The shadows within the dungeon's corridors retreated further and further away from the herd of Flame Ponies that proceeded to the last known sighting of the aptly named Mystery Pony. Solar Wind, Wisp Seeker, Flare Fizzle and Ray Horizon were being led by two Royal Guard Ponies, Topaz and Spinel, with Rainbow Dash bringing up the rear. It wasn't long before Topaz and Spinel signaled for every pony to slow down before carefully approaching the corridor where Mr. Papyrus was found unconscious. Topaz took the lead, spitting a fireball down the corridor leading to the mines to illuminate the darkness; just to make sure the Mystery Pony wasn't still waiting. It was highly unlikely the Mystery Pony would have stuck around, but the Royal Guard ponies had a job to do.
"Can we get on with this? The longer we wait, the more time that pony has to escape." Ray whined tapping her hoof impatiently.
"Highly unlikely, the pony has an agenda." Flare corrected her.
"How do you know that?" Ray asked in a snarky voice.
"The Mystery Pony has taken the time to traverse an otherwise maze of a mine to reach these dungeons to destroy this etching in particular." Ray stated pointing at the broken rocks on the floor. "This pony had a plan, and executed it with great precision; being very methodical about it."
"So what? The etching is gone, game over." Ray replied kicking a rock.
"Ms. Sparkle and Mr. Papyrus also commented on the Mystery Pony overhearing their conversation concerning the rubbing that was taken of the now destroyed etching. It is safe to say that this pony will not leave until any trace of it is gone." Flare continued.
"So you're saying there is a good chance the pony is still lurking around in the mines somewhere?" Wisp asked peering down the dark corridor.
"Whatever the pony's plan was, it is either in jeopardy or halted due to Ms. Sparkle's preparedness; it won't leave until it can finish its task." Flare replied.
"Alright Ms. Smarty Saddle, what's its shoe size?" Ray taunted looking very annoyed with her.
"Shut it, Ray." Rainbow Dash scolded, getting very tired of Ray's attitude.
"Four and a half inches. I would guess that the pony appears to be a colt, approximately the same height as Rainbow Dash, if not a little taller, is right hoofed, and no stranger to combat." Flare answered casually keeping the straightest poker face Ray had ever seen.
"I'm calling bull. You're just making stuff up now." Wisp said looking unconvinced; having called her out.
Flare moved towards the smashed wall where the etching once was.
"There is a partial impression of the pony's hoof imbedded in this stone wall. From this we can determine that the pony's hoof size is at least four and half inches. Which is common for colts within the age range of seventeen to twenty, it is also the right hoof which signifies that the colt favors this this particular side as it is its dominant hoof." Flare explained to the small group of awe struck ponies.
"How do you know he's no stranger to combat, though?" Wisp asked looking like his mind was just blown.
"The colt can throw a hoof hard enough to break rock. If I'm not mistaken that is close to the amount of force a pony needs to take on an Owlbear?" Flare asked looking Wisp's way.
"Just about." Wisp replied with a smug smile flexing his arm.
"Show off." Ray mumbled bitterly.
"So what's the plan, Flare?" Rainbow Dash asked slamming her hooves together with an eager smile.
"Step one is cutting you from the team, Rainbow Dash." Flare said bluntly.
"What? You're cutting me loose?" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief.
"Ha!" Ray shouted.
"As much as your help would be greatly appreciated, none of us can physically touch you if anything were to happen to you. To this group, you are a liability and a potential weak point the Mystery Pony can exploit." Flare explained looking a little sympathetic for her.
"I guess that's true…" Rainbow Dash mumbled unhappy with it.
"It's okay, Rainbow, I'll tell you all about it when I get back." Ray said teasingly.
"I'm also leaving you here." Flare continued turning her attention to Ray.
"What!" Ray shrieked in surprise; her voice echoing downs the corridors.
"Frankly, I can't stand you, and I'm sure that goes for the rest of this team." Flare stated bluntly while Wisp nodded in agreement; Solar remained indifferent.
"B-B-B-B-B-" Ray stammered looking very shrill.
"This task will get done a lot faster without having you undermine everything we try to do with your excessive need for attention and rebelliousness." Flare said hammering the final nail into Ray's proverbial coffin.
"You can't cut me out! We're a team!" Ray shouted in protest; her mane flaring wildly.
"Were a team; just stand guard until we get back." Flare corrected her motioning for Wisp and Solar to follow her. "We'll be back with the Mystery Pony in custody."
Flare, Solar, and Wisp headed off towards the mine while Ray shook with pure rage, her flames leaping from her mane as Rainbow Dash tried not to add fuel to her fire.
"Come on, let's get back to training." Rainbow Dash offered in a calm voice.
"No! I'm going to find that Mystery Pony all by myself! Then we'll see who can't stand who!" Ray shouted spitefully; flapping her wings aggressively ready to chase after them.
"Ray!" The booming voice of General Hearth echoed from down the hall.
Stopping dead in her tracks, her mane fizzling to a low flame, Ray slowly turned to see her grandfather striding up to her with a group of Royal Guard ponies at his back.
"What?" Ray mumbled staring at the ground.
"What…" General Hearth repeated her word waiting for Ray to finish it.
"What… sir." Ray mumbled sounding very annoyed.
"I do believe I overheard Ms. Fizzle giving you a direct order to remain here." General Hearth stated sounding very strict.
Ray didn't reply, she stared angrily at the floor, muttering to herself in whispers. Rainbow Dash could see the embarrassment on Ray's face having to be scolded by her grandfather.
"Answer!" General Hearth barked making Ray and Rainbow Dash jump.
"Yes! Okay! But she wasn't being fair! She's just worried that I would find the pony without their help and boxed me out! She's just jealous that-" Ray flew into a rant but General Hearth stopped her short with a loud stomp of his hoof against the ground.
"I don't care what you think is fair, you are to do what you're told by those your superior. Do I make myself clear?" General Hearth asked looking very cross.
"But-" Ray tried to start up again.
"Do I make myself clear?" General Hearth posed his question again but this time much louder.
"Yes… sir." Ray muttered staring at the ground once more.
General Hearth took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. It was obvious that General Hearth wasn't going to show his granddaughter any special treatment, treating her like an soldier pony, but it did seem to take a toll on him. Exhaling slowly, he looked to Rainbow Dash who seemed slightly worried she would be yelled at next.
"Let me know if she gives you anymore trouble, Rainbow Dash." General Hearth said signaling his group of Royal Guard ponies to retreat back down the corridor.
"Sure… no problem." Rainbow Dash said feeling the tension slowly dissipate.
General Hearth was half way back down the corridor when he stopped for a moment, turning back towards them.
"Your mother wanted me to ask you if you were coming home for dinner tonight?" General Hearth asked in a softer tone.
"I'm not hungry." Ray replied still looking at the ground.
Nodding his head a few times, General Hearth continued down the corridor before his fire disappeared in the shadows. There was a long awkward silence between Ray and Rainbow Dash.
"Go ahead… you can laugh." Ray mumbled bitterly.
"Why would I laugh?" Rainbow Dash asked looking a little confused.
"Because you hate me." Ray muttered still staring at the floor.
"I don't hate you." Rainbow Dash said sounding surprised to hear that.
"Don't worry, every pony does, I'm used to it." Ray said scratching the floor with the tip of her hoof.
"What makes you say that?" Rainbow Dash asked sounding concerned.
"Because I'm the General's granddaughter. Every pony knows that you 'better be nice to Ray or the General will bust you back to boot camp' or 'better let Ray win or she'll tell the General on you' and 'Ray only got to be a soldier because the General is her grandfather'." Ray mocked herself, scraping the floor harder with her hoof.
"You can be a major pain in the flank at times, Ray, but I don't hate you." Rainbow Dash said sounding very sincere, sitting down next to her.
"You don't have to try and be my friend. I don't want any." Ray said getting up.
Ray strolled over to the smashed etching. Putting her back against the wall, she sat down and proceeded to wait for her team to return. Drawing lines in the dust on the floor, Ray glanced over to see Rainbow Dash leaning up against the wall beside her. Rainbow Dash settled herself in, crossing her arms and taking a deep breath.
"What are you doing?" Ray asked leaning a bit away from her.
"Getting comfortable." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Why?" Ray asked looking uneasy.
"Sometimes being a good leader isn't enough; sometimes you need to be a good friend to reach a pony." Rainbow Dash told her.
"I told you I don't want one." Ray stated swiping a rock away from her.
"I know. I'll just wait her until you do." Rainbow Dash replied.
Ray drew large circles in the dust with her hoof. Muttering to herself, not sure whether to be annoyed, angry, or upset by this. Rainbow Dash glanced over to see Ray staring at her, only to watcher her look away quickly and become enthralled with her circles in the dust.
Flare, Solar, and Wisp reached a fork in the tunnel. The corridor had progressively turned from stone under hoof to hard dirt and unrefined rock walls. There was scorch marks lining both corridors, although the ground was disturbed by a tool of some kind to hide the hoof prints leading into both tunnels.
"So which way?" Wisp asked turning to Flare.
"We go left." Flare announced leading the way.
"How do you figure?" Wisp asked expecting another in depth explanation.
"Because I said so." Flare replied flatly.
Wisp looked over at Solar who shrugged in reply.
"So, what? No super smart explanation to why we go this way?" Wisp asked sounding disappointed.
"It smells less putrid then the other tunnel. I'm sure even the mystery pony would avoid it." Flare replied rolling her eyes.
"Let me ask you something, o' fearless leader." Wisp requested.
"Ask away." Flare mumbled, barely paying attention to him.
"Why are you even in the Royal Air Force? A brain like yours should be doing some studying with the other smart ponies trying to figure out our reason for being or something like that." Wisp asked looking puzzled.
"Let's keep our dumb little questions to ourselves, okay?" Flare asked sounding annoyed; already regretting that she let him ask it to begin with.
"I may not be a know-it-all but I can tell that you are not cut out for this kind of work." Wisp replied with a chuckle.
"What makes you say that?" Flare replied with an exasperated sigh.
"Well for starters, you aren't the fastest pegasi pony we got. Hay, you are close to being one of our slowest. I'll have to leave you a forwarding address by the time you got to where we were going." Wisp began to make his list.
"Hilarious, I can see why you're cut out for this job." Flare replied half-heartedly.
"I don't mean to brag but I've got a knack for being a hero." Wisp said proudly rubbing his hoof against his chest.
"Oh, please, do go on." Flare said sarcastically.
Flare felt her hoof snag on a cord. The cord quickly began to slide across the ground, the sound of rope whining through iron castings was heard when a large slab of granite dropped from up above her. Shutting her eyes, Flare raised her hooves over her head to protect herself from the impending granite. There was a large thud that rang out through the corridor. Opening her eyes slowly, Flare could see Wisp standing beside her, standing on his hind legs, having caught the slab of granite from falling on her.
"Secondly, you don't really watch where you're going and that can lead to trouble." Wisp said straining under the weight of the slab.
Wisp tilted it to the side, letting the granite slide off of his hooves and drop to the ground before tilting it up against the wall. Solar had taken the liberty of inspecting the trap while Wisp gave out a sharp whistle; rolling his shoulders from the impromptu workout. Wisp turned to look at Solar who was holding up an iron casting that he had found near the trap.
"What you got there, Solar?" Wisp asked striding away to check out the iron casting he had in his hooves.
Flare felt her mane fizzle. Her heart was already pounding from the sudden rush of fear, but it now seem that it wasn't beating from the granite that nearly had crushed her. She stared at Wisp, almost dumbstruck that this muscle loving colt had just saved her life like it was no big deal. Her face began to flush at the thought of Wisp heroically standing over her, keeping that slab of granite from crushing her once more, and how handsome he looked doing it. Shaking her head free of such ridiculous thoughts, Flare composed herself and joined the others.
"There's something you don't see every day." Wisp said examining the iron casting.
"What?" Flare asked looking at it as well.
"This wasn't made by a Flame Pony, no doubt about it. Our mystery pony got its hooves on some of tools." Wisp said looking it over.
"Or some pony could be helping it." Flare added.
"Not likely, welding ponies usually leave a mark showing who made it. This hasn't got one." Wisp corrected her.
"You know a lot about welding?" Flare asked curiously.
"Not much, I know a lot about traps though. I see them every now and again when going into the Dark Marsh. Spiders, Timber Wolves, Diamond Dogs, leave them to try and catch some poor unsuspecting Flame Pony. Seems rather old though, could just be something left over from the old mining days, but I can't be sure. Probably expected some ponies to come looking for it." Wisp explained showing it to her.
"If the Mystery Pony set one, then there are probably more ahead." Flare stated.
"You can bet your saddle on that. You two wait here while I go check-up ahead to get an idea of what we're dealing with." Wisp said tossing the iron casing aside.
Flare and Solar stood side by side in the tunnel, watching Wisp slowly make his way up the corridor to make the tunnel safer for them. For some reason Wisp's heroic dumb smile kept creeping into Flare's mind. Glancing at Solar, Flare could see him in his thousand yard stare and nonchalant way he carried himself.
"You got anything to say?" Flare asked nudging Solar.
Solar turned to look at Flare who raised a brow to him expecting some sort of reply.
"What should I say?" Solar asked in a near monotone voice.
"Anything useful?" Flare pitched.
"Off the record?" Solar asked.
"Sure, anything." Flare replied.
"You shouldn't have left Ray behind." Solar said in a matter of fact tone.
"Left Ray beh- she is insufferable, disrespectful and immature! She would have been a burden to us!" Flare snapped at him; looking surprised.
"You're right. This couldn't have been educational in any way for her to learn how to work with us as a team. Let's leave her behind where she'll get no help at all." Solar replied.
Even in a monotone like voice, Flare could still hear the sarcasm in his voice. She felt her mane fizzle again; she was almost embarrassed by what Solar has said.
"Well… why didn't you say anything?" Flare demanded trying to turn this back around on him.
"It wasn't my place to say." Solar replied.
Flare fumed for a bit. It was hard to accept but Solar had made a good point. Leaving Ray behind may have been the logical step to take but it wasn't because she wasn't ready, but it was because of her own feelings about having her around.
"You know, not speaking up for Ray when you had the chance is just as bad as leaving her behind." Flare mumbled to him.
Solar broke away from his thousand yard stare to look at the ground for a moment; he turned to look at Flare who seemed to be feeling just as guilty.
"I guess you're right." Solar replied.
There was a sudden snap of a rope, a creak of metal, and large metal chain fused with twisted pieces of barbed wire whipped out from the wall. Fortunately, Flare and Solar were a ways away while Wisp nimbly ducked under it as the metal chain embedded itself with immense force into the rock wall beside him.
"All clear, you can move your flanks on up." Wisp called back to them.
"Are you alright?" Flare asked glancing at the metal chain as they walked over.
"This trap was done hastily, probably heard us coming and rushed it. The thing pretty much set itself off, I barely touched it." Wisp explained pointing out the poor design and layout of the trap.
"But are you alright?" Flare asked again.
"Look, Flare Bear, I do this kind of thing for a living. You just keep playing leader and let me do my job." Wisp replied tapping his hoof on her nose.
That unfamiliar feeling Flare had concerning Wisp quickly retreated and her scowl made an appearance.
"We should keep moving." Solar said strolling past them.
"The statue speaks, what else can you say?" Wisp asked giving Solar a nudge.
Flare started to follow them but felt something eating away at her.
"Wait… wait a minute." Flare said aloud slowing to a stop; causing Wisp and Solar to stop.
"What's wrong now?" Wisp asked sounding annoyed.
"We should go back." Flare stated.
"Say what now?" Wisp asked looking surprised.
"For Ray?" Solar asked, his brow lifting ever so slightly.
"That pip-squeak? We can get this job done in no time without that little pony bothering us." Wisp declared crossing his arms.
"Perhaps, but if I had left you behind, boulder head, I'd be a pancake right about now." Flare said poking him in the chest with her hoof.
"Was that a weird way to say thanks for saving my life?" Wisp asked with a coy smile.
"You're saying that Ray might have a chance to prove herself as an asset to this team." Solar stated.
"I'm saying that we're going back for Ray and we're all going to try to make this work." Flare said still poking Wisp in the chest.
"Whatever you say, Flare Bear, but this was your idea; both times." Wisp said retreating back to the dungeon with the others.
Rainbow Dash and Ray had been sitting in silence for almost an hour. There were times where Ray mumbled something but would quickly take it back and hide her face. Needless to say, Rainbow Dash was being very patient with her and letting her get to the point where she would want to talk on her own.
"Am I a good flyer?" Ray asked quietly after a while.
"One of the best." Rainbow Dash replied glancing over at her.
"Because I really am a great flyer or because my grandfather said I was?" Ray asked drawing circles in the dust again.
"Does it matter?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
"Yeah…" Ray mumbled. "It matters to me."
"What's up with you and General Grandpa?" Rainbow Dash asked sitting up straight.
"Every pony thinks I'm getting special privileges just because I'm the General's granddaughter, but I worked harder than any other pony to get to where I am. The more the other ponies see me with my grandfather, the more they think I'm just asking for things." Ray said sounding miserable.
"Why not just tell your grandpa that? I'm sure he can explain it to the other ponies." Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
"I don't need his help, I don't need any pony's help, I can be the best flyer on my own and show all of them that they were wrong about me." Ray said swiping away the dust under her hoof.
"So you're going to become the leader of the Academy and show up every pony?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
"That's right." Ray said folding her arms in a huff.
"How's that working out?" Rainbow Dash asked with a small smile.
Ray started to pout; having been left behind by her team for guard duty wasn't part of her master plan.
"Wanting to be the best is a great thing to strive for, but when you've got an attitude like dragon with a tummy ache, you're going to find it's hard to get where you want to be." Rainbow Dash said.
"I'm not the one with the problem." Ray snapped.
"You're the only pony with a problem." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Every pony has a problem with me!" Ray insisted; nearly shouting.
"You want every pony to treat you with respect, but you go around treating every pony like dirt. That's not a quality of a good leader and it's definitely not a good way to treat your fellow flyers." Rainbow Dash scolded her.
Ray didn't reply, she was trying to think of something to say but couldn't come up with anything.
"You've tried pushing away every pony that really cares about you because you think they're in your way, but the truth is that those ponies are the ones that want you to succeed the most. That's why your Grandpa scolds you when you act up, that's why I'm hard on you when you talk back, and it's the reason your team left you behind." Rainbow Dash explained to her.
Rainbow Dash could see Ray starting to shake, she had her eyes shut and she could hear her quietly whimpering. Ray tried to hide her face from Rainbow Dash, folding her arms and burying her face. Even so, the flames on her mane wavered from her whimpering. Flare was still young, acting out was a common things for ponies her age, but for Ray it was more about getting ponies to trust her for her own merits and not because of her lineage.
Noticing a faint light coming from down the tunnel, Rainbow Dash could see Flare, Solar and Wisp making their way back. Feeling that it was way too soon to have captured the Mystery Pony, Rainbow Dash felt that they were coming but a different reason.
"Hey, Ray…" Rainbow Dash said warmly trying to get her attention.
"W-W-What?" Ray stammered still hiding her face; still quietly sobbing to herself.
"If you had the chance to tell your team you were sorry for being a pain in the flank, would you?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
"Does it matter?" Ray asked choking back a sob.
"Yeah, I think it matters a lot." Rainbow Dash replied.
"I guess so…" Ray mumbled to herself; rubbing her nose.
"Even if you were teased by Wisp for having to say you're sorry?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
"Wisp is annoying and a jerk." Ray said rather harshly.
Ray seemed to calm down, thinking more about having to apologise and how Wisp would react to it.
"Although, my grandfather did tell me that Wisp once fought off twelve Diamond Dogs, with a broken hoof, to protect a turtle they were trying to eat." Ray mentioned.
"A turtle?" Rainbow Dash asked with a laugh.
"It just... reminds me that Wisp will help any pony in trouble, no matter how small or weak. It kind of makes me feel safe around him; even if he picks on me." Ray explained wiping her nose with her hoof.
"You seem to get along okay with Solar, though." Rainbow Dash mentioned.
"Well, that's because he doesn't talk all that much." Ray said looking over at her.
"So I've noticed." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Solar is, like, the most sensible pony I've ever met. Nothing really gets to him, just does what he needs to do and doesn't speak unless he has to." Ray continued tapping her hooves together.
"It sounds to me like you sort of respect him." Rainbow Dash mentioned.
"Solar never teased or accused me of anything; he would just nod his head at me whenever we saw each other. I guess he's the closest thing I've had to a friend." Ray confessed, flushing slightly.
"Have you ever told him that?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
"No! Why would I? It would make things weird." Ray snapped sounding very defensive.
"What would be so weird about it?" Rainbow Dash asked looking puzzled.
"We'd might start… I don't know… hanging out and stuff." Ray muttered turning a soft shade of red.
"Celestia forbid you'd hang out with a friend." Rainbow Dash said rolling her eyes.
"If you didn't choose Flare, I think Solar would have been the next best choice for leader." Ray added.
"Do you think that Flare was the right choice to lead this team?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
"… yeah." Ray said slowly.
"Why was she the right choice?" Rainbow Dash asked again.
"Flare is really smart, like super smart about everything. She's independent and she can be tough when she wants to be. She's... she's everything I wanted to be." Ray confessed looking over at Rainbow Dash.
"Do you look up to her?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't know… maybe… I've never been very good with strategy, tests, but Flare makes it look so easy." Ray muttered.
"Why haven't you asked her to tutor you or help you out with your studying?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't know, I didn't want her to see me struggle with something that comes easy to her. She already thinks I'm annoying, and I really wanted to impress her so she could think I wasn't... as... annoying." Ray replied with a sigh.
"Well, maybe not that annoying." Flare's voice drifted in.
Ray's mane flared for a moment. She refused to turn around, staring wide eyed at Rainbow Dash; she could feel her face turning a bright red. Flare, Solar, and Wisp stood in the corridor, it was unclear how much of their conversation was overheard but it didn't matter for Ray; she was mortified.
"Oh! Hey! I didn't see you there!" Rainbow Dash said faking her surprise.
"Rainbow…" Ray hissed covering her face with her hooves in embarrassment.
"What are you ponies doing back so soon? Did you find the Mystery Pony?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously getting up from the floor.
"Not quite, we came back for Ray." Flare informed her.
Ray perked up after hearing these words. Jumping to her hooves she turned to her wayward team with the look of disbelief.
"R-R-Really?" Ray asked sounding very surprised.
"We talked it over-" Flare began.
"They talked it over; I had nothing to do with it." Wisp interrupted.
"WE talked it over, that means you too Wisp, and decided that you're part of this team whether we like it or not and that if we're ever going to get along we should probably start somewhere. So we're starting here." Flare explained throwing Wisp a look.
Flare felt herself lurch back a bit by Ray's sudden embrace. Flare felt Ray hugging her tightly, hiding her face in her shoulder as Flare awkwardly patted her on the back.
"I'm sorry." Ray mumbled to her.
Rainbow Dash was all smiles but Flare seemed out of her element with sort of thing.
"F-Forget about it, just keep it uh…" Flare struggled to find something to say.
"Cool." Solar offered.
"Yeah, keep it cool." Flare said not sounding too sure that was the word she was looking for.
"You got it." Ray said stepping back from Flare.
"You ponies watch your flanks in there." Rainbow Dash said to them.
"Yeah, yeah. Can we go now? All this walking and we haven't even gotten past our feelings yet." Wisp mumbled walking once more back down the tunnel.
"We'll be back soon, Rainbow Dash." Flare assured her following Wisp.
Solar motioned for Ray to walk beside him and she did so rather tentatively at first. Rainbow Dash nodded in acceptance of the Flame Ponies and turned around to make her way back up to the Main Hall.
"Rainbow Dash!" Ray shouted running back towards.
"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash asked turning around.
"I…" Ray began as her voice suddenly cracked.
Rainbow Dash giggled as Ray looked away clearing her throat; her face turning red.
"I wanted to say thanks for being such a good… friend to me." Ray said nervously.
"Don't mention it." Rainbow Dash said with a warm smile.
"I'll make you proud Rainbow Dash!" Ray shouted running back off towards Solar who waited patiently for her.