//------------------------------// // PiT 1: Tumble // Story: Ponies in Tartarus // by ff0000 //------------------------------// Spike, a baby dragon, was on a task for his good friend, Twilight Sparkle. He was a small and purple dragon, not even taller than the ponies. Chubby cheeks filled out his round head. Green spines ran down from his head down to his stubby tail. His claws swung without a care in the world with every step he took. The little dragon walked along a mountain path. On one side was a slope going up, on the other was a slope going down. A photo of a specific flower was in his claw. It was pink with petals arranged in a bell shape. Twilight wanted to study it for something complicated purpose or another. She was still talking about why she needed it when Spike decided to leave. Walking along the rocky mountain was a boring task. There was nothing but the trail. Certainly no signs of the needed flower was around. The entire area seemed to be devoid of plant life. At least it was a nice day with clear skies and a light breeze. As Spike looked around, something caught his eye. A strange shadow was dancing across the side of the mountain. High on the rocky wall, a single flower was dangling pink flower. Looking back and forth between the picture of the flower and the actual one, his eyes widened. That was it. Spike stowed the picture away in his hammer space. His tough claws easily allowed him to climb up the not very steep slope. While he was up there, he heard the sound of squeaky wheels passing by underneath. As he was so close to the flower, Spike didn’t look back. Trying to reach out, his foot slipped, causing a few small rocks to slip loose. “Wah,” Spike gasped. His loose feet flailed in the air, but he managed to get a new foothold. He plucked the flower out from the side of the mountain. Down below though, something bad was happening. An old, cloaked pony was pulling on a cart filled with many different items. One of the rocks that fell off got caught in the path of the wheel however. It was temporarily jammed, causing the cart to shift and shudder, right towards the edge of the path. “Ahh,” the old pony gasped as the cart went tumbling over the edge of the cliff. She barely had time to get out of the hitch. With a lot of cracking and crumbling, the cart rolled all the way to the bottom of the mountain, being caught in a valley. Spike slid back down the mountain, landing on the trail. “Are you alright?” he asked in a shocked tone. “I’m fine, but my belongings.” She sounded very raspy, like her throat was dry. The old pony pointed down at the ravine. “I’d be lost without them.” The cloaked pony had wrinkly bright blue fur. Her mane was hidden by the cloak but her tail had a dull green tone and was covered in dirt. Droopy eyes looked mournfully down at the cart. It was still intact but all her things were strewn in the valley. She also didn’t have the strenght to get down there without hurting herself. “I’m so sorry,” Spike said. He was holding his arms out in a pleading fashion. “That’s alright, young one,” the old mare said. “I’ll get it somehow.” Spike raised his finger. “I’ll do that for you. It’s the least I can do.” With ease, the little dragon dropped down to the cart. Quite a mess of items were laying around. There were quilts, locked cases, several cracked jars and urns, among others. One of the boxes had fallen open, revealing a bunch of gemstones. Their luster reflected in the young dragon’s eyes. He shook his head, shaking off the feeling of wanting them. He was here to help. “Some of these are broken,” Spike said, holding up a jar. Strange powder was spilling out of the crack. “Please, save what you can.” “Got it!” Replacing these items in a space efficient manner was a bit harder than Spike thought, considering how he usually worked with things of the same shape and size. He managed to get most of the things back onto the cart. Jars, cases and other objects were overflowing, threatening to fall off. Pulling the cart along the uneven ground was making things worse. Spike kept a claw on the stack of items all the way. His flower was tucked safely in between some quilts. The cloaked pony followed along the trail. There was a point where the ravine was shallow enough for Spike to pull the cart onto the trail. “Here you go, miss.” Spike pushed over the cart with an embarrassed look on his face. He also snatched back his flower. “Thank you.” The mare went back into the straps that pulled the cart. “What is your name?” “Spike.” “My name is Musky Brew. I didn’t expect to see anyone else here. Where do you live, Spike?” “Over in Ponyville. It’s on the other side of the mountain.” Spike pointed towards the town but a stone slope was in the way. Musky Brew looked towards that direction anyway even though nothing interesting was visible. “I see. That’s quite a distance.” “Hey, it’s no big deal for a dragon like me.” With the claw holding the flower, Spike pointed to himself. “I think a fine dragon such as yourself deserves a reward for helping out.” Musky Brew placed a hoof on spikes head. “Aw it was nothing.” “Please. You can take one thing from my belongings as a reward.” Spike eyed the cart with sparkling eyes. “Are you sure?” Musky Brew nodded. “I insist.” “Don’t mind if I do then.” Spike crawled up into the cart. Rooting through the items, he was looking for the box of gems he had seen earlier. There was a large and delicious looking diamond among them. “I’m taking a gemstone, okay?” “That’s fine. I have plenty.” As Spike was reaching out for the box, a green glow caught his eye. There was another gem, wrapped in a black cloth. Part of it was visible. The dancing green light was mesmerizing. He wasn’t even sure what light was bouncing off the gem. It felt more important than the others. Spike briefly considered not taking it, but Musky Brew had said any one thing without conditions. Spike wrapped his claw around the cloth covered green gem. Treating it gently, the young dragon wrapped the gem up tightly. After coming out of the cart, he said, “Thank you, Musky Brew.” “Thank you for your help, Spike,” Musky Brew said. “I must be off now. Have a safe journey.” “You too!” Spike waved. He skipped off, holding his reward in both claws. The flower he was actually sent to recover was unceremoniously kept in his armpit. Walking along the mountain trail had been tiring. He just gotten out of it and was heading towards a lightly wooded area. Since he had the gem, why not have a snack right now? Spike unwrapped the gem. Holding it up to the sunlight, a green glow bathed the area. Drool leaked out from the side of his mouth. “Down the hatch,” he said to no one in particular. Spike opened his mouth and chomped down on the gem in one bite. It had a lovely, refined taste, befitting something that shined so bright. The gem was oddly hard however. Not even his dragon jaws could bite through it. Spike wasn’t bothered though. He just swallowed it whole. Licking the area around his mouth and rubbing his stomach, the purple dragon let out a satisfied sigh. That really hit the spot. Spike continued to walk, but on the next step, he felt dizzy. The light from the sun pounded in front of his face. Staggering left and right, the flower fell out from his armpit. He tripped over a rock on the side of the road. Landing in a bunch of bushes, he fell unconscious. Meanwhile, Musky Brew had also decided to take a break. She had her belongs spread out along the road and was in the middle of taking inventory of what had broken in the fall. A list of items was rolled out on the ground. “Blankets, cloaks, fairy powder, nevermelting ice, eyes of newt, sapphires, rubies,” the old mare muttered as she looked through her items. “Horn of light, shard of no reflections, yada yada. Wait, the gem isn’t here!” In a panic, Musky Brew looked through all her belongings again. The old mare had forgotten she even had that particular gem until looking back through her list. If the young dragon had taken any other gem, she would have been fine with it but not this one. This gem was dangerous. She had to get it back. In a rush, she repacked the cart as best she could. There was no time to waste.