Trailblazer The Rescuer

by Trailblazer Rocker

Tenebres Temple

"That story you told, Trailblazer? Do you have anything to say about this place?" Pinkie wondered.

"Well, all I can say is that it's creepy, dark, and spacious," he replied.

"This place is a wreck!" said Rarity. "The disrepair, the dreadful coloring, it could use some renovating."

"Um, Rarity? This place hasn't been getting any tourists. It's been sealed away for two millenniums, so who's going to take care of it if it's supposed to be locked away?"

"Well, it COULD'VE been built to last longer. I mean, LOOK at the fallen pillars and crumbling structures! Clearly, a sacred place like this could've been kept better!"

"It feels more... Cursed..." said Rainbow Dash.

"I really wish you didn't say that..."

"Sorry."

There was a message carved into the wall near them. Trailblazer walked up to it and read it out loud.

"'If your goal is to avoid losing your bearings in this tomb, follow the Pure White Ailcorn.'" Then, he saw some engraved text beneath that message. "'The Pure White Ailcorn got lost. We'd appreciate it if you would find him for us.'"

All six of them looked at the writing with dull looks on their faces. "Not like he could've helped us now."

They walked along the constructed path, hoping not to disturb anything they came across. In one area, they came across a set of stairs that acted as a bridge over the underground lake that they were crossing. On that narrow stair bridge were more armored guards.

"If only we had that machine..." said Fluttershy.

"Allright, stand back," said Twilight. "Rarity, come with me."

"Very well."

Both of them charged their rail shot and fired together. The shot pierced right through the guards and knocked them all off the stairs. They fell into the lake, but there were no fixtures that they could use to climb back on.

"Oooh, can you feel the schadenfreude?" asked Trailblazer mockingly.

"Now that that's out of the way..."

The six continued to make their way deeper into the temple, running into a hall with some stairs that ran deeper down the temple, but there were no guards in the area. They opened a door that led into another room, one that had lit torches along the walls.

"These torches... Somepony's been here recently..." thought Twilight.

"I guess we have to brace ourselves for any ambushes..." Trailblazer was already tense to begin with.

They opened the door and ended up in a very spacious room. The cave around the gray temple room they entered was like a dome, almost as big as a football stadium. There was even a working fountain with flowing water in the room that spread out in a crafted pond, with two small channels flowing to some other place. Two small bridges were there to allow them to cross over the channels.

"Did this place really have an irrigation system here?" Twilight wondered. "I'm guessing that this is, well, WAS, the garden here, but it just feels so weird..."

"I agree," Trailblazer said, bracing himself for anything, but was shuddering. "The working fountain here feels REALLY out of place... That, and we've been through some rooms with stalagmites along the path, and now, we come across this, big room. It feels like it's intact."

"It feels like time stopped here..."

"Hey, do you see those pedestals over there?" Fluttershy pointed to two pedastals, one near the enterance to the room, and the other near the exit from his room, across from their side, which was sealed with a big rock slab that fit perfectly in the exit passageway. She flew up to the one closest to them and noticed that there was a keyhole in it. "What do you think these are about?"

"I guess we'll have to find the keys to find out," said Trailblazer.

"Oh, were you looking for these?" they heard sonepony say.

All of them heard that, and they recognized the voice. They looked around themselves, but there wasn't anyone around. Suddenly, Dark Sun emerged from the ground in front of them. This startled the six a little bit, and then the other two rose from the ground. Dark Sun held up two baby blue keys.

"These are the keys that you're seeking," said Dark Sun.

"Oh, thanks for finding them for us!" said Trailblazer, sarcastically. "Now give them to us before you get hurt."

Dark Moon laughed. "See, now THAT'S funny! You see, we've learned from our mistakes, and now, we're here to take you on and take you out!"

"It's on!" Dark Sky yelled. "Say your prayers, you junior-varsity losers!"

Trailblazer charged at Dark Sun and attacked him. Dark Sun managed to retaliate by kicking him back in the chest, which he stumbled backwards on upon impact.

"Now, Dark Sky!" he yelled.

Dark Sky charged himself for an attack and began to rain shadowy shooting stars at the group. They all scattered, trying to avoid all of them, but Rarity received a direct him from one of them, and she laid down in a little crater left by it. She was singed and cut all over from it, and didn't get up.

"Rarity!" yelled Fluttershy. She quickly flew to her side, pulling out her first-aid kit. Rarity reached out to her, trying to pull her closer.

"Help... Me...!" she panted.

"I'm not going to leave you behind. I'm going to heal you, and then we're going to beat them."

"I'll protect you here," said Rainbow Dash, standing between them and where the Shadowcolts were.

"But Rainbow Dash!" yelled Fluttershy. "Aren't you hurt too??"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me, now go help Rarity!"

Fluttershy obeyed, and she cleaned Rarity to find where the cuts and burns were, and started healing her. While Rainbow Dash stood in front of them, she witnessed a heated fight between her friends and the Shadowcolts. They seemed to know more spells in order to attack with a degree of magic. It was still a bit even between the two sides; Trailblazer fought physically by punching, kicking, and ramming them against walls, while Twilight fought using magic attacks of her own. Pinkie Pie bounced around all of them, distracting them as well as attacking on her own. For the most part, she distracted the Shadowcolts, diverting their attention so that Twilight and Trailblazer attacked freely. They all ganged up on Dark Sky and neat him to the ground.

"Augh! Brothers! I'm down! He yelled out, unable to fight anymore.

Dark Sun growled, and then he charged a spell of his own. Fiery energy was gathered in front of him, and he fired a beam that started to sweep the area. As it passed, the three on the front lines dodged it by jumping over it, but Rainbow Dash saw that the beam could still reach them.

"Get down!" she shouted. She tackled Fluttershy and pulled her into the crater and laid down in it, leaving the fiery beam passing over them by just a few inches. Once it swept their area, it disappeared. None of them were hurt from the attack.

"Are you two okay?" Dash asked them.

"What about YOU?" Rarity coughed. "You're hurt too, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm feeling better now." She took off the bandages and showed that she had no signs of physical harm on her. "I'll still watch your backs here."

While Fluttershy continued to healed Rarity, Rainbow Dash observed the battle some more. Twilight Sparkle was trying to fight Dark Sun on her own, and she saw Pinkie Pie and Trailblazer ganged up on Dark Moon. Trailblazer had him in a headlock, allowing Pinkie to take free shots at him. He fell unconscious after taking so many blows. Then, they assisted Twilight in finishing off Dark Sun. He quickly fell down, beat up, and stayed down.

"Ooooohhhh..." moaned Dark Sun. "At this rate, she'll never..." He moaned again and didn't finish his sentence.

"It's starting to bore me how much you three suck," taunted Trailblazer.

"You three. Come here." Rainbow Dash beckoned them all to Rarity's crater. They walked over to her and found her injured.

"Rarity..." pondered Pinkie.

"I'm afraid that they harmed me a bit TOO much with that attack..." She began to stand up, but she had to keep one of her forelegs in the air. "I'll be fine, just try to take it slow for me... Please?"

"Yeah, gotcha," Rainbow Dash obeyed. They walked back to the beat up Shadowcolts and grabbed the two keys from Dark Sun.

"Ugh... You know not what you're up against..." he warned.

Trailblazer rolled his eyes at him and placed one of the keys in the first pedestal near the enterance to the garden. Rainbow Dash grabbed the other key and flew to the second pedestal near the garden exit and put it in it's keyhole. Once she did that, the place started to rumble.

"Wh-What's going on?" Fluttershy panicked.

The stone slab that covered the exit moved into the temple wall, unblocking the exit to the garden.

"Well, that takes care of that," Trailblazer said. The six walked towards it and got through the exit. Ahead of them was a dark hallway, with a single door at the end.

"I guess we just have to go and open that door at the end," said Rainbow Dash. "Whee. Exciting."

The six walked through the door. In the next room was a wide spacious hallway with a high ceiling. Two chandeliers hung from the ceiling, one between them and the center of the room, and the other placed in the same manner from the exit. A strange, ghastly, continuous echoing was heard in the area, but the source was unknown.

"Anyone else creeped out here in this room?" wondered Twilight.

"This place... It's quiet..." thought Trailblazer. "A little TOO quiet..."

"Did you REALLY have to say that?" Rarity asked, annoyed.

"Sorry, but still..."

They all walked to the other door and opened it. There, they saw a room with a set of large stairs that led to a tall leather chair. Superficially, it was like a throne room.

"Geez, we come from one creepy room and into another..." Rainbow Dash commented. "Still, it feels like there's always something bad going on in this whole temple. What IS this place??"

Without answering, Trailblazer walked up the stairs and made himself level with the chair he slowly walked towards it, bracing himself for whatever was to come.

"Welcome one, and welcome all," they all heard.

Trailblazer jumped. "That voice... BLACK HOLE!"

Black Hole decloaked in front of the chair. "Impressive... You've bested my guards, SteelHide, and the Shadowcolts."

"Yeah, we did!" yelled Trailblazer. "Now, don't even bother fighting us if you don't want to end up like them."

"No, really, I must thank you all."

"Huh?"

"If you all have been spared, then that means that I will have the pleasure of ripping you all to shreds!"

"...Really? Just so you could try to beat us up?" Rainbow Dash looked at Black Hole with contempt.

"It's part of it, but really, your presence means that you'll die with honor... And my amusement!"

"You, sick, freak..."

"I don't suppose that SteelHide or the Shadowcolts had any idea of my plan though, but that's just fine! And, this surprise will soon be unlocked..." Black Hole chuckled after saying that.

"Well, we can't let that happen!" Twilight yelled.

Black Hole placed a hoof under his chin. "Meet your ends, you fools..."

Trailblazer began the fight and charged at him. Black Hole teleported out of sight, making his attack miss. Black Hole reappeared right behind Fluttershy and punted her across the room. She used her wings to lower her inertia and didn't collide with the temple wall. Rainbow Dash dove after him, but Black Hole darted away, leaving a blurry trail behind, traveling faster than they could follow. It was his magic that allowed him to do that. He then stopped hear the throne and began to levitate. Trailblazer ran towards him while he wasn't focused on him. Black Hole's horn began to glow red, and then a barrage of fireballs were launched at the five ponies. Some made direct contact, but they just blew up upon impact, damaging them. He then began to float back down at the ground. Trailblazer took the opportunity to attack when he became within reach. He pulled out his knife and slashed at his belly. Black Hole cried out in pain, and he fell back down on the ground, only to get punched by Trailblazer. The blow sent him lying on the ground, and he began attacking while he was down by bouncing on him. He hopped on him seven times until Black Hole deployed his force field, throwing his timing off. He fell on his side, and then Black Hole kicked him away down to the lower level of the room, leaving the other five left against Black Hole. He then raced past them and tried flanking them again, but Rainbow Dash rammed him. Black Hole retaliated as soon as she attacked, and the two found themselves chasing each other. Rainbow Dash ended up doing more of the leading rather than chasing, allowing Black Hole to attack with some rocket-like projectiles. She dodged them and then went to fight Black Hole head on. With a few body blows, he wasn't too distracted, and shot Rainbow Dash point-blank, which sent her flying backwards and harming himself too. While that was going on, Twilight Sparkle shot a similar energy rocket-like projectile at him. As soon as he blasted away Rainbow Dash, he received the attack, knocking him into a wall and leaving a few cracks from the strong impact. Trailblazer and Rainbow Dash got back on the main platform.

Black Hole picked himself up. "Maybe it's time I stopped being so merciful," he said, angrily.

A sky-blue arc started to glow around him, and the arc became a wall of blue fire. It was blasted out around him in all direstions. They were too high for any of them to jump over, and they panicked. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy quickly grabbed two of the allies and lifted them above the flames. Pinkie Pie could jump over them for her own reasons, leaving Trailblazer behind. He quickly ran towards the lower level of the room, leaving him able to avoid the attack. He got back up to see that Black Hole started to attack with his energy rocket spell. Rainbow Dash kept on dodging with her high flight speed, easily maneuvering through the barrages. This gave him an idea. He reached into his backpack and pulled out one of his pop cans. He opened it and drank it in one gulp, and he instantly got a sugar buzz. He zipped around faster than normally and reached Black Hole from behind. He was still focused on the other five, allowing him to flank him easily. Trailblazer put him into a tight headlock, cutting off his attacks. Black Hole tried to cut him off by deploying his force field, but all that did was trap him inside, allowing him to beat him some more. He kept his head locked with his left leg while striking his head with the other. Black Hole then pulled down his force field and threw him off of himself. Trailblazer landed on his back, and then was blasted with one of the energy rocket attacks.

"I'm DONE," he growled grimly. "Now it's time for something I should've done a long time ago..." He turned to face the group, visibly showing that his right eye was closed. "Trailblazer, I have a question for you."

"What's that?" he wondered.

"DIE."

"...That's... Not... A question..."

Before he could finish what he was saying, Black Hole used his rope-like beam and wrapped it around his neck. He then lifted him into the air, and the rope-beam began to tighten around him.

"That's because I don't make requests."

Trailblazer tried to grab the beam, but it wasn't a physical object. He couldn't breathe with the rope-beam wrapped around his neck.

"Help... Me...!" he gagged.

"NononoNO!" yelled Twilight Sparkle. She and Rarity tried to use their own unicorn magic to loosen the grip, but it wasn't budging. It only got tighter and tighter, and Trailblazer's face was turning blue.

"I thought about torturing you before killing you, but you're so annoying, so that only give me this option," Black Hole said, with a sense of his own reasoning.

Pinkie Pie snuck behind him and attacked him, cutting off his concentration. The beam vanished, and Trailblazer fell to the ground, coughing and inhaling deeply. Pinkie started to dart and circle-strafed around him, dodging all of his retaliation.

"TrIlblazer! Tell me that you're okay!" shouted Rainbow Dash.

Trailblazer continued to cough. "I'm... Okay now..." He shook his head and regained his focus. "Now for revenge..." He ran up to the distracted Black Hole and kicked him. The blow struck his neck, sending him stumbling backwards. He fell down on his side, moaning.

"Had enough already?" Trailblazer asked angrily. The six ponies walked back to the center of the room, regrouping with each other. Black Hole got back up, tired and weakened.

"You... You are more than you seem... But even at a loss, I still have this opportunity..." said Black Hole.

"Hm?" wondered Rarity.

"WATCH THIS!"

With a sweep of his magic, an invisible veil was lifted off the area directly in front of the small throne. It revealed a small cage with an orange pony lying down inside. That pony's back was turned to the rest of them. Then, Black Hole rotated the cage so that it faced all of them.

It didn't take a second for Trailblazer to recognize who it was. "APPLEJACK!"

"Trailblazer?!" she called back.

"Take one step closer, and she will perish!!" Black Hole screamed.

Trailblazer leaned forward. "You wouldn't..." he growled.

Black Hole laughed. "And, now, for this!" His horn glowed, and a pseudo-lightning bolt struck all six of them. They all recoiled and fell down, eyes shut tight.

"No! Trailblazer!" AppleJack cried out. "You leave them alone!" She started to squirm around in the cage in an attempt to bust out of it.

"Ha ha HAA! Now, AGAIN!" His horn glowed again. As soon as the six picked themselves up, they were struck again, and they fell back down, either on their sides or their stomachs.

"No, NO, NO! You stop this!" AppleJack started to try to bust out of her cage even harder.

Black Hole laughed maniacally. "Oh, I LOVE it when you suffer! It's as sweet as sweet can GET!"

The six got back on their feet, with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Trailblazer panting heavily.

"What are we going to do?? We're screwed either way!" Rainbow Dash panicked.

"Why are you still standing?" Black Hole mocked them. "Take your dirt naps!" His horn glowed again, but he noticed a spikey ball rolling at him. "Huh, what?"

The spike ball unrolled itself, and Sound Wave emerged from it in front of it and faced the six ponies. They were just as confused as Black Hole was.

"Go, my lord!" he yelled. "This armor I have will last long enough!"

"Sound Wave..." Black Hole shook his head.

"Do it! It's your mission, dude!"

Black Hole closed his eyes, then reopened them. "Right, thanks for reminding me."

Sound Wave curled back up into his ball, and rolled at the six ponies. They all got out of the way, and then Sound Wave unfurled himself.

"See this sweet armor? I can roll around it, and it'll hurt to touch!" As he talked, he had eye contact on Black Hole, who blasted away the small throne, revealing a passageway. He then lifted AppleJack's cage and jogged through it.

"Not if I can help it!" Twilight gathered energy, ready to attack Sound Wave.

"Okay, you guys, stop!"

All of them were confused. "Huh?"

"I'm only acting as a distraction to Black Hole. You need to stop him before he awakens that thing!"

"What... Thing...?"

"I don't know! Only he knows! I only did this to keep you all alive so you van stop him! Now go!"

The six ponies turned around to see the revealed passageway.

"Oh, NO! APPLEJACK!" Trailblazer began to panic. He sprinted to the enterance of that room, with the others following, just as anxious. They ran down a narrow hallway with a low ceiling and steps leading downwards, not knowing what was going to happen. But they knew one thing: it wasn't going to be good.