//------------------------------//
// Scene 6 
// Story: Equestrian Underground 
// by Krysto 
//------------------------------//

	Flash thought back to his youth, he had spent his entire life as a young and aspiring photographer. His entire family had gained infamy for their artistic talents, from sculpting to painting, music and literature. Supposedly he had some relation to a famous cellist here in Ponyville and could always remember his parents comparing him to various relatives who had succeeded in their various trots of life. But he had taken up photography, the 'lowest of all art forms' as he recalled his father saying with great disappointment, as he paced the halls and eyed the many portraits of famous ancestors that adorned their Trottingham home. It was almost like a palace, and he was to be some sort of prince as he recalled from his younger years before he found his passion in life. They had always hoped he would become a great artist some day, and put him on some sort of pedestal as if he were slated to be something special. But still his father paced back and forth, between those great portraits and busts, all produced from the very hooves that he was being compared to. But he had to be a photographer, who, as his father put it, 'took the easiest path to capturing still life'.
“A sculptor has to envision is statue and slowly carve it out, piece by piece, and even a wax sculptor must take his time to ensure perfection. A painter must make only the most calculated of strokes, choosing the most refined of colors and paints. But you, son, a photographer. What shame this brings me you cannot begin to understand. All you ponies do is find something interesting and press a button and call yourselves artists like us. If you wish to bring shame to our family name, we will not stand for it any longer. Leave this place now and seek your fame and fortune in photography, as I'm certain you will find that none exists.”
It had been a crushing blow, to be insulted so greatly, and by his own father no less. Other family members had been far more forgiving, even offering him a home elsewhere in Equestria, though it never really helped save him from the pain he had felt. Everywhere he went he felt the shame his father had forced him to see, making his own special talent feel more like a curse. Every time he tried to pursue photography, he always came so close to success, even with Photo Finish herself, who said he had great talent, but yet he always held back, and she could clearly see it. So he left, and he left again, from place to place never truly finding a place where he could be happy with his skills.
And now, some dark clad pony out for his still-beating heart was about to keep him from ever finding his place in the world. Mustering all his strength, he tried the one spell he had promised his father he'd never use again.
Within a space of time no greater than a single second, Flash released a blast of light so intense that it left the room feeling well lit for any pony near enough to see it. Of course this excluded the figure who had been staring directly at it, who was now stumbling backwards in a blinded confusion.
“Horsefeathers! Is that why they call you Flash?” Quick yelled, still rubbing his eyes.
“No, they called me Flash because of how fast I ran from a schoolyard fight!” Flash yelled back, having already bolted out of the room.
“I'll have to remember to thank you for this!” Quick yelled, following after, looking over his shoulder to see if the mysterious pony had resumed its pursuit.
“Yeah, well save it for later, we have to find a way out of here and fast!”
By this point the two were approaching the front door and were about ready to crash through when the two guards stepped into the doorway, blocking their exit.
“You didn't think we'd go by this entire time without hearing all your shouting, now did you?”
The gruff guards barely had time to finish their textbook responses before Quick and Flash had ground to a halt and taken off in another direction.
“We'll have to find another way out, Flash.”
“No duh, Quick, but where? This place has only one way out, and that's the front door!”
Quick suddenly lowered his voice and ducked into a dark corner.
“Then we'll just have to hide. Flash, in here!”
Flash could barely see where Quick was motioning, his own vision blurred from the spell. It appeared to be a small storage closet, but nopony would ever have known it was there unless they had known it existed previously.
“How did you find this, Quick?”
“Spotted it on the way in, now get in here and be quiet!”
The closet was dark and cramped, being already nearly full with cleaning supplies and tools for various chores around the archives. Outside, the hoofsteps of the guards could be heard frantically scampering across the tiled floors.
“They couldn't have gotten far, there are only so many places to hide around here.”
“I told you we should have locked the agent in with those two, leaving the door open was a stupid idea.”
“Well how was he supposed to get out?”
“Oh I don't know, through the same door he used to get in?”
“Hey, don't blame me, I didn't quite feel like leaving a pony-cidal maniac locked in with those two with even the slightest chance of being mad at us when he got out.”
“How do you know it's a he?”
“I dunno, I just figured, why would they send a mare to do a stallion's job ya know?”
“Well we wouldn't need to be sending in an agent if you hadn't scared those two out of eating their poisoned sandwiches.”
This comment left Flash staring at his saddlebag where the very two sandwiches in question were still wrapped.
“Yeah, well none of this would have mattered if you had just pushed that cart a little sooner! 'Oh, let's wait for them to stop and smell the daisies'.”
“Yeah, well what about the rest of the ponies on the other teams? Clearly this isn't all my fault if just one pony could do their job right.”
“Ah just shut it already and help me check over here, maybe they hid in the storage wing.”

“I told you so, they've been out to get us all day! We're running out of time, Flash, we need to think of something fast.” Quick whispered urgently.
“I can't see a thing in here, let me see if I can get a little light.”
“Ow, did you just kick me?”
“No, I think you just bumped into something here on the floor. I can't quite figure out what it is though. There we go!”
A dim light brought the room into a clearer view, illuminating dozens of brooms, buckets and barrels of cleaner. In the center of the room was a rug covering a rather conspicuous lump.
“What is that, Quick? You must have kicked it pretty hard, it looks like it's loose.”
Flash pulled the rug aside and was surprised to see a small brass handle connected to a wooden door below.
“Where do you think it leads, Quick​?” Flash asked urgently.
“Out, and that's all that matters right now!”
Quick grabbed the handle with his hooves and yanked the door open revealing a carved out passageway below. The walls were moist and lined with crude bricks that looked quite a lot older than the archives themselves.
“Well, I've got the light, so I suppose I'm first in first out.” Flash didn't waste any more time and climbed down into the hole.
“I'm shutting this thing behind us and covering it back up with the rug, go on ahead. If we're lucky, Flash, they won't notice it in the darkness and we're home free!”
“Yeah, that's if this place leads anywhere and if they don't follow us in and catch us.”
Without any more conversation, the two set off down the damp, dark passageway for what felt like an hour. When they were certain that nopony else was following them (as hoofsteps would have echoed for miles down there if it weren't for a fast silencing spell urged out by Quick's adrenaline) the two finally slowed their pace and began to take in their surroundings.
“Wow, Quick, this tunnel looks incredibly old. It must go back to some of the earliest years of Ponyville, just look at the age of these stones. They're all hoof laid too!”
“I don't know how old they are, but you're certainly right, Flash, these tunnels are ancient! Hey, I don't suppose it would hurt if we compiled a quick recording here, do you?”
“Good idea, Quick, I guess that's why you're the lead reporter. I did manage to catch a quick snapshot of the pony from the archives though, thank goodness for these micro cameras. Hold on while I set this thing up and mount it on my back, we're going to have to walk and talk.”
Flash produced his folding video camera from his pack and assembled it in midair, resting it gently on a fold-out harness which connected rather snugly to his back.
“Alright, ready to go live in three- two-”

“This is Reel Quick, your EU on-the-spot reporter for all of your deepest and darkest secrets here in Equestria. This time the secrets are quite literally deeper and darker than you could imagine, taking us to secret underground passages here in Ponyville. Who would have guessed that these corridors have been standing beneath the streets of everyponies' favorite market town without anypony being the wiser. It is believed that these passages may have been used by gangsters and bandits back in the early days of Ponyville's founding when a small gang of highway robbers formed a pact with local apple merchants to help corner the market on apples. Thus the Applecore Syndicate was born and since then has kept a tight hoof on all apple growths throughout all of Equestria, taking out any pony daring enough to stand in their way. Here at EU, we're bringing you all the facts, and we won't rest until this organization is uncovered and brought to justice!”
Quick released his breath and wiped his adventurous look off his face again.
“That will have to do for now, I hope it's convincing enough for viewers.”
“Convincing? Well despite being complete and total speculation, I'd say you could raise an army with a speech like that. I'm shocked, Quick, I haven't seen screen time like that since your early works.”
“I never took you for a pony who'd have taken the time to watch my old films. I thought the quest for Starswirl's lost research cabin would be a total flop.”
“Total flop? Quick, you uncovered ancient scrolls of major historic value. Come on, they're on display in Canterlot for Celestia's sake!”
“Yes, they're on a fancy shelf, but nopony who goes to see it well ever take the time to remember the expedition that spent seven long months trekking through the Badlands for a cabin carved into a rock face.”
“Whether they remember you or not is one thing, Quick, but making a discovery of historic and lasting significance; that's what really matters!”
“I guess you're right, I shouldn't be on this great quest for my own greatness. This shouldn't be about me. I have to go back to doing things for the reason that started me on this journey in the first place. I'm doing this for Equestria, right? I'm doing this so that ponies can come and go with a little more peace of mind than before.”
“That's the spirit, Quick, that's the reporter I remembered.”
“I thought you barely knew me?” Quick suddenly replied.
“I, err. Um, never mind, we'll talk about it later.”