First of Many
It was a morning like any other in the Hive. Lucian opened his sleek, silver, eyes and sat up. Glancing around the room, he took note of the other stallions in the immediate vicinity, in various states of getting up. Lucian simply smiled at them all before getting up and beginning to stretch out his limbs, a few pops and cracks there and then as he limbered up.
"Up and active already, are we?" One of the stallions asked him after yawning.
"You know me, Jet, I'm always up and active." Lucian responded, smiling at him as he continued stretching himself out.
Jet nodded his head before rolling back over again. "Five more minutes"
"More like forty-five" Lucian muttered under his breath.
"I heard that!" Jet called as Lucian walked out.
"You were supposed to!" Lucian called back.
Lucian chuckled to himself as he left the room and headed into the main body of the Hive. There were other changelings walking and flying around, going about their usual days. A large portion of them were dressed in armor. As he continued walking, he stepped through a passage into the next pathway. Turning his head, he spotted another two changelings, a stallion and a mare, nearby.
"Pulse! Prism!" He called to them, waving a hoof.
The two turn to look at him and waved back. Prism, the mare, had a happy smile on her face upon seeing him.
"Morning Lucian!" She called as he walked over to them.
"Hey Lu" Pulse, the stallion, said, sporting a smile of his own.
The three exchanged pleasantries and got to talking for a while.
"Still irritating your big bro?" Lucian asked Prism, a smirk in his face.
"Aren't I always?" Prism asked with a giggle. Pulse rolled his eyes at her response.
A few minutes would pass as they spoke, friendly jabs at one another and jokes a plenty. Eventually, the three would part ways and the siblings would walk in the direction that Lucian had just come from, waving as they went. Lucian smiled and waved back, glad to have bumped into them on his walk. As he turned to continue, two stallions wearing black armor would walk towards him.
"Scout-Corporal Lucian." The stallion on the left said, making Lucian brace up and come to attention.
"Sergeant Howzer, sir!" Lucian said, saluting.
"Out for a stroll?" The other stallion asked as they saluted back.
"Yes sir. I always go for a walk around the Hive as soon as I wake up to properly stretch my legs out." Lucian answered.
"Well, corporal, sorry for cutting your walk short but Sergeant Crimson and I have been sent to come find you. At ease." Howzer said, lowering his hoof, the others doing the same.
"Find me? For what sir?" Lucian asked, relaxing momentarily.
"Her highness has requested your presence." Crimson answered.
"The Queen has requested me?" Lucian asked in surprise, having to take a step back in order to compose himself. "But sirs, what could she possibly want with me?"
"Let's get a move on and you'll find out." Crimson said as he turned to walk away, Howzer doing the same. Lucian quickly trotted to catch up with the pair as they went.
Several thoughts whizzed around in Lucian's head as he followed the pair of sergeants.
Am I getting in trouble?
Did something happen?
Wait.... maybe it's a promotion. No, it couldn't be. I haven't done anything to earn one.
Maybe it's-
His train of thought was interrupted when he walked into the back of Howzer, stumbling as a result. Howzer turned to face him with a small smile.
"You okay?" he asked, turning to face Lucian.
"Y-Yes sir. Just lost in thought" Lucian stammered, quickly regaining his composure.
"We're here" Howzer said, nodding to one of the guards by the door to the throne room.
The guard nodded back and stepped aside. The guards both lit up their horns, green auras enveloping the doors, pushing them open. The doors slowly moved apart and Howzer stepped through first, Crimson close behind and Lucian bringing up the rear. Lucian looked around, taking in the sight of the throne room. He'd only ever seen it once before but only remembered slight glances of it as he was very young. There were several changelings in the throne room. Most were either standing guard at a point in the room or were sitting in one of the holes that covered the walls.
"Your highness." Crimson began with a bow. "We have brought you scout-corporal Lucian as you instructed."
Upon hearing his name, Lucian turned his attention ahead. Before him was a large throne. The Changeling Throne. Sitting on the throne was her highness, her majesty, her grace. Queen Chrysalis herself. Lucian quickly bowed.
"My Queen. It is an honor to be in your presence." he said, not seeing the smile on her face.
"Please ,Lucian, rise." Queen Chrysalis said, to which he quick obliged. "Crimson, Howzer, thank you for bringing him."
"Of course your highness." Howzer said, bowing respectfully along with Crimson.
Chrysalis turned her attention back towards Lucian, who himself hadn't stopped looking at her the moment she spoke. "You're probably wondering why I requested you here."
"Yes ma'am." Lucian responded with a nod.
"I have been in conversation with your training officer and has given me some interesting information about you." Chrysalis explained.
"You spoke with Major Solar?"
"Indeed I did and might I say, he gave you a fair bit of praise."
"I'm honored he thinks so highly of me."
"You had to earn that praise" A voice said from beside him, causing him to turn and look.
Standing there was a changeling officer, wearing purple armor with green accents. His eyes were a mishmash of orange and yellow, looking like the sun. If one could look at the sun with blinding themselves that is.
"Major Solar." Lucian said, saluting him.
"At ease." Solar said, saluting back himself. "You've been called here for a reason."
Lucian looked between Solar and Queen Chrysalis, a clueless expression on his face. "What reason would that be, sir?"
"We're sending you on your first mission." Solar revealed.
A few moments of silence followed, the gears visibly turning in Lucian's brain. He was trying to process if he had just heard those words correctly."My first.... mission? You mean... my actual first mission?!" He asked, his voice picking up to an excited tone and making him sound like a nymph who'd been given a new toy.
"Yes Lucian, your first official mission." Solar said with a smile.
Lucian paused for a moment, his excitement dying down. "But what kind of mission is it? Also, who will I be working with?"
"To answer both of your questions." Chrysalis chimed in. "You are being sent out on a stealth mission. Alone. There is an artifact located in a stone temple. The Blacklight Scepter. There are multiple creatures who are after it and it is said to have the ability to magnify and increase energy. This would benefit us greatly. Your mission is to get into that temple, find the scepter and return it here where we will store it."
Lucian had once again paused. "Alone? No backup?"
"Lucian, why do you think I gave you all the praise? Stealth is your thing." Solar said.
"Y-You're right. I can do this." Lucian said, composing himself before looking back at the Queen once again. "Where is this temple?"
"The Tenochtitlan Basin" Chrysalis answered.
Lucian nodded his head. "Yes ma'am."
"There is a temple located there which holds the scepter. Getting in and out without being noticed should be your main goal. However, if you are discovered, make sure that you deal with the situation." Chrysalis continued. "Although you will be going in alone, we also have another mission ongoing at the same time as yours. Once you retrieve the scepter, illuminate your horn and make contact with a stallion with the codename of 'Kire' before making your way back here. Is that understood?"
"Yes your highness. I will not let you down." Lucian said, bowing his head in respect once again.
"Alright Lucian, collect your body armor and head towards the Hive entrance." Solar instructed.
"Yes sir." Lucian said, turning and saluting him. He turned back to Chrysalis and bowed to her, then turning towards Crimson and Howzer.
"Ready to go?" Howzer asked.
"Yes sir. I'm ready." Lucian responded. The three would all face Chrysalis and bow before exiting the throne room.
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After being dismissed and leaving the room, Lucian ran back to grab his armor. He wasted no time, pulling on the armor onto his back and securing it. Glancing at the empty beds, he took a few short breaths and headed out. As he walked to the main entrance of the Hive, several changelings he passed saluted him. Smiling, Lucian saluted back, continuing his walk. He was deep in thought, contemplating everything he had been told about the Blacklight Scepter and the journey he'd need to go on. He had been trusted with this and knew how important it was.
I can do this!
As he approached the main entrance, he caught sight of Major Solar, Sergeant Howzer and Sergeant Crimson, all waiting for him. The three were in conversation but Crimson was the first to notice Lucian approaching, nodding his head in his direction. Solar and Howzer turned to face him also.
"Sirs!" Lucian exclaimed, saluting.
"Corporal." Solar said as the three saluted back.
"Ready to head out?" Howzer asked.
"Yes sir. I won't let the Hive down." Lucian responded. "I'll bring back the Blacklight Scepter without any issues."
"Good." Crimson said with a nod. "But before you go, you might want to take these. Think of it as a mission gift." Picking up a small black bag behind him, Crimson reached inside and pulled out multiple items. "Binoculars, bandages just in case, a map of the land and a small spade."
"Digging sir?" Lucian asked, raising a eyebrow as he looked at the spade.
"You never know when you might need to uncover something or find another way in." Crimson said as he placed the items back into the bag and gave it to Lucian, who put the strap over his head.
"Hey, Lucian." Howzer said, getting his attention. "You can do this." A smile found its way onto Howzer's face as he spoke those words. A smile of belief.
"Don't be getting all mushy on us" Solar said, nudging the Sergeant.
Lucian let out a soft chuckle before putting on his serious face. "I won't let you down, sirs." Another salute followed, the officer returning one of their own. Looking past them, Lucian looked towards the outside of the Hive. The three officers moved out of the way, allowing him to pass by. He took a deep breath and looked back over his shoulder. "Be back soon." he said, turning back towards the outside and beginning to walk.
Crossing the threshold of the Hive, it all became real to Lucian. He was heading out for his first official mission. Reaching into the bag, he took a brief look at the map. Marking his destination in his mind, he spread his wings and took off. "I won't let them down. Especially not her highness." He said to himself as he gained altitude.
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The flight was pretty straight forward, having checked the map a few times to ensure he was heading in the right direction. As he got closer and closer towards his destination, the ground below him became a forest. Trees stretching high and the forest itself stretching as far as the eye can see. Lucian took one last look at the map and nodded in confirmation. He was here. Banking around in the sky, he flew down towards the forest and looked for the best place he could land. Finding a flat area of woodland, he brought himself down gently and touched down on the ground.
"Okay. Now to find that temple." he said to himself as he pulled out the binoculars from his bag and looked through them. He looked behind himself first and then turned to look ahead of him. After he looked through them, he glanced down at the ground and paid attention to the path he was stood on. "It looks worn down a little. There have been other creatures on this path." he theorised. "This way." Setting out walking again, he continued on the path ahead of him.
The forest was enormous, the trees towering over him. They looked even bigger from this angle. Lucian remained unfazed however and continued on. Lighting up his horn, he levitated the binoculars slightly in front of him as he walked. Occasionally, he would bring them up to look through and change his direction accordingly. He felt as though he was making progress and getting closer. The more and more paths he followed, the stronger the feeling got.
One path in particular, however, was different from the ones he had walked on before. Stopping for a moment, he looked at the path closely and was able to make something out. Hoofprints. Sharp and clear. Crouching down, he put his hoof on the closest one to him and ran his hoof across it. The ground itself felt firm. "These tracks much be fresh. Tracks that show up as sharp as this have to have been made recently." Lucian said, looking around the immediate area. He looked at the hoofprints, following the direction they were going in. "Okay. Now we're making progress." he said, getting up and beginning to walk alongside the prints on the ground, following them to wherever they would lead.
The search would prove to be somewhat successful as the tracks were leading him towards something. Fresh tracks helped no end as this meant he was more than likely going the right way. Although, it also meant he was not alone in the forest. "If these tracks are fresh then whoever I'm following can't be too far ahead of me." Lucian said as he continued to follow the hoofprints. "If only-" he was about to continue conversing with himself when he heard something.
A voice. No, multiple voices.
Quickly putting the binoculars back into his bag, Lucian followed the path towards the voices until he got close enough to hear what was being said.
"Make sure all the gear is ready to move." A stallion said.
Lucian slowed his pace and got low to the ground, like a predator would stalk its prey. As he moved along the path, he came to a clearing and that's where he saw it. A campsite. An occupied campsite. He counted eight ponies. Some were walking around, others were chatting with one another and a couple were packing up rucksacks.
"This is bad." Lucian whispered to himself, realising he would have to sneak by this group and get to the temple and the scepter before they did.
"Come on everypony, up and at 'em" The same stallion spoke up once again. This time, Lucian could now see him. He was a silver coated earth pony stallion with a brown mane and tail. He was also carrying a rucksack, but his was slightly larger than the rucksacks of the other ponies. "The sooner we get on the move then the sooner we'll find the temple." The stallion added.
Lucian kept a low profile, scanning the area and taking in the details. Rucksacks, tents, number of ponies present at any one time.
"Hey Rock Slide." Another stallion said, walking over to the one Lucian had been monitoring, now revealing his name. "Charcoal is still in her tent."
Rock Slide let out a sigh. "Of course she is." Walking over to an orange tent in the middle of the campsite, he tapped his hoof against it. "Hey Charcoal, come on out, we gotta get moving."
A mare groaned inside the tent. "Alright alright I'm coming." she said, unzipping the tent. Out stepped a black coated unicorn mare with a silver and black mane with a few streaks of white, her tail all black.
Now there were nine.
"Nice of you to join us." Rock Slide said with a smirk.
"Did you find the temple?" Charcoal asked.
"We know it's in that direction." Rock Slide answered, pointing towards the side of the camp he had walked over from.
"Alright." She nodded her head, reaching back into her tent to grab her own rucksack.
As the group of ponies all gathered together, Lucian noticed something about them. He saw both unicorns and earth ponies but there were no pegasi. Not even one. This could be used to his advantage if he was discovered.
"Guess the pegasi run solo when treasure hunting, huh." Lucian muttered to himself quietly.
He continued to watch as the group packed up their things and began to head out. Quickly and quietly, he moved off to try and get around and ahead of them. He didn't want to run as that would alert them to his presence. As he moved up, he could see the ponies at the back of the group. Three of them were in conversation with each other and were slowly beginning to lag behind. They were oblivious to Lucian as he was still low and moving without making too much sound. He continued to keep his eyes on the three before taking his opportunity, picking up his speed and bolting past them whilst keeping covered. He braced himself for any sounds of concern but upon hearing them still talking, now behind him, he exhaled quietly in relief.
Moving further along, occasionally stopping and taking cover behind a tree when the group either stopped or any of the further forward members turned around to look back, Lucian kept unnoticed. As much as he was keeping pace with the main body of the group, he had to get ahead of them. This was taking too long.
Making a decision, he began arcing his approach to pass them. Moving further away to begin with and then curving back inwards proved to be an effective tactic as he had managed to pass by another two members of the group, leaving another four ahead of him. Keeping himself low, he moved alongside them once. His overeagerness would catch him out, however, as he tried to pass by the stallion he was in line with. His back hoof stepped on a frail twig, cause it to snap underneath him.
"What was that?" The stallion asked, freezing on the spot. Lucian immediately did the same.
"What was what?" Rock Slide asked, turning to face him.
"I heard something. Like a branch snapping or something." The stallion answered.
"What's wrong Longbow? Scared?" Charcoal teased.
"Oh shut up" Longbow responded.
Lucian remained frozen in place, fearing that any small movement would give away that he was there. He was instructed to not be discovered but take care of the situation if he was. He didn't want it to come to that, so focused on remaining undiscovered.
"Alright, let's just keep our eyes open." Rock Slide said. "We don't know who else is out here along with us."
The rest of the group tightened up and became more observant of their surroundings, making Lucian's window of movement much smaller. He waited for a few of them to pass by before make his move, deciding to go with the arcing approach once again, this time going further out than before but still keeping an eye on the group to make sure he was able see where they were going.
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Minutes went by, eventually turning into the passing of an hour. The group of ponies were trudging along, one of them occasionally groaning or complaining about being tired. But Lucian didn't falter. He was dead set on locating the temple and retrieving the scepter for the Hive.
"We're almost there guys." Charcoal said, walking with Rock Slide whilst holding the map. "Just a little further."
"That's the fourth time you've said that, Charcoal." A mare groaned, further back down the line.
"Ocean Wisp has a point." Longbow said. "How long before we get to-"
"Shh." Charcoal said, stopping in her tracks
"Did you just-"
"Shush!" Charcoal cut him off again before lighting up her horn, a blue aura that matched her eyes enveloping her horn. Lucian listened closely, remaining still for the time being.
"We're close" Charcoal continued as she started walking again.
"So your magic can see through walls now?" Longbow jabbed, getting a not too happy glare from Charcoal in the process. Charcoal lifted the map into view.
"This. This is how I know." she said, pointing on the map. "If I'm correct then we should be on this path here." she pointed her hoof onto a path on the map. The same as the one they were currently on.
"Then I hope you are right." Longbow and Lucian both said together, Lucian only muttering the words as he listened.
Charcoal led on as the rest of the group and Lucian followed behind. As they progressed down the path, they came to a blockage. Several branches had crossed over the path, large leaves blocking their view of the other side.
"Ladies, if you wouldn't mind?" Rock Slide said.
Charcoal gave him the map before looking back towards Ocean Wisp, who walked up to join her. Ocean Wisp was also a unicorn, her coat a lovely shade of sea blue. Her mane was predominantly purple with light blonde tips and her tail matching it. Charcoal and Ocean Wisp illuminated their horns, blue and purple auras glowing respectively. The entire group was focused on the two unicorns. A bolt of magic came from their horns and zapped the branches and leaves in the way, blowing them out of the way.
"Good enough for you boys?" Ocean Wisp asked with a smirk.
The stallions promptly nodded their heads.
Hopping over the branches that had been moved aside, Charcoal and in turn Lucian went wide eyed at what was before them.
"It's here" Lucian said, looking at the stone temple.
The structure looked a little worse for wear but that didn't matter. Lucian knew what he was here for and he had to get there before the ponies did. He took a quick glance and saw the ponies gawking at the temple, one of the other mares scrambling to pull a camera out of her bag and snap some photos. He didn't have time to wait, now was time to act. Taking a deep breath, he made his move.
Racing forward from his spot, he curved his run once again. This time to the far side of the temple, in search of an entrance. There weren't many access points he could make out, so he made his search more thorough. He got up close to the temple and placed a hoof on the side. "Maybe there's a pressure plate or some sort of secret entrance." He said, glancing at the staircase nearby. "It would be too easy to fly up there..... surely. Right?" He asked before shaking his head. "You really need to stop talking to yourself Lucian. Not like anyone is listening." He continued placing his hoof on the surface of the temple in an attempt to find something.
He had soon placed his hoof on almost each tile on the far side of the temple. Upon reaching the far corner, the final two tiles of that side were visible. Both on the corner. Getting an idea, he leaned forward and pressed down on both tiles. Pausing for a few moments, a satisfying click met his ears. The two corner tiles began to pull apart, creating a passageway for him to get inside.
"Yes!" He celebrated, looking around after to make sure he wasn't heard. Crouching down slightly, he made his way inside. After doing so, the passageway began to close behind him. The tiles slid back into place with the same click as when he'd found it.
Now he was inside.
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The inside of the temple looked entirely different to the outside, various patterns on the stones along the walls. Flaming torches were lit, a torch on every other stone. Lucian looked around, taking everything in. His eyes darted between the torches, then back to the way he'd come in and back to the room as a whole once again.
"Time to get moving. Those ponies could get in here any minute." Lucian said as he began walking, turning down the path and getting started in his search for the scepter. The hallway he was walking down was straight and wide. It was a nice and simple route. Almost too simple. "This would be the best place to put a tra-" he began, before a 'kachunk' from both sides of him cut him off. He quickly dropped to the ground and several sharp tipped arrows flew over his head, impaling in the opposite wall that they came from. Lucian let out a sigh of relief. Keeping low to the ground, Lucian started to crawl as the arrows continued to fire.
Looking up as he crawled, he managed to get out of the range of the firing arrows. However, to be safe, he continued to crawl to the end of the hallway. Pulling himself to his hooves, he continued onto the next hallway. As he walked, his ears twitched. As a result, he stopped and looked around.
"Stay together guys. You don't want to get split up in here." Rock Slide's voice said.
"They're inside. I need to be faster." Lucian said.
"Keep an eye out. There's more than likely traps all over the place." Rock Slide added.
Lucian made haste, heading down the next hallway, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the voices and in turn the ponies. It didn't take him long to reach the next room.
The room was an open space, the same patterns along the walls as before and two branching paths. Looking towards each path, Lucian illuminated his horn. Stepping towards the path on the left, he took a few steps down the path. Whilst the path seemed empty at the first, the lack of light didn't help anything. As he continued down the path, his ears twitched once again. Catching the sound of what sounded like a sword unsheathing, Lucian took a step back. A large blade swung past him in the spot where he was standing, causing him to stumble backwards in surprise and almost fall backwards.
"A blade?!" He exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide as he stared at the swinging blade. That's when two more blades would also begin to swing, further behind the one Lucian narrowly avoided. "Multiple blades?!" He would stare at the blades for a few moments before shaking himself off and standing up. "If those ponies come this way they'll be torn to pieces. No, they're not your problem Lucian..." Lucian said to himself. "I can't let anything happen to them though."
Charging his horn, he waited for the perfect timing. Looking up at the first blade, he followed it up to the ceiling and the mechanism it was connected to. "Aaaaaand..... now!" he exclaimed, blasting the mechanism with a bolt of magic. The mechanism was hit dead on and fell apart, the blade itself falling and plunging into the ground to the side of where Lucian stood. Looking back over his shoulder, he feared that his spell would have attracted attention. He was right.
Looking towards the far end of the hallway he had come down, he watched as the group of ponies turned the corner. They all looked extremely vigilant. Lucian quickly stopped illuminating his horn so he wouldn't be seen. As the group got closer, Lucian looked for a way out. With the paths being dark, he took his chance. He quickly moved around the back of the fallen blade and hid behind it, the blade wide enough to keep him covered for now. Peeking over the top of the blade, he watched as the ponies stopped before the paths.
"What now?" Longbow asked.
"Can't see a thing in either path." Rock Slide said in mild frustration.
"What about the traps?" Ocean Wisp asked.
"She's right." Charcoal said, stepping forward. "We need to find the right path."
Lucian continued to watch them as they discussed what path to take. I need to get through without being seen. He could still hear the sounds of the other blades swinging but couldn't see them. Looking around in the dimly lit hall, Lucian was beginning to run out of ways to get out of there without drawing any attention.
"Which path guys?" Rock Slide asked the group.
"What if we split up?" Longbow asked.
"That's the LAST thing we should do!" Ocean Wisp exclaimed.
Lucian slowly stepped back from behind the blade, only take one or two steps before stopping, the swinging sound much closer now. Doing a 180, Lucian heard the blade even clearer now. Looking back, he saw the group looking into the path he was in. He was able to see them but they couldn't see him. Most of them were actually staring straight at him.
Then they began walking towards him.
Time was scarce, Lucian was trapped between the ponies and the swinging blades that they weren't able to see. He was quickly running out of options and soon enough he had only one choice: Illuminate the path.
Instead of illuminating the whole path, Lucian made the decision to only light up the rest of the path ahead of him. So he did. Lighting up his horn, the immediate area of the path before him revealed itself. In turn, the blade he could hear could now clearly be seen. It was inches from his face. He quickly took a step back in shock from it being that close.
"Hey look. Someone else is here" Longbow said, pointing towards the light and the silhouette it was showing.
"Hey! Hold on!" Rock Slide called.
Lucian cursed under his breath, still not looking back at them. ".....These blades can do major damage. If you plan on coming this way you must proceed with caution." he warned.
"Wait! Who are you?" Ocean Wisp called out to him.
"Someone you never saw." Lucian answered, quickly running past the swinging blade in front of him.
"Charcoal." Ocean Wisp said, looking at her fellow unicorn who nodded. The mares illuminated their own horns, lighting up the start of the path. They lead the way down the path, the blade Lucian had knocked to the ground became visible to them as they tried to follow him.
Lucian picked up his pace as he ran to the third swinging blade. Keeping his momentum, he dropped low into a slide, the blade passing right over him as he slid.
"Who in Equestria is this guy?" Longbow asked as they approached the second blade.
"Doesn't matter." Rock Slide said.
Scrambling to his hooves, Lucian ran down the path. There were no more blades ahead of him and the hall was beginning to light up from torches on the walls. The hall banked left in an L shape and Lucian slid around the corner, continuing to run as fast as he could. He needed as much ground as possible on the group. Stealth had gone out of the window as they had seen him, yes it was the back of him from a distance but they had indeed seen him.
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After a few minutes of running through hallways and crisscrossing sections of the temple's interior, Lucian had finally seemed to have lost the group. As he slowed down to a jog, to catch his breath, he finally looked over his shoulder. Empty halls. Turning back ahead of himself, a long ,straight, wide, hallway with a ceiling higher than the last trap room appeared before him. Looking around, he noticed a lever on the wall on the far side of the room beside a closed door. He'd need to pull that to proceed. Lucian turned his gaze upwards towards the ceiling. There were symbols on some of the ceiling tiles.
"What's this supposed to be?" he asked in confusion. Looking up at the symbols, he took note of them in detail. "Flames. Stars. Waves. Tree. Magic. Wind. Apples." he listed. Glancing between the floor and the symbols above him, Lucian took his first step and placed a hoof on the tile underneath the symbol with stars on it. The symbol, as well as the stone it was attached to, rattled and the stone dropped from the ceiling. Lucian quickly jumped back as the stone smashed into the floor. "That wasn't it." Looking back up at the symbols again, he paused and physically sat down to examine them.
Flames. Definitely not stars. Waves. Tree. Magic. Wind. Apples.
The same list went through his head over and over again. "What am I missing here?!" He said out loud with a groan before his ears twitched once again.
"Everyone okay?" A stallions voice asked to which several variations of "Yes" followed.
Lucian looked over his shoulder. "You're joking. I thought I'd lost these guys." Getting to his hooves, he looked at the symbols and then the floor and then back again. Then once more. And another two times just to make sure.
The voices were getting closer and closer and yet again he was running out of time. So, hoping for the best, he put his hoof on the corresponding tile to the fire symbol. His eyes darted up instantly. But nothing happened. Relief washed over him momentarily as he stepped onto the tile with all his hooves. Glancing at the next row of symbols, he went back into the thought process. Although, something was different about the second row. There was no fire symbol. It had now been replaced by an image of gold bars.
"Okay, so if the flames was first then there must be something that relates to-" that's when it clicked in his head. "Wait a minute... the flame worked before and now it's been replaced." His brain had put the pieces together. "Flames worked. Then there's also waves up there, a tree and also wind. Could the pattern be the elements?" He asked aloud, looking back towards the direction the voices came from.
Deciding to test his theory, he hopped over to the tile with waves above it and tightly shut his eyes. Nothing happened. Opening his eyes, he couldn't help but smile. His theory had proven to be the correct one. Now the third row came, both the flames and the wave symbol were changed. The gold was the same as before in place of the flames but now the waves were replaced by what looked to be snowballs. Scanning the symbols, his eyes landed on the wind symbol. It was slightly further away than the wave symbol had been. Taking a small step back, Lucian jumped for the tile and landed, wobbling slightly but managing to keep his balance. Another turn back, he listened for the voices.
"You think that other guy made it this far?" Longbow asked.
"If he has, he'll be ahead of us at some point so we'll most likely see him again." Charcoal said.
They were close.
Looking back up again, Lucian quickly found the tree symbol. He also noted the wind symbol have been changed to a rain cloud in this row. To his surprise and gratitude, the respective floor tile was directly in front of him. Simply stepping forward onto the tile, Lucian glanced up once more at the ceiling.
No more element symbols...
"Huh? W-What am I supposed to do now?" There were three more rows ahead of him before the sealed door and not one row had an elemental symbol on it. Looking back at the tile behind him and then back to the other rows ahead of him, he had a decision to make. Jump for joy? Lucian stepped back onto the last tile he passed, giving a little wiggle as he got ready to jump. Sprinting forward, he leapt across the three remaining rows and landed on the other side, sliding into the wall. With his armor taking most of the impact on the wall, Lucian sprang to his hooves pretty quickly.
"There he is!" Rock Slide's voice exclaimed, making Lucian turn to look back. The entire group of ponies were standing on the other side of the room, looking at him.
"Is that-" Charcoal began.
"Elements!" Lucian called to them, interrupting her.
"What?" Longbow asked.
"Look on the ceiling above you." Lucian said, pointing up.
Ocean Wisp was the first to glance upwards. "Look. There's symbols up there." she said, causing the others to look up.
"Like I said, elements. That's the pattern to get over here." Lucian said.
"And we should believe you because...?" Longbow asked, skeptical about his intentions.
"I was nearly crushed by a falling stone. Do you really think I'd want to watch that happen to someone else?" Lucian answered.
"I believe him." Ocean Wisp said, looking at the others.
"What choice do we have?" A mare at the back of the group asked.
"Let's see." Charcoal said, stepping onto the flame tile. As Lucian expected, nothing happened.
"I should also warn you about the final three rows. They're actually aren't-" Lucian began.
"Just shut it and let us concentrate for a minute, will ya?" Rock Slide snapped.
Lucian went quiet, looking towards the lever on the wall. He took a few steps towards it and placed his front hooves on the lever. Glancing back towards the group of ponies, Lucian watched their path.
"Waves, wind and then tree!" he called to them as they jumped across to each one in turn. Looking back at the lever, he began to pull it down. The lever was very sturdy and needed a lot of effort and strength to get it moving.
"Where are the element symbols?" Charcoal asked, not seeing them.
"He probably changed them when he passed them." Rock Slide accused.
"Yeah!" Longbow chimed in.
Lucian had a deadpan expression on his face. "Seriously? You think I delicately did all that in the time it took you to get here?"
"Let's just hear him out." Ocean Wisp said.
"Like I tried to say, the last three rows don't have elements. You'll have to jump over. I'll catch you when you jump."
"Catch us?! Why would you not just run across?" Longbow asked before moving past others and putting both hooves on the next row. To everyone's surprise, nothing happened. "Ha! You see?"
The row in front of Lucian began to rattle. "Get back!" He exclaimed.
"What are you so worried abou-" Longbow tried to say.
"Just do what I tell you!" Lucian said sternly.
Charcoal grabbed Longbow by his tail and pulled him backwards.
As the stallion was yanked backwards, the three rows ahead of the group of ponies all rattled and dropped, falling into a deep pit down below.
"I told you to jump for a reason!" Lucian said.
"Now what?" Ocean Wisp asked. "We can't clear that."
Letting go of the lever, Lucian walked to the edge, crouched down and held out a hoof. "Jump and I'll catch you!" He said.
The ponies looked at one another, most of them nodding, Longbow included.
"Okay. Okay fine, let's do it." Rock Slide said.
"Who's first?" Lucian asked, waving his hoof.
Ocean Wisp shuffled to the front. "I'll go." she said.
Holding out his hoof, Lucian got ready to catch her. As he began bracing up, Ocean Wisp ran and jumped across the gap. Bringing out her own hoof, she grabbed hold of Lucian's and tightly held on. Using her other hoof to grab the edge, she started to pull herself up. Lucian started walking backwards and pulling her up. Working together, Ocean Wisp was able to get up onto the other side.
"She made it!" Charcoal exclaimed with a smile, the rest of the group also smiling, both happy and relieved.
"Are you okay, miss?" Lucian asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for catching me." Ocean Wisp responded as she got to her hooves.
One by one, the other members of the group jumped over the gap. Lucian and the ponies on the other side helped to catch each new member that jumped. The final three members of the group left to jump were Rock Slide, Longbow and Charcoal.
"After you" Charcoal said to Longbow who, after psyching himself up, was the next over. Lucian, Ocean Wisp and an earth pony mare caught him as he came over the gap, helping to pull him up. Charcoal jumped next, getting caught by Lucian and Ocean Wisp and pulled up.
"Come on Rocky!" Charcoal called upon being pulled up.
"Rocky?" Lucian asked, glancing at her.
"Yup" Charcoal nodded.
Lucian chuckled before looking at Rock Slide. "Come on!"
Taking a few steps back, Rock Slide ran towards the edge and leapt across. Lucian held out his hoof for him. Due to Rock Slide's larger and more muscular frame, Lucian felt himself shuffle forward upon grabbing him.
Noticing him sliding, Charcoal quickly grabbed hold of Lucian by his waist and helped him pull. Ocean Wisp and Longbow quickly joined in, the other members of the group not far behind. With one large pull, they managed to pull Rock Slide up onto the other side.
"Thanks for the save" Rock Slide said, catching his breath as he stood up.
"Don't thank me. Thank your friends. If they didn't grab me and help we'd have been in trouble." Lucian deflected with a shake of his head.
The two shared a look before a few seconds before Lucian put out his hoof for a hoofshake.
"You know what? You're alright. Rock Slide said, shaking his hoof. Lucian smiled at this.
"This is precious and all but can we get this door open?" Longbow asked.
Lucian and Rock Slide both smiled at one another before turning towards the lever.
"We'll need to pull it together." Lucian said.
"All of us?" A unicorn stallion asked, looking at the lever.
"Not exactly. If one of you could get through the door, maybe there's something on the other side that can hold open the door." Lucian said.
"I'll go" Charcoal volunteered.
"Any objections?" Lucian asked. No answer came. "No? Alright, miss, get ready."
Charcoal stood in front of the door and nodded to the others.
"Okay, on three." Rock Slide said. "One."
"Two." Longbow said.
"Three!" Lucian exclaimed.
The group all began to pull down the lever, their combined efforts beginning to work as the large sealed stone door began to lift up.
Getting low to the ground, Charcoal began crawling underneath the gradually widening gap under the door. Looking up for the any other way of opening the door, she looked back towards them.
"There's no lever on this side!" She called.
There was a metallic 'clunk' as the others got the lever all the way down. The door continued to rise and eventually got to the stop, opening fully.
"It's open!" Ocean Wisp said, letting go of the lever. She quickly scampered over to the door but stopped in her tracks upon getting through it.
"Guys.... you might wanna see this." Charcoal said.
One by one the other members of the group let go of the lever, it now being in place. Various sounds of wonder came from each member as they looked into the room. Lucian was the last one into the next room, his eyes going wide.
"By the Queen." he said softly. They had found the temple treasure room.
The treasure room was magnificent. There were bars and coins of gold, gems, crystal and items that would all be worth a substantial amount of bits. The ponies all scrambled for a different area, pulling off their rucksacks and stuffing in whatever they could get their hooves on.
Lucian, on the other hoof, walked past them all as they filled their bags towards a small staircase at the far end of the room. Walking up the stairs, Lucian glanced over his shoulder and his eyes met those of Rock Slide. Continuing on, Lucian got to the top of the staircase and walked down a short hallway.
That's when he saw it.
A lone stone pedestal in an empty chamber like room. On top of it was a stand and within the stand was a black, metal scepter with a purple glowing gem at its tip.
"The Blacklight Scepter." Lucian said with a smile as he approached it.
"The Blacklight what?" Rock Slide asked from behind him.
Lucian froze, slowly turning to see him standing there. The stallions locked eyes with one another, standing motionless.
"That scepter is the only thing I came here for." Lucian said.
"What's so special about it?" Rock Slide asked, narrowing his eyes.
"That's none of your concern." Lucian answered.
"Now it is."
"Don't do this. You weren't even supposed to know I was here."
"What? So I'm just supposed to let you walk out of here with it?"
"Yes. Yes you are."
"Looks like we're at an impass."
"Rock Slide... don't."
"How do you-?"
"You'd be surprised how loud you guys talk."
"That scepter must be worth way more than anything else in here."
Lucian gritted his teeth, stepping backwards into a defensive position. "Don't do this."
Rock Slide got ready to rush him.
"Aaaaaand you're doing this." Lucian groaned.
Lucian braced up as Rock Slide collided with him, knocking him to the ground. Lucian landed on his back, sliding backwards a few yards. Rock Slide brought up his front hooves, aiming to stamp down on Lucian but Lucian was too quick and rolled to the side. Swinging his legs, he kicked Rock Slide hard enough to make him stumble. Getting to his hooves, Lucian jumped on his back.
"Get off me!" Rock Slide exclaimed, getting the attention of the others.
"You started this!" Lucian exclaimed in response.
As the others ran up the stairs and caught sight of the altercation, Rock Slide reached back and grabbed Lucian. With one almighty shunt of momentum, he launched the changeling off his back and into the pedestal, the scepter shaking on the top as a result.
"Rock... what are you doing?" Longbow asked.
"That staff." Rock Slide pointed.
"Scepter." Lucian corrected.
"Whatever. That scepter is what we need." Rock Slide said.
"Agh. Listen. This is the only thing I was sent to retrieve." Lucian flinched in pain, getting up slowly.
"Sent?" Longbow asked.
"Listen. All this treasure is free for you to take. Just leave the scepter to me." Lucian said.
"Come on, let's just go." Charcoal said, putting a hoof on Rock Slide's shoulder.
"He's right. All this could be worth a fortune." The earth pony mare said.
"Let's just grab what we can." Ocean Wisp said.
After an eternity of silence, Rock Slide let out a sigh. Glancing between the other members of his group and then at Lucian, he nodded his head. "Fine. Okay, we'll go."
Lucian looked at the group as they turned to go back to their bags and treasure. Turning around himself, Lucian walked towards the Blacklight Scepter.
"Rock stop!" Longbow's voice called out.
Lucian barely turned around before he was body checked into the pedestal from behind. The pedestal was knocked forward and it, as well as the scepter and Lucian, hit the floor. Then the entire room began to shake.
"Time to go." Rock Slide said, running down and grabbing his bag. "Come on!" He exclaimed.
The others quickly grabbed their bags and ran out through the door. Ocean Wisp, however, stopped and looked towards the room where Lucian was.
"Ocean, let's go." Charcoal said.
"We can't just leave him here." Ocean Wisp said.
"Ugh, okay let's go but we need to be quick!" Charcoal groaned.
Darting up the staircase, they saw Lucian laying on the ground in pain. He was holding onto his ribs and was struggling to get up. Ocean Wisp was the first one over to him.
"Hey! Don't worry. We're gonna get you out." Ocean Wisp said, helping Lucian up gradually.
"Wait!" Lucian exclaimed. "The scepter. Grab it!"
Charcoal ran over to pick it up for him. "What's so important about this?"
"If you knew, you'd attack me too." Lucian said before wincing in pain. "I think something might be broken."
"Let's just get out of here." Ocean Wisp said, starting to walk with Lucian as the room they had just left continued shaking. Heading down the staircase, the door to the treasure room was beginning to close. Slowly moving down. As they got to the bottom of the staircase, Charcoal led the way through the door. She stopped and turned towards the others as they ducked underneath the door, Lucian wincing in pain once more.
Charcoal levitated the scepter in her magic and jumped back across the gap, landing on the tree tile. Stumbling forward slightly, she quickly regained her balance.
"Okay... let's do this." Lucian said, stepping back a bit. Blocking out the pain, he started to run. As he got to the end, he leapt across the gap. Charcoal was there to steady his landing, bracing up and using her forelegs to take the brunt of him landing against her.
"Come on Ocean." Charcoal said.
"Okay. I got this." Ocean Wisp said before jumping across and landing safely on the other side.
After getting there, the entrance to the treasure room collapsed and fell into the pit below. The trio quickly but safely hopped across the other tiles before running back through the halls the way they came. All three lit up their horns so they could avoid the swinging blades as they bolted back towards the entrance. After the three of them got through the blades, Ocean Wisp and Charcoal began running a way different to the way Lucian had travelled into the temple.
"Where are we going?" Lucian asked.
"Back the way we came in." Charcoal answered as they ran, taking a right instead of the left that Lucian would have taken.
"This place is coming apart!" Ocean Wisp exclaimed. "We need to be faster!"
"I have an idea, you might not like it but it's all I got." Lucian said.
The two mares looked at one another. "What is it?" They asked.
"Hold onto me." Lucian answered.
"But your ribs." Charcoal said.
"Hey, I'll be okay. Just grab hold. Also, gimme that scepter."
Charcoal didn't waste time and gave Lucian the scepter. He put the scepter in his mouth, holding tightly and spread his wings. As the mares held on tight, he winced but began to flap his wings as hard as he could.
"Where to?" he asked.
"It should be a right and then straight to the end of the hallway." Ocean Wisp answered.
Eventually, and with a great amount of effort, Lucian was able to lift off the floor and begin flying. He held strong, the pain of his ribs eating at him as he banked right around a corner. At the far end of the hall was a doorway, the light from the outside shining through.
The door was closing.
"Come on. Come on come on!" Lucian muttered, pushing himself to fly faster. Pushing past the pain barrier, he kept going. The doorway was getting closer and was also getting closer to being closed.
"We're almost there!" Ocean Wisp exclaimed.
"Hold on tight. Here we go!" Lucian said as they approached the door. Now or never. Lucian flew as fast as he could, not caring about the pain. He was getting them out. No matter what. Swerving low, the mares pulling their hooves up so not to drag them, Lucian streaked towards the door. His speed increased the further they went, mere metres from the door which was almost closed. The door was right in front of them. Lucian dropped low and tucked in his wings momentarily as the three of them passed through the gap under the door seconds before it closed.
They were out!
Spreading his wings again, Lucian flew to a safe distance before coming in for a landing. Landing on his hooves, the two mares let go and Lucian stumbled forwards before collapsing onto his good side from exhaustion. As he laid on the forest ground for a few moments, the sound of hoofsteps running towards them, several of them, made his ears perk up.
"Charcoal!" Rock Slide called.
"Ocean Wisp!" Longbow called.
"I'm fine too." Lucian wheezed out.
The two mares were promptly engulfed in a hug by the stallion who called their name.
"You made it out!" Longbow exclaimed happily.
"We had a little help." Charcoal said.
"Yeah, just thank Steel over here." Ocean Wisp said.
"Steel?" Everyone, including Lucian, asked.
"That's his name?" Rock Slide asked.
"Well no but... look at his eyes. They're the same color as steel so I just went with that." Ocean Wisp explained as all eyes turned towards Lucian.
"I'm touched by the name. But my name is actually Lucian." Lucian revealed to them.
"Lucian, huh?" Rock Slide asked as Charcoal stepped away. "Hey, I'm sorry for what I did to you. I wasn't thinking straight and I could've got you seriously hurt. Or worse. Plus, you saved our friends. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Look, Rock Slide, you were looking out for your friends and were being true to your treasure hunting nature. No apology necessary. But I do accept." Lucian said with a nod.
"Yeah. In fact, we were even able to save some treasure." Rock Slide said with a smile, showing the inside of his rucksack.
"That's great!" Lucian said, smiling in response before realisation hit him. "Wait a minute. Where is the Blacklight-"
"Looking for this?" Charcoal called, tossing the scepter over to Lucian. A giggle escaped her lips as he fumbled catching it.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." Lucian said, smiling brightly. "As much as I appreciate you being friendly with me. I'd also appreciate it if you forgot that you ever saw me here."
"Saw who where?" Rock Slide asked with a smirk.
"I didn't see anyone." Charcoal said.
"Me neither, did you?" Ocean Wisp asked.
After a short pause, Longbow shook his head. "Nah, nopony around here but us."
With that, they went their separate ways. The pony treasure hunters headed back towards their homes, waving to Lucian as they left.
Lucian waved back, the same smile still on his face. "Now. Time to call in." he said softly.
Turning to face away from the departing group, holding the scepter in his hooves, Lucian lit up his horn.
"Kier... Kaeir... no thats not it. Oh yeah. Uh, come in Kire. This is...." his mind went blank for a moment. Glancing over his shoulder towards the spot where the group passed through, he smiled. "This is Steel."
"Steel. I've been waited to hear from you." A stallions voice responded.
"Yes sir. I can report that the Blacklight Scepter is secure." Lucian informed him.
"Copy that." Kire said, either acknowledging he was a higher rank than Lucian or just running with it. "The Proto-Keskine is also secure. Have a safe trip back."
"Multiple broken ribs would like a safe trip. I'll need Kix and Remedy to give me an examination when I get back." Lucian said.
Kire chuckled. "Copy all. Kire out."
Lucian's horn light dissipated before he lit it up again. "Major Solar, it's Lucian. I have the artifact."
"Well done Lucian. Any complications?" Solar responded.
"Apart from likely having broken ribs, all is well." Lucian responded.
"I see. I'll send Howzer and Crimson to come get you."
"Thank you, sir."
"Take some much needed rest when you get back."
"I will sir, I can give you my word on that. Out."
As Lucian's horn light filtered out once again, he walked over to a nearby tree and leaned against it.
"Well. As far as first missions go, it could have definitely gone worse than it did." Lucian said with a chuckle. Turning his gaze upwards towards the sky, his smile returned. "Although, if they're all as unpredictable as today's mission was then I can't wait for more."
"Here's to.... The First of Many."