Chapter 20: A Clueless Colt's Connundrum
Chapter 20: A Clueless Colt's Connundrum
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Azure Courage knew one thing: he hadn't even reached the Boutique and he was already starting to regret his detour. The thoughts swimming through his head now would not quit, but now he was trying to make sense of them.
I've hung out with both of them more than I have the others... the colt thought to himself. Some ponies say that attraction is inevitable, but...no, that can't be right. Maybe...no...no, no...
Azure snorted in frustration, and he slowed his pace as he noticed Rarity's business was approaching on the horizon. For some reason, a feeling of dread began to well up in his heart. He knew he needed to talk to her about this; Twilight and Applejack were automatically out, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash wouldn't take it seriously, and Fluttershy...he didn't really know if she'd be able to talk to him about it without being...well, shy about it.
Yet, the fact Rarity seemed to be one of those romantic types-judging by the reason she wanted to go to the Gala in the first place...it made Azure both realize Rarity was his only option, and regret actually allowing it to come to him needing her help in the situation.
I don't think she's going to be so willing to dispense advice if I tell her I feel weird around Twilight and Applejack... Azure pondered, slowing his pace and dragging his hooves along the ground. ...but, darn it, I don't really have a choice, do I?
Feeling that he didn't have a lot to lose, the cyan colt picked up the pace and closed the distance between himself and Rarity's business and home. Standing just outside the door, Azure found himself hesitating once again.
C'mon, "Courage" is in your name... Azure thought to himself. This is the hand you've been dealt...and nopony you know save for Silver, Rarity, and your family can help you make sense of it, and since all but Rarity are back home in Canterlot and you want answers now, you've gotta turn to her.
With a deep, calming breath, Azure pushed open the door. The shop hadn't changed much from his last visit, with some winter-oriented material swapped in to replace the stuff from last season. The bell rang, and the colt had a funny feeling that Rarity didn't hear it. He waited a few seconds so that he could approach the counter, just in case the mare decided to come down herself.
It would be my luck she'd be busy today... Azure mused, making it to the counter. He reached out with a hoof, and with only moderate hesitation this time, rang the bell.
"Just a moment," Rarity called out, the sound of hooves landing on the floor soon following. The sound of hooves continued towards Azure, and after a few seconds, the white mare in question appeared. "Azure?" She squinted, clearly not expecting him, but at the same time showing concern when she noticed the state he was in. "What happened to your horn?"
"Just a little magical backfire, nothing to worry about..." Azure responded, suddenly feeling a pang of dread once again enter his subconscious.
"So then, why'd you come here?" Rarity asked.
"I came to ask you something, actually," The colt responded.
"Oh?" She was clearly listening.
"Do you remember my birthday, Rarity?" Azure questioned, "The offer you made to talk about my...'problem'?" The mare blinked twice, and the shock did not go unnoticed. "Are you still willing to talk to me about it?"
Rarity's face shifted from shocked to an almost blank look, but one of her eyebrows arched, but that quickly vanished and she smiled openly, making Azure once again regret his decision.
"Oh, you honor me," she said, immediately moving around the counter. "Please go to the living room while I close shop..."
Azure obliged, already removing his scarf as he trotted in the direction Rarity wanted him to. All the way, he wondered if this whole thing was a good idea to begin with. She had certainly seen his confusion at that time, but after what had nearly happened today, he was troubled.
Alright, I'm here now, guess it's a good thing she's willing to talk with me about this... the colt thought to himself as he finished ditching his winter gear and putting it off to the side. I've got myself this far...now, how exactly should I put this...?
Azure plopped down on the couch. When Rarity walked in, something clicked in the pony's mind and he urged himself to not laugh.
I feel like I'm in a therapy session...
As Azure surveyed Rarity, she was wearing her usual work glasses, but she was also carrying with her a notepad, a quill, and a bottle of ink. However, Azure blinked when he saw the glasses.
...Somehow, Rarity in glasses doesn't do anything for me...and yet, Twilight in glasses... Azure shook his head slightly to clear any thoughts from his head. Focus...
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Rarity had to admit, of all the things she'd expected to have to take care of today, Azure's little crush on Applejack wasn't one of them. She was glad to see the colt had finally come to his senses and come to her for advice. Yet, the way his eyes looked suggested there was just a little more to that than when she last checked.
She didn't really approve of his referring to budding love as a "problem", but she chalked it up to Azure not knowing what exactly that entailed. He seemed clueless enough, so Rarity pushed it aside.
"Now that I've made sure we won't be interrupted," Rarity said, "please, tell me, what changed between Applejack and yourself that lead to your visit today?"
Azure shifted uncomfortably when the quill made contact with the pad, but his response was a bit mystifying...and concerning, "Um, actually, I think it's about the same right now, but something else has happened that lead to this."
Rarity raised an eyebrow, but was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, "Something else? Would you mind explaining?"
"I wish I could..." She could tell just from his expression he was lost.
"Very well, let me ask you a different question..." Rarity said, now lost as to what exactly Azure was talking about. "How, exactly, do you feel when you're around Applejack now?"
Azure actually gave this question a few seconds' worth of thought, and he finally relented. The small blush that coated his cheeks, and the way he sounded when he said it all tipped Rarity off to her small success here.
"Well, my stomach would feel like it was in knots, I'd have a hard time making eye contact, and on occasion, I'd even find myself...blushing..."
All of this sounded normal, but now Rarity wanted to know what that "something else" entailed. She had a nagging feeling there was a lot more to Azure's problems than what he lead on. She scribbled down all that he'd just said, and asked another question.
"I must ask, have you ever felt like this towards anypony else?"
"Not until recently..."
Rarity paused. What did he just say? She resisted the urge to call him out on this for the moment, and continued her line of questions. "Recently, you say?"
Azure nodded, though he looked reluctant to do so.
"How recently?" There was some anger in her tone, but it wasn't enough that Azure could pick up on, apparently.
"Well, it was just a while ago, when I was at the library with Twilight...something almost happened..."
Rarity blinked twice, and one of her eyebrows arched. The mare fought to maintain her composure, though she desperately wanted to know something about that situation.
"Please, darling, tell me, what almost happened between you and Twilight?" Rarity asked, making sure to conceal her rising anger.
"I'm not sure how," Azure responded, still not detecting anything wrong with the unicorn mare's tone. He blushed again as he relayed the tale, "but if Spike hadn't walked in when he did, we would have...kissed... After that, I-I wanted to see if she wanted to talk about it, see if we could figure out why it happened, but..." His voice dropped, "She asked me to leave..."
You...!
Rarity removed her glasses, still trying to conceal the anger she felt within. She set the quill and notepad aside, dropping all pretense.
What sort of colt are you?!
"Azure, darling, would you come here for a moment?" It was hard for her to hide the rage she felt for her friends being lead on like they were...
"Um...okay..." Azure responded, still sounding oblivious as ever. As soon as they were face to face, Rarity gave him precisely what he deserved: a hoof-slap across the face.
"You two-timing scoundrel!"
"T-two-timing?" Azure questioned, sounding dazed from the hit, a red hoof print already forming on the side of his muzzle where she'd hit him. "W-what do you mean?"
Playing innocent? "A mare's heart is not a toy, Azure!" she continued her verbal assault on him, satisfied with the fact she'd left a very visible mark on his face.
"Look, I have no idea what I did!" Azure responded, and only now did Rarity realize she may have made an error, "I don't even know what's going on right now! That's why I came to you!"
Rarity sat down, blinking, one eye on the red spot on the side of the cyan colt's face. His expression illustrated no attempt to save face on his part. In fact, the way he'd acted about the whole situation...
Oh dear... oh dear... oh dear...
"Oh, my, you really haven't a clue as to what's happened, do you, Azure?"
Azure plopped down on his rump, looking utterly exhausted.
"That's right..."
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The session continued anew after that, which Azure was thankful for.
First, she had him explain exactly how it had all started between him and Applejack. It was simple enough to pinpoint it to the attack on the Apples' property. That, and the immediate aftermath of the attack, apparently had to have been the tipping point. Rarity seemed surprised to hear what he'd done in the depth of that situation, and was even more surprised to learn that it was just him being himself in that moment.
Next, she had him explain what happened with Twilight, since that particular prospect was new to her. Rarity had been surprised to learn about the fact he actually helped her study the counter-spell, but she seemed particularly alarmed to hear what happened during their first study session; particularly the part where she'd reacted to his wanting to learn the Shadow Ghoul-summoning spell without knowing the consequences.
Rarity had taken down all of her notes on the matters at hoof, and after looking over all that she'd taken down about his problems, finally rendered her judgment.
"It would seem that you have a way with words, Azure," Rarity finally said, removing her glasses. "But you have no idea whatsoever what kind of effect those words could have on a mare..."
"I didn't even know what I was doing until Silver pointed it out to me..." Azure sighed. "I guess I should have put a little more stock in what he said to me..."
"Indeed," Rarity concurred. "Had you listened, you might not be in the place you are now, darling..."
"Well, there's nothing I can do about that now..." The cyan colt let out another puff of air, "I may not know too much about what I did, but I know enough to realize that if this keeps up, I'll end up hurting at least one of them..."
"At least you're not completely oblivious to your actions..." Rarity observed, finally setting down her materials and fixing him with a stern look.
"What do I do now?" Azure asked, feeling a little down on himself. The white unicorn did not answer for a moment.
"Well, dear, you're going to have to make a choice..." Rarity responded. "Find out exactly how it is you feel for each of them, and decide which one you have the stronger feelings for. But I can not make this decision for you. It would not be fair to either of them, or to you..."
"Wouldn't that wind up hurting one of them in the end?" Azure questioned, not liking the sound of that.
"It will," the mare responded bluntly, "But if you continue on the course you have put them on, Azure, it will hurt even worse than that. You mustn't allow yourself to lead them on anymore if it can be helped, until you know exactly how you feel..."
The silence was deafening, and Azure felt like his head had just been shoved straight into a fire. However, his situation was made clear to him.
Azure Courage, what kind of mess have you gotten yourself into this time? The colt thought to himself. Most colts would do anything to be in your position, but you might be living proof that being caught between two mares like this isn't heavenly by any stretch...
"I've got a lot of thinking to do," Azure finally spoke up. "Good thing it's cold..." He turned to his winter gear, which he'd discarded for the sake of the conversation. "Thanks, Rarity..."
"Anytime, Azure..."
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Rarity was happy to have been able to help Azure through his problem, or at least, help him understand what it was he had to do. She watched him go, knowing that, in the eyes of some uncouth individuals, he was in a position enviable by most colts. However, she knew Azure better than that.
At least, now she did. She'd always thought of him as a ruffian, a very brutish pony. He wasn't anything like the others, that much was for sure.
Every now and again, though, his softer side would show, more through his words than anything else. However...
She replayed not only the fresh information she'd received from him, but even the smaller acts he'd done over the months she'd known him. He'd given Fluttershy his headband to reassure her when they were up against the dragon. He intercepted a rock that would have hit Applejack dead-on if he hadn't. He'd given it his all when it came to those shadow creatures and their summoner.
Perhaps I've been more wrong about you than I care to admit, Azure...
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Meanwhile, in Fillydelphia, the mystery surrounding the strange, unearthed gem was about to deepen. Crimson Blitz and Virid Strategem remained on-site to report their findings so that Princess Celestia knew what was going on. About an hour passed between their inspection of the gem and then, and the workers had returned to the site to see if they could dig up anything else.
"It makes sense that she'd show interest in it," Virid summarized, standing outside the building where the gem was to be held until the gem could be safely transported. "It has the Royal Sisters' cutie marks on it. But what is it?"
"I wouldn't know, Virid," Crimson responded. "She did seem a bit off when she called us to do this."
"I wonder..." Virid continued. "Could we have been picked for this because...? Oh, never mind."
"What's wrong, Virid?" asked Crimson.
"Oh, nothing. Just wondernig to myself why we were picked for this and not other, more experienced individuals..." Virid responded.
"You have a point," Crimson replied, and it was true. He didn't know why they were picked, "Compared to most of the other guards, we are relatively new on the force. It does make a pony wonder..."
The two remained, for the most part, stoic, overseeing the work. The ponies that were on the job didn't seem to mind; nor did Rune der-Ground seem to object to two Royal Guards hanging around just outside his tent to wait for a report back from Princess Celestia. Indeed, the earth ponies and unicorns on the job continued to dig away, trying to find something. Suddenly, Virid's ear twitched.
"Wait, Crimson, did you hear that?" he asked, sounding somewhat alarmed.
"Hear wha--?" Crimson didn't finish his sentence, now hearing something; the sound of what vaguely sounded like shifting rock. "Now I did..."
"We are on an excavation site, gentlecolts," said Rune der-Ground. "It could be entirely possible that--"
The sound of raw earth giving way suddenly sounded off, and Crimson withheld a gasp at what he saw when he turned to look. Rune der-Ground and Virid were equally alarmed as well.
The sight that unfolded before them was a creature about seven feet tall that appeared to be made entirely out of mud. But it wasn't that alone that got Crimson's adrenaline flowing. He couldn't quite discern what it was! It looked like it had one bunny ear stretching out the center of his head, two blank yellow eyes, a snout like some kind of dragon, and tendrils that extended out of its body. It reached out with its mud tendrils-which flowed remarkably like liquid, and ensnared two of the workers, dragging them underground.
"What in Tartarus was that?!" Virid demanded, "I haven't seen anything like it!"
"What" is a good question... Crimson thought, prepared to leap into action. The remaining workers looked around, when a second rumble took place underneath their feet. A few moments later, a second creature at about the same height as the first one burst forth from the ground. Like the first one, it too appeared to be made out of mud, and it too did not look like any one creature Crimson had ever seen.
This time, the creature had two pointed ears, similar to a cat, yet it also had a set of antlers as well. The antlers were more for show: Crimson guessed that if that thing had to stab something with it, the antlers, not the victim, would splatter, given that they appeared to drip away. The rest of the body appeared to be more slender, a serpentine sort of body. It too, had the same exact tendrils, which it used to ensare three other workers. The rumbling reconvened, but neither creature reappeared. Eventually, the quaking stopped, and the workers, along with Virid, Rune, and Crimson himself, ran over to the holes.
"Are these...tunnels?!" Rune observed, leaning dangerously close to the edge of one of the holes. Virid extended a forehoof in front of him, pushing him back a little.
"Those...odd creatures must have been underground here for quite a while. Maybe this excavation of yours disturbed them..." Virid said, looking to the earth pony, "Maybe that's why they're attacking..."
"Virid..." Crimson said. "Those things don't look natural to me..."
"I knew that," Virid retorted, looking down into the hole. "Rune der-Ground, stay up here with the jewel."
"Where are you two going?" Rune asked, clearly concerned.
"We're going after those things. An excavation can't get moving without any workers..." Virid said, leaping down the hole, his horn lighting up in an amber light. As he went down the hole with the aid of the gravity spell, Crimson could have sworn he'd heard him say: "no matter how inferior..."
One of these days, Virid, these ponies we are charged to protect will hear you, and I'll have to beat you down myself... thought Blitz to himself, following Virid's lead as he leapt down after the unicorn and the two strange creatures.
The hole had to have been about thirty feet deep, Crimson estimated, as he and Virid touched down. It was dark down there, save for the light from each of their horns. Suddenly, Virid gave a startled gasp.
"Oh, what was I thinking?!"
"V-Virid...?" Blitz asked, completely concerned now.
"Crimson, we should have taken off our armor before jumping down here! Captain's not going to like it if our armor isn't clean when we get back!" The green unicorn said, sounding completely sincere when he said it. Crimson's horn glow completely fizzled out for a few seconds, and he felt his eye start to twitch.
"I-I'm sure...he isn't going to care too much if our armor gets a little dirty..." Crimson said, completely at a loss for Virid's sudden change in demeanor.
Well, actually...it wasn't that sudden...
Crimson would have chided Virid more on his sudden care for his armor, but he had more important things to take care of than try to rekindle that rivalry. Such as that ominous rumbling that once more surrounded him.
"Virid, do you hear that?" he asked, shifting his eyes.
"Not now, Crimson!" Virid's tone was the furthest thing from "serious, about to engage in combat" he'd ever heard. Guided by his purple horn light, as well as Virid's amber horn light, Crimson turned and saw Virid on his hind legs, frantically trying to wipe at some spot on his armor with his hoof.
"Seriously, Virid--"
"I said not now!" The green unicorn said, paying absolutely no mind to what else was going on, hooves still scrabbling away at the white and gold armor. The rumbling continued to grow louder and closer, and Crimson grit his teeth.
"Look out!" he yelled, physically rushing up to Virid and pushing him over with both forehooves, just moments before the first of the mud monsters came tunneling through the wall immediately to Virid's right.
"Oh, come on now..." Virid groaned, immediately getting back to his feet. "It's gonna take me forever to polish this..."
"Better that it's mud than blood..." Crimson responded. "C'mon now, stay focused on what we jumped down here to do in the first place."
"Right, right, rescue those workers and defeat those mud monsters...or whatever they are." Virid said, straightening up his posture, and glancing in the direction the first beast went.
The unicorn was about to use his talent for strategy to determine where, in the network of tunnels, there was.
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Virid had to take a guess that the monster had been coming from his right, which could have been where the lost workers had been taken. He went into the path the creature had just dug, and increased the light coming from his horn so that he could see a little more clearly. His blue eyes scanned the network of tunnels, and he began to draw conclusions.
This tunnel, the one I'm standing in right now, was freshly dug... he observed. The two creatures have made an entire web out of their tunnelings. But some of these tunnels have been here for a long time...the mud's dried. We won't be finding anything there. Some of the paths are moist...they've recently been dug up...
The unicorn forced a little more magic into his horn so he could clearly see which of the paths had been most recent. The ground rumbled around him again, but Virid paid it no mind. Two paths in particular vividly glistened in the light. There!
"Well?" Crimson asked.
"Two of these paths were dug up just today." Virid responded. "I strongly believe if we follow these two paths..." Two amber lasers shot forth from his horn, purposely weak so they'd leave a mark on his chosen paths. "We'll wind up in the same spot, and perhaps where those creatures took the missing ponies."
The red unicorn walked forward, "Alright, I'll take your word for it. Usually, your strategies don't need a whole lot of adjustment."
Without too much in the way of words, both unicorns charged down one of the paths: Virid taking the one on the left, Crimson taking the one on the right.
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Crimson's horn lit up a bit more as he went down the path he'd been assigned. He'd trusted Virid's plans in the past; it was what got the two of them as far as they did. For all Crimson knew, it might have been the reason they'd been picked for this.
"If any of you lost ponies can hear me, don't move from where you are!" the red unicorn called out, not really caring if there was any ponies to hear him. "We're going to get you out of here!"
There was a faint noise. It didn't sound like growling, but Crimson couldn't quite make out if it was a pony's voice over the nearby sound of rumbling. Had the creatures taken more ponies? Crimson didn't want to find out.
His horn lit up purple, and his galloping speed increased, his body (and armor) becoming a glowing, purple blur of light as he dashed forward through the tunnels. He felt the tunnel slope upward at one point, but then straight down afterward, forcing Blitz to have to dig his hooves and stop using his speed spell so he could maintain control as he slipped over the wet mud.
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Virid dashed down the path, trying his hardest not to move too fast, for fear he'd get his armor dirty. It was an oddball quirk that he'd picked up ever since joining the squad. Well, at least, odd to everypony but him.
He could hear Crimson calling out to the lost ponies, and heard the faint sounds of a voice saying something back. Just then, the rumbling started again. The creatures were on the move. Virid continued to run forward, and was caught off-guard by a sudden drop. He fell hoof-first into more fresh mud, and cursed silently to himself as he felt it splash over him.
"Oh, come on..." he grumbled, rising to his hooves and rushing forward again. It didn't take much longer for the green unicorn to reach an odd room.
The horn light from the unicorn's horn didn't bathe the room in light nearly as well as it had in the tunnels.
Is this some kind of chamber...? he thought to himself, looking behind him. The tunnels we were just in lit up very well thanks to the light of our horns, partly because the clearance was about two feet above our heads...but here, it's probably about fifteen, at least.
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"Who's there?"
"What're those lights?"
"Is that the Royal Guards?"
"I heard one of them call out to us..."
"I can hear you!" Crimson's voice rang out loud and clear. "I can't really see you, though..."
"We're down here with you!" Virid called out, sounding more annoyed if anything. "We'll bail you out of this situation, don't worry!"
The ground began to rumble, not just underfoot, but around them as well.
"They're coming back!" one of the captured ponies called out.
"Virid, think you can light us up here?" Crimson asked as the quakes began to get worse.
"Already on it, Crimson!" Virid's horn began to glow brighter, and the very tip of the horn began to glow with a bright white light. A few moments later, the light streaked to a high point in the room, illuminating it like a regular light bulb would.
The room was definitely large enough to accomodate both of those creatures, and their captives. Excluding the freshly dug paths, the walls of this room were dry, and looked the least disturbed out of everything in the underground maze-at least, what the ponies saw of it, anyway.
The ceiling began to crack, and soon enough, a large blob of mud that barely looked like the first creature broke through the ceiling, both of the Royal Guards instantly bracing themselves as the kidnapped ponies gave startled gasps. As the mud monster reformed, its friend immediately shot through the right-hand wall, opposite the captured ponies. Now, Crimson and Virid could see clearly what it was they were dealing with.
The objects which they mistook for tendrils were actually their limbs; they were just a lot narrower for what they should have been. The creatures appeared to be constantly dripping mud, and their bodies had some level of "fluidity" to them.
"Those tendrils..." observed Virid. "Is that how they move about? If so, clearly, these things are as amorphous as mud, for the most part."
"Alright, Virid, what's the plan?" Crimson asked.
"We're going to be fighting an amorphous magical creature, all things considered," Virid responded. "Two of us, two of them. I say we split up the work between us. These things just don't seem like they can use team work."
"Aren't there more out there?" asked one of the captured ponies.
"No, I'm fairly convinced there aren't any more other than these two..." Virid said. "Alright, I'll take the one with the weird bunny ear...thing, coming out the center of its head. Blitz, you take the other one."
"Alright then, I'll lead it away so it doesn't try to interfere with what you've got," said Blitz in response, his horn lighting up once more in a purple hue as he began to rush forward, using his speed spell to leap forward and plunging his forehooves through the mud monster he was assigned. Unsurprisingly, he found himself splashing right through the body of the beast, leaving a pony-sized hole in its chest. After a few moments, though, the hole reformed, and with a rather moist-sounding roar, the chase was on.
While Blitz took off running fast down one of the nearby tunnels, his adversary quickly stretched its tendrils, chasing him down, leaving Virid with a handful of frightened ponies and a creature to contend with...
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"Alright, let's see what you've got!" Virid called out to the creature, just as one of the tendrils came bearing down on him. He leapt to the right, away from the captured ponies, and shot a weak laser to his enemy to ensure its full attention was on him.
The monster gave a sudden yelp of pain as the laser made impact, followed by a frightening roar as it attempted to reach out to Virid and ensnare him. The mud tendril scraped past him, and the beast advanced slightly, trying to get a good grip on him. The blue eye of the unicorn flashed a little.
This thing has to have a range limit of some kind...even being made of semi-solid dirt, it can't reach forever... Virid mentally observed, ducking down low underneath another reach and taking a glancing blow to the side of his armor, causing him to grit his teeth. I am so glad these things aren't real...
The colt continued to observe his opponent's attacks. For the most part, however, the mud monster had no real attack aside from roaring in anger and reaching out with its tendrils. Virid grit his teeth and began to slowly retreat from the enemy while circling around in the chamber.
"What's he doing?" asked one of the captured ponies, "Why ain't he attacking?"
"Why is he running away?"
"I'm not running away!" Virid snapped to the gathered captives.
The creature capitalized, extending one of its tendrils straight to Virid's chest. If Virid hadn't kept one eye on his enemy when he went to yell at the ponies he had been charged to protect, he might have been completely plastered to the ground with wet mud. However, he observed the tendril and leapt off the ground with a little aid from the gravity spell, giving himself enough height to allow the tendril to pass underneath. Now head-level with the creature, he could see its body a little more clearly with the help of the light.
He began to allow gravity to re-assert itself as the creature again reached out to him, glancing down his spine when he lowered his head so he'd get out of the way. He noticed its body morph as it reached out to him. It was subtle, but the well-lit cavern allowed him to see it clearly.
When it reaches out...is it rearranging its body?
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Crimson lead the mud monster with antlers away from the other ponies, the light from Virid's spell dimming as the distance between him and it increased. When the light was almost nil once again, Crimson planted his hooves, turning around to face his adversary.
There was barely any room to fight inside the tunnels, but that was fine by him. His horn lit up as the creature raised one of its tendrils. Using his speed spell, he blurred forward, and used his forehooves to slam holes into the creature's body. However, the pain from the hits either didn't register like it had before, or he wasn't doing enough damage for it to matter.
One of Crimson's orange eyes caught an oncoming attack, and thus he immediately began to retreat, using his speed spell to evade the tendril and the subsequent splashing of mud. He kept one eye on the wounds he'd inflicted, and watched with a lack of surprise as the holes refilled.
Naturally, given it is part-liquid... he thought to himself, dodging another tendril slam using his speed. I may be able to outpace it, but even then...
Dodging two tendrils at once by speeding right toward the beast again, Crimson continued his offense. This time, he leapt up, the extra momentum aiding him in getting height.
Not being as attuned to magic as Virid, a quick change from a speed spell to the gravity spell was hard, but somehow, the red unicorn managed to pull it off, allowing him to land several attacks in quick succession to the creature's chest, punching more holes in the body of the beast.
However, Crimson couldn't quite get to the ground quick enough, and found himself swatted into a tunnel wall by a tendril, causing him to feel quite a bit of pain, first from the initial hit, then again when his side slammed into the wall.
"Good thing I was wearing my armor," mused Crimson to himself, quickly rising to his feet, ignoring the pain he felt. He watched as the holes he punched into the beast once more filled back in.
Am I gonna stalemate this thing until Virid finishes his up? Crimson thought, once more enabling his speed-buffing magic to allow himself to evade the creature's attacks once again. Normal attacks are useless...I don't know a whole lot of spells...
Well, I'm not gonna let Virid hold this over my head... The red unicorn thought to himself, managing a backwards leap away from his adversary, his horn's glow glowing a brighter purple. No choice then, I'll have to go all-out here.
Crimson took a ready stance, crouching down low and preparing to launch forth as his horn's glow began to actively illuminate the tunnel. The glow of his horn gradually expanded, covering his head, then the rest of his body.
Living Rocket...
The red unicorn burst forth, his entire body bathed in a purple light. The monster tried to slap him away with its tendrils, but the creature was way too slow to properly react. As the pony began to close in, the heat from his magic began to cause the creature's body to harden into solid dirt, and its movements slowed. By the time Crimson's body actually touched the creature, the creature's torso had been solidified.
Crimson's momentum carried him through the hardened body of the creature, causing it to completely shatter, the semi-liquid parts of the creature splattering all over the place as the rocks it was attached to bounced off the walls of the tunnels. The aura surrounding Crimson dissipated as he prepared to land, his horn lighting up just a little so he could see his handiwork--and if his enemy was able to recover from even an attack like this.
He eyed the lumps that formerly formed a creature, waiting to see if they would re-liquefy and re-form into one singular being once again. Crimson stared at the results for thirty seconds, breathing a little from the exertion of using that much magic at once. When absolutely nothing happened, not even a gurgle from the remains to show that the creature was still alive, Crimson breathed out slowly.
"Glad that's over..." Crimson said, immediately turning back to the light he could see. "Now to see if Virid needs any help with the clean up..."
With that, the red unicorn began galloping at a normal pace towards the chamber where he'd left Virid.
--------
Virid had spent the better part of the past minute and a half avoiding his enemy's attacks, much to the confusion of the captured ponies. However, he had a sudden, smug look on his face. The tendrils reached hungrily out for him from halfway across the clearing...
Mere centimeters from the pony's body, though, the attack stopped short. The creature strained for a moment, stretching futilely beyond its limits. Virid's smug smirk erupted into a full-blown grin.
"So, this is your limit, is it?" Virid asked. "Even in your natural zone..." He closed his eyes, concentrating, as the mud receded. "Okay then, I'm gonna end this now..."
The creature's limbs were halfway back to its body when Virid began to move, eyes opened. He galloped straight toward the creature, which reached out once again, trying to attack him. To the untrained eye, it would appear like he'd gotten lucky, since he didn't even bother to move away until the last moment by hopping up out of the path of the tendrils and circling to the left of the beast. Long before the beast could mount another attempt, Virid's horn instantly lit up an amber color.
"Here!" Virid called out, the air around his horn growing frigid. The mud monster's left half soon began to become brown and encased in ice. The unicorn quickly weaved out of the way of another tentacle slash, and went up on his hind legs, his hooves glowing.
"Take...this...!" Virid yelled, thrusting his forehooves forward, using the same attack he'd used on his cousin, Azure, during their duel. The pressure generated from the attack caused the frozen half to shatter into pieces, and the creature fell back over, seemingly dead from the attack.
"N-nice...!" one of the supporting ponies said.
"See," Virid began, trying to filter his words just a little bit. "This is the power of unicorn magic, and what it can do in a situation like--"
SPL-WACK!!
The creature wasn't quite dead yet, as Virid had otherwise assumed, smacking Virid with a very weak attack. Its limb splattered on impact, causing Virid's entire right side, armor and all, to be splattered with mud. Observers would later recall the green unicorn's face as "priceless" when he realized his armor was coated in mud, never mind himself. He turned back to his halved opponent, and gritted his teeth in pure anger.
"Get the heck out of here!" he snarled, firing a steady stream of lasers at the remainder of the beast, destroying the rest of it until it was no more than a few motionless clumps of mud. "Ugh, why did this have to happen?"
"Virid!" Crimson called out, galloping into the room again. "You alright?"
"What do you think?!" Virid shouted back through gritted teeth, trying his hardest to not look worried at the moment.
"Well, you're covered in mud, and--"
"Don't remind me!" With a frustrated sigh, the green unicorn turned to the captured ponies. "C'mon, let's get to the surface. Now."
The captured ponies began to gather around, opting to save their thanks for when they were back above ground. Crimson trotted up, and he and Virid split the workload between them, using the teleportation spell to warp back to the surface...
-------------------------------------------
All in all, Crimson felt like he did his duty as a member of the Royal Guard. The captured ponies seemed shaken, but overall, nopony was hurt. Except for Virid's ego, maybe.
The group of ponies appeared on the surface, where the remaining workers and Rune der-Ground were waiting expectantly.
"Yes, you did it!" Rune called out to them as soon as he noticed them.
"Thanks for saving us!" one of the captured ponies said.
"No problem," said Crimson, while Virid took to spitting on his hooves and wiping away at his armor.
"Yeah, what he said," the green unicorn grumbled, not even paying attention.
"Really, we thought we were going to starve down there!" said another.
"Really, you don't have to thank us," Crimson said.
"Yeah," Virid continued to pay the other ponies no mind.
"Rune," Crimson said, "I don't think you should go much deeper..."
"Why is that?" asked Rune, taking a couple of steps closer.
"Down there, there's a mess of tunnels, almost like a web. Had Virid not narrowed it down for us, we wouldn't have been able to find them so quickly."
"I see," the excavator commented. "Well, if that is the case, we're going to need to be careful. We still have some ground to uncover to see if we can find anything else of historical significance. Thanks again for your hel--"
"If you really want to thank me, could you get me some soap?!" Virid finally yelled, letting out another sharp grunt as he went back to frantically wiping at his armor. The other ponies fell silent at the frantic royal guardstallion.
"Is he...germophobic?" questioned Rune, not really getting it at all. Crimson didn't know why, but for some reason, he winced uncomfortably when he was asked this question. It didn't take him long to remember why.
"Let's...go with that..."
Better they think you're germophobic, Virid. It'd be awkward to explain the real reason...
--------------------
At a distant hill overlooking Fillydelphia, there was a cloaked figure seeming to watch the proceedings. The figure was definitely ponylike, judging from the body shape. Unlike with the summoner that Azure and his friends had fought a few months back, the figure had no horn, nor did he have wings. The exposed part of his muzzle was a dull gray, and his tail was a darker shade of that.
He grit his teeth just a little in annoyance.
"From the looks of things, Master, it seems Celestia's guards have beat us to the artifact," he observed. He remained silent, the annoyed look on his face changing from irritated to concerned. "You want me to attack them? Here?"
The pony continued to remain silent.
"...After Shade's slip-up in Ponyville, we have had to lay low for long enough. There's no denying that. Very well. If these guards are unicorns, they should be no match for me..."
The figure reached up to his hood, revealing a very trim, neat mane, slicked back somewhat like his tail, which was the same color.
"Not with what I have in store for them..."
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yaeh kick their Anamorphic buts guys! Loved the fight seens 
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