MLP Adventures Vol. 2: The Journal

by Dante24

Chapter 3

*BOOOOM*

In the wake of the explosion, Twilight, Spike, and Blueblood ran out of the chamber while the members of the Snow Clan recovered from the surprise attack. The trio ran down the hallway and into an area with many staircases that led into different rooms. "Which way should we go?!" asked Spike.

"This way, come on!" yelled Blueblood. As they began running up one of the stairs, the members of the Snow Clan managed to catch up to them. One of them threw a kunai; cutting Blueblood's saddle pack and causing the book to fall out.

"There it is, GET IT!" yelled the snow clan mare. The two stallions quickly moved for the book to which Spike jumped off Twilight's back and grabbed it before they could get to it.

"Get your claws off that book, lizard!" yelled one of the stallions.

"Get away from him!" yelled Twilight as she charged up her horn. She fired a blast at the stallions causing them to leap up into the air to evade. This gave Spike enough time to get away from them with the book. While up in the air, one of the stallions took aim at Spike and was about to fire a shuriken at him, but Blueblood appeared behind him with his shield in hoof and hammered him into the ground. Looking over the other stallion, the prince threw his shield at him to which he countered by catching it and throwing back at Blueblood. However in doing so, this gave the prince a chance to teleport behind him and hammer him into the ground as well. While that was going on, Twilight found herself going against the last member of the clan. The mare had thrown a couple smoke pellets to the ground causing smoke to rise up and conceal herself from Twilight. The alicorn conjured up a wind spell to blow away all the smoke to find that the mare was gone.

"TWILIGHT!" Spike yelled; causing her to turn around. As she looked behind her, the snow clan mare managed to hit Twilight causing both her and Spike to roll on the ground; separating them from the book. Spike quickly got up and made a mad dash for the book; as too did the snow mare. However, she didn't that far seeing as how Blueblood's shield landed right in front of her. This gave Spike enough time to grab the book and run away.

"You won't get away!" yelled the snow mare. She was about to make a move, but Blueblood landed in front of her. While the two engaged in a fight, Twilight quickly rose to her hooves and teleported over to Spike's side as he was about to be confronted by one of the snow stallions. Twilight's horn lit up and she deflected the many kunai that was thrown at them. With all of them gone, she fired a blast of energy right at them, but they managed to dodge out of the way. One of them landed on the side of Twilight and knocked her over before turning his attention towards Spike. The young dragon blew fire at the stallion causing him to stumble backwards a bit which gave Twilight enough time to recover from being knock over and launch a counter attack. The alicorn blasted the stallion with a strong attack sending him flying into a wall. However in doing so, he wound up hitting a switch which caused the floor beneath them to shake violently. "W-what's going on?!" yelled Twilight.

"Up the stairs, NOW!" Blueblood answered. Everypony quickly started to run up the nearest staircase as large cracks on the floor started to appear. Spike was the last on trying to make to Twilight and Blueblood while holding on to the book. The snow mare locked on to Spike and with a single leap, tackled him to the ground; forcing him to let go of the book. She quickly got up and made a dash for it, but Spike countered by blow a breath of fire against her flank; causing her to scream out loud which gave him the shot he needed to reclaim the book. However, one he grabbed it, the floor beneath them started to crumble at a fast pace.

"SPIKE!" Twilight yelled as the young dragon started running for his life. Twilight lit up her horn to grab him, but the soon the entire floor collapsed under Spike and the snow mare; the two of them falling through. "SPIKE, NOOOOOO!" Twilight tried to go after him, but was stopped by Blueblood. The alicorn continued to scream Spike's name as she witnessed him disappear into the darkness below.

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Spike awoke in a dark area with debris from the floor all around him. He had no idea how long he was out, but at least he was okay, to an extent. He had bruises all over his body and could barely move. Spike could barely even see his claws in front of his face, let alone, anything that was around him. However, when he lifted his head, he saw a small glimpse of light peeking from behind something. "What is that?" he thought. "Maybe it's a way out of here." Spike started to drag himself across the ground towards the small light; stopping every few moments to let the pain he was feeling die down a bit before starting to move again. As he got closer, Spike started to see that light was coming from behind a large piece of debris that he had to climb over. Groaning in pain, Spike managed to rise to his feet before he climbed over the large piece of debris; soon falling over on the other side. It was then Spike saw that the glowing light was coming from a large ruby rock the shape of a dragon's scale. Spike was immediately entrance by it. He felt that it was somehow calling out to him. Sticking out his claw, Spike reached for it. Small red sparks began shooting out at his claw; not hurting him, but healing him. His injuries were completely gone with seconds and before he knew it, he was up and about like nothing had ever happened. Still entrance by the rock, Spike inched closer and closer towards it until his claw touched it.

It was then that his body glowed just as bright as the rock. Suddenly, it began to shrink down to where Spike could carry it easily. "W-What was that?" he said; unsure of what just happened to his body. Before his body stopped glowing, Spike felt some strange power flowing through him. He couldn't describe what it was, but it felt amazing. Picking it up, Spike climbed back over the debris and found his bag; along with the journal. After placing both inside, he began searching for a way out of wherever he was.

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Twilight looked into the deep pit and screamed Spike's name over and over; hoping to receive some kind of reply from him. "Come on, let's go." said Blueblood.

"We can't leave him!" she yelled.

"We're not leaving him, we're finding a way down there." he explained. "Not that you care anyway." Twilight didn't hear Blueblood mumble that last part. She was too worried about Spike. The pair made their way through one of the openings and found themselves in another hallway. This one was a bit narrower, with the walls looking like they were going to close in on them at any second. "Stay close and watch your step." the prince warned. "No telling what kind of traps are set here." Both ponies slowly trekked through the hallway; being extra careful and suspicious of anything that even looked like it could set off a trap.

"Um, Blueblood?" Twilight spoke up. "Those ponies who attacked us, who were they?"

"The Snow Clan." he answered; not really wanting to have a conversation with her. "They're a group of earth pony ninjas whom Celestia banished centuries ago for trying to overthrow her and take Equestria for themselves."

"This is the first time i've heard of this." Twilight said. "Why did they try to overthrow her?"

"Celestia and Luna believed that it was to show how powerful they were, but that's partly true." he explained. "The truth is, the clan believes that they were the first ones to ever set hoof in Equestria and believes that it rightfully belongs to them, but in actuality, the clan and the first Equestrian settlers came here at the exact same time. Nopony knows what made them believe they were here first. It could be anything, ego, pride, etc...."

"I wonder why they're after Starswirl's journal." she said.

"Starswirl kept many things in that journal other than spells." Blueblood explained. "Things like the locations of mystical items and what they can do. It's possible that they're after something like that." Both Twilight and Blueblood continued to walk through the hallway with Twilight getting more and more worried about Spike by the second. "Spike." she whispered as she lowered her head. Blueblood gave out an exasperated sigh while rolling his eyes. He didn't buy that Twilight was was worrying about Spike. Deep down, he knew that this was just a act to make herself feel better. Once she returns to Ponyville, it'll be business as usual. The battle with the nightmare aura will be a thing of the past and nothing will change. Honestly, he doesn't know why Celestia decided to make her alicorn when she clearly doesn't deserve it. All those "friendship speeches" she's known were nothing more than her stroking her own ego at the fact that she's his aunt's student. By some sheer miracle, the two of them made through the hallway without triggering anything They wound up entering a rather large room with massive statues that resembled the ones from earlier. Both Twilight and Blueblood soon heard voices coming towards them. They ran behind a pillar as the voices revealed to belong the Snow Clan Ponies.

"Where are we?" asked the first stallion.

"How should I know?" answered the second stallion. "Grr, I can't believe we let the book get away."

"Don't worry." said the mare. "There's no way anypony could've survived that fall. Once we find a way down there, they'll be nothing in the way of getting it."

"What about the other two?" asked the first stallion.

"We'll handle them in time." she said. "Now, let's keep moving." As the snow ponies continued off in one direction, Blueblood and Twilight hurried off in another; being careful not to alert them. The pair ran down a different hallway in an attempt to find some kind of staircase that would lead them downwards. Their travels lead them to room, after room, after room, and they found nothing looking like a staircase or anything that might lead them to Spike. Twilight and Blueblood entered into a hallway which had statues of warrior stallions at each pillar. Believing it was a obvious trap, the two of them started to head back; not wanting to set anything off. As they started to leave, they heard a rumbling sound. Looking out into the hallway, they saw that a wall was slowly opening up.

"Something's happening." Twilight said.

"Hide!" Blueblood said with urgency. They ran behind a corner and peeked their heads out as the wall opened up. Walking through was a small figure they couldn't make out. It wasn't until the figure came into focus that they knew who it was.

"Spike!" Twilight yelled as she came from behind the corner. Running over to him, the purple alicorn practically tackled the young dragon as she held him tightly; squeezing the air out of his lungs. "You're okay, thank Celestia, you're okay!"

"T-Twilight.....c-can't.....breathe." he struggled to say. Twilight ignored Spike's statement and continued to nuzzle her cheek against his. Blueblood rolled his eyes, believing that Twilight's reaction was all just an act, and use his magic to separate the two so that the poor dragon could breathe.

"If you're done trying to kill him, we should get out of here while the Snow Clan are preoccupied." he suggested.

"Y-Yeah." Spike breathed. "The exit is this way."

"How do you know where the exit is?" Twilight asked as Spike started walking.

"I don't know, I just do." he answered. The trio walked to the opposite end of the hallway where Spike began feeling against the wall for something.

"What are you doing?" Blueblood asked.

"There should be a switch somewhere around here." he said as he continued feeling around. Twilight and Blueblood looked as each other in confusion before looking back at Spike. They wondered how it was that Spike knew there was a switch around here. Both ponies were pulled from their thoughts when they heard a loud click followed by a rumbling sound. Spike found the switched that opened up a hidden door which revealed a dark entrance. "Here it is." he said. "This should lead us back outside."

"Spike, wait up." Twilight said as both she and Blueblood followed him in. Twilight and Blueblood both lit up their horns so that they could see where they were going. Twilight walked right next to Spike; wrapping a hoof around him and held him close just in case something were to happen; she didn't want to risk losing him for a third time. After a few minutes of walking, the trio came to a bright light at the end of the cave. This led them right into the White Tail Woods, or rather, another part of it. It didn't matter now, all the matters is that they're out of that cave, and away from the Snow Clan.

"We have to move." said Blueblood. "The sooner we get to the train station, the farther away from the Cnow Clan we'll be."

"But which way IS the station?" Twilight asked. "We're in a different area." Twilight question was soon answered when they heard the distant sound of a train engine.

"This way." said Blueblood as he used his magic to pick up Spike. They ran as fast as they could through the woods in the direction of the train. As they ran, the sound of the train got louder and louder. They were sure it was either at the station ready to leave, or was about to arrive; either way, they had to make it to there and hope the Snow Clan doesn't catch up to them. It felt like forever, but the trio had finally made to the station where the train was about set off. With nothing more than a second to spear, the leaped on board just as it started moving.

"W-We.....made it." Twilight panted.

"B-Barely." Blueblood added. Both the prince and Twilight struggled to make to their car while Spike stood in between them; helping them keep their balance. It didn't take long before the trio made to their destination; Twilight and Blueblood flopping down in their seats as Spike closed the door.

"It's finally over." Twilight said as she motioned for Spike to come next to her. Spike went over to Twilight and she wrapped a hoof around him; nuzzling him close to her and causing Blueblood to roll his eyes. "I can't believe we've made it out of there." she continued. "But Spike, how did you know where the exit was?"

"I don't know." he answered. "Ever since I touched that red glowing rock, it just came to me."

"What red glowing rock?" Blueblood asked. Spike pulled up his backpack and opened it; revealing to Twilight and Blueblood the red rock he'd found. The look the prince gave was a combination of both shock and fear; as if he knew what it was that Spike found.

"It can't be." he thought. Before he could say anything, car started to shake violently; nearly tossing the trio around. A few seconds later, the shaking stopped; leaving them confused as to what just happened.

"What as that?!" Spike asked.

His question was soon answered when pony crashed through the window and grabbed him. It was the mare from the Snow Clan. "Give me the journal or the dragon gets it." she demanded.

"SPIKE!" Twilight yelled as she was about to use her magic to get him back, only to be stopped when the other two Snow Clan members entered in as well.

"You honestly thought you could get away from that easily?" the mare laughed as her grip around Spike tighten. "Now, hand it over!" The Snow Clan were ready to attack if Twilight or Blueblood tried to do something. Blueblood looked at the situation they were in and went for Spike's backpack.

"Here, take it." he said as he tossed it to them. "Now, let him go."

"Gladly." the mare said with a dark smirk. In one move she tossed Spike behind her through one of the broken windows.

"SPIKE!" Twilight screamed before teleporting after him.

"You'll pay for that!" Blueblood yelled as he charged at them. The two stallions stood in front of their leader and blocked the prince's attack as she grabbed Spike's backpack. With a smirk, the mare threw a pellet on the ground and white smoke filled the room. Blueblood conjured up some wind magic to blow the smoke away; only to find the three ponies were gone. "No." he growled. "Where could they have......." He stopped mid sentence and took a look at the broken window. Believing where that's where they might've gone, Blueblood crawled through the window and onto the roof. The heavy winds from the speed of the train nearly caused the prince to fall off, but he kept his balance and looked around. Running up ahead of him, were the three members of the Snow Clan. Blueblood gave chase after them; soon teleporting himself closer to them where he fired a beam from his horn and hit of the stallions off the train and into a nearby lake; taking back Spike's backpack. "One down, two more to go." he said as he conjured up a shield.

Angry at what happened to their comrand, the two members of the Snow Clan took a fighting stance. The Snow Clan stallion was the first to attack; charging at the prince who blocked him with his shield. Blueblood pushed him back to which the Snow Clan mare threw a couple kunai at him. Using his shield, Blueblood deflected them away, however this left him open to an attack. The Snow Clan stallion charged at the prince and tackled him down. Blueblood countered by kicking the stallion off him, grabbing him while he was in the air and throwing him at the mare who took one step to the side as he passed her by. The stallion managed to stop himself from falling off the moving train by grabbing to the ledge and pulling himself up. "He's good." he acknowledged. "But not good enough." A dark smirk appeared on his face as Blueblood took a fighting stance. Coming up behind the prince, was the first Snow Clan stallion he took care up earlier brandishing a kunai for a sneak attack. His plan was obviously to dispose of the prince and take back the backpack. Blueblood's attention was kept on the other two unaware of what was behind him.

"Why are they just standing there?" Blueblood thought as he watched them. "Are they anticipating my next move?"

Both Snow Clan ponies' dark smirks turned into smiles as their comrade got into position. He was about to strike the prince down when suddenly......"BLUEBLOOD, LOOK OUT!" came a familiar voice. A beam of lavender magic came from nowhere and blasted the stallion off the train.

"What the..." the prince said looking behind him.

Twilight and Spike came in from the sky and landed next to Blueblood. "That was close." Spike said as he went to grab his backpack. With a growl, the Snow Clan mare threw a couple of small silver pellets at the trio which soon exploded; cause bright flashes of light that temporarily blinded them. Spike, Twilight, and Blueblood yelled in pain; shielding their eyes as best they could. This gave the mare the chance she needed. In a single dash, she ran towards them and grabbed the backpack. She quickly turned and ran away with it just as the trio got their sight back. "She has the backpack!" Spike announced.

"Not for long." Twilight said as she spread her wings. With a single flap of her wings, Twilight took off after the mare; taking her down and causing her to lose the backpack which flew out of her grasp and landed a few feet away from them. The journal flew out of the backpack and threaten to fall off the train. Thinking quickly, Blueblood used his magic to teleport Spike over to the book just as the Snow Clan stallion ran over. Spike landed on top of the book just as the Snow Clan stallion approached him.

"Move!" he demanded before knocking Spike away. Right as he was about to grab the book, Spike leapt back and snatched it away. The stallion grabbed Spike and ripped the book from his claws. Spike bit down on the stallion's hoof causing him to yell out in pain which gave him time to pull the book away; unintentionally causing a page from it to be ripped out. Spike started to runaway from the stallion just as the Snow Claw mare was thrown at him. Both ponies collided against each other and was soon encased in a large bubble by Blueblood. "I'm ending this." he said. In one move he threw the both of them off the train; sending them deep into the woods with no way to attempt to get back on.

"Spike!" Twilight yelled as she ran to the young dragon. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah....but.... a page out of the book was torn out." he said. Twilight gasped and Blueblood levitated Spike's backpack to him.

"We better get back inside." he suggested.

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Time passed as Spike was fast asleep with Twilight watching over him. She looked over at Blueblood who had Spike's backpack encased in a magical bubble that only he could release. She remembered the prince explaining that they were going to bring it to a museum in Vanhoover. The Starswirl the Bearded museum she had no idea existed until Spike told her about during his time with the princesses. Part of her was excited that they were actually going to a museum dedicated to her idol, but at the same time, she was frustrated that she couldn't even look at the content within his journal. She could only imagine what was written in there; stories of his exploits, powerful spells he's created and mastered over the years. A whole variety of knowledge was right there in front of her and she couldn't get anywhere near it. It was tearing her up inside just knowing that she was so close, yet so far away from the writings of her idol.

On the plus side, she was on her way towards the Star Swirl museum in Vanhoover. As she thought about it, her mind went back to the fight with the Snow Clan from earlier. Spike said that a page from torn from the book when he tried to get it back. She wondered what page was ripped from the book, and what was written on it. If the Snow Clan has it, then it's definitely not a good sign; especially if they plan to attack Equestria. After this trip, Twilight will have to travel to Canterlot and inform Celestia of the attack.

Across from her, Blueblood stared out the window into the night sky; looking at Luna's bright moon. "The Snow Clan." he thought. "They really wanted Starswirl's journal, but for what? What in Equestria are they planning?" The prince continued to ponder that query as the train continued to make its way towards it's destination.