Escape From the Tunnels

by StelsunDarkstar

Rating: teen
Tags: Sweetie Belle, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Adventure
Length: 3355

Sweetie Belle the unicorn tries to escape from an unfamiliar underground place.

One day, or even night, Sweetie Belle the unicorn finds herself in a unfamiliar place underground, where she's gonna meet other creatures. Is everything gonna be okay? Will Sweetie Belle be able to trust the other creatures, or someone will end up hurt?

Find out in the chapters!

Published 2021-03-15 19:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-05-17 16:27:05 UTC

Chapter 1

One day, or even night, everything was unusually dark. Only the quiet sound of the rain was able to be heard from miles.
In one dark room, there was a unicorn mare, laying there on the ground, sleeping. She had silver white coat and purple mane with pink tips. It was of course, no other pony than Sweetie Belle.
The mare suddenly woke up in shock. She looked around, but it was too dark.
"It's too dark," Sweetie Belle thought. "how am i gonna.." She stopped thinking about the darkness in the room, when she realized that she can just use the magic from her horn. "Oh, of course, i forgot about my horn."
She closed her eyes again and focused. Then a light-green light came from the tip of her silver-white horn down to the bottom of it. The bright green light shone across the dark room.

Then Sweetie opened her eyes, quite reliefed from the lack of darkness. But then she noticed the iron collar, placed on her neck and tied to a metal pole.
"Oh no.. No no.." The mare's pupils got smaller from the sudden fear that slowly took over her body. "What is all that?! Where am i?! How.. how did i ever got here?" Sweetie Belle looked around, searching for a door, a window or a crack on one of the four walls where she could possibly escape. But there was none of the first three options, except for a door, located right behind her.
"Oh, thank the princesses, there's a door. But, this leash.." Sweetie looked at the leash connecting the collar to the pole. "Hm. . . " The unicorn mare started thinking again. Until she finally came up with the most obvious solution... Cutting it with magic, of course.

After she cutted off the leash, she was free to roam around the room with no problem. But that collar, it just stood there.. on her neck, untouched and shiny like it's brand new.
Sweetie tried to break it with her magic, but she failed. Either the collar was too tight or it couldn't fit thrue her head to get it off.
Giving up on getting the iron collar off, the mare started walking around the corners of the room out of fear and boredom. Really weird emotional combination, even she herself realized that.
"The door is locked, there's no windows here, and if i give my horn a break, everything will turn dark once again!" Sweetie Belle lowered her head down. She was in a situation where she wasn't sure what the true ending could be.
Then Sweetie looked up, because she thought that there was something, at the right corner of the room, where her magical light wasn't enough to shine up. The young mare got up and walked towards the darker corner.
Suddenly Sweetie stopped and gasped in horror, from the thing she saw there. In the corner of the room, there was a small skeleton of a young pegasus filly, just laying there, curled up. It had a collar too, but obviously smaller and rustier.
"Does that means that i'm not the first one here?" Sweetie asked herself.

"Hey!" Sweetie gasped from fear. "No no! Don't be scared and turn around! I won't hurt you."
Sweetie Belle really had no choice, but to turn around. Then.. her fear suddenly disappeared when she saw another pony behind the locked door. Sweetie gasped from surprise when she saw the teen colt.
"Can you help me?" She asked the stranger colt. "I don't know how i got here or how to get out! Perhaps, you may know the exit..?"
The colt slightly frowned and nodded for 'no'.
"But.. Maybe we can find it together? If you don't mind." The colt asked the unicorn. Both then looked at eachother akwardly.
"I would actually love to! But.. the door is locked and there's no key.." Sweetie Belle tilted her head down.
The colt looked at the sad mare with confusion. Then he started asking her questions.
"Okay, but aren't you supposed to use the magic from your horn to escape from your room? Just askin'." From that question Sweetie Belle's ears twitched in surprise. "Seriously? Don't tell me that you didn't try blasting the door out!"
The silver-white mare sat on the dirty ground and facehooved herself.
"DARN IT!!" She yelled. After that, she stood up and started walking backwards. Then she stopped at curtain point, only to warn the colt. "WATCH OUT!! I'm going to blast this door!"

Then Sweetie's green eyes closed once again. The light from her horn stopped glowing, to give herself more focus to make a ball of energy, ready to be blasted at the locked door.
"Hgh, come ON!" Sweetie Belle yelled to herself.
Then the light from her horn came up again, but it was stronger that the previous. The room started to get hotter from the ball of energy, forming on the tip of the mare's horn.
Then it's size increased more and more, until it flew away in a high speed from her horn, right at the door. It was completely destroyed, even a little bit of the walls.
Sweetie Belle was finally free from that cell.

"Hey!" The colt ran inside the cell, where the now tired mare was. She was breathing heavily and shaking. "In the name of Luna, are you okay, miss?!"
Sweetie looked at the colt, then fell on the ground, tired.
"Heheh, yeah, i'm okay! Thank you, it's just that it's my first time creating a blast to desrtoy something." Sweetie Belle smiled, when everything went dark again. "I need to give my horn a break, or i'm gonna break it without me noticing!" Then they both giggled and laughed.
"I'm Amethyst, Amethyst Beat. Sorry that i couldn't say it earlier, but here it is. Heh.."
"Aw, it's no problem, Amethyst. My name's Sweetie Belle."
After a minute of talking, the two ponies exited the cell, ready to go thrue one of the endless tunnels.

"Are you ready, Sweetie Belle?" Amethyst asked the unicorn mare.
"Yes, i guess i'm ready."

Chapter 2

"Do you have an idea on where to go, Amethyst?" Sweetie Belle asked. The colt looked at the hundred of tunnels, and wondered on how to answer.
"Um," He continued on thinking. "what if the right tunnel is the one filled with more crystals and gems?"
Sweetie Belle was about to hoofpalm herself again, but instead answered his assumption.
"This sounds dumb, like, why would the right tunnel be the most crystal-like? And also, why would you think like this?"
Amethyst felt akward. This time he failed on giving an proper explanation on his assumption. Sweetie looked at him with her green eyes.
"Do you know a spell that exposes gems from the underground..?" Amethyst slowly asked the unicorn mare.
Sweetie Belle's expression changed. She began to think again. It has been so long sence she lastly heard of this spell. The last time she has heard of this specific spell was like, five years ago.. when her big sister, Rarity was just showing her how to do it.
"I.. I do know one actually! My sister, Rarity, she showed me this spell before." And it was true, her big sister mainly used this spell to find gems for the dresses and clothes she was making. And now, Sweetie Belle was going to use it, for her, and her new friend's good. "I just need to remember how it goes.."

Not even a minute after that, but Sweetie's horn started to glow again, the light grew really fast, until Amethyst had to cover his eyes to not get blind. Then, her light began to fade, it began to glow like a normal candle in the night.
"Hey," Amethyst noticed. "Sweetie, you did it, i can see the gems! Haha!" He laughed happily. The silver-white unicorn gave her horn a short break and made it glow again. Then she took a quick look at Amethyst.
"I didn't notice that you're a pegasus." Yes, she sure didn't. Amethyst was infact a pegasus, a pale-purple one, with even paler markings on his chest.
"Yeahh, i am. I'm kinda surprised that you just noticed." Amethyst felt akward, then he tried to forget about that. "Now, which tunnel should we enter?"
Sweetie looked at the tunnels and the gems around them. Then she looked at the tunnels above them, they had less and less gems in them.
"Of course! C'mon, Amethyst! We're going to the tunnels above us!"
The purple pegasus felt a little un-sure for a split second, but then decided to listen to Sweetie Belle.
Both of them followed the tunnel that had less gems than the others.

After few hours of walking and walking thrue the tunnels, the two ponies felt tired.
"Sweetie Belle, remember, it was your idea to enter the tunnels with less gems in them!" Then the pegasus sat on the ground to catch a break. Sweetie Belle was frowned.
"I do remember," She turned around, facing Amethyst. "now please, get up! We seriously need to get out of here."
Amethyst knew that it was for the greater good to not make Sweetie Belle mad. He was aware of what some unicorns can do when they're angered. So he forced himself to get up, and continue on walking.

After walking, walking and even more walking, the two ponies came across thousands of iron doors, every single door was identical to the next, rusty and old looking.
Sweetie and Amethyst decided to check the doors just in case there's something, or even someone.
"Hm, there's nobody here!" Amethyst yellingly informed the silver-white mare. She, meanwhile continued looking in the other cells.
Then, she noticed an open cell. The mare looked inside. There was someone, who was just sitting there, and not moving.
"Uh, oh no.." Sweetie thought. She wasn't completely sure if the creature in the cell was friendly, alive or something else.
"HEY, Sweetie Belle!" Amethyst yelled out of nowhere. "Did you find something in there?!"
The mysterious creature in the open cell heard the pegasus's yelling and turned around. Sweetie Belle's face started sweating.
"Amethyst. Shut. Up." The purple pegasus got curious about what exactly she was talking about. Until Sweetie ran closer to Amethyst, looking at the opened cell.

The creature was already outside the cell. It started walking towards the two ponies, it's yellow eyes glowed in the dark, because it was still pretty far away from the unicron mare and pegasus colt. They, on the other hand, started walking away.
"If.. If you're trying to hurt us.. Then get away!" Sweetie Belle yelled.
Amethyst looked at the unknown creature. Then he started to recognize it's body structure from somewhere. It looked very canine-like.. just like a huge dog, a diamond dog.
Then the dog-like creature spoke.
"I... Sorry.. for scaring you guys.." That voice sounded so.. tired and.. really.. raspy. The scared ponies have never heard such a voice before. "i really didn't mean to! I promise.. It's just been like, an year sense i lastly saw a living being in here.. And.. i.. i'm speechless."
Sweetie Belle and Amethyst calmed down a little. Then the mare's horn started to glow even more, to see the dog's face better.
"Um.. What's your name, diamond dog..?" Amethyst asked nervously. The dog-stranger answered almost immediately.
"I'm Cody! It's.. it's really nice to meet you both!!" His tail started to wag happily. "You.. You guys have no idea how lonely i felt back there, in this o.. opened cell! All alone! With nobody else, but me!"
Cody then forcefully shaked hand to hoof with Sweetie and Amethyst. They both started to feel kinda uncomfortable, but they tried to hide it from Cody, to not make him uncomfortable too. Sweetie Belle smiled at the dog and asked him as politely as she could.
"Excuse me, Cody. But would you like to help me.. and my friend, Amethyst, to get out of those caves..?" Cody looked at the silver-white mare with pure confusion.
"Oh.. I've never seen the surface.." Sweetie belle looked at him, disappointed. "..but you guys have seen it! How.. how is it up there? I.. i would like to know."

Amethyst decided to tell him about the surface, Sweetie decided to clear her mind by looking better on what exactly is inside Cody's cell.
To her surprise, there was a broken chain and collar, probably Cody's. And there was stained blood on the left wall and a corpse, just sitting there. Right under the blood stain. The corpse looked alot like a griffon one. Sweetie Belle started to feel terrified. Maybe trusting Cody is a bad idea?

Author's Note

My apologies that this chapter came out very late! I had less motivation on this one, but still, i knew that i had to finish it.

Chapter 3

Sweetie Belle stepped closer to the rotting corpse. She looked at it carefully, while trying not to vomit. The wound on the dead body's neck at the back looked like a huge bite, an infected one. One or two of the neck bones were even visible.
"Oh my sparkles.. Did that dog Cody killed that to that poor griffon?!" Sweetie Belle thought to herself. "If he did, i need to tell Amethyst and get away from here."
All of a sudden, she heard footsteps. Sweetie froze in place from fear and disgust.
"Hey, Belle! Wh.. What are you looking at?" Cody's voice was coming closer and closer. The silver-white mare slowly turned around, shaking.
"Sweetie Belle, really, what ARE you looking at.." Amethyst called out from behind. Then when he stopped next to Cody and noticed the rotting corpse, his ears lowered and made a confused-disgusted expression. "..Oh.. I.. see."
Sweetie Belle frowned angrily. She didn't want to hide anything, so she asked the diamond dog in a serious manner.
"Cody, did you killed that poor griffon?!" She then pointed with her left front hoof at the corpse, so that Cody and Amethyst could see it even better. "I'm.. waiting for an answer."

The three of them just stared at eachother for a minute or two. It was starting to get akward, so Amethyst decided to break the silence and change the topic.
"HEY! Sweetie, we're all probable not sure what happend to the poor creature, and... there's nothing we can do to save it, i mean-- You don't have healing magic! I don't have magic, and Cody... Well, you know what, let's just get out of this cell before all of us go insane!!" Then the purple pegasus grabbed the dog by his paw and got him in the tunnel hallway. "C'mon Sweetie Belle, you don't want to miss all the adventures too, do you!?" Amethyst showed his head only, smiling aknwardly to Sweetie.
The mare was confused. Really confused from the things that Amethyst just said, but she just looked at the corpse for one last time and ran to the other two.
Now it was time for them to continue their journey thrue the tunnels.
"I.. I think it'll be a good idea if i take th.. the lead!" Cody recommended to the ponies, sence he lived in the underground caves and tunnels his whole life and he probably even knew some ways out.
"Okay then, Cod! Let's go!" Amethyst galloped after the dog, almost leaving Sweetie Belle behind. She, on the other hand, was still sceptical about the murdered griffon in Cody's cell and Cody's true identity, if he even has one.

"Cody," Sweetie Belle spoke after another hour of silence and walking. "do you really have an idea, on where are we going?"
The diamond dog was kinda nervious, afraid to answer.
"Hey, dude," Amethyst decided to continue the akward and sudden conversation that Sweetie Belle started. "you can talk to me, if you don't feel comfortable around my friend, Sweetie Belle!" After he finished speaking, he turned around, looking at the silver-white unicorn, giving her an akward look.
"Huh.. Why am i not surprised that a diamond dog is feeling uncomfortable around me?" Sweetie thought to herself. "I literally yelled at him about someone's rotting corpse, without knowing who really killed it. Even Amethyst, or even my other friends would feel the same as Cody probably does right now.."

The three creatures continued on walking and walking.. and still walking.
"HERE WE ARE!!" Cody shouted all of a sudden. The two ponies almost jumped out of fear. They both looked foward and raised an eyebrow.
"Um, Cod?" Amethyst asked. "What IS this..?"
The diamond dog looked at the pale-purple pegasus.
"Hm? Well, th.. this is the 'Grand Cave', as i.. like to call it." The dog said with a shy smile on his face.
They were infront of a really big and wide cave, with hundret's of other small tunnels. On the walls of the cave were placed many lantern-like torches, glowing in different shades of red.
It was actually one of the most beautiful things that the two ponies have ever seen. Yeah, an ordinary big underground cave sure is something beautiful to look at.. Not everyday you can enjoy an gorgeous view from a diamond covered cave.
"This is amazing, Cody." Sweetie Belle was impressed by the beauty. Amethyst was amazed as well and his eyes were shining.

Cody then told them to get moving. They had to continue their jounrey thrue those caves and tunnels.

After another boring minute of walking, Cody decided to start a conversation.
"H.. Hey guys! You like.. crystals, r.. right?"

The pegasy and unicorn looked at eachother akwardly. Then Amethyst answered, remembering that he, infact loves crystals and diamonds with every piece of his body.
"Uh, i do actually love crystals, Cod!" That sentence made the diamond dog slightly more happy. Sweetie Belle smiled too, because after all this unnecessary drama and untrust they deserved to feel even a little bit positive.
The unicorn mare looked at the two boys, who now have started their own conversation about diamonds and crystals.

"I guess it's great, seeing progress in their relationship!" Sweetie thought to herself, while smiling slightly.

"AAHHGH!!!"

Out of nowhere, an earth pony fell from one of the tunnels on the ceiling. The two ponies and the dog got scared, because they didn't expect it to arrive like that or any other way.
The pony that fell was now laying on the ground. It's blue coat and mane were making the pony mare stand out a little. But one thing that was popping out of the blue colors of her coat, was the metal collar around her neck. The same one as Sweetie Belle had.
Amethyst Beat stepped up, to help the fallen pony. He asked the mare if she's hurt or okay in general. The mare got up shaking, then nodded for 'yes' while smiling shyly.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Sweetie Belle asked. The mare looked at the unicorn, slightly tilted her head sideways and raised an eyebrow. Then..

the blue mare gasped.

"I KNOW YOU!!" She shouted.

"Uh, can you not shout like that, please?!" Sweetie Belle got a little annoyed with all the sudden shouting. The blue mare felt embarrassed about that, then cleared her throat and continued on talking.

"I'm sorry! I meant to say that i know you from somewhere else." Then the blue mare placed her front right hoof on her chin. "Oh, that's right! I know you from that Friendship School where you worked as a teacher, right?!"

Sweetie Belle didn't know what to say, she felt a little akward. She thought to herself that maybe this blue mare is another annoying fan. Still, even if she was, Sweetie didn't want to hurt her feelings by just shooing her away like an unwanted stray dog.
As she continued on feeling akward, the silver-white mare was thinking on what to say to the blue pony.

Author's Note

Honestly, if there's something i'm good at writing, it's writing boring things.