Inside the Diamond Dog tunnel, the three ponies started their trek down the abandoned burrow. The tunnel was surprisingly well lit, despite the lack of torches or any other light source. After walking a few paces, they stumbled upon an old mine-cart, seated on a set of tracks that led onwards down the tunnel. “Well, this is convenient!” Candy mentioned merrily while approaching the cart.
“You're not really suggesting we use this rusty old cart, are you darling?” Crystal Clarity asked while eyeing the vehicle with uncertainty, at the same time Candy climbed into it. “I mean, we aren’t sure where it leads, or if it still works.” At this, Claire applied a small magical push on the cart, which only moved a few centimeters before getting stuck in place. “See? It is broken. This simply won’t…” She stopped after feeling a hoof tapping her shoulder.
She turned to see Golden Delicious smiling coyly and pointing at the other side of the cart, where several rocks were obstructing the tracks. “Ah reckon we should move those first.” He said to a somewhat embarrassed dragon-pony before moving to the front and kicking away the rocks to clear the track. “And it is our best choice if we wanna get out of here faster.”
“I… can’t argue with that logic.” Claire conceded before hesitantly climbing up into the cart. Once both mares were inside, Del began pushing on the cart in order to build up some speed. The worn out wheels let out a creak a few times, but it complied with the stallion’s efforts and kept moving forward. All the time, Claire kept a close eye at the tracks, reacting quickly to remove any and all rocks in their path with a little flick of her magic. Soon, the cart began moving on its own, and Del jumped into the metal vehicle with the two mares, and it seemed that they were quickly approaching the end of the tunnel and into a bigger area.
"And we're off!" Candy proclaimed. "Next stop..."
However the moment they left the tunnel, they were treated to the sight of a large cavern lined with several tracks coming from many other tunnels and an old turning platform in the center of the web of rails. Most of them were either worn out from years of non-use, having collected dirt and cobwebs over the years, while others had completely broken off all together. Overturned mine-carts littered the floor, most of which were broken beyond repair. Claire had enveloped the cart in her magical hold to break its speed almost as soon as they entered the cave, and now they are slowly rolling towards its center.
"Huh… okay…" Candy said as the cart slowed to a halt on the turning platform. “So… which way do we go now?”
"Argh, darn it!"
Everyone froze as an aggravated shout echoed throughout the mines, the trio quickly went silent as they looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice.
"Great, just perfect!" The voice continued. "Dozens of mines to get stuck and now I am lost in the only mine right in the middle of the scary forest!"
After a few seconds, the young ponies placed the source of the voice on the tunnel exactly to their right.
"Unbelievable, there’s sompony else is in these mines?" Claire asked in disbelief.
"Well then we're in luck!" Candy smiled. "Let's go find them, maybe they know the way out of this place!"
"Do you really think it's wise to just follow some random voice?" Claire asked quizzically. "We don't even know if they're actually friendly or not, for all we know it could be some thief..."
"We don't exactly have many options at the moment." Del interrupted, getting their attention. "And judging by what they just said, they seem to be just as lost as we are."
Claire sighed, knowing she was outvoted. She held her breath as she focused her magic on the turning platform itself, slowly turning it towards the tunnel the voice was coming from, the moment it connected with the tracks she released her magic hold on it, panting and sweating from the strain of moving so many gears at once.
Del got out of the cart and started pushing the cart towards the tunnel, the voice getting louder as they approached. The tunnel made a small turn to the left, but just as they were approaching the corner, they heard the same voice, unmistakably feminine now, speaking again. “I just wanted to find prettiest gems, but Pack didn’t listen to me. Now I am all alone with more gems than I can carry, and now I am lost. This is worse than stinking flea-baths.”
Just as she was saying this, the trio of ponies turned the corner and suddenly stopped as something bumped into the cart, followed by a small yelp and the sound of many small objects dropping to the ground. Candy and Claire jumped out of the cart and Golden Delicious rounded the vehicle to join the two mares and see just what they have stumbled with.
On the floor next to them was a small diamond dog pup, with big arms, a lumpy tail and a round, childlike head. She was small, just barely the same size as Starburst. She has grey, dirty fur common to her species and is wearing a brown, sleeveless jacket. She was currently rubbing her forehead, one jade-colored eye open as she winced from the small crash that sent her to the floor. Immediately, her eyes popped open as she clambered to pick up the dozens upon dozens of gems that were strewn across the tunnel’s ground, all while she muttered complaints and curses to herself.
“Perfect, just perfect.”
“Hey little one, are you okay?” Candy asked, earning a surprised look from the pup and an cringed stare from her friends.
The Dog suddenly became uneasy, slightly backing away, but with her eyes flickering at the gems. “I-I don’t want trouble. Roxy hasn’t done anything to big ponies. I only want to get pretty gems and leave.”
“Relax sugarcube,” Del says in a calming voice, “you’re more worked up than a mouse in a cat-house. What’s the matter?” Golden asked the now calmed dog.
“Uh… You ponies won’t hurt me?” The pup, Roxy, asked incredulously.
“Of course we won’t!” Said Cotton Candy, suddenly sweeping Roxy into a cuddlefest, from which she was too scared to even react. “I wouldn’t even think about hurting such a cute little thing like you.”
Roxy was lifted from Candy’s hooves by a magical aura and delicately dropped on the floor before Claire continued. “What my friend is trying to say is that we are not planning to do anything to you. Where did you even got that dreadful idea?” She asked.
Roxy dusted herself off before answering. “The Pack always tell me how bad ponies are. I don’t believe much of what they say though. But I’ve only seen one pony before, so I'm not at all sure.” She says, unaware of the few times her syntax made Claire cringe.
Del stepped up again, tensing up a little. “Your pack isn’t here, right?”
“Nah, Pack left long ago.” She explains, which made the three ponies sigh in relief.
“Then why are you still in this abandoned mine?” Candy asks.
At this, Roxy beams brightly and picks one of the tiny gems scattered in the floor. “I’m here to collect gems. Tiny gems are pretty, more pretty than the big gems. Big gems are too dirty. Tiny gems are clearer.” She trails off after seeing one of the gems float up to Claire’s face, who squinted at it for a few seconds.
“My goodness, she’s right! I can practically see through this little emerald!”
“Hey, give it back!” Roxy yelped as she jumped from the ground and snatched the green gem from the air.
“Then why are you alone?” Candy asked again. “Shouldn’t any of your friends be helping you?” She says, ignoring the panicking expressions she was getting from her friends.
Roxy sulks a little. “I don’t have friends in the Pack. They don’t listen to me because I’m tiny. They only want big gems because they are dumb.” She shakes her head before giving a confident smile at the ponies. “But I’ll will prove them, by getting enough gems that they’ll have to take me more seriously."
“The problem is,” She says as she looks down at all the gems scattered in the floor, “that Roxy is tiny. I can’t carry many gems on my own. And now I am lost and can’t get back to the den. And I can’t find my way back if I’m carrying more gems than I can.”
“Oh, I know! Why don’t you use our ca~ Hmmph!” Candy almost offered before a hoof-claw found its way on her muzzle, silencing her.
Crystal Clarity on her part began. “Excuse us for a second, darling.” She says to Roxy before trying pull Candy to the back and have a brief talk with her, but Roxy caught on what the blue mare was offering.
“Yes! Roxy can use mine-cart! Please, please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!” Roxy begs while pulling at Del’s fetlocks, whom was at a loss of what to say.
Claire frowned at Candy. “CeeCee, you do realize that you can not just put us in this kind of situation without talking it with us first, right?”
“What do you mean?”
Del joined the conversation. “Candy, we need the mine-cart to get out of this cave and meet with the others.”
Candy let out a small gasp. “No we don’t! All three of us can walk perfectly fine! We can just walk our way out.”
“Darling, we sure can, but time is of the essence here. We can’t afford to just wander around forever, and the cart will make things move a lot faster.”
“You want to get out?” Came Roxy from between all three of them, startling Claire all of the sudden. “Because Roxy knows where closest exit.”
Del leaned in at this. “You do?”
“Yeah! So I’ll make a deal with Big Ponies.” She says while rubbing her paws together. “Ponies give me your mine-cart, and I’ll tell you that closest exit is right down this tunnel.” She ends her offer by closing her eyes and crossing her large arms. A few seconds after, her eyes popped open in realization of what she just said.
“Now, is it? Well that’s awfully convenient.” Claire says as she eyes the way down the tunnel. “It seems that now our route is clear.”
“No wait! I mean…” Roxy started to stammer, practically seeing her opportunity slip out of her paws.
Candy frowned at this and asked again. “Roxy, just how far is this exit?”
The little Diamond Dog looked up. “It… is many paws away. But exit is right at the end of this tunnel. Ponies can’t get lost.”
“Okay then!” Candy said with a smile before turning to Crystal Clarity. “Claire, can you pick all the gems for Roxy?”
“I… Sure, why?” Claire asked Candy as she levitated all the gems and rounded them together.
“We’re giving Roxy the mine-cart!” She happily answers.
Claire almost drops the ball of gems at this statement, but before she could retort, Cotton Candy started again. “Roxy needs the mine-cart more than we do now. You just said that our route is now clearer, which means that now we won’t be wandering so much, which means that we don’t need to go fast to save time, which means we don’t need the cart at all!”
Claire just stared in astonishment, ignoring the zealous glare from Roxy at her telekinetic hold as she processed Candy’s line of thought. Finally and in defeat, she levitated the armful of gems over the mine-cart and dropped them in it. “I can’t possibly argue with that.”
Candy smiled at this and then turned at the surprised puppy and gave her a playful noogie. “There you go now cutie.”
Roxy practically bounced in happiness as she went for a hug at all and each of the ponies. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You ponies are the best!” She quickly hops to the mine-cart as she turns back to them while the vehicle starts moving back on its own. “Trust Roxy, the nearest exit is straight down this one tunnel. I ain’t lying, I promise!” And with that, the cart disappeared around the corner, and Roxy with it, leaving three ponies to walk down the extension of the mine.
“You know? I don’t mind walking this much, but I find it hard rejecting a chance to avoid it.”
“As I recall, you didn’t want to be on that ‘rusty old cart.’” Del jokes. “Besides, she did need it more than we did. And she helped us out, so it was only fair.”
“Hmm, I suppose you are right.” Claire comments before turning to address Candy. “I have to give it to you though, Darling. I was ready to leave that poor thing with her arms full, but you insisted on letting her use the cart. You have my respect.”
“Oh please, it was nothing really.” Cotton Candy dismissed while looking forward. “I just did the right thing. Besides, helping others is its own reward.”
“Well, I reckon we need to keep moving. We won’t find an exit just by standing here.” Golden Delicious said.
“Also, I know the best way to speed things up!” Candy said, beaming broadly. “A Song!”
And with that, the three ponies continued their trek down the mine...with Candy singing along the way.
~~~X~~~
"I still can't believe this..." Prism grumbled as the group continued their journey through the forest. "We shouldn't have left them behind!"
"You know exactly why we couldn't just stay there, Prism." T stated. "The best we can do is hope they manage to find another way out..."
"You wouldn't have left if Annie got trapped..." Star mumbled to herself.
Thankfully, her voice was drowned out by Prism's. "I still don't like it!" He repeated, throwing his hooves into the air. "For all we know they could be headed back towards Ponyville, or end up getting even more lost or heading to another part of the forest altogether!"
"Look, we can't waste time bickering about where they might end up." Annie interrupted the two. "We have to trust that they'll make it out on their own..."
"This wouldn’t be an issue if you'd all just stayed behind like I asked." Starburst stated, this time loud enough for them to hear her. “I could’ve made it back with the Elements a lot faster too if you all just waited.”
"Y'know, for someone who thinks of me as egotistical, you sure are full of yourself." Prism sneered, earning a glare from her.
"Excuse me?!" Star snapped, flaring her wings threateningly.
“What? Because your mom and dad are in danger and you want to be a royal guard means that you gotta stick your neck alone? Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Princess, but my mom and dad are also in trouble, so I’m helping whether you want it or not!” Prism fired back, flaring his own wings in response.
"I'm not saying you aren't affected by this," Star said in defense. "I'm simply saying that it would've been a lot safer for all of you if I'd just gone by myself."
“It’s not us whom we’re worried about though.” Annie said, drawing the attention of the two pegasi. “You’re in just as much danger as we are now, Star. Don’t get me wrong, you are really strong. But you can’t do everything yourself. Especially not if it involves the Everfree Forest. You can never know what will happen in this place.”
Star simply grunted to herself as she kept her frown down the road, trying as best as she could to ignore Anthea’s lecture. A task that would be easier if said pony wasn’t still talking.
“Besides, while getting to the Tree would be easy enough, wouldn’t it be better if there are at least five more ponies with you? After all, the Elements have to~”
“I found a cave!” Prism suddenly blurted out, breaking Annie’s line of thought as she and everypony else turned at the sound of Prism’s voice. Sure enough, they found the brash pegasus hovering in front of an entrance to a tunnel on the side of a rocky hill, just a few hoofs ahead on the trail they were walking down. “Do you guys think it leads to the mine?”
Starburst peeked into the entrance of the cave, seeing it’s gradual descent to beneath the ground. “I am not sure, but it looks that way. Maybe we could find the others and help them back to the surface!” She offered before approaching the entrance. Star was about to enter when she heard a loud snorting sound coming from behind her; She turned around to see Anthea with her muzzle upwards, sniffing the air before scrunching her nose and crossing her blank eyes. “What are you doing?” Starburst deadpanned, while staring in confusion at the unicorn.
“I’m picking a really strong smell from down that cave.” Annie said while pointing a hoof directly at the tunnel’s entrance. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
‘Okay, this is amusing.’ Star thought with a smirk. “What? Are you afraid of getting dirty?”
“It’s not that! Though the cave might be a little dark… What I mean is: what if there’s something just down this tunnel?”
Star rolled her eyes at this. "Please, I seriously don't think there's anything living in a dank, dirty cave like this. What could g~ Hmph!"
Prism shoved his hoof into her mouth once again. "Don't jinx it! Did you seriously forget what happened a few minutes ago?!"
"Will you stop doing that?!" Star snapped as she slapped Prism's hoof out of her mouth. "First of all, the slide wasn't my fault at all. Second of all, why are you against going in now? I thought you wanted to get Del and the others back."
Turquoise noticed something off from inside the cave, he craned his neck to get a better look, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head before he called out to the bickering pegasi. “Uh, guys…?”
“Sweet Luna, you’re really genre-blind. You are never supposed to say ‘what could go wrong’ at any time! Bad things always happen when ponies say ‘what could go wrong’ or anything like that, and you had one strike today already!” Prism sneered at Starburst.
An imperceptible shake reached Anthea’s hooves, who quickly picked up the source of the ground movement. "Guys?" Annie called out too, more urgently, only to be ignored as well.
“Prism Bolt, what in the hoof are you talking about?!” Star shouted, oblivious to the low growls echoing from the cave.
"GUYS!!" Both T and Annie's voices bellowed, finally getting the attention of the two pegasi.
"WHAT?!" The two snapped.
*ROOOOOOAAAAAAR*
The two pegasi quickly took to the air, narrowly avoiding the fireball that nearly incinerated them both.
"WELL LOOK WHO'S WRONG!"
"NOT NOW PRISM!!" Star snapped, glaring at the dragon as the two landed beside T, who wrapped his wing protectively around Annie.
From within the cave crawled a slender yet imposing dragon that rivaled Turquoise in size. Its scales are a bright aqua-blue color, while the underside of its body and wings are a pale green. The wingspan of the wings is quite impressive, putting Starburst's’ to shame. The thick yet smooth spines that run from the top of its head to the tip of its tail are a deep green. She also had deep green eyes, though her left eye had three scars over it. It regarded the ponies with a malicious stare before speaking in a gruff yet feminine voice.
"Well well, what do we have here?" She growled as she approached the group.
Star looked to her friends and then back to the dragoness, before stepping forward while flaring her wings in an attempt to intimidate her. Even though the dragon didn’t even flinch, Starburst began addressing her, stuttering all the while. “Listen miss… um…” She paused expectantly, waiting for the dragon to catch on. However, she looked at starburst with a raised eyebrow, so Star had to inquire a little bit further. “What is your name?”
The dragon simply scoffed at this before speaking again. "Mind it, little pony, that I’m only answering because I feel like it. I’d very much like you to know that I’m Avarax the Strong." She flared her wings too, catching Starburst by surprise. “Now you’ll answer me my question: Why were you trying to enter my cave?”
Starburst started thinking of an answer, but to her dismay, Anthea started speaking. “We’re sorry, miss Avarax. We didn’t mean to trespass to your home; we just wanted to get back to some friends that got trapped in the mine beneath this place. Would you mind letting us through?”
Avarax let out a rueful laugh "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't let anything into my cave. Especially not lost little ponies..." She paused upon catching sight of T. "... and their pet dragon." She quipped, snorting smoke from her nostrils.
"Half-dragon, actually." T corrected her, taking one step forward to stand besides Annie, his wing tentatively extending over the unicorn.
"’Half’?" She repeated, somewhat confused by the statement. She sniffed the air a few times before snorting and scowling at him, baring her sharp teeth. "So you're another one of those freak! Just like that other disgusting wyrm I met years ago..."
"Hey, that’s not a very nice thing to say you know..." T retorted, exhaling small puffs of smoke from his nostrils, with only the smallest of frowns.
However, Starburst was caught on “another” and “other.” “Guys, I think she’s talking about Claire.”
"Hmph, I’m not surprised you'd defend such scum like her!" She snorted in disgust before casting a glare at T. "And you’re related to that freak? Figures, just another bad link in the world's worst chain."
"You condescending bi-!" Prism snarled as he attempted to change at her, only to be held back by T himself.
He addressed Prism with a calm tone and an even stare, to which the pegasus simply grumbled before staying put. "Listen…” T began, taking a step forward, “our friends are stuck in the tunnels, we only want to try and find them so we can bring them back up." He calmly explained.
"You make it sound like I'm supposed to care." Avarax snorted with the disdain. "This is my home, MY territory, and I will not allow a group of ponies and a half-breed to pass through it!"
T winced at that remark, but remained calm all the same. "Okay, then we’ll just keep looking somewhere else-”
"Perhaps your little half-breed ears didn't hear me…” Avarax interrupted, lowering herself menacingly. “I am NOT letting ANY of you walk further into my home. Especially not scum like you!" She snarled.
"What the hay do you have against T and Claire anyway?!" Starburst, having grown tired of hearing this dragon insult her friends.
"Because it was that other half-breed’s fault that I have this hideous scar!" The Dragon snarled as she pointed at the three claw marks on her right eye, “her and her traitorous daddy.”
Suddenly, realization dawned upon all four of them. Avarax is the Dragon Claire that she and Illusion met many years ago. She had told them that she and Illusion had gotten a dragon to chase them through the Everfree Forest until Mrs. Rarity and Spike rescued them. Starburst wasn’t about to question the veracity of that story at this point, especially since said dragon was in front of them
Turquoise, for his part, folded back his ears and looked honestly saddened to hear this. “I’m sorry about that. My dad went too far. But that wasn’t my fault.”
“I don’t want your apology. I want payback! And it seems today is my lucky day.” Avarax says with a malicious smirk.
“What? You want T to fight you? Ha! Good luck with that.” Prism Bolt joked, before noticing Turquoise questioning stare. “No offense, bro.”
“He won’t have to fight!” Snapped Star as she stepped in front of him, flaring out her wings. "Why don't you try picking on someone half your size?!"
"Actually, you're more of a third her size." Prism quipped.
"SHUT UP, PRISM!" Star snapped.
Turquoise Blitz simply rolled his eyes before addressing Avarax again. “Look, I really don’t want to fight you.”
“Really?” Avarax asked, mockingly pretending to be moved by this. “Then I’ll give you no choice!”
In that second, Avarax lunged forwards, intent on causing pain. T was almost as fast as her, leaping towards the encounter before anypony could react, leaving a surprised and panicking unicorn staring at their general direction while Star and Prism also looked at the struggle.
“Oh no!” Annie whimpered. “That green is blending with that green and I don’t know which green is my green!” She whined before collapsing on the ground and putting her two forelegs over her eyes. “Please tell me when it’s~”
“It’s over.” Prism said with an astonished deadpan, causing Annie to blindly peek from between her hooves.
In effect, the fight was over already. In only ten seconds, Blitz had somehow managed to knock Avarax on the floor and was now currently pinning her down using his entire body despite her violent thrashing. Not even Starburst couldn’t make heads or tails on how he had managed to subdue her so fast. Avarax on her part was making sure that everypony knew how angry she was, growling struggling against T’s hold.
“Annie, would you…” Turquoise muttered while trying to hold the angry dragoness down. His marefriend quickly got to her hooves and cautiously approached the two of them as her horn glowed with a warm, green light over the dragoness. Slowly, Avarax’s struggle and growls decreased in frequency, until she no longer looked like she wanted to go on a rampage.
T slowly got off from her and walked back to stand next to Anthea. Avarax craned her neck upwards while she simply laid in there, looking somewhat sleepy. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” T asked with concern.
Avarax frowned a bit before looking away. “No…” She says, with no small amount of resentment. She then looked at Annie and spoke again, with curiosity rather than anger. “What did you do?”
Annie gave her a sheepish smile as she answered. “I just helped you calm down a little. It’s sort of what I do best, to be honest.”
Avarax simply stared at her for a few seconds before looking back at the rest of the group. She frowned in confusion, but didn’t seem to be about to lash out at them any time soon. “Man, this sucks.” She said looking away from them once again. “I really want to be angry right now.” She grumbled bitterly.
Prism and Starburst, on their part were conversing between them. “So… she doesn’t want to kill us at the moment?” Prism asked.
“It seems so.” Star replied.
“Uh-huh… do you think we might get into the tunnel now?”
“NO!” Avarax blurted out, startling everypony. “Please! Don’t go inside there.”
“Why though?” Star asked in irritation.
Avarax glanced to the sides before speaking again with venom still in her voice. “I don’t want to fight you anymore, but I still don’t like any of you.”
“Aww. She’s tsun-tsun!” Anthea joked, earning a confused look from everypony, including Avarax. Before anypony said anything else, Turquoise spoke again.
“Okay, then we won’t insist.” He calmly stated before looking back at his friends. “Let’s go guys, there’s no point in keep trying.” He then started threading the road they’ve been walking down a few minutes ago, Annie remaining by his side and the two pegasi following behind, leaving a confused dragoness to stew on her bitterness.
“You should’ve let me at her.” Prism mumbled once they were out of earshot. "I could’ve whooped up her scaly tail..."
“She would’ve roasted you, literally.” Starburst countered, causing Prism to stick his tongue at her. She ignored him as she trotted to stand next to Turquoise. “I gotta give it to you though, T. That was very fast thinking on your part.”
He smiled a little before looking down to his hooves. “I’m just glad that nothing bad happened.”
“Yeah,” Prism said, “although I think you let her off too quickly. She didn’t have to say that nasty stuff about you and Claire. You could’ve taught her a lesson or two...”
“That’s right. I could’ve, that’s why I didn’t. She was just angry, and I can’t blame her.” T explains, suddenly adopting a serious tone. “You guys know that I don’t like violence, and it wouldn’t have solved anything in this situation. She was expecting a fight, but I didn’t give her one. That’s the best lesson she could receive.”
Anthea smiled at him and nuzzled the base of his neck. “I’m proud of you.” This managed to bring a smile on Blitz’ face.
“Yeah… I can get behind that...” Prism commented
“Really?” Star asked, arching a brow. “I figured you’d be complaining about how ‘anti-climatic’ the fight was and how it needed ‘more action’…”
“I’ll admit, two dragons going at with claws bared, shooting fireballs while flying after each other would’ve been pretty awesome to watch,” he mused with a smirk, and then added. “but T was definitely smarter than her.” The four ponies simply laughed and continued walking through the forest.
“By the way, can I ask you a question?” Annie suddenly said.
Turquoise looked down at her. “Sure?”
“You didn’t enjoy that too much, correct?”
T, Star and Prism looked at her in confusion before the Half-Dragon answered. “No, I didn’t.”
“Really? You didn’t enjoy being on top of a girl?” Annie asked, a familiar smirk on her face.
Turquoise’s face turned beet-red, Starburst slapped a hoof on her face and Prism just started giggling like an idiot. After that embarrassing moment, the four ponies continued their trip, drawing nearer to the heart of the forest.