Twilight adjusted her knapsack as she walked down the winding dirt trail that was to lead to a small clearing. The air was calm and cool, and the sun shined high in the sky, causing Twilight's throat to become dry. Taking out her flask of water, she took a small drink then placed it back in her knapsack.
Twilight was on her way to a spot for a picnic. It was a small gathering of her friends, and it was meant to bridge the gap that Twilight had between them. Recently she has been busy with various different duties as a Princess of Friendship, and her schedule was always filled up with something to do. Finally she could catch up with her friends and relax on a beautiful day.
Soon, the spot came into view and she saw that her friends were already there waiting for her and setting up for the picnic. Twilight waved her hoof up to greet the five.
"Hey, girls!" she called out. The five looked up and smiled warmly at her. Twilight went to the group and set her knapsack on to the ground. "So, how have you girls been?"
"Oh, it's been quite alright, my dear. We were dying to see you again. We all know you had royal duties to attend to, but we couldn't wait any longer!" Rarity exclaimed. Twilight smiled warmly at the five. It was great to finally be able to catch up with her friends after long days of doing royal work, and just to hear Rarity's voice was good enough to keep her going.
"Ah hope the work that you were doing wasn't too hard on ya'. I think it can break anypony's mind with the amount of work that you gotta do," Applejack said. Twilight waved a dismissive hoof.
"Don't worry, Applejack. It's good that you're worried about me, but I'm really fine," Twilight said. Applejack nodded with contentment. Rainbow Dash floated above the four, laying on seamlessly nothing almost like she was sleeping in a regular bed.
"You know, I think its really cool that you're doing this princess stuff, but doesn't it get sort of boring after a while?"
"What? There is no way that it would be boring. I'm doing things that are affecting the entire nation of Equestria. Since you get to make decisions, its actually invigorating," Twilight explained.
"I guess that would be pretty cool," Rainbow Dash muttered. "I wonder what would happen if I was one of the princesses of Equestria."
"You, Rainbow Dash?" Applejack said skeptically.
"Think about it! It would be so cool! I would get my own castle, which would be called the 'Castle of Awesomeness', by the way, and I would get to hang out with the Wonderbolts all the time!" Rainbow Dash explained with enthusiasm.
"Okay, I guess that would be fine, but what would you do for the rest of Equestria?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, that. Yeah, I haven't really thought about that yet. But I'd do things!" Rainbow Dash said. Pinkie Pie jumped up and raised her hoof in an excited manner.
"Ooh! I know what I would do if I was Princess of Equestria! First, I would make that every candy store would get special benefits. Then, I would make partying mandatory for everypony! I can see it right now, everypony dancing to music every single day of their lifes! Don't you think that would be so cool?!"
Everypony stared at her with a mix of confused and perplexed looks. Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders.
"I guess it's not for everypony."
"Alright, I guess we all have our own ideas on how Equestria should be ran," Twilight said. "but maybe we can refine our ideas just a little bit more so it can benefit everypony."
"There's your royal princess talk!" Rarity exclaimed. "I feel you will be a greater Princess than you ever have been!"
"Thank you, Rarity," Twilight said. "But I really don't think that you have to give me so much praise. I've just started making some real contributions, and I haven't done any hard lifting yet."
"I suppose you're right," Rarity muttered. Fluttershy walked alongside Rarity wearing a warm smile.
"Well, at least you know that you have friends who will be on your side no matter what happens."
"Thank you, Fluttershy. Now, should we start this picnic or what?" Twilight said excitedly. They sat down the sheet and assembled the food. Soon they began eating and chatted to each other. The nice weather contributed to the mood, and at the time it was going marvelously.
Twilight herself was having a great time. It has been so long since they could gather around and just talk to each other like regular friends should do. It reminded of her of the times when they first met, when at first they didn't trust each other all too well. But then it eventually developed into a great friendship. It was tremendous that somehow that they were able to make friends from complete strangers.
The picnic was going very well as time dragged on and the sun was just about to set. The orange and pink of the sun started to lower itself below the blanket of the rolling green hills. Soon, the gang started to pack up and were ready to head back to their homes, their stomachs filled with delicious sandwiches and pastries.
"That was a very lovely picnic," Rarity said, packing up her things. "I wish we could do this much more often."
"Yeah, I was hoping that we could do these things more as well," Twilight said agreeably.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm gonna head home and catch some z's," Rainbow Dash said.
The rest of the gang was about to bid their farewells before something stopped them. They noticed that Pinkie Pie was absent from the party and was nowhere to be seen. They started to search for her, wondering where she could have wandered off to. They figured it couldn't be far as her attention span wasn't the greatest in the world.
After a couple moments of searching, they finally found the pink pony. He was sniffing at the green grass much like a guard dog would.
"Pinkie, what in the world are you doing?" Twilight asked, bracing herself for the odd reply she knew she would receive.
"I smell something weird. It's not like anything I've smelt before, and I smelt a lot of things in my lifetime! Like cupcakes, cologne, window cleaner, and even manure!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Ah don't really want to know what you were doing with manure," Applejack said, her tongue sticking out in disgust.
Pinkie Pie raised her head and took a long whiff of the air. She pointed her hoof again like a guard dog. The five followed the gaze, revealing it to be a long strip of a dark mountain range. The mountains were dark and they towered the sky, touching the clouds with some black smoke hovering around the mountain tops.
"What could be over at those mountain ranges?" Twilight asked.
"That's what we're going to find out! Follow me!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing towards the mountains. The five exchanged glances at each other and decided to follow the excited pony.
Within moments, they made their way to the entrance of a large cave. It's menacing features made the five uncomfortable, except of course for the excited pony. From the entrance they could see nothing inside except the lighted parts of the first couple feet of the entrance, and the feeble rhythmic sound of dripping water echoed inside the cave.
"Pinkie, are you sure we should go in here?" Rainbow Dash said. Pinkie Pie nodded her head violently like a bobblehead.
"I'm completely sure! I want to know what's in here that's making that smell!" Rarity took a small sniff to see for herself. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't smell anything!"
"All I smell is Rarity's perfume," Rainbow Dash teased. Rarity shot a alarming glance at her. "What? It reaks!"
As the two fought with each other, Twilight decided that she wanted to investigate this cave more. It looked oddly familiar to her, but she wasn't sure why it was so. Twilight inspected around the cave, looking for something that could perhaps be an indicator of any identification.
Within moments, she found a half broken sign, the bottom half showing. It simply read "cave". Not of any use to her, Twilight searched for the other half. Suddenly, she spotted a piece of bark and held it up to her face.
While the paint was blemished, it was still somewhat readable. Squinting her eyes, she read out the one word and suddenly gasped. The five looked up after arguing and took notice of her. They walked over to Twilight.
"Hey, Twi'. Is there something wrong?" Applejack asked worriedly.
Twilight didn't reply. Instead, she levitated the first half and fitted it to the second half, forming the complete sign. The sign finally read, "Emerald Cave".
The group exchanged confused glances, not sure what it all meant.
"Um, okay. What's Emerald Cave?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Emerald Cave is one of the most famous caves in all of Equestria," Twilight started to explain. "It's incredible that we found it!"
"Thanks to me!" Pinkie Pie noted. Twilight rolled her eyes and continued on.
"This used to be a mine, rich with resources. I think it's abandoned now, ever since the accident happened long ago."
"Accident?" Fluttershy asked.
"One day, the miners were working in the mine. Then all of a sudden, one part of the cave collapsed, trapping the miners. They were never discovered again, unfortunately," Twilight said.
"That's horrible! I can't imagine being stuck in a cave forever," Rarity said, horror present on her face.
"Some say that this cave is haunted, and they can still hear the screams of the miners, trapped in the mine for all of eternity!" Twilight continued.
"Please stop! You're scaring me!" Fluttershy whimpered. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she floated in the sky.
"What? This is supposed to be scary? I heard better stories when I was a filly!"
"Whether it is a story or not, I don't think it really matters," Twilight said. "Either way, I don't think we should go in. We might get trapped in just like the miners!"
"But I want to know what that smell is," Pinkie Pie said. "and I am not leaving until I know what it is!"
"Ah think it would be just fine if we went in just a little bit," Applejack said. "just to see what's in there and rattling off Pinkie's senses."
Twilight looked into the cave again, worried that it wouldn't be a great idea to dive into the cave. But then she figured it would be a harmless activity as long as they were careful where they stepped. The last thing that Twilight wanted was to stay trapped in a crevice for years on end with no food. Finally she sighed a sigh of defeat.
"Alright, I guess we can go in. But we have to be careful. I don't know if I could lift a ton of rocks with my magic."
With that, the six ventured into the cave. One of the immediate things that they noticed is that it was much colder than it was outside, where it was a nice spring evening. The chill sent shivers down everypony's spines. The ground was littered with small pebbles and bigger rocks, and their hoofsteps echoed as they traveled into the cave.
Water dripped down from the cracks of the ceiling above, indicating that there could be a water source somewhere. The cold drips rested into the ponies coats, dropping their temperatures even further as they walked. As farther as they went on, the darker it became. Twilight shone her horn with magical energy for them to see.
The damp and cold atmosphere allowed fear to walk in to the ponies minds. Even with the light source of Twilight's horn, they still had a hard time deciphering what was in front of them, which let their imagination run rampant.
The cave seemed to go on forever as they trekked along. Rarity cowered and lowered her head as she walked. Fluttershy shared the same motion and walked alongside Rarity. Pinkie Pie continued to sniff the air and dragged her head across the rock ground, snorting in some rocks in the process.
Meanwhile, Twilight spent her time navigating throughout the winding passages of the cave. She had a very strong feeling that something bad was about to happen and the ominous sounds of the cave didn't help matters. However, she pressed on, hoping that they would finally find a dead end and be able to go back.
Her wish was not granted when they find a fork in their path, one to the right and one to the left. The six looked at each other.
"There's a split in the way!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Girls, I think we should stop here," Twilight said. "We have been going on far enough, and we haven't found anything. It might get dangerous really fast."
"No way! I haven't found the source of the scent yet!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "We still have to find it!"
"Pinkie, by the time we find it, it'll be a week after today! We should really head back."
"By the way, why exactly do they call it Emerald Cave, anyways?" Rainbow Dash inquired.
"You know what, I really don't know," Twilight said. "It didn't mention it in the books that I have read."
"Well, I'm ready to leave," Rarity said. "This place is a huge drag filled with nothing but rocks and uninteresting things."
She started to walk back for a high screeching sound pierced into everypony's ears. They all looked at the source. The sound came closer and closer until they saw what was making the noise.
A flock of bats made the corner turn right for them, their screeching hurting everypony's ears as they came toward them. They immediately screamed and turned around, making a random turn to the right fork. They kept running, but they could still hear the flapping of their outstretched wings and their screeching behind their shoulders.
They kept running, their breath becoming shorter and their throats becoming dry. They stepped over rocks pebbles, their hooves sometimes scratching against the sharp jagged rocks. Despite the pain, they kept running mindlessly, hoping to outrun the winged creatures.
Soon, a large crevice in the ground blocked their way. They skidded to the edge of the crevice and stopped just in time, pebbles falling below their feet into the dark abyss. They turned around to see that the bats were catching up to them. They all glanced at each other.
"I have a plan," Twilight said. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy! Grab hold of Pinkie Pie and Applejack! I'll grab Rarity!"
They listened to the instructions and linked arms. With their strength, they lifted the three above the crevice. As just as their will started to fade, they were already over the crevice. They hastily dropped the three and continued to run, the winged creatures still on their tails.
Twilight's breath became faster and faster, her heart not being able to pump all of the frantic energy. There seemed to be no end to this large cave, and the winding trail continued on with no opportunity to shake the bats off. Her friends were noticeably fatigued, their bodies about to give up on them.
In her haste, Fluttershy tripped over a jagged rock and flew to the ground. Her face met the ground as she skidded across the hard stone ground. The rest of the group stopped to try and help her, but the bats were just about to catch up to them. With a high screech, they readied their claws towards the frightened ponies, who shut their eyes in preparation for the pain that they knew they would receive soon.
Before the claws dug into their skin, a rumble lightly shook the ponies underneath, and pebbles rattled all over the ground. Stones fell from the ceiling, some of them lightly tapping at the groups' heads. Eventually, a crack started to form on one of the walls. It grew bigger and bigger until eventually it gave way, and the wall crumbled, laying waste to a pile of boulders and rocks, leaving dust with the group.
After the dust cleared, the group opened their eyes to meet a large pile of rocks blocking the exit. Twilight studied the rocks with worry present on her face.
"This was our only way out," Twilight muttered quietly. "Unless we find a way around, there is no way we're going to get out of here soon."
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash said. She started at the rocks and moved some of them out of the way. "If we just keep moving these rocks, we'll be out of here in no time!"
"Rainbow Dash, we can't move all of these rocks! There is probably tons of them! We might as well find a different way out," Twilight said.
"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash challenged, poking at Twilight's chest with frustration. "And what if we run into those bats again? We'll be sitting ducks!"
"Its a chance we have to take, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled, pushing the cyan pegasus away from her. "We'll suffer from fatigue rather than bats!"
While the two argued with each other, Pinkie Pie wandered off from the group, her sniffing senses becoming more and more tense as she dragged her head along the ground, taking whiffs of the various pebbles. She could smell something, she just knew it was something.
Looking up from the ground, she noticed something. It was a large hole in the wall, completely covered in the dark. She made her way through the hole and made her way to the other end. She looked over her shoulder to call to her friends.
"Guys, come over here!"
The other went through the cracks and saw the sight for themselves. Immediately, they gasped at what their eyes were feeding to them.
"Oh, sweet Celestia," Rarity said, her eyes wide open.
"Well," Pinkie Pie started. "It's definitely emerald!"
Author's Note
If anybody is an editor or a proofreader, I would definitely benefit from your services. I'm not exactly great with grammar, so if you could offer me your services, that would be amazing!