Chapter 1: Into the Dark
The four shadowed figures coughed at the dust from their impact to the hard cobblestone floor. In reality, they had only fallen a single story. But the room they found themselves in was completely devoid of any outside light. Cobblestone walls covered with moss and some type of green mold greeted them on all sides, save for one tunnel blocked by solid iron bars. The smell of must was overpowering. A single flickering torch on a far wall illuminated the room.
Twilight Sparkle was the first one to stand up. “Well,” she remarked, looking at the other three figures, “at least we didn't die from the fall.”
The smallest one looked at her. “But now what, Twilight? We're stuck in this cell,” he stated, pointing at the metal grates that barred the only apparent exit, and then at the pile of pony bones in the corner.
“Oh, come on, Spike, there's got to be a way out of this. Don't be so negative,” Twilight quickly repiled, a manic grin spreading across her face.
Spike whispered to the large stallion, “Uh oh, watch out, denial Twilight incoming.”
“Eyup.”
Twilight didn't seem to hear. “Come on, everyone, let's go!” She took one step, then felt her chains stretching taut, pulling her back.
“I don't think you're going anywhere like that,” said the large, horned figure, who had finally risen to his hooves. “We're chained together, remember?”
“Oh yeah...” said Twilight. Turning around, she looked at the tall, bipedal creature chained next to Big Macintosh. He definitely wasn't a pony. He had two horns on the sides of his head, cloven hooves on his legs, and... hands? He also had a ring through his nose. Twilight had learned from her books that he was a minotaur, but she had never actually met one.
“I'm Twilight Sparkle,” she said, holding her hoof out.
“Iron Will's my name, and training ponies is my game!” he boldly announced, shaking her hoof with a... well... iron grip.
Spike piped up. “Hey, aren't you the same Iron Will who trained Fluttershy and turned her into a crazy overly assertive monster that...”
“Shush, Spike!” Twilight exclaimed, shoving a hoof over his mouth. “If we are going to work together,” she whispered in his earhole, “we need to get along. And bringing up past grudges won't help.”
“Fine, fine...” Spike grumbled. “I'm Spike,” he said to the minotaur.
Big Macintosh introduced himself as well.
“Alright, now that we all know each others names, how about we find a way out of this cell?” Twilight proposed.
The four of them spent the next few minutes attempting to find a way to move without falling over. However, after a while, they all got the hang of it, moving together as a square, with Big Macintosh in front left, Iron Will in front right, Spike in rear left, and Twilight in rear right.
Before approaching the gate, however, they took a walk around the cell. Their search revealed four slightly damp burlap sacks, as well as a large, thick vest wrapped around the pony bones in the corner.
“Ewww... this is so gross...” complained Twilight after putting on the heavy clothing. “Somepony died in this.” Spike chuckled at her squeamishness.
“We do what we must, and don't make a fuss!” exclaimed Iron Will, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Spike and Big Macintosh. He quickly added, “It means you shouldn't complain, it will provide better protection than just your bare hide. Who knows what we might encounter down here?”
Spike's eyes widened. “Maybe... zombies?”
Twilight sighed. “Not this again... Spike, nopony knows what lives inside this mountain. Nopony's ever come out alive to tell about it. But there's no reason to believe that zombies...”
Their conversation was interrupted by a huge tremor. The walls shook as the entire mountain groaned and rumbled. Dustand bits of rock fell from the ceiling. The four were knocked down by the sudden earthquake. Then, as quickly as it had started, the tremors stopped. The walls went back to normal as the dust settled around the prisoners sprawled on the floor. They got up as a group, synchronizing their actions perfectly.
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Big Macintosh was the first to speak, “Well, as pleasant as this has been, maybe we should, I dunno, get going?”
“Yeah, let's get out of here!” Spike added, grabbing a hoof-sized rock that had come loose from the ceiling.
Noticing the dragon's improvised weapon, Iron Will asked, “What are you going to do with that? Kill zombies?”
“If I have to,” Spike replied seriously.
Iron Will rolled his eyes. “Sure, kid. Just make sure to aim for the head.”
Big Macintosh chuckled at this little exchange. Twilight simply facehoofed.
The four of them made their way toward the iron bars. The nearby torch flickered, the orange glow reflecting off of the semi-lustrous metal. An engraving next to the bars read, “Rot in this cell or take the torch.” It was written in an old form of Equestrian: still legible, but outdated.
“Well,” Twilight started, shakily. “Is everypony ready?”
“Sure, Twilight!”
“No fear!!!”
“Eyup!”
Twilight nodded to Big Macintosh. He took the signal and gripped the handle of the torch in his teeth, removing it from its holder.
There was a small click as the mechanism came to life, raising the bars and opening the path ahead.
“Here goes nothing...” Twilight muttered as the four ventured into the unknown.