Prologue

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The Dungeon of Terrors

*wooosh*

The wind is howling its plight

on the desolation of time past

Hidden there a dungeon most fright

its labyrinths going ever downcast

Traps and monsters in it roaming like blight

bringing nothing but swift death at last

*wooooooooooosh*

Once the last word was finished, the author looked at her completed work. ‘’Hmm, it’s… not bad but… I just don’t know. Is it too much? Always seems like I can’t tell if my writing is too dramatic?’’ The mare mused as she looked at the short poem she’d drawn on parchment.

The mare in question was sitting on the top of a stone archway. Or rather, what was left of it. That ancient stone monument was all that was left of the building that was once there. The roof and even the walls were long gone. Even the archway itself wasn’t whole, its left side having long since crumbled, a testament of the ravages of time. It was on the top brick that mare was sitting. From that perch, she could gaze at the whole valley.

Expressing a sigh, she decided to put back her papers and quill back into the pocket of her spacious, green scholar robe. ‘’A fool's hope. Distracting myself from these worries was pointless. Not when it’s all I ever think about.’’ Pushing aside a lock of her brow mane that was obstructing her view, her golden irises looked at the source of her anxiety.

The night was at its end so the sky was more blue than black and the visibility was good. Not far from where she was, the mare looked at what could only be described as a giant sinkhole. At a glance, it was like looking at an inverted hill. And at its heart, was resting a small structure. Something that was looking like a pagoda made of stone. The howling of wind seemed to intensify around it.

‘’Time is running out. I hope it will work.’’

It was at that moment that the sun decided to rise, bringing the dawn with it. Very soon, the sky was now filled by a bright, clear blue. The scholar mare turned to her right and looked at the horizon.

On an old dirt road, a wagon drawn by a green dragon, was leaving a trail of dust smoke in its wake.

Above, an airship was following it while slowly losing altitude.

Both were coming her way.

‘’Ah. So our adventurers have arrived.’’

Sunny Starscout couldn’t help but feel that this was a wonderful morning. Light was filtered across the canopy of the trees and birds were singing beautiful melodies. To make the scene even more idyllic, butterflies of all colors were fluttering around Sunny. One of them, a blue one, even landed on Sunny’s snout and just stayed there, leisurely flapping its wings.

Sunny, finding that too adorable, couldn’t help but laugh. ‘’Alright, alright. I’m glad you found a comfy spot but please, you’re tickling me.’’ With one light jerk of her head, the butterfly went away, flying among the pretty rays of light. ‘’Gosh, I really took the right decision to take the scenic route.’’

With a feeling of wonder, she continued on a walk. On her path, there was the trunk of a fallen tree blocking her path. The trunk was twice her size. But instead of walking around it, Sunny jumped, effortlessly landing atop it on her two front hooves, jumping again while doing a backflip. She re-landed on the ground on her fourth hooves and, without skipping a beat, resumed her trot as normal. That obstacle may as well never have been there.

She continued her travel through the forest when she noticed something peculiar. At first, the trees on her path seemed less healthy than the previous ones. Admittedly that alone wasn’t strange, some trees simply grew weak or sick, it was a part of nature. But after some time, the trees and vegetation looked more than unhealthy. They were sick. Nay, they look as though they were dying. And the more Sunny was going forward, the more it was getting worse.

‘’That’s strange. What could cause that? A disease? An infection?’’

Soon enough, she reached the end of the forest. But she understood that this statement wasn’t quite right. There were still trees but fewer and more importantly, they were all dead. Little more than barren, dried out gray husks resting on a soil as dead as them. For a moment, Sunny thought she’d walked into a bog but even bogs had more life than… than this.

Sunny took step forward and—

It all came to her without warning. The moment her hoof touched this new land, she was submerged by an irrational fear. Her body was shaking and she found it hard to breathe. The sensation was simply horrible. Her hoof immediately leapt back as though the ground were burning.

‘’Something… there’s something evil in these lands!’’

Sunny could somehow sense it. An invisible force that was perfide. Unnatural.

Unnatural and yet… somehow familiar! Like—

Sunny chased those thoughts off her head. She tried to relax and took deep breaths to get back in control of herself. ‘’It’s alright. It’s alright to feel fear. There’s no shame. There’s no need to panic. Remember your breathing. In. Out. In. Out.’’

After a few of her breathing exercises, Sunny Starscout felt calm enough and took back control of her thoughts. The dread was still in her but she was in control of herself. She looked around to see if there was anything interesting. On her right, her eyes fell on an airship that was in the middle of a vertical descent. Its position was toward the valley, on a hill, a place much more welcoming than this place of dead.

‘’Ah. More ponies. I guess I should have expected that I would not be the only one to take that job. I should go meet them. Also… I wouldn’t mind company right now. I just hope that we can get along.’’

‘’Wooooo, check that-up, check that-up, check, that, up!’’ Say the blue unicorn while shaking enthusiastically her yellow pony companion. ‘’It’s a flying boat! A boat! That flies! On the sky!’’

‘’Haha. I take it’s the first time you see an airship Izzy.’’

‘’That’s what they’re called! Oh it’s way more cooler than a flying boat. Hitch, you think they’ll let me ride in it? Just for a minute?’’

‘’Hold your horse Izzy.’’ Hitch had said while frowning. ‘’We still don’t know if they’re friendly.’’ Carefully, he slides his hoof toward the handle of his sword.

The airship, at last, landed, causing a slight blast of air, forcing Izzy to hold tight on her pointy hat to make sure it wouldn’t fly away. From its deck, the head of a pony slowly rises up. Clearly, that pony was also being careful around strangers.

‘’Hum…hi. Good day to you.’’ She said shyly. That mare had a pretty fur of fuchsia color and her mane was of a vivid violet. It was kept in a well-dressed hairstyle and a golden diadem was on her head as an ornament. But the most noticeable aspect of her appearance was her pair of wings which were of a pure white and were unusually fluffy as if her wings were made of clouds.

‘’Pegasi’’ Hitch whispered under his breath. He couldn’t help but tense a little. But then, his head was stomped by Izzy front hooves, innocently, as in her excitement, wanted to be at the front to greet her. ‘’Hi new friend. My name is Izzy. What’s yours?’’

‘’Huh! Hum… Pipp. It’s Pipp.’’ At first, that pegasi was confused. But she then warmed up and flew down to their level. What surprised them was that she was wearing a dress which was not really what you’ll call travel clothing. Although, that dress wasn’t that fancy. It was a rather simple design and the skirt in her haunches was open at the front, leaving all the space for her behind hooves to move freely.

‘’Alright, let me try again. Properly this time. My name is Pipp Petal. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’’ She held her hoof for a hoofshake. Izzy immediately bolted at her, took her hoof and didn’t just shake Pipp's extremity but the whole pony for several seconds before placing her back on unsteady hooves.

Once Pipp recovered from her dizziness, she became so friendly. Seems Izzy enthusiasm was contagious. ‘’Oh my gosh! I love your hat so much. It goes so well with your colors and it gives you a… oh what’s the word… I know! A mystical aura.’’

‘’Really! That was exactly what I was going for. Your hair is so pretty. I’ve never see a mane being so well kept.’’

‘’Aw, you’re such a sweetheart. I work really hard on it.’’

The two mares went on as if they’re already besties. Hitch, seeing that, smiled and relaxed. He gently rubbed the back of his mount, his green four legged dragon. ‘’Well Sparky, seems I was worried for nothing.’’ Sparkeroonie answered with his usual cry that sounded a lot like baby babbling.

Hitch went out of his cart to meet the new pony. He made a bow in front of her. ‘’Greeting Miss. My name is Hitch Trailblazer.’’

Pipp eyed the earth pony and examined his appearance and what he was wearing. At first, it may seem that he was wearing simple clothes: a white shirt and brown pants. But everypony could notice that it was wearing armor beneath it. Despite how light the plates appeared to be, Pipp could tell they were sturdies.

Hitch too shook her hoof. ‘’A pleasure to meet you Miss.’’

‘’Oh my, you’re quite a charmer.’’

‘’Nay, I’m just trying to be a respectable gentlecolt. By the way, did you came alone?’’

‘’By the stars, no. I have no idea how to pilot that thing. I travel with my big sister. She’s the pilot. And mechanic. And cartographer. And mare of action as she likes to call herself. While me, I serve as hmmm… well… the… entertainment department, yes that’s it, I make the travels less boring which is super duper important. Anyway, you're gonna love her.’’ She shouted at the deck. ‘’Sis. Don’t be impolite and come meet these ponies.’’

‘’Just a sec Pipp.’’ The unseen pony from the deck spoke. ‘’I just want to make sure the engine is fine. It’ll only take a minute.’’

‘’Sis. The engine’s not going anywhere. It can wait. Be a dear please.’’

‘’Fiiine.’’

A figure lunged from the ship and did a few volt-faces before making an epic landing. The ponies couldn’t help but admire her impressive wings. Most strikingly, They were of different colors, which was a trait that was rare among pegasi. Those colors were even contrasting on her fur that was a pristine white.

The clothes she was wearing were giving her the look of a corsaire. Fitting, Hitch though, since she was coming from a ship. Just one that flew on the blue sky instead of the sea. On her front head was resting a pair of goggles with a harness. A model that Hitch knew was used by airship pilots.

When the pegasi opened her eyes, her cocky smile was replaced by sheer surprise and her wings went straight up. She stayed like that, frozen as a statue and that silence was starting to become awkward for everypony.

‘’Umm.’’ Had to say Hitch. ‘’Is there a problem?’’

‘’... … Whoa! An unicorn and an earth pony! Together! You don’t see that everyday.’’

‘’Oh! Right, of course.’’ Hitch, as well as Izzy, were now in an even more awkward mood. Both understood the implication behind the pegasi’s words but none wanted to elaborate on that matter.

Nopony noticed it but Pipp was looking at her sister with suspicion. She couldn’t put her hoof on what but she found something was… off with Zipp reaction.

Realizing she was acting weird, the white pegasi regained her composure. ‘’*couf**couf* Right. But where are my manners? Pleasure to meet you. My name is Zephyrina. Please, call me Zipp. That’s how all my friends call me.’’ She shook the hoof of both Hitch and Izzy. ‘’Now then. I’m presuming you’re here for the same job as us.’’ She had said while taking a brownish paper from one of her flank satchels. That paper was a typical notice asking for the help of adventurers, promising a generous payment for the fulfillment of a quest.

Hitch went in the front pocket of his blazer and took out the very same notice. ‘’Yup, that’s right. I must confess, that notice was a godsend since me and Izzy, we kinda short on bits. Hope you don’t mind… um…’’

‘’Sharing the reward, is what you’re gonna say?’’

‘’Well… yeah.’’

‘’Nah, don’t worry, we’re fine with that. Quite the contrary, me and my sister are glad that our team of two has become one of four. This will make the slaying of those monsters far more easier.’’

‘’Actually, do you mind if you make it five?’’

Everypony was surprised and turned their gazes towards the sound of this new voice. So engrossed in their conversation they were, that they didn’t notice the new mare that was walking toward them. That earth pony had orange fur and both her mane and tail were of a bright magenta. But the most noticeable element for this pony was the exotic cloth she was wearing, which was a simple uni robe, tight on her body but airy on her four sleeves. Its color was a plain red and the only accessory on it was a belt made of cloth that was the same orange as her fur. This didn’t look at all like an attire from the region but more like the clothes of a far away country.

‘’Hey there everypony.’’ That new pony made the brightest smile that they have ever seen. ‘’Sorry if I interrupted you. I saw you from far away so I deduced you were also here for the job.’’

‘’Wait, you took the job too!’’ Pipp questioned, echoing the sentiment of the others.

‘’Yep, that's right. And I’m happy to give my contribution. Oh right, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is–

Hitch cut in front of everypony, even pushed them away. His face was that of pure disbelief. At first, he thought his eyes were tricking him. ‘’... Sun… Sunny! Is that really you! But… it can’t be!’’

It was the turn of Sunny to be as shocked as him. Like him, her face was frozen in disbelief. ‘’Hitch?! My old friend?’’ But gradually, joy spreaded on her face until she could no longer contain her jubilation. ‘’OooaaaAAAAAH, it’s you! Hitch, I can’t believe it’s you!’’

Both Sunny and Hitch galloped toward each other and grabbed themselves into a big hug.

‘’It’s you! Sunny, it’s really you!’’

‘’It is me. You don’t know how good it is to see you again.’’

‘’Not as much as me. I still can’t believe you’re here.’’

‘’I didn’t expect to meet you. This is a miracle.’’

‘’Are you alright? I’d been worried sick. You’ve been gone for a long time. I was imagining the worst.’’

‘’I’m fine. I’ve never been more fine. I’m sorry Hitch. For having disappeared. I needed to go. But I should have at least told you before I went away.’’

‘’No, I understand. Don’t worry, I’m not mad. I understand now.’’

Perplexed, Pipp asked ‘’You two know each others?’’

‘’Oh right! I should explain.’’ Hitch finally broke the hug and addressed the other ponies while holding Sunny by the shoulder.

‘’This is Sunny Starscout. We’ve been close friends since, well, forever.’’

‘’Hello again.’’ Sunny waved eagerly at the group. ‘’He’s right. In our town, we were neighbors. So, as kids, we spent all our time together.’’

‘’Everyday we were playing all sorts of games. Like pretending to be knights or playing family. The usual stuff.’’

‘’On the record, I was the one that usually wanted to play knight and Hitch the one that wanted to play family.’’

Hitch’s face turned red. Very red.

‘’Sunny! Stop giving a false image of me! I see you didn’t lose that mischievous side of you.’’ Both ponies laughed and jabbed at each other, a testament that time and distance did nothing to diminish the camaraderie they were sharing.

Zipp shook her head in happy-disbelief. ‘’Well by the gods. What are the odds? It’s as if fate was involved.’’

The dragon Sparky made a happy cry toward Sunny. ‘’Sparkarooni! You still have him!’’ Exclaimed Sunny, looking at the drake with excitement. The dragon went toward her, bringing the cart with him, and snuggled his face against her and Sunny did the same. ‘’Oh Sparky, you remember me! Yes yes, I’m also happy to see you.’’

Once she finished being affectionate towards Sparky, she didn’t even have time to breathe that already, she was being tackled by Izzy. ‘’Hi. I’m Izzy. Want to be friend?’’

‘’Huh! Just like that! We barely met!’’

‘’Who cares. I can already tell we will be besties.’’ But then, Izzy's expression darkened. ‘’Unless you… have a problem with unicorns.’’

‘’Do I have a problem with unicorns? What make you say to that?’’ With her earth pony strength, she playfully lifted Izzy with her front hooves. The unicorn bursts of laughter and Sunny followed suit.

She couldn’t help but she noticed that Izzi had a scar on her face. A long but very thin line was coursing on her left cheek. Though it did nothing to blemish the adorable face of that vibrant pony, Sunny thought.

‘’Yaaay. I have a new friend. A friend of Hitch what’s more.’’ Had said the jubilant Izzy.

‘’You’re friends with Hitch!’’ replied Sunny.

‘’Righto correcty. Me and Hitch had been traveling companions for a long time.’’

‘’For one day Izzy.’’ Hitch corrected. ‘’We’ve been traveling together for just ‘one’ day. Hardly what I call a long time.’’

Sunny looked confused so Hitch decided to explain. ‘’I met Izzy at the nearby town of Grewhawk. She needed a ride to the west and since it was on my way, I decided to let her tag along and we became friends. Not lifelong friends that is.’’

‘’Potatoes tomatoes. But don’t think I’m just here for the ride. As a thanks, I’m insisting on helping you on your quest. I am after all an adventurer.’’

‘’You’re an adventurer too!’’ Sunny practically jumped with surprise and excitement.

‘’Yeah, I was surprised too.’’ Answered back Hitch. ‘’But she has shown me she can do some awesome tricks. Plus, she’s very fun company when you get to know her.’’

‘’Oh Hitch!’’ Izzy took her hat and pressed it against her chest. ‘’That’s the nicest thing somepony ever said to me. Well, I knew you’ll eventually fall to my amusing quirks.’’

‘’Not that hard.’’ Sunny said, lightly nudging Hitch in the ribs. ‘’Under his exterior of ‘I’m a stallion of duty’, underneath, he’s such a marshmallow.’’

‘’Yeah, that’s true, that’s true.’’ Izzi nodded with a knowing smirk

‘’Sunny!’’ Whined Hitch.

Both Sunny and Izzy burst into laughter. It quickly proved contagious as Hitch did the same and started laughing with them. Pipp smiled at the scene. She went towards her sister and jab her at her shoulder. ‘‘Well sis, it seems like things are looking good.’’

‘’Yes, I agreed.’’ Answered Zipp. ‘’Better than I thought. Not only is the team getting along better than I’d hoped but five members! With so much ponypower, this quest should be a breeze.’’

‘’Speaking of it, sis. Any ideas on what we should expect? ‘Ancient dungeon’ is… not what I would call an explicit description. Truthfully, I’d found that whole notice dreadfully vague. In search of professional adventurers, preferably in big numbers, to purge an underground historical site of monsters. Promise a huge fortune for everypony. Meet Vitali at the highest hill of the valley of Laments. I mean, it’s so vague as if it was on purpose. Should we be worried?’’

‘’About that.’’ Hitch said. ‘’When I found it, it was on the billboard of a tavern. Naturally, I wanted to inform myself of where exactly I was going. And since tavern are the perfect place to gossip, well, I took advantage and went to talk with the locals.’’

‘’And what did you find?’’ Said Zipp while putting the index feather on her chin.

‘’Not… a lot. Ponies and non-ponies were surprisingly silent each time I mentioned the name of this valley. Only the bartender gave me a little tidbit of information.’’

‘’What did he said?’’

‘’Apparently, this valley has a lot of spooky legends around it. That this place is haunted by the dead and that all that went into this valley never came back. You know, the old classics ones’’

Pipp's smile just became more forced. ‘’Oh really. That’s not really reassuring.’’

‘’Oh I wouldn't be worried if I were you.’’

‘’Huh! After all you’d said! Why?’’

‘’Let’s just say… that I have a few experiences with horrors. And the true ones don’t tend to have those poetic undertones. True places of death are spoken of with dry facts without any kind of spooky embellishment. Don’t get me wrong, the people of that town were genuinely scared of this valley but I think it is more akin to superstition. Plus… I’m pretty sure I know the true reason for the nasty reputation of this location.’’

‘’True reason? And what do you mean you have experience–

‘’Hum, not important. What’s truly important is that although we should be careful, we should not feel fear from those legends because that's just what they are. Legends.’’

‘’He’s right. The legends are not real.’’

Everypony was surprised by the appearance of that unfamiliar voice. So much they tensed up and they felt their blood freeze. They were looking everywhere to see where it was coming from. At first they could not find the source, only for a sound behind them finally guiding them to the intruder. They didn’t know when she got here but on the top of a dilapidated stone wall, there was a mare leisurely resting on it. She had a long brown and flowing mane and was wearing a green robe that screamed an academic vibe. Her expression was dead serious.

‘’It’s way worse than what they are told.’’

She then jumped from her perch and landed on the grass. She looked at everypony with a cold stare.

‘’And I don’t like that you aren’t taking it more seriously. I’m warning you now. This won’t be a fun little adventure, no. The dungeon you will be going to is the most terrifying place on earth. I guarantee that nothing could prepare you for what’s to come. So I beg you to be on your guard. Because I can’t promise… that you all will make it out alive.

Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

Everypony fell silent. That was the effect the newcomer had on her audience.

The silence was brief however as Pipp calmly fluttered her wings towards that new mare and got so close to her face that their muzzles were nearly touching.

‘’Whoa! Your selling point skills are really lacking.’’

‘’…Wha— what!’’

‘’You must be Vitali I presume.’’

‘’Y—yes?’’

‘’Well, I don’t want to sound impolite but I know quite a bit about making speeches and convincing ponies. First, those notices you’d made are pretty vague in detail. It’s as if there are some elements you want to hide. And now that we’re here, you’re trying to scare us to death! It’s like you’re purposely trying to make us run away.’’

This seemingly irritated the newcomer as her iris darted to her side in annoyance. ‘’Well, if you were in my place.’’ Vitali muttered under her breath.

‘’Huh, what did you say? MMMMH!!’’ Pipp didn’t have time to add more when Zipp grabbed her, covered her mouth and sheepishly dragged her sister away from Vitali.

‘’He, heh. Sorry for my sister. She’s an artist that often nags about details and she’d been on edge lately.’’

‘’I was just giving some constructive criticism, MMMHHH!’’

‘’Yea, yeah, and we all appreciate it sis. But it’s best to not bother our client–

‘’STOP.’’ Shouted Vitali. This got the attention of everypony. After a moment of silence, Vitaly took a deep breath to calm down her nerves. ‘’No, no it’s alright. She’s not wrong. Pipp was it? You’re correct on what you’d said. I was really hesitating to ask for help and it took me a lot of courage and pondering. I wasn’t kidding. This job is dangerous. Deadly even. And I’m afraid you’re not taking it seriously.’’

Her words seemed to hang in the air, with most of the prior humor lost, some even contemplating the sentiment shared.

Sunny walked towards her, trying to give her most amiable smile. ‘’We’re sorry for how we treated you. We didn’t want to be hostile. It’s just that you shouldn’t be so quick to judge strangers. But we understand you are just worried about our wellbeing. Could please explain properly what the job is? And what are the dangers we might face? At least let us decide for ourselves whether or not it’s too dangerous.’’

‘’Yes. You’re right. That would be better.’’

Briefly using her tail to brush away some dirt, Vitali sat on her rump, with the others deciding to follow suit, staring intently at their host.

‘’My name is Vitali. But you already guessed that. And I’m what you could consider a sort of scholar, studying ancient history. And in this very valley, there’s the entrance of an underground dungeon. There. Right at the heart of that massive sinkhole.’’

The mare turned her back to everypony and pointed her hoof at the horizon. From where they were, it was quite hard to miss it. The size of the hole was massive. The ground around it had no vegetation whatsoever but the earth in the hole was worse. It was sterile, nearly gray in color.

It was like the land itself had been permanently scarred.

Curious, Hitch went closer and put his hoof above his eyes to better look far away, whistling at what he could see. ‘’My! I never saw a sinkhole as big as that one. Quite unusual. And you’re saying a dungeon is built… on this?’’

When Vitali answered him back, she still had her back turned at him. ‘’This is not just a dungeon. It’s an ancient place of great archeological value. What it is and why it was built are a complete mystery. Thus, for the sake of academia, I must ensure this location is made safe so that I and others like me can study it to its full extend.’’ She then faced everypony. ‘’That's where you come in. Dangers, traps, and above all else, monsters have made that dungeon their nest. That is why I hired you. To cleanse that underground dungeon so that it can be safely explore.’’

After a moment of silence, Zipp flew up and landed in front of that mare. ‘’Interesting. Well, from the start, I was expecting something of that caliber. Though, the thing I’m mainly interested in is… can you actually pay us? You had promised us riches didn’t you. You’d say you’re a scholar?’’

‘’Right. From the university of… Hoof… Ridge.’’

‘’Well, it’s true I don't know how it works in the Earth Pony Province but from where I come from, the salary of those working in the academic domain is… less than generous.’’

‘’Ah. I see your point. True. I don’t have the money on me right now but… When I said what was in the dungeon, I forgot to mention one thing. There is a fabulous treasure hidden in its depths. More than enough for all of you to be comfortable for the rest of your lives.’’

‘’Oh really. A treasure you say. You know, tales of adventures are filled with legends of mysterious places where valiants heroes conquer their dangers and come back with fabulous treasures. But as an adventurer myself, I know for a fact that those stories are just that. Stories. In truth, the loot adventurers find tend to be meager. That’s if they find any in the first place.’’

‘’The treasure exists. I saw it myself. Proof.’’ From her pocket, Vitali took a handful of golden coins and precious stones that she tossed at Zipp.

Zipp caught them and looked more convinced as she eyed the treasures. She took one coin, bit it with her teeth and then examined it more carefully. ‘’That bit is not fake! It’s real gold! And… it’s a Pegasi Kingdom currency! But I don’t recognize that mint.’’

‘’It’s because it’s a currency no longer used today. Proof those bits are olds. But it’s still valuable. Gold is gold after all. There is a mountain of these. I have no interest in that treasure. Only about clearing that dungeon of danger. Do it and I promise all the treasure will be yours.’’

‘’Hum, huhhh, oh I hum.’’ Zipp was unsure on what to respond, still eyeing the coins in her hoof. She took a look at her little sister and then back at Vitali. ‘’Alright. This job had become more enticing. Count on me and my sister, we will purge that dungeon.

‘’Glad to hear it. … On a side note. You did say you were an adventurer? You mean… an actual adventurer?’’

Zipp nodded, pulling her sister into a one armed hug. ‘’Both me and my sister are. We know that the profession isn’t as glamorous as the barbs tell us but still, we are dedicated to being true ones.’’

Vitali then turned her gaze towards all the rest of the group. And each one confirmed to her that they were indeed adventurers. ‘’You’re… all adventurers!’’ She looked so surprised and this perplexed the ponies. Hitch asked: ‘’I don’t get it. Didn’t you ask for adventurers in your notice?’’

‘’Yes, I know I wrote that but I didn’t expect… actual adventurers. And in such big numbers no less. I was more expecting sellswords or mercenaries at best. Adventurers are… not an especially popular profession. I even regretted later writing that. The reason I did was…’’ she paused answering and instead shook her head left to right. ‘’Doesn’t matter. It was a childish reason anyway. Back to the topic at hoof. Maybe the true question is: do you know how to fight? I see the sword at your flank, Hitch. But do you know how to use it.’’

Without a word, Hitch took his sword from its sheath and raised it high. The steel was shining bright under the sun, showing how polished its metal was. At first glance, it may seem that this sword was fragile due to how slim its blade was, but an observant eye would understand that its alloy was one of the most durable there is.

‘’Feeling hungry?’’ Hitch asked. He smiled with his sparkling teeth and took an apple from his saddlebag. He took a bite of it. ‘’Mmm’’. He threw it in the air and cut with two swings of his sword. He was so fast that the ponies could only see brief shimmering trails. The apple, now in four quarters, landed on the flat of Hitch sword who embarrassingly scratched the back of his head. ‘’Yeah, in truth, it’s less impressive than it looks. Four is the maximum that I can manage.’’

Vitali took one slice and observed it with a semi-interested eye. ‘’Not bad. Well at least, you know how to use a sword.’’ She then just put the slice in her pocket without eating it. ‘’Now for you.’’ She’d say while pointing at Zipp. ‘’I don’t want to sound impolite but you and your sister don’t look like adventurers. Or… fighters of any sort. Do you know how to fight?’’

Zipp stayed silent for a moment and then, made a cocky smile. ‘’Do I know how to fight?’’ As her hooves left the ground and her wings spread wide, she held her arms forward. The swift motion tucked her sleeves away, revealing to the surprise of all, two mini crossbows attached to her hooves. ‘’Slick right. I made them myself. Hey Hitch. Throw those apples in the air.’’

‘’Huh, like this?’’

He threw the three quarters with his sword. When gravity took its toll and brought them down, Zipp swiftly held her right hoof towards them. Immediately, a click came and an arrow flew like wind and pierced a dilapidated stone wall.

The quarters landed on the grass. Only two of them.

Everypony looked back at the arrow. The last quarter was there, stuck in the tip of the arrow.

‘’Hah. How’s that.’’ Zipp said as she flew toward her projectile, plucked it out and snuggly ate the apple from the arrow. ‘’Impressive right? And it’s not the only trick in my bag. As for my sister.’’ She pointed at Pipp with the tip feather of her tri-colored wing. ‘’Take my word for it, she has amazing power. A magical one.’’

Pipp smiled timidly while rubbing her hoof. ‘’Yes it’s true, I do know some magical spells. I would like to show them to you but I cannot exactly do it right now.’’

‘’Yeah, she kind needs to be in the right mood and ambiance.’’

‘’What Zipp says. It’s… important.’’

The sound of clapping hooves filled the air. Sunny clapping. ‘’Wouhou! That was impressive! Oh I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such talented adventurers. Especially you Zipp. You said you invented those crossbows? That’s so unique!’’

‘’Well, it’s true pegasus like to use bows because we’re the masters of the sky but I personally never found it that reliable. Already hard enough to aim on ground level so imagine in the air. That’s why I made these portable crossbows. Easier to aim and powerful. It still takes training and skills tough.’’

‘’Yes, taking such a small target, what’s more, moving, must require a lot of sharpshooting skill. I certainly can’t do that. And while I could saw that you were trying to hit the three at the same time, you had the humility to be proud of your realistic result.’’

‘’GYAH!!! … aah… aah… …’’

Everypony was looking at Zipp. That poor pegasi had her smiling frozen, her mouth stuck wide open and her face was sweating profusely. As for Sunny, one look could tell there was not an ounce of ill intent behind her previous words. ‘’Huh, did I said something I shouldn’t?’’

‘’Huh, well, who do you think you are to judge me so high and mighty?’’ Zipp had said offensively while waving the arrow at the direction of Sunny. ‘’What are you capable of in the first place? … … Heh! Now that I take a good look at you… you have no weapon! How do you fight? Where is your weapon?’’

‘’Weapon?’’ Sunny made a cheeky smile, surprising everypony. That orange mare then jumped forward and did flip on her front hooves after flip on her back hooves and on and on. She was moving so fast it was hard to keep an eye on her and her movements were so swift they could hear the friction of the air from her acrobatics.

Sunny stopped her track right in front of Zipp, standing upright on her front hooves and then, with her two back legs, she snatched the arrow from the stunted pegasi. From below, she smiled at Zipp. ‘’My whole body is my weapon.’’ She did another flip, a backflip this time, and the arrow flew again and pierced another abandoned brick wall.

Sunny landed on three of her feet and used the last one to do a bow before Zipp. Zipp seemed to have forgotten how to close her mouth. ‘’Aaaaaah… a… a…. That. Was. So… cooool. By the gods, that was the most badass thing I ever saw!’’ Forgetting completely her previous hurt pride, she flew around Sunny praising her while the earth pony was melting from all those compliments.

Hitch and Izzy were similarly impressed. The unicorn ‘loudly’ whispered to the stallion. ‘’Hey Hitch. You didn’t tell me your friend could do that.’’

‘’But… that’s new to me too! In the whole time I’ve known her, I’d never seen her do… well all that. What is that?’’

Sunny could see that her old friend was confused. ‘’ I knew you'd be surprised, Hitch. Let me explain.’’ Seemingly refusing to stand still, Sunny hopped on one hoof and effortlessly balanced on it as she spoke. ‘’After I left, I had no destination in mind so I wandered a little everywhere. During my travels, I even went into The East.’’

‘’The East! Are you kidding, you went that far! How is it there?’’

Sunny quickly pushed off and then landed on one of her back legs, again keeping the rest of her body off the ground as she continued to pose and pace.

‘’Oh it’s a wonderful land. You would have loved it. Anyway, it was there that I met a bunch of monks.’’

‘’What!’’ Pipp had said. ‘’By monks you mean… like our monks? Those who seclude in monasteries, do constant hard labor and who take vows of chastity?’’

‘’Haha. Well, not quite but also, hum, very that in a way. Anyway, those monks had the kindness to harbor me. They practice something they call martial arts and they taught it to me while I stayed with them.’’

‘’Art you say!’’ Said the excited unicorn. ‘’What kind of art? Is it pretty?’’

‘’Quite so Izzy. It’s an art that uses your entire body. With training and discipline, I can move my limbs with the speed and the precision of a deadly dance. But the thing is, it goes way beyond that fighting with your bare hooves.’’

She took a few poses before standing up on only one lower-hoof while meditating. ‘’The true goal is to reach inner peace. The monks taught me a philosophy unique to them as well on how to use deep meditation to gain a sense of concentration and serenity unlike anything you can imagine. With those tools and years of training it’s possible to… how should I explain? To ascend your mind and unlock the hidden potential of your body. As weird as it sounds.’’

Sunny went back on her four hooves. ‘’To be able to fight any foes with bare hooves is actually a byproduct of that search for peace. You discipline your body and it becomes easier to discipline your mind. Increase your control on the external universe and it’s easier to believe you can have control on the one inside you. Sorry. I’m not sure I do a good job at explaining it.’’

‘’No. I… I think I do.’’ Said Pipp as she was rubbing her hoof with a forlorn look. ‘’I think I’m even jealous.’’ This left an uncomfortable silence that nopony was sure on how to fill it and Pipp realize what she inadvertently done. ‘’Oh well… anyway, I guess it leaves only one that hasn’t showed what she can do.’’

‘’Ohohoh that’s me. Me, me, me, me.’’ Proclaimed Izzy as she excitedly waved her hoof. ‘’I know how to fight too. I can do nice spells.’’

‘’Oh wow.’’ Said Zipp with a sarcastic hint. ‘’A unicorn that’s good at casting spells. I sure never saw that coming.’’ She then received an elbow from her sister.

‘’Haha, yes, yes, guess it’s not that fancy compared to all the cool stuff you can do. You have probably seen a lot of unicorns that can control the elements. Hum, why are you looking at me all weirdly weird?’’ As she said, everypony was fixed on her, their eyes wide with bewilderment. ‘’Seriously, what’s up with you all? You all making me nervous.’’

‘’You can manipulated the elements!’’ Said the excited Pipp. ‘’But… that’s… that’s amazing! The spells to manipulate the very forces of nature are very complicated. Not a lot of unicorns can do that.’’

‘’And the rare who do use Elemental magic are fearsome warriors.’’ Said Zipp next. ‘’Destruction follows their wakes. I shiver when I think of those I aaanyways, would mind showing some your tricks.’’

‘’Yeah Izzy.’’ Cheered Hitch. ‘’Do what you showed me yesterday. I know you’ll impress them with that.’’

‘’Alrighty then.’’ She lighted her horn. The staff on her back was caught in her fuschia aura and levitated before her. The staff was made of a rugged, white oak and at its tip, a blue crystal with wood wrapping tightly around the stone.

Staff in hoof, the unicorn took a deep breath. ‘’Time to do my magic. Oh wait! I literally do that! Anyway, feast your eyes.’’

As her horn was glowing with bright light, the crystal of her staff was doing the same. With a flick, she waved her staff and up above, arcs of electricity, glowing a bright purple, formed and converged in a spherical shape before disappearing in flash to the astonishment and wonder of all to see.

It was not over however.

Izzy, sticking her tongue out in concentration, caused mist to seem to form at first but in a glacial explosion, a star of ice with many sharp branches appeared before her. Light reflected in its core and went back as a bluish hue. The ice star then exploded and fell down as a snow of sparkles.

Yet, even then, Izzy had not finished. She proudly held her staff up and a fireball, looking almost like a mini sun, came over. The flame was cracking and with a final swift gesture of her horn, it disappeared in a firework like explosion.

The whole crowd was speechless and Izzy bowed to them. ‘’Thank you, thank you. It was a pleasure.’’

‘’Izzy.’’ Said Pipp. ‘’You’re on fire.’’

‘’Nah, it was nothing—

‘’LITERALLY, I MEANT LITERALLY. YOUR ROBE. IT CAUGHT FIRE.’’

‘’Huh? Wha!!!’’ Izzy realized a little late that her shelf had indeed caught fire and it was spreading. The poor unicorn danced in panic while trying to smolder the fire by hitting it with her other hoof. ‘’WHA hot hot hot hot!!! I totally meant to do that by the way. Wo wo wo wo WOOO!!!’’ She unfortunately missteps and tumble down along the hill. ‘’ Aaaah, I’ll be back everypony—

As Izzy had disappeared, all weren’t sure on what to do until Sunny spoke. ‘‘O—kay. I think it would be best if I see if she’s alright.’’

‘’I’m coming with you.’’ Replied Zipp as she flew behind her.

Once they were out of sight, Vitali was pressing her forehead in resignation. ‘’Alright, I suppose that in a way, this was better than I was expecting. I guess… your group should be fine.’’ She turned her back to them to look at the sinkhole.

Her expression darkened and something, not quite sorrow and nor quite fear, twisted her face in a dejected sight. ‘’Not that I have a choice anyway.’’

‘’WAAH! Ouch ouch ouch. That was quite a fall. Oh! Well at least I’m no longer on fire.’’ All that rolling had managed to extinguish the fire. Her right sleeve was now gone, leaving a charred border. Luckily, her hoof wasn’t too hurt, only some of her fur had burned. Though it was hard to not notice.

But in typical Izzy fashion, she just brushed it off. ‘’Bah. Could’ve been worse. But ouch, my butt hurt a lot. I must have landed on something.’’ She got a little back up and levitated in front of her what she was sitting on. ‘’Huh!’’

She was surprised. The object in her magical grasp was a helmet. ‘’A battle helmet!’’ It was battered and had seen better days. The metal was eroded and covered with old brown stains of… rust? There was also a hole in the middle. Its size, just right for a horn.

‘’An unicorn battle helmet! Why– huh?!’’ Her hoof caught something. Another object hidden in the grass. A long spear. She took it with her hoof but as soon as she lifted up, the rotten wood crumbled and the spear snapped in two. As for Izzy, she could feel her throat drying up as her anxiety was rising up. ‘’But… what are they doing– huh!’’

It was at this moment the wind started to blow and something danced in the air. She hadn’t noticed until now that beside her, there was a metal pole stick on the earth. And attached on top of it, there was a red flag. No, not a flag.

‘’A banner? Why– *gasp*!!!’’

Once she looked at it, it was as if her heart had stopped. Her pupil shrunk and they were shaking as much as her lips.

‘’Where is she? She couldn’t have gone far.’’

‘’There, Sunny! I see her.’’

Both Sunny and Zipp had found their unicorn friend. But they could tell something was not right. She was just standing there, without moving and she didn’t seem to react to their voices. They looked at each other and each gently put their hooves on Izzy's shoulders.
‘’Heh Izzy. What’s wrong? Are you hurt?’’ Questioned Sunny.

‘’Yeah.’’ Said Zipp. ‘’You worried us. Why’d you look so… spooks… oh gods.’’

Both mares looked at what Izzy was so transfixed. The red banner that was dancing on the wind. It was easy to deduce it had been here for quite some time and that the elements hadn’t been generous on it. Its dye was discolored and it was torn apart at many places. Frankly, it was a miracle it was still attached today. But still, it was not enough to erase what was embroiled on it.

A golden unicorn horn. Emanating blazing rays of light from its tip.

The symbol of the Unicorn Kingdom.

*wooosh*

Like in a trance, both Sunny and Zipp turned their head towards the valley. Now that they knew what to look at, they saw that the whole place was littered with many things. Like broken pieces of armor. Or discarded weapons of all kinds.

‘’This…’’ murmured the disbelieving pegasi. ‘’This is an old… then… even far-there, it didn’t escape…’’

No voice could come out of their throat. And the only sound there was was that lamenting wind brushing on the valley. That valley of death. Without a word, Sunny, as well as Zipp, gently raise up Izzy. ‘’Come on Izzy. It’s not good to be here. Let’s go back to the others.’’

Even as they climbed up, it was hard for the unicorn to look away from that banner.

Some time later

The earth of that sinkhole was quite dusty. Very dusty. Like totally not cool and icky dusty. Pipp words. ‘’Yuck. Who was the genius who put a dungeon here? My dress will be ruined.’’

Zipp made a hoof face. ‘’Pipp. Seriously, don’t act so sissy before we even begin. Besides, you can fly, remember.’’

‘’…Wait, that’s true!’’ She flapped her and hovered over the earth. ‘’Guess being cooped-up for so long affected me.’’

‘’Hum! You're scared of being dirty!’’ Said Vitali as she was leading the whole group toward the dungeon. ‘’That doesn’t sound very professional. And I meant coming from an adventurer.’’

‘’Oh, hum, I mean, of course I get dirty all the time on… the many adventures I went on. I meant I just don’t like it, haha.’’

Vitali looked at her weirdly for a moment before getting back on her track. Zipp went beside her sister and whispered to her quite loudly. ‘’Sis. Be careful, you’ll give a bad image.’’

Pipp seemed to immediately shrink in embarrassment, losing her prior bluster. ‘’I’m… I’m sorry Zipp. I didn’t meant to.’’

Hitch, as the gallant stallion that he was, came closer and went into the conversation. ‘’Oh don’t be so hard on her. I had my fair share of roughness and even I don’t like to be dirty or any form of disorder. Yeah, I may have a problem. What’s more, that earth is nasty. It's like walking on a beach, only far less pleasant. Even sand has more life than this.’’

‘’Wait!’’ Said the intrigued Zipp. ‘’What’s this talk of earth and sand having life?’’

‘’I’m an earth pony, remember. We are natural at feeling the energy of the earth through our hooves.’’

Zipp slapped her forehead. ‘’Of course. How could I forget that basic fact?’’

‘’I, personally, practice hard to perfect that gift. That’s why I can tell the ground I walk is deprived of all life.’’

‘’You think then…’’ said Pipp, eyeing the massive scar on the land. ‘’That’s the reason for that big sinkhole?’’

‘’I’m pretty sure, yes. The less life there is in the earth, the less it can support itself and eventually crumble. It happens more often than you think. Though I confess, this one is unusually large. Even on the hill we were, there was barely any life in it. With just a few steps, I could tell the grass was nearly devoid of nutrients.’’

‘’Hum.’’ Pondered Pipp. ‘’It’s true that I felt that the grass was pretty dry. Is that the reason you left ton of food for your dragon?’’

‘’ Yeah. I want to make sure that my little Sparky is well fed for at least the day. He certainly wouldn’t be able to find any food around here.’’

‘’Oooh, how sweet. You must really care for your dragon.’’

‘’Hehe, yeah. I… sure do.’’

‘’Here, my little Sparky. A whole bag of your favorite apples. And remember. You make sure to not all eat it in one go.’’

The happy little fella did his usual joyous babbling, as he rubbed his face against his beloved master bambling on joy. ‘’Haha. Sparky. Yes yes, I love you my little baby.’’

‘’Heyyyy.’’ Say Vitali further away as everypony else went down the hill, towards the dungeon. ‘’We’re all ready to go. Hurry up.’’

‘’Coming. Just a moment.’’

Once everypony was out of sight, Hitch's smiling face darkened. He put his forehead against that of his precious dragon.

‘’Listen. There’s something important I have to tell you. I’m going to be gone for… I don’t know how long. Of course, you’ll have to stay on that spot until my return but… …’’

It was hard for him to finish. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. ‘’If I don’t come back for… let’s say, one day. And a half. Please. Go without me.’’

The green dragon backed off and made a cry of protestation. It was the last thing he wanted to hear.

‘’Please Sparky. It’s important. You have to promise me. You promise me?’’

At first, he was just staying silent. It was reluctance, great reluctance, that Sparky sorrowfully lowered his head as a yes towards Hitch.

‘’Hey, don’t make that face. It’s… just a worst case scenario, nothing more. Of course I will come back. I am one of the best knights there is, remember? And even Sunny is with me. Nothing will get us. There is no reason to worry.’’

The green dragon looked at his master with a hopeful look. Say master embraced his scaly head and gave him a hug. ‘’I will come back. That’s my promise to you. I will come back.’’

He went away to rejoin the others and waved him goodbye. All while smiling because he wanted to make sure to not show his hidden worries. ‘’At least, I hope I will.’’

‘’At least, I hope I will.’’

‘’What are you muttering Hitch?’’ Said Pipp.

‘’Huh! Oh oh, nothing important.’’ Hitch quickly moved on ahead while trying to play off what he’d just muttered.

‘’Heya folks.’’ Said Izzy as she was happily bouncing into conversation. ‘’What are you talking about? Can I join in AAouch!’’ The unicorn stops. She grabbed her hurt hoof and she was wincing between her teeth because of the pain. ‘’Eeeeeh, I was sure it would be gone.’’

‘’Izzy!’’ Shouted a very worried Hitch. ‘’Your hoof!’’

‘’Oh that little thing! Naaah, it’s nothing serious.’’

‘’Let me see.’’

‘’No I swear, it’s alright. Just a little uncomfor—

‘’Let me see, I’d said.’’ Hitch said In a tone that left no place for compromise.

‘’Hum… al-alright.’’ Izzy held her sleeveless hoof before him. Hitch took it gently and meticulously examined it. ‘’Hum. These burns are superficial. Nothing life threatening but as you mentioned, you'll experience some discomfort for a while. And it might get worse if nothing is done. Let me help.’’

Hitch took his whole sword, scabbard and all.

‘’Wait what! What are you gonna do with that!’’ Said the scared Izzy.

Hitch didn’t answer as he came closer to her.

‘’Heh wo wo wo wo, I don’t need amputation! I’m sure I don't need amputation!’’

She closed her eyes, afraid of what would come next. But to her surprise, no pain came. Quite the opposite, it felt… nice. She opened her eyes and was surprised by what Hitch was doing. The handle of his sword was emitting a pretty green light as the earth pony was in deep concentration. Yet, despite his meditating expression, his smile was the most gentle there was.

Izzy noticed that that light from that sword was flowing on her wounded hoof, the magic softly caressing her skin. The sensation was hard to describe. It was a pleasant sensation, but there was more to it. It was as if… the very caring feelings of Hitch were flowing into her very flesh.

Gradually, the light disappeared and Hitch opened his eyes, satisfied with his work. ‘’There. That should do it. Now, how do you feel?’’

Izzy ears perked up. ‘’It’s… gone! The pain! It’s gone!’’ She looked at her hoof. She was squirting her eyes hard but she could no longer find the slight burn skin hiding under her coat. Speaking of it, there was no longer even the faint trace of burnt fur. The unicorn tapped her blue hoof on the ground, one, two, three times and there was not an ounce of pain. ‘’Oh! Oooooh! It’s good as new! Thanks a lot Hitch. You didn’t tell me you could do that.’’

‘’Oh well, there was just no occasion and I’m not a bragger.’’

‘’Hitch! That was amazing. Your healing magic has improved that much!’’ Sunny shouted as she grabbed her friend, happy for him. ‘’It’s wonderful. You must have worked hard.’’

‘’You’re a healer!’’ Shouted Pipp. ‘’You know how to use healing magic! That’s impressive.’’

‘’Haha, I just wanted… … *sigh* I just wanted to help the most ponies I can.’’

‘’ I’m still confused though. I thought you were supposed to be a knight?’’ Izzy pondered while still marveling at her healed hoof.

‘’He’s both.’’ Said Zipp in a strange tone as she barged into the conversation. ‘’Knights of The Order of the Holy Way are trained to be both warriors as well as medics. Their doctrine says that to truly praise the sanctity of life, they must both know how to mend it and protect it. And before you ask how I knew you were one, I recognized your sword the moment I saw it. Take a good look at it folks, you will understand.’’

Although taken aback by the weird attitude of Zipp, their interests peaked. They look more attentively at Hitch's sword. Izzy especially was the most intrigued because what she was seeing felt awfully familiar. ‘’Ooooh, there’s a pretty crystal in that handle. Wait? *gasp*’’ Then it hit her. That green crystal encrusted by the spiraling metal of the handle was a near perfect image of her own wand. ‘’It’s a wand! That weapon serves both as a sword and a wand! Oh that’s smart. Sneaky smart.’’

‘’You are correct.’’ Confirmed Hitch as he waved proudly his sword-wand. ‘’With this convenient sacred tool, it’s easy for me to fight and heal just by swinging from one side to another. Receiving one is one of the greatest… *sigh* honors from.. the Order.’’

‘’Then, why did you quit?’’

To what Pipp thought was an innocuous question, Hitch's ears stretched up and his whole body tensed up. ‘’I’d… rather not talk about it.’’ Nopony noticed it but Sunny had the exact same reaction.

‘’Oh! Why—

‘’PIPP.’’ Screamed Zipp at her sister. The white pegasi looked at her severely and silently nodded her head in resignation. Pipp seemed to understand and lower her ears in shame.

In fact, the whole air seemed to become uncomfortable as all the ponies couldn’t quite look each other in the eyes and instead, were reassigned to find their hooves captivating. Only Vitali kept her cool, muttering to herself a simple: ‘’Ah. I see.’’ But seeing how tense the discussion was going, she judged it would be best to cut it short. ‘’Alright, I think we lost enough time. I said it’s best we stay focused on the task at hoof.’’

Though they all thought that what Vitali said was quite insensible, none complaint and deep done, were glad they could take their mind off… anyway, they went back on their track. All, except Sunny. She didn’t move from her spot and her eyes and ears were downcast. She felt conflicted. ‘’Oh gods. I know it’s best to leave that subject closed but… I can’t shake the feeling it would be best if we openly talked about it. Gods, please forgive me because I feel I’m about to commit a great sin. WAIT!’’

Everypony stopped walking.

‘’Vitali. I have a question.’’

‘’… … Yes?’’

‘’Did… did… the war also happens here?’’ She had to blurt out the last words. Otherwise, she feared she might not have the courage to say them out loud.

Once the words were out, Sunny could tell. Everypony wasn't just uncomfortable. They were scared. It was as if the air had gone frigid. But she had already opened that door. So may as well go all the way. ‘’When we searched for Izzy, we found vestiges of a battle. They were old. Very old. A lot were from the Unicorn Kingdom. Which I found weird. We are between the Dominion and the Province. The Kingdom is literally at the opposite of here. Also…’’ She turned her head towards Hitch. ‘’You had said this place was called ‘The Valley of Desolation’ and that you had a idea why.’’

‘’Well…’’

‘’I know you may not see the point but… it’s important that I know. Was this valley the site of a battle?’’

At first… only silence was the only answer to Sunny. Vitali didn’t even once turn around to face her. But then, it was as if Vitali was… chuckling! But yes! To the surprise of all ponies, that mare was indeed chuckling under her breath.

‘’‘One’ battle. Oh no. It wasn’t just one. Before any of you were born, this valley was the theater of countless battles. Forty years ago to be exact.’’

Her back still facing them, Vitali waved her hoof in jest. ‘’First, the Unicorn Kingdom occupied the region during the Takeover Border Event. So not worth it. Stealing that border was a massacre for them and the unicorn forces had become so thin and widespread they quickly lost those lands against the Pegasus Dominion in just two months. Who ever thought that would be a good idea?’’

She facehoofed herself in what was great exasperation. ‘’What’s next? Ah yes. Then the pegasus fought against the Earth Pony Province for possession of this valley. The earth ponies got it back but continued the fight against the pegasi. So dumb. Those lands are useless and far from everything. They hold absolutely no strategic values. Anyway, both sides in the end understood it, but sure took their damn sweet time, and in the end, they abandoned it. Today, it’s really contested if this region belongs to the Province or the Dominion but nopony cares because, as I said, that valley might as well be at the edge of the world.’’

Vitali took a long sigh. That history lesson seemed to have taken some toll on her. Nopony could blame her. ‘’Well, it was a little lengthy but there you have it. Hope it answers your question Sunny. Though you were only half right on why it bears the name of ‘desolation’. As for the other half, you will get it once we go back to do what we’re supposed to do. Without distraction.’’

Once the discussion was closed, everypony went back on track. Except Izzy who just sat there, dejectedly and kicked some dirt. ‘’And here I was hoping I would at last get away from it.’’ In an uncharacteristically fit of anger, she trampled the ground, her jaws clenching. ‘’When will that nasty Hundred Years War finally go away?’’

Vitali stopped dead in her tracks, her ears went up. After a moment of silence, she looked at the group with an expression of… nopony was quite sure of what. ‘’The… Hundred Years War! That’s what it’s called today?’’

Everypony looked at her, quite bewildered. This was supposed to be common knowledge. ‘’Why… yes.’’ Said Hitch. ‘’Since at least three years ago, I would say.’’

Vitali raised her head up and looked at the sky in what appeared to be an intense pensive mood. ‘’Really! That damn war has now lasted for more than a hundred years! Huh. … … Let’s go.’’

She went back as if nothing happened. Yet despite feeling very weirded by her, everypony was in a quite gloomy mood. Too gloomy to really care about anything. So they did the same and kept trotting towards the dungeon. Sunny went side by side with her childhood friend Hitch. Pipp, not wanting to be alone, flew close to her big sister. And Izzy was behind the whole group. Just walking. No longer jumping. And no longer smiling.

‘’I’m sorry Hitch. For talking about… you know… the war.’’

‘’…’’

‘’Are you mad at me?’’

Hitch sighed lightly as he continued to walk. ‘’No. No I’m not. And you should not say sorry. I know it’s dumb to just keep quiet about it and make it as if it never existed. It’s just… god, it’s so hard.’’

‘’Still, I’m sorry. It’s this place. This valley. I don’t feel quite right being here.’’

‘’I know what you mean. Not only is the earth we are walking is devoid of life but I think the whole valley is nearly as dead as this sinkhole. For a lack of better words. But it happens sometimes. Thought I confess, not to this magnitude. Hey, maybe all those battles are the cause of it and made this place sick. Yeah, as if.’’

‘’Haha. Yeah. Right. It doesn’t work like that.’’ Her chuckle was devoid of any kind of mirth. ‘’… But… is the lack of life in the earth… the ‘only’ thing you can feel?’’

‘’What do you mean Sunny?’’

‘’Nevermind. Just my nerves talking. Of course he can’t feel it. He doesn’t have the gift. But what on earth could cause that terrifying aura? I got a bad feeling. A very bad one.’’

‘’Zipp. You’re acting weird. Please, tell me what’s wrong.’’

‘’Everything is fine.’’ She said bluntly.

‘’Don’t lie to me. You put up a front but I know you've been acting weird since we met those ponies. Why’s that? And don’t tell me it’s because you saw different kinds of ponies together. I mean, I was surprised too but I could tell it was a different reason for you.’’

‘’… I’m not seeing what you’re talking about.’’ Zipp still tried to deflect and avoid the topic but Pipp wouldn’t have it.

‘’But… you looked spooked.’’

‘’I think you’re overthinking stuff.’’

‘’I… look sis, if you don’t want to talk about it then I will not push it. But if you’re ever in need—

‘’We’re getting close. She’s right. Better concentrate on the task at hoof.’’

Zipp trotted ahead of her flying sister without giving her a glance. Said pegasi was crestfallen on how weirdly distant her big sister was. ‘’Oh Zipp. What are you hiding from me?’’

Her pondering would have to wait. The leading mare, Vitali, had stopped and everypony followed suit. They saw they at last reached their destination.

‘’We’re here.’’

The mausoleum was quite simple. Rudimentary even. Just a plain curved stone roof supported by five plain stone columns. The floor under it was of the exact same material. It was nearly at the same level as the gray dirt, some of it already burying the border of that stone circle. The true and only point of interest was the hole right at the middle. In it, they could see steps of a stair leading down.

Despite its simplicity, by just looking at it, the ponies could feel in their guts a feeling of dread. Inexplicable. Indecipherable. Growing larger and larger beyond all their control and in a matter of seconds. Until…

Terror itself took a grip of their hearts.

In the deepest depths of the dungeon, blackness filled every corner, the entire structure likely having never felt the faintest presence of light. Not natural light at least. And hidden within the heart of that penumbra, a lifeless thing was resting. A corpse as silent and inert as the darkness. A perfect companion for what may as well be a land of the dead.

The skeleton was wearing a long and discolored robe that had been long ravaged by time. On its head was resting a golden crown of a simplistic design. Despite no longer having any trace of skin left, hairs were still on its skull. A long and overflowing white mane that may as well have been a cape.

But then… something that should in no way be possible… happens.

That corpse started to rattle its naked bones by itself. In a brusque swing of its head, that pony skull looked up, its mouth, full of rotten teeth, wide open.

Something unnatural was flowing in its empty orbits. Darkness, even more dark than the surrounding blackness. Filled with all the evil of the world.

Author's Notes:

As you may have understood, I took inspiration on the setting og A New Generation and twikc to a... ummmh, less light-hearted tone to fit this more dark fantasy alternet universe. Basically, each pony tribe live in their own realms and they're in constant conflict with each others.

The Unicorns live in the Unicorn Kingdom ruled by a monarchy.
The Pegasi live in the Dominion ruled by a coucil of noble houses.
The Earth Ponies live in the Province ruled by the church and its holy knights.

As for The Hundred Years War, I took inspiration of the actual Hundred Years war between France and England during the Late Middle Ages. It last 116 years and it a period of innovation in military technology and tactic as well as an increase in national identity for better or for worse.

Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

Let me tell you something about fear. Fear is a very weird concept. One moment it can appear out of nowhere, even during a bright sunny day. Screaming at you no matter where you go and as immovable as a mountain. Other times, it’s like there’s no trace of it, present or past. But even if you don’t see it, it’s always there. Maybe fear has always been there since the moment of our birth. Being good at hiding below what our mind can see until it comes out from deep down.

Who then will be brave enough to, instead of let it come to them, but to actually decide to explore those very depths.

That moment of spooks had disappeared as fast as it had appeared. Though, a trace of it still remained in them. Nopony knew that they had all felt the same thing. Then again, if you can’t even explain why a feeling happens, no matter how weird it was, you generally don’t talk about it.

Among the group, Zipp, particularly, wanted only one thing. To forget it. So she relied on her number one tool when she wanted to distract herself from her fears. Her boundless curiosity.

‘’No seriously. Who in their right mind would build an underground dungeon in the middle of a crater—

‘’A sinkhole.’’ Corrected Hitch.

‘’Yeah, sinkhole. I mean, no offense, but it looks kinda ridiculous and not inviting. I mean… why build something like that here?’’

‘’Well, maybe because it’s easy to dig.’’ Said Hitch as he tapped the earth, which effortlessly sank under his touch. ‘’I don’t know how big that dungeon is but building such an underground structure must not be easy. That earth is not only weak as gypsum but also easily manageable, meaning far less effort is needed to move it around. Well, that’s my opinion at least.’’

‘’Yes but why make all this in the first place? What’s its purpose? Ooooh, it’s quite the fascinating mystery don’t you think?’’ The white pegasi flew all-around the stone pagode. Inspecting details and humming to herself. She then flew in front of Vitali, very excited. ‘’You have to tell me all you know. Who are the ones who built it and why? The civilization of an old forgotten realm? An obscure cult? Oh yeah, I bet it was cultists. Who else would build a dungeon in the middle of nowhere?’’

Vitali didn’t share Zipp’s excitement, looking positively disinterested in discussing the matter.

‘’Yeah, it must surely be work of fanaticals of some sort.’’ The scholarly mare mumbled halfheartedly. ‘’But instead of its past, I think it would be best if told you it’s present.’’

Vitali fixed her gaze at the stone pagode. With a mix of fear and reverence. ‘’This place is the second reason why the valley bears its dreadful name. Hitch. Light my lantern please. You had mentioned that everycreature in the town of Grewhawk knew about the dungeon?’’

‘’Yea… yeah? Though, the thing is, I could tell they knew about its existence but each time I was opening the subject, they all clammed up and refused to tell me anything. Well, instead of never, ever going there. It seems that dungeons was a sort of taboo subject and they I… I could see it in their eyes. Even just thinking about it seemed to terrify them, like it was cursed or something.’’

‘’And for good reasons. For good reasons. You see, for years this dungeon has captivated the imagination of many. And not just because nopony knows why it’s here. Because of how secluded and close to the border Grewhank is, that town is a known resting place for, not just ponies but all kinds of creatures from other countries.’’

‘’Right. I saw griffons, Diamond Dogs and even some creatures I didn’t know existed. Though, quite a few of them weren’t exactly the savory types.’’ Hitch shuffled awkwardly as he recalled the many unpleasant looks and words he’d received from several in town.

‘’I said it was a known resting spot. Not that it wasn’t a shady one. All kinds of creatures stop there. Travelers and merchants, yes. But also brigands and desperadoes. When words of that mysterious dungeon spreaded out, people started to imagine whaTtreasures were hidden in its depths. Seems like fables of adventurers inspire all circles huhhH.’’ She said looking at Izzy with an expression of irony.

But instead of being amused, the unicorn was preoccupied. ‘’And… what happened to those that explored it?’’

‘’They never came back.’’ Vitali said in a matter of fact tone. ‘’Most of them at least. Only a few ever survived. But from what stories they told, it seemed the experience down there made them completely mad. Most of what they said was incoherent. What could be made out include tales of deadly traps and unspeakable horrors. And now, no one ever goes down. Save for the few mad ones or the desperate that reached the bottom of their luck. So now, instead of captivating the imagination of Greyhawk, the dungeon haunts it. They fear it so much they give it a name. The Dungeon of Terror.’’

Nopony said a single word. The only sound was of the wind. The wind who’s dancing breeze lifted the brown mane of Vitali. Sunny was the one breaking the silence. ‘’Huh, it’s a little on the nose.’’

‘’Bah. I personally think subtlety is for cowards. But do you understand why I telling all that?’’

She faced them all, looking deadly serious. ‘’This place is death. And not a kind one. There’s. No. Guarantee you will come back. And even if you do… it won’t be uncasted. So if you want to quit, now is your chance. This… is not a reproche. Nor a judgment. I won’t blame you at all if you don’t want to do it. Nopony would.’’

No pony doubted her words or intent. They knew that she was sincere. The thought that she was playing couldn’t even cross their mind. Almost as if in a trance, they all turned their heads towards the heart of the pagoda. The entrance of the Dungeon of Terror. Those stairs going down and down. Into the dark.

*wooosh*

The wind chose that moment to sing. And it seemed to be here to stay. The fear also came back. And it seemed here to stay. They couldn’t utter a word from their dry lips. Instead, their irises were transfixed on this entrance to who knows where.

None of them could explain but this entrance became the most terrifying and captivating thing there is. They wanted to run away as far as possible and forget this place ever existed. But at the same time, they wanted to go down there. To go into those dark depths. Into this unknown.

Of those two impulses, it was the latter that won. None of them could have explained why. They just knew that, for whatever reasons, it must have been an important one. Even if it was impossible to describe it with words.

At least for now.

So, with a natural impulse that scared even themselves, their hooves advanced towards the entrance. Each step neither hesitant nor eager but done with a mechanical deliberation. One by one, they went past Vitali, who was bewildered by this strange, almost mechanical movement and was looking at them as if she couldn’t recognize them. Eventually, each pony went down the stairs, leaving the scholarly mare alone.

The poor mare was shocked by this turning of the table. The one that wanted to go down was now the last one on the surface!

She couldn’t help but feel a chill coursing in her. Something she didn’t feel for a long time. Suddenly, she felt quite alone and galloped after them.

Now, they are all gone. The wind decided to scream even more.

*wooooooosh*

Onward. And downward. The adventurers were going.

The ponies were climbing down on that spiral staircase at a slow pace. There was no longer a trace of the light of day left and all was bathed in the deepest penumbra. Izzy was in the lead, lightning the way with her horn and the help of a simple illumination spell. The other ponies clung as close as possible, almost treating the light itself like a literal shield.

The only noises they could hear was the sound of their own steps. Each one reverberates on the walls. The air was stiff and dusty. A testament of how ancient this place was.

And of course, there was the fear. That fear seemed as if it didn’t just come from them but ooze from all their surroundings. Still, the ponies went deeper. Deeper. And deeper.

The rattling of bones had become a cacophony. That skeleton was now moving on its own. Or at least trying. Just as it tried to get up, it fell down. Knowing it didn’t have the strength to support itself, it simply sat on its lower legs, spreading wide its upper hooves in an almost pleading manner.

It then put its bone naked hooves on its skull as if it was assailed by demented thoughts. Even if its orbitals were empty of eyes, they could see something. A vision. That vision was showing a giant double door as gray as everything surrounding it. That double door opened up, revealing behind it, six ponies whose bright colors were contrasting with all the darkness around them. It knew well who those ponies were.

Intruders.

Intruders.

That skeleton was shaking with a rage so intense that it could only be called hysteria, its bones quaking and chattering. It lunged forward, threw its front boned hooves on the floor and scratched it, making a teeth grinding noise and leaving two gash on the stone. Its madness reaching its paroxysm, the tendrils of evil magic darkened even more and that living corpse flew, but literally flew in the air. Spreading wide its tattered clothes and hair like sinister wings.

The double door opened up with a massive creak. Once the ponies went beyond it, they saw the penumbra was spread all around them and Izzy’s light was barely able to disperse it.

‘’How dark it is. I can’t even see the walls. It’s quite spooky.’’ Izzy attempted to point her horn in various directions to find a wall, only to be met with more darkness. ‘’Hum, girls. And boy. I’m not feeling confident that my illumination spell would be enough. That shiny-shiny is the most shiny I can give.’’

‘’Don’t worry Izzy.’’ Sunny said as she put her hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder. ‘’We probably should’ve thought about what now seems like an obvious problem. Maybe we could find some torches to light-

‘’No that won’t be necessary.’’ Interrupted Vitali. ‘’I came prepared.’’ She took something from her long sleeve. A slim wooden box. Both its reddish and golden borders had lost their luster but that box was still in good shape. ‘’I’ll admit I was worried there wouldn’t be enough, but thankfully, it’s just the right number for you five.’’

She opened the box and at first, nopony was sure of what they were seeing. Safely encrusted in red velvet were strange glass oval shapes. Five piles on two to be precise. Izzy was so confused that she couldn’t help but scrunched her eyes. ‘’Wait! are those… eyes lenses?! I don’t understand. Why—

‘’It’s dark vision lenses!’’ Both Hitch and Zipp shouted at unisson. They were quite surprised. ‘’The glass of those lenses had been enchanted with magic. With them, you can see in the dark even better than a night owl.’’ Hitch said as he took one and examined it with excitement.

‘’They said making just one lens requires painful precise spellcrafting. Not to mention, a lot of bits.’’ Zipp spoke with an almost scholarly tone as she carefully held the lens. ‘’How did you get your hooves on so many of them? You can’t find that on a flea market. Or any market whatsoever. This is military grade equipment.’’

‘’She’s right. From what I heard, they are typically reserved for scouts on the battlefield. And again, only the most highly qualified ones. Because as Zipp just said, those lenses are really tight on the moneybag. I’m not even sure they’re still making those anymore.’’ Hitch spoke, now eyeing Vitali with suspicion.

Vitali answered back with a cheeky smile. ‘’Well, to make things simple, let’s just say that because of who I am, I have a few friends in high places. Also, I would feel so guilty to put that important responsibility on you without me giving my contribution. I want to help you in every way I can. It’s the least I can do.’’ The mare gave the box to Hitch. ‘’Just put the lenses on your eyes. As simple as that. And don’t worry about me, I already wear a pair.’’

‘’Then… why didn’t you just give them to us in advance instead of giving them now?’’ Zipp retorted.

‘’Why! I was about but you all went down all eerily before I could say a word. What was that by the way? You scared the hell out of me. Is there something you’re not telling me?’’

Hitch opened his mouth to reply… but as he realized that no sound could come out of it, no matter how much he wanted, he dejectedly closed it. The others were no better. The pegasus sister couldn’t even look at Vitali. Or each other. As for Izzy, her eyes were wide as saucers and her hooves were starting to shake. Sunny, seeing her unicorn friend in distress, she put her hoof on Izzy's shoulder. ‘’Vitali, I know you don’t mean anything wrong… I just think… it would maybe be best…’’

‘’… Ah. I see now.’’ Vitali just let it go. It seems some sort of silent understanding went between those two mares. ‘’So anyway, who wants to try first?’’

They all were eager to try. In part to change the subject. Pipp was the first to put on a pair and she couldn’t believe her eyes. ‘’Amazing! It’s as if the dark wasn’t here!’’

As was indeed as she had said. What was once pitch black was now a well lighted room where not a single detail was obscured. Though it was not as bright as if it was in daylight. Even though Pipp could see all, it was still very, but very, gloomy. But back on the subject, now that Pipp could see, the first thing she saw was that the room they were in was freaking HUGE!

This was the biggest room they’re ever been in. A whole farming field could fit in. No, maybe even two with space enough for a barn and small house.

Looking further, eight massive columns, arranged in two rows, were spread on this hall. Between each of them, there were wooden chairs identical to those found in church. That was the first thought of the adventurers. That they somehow found their way into a church. The biggest one they ever saw.

Everypony felt their breath leave them…save for one.

Zipp flew all directions, excited by all that was surrounding her. ‘’By. The. Gods! It’s amazing. What’s this place? Oh now I understand why you want to explore this site. Who would built this?’’

‘’I don’t know and that why we here.’’ Answered back Vitali. ‘’I’ve… never been farther than here. Beyond that, it’s too dangerous for one pony. I like to call this place the ‘Great Hall’.’’

‘’Yeah, I see why. But for what’s purpose?’’ Zipp's curious mind had been piqued and as she scanned her surroundings from the air, questions after questions came to her. ‘’Those chairs make me think of a place of worship. Did ponies come here to worship something or someone perphars? Hum, the theory of a cult seems more plausible. Huh? What’s that down here?’’

From her vantage point, she noticed some drawings on the floor. Some of the tiles had designs on it, forming a much larger, more intricate design. But it wasn’t arranged in an orderly fashion, quite the opposite, it was like seeing snakes slithering without rhyme or reason. Zipp wasn’t the expert on decoration but even she could tell that only a lunatic would come out with that arrangement. ‘’That’s quite creepy. What does it means?’’

She landed and observed the pictures more clearly. They seemed to be made of a mixture of drawings and strange symbols. Despite how grotesque they looked, there seemed to be a method in this madness. ‘’Hum, I wonder if… hey Izzy.’’

‘’Huh!’’

‘’Can you come here for a minute? I have a hunch those are magical symbols but I’m no expert on this. Would you mind providing your expertise as a mage.’’

‘’Huhh! Oh. Um… you see… I’m not really—

‘’Heh sis, you should ask me.’’ Pipp came into the conversation. ‘’I studied magic, remember. I could help.’’

Izzy seemed to mouth thank you to the Pegasus, while Zipp sister almost smacked her own head at forgetting such a detail.

‘’Right. How could I forget! What do you make of this?’’

‘’Hmmm.’’ Pipp looked down at the various symbols, getting in closer and tracing some of the lines with her eyes. ‘’I say… you may be right. From the look of it, they do seem to be magical runes. But the thing is I can’t recognize any of them. And I mean none of them. None of these match any of the books of magic I studied. And I had studied a lot, trust me.’’

‘’And what about those non-magical drawings mixed with those runes? Look like hieroglyphs.’’

‘’Yes, I saw. There’s a pony. I think. A creepy eyes there. A spiral here. And many very abstract ones. And they all fit well with the magical symbols like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.’’

‘’Yeah exactly. It can’t be random.’’

Again Pipp stared hard at the images, looking for some kind of meaning, pattern or something else, anything else…only to shake her head in defeat.

‘’Sorry but this is beyond me. Drawings can sometimes be used in magical circles to enhance the magic. I know it sounds weird but yeah, it can be possible. But I don’t see how since there’s no circle. If you want my advice, I think they're just here simply for aesthetics. It’s not actually uncommon to use magic runes for purely religious reasons.’’

‘’Aaaah, right. I do remember often seeing symbols for spells on the text of the holy bible. Least it does seem to confirm that some sort of cult was there. Though I doubt that their object of worship was something holy. Bet you love that spooky atmosphere, heh sis.’’

‘’Come on Zipp, you know I’ve loved horror stories since I was a filly but it’s different when I… ‘’ Pipp had raised her head as she spoke and saw something peculiar. ‘’Alright, now it screams trying way too much. Look.’’

Up above, coursing between the giant columns were chains. Countless and countless long chains going in all directions, crisscrossing into a messy net of metal. They too were showing their age. Not a trace of luster remained and there were several obvious spots of reddish-brown color probably made by rust.

‘’Ooo…kay. Interesting choice.’’ Said Izzy the Unicorn. ‘’Me too, I once decorated the roof of my house with chains. Though my chains were made of pretty multi-colored papercraft. But who am I to judge?’’

‘’I really doubt they were made for that purpose.’’ Pipp answered back. ‘’As for what their purpose is? I can’t even imagine.

‘’You will not like it at all.’’ Everypony turned their head toward Vitali. This WAS quickly starting to become a habit. ‘’Those chains aren’t here to be pretty. They serve a… stomach-churning purpose. They are tools to execute and torture ponies.’’ And just like that, the feeling of oppression they all felt was now seeping to their very bone. But Vitaly just continued, undeterred, as if she was reciting a simple history lesson.

‘’It’s an old method of punishment for the guilty and sinners. They ensnare the limbs and torsos of ponies with those chains and just… left them up there. The only thing those condemned can do is just wait for a slow and agonizing death with only the company of other condemned. And the gazes of spectators who want them to suffer. For days. After days. After days. Until hunger and thirst finally take them. Less if the chains cause wounds and blood loss. Even less if they are attached upside down.’’

The scholarly mare, more disinterested than ever, pushed away a strand of her mane and as if she was reading a passage from an old history book, continued her speech, to the horror of her companions. ‘’It has two purposes. One if for the guilty. To make sure they understand the weight of their crimes. The second is to serve as an example for the spectator. So they be deterred to become like him.’’

‘’STOP! JUST STOP.’’ Screamed Pipp. ‘’Who-who could come out with such a–

‘’Pegasi.’’

‘’... Huh???’’

‘’Pegasi are the ones that invented that punishment. I mean, who else would be able to put the bodies up?’’

Pipp felt their stomachs drop as they looked up again and realized the truth, which only caused both to sink further into disbelief and despair.

‘’If it can console you Miss Pipp, that execution method was used for only a few years before being banned. Even in this cold world, it seems it had been considered too depraved. Huh Pipp? Is something wrong?’’

Pipp didn’t look well, in fact, she seemed to have difficulty breathing. They were not sure but it seemed to them they had heard soft giggles. ‘’Oh yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine. I just need to, stretch my wings a little bit.’’ She flew towards one of those benches, far away, and just laid her whole body on it. It did manage to calm her down, if just for a little bit but because of this nasty thing called morbid curiosity, she couldn’t help to look up at those dastardly chains, dirty by… wait… were those brown stains really made by rust? Or—

Yes, Pipp just lost her breakfast which was now spread on the floor. She coughed for a bit but then, her eyes caught something resting on the wall. Anything to distract herself from that nightmare. It was a mistake. What she saw was corpses. Two ponies corpses who all that was left were their bones and the rags that were once their clothes. Their mouths were wide open. As if they’d died screaming.

It was a blood curdling scream that came out of Pipp's mouth as afraid, fell and crawled backwards from those dead.

‘’PIPP! Pipp what’s wrong?’’ Zipp grabbed her sister. ‘’It’s alright, I’m here. What’s wro… oh gods.’’ She too saw the corpses. ‘’Don’t—don’t worry. They can’t hurt you. Just don’t look.’’

‘’What’s wrong?’’ Sunny and the rest came and saw the corpses too. ‘’Oh! Oooh, I guess we should have expected that. Vitali said we weren’t the first.’’ If any illusions were left that this dungeon wasn’t dangerous, now those hopes, as little as they were, were gone with a vengeance.

‘’Those two have been here for quite some time.’’ Hitch said, looking at those skeletons more thoroughly. ‘’But not that much.’’ What it meant was although they were bones, they were still covered up by skin, albeit all dry up. It’d be more accurate to call them mummies more than skeletons.

One had a good part of his skull smashed to the wall. The other had wild gashes on his tunic and torso with bits of black on his shirt..likely long dried blood. ‘’Looks like this one has been torn to shreds. Must have been painful. Guess they're really are monsters here.’’

‘’Yes. And I beg you. To stay. FOCUS.’’ Vitali screamed from afar. ‘’This is not the moment to act like tourists. I said it many times. This place is ‘death’. And here’s the proof. As well as what will happen to you if you don’t keep your guard up.’’

Sadly her warning was lost on one of the bunch.

Izzy was not among the group. She was hearing what Vitali was saying but she hardly kept focus on what her words meant. In fact, she could hardly keep focus on anything. She barely entered the dungeon and already it was becoming too much for her. Will she ever be courageous, the Unicorn lamented in her heart.

She wandered without any destination in mind until she arrived at the end of the hall and there… she found something peculiar.

There was a big face carved in the wall. It was a pony face with a beard and strangely, a pair of horns on its head. Not unicorn horns mind you, but more like demonic horns. The stone composing that face had the color green. A dirty green. But the most noteworthy aspect was its hollow mouth. It was wild open, forming a big O and it was taking the most place of this face.

Izzy didn’t like it. Despite having a passion for art, she just couldn’t get what this sculpture was about. What was it trying to express? Horror? Anger? Confusion? And those damn eyes seemed to be fixing on her. That big hollow mouth was as black as a dark abyss. Wait! ‘That’s strange’ the unicorn was thinking. Does the dark-vision lens she was wearing weren't supposed to vanish all dark?

But the more she was looking at that dark mouth, the harder she found it was to avert her eyes. Something in that darkness was… making her afraid. Just like when she had entered the dungeon. But despite this irrational fear, or maybe because of it, she was also… fascinated by it. Without realizing it, the unicorn was taking step after step towards that mouth, as if in a trace and slowly, held out her hoof towards that hole.

Vitali, still lecturing the party of adventurers, realized that Izzy was missing. Having a bad feeling, the scholarly mare turned her head. She gasped as her pupils shrunk and held out her hoof towards Izzy.

‘’NO, DON’T TOUCH IT! YOU MUSTN’T!’’

Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

‘’NO DON’T TOUCH IT! YOU MUSTN’T.’’

Vitali galloped furiously towards Izzy. In her course, she grabbed a long and old candelabra and then threw it as if it was a lance. It hit the wall, a few feet away from the unicorn, who jumped in fright, breaking her away from her trance.

Once Vitali reached Izzy, she grabbed the unicorn’s shoulders and shook her up. ‘’Oooh. You. Will. Be the death of me before this place does. I have you any idea of what you nearly did?’’

‘’So— sorry. I’m sorry. I… just had the urge to put my hoof in that mouth.’’ Izzy eyed the aforementioned mouth with more reservation than before. ‘’It was like asking for it. I— I don’t see what’s the problem.’’

‘’As I’d say, this dungeon had many traps and this.’’ She pointed at the face with big emphasis. ‘’This is the first one.’’

‘’Huh! But—but this looks like a normal statue!’’ Izzy again looked at the hunk of stone, hesitant to believe it was truly a threat, Vitali eyed it with experienced paranoia.

‘’It’s anything but normal. *sigh* Alright. I’ll explain. The inside of that mouth may seem empty, but in truth, it holds a terrible spell. The darkness in it doesn't disappear because it’s not natural darkness. Everything that touches that darkness… vanishes.’’

‘’Well… it’s suppose to va—

‘’I mean erased. Disintegrated. I personally dubbed that spell the name of ‘Sphere of Annihilation’.’’ With a kick, she lifted the candelabra and caught it with her hoof. ‘’Demonstration.’’ She put the tip with the candlesticks in the mouth of the bearded face. It completely vanished from sight.

After a moment, Vitali pulled it back and to Izzy's shock, the tip was… gone. Just gone. And it wasn’t torn apart, melted or snapped off. The cut was so clean it may as well have never been there.

‘’See. That’s how that spell works. Why was it put there? I have no idea.’’

As Vitali tossed the now lighter candelabra, Izzy was staring at her hoof with terror.

‘’But… but but but! If I’d put it here! My hoof! Gone!’’

‘’Well, actually, not just that. Blood would have gushed out your very open wounds and you would have died from blood loss in less than a minute. Pretty grisly it would have been for you.’’

Saying that Izzy was utterly struck with horror was an understatement. The poor unicorn fell on her haunches and grabbed her, could’ve been gone, hoof as though it were about to disappear. She made no sound but the shaking of her whole body was the loudest answer there could be.

It seemed that Sunny had given herself the role of supporting Izzy. Because she was the first to go towards that poor unicorn. She gently rubbed Izzy back and it seemed to work to an extent. ‘’Vitali. I know you worry and I thank you for saving her but… can’t you be just a little more… tactful?’’

‘’NO.’’ Snapped back Vitali with such venom that everypony took a step back. ‘’Maybe you think I don’t care but I want all of you to make it out of here alive. Though given what I just saw, I’m starting to wonder if you don’t care whether you live or die.”

‘’Hey hey! We didn’t come here to be talk like that.’’ Zipp, visibly angry and offended, flew towards Vitali, pushing her snout against her. ‘’You’re the one hiring us so would be appreciated if you have a little faith in us. You want us to prepare against dangers? Miss, you’ve been awfully cryptic about what we should face. How can we properly prepare? So please. Just be upfront and tell us what we’re expected to face. Now.’’

This clearly had an effect on Vitali because, for the face time, her voice was caught on her throat. ‘’Well… … it’s not… it’s compli—

‘’No. None of that. We won’t take another step unless you tell us more about the monsters we must slay so that we may not end up eaten by… … Wait. A. Minute. … What do they eat?’’

Zipp managed to perplexed everypony with one single question.

‘’Huh?!’’

‘’Yeah. What do they eat? Why has no one questioned that before? Why didn’t I? It’s so obvious. Mon… monsters can’t live here!’’

Pipp, confused, put her hooves on her sister's shoulders. ‘’Sis, You scare me. What’s the matter?’’

‘’What’s the matter! We’re. Deep. Underground. We took the only entryway to the surface. When she’d said monsters were prowling in those walls, I thought savage beasts had wandered here and made it their home, but why would they live in a place isolated from everything. It just makes no sense. And even if they did, how would they feed? Even the occasional wanderers wouldn't be enough to keep them from starving.’’

The adventurers were stunned on how implacable Zipp logic was. They all have been fixed on those stories of adventure they read as foals. So much so they didn’t see the obvious inconsistencies. But if they questioned themselves just for a moment, then it became obvious that it was impossible for monsters to live in this godforsaken place.

They all looked at Vitali, the mare that brought them here. And the first time, all composure was gone and she was at a loss for words.

Izzy's expression grew colder.

‘’I knew you were hiding things from us.’’

She aims her crossbow at the face of the one who brought them here. The crossbow made a click, ready to shoot her arrow. Nopony could move. They all recognize Zipp’s expression. It was the face of somepony who was ready to kill.

Somepony who’d killed already.

‘’Zipp!’’ Her sister desperately screamed, hoping to calm her down. ‘’What’s gotten into you!’’

‘’Don’t butt into this. Since the start, I’ve never been able to fully trust her. But I didn’t listen to my gut because I was too desperate for money. And now, I not only put myself in grave danger but also you sis.’’

Zipp, slightly lowered her eyes in shame but quickly went back in threatening mode. ‘’Alright Vitali, here’s what we’re going to do. Tell the truth and I promise I won’t shoot. But if I feel for even one second you’re still hiding something, then I swear, this will be the last thing you ever do.’’

Shockingly, despite having an arrow in front of her face, Vitali didn’t look afraid. She did seem embarrassed, yes, but strangely not afraid. Still she didn’t respond initially despite the threat, only letting out a frustrated sigh. ‘’Oh fine. Yes, I admit you’re right and you’ve every right to be mad at me. But I swear, there’s no foul play or trap, I really need your help for killing… one monster.’’

‘’One? As in singular! What did you hide—no. It still can’t be true. Nothing can live here.’’

‘’That’s… because it’s not—

That’s when, out of nowhere, the scream came.

A blood curdling howl filled the whole place. The ponies were so surprised they didn’t even have time to cover their ears from that deafening sound and they felt fear like never before. No animal or person could make such a sound of pure rage. The ponies could tell, whoever, or whatever was making that howl was something unnatural and wrong.

The howling stopped as abruptly as it had begun. They could understand it didn’t come from that hall but from far away. Very far away, in the farthest reaches of this forsaken place. However, this didn’t reassure the ponies, quite the opposite. What kind of horror could make such a scream?

Nopony could move. They were paralyzed by fear and they could feel their blood grow cold. Even Zipp had lost her cold demeanor and was now as scared as a foal.

But to the surprise of all, the one who was most affected was Vitali. The mare that had never once showed a hint of fear, with an arrow in her face, had now lost all colors and looked seconds away from faiting of fright.

‘’Oh no. Already!’’ She whispered. ‘’Take your weapons.’’

The adventurers were confused. ‘’TAKE YOUR WEAPONS. TAKE THEM NOW.’’ Vitali shouted back.

On the decorated floor, something strange appeared. A cloud made of pitch black smoke erupted from the ground and green lighting was crackling in it. That flowing blackness crawled along the serpentine carvings making that was a cross between the howling of the wind and a painful moaning.

Then suddenly, that darkness rose up high and exploded into many tendrils of evil magic spreading into every corner.

And then… it was just quiet. The ponies weren’t sure how to react. They then heard a moan that made their fur straighten up.

‘’Stay behind me.’’ Proclaimed Hitch as he took his sword with his mouth and went in front of everypony to protect them. The plaintive moan came again and Hitch knew now that it was coming from behind one of the large columns at his right. ‘’Is… is somepony there? Please, show yourself.’’

They heard hoof steps. Somepony, or something, was coming.

In mere moments, from behind the pillar came out a decrepit hoof, pressing on the column marble for support. And then the face came out into view. If you could call it a face.

All the muscles were gone, leaving its skull and mummified skin along with a few straws of mane on its head. Its mouth had lost all skin on its right side, showing its rotten teeth. But the scariest part was this sinister smoke of darkness flowing out of its mouth and empty orbitals.

The walking corpse looked at the ponies, its head and limbs jerking like a broken puppet. And once it had the group in sight, two points made of green light appeared in the dark of its orbitals.

And its movements became then far more natural. And despite no longer having vocal cords or even lungs, it cry a scream of bestial rage.

‘’Wha… but! It’s… un undead!’’ Hitch said, surprised. Sunny and Zipp went immediately to the side of Hitch, ready to attack. Those three had already dealt with undead previously, contrary to Izzy and Pipp who this was the very first time they saw one.

‘’Stand back.’’ Sunny said, having already caught on to the inexperience of those two. ‘’Don’t worry, it’s just one. They look scary but they’re not that dange—‘’

More moans came. Far more.

Whatever was giving life to this corpse had not finished its job. On the two previous corpses resting on the wall, green lighting was coursing on their whole bodies. The one with the slash on its torso animated as the evil magic splashed out of its face. But strangely, the one with the smashed skull didn’t move at all, the spell unable to do anything.

Quickly, more appeared. One of a huge size rose up from behind a bench. Another was hidden under a bench and tumbled it down as it came out. From above, the corpse of a pegasi that had been hidden in the shadow, flew down. In a far corner, a dead earth pony, who had been blended with the surrounding awakens, its lower jaw gangling in nearly comical way if it wasn’t so horrifying.

In unison, all the walking corpses turned their gazes towards the adventurers and advanced towards them. Slowly but surely.

The poor Izzy was clutching her staff, doubting her very eyes. ‘’Girls. Am I having a nightmare?’’

The other ponies were wondering the same thing. ‘’It… can’t be!’’ Said Sunny. ‘’Undeads are supposed to be rare. So many in one place is impossible! Where’re they coming from? How did we miss them?’’

‘’They were hidden in blind spots.’’ Whispered the pale Vitali to nopony but herself. ‘’It became smarter.’’

Hitch, at first in shock, shook his head to get out of his stupor. At the right time because the closest zombie lunged at him, teeth first. Hitch parried its maw with his sword and kicked it in the ribs to push it away. ‘’Back up tormented soul.’’

The zombie fell down. Hitch, using a sleight-of-‘mouth’, changed the blade side for the wand side. ‘’I know your weakness.’’ Green magic charged up in the crystal. ‘’ And it’s give life to dead.’’

When she heard those words, it was enough to free Vitali of her episode. ‘’What! NO STOP! THEY’RE NOT UNDEADS.’’

The healing magic hit the zombie directly. Its waves of green aura washed over it. And when it dissipated, the zombie… simply went back on its hooves and screamed at Hitch.

‘’WHAT! Impossible!’’ The knight was shocked. Again he hit it with more healing spells, again and again but it did not affect the walking corpse as it kept advancing the panicking earth pony. ‘’But I don’t understand! It always works each time I cleanse them. Huh! No no no stay away, STAY AWAY!!!’’

The zombie pounced at Hitch, baring its teeth. But instead of its prey, what it received was an orange hoof at the jaw that sent flying back. As it rolled on the floor, ending on its belly, Sunny followed suit, backflipping over and over and with a powerful jump, slammed her back hooves on the back of the zombie, shattering its spine.

The green eyes and darkness extinguished. It was no longer moving.

All the other zombies were now visibly agitated and instead leisurely walking, galloped full speed toward Sunny and the rest.

Unphased, the mare monk jumped backward again and again and rejoined the group. A quick glance behind was enough to tell her that none of them could fight. Not properly at least. They were in a state of shock and from her past experience, she knew it was difficult to snap out of it. Not before death comes.

But Sunny didn’t curse her situation. She didn’t even have a single spiteful thought for her companions. Instead, she was purely focused on protecting them. She stood up on two hooves and readied her upper arms on fighting positions. ‘’You won’t harm them, monsters. You will have to go through me first.’’

Poor Izzy was shaking uncontrollably and couldn't help but to take a few steps back. It was also the same for Pipp, tears filling her eyes.

However, Sunny’s words managed to break through her fear and seeing the mare’s selfless courage, the pegasi grit her teeth. More. And then more. And in a moment of defiance against all her self-preservation instincts, she flew past everypony, ready to meet the undead horde head on.

Rapidly, she spread wide her beating wings and hooves and then…

She sang.

She sang a song of an unknown language. Nopony understood the meaning of those lyrics but they could feel the deficiency and temerity behind those words. And as that song escaped her mouth, a magical and starry pink barrier appeared in front of her, sending the many charging zombies directly into it, before they crashed to the ground.

Hitch was surprised. ‘’What- what is that!’’ Zipp got back to her senses and ran toward Hitch. ‘’I told you my sister had an awesome power. I’ll explain later. Focus.’’ She prepared her two crossbows. ‘’For starsake, what I am doing! I can’t let my baby sis do all the work.’’

An earth pony zombie, one that had double the size compared to others, smashed at the barrier, right in front of Pipp and screamed a gastly cry. The sudden shock frightens Pipp, breaking her concentration and causing the barrier to dissipate.

The barrier gone, the huge zombie was ready to pounce at the pink pegasi, only for it to immediately get an arrow in its right eye.

‘’Don’t touch her. You monster gonna have to deal with me first.’’

A rope was attached to the tail of Zipp’s arrow. The rope led to a device attached to Zipp’s flank. She pushed a button and the device pulled up the rope along with the zombie with it, dragging it toward her

Another zombie, the one with the broken maw, took the place of the big one and jumped at Pipp. But this time she was ready. She sang a quick verse, charged with hate, and it exploded out with a scream. From that scream, a blast of magic was shot right at the zombie. It flew across the whole hall, even lost a boney hoof on the trip.

‘’And stay dead—HAARRH!’’ One of Pipp's wings had just been slashed by the pegasi zombie. This one had weapons, two rusty knives in its hooves.

Afraid and in pain, Pipp quickly panicked and flew straight into a wall. With a loud thump, she slowly slid down the wall, dazed. Once her mind managed to right itself, she saw, to her horror, her fluffy wing all bloody.

‘’PIIIPP!!!’’ Screamed her sister. Alas, dragging that giant dead earth pony was now working against her. It didn’t lose time to pin her down before starting to hit and scratch at her like an animal.

The poor pony tried to retaliate, but found herself unable to push the monster off to reload her crossbows. ‘’HITCH. I BEG YOU, PROTECT MY SISTER.’’ She pleaded to Hitch, still caring more about Pipp life than her own.

The knight felt torn apart to leave Zipp like that but knew she was right, Pipp was the most in danger. He will have to have faith that Zipp would somehow manage.

Steeling himself, he galloped at Pipp and the pegasi zombie gearing up to slice her. But at the last second, it was hit at the face by a long candlestick wielded by none other than Vitali.

‘’Get away from her.’’

Using this moment of opportunity, Hitch slashed the wings from the back of the zombie. Deprived of its wings, the zombie crashed to the ground yet didn’t seem to feel pain, instead, it got angrier and turned back to face Hitch.

It aimed its knives at him and Hitch parried both of them with his sword, sparks and metallic sounds came out the clash.

‘’Vitali, take Pipp away.’’

‘’Alright but aim for their heads. Their heads is—

‘’Yes I got it, now GO.’’

She did as he said and took Pipp away, supporting her steps. Farther away, Zipp had managed to free herself from the grasp of the big zombie. She used the rope binding both of them and flew around it to ensnared it. She saw her sister and shouted at Izzy.

‘’Izzy, you too with Pipp.’’ The poor unicorn was trembling like a leaf and probably didn’t even hear her properly. ‘’Huh?! ’’

‘’Just go.’’ Zipp said while doing her best to hold off the enrobed zombie that was struggling like crazy.

Izzy listened and galloped past Hitch, fighting the wingless zombie, and Sunny who was busy with the other twos.

Hitch readied his sword as the zombie as the bloodshot eyes pegasi ready his knives, his scream deafened by the war cries of that muddy battlefield. How many times did the knight see that scene? Too many. The enemy soldier promptly lunged at him. But the knight knew how to fight them. It was now an automatic. He blocked the first knife with his hoof and knocked it away from the enemy hoof. Then, without thinking, he disarmed the second knife and plunged his sword in the heart of the pegasi. He made a garbled sound, his eyes went backward with fear and he fell dead. Once again, Hitch only felt emptiness felt a searing pain on his face as the zombie had scratched it with its boney hoof.

The sudden pain immediately jolted him back to reality. Falling onto his haunches, he searched frantically for his sword. To his horror, his weapon was stuck between the ribs of the undead. Its empty ribs.

Sunny was busy fighting the two remaining skeletal ponies. She saw her old childhood friend in trouble.

‘’HITCH! Hang on, I’m coming.’’ She stood on her two front hooves and made a spin, her legs hitting the two zombies on the chest. They flew away toward the benches. Sunny charged toward Hitch before jumping and landing behind the wingless zombie, grabbing it with her lower hooves and with a somersault, launched it in the air.

The sword was unclogged and fell. Hitch, regaining his senses, grabbed it and dealt one swift strike. Before it even finished its descent, the undead was decapitated.

Farther away, Zipp was in trouble. She was severely beaten up and cut with the zombie having freed itself from the rope. It advanced towards her like it was possessed and Zipp had no longer the strength to fly and could only step back.

She stopped and got cold sweats when she remembered what she nearly bumped into. ‘’Oh crap, crap! That damn sphere of annihilation is behind me! Where can I run too… Wait. That’s it!’’

She defiantly stood up before the huge dead pony, her wings flaring up. ‘’Alright ugly. You want me? Then come and get me if you dare.’’

It screamed in a mad rage and galloped toward her. Focusing the last of her strength on her wings, she hovered backward and in a snap, pushed a device on her belt that dropped ink on the floor.

The zombie, in its mad rush, galloped on the black puddle and it slipped toward the Face. It caught itself at the last second but Zipp kicked it in the back and it plunged headfirst into the sphere of annihilation. There wasn’t even a sound as its headless, and shoulderless, body limplie fell along with its detached front hooves.

Zipp was completely drained. ‘’*pant**pant* Damn. And this gadget wasn’t even a weapon. Just my pen ink reservoir. This could nearly be funny.’’

Only two zombies were left. The one with the broken jaw and the one that was missing a limb. Yet, nothing could deter their single minded desire to tear the flesh out of those ponies. The compulsion to kill was all there was. Not an ounce of intelligence or true sentience was in them. But there was something akin to an animal instinct. And when you must kill no matter what…

You always go to the weakest prey first. Like the mare with the bloodied wing.

Vitali was running away to the other side, along with Pipp, whose injured fluffy member was leaving a trail of blood in her wake. ‘’Come on Pipp. Hang in there.’’

‘’I’m trying… ouch!’’ The pain was so bad that she was breathing through her teeth. ‘’I’m trying but– gosh, that’s the first ever time I've felt so much pain. It’s unbearable.’’

‘’What do you mean, the first–

She was interrupted when the two zombies jumped in front of them, growling like beasts. The two mares were cornered. But as the jaw broken zombie was about to attack, a purple lightning bolt hit its skull, leaving a burn mark on its face.

Surprisingly the monster didn’t react initially, just standing there. Then. in an almost comical fashion, turned its head toward its assailant.

It was Izzy whose legs were shaking like a leaf and the poor unicorn was so scared that she was crying. ‘’Gogogo aw– away–’’

The zombie screamed like banshees. Izzy, in a state of panic, closed her eyes shut. A fire was building in her staff and it was growing at an alarming rate.

Vitali feared the worst. ‘’Wait wait wait, stop! We’re just right there!’’

The blue unicorn wasn’t completely aware of what she was doing. Her fight-or-flee instinct kicked in. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she threw her unstable fireball at what was scaring her.

The fiery projectile hit the two zombies, engulfing them in an explosion. Unfortunately, Pipp and Vitali, who were dangerously close to it, were knocked away by the shockwave. They could feel the heat scorching their fur, just barely avoiding being incinerated.

Once the chaos passed, the hyperventilating Pipp opened her eyes. Where the zombies once were was more a thick cloud of smoke.

‘’*pant**pant* What the hell Izzy! You could have killed us all.’’

‘’I’m—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—

Screams interrupted her. The smoke cleared to reveal a sight straight up from hell. The walking corpses were still standing, but now, their very bones were set ablaze. Those monsters didn’t seem bothered by it, quite the contrary, they had now become walking pony torches with fiery red contrasting with their green evil eyes.

‘’Wait, did I make things worse!’’ Izzy asked, looking confused and even more terrified.

The flaming zombies walked ominously towards Pipp. Their bones were cracking from the fire, that sound covering their hoof steps but not their gnawing.

The poor pegasi was in her back, she could only crawl backward. ‘’No. No stay away. Stay away. Izzy, do something.’’

Vitali didn’t know what to do, she couldn’t even touch them. Meanwhile, Izzy’s fear had reached a new height. She could not breathe and her very pupils were now shaking. Even the magical grip on her staff was flickering.

‘’Izzy, do something. Anything. I beg you.’’

Despiste the desperate plea, Izzy couldn't move. She couldn’t think. She could only hear Pipp plead and not know what to do.

‘’Nonono stay away, stay away. Sis, save me–

The flaming zombie bit the hoof she held out to protect herself. Sharp teeth tear deep into her flesh while fire burns her hoof both outside and inside and in that moment, Pipp knew pain like she never possibly could imagine.

She screamed at the top of her lungs. That cry of pain was bloodcurdling for the ponies who heard her. Hearing that. Seeing that. Proved too much for Izzy. The ensnaring fear she already had grew and grew until it was too much too bear and she screamed as loud as Pipp.

In tears, she turned back as fast as she could, ran away from this horror while still screaming. She even didn’t take her staff with her, leaving it abandoned on the floor.

Pipp was at her limit and was about to faint. She thought for a moment that this is how she would die. And that maybe in the end, she thought she deserved this. Vitali wanted to help but the other zombie was already working on maiming her itself

As it jumped, an orange hoof hit it on its side and it was catapulted far away. Sunny quickly went to the three legged ones and assaulted it with a barrage of strikes. Despite being on fire, Sunny didn’t relent her assault and ignored the burning pain her hit was doing to her.

Finally given a moment of relief, Vitali used that chance to drag away Pipp who was on the verge of delirium.

Sunny jumped away from the zombie. She winced, her front hooves had been burned yet she still kept her focus on the enemy. Enraged, the zombie shouted a battle cry and galloped towards her. Not deterred, Sunny took a quick breath, calming her nerves. She jumped at the enemy and gathered all her strength into one decisive strike on its head.

The zombie skull exploded like a watermelon.sending a ripple of dust and ash in every direction. The headless corpse quickly collapsed in a heap, its still burning body smoldering quietly.

Sunny was able to catch a breath until a thought came and she smacked her forehead. ‘’Ohhh I’m so dumb! I should have done this from the start. Smashing their head.’’

A bestial cry came. The last zombie, the one with the broken jaw, stood back up. Now its head was at a crooked angle. That twisted boney face covered in fire might have been the most disturbing sight they ever saw. But then its cry ended in a grunt when a pointy blade pierced its forehead from behind.

The evil magic in its eyes vanished. A loud crack came and that skeleton crumbled to pieces. Hitch swiftly put back his sword in his scabbard.

The battle was now, finally over.

Quiet returned to the hall. The adventurers were wary, fearing other enemies might appear. Yet, even after several minutes of prolonged, painful silence, nothing came. It was truly over.

So they allowed themselves to relax. With the exception of Pipp who was bawling profusely while holding her maimend hoof. One look at it and anypony would cry too.

‘’PIPPP!!!’’ Screamed Zipp once she saw how hurt her sister was. She flew to her side and she panicked. ‘’HITCH. HEAL HER. NOW.’’

Hitch obey. But once he looked more clearly at Pipp hoof, he winced. ‘’What? You can heal her can’t you?’’ Replied Zipp, upset at his hesitation.

‘’I’m… not sure my magic would be enough. The flesh hadn’t just been maimed, it’s also been burned. That’s what’s most difficult to heal.’’

‘’Oh dammit.’’ She took her saddlebag and furiously ransacking its contents, tossing away what she didn’t need without a second look.

Among the things she tossed behind her shoulder was a medallion that fell at the feet of Sunny. The earth pony couldn’t help but take it.

Undeterred by the mess she was making, Zipp took out a bunch of flasks containing liquids shining with a green hue. ‘’That’s all my healing potions. We will use them with your magic.’

‘’I’m not even sure it would be eno—

‘’JUST DO IT YOU PUSSY.’’

He didn’t ask twice and with his wand, transferred his healing magic into Pipp’s hoof while Zipp crudely poured the liquid on the wound, bottle after bottle. Yet even as the wounds started to heal, the poor pegasi was still crying. ‘’It hurt. It hurt so much.’’

‘’Shhh, shhh. It's okay. Everything would be alright, you’ll see.’’ Zipp said in a tender manner as she verse another bottle.

‘’I will die. I’m going to die. And I deserve it.’’

‘’No, no. Don’t speak like that. It’s not true.’’ Zipp cradled her sister in her hooves and used her wings to hold her in a tight embrace.

The combined effect of both the magic and the potions ultimately did the trick. The flesh mended itself and the burn was disappearing. Once the healing was done, all that was left was a scar that had the shape of a ring, with small spikes from where the teeth broke the skin. Despite the damage and pain being gone, Pipp was still crying. That moment was refusing to leave her head.

Zipp's heart broke in a million pieces from seeing her sister so mentally broken. Then, she grinded her teeth as rage came.

With a leap, she broke off from her sister and got right into Vitali’s face. ‘’WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! YOU NEVER TOLD US THERE WOULD BE UNDEADS. HOW COULD YOU HIDE THIS FROM US! WE WOULD’VE NEVER HAVE COME IF WE KNEW. LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER. ALL BECAUSE OF YOU.’’

Vitali, instead of feeling guilty, snapped back at her. ‘’What the hell was that? You mean, what the hell about YOU! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FIGHT JUST NOW! You all acted so clumsy and you quickly lost your cool. Sunny was the only one who fought efficiently and kept calm. This was only a fraction of the dangers ahead. How do you expect to survive?’’

‘’DON’T YOU DARE SAY IT’S OUR FAULT! Because you withhold information we were unprepared.’’ Zipp argued, pressing her nose against their contractor in anger.

‘’Well… fine, you’re right but my hooves were tied. I needed adventurers more than anything–

‘’WE’RE NOT.’’ Screamed not Zipp but Pipp, who was still very shaken. ‘’We lied alright. We’ve never been adventurers.’’

Zipp threw a glare at her sister. Thought it was more one of panic than of reproach.

Vitali, her, was frozen in disbelief. She slowly rotated her head at the sobbing pegasi. ‘’What… did you… just say?’’

Despite her prior catatonic state, Pipp managed to regain enough composure to keep speaking what she had on her heart. ‘’I was against Zipp for taking this job and lying but she insisted. We needed the money. So we could go to the farthest possible of the three realms. This is our very first adventure. I’ve never even fought before today.’’

‘’Your… first!!!’’

The scholarly mare quickly turned to the others dumbfounded. She settled on Hitch. ‘’Did you lie too? Don’t act as if I didn't notice when you’d fought that zombie. It was like you weren’t there.’’

Hitch was flustered. ‘’Oh, umh, I, umh– look, sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I had a– a flash of… of the past.’’

‘’Are you an adventurer, yes or no?’’

Hitch stared at the ground, wishing he could just bury himself then and there. ‘’Well. technically no. I am a warrior, that’s true. I had my share of battles. But… against ponies. Only ponies. I have no experience against monsters.’’

‘’What!’’ Vitali was starting to turn white. ‘’And… and Izzy?’’

‘’Well I can’t speak for her, I've only known her for one day. But I… can see in her eyes, she probably never once fight for her life.’’

Vitali silently turned toward Sunny who suddenly felt very small. ‘’Don’t look at me. I really have trained in my martial art for years. And also, I genuinely consider myself a true adventurer. But the truth is all the jobs I had taken were, hum I suppose you would call them small. Help in manual labor. Collected rare to find ingredients. One or two times, kicking the butts of some brigands. I never really cared what the job was. I just wanted to help however I can, hehe.’’

Vitali was not amused. Quite the opposite, it was like somepony kicked her in the gut. She could hardly breath and she stammered backward. ‘’... … Gods above. You’re not… . I’d say I wanted professionals. I’d said professionals. It was the most important part.’’

‘’Oh enough of this nonsense.’’ Shouted back Zipp with venom as she flew so close to Vitali that their snouts were touching. ‘’You must be an idiot if you expect to get exactly what you want just by writing some words on paper and not expect that the most desperate will not apply instead. Adventurers are just an invention for kids anyway. The few that exist die quickly before they have a chance to be professionals. In which world do you live?’’

The scholarly mare was in daze. She was close to losing it. ‘’That’s… that’s… that’s it.’’ She then became resolute. ‘’That’s it. I’ll cancel the whole thing. Forget the job, forget the dungeon. We’re all going back to the surface. I will not have your deaths on my conscience– Huh! What– what’s that over there?’’

Very far at the entrance door, the evil magic surged once again from the carved floor. The darkness touched the double door and slammed it shut with a deafening sound. A strange glyph made of green magic appeared on its stony surface and by the second, expanded to become more complex.

Vitali's eyes became wide as saucers. ‘’Wait! But that’s… a magic seal! No. Oh no no!’’

She galloped straight at the door with the energy of despair. ‘’No no no no no nooo. Why, why? It never did that before.’’

By the time she reached it, it was already too late. The seal had been completed. Frantically, Vitali hit the door again and again, each time, her hoof was repealed. ‘’Open up. Open up. Please, I beg you, open up.’’ But it was futile. She knew too well that nothing could now open that door.

Defeated, she fell on her knee. ‘’It’s… all my fault.’’

All this time they had only seen Vitali being in control. Nopony was sure of what to make of it. As they came closer, it was almost as if she… crying! But yes! She was indeed crying.

‘’I’m sorry.’’

She turned around and what they saw… was a tear soaked face wrecked by guilt. So much guilt.

‘’I’m so sorry. I’ve condemned you all. You’re all going to die.’’

Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

No word was spoken for a while. This was the effect Vitali had on her audience and it was already starting to become an annoying habit.

Zipp was the first to act. She slowly trotted towards the weeping mess. Vitali expected she would scream at her with murderous rage, even resort to outright violence.

Over the top as it might sound, it was a very likely result. One she didn’t intend to resist.

She knew she deserved it.

But to the surprise of the group, all Zipp did was put her hooves on Vitali's shoulders. Zipp's face was looking down, yet they all could tell she was exhausted. ‘’Look. I’m just too tired of your… everything right now. So, let’s keep it simple.’’

Zipp finally looked and Vitali flinched at the bloodshot eyes, and exhaustion etched into the mare’s face. ‘’No more indirect sentences, no more poetry, I won’t be able to take it. Just… just tell us straight what is going on. Please.’’

The scholarly mare looked like a shell of herself. She had no energy left. Dejectedly, she made a small nod. ‘’Yes. I owe you that much at least.’’

Sighing, she sat herself down, opting to get comfortable before laying everything out. ‘’I guess I should first confirm the obvious. I really am a scholar from the university. But the story about me wanting this dungeon for its historical value…that was a lie. Honestly, I was afraid if you knew the true reason, you’d refuse outright.’’

Silence hung in the room for a moment.

‘’Oh.’’ Zipp said in a monotone voice. ‘’Look at that. I was right.’’ She slapped Vitali face and quite violently at that, practically knocking the mare over. All bystanders flinched but Zipp was flippantly acting the same. ‘’Go on please.’’

Vitali, her cheek now red and swollen, had taken that punishment without blinking. She believed she deserved this. And more. ‘’There’s something hidden in the deepest part of that dungeon. Something evil.’’

Zipp, again, seemingly numb to everything, merely let off a light groan. ‘’No. For real. Oh I would never have gues—okay, I’m being a jerk now. Please just… *sigh* just continue.’’

‘’That evil is an abomination that must not be allowed to exist.’’ Vitali, started to speak with a bit of an edge ‘’I say that because it’s a threat that if it’s left unchecked, it would spell the doom of the three realms. Maybe even beyond.’’

‘’Stop spinning your tale and tell straight up what’s in there.’’ Zipp’s patience was clearly reaching its limits.

Vitali hardened with seriousness. And fright. ‘’It’s… a lich.’’

‘’… … *sigh* I. Said. No more poetry—

‘’No, I’m really telling the truth, I swear. A real lich reside in this forsaken place and it’s it that animated all those corpses with—

Zipp immediately slammed her hoof on the ground, cutting Vitali off mid-sentence, standing up and looking utterly done.

‘’Stop. Just stop. This is nonsense. Lichs. Do not. Exist. They’re nothing more than fairy tales invented to scare foals.’’

‘’This one exists. And right now, it wants us dead.’’ Vitali’s tone was dead serious.

Zipp however, was still in denial. ‘’No, no. This is—urk.’’ Zipp hoofslapped her face in exasperation. ‘’I can’t believe that. Guys. You won’t tell me you believe this nonsense?’’ She pleaded to the others, possibly more for her own sanity than theirs.

‘’I… can’t quite believe her too.’’ Said Hitch. ‘’They’re just boogeymen living only in kids' nightmares. Myself included. The one in The Boy who Misbehaved scared me so much I couldn’t sleep for many nights. But if liches truly existed, I’m sure it would be known by now—

‘’I believe her.’’ All heads turned towards Sunny who had just said those words.

‘’Sunny! Why… do you believe her?’’ Said Hitch.

‘’Well, I mean I’m not sure about this lich thing but there’s something very evil lurking in there. I can feel it in my bones.’’

Hitch immediately became serious. ‘’You mean… your gift!’’

Sunny nodded her head in affirmation. Zipp, not understanding, was starting to get irritated. ‘’Alright, did I miss a chapter? Can somepony can explain to me what you’re talking about?’’

‘’Oh, right, right. I never told you. I will try my best. Since I was young, I possessed a certain… ‘gift’. Nopony truly knows how it works but I can sense evil.’’

The answer only seemed to both confuse and annoy Zipp. ‘’Sense… evil? That doesn’t make sense! How do you define evil in the first place?’’

‘’Oh, how should I explain? When something that shouldn’t happen happens, it leaves a distinct trace in the air. For example, I once went into the house where a murder happened. And all the negative emotions of that moment were still there. Even though it’d happened months ago. The second I opened the door, all those horrible feelings flew into me and I could felt them as if they were my own.’’

‘’Wait… really?!’’ The rest of the group shared Zipp curiosity, all looking at Sunny with rapt attention.

‘’Yeah. There’s a lot of places like that. It’s like a perfidious wound that refuses to heal. Prisons. Insane asylums. … Battlefields. Each time, without fail, I feel the sensation wash over me…like… like… I can't find the word.”

Sunny shivered recalling her first exposure to that sensation. When she was but a child and had no knowledge of her ability. But despite how traumatic it had been, it was almost tame compared to the visering grip she was feeling right now on her heart.

‘’And let me tell you, I have felt that evil aura since the moment I set foot in this valley. I—I never thought it was possible. An entire land tainted! And it’s only gotten worse the closer we get to the epicenter. This dungeon.’’

At that moment, her confident mask fell and that monk became a spooked mare. ‘’It was… it’s still horrible. It’s death. It’s death in front of you, ready to swallow you whole. And you can’t even blink. There’s no escape, not even in your mind. You’re scared. But the more you’re scared—‘’

‘’The more you ironically let death come to you.’’ To the surprise of all, Pipp was the one who spoke.

She still looked like a mess and as she talked, it was like she was looking at the distance. ‘’Dying is the last thing you want. But the more you’re afraid to die, the more you want to die. Because in a twisted way, you think death is the place where you be safe from death.’’

Hitch lowered his head in a somber mood. ‘’All that you love… all the good memories you had in your life doesn’t help. No, they only serve as a contrast to make this swallowing end even more horrifying.’’

‘’You… you want so much to understand what it is.’’ Spoke at her turn a sadden Zipp. ‘’But you fear that at the end, your very last thought will be that you understand nothing. You… you will not even have the luxury to understand that you don’t understand.’’ She finished with a sobbing.

All around the mood of the group went from scared to downright defeated, with everypony looking like they wanted to crawl into a hole and just wait for the end.

Sunny's heart grew heavy. To know they were all plagued by the same awful feelings… … she realized that something wasn’t right. ‘’Wait, wait! You’re telling me you’re feeling it too! You don’t have the gift yet you can sense this sickening aura!’’

‘’Wellll, yeah, I suppose.’’ Said Zipp. ‘’I was feeling awful ever since the pagoda. I thought it was just me. I figured I… was just having one of those days back.’’

Sunny immediately seemed to shift into a panic, eyes darting around the room as she paced about.

‘’Oh! Oh no. It’s not good. This is not good at all.’’

Her panic only exasperated Zipp, now looking flat out exhausted at this point. ‘’Of course. Oh what now?’’

‘’You’re not supposed to feel that. The only explanation I can find is… that this evil is so potent that even normal ponies can even sense it.’’

‘’Oh.’’ Zipp made a nervous smile, all traces of sarcasm and annoyance vaporized. ‘’That’s… not reassuring, right?’’

‘’I thought it was impossible. Vitali.’’ Sunny turned her attention towards the scholarly mare. ‘’The source of this evil is…’’

‘’Yes. The lich itself. It’s the one that’s responsible for those awful feelings. This sickness into death. Fitting for a master of death I suppose. But this disease is not only mental but physical. You’d all seen it.’’

It was then that Hitch gasped. ‘’The Valley of Laments! All this time, it could feel the earth was nearly devoid of life. At the time I just assumed the land was unhealthy or dry but… you’re telling this valley is being drained of life! Literally!’’

‘’That’s exactly what I’m saying. And it continues as we speak. Very soon, not even a speck of vegetation would be left.’’

Hitch was flabbergasted. ‘’But… but that’s impossible! This valley is huge. My magic can just borrow the essence of life. And that… this supposed lich can simply kill acres of land! Just like that!’’

‘’Yes. Simply by existing, life disappears in its presence. This is how powerful that monster is and that’s the thing that wants to kill us all. Convinced now?’’

Now Hitch looked ready to go into full blown panic, sweating and shaking in place.

‘’But… but there has to be a way to escape. Maybe this seal can be broken. Or find another exit.’’

‘’The only exit is right there. There is no other one. As for this seal, well I won’t bother you with the details, but I can tell it’s powerful. Very powerful. Even the greatest mage wouldn’t be able to crack it. The only thing I can see…’’

‘’What? What is it?! Why the silence? I’ll do anything. What can get us out of this death trap?’’

Vitali knew the answer, but also knew none here were going to like it…still they didn’t have any other options.

‘’Destroy the lich. If the caster dies, all the spells he makes die with him too. That’s really the only thing that can make that seal vanish. I won’t sugarcoat it. We have no chance. It’s clear now that the lich is more powerful and smart than I calculated. Even if you were stronger than… anyway, it wouldn’t have even matter.’’

Her words hung over the group like a dark haze, again leaving them in silence.

Hitch was in disbelief. Or maybe it was more accurate to say he really, really didn’t want to believe it. ‘’But… but but but, there has to be something we can—

‘’No. Nothing. Sorry. But it’s the end.’’ Vitali said in a sob.

‘’But… no. No no, this—none of this can be real, right? It has to be a dream. I can’t… I mean… I… I don’t want to die. I can’t die. There’s still so much I must… and what about my Sparky! I had said to go on his own if I don’t come back. I know he will listen but… he’s still so young.’’ Hitch was looking at everypony, pleading for help with his eyes, any kind of help. But when they couldn’t even give a word of comfort, the dam broke and he cried. ‘’Who will take care of him?’’

Sunny went to her Hitch. She couldn't do anything better but to gently tap the back of her childhood friend in hope of giving him a small bit of comfort. ‘’Vitali, is there really nothing we can do? Maybe Izzy would know a spell that… where is Izzy?’’

It was then they realized that one of their companions was missing. For quite some time. ‘’What!’’ Vitali said surprised. ‘’Wait! Since when she disappear?’’

‘’I don’t know.’’ Hitch replied, his voice barely above a whisper. ‘’When was the last time we saw her?’’

Vitali pondered. ‘’For me it was… when she ran away screaming!’’

‘’And nopony noticed her absence?!’’ Sunny shouted visibly upset.

‘’Too much happens in such a short time.’’ Hitch tried to justify. ‘’We can’t keep track of everything.’’ But the earth pony lowered his head in shame. ‘’But… that’s just an excuse in the end.’’

‘’Who cares about her.’’ Shouted Zipp. Nopony could believe their ears. ‘’My sister nearly died because of that klutz. We’re better off without—

She was interrupted when her own sister slapped her on the face. Pipp, now fully awake from her torpor, was crying angry tears at her sister. Zipp, whose cheek was red and swollen, was first in utter shock but then, realized the horrible things she’d said.

Remorseful, she could only lower her head in penitence. ‘’I’m sorry. That was completely uncalled for.’’

‘’Look.’’ Sunny interjected. ‘’We lose enough time. She couldn’t be far. Let’s separate and search for her. I never be able to forgive myself if something happens to her.’’

The group quickly spread out across the hall to find Izzy. Luckily for them, the search didn’t take long.

Sunny was able to spot the silhouette of a pony hiding behind one of the pillars. ‘’Everypony, I found her.’’

Quickly, she went towards the unicorn to properly see how Izzy was fairing. But what she saw… broke Sunny's heart.

Izzy was sitting on her rump, her back resting on the marble of the column. Her body was shaking uncontrollably. She was holding her pointy hat on her chest, desperately searching for any modicum of comfort. Her face was a crying mess. She was sobbing and clapping her teeth nonstop.

The worst part was her eyes. The only thing in them was fear. All consuming fear. Sunny wasn’t even sure Izzy could see her. It was then she noticed something else.

A smelly puddle had formed where the unicorn was sitting.

Not able to take it anymore, Sunny approached and gently, very gently, put her hoof on Izzy's good cheek. She gasped and didn’t seem to recognize her.

‘’It’s okay Izzy. It’s okay.’’ Sunny gently whispered. ‘’I’m here. Your friend is here.’’

‘’Fri… friend?’’ Her words were hesitant as if she could barely believed them.

‘’That’s right. I’m your friend Izzy.’’ All the rest rejoined those two. Their reactions were the same as Sunny. But she made sure to keep her smile. ‘’We’re all your friends and we're here for you. It’s going to be alright.’’

Sadly those words of comfort only seemed to make Izzy relapse further into hopelessness.

‘’No. No it’s not. It’s never going to be alright. It never was.’’ Izzy stroked the gash on her face. ‘’Not since that day. Death as always in front me, waiting to swallow me whole. I knew I couldn’t escape. And I knew I would never be ready when it’ll happen.’’

‘’Izzy. It will… … you won’t be alone. Whatever may come, whatever we will have to face, you won’t face alone.’’

Those words made an effect on Izzy. She looked up at Sunny. A little glimmer appeared on the unicorn eyes. ‘’Rea—really?’’

‘’I swear Izzy, on all that is good, I will be by your side. Until the bitter end. You’re important to me, you know that?’’

‘You’re… not lying!’’ Izzy looked to regain more of her spark, though still hesitant to trust Sunny’s words.

‘’I will never lie about something this important. And once again, it’s not just me. It’s everypony. Is it not right?’’

Both Hitch and Pipp nodded in affirmation. Vitali instead lowered her head in shame while Zipp was still sulking not far away. Yet, Sunny continued to smile insite of it.

‘’See. We’re all here for you.’’ She took the pointy hat and put it back on Izzy's head. ‘’Now let's get up. If we work together, I think we may find what to do next.’’

Sunny helped Izzy to get back on her feet with Izzy firmly holding the earth pony’s hoof. Her gaze was fixing on Sunny, the unicorn eyes now shining with both awe and gratitude as her purple cheek took a pink hue.

Pipp noticed her sister was not present. She looked back at the last place she saw her, the exit door. ‘’Oh no.’’ Everypony looks back. They saw Zipp launching her own body against the seal, again and again, to no effect.

‘’Let me out. Let me out. LET ME OUT LET ME OUT OF HEREEE.’’

While some looked stunned at the mare’s sudden shift, Pipp was more sorry than surprised. She knew her sister well.

The truth was that Zipp's tough exterior was just a front. A façade to give courage to her sister… no, that was just an excuse. It was to give courage to herself because in reality, she was afraid. She was so afraid from the very start. And now she’d reached her breaking point.

‘’Sis, stop!’’ Pipp said as she flew by her side. ‘’You’re gonna hurt yourself.’’

But Zipp didn’t hear her. Instead, she turned towards Izzy, grabbed the unicorn shoulders and shook her. ‘’You. You do magic right? Break that seal.’’

‘’Wha!!’’ Izzy stumbled to speak, still processing everything. ‘’Bububut I can’t do that.’’

‘’Why have you to be so useless!’’ She then turned towards Vitali and did the very same thing she did to Izzy. ‘’You. You put us here, you must know how to get out.’’

‘’No, I’m sorry but I as I’d say—

Zipp immediately grabbed the mare by the collar and pulled her until they were snout to snout.

‘’I’ve already nearly died more than enough time. Too many times. For years I’ve lived with that fear. I didn’t escape the worst the world can give only to die by… by a terror of our childhood. That would be a sick joke.’’

‘’But there’s really nothing that can be done.’’ But Zipp was too hysterical to listen to reason.

‘’You keep the treasure, the reward, whatever. I no longer want it anymore. I don’t want money. I… want to live. I just want to live. I… just…’’

The pegasi was depleted of energy. On a fool's hope, she frantically looked at everypony, silently begging for help, any kind of help how little it might be.

But their sorrowful expression was all the answer she received. Zipp was at her limit. She felt her body becoming heavier as her eyes turned backward and the floor, for some reason, was growing closer—

Zipp opened her eyes. ‘’Huh! Wha?’’ To her surprise, she was laying down, her head resting on Pipp hooves. ‘’Sis! What… happened?’’

‘’You’ve fainted.’’ She simply answered.

‘’Really! Hum… how… long was I out?’’ Zipp asked her sister.

‘’Not long. You really scared us, you know? You just just dropped to the floor like that. Thankfully, Izzy managed to catch you with levitation before you hit your head.’’

Zipp winced at the mention of the wizard she’d been not so subtly yelling at not too long ago. ‘’Did she! Oh. Ohhhhh I feel terrible now.’’

‘’Yeah. I think you should. You had said awful things to her.’’

‘’I know. I’m not proud.’’ Zipp groaned as she went back on her four legs, albeit, all wobbly. The white pegasi looked so drained. Sunny went to her side. ‘’I’m glad you’re back to us.’’

‘’Sorry. Very sorry. I… really made a fool out of myself didn’t I?’’

‘’No no, please, take my experience, you should never feel ashamed to be afraid. Oh! Right, before I forget.’’ She took the medaillon she grabbed earlier and presented it to Zipp.

The ensign engraved on its metal was a wing surrounded by zephyr winds. ‘’You accidently tossed this away when you were searching for potions. I recognized its symbols as the crest of a Pegasi House so I figured it was important. You didn’t tell me you are a noble—

‘’GIVE ME THAT!’’ Zipp shouted as she snatched away the medallion from the surprised Sunny who didn’t expect her innocent question would cause such a turmoil.

Zipp quickly hid the medallion in her belongings, her back facing everypony as if she hadn’t the strength to face them. ‘’I’m an ex-noble, alright. It was a past life. It doesn’t matter anymore.’’

They weren’t sure but they thought they heard a sniff coming from her. Pipp, still sitting in her corner, waved her head in negation. ‘’Look sis. Maybe it’s time that we told them what we really are.’’

‘’NO! DON’T YOU DARE.’’ Zipp shouted, her wings flared up.

‘’Sis, what’s the point anymore? And I’m sure everypony already guessed anyway–

‘’I’D SAID DON’T DO IT. I FORBIDDEN–

‘’WE FOUGHT IN THE WAR. AND WE KILLED COUNTLESS EARTH PONIES AND UNICORNS. THERE, I SAID IT.’’ Pipp screamed at everypony before slumping down, her last energy gone for that outburst.

As for Zipp, she was in shock. But then her eyes watered and tears flowed freely. She collapsed and cried uncontrollably. ‘’I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’’

Hitch, feeling sorry for her, went to her side to console her, to which the pegasi could not understand. ‘’Why don’t you hate me? After all I did.’’

‘’Because… well, because I’m the same. I too fought in the war against the Pegasi Dominion. And I too killed many of your kind. Too many… to count. I’m in no position to judge you. Quite the contrary. But I guess you kinda already knew who I was.’’

Zipp brushed the tears out of her face. Most of it anyway. ‘’Yeah, it wasn’t hard. I knew from the start–I mean when you told us you were a knight of the Order. It’s pretty well know the Order is the best element of Earth Pony army.’’

‘’Oh. I guess it is common knowledge across the three realm.’’

‘’Did you guess too that I was once a soldier too?’’

‘’I had a pretty suspicion for a while. But I thought it would be best to not pry on it. I hide it too after all. Finding you came from a noble House had simply confirmed my suspicion.’’

‘’Why is it important?’’ Asked Izzy, seemingly more ignorant of things compared to the others.

‘’That’s how the Dominion works.’’ To the surprise of Izzy, Vitali was the one that answered the question. ‘’The Pegasi Dominion is ruled by a council of High Houses. Now you may expect nobles to just sit back while their soldiers do all the work but not the nobles of the Dominion. It is mandatory for them to fight in the front despite the high risk of death. A very engrained tradition and a matter of pride.’’

‘’Yeah. Pride.’’ Zipp spat at that last word. ‘’Damn disgusting pride. More important than anything. Even family. And I even believed it. What a fool. Oh! On another hoof, I… kinda guess that you're all soldiers.’’

‘’Huh!’’ Sunny was surprised. ‘’I thought I was doing a good job hiding it! What gave it away?’’

‘’I’m not sure I could explain it well. I guess that as a soldi—as an ancient soldier I can recognize another soldier. Even an old one. They have this sort of ‘I don’t know what’ that’s difficult to describe. I eventually saw it in all of you. With the exception of Izzy. I was never quite sure what to make of her.’’

The white pegasi looked at the unicorn with a very apologetic look. ‘’Izzy. I am so, so sorry. The way I treated you was just unforgivable.’’

The blue unicorn didn’t answer at first and instead, levitated her pointy hat and holded tight on her chest. Seemed to be her gesture of comfort. ‘’No. No you were right about me. I’m useless and dangerous and I'm a cowardly-cowardly coward. I tried to convince you that my powers were a big deal but they never did any good. For me, the least. It’s because of them that they made me a soldier. Even if it was for a short time.’’

Sunny felt sad for the poor unicorn. ‘’You know. If it’s not too much to ask, would you mind telling us? Only if you want. We will understand. It’s hard for us to tell our—

‘’No no please, I need to talk or if not I will go crazy. More than I already I’m.’’

So she sat down and told to everypony her story.

For as long as I remember, I wanted to be an artist. My dream was to make pretty things that would amaze and bring sparkles in the eyes of the ponies who’d see them. So then… maybe I would at last stop being an outcast.

But I never could've seen coming, how much my dreams would have turned my life… so wrong.

Author's Notes:

Oh boy. Quite a downer that chapter was. I always have this fear that I don't write my stories realisticaly enough. (Despite knowing it's a sword and sorcery tale. With talking ponies.) That why I like to focuse on the inner working of my characters and put it in fontfront. Lat's be real, if you were in their places, you will act the same way. Plus, you see how high the stake are and underprepared our party is. (On again, the campaing this story was inspired was designed to be unfair and brutal on its players.)

Now I think you may have realised but this not just a simple DnD story and that our heroes are not just simple adventurers but in fact war veterants scared by their times in the frontlines. The next chapter will be mostly on revealing Izzi backstory and what she did in the war. And our party will progress trough the dungeon, everypony will, in due time, have their own backstory chapters. (I really love writting backstory.)