Ponies of Grimrock

by Homage

Pebbles and Pressure Plates

Chapter 3: Pebbles and Pressure Plates

The prisoners reached the bottom of the stairs, and found themselves in a room that looked exactly like the one above. The walls were made of the same mossy cobblestone, the floor was just as broken and dank, and it had an identical musty smell.

“Not a lot of variety in the decorations. I wonder who designed this place...” Twilight Sparkle remarked.

“Ahh Trwi?” Big Macintosh mumbled through his torch, spitting it out on the ground. “Ya don't need fancy decorations in a prison.” He pointed at some hanging chains attached to a nearby wall.

Well, there was something new. Twilight smiled. “Good catch, Big Mac! If we weren't fighting for our lives, I would love to research this place. So many ancient secrets buried down here...”

They walked down the open corridor to the left. They came upon another path that branched off to the right.

“Well? Which way?” asked Spike.

Twilight decided they shouldn't stray from the straight path unless it was necessary, since it was easier to retrace a straight path. The others agreed. Twilight silently wished she had some graph paper so that Spike could record a map for them.

It was just her luck that she happened to spot a piece of parchment lying on the ground.

“Wait, everypony!” she cried out. They all stopped as she levitated the paper off the ground, turning it over in her magic field.

Well it wasn't graph paper. It seemed to be a letter written in the same Old Equestrian from the signs. Twilight told this to her companions, then began to read it as they walked.

I have been stuck in these dungeons for two days now. I have been fighting off snails and running and hiding from bigger things. I'm recording these notes to help everyone unfortunate enough to be stuck in this place after me. Look for more of my notes, they may save you from the horrors awaiting you below.

Here's what I have learned to date: The snails are the least of your concerns

Twilight gulped. Those terrible monsters were the weakest thing in here??? Regaining her composure, she continued reading the letter out loud to her companions.

for there are far worse things than monsters. Hunger will kill you more easily than any monster. Luckily, I have discovered two food sources. The flesh of the giant snails is perfectly safe to eat, and there is a type of edible mushroom which grows in this dungeon. It is called a Grim Cap; it is about the size of a hoof and has a bell-shaped, light brown cap with a dark brown stalk. Both the cap and the stalk are covered with small white dots. Make sure not to eat any of the other mushrooms here. They are all poisonous.

Also, make sure you get plenty of sleep. You don't want to fight monsters when you are already fighting fatigue.

Besides basic needs, I I can tell you that this dungeon contains traps and puzzles which must be overcome. They seem to reset themselves after a certain amount of time has elapsed, since I found all of the doors locked, yet there are signs that other ponies passed through. Keep your eyes peeled for trapdoors, pressure plates, and dart shooters. I'm sure there are many more trials ahead of you. Just keep your wits about you.

PS: The gate ahead is locked. The key can be found if you turn around and take a left at the intersection.

--- Root Rum

By the time she had reached the last section, they had already reached the aforementioned gate. Sure enough, it was locked. A keyhole was positioned on the wall next to it. The prisoners turned around and retraced their steps, stopping on the way to put the letter back where they found it.

“Root Rum intended for these letters to help everyone who came here after her, not just the next one,” Twilight explained.

“And you just assume Root Rum is a her?” Iron Will asked in annoyance.

“No... I just... well... writing letters is so considerate and all...” Twilight stammered, getting disapproving looks from all three of her male companions.

“Sexist...” Iron Will muttered as the four continued down the path to the left.

As they walked, they heard a clicking sound. Thinking back to her Daring Doo books, Twilight screamed at everyone to duck.

They got up after realizing that there was no dart shooter. Instead, they heard a clanking far off down the narrow corridor. As they stepped toward it, however, the clanking reversed, followed by a slamming noise. They walked a little further and saw a metal gate. Turning around to look behind them, they realized they had been standing on a pressure plate. Lighter in color than the rest of the tiles, it was also slightly raised and wasn't cracked.

Stepping back onto the pressure plate raised the gate, but as soon as they took a step toward it, the gate closed.

Spike thought of something. He placed one of his rocks on top of the pressure plate. It pushed down on the button just enough to raise the door. Twilight patted him on the head. He really was proving an able assistant.

Behind the gate was a larger chamber, about three times as wide as the hallway. Narrow pillars formed a line at the middle points between the walls, with just enough space for them to walk between them. Torches dotted the walls. As they walked through the opened gate, it slammed shut behind them. But they hardly noticed, because an all-too familiar sloshing noise rang out.

Two walls on either side of the chamber slid upward. A pair of snails emerged from the hidden panels, rearing back to expose their maws.

“Ok, guys... we can do this. Just don't let them corner us,” Twilight advised.

“Eyup!”

“Let's do this!”

“We will not fail, we'll kick some tail!”

The snails slithered slowly toward the group, covering both sides of the chamber. The group moved to attack the one on the right.

As they closed in, Spike unleashed a flurry of rocks that chipped pieces off of the snail's shell. The ones that struck the head, however, bounced harmlessly off. Barring attacks to the eyes, blunt force could not harm the squishy body of the oversized invertebrate.

Twilight unleashed a fiery blaze that scorched the creature, filling their nostrils with the delicious scent of roasted snail.

However, the beast was far from cooked. It lunged at the closest prisoner. Big Macintosh easily evaded its chomping maw, and the poorly aimed attack hit the floor with a splat. Iron Will smashed the moss covered spiral with his cudgel, creating a dent the size of his hand with smaller cracks radiating outward. The broken piece fell out as he withdrew the weapon, revealing the pumping two-chambered heart within.

With surgical precision, Iron Will grabbed the pulsating organ with his free hand, twisted, and yanked hard. There was a horrible tear and a sick splattering noise as the monster's heart came free, spraying copious amounts of blue blood all over the minotaur as the creature died on the spot.

Watching in awe, the other three failed to notice the other snail flanking them. Iron Will's quick eye and even quicker counterattack wasn't enough to even slow it.

Time seemed to grind to a halt as the jaws closed around Spike's neck. The baby dragon's blood flowed out, staining the ground a dark crimson as he crumpled to the floor.

“NOOOOOO!!!!” screamed Twilight in a grief-stricken rage. Her horn buzzed angrily as black sparks shot out. The room seemed to darken as the oversized snail was enveloped in a field of dark energy. It lifted from the ground, writhing as Spike's blood still dripped from its mouth.

The unicorn's eyes flashed red as the beast writhed violently. The other prisoners watched in horror, unable to stop their companion. The snail was thrashing extremely violently. Whatever evil spell she was using, it was causing an incomprehensible amount of pain to the creature.

A sadistic grin cracked Twilight's face as the snail exploded, covering everything in bits of shell, slime, and organs.

The change stopped as quickly as it had started. Her horn flickered and died as she knelt down to the dragon chained to her side.

“Spike! You're stronger than this! You're my number one assistant! Please!” she wailed, cradling the tiny purple figure in her hooves. She tried not to look at his neck. The acid had burned away nearly half of it, leaving a gaping, sucking hole that gushed blood with each shallow, labored breath.

A tiny, faint voice came from the dragon's lips. “Twi... light... I'm...”

His eyes closed as the last bit of air left his lungs in a final death rattle.

“No... Spike...” Twilight wept, burying her face in his tiny, unmoving chest.

Comments

[Luigilewis889]

Wow... fourth chapter and someone's died. Or nearly. Or temporarily. Might pull a shenanigans. But still. Wow.

[Pyro The Reader]

Noooo Spike!

[The Night Aegis]

Well....seen the game and can't say this is totally unexpected...but still OMG Hopefully Mac don't bite the bullet next time. That would be almost as bad IMHO. Keep up the great writing, I'm looking forward to the next chapter

[zsewqthewolf]

NNNNNNOOOOO Spike you can't die, you just can't NNNOOOO!!!

[thepinkparty]

what?! you killed off spike no you monster bring him back now or i will stare you!

[Rossamunderling]

I was expecting this, but it's awfully cruel to leave it on a cliff hanger. Anyway, I liked the fact that you pointed out something that is quite prevalent in the show, in that the male presence, as in foreground characters not background, is quite lacking, and managed to turn it round by having the opposite in this story. I enjoyed reading this chapter and hope to see more from you in the future, thank you for writing.