The Dead Trot

With a loud thump, Fletcher landed on the rocky floor of the caverns. After the beating and burns he had received from Celestia, his hard landing only added to the agony. Writhing in torment for a few minutes, he gained the strength to rise to his feet and survey his surroundings. All there was to look at were the various gems and minerals covering the rocky walls.

Okay, time to find the others, he thought. He began to trot down the nearest passage, cringing every so often as waves of pain rocked his body. It was quite dark in the passage; Fletcher often bumped into the walls as he trekked onward to find his comrades.

After about an hour of hitting his snout repeatedly against solid rock and tripping over himself in the dark, all hope seemed lost. Dammit, I'll never find them, he thought to himself. Is this going to be my fate? Endlessly wandering these caverns in a fruitless attempt to find my friends and take down a god? A *GOD*?

Then, Fletcher did something that he never thought he was capable of: he began to cry. Despair swept over him like a tidal wave, rocking him to his very core. At this point, he was sure that he'd never see his friends again. Never see daylight again. Never see Twilight's beautiful face again.

"HELP!"

A cry of distress blasted through the corridors of the cave. Without a moment to think, Fletcher already knew who the culprit was: Twilight Sparkle.

Getting back onto his feet, Fletcher galloped in the direction of the scream. He was encumbered by his injuries, but as long as he still had breath in him, he wouldn't abandon those he had come to care so much about over the past few days.

Still stumbling an falling in the blackness, Fletcher followed the sound of Twilight's continuing shrieks. After a few minutes, Fletcher saw a faint purple light near the end of the tunnel. Gathering what strength he had left to muster, he barreled towards the luminous, violet aura. Drawing closer and closer, the blacksmith was able to make out Twilight's figure; her hair was somewhat frizzled and she was standing over a unicorn stallion with blue hair and a white coat.

"Twilight! What's wrong?" Fletcher asked urgently, "and who's this?"

"Fletcher, thank Equestria you're here! This my brother, Shining Armor. He's badly injured and we need to move him now before more of those things show up."

It took Fletcher a moment to comprehend what Twilight had just told him, "You mean those....things are down here too?!"

Before Twilight could respond, a loud howl echoed through the caves as a few zombie ponies could be heard drawing nearer.

"Oh Celestia, here they come again!" Twilight exclaimed, shielding her brother with her body, "Fletch, keep them away from my brother. He's the only one who can get us out of here."

"Whatever you say, Twi. You're the smart one."

The earth pony stallion prepared himself for the impending undead ponies. Fighting off only a few of them would serve no problem, but since he no longer had his sword and was badly injured, it would prove to be a much more difficult task. The zombie's moans increased in volume as they drew nearer.

Two rotting figures stepped into the purple light of Twilight's aura, their eyes absent of all signs of life except for hunger. They charged the injured stallion. Dodging the undead attacker, he was able to land a solid buck to the zombie's skull, crushing it. The pain from Fletcher's injuries returned in full force. Gritting his teeth, Fletcher struggled to stay standing as the second zombie advanced towards him.

"Yeehaw!"

An orange earth pony charged out of the blackness and delivered a swift buck to the undead marauder's torso. She was followed by a bronze unicorn.

"Applejack! Gizmo! You're okay!" Twilight beamed.

"Ya didn't think some facy schmancy cave would be enough ta kill us, did ya?" Applejack asked mockingly.

The reunion was cut short by the figures of two other ponies drawing nearer from the other direction. The group prepared themselves for another fight, only to find that instead of zombies, it was only Rarity and Tail Spin.

"Oh thank heavens we found you all!" Rarity exclaimed, "I was become quite tired of this one's constant ramblings of how we were both going to die and how we would never get out of this dreadful place."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Fletcher remarked, wincing in pain as he chuckled.

Tail Spin scowled at the black earth stallion, "Sometimes, Fletch, I wonder how we're still friends."

A distant groan from some undead assailant brought the group back to reality and out of their little universe of small-talk.

"Alright everypony, listen up! This is my brother, Shining Armor, " Twilight motioned to the white unicorn stallion laying at her feet, "He's the only one who can get us out of these caves in one piece. Unfortunately, after spending a few weeks down here while creating a protective shield for himself has worn him out. Now, he has taken the liberty of telling me the correct route to take in order to find the exit, but he can't stand on his own. We need to carry him out with us."

After a moment of silence, Twilight continued to her main point, "So Fletcher and AJ, since you two are the strongest, you're going to carry him."

Neither of the two earth ponies saw any problem with this, so they allowed Twilight to place Shining Armor across their backs with her magic. After recovering what strength they could, and a full half-hour of convincing Rarity that they can't take any of the gems lodged in the wall, the group set off; Twilight leading the way and the duo of earth ponies in back carrying Shining Armor.

An hour had passed since the band of ponies had set forth to find a way out of the Canterlot Caverns. Nopony had said a word since then.

"Psst. Hey, Fletch," Applejack whispered.

"Yeah, what is it AJ?" Fletcher asked, still limping from the pain his injuries were still causing him.

"Ah couldn't help but notice over the past few days that y'all got a soft spot fer Twilight." A smirk crossed Applejack's muzzle.

Fletcher's face turned from its usual black to a bright crimson in a matter of seconds. "N-no," he whispered back, "I just think she's kinda...interesting."

"Is that why you two were lockin' lips a few nights ago?" Applejack asked, trying to keep her laughter as quiet as possible she possibly could.

"I...I uh...well, uh..." Fletcher stammered.

"Admit it, Fletch. You like her."

After a few moments of fighting an internal war, the blacksmith sighed, "Okay. Fine. I like her. Are you happy now?"

"Very," Applejack replied, smiling to herself.

"But..." Fletcher continued, "...I know that you have a thing for that Gizmo guy."

This observation clearly caught AJ off guard.

"N-n-no I don't! I don't have a thing fer him," Applejack retaliated, her eyes darting from left to right nervously.

Fletcher chuckled a little, causing his pain to intensify for a few moments before he carried on, "Applejack, you're the element of honesty. You're a terrible liar."

Applejack took a long look at the unicorn stallion ahead of her then turned back to Fletcher, "Oh, alright. Ya got me. Ah guess ah do sorta like him."

"Yeah. I could tell by the way you were staring at him for the past hour. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"Was it that obvious?" asked Applejack.

"Honestly, yes."

"Aw, shucks. I guess Ah'm not one fer subtlety. Don't tell him, though. Please don't tell him!" Applejack pleaded.

Fletcher patted the rancher and the shoulder, "My lips are sealed," he said, smiling.

"Thanks, Fletcher. Yer a good friend," said AJ.

"No problem."

After what seemed like an eternity of walking aimlessly through the caves, Twilight called out, "I see light, you guys! I see light!"

From hearing this wonderful news, every pony in the group made a mad dash for the exit. The sound of hoofsteps was almost deafening. Freedom was so close to them now. They grew nearer and nearer to finally seeing the light of day again.

Twilight was the first to break free of the dark, rocky prison. She was followed by Rarity, Tail Spin, Gizmo, and the the team of Fletcher and Applejack, respectively.

Fletcher looked around and realized that they weren't even in Canterlot anymore. They were in the Everfree Forest. The skies were as black as pitch and the air carried a musky scent that could only be compared to that of a swamp.

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?" asked Tail Spin.

"We need to figure out a way to defeat Celestia without the Elements of Harmony," Twilight informed everypony present.

"How about I just go in there and kick her ass! I'm not scared of anything!" Tail Spin bragged, much to the annoyance of everypony else.

A load moan in the distance pierced the air, causing the naive pegasus to scream like a little filly and fly into the nearest tree, clinging to it for dear life.

"Does anypony have any real ideas?" Fletcher asked, rolling his eyes.

Twilight pondered this for a moment before a light bulb went off in her brain, "I know somepony who could help. Follow me."