//------------------------------//
// Chapter X: Into Darkness 
// Story: The Ranger's Journey 
// by Silentpegasus 
//------------------------------//


Chapter X 

Into Darkness


It was early morning when Crimson left his home. The man managed to sneak out without waking the green flyer. As he made his way past the library, the door opened revealing the librarian donning a light purple blouse and long dark pants. Crimson let out a sigh and walked up to her. Twilight felt a wave of sadness and guilt creep over her.

“Crimson I-”

“No need to apologize. I was out of line yesterday. Sorry.” He said in a flat tone.

“N-no it wasn’t your fault and-”

“Yes, it was. End of story.” He said as he continued to make his way towards the forest.

“Where are you going?” She asked as she walked next to him.

“There are some old ruins that are giving off a strange energy.” He said as he pointed to the forest. “I think that it might be connected to your animal problem.”

“Is that possible?”

“It’s only a hunch, but worth looking into. Sooner I get this mission done, sooner I can get to the next.” Twilight felt her heart sink a little.

“Hold up, I’m coming with you.” 

“No, you’ll only get in my-” The woman then stuck her index finger in the center of his chest and bore holes through him with her dark purple eyes.

“I’m going. End of story.” She said in a stern tone. “I’ve been to the ruins you’re talking about. I know the quickest way to get there.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone. Crimson narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh.

“Fine, but if I say run then you run and don’t look back.” He said in a serious tone. “Got it?”  

“Crimson, I’ve gone toe to toe with Nightmare Moon, sealed Discord in stone and helped save an empire.” She said in a flat tone. “I can handle this.”

“Fine, just try to keep up.” He said as he hastily made his way towards the forest with The scholar following close behind him. The two entered the forest and made their way towards the ruins. Something in the bushes rustled and Twilight immediately squealed and hid behind the red haired man. Crimson looked over at the bush and saw a small rabbit hop out and look at them before scampering away.

The man looked at the scholar who was blushing in embarrassment. “You sure you beat Nightmare Moon?” Twilight then gave him dirty look as she blushed.

“It just surprised me.” She said as she scrunched her nose. Crimson chuckled at the spectacle and continued to march forward. The two then came upon a deep ravine with a rickety wooden bridge spanning the gap. “Is this a good idea?”

“Seriously asking that now?” He said as he looked at her. “If you want to turn back, then nows your chance.” Twilight deadpanned at him. “Fine, suit yourself.” He said as he slowly made his way across the bridge. The wooden planks creaked as they stepped on them. 

“Is this safe?”

“We’re going into a seemingly abandoned castle that once housed Nightmare Moon. One of the most dangerous people to ever walk the face of Equestria. You’re gonna start analyzing now?” He said in a dead panned expression. The two heard the rope snap and held on. Crimson grabbed Twilight around the waist and aimed his gauntlet at a nearby rock.

“What are you doing?”

“Trust me?”

“No!”

“Too bad.” He said as he let go of the feeble rope bridge and swung. The scholar was clinging to him for dear life. She felt the wind whip at her hair. She then felt them rising. The two swung up on the ledge and landed with a hard thump. “See? Nothing to worry about.” He said with a smile. Twilight was panting heavily and was trying to regain her composure.

“Yeah, but how are we going to get back?”

“I’ll think of something.” He said in a calm tone. The man then turned his attention to the dark castle in front of him. “Now comes the real problem.” Twilight gulped and walked up next to him. “There’s something in there. Something that’s trying to get out.”

“Like a monster or something?”

“Could be. Regardless, I’ll deal with it.” He said as the two walked up the stone steps.

“You’ve faced monsters before?” The librarian asked in a nervous tone.

“Yeah.” Crimson said as he frowned.

“Are you scared of them?”

“No," Crimson said in a bone chilling tone "they’re scared of me.” He said as the two walked through the broken archway. They had just passed the point of no return.
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“Crimson! You are so dead!” Ivy yelled as she flew through the sky at an alarming speed. She then saw a bright Rainbow blur fly up next to her.

“Hey Ivy, what’s up?” She asked.

“Not now Dash, I need to find Crimson and then I’m gonna beat him to a red stain.” She said as she cracked her knuckles.

“Why?”

“He went ahead without me!”

“Ahead where?” She asked as she stopped in front of the flyer.

“Crimson found some weird power source in the forest and went to investigate.” She said as the two landed. “We were supposed to wait for back up, but he’s so stubborn!”

“Where is this power source?”

“I don’t know. He said something about old ruins and-”

“Oh! I know where that is!” Ivy looked at Dash in surprise.

“You do?”

“Well, sort of. Twilight would know. We can go ask her.” The two took flight and rocketed towards the library. The two then saw Applejack and Rarity enter. The two flyers shrugged and made their way inside to see the small dragon hybrid sitting at a desk. 

“Hey Spike do you know where Twilight is?” Dash asked.

“As I just finished telling AJ and Rarity, I saw her head out with Crimson this morning.” He said as Rarity and Applejack giggled.

“Looks like Twilight finally got the nerve and-”

“Oh shit. That’s not good.” Ivy said.	

“Why not? Maybe they went fora picnic or-”

“They didn’t go on a date Rarity.” Ivy said in a dry tone. “Crimson went to go investigate some old ruins in the forest and it sounds like Twilight tagged along.”

“Ruins? The only ruin that’s in there is the old castle where we beat Nightmare moon.” Applejack answered.

“Well, you all know where I’ll be.” Ivy said as she tarted to walk out of the building only to be stopped by Dash.

“Hold up there girl. We’re coming with you.”

“Why?”

“Twi’s a friend of ours, so is Crimson. We ain’t gonna let em get trapped in that place.” The farmer said.

“We also happen to know the way there.” Rarity said. Ivy grunted and weighed her options.

“Fine, just don’t fall behind.” She said with a sigh. The group then spent the next ten minutes getting Pinkie an Fluttershy together. The group then neared the entrance to the forest. Ivy took a moment and looked back at the group. “Okay, if you want to back out now then this is the time. I have no idea what we’ll find in there.”

“We know.” Dash said as she rolled her eyes. Applejack took the lead and started leading the group down the pathway. “Hey Ivy something’s been bugging me.”

“What’s up?”

“How are you able to use magic?” She asked. “I mean, I know that people with wings can fly and control the weather, but I’ve never seen one use magic like mages can.”

“That all?” The girl then pulled out her whip. “This help me focus my aura into spells. I can use a few complex spells, but I usually use it to increase my strength and speed.” She said as she showed them her fingerless brown gloves. The gloves stretched past her wrist and went up to her mid fore arm. “These also help.”

“So what kind of spells can you use?” Rarity asked.

“Mostly fire spells.” She said as her hands were enveloped in bright green flames. “See that rock?” She said as she pointed to a boulder the size of Fluttershy’s cottage. The group nodded. Ivy extinguished her flames and cracked her knuckles as she walked up to it. When she was a foot in front of the boulder, she brought her right hand back and punched the large rock.

The group looked in shock as they saw the large rock crack and break apart from the girl’s strength. “Works like a charm.” She said with a smile. The group of girls all gulped in disbelief. “That’s just the tip of the iceberg.” She said with a grin.

“How so?” Rarity asked.

“You guys have seen Cliff right?” 

“How could we not see something that big?” Dash said. “Why?”

“Let’s just say that Crimson isn’t the only one with a pet.” She said with a grin. The girls all gulped and continued to make their way towards the old castle.
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Twilight followed the red haired man who had a torch in his hand. The two made their way down a dark hallway. Twilight stayed right behind the man and kept close to him. Once in a while she would ‘accidentally’ walk a little too fast and collide with the man’s back. As they stepped out of the hallway, the scholar felt the stone slab under her left foot sink a little. 

Crimson’s eyes shrank and grabbed the girl as he hit the floor. The woman heard a loud slashing sound and looked up to see a large axe stuck in the spot where she would have been standing.

“Booby traps. Must be getting close.” He said as he got to his feet. Crimson offered his hand to the scholar who gladly took it. Twilight blushed as he helped her up. The scholar cleared her throat and continued to follow the man down the hallway, being extra careful where they stepped. After dodging a few more traps that consisted of flaming arrows, spiked pit traps and the occasional giant boulder the two made their way into a large round room.

Crimson looked around the room and saw that it was filled with different chests and a few jewels scattered around the room. The two then heard a series of crashes. Twilight jumped in surprise into Crimson’s arms. The two looked in surprise to see Pinkie, Dash, AJ and the rest of the group come from the other entrance completely out of breath and looked like they had just been trampled by a herd of horses.

“Okay, we do NOT go back that way.” Ivy said as she sat down. The flyer then saw the other two mages looking at them in surprise. “Are we interrupting something?” She asked with a smug grin on her face. Twilight then noticed that she was still in the man’s arms. She blushed violently and quickly got to her own feet.

“How the hell did you guys get here?” Crimson asked.

“Well, after we saw that the bridge was out we went around back and found another entrance.” Dash said. “Turns out that it was booby trapped so we ran like hell and here we are.” She said as she got up.

“You took them with you?” He asked as he looked at Ivy.

“They’re stubborn and wouldn’t let me go if I didn’t take them.” Crimson frowned. “What? You took her.” She said as she pointed at Twilight.

“Touche.” He said with a sigh. “Okay everyone listen up.” He said catching the group’s attention. “There’s an odd power signature coming from the bottom of the palace. We work our way down and hopefully find a way out.” The group nodded. “If there’s fighting to be done then leave it to Ivy and me.”

“We can help out.” Dash said.

“No, just find some cover and wait till it’s safe to come out.” Crimson said. “You’ll only get in our way and we can’t protect you all the time.” He said as he walked off down the path way. The group sighed and followed the man with Ivy brining up the rear. The group continued to make their way through the old ruins.

Crimson kept his eyes forward, staring into the barely lit hallway. He stopped moving as they came to a large hallway. Hundreds of rows of stone pillars stood before them.

“Wow.” Dash said as she echoed.

“What is this place? Store room?” Applejack asked.

“Maybe a mine?” Pinkie said with a shrug.

“This is no mine.” Crimson said as he looked at the inscriptions on the stones. “It’s a tomb.” He said with a gulp. The group all looked at one another and gulped. “Stay together and keep quiet.” He said as he withdrew his weapon. The group kept quiet and slowly made their way through the old structure. “Ivy, you feel that?”

“Yeah.” She said as she pulled out her whip. The group stopped moving and looked around to only see darkness. Crimson then spun around and slashed at the darkness. The group heard a high pitched squeal come from the shadows. Ivy changed the whip into her baton form and shot a bright green flame towards the ceiling. The green light illuminated the hallway.

Crimson’s eyes shrank as he saw hundreds of small shadowy figures clinging to the ceiling. Their bright green eyes staring down at them. “Shadow Goblins.” Ivy said with a gulp. The group stood back to back. The creatures started to move and surround the group. “Got any ideas boss?” Ivy asked as she looked at the red haired man.

“One, I saw the exit on the far side of the room.” He said as he pointed straight ahead of him to show a large archway. “I’ll make a path, when that happens run to it.”

“What about-”

“I’ll be right behind you.” He said as he held up his weapon. He removed the slim sword from the scythe and gripped it in his right hand as he took the scythe in his left. “Get ready!” The man then vanished in a flash of dark red light. Twilight squinted and saw a few flashes of red light. The room was then illuminated by a massive line being cut through the goblins that were in front of the scholar. “Now!” Crimson yelled.

The group immediately ran as fast as they could towards the exit. As one of the goblins launched itself at the farmer it was met with a blast of red energy and was sent rocketing back into the crowd. Ivy used her batons to provide some cover fire fro the group as they made it to the archway. As the last of them made it through Crimson grabbed one of the creatures and a bright red orb appeared in his hand. 

Crimson rammed the ball into the goblin’s stomach and threw him back into the horde. As he passed through the arch way he motioned for everyone to take cover. The group held their heads and ducked as they heard and felt a massive explosion come from the large hallway. The floor shook and the group saw a massive bright red light incinerating the goblins.
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Out in Ponyville, a tall man with dark blue hair and light blue wings, donning a white long sleeve shirt with a dark blue vest and pair of dark blue pants that stretched down to his ankles. His right arm was covered in armor while his left had a small gauntlet attached to it. A large sword was at his side and seemed to move with him as made his way through town. Next to him was a young woman with light purple hair wearing a dark purple hood and cape. A tight fitting outfit that started just below her collar bone and covered the rest of her upper body until her navel. Her pants were long, dark and stretched down to her black leather boots that had a slight heel to them. At her sides were two crossbow like pistols.

The two walked up to a young man who had spliced green eyes and claw like hands. “Excuse me.” The man said as he walked up to him.

“Yeah how can I help you?” He asked as he looked at the two.

“We’re looking for two people that may have come here.” The girls said.

“What do they look like?”

“One of them has dark red hair and usually sports a dark red cloak. The other is a woman with bright green hair and-” The woman was cut off as the hybrid perked up.

“Oh you mean Ivy and Crimson.”

“You seen them?” The woman asked.

“Earlier today. Last I checked they were heading towards-” He was cut off as the group saw a bright red light hit the clouds over the dark forest.

“Thanks, but I think we know where to go.” The man said with a grin. The man took flight as the woman turned into a cloud of shadows and the two raced towards the forest.
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The group all got to their feet and checked themselves over. The farmer brushed herself off and glared at the red warrior.

“What in the hay was that?” Applejack yelled.

“I injected a bit of my aura into one of the goblins and expanded it, thus creating an explosion.”

“Awesome!” Dash said.

“Yeah, but now everything in this place knows we’re here!” Twilight protested.

“They knew we were here the second we stepped inside this place.” Crimson said as he panted heavily and sat down.

“You okay?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, using a trick like that just uses a lot of magic.” He said with a sigh. The man then got to his feet and let out a sigh. The group heard a gurgling sound. The group looked over to see one of the creatures stumble through the archway. The creature groaned in pain and growled at the group.

“I will clean the flesh from your bones!” The goblin said as it stumbled. Crimson walked over to it and frowned. The creature focused it’s gaze on Crimson and gasped. “Of course, who else could wield such mighty magic.” The beast said with a cackle. “To think that the Prince of Darkness has finally been tamed by-” Was all he got out before crimson slashed it across the chest, silencing it forever. The goblin’s body turned to ash. 

“What did that thing mean by-” The cyan flyer was interrupted by the ground violently shaking. A massive crack in the ground appeared separating the scholar and warrior from the group. Before they could react the ground gave out from underneath the two. Crimson grabbed the scholar and shot a beam from his gauntlet. Ivy reached out to grab the beam and held onto it.

“Hang on!” Ivy yelled as she started to pull the two up. Sweat was forming on the man’s brow. He could feel his strength fading. Crimson looked down at Twilight who had tears in her eyes. He tightened his grip on her and tried to stay focused. The man looked down and saw nothing but darkness.

As he looked up at Ivy, he saw something come from the shadows. A massive claw opened and cut the magical beam. Time slowed as he and the scholar fell into darkness. Ivy tried to go after them but the hole was soon sealed by the broken pieces of the flooring tat seemed to grow back. Crimson held the girl close to him and tried to see ahead. He used his right hand to pull out his scythe and slammed it into the rock wall beside him.

Twilight gulped and outstretched one of her hands and shout out multiple purple beams that connected to the rock wall and started to slow them down. One by one the magical beams started to snap. 

We need to slow down more! She thought as her eyes glowed and a massive purple dot appeared in the darkness. Crimson gulped and aimed for the small dot on the darkness. As the two got closer the dot got larger and the two started to slow down. Their speed slowed as they reached the bottom of the pit. As they hit the magical layer the two hit the ground.

Crimson grunted in pain as he skidded on the floor. The man sat up and took in his surroundings. Darkness. That’s all the man’s eyes could see. Crimson fumbled in his pocket and pulled out two small crystals and struck them against one another. The room was then illuminated in a light red light. The man then walked over to the librarian and his eyes glowed.

Shit, her magic level is too low.

Do it. A dark voice said in the back of his mind. 

And let you run amuck? How stupid do you think I am? 

She’ll die if you don’t. Do yo really want more blood on your hands? Crimson’s eyes shrank and focused what magic he had left into his right hand. He placed his glowing hand on the woman’s head and let his magic flow. The man’s vision was starting to fade as he let the girl go. The man took off his red coat and placed it over the woman’s body.

Crimson staggered back and collapsed on the ground. As he looked up he felt darkness take him.
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Rainbow Dash was punching the ground trying to get a crack. “Open damn you!” The flyer yelled. Applejack put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and gulped.

“C’mon, we still have to find what ever is down there.” Ivy said in a flat tone.

“What? Twilight and Crimson are trapped down there!”

“I’m aware Dash, but I have a job to do.” Dash got to her feet and glared at her.

“You’re just gonna abandon him? I thought you were his best friend?” Rainbow yelled. Ivy remained silent. Dash marched over to the green flyer and shook her. Dash gulped as she saw a few tears run down her face.

“You think I don’t know that?” She yelled. “You think I don’t want to bust open this floor and jump down head first to get them back?” The flyer said as she grabbed Dash by the collar of her shirt. “I know that Crimson will make it out of there in one piece with Twilight. He’s been through worst things than this! Right now we have to focus on finding the power source and getting out of this crazy death trap.”

Applejack then stepped between the two. Ivy took a fe deep breaths and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Look, the power source is at the bottom of this joint, hopefully Crimson and Twilight are already there. So the sooner we get to the bottom the sooner we can help them. Sound good?”

“Got it.” Dash said as the group of girls continued to make their way through the ruins