"Here we are." O'Malley said darkly as he stopped at the edge of a large cave.
"Are you sure this is it?" Church asked, wary of the possibility that O'Malley could be tricking them.
"I am positive." O'Malley nodded. He smelled the air and then scowled. "I can smell Sigma's past presence here."
"How exactly do you know they are in there?"
"While I was suspended by that fool Sigma, I happened to hear the sound of earth crumbling beneath a group of cowards feet, and seeing as you're still here I am willing to assume it was your friends. This is the only cave that I noticed in the area, so it is your best bet at finding your imbecilic friends."
"I don't want to go in there." Grif said weakly.
"You know that doesn't make any sense." Church said, growing annoyed at Grif for always trying to avoid work. He now understood how Sarge felt having him around daily, and he didn't like it. "You tried tackling the Meta, you fought a group of wolves, and not only that but you've done dozens of other things that would frighten most regular people."
"And?"
"Why the hell would a cave be the thing that scares you?"
"There could be bats in there..." Grif muttered.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"Perhaps it would be wise if the reds stay out here with Applejack, Gamma and Caboose." Delta said as he looked for movement in the cave. "If we all go in there would be seventeen of us running through the tunnels. And it would be better if we have the ones that cannot die enter the tunnels as we will risk no loss."
Yeah, I like that plan." Grif nodded hastily.
"Why can't I come then?" Gary asked sadly. "I could tell us some jokes. In fact I think I have a clever one right now!"
"No, you will stay out here with the others." Church said firmly. "As of now it seems we can trust O'Malley, but it is more difficult to trust you."
"I can tell Gary more stories!" Caboose said happily.
"Kill me." Gary begged.
"Later." O'Malley promised as he walked into the cave. "Now let's go. I do not want to waste my anger on one who deserves it slightly less than Sigma."
"We'll be out soon." Church sighed as he walked up to O'Malley.
"Be careful in there." Applejack said quietly.
"Wait a second." Simmons said quickly, causing the others to stop.
"What is it?" Delta asked hesitantly.
"I've been to this cave before." Simmons said as he looked in the cave nervously. "This is where we got the cockatrice's scale for Grif."
"Didn't Tucker kill it?" Grif asked as he laid his back against a stump. "I mean, he had it's fucking tail with him when he came back to Zecora's, so..."
"Well I kind of got knocked unconscious so I'm not sure. But it wasn't just that one, there was like twenty in there."
"We will tread carefully. Thank you for the warning Simmons." Delta said with a nod.
"Perhaps I can cut off one of their heads and use it on Sigma." O'Malley said confidently. "Then when he is stone I could smash him in half, then free him from the stone prison and watch as he bleeds! It would be beautiful."
"I think it would be better if we just stayed out of their way, that way we don't have to risk getting turned into stone." Church said, not wanting O'Malley to get his hooves on something that could do damage.
"Spoilsport." O'Malley hissed.
"Delta, use your horn and allow us to see in the darkness."
Delta nodded and briefly closed his eyes as he cast the spell that Twilight had used the night before.
"Be careful in there." Applejack said as Church, Delta and O'Malley disappeared into the darkness of the cave.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"So what did that guy talk to you about?" Tucker asked when Twilight had walked up to them.
"Nothing really, he was just making sure I wouldn't say anything to Celestia." Twilight shrugged innocently. "I hope you girls won't either."
"Are you sure we shouldn't?" Rarity asked nervously. "What if she finds out that we know where this stallion lives?"
"How would we explain how we found him without telling her about what we did last night?" Twilight asked, inviting an answer.
"That is a good point." Rarity said contemplatively, trying to think of an alternative. "Very well. I promise not to tell Celestia."
"Same here." Rainbow Dash said.
"I Pinkie promise." Pinkie nodded as she crossed her heart with her hoof before putting it on her eye.
"But we have to tell her..." Fluttershy said quietly.
"Please Fluttershy. Long Beard looks like he wants nothing more than to live here peacefully."
"But what if she finds out we've been keeping secrets from her? I don't want to be banished."
"She wouldn't banish you." Twilight said, shaking her head.
"I don't know..." Fluttershy sighed as she pushed a pebble with her hoof.
"How about you sleep on it?" Twilight said pleadingly.
"Okay." Fluttershy said with a small nod.
Twilight turned to Tex and Tucker, who were both just staring at her with passive faces.
"My whole life has been based on trading favors, and since he gave me that antidote I guess I owe him one." Tex nodded.
"Good." Twilight said with a thin smile. She turned to Tucker and raised her brow.
"I wouldn't even know how to tell her even if I wanted to." Tucker said.
"Thank you." Twilight said appreciatively as she turned to look down the tunnel. "Remember to mind the runes and keep a look out for anything that could harm us."
The group slowly made their way down the tunnel, carefully walking around each rune that was embedded in the ground. They walked for half an hour until the dirt gave way to stone. Twilight was the first to reach the stone, and when she did she quickly looked around, making sure that they were in the clear of the runes. Twilight looked back to the others and nodded, prompting them that it was safe.
"Are you sure there are no runes here?" Tex asked with a curious eye. She then looked at the ground and shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe I've been here for less than a day and I'm already believing this magic bullshit..."
"I know right?" Tucker chuckled.
Twilight closed her eyes temporarily and tested herself. Her horn began to grow dimly and she picked up a small rock from nearby.
"Don't be a show off." Tex said roughly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to come off that way." Twilight said quietly, dropping the rock back to the ground. "If anything I guess that it shows we are no longer within range of Long Beard's security measures, so I think that we are in the clear of any more runes."
"Good, I hated taking things slowly."
"Does this place seems familiar to you?" Rarity asked suddenly as she looked over to Rainbow Dash and Tucker.
"I was going to say that." Rainbow Dash nodded nervously. Something caught her eye and she froze in fear.
"What's wrong?" Twilight asked, but Rainbow Dash remained still as she stared at a certain spot in the cave.
Twilight squinted here eyes to see what Rainbow Dash was looking it. It took her a few seconds to see something in the middle of the tunnel, but she wasn't sure what it was. She used her magic an levitated the torch to the anomaly and gasped. There was a large patch of dried blood, as well as dozens of bluish-green scales littered around it. Suddenly dozens of creatures started to hiss and shriek behind them.