The Last Healing Dragon

by Gearsmash King

Chapter 19: A Mine, Or A Tomb?

The platform descended further into the darkness of the abyss. Applejack watched as the sunlight from the ceiling slowly faded away, leaving Starlight's magic and her headlamp as the only light source. And the further down they went, the more concerned Applejack became. She was relying heavily on Starlight to help her find her way back to the platform, if they had to go a fair distance away from it.

"How far did ya get before goin' back to the top again?" Applejack asked, trying to pass the time as they were lowered.

"I went as far as the light reached." Starlight replied, "Which wasn't all that far, really."

Then Starlight remembered something. It was probably something that she should've mentioned before getting on the platform.

"Darn it!" Starlight scolded, "I forgot to tell Twilight that I'll be signalling her with a magical flare when we're at the bottom and when we want to come back up."

"Can ya send her a message through your magic?"

"You mean a telepathy spell? That might work, hang on a sec."

Starlight went silent and closed her eyes, focusing a lot of her energy into sending a message to Twilight. A single sweat drop ran down her forehead, before she opened her eyes again.

"Whew!" Starlight exhaled, looking a little worn, "She got the message. But, let me tell you, telepathy spells aren't among the easiest spells to use."

Applejack grinned at her guide/friend.

Th-thump! Clunk!

Shortly after, the platform touched down on the bottom. There was no light, no specific direction to go. The only things they could see were whatever their lights shined on. Sliding the doors open, Starlight stepped out of the their transport with the crate wrapped in her magic and shot a flare back up to their friends. Applejack followed close behind, looking from side to side and shining her light as far as it could reach.

"I'm not sure," Applejack remarked, "but I get the feelin' that this cavern is actually bigger than it might be."

"What makes you say that?" Starlight asked, leading the way.

"Because our ride looks further away, than it was when we were lookin' at it from up there."

Starlight turned around and looked back at the platform, which was barely visible at the edge of their lights.

"Don't worry, Applejack." Starlight reassured, sensing that her companion was concerned about getting lost, "If we follow our hoofprints back the way we came, then I'm sure we'll be able to get out of here."

Turning back around and walking a little further, they reached the wall of the abyss. Looking from one side to the other, Applejack searched for a hole or a dent that they'd be able to place the crate and cover it with rocks.

"I'm gonna head this way." Applejack said, pointing a hoof, "I'll keep my light on, so ya can see me. I wanna try to find somethin' to put that crate under or in."

Starlight nodded and turned away from Applejack, walking along the wall to find the same. Both ponies treaded carefully as they searched in the dark and damp cavern. After a few moments, Applejack did find an opening in the wall. However, it was not a dent in the rock, but it appeared to be a tunnel. But what caught her attention the most was the fact that this tunnel didn't appear to be made by mining tools. It looked as though something else had dug it. Something bigger than a Diamond Dog, but smaller than a medium sized dragon.

"Hey, Starlight!" Applejack called, turning her head and spotting the glow of magic, "C'mere, I think I found somethin'."

The little light got brighter as Starlight approached her. The crate floated weightlessly behind her as she held it in her magic.

"Wow." Starlight marveled as she saw the size of the opening, "Did the Diamond Dogs make this?"

"I don't think so." Applejack replied, lowering herself down and looking at some markings, "These don't look like any tool marks that I've ever seen."

"Want to have a look?"

"Not really. There might be somethin' livin' in there."

"Applejack, the only ones down here are you and me. Plus, we still need a place to put these."

Starlight floated the crate between them, reminding Applejack why they were there in the first place.

"I'm sure Lazarus would approve of how hard we're trying to hide the gems." Starlight said, before walking forward and into the tunnel.

"The last time I heard somethin' like that," Applejack said under her breath and following Starlight, "he woke up and nearly tail-whipped me, Twilight, and Fluttershy."

The tunnel was big and never changed it's size as they walked through it. But as they walked, Applejack couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't alone. However, from the time they had arrived to now, there wasn't any reason to believe that there was anything else down there with them.

Rumble. Rumble.

At least, until Applejack felt the ground lightly vibrate under her hooves, making her stop in her tracks and eyes widen.

"Did ya feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"The ground."

Starlight turned around and saw Applejack frozen like a statue. She faced Starlight as she bit her lip and her eyes darted around. Starlight, however, wasn't sure what was bothering her spelunking partner, but she knew that something had caused the farm pony to start trembling.

"Applejack." Starlight said softly, putting a hoof on Applejack's shoulder, "Take a deep breath and calm down."

Applejack breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, until she had calmed down enough to think clearly.

"I-I felt the ground shake a little." Applejack explained, returning to a calm state of mind.

Starlight looked around at the walls, ceiling, and floor. She was searching for any weaknesses in the rock. Starlight didn't know a lot about mines, but she knew enough to know that if the ground shook, then it was a good idea to leave. However, the walls appeared to be sturdy and undamaged, as well as the ceiling.

"It's alright." Starlight reassured, after she was certain that the tunnel wouldn't collapse on them, "The walls and ceiling still look strong. There's nothing to worry about."

Turning and continuing down the tunnel, they eventually reached another cavern. But this one was illuminated by several mushrooms and a pool that was in the center of the cave. On the ceiling were very few gems, far less than the amount of dents that surrounded them. However, something still didn't fit in the picture that occupied their minds.

"Does any of this look familiar to ya?" Applejack asked, switching off her light and allowing the mushrooms to glow brighter.

"Yeah." Starlight replied, looking up at the few shining lights that decorated the ceiling, "It almost reminds me of Lazarus' cave. This was probably a Healing Dragon's cave as well. But, why is it cut off from the main chamber?"

Setting the crate down and floating herself up, Starlight inspected the gems. All that remained in the ceiling were six and each one had an image in it. Carefully, she extracted each one and floated back down to the cave floor. Then Starlight turned towards the water and held a gem just above the surface.

"What are ya doin', Starlight?" Applejack asked, even though she already knew the answer, "We ain't got time for that."

"Aren't you a little curious about this?" Starlight replied, lowering the gem into the water and causing it to change, "I, for one, want to know more about what Healing Dragons were like."

"Why not ask Lazarus? I'm sure he'd tell ya."

"Applejack, every time we've asked, he's either gone silent or he changes his eyes to orange and gets sad. I can see the internal pain in him and that's something that hurts me as much as it hurts him."

Applejack didn't say anything more as her focus changed from Starlight to the pool.

---

The pool showed several Healing Dragons celebrating and enjoying each other's company. The host of the memory sat and watched as some baby dragons wrestled and chased each other around the adults.

"Korg?! My brother?!" A low voice called out, "Is that really you?!"

The host looked past several dragons and saw one who was waving to him. Korg, the host of the memory, raised a blue clawed hand and waved back.

"Hex!" Korg called back, before weaving his way through the celebration and reaching his brother, "I feared that you died in the caves."

"No, brother." Hex replied, giving his brother a dragon hug, "I was liberated and managed to escape the twisted land that used to be our home."

Korg's attention shifted from his brother to a green dragoness standing behind him.

"And who might you be?" He asked.

"I am Baya." She replied, "Your brother has told me so much about you, Korg. It is an honor to finally meet my brother-in-law."

"Brother-in-law?"

Korg looked at his brother and saw that he appeared to be nervous.

"When did this happen?" Korg asked.

"We were married while we were imprisoned." Hex explained, "I wanted to find you and tell you, but I believed that you were killed by one of Dragon Lord Stag's soldiers, when you escaped."

Hex's eyes dropped to the ground as he thought. Then a baby dragon ran up to them and start dancing around Baya.

"Mother, come on!" The baby chimed, anxious about something, "The King and Queen are about to arrive."

Then the baby darted away and back into the crowd, with Baya following behind. They left Hex and Korg alone at the edge of the group of dragons. Korg looked back at Hex and saw a smile slowly form on his face.

"Clearly, we have much to discuss, brother." Korg said in a gravelly voice.

"We shall talk later." Hex replied, "For now, let us meet our liberators. I have always wanted to meet our great king."

"I have already met him. In fact, I am his most trusted advisor."

Hex stared in surprise at his brother and grinned.

"You are right, Korg. We have much to discuss."

With that, the two made their way to the center of the celebration.

---

The pool faded back to it's original form and Starlight looked at her own reflection. She still had the other five gems to watch and wanted to place another in the water.

"They had celebrations." She said, looking at the other gems, "But why were they celebrating freedom? Weren't they free to begin with?"

"I'm sure ya can find out those answers later." Applejack said, placing a hoof on Starlight, "But for now, let's finish our job and go home."

"Good idea."

But before Starlight took a step away from the pool, another image caught her eye. This one appearing to be a creature of some kind.

"Now, what might you be?" She said under her breath and retrieving the first gem.

Looking over at Applejack and grinning, she floated the gem away from the rest.

"No, Starlight!" Applejack protested, "We've spent enough time down here."

"Oh come on, Applejack." Starlight argued, without raising her voice and making puppy dog eyes, "Just one more. Then, I promise, I'll save the others for later."

Applejack glared at her, before rolling her eyes and allowing Starlight to proceed with a gesture.

Nodding and placing the gem in the water, Starlight and Applejack watched the pool change again.

---

"Crawl!" The voice of Korg called out, "Where are you?"

He was in his cave and looked from wall to wall. The dragon was searching for something, but didn't seem able to find it.

GRRRRRAAAAHHHH!!!!

Korg turned his head and focused on the open entrance to his cave, after hearing the roar of another dragon. But the roar didn't sound like a Healing Dragon's roar.

Quickly, he resumed his search.

"Crawl, I beg you, reveal yourself."

Then a small movement drew his attention to a pile of rocks on the far side of the cave. Korg approached it and looked behind them. On the other side was a black centipede that appeared to be the length of five full grown stallion. It had three glowing green eyes, fifty legs, curved red mandibles, small spikes running down it's back, and antennas that whipped around.

"There you are."

The centipede had curled around itself and lifted it's head to look up at the dragon.

"Don't worry." Korg said, "You will be safe as long as you stay here."

Then a blue clawed fist moved towards the centipede, before opening and dropping a gem. The centipede quickly caught the gem in mid-air and ate it.

"That gem will allow you to live peacefully, when I'm gone."

GRRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

"Which, I fear, may arrive very soon."

Korg looked back at the entrance and watched as a grey winged dragon landed and entered.

"Where are your king and queen hiding?!" The dragon boomed, surging forward and grabbing Korg by the neck, pinning him against a wall.

Wham!

"Ack!"

The winged dragon held up his free claws and pulled them back, getting ready to strike at his target.

"I am only going to ask once more." The dragon growled, "Where. Are they. Hiding?!"

Korg glanced over to the pile of rocks and saw his pet cowering in fear. Then he looked back at the dragon, who had intruded into his cave.

"I have seen the future." Korg said, looking up at the many gems that covered his ceiling, "And I shall tell you, that if you do not stop this madness, you shall fall in battle."

"Ha!" The dragon grinned menacingly, "Clearly, you have forgotten how I became the Dragon Lord. Nothing can best me."

"Are you certain of that? Do you actually believe that if you continue this war, my kind will live under your rule?"

"Maybe not you. But your children will have no choice in the matter."

"They will avenge their parents, once they have come of age and strength."

"Not if I break their spirits first."

"It would be a waste of time if you tried. Healing Dragons have the strongest spirits that any dragon could have. It is almost impossible to break them. A coward, like you, would die long before seeing the day a Healing Dragon's spirit broken."

Shinkt!

RRRAAARRRHHH!!

Korg let out a painful scream as the claws shot forward and into his chest.

"Then I shall kill every last Healing Dragon," The dragon hissed, "until all that remains of your kind are twisted and charred bodies."

Looking down at his chest, Korg watched as the dragon pulled his claws free. Turning away and leaving, the winged dragon struck the opening and caused it to collapse. The only light that remained, came from the glow of the pool in the cave. Korg held his claws over his wound as he bled out. But he slid down the wall and fell into the shimmering water.

Splash!

Crawl emerged from behind the rocks and hurried over to the dying dragon. As the centipede approached, Korg lifted a claw out of the water and stroked it's back.

"Good boy." Korg said, "You... You stayed...hidden."

Clek, chep.

The centipede clicked his mandibles together and chirped quietly.

"I am... going to make a memory gem... just for you. But you...have to promise me that you will...stay safe."

The centipede nodded and crawled closer to his master.

"I...I only wish...I could have seen...Queen Saleen and King Lazarus...one last time."

---

The pool faded back to it's reflective form, allowing Starlight to look at her reflection as tears rolled down her cheeks. Applejack's eyes, however, were wide with shock.

"Did ya hear that last part right?" She asked, "Did that dragon just say, 'King' Lazarus?"

Starlight nodded and wiped away the tears.

"We've gotta tell Twilight and the others." Applejack continued, "This is somethin' that needs to be in the light."

Starlight was about to reply, when she saw something under the water, a fair distance away from it's edge. Focusing on what it was, Starlight's eyes widened.

Under the surface was a dragon's skull. What made it more terrifying, was the fact that it looked like a Healing Dragon's skull. However, the crest had been broken in some places, one of the eye sockets had a large crack cutting through it, and the jaws were missing many teeth.

"Korg." Starlight said, staring at the submerged skull.

Applejack looked into the water and saw it too. A single tear formed in her eye as she pulled Starlight closer and gave her a comforting hug.

"You won't be forgotten." Starlight said as she retrieved the gem and reunited it with the rest, "I promise."

Levitating the crate and opening it, Starlight began to fill it with rocks, burying the Crimson Fury and Poisoned Mind gems inside. After the crate had been filled to capacity, she levitated it over to the water and gentle lowered it, placing it next to Korg's skull. The rocks were heavy enough to keep the crate from floating to the surface, allowing the reflective nature of the water to hide it.

"We're done." Starlight sighed, turning away from the water, "Let's go."

Rumble, rumble! Crack!

Suddenly, on the opposite side of the cave, the wall cracked and crumbled.

"What's goin' on?!" Applejack exclaimed, shielding herself from small pebbles as they flew towards her.

Starlight and Applejack looked back at the wall and saw a dark hole. Then, three large dimly glowing green lights appeared from the darkness. Flipping the switch on her headlamp, Applejack's light flashed to life.

CHEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!

"RUN!!!"

As soon as her light shined into the hole, Applejack and Starlight saw the biggest and most horrifying centipede that they had ever seen. Of course, from their point of view, they only saw the head. But that was enough to tell them that if they didn't take advantage of Applejack's light blinding it, they might regret it.

Quickly, they galloped as fast as their hooves would carry them, back to the platform. Starlight was still holding the memory gems in her magic, while Applejack lead the way with her light. However, on their way back, they came to a part of the tunnel that split in two directions.

"Which way? Which way?!" Applejack panted as they approached the split.

"I think it was left!" Starlight replied, following Applejack down the left path.

CHEEEEEEECH!!!

"GO AWAY!!"

They ran harder as the centipede chased them. But the further they went through the tunnel, the less familiar their surroundings became.

"How did the Diamond Dogs not know about this?!" Starlight asked, jumping over a rock that they don't remember passing.

"Who's to say they didn't?!" Applejack replied, turning a corner that wasn't on their earlier path, "Now quit yappin' and RUN!!"

Rounding another corner, they entered another chamber. This one being full of bones and items that had once belonged Diamond Dogs. The chamber had no exit, except for the way they had entered.

"W-What do we do, Applejack?!" Starlight said, panicking beyond control.

"I-I don't know!" Applejack replied, turning and facing the entrance.

As soon as she was facing the entrance, the centipede had rounded the corner and was staring at them. The three green eyes locked onto the two ponies. It's red mandibles with black tips clicked together, making Applejack's and Starlight's hearts beat faster. It entered the chamber and lifted it's head the same way a cobra would, giving the ponies a better view of it's size and legs. The antennas waved frantically in the air.

Chep! Clek!

It lowered it's head down to them and brought it's mandibles very close to them, making Applejack and Starlight back towards the wall. They stood perfectly still as the antennas began to gently prod and brush against Applejack's body, making her hold her breath and closed her eyes.

Then Starlight thought of something.

"Crawl!" Starlight called, mustering up as much courage as she could in order to possibly save Applejack, "Stop!"

The centipede stopped what it was doing and turned towards Starlight. But it didn't try to feel her with it's antennas. Instead, it stared at her.

"Crawl, back away." She ordered, stepping forward and placing herself between it and Applejack.

Slowly, the centipede began to move away from them. It even moved out of the tunnel.

"Applejack," Starlight began, "move slowly towards the exit. Don't make any sudden movements."

Applejack and Starlight began to walk slowly around the large creature as it stared at them. Once they passed it, the centipede began to circle around and slowly follow them.

"Crawl, stay." Starlight said as if she were talking to a dog.

Crawl obeyed and watched as they rounded the corner, before creeping around the corner after them. They knew that Crawl was still behind them, because they could hear his many legs tapping against the ground or his sides occasionally scraping against the rock walls.

"I'm lost." Applejack said, after walking around in the tunnels, "Everythin' looks the same to me."

They looked around at the many tunnels that they had past, when Crawl chased them. Then Starlight looked back at the centipede that had decided to follow them. A thought entered her mind as she noticed the size of the tunnel was almost as big as him.

"I'll bet Crawl made all these tunnels." Starlight explained, "Maybe, he might be able to help us get back."

Applejack looked at Starlight, then at Crawl. She was still convinced that he was following them because they looked like food to him. However, Applejack was starting to get tired of walking around aimlessly, looking for a way out.

"If ya can get him to help, then I'll eat my hat." Applejack grinned, trying to show some positivity.

"But I thought you liked that hat, Applejack." Starlight replied, looking at her with some confusion.

"It's just an expression."

Realizing her mistake, Starlight's cheeks turned light red as she looked back at the giant centipede.

"Crawl, can you show us the way out?" She asked, remembering the memory that contained Crawl's image.

And just like the memory, Crawl understood what she was saying and turned down a tunnel that the ponies had passed by and showed his full length. After the tail end of the centipede went by, they realized that Crawl was half the length of Lazarus. After several more minutes of walking, they entered a large chamber.

"Are we there?" Starlight asked.

Crawl lifted himself to a cobra's stance, revealing the platform that they arrived on. Applejack and Starlight were about to board their ride to the surface, when Crawl lowered himself down to them, blocking their path.

"W-What are you doing?" Starlight asked, thinking the centipede would try to attack.

The centipede turned his head and looked at the six gems wrapped in her magic. Then she realized why he had chased them.

"You weren't after us, were you?" Starlight said, looking at the gems, "You were only trying to get these back."

The centipede nodded and clicked his mandibles together. Then Starlight got an idea.

"With your permission," She began, "may we borrow four of these? I promise that the others will be returned to you as soon as I'm finished with them."

She levitated the two memories that they had already seen and presented them to Crawl, as a sign of good faith. Using one of his antennas, Crawl took them and nodded his head, letting them both know that they were allowed to borrow the gems. He started to leave, allowing the two ponies to climb onto the platform.

"Korg would be proud of you." Starlight said softly, "I hope you know that."

The centipede stopped and watched as she fired a flare up to their friends.

Cleek, chip.

Starlight closed the sliding doors and watched as the tail of the centipede disappeared from their lights. Then the platform began to ascend back to the surface.

"So, what are we going to tell everyone about Lazarus?" Starlight asked as the darkness began to fade around them.

"We tell 'em the truth." Applejack said, "But we need Lazarus to hear it too. That way, we'll be able to get the full story."

Starlight nodded and looked up to see five friendly faces smiling down at them.

Author's Note:

This chapter took a lot of thinking power to put together. But, I think it came along nicely.

Comments

[Zen-Aku]

Finally a new chapter of a faved story of mine thank god i was getting bored as hell

[Meadow Feather]

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