Deep Down The Dungeon's Depths...

“It’s this way, sir!” A voice shouted in the bleak darkness of the halls, muffled by the mad sprint of five soldiers, their metal horseshoes making a war of the noise over who could be the loudest.

“You’re sure!? Why were you two down this way!?” Another voice responded, aggravated.

“We got lost, sir, I’m sorry! But she’s in danger!”

“In danger from what?”

“I don’t know, but I was— it’s a long story! We found this set of iron doors down a hall and- oh, bollocks, where is it!?” Iron shouted out, trying to overtake the thunder of the soldiers’ hooves.

“You two had better have a good explanation for all this... she disobeyed your direct order, Sergeant?”

“Y-Yes, Lieutenant...” Iron kept his gaze forward, inwardly biting his lip at the thrashing he’d receive.

It hadn’t been long before the stallion realized his attempts at knocking down the door would be insufficient, so he turned to the ponies that could help him get Tempest out of that dreaded room. He didn’t want to leave her behind, especially when that roar shook the hall, but he had to get help. Thankfully, he came across one of the dungeon patrols a few minutes after he’d left, and after some more frantic seconds ticked into minutes, managed to gather up a unicorn unit under Lieutenant Sky Lancer, one of the commanders of the Magic Corps. If anypony could help Iron break down a door, it would definitely be those ponies.

Sadly, the group had been charging around for near twenty minutes, simply hunting for the randomly correct path that would take them where they needed to go. After this, I’m sending an official complaint to Warden Fellgate about setting up some stupid *signs** in this place! I hope Tempest is alright...!*

“You sure you know where this is, Anvil?” Lancer looked over at his subordinate, the other three Corporals following close behind.

“Y-Yes, of course!” Iron quickly nodded, I haven’t the slightest idea...

“Well... wait, you feel that?”

“Heat...? It’s getting hotter, mu— this is the way!” Iron put as much power as he could into his sprint, racing off ahead of the rest of the group.

“Oy, lone wolf! Wait up!” Lancer grimaced as his other soldiers passed him, Agh, what a *magnificent** day to be an old stallion!* He shouted in his mind before trying to keep up with the rest of the group.

Iron skidded to a halt, blinking at the sight before him. Wh-What the...?

The other soldiers stopped just behind him, Lancer panting by the time he caught up, “Alright... what’s with... the random... sprinting... all of a sudden!?” He brushed the locks of his deep-blue mane out of his eyes, staring at a rather large, inconspicuous wall next to a tunnel - probably leading off towards the West Sector -, and his Sergeant clawing over it as if it hid a secret treasure. “What the heck are you doing, Iron? It’s a wall!”

“I-It— but— what!?” Iron stuttered, bashing his hoof against the wall. The heat’s the same, the walls are the same! Where’s the fork in the road!?

“Must’ve gone the wrong way, sir...” one of the soldiers groaned, turning back to the path they so frantically ran down.

“No! The path is supposed to be here! Tempest!!” Iron continued beating on the wall, frantic to get through. “Tempest!”

“You’re absolutely sure this was the way you took? Because I’ve never heard of walls moving on their own.” Lancer panted out, his gravelly voice like gargling rocks. Walls moving on their own... nonsense. Illusions aren’t tangible, and I’d know if any moving walls were put in. We must’ve taken a wrong turn...

“I’m— w-well... I...” Iron stared at the black wall in front of him, not feeling so sure of himself anymore. The scream of his partner rang through his brain, scrambling his thoughts. I-I know it’s... it is this way, isn’t it? Darn it...

“We’ll gather up some more troops and send them around the dungeon. Gimme a good description of what we’re looking for.”

“A hot place... sort of like West block, but the temperature skyrockets far above it. Feels like a sauna, and the walls are blue cobblestone. Maybe... somewhere near the center of the mountain?” Iron planted his forehead against the wall, face contorted with effort. I never should have taken my eyes off her... I knew as much from all the times I patrolled with her. Her tendency to run off and make trouble... Iron’s mouth curved into a nasty grimace as he hit the wall again and again with his hoof, sick with himself for screwing up. Why’d I do that...? Why’d I trust her not to go off on her own!? Why couldn’t I knock that cursed door down?!

“Alright. Block with a lot of heat near the center of the mountain. Phalanx, head topside and get us three squads.” Lancer gestured behind him, not taking his eyes off the wall.

“Yes sir!” The stallion responded, racing off down the hall. At least the soldiers all knew the signs of reaching the surface: just follow the wind. Ventilation shafts lead back to the prison door in the main hall, so a soldier could always follow the scent and feel of fresh air, and have it lead them home. Due to this, it was usually a good idea to have at least one pegasus per patrol group, as their wings were sensitive to changing air patterns.

Unless their name was Tempest... even with her biological advantage, she still managed to get lost sometimes.

“Breaker, Shield, you two head off through the prison and round up the patrol groups. There’re already soldiers down here, so we may as well put them to work.”

“Yes sir!” The two soldiers sounded out in unison, offering a half-salute before running off down the hall, Breaker already shouting out to find the other groups. The Warden wouldn’t enjoy having his dungeon operations interfered with, but he wouldn’t argue with a fellow Lieutenant. Before long, the only sound occupying the hall was the occasional smash of metal against rock as Iron beat on the wall, descending into his own misery.

“C’mon, son. We’ve got work to do.”

“S-She’s back there...”

“We might’ve taken a wrong turn. The walls of the dungeon don’t work like this, natural or otherwise.” Lancer moved up and placed a hoof on the stallion’s shoulder, staring at the wall. “It’s not an illusion, and from the sound of you hitting it for so long, it’s too thick a wall for a unicorn to move.”

“W-What about a team of them?”

“We’d know it happened, in that case. And nopony ever mentioned a secret door down here. Though I’d like to entertain the theory, it’s not like the two of us could move a wall this thick anyway.” Lancer let a smirk break through his serious expression before turning, pulling Iron away from the wall with his magic. “Now c’mon, soldier! We’ve got a prison to search!”

And so, the two soldiers proceeded on down the hall, but Iron refused to take his eyes off the wall. The scream kept playing itself over in his head, the one that forced him to go seek help. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was just hearing things...

Or if the scream was happening all over again.

Within the bleak tower, two bodies sat immobile: one leaned up against the wall, with the other occupying the center. Neither moved an inch, though whether it meant they were unconscious, or worse, would have been impossible to tell from an untrained eye.

Ngh... my stomach. Celestia, that thing... hits *really** hard!* The thought passed weakly through the mare’s head, as her body remained still against the wall. She’d been lying there for the last... however much time she’d been in there, cradling her bruised belly and stomach like an assaulted child. Her eyes were fixed on the shadow in the center of the room, the lights above flickering as whatever was powering them threatened to kill the illumination, toying with the two beings in the tower with their life-giving light.

Tempest never even thought she’d wake up after that beating... that her dream would last an eternity as the monster pulled her apart, maybe for food, or just through a sick desire to kill. But when her eyes opened to reveal the docile creature had laid her against the wall, it was... confusing, to say the least. The pain of her stomach crying out for attention had splintered all manner of thought towards how she was still alive; she was just thankful breath filled her lungs.

She held down a sudden cough and gag, her stomach churning something awful as a spike of pain scorched through her chest. Gh... d-did it break something...? Her eyes looked up from her hindlegs to the giant shadow in the center of the room, not willing to move a muscle, should she agitate it again. Constricting a few muscles in her chest and belly, she found that nothing cracked or moved in a way it wasn’t supposed to, much to her satisfaction. Ok, nothing’s broken... it just decided to use me as a punching bag for a while. Wings are still there, stomach should be ok in a while... She began to look about the room as her mind wandered through a few plans of attack, trying to find her weapon. Staring into one of the flickering pillars of life, she found the results of what could only be assumed the beast blowing off some steam after her beating.

In a pile lay her splintered armor, smashed to dust, and the broken remains of her lance. Her heart sank at the thought of not having a weapon. Then again, my lance wasn’t worth a whole lot in the first place. Alright, I need a plan, I need a plan. What can I do, unarmed, against a tentacle monster? Especially one covered in implanted wingblades? I could aim for its center of mass, but without the light, I’m not sure where its brain or heart are. At least right now, it must think I’m dead or something... gives me a chance to think. She looked back at the massive shadow, trying to put her training to use.

Alright. First, my environment. It’s a massive, smooth tower that looks like somepony teleported a lot of material out of... the walls are really smooth, and not a nook or cranny in sight. There goes hiding as a plan. It’s pretty tall, but the monster can easily reach anywhere in here. This thing definitely isn’t the most aggressive of monsters, though, since it left me alone after I passed out... I guess. Did it do anything else to me? She repressed a raise of an eyebrow as her eyes moved over her body. Despite the welts appearing through her coat where she’d been struck, nothing seemed to be torn or cut open. It had used plenty of force, narrowly avoiding injuring her. I can still move and fight at least. But maybe I should just wait for help? If I leave it alone, it should leave me alone. But how long can I just sit here? Spine’s starting to get sore...

The two beings remained as still as possible, as if testing the silence itself to break. A breath passed through the top of the beast, casting up a steam cloud, catching Tempest’s attention. The milky cloud remained in the air for quite a while, the heat of the tower helping it stay visible. Right, this stupid heat... I’m gonna cook in here if I don’t leave! At least the walls and floor stay cool, b-but it’s like this place was built... wait, I already said that, didn’t I? Anyway, plan plan, need a plan. The monster does breathe, so it should have lungs... however many lungs are needed to run something *that** big. If I can get the pieces of my armor into it... hehehe. No matter how big somepony is, if you cut up their lungs or heart, they drop just like any other living thing.* A tiny smirk crossed Tempest’s expression, the locks of her mane covering up most of her face.

All I need is a moment to strike, and a way to get my hooves on those chunks of my armor. Maybe the lance head as well, in case Plan A doesn’t work. She looked back over at the light, squinting her eyes slightly in thought. The inky black surrounding the light made it very difficult to see, only the glint of the golden brass noting where the pieces of her armor were. Darkness is an advantage... but I’m no Lunar Guard assassin. Can I move quietly enough to reach it? And where the heck is this thing’s mouth, anyway?

Another column of steam rose from the beast in a quaking exhale, like the ground itself was alive. What if those tentacles are coming *out** of its mouth? I’d be kinda... well, done for if it has such an easy protection.* A trail of sweat drew its way down to her muzzle, eliciting a small sneeze as it tickled her. The shadow shook in response, a few tendrils rising into the air and looking around the room. Tempest immediately trapped her breath and stayed perfectly still, gently leaning further back into the wall as the things moved around the massive beast, curious as to what made such an adorable noise. The tower filled with the quiet symphony of slick slithering, the only thing breaking into Tempest’s mind, beyond her panic and thunderous heartbeat.

Eventually, however, it simply curled back in on itself and did... whatever it did while it wasn’t moving. Another blast of steam curled up from the center of the shadow, surprisingly well-lit, despite the lack of light on it. Tempest’s heart thundered right along, even after the monster had stopped moving, nearly giving out under the brain’s command to get as much fuel to the muscles as possible. It took nearly two minutes for her heart to finally calm down enough for her brain to process a thought.

That... scared... the heck out of me... Her wide eyes were transfixed on the shadow as sweat dripped from her muzzle and neck, cascading quick trails with their brethren down her body. Her coat felt heavy with moisture, not even the faintest breeze giving her any respite from the heat. Heat that seemed to be getting worse every time that rumbling exhale escaped into the tower. I-Is that thing heating this room up? Just how hot is its breath? An image of her flying just over the monster, and getting blasted in the face by scalding steam crossed her mind, followed by the spine-shattering scream of a mare being devoured... her scream. And that’s even worse... b-but at least this tells me something, right? It... it responds to sound. So, if I don’t make a *single Princess-forsaken sound*, I’ll be ok. J-Just the problem o-of avoiding i-it’s really h-hot, r-really big breath... that’s all. Nothing to it. She inwardly chuckled at the thought, cracking a smile in some prayer that this plan wasn’t suicidal in the slightest.

Nothing to it at all. A-Alright... just... l-lean forward. On the thought, her body slowly followed the command, stomach and belly thankfully not complaining over the abuse. Her eyes stayed fixed on the monster every time she moved; her left hoof stretched out in front of her, followed by her right. Her hind legs stretched just enough to bring her rump off the ground, every painstaking second stretching for an eternity. One hoof in front of the other... c’mon, Tempest... She bit her lip as her hooves started moving on their own, one hoof in front of the other, the softest of steps being taken. Every few moments, a quick snap was made to look at the light, just to confirm direction before looking back at the shadow taking up the center of the tower. The glittering pieces of armor drew closer with every step, her plan being calculated and re-calculated in her head. Ok, just keep going like this. How should I hit it? I have to get above the monster somehow, then drop the chunks of armor into its mouth. With luck, it’ll be on an inhale, the sharp metal will be sucked into its lungs... then it’s bye bye monster. Does it make a sound when it inhales, though?

An ear turned to the creature as the silent steps continued, sonar for the machine. Another explosive exhale quaked the room, but no draw of air returned. It... doesn’t breathe? M-Maybe I missed something. Yeah, I j-just missed something! The machine stopped its march towards the light, just at the edge of the lit ring. She gave the monster twenty seconds, thirty. Forty. Eventually, it exhaled... but no draw of air came in. Not even the tiniest of jet streams through one of its many limbs. It doesn’t breathe. Ohhhh no... Tempest bit her lip, eyes turning back to the limbs at the center of the tower. It doesn’t breathe. No breath means no lungs. No lungs means no wounds for me to make with the armor chunks. No harm means the chunks are *useless!** How am I supposed to kill this thing!?* Her breath picked up as she started a quiet march towards the wall, eyes fixed on the monster. If I don’t make a sound, it won’t notice me. But if I don’t get out of here, I’ll suffocate, or cook, or get found or worse! Anvil can’t get in, and it’s been... how long *has** it been since he was pounding on the darn door!? Lost my sense of time, my plan, help... is this it? Just... going out quietly?*

Her rump barely tapped the wall before falling to the floor, landing with a muffled ‘thump’. The beast didn’t even twitch, supposedly enjoying its rest. Another exhale covered the sound of a sob, tears falling from the distraught mare’s eyes. That’s it... I-I can’t kill something this big. Not on my own... A quiet sniffle shook her, What can I do? I-If it finds me, I’m dead meat... it’ll tear me apart. C-Can I even risk waiting? How long until help comes? Hours? Days? Did Anvil stop trying, or did the brass shut him up? W-Why would they even send troops down here? ‘Oh, a soldier got lost in the prison. No problem, she’ll find a way out!’ She lowered herself onto the burning floor, letting it warm her belly, hoping for it to melt her frozen, hopeless heart. I just want to sleep... please, just let all this be a horrible nightmare... A dry gulp tried to make its way down her throat, but the road was harsh for it. Her eyes began to drift closed, the darkness daring to steal her away from this nightmare, a promise to bring her to a better dream. One she hoped she could trust, one she wanted to believe in.

Eventually, the heat acted as a blanket, casting her away into the land of slumber, thankfully undisturbed.

“Alright, explain it to me again.”

“Sir. Sturm Tempest, the Corporal in my patrol group for the North Bend of the prison, has gotten lost. She is in a room that has been sealed off by a wall.”

Anvil’s eye twitched out of pure irritation, having to explain his case for the third time. Still, his bothered Captain’s expression refused to change from disbelief, only serving to well up the annoyance even more. His case was logical and well explained, but the first request to repeat his case was understandable. He did rush into the illustrious Captain’s office, nearly kicking down the oak door in his rush to save his ally. In his panic, he did slur his words, so it made sense to repeat it once.

The second time was perfectly clear, so why request another?

“And you are aware that spells like that aren’t in use outside of the Magic Corps, right?” Captain Shining Armor leaned on his desk, the collar of his purple armor barely peeking over the top. His mane stood frazzled with the stress of a hard week of work, and stacking on mysteriously moving walls in the prison didn’t help him relax much. That kind of spell is used for secret vaults in the Restricted section anyway. Enchanted bookcases and everything... why would somepony set that kind of thing up in the prison? And how’d it happen without me knowing?

“Yes, sir.” I am totally aware of this absolutely obvious fact, you *complete simpleton.*** Anvil took a deep breath after his thought, letting it out slowly. “It still happened, sir. I saw it with my own eyes, I recognized the temperature difference. The entire prison is designed with these subtle changes marking the different areas, and this one was unique!”

“Sergeant, realize that I’m just trying to reason away the fact that this place even exists. The Magic Corps operating like this is unheard of.”

“I realize that, sir. If you’d prefer, I can go and get two troops from the Magic Corps and take them down to where I saw the door, have them try and see through it.” Iron was feeling a little more than agitated at the constant stalls; every second that passed, Tempest was in more and more danger.

“If this room exists, then I should be down there to see it as well.” With a grunt, Armor moved out from behind his desk and around it, walking by the waiting soldier. “Get two Corporals from the Magic Corps and meet me in the dungeon.”

Finally! “Yes, sir.” With a salute and a nod, Iron followed his leader out of the office as they headed down the tower, the Sergeant all-too-eager to get things started. Every second that ticked by added more worry to his stressed mind, more thoughts to his train wreck of an imagination, and more fear to his heart. Don’t worry, Sturm... we’re coming to help!

Ngh... throat’s really dry. Body’s on fire. N-Not good...

The first few signs of awakening were not pleasant ones for the mare caught in the tower. Her body felt sore and dry, sweat evaporated at some point during her slumber, leaving her without the soothing feeling of cool drips down her brow. A quaking exhale filled her ears, another column of steam launched upwards from the beast.

Can’t move... muscles won’t work. D-Definitely feel the pain from my soreness, though. Not dead... A grimace crossed her face as the mare slowly opened her eyes, scanning the darkness around her. The floodlights above had since gone out, leaving her vision in absolute darkness. Still, she could make out the odd silhouette, shadows shifting in the black, but no familiar voices graced her despite some looking like ponies. What did greet her as she shifted and tried to stand was a tapping feeling.

From something wet, poking at her side. Wh-What the? Her eyes widened a little as she looked back, instinctively pulling herself away. A shadow - thin and rope-like - was near the silhouette of her body. Or at least, what looked like her body, head swimming in her exhaustion. Is it still trying to find me? Her forehooves ground against the stone floor as she tried to get away from the shadow, but it just kept prodding at her, tracing its tip along her coat. She could feel a cooling liquid being left behind on her coat, the temperature shock running up her spine as it calmed more of her burning flesh. "Stop touching me," The whisper fell out of her parched throat, no strength left to give, and she finally just fell onto her side. "Stop...'

The tendril didn't relent in its probing, laying itself against her like a snake approaching its prey. Though instead of coiling around her and chucking her into the waiting maw of the monster, it simply rolled and wiped along her side. Her soreness crept from her body at the soothing touch of the liquid, almost seeping through her very form and calming her pain. Her eyes opened wider as she felt her hip, once numb, reignite with a twitch. She gave it a stretch, almost moaning from how good it felt; it was practically brand new! What the heck's going on?

The tendril continued its trek over her body, leaving behind its miracle liquid and rejuvenating her muscles. Eventually, only half her body still felt like a wreck, and after rolling over and feeling the tendril quest over her form, the other side lost its strain and burning pain. Standing back up, the tendril slithered back into the shadows, and the beast became dormant again. Sturm scanned her body, seeing the faint green liquid almost glowing against her, and she felt cool, as if the air was moving against her and taking away the heat. "That, was, weird." She checked herself again for any kind of boils or rotting flesh, anything that might point to the liquid being something more than just some miracle drug.

No fire in her lungs, no abnormal heart beats. In every sense, she was healthy and ready to fight. "Wow," she whispered, looking over her forelegs. She did a few test hops, feeling her muscles respond with all the energy of her body after a warm-up run. Even a bit of her dehydration had waned. That is so cool. I'd be cheering if I wasn't still trapped in here with that thing. Still, it's a chance to fight back.

Despite her recharged body, she still had a monstrous opponent to fight against, and no real plan as to how to take it down. Her mind went back to the fragments of her spear. Even if it doesn't breathe, it should still suffer some kind of damage... I just have to get those fragments. Her eyes scanned around for any glittering pieces of metal. ...If I could actually see them! Ugh! She quietly sat back down again, squinting her eyes in the sweltering heat. And even if I did get those fragments, would they do anything? A monster like this would probably cough them up again. No telling how hot that steam is, either.

She did want to win, but the death of the creature seemed impossible. She shook her head as the plan fell to the wayside, clearing her mind for other thoughts. No, I can't kill it. But maybe. Her eyes went to one of the walls of the room, seeing the faint silhouette of the gigantic doors. Maybe I can trick it into letting me out?

Throughout the fight, the monster seemed to respond to sound and touch, but not much beyond that. Flailing its limbs around in search of a living body to beat on and kill. A grin crossed her face as a new plan came to mind. If it wants to kill me so bad, it won't hold back, and I doubt that door could take a beating from something this big. Locking her eyes back on the monster, she got to her hooves and started creeping along the smooth wall, wings flicking a bit. She felt the ichor on her heat up from the surrounding air, spurring her on into a light trot towards the doors blocking her from her freedom. This is insane. This is completely insane. This is absolutely, definitely, completely *crazy.*** Despite the thoughts rolling through her head, all the disaster scenarios ending in her being beaten down, all the thunderous conflict in there as she reached the doors and turned to the monster...

She couldn't stop herself from shouting, a grin on her face. "Hey! Ugly! Come and get me!!"

That shout was all the monster needed to burst into life, tendrils flailing out from it in force. Tempest's instincts kicked into gear as her wings flared and flapped hard, launching her into the air. "Woah!" Tempest nearly lost her breath from how strong her wings had become, tendrils flying up towards the sound of her voice. She backed up, allowing a tight column of thin tendrils to speed past her, two large shadows flying at her from behind them. With just a turn and a flap, she threw herself out of the way of the barrelling titans, and they collided with the door with a satisfying, metallic 'thoom!'

That had to leave a dent! It's working! She barely suppressed her giddy laughter as she rolled and started flying again, quickly ascending towards the top of the tower. The floodlights boomed on, basking the room in powerful light. The stone turned a bright grey as the floodlights lowered a bit, bearing their glowing, golden mana spheres to the heat of the room, exposing the mass of flesh to the light of the sun. The beast let out another quaking exhale as tendrils from all over it uncoiled and lashed out at its opponent, though they lagged behind the extremely speedy Tempest. "Woo! Can't catch me now, can ya?!" She could practically run on the walls, her speed was so high. Her hooves hit the wall and she started galloping like the wind, rocketing down the wall and along it as muscley tendril after speedy spear crashed into the wall behind her.

This is awesome! She laughed as she weaved around the tendrils trying to bar her path, hitting the ground running as she raced for the doors. A single glance behind her revealed another massive tendril winding up to take a swing at her. "C'mon, you can catch me~!" She teased, blowing a raspberry back at the monster. Some kind of vein twitched in it as the tendril suddenly lashed out, swung far harder than it probably meant to.

What was supposed to be a short hop over the tendril catapulted Tempest up into the air, watching the air coil around the flying limb before it slammed into the door. Her hearing went blank with the explosion of sound, the metal buckling under the impact. Ow. But cool! Still, she could see the four obvious dents in the thick metal, and grinned widely to herself. Wish Iron could see all this!

She felt a dull 'thump' against the back of her head, the whizzing of air unheard as a thin tendril crashed into her, sending her soaring down through the air. Just before hitting the ground, a powerful flap of her wings slowed her down enough to turn a possible blood impact into a bellyflop. "Oof!" She coughed as the wind flew out of her lungs, quickly getting to her hooves and looking around. Her ears still rang with an impossibly loud tone, eyes swivelling as her wings tossed her back into the air. Ah crud. Being deaf in a place like this is bad, really bad! Still, sticking with the plan, she raced off along the walls, just trying to keep away from the tendrils until the ringing stopped.

Minutes rolled by as she raced around and around, adrenaline pounding through her like Wonderbolts on the race track, breath racing in and out of her like crazy as she tried to keep out of the closing reach of the tentacles. Run! Run! RUN! Eventually, rushing wind replaced ringing, and her smile returned as her hearing came alive. She sped off to the left and down the wall, two shimmering tendrils crashing against the wall, a loud screech filling the tower as steel ground against stone. More tendrils flew towards the mare as she weaved left and right, her wings helping her stay against the wall as more thick trunks of muscle collided with the wall, missing her by inches. A few more against the door should do it!

Skidding to a halt against the wall and another screaming whip through the wind missing her head, Tempest darted towards the door, spending only seconds before she met one side and leapt. A minor curse towards gravity launched through her head as the dastardly force did its work, dragging her down towards the floor. Oh crud. She flailed her legs and flapped her wings, hoping the world would work in her favor just a little bit longer to complete her leap, before she caught that maniacal whizzing sound in her ear... coming closer.

She rolled to try and get out of the way, but all she got was a belly-full of hard flesh hitting her like a train. The impact against the ground meeting her seconds later blew the rest of the wind out of her lungs, and she was left stunned against the stone, just fighting to catch her breath. Tendrils crowded around, balling up their tips until they were hammers made of skin, and Tempest simply put her hooves up weakly, knowing what was coming.

She braced herself before the first tendril crashed into her belly, and another of the tendrils quickly followed suit, then another. Soon, a rain of blows came down on the defenseless mare as she curled up and tried to take as many rough blows as she could, sides, legs, wings crumpling under the force of every smash and crash, just trying to protect her head and face. An uppercut set her spinning on her side, another crashing into her stomach and throwing her back towards the monster at the center of the room. Another rumbling exhale broke her out of her pained trance as she hit the flesh of the monster, and let out an agonizing scream.

Something else was in that creature, and it was hot enough to leave a scalding burn on her back. Her legs flailed and threw her back towards the door, trying to move fast enough for the wind to cool her off before a sneaky tentacle whipped in and tripped her, and her face met the stone. Before darkness took her, she saw the smooth rock racing up towards her.

"What in Celestia's name was that?" Armor's ears swiveled as the patrol stopped in their tracks, all aware of the sound of creaking metal somewhere in the distance. "An explosion?"

"Tempest!" One of the troops sprang forward, sprinting as quickly as he could down the hall.

"Iron! Halt! Don't go rushing off— gah." Armor looked at the rest of the patrol, "Don't just stand there! After him!"

With the order implanted in their brains, helping to ward of the worry of a cave-in, the patrol sprinted off after Iron, trying their hardest to follow the mad pony. "Iron! Where're you going!? That leads off to the East corridor!"

"I know where I'm going!" Iron shouted back, eyes fixed on the halls ahead. The temperature started to rise around him, eyes widening as a familiar feeling crept back into him. The heat. This is the way to that door! He scowled hard, sprinting even harder. Another blast of sound crashed through the hall, only serving to push Iron back an inch before he carried right on running. Only one thought crossed his mind when he connected the sound and its possible location. An image of his subordinate lying on the ground, shattered, bloody, unresponsive... his hooves hit the stone harder and harder, spurring him on with furious breaths as he raced to her rescue.

Tempest, don't you dare be dead!

Plan concerning the tentacle monster:

-Created by Twilight for purposes of training her body and magic for possible future combat, as she is also part of the Royal Guard’s Magic Corps, and participates in teaching - and training - new recruits.

-Tentacles come in four types; weaponized, quick, heavy, and special.

--Weaponized tendrils have wing blades - steel filaments sharpened for cutting and slashing during pegasus hit and run attacks -, and work to impale or carve the enemy.

--Quick tendrils are thin and aerodynamic, allowing for multiple, extremely fast strikes that work sort of like a flying enemy with a thin blade, like a knife, short sword, or even a rapier.

--Heavy tentacles work to smash or crush the enemy, wielding a lot of physical power. These don’t have any special qualities besides thick flesh, and extremely powerful muscles.

--Special tentacles are used for recharging purposes, specifically designed by Twilight. They excrete a special stimulant combined with naturally regenerating liquid mana, which is quickly absorbed by the body. Designed to eliminate physical stress, exhaustion, magical exhaustion, and is also a form of aphrodesiac if ingested.

-Heat in the room is due to Twilight having accidentally opened up a massive steam vent in the mountain when constructing the tower, so the tentacle monster is also designed to resist extreme heat. Biological processes use this heat to create more stimulant to be excreted, though it does need a warm, humid environment to exist in, so it expels steam after using it, in order to keep its environment at the right humidity and temperature.

-Tower was designed for both magical and flight combat, since Twilight - as an alicorn - is capable of using both. Four floodlights at the top are able to pivot and turn, allowing night time operative combat, daytime combat, and even pitch darkness, which forces a unicorn to constantly supply a night vision spell as well as fight the enemy.

-How did Twilight carve out such a massive space in the mountain? “It’s a secret.”

Progression of story:

-Since Armor is already leaving his desk, we’ll continue from there. Plans, plans...

-Iron and Armor head off to get two Magic Corps soldiers, possible scene ending. Transition back to Tempest.

-Tempest wakes up to something prodding her in the flank, and locks up. Her sore body refuses to respond to any kind of command to move as the thing continues poking, and eventually starts rubbing up against her like a cat.

-Soreness dissipates slightly with a wet feeling on her coat, and it continues rubbing along her, removing the sore feeling.

-After a bit of a treatment, Sturm gets up and moves away from the tentacle, trying to rethink her plan. No lungs meant no critical injury when inhaling sharp steel fragments. Can’t fight a beast twenty times her size. Only option left is to try and open the door, or get the beast to beat against the door until it comes down.

-She settles on the ‘trick the monster into making a way out’ idea, not really caring if the doors really are too strong to come down. She quietly moves over to the door, watching the lights above as sweat drips down her forehead, the heat in the room draining her of strength. Dehydration starts to set in, but she carries out the plan anyway. A shout catches the monster’s attention.

-Fight starts up, and Tempest focuses on avoiding completely, trying to find a tentacle that is strong enough to break the door. After a couple dodges from Weaponized-types, she finds the Heavy-types, and starts luring them towards the door.

-A few strikes against the door shows her idea could really work, large dents being left behind. A few more dodges, and the dents start to make a crack in the door, but eventually, she’s brought down by a swat from a Quick-type. She hits the ground rather hard, and her body simply gives up. She makes a last prayer as the tendrils race at her, accepting her fate of death, and closes her eyes in preparation for eternal slumber.

-A few moments pass in silence, and she opens her eyes to find herself still in the tower, two tendrils beside her. They both move up and just... rub up against her belly and chest. Her body can’t exactly move from the shock of the crash, shivering as that liquid is left behind on her. A few moments later, though, the pain just goes away from the wetted areas, feeling as if she’d just had a good night’s rest and a three-course meal. They move away after massaging her legs, chest and belly, receding into the creature.

-Confusion sits in her mind, but the want to escape is paramount, so she tries the plan again, this time making sure not to get struck down. Her body responds more quickly than before, as if the secretion had triggered some kind of adrenaline response, and she flies around the arena with more grace and speed than she had previously.

-After quite a long time fighting, her body gives out and she’s struck down again, this time being caught by the tail. The tendrils stop their assault as she hangs in the air, panting with exhaustion as the adrenaline leaves her body, leaving her legs even more sore than before. The same two tendrils come up and start moving over her again, reaching to more parts of her body. The massage is quite comforting as it reaches across her legs, chest, belly and neck, as well as her back, clearing up her exhaustion.

-Once the tendrils finish their work, her wings snap open upon the release of her tail, and she hovers in the air, feeling good as new. As well as quite icky and disturbed.

-The door is almost completely knocked down, but seems rather impervious. Tempest convinces herself that the door will come down after just a bit more of a beating, and gets back to work. At full strength, she darts around the tower, easily avoiding strike after strike, taking on five or six tendrils at once with deft aerial maneuvers.

-The fight actually goes on for quite a while, adrenaline racing through her veins as she tries to make a way out. After about forty minutes of straight fighting, her body starts to wear out, movements becoming slower, and by this point, about fifteen tendrils are all making psychotically-fast attacks against her. Within a few moments, she’s struck down again and grabbed by all four legs, hanging in the air. Delirium sets in as she’s dropped five feet to the ground and left against the wall, alone with her thoughts as the tendrils recede to the monster.

-Realizing that, even at her strongest, she can’t last long enough to bring down the wall between her and freedom, she closes her eyes and waits. Maybe those tendrils would come back and restore her strength? Though by this point, pain is starting to set in after the high leaves her, and the dehydration isn’t being fixed. She wouldn’t last much longer either way, and it’s not a good chance for her to survive long enough for the door to come down.

-She admits defeat, hanging her head and sighing. “If only I had something with me... don’t soldiers usually have a last drink or something before they die?” She muses, smiling a bit as she awaits death. Her eyes open to see the tendril that restored her strength after each of her defeats, just kind of staring at her. She stares back, watching it move down.

-Cue jump of surprise as it suddenly rushes into her mouth, rubbing along her tongue. Ichor spills from it and onto her tongue, and she quickly grabs the tendril, pulling it out. She spits out as much as she can, clenching the tendril as hard as she can, which... isn’t very hard a grip, since her strength has all but left her completely. The tendril goes in again, moving deeper this time around, and some of the ichor makes its way down her throat.

-The tendril moves back out as the liquid hits her stomach, suddenly making her explode with energy. Compared to the massage, it’s about three times the energy, though she does start to feel a burning feeling somewhere inside her. Still, with that energy, she could probably knock down the door herself, and so, another fight starts.

-The burning gets worse as the aphrodisiac spreads, and though the energy still fires inside her, so does the burning feeling. Virgin moment here. If not a virgin, she’d definitely recognize the burning as coming from her vagina, and equate it to something needing to be inside her. I’ll go with ‘not a virgin’, since this is already borderline rape. Don’t wanna make it rape that takes away virginity.

-And here we have a path split. We have ‘rapey’ and ‘non-rapey’.

Non-Rapey:

-The aphrodisiac continues to burn as she battles against the monster, and just before she’s struck down a fourth time, a shout stops the monster. Tempest swears she just went insane, and looks up to where the source of the shout was. There, she finds Princess Twilight Sparkle, perched on one of the Heavy-type tendrils, it curved into a suiting throne for her to sit on. Beside her sits a Quick-type, receiving a gentle petting from her.

-She explains some of the monster’s functions, and says that she uses it for training. It’s been kept secret since the creation of tentacle monsters, though not completely illegal (it’s used in a bunch of fetish shops, though this fact is only hinted at), is sort of frowned upon, and not expected of a proper Princess like herself. Still, she tries to keep up on combat tactics, and supplements her reading of military maneuvers, tactics, and combat skills by training against her monster.

-She also explains that the ichor that was being rubbed over Tempest, and subsequently ingested, is totally safe, and actually engineered by her. It’s a natural aphrodisiac, adrenaline trigger, and stamina regeneration all in one handy liquid, which is not poisonous or harmful in any way. She could drink gallons and not feel sick or suffer any kind of biological damage. She... would be impossibly horny for weeks on end, though.

-Twilight then offers Tempest a chance to satisfy the burning in her. She says that she can’t let the soldier go if the secret isn’t kept, and Tempest quickly accepts. Tempest asks for some kind of drink - being in the tower has drained her of nearly all her liquids -, and Twilight readily accepts. She teleports out, then back in, offering Tempest a barrel of water. This barrel of water is then drained completely by the soldier. A little bit of absurdist humor here.

-After the drink and the explanation - and the fact that her vagina is basically on fire now -, Tempest accepts the Princess’ offer, but asks for some privacy. Twilight humbly agrees and, before teleporting out, uses her magic to aim the spotlights at Tempest, giving her a bigger area to work with. Tempest asks how she’d be able to turn the spotlights off, just in case things get a bit gross for her, and Twilight hands her an incantation to utter in order to turn the spotlights on and off.

-After a few more words are exchanged, Twilight teleports out, leaving Tempest alone again. She’s no longer thirsty, is kinda horny, and knows that the monster is quite friendly. Begin ‘friends with benefits’ treatment that is hopefully half-believable. Possible tying, loads of sucking and vaginal, basically the monster answers to Tempest’s commands.

-Possibly Twilight coming back and joining in on the fun before the story closes, the two deciding to train together in the room. And to never reveal the presence of the room to anyone.

Rapey:

-After her fourth time being struck down, Tempest finally gives in and surrenders, lying on the floor. She’s tied up and hung in the air as the tendrils come up to her. One enters her mouth without much resistance, ejecting more ichor into her stomach, enough to pump up the aphrodisiac’s effect to a ‘pink mist’ effect, hormones going out of control.

-Commence sexytimes. Alternate ending here, since it’s much shorter. Gonna have to fit in Twilight’s appearance as well. Maybe Twilight finds her after the treatment, and decides to help her, erasing her memory of the rape and replacing it with the memory of Twilight accepting her to train.

-Rather underhanded, but Twilight got held up with something else, and this was the best fix she could come up with. Still, it carries no chance of pregnancy, STD, or other debilitating effects, and since the memory is erased, there’s no evidence left. The two fight against the monster, and possible lesbian scene to wrap things up.