCH!”

“DARN IT DID WE FALL DEEPER?!”

“Damn it… I thought that lever might've led somewhere.”

“YOU SHOULDN'T GO PULLIN' RANDOM LEVERS IN AN ABANDONED CASTLE!”

“Sorry…”

“Hey girls! There's something here!”

“Hold on, where?”

“Here!”

“Keep talkin’! We'll try n’ make our way toward your voice! I'm right behind you Scoots!”

“Got it.”

La la! La la la la talking, talking talking things about words and- OW! MY FLANK!

“Sorry!”

“Okay, what'd ya find?”

“Right here.”

“Ya know none of us can see a darn thing…”

“Here!”

“Oh, I feel it now!”

“Wait what're you guys touching?”

“It’s like a round stone, it feels like a button. Should I press it?”

“Last time Scootaloo pressed somethin’, we went barrelin’ down another flight of stairs!”

“Hey! Stop blaming me for everything!”

“Ok, I think I'm gonna push it.”

“Ok girls, prepare yerselves!”

“Bring it!”

“Pushing it in 3…2…1…!”

“You girls heard that? Was that a piano?”

“Uh… A piano down here…? Should we look for it?”

“Pork chops n’ applesauce, we’re already knee deep so we ain’t really got a choice…”

“Right. Hey Sweetiebelle, stay there and push that again.”

“Okay, got it!”

“I’m right behind ya scoots! I think…”

“Hold on, push it again! It’s close I can hear it!”

“I found it!”

“Ya did?”

“What did you find?”

“Uh… I think it’s the piano. It’s not too far away from where you are.”

“What kinda place has a Piano as a boobytrap in a darn castle!?”

“A cool mysterious castle! Like the musical room that Daring Do broke out of in the great pyramid escape, in Chapter 3 of the Daring Do and the Saddle Arabian Crystal Skull!”

“Yer talkin’ like we know what that means…”

“In that story, basically she had to play the flute to a certain tune to unlock the door. So maybe we gotta do something like that.”

“Suppose it’d make more sense. Okay, Sweetiebelle, push it again, let’s try to make out the song!”

“Okay!”

“I remember that song! Rarity used to sing it to me before I went to sleep when I was younger! I think it went something like… Lullay moon princess, goodnight sister mine…”

“Cool, but what’re the notes?”

“Sweetiebelle, you’re the one good with music, tell us!!”

“Uh… I don’t know… I think it’s… Mi, Mi, Fa, Mi, So, Fa, Mi, Ti, Ti, Do?”

“Kay, uh… Let me try it…”

“Wait, how’re ya gonna see what notes you’re pressin’ when we can’t even see one hoof in front of our faces?”

“I used to play guitar, that’s gotta translate something right?”

“We’re screwed…”

“Whatever, let me concentrate on these notes! Um… Mi… Mi… So… Fa…”

“It’s Mi, Mi, Fa, Mi, So!”

“I’m working on it! And then… Ti, Ti… Do…”

“WOAH! THE WALLS!”
“WHAT’S GOIN’ ON!?”
“AHH! HELP! IT’S MOVING!”

“SCOOTALOO, DID THE DARING DOO STORY HAVE A SHRINKIN’ ROOM!?”

“N-NO! IT DIDN’T! BUT- WE CAN MAKE THIS WORK! SWEETIEBELLE GET OVER HERE SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY HELP US!”


“I’M COMING! I’M COMING!”

“Okay Scotaloo let me handle this…”

“Ouch! Didn’t have to push me like that!”

“Okay, okay, uhh… Um… I know this. Right. Um… Mi, Mi, Fa, Mi, So, Fa, Ti, Do, Ti…?”

“AHHH!”

“Um- D-Don’t worry! G-Girls! Um- Then- Mi, Mi, Fa, Mi, Fa, Do, Ti?”

“SWEETIEBELLE! ARE YOU JUST PUSHIN’ RANDOM NOTES?!?”

“N-NO! I’M NOT I- I SWEAR!”

“I WOULD’VE BEEN BETTER OFF TRYING TO DO IT MYSELF WITHOUT YOUR HELP!”

“SHUT UP SCOOTALOO! I CAN'T FOCUS ON THE MUSIC WITH YOU YELLING!”

“YEAH! YOU’RE THE ONE THAT GOT US INTO THIS TO BEGIN WITH! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, I'D BE HOME ENJOYIN' MYSELF!”

“DON'T GANG UP ON ME APPLEBLOOM! ALL YOU’VE DONE SO FAR IS COMPLAIN! AT LEAST I’M TRYING TO GET US OUT OF HERE, DIFFERENT THAN YOU!”

“SHH! STAY QUIET! I’M TRYING TO THINK! Mi, Mi, Fa, So, Fa, Mi, Ti, Do, Do, Ti?”

“AHH!”
“WOAH!”

“I CAN’T DIE HERE! I CAN’T DIE CRUSHED BY STONE BRICKS!”

“THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TAKEN US TO THE ABANDONED MAGICAL CASTLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS!”

“OK I GET IT, I MESSED UP, CAN YOU QUIT REMINDING ME OF IT ALREADY!?”

“NO!”

"YOU TWO ARE THE WORST! I CAN'T EVEN CONCENTRATE IN WHAT I'M DOING!"

"NOT LIKE YOU'RE DOING WELL ANYWAY!"

"W-W-WELL MAYBE YOU WANNA T-TRY THEN APPLEBLOOM!?!"

"WHATEVER!"

"WHATEVER TO YOU TOO!"

"WHATEVER THREE!"

"AHHHHHHHH!!!"

"IT'S GETTIN' TIGHTER! I CAN'T- EVEN- MOVE!"

“U-Um- I- I- Maybe- It’s- Um- Mi, Mi, Fa, So, Fa, Mi, Ti, Ti Ti, Ti?”

“WOAH!”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!”


“OMF! Ow… I’m… Getting tired of falling down long hatches… Um… Girls?” "Girls?” "Girls?”
"Oh wow this place has an ECHO!" "Echo!" "echo!"
"Please..." "Please..."
"I'm sorry about what I said! I didn't... mean it..." "mean it..."
"Can anyone hear me?" "Can anyone hear me?"
"Applebloom...?" "Applebloom...?"
"Scootaloo...?" "Scotaloo...?"
"Please don't leave me alone..." "alone..."

"It's cold...""cold..."

"appleblooom? sweetiebelle?..."

"Scotaloo! I'm here!" "I'm here!"

"swetiebelle! I hear you! But I can't see anything! Is Applebloom with you?"

"No, I don't know where she went!" "Went!"

"We gotta find her! I found a hole, it's just a bunch of broken bricks but I think we can crawl through!"

"Right! I'll try to look for her, stay where you are!" "stay where you are!..."

"Okay!"

"Right... Um... Okay... I can just place my hand on a wall like this right? And like Rarity told us when we were looking for gems. Drag your hoof along the wall, don't let go of it. Okay."

"Applebloom!""Applebloom!"

"Applebloom, where are you!?"

"where are you!?"

"Applebloom! Scotaloo found the exit!"
"found the exit!"

"Sweetiebelle! I'm Right here!"

"Applebloom! I'm coming!"

"Applebloom! Thank Celestia you're safe! Are you hurt?!"

"A bit, my hoof hurts but I think I can walk well!"

"Come to my voice, be careful!"

"Okay, I'll try..."

"Got you!"
"I'm so glad to see you again!"
"Me too! Scootaloo says she's okay too, and she found the exit"
"Well then what're we waitin' for! Move yer hooves!"
"Alright! Alright, sheesh!"

"By the way, Sweetiebelle... Sorry bout what I said, I know you were just tryin' to help..."
"It's okay, I kinda yelled at you and Scootaloo too..."

"I gotta apologize to her too..."
"Maybe you should save it for once we're out of here though."

"Sweetiebelle? Is that your voice?"

"You bet it is!"
"N' I'm here too!"

"Great! Let's fly out of here then!"

"We'll make our way over! Applebloom, make sure you don't lose me..."
"Right!"

"By the way, Applebloom has something she wants to tell you later."

"She does?

"I do... But let's just worry 'bout gettin' outta here first."

"Wait! I see the light already!"

"Yeah me too!"

"Sweetiebelle! Applebloom! I'm so glad to see you guys!"

"Me too!"
"Me three!"
"Is that the moonlight from outside?"

"Yeah, I tried to crawl through but it's just a bit tight... But this brick here, you see it right?"

"It's loose!"

"I tried kicking it down, but I'm not strong enough..."

"It's okay, I can help! With how much bucking my sis does, I probably picked up a thing or two..."

"Okay, get beside me and we'll try to kick it together."

"I'm ready!"

"Right, 1, 2, 3!"

"HUFF!"

"GAH!"

"It didn't work... Try again!"

"Ready Scootaloo?"

"Yeah."
"1, 2... 3!"
"HAH!"
"HAYA!"

"Still nothing..."

"I think we're needin' an extra pair of hooves here, come on Sweetie Belle!"

"Who? Me? B-But I don't even know how to do that!"

"It's easy, we'll teach you. Get on over here!"

"Okay... So do I just like... Kick it?"

"You gotta lean down with you front hooves and then kick em back with everything you got!"

"Okay... I can try."

"Ready scoots?"

"Ready!"

"Ready Sweetiebelle?"

"Yup!"

"Ok, girls, on 3. 1... 2..."


"What's she got in her head?! To go out explorin' in the middle of the night!?! IN THE EVERFREE FOREST!?"

"Scootaloo has that adventure spirit in her, just like me! Besides, they're loyal to one another, they'll be fine. The castle is a dangerous place for little foals, but I know they can kick major tail!"

"I don't know if Sweetiebelle can handle a dreadful forest like this, let alone a castle... I'm so worried..."

"We'll find them all, don't worry Rarity. Spike, we're heading the right way, yes?" "Yup, just up ahead down this creepy old winding path!"

"Oh I hope we get there in time... The cute little birdie I talked to told me they were just about entering the castle when he saw them. I really hope they're alright."

"Wait, ya'll are seein' that comin' down the path?"

"Is that Applejack?"

"APPLEJACK!"
"RARITY!"
"RAINBOW DASH!"

"Woah! What's good Scoots! You look uh... Kinda bad, but we'll get ya cleaned up!"
"Heh, thanks! Do I look like Daring Do?"
"You could say that..."

"Oh Sweetiebelle darling, are you okay? Please tell me you're okay! Are you hurt? And your mane, dear Celestia your mane! It's full of dust and twigs and... Is that a cobweb...?"
"Yeah um... I guess it wasn't the best place to explore..."

"Missy, you got some gal runnin' off to the woods in the middle of the night! Granny raised you better than that! Leadin' your friends to all sorts of problems, you're lucky we managed to find ya'll!"
"But!-"
"Actually, I'm the one that suggested we go to the castle..."
"You did? That's awesome! I can see your braveness comes from me, that's for sure!"
"Rainbow Dash! This ain't the time to be gloatin'! And Scotaloo, I appreciate your honesty, but you three should know better than that."

"We know..."
"We know..."
"We know..."

"What matters is that you are all safe. We'll take you all back to the library... I'm sure Pinkie's done with the pies by now."

"Um... Scootaloo, I'm sorry for yellin' at you..."
"It's okay, I'm sorry for saying the things I did too..."
"I get it, it's okay, at least we got outta there."
"Yeah."

"Hey guys!"
"Yeah, Scootaloo?"
"I know where we can go next!"

"NO!"