The Bonds of Friendship

Chapter 3

    Sounds of the jungle sang its tune as the night sky shined brightly down on the floor. A lone pony trotted his way through small plants that shrank beneath the tall trees of the Equestrian Jungle. His hoof's made prints in the soft dirt. He swiveled his head back and forth, on the look out for any predators on the prowl under the night's watch.

    Corvo was cautious to take every step carefully. A simple twig cracking could alert the whole jungle of his presence. He was sure to make track of his location in case he got lost. Wouldn't want another repeat of the Temple of the Sun now would we?He thought to himself. he's been on too many of these adventures to know that keeping track of your surroundings, and knowing your location could save you in a sticky situation.

    Corvo made sure his black mane was cut short and spiked right to allow him easy navigation through the dense jungle. Too many times when he was a young treasure hunter had he found himself caught on limbs of trees, or captured because of his long mane. His body was also the perfect shade of green to allow him to blend into the night, as well as the forest floor. As well as his coat color, Corvo knew several camouflage techniques to blend in to his surroundings.

    The dangers of treasure hunting came in all shapes and sizes ranging from but not limited to: poisonous plants, hungry predators, bandits, temple traps, and most dangerously the Cult of the New Equestrian Order. He'd dealt with the cult many times, and every time he escaped with his life barely in tact. At one point, they went as far as to break his wings.

    Through all this, they were after the same artifacts, but had different goals. For Corvo, it was to keep the artifacts out of the hands of the cult. As for the cult, it was to overthrow Celestia and her Council in Canterlot. The cult thought of it as a dictatorship in Equestria, and has the mindset that Equestria is in need of a new order. One where it is ruled by the cult and all must worship it as the saviours of Equestria.

    Of course Celestia isn't fond of this, and has sent out her Royal Guard to deal with the cult. But Corvo has other plans for himself. He was never asked by Celestia to retrieve these artifacts of power. He more, hired himself as a freelance treasure hunter. For years now he's been hunting these artifacts along with dealing with cult and it all came down to this one artifact. The Ring of Equine, a powerful ring, that if wielded by a pony, it could increase their biggest trait by nearly one-hundred times what it was originally. It was a dangerous artifact, and if held in the hands of the cult, it could mean the end of Celestia and her Council.

    Corvo took it upon himself to stop them. To make sure that, that kind of power was never wielded in the wrong hands. He already possessed four out of the nine artifacts, as the cult had four as well. It all came down to the ring, if he failed, the fate of Equestria is set in stone. But he couldn't let that bother him now, he has to keep his eyes on the prize. The ring was his goal, and he was determined to find it. Corvo was right on path of success just a few more hours of walking and he'd be at the temple where the ring was held.

    Then, he felt a drop fall on his forehead. Corvo looked up to see the sky littered with clouds. Rain began to fall on the forest, and soon the floor would be flooded. Corvo looked around to find any source of shelter. After a few seconds he found a tree that was hollowed out a few feet up from the ground. An optimal place for shelter for the night. The sound of the rain covered his movements, allowing him to be reckless with his movements. Corvo ran as fast as he could to the tree as he climbed to hollowed out section.

    When he made it, he sat down and unpacked his small belongings, pulling out some bread. His stomach grumbled with hunger, and at that moment he'd realized he hadn't eaten all day. The bread was perfectly dry, thanks to him not being in the rain for so long.

    Lightning flashed outside as thunder rumbled the tree and made Corvo's heart sink. Corvo looked down at the bread but pushed it away. Maybe I'm not as hungry as I thought I was. He thought, lying his head down. Maybe if I get some rest I'll be hungrier in the morning. His thoughts cleared as he drifted off into sleep.

    "Well well, look what we have here." A voice rang from outside, "Isn't it our little friend Corvo Star."

    As fast as he fell asleep, Corvo was awakened by a voice coming from outside his mind. He opened his eyes to see, standing on the limb outside his temporary home was a pony cloaked in a black hoodie with a symbol resembling a black alicorn. The night sky hid the ponies face and the rain blurred the pony further. But that didn't stop Corvo's mind from sending him bad messages of who this pony was. His yellow eyes flew in all directions trying to find Corvo an escape route. It was no use, his only exit was through the entrance of the tree, which was blocked by the pony standing outside. Then, within a few seconds, three more ponies flew inside the tree surrounding Corvo as he stood, hopelessly outnumbered.

    Though he had no chance of escape, he wasn't going down without a fight. Dropping to his knees and spinning, Corvo spun and knocked one of the ponies down. He then immediately stood up to notice another preparing a punch. Corvo countered grabbing the ponies hoof and tossing him against the wall. He was then tackled to the ground by the last pegasus, who then pinned Corvo's forehooves to the ground. he struggled managing to catch the pony on the back with a swift knee to the spine. The pony cringed and released his grasp on Corvo, but before Corvo could toss the pony off of him he was stopped in his tracks. A purple glow surrounded him, holding his body in place. his eye's scanned the area trying to figure out where the magic came from. Then, he saw it. The pony standing on the limb had a magical aura at the top of his hood.

    "I think you've caused enough trouble, don't you think?" The pony said in a mocking tone, "Now let's just forget this ever happened and move on, shall we?"

    Corvo hated the ponies tone. There would be nothing more that he'd like to do than smash that ponies face in with his own hooves. Corvo struggled against the magic, but he knew it was no use. Once caught in a unicorn's hold, it was up to the unicorn was to do with you.

    "Now now, no trying to escape." The pony sang in a dark tone, "You're coming with us." Corvo felt a slight tap on his spine, but that slight tap was enough to numb his body and send him into another deep sleep.

    After several hours Corvo awoke in a daze. His head felt heavy, like a sledgehammer had been taken to it. The events of the night were blurry in his head, he didn't even remember waking up. But the place he was in was somewhat familiar. Judging by the symbols on the sides of the tents and the traditional bonfire burning down a manikin of a gigantic Celestia, he was trapped in the Cult of the New Equestrian Order base camp. He barely had a view of the outside, since the burning manikin blocked most of his view. But his tent seemed somewhat inviting. Beside the extremely small cage he was forced to stay in. There was barely enough room to move in, and standing was nearly impossible. If Corvo wanted to sleep, he would have to curl up in a ball like a dog on a bed. The smell of burning wood was the only thing that he couldn't complain about, but even that sickened him knowing it was coming from a burning Celestia manikin.

    Corvo must have sat there for at least three hours before any pony came and talked to him. Though, the one who did he wasn't so fond of.

    The unicorn walked in, hood encasing his head once again. This time though, he was more recognizable, all thanks to the flames outside the tent. The pony was a light-grey stallion, built very agile. He was slightly skinny, but still kept a nice muscle tone in his body. His white tail stood still behind him.His mouth opened signaling he was about to speak.

    "Corvo Star, you've been an enemy of our cult for a very long time now." The stallion said, his voice sounding almost happy. "You've been nothing but trouble to us. Always causing mischief and ruining our plans to find the artifacts. You've already stolen four from us, and nearly stole the others. That right there in itself is a crime. We'd have the right mind to punish you now and take you to the pits, but the others and I have talked it all over and we have come to a proposal. Would you like to hear it?" The unicorn paused to let Corvo speak.

    "I hope you rot in Tartarus you hay-chewer." The hostility in Corvo's voice could be felt nearly a mile away. He hated this cult and hoped each one would burn. But, somehow, that didn't throw off the unicorn's mood one bit.

    "My my, such hostility. I mean, I would be upset too if I was kept in conditions like these but be honest with yourself Corvo, it could be a lot worse." The unicorn chuckled a bit at the last words, but continued as if that hadn't happened. "You know, all this could have been avoided if you just let us have our artifacts. But no worries, we have ways of forgiving you for your sins. So here's our little proposal; you give us all the artifacts you stole from us, and we'll forget about this whole thing. If not, well...let's just say you don't want to find out." The unicorn turned his head back to glance at the fire, smiling, then turning his head to Corvo once again to speak with him. "I'm sure you want to live a free life, with a family maybe? A handsome pony like you could find a mare in no time. Have you ever thought of having kids Corvo?" The grey pony paused again to allow Corvo time to respond. When no answer came the unicorn moved on. "I know you want to so the right thing, and I know you know that in your heart giving us the artifacts would be the right thing in the end. So what will it be Corvo? Freedom from your sins, to live your own life happy and free. Or freedom from your sins in the pits of Tartarus?" The ponies voice cracked at the end, as though a demon rose into his soul at that very moment.

    Corvo smiled at looked the grey unicorn straight in the eyes, or at least what he could see of the eyes and spat right in his grinning, putrid face.

    The unicorn leader didn't take to kindly to that as he frowned and backed away, wiping the spit off his face. "Fine then have it your way, you will regret your decision you worthless sack of apples. Tomorrow, you will burn at the site of my men, as the Ring of Equine will be mine." The unicorn stormed off, out of the tent, mumbling to himself.

    Corvo smiled at his morale victory. Then he noticed another figure standing at his door. A blue earth pony had been staring at him since the cult leader had left. The earth pony was small, almost as small as a colt. When the pony moved closer he could see a long white mane and tail and his face resembling that of a colt. Corvo's mind raced with questions as to why such a little colt had been in a camp like this, and why he was watching Corvo.

    The colt was now nearly five feet away from Corvo when he spoke to him. "You look like you need help mister." The colt giggled, snorting a little at the end.

    His mind flew with questions but he could only bring himself with one answer. "No thanks kid, I work alone." It was against Corvo's morale code to ask for help. He had always worked alone in his life, and having ponies along with him only caused more trouble.

    "Are you sure? You look like you need it." The colt giggled some more.

    "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll find a way out of this cage without your help." Corvo replied in a confident tone.

    "Are you really sure? You looked pretty helpless to me!" The colt giggled some more trying to contain his laughter.

    "Thanks but I got this." Corvo said, this time slightly annoyed at the colts remark.

    "Alrighty then mister! Whatever you say!" Then, without warning the colt trotted off out of the tent.

That was odd. He thought as he put he put his head down to rest.

    Just as Corvo was about to close his eyes and go to sleep, he noticed a key lying on the ground in front of his cage. His eyes immediately grew wide and his heart began to beat as fast as he could. It was within a hoof stretch, if he tried to reach, he could get it. Corvo stood up in the tight cage, smashing his side against the edge of the cage. He reached his hoof out to grab the key Come on Corvo you can do this. He thought, reaching as far as he could. Just a little further. His heart raced as his hoof touched the key's edge. With all his might he pulled the key toward him, the key getting easier and easier to reel in.

    Corvo held the key in his hoof's. He had wondered where it had come from, but that didn't matter now, escape was within his a hoof-step. He reached around to the door of the cage and grabbed the lock with one hoof, and with the other he adjusted the key to fit the lock. His heart still raced, hoping this was the key to his cage. click, the lock popped open and dropped to the ground. Corvo slowly pushed the door open, being as careful as he could to not make a sound.

    He snuck to the entrance to the tent, peering to the outside to scan his area. Now came patience, if he stayed calm and waited, openings will come. Then, it's all about timing. Corvo stood at the entrance for nearly 15 minutes taking note of several of the camps activities. Guard patrols, cult members moving from tent to tent, and other miscellaneous activities. He payed attention to each one. His eyes focused on his route. When the time came, he executed it.

    Corvo slid outside the tent, over to another one where some ponies and fallen asleep, drunk from the late night's games. Then, he walked casually behind a guard, making sure that the guard didn't make any unexpected turns. The route was simple, he took a straight path past an ongoing game of pony poker, and some ponies sitting at a table having dinner. When it came to the command tent, he stopped listening in on a conversation.

    "So do we know where this artifact is?" One pony spoke, his voice frail.

    "In the center of the jungle. With Corvo out of the way we should have possession of the ring by morning. We already have scouts in the temple, setting the traps off for us." Another said, this one sounding deeper, like a rich pony.

    "Don't you think it's wrong to be using the rookies to go through the temple and setting off these traps?" The frail voice spoke.

    "It is, but who else would do it? I know I won't. Tell them they get rewarded at the end when they find the ring at the end, and those stupid ponies will do anything you tell them" The deep voice spoke, chuckling a little.

    "Yes, it is funny how they think they will survive such traps." The frail voice chimed in, chuckling slightly

    "Hmph, they're lives are for a better cause. Soon, Equestria will be our's." The deep voice began to laugh.

    "Yes, and poor Celestia will be no more." The frail voice laughed as well. Together their voices combined into a dark, sinister laughter at the expense of others lives.

In the middle of the jungle, huh? Corvo thought as he slid away into the darkness of the jungle. That can't be too far from here. If I'm right, judging by the sound of the bugs I'm close, very close. Just then Corvo looked up to see a temple, covered with vines from the ancient Mayan-pony civilization towering in the distance. His heart sank again as he made a sprint for the temple.

    Within minutes, he made it to the entrance. Two massive golden doors, with two ponies holding spears on them. The spears crossed in the middle. As Corvo noticed the door slightly open. This must have been where the scouts entered. Corvo trotted to the entrance, his ears perked to listen for any noises at the front.

    Everything was silent, not even a bug was heard from the entrance. When Corvo was certain all was clear, he entered the temple. His heart set out for the Ring of Equine.

    Along the way Corvo had passed by many activated traps. All with at least one pony lying dead from being genius enough to activate them. Though most of the traps had already been activated, Corvo still proceeded with caution. You never know when a trap might activate itself, or hasn't been activated yet. He thought to himself.

    Several minutes had passed when Corvo came across a door. The massive piece of architecture stood in front of Corvo. He tried to force it open but the door wouldn't budge. His heart sank, thinking this was the end when a very deep voice rang throughout the tunnel.

    "To pass, and claim what it is you seek in this temple. You must answer my riddle." Corvo looked around him to find where the voice had come from, only to find the mouth of a giant cat-like creature open at the door.

    "And what are you exactly?" Corvo asked, trying to keep his composure at this monstrosity.

    "I am the Sphinx, guardian of the lost Ring of Equine, and I know who you are." The Sphinx spoke, rumble the tunnel with it's booming voice.

    "You do? How is that even possible? I don't think I've ever met a creature like you?" Corvo questioned the beast's knowledge.

    "You are Corvo Star, treasure hunter. You have 4 of the eight of my brother's artifacts that you managed to take from them." The Sphinx spoke.

    Corov was shaken. How did a creature that he never met know his name and what he did?

    "Enough talk." The Sphinx said, "Are you ready to answer my riddle, or shall I eat you up like I ate those other ponies that came before you?"

    Corvo's mind raced, the Sphinx must have been talking about those scouts. They must have been eaten by the Sphinx for answering the riddle wrong. Whatever this riddle was, it's probably a hard one, he'll have to be at the top of his game to answer it. "How long do I get to answer it?" Corvo asked, trying to buy time.

    "As long as you like, but you are not permitted to leave the temple." The Sphinx's voice trailed off as Corvo heard a door slam behind him. "Now, are you ready for my riddle, adventurer?" The Sphinx asked.

No escape, dammit. Corvo was trapped now with a hungry beast, waiting for him to answer the riddle wrong. He had no choice but to take on the Sphinx's challenge. "I am." Corvo said in defeat.

    "Very well. Listen to my words carefully, I will only say this once. If you get this wrong, I will eat you, and you will never be heard from again." The Sphinx stopped, waiting for Corvo's acknowledgement. He perked his ears as to signal the Sphinx to go on.

"What goes on six legs in the morning, four legs at noon, and five legs in the evening?" The Sphinx went silent as to let Corvo time to respond.

    Corvo's mind stopped, he smirked, the answer to the riddle was too easy. And as the Sphinx glared at him. Corvo answered swiftly. "You are a tricky one Sphinx, but the answer only lies in those ponies that have experienced it and witnessed life around them." Corvo said confidently. "It's a pony. The answer is a pony. They crawl on six while they are born. Walk on four while in the prime of their life. And they struggle on five in their middle ages." Corvo stopped, as the Sphinx's stare did not change.

    "You are..." The Sphinx paused "Correct. The riddle has been answered, and as a deal I give you access to my treasure. Enjoy it pony, you have earned it." The Sphinx stepped out of the way as the gate opened. A bright light shined in Corvo's face as a shining ring lay on a pedestal. Corvo trotted in, the Sphinx closing the door behind him.

    "I will close this door for now adventurer." The Sphinx bellowed. "To ensure no pony from the outside enters."

    Corvo was burning with excitement, he could barely control it. He trotted as fast as he could to the ring, his eye, fixated on the glow of the artifact. This was it, this was the item that would save Equestria from the cult. Corvo picked up the ring, and trotted down the steps that led him to his prize.

    Just as he reached the bottom a loud, resounding boom came from outside the closed door. Then, another boom rang as a flash of light and rubble flew in all directions. The blast made Corvo stumble, but thanks to his incredible balance he managed to stay upright. Dust was thrown everywhere making it almost impossible to see in front of him. Corvo attempted to glance through the dust to see what caused an explosion, only to see a single dark figure walking slowly toward him. But as the figure drew close another blast rang, this time on the right of Corvo. Again, nearly knocking him over but his balance kept him from falling.

    Several voices rang from where the blast came from, and Corvo turned his head to see a bright light shining, seeming like it was coming from the outside. The dust was still too heavy to see through and the second blast didn't help. But just as quickly as it came, the dust cleared as a heavy wind swept over him.

    When the dust cleared, it revealed the culprits of the two explosions. On one side of Corvo stood the cult, and the grey unicorn leader, with his cloak still covering his face. On the other was a dark-blue alicorn. An alicorn? Corvo's heart sank. But, I thought Celestia was the only alicorn alive!. Not to mention what did this alicorn want, he seemed to stand there, staring into Corvo's soul, and what's with that amulet around his neck? Was it some kind of accessory?

    "I knew you escaped, thanks for taking care of the Sphinx for us. That just saved my men a lot of trouble." The grey unicorn spoke up first, his voice projecting across the room.

    "You're not getting your hooves on this ring." Corvo said in defense.

    The grey unicorn's eyes widened and his head cocked to the right slightly, glancing over at the alicorn standing silently. "And who might you be? And what's with the necklace?" The unicorn directed his voice at the alicorn, hoping for some answers.

    The dark-blue pony smiled and stood in place his voice low, and menacing, "My name is Armosk, former alicorn of justice, and I'm here to claim what belongs to me." The alicorn answered without hesitation, "And this? This is a special amulet, The Alicorn Amulet. It gives me great power, something you can't match." The alicorn replied, almost taunting the cult leader.

    "We'll see about that. That ring belongs to The Cult of the New Equestrian Order, and we'll be taking that ring, by force. Men, attack those two!" The unicorn took the dark-blue ponies bait, as he and his entire force charged into the room.

    The alicorn though, was on point. His wings opened wide, as he took off into the space above the chamber's floor. His horn glowed red as a beam of magic sent the cult flying out of the temple. Armosk laughed as he descended to the floor once again. Now casting his gaze upon Corvo. "Now that you've seen my power young one, had me that ring, or I'll blast you as well." The alicorn spoke directly to Corvo, who still held his own ground.

    "What do you want with a ring like this? You already have enough power in the amulet of yours." Corvo said, as he scanned the room for escape routes.

    "Silly pegasus, there is no such thing as too much power. If I'm going to beat Celestia, I'm going to need all the power I can get." The alicorn laughed as his gaze turned into a glare.

    "And you think I'm just going to hand it over to you. You want the exact same thing that cult wants. That's not going to happen, I won't let Equestria be in danger because of you!" Corvo held the ring closer to him protecting it with his body.

    "Then you've made the wrong choice boy." The alicorn said in a deep tone as his horn glowed red, charging up a beam that would certainly kill Corvo if he was in the way.

    He had to think fast, his mind hadn't made up an escape route yet, and there was no time to plan one. So he did the first thing that came to mind. Corvo looked down at the ring, holding it in one hoof while bringing the other into it. Then, just before the beam got to him, he vanished.

    Armosk became confuse, his head now racing to find where the green pegasus had gone. Just as fast as he'd vanished, Corvo appeared, connecting a hood to the gut of Armosk. Armosk cringed, but managing to to pick himself up and fire a beam at Corvo, but then he vanished again, Corvo then re-appeared connecting another hoof to the ribcage of Armosk. Armosk again, attempted to fire another beam but it missed Corvo.

    He began to get frustrated, screaming at the top of his lungs and firing beams in all directions, but all missing Corvo.

    Corvo was too fast for Armosk, the ring increased his agility, making Corvo able to adjust his direction of flight quicker than anything could keep with.

    Armosk's frustration finally reached its peak as the amulet fed into the anger, and Armosk waited, he wasn't going to catch Corvo with a beam of magic. But something more instant, something that only needs a target to find. And just before Corvo could connect one last hoof to the face, Armosk casted a teleportation spell. And just like that, Corvo vanished. And along with him, The RIng of Equine.

    Armosk, stood knowing that the ring was lost to him. I've lost one item that would surely allow me to overthrow her heinass. Armosk thought to himself. But there is a whole world, full of power. One little artifact won't stop me from taking over this place for good. As Armosk stood at the hole the cult had made in the wall of the chamber, he spread his wing. Dark-red magic sparked underneath him. With one beat of his wings, he broke the ground and a trail of dark-red magic followed him.

Time to make a visit to the ports of Baltimare, I have a feeling a shipment it waiting for me