I had led Shining Armor and the Royal Guard ponies through the mountain tunnel, leading out into a cavern that was pitch black. The light from my flames did little to illuminate the space around us. Tilting my head up I breathed a stream of fire into the air, revealing a vast network of tunnels, path like ridges, and some old pony made stone bridges that had been in disrepair for quite sometime.
"We must be close to the center of the mountain." Shining Armor said looking up at the blackness. "Ponies used to mine the mountain for gems and gold a long time ago."
"It must go on for miles." Cosmic whispered in amazement stepping forward to get a better look.
"Careful." I snapped knocking my hoof against his chest armor.
Cosmic looked down to see that we were standing on the ledge of a deep ravine knifing its way under the mountain. Cosmic whistled loudly as it echoed off the walls for a good minute or two.
"They could be anywhere." Peanut said looking around.
"We'll have to go back and return with a larger search party." Shining Armor said bitterly.
"Not necessarily." I stated sniffing the air.
"What do you mean?" Nightshade asked curiously.
"Our missing ponies decided to use torches to light their way." I replied.
"How do you know that?" Shining Armor asked curiously.
"There are varying degrees of smells when fire burns things, and I can detect a faint hint of oil." I explained to them.
"How did you learn to do that?" Peanut asked sounding amazed.
"Flame Ponies are just more in tune with how fire works." I replied, still sniffing the air.
"Can you track it?" Cosmic asked curiously.
"I can. At least up until we find the torches." I explained.
"It's a start. Lead on, Cadet." Shining Armor ordered.
We walked down the path that etched its way along the ravine. The smell of oil came and went. It led me to believe that there must have been wind blowing through the caves somewhere. I couldn't feel the breeze all that strongly, but the smell of the oil was getting stronger the further we went. Eventually we stumbled across a makeshift camp with burnt out torches piled near the tent.
"The torches aren't even warm. They've haven't been here for a while." Nightshade reported, examining them.
"There are saddle bags filled with provisions inside the tent." Peanut reported, stepping out with a saddle bag in hoof.
"Their tools are still here too. It doesn't seem likely that they would go anywhere without them." Cosmic reported, kicking a pickax across the ground.
"Keep looking for some sort of clue that might tell us where they went." Shining Armor instructed them.
Not wanting to burn anything, I stood over at the edge of the ravine looking out into the darkness. My eyes darting around trying to focus on a point in the blackness. Wondering if one of the ponies had fallen into the ravine and the other two went down to try to rescue their friend.
"They took their sleeping bags with them." Peanut mentioned tossing the saddle bag back into the tent.
"That doesn't make any sense, why leave all your food here, but take your sleeping bags?" Nightshade asked scratching his head.
My heart had skipped a beat. I suddenly realized what had happened to the ponies.
"They were taken." I mumbled to myself staring down into the ravine.
"What was that, Cadet?" Shining Armor asked looking over my way.
"The ponies were taken while they were still in their sleeping bags." I said in a hushed tone.
No pony said a word. There was complete silence for a few moments. Shining Armor looked around the cave trying to see what I already knew was there hiding in the shadows.
"Spiders." Cosmic hissed in disgust.
"Every pony remain calm." Shining Armor whispered.
"I've put you all in danger." I said lowering my flames as much as I could.
"Don't be ridiculous, I asked you to come with us." Shining Armor hissed at me.
"They're attracted to the light. It's how they found the other ponies." I explained.
The sound of loose dirt trickled down from up above the campsite. Two spiders suddenly dropped down screeching and clicking their fangs. Nightshade barely had time to move before being pinned beneath the first spider. The second spider had missed it's target, allowing Peanut to land a hard kick on it and sent it falling into the ravine.
A blue flash of magic erupted from Shining Armor's horn; blasting the spider off of Nightshade. Cosmic followed up by kicking the spider into the open tent. The tent poles collapsed, acting like a net, trapping the spider within.
The sudden sound of scratching reached my ears, turning back towards the edge of the ravine I breathed fire down into the darkness to see countless spiders climbing up the side towards us.
"Let's move every pony!" Shining Armor shouted helping Nightshade to his hooves.
I rushed passed Shining Armor to the burned out torches upon the floor. Breathing a blast of fire upon them, I ignited them once more and kicked one over towards Cosmic.
"Good idea!" Cosmic shouted taking up the torch.
"We have to get out of here!" Nightshade shouted, rushing over to take one as well.
The path we had come from was already being swarmed by spiders. Their skittering and hisses filled the air, their screeches were trying to strike fear in us, and by all accounts it was working.
Quickly rushing out in front of the path I took a deep breath and spewed a torrent of fire down the path. The spiders fearing to be burned scrambled over one another trying to avoid my flames; some even leaping off the edge of the ravine.
"We'll need to find another way out! Cadet! Lead the way! We'll cover you!" Shining Armor cried taking a torch.
I had no idea where any of these tunnels led, but all I could think of was heading towards wherever the wind was coming from. Racing to the other side of the campsite, I stood still for a moment hoping to feel the wind. My flames fluttered for a moment, the wind blowing passed me, and I had an idea of where to go. Two hairy spider legs reached over the side of the ravine, slamming down close to me. I flared my mane causing the spider legs to burn from the heat and it recoiled away; retreating back over the side with a pained screech.
"This way!" I shouted moving down the edge of the ravine.
Nightshade and Cosmic battled up front, stomping their hooves on legs that reached over and waving their torches in the face of any spider that dared to poke it's head out. Peanut was in back with Shining Armor, bringing up the rear, firing magical shots at the wave of spiders that pursued us from behind. Peanut defended Shining Armor from any spider attempting to flank him from the ravine.
The path got narrower the further we ran, eventually leading to a pony sized tunnel that sloped down into more darkness. I glanced behind me to see that turning back was not an option. I could feel the wind blowing rather strongly from it, deciding it was best to go with my gut and jump in.
"Follow me!" I shouted over my shoulder to them.
Every pony turned to watch me jump down into the tunnel; the light of my flames dimming off the tunnel walls from the steep decent.
"Is he serious?" Nightshade asked, sticking his head into the tunnel.
"You can wait here for a second opinion if you want!" Cosmic cried pushing past him and leaping in.
"Commander!" Peanut shouted to Shining Armor; having pushed Nightshade down into the tunnel.
"Go! I'm right behind you!" Shining Armor shouted back; blasting a group of spiders back with his magic.
Peanut jumped down into the tunnel as he was told. Shining Armor tossed his torch at a spider climbing up over side of the ravine, nailing it in the eyes before it lost its balance and tumbled back down. Rushing towards the tunnel, Shining Armor leaped through the opening, disappearing into the blackness while the spiders above dug their legs into the hole trying to reach them; hissing angrily over their escape.
Sliding down through the darkness of the tunnel, I could hear the others thump and bump their way after me. Before I knew it, I flew out the mouth of the tunnel, landing hard on the ground; rolling a few feet before sliding to a stop. I had landed on my back, suddenly wishing I had gone head first to land on my hooves. I could hear the others growing closer, not wanting to be on the bottom of the pile, I quickly rolled over watching Cosmic, Nightshade, Peanut and Shining Armor fly out from the tunnel and landing atop one another.
"Get your hoof out of my face!" Nightshade groaned.
"Well get your flank off of my back!" Cosmic bellowed back.
"Knock it off you two." Shining Armor barked rolling off the pile.
"Did we lose them?" Peanut asked looking back at the tunnel; trying to get to his hooves.
"For now I think." Cosmic mumbled, rubbing his back.
"Cadet, where are we?" Shining Armor asked strolling over to me.
I didn't respond to Shining Armor, I was too busy staring up at a mass that hung in the darkness. One by one the ponies saw what I was looking at. My flames had just barely illuminated her trunk like legs, her pony sized fangs clicked together echoing off the walls, her head slowly lowering down to us. I was once more face to face with the Queen of Spiders again.
"No pony move a muscle." Shining Armor whispered.
"Why have you come into my kingdom, wicked Flame Pony? Bringer of Pain, Blisters and Soars, that is what I name you!" The Queen shrieked angrily.
"You know her?" Nightshade whispered in disbelief.
"Quiet!" Cosmic whispered nudging Nightshade.
"Speak, Flame Pony! Speak! Before I have my children devour your friends!" The Queen threatened.
I could see that the Queen's belly was badly burned from our last encounter. She dangled herself on her webs to keep her belly from touching the floor; the blisters did not look good at all. There was no way to know how long it would take for the spiders to catch up to us, so I decided to make this a quick visit. Striking my hooves onto the ground I breathed fire high into the air before the Queen. With an almost ear splitting screech the Queen waved her enormous legs at me trying to keep the fire from reaching her.
"There were three ponies that went missing in these mountains yesterday! Where are they?" I demanded stepping forward.
"No ponies here!" The Queen hissed venomously.
Deciding to cut the pleasantries I shot a stream of fire towards a lower part of her webbing. The webbing snapped from the flames causing the Queen to sink towards the floor in a screech of pain. Pieces of the burning webbing fell to the floor, offering a bit of light to the area. Her screeches and hisses were bone chilling.
"Where are they?" I demanded again.
The Queen clicked her teeth together. Staring down at me with such hate. I stared right back up at her flaring my mane; warning her not to challenge me. Raising one of her legs, she reached up into the high webbing above her, one of her thick hairs of her leg lifted a small bundle of webbing and tossed it at us.
Peanut leaped into the air, fanning out his wings, catching the bundle of webbing before it hit the ground. Peanut fell to the ground, bundle safely in hoof, the webbing squirmed a top him as Nightshade and Cosmic moved in to help. Three earth ponies, still wrapped in their sleeping bags, appeared from underneath the webbing; looking unbelievably frightened.
"Filthy Flame Pony! You steal food from us! Burns us! A curse you are! You and all your kind! Be rid of us, Flame Pony! Trouble us no more!" The Queen shrieked kicking dirt at me with one of her legs.
The cloud of dirt washed over me. I felt my mane flare, feeling annoyed with her, but we had the three missing ponies now; it was time to go.
"We need a way out of here!" Shining Armor shouted up to the Queen; striding up alongside me.
"You have what you asked for! Now leave!" The Queen shrieked spitting pieces of web from her mouth.
"Over there." I whispered to Shining Armor pointing behind the Queen.
Shining Armor struggled to see what I was looking at but he eventually saw the shadowy outline of another tunnel at the opposite end.
"You're sure?" Shining Armor questioned with a whisper.
"The wind is coming from that tunnel. It will lead us out of the mountain." I said confidently; it has always been a way for lost Flame Ponies to find their way out of the old mining tunnels back in the Ashen Fields.
"We'll be taking our leave then!" Shining Armor declared to the Queen.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The light brown earth pony cried hugging Peanut; traumatized by the whole ordeal.
"Get off!" Peanut mumbled pushing him down.
"Is every pony okay?" Shining Armor asked stepping towards them.
"Commander Shining Armor! You came to rescue us!" The tan pony cried bowing his head in gratitude.
"We will have time to speak later. We must make it out of these caves before more spiders arrive." Shining Armor explained to them. "Cadet, you lead the way. Nightshade you're up front. Cosmic and Peanut you bring up the sides and I'll cover the back. You ponies stay in between us; we'll get you out of here."
I was beginning to wonder if this was the sort of thing Soldier Ponies did every day, rescuing lost ponies, fighting spiders, and wearing cool armor. I led the ponies around the side of the Queen, the wind from the tunnel fanned my flames; that was a good sign. It meant that this tunnel led straight to the outside.
I could almost smell the fresh crisp mountain air. I could imagine returning to the Infirmary to tell Tea of my adventure here. I had taken my eyes off the Queen for only a moment; not noticing the Queen had kicked out one of her massive legs at me.
"Smolder!" Nightshade shouted.
Nightshade jumped forward pushing me out of the way while the Queen's leg struck him instead. Nightshade flew across the cave, slamming into the wall, before collapsing onto the ground. Cosmic was the first to run after him. Peanut pushed the earth ponies back from the Queen while Shining Armor stepped in front to cover him.
I could only stare at Nightshade; his motionless body lying against the cave wall. No pony had ever done something like that for me before.
Why would some pony do that for me?
"How is he, Cosmic?" Shining Armor asked rushing over to him.
"He's unconscious. I can't tell how bad it is. He needs a doctor." Cosmic said lifting Nightshade onto his back.
"Children! It's time to feed!" The Queen shrieked into the darkness.
The sound of hissing and screeching started to echo off of the cave walls. Shining Armor looked up to see countless spiders beginning to descend from the high mountain ceiling above; cascading down from the cave walls.
"Peanut! Get these ponies to the tunnel! Cosmic, look after Nightshade I'll watch your back!" Shining Armor shouted pointing them towards the tunnel.
Peanut pushed the earth ponies towards the tunnel with Cosmic bringing up the rear. There was a sudden swell of light that originated near the Queen.
I got to my hooves. I could feel the fire raging inside me, but I didn't hold it back. My body suddenly exploded with fire, throwing my flames in all directions, blazing like an inferno that frightened the Queen. My flames drove back the darkness that concealed the her, illuminating the world around us in a fiery red.
"Smolder!" Shining Armor shouted to me; shielding his eyes with one arm.
I couldn't hear him. All I could hear was the roar of my flames; all I wanted to do was to hurt her.
A stream of fire erupted from my mouth, burning the underside of the Queen. With her shrieks of pain she tried to climb higher into her webbing. Whipping my head around I set the whole of her webbing ablaze, the webbing snapping like rope; the Queen tumbled down her web. Landing with a tremendous boom onto the floor the Queen screeched in pain; shrieking her curses at me.
Her children leapt from the walls to defend their Queen, attempting to pounce upon me. Flaring my mane, my flames struck the spiders, turning them to ash before they hit the ground. Ribbons of fire leaped from my mane, striking the spiders from the walls, chasing them back into the shadows high above.
The Queen tried to lift herself off the ground, getting her legs underneath herself. I opened my mouth, bathing the side of her face with fire, and knocking her back down again. I wasn't going to let the Queen get up again.
"Filthy, cursed, disgusting Flame Pony!" The Queen roared in anger.
I responded in kind. Spewing fire across her body, the Queen flailed in blistering pain, striking her legs down hard against the ground. Among the cries of hundreds of spiders, the screeching of the Queen, and the roar of my flames a sound did rise above it all.
The ground beneath the Queen began to crack open. Like broken glass the cracks split across the floor. The ground gave way beneath the Queen pulling her under in a blackened abyss. Her children fearing from the cave-in scattered back up the walls into the tunnels. Pieces of rock from the high ceiling crashed down around me, many falling in after the Queen who had vanished in the blackness.
I stared into the abyss, fixated on seeing her be buried beneath the earth, not noticing the cracks darting beneath my own hooves. The ground gave way beneath me, and I felt myself suddenly falling.
"I gotcha!" Shining Armor called out.
I felt myself levitating in the air. Glancing over, I saw that Shining Armor had caught me with his magic. Having felt myself snap back to my senses I lowered my flames back to their normal flicker; allowing Shining Armor to pull me closer to the edge. Shining Armor was struggling to keep me a float with the cave crashing down around him. I reached the ledge, lifting myself up over the lip of the abyss and taking one last look down into it.
"We have to move!" Shining Armor shouted, using his magic to push me to start moving.
Shining Armor and I raced up passed the falling rocks, narrowly avoiding being flattened several times before reaching the tunnel. We charged through it as fast as we could. Seeing the dust billowing past just as we charged out from the mouth of the cave. Coming to a stop near the base of the mountain, the earth ponies, Peanut, Cosmic and Nightshade had all made it out.
"Is every pony alright?" Shining Armor asked looking around.
"We're fine, but Nightshade's going to need a doctor pony right away." Cosmic replied, tending to him.
"Peanut, get the chariot." Shining Armor said breathing heavy.
"Sir." Peanut responded aloud; flying off towards the eastern part of the mountain.
Shining Armor looked towards me. I was looking back at the tunnel we had just come from. Feeling a burning rage still lingering in my chest.
"What happened back there, Cadet?" Shining Armor asked coming up alongside me.
Taking a deep breath I tried to calm myself, looking over at Nightshade being carried by Cosmic made my mane flare.
"Smolder?" Shining Armor asked again.
"Why did he do it? I'm no soldier pony." I said, feeling horrible, if not guilty for what happened.
"Maybe not, but I don't think Nightshade was thinking about that when he pushed you out of the way. I think he was trying to protect a friend." Shining Armor replied.
My stomach dropped. I had been careless and some other pony paid for it.
"I watched you take on the Queen hoof to fang, Smolder. You were like an inferno. I know what happened to Nightshade must of made you angry, but you almost fell into that pit; buried underneath all that rock. You just can't let your anger blind you like that, we could have lost you." Shining Armor explained to me.
"We..." I started to speak.
I wanted to tell him that Flame Ponies are taught not to show mercy. That whatever challenges a Flame Pony, we teach it to fear our flame. It was what my father had taught me. What my father had told me. It was how my father treated me. Taking another deep breath I realized I didn't want to be like my father.
"I'm sorry... sir." I said straightening up.
Shining Armor took notice of the word sir, but more so, my apology. Lifting his head with authority again, throwing out his chest, Shining Armor smiled at me.
"On behalf of the Crystal Empire, and the Royal Guards of Canterlot I want to personally thank you for your assistance today, Smolder. We couldn't have done this without you." Shining Armor said, before leaning in close to me. "I'm sure Nightshade will be happy to hear you dropped a mountain on the Queen for him."