Twily and the Temple of Terror
"Daring Do tread carefully into the darkened temple. Strange, arcane carvings covered the floors and walls. In the center of the ruined place was a desk that was no doubt some altar to a fallen king or long forgotten god. The altar was exquisitely decorated, rose vines and other flowers swirling all over its surface. The walls of this temple were carved from the living, white bark of a giant birch tree, into which the temple had been built. The Tree Ponies of Zagros were truly a brilliant race.
Daring paused as she regarded the massive altar that towered up above her, dwarfing her entirely. She gulped as she tried to decide how best to go over it. Going around it was an impossibility. After all, a friendly guide had informed her that the floor was lava. Vast, glowing rivers of the substance bubbled up from cracks in the ground, shooting out steam. The heat singed her tail, so she moved her tail away. The lava rivers coursed around the altar, as the temple-tree was also built below a volcano.
Truly, an imaginative and brilliant race. Daring knew she had no time to spend to long wondering about her predicament. Ahuizotl would be here soon. Just beyond the altar was the Vase of Anahita, whose blue mystical energy would certainly fetch a handsome price on the black market. It had to be kept out of the paws of Ahuizotl who coveted it for its great power. It was said that the relic had the ability to bring the dead back to life, but under the control of the owner of the vase.
Daring shuddered at the thought of a horde of zombie ponies overrunning the land. She hesitated as she took a step forward. Suddenly, a jet of lava shot up. She yelped and jumped back just as the spout of lava struck the ceiling. Whirling steam wrapped all around her. Daring took several steps back, pawing at the ground. She lowered her head, narrowing her eyes at the altar. With a running leap, she jumped atop it, nearly tripping as the altar rocked unsteadily.
She bounced up on her forelegs and caught a glimpse of the magnificent blue vase."
Twilight stuck out her tongue in concentration as she perched on a couch cushion. She scrambled up so she was on top of the couch. The floor was still lava, so she had to be careful. She crouched down low. Her target was the low table upon which the vase rested. A beam of light coming from the window reflected on the vase. The sunbeam mesmerized her. She traced it, watching as patterns of light played and danced on the carpet.
"A golden light came down from the roof of the temple, illuminating the vase. Daring watched as the light shifted and turned into all the colors of the rainbow. It was the Rainbow of Light! Could it be? Was the weapon of Megan the Destroyer here? Did Megan Herself once wander these halls in her mission to destroy and cleanse the world of evil?
But, if Megan was here, what was she doing here? Could some evil monster still lurk here? She heard growling coming from somewhere up ahead. The corridor led off into darkness which was a perfect spot for demons to lurk. Her ears flattened back at the thought. The Vase of Anahita was laying on a mahogany table.
It was now or never. She had no time for hesitation. Yet, hesitate she did as she looked down at the floor. The streams of lava blocked her from the table. Jumping on the table itself was the only option. Her tongue stuck out as she calculated how far she would have to leap. If only her wings hadn't been sprained fighting that giant anaconda! Well, at least she had gotten a cool, anaconda tooth sword out of it. She drew the blade now, swinging it back and forth to ward away any possible demons.
No demons emerged from the tunnel. She was almost disappointed as she put her sword away."
Twilight swung her sword back and forth and almost lost her balance. Very quickly, she regained it and steadied herself on top of the couch. If Shining were here, he could play as a monster. Unfortunately, her big brother was stuck in his room doing algebra homework. So, there were no demons for Daring to fight.
She still swung her sword around a few times just because of how fun it was. A particularly wild swing toppled her and she fell into a pile of pillows.
"Daring cried out in terror as some mysterious force knocked her off of the altar. She got back to her hooves and jumped back on. Her cursory examination of the room revealed there were no enemies for her to fight. Without any hesitation this time, she leaped and soared over the river of lava. "
She landed just short of her goal and banged into the table. The Vase of Anahita trembled and then it fell, shattering into one-million pieces.
Twilight stared at the vase. Or rather, the remains of the vase. Her own boo-boo had faded as she hadn't been going all that fast or that far. Turning to make sure nopony had seen her she scampered out of the living room and nearly ran into a blue leg.
Night Light looked to Twilight then at the empty spot on the table. He trotted around the couch and looked down at the shattered remains of the vase. "Twily, did you knock over the vase?"
Twilight looked down at the floor. "Maybe."
"Were you jumping off the couch?"
Her ears lay against her head. "I don't know."
Night Light gave his daughter the look. "You don't know if you jumped off the couch?"
If she answered yes, that'd be money out of her book fund. "Daring Do did it, Daddy, honest!"
Night Light gestured with his forehoof. "Corner. Now."
Twilight gaped. "You can't put me in time-out! You're not Mommy!"
Night Light rolled his eyes. "This is why I need masculism. Twily, I'm going to give you to the count of three. 1...1 and a half...2..."
Twilight darted to the corner, pressing her muzzle against it.
"Daring appraised the bars of her cell, even pressing a hoof against one to examine the material. It appeared to be made entirely out of phlebotium, the strongest material known to Ponykind!
Her jailer, the Guardian of the Vase of Anahita, had not been pleased by the destruction of the relic. Daring wondered how long she would be imprisoned for. She didn't know how much time had gone by or if time even had meaning in this place."
Twilight suddenly remembered that she had turned eight recently. She pouted. How could she possibly endure eight whole minutes of standing still? Her right forehoof twitched and she turned to look at her daddy, giving her the best sulk she could do. Her eyes widened and her lips jutted out. "Daddy, I'm sorry I broke the vase. Can I come out of the corner now?"
Night Light sighed and deliberately avoided his daughter's tear filled gaze. "Two more minutes, Twily."
"TWO WHOLE MINUTES?"
"Put your muzzle back in that corner."
Twilight, surprisingly, obeyed.
"The seconds crawled by turning into minutes. The bars of the cell nearly closed in on her. She whimpered."
"Oh, come on, Twily. Don't make those sad little noises. You're not being tortured. It's just a timeout. And...it's over. Come on out."
"Daring bounced around in sheer joy, dancing around the room, reveling in her freedom. And to think, her jailer had been the one to set her free! She looked up at the giant stallion. She wondered if he would like to join her on her quest."
Night Light hugged his daughter, who returned the embrace. "Are you going to be good?"
"Yes Daddy."
He ruffled her mane. "Okay."
Twilight paused as Night Light walked away. She took a running start, jumped and landed on his back, wrapping both her forelegs around his neck. He paused and looked behind him. His daughter smiled at him and his heart melted. There were things he had to do, but suddenly there was nothing more important than the little filly on top of his back.
He galloped all around the room, lightly bucking as she held on tight. He had swept up the glass while she had been in the corner so he had no fear of getting glass in his hooves. Twilight giggled in delight as he galloped around the couch, into the kitchen and down the hallway again. He reared up and she shrieked in laughter.
He headed back towards the living room and caught sight of the time on the grandfather clock. There were about twenty minutes until he needed to be at the guard academy to teach a seminar on sword techniques.
Reluctantly, he stopped. "I'm sorry, Twily. I have to go."
He levitated her down to the ground.
She looked down. "It's okay. I understand."
They hugged again and he was off. Before he left, he grinned at her. "Y'know what? I bet Shiny's about done with his math homework."
Twilight beamed and shot off like a rocket up the stairs. She paused and ran back down, collecting her toy sword. Then she ran back up and cracked the door open. Shining was hunched over his desk. She skulked into the room, positioned her sword in her magical aura (much better than using her hooves) and charged.
Shining didn't even look up as his horn lit. Twilight found herself hanging upside down in midair.
Shining rose and smirked down at her. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Twilight kicked her legs. "Let me go!"
Shining loomed over her.
"Daring giggled and writhed helplessly in the grips of the Tickle Monster. There was no escaping the magical surges of energy dusting over her hooves. She was ashamed to admit that she sort of liked it."
"Shining! Let me go!"
Shining let her plop down onto his bed. "Fine."
Twilight jumped off the bed and pounced onto his back, digging her hooves into his sides. It was Shining's turn to giggle and helplessly squirm. Fillyish peals of laughter escaped his parted lips. His horn sparked with magic and he gently placed her on the floor.
She pranced. "Wanna play with me, BBBFF?"
He glanced at his math homework and then at his sister. I'll finish it tomorrow. He picked up his toy spear, holding it in his magic. "Un guarde!"
Twilight charged him with the sword and Shining batted it away. They danced around the room, keeping time with each other. Shining was on the defensive, continuing to knock away the plastic sword Twilight charged with. Twilight swung the sword and it lightly whacked Shining's side. Shining, in retaliation, lightly tapped her nose with the spear point. She jumped up and tapped his chest.
Shining lunged and Twilight found herself up against the bed. She scampered away as Shining lunged again, just barely knocking away his spear with her sword.
Twilight ran out the room and Shining followed. They both ran down the stairs, shouting in wild glee and then bolted out the door into the sunlight. Twilight hopped up and down, her hooves sinking into the cool grass. Shining booped her nose and tossed aside his spear. "Tag, you're it!"
Twilight took off after him.
"Daring chased the Tickle Monster as they ran from the temple and onto the jungle floor. Vines crawled among the carpet of ferns, wrapped around high trees. Daring reached out her hoof and grabbed the demon's leg."
"Tag, you're it!"
Shining spun around and took off after Twilight. They ran around the house until they both collapsed into a pile. Shining reached out a foreleg as he reclined beneath the oak tree and drew his sister close. She snuggled against him and closed her eyes as she fell into a nap.
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DAWWW
Sooo CUTE!!
I need to cut down on the sugar intake before new chapters, lest I get Twiabetes.
This has to be about the cutest chapter yet. I feel like my blood sugars gotten way too high again, and frankly I want this chapter to be a comic by itself. It is the most adorable thing.
Wonder if you will includ her friends from magic school at some point. (I know you mention Moondancer already, but that was rather short. Will love to see more of the story in ether way. )
P. S. Daww. So cute.
Great chapter here, although you might want to fix two things.
1. "(...) the temple-tree was also built below a volcano"
Shouldn't it be above?
2. Un guarde!
This should be en garde. Trust me, I know French.
Still, as I said above, good job. Waiting for more of Twily's (mis)adventures!
7975777 1. Below a volcano. Twi has quite the imagination.
2. Whoops. Thanks for pointing that out.
7976572 Ponyville Confidential
Too... adorable... can't... GAAAAAHH!!!! *Explodes*
How did I know that was going to happen? I somehow knew she would end up breaking that vase. I just knew it.
That said, I kind of figured this chapter would somehow end up being more about Twily trying to get away with breaking the vase. Kind of like in chapter six: Twily and the No Good, Very Bad Grade, where Twilight tried way too hard to bury the evidence of her no-good-very-bad test grade. However, the actual story of this chapter, especially Twilight's/Daring's "imprisonment" had at least 20% more adorableness.