Grey wakes up alone in the bed and heard the shower running. Fluttershy murrs softly as she let the water wash away her cares. The butter yellow mare with the adorable pink mane smiled wistfully before picking up her soap, and gently rubbing her fur, building up a healthy amount of suds on her. Grey nodded on the door which startled Fluttershy at first before answering, "who is it?"
"It's me, Shy. I promise Nightshade I'd go on a raid with him. Since Daring is off trying to rescue Vinyl. You remember, right?" Grey said. Fluttershy replied with a "yes, but don't be late tonight. I have something special planned." Grey smell the air. It had a sweet lavender scent. Fluttershy blushed as she peaked out the curtain. Her gaze wavered but then she looked eyes with the stallion and gently puckered her lips. Grey softly kisses her for a few minutes and leaves it meet Nightshade.
Nightshade was talking to a pony who responded to his tomb raider needs extra assistant flier.
"So Steel Soul, was it? Have you ever raided a tomb?" Nightshade asked the stallion. The stallion in question, a brown furred brown maned earthpony shook his head from side to side.
"Tomb...no...evil hangout...yes. I may not know about tomb raiding but if somepony needs help then I'll be there." Steel said and Nightshade shrugged at the reply he was given.
"Well I have no complaints. Somepony is better then nopony." Nightshade replied then nugges the stallion and smiles. Steel nodded.
"So...What are we up against anyhoof?" He asked as he tilts his head, "Where are we going exactly."
"Well once a friend of mine get here, well be heading to find the lunar rod. It was said that nightmare moon used its power to let her escape from the moon. Though she didn't even think that it'll take a thousand years." Nightshade said shrugging again.
"Wow...I thought it was with the stars help she escaped." He said tapping his chin with his hoof.
"That is partially correct. The stars are a key to activating the rod." Nightshade said noticing the grizzly brown maned pegasus finally arriving. Nightshade said while the pegasus was catching his breath" Steel Soul, meet my late to arrive friend. Wolf Grey, but he goes by Grey." He looks towards the stallion before hovering him a curt nod.
"It's a pleasure mister Gray. As he had said my name is Steel Soul. Adventurer and guards pony. I was hired to supply backup when needed." Steel said. Grey finally caught his breath and replied "nice to meet'cha steel." Grey placed his hoof out for a hoof bump. He tapped the others hoof before turning to the third in the group.
"Alright! Ready when you are." Steel said. Nightshade nods and showed the way. They made it to Luna's and Celestia's old castle to find something that can point that in the right direction. They entered the castle and Nightshade said" this place is full of secret passageways. Find anything, tell me. A clue has too be here somewhere." Steel nodded before looking to the other pony.
"You ready?" Steel asked. Grey shrugged and replied, "I just hope I'll be in time for dinner. My wife said she has something special planned later. Do you have a special somepony?" Steel blushed.
"Well...Yeah...Um...Two actually..." Steel replied. Grey raised an eye brow.
"and do both know that?" Grey asked.
"Yeah...herd..." He said before looking away. Grey shrugged and replied "okay then, I don't expect you to tell me the names." Grey moved a statue, but nothing happened.
"Just a dud." Grey said and continued walking with his new pal.
"I can tell you the names. " Steel said picking up a skull, "If you want me too that is."
"Well it's okay if you don't tell me. I don't need to know who's in your personal life." Grey said moved a chair in the room that they just walked into.
"More duds. I'm surprised Flitter isn't here. She always hangs out with Nightshade, me, and a couple of the other guys. Hey I should introduction you to Al and Silver Thorn. Do you know the bowling alley near the alliance store?" Grey asked and Steel nodded.
"Yeah...me and the girls go there sometime." Steel replied.
"Great! Then we can all go together. Besides you don't look like the type to just hang at a bar and drink." Grey said then moved a vase and a wall opened up, but on the other side was Nightshade.
"Well that was pointless." Grey said and Steel chuckled.
"How about we move in deeper then. I doubt we will find anything near the entrance anyway..." Steel said. Grey nodded and the moved down a couple floors and continued to look.
"This looks like Luna's old bedroom." Grey said and saw a property of Luna on the bed frame, "yep defiantly Luna's old room."
"Heh...nervous about being in another mares room hmm?" Steel asked in a teasing tone. Grey shook off the comment.
"Technically if I was in Luna's current room and not her old room then I'll be nervous. There's a thousand years of dust everywhere." Grey heared a flutter of wings. Realizing that they were being followed and waited till the flutter of wings was closer. Once it was close enough, Grey pounced on the pony that was following them, but was surprised to see who it was.
"Flitter! What in Luna's sake are you doing here?" Grey asked. The mare smiled sheepishly.
"Ah...I was...adventuring?" She said while slowly ducking her head. Grey got off her and helped her up.
"This isn't those times were you hang with the guys. This is a tomb raid quest." Grey said, but quickly regretted it, since he saw her perk up with a large smile. Steel raised an eyebrow as he looked at the two of them.
"Need some time alone? We are in a bed room and I need to go check on our partner." Steel said with a snicker. Flitter blush and Grey said "I told you I was married, remember." Steel chuckled before smileing.
"Yeah...and a herd is not unheard of." Steel said and Flitter was now bright red.
"Look Fluttershy is my mare and if I spend time with another mare in a bedroom, it'll just seem wrong." Grey said fiercely and Steel nodded.
"Hey...I understand. One mare is good enough for you...I didn't mean to offend. Still what are you doing here fritter?" Steel asked and Flitter rubbed her leg with her hoof.
"Well Cloudchaser was on work today, Al and Silver Thorn was busy with some sciencey thing, and I wanted to spent some time with somepony. So when I saw the three of you, I decided to see what you were doing. Plus I wanted to meet your new friend. Are you mad at me Grey?" Flitter said still bright red. Grey sighed and looked at Steel Soul. He then looked back at Flitter and replied to her question, "na, I'm not mad. What now Steel? You think it's a good idea to let her come with us?"
"Well...I'm sure there's nothing too dangerous here...still she should stay close...and no wondering off." Steel replied. Grey nodded and turned to Fitter, "stay close to me, okay?" She nodded before brushing into him, keeping close. Grey was to nice to say she was to close, so he didn't. They walked over to Nightshade who has already found a secret passage.
"What took so long?" Nightshade asked smirking. Steel pointed to the mare beside Gray.
"Picked u somepony extra." Steel replied. Nightshade noticed Flitter finally and stopped smirking.
"And you decided to let her come with you?" Nightshade said in a serious tone.
"Well...we couldn't leave her. " Steel defended. Nightshade sighed and said, "I'm not mad, but this makes things difficult. Raiding tombs isn't a walk in the park. You understand right?" Fritter nodded.
"I promise I won't get in the way." Flitter replied. Nightshade shrugged and said one last thing, "I found this secret passage that leads farther down than this castle floors actually go. How do I know this. Well I found at blue prints in that room and the stairs go off the blue prints. Flitter don't ever leave Grey's side or I'm sending you back to ponyville. I know that we are friends, but remember that if I want a artifact. So do somepony else." With that said he walked down the stairs. The other three looked down the stairs.
"Hmm, dark, creepy, old, possibly boobie trapped. After you Steel." Grey said smirking.
"Yay..." Steel said sarcastically. Grey followed Steel from behind with Flitter nuzzleing close to Grey's side. By the time the three caught up with Nightshade they had entered a chamber with a hole in the ground. Steel made his way to the hole.
"Wow...Somepony was mad at the ground." Steel said. Nightshade said firmly, "Stardust."
"Stardust?" Steel inquired. Nightshade nods and replied, "Stardust is the manifest of remains when the Lunar Rod activates. So to say, it's either down there or somepony got here before us. It's a good thing I brought rope." Nightshade pulled the rope out of the inside of his light brown jacket.
"Steel your coming with me. Grey and Flitter stay here. I expect the two of you to pull us up if something happens. Did you bring the touch that was requested on the flier?" Nightshade asked. Steel pulled the torch from his pack.
"You know it." Steel replied. Nightshade nods and with a slight grin he said, "Okay then. I'll meet you down there." The next thing that happened was Nightshade chimneying down the hole on the rope, he had tied around a pillar. Steel nodded before doing the same. By the time the two of them reached the bottom it was pitch black.
"I think you forgot to light the torch." Nightshade said. He rolled his eyes before striking the torch with his hoof, exhibiting the flame. Nightshade pointed at the walls.
"Do you see the starlight sparkles going down the tunnel? The light from the torch reflects off the Stardust, I have experience at thus because I'm a tomb raider." Nightshade explained and started down the tunnel.
"I see..." Steel said as he followed after Nightshade, "How long have you've been tomb raiding?"
"Ever since I got my cutie mark, it's a long story, I'll tell you later." Nightshade said as the two of them continued down the tunnel.
"I see..." He said softly. It took a while for them to actually get to the end of the tunnel. On top of the big rock perched a rod with an illuminating light blue gem. Nightshade smiled and said "that's the Lunar rod, looks like we made it first." Steel statues in wonder at the item.
"Wow...it looks pretty powerful. ." Steel said. Nightshade nods and replied, "and dangerous. Give me a moment to examine the rod." Steel nodded and stepped back a bit. Nightshade walked up to the rod and examined it thoroughly. After he was done examining it, he pulled the rod gently out and the tunnel started to shake.
"Yep that's pretty much how I thought this will turn out." Nightshade said turning to face Steel Soul smiling, "Now this is the part where we run." Steel sighed before pointing towards the way they came.
"Tomb raiders first!" Steel said. The two ran until they made it to the rope.
"The place is collapsing. You go first, don't argue just climb." Nightshade yelled over the load rumbling tunnel. Steel nodded before gripping the rope and pulling himself up. Nightshade attached the rod to his back and started to climb. Noticing that the rope was being pulled he continued to climb. When he got near the top, a pair of hooves grabbed Nightshade and pulled him up, but there was no time to celebrate. Some ponies Nightshade never seen before overpowered he and tied him up. Nightshade then noticed Grey and Steel Soul were in the same predicament as him, but Flitter was held hostage by a very bulky stallion. The next thing that happened was a stallion with a light brown coat and a black mane walked up to Nightshade.
"You surprise me Nightshade. I thought that you were a loner." The light brown stallion said smirking. Nightshade glared and the stallion and replied in a angry tone, "Raider."