Rainbow Dash sniffed... then sniffed again.
"Hmmmm..." Her ruby eyes narrowed. She slowed her trot to a shuffling crawl, peering left and right. "Mmmmm..." Once again, her fuzzy nostrils flared. "...you smell that?"
"I haven't had a functioning large intestine in eons, I swear."
"No, for real." Rainbow Dash lowered her breath to an anxious mumble as she crawled further down the castle corridor. It was at least two corners since she last passed a slitted window, and there was no sunlight to reach this part of the interior. She found herself traversing pure shadows and darkness. "This smell... I've sensed it before."
"Dust?"
"Brimstone, ya melon fudge," Rainbow grumbled. "I've smelled it at the lair of that one dragon that nearly bathed Equestria in darkness from his high mountain." Her ears twitched. "Also, every time Spike sneezes."
"Well, we are in a castle full of the scaly misanthropes."
"Which is exactly the point. I think we're getting close, Lancie."
"Close to what?"
"That's why I need you to help me. Keep your stone eyes peeled." She shuffled forward, squatting low on her haunches. "Look for any sign of—" Crkkkk! Her hoof crunched into rubble and gravel. "—weirdness?"
"Uhhhhhh..." Lancie peered into the shadows. "Where did the hallway go, Sparky?"
Rainbow Dash paled. As her eyes adjusted to the shadows, she realized that she was standing in a massive swath of structural damage. To her left and right, the walls had crumbled, forming a fresh new hole that ripped straight through the heart of the castle... a very large hole.
"What... could this crud be about?" Her ear twitched, and she flung a look to her right. The mare found herself staring down a long, dim corridor of smashed and impacted walls. At the very end, she sensed a large chamber opening up to gray brickwork and dull red torchlight. "A dungeon...?"
"Shhhh..." Lancie leaned in. "I hear something."
Rainbow's jaw tensed. "Yeah, me too. Like... voices... arguing voices..."
"No! I mean I hear something coming," Lancie insisted. Just then, a loud scraping sound filled the corridors. The statue spun around and gazed down the opposite end of the craggy tunnel. "Well, throw poo all over me."
"Huh?!" Voice cracking, Rainbow swung her head to the left to look where he was. Her ears folded while a crimson light glinted off her eyes. "Oh gosh nuggets!"
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! THUD! A rampaging set of clawed feet stormed towards Rainbow Dash and her granite companion.
"Httt!" The mare grunted as she somersaulted forward, narrowly missing the scaly toes of the beast. She tucked her tail underneath her and pressed her body against a solid stretch of wall. There, she froze, panting, sweating.
All the while, the full length of a hulking dragon dragged its way past her, followed by another... and then another. Three draconian wyrms of beastly scale made their way into the deepest depths of the castle in a beastly procession. Once they entered the torchlit chamber beyond, Rainbow heard the unmistakable frothing of flames, followed by pungent brimstone and burnt ashes. The air rumbled with angry, draconian voices.
"What are they even arguing about...?" Lancie asked.
"Dunno! Dun care!" Rainbow sputtered.
"Don't tell me you're suddenly afraid of these creepazoids, Sparky," the statue groaned.
"No. Not afraid. Not really." Rainbow gulped, her pulse racing as she continued to press herself against the wall. "I think the word 'woken up' more aptly describes it."
"That's two words, genius."
"Says you."
"Come on!" Lancie gestured and pointed. "Solid sneak it! Whatever they may be squabbling about, this could be our chance to learn what this whole place is about!"
"Yeah... yeah, I just..." Rainbow faltered. She reached a hoof out, flexing it. All the blood was rushing out, and she felt incredibly numb. "Dang it..." With a dull lurch, she stumbled down the corridor on the other side of the dragon-sized tunnel and fumbled for her saddlebag. "...just a quick recharge. Super quick. I promise."
Lancie sighed. "Whatever. But I'm telling you... the shards are in there."
"I bet they are." Rainbow Dash nevertheless shuddered, fumbling to open one of the last potion jars. "Everything... everything's within reach..."
"Shoulda known you'd run out of courage," spoke a drawling voice. Rainbow spotted a freckled reflection in the glass sheen of the bottle. An orange muzzle curved beneath a pair of bright green eyes. "Reckon it's better you die a corpse than come back home a coward."
Rainbow Dash bit her lip. Her eyes clenched shut.
Applejack's breath tickled her ears. "Can't bear the guilt of my sister's death when yer meltin' in the belly of a dragon..."
The pegasus gnashed her teeth. Opening her eyes with a frown, she stuffed her bottle away. "Okay, Lancie... let's do this..."
"Huh?" Lancie scratched his head between his antlers. "Suddenly no need for liquid courage?"
"I'll need it for the flight out of here," Rainbow grumbled, trotting forward, sneaking. "When it comes time to smoke these gem-huffing jerks."
"Heh..." Lancie smirked. "That's more like it."
"Shhhh..." Rainbow crouched low and slinked towards the source of the dim torchlight. "Leave the cool stuff to me..."