House of Sun

by Riossumari

Into the Mines

Spike and the rest of his party walked through the cardboard and paper forest Discord naturally taking the lead.

“Oh this is going to be so much fun! Just on the other side on yonder hills lies the great diamond mines of Gaigax! Taken from the capital’s control years ago by goblins and ogres! But soon we’ll raid the mines, defeat the foul creatures within and take the treasure horde all for ourselves! Am I right my fellow adventurers?” Discord announced.

“Yes! Fame and fortune await us all upon completing this grand quest! Let us make haste at once!” Cadence added as she trot alongside Shining,

Sweetie watched how every pony was behaving and walked up to Spike and whispered to him. “Is it always like this?” Spike looked at her with a bright smile and nodded,

“Oh yeah, its great! It’ll get to be a lot more fun once we encounter some monsters. But don’t worry, no pony ever gets hurt during these.” he answered.

“There are monsters? I’m not so sure about this, it sounds a little scary Spike.” Sweetie said looking a little concerned now.

Spike was quick to reassure her though, “Don’t worry, as long as we stay back all we’ll have to do is just cast magic while the others fight. It’ll be fine, you’ll see Sweetie.” The group continued to walk for a few minutes more when suddenly a group of cardboard cutouts with goblins drawn on them sprang out from behind the cardboard trees and bushes around them making growling and snarling noises as they did,

Discord drew his bow and announced with a smile. “Onward to battle!” Shining leaped in front of Discord who shot suction cup arrow after arrow at the cardboard goblins. Shining drew his ax and began to cut them down with an excited grin, Cadence giggled with excitement and walked over to Sweetie as Spike rushed ahead and began to cast spells. His staff shooting harmless magic blasts that helped destroyed the goblin menace.

“What’re we supposed to do?” Sweetie asked as she tried to hide behind Cadence,

“I’m the party healer, I’ll keep them healthy if the they start to get overrun. But you can help now Sweetie, go on! Sing a song and use your magic to help them out!” Cadence said. Sweetie watched as the three boys fought off the goblins she ducked behind Cadence some more and pulled her hat down over her face.

“I...I don’t wanna...they’re fine without me...” she replied. Discord fired one last arrow defeating the last of the goblins, Spike and Shining walking over to Discord and celebrating happily.

“VICTORY!” Discord shouted, they all turned to Cadence as she rushed over and hugged Shining giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“You did great! I didn’t even need to heal any of you this time!” she said.

Spike looked to see Sweetie was still hanging back a sad look on her face as she fixed her hat, he walked over to her and asked. “Are you okay Sweetie? It’s okay if your a little nervous, first time playing can get a little overwhelming I guess.” Sweetie shook her head and stood up,

“I don’t know if this is for me...I think I should I go...I don’t feel like I’ll be much help here.” she replied,

Sweetie went to turn to leave but was quickly interrupted by Discord. “Oh I’m sorry, but Spike must have forgotten to mention. No pony gets to leave until the adventure is over, I always like to set it up that way so we get the most out of our adventures. Plus this way we don’t have to worry about Celestia interrupting us we with some boring chore or whatever for Spike or Shining.” Sweetie looked at Spike then back at Discord,

“You mean I’m stuck in here until were done?” she shouted. She let out an annoyed groan and crossed her front legs annoyed, Spike tried to cheer her up again.

“Hey, its fine. Just keep at it and you’ll start to have fun I promise! We do this every week and it never gets boring.” he explained. Spike could tell Sweetie was a little annoyed by how this had turned out but she stood up looking at every creature with her.

“Alright...I guess I can give it another try...” she answered, Sweetie’s answer had them all cheer happily and continue on. The party trot through the cardboard forest together eventually making their way to a large cavern entrance, above which was a poorly written sign reading “Diemund Myne”. Discord seemed to get excited at the sight of the entrance and turned to the others with a smile,

“Oh this is so exciting, don’t you think? We’re finally going to do the diamond mines! Now if only we had more ponies playing with us...we might try for the crown of Mount Fiery doom next.” he said, Shining looked at Discord a look of surprise on his face.

“Mount Fiery doom? We’d need at least four more players for that, and where are we gonna find more ponies who’d want to play at that?” Shining replied, Discord leaned against Shining wrapping his arm around him with a smile.

“Oh we’ll work out the details later, meanwhile lets go into these mines and see what kind of treasure awaits us all!” Discord answered with a sly grin. The group entered the mines together cautiously, after a short distance it began to get too dark for them to see and Cadence eagerly cast a light spell the end of her staff glowing brightly and illuminating their surroundings. Spike also grabbed a nearby torch and used his fire breath to light it helping to create more light for them to see. They walked close together Sweetie staying behind Spike as they walked,

“Be cautious friends, the mines haven’t been safe in years...who knows what threats lurk in the darkness of these old tunnels...” Discord teased leaning towards the rest of the party as he did. Sweetie was getting nervous and Discord’s words weren’t exactly helping the situation either,

“You said no one ever gets hurt during these right? You weren’t lying, were you Spike?” she asked.

Spike shook his head, “Of course not, I promise as long as we stick together everything will turn just fine...” he said, then almost as if on cue the floor beneath Spike and Sweetie suddenly gave way the two falling and getting separated from the others. Cadence and Shining rushed to the hole in the floor and looked down in a small panic.

“SPIKE!!! SWEETIE!!! Can you hear me?!” Cadence shouted, she turned back to face Discord and angrily asked him. “You didn’t mention traps when we started this one, they’re gonna be alright aren’t they?” Discord looked at Cadence almost a little offended by her question,

“Just because there’s one little pitfall in this adventure doesn’t mean any pony is going to get hurt. I’ve never once put anything that dangerous into these things.” he answered. Shining immediately cleared his throat angrily Discord looking down to see the annoyed look he was giving him. “Alright there was the first time I did this that it was dangerous, but in my defense I was pretty annoyed with you and Spike at the time.” he answered. Cadence then let out an annoyed groan before looking up at the two and walking ahead of them a bit,

“Well then let’s hurry up and find a way down to them, I don’t like leaving the two of them alone even if it is safe.” she said.

Spike and Sweetie fell down the pitfall Spike landing first with a thud a second later Sweetie falling on top of him. The two groaned before standing up and looking around their surroundings, the tunnel they were in was dark but dimly lit with glowing jewels and diamonds all along the walls.

“Oh wow, look how pretty they all are. Rarity would love to see this! I bet she’d grab as many gems as she could and...” Sweetie trailed off though the look on her face turning to a sad one as she sat down and leaned against the wall. Spike walked over sat next to her pulling her close for a hug as he did.

“I’m sorry Sweetie, I really am. I know you must miss Rarity a lot, but I promise Twilight and the others are trying their best to find her. And when we do get her back we’ll have a great big party to celebrate it afterwards!” he said trying to make her feel better. Sweetie looked at Spike and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before smiling at him,

“Thanks Spike, I really do miss her...I used to do everything with Rarity, she was such a fun sister. She wasn’t active as Applebloom’s big sister but she knew how to have fun in her own way. It’s just sometimes it gets hard not trying to think about her, you know?” Sweetie said. Spike sat beside her though and nodded,

“I understand, but I also think she wouldn’t want you to let this bring you down either. She’d want you stay happy at least, and we’re all trying our best to help you too. But, I don’t want to force it on you either, I understand if you only play this one time.” he said. Sweetie could see how Spike was trying his best to make her feel better and she only realized that she was so hung up on her own feelings that she never gave this game a real chance. She stood holding out her hoof and offering to help Spike up with a bright smile.

“Well maybe I just need to give it another, another try then. Come on, there’s supposed to be treasure in here right? Let’s find the treasure, then we can find Cadence and the others.” Spike smiled taking Sweetie’s hoof and standing up eager to start exploring with her. The two walked down the tunnel, Sweetie pulling a few of the glowing gems off the wall and using them for a light source as they walked.

“I wonder how deep this tunnel goes, you think the others are this way?” Spike asked, Sweetie shrugged her shoulders unsure what to say. As the two walked Spike suddenly felt a small stone shift beneath his foot, the sound of a stone slab moving behind them caught their attention. They looked back to see a panel opening on the ceiling, an ominous green glow from inside then slowly a massive green jelly like block fell from the opening barring their path back.

“What is that?” Sweetie asked, in a panic Spike shouted and pointed.

“A Gelatinous cube!!! RUN!!!” Sweetie didn’t question Spike the two turning and running down the hall, the cube slowly giving chase behind.

“How do we stop it? Can we stop it?” Sweetie shouted as they ran, Spike thought in a panic.

“I could try to cast an ice spell, but I don’t think I can cast one big enough to stop it!” he explained.

“But you can try right?” Sweetie replied, Spike nodded and the two stopped turning to face the cube as it moved towards them.

Spike held up his staff and pointed it at the cube announcing. “Ice blast!!!” A burst of icy magics shot out from his staff and struck the cube, but only froze one side of it and a moment later it started to melt.

“Okay that wasn’t enough...KEEP RUNNING!!” Spike shouted, immediately the two began to run again the cube slowly closing in on them. The two had a good lead on the cube but it never relented in chasing them, as they turned a corner they suddenly found themselves at a dead end. They turned to see the cube coming closer, they held each other and shrieked in fear.

“What’re we gonna do now!?” Sweetie shouted, Spike looked around and couldn’t find any way out. It almost seemed like they were done for, then he looked at Sweetie.

“Sweetie! You’ve gotta sing! You’re a bard, if you can use your magic to make mine stronger maybe I can stop it!” he said. Sweetie grabbed the lute from her back and was about to start but then paused.

“I don’t know Spike...I’m not sure I can do this.” she said, the cube was getting closer and closer. Spike looked at Sweetie with a smile and held her hoof.

“You can do this Sweetie! I know you can, I’ll be right here rooting you on!” he said with a smile. Sweetie Belle smiled back at Spike and then with a new found look of confidence she began to play the lute in her hooves. She’d never played a lute before but because of Discord’s magic it just naturally came to her, she plucked the strings and the music flowed through the tunnels as Sweetie began to sing.

“Toss a bit to your wizard, his spells will save the day! Toss a bit to your wizard, his magics will help pave the way!” As Sweetie sang Spike could feel her bardic magic flowing into him and making him stronger, a lot stronger than he expected in fact.

He took a few steps in front of Sweetie and held his staff high a ball of fire appearing on the end of it and shouted, “FIREBALL!!!” he thrust his staff at the Gelatinous cube and with a mighty boom and thunderous shaking of the tunnel it exploded, engulfing and incinerating the cube. The tunnel quickly filled with smoke, the two coughing trying to catch their breath, familiar voices caught their attention though,

“What the hay was that?”

“Discord! You didn’t say there would be earthquakes!”

“Why does every pony assume when things go wrong, that its my fault?”

“I don’t know, maybe its your track record for causing chaos?”

“Okay, that’s actually a fair assumption then.”

Spike and Sweetie waited a moment for the smoke to clear and then ran over to the newly made hole in the wall and found the others standing there arguing with one another.

“Guys!!! We found you!” Spike shouted, Cadence’s face lit up with a smile and rushed over and hugged the two happily.

“Oh, I’m so glad your both okay! I was worried when you fell down that pitfall!” Cadence said. Sweetie and Spike took a step back smiling at them,

“We also defeated a giant jelly block! It was amazing!!!” Sweetie announced,

Spike chuckled and then clarified, “Actually it was a gelatinous cube.” Shining looked at them a little surprised,

“By yourselves? Wow, that was impressive.” he said.

“That’s not all they found, look! The diamond cache!” Discord announced pointing at all the glowing gems along the walls. Shining and Cadence both smiled as they looked up at the treasure trove of gems before them.

“We did it!!! We conquered the mines!!!” Cadence shouted as she danced in place happily. The sound of fanfare filled the area a cloud of confetti falling from nowhere and all around them, then in a bright flash they found themselves back in the study and out of costume.

“That was a lot of fun! Sure, it got a little scary for a moment but I wanna do it again!” Sweetie shouted, Spike smiled back excitedly happy to see Sweetie smiling.

“Well come on, I’ve got some O & O books we can go over! You can learn more about a bard and we can pick our next adventure!” he replied. Sweetie nodded and the two happily rushed out of the room.

“Hey! I want to pick the next adventure!” Cadence shouted chasing after the two. Shining found himself standing alone with Discord,

“It’s great to see Sweetie Belle smiling again, and I always enjoy seeing my little brother getting closer to his girlfriend. It was a nice turn of events that only those two got caught in the pitfall, huh Discord?” Shining said with a smile.

“Oh I agree, its almost as if some creature planned this out in fact. Don’t you think?” Discord replied. Shining’s eyes widened in surprise hearing Discord’s words, he turned to say something but before he could Discord interrupted. “Oh would look at the time? I’m late for dinner, until next time Shining!” then with a snap of his fingers Discord disappeared.

Shining stood quiet in the study for a moment but then rolled his eyes, “I cannot believe that guy...he could’ve let me in on the plan you know...”

Author's Note:

Sorry that my updates have been slow lately, first I had writer's block trying to write his chapter, then I had zero motivation, and lastly my job kept leaving me exhausted. But after watching some MLP and also Pony life (Yes, I like it) I finally got around to finishing this chapter up. If it feels a little half @$$ed at any point at least you'll know why. I did drop a reference to "Onward" in here for laughs, even made Sweetie's song a reference to "the Witcher" on Netflix. But now that that's over with I've one more breather chapter planned before I get started on the vacation arc. Updates may be slow again, and I apologize if takes me a while to get the next one up. But I will try and get it done ASAP. Anyways, leave some comments and maybe a like or two.

Comments

[Melody Song]

I loved this chapter, it was great and so was that Onward reference. Looking forward to another!

[Comickook]

Excellent job on the action, exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Yeah, I can understand Sweetie Belle being this nervous her first time playing the game, but I LOVED Spike reassuring her. Plus, the "battle banter" between the group (particularly the points concerning Discord's chaotic play style) was pretty entertaining as well. And yeah, Sweetie reflecting on both Rarity AND Apple Bloom was beautifully bittersweet. At least Sweetie overcame her nerves enough to do her part.

Hopefully, Ponyville will be the first stop on the Vacation Arc, allowing Sweetie a reunion with Apple Bloom and giving Twilight a chance to make friends with Applejack (especially since Twilight writing semi-regular letters to Applejack and vice versa might make a good Mythology Gag to the first couple of seasons of the actual show).

And, yeah, four more players for the "Mount Doom" run? Yeah, sounds like Celestia, Luna, Sunset and Twilight might all be getting in on this eventually.

VERY definitely looking forward to more of this, naturally.

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Spike is being really caring for Sweetie right now, it is adorable. It was nice of Discord to set it up for them too.

[SpikeSmolder fan]

It was adorable seeing Spike taking care of Sweetie during their O & O session, not to mention Discord giving the young couple a nudge in the right direction, well played!

[DavisSentoV5]

Cool filler chapter & also...

“A Gelatinous cube!!! RUN!!!” Sweetie didn’t question Spike the two turning and running down the hall, the cube slowly giving chase behind.

Nice Onward reference

[Twilight Is Cool]

*claps* I'm so glad they made Sweetie feel better!! It's so great o see them all having fun with this!! And the fact Discord's become their friend in this(and that it didn't take like several seasons like it did in the other) is also really cool!! GREAT work as always!!