"Shit!" Gavin said, looking at the now sealed entrance. "Now I can't get out." As soon as he had said this, words glowed onto the door.

To leave this place, one must obtain the heart of the Temple,
And bring it to this door. Only then will you be allowed to leave.
Or, speak your true love's name, and you can leave.

Gavin read those words to himself, before nodding his head in understanding.

"So all I have to do is find this 'heart' and bring it here," he said. "That's not so hard." Looking at the words again, he continued, "Or, I can say my true love's name." He shook his head at that. "But I don't know who my true love is."

"So, the heart it is then!"

He then looked around him, but was unable to see a thing.

"But it will be hard navigating through the dark, and any traps along the way."

With that, he reached into his pack for his flashlight, and pulled it out. Turning it on, he pointed it around the room.

The room he was in was rather small, with no visible windows or doors. It did, however, have a pedestal in the middle of it, which Gavin approached.

Once he reached the pedestal, he noticed that there was a pot on it. Looking into the pot, he smelled tar. Leaning back, he wondered aloud, "Now, what am I supposed to do?"

Words glowed on the pot, saying,

Light this with no magic and you may enter with guidance.
Light with magic, and you will suffer.

Gavin shuddered at the 'use magic and you will suffer' part, but grinned at the 'no magic' part.

"I don't have any magic at all. So I have nothing to worry about."

He reached into his side pocket, and pulled out the flint and steel he had used last night.

He struck them together over the pot. Once!! Twice!! Three times he struck. The third time, the tar caught on fire. Gavin was barely able to avoid getting his hands burned, but he was able to avoid it.

The fire burned in the pot, and then spread along troughs in the walls and floors that Gavin had overlooked. They lit up the room, and he turned off the flashlight since there was light in the room. He then put it and the flint and steel away.

A rumbling sound was heard, and the back wall split in two, revealing a lit hallway to him.

"Yes!!" he cheered. "I can move on!"

As he cheered, he heard something in his pack whimper, causing him to stop.

He slowly took his pack off, and set it down on the ground. Carefully, he opened the top pouch, but found nothing. He checked the duffel bag, but again found nothing.

"Where the fuck is that noise coming from?" he whispered to himself.

He heard the whimper again, and looked at the one place he had not checked. The side pocket. Carefully and slowly, he reached out and opened the pocket.

Two fennec foxes came out of it!!

Gavin stared at the foxes in surprise. He recognized them as the foxes that had eaten with him and sat by the fire with the previous night.

"What in the world are you doing in there?" he asked them, surprise in his voice.

The sisters were stretching, having been cooped up in the pocket for several hours. They turned to see Gavin looking at them in shock. With happy yips they ran at him, causing him to bend down and pick them up.

Once he picked them up, they started licking his face, causing him to chuckle.

"Well, you shouldn't have hidden like that. But I did miss you girls too," he said, looking at them.

This made the sisters jump down, and yip happily. He smiled, and closed up the side pocket before turning to the girls.

"Alright girls. I need to tell you something." This made them stop, and run over to his feet, looking up at him.

Gavin squatted down and said, "I found these ruins, and made this my adventure. The thing is, I can't leave unless I find the 'heart' of the Temple. So, basically we're stuck in here until we find it."

The girls looked troubled at the revelation.

"I want you to know that there may be traps and other dangers along the way. So, if you want to get into my pack, now is the time."

The girls looked at each other, yipped between themselves, and then walked up to him. They then tried to get into his shirt, startling him.

He knew that they would want to be protected, so that's why he had offered them his pack. But he didn't expect them to do this.

He stood up, and looked at them, but regretted it instantly. The sisters were using the power of cuteness to win him over. They were making PUPPY EYES!!!

He would not give. He would not give. HE WOULD NOT GIVE!!!

Gavin sighed, and tucked in his shirt, tightening his belt so it would stay tucked in, before getting down on his knees.

"Come here," he said, reaching out with his arms. The sisters ran over to his arms, and he unbuttoned the top of his shirt before placing them inside it. He then left the top buttons unbuttoned so that they could look out if they wanted to.

"Does that work for you girls?" he asked them, getting yips in response.

"Well, ok."

The sisters were so happy!! They were with Gavin. They could revel in his scent!! They were so glad!!

Gavin put his pack back on, and began walking down the lit hallway, the foxes snuggling with him as he walked.

Gavin soon came to a part of the hallway that looked.....suspicious. He took a pebble lying on the floor, and tossed it in front of him. As soon as the pebble landed on the floor in front of him, a large axe swung from the wall and into the ground.

Gavin and the sisters sighed in relief when they saw that he had been right. He picked up more pebbles, and made his way down the hallway, tossing them every few steps, causing each axe trap to be triggered, and allowing them to pass safely.

Suddenly, the hallway came to a dead end. Gavin frowned at this.

"A dead end?" He said, reaching out and touching the stone wall.

Words glowed on the wall, startling them.

Fix the image shown before you, and you will pass
Fail to do so, and you will die.

"What image?" he wondered. At that moment, a large chunk of the wall glowed bright, before stopping. In its place was the image of a sphinx.

Gavin watched as the image suddenly turned into a bunch of puzzle pieces, and landed on the floor. Above the image, a counter appeared, saying, "0/500 pieces correct."

The sisters looked up at him, worried he might not be able to do it. Gavin had a huge, shit-eating grin on his face.

"This will be fun. I love puzzles!!" he said. Looking down at the girls, he said, "Don't worry. I got this."

With that, he proceeded to begin the puzzle.

1hour and 30 minutes later
Gavin had a huge smile on his face as he placed the last piece into the puzzle. The sisters yipped in happiness, and jumped up, licking his face before diving back into his shirt.

With a loud Click!, the wall started to move to the side with a loud rumble. Once the wall had disappeared, another lit hallway was revealed.

He looked at the girls and said, "Lets keep on going, shall we?" The girls yipped in response, causing him to continue down the hallway.

As he walked down the hallway, he tried to see what was on the walls, but the flames blocked his view.

Soon they came to a room that had many, many gems on pedestals in it. In the middle of the room was a giant diamond on a pedestal.

Gavin walked up to the pedestal holding the diamond, awestruck by its size.

"It's....so big!!" he breathed out, the sisters agreeing with him.

He looked down at the pedestal, and noticed glowing words on it.

Make this Diamond glow with bright light,
so the path before you can be set alight.

"So, the path leading from here is dark right now. But to light it, we have to get this beautiful diamond to glow," he said.

"Alright, so how do I do that?"

He looked around, and noticed that each pedestal holding a gem was emitting a light into the gem, which was focusing the light into a beam.

Gavin smiled when he saw this. He knew what to do.

After several minutes of effort, he was able to move three of the pedestals so the beams of light hit the diamond. It glowed a dull white, meaning he needed to aim more beams at it.

After 1 hour of work, he was able to move the rest of the pedestals so the beams of light hit the diamond. It glowed with a bright light, and a rumbling noise was heard in the distance, before the rear walls split down the middle, revealing a lit hallway.

"We did it!" he cheered, raising his hand in the air. The sisters hadn't doubted him on this one, and yipped in response.

He then made his way to the hallway, and went down the hallway, shadowy figures by the diamond silently watching them with interest.

Gavin and the sisters soon came to a room with a large skylight in the roof, the light coming from it landing on a large patch of trees and other plants. Beyond the plants, sat a door.

He walked over to the patch of plants, and stepped on a stone, triggering a pedestal to rise from the floor.

He looked at the pedestal, and words glowed from it.

Sing a song to the plants, their reactions may vary.
Sing good, and they will let thee pass.
Sing bad, and thou will never pass

"So, I have to sing well in order to pass through the plants," he said. Looking down at the girls, he said, "I have to sing now, just so you know."

The girls yipped excitedly. They hadn't heard him sing before.

He drank some water and cleared his throat before he started to sing a song he remembered having heard one time while in Canterlot.

Lullaby for a princess

Fate has been cruel and order unkind
How can I have sent you away?
The blame was my own; the punishment, yours
The harmony's silent today
But into the stillness I'll bring you a song
And I will your company keep
'Til your tired eyes and my lullabies
Have carried you softly to sleep

Once did a pony who shone like the sun
Look out on her kingdom and sigh
She smiled and said, "Surely, there is no pony
So lovely and so well beloved as I"
So great was her reign and so brilliant her glory
That long was the shadow she cast
Which fell dark upon the young sister she loved
And grew only darker as days and nights passed

Soon did that pony take notice that others
Did not give her sister her due
And neither had she loved her as she deserved
She watched as her sister's unhappiness grew
But such is the way of the limelight, it sweetly
Takes hold of the mind of its host
And that foolish pony did nothing to stop
The destruction of one who had needed her most

Lullay moon princess, good night sister mine
Rest now in moonlight's embrace
Bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth
Through cloud, and through sky, and through space
Carry the peace and the coolness of night
And carry my sorrow in kind
Luna, you're loved so much more than you know
May troubles be far from your mind
And forgive me for being so blind

The years now before us
Fearful and unknown
I never imagined
I'd face them on my own
May these thousand winters
Swiftly pass, I pray
I love you; I miss you
All these miles away

May all your dreams be sweet tonight
Safe upon your bed of moonlight
And know not of sadness, pain, or care
And when I dream, I'll fly away and meet you there
Sleep
Sleep
Sleep

Once he had finished singing, he looked down at the sisters, and saw tears coming down their cheeks.

"It's ok. I'm here," he said to them. "Dry your tears girls. There's no need to cry."

The girls wiped their tears using his shirt and their paws. Gavin smiled at them, and then looked up to see what the verdict was.

The plants were all drooped over, as if in sadness, and had moved far apart to make a path to the door.

Gavin was surprised, and impressed. He loved that song, but he didn't know it was that powerful. He quickly walked over to the door, which slid open for him, revealing yet another lit hallway.

He began making his way down the hallway, while figures stepped out from among the plants with tears in their eyes, having heard the song he had sung.

Gavin eventually came up to a large door in front of him that had glowing words on it.

Beyond this door lies your last challenge.
Succeed, and you have rightfully earned the heart of the Temple
Fail, and you will die
When you are ready, knock on the door

Gavin looked at the sisters, and asked, "Are you ready?" The sisters nodded. They were ready.

He took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. The door split in two, and slid apart revealing....

Author's Note

I just HAD to do a cliffhanger!! More will come soon eventually. Enjoy

Also, Lullaby for a Princess is indeed my favorite song. I love it to death!!