Chapter 1-4

Cobalt Coral sat outside of Zecora's hut, fidgeting in her claws a gem that she had kept in her bag. Zecora's rhymes of warning echoed in her mind. Shaking the feeling she might be making a big mistake, she sighed and held her head low. “Is it really that big of a deal...?” she told herself. “The animals are going crazy according to her, and now they are now after me. Did Cornfield almost get eaten because of me?” She breathed another heavy sigh. “I'm not sure what to do…”

Startled by the sound of Zecora’s hut door opening, Coral shot her head up and looked behind her to see Cornfield waving good-bye to Zecora before shutting the door. She quickly stashed away the jewel before he could see it and sat silently to herself. “So, are we ready to do this?” he asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah,” she answered back with not as much confidence. “Yeah, I'm ready..." Turning her head, she glared with a very serious look at Cornfield. "Question is, are you ready for this? After all, you almost got eaten. That Cragadile wasn't after you.” She looked away from him. “It was after me..."

“Well…” He walked to Coral’s side and sat down with her. “Perhaps, no more than you, at least.” Pumping his forelegs, he tried his best to psych her up. “I mean, we just need to stay focused, keep our senses peeled, and put our heads together!” A cold pause occured as he watched her. Even he felt a little dismayed for a second, thinking “I really thought I could get her excited with that. Guess I gotta work on my pep talk”. When he saw he wasn’t getting through to Coral, he put one of his hooves behind his head. “At least...I think we'll be OK if we just cover each other's back…”

“I don't get you.” She got up from the dirt, causing Cornfield to back off slightly from the subtle movement, as she attached her bags around her barrel and took a few steps forward. “I've been bad news for you ever since I walked into your life. I've cheated you, broke your heart, and now I'm endangering you.” Looking down from behind her, she couldn’t help but feel she’s dragging along some poor naive colt against his will on a wild goose chase. “And yet, here you are, trying to be some knight in shining armor. Somepony making the effort to keep me, the creature that hurt you, in high spirits.” She turned around and shook her head. "If something happens to me... I'm ok with that. I knew the dangers when I chose this life.” Deciding that he’s better off with Zecora, she started walking towards her next destination.. “You should go home. Forget about me."

"Knight in shining armor...?” His eyes widened at the thought of being compared to Celestia’s finest. “YES!" The newfound pride within himself drove him to run up to Coral and intercept her before she went any further. “Oh really?” he said, blocking her path. “And just what are you gonna do without me?”

"... Something that doesn't involve you getting killed..."

“What would you do if you were going up against that Cragadile alone? Throw rocks at it? Maybe give it a lil' scratch of the talons?” He placed his hoof on his chest. “What are your odds of surviving without me in a place you clearly have never been before? You don't even know what kind of monsters might lurk in the darkness.”

Coral stood there staring at him in silence, contemplating his words. “Damn it, he's right,” she admitted to herself. “If it weren't for him, you'd already be dog food yesterday…” She looked into his eyes, trying to read his inner thoughts. "Why? Why go through all the trouble. It can't JUST be for sex, can it? No stallion would go this far..."

“And here's another thing,” he said, ready to brag about his exploits. “I know this area. Very well, in fact. Not just the terrain, but all the secret hiding spots! I've even found the Tree of Harmony! But I couldn't get it to react for some reason…”

Surprised, Coral’s mouth was slightly agape with her eyebrows lifted. "The Legendary Tree of Harmony? He's gone THAT far?"

In the mind of Cornfield, he was impressed, even shocked to know that all the time he spent in the Everfree Forest is paying off this way. “If I wasn’t so alone at times with nothing to do,” he thought, “I probably would of ended up being discarded like tissue paper by her…ugh…best I don’t think about that bit…” He shook his head and continued. “It's also a safe sanctuary from the carnivorous creatures.” He chuckled at the memory of hiding around it’s protective field. “For some bizarre reason, I couldn't even bait one over.” All of his boasting pumped him up. “I may not be strong in a front-facing fight… but I've got some tricks I've picked up! Real ninja pony like! Yeah!” He laughed as he thought to himself “Also, being a bit of a stalker helps”.

“You impressed me until that line, you dork..” she replied. A slight smirk formed on her face, seeing the childish stallion look up to her in the hopes that he impressed her. "Ah, who am I kidding, he's STILL impressive,” she thought. "He's adaptable and sturdy. He's like a cockroach. Tenacious, hides well, and doesn't die." Shrugging, Coral put her claws up, surrendering to his upbeat outlook and superior navigating. "Fine, ok. You win. You are king of the forest. I'm lost and out of my element. I'm usually the girl that handles temples, clues, ancient texts, stuff like that. But, this is beyond me. You are one with nature." She tapped the tip of his nose with her claw. "Happy?"

“Very!” he said, smiling without a care in the world.

"Ok, good. Now, should you lead the way, or do you want me to go first so you can have something to look at again?"

“AH…” Cornfield reeled back from her. "HOW DID SHE KNOW?" he thought. Blushing furiously, he looked away, embarrassed. “H-H-H-Hey, I-I'm more focused in the adventure,” he replied. “But…ah... It's nice to have something to look at once in awhile…” He let out a nervous chuckle. “S-so… What was this place we're looking for? A cave?”

"All right.” she replied, putting up with his antics. “Consider it a reward for sticking with me this long. And yes, a cave full of Timberwolves. We go past them, we find our way into an ancient ruin where the gem is held." She walked around him, continuing down the path back to the cave. "So, shall we continue?"

“I'm ready!”

Determined to protect his personal princess from danger, Cornfield guided the purple hippogriff around the Cragadile’s swamp and went on to prevent any more attacks by other creatures. Every few minutes, Cornfield would point to an animal in the distance and direct her to hide away. Zecora was right all along, the forest is actively hunting them, and the creatures were determined to scare Coral away or worse. After sneaking around every dark corner of the woods, they finally found their way back to the cave where the Timberwolves were sleeping. The time had come to test their mettle.

"Do you still have that potion Zecora gave you?" she asked him quietly.

“Yeah,” he said blankly, but then realized something. “...Oh...wait, I snuck it in your saddlebag while we were walking. I didn’t bring mine.” He brought his hoof to his chin and thought “...Sure was a great view too…”

Sighing and rolling her eyes, she quickly dug through her bags. "Why didn't you tell me?" Grasping it in her claws, she handed it over to him.

“Because, it's your birthday,” he responded sarcastically.

"Huh.” Coral turned her head away from him and scoffed. “Well, with that attitude, maybe I should just rub this gunk on myself instead of giving you the opportunity to touch a lady for once in your life."

Cornfield popped the cork on the vial as a heavy stench flowed out. “Uhhh...I don't know about this stuff…” He took another whiff of it, but instinctively turned his head away. “Ack!...I mean, some potions are ok, but this...stinks…”

Leaning closer, Coral sniffed the air around the mixture. Her nostrils full of the odor, she gagged as she waved the smell away with her claws. "Oof! You are right, though... It reeks!” Coral plugged the nostril holes on her beak with her claws. “I hope that Zecora didn't give us liquified manure by mistake..."

“Ok… Here goes nothing!” With gusto, Cornfield planted his lips on the vial and swallowed some of it down like a shot of whiskey.

"HEY!” shouted Coral, glaring at him with disgust and confusion. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Cornfield coughed onto his hoof, trying to stomach the rancid taste.
"You IDIOT!” chastised Coral. “Zecora said to rub it on you, not DRINK it!"

“Wh-” He coughed. “What? I thought I was supposed to drink it?” Suddenly, his stomach turned and wretched, completely rejecting what went down. Cornfield placed his front hooves on his belly. “Uuhhh...I think...I'm gonna…”

"No no no!” Coral cried out, back away from him quickly. “Not on me! NOT ON ME!”

Gagging and hurling, he audibly and loudly expelled streams with the contents of his stomach through his mouth. He coughed and gasped as Coral leaned away from him, repulsed. “Oh, Novo… that was NASTY!”

"Ok,” Coral leaned closer to him with her brow furrowed. “Maybe I should be the one to apply it to both of us, because you have the attention span of a gnat to follow directions!" All of the yelling she had done managed to stir the wolf pack inside of the cave. Disturbed by the noises, the wooden dogs shuffled awake to track and end the source. She could hear them coming to their direction. “Oh…” She stumbled backwards a little. “Oh no..."

“I-I think half is left.” Cornfield said, queasily. His ears twitch at the sound of wooden claws slowly getting nearer. He glances at the cave in fear. “Oh, BUCK!” The sick pony was in no condition to outsmart all of the wooden manifestations at once. Their best bet was to use the very item they intended for this scenario.

Coral turned to Cornfield and pointed to herself. "Quick! Apply the rest to me and go hide!
You can fit in all the hiding spots from these dogs! I CAN’T!”

“Ah, OK!” Panicking, he throws the vial at her as its contents splashes on her side haphazardly.

"BLECH!” She gagged, reeling away from him. “After what happened to you, I don't want that anywhere near my mouth!" The wolves are walking out from under the darkness of the cave. Their drooling wooden teeth dripped at the sight of their prey. "Ok, quick!” She waved Cornfield away. “Hide!"

Not waiting around to be told twice, he ran behind a large group of rocks near a tree close by, watching what would happen. Coral was stunned silent as the wolves approached her, getting closer and closer. They were so committed to taking down the forest’s intruder that they were ready to rip her apart.“Novo, please let this work” prayed Coral in her head.Until, that is, they caught wind of her scent. One by one, each wolf sniffed her, winced and whine. A couple even dig their noses into the dirt and sneezed just to get the foul odor out of their noses. Even the larger alpha wolf couldn’t tolerate it.

The Timberwolves decided to run after the other pony that was with Coral and ignore her completely. She stopped holding her breath, gasping for air. "Ah!” she cried out. “I can feel my heart in my throat!"

Meanwhile, Cornfield was having troubles of his own as his stomach protested further. “Oh, Celestia,” he uttered “It's coming up for round 2!” He held his stomach, clenching to not go through all the vomiting again. “Gotta...keep it down!!!”

“NO!” Coral responded angrily. “I don't want you vomiting all over the place! You get it out of your system now! I especially don't want you spewing on The Heart of Nature!” The Alpha Timberwolf pinpointed Cornfield’s hiding spot from the sounds of his whining, while the other wolves had already split up to find him in other parts of the forest. A giant shadow of the creature graced the ground near in front of Cornfield, followed by the Earth shaking from the force of the creature landing in said spot. Tiny bits of wood broke loose from the monster as it plopped onto the ground with the sound of its bodily leaves rustling. It stalked him, licking its chops with its green, leafy tongue. Cornfield could also see the alpha coming, and realized he's in danger, but his indigestion paralyzed him momentarily.

Coral, a little late to see the beast poised to attack, gasped as the boss of the Timberwolves checked his scent to find him clean of any of that foul-smelling deterrent. Satisfied to sense there wasn’t any, it ran towards him!

“CORNFIELD!” she shouted.“Look out!”

Cornfield’s eyes widened. “BLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAACCCCCCCH!”

Abhorred by the sight of the alpha rather unfortunately receiving a face full of projectile vomit, Coral winced away. The force of Cornfield’s projectile even caused him to recoil just enough to make him airborne for a second. The beast, realizing what just happened, whined and howled as it rolled on the dirt, trying to get rid of the scent. Humiliatingly defeated, it ran off with its tail between its legs. She approached the sick colt carefully, as he coughed a bit more, wondering if he really did get it all out of his system. “That…” she said, still shaking off what just happened “That has got to be the grossest way to solve a problem I have ever seen." She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her beak with her talons, and shook her head. "Seriously, this situation is so stupid, you give dumb luck a whole new meaning.”

More uncomfortable than anything, he got up from the dirt and walked around her. “Excuse me,” he muttered. “I really need to wash my mouth out…”

She sighed as she ruffled through her trusty saddle bags once more, pulling out a canteen that had plenty of water sloshing inside it. "I have water if you need to rehydrate.” she informed, trying to catch his attention. “I don't want to drag you around if you don't have the energy."

Stopping, he turned around and walked up to her in the promise of water. “Oh...it's no problem. Here, let me have it.”

Before he could reach and take it out of her claws, she yanked it away. "Try not to put your dirty, vomit-covered mouth on it, ok? Try to hover it over your mouth.” Once she established her conditions, she gave the canteen to him.

“Ok…” he said weakly as he lifted the canteen over him and tilted it. As he drank, the water also spilled over his mouth, washing off the vomit.

Once again, Coral is repulsed. "Eeehh… I still don't know if I want it back..."

Wiping away his stained lips and cleansing the insides of his mouth, Cornfield sighed in relief from his acid washed away in his throat and glanced with a spit on the ground. “Ah, much better! Here you go!” He reached out to give her canteen back but hesitated at the last minute. “Wait, what was that you said?”

"Never mind, just... give it here..." She took it, whether he liked it or not, and put it back in her bag. Now that the wolves were gone, there was nothing stopping them from investigating inside the cave. Curiosity took over as they ventured closer and peered inside the entrance. "Looks to be empty now..." Prepared for any occasion, her saddle bags came to the rescue as she took out a lantern with plenty of oil inside. She twisted a knob and pressed a button, igniting a small flame inside it. "Keep up. I don't want to leave you behind!"

“I'm coming! Jeez!”

Meanwhile, outside of Zecora's hut, three ponies burst inside her domain uninvited. Startled by the door swinging open, the witch doctor ceased organizing her ingredients and turned her attention to the hooded figures.

"More visitors? How unexpected," said Zecora as one of the cronies reached in his cloak and aimed something at her. The zebra begun to shake in fear. "W-What's that crossbow doing pointed at my head?”

Animals passing by her hut could hear the sounds of the struggle. Glass breaking, pottery smashed, and hooves hitting the floor, until the forest echoed with Zecora’s cry.

"HEY! Ouch! Stop! Let go! I won't go with you! I say NOOOOOOO!"

The two unlikely partners found themselves a little deeper inside the cave. The floor was wet with the sounds of dripping water hitting the puddles below. With only the light of the lantern to follow, Coral led the way while treading slowly. "So, did you finally get it all out of your system?" she asked as her voice echoed down the cave.

Cornfield followed behind her, looking around the magically ordinary cave of mystical lack of wonder as they continued spelunking “Oh yeah,” he assured. “I'll never drink another potion again!”

"Unless it's specifically directed for you to do so, you ignoramus."

“Urrrhh...just the thought of it makes me a little nauseous…” His eyes wandered until he found himself hypnotized by the silhouette of Coral’s hindquarters swaying in the shadows, with the light of the lantern barely illuminating her supple rump. Cornfield couldn’t help but let out an awkward laugh. “Ah ha ha ha… But, I'm ok now.”

"Yeah, well, if it decides to go to the other end, please stay far, FAR away from me."

“Roger!”

They hiked further in the cave, trying to navigate around any small stalagmites that could potentially hurt if stepped on. However, as they went deeper in, they noticed that the way ahead lit up with fluorescent moss and fungi hanging on the cavern’s ceiling. The strange plant-life provided the two with dull, yet sufficient light to push through without the aid of a lantern. "Oooh, pretty.” Coral cooed. “That saves me a bit of oil..." She extinguished the flame and carefully place the lantern in her bag.

“So, how much further is it, anyway?” Cornfield muttered while Coral still had her claws in her bags. She responded with but a silent look at him and a single eyebrow raised. “N-Not complaining, just wondering.” He put a hoof on the back of his head, humbly.

Wondering how close her destination was as well, she pulled out her map and invited him to look at it beside her. He obliged, his hooves clicking on the rocky terrain. "It's not that long... We are approaching the halfway point.” Her claw traced a line down the path the caves led. “At this rate, we will reach the ruins that are surrounded by tall, impassable mountains.” She tapped the picture of the ruins twice to emphasize their position. “The mountains even have tall, winding trees on top, and it camouflages the ruins well. So well, in fact, neither pegasus…” Her wings fluttered. “...Nor hippogriff can see it from above. The only thing that is able to come down from those mountains is sunlight.”

“Huh…that’s convenient” Not completely understanding her plan, he scratched his head. “So, how are we supposed to get through? Unless, we pray for a flood!” He laughed as Coral rolled her eyes, rolled up the map, and put it away in her bag.

“We're going through it right now!” They continued walking as the light is getting a little bit brighter ahead. “This cave leads underground and through the mountain formation.
And once we get there, we can…” Glittery lights turn her attention away from her discussion as they walked deeper in. “We... can....”

Coral’s jaw dropped as she gazed at the many different colored gemstones that ordained the cavern's walls. The light from the fungi above reflect from the gems and sparkle in her eyes. “By Novo's dorsal fin…” she uttered in awe.

“...What? Who?” Unlike his treasure hunting compatriot, he was a little unfazed by the brilliance of the gems around him.

"It's…” A wide smile formed on Coral’s beak as her claws cupped the cheeks on her face. “BEAUTIFUL!” She hustled her pace, looking all around her with her eyes wide and pupils large with pure, unadulterated bliss.

“Well...I guess since you're a girl you're easily distracted by such things.” he said, chuckling to himself as he followed her casually.

"Oh, this isn't just a flight of fancy." Wasting no time, she rolled up the map, placed it in her bags, and pulled out a hammer and a sharp chisel. "This is a passion!” Cornfield looked on curiously. She tapped some of the gems she came across with her hammer, until one resonated with an audible indication of the best to harvest. After chiseling the stone out, it fell to the ground. She bent down to pick it up, unknowingly flashing Cornfield a view of her rump in the excitement.

“Well, gee, I hope you don’t plan on harvesting every-”. Catching more than an eyeful of her shapely rump, and every uncovered part of her more feminine features, the rest of his sentence trailed off as he started to drool. “...Siiiiiinnnnngle wwwwhhhaaa…” Fireworks were going off in his head, thinking of many things he would do to her butt if given the chance. “So round,” he thought. “So soft. So private and being exposed…”

"You're right, but I need to have something for my trouble, just in case this whole mission goes...awry..." Feeling that she’s being undressed with somepony’s eyes, even though she’s not wearing any clothes, she looked behind to see a hypnotized stallion. Then, she saw where his eyes were looking and put two and two together. “Are you seriously staring at a lady’s butt while she’s busy with the finer things in life?” She grasped the shining diamond in her claws as she made no effort to fight back from his peering eyes. In fact, she grinned at the idea of him appreciating her good looks. “No tact whatsoever. But, at least, we’re both looking at something beautiful.”

“Uhhh…” Snapping out of it, he shook his head and managed to make eye contact. “Hey, it's not my fault...I think…”

Chuckling, she turned to place the jewel safely in her bags. "Strange,” she thought. “On any other day, I would have rode my tail low and told him to knock it off... But, this is... kinda flattering.”

“Oh! B-b-but I think that one is even prettier!” he said as he pointed to a light from a gem hiding in the crack between the cave floor and the wall. “Go on!” He motioned her insistently to go. “You want it, right?”

Knowing exactly what he’s after, she poked him in the forehead with her claw. “Nice try, lover boy. It's time for you to come back down to Equestria.”

“Oh, fine! It's probably too hard for you to get it, anyway.” To his surprise, he found himself with her hammer and chisel in his face.

"Ok, then. You go get it." She laughed to herself with a snide grin. “Ha! Called you out on it. I wasn't born yesterday.”

“Wha...? Me???”

"Anypony else in this cave?"

He growled before snatching the tools out of her claws. “Fine!” He begrudgingly made his way over to the spot. “How hard can it be anyway?” Even though he can see the light reflecting out from the crack, he can barely see the gem. He placed the hammer and chisel down somewhere while he bent down and put his head right next to the crack in the wall. “Ok, how do I do this…?” he thought to himself. “Do I just chip away at the stone until it comes off? Yeah, that's what I'll do!” He’s so focused on where to begin that he didn’t notice Coral walking behind him until she put two claws in her beak and whistled a cat call.

"Yeeeeah! Shake that ass, baby!" she called out, wanting to give him a taste of how it’d feel to have someone like him be at the receiving end of those remarks. "Show them what your mama gave you!"

Startled, he turned his head. “What did you say?”

His response made her laugh almost uncontrollably. "AH ha! I'm sorry! I couldn't resist. That being said, back that ass up." She snorted and giggled to herself again.

“Huh???” He was baffled on why Coral was acting this way, but he simply chalked it up to her being female. He reached for her tools on the floor, but found he misplaced them. “H-Hey where'd that chisel go?”

Coral’s expression changed from light-hearted playfulness to being upset almost rapidly. “Wh-WHAT?! Don't tell me you lost it?”

“I could have sworn I put it…” He looked to his left and found her hammer, but her chisel must have rolled away somewhere. Regardless, he took in his hooves and held it in the air for her to see. “Ha! I found your hammer! I had you though, didn't I?”

Her expression softened a little bit. "Ok. Ok. We pushed each other's buttons. A shame that you had to make me flustered like that. I was planning on letting you keep that one. Oh well." She leaned in closer, looking around. “So, where’d the chisel go?”

Laughing nervously, he sat up from having his stomach on the cave floor to look for it, unaware that it rolled behind him. A sudden sharp pain hits his haunch once he was completely upright. “ffffHHHHHHNNNNNNN!” he held back a shout as his eyes widened and pupils shrunk. Surprising Coral, he burst out a scream and jumped in the air, holding his butt with both hooves. “YEEEAAAAAA!”

Seeing the chisel embedded in his rump, she shook her head as he danced around in pain. "Oh, you idiot...." she whispered before speaking up. "So, yeah. Chisels are sharp. We both learned something today."

When he bounced near Coral, he held his hooves around her forelegs and pleaded. “OW!...OW!...OOOOWWW! It hurts!”

"Is it in you still, or is it on the ground?"

“I-I think it's still in my...uh...Cheek...That's what's hurting right NOW! YEOUCH!” He stared up at her with pathetic puppy dog eyes. “C-can you pull it out?”

She sighed. "All right, hold still..." Softly pushing him off of her, she maneuvered around him to get the hammer he dropped, put it in her bag, then pulled out a first aid kit and sat down behind him. "You really are lucky I'm prepared for most occasions." Unzipping the first aid kit, a tent stake fell out as it rolled near Coral. She picked it up and handed it to him."Here, bite down on this."

“Uh, ok, but hurry! Ooooooooohhh!” Biting down on the stake, he steeled himself for the pain to come as he put his ass up and moved his tail to the side. She grabbed the handle and pulled the chisel out as fast as she could to get it out of the way! Tears form in Cornfield’s eyes as his entire body flops to the floor. “UURRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNHHHHHHHH!” he spat out the stake, taking short rapid breaths. “Oh, finally…” he gasped, before recovering from the shock.
“You don't have an ice pack in there, do you?”

"No.” she said bluntly while taking out a white bottle and rubbing cloth from the first aid kit. “But, I do have disinfectant. Be prepared, though…” She poured a bit of the disinfectant on the cloth. "This is PROBABLY going to sting like crazy."

“Err...On second thought...I'll be fine!” Cornfield is inching away from her until he felt her yanking his tail.

"Oh, no, you bucking don't. Stay still and take it like a stallion." Without warning, she rubbed the cloth on his wound.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” His cries echoed down the cave as he could hardly contain his tears. “Ooooooooh, you BITCH! Ah!” Realizing what he just said, he covered his mouth with both of his hooves.

After a moment of rather awkward silence, Coral asked "...What was that?”.

“Nothing! It just...really hurt was all! I swear!”

"Do you want this chisel to go back in?"

Instinctively, he put his rear down to the ground and covered it with his tail. “No! It was nothing! Really!”

"Put that back up, I'm not done! I need to apply the bandage." Unwrapping a sterile bandage, Coral cleanly covered up his sore rump. "Whew. That's over.”

“Aaaah…” Cornfield stood back up and stretched his legs. “Ok, that wasn't so bad… I'm ready to keep going!”

“I'm glad you like looking at my business end,” she said as she put the chisel and first aid kit back in her bags and put them over her. “I've seen about as much as I could take of yours..."

“...Ouch…”

"Sorry. I'm being harsh, aren’t I?" she sighed and she lightened up a bit more to him. "It's just that, what you suffered isn't the worst I've seen or even endured..."

“No,” he said as he turned to reassure her. “It's just the...disinfectant. There's a mild sting left. But, I'm ok now.” After careful reflection on how he was treated and how he treated her, he finally said “Thank you, Coral”.

"Hm. You're welcome..." With her left claw, she pointed to a spot on her right foreleg. "I should tell you the story how I got one of my scars. That's a doozy."

“Ugh. Mares.” he scoffed as he thought to himself. “They talk and they talk and won't shut the buck up!”
He sat down on his bandaged rump. “Ok.” he said to let her tell it him.

"No, no, walk with me." Coral walked around him. "Get that pressure off your hindquarters. We might as well make progress."

“Oh.” He quickly got up and walked alongside her. “So, tell me… What happened?”

“So, when I was exploring one of the ruins in the Badlands, where I found the old map that leads us to the four Gems of Creation, I came across another pony that was hunting the same thing..."

“Oh really...?” He leaned in a bit closer “Was she cute?”

“It was a stallion.” She slightly pushed him away. “Rugged. Matted mane. Seemed to know a thing or two about raiding ruins. His name is Dr. Caballeron…”

“Oh wait. I've heard of him…” He thought back to the Daring Do books he used to borrow before Twilight kicked him out of the library for good. “But I thought he was a fictitious character…” He pauses “...Is Daring Do real? Hmmmmmm...She must have an amazing ass!”

"He and I were in a hotel. Then, he noticed me and vice versa. I saw he was the usual explorer.” She brushed her claws through her feathery mane and shook it around. “And, I thought it would be fun to sweet talk him to getting the information I needed to get inside the temple."

As Coral was talking, focusing on him while they were trekking through the rest of the cave, Cornfield’s eyes drifted upwards towards the sunlight pouring from the exit. "We share some drinks to loosen his lips, and I try to prod him with a few questions,” she continued. "But…” She sighed and hung her head slightly low. “I got careless and asked one too many questions… Out of nowhere, his thugs come out to harass me. I took them down, no problem, but the bastard was able to dig a dagger into my right foreleg in the confusion."

No longer looking at Cornfield, she didn’t notice that he had stopped completely when he stepped out of the cave. Instead, she kept walking slowly with her mind drifting elsewhere. "I cried out, as the hotel staff were alerted of his actions,” she rambled. "He ran away like the coward he was, and he even managed to get ahead of me. I had such a hard time catching up to him on land..." She lifted her head and laughed. "But he forgot that I had wings, unlike earth ponies. So, needless to say, I’M the one with the map. Not him!” Before continuing her gloating, she noticed that she was alone and turned to face her companion. "Cornfield?"

He stood in awe, gazing at the ancient splendor ahead of him. “Coral...look.”

Circling around, she was surprised to have completely missed the fact that they had made it to the ruins. She backed up to join him as they gazed at the environment.

“Coral…” he said. “...It looks like nopony's been here...for...thousands of years!” As Coral had said, the mountain sides completely surrounded the area, with trees on the top of the cliffs letting out spots of sunlight. The temple ruins were caked in moss, fallen prey to the abuse of time. Its structure was held up by carved stone columns that were cracked and seemed like they were willing to give out at any moment. There were large, imposing statues of one ominous-looking stallion. An alicorn, but one with four wings instead of two on each side of the temple entrance.

"We're here..." she said while taking the environment in."The Heart of Nature is somewhere deep inside that temple..."

“You don't suppose…” He eyed the temple’s structure up and down, gauging its age. “This is where some ponies once lived before the EUP? ...Before...Equestria?”

Staring at the ruins, she considered the fact that these ruins were here well before the reign of Celestia and Luna. "Yes... It seems so… Before the three tribes ruled as one. Way before that, in fact." Coral walked closer towards one of the two statues places at each side of the door. "And... that stallion..."

“Oh...?”

The statue of the stallion alicorn with four wings had a beard of vines, a mane of fire, wings of water, and a horn of jagged, but smooth crystal. "That's an impressive piece... That might be their god..." speculated Coral.

“Hey, check that out!” Cornfield shouted out as he ran up to the wall of the temple. “Look at these markings! They don't look like wear and tear…” Delicately brushing his hoof on the wall, he found that there were many cuts and holes in the stone wall. “...I think there was once a fight here…”

"A fight? Let me see..." she replied as she walked over to observe the wall with him. While she was studying what weapons may have caused these marks, Cornfield looked around the columns and steps leading towards the door. There were a lot more battle scars to be found.

“A very BIG fight!” he exclaimed.

Coral stood in silent observation. This amount of damage wasn’t just a fight. "A war. Not surprising... This place must still hold some treasure left inside that were sought out..."

“But wait...something's amiss…” Cornfield carefully examined both statues of the alicorn.

"Oh? What do you mean?"

“The statues are fully intact…”

Wanting to double check, she approached the statue as well. She brushed her claws against it and checked for any residue. "Not only intact, but...Untouched by moss..."

“If there was some kind of war here, and it really seems like there was some sort of last stand...why in Equestria are the statues in the best shape possible?”

Coral quietly walked around the statue and looked into its white glaring eyes for a minute."Not gonna lie, I'm creeped out..."

“Yeah...this is really weird. I have this feeling like we're not supposed to be here at all, and I know what that's like!”

"And yet,” Clenching her fist and looking down at it, she gathered her determination. “I intend to press forward. The Heart of Nature, The Eyes of Fire, The Mind of Water, and the Breath of Life… Four gems, when gathered, make its collector a super being." She closed her eyes, keeping her goals focused in her mind. “When that happens, there won't be any wars. I'll make sure of it.”

“Well, let's make it quick ok! I don't know how much I can take of this place!” The colt stopped and slowly faced Coral, who was looking back at him. “Hold up...a ‘Super being’?”

"Yes. That's what it said in the ancient texts..."

“...But why would you want that?”

"I want to be that..." she placed her claws on her chest. "So no creature lives the way that I did."

Cornfield pondered to himself with concern as he walked towards the entrance. "I wonder if this place is starting to get to her?"

Surveying their surroundings, the duo proceeded together further inside the ruins. Coral noticed that the main hall was filled with broken down support beams. The only ones intact are barely holding the place together. "I feel like the slightest touch can make this structure crumble on top of our heads..." she thought aloud.

He gasped! “Really?!”

"Well, it feels like it..."

“I’m just hoping we can nab that Heart of Nature before something happens to us!”

"Also, I know this sounds strange but..." Coral looked above her to see vines tangling from the columns up to the ceiling. "The plants seem to be holding the place together."

“I can see daylight through the ceiling, Coral.” Instinctively, he covered his head with one of his hooves as they progressed. “If this place is losing bricks by the dozen, I don’t think it’s safe to be here.”

"Yeah, I know, but…” She noted how the vines created a weblike pattern across the ceiling.
"The vines up there are so thickly intertwined…”

Cornfield uttered a simple “Hmmmm” as Coral moved ahead. At the end of the main hall, straight across from the entrance to the temple, there's a stone door and a plaque with ancient writing along the adjacent wall.

"Oh,” shouted Coral “An inscription!" While Cornfield excitedly galloped to her side, she observed the writings. "Just as I thought... This is old, old, OLD, Ponish language..."

He leaned closer, trying to read it before giving up. “...I can't understand this. I may be a pony but-”

"Thankfully,” she interrupted while shuffling her claws in her bag. “I know what to do in a situation like this..."

“Oh, have you?”

She pulled out a small translation booklet, glancing sharply at Cornfield, who was looking at her bag curiously. "Before you think it, no. I don't have a magical bag of holding. This is the last thing I have that's stored away."

“Pfffft! Whatever!” he huffed, as Coral flipped through the pages of the booklet, trying to make sense of the writing on the plaque. “And? what’s it say?”

"Hold on.... Hold on..." She stated as she frantically flipped through more pages. "This is REALLY old dialect... I'm only getting bits and pieces..."

“Hopefully, something about where the Heart is right?

"Ok... This is my best translation...." She extended her claw to the plaque and read each word she could understand one-by-one. “Lose... Smell... Lose... Senses... Deceived...."

“Yes, yes?”

"Lose... your smell? Lose... your senses...." She scratched her head, wondering if she was correct. "And... deceived. That's my very best guess. That’s all I can get out of it." She put her translation book away.

“WHAT?” Cornfield yelled out, stomping his hoof. “THAT'S ALL WE HAVE TO GO BY? WHAT THE BUCK!”

She winced away from him as his echoing shouts rang in her ears. "Don't yell. I'm sure there's more, but that's the most I can translate..."

“Oh, great!” he sarcastically pouted, throwing his forelegs up into the dusty air. “Don't smell, don't sense, and deceived. What a find!”

"It's a clue!” she snapped back at him. “And any help we get out of it will help us!" Her eyes slowly panned to the imposing way inside. "Probably with what's going on behind that door..."

Author's Note

Thank you for reading so far!