//------------------------------//
// Chapter 27: Deadly Challenges? 
// Story: Caverns & Cutie Marks 
// by TheColtTrio 
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	Rarity's expression of surprise turned quickly into one of relief as Purple Heart stumbled to his hooves. Their tank slash guardian slash meatshield was awake and would certainly be able to get them out of this little mess, albeit violently. The white unicorn fashionista didn’t care much as long as they got out alive. Rarity’s attention was drawn to the old pony sitting in the throne-like chair at the far end of the tent as he stood stiffly on thick legs. His silver coat verged on white in some patches and his gray mane was cut into a mohawk that started at the crown of his head and ended at the end of his wrinkled but muscled neck. Drooping from his chin was a bushy white beard that could only be for catching soup. It made him seem fluffy and cuddly. Only just though.
Despite his old age, he was well built and had a number of scars playing across his chest and forelegs, presumably wounds of combat. A sword encircled by a golden crown was emblazoned on the pony’s flank. The old stallion stepped forward down past the filly at the foot of his throne.
“Who are you?” he asked gruffly. Purple Heart swayed dangerously before stopping, resting his gaze on the old pony. His eyes cleared as he considered the old pony before him. Rarity watched with awe as the purple earth pony inclined his head in respect. Surely, he was seconds away from going on a violent rage...wasn’t he?
“My name is Purple Heart,” Purple Heart responded. “I take it you are the prime authority here?” Boomer cocked an eyebrow at the curious earth pony.
“And what gives you that impression?” Boomer snorted. “I could be the leader of these bandits for all you know. I could be anything, even your worst enemy.” To everypony’s surprise, Purple Heart barked a mildly contemptuous laugh.
“I know that you aren’t my worst enemy,” Purple Heart chortled. “Only I know who my worst enemy is and you certainly aren’t it. You have a cutie mark befitting that of a royal, much like the one Amber Glitter over there has, so you can’t be a bandit leader. I’ve already met one of those, and you don’t share any resemblance.” Boomer opened his mouth, probably to order his minions to seize the impetuous pony but stopped. Rarity inhaled sharply as the aged stallion allowed a small smile to touch his lips. She was certain that he hadn’t liked how Purple Heart had worded his opinions, even though he was right, now that she thought about it. The fashionista held her breath as Boomer spoke.
“Incredible observation skills,” Boomer mused. “Do you work for some intelligence organisation or maybe the Royal Inquisition?” Again, Purple Heart laughed.
“Hardly,” the purple earth pony replied. “I’m just good at seeing and listening.” Rarity and Amber cocked their heads in puzzlement.
“You certainly didn’t seem this polite earlier,” Rarity piped up. Purple Heart gave a crooked half-smile as he turned to face his companions.
“Welp,” he said brightly, “I wasn’t feeling like myself then. I feel better now. My apologies for my horrid behavior. Sure, it’s pitiful and rather late, but it’s better than nothing.” He inclined his head and turned back to Boomer, not giving Rarity or Amber a chance to retort. “We came to get somepony.  A ‘princess’.” He lifted his right hoof and mimed quotation marks. Boomer grinned and indicated the filly that shivered at the foot of his throne.
“Here’s your ‘princess,’” he said, lifting his own right hoof to mirror the gesture Purple Heart had made. The purple earth pony glanced at the small filly before returning his gaze to Boomer. Rarity felt her ire rise as she watched Purple Heart eye the filly like a bushel of apples, his gaze analytical and harsh.. A frown creased her elegant features as she glared at Purple Heart’s back. Fluttershy switched her gaze nervously between her two companions, unsure if she should speak up. Amber looked on apprehensively. She half expected Purple Heart to barter for the release of himself and his companions and leave Amber and the filly in Boomer’s custody. Purple Heart wasn’t honorbound to help her. He had been tricked into helping and even that was insubstantial.
The same thoughts were crossing Rarity’s mind. She only knew bits and pieces of the earth pony’s past and even then she wasn’t certain of his truthfulness. He didn’t reveal much and only listed his goals with a vague wave of his hoof. Truly, he was a master of verbal evasion. It was an unexpected surprise for the two unicorns when Purple Heart finally spoke.
“What do I have to do to get you to release her?” he asked, nodding at the filly. Boomer cocked an eyebrow.
“What’s she to you?” the old pony asked. Amber, Rarity, and Fluttershy watched Purple Heart, expectantly awaiting his response. Purple Heart cast a look over his shoulder at the trio of mares he had been travelling with. He locked gazes with each pony for only a second before turning back to Boomer.
“I’m not particularly partial to her,” Purple Heart replied. “I prefer blue ponies, thank you very much, though I will admit that shiny ponies are attractive in their own way. But she is important to one of my party members. Even if I may be a heartless jerk, nopony should be a slave, especially not a youngling.” Boomer stroked his beard with a hoof silently, considering the purple earth pony’s reasoning. Rarity and Amber breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the presence of morals on Purple Heart’s part.
Fluttershy smiled gently, content that conflict within the party of companions had been avoided. However, she wasn’t so sure about the aversion of conflict between Purple Heart and Boomer. The entire tent save the old pony himself looked at him, waiting for him to speak. The guards shuffled self-consciously, aware that they were of little importance to the conversation. When Boomer finally spoke, it was with a conniving smile curving his lips.
“I will release this little filly into your custody,” Boomer said finally. “On one condition.” Purple Heart nodded, not seeming overly surprised.
“Name your condition,” Purple Heart said. Boomer’s smile widened, revealing a disturbing amount of white teeth.
“You must complete two deadly challenges,” Boomer declared. “A pair of ponies each.” Purple Heart blinked and arched an eyebrow.
“What kind of challenges?” he questioned. With an intake of breath, Boomer’s chest puffed up imperiously.
“The ‘deadliest’ of challenges,” the old stallion replied vaguely. Several seconds passed, during which Amber, Fluttershy, and Rarity shared worried looks. Purple Heart frowned and looked hard at the old stallion. Out of curiosity, Amber stepped forward, intent on speaking. One of the guards tried to restrain her but the golden unicorn wrested free and came to stand beside Purple Heart.
“If we complete these challenges, you will release the princess?” she asked. Boomer nodded in confirmation.
“Yes,” he said. “Of that I promise you.” At those words, Amber turned to look at Purple Heart, Rarity, and Fluttershy.
“We must complete these challenges,” she demanded. “I know that you haven’t known me long, but please help me. If not for me, then-”
“Stop, please,” Purple Heart sighed. “You don’t have to beg. We’ll participate in these challenges. I’m not completely heartless.” A small smile quirked the purple earth pony’s lips. Amber blinked in surprise and turned to look at Rarity and Fluttershy, wanting to know if the two mares shared Purple Heart’s thoughts. Fluttershy smiled kindly and nodded. Rarity stepped forward to place a hoof on the golden unicorn’s shoulder. The white fashionista gave a bright smile and patted Amber on the shoulder.
“We’ll help,” she promised. “We said we would.” Amber’s face broke into a large smile and her eyes began to glisten with tears. Hastily, she wiped them away and turned to Boomer.
“What are the challenges?” she asked.


* * *


“Lemme at him!” Amber shrieked in a fit of sudden rage as she lunged towards a silent Boomer. “Ima punch him!” Purple Heart chuckled at the lack of grammatical excellence and placed a steady hoof on the golden unicorn’s shoulder.
“Calm down,” the purple barbarian soothed. “I’m sure he was just messing with us.” Amber snorted in a very unladylike fashion.
“I’ll say,” she retorted. “When that old geezer said deadly, I immediately thought dangerous treks through the forest or having to fight through a cave to get the treasure. You know, those things that happen in stories.” Again, Purple Heart chuckled.
“This is hardly a fairy tail,” he mused. “But I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting a tabletop game.” Amber nodded in agreement, looking at the round table placed before them in the center of the clearing Boomer had led them to.
Across the table was Boomer, along with a unicorn just to his right. A bemused expression split Boomer’s face into a broad grin.
“You seem distraught,” he asked across the table. “Would you rather your friends did this one instead?” Purple Heart snorted and shook his head.
“No thanks,” he replied. “I think they’re better suited to the other challenge you spoke of. That aside, what game are we to play? Since this is obviously going to be a tabletop experience.” Amber frowned at Purple Heart, confused by the pony’s words. Tabletop? What is he talking about?
Whilst these questions swirled around Amber’s mind, Boomer made gave no answer to the purple barbarian’s question. Instead, he gestured to the unicorn. Amber and Purple Heart frowned in confusion as the unicorn stepped forward, a light glow emanating from his horn. Several seconds of silence passed between the four ponies while the unicorn’s magic took effect. There was a gasp of surprise from Amber and a grunt of interest from Purple Heart when two metal rods connected by a wooden half circle appeared on the table. An additional two rods angled up at a 45 degree angle from that half circle, a wooden sleeve connecting the two. At the end of the rod was a crook, probably meant for hanging pieces from.
Purple Heart blinked in surprise and stared at the stand for several seconds. A manic smile suddenly split the stallion’s lips.
“Ho~?” Purple Heart mused, elongating the vowel. “Is this what I think it is?”
“What game is this?” Amber asked, her brow creased in confusion. The smile on Purple Heart’s face grew as he swung his gaze to rest on the golden unicorn beside him.
“Suspend,” he replied, his eyes sparkling evilly. “‘A friendly game of tricky hangs and steady hooves’. It’s one of the few games I am better at than my friends.” Amber cocked her head to one side.
“You have friends?” she asked innocently. Purple Heart snorted at the comment and turned to address Boomer.
“I take it we must beat you to complete the challenge?” he mused. The aged pony nodded his silvered head.
“Yes,” Boomer confirmed. “Best two of three.” Amber watched in interest as Purple Heart twisted his lips to one side, as if contemplating a thought.
“Roight,” he replied. “Win and leave. Lose and...” His voice petered out as he let the thought hang in the air. Amber shifted anxiously and Boomer quirked his lips in mild amusement.
“Now, roll for initiative.” He gestured to the colored die on the side of the table where Purple Heart and Amber Glitter stood. Purple Heart rolled his eyes as he walked forward and picked up the die. He held it on his hoof, staring at it intently in silence. Amber trotted to his side and looked at the pensive expression on the large earth pony’s face.
“Something wrong?” she inquired. Purple Heart shook his head and rolled the die.
“Nope,” he replied, noting the color facing up on the die and gestured to Boomer. “You go first.”


* * *


“I wonder how Amber and Purple are doing,” Fluttershy wondered aloud as she and Rarity were led through the Bandit’s camp toward their challenge. Boomer’s explanation on the challenge’s had been cryptic to say the least. Amber Glitter and Purple Heart had been led away by Boomer himself while the pink-maned pegasus and white unicorn had been herded into the forest by Boomer’s second.
Rarity shrugged as she followed their guide, taking in their surroundings as the went. “I think they can take care of themselves. Purple Heart, despite his personality issues, is a very capable pony. I’m sure he can accomplish whatever task is set before him.” Fluttershy nodded mutely, agreeing with Rarity’s statement.
“I wonder what challenge we have,” the yellow pegasus said softly. Boomer’s second came to a stop in a clearing, one that seemed remarkably similar to a particular clearing at the opposite end of the camp. The only difference was what resided there.
In the center of the clearing, there was a large iron cage standing three yards high. A dull sheen caused by the afternoon sun reflected off the dark metal and illuminated the creature imprisoned within. A small Timberwolf, a pup, lay huddled against one wall, its tiny form dwarfed by the prison that held it. Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof while a look of rage crossed Rarity’s normally cheerful face. Her mane snapped like a whip as she turned to glare furiously at the pony that he led them to the clearing.
“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded. Boomer’s second smirked, trotted further into the clearing and rapped once on the cage, startling the Timberwolf pup. The little beast yipped fearfully and scrambled away from the offending pony, its paws scrabbling on the iron floor.
“You are to release this Timberwolf and follow it to the rest of its pack,” the pony ordered. “Tame the pack and bring them here. That is your task.” Having given his orders, the pony turned and cantered away.
“What’s your name?” Fluttershy asked softly. The colt stopped at the pink-maned pegasus’ words.
“Slate Doraibor,” the colt replied shortly, flipping his messy coal-black mane before continuing out of the clearing, leaving a furious Rarity and a shocked Fluttershy alone with a scared Timberwolf pup.
“We are not going to do what they say,” Fluttershy asserted forcefully.
“Of course not, dear,” Rarity replied with equal venom. “I sincerely hope that Boomer didn’t order such a task. I would much prefer that Slate himself wanted this. It would make it easier to bring this absurdity to Boomer himself. But for now, we must play along. We’ll go get the pack.” The white fashionista raised a hoof, forestalling Fluttershy’s outcry. “But, we need to find Boomer or Purple Heart as soon as we get back. I’m sure one of them will be able to fix this mess. But for now, I think you should start getting to know that pup. He looks terrified.” Fluttershy turned to the small pup and her eyes softened.
“This will take a while,” she murmured, creeping slowly towards the cage as she gave the little pup a kind smile.
“Take your time, dear,” Rarity said, patting her friend on the shoulder. “Take your time.”


* * *


Amber watched silently as Boomer and Purple Heart went back and forth, making move after move as they took turns placing corrugated wires on the stand, branching out to make a chaotic tangle of metal. Over the course of the game, Amber had tried to follow along and guess what the point was. So far, she had no idea how the game was play, nor did she have a clue of how to win.
“Um,” she murmured softly, tapping Purple Heart on the shoulder. “How do you play? What are the win conditions?” The purple earth pony finished placing the wire he held in one of his hooves and breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened.
“Have you ever heard of tumbling tower?” he asked, his gaze still locked on the game. “Jenga? Block tower?”
“No? What are they?”
“Games relying on a mixture of skill, gravity sense, and logic,” the purple barbarian said. “Suspend is like them, but a whole lot more amusing.” Amber cocked her head in confusion, watching as Boomer rolled the colored die. The little wooden cube twirled several times and landed with yellow face up.
“Hehehe!” Purple Heart cackled. “Good luck with that piece. Yellows are a pain to hang.”
“Don’t I know it,” Boomer grumbled. Earlier in the game, the aged pony had caused the complex structure of wires to lose a few of the supporting pieces, resulting in several of the wires to clatter to the table. All because he had jostled the hanging structure with a yellow ended wire.
“This is difficult,” Boomer growled as he rested the wire on the already precarious construct.
“How do you win?” Amber prompted. Purple Heart tore his eyes away from the game, stepped away from the table and turned to the golden unicorn. 
“To win, you have to be the first to use all of your pieces,” he explained. “You roll the die and have to place the requisite color on the stand. If you have no pieces of a certain color and your opponent has some left, you place their piece. And so on. If the construct collapses during your turn, you get all those pieces that were previously hanging.” Amber blinked in surprise and turned to the table as the suspended wires clattered to the table.
“Blast!” Boomer hissed. “And you say you’re the best out of your friends?” Purple Heart’s grin returned and he nodded.
“Eeyup,” he confirmed. “Next round?”
“Set it up.”


* * *


“Shh, shh,” Fluttershy soothed, coaxing the Timberwolf pup from the cage. “It’s alright. Everything is gonna be okay. I know what it’s like to be scared. But it’s fine. Slate won’t hurt you anymore. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Fluttershy attempts to identify with the Timberwolf pup,” the Discord-voice boomed. “Make a Handle Animal check.” The pink-maned pegasus looked around in surprise. Rarity was more stunned at the fact that the Timberwolf pup hadn’t bolted when the voice spoke.
“I make a ‘Handle Animal’ check,” Fluttershy whispered softly.
Several seconds passed, the only sounds being the chirping of birds in the forest and the mute bubbling of a stream off in the distance. The pup moved, inching slowly forward towards Fluttershy.
“Check successful,” the Discord-voice announced. “The Timberwolf pup knows that PC Fluttershy means it no harm.” The Timberwolf slid closer to Fluttershy until its head was nuzzling against her outstretched hoof.
“Well done, dear!” Rarity applauded. “Now, do you think the little one will take us to their pack?” Fluttershy looked up at her friend, her hoof stroking the pup’s head.
“I’m not sure,” the yellow pegasus replied. “She’s still kinda scared. Being cooped up in that cage for so long must have been horrible.”
“Can you ask her?” the fashionista queried. Fluttershy shrugged, returning her gaze to the little pup.
“I can try,” she said.
“Try, dear,” Rarity said. “It can’t hurt.”
“It might hurt him.”
“Take your time then.”


* * *


“...How did you do that?” Boomer asked incredulously. The manic smile that had never left Purple Heart’s since the first game grew again.
“Learned that from my sister,” he said slyly. “It took some time to perfect, but now, it’s a ridiculous weapon.”
“I noticed that. That’s a jerk move.”
“Ke-hehehehe. Eeyup. That’s why I love to use it.”
“Humph.”
“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Amber mused, glancing sidelong at Purple Heart. “Been under a rock long?” Purple Heart snorted good naturedly and turned to the golden unicorn, his face softening out of its manic appearance.
“Of course I’m enjoying myself,” he replied. “Do you think that I don’t know how to have fun?”
Amber opened her mouth to counter the presumptuous pony but decided against it. Over the short amount of time that the golden unicorn had known Purple Heart, not once had she seen a genuine smile on his ruggedly handsome features. But now, he wore a smile that seemed like it had been plastered to his face and would never fade.
The clattering sound of metal on wood pulled Amber Glitter from her thoughts. Looking up, she noticed that the smile had evaporated from Purple Heart’s features and had been replaced by a look of blank annoyance. Inversely, Boomer’s face had gone from blank disbelief to surprised pleasure. Several seconds of stunned silence followed the collapse of the wires. Then there was a loud outburst of unmitigated rage. 
“ARGH!” Purple Heart roared. Boomer allowed a bemused smile to curve his lips. Amber watched worriedly as the old earth pony placed his last wire, winning the game for himself. Each stallion had one win now, thus making the odds of success a great deal lower for Amber and Purple Heart.
“Angry much?” Boomer mocked as he began to disentangle the pile of wires below the stand. Purple Heart glowered at the old stallion’s jibe and began to pull his pieces towards him.
“One more game laddie,” Boomer mused. “And either you win, or you die.”
“Oh please,” Purple Heart snorted. “This is not a game of thrones.”
“Just play the game,” the old stallion sighed.
“I fully intend to,” the purple barbarian retorted. “Jibes aren’t necessary.”
“You don’t like playful banter?”
“I’m not your wife. Playful banter is limited to friends, relatives, and spouses.”
“Oh, would you two just shut up and play?!” Amber snapped. “While you may be content to argue the finer points of decorum and societal spats, I am more worried about the completion and hopeful winning of this game to release the princess.” Both stallions blinked at the unicorn’s outburst in surprise, unused to such candor speech from the golden mare.
“Yes ma’am,” the two stallions chorused, rolling the die to begin the game.