The cullis gate materialised Twilight, Colter and Spike in the centre of a small grove. The trees grew so closely together that barely any moonlight was able to reach the forest floor, forcing Twilight to channel some magic to her horn and create some light to see by. They appeared to be quite deep within the forest already, though there were no signs of the Dweller camp.

“We should tread lightly,” Colter warned. “There are all manner of deadly creatures in this forest. The Dweller’s kicked the worst of them out, but there are a fair number still lurking in the shadows.”

Nodding, Twilight quickly formed a plan of action. “Ok, judging by the moss on the trees, north is…this way.” She pointed with her hoof deeper into the woods. “Spike, I need you to keep an eye on the ground for any worn paths or hoofprints that will lead us to the camp. Colter, you’re in charge of watching for any dangerous critters, since you are the only one here with a weapon.”

Colter nodded, shifting the weight of the sword strapped to his back unconsciously.

“I’ll double in both of those tasks, as well as light the way. Now let’s go.” The trio set off swiftly, the sound of their breathing and leaves parting beneath their hooves (Or claws, in Spike’s case) breaking the eerie silence of the forest.

Despite the creepy surroundings, Twilight found the experience oddly relaxing. The gardens in the castle had been beautiful, but there was just something calming about this wild, untameable growth far beyond the walls of civilisation.

Twilight idly noted that the trees to east seemed to gradually thin and become more spread out allowing more light through their branches, while to the west they became even more closely huddled. She subtly guided her steps to take them to what, logically, was deeper into the heart of the woods.

She inclined her head to see what he had spotted. Sure enough, the tell-tale marks of a set of hooves were imprinted into the ground, winding through the trees.

“Perfect!” She said with a smile. “Good job, Spike.” Her dragon assistant blushed at the praise.

With newfound purpose, they followed the trail. As they approached their goal the tracks were joined by other hoofprints, until the grassy carpet gave way to a dirt path formed by constant trampling.

“We must be getting close.” Colter commented. “Be prepared- I don’t know what they’ll make of trespassers.”

Without warning, the thick trees seemed to disappear from view entirely. Blinking, Twilight gaped at the sight in front of her. They had entered an enormous pony-made clearing, the roughly sawn stumps of trees still littering the ground. The entire place was crammed with tiny log caravans, each one barely large enough for a single pony. There was no order to their placement; the dwellings were chaotically strewn about the place, as if a passing giant had emptied his pockets and scattered them on the floor.

But what drew Twilight’s attention was the ponies. There were literally hundreds of them milling about listlessly, barely even registering the presence of strangers in their midst. None of them wore clothing, and they all looked glumly out at the world.
The lucky ones huddled in their caravans in groups of up to about four, all sharing the cramped space, drinking out of bowls filled with a sickly green soup. The unlucky ones shivered in the cold with nothing but the earth itself to warm themselves with.

At the very centre of the ramshackle town was what appeared to be some kind of community centre. It was a rather large log cabin, with several teams of ponies working on various tasks. A makeshift kitchen had been set up one side, with a team of chefs frantically trying to supply food to the starving residents. With no proper fields or farms to speak of, their only resources were various local plants- berries, fruit, leaves and the like. This seemed to be the main recipe for the green slop.
They were cooking non-stop, but they were clearly struggling to keep up with the demand.

There were other projects assembled around the building as well: Two twin elderly mares were knitting scarves, socks and hats to keep ponies warm. A group of burly stallions were marching to and from the forest edge to chop down trees, and piled up the logs for constructing more houses.

“This…this is…” Twilight couldn’t sum up any words apt enough to describe it. How could Moon sit idly in her throne while her subjects wasted away like this?

“Aye.” Colter stated grimly. There was little more to be said- what could you say, when presented with such suffering? “Come on. Their leader will be in that cabin.” Wordlessly, the trio approached, weaving through the dwellings. No one seemed to pay them any heed.

Twilight cautiously stepped toward the cabin door, and knocked once. There was the sound of shuffling hooves, and then it opened, revealing the biggest stallion Twilight had ever seen- even Colter was dwarfed by him.

“Um…hello.” She began lamely, feeling far less confident than she had when they had set off. “I…request an audience with the leader of this camp.”

“Oh for pete’s sakes, Big Mac.” Came a voice from inside the building. “Let ‘em in. When Ah set up this place Ah said I wouldn’t turn nopony away, and Ah meant it.”

“Thank you.” Twilight said politely as she passed. He made no response. Spike and Colter quickly shuffled in after her.

The interior of the cabin was just as bare as the rest of the camp, with only two simple beds on opposite corners of the room and a desk decorating it. A small log fire crackled away in the hearth, the only source of heat or light. There were no windows.

Standing at the desk with her back to them was who Twilight assumed to be the appointed leader of the camp. She wore a large ten gallon hat and appeared to be pouring over notes of some kind.

She turned to appraise the newcomers. When she spoke, she had a distinct country twang. “Ah don’t mean no offense now, but this place is meant to provide for those who don’t have anythin’ or anywhere left.” She looked over Twilight’s expertly tailored clothes. “Them duds alone could probably fetch enough bits to feed this place for a day or two.”

“I’m not here to seek refuge.” Twilight stated formally. “I’m here to make a proposal to you.”

“That so?” The mare asked, raising her brow. “Well then, where are mah manners? Names Applejack, formerly the owner of Sweet Apple Acres. That big lug over there is mah brother Big Macintosh.” Her eyes slid to Colter, and narrowed. “You seem mighty familiar…do Ah know you from somewhere?”

“Sir Colter, former soldier.” He rumbled. “I helped you defend your farm from a bandit attack many years ago, remember.”

“That Ah do, now that you mention it.” Applejack confirmed with a nod. “You were a big help to the Apple family then.” She sighed bitterly. “Not that it did us much good in the long run.” She looked back at Twilight. “You were sayin’, Miss…?” She paused. “Ah didn’t catch your name.”

Applejack’s eyes bulged in shock, and Big Mac seemed to be overcome by a coughing fit. Spike scuffed his feet on the floor nervously.

“Is that right?” Applejack growled rather angrily. “And what would Her High an’ Mighty Majesty need from us that she’d deem to dirty her hooves out here?”

Twilight had been afraid that she’d be shown such hostility. “As I said, I’m here to make a proposal.” She said nervously.
“Look, Applejack…you and I can both see that these people are suffering. You and your brother are trying your best to help them, but there is only so much you can do.”

“And that’s only one of many problems wrong with Equestria under my Aunt’s rule. Things need to change.” Twilight bravely looked Applejack dead in the eye. “It needs a revolution.”

If Applejack was surprised by the traitorous speech, she hid it well. “Well that’s all fine and dandy, Princess. Let me guess, you want to recruit us to your cause? We ‘aint in any shape to be helping anybody right now.” She stomped her hoof in frustration. “And who’s gonna run Equestria when Old Moon’s been chased off her throne? You?” She snorted sceptically. “How do we know you’ll do any better?”

“I can understand why you are quick to distrust me.” Twilight said diplomatically. “But I promise, I will do all in my power to help these people, and the people of Equestria, if you will stand by me against the Queen’s tyranny.”

“Promises are easy to make, and just as easy to break.” The orange mare countered. She sunk into deep thought for a moment, and then let out a sly smile. “All right Princess, I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself to us. You promise to help us? Then I have a few things you can start off with.”

She stepped over to Spike and prodded him. “Hey, dragon boy. You might wanna take a note.”

“You don’t have to be so rude.” Spike grumbled, reluctantly swiping a quill and parchment from Colter’s pouch. Applejack ignored him.

“Before me and Big Mac set up this place, we owned Sweet Apple Acres, like Ah said. It’s a huge apple orchard just west of Ponyville, been in the Apple family for generations.” She sighed sadly. “Or at least it was, until we had one of the biggest bandit raids ever a couple of months back. Before, the local soldiers on patrol at Ponyville would lend a hoof and drive ‘em off, like your buddy here did years ago.” She nodded at Colter. “But now of course there aint any guards there anymore, they’ve all been dispatched to some place called ‘Mourningwood’, Queen’s Orders.”

A sour look overtook her face. “We didn’t have a chance. Sweet Apple Acres is now the residence of one of the ugliest band of varmints you ever did see, led by some feller called Saker.” She gave Twilight a piercing look. “Ah want you to get rid of them.”

“Your feller there has a sword. You’ve got your fancy unicorn magic. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

“Is that all? Fight an entire troupe of bandits?” Twilight asked with gritted teeth. Applejack simply smirked in response.

“There’s just one other thing. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Royal Ponyville Library.”

“Of course I have.” Twilight replied, not sure where this was going. Her mother had personally overseen the construction of the library, and it was the single largest collection of knowledge in Equestria. Nightmare Moon saw no reason why the average commoner should be allowed access to higher education, and cut its funding. As far as she knew, only a single librarian dutifully maintained the place, which was now closed to the general public.

“Then I’m sure you’ve also heard of the secret underground chamber that Celestia built beneath it, housin’ a rare and powerful magical artefact?”

Colter didn’t seem too impressed, either. “First I’ve heard of it. What exactly is the source of this information?”

“Not long before we got kicked off the farm, the librarian found some secret room or somethin’. It caused a huge fuss- there was some big fancy stone door of some kind with a poem on it, signed with Celestia’s signature. Says the artefact can only be retrieved by a true hero or some such nonsense. I was never good with riddles.”

The trio shared a look. A true hero? Could it have been yet another ‘gift’ left behind by Celestia to Twilight?

“The point I’m trying to make, is that this doohickey is apparently a pretty damn good judge of character, not to mention it’s probably handy in a fight...or even better, it will fetch enough bits to get all these folks back on their feet. You bring me that artefact, and get rid of those bandits…then we’ll talk some more.”

“Well…it could have gone worse.” Spike offered optimistically as the three made their way out of the camp.

“And it could have gone better, too.” Twilight said glumly. “I can understand why she is so reluctant to trust me, though.” She ducked under a low hanging tree branch before continuing. “Still, we learned something valuable at any rate. This artefact, whatever it is, is sure to be useful in more ways than one. And yet…” She chewed her bottom lip nervously.

“Yes.” She sighed. “I already know now there is practically zero chance of negotiating with them. As such, the only other approach is violence.” She stopped and pawed the ground nervously. “I mean…I can fight. I have probably the most powerful magic in Equestria, even without counting these new powers. But…I’ve never been in a real fight before.” She refused to meet the other’s eyes. “Could…could I really kill someone? Even knowing it’s the only way?”

“Twilight,” Colter tried to reason. “You have to remember who these guys are. They’ve murdered, stolen from and raped countless innocent travellers. The only ponies they care about are themselves. Equestria is better off without them.”

“We’ll worry about that later. First, we should get to Ponyville, and get some rest. I’m sure there is an inn or something we can stay at, and we’ll use tomorrow to plan our next course of action.”

It took them nearly a full hour to exit the forest- even retracing their steps to the cullis gate, they were still quite deep within it. It was with relief that the three of them finally found themselves on a dirt path leading away from the dark trees, with the moonlight shining down on them. The town lights of Ponyville were a beacon in the distance, promising warmth, food and shelter.

As they made their way towards the town, Twilight noticed that part of the path branched off. Following it with her eyes, she saw it lead to a small cottage. It might have once been considered homely, but it appeared to have been unoccupied for some time. The front door hung loosely of its hinges, and through the opening she could see the interior was dusty and unkempt; furniture had been knocked over and cobwebs were arching across the ceiling.

Shivering and trying not to think too hard about what may have happened there, she starting walking a little faster. If her companions noticed her uneasiness, they didn’t comment.

After that, it didn’t take much longer to reach the town. There were small cabins set up at regular intervals around it, presumably guard posts. They were all empty however, just as Applejack had said. If the bandits currently residing in the old farm ever grew bored and tried to attack the town, there would be nothing to stop them.

“Have you got any money on you, Colter?” Twilight asked as they made their way into town. “It’s very late, so we’ll need to rent some rooms somewhere.”

Colter checked his pouch. “I have about 200 bits on me, the Guild Seal, and the clothes on my back. That’s all.”

“That should be enough, for now.” Twilight mused, though inwardly she was a bit worried. They’d need some form of income to sustain themselves- 200 bits wouldn’t fund an army.

The local inn, The Cow and Corset, was very busy. Twilight had no idea what time it was, but it seemed a good number of residents were still awake and drinking away their troubles. She couldn’t believe how much she had missed the warmth of the indoors.

Thankfully, there was a room available- most of the patrons had their own homes, after all. Not feeling ready for sleep just yet, the trio brought a few drinks and took a table by the window. Colter went with a Classic Equestrian Cider; Twilight settled for a small glass of wine. Spike, being underage, had to make do with a glass of water.

Their party received some curious glances, but Twilight wasn’t worried. It was most likely because of the young dragon in their group. Looking around, she could see some other species apart from ponies- donkeys, mules, cows and even a surly looking griffon- but no dragons.

Spike’s eyes were drooping, so the three decided to call it a night. Their room wasn’t much, but it had three beds and basic facilities, so Twilight was thankful. Few words were exchanged as the exhausted trio laid their heads down to rest.

“The light you bring will die. The light inside you will die. All that you are will die.”

She couldn’t move or breathe. She could not see. The darkness was more than just a lack of light: it was alive, constricting against her, choking her.

“Do you feel the darkness swarming around you? Do you feel it creep through your mouth, your eyes, until it eats away inside you? Tell me how it feels.”

Suddenly, something appeared in her vision, and Twilight wished she was blind again. It was a monstrous face, covered in black, bulbous eyes, with a gaping maw of jagged teeth. The creature chuckled in malice.

Twilight woke with a yell, feeling ill. Almost immediately Colter sprung out of bed, reaching for his sword.

“Twilight?” He asked concernedly, confused when he saw no enemies. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. “I…I’m sorry Colter, I just had a bad dream.” Even as she said it, she could feel the memory of it slipping away, like water through a sieve. Try as she might, she could not recall what her nightmare was about. She had a feeling she’d be happier not knowing.

Relaxing, but still concerned, Colter checked the clock on the wall. “Well, it’s just coming up to seven o’ clock. We should probably get going.”

Twilight nodded. Shaking Spike awake (It seemed he could sleep through nearly anything), the group headed out into the town. It was much livelier during the day.

“Okay, so what are we doing first?” Spike asked. “Checking out the library, or getting rid of the bandits?”

“Um…the library” Twilight answered. She wanted to postpone any violence as long as possible. “But first, I think we should head back to the Sanctuary. If I remember correctly, one of the Cullis Gates that scholars have been studying is located in the town. We should probably activate as many of those as possible- it will make navigating much easier.”

“So, if Celestia knew how they worked, why do you think she never let on?” Spike mused curiously.

“I don’t know, Spike. Probably because it didn’t really matter- she would be the only one who could use them even if they did work it out.”

After asking some quick directions, they found the gate in what appeared to be a secluded public park. Checking that no one was watching, Twilight activated it with a few sparks from her gauntlet, and the three of them vanished in a swirl of light.

They reappeared with a flash back in the Sanctuary. After getting their bearings, they saw that Rarity had done an excellent job. All the detritus and grime that had previously been obscuring the place was gone, the walls and floors had been scrubbed and polished, and the cobwebs cleared from the ceiling.

“Rarity certainly did a good job,” Twilight admired. “Where is she, anyway!”

“Through here, darlings!” The three of them turned to face where her voice had called from- the door with the symbol of a flame above it. Shrugging, they all entered into the room beyond.

What greeted them was a large and spacious lounge area, with plush sofas and armchairs, a roaring fire in the hearth (Which Twilight assumed was magical, since it would make no sense to have a chimney under a lake), and a thick, fluffy carpet beneath their hooves. On the far side of the room lay another door, with the symbol of a knife and fork above it- presumably leading to the kitchen area.

Sprawled out lazily on one the sofas was Rarity, who looked exhausted but quite pleased with herself. “Ah, good morning dears!” She greeted them cheerfully. “I must say, it was a nightmare cleaning this place but it was definitely worth it. These rooms are incredible!”

“Well, we all appreciate your hard work Rarity.” Colter replied. “Sorry we were gone the whole night, but after meeting with Applejack I think we all wanted to get away from that forest as soon as possible, so we headed to Ponyville.”

“Is that so?” Rarity asked, her ears pricking up at the mention of the town. “How did things go? Did she agree to lend aid?”

“Not exactly…” Huffed Spike. “She’s agreed to lend aid IF we fight off all the bandits that have taken over her farm, and retrieve a magical artefact from under Ponyville for her.”

“That…seems a bit of a high price for a bunch of farmers, don’t you think?” She responded, bewildered.

Twilight sighed. “It might seem that way, but this is more than just recruiting soldiers to the cause. The people don’t trust me, and to be honest, I can’t really blame them. This is a way of proving to my subjects that I care about their needs, and that I am willing to help them. Even if these ponies aren’t very much help in the war effort in the long run, they will spread word to others who will be. I think Applejack knows that, which is why she made such a deal.”

“Besides,” She continued wistfully. “I really do want to help them. By the sounds of things, these bandits have been a terror to this area for years now, and its time somewhat put a stop to them. And that artefact could be useful in more ways than one. No, this is definitely a step in the right direction.”

“We’re going to go after this artefact first,” Spike explained to Rarity as the group took their comfy seats next to the warm fire. “That way if it turns out to be useful in a fight, we can use it with the bandits.”

Rarity frowned slightly, obviously uncomfortable with the casual discussion of violence. “Yes, about that. I took the liberty of exploring all of these different rooms. Most are fairly straightforward- through that door is a kitchen; through the coin door, storage space for various items and large sums of money; through the bed door, some dormitories; through the coat hanger door…” She took a moment to grin happily “An entire room dedicated to all things clothing! Mannequins, walk in closets, a hair styling station, and SO MANY MIRRORS-“

“Ahem, sorry about that.” Rarity blushed, composing herself. “Through the sword door, an armoury. I suppose you’ll be needing something from that Twilight, since you are currently unarmed.”

Twilight nodded. “I’ll be sure to check it out. We have a lot to do today, so we had better make get started as soon as possible. Are you coming with us to Ponyville?”

“Why yes, darling. I have some business there that I need to attend to anyway.”

“Well, my parents and my sister moved to Ponyville after I took over as the Head Maid. I don’t get to see them that often, and this might be my only chance for quite some time.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister.” Spike said forlornly, disappointed that he did not such a basic fact about his crush. If she picked up on his dejectedness, she did not show it.

“You never asked, dear.” She said nonchalantly. “Her name is Sweetie Belle- she’s still just a foal really, the dear hasn’t even got her cutie mark yet! About the same age as you Spike.” She sighed sadly. “I haven’t seen her in so long…will she even recognise me?”

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Twilight said in what she hoped was a soothing tone. “I’ll quickly grab something from the armoury and we can be off.”

Rarity snorted in an attempt to supress a laugh. “Oh Twilight, I think you’ll find you won’t be ‘quickly grabbing’ anything.”

Twilight gaped as she viewed row upon row of weapon racks encircling the walls, reaching all the way up to the high ceiling above. Every manner of blade or blunt object was there- from simple one handed swords to huge claymores, battle-axes, war hammers, katanas of all sizes, maces, battle staves, throwing axes, daggers, dirks, nunchucks…

“Well,” Colter began dryly. “When we DO have an army, we don’t have to worry about equipping them.”

“Not entirely true, Colter.” Rarity countered, clearly amused by Twilight’s shock. “There is still armour, after all.”

“H-how am I supposed to choose?” Twilight stammered. “How do I know which one is best suited to me?”

“Don’t overthink it so much,” huffed Colter. “Just go with the same kind of sword you’ve been using in training, and you’ll do fine.”

Twilight suppressed the urge to analyse in detail the benefits and downsides of each type of weapon and levitated a plain looking, medium length sword from the bottom row. It was large enough to pack a powerful swing, but its true strength lay in precision and control, which was more Twilight’s style. Let Colter be the heavy hitter.

“All right, I’m ready. Let’s go.” She said as she strapped its sheathe to her side.

The foursome rematerialised in the Ponyville park just as they had left it. Twilight cringed as she saw an elderly pony couple were sitting on a bench directly opposite them, with a clear view of the arcane transportation. Her fears were unfounded though, when she realised the two were snoring heavily.

“Now then you three.” Rarity said primly, with a swish of her mane. “I wish you luck on your treasure hunt for this item, but I don’t think crawling around in a tomb is really for me.” She laughed nervously.

“That’s ok Rarity, we understand.” Twilight said with a smile. “Good luck finding Sweet-“

“GANGWAY” Came a strangled yell from behind them. Before any of them could react, a trio of young fillies bowled into them, each one wearing a set of roller-skates that they clearly had no idea how to operate. Twilight was knocked clean off her feet, and landed on the dirt with a disgruntled wheeze. The three fillies all rebounded in different directions, spinning madly before crumpling to the ground. Spike and Rarity could only look on in horror, whereas Colter simply looked amused.

“Ow…” One of the fillies, a unicorn, moaned, rubbing her sore rump in annoyance. “Scootaloo, something tells me we aren’t going to get roller-skating cutie marks.” The filly had a white coat the same shade as Rarity’s, and looked just like a miniature version of her, except her hair was coloured light purple and pink.

“A dragon?!” The orange and purple one, a pegasus (presumably Scootaloo), exclaimed with surprise and some mild excitement at a bewildered Spike.

“Princess Sparkle?!” The third pony shouted, who was light cream with red hair tied up in a ribbon.

“Sshh!” Twilight hissed frantically, covering the girl’s mouth with her hooves. Thankfully, the only other ponies around were the elderly pair, who were miraculously still asleep. “Do you want me to get caught?” The filly shook her head quickly. “Then please, don’t tell anyone that you recognise me. Please. Can you do that for me?” She nodded yes. “Ok. Good.” She released her hold on the earth pony’s ability to speak, who simply looked up at her fearfully.

Rarity was looking oddly at her sister. “You know, this being the first opportunity I’ve had to see you in years…that wasn’t what I was expecting. Just what on earth were you all doing?”

“Oh! Um…we were trying to get our cutie marks!” Sweetie Belle explained. “We’ve been trying all sorts of things to get them. We are….” She looked down glumly at her hooves. “The only ones in our class who haven’t got them yet.”

“Oh, Sweetie.” Rarity cooed. "I can understand that not knowing your special talent can be hard, but you have to let it come naturally to you. You can’t force it.”

“Hey, we aren’t ‘forcing’ anything!” Scootaloo objected. “We’re just trying out all the different things it could be, because we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we’re gonna keep on trying until we get our marks!” She said all of this while becoming increasingly enthusiastic towards the end, finishing it with a triumphant punch of her hoof into the air.

“Err, yeah, what she said.” Sweetie concluded. “Oh, um…“ She waved a hoof between the two groups. “Introductions! Rarity, these are my two best friends, Scootaloo and Applebloom! Scootaloo, Applebloom, this is my sister Rarity.” She turned to the other three members of the posse, who had been observing the scene silently. “And this is, um…a big guy with a sword, a dragon, and the Princess of Equestria? Who also has a sword?”

“Sweetie, how about you and your friends come with me to visit mom and dad, hmm?” Rarity asked her sister. “I’ll explain things to you there, but please, don’t tell anyone that the princess is here!” She said last part in a hissed whisper.

“So, um…the princess isn’t here to punish us for ‘causin a ruckus?” Applebloom asked hopefully.

Twilight sighed sadly in response. “No, I’m not. Please, I don’t know what kind of stories you may have heard about me, but I would never punish someone unless they really deserved it.” The young filly looked much more relieved to hear this. “Again, please don’t tell anyone I’m here.” She turned and nodded to Spike and Colter, then glanced at Rarity. “We’ll see you later then?”

She nodded. “Yes. Good luck on your little quest.” She proceeded to frogmarch the lively trio of youngsters in the direction of her parent’s house. The twisted remains of the rollerblades found a new home in a nearby trashcan.

It wasn’t difficult to find the library. Unlike the other buildings in town which were constructed in the traditional manner, this one had been built into an enormous oak tree near the town square. The lights were on, but a sign on the front door read:

“NO ENTRY PERMITTED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. ONLY THOSE WITH A ROYAL EDUCATION GRANT MAY USE THESE FACILITIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, SPEAK WITH CHEERILEE.”

Twilight’s stomach clenched unpleasantly at the fought of such knowledge being restricted from the general public. Nightmare Moon kept making all these budget cuts, but just what was she putting the money saved towards? Was it worth the slow degradation of the country?

The door was not locked. Pushing it open, she saw the main room was stuffed full of bookshelves, towering up to the ceiling. The only wall that was not completely covered had a desk against from which a purple earth pony with a cutie mark of three flowers sat glumly, filing paperwork. Twilight was pleased to note that at least the place was well kept, though it seems no one was using it.

“This is not a bar. We do not serve food or drinks. We most certainly do NOT sell chicken feed. If you don’t have a grant, then you shouldn’t be here, and as far as I know no one in this town has one. Hell, I don’t have one, and I’m managing the place.” The earth pony spoke out to them as they entered. She looked up from her work, then frowned. “You look…familiar. Have we met?”

“Definitely not,” Twilight said hastily. “Cheerilee, right? I’m not here to take out a book. I’m here for the door.”

“Oh?” The librarian said curiously, getting up from behind her desk. “You’re the third this week who thinks they’ve found a way to crack it. Well, don’t let me stop you, but I doubt you’ll be any more successful than the others.” She walked over to the staircase and gestured at the floor behind it. “My predecessor must have been blind- there’s a trap door here, see? It leads to a cellar.” Just as she said, there was a thin square on the ground that indicated another room, with a small latch.

“There is a corridor leading off from the cellar- the door is at the end of that.” She smiled wryly. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.” Twilight answered politely. Opening the trapdoor with her magic, she descended carefully down the rackety wooden steps, Spike and Colter following behind her. It groaned in protest as Colter stepped on it, but otherwise held.

The cellar they were in was nothing special- little more than four stone and dirt walls with various cardboard boxes piled up. Twilight could even see one of the tree’s roots arching through one wall like a vein. The corridor Cheerilee had mentioned was on the north side.

It barely had enough room for them all to fit side by side, a fact Colter clearly wasn’t pleased about. It didn’t take long for them to reach the door they had heard so much about it. It was a complete contrast to everything else in the building- it was made of sleek polished marble, and instead of having a handle, the entire frame was filled with a complex network of gears and cogs. The very centre contained a large circular depression- one of the pieces was missing. At the top, a plaque had been inscribed with cursive handwriting:

My dear subjects,

The chamber that lies beyond this door, I built for the express purpose of hiding one of my greatest weapons…

And one of my greatest fears.

It is defended by a system of dangerous traps and puzzles. During construction, I accidently disturbed an ancient burial site.

I quickly closed up the connecting tunnel, but it was too late.

The place is now home to many Hollow Ponies. In the end, this serves as yet another layer of protection.

This artefact cannot fall into the wrong hooves. Only those with Heroic virtue and wisdom are safe to be trusted with it.

The final puzzle is this door. There is only one who could have the missing piece to solve it.

If that person is reading this, it brings me sorrow that you have the need for this item.

Be careful what you wish for.

Your Queen, Celestia.

“It’s definitely dangerous,” Colter surmised. “But we have little choice. That item is our bargaining chip with Applejack.”

Twilight turned to Spike. “Spike, I think you should go to Rarity’s.” She stated firmly.

“Because, it is dangerous in there. There will be fighting. You’re just a kid.”

“All right, Twilight.” The little dragon relented. “But I expect you to be out of there as quickly as possible.”

Colter scratched his hoof on the floor impatiently. “Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves? We still haven’t figured out the door yet.”

Twilight, to his surprise, giggled. “Oh, Colter. It’s lucky you have me here- the answer is obvious. See this depression here?” She gestured to the aforementioned circle. “It’s simple- it’s the exact same size as the Guild Seal.”

Feeling pleased with herself for solving the supposedly unsolvable door so quickly, Twilight hummed cheerfully as she levitated the seal out of Colter’s pouch, and placed it into the door. Almost immediately there was a whir as the Seal started glowing bright blue, and dusty mechanism slowly begin to move. The entire frame moved upwards, disappearing into the ceiling above, revealing a dark passageway in front of them. There were few seconds of silence, then another whir and the sound of metal scraping along stone. A thin compartment slid out of the side of the frame, which the Guild Seal was promptly deposited into. Twilight picked it up and placed it in her own pouch.

“Ok Spike, Colter and I are going in. I don’t know how long we will be, so just wait at Rarity’s, ok?” She smiled slyly. “I’m sure you won’t have a problem with that.” He scowled, but did not respond.

“We need to keep our wits about us, Twilight.” Colter warned as the two of them stepped forward. “Hollow Ponies are especially deadly, so I want you to be aware of yourself at all times. The bandits will be a cakewalk after them.”

Twilight accepted his advice stoically. “I’m sure that the two of us will be able to-“ As she was speaking, she passed over the threshold of the door, which responded but slamming shut immediately, separating her from the old soldier and young dragon. “Colter! Spike!” She shouted in a panic, swivelling round and pounding on the door. It did not budge, and all she good hear were muffled shouts on the other side. There was no indentation for the seal.

Shakily, she turned and started plodding through the passageway. “Guess I’m going it alone.” She said nervously. As she walked, torches along the path lit up with a pale blue fire, illuminating the chamber. The walls and ceiling were decorated with the same runic patterns that her parent’s tomb had been, only these were covered in several decades worth of grime and degradation. The path sloped rapidly downward, deep under Ponyville.

After nearly ten minutes, the narrow passage opened out onto a huge chamber, almost as large as the Everfree Cavern. But where that was a natural formation, this has been forcibly carved out, and some of the original rock and soil could be seen. The path brought her out near the very top of the cavern, and then simply stopped. In the very centre of the chamber, a large pony made platform rose out of the earth. The ceiling was covered in a swirling mass of luminescent orbs that flitting about randomly. For some reason, they made Twilight feel uneasy and she couldn’t explain why.

I’ll have to levitate across, Twilight reasoned. She tried channelling magic to her horn, but to her dismay it fizzled and died as she attempted to cast the spell. Damn, there must be an anti-magic field on this cavern, possibly the entire structure. Think Twilight, this is obviously another puzzle…

Cautiously stepping to peer over the edge, Twilight jumped as she heard a clicking noise beneath her hoof, the floor depressing slightly. A pressure plate! Bracing herself to dodge flaming arrows or spikes, she was surprised to find instead that far below a part of the cavern floor was moving. A large pillar of stone rose up until it was level with where she standing, the top portion having been hewn into a staircase descending downwards, but the staircase wasn’t complete.

Looking closer at the cavern floor, Twilight saw it was divided into a system of squares. I see. Each one forms another part of the path. She stepped onto the stairs, expecting another set to rise. Instead, she saw that two small blue arrows lit up at the base of the stairs, one pointing forwards, the other to the left. Confused, she placed a hoof on the one going forward.

Instead of another staircase, about five of the orbs above angrily shot towards her. Leaping backwards with a yell, she watched as they hit the ground and burst into bright. To her horror, the light faded to reveal the most sickening sight she had ever seen.

The ponies standing in front of her had clearly been dead for some time now. Their skin was pale and stretched thinly over their bones, which were clearly visible. In some places entire chunks of skin were missing, revealing cracked and dusty ribcages. They had no mane, tail or eyes, and their expression was stretched into a permanent snarl. They all wore some form of ceremonial armour, though most of that had rusted away into little more than random strips of metal fused to their bodies. They were all armed clenching axes and swords in mouths and hooves, moving towards her alarmingly fast in a sort of shuffling run.

Suppressing the urge to vomit, Twilight drew her sword with her mouth, and lifted the hoof with her gauntlet slightly.
I may not be able to use unicorn magic here, she thought. But I’m far from defenceless.

The first Hollow Pony, a huge earth pony, came barrelling towards her with a guttural roar, swinging two axes wildly. The fact that he was on his hind legs didn’t seem to slow him at all. Right as he was about to take her head clean off, she blasted him with a torrent of fire from her gauntlet. It was hurled back, gurgling in flames as it went over the edge, landing below with a sickening crunch.

The others did not slow for the loss of their comrade. Twilight deftly parried a strike from one pony with her blade, causing it to drop its sword and stagger backwards. She swiftly impaled it through the chest and lifted it into the air. It didn’t seem to register the pain, still attempting to swipe at her with its bare hooves. She swung her sword and slammed it into another which had been attempting to flank her, the two crumpling to the ground in a jumbled heap. She blasted them both with another fireball, and they both smouldered before bursting into a cloud of dust.

She suddenly heard an unearthly screeching of metal. The final two Hollow Ponies were pegasi, and they were equipped with bladed wing armour. It was rusty, and protested greatly as they unfurled their skeletal appendages, but Twilight was willing to testify that they were still razor sharp.

The two leaped into the air and dive-bombed her with their wings outstretched, seeking her out with pin-point accuracy.

Twilight managed to dodge one and cut open its belly as it flew overhead, but the other managed to catch her side as it zoomed past. She yelled in pain, stumbling as her vision was filled with spots for a moment. Grimacing, she looked at her wound. Three bleeding, ugly gashes greeted her, but thankfully they were shallow cuts- the Hollow Pegasus had only narrowly hit her.

The two flew out into the cavern and banked around, making another pass. Gasping, Twilight flung two fireballs in rapid succession out into the void. Her aim was true, and the two monstrosities plummeted to the floor in balls of flame.
They were all dead. Twilight sunk to the floor, pain still lancing across her side. This is nothing like training with Colter. And there are even more of these things in here?

Luckily, she had some bandages in her pouch. It was a quick-fix solution, but it would have to do. She could see a doctor later, or use a healing spell once she got out of this anti-magic zone.

After applying and tightening her bandages (Which was much more difficult to do with her teeth than her horn), she pondered the puzzle in front of her. The arrow she had stepped on which triggered the Hollow Ponies to attack had faded, only the one going to the left remained. Cautiously, she activated it.

This time, the square on the floor below rose up, forming another staircase leading down, though it also twisted to the side, facing into the cavern. At its base lay another set of arrows- one going forward, one to the right.

I understand. Twilight thought glumly. Choose right, and the path will open for me. Choose wrong, and I’ll be in for another fight.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped on the arrow pointing forward. It was going to be a long day.

An Equestrian Fable

by Xeddrief

Taking Action