//------------------------------//
// Where Ponies fear to Tred 
// Story: Ponies and the Alpha Team 
// by Optimistic Pessimist 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight Sparkle and Spike landed on a small area. It was dark as night, and the grass gave an eerie glow. "What is this place?" Twilight looked around to see many broken stone columns and rocks. "What's this box?" Twilight turned to a strange yellow black box. It had a dial on it with a few numbers. "...Let me see, nine digits..." Twilight put in the number '000000042' from a book she liked. It clicked open. "What are these things?" Twilight shifted through the box's contents. "Looks like swords shields and armor. SPIKE!" The young dragon jumped. "AH! Twilight really! don't yell that loudly." Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's just a little dark Spike. Are you writing this down?"

Twilight walked past Spike, who was scribbling furiously about the strange contents of the box. "What's this?" Twilight looked at the strange apparition. It was something like a wall, except it was made of floating cloud like substance. Twilight reached her hoof through. "Interesting...wait." Twilight tried pulling her hoof back. She couldn't budge it back to her side of the wall. "SPIKE! Take this down!" 

Spike came up to Twilight. "What is that?" Twilight sighed. "It looks like a wall, but it's only one way. Take a look back at the machine, does it look like we can go back up?" Spike walked back to the platform where they landed. "Sorry Twilight, doesn't look like it." Twilight sighed.

"Guess we can only go forward." Twilight trotted through the wall. "Come on Spike!" Spike looked fearfully at the wall. Twilight looked back and sighed. "No, it doesn't hurt Spike." Spike looked at Twilight and sighed. He then walked through the wall. "Come on Spike, We have to find a way out of this place." Twilight made her way down from the hill.

Spike looked around nervously as he surveyed the surrounding area. "Twilight?" The unicorn looked back at Spike. "Yes, Spike?" Spike gulped. "Why are there so many...Gravestones?" He was right. There were gravestones spaced evenly every three feet. "I don't know, Spike. To be honest, it scares me too."

"GAH! TWILIGHT!" Spike tugged on Twilight's mane. "Argh! Spike! What is... AH!" A bony hand had reached out from one of the graves. It began to pull itself out of the ground. Twilight watched in horror at the skeleton that stared at her with its' yellow eyes. It had a dusty breath, and it was not held together by anything. "W-what do we do now Twilight?" Spike whispered to Twilight. "I'm not sure, but one things for certain. we've got to..." She was cut off by an hellish shrill and she turned back to find the skeletons had raised it's all too obviously sharp bone hand into the air.

"RUN!" Twilight dashed off just before the hand swiped down, making a sharp whistling as it cut the air.

"Um.. Twilight!" Twilight looked back to find about four more skeletons had joined the original. They were all following her. "Oh no! Oh no oh no oh... OOF!" Twilight ran face first into a wall. When she recovered, She found three more skeletons had joined them. "HELP!" Twilight let out a desperate cry.

"I guess this is it Twilight." Spike gulped and bravely stepped in front of Twilight. "No Spike! Don't!"

Suddenly, cries of anguish rang out as the skeletons began to turn to their back. Bones flew into the air as one by one they were cut down. Twilight stared in amazement as the skeleton in front of her was cut in two. She looked up to her savior.

Then she looked back down. He wasn't that tall. Roughly her own height. He was wearing a light plate armor. He brought his sword back to him. Twilight recognized him as the creature she had seen go down the machine. He looked at her. Twilight looked back at him.

"That's interesting. I came here to save another creature." Twilight looked at him in surprise. "You can talk?" The creature stepped back in surprise "You can talk?" Twilight was dumbfounded. "How can you talk? I've never seen anything like you!" The creature pointed his finger. "How can you talk? I've never seen anything like you!" Spike just stood there. "What?"

Twilight raised her hoof. "Let's not let this get out of hand. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle. You are?" The creature looked at her hoof and awkwardly took a hold of it. "My name is Troy John. Where, umm, where are you from?" Twilight pointed to the direction where she came from. "I'm from the land of Equestria. I followed you down here on that machine thing." The creature looked surprised. "Well that's interesting. I thought only Spiral Knights could operate that." Twilight looked curiously at Troy. "A Spiral what?" Troy looked back. "Oh right, sorry. I come from Haven." Twilight looked curiously again. "Haven?" The knight put his palm to his face. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten you're new. Haven is like a resting point for knights like us. The Spiral Knights." Twilight shook her head. "Nope. Still not getting it."

Troy sighed. "Follow me up there, I'm out of energy anyway." Twilight followed Troy as he trudged up a small hill. "Energy?" Troy stopped in front of another machine. "You don't know what energy is? Interesting." He pulled out a small bottle and poured its familiar blue fluid into the tank. "Then how did you get down here?" Twilight Sparkle walked onto the platform. "I used magic. I'm a unicorn. I can do that." Troy pressed the up button on the console. "Magic, eh? Interesting." Troy looked up as two large metal beams came slamming down onto the platform. Twilight Sparkle jumped as the resounding clang came to her ears and the platform began to rise.