"Go-go-go!" Cassandra shouted as the gang continued to run as fast as they could.

Dodging spears, leaping out of the way. Each time they turned a corner, more of those creatures dropped from the ceiling and tried to take a swipe at them, causing them to turn on another path. Driving the group deeper and deeper into the Temple.

Elizabeth, half turning to see if they were still being chased, saw the tip of the spear flying at her, let out a gasp before throwing her hands up, the shield consumed her and the group. The spear bounced off of the shield and they kept going.

"Could've used that moments ago!" Rachel hissed as they ran, her calves were aching and burning, losing her breath much faster than the girls. Her neck and shoulders injury still bleeding as she's pumped full of adrenaline.

"Don't start with me, missy!" Elizabeth hissed back.

"Less bickering, more running!" Sunset snapped at both of them.

The girls quickly slipped into this wide room. Applejack looked behind them to see that there were heavy duty doors. She jumped over to them, braced her hands on the stone and began pushing.

The doors began to slowly close but it wouldn't be enough with just her.

Rachel, Rainbow Dash, Lucy and Cassandra, using her magic, all collectively pushed the doors, shutting them in, at the same time, those creatures rammed into the doors.

They all stepped back as those things began beating and pounding at the doors, making those horrible sounds. The doors shook but unable to budge. It lasted a good five minutes before everything became silent.

The gang waited a moment longer to make sure nothing was coming in before they dropped on their butts.

"Just what the heck is this place? Did we just enter the Gates of Hell???" AJ asked Rachel after taking her stetson off and fanned herself.

"It sure seems like it." Serenity whimpered. " Rachel, what is this place??"

Rachel snarled at them. "I don't have a clue. I don't know what the fuck those things are, I do not have a single fucking idea as to what's happening. It wasn't like this years ago. I don't know anything!" She placed a hand on her aching neck, feeling her blood seeping from the bandages. It wasn't a gusher but it did need to stop bleeding.

I wonder… she thought before closing her eyes. Concentrating on her internal fire, manifesting on the places needed. Nothing happened at first, but thirty seconds later, smoke began to rise out of her neck and shoulders as small bits of fire flickered, the fire searing the wounds close. Though she couldn't feel the fire itself, the smell of her burning flesh was making her nauseous. She didn't feel any pain as the fires soothed it away until it disappeared.

"Did you just set yourself on fire?" One of the girls asked as they watched Rachel remove the bandages, seeing the pink flesh where she was stabbed and bitten. A little burn around the edges but other than that, it was healed.

"So you have a healing factor?" Sunset asked, looking at her healed wounds.

"Not exactly." Rachel responded. "I've seen my mate do something similar to heal his wounds and sometimes mine.." she rubbed her thighs, remembering certain moments of her and Spike. "Didn't think it would work if I'm being honest."

"Great, wonderful news. You're healed, but that doesn't really help us with those monsters!" Elizabeth snapped.

"Just what exactly are those things?" Dash asked.

Sunset ponders a little. "I don't know, they look draconic… but also human."

"Sub-evolutionary species. Since Rachel mentioned some humans were given magic by the dragons." Cassandra theorized. "Maybe over time they've mutated to this primal, feral state?"

"They do look like Rachie here when she dragon-ups." Lucy mentioned.

Rachel stared at Cassandra. "So you mean to tell me that these things evolved from humans long ago??"

"I'll have to see one up and close to know for sure, get a good look." Cassandra said. All eyes narrowing at her as she pushes her glasses up. "What? As frightening this is, this is a fascinating discovery. And I thought Equestrian magic was a sight, but this is from our own world."

"If you want to go kill yourself by sticking your head out there, be my guest." Rainbow Dash grunted. "The way I see it, these Dwellers - yeah I'm naming these freaks - made this temple their home. We're trespassing and now they want us dead."

"Is it really worth our lives to continue this mission?" Serenity whimpered.

"Both worlds are at stake here. We're doing this." Rachel said as she pulled out the climbing axe. Feeling a little better that she has some sort of weapon to use. "We have magic and tools to fight. We saw from the soldiers that these guys could be killed. Or otherwise, we’re dead too.”

“But we’re stealing from their homes.” Serenity fired back. “They are just protecting their home.”

“None of us are going to have homes if we don’t continue. I’m sorry if this is hard for you, but the thing is, what we’re doing is bigger than all of us combined.” Rachel said. “I did offer you to back out at the entrance, it’s too late to turn away now.”

As they talked, the temple shook again. They could hear the walls shifting again outside.

“Welp, we can’t even find our way out with the walls keep a-shifting.” Spike grumbled.

“We have to keep going.” Rachel said. “At this point, none of us have a choice.” She walked back to the doors.

Given that they can’t even turn back if they want to, the mane 7 followed Rachel. It took a collective effort to open the doors enough for all of them to fit through.

Rainbow Dash stuck her head out first, looking at the brand new surroundings, just seeing a new hallway leading them somewhere else. “You think the walls moving is one of those soldiers triggering traps?” She asked as she walked forward. “Coast is clear… for now.”

The gang walked out of the bedroom with caution, gazing around for any more of the dwellers.

“Please don’t jinx us with the word traps please?” Elizabeth asked as they moved. Listening carefully and they were able to hear movement and things scurrying about in the darkness around them.

Rachel looked up at the walls, looking for any indication to help them find their way. As they continued to look, their lights began flickering.

“Oh no no no no.” one of them yelped as they smacked the lights, trying to get it to stay on.

“Did we pack extra batteries??” Cassandra asked everyone as she dug in her bag for extra batteries. “D-did Shaun give us some??”

They all checked before they were collectively left in the darkness.

“Oh this is such bullshit!” Lucy shouted, stumbling blindly before stepping on Spike’s paw.

“Ouch! Pinks!” Spike yelped, jumping and pulling his paw back.

“Sorry!”

Cassandra quickly grabbed her phone, turning the light on before passing the phones out to the others.

“These won’t last long either. I haven’t charged since the states.” Applejack said as she fumbled her on.

As Rachel watches the girls fumbling with their phones and trying to get the headlights working, she hears the clicking sounds again. Spike began growling as he also began hearing the sounds. It took a moment for the girls to hear the sounds themselves.

“Oh no not again!” Serenity sobbed.

When one of the girls shined their lights around, a light at an unlit torch could be seen. Rachel walked up to it, took it off the wall.

"I got some oil here," AJ said as she came up to her, brought up a small canister and helped douse the torch.

Once covered, Rachel concentrates on it, focusing her energy and fire ability she has. It took a moment but the torch suddenly lit up in blue flames. "Okay, I'm starting to like this magic." Rachel grinned. The light of the blaze was enough to cover a good distance that the lights of the phones couldn't reach roughly the same time Elizabeth's, Serenity and Sunset's headlights came back on after a good smack or two.

They then began walking again. As Spike runs ahead to enter another tunnel, a much smaller Temple Dweller tackles him. Caused him to yelp but also soon began attacking back. Teeth and claws slashing and biting into it as its hands and claws began wailing at him.

Cassandra gasped before using her magic to levitate the creature up and slammed it into a wall. It let out an ear piercing screeched but unable to move as it was being pinned. “Spike, you’re okay??”

“Damn thing scared the shit out of me.” Spike responded with a snarl, growling and barking at the thing.

The girls looked upon it and they stiffened. Though much smaller than the ones they've seen, its horns were just starting to develop, the spikes on its head were rounded.

It was a child Dweller.

"Holy shit, it's a kid." Dash said.

The child Dweller let out a sound that echoed around them. When they heard the exact noises, Serenity turned around and gasped. Seeing more smaller dwellers, roughly twenty of them, all of them running all fours coming their way, faster than the adults.

Cassandra threw the child she had at the moving mob and the girls went back to running.

However, they didn't get too far as the children were on them. Biting and clawing and slashing at the gang with animalistic fury.

Sounds of Spike snarling and growling as he fought with one. Rainbow Dash had a couple on her but was able to shake them off with her super speed; Cassandra after having slashed long enough was flinging them off with her magic; Applejack, being one of the strongest, was throwing the creatures off of her and swinging her climbing axe alongside Sunset; Elizabeth used her shield to push any one coming too close to her. Lucy throws her sprinkle bombs at them which scared a few but cracked the walls.

Serenity however was having trouble. She tried to get away before several of the small dwellers jumped on her, bringing her to the ground. She screamed in terror as she felt their claws and teeth piercing her clothes and flesh, unable to fight them off.

Rachel quickly was on her, swinging the torch on one of them, sending them flying off before reaching down to grab another and threw it to the ground. Her boot came harshly at its body with a bone-crushing sound, a burst of flames erupted where she stomped at it. It let out a pained scream before Rachel turned to the others tossing the torch aside and grabbing the other one off, pinning it to the ground before taking her axe and repeatedly swung it, stabbing it with the pointed end, fueled with anger and need to survive.

As a couple more went to attack Rachel, she let out a draconic roar as she swung again. Feeling her internal fires ready to consume her, so close to changing.

The sound and the fire was enough to have the children Dwellers scramble away. The remaining children leaped off of the gang and took off where they came from.

Elizabeth and Cassandra and Rainbow Dash ran up to Serenity who was a blubbering, bloody mess. Out of the gang, she had the worst injuries.

"I want to go home," Serenity sobbed as the girls dealt with her wounds.

"We're working on it." Elizabeth soothed her as the others worked on her.

"Yo Rachel, mind healing Fluttershy here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know if I can, but I can try." Rachel makes her way to her but Serenity shuffles away.

"D-don't come close!" Serenity shouts. There was fear in her eyes when she looked at Rachel. Afraid of the dragoness in front of her.

Rachel looked upon her and sighed softly, she turned and walked back over to the dropped torch, the bodies still lit in flames as she picked the torch up. She gazed at the dead children Dwellers before looking away.

"They… didn't leave us a choice… " Rachel muttered.

What was she doing? Bringing these guys here in this dangerous place, what was Rachel thinking?? None of them prepared for this moment…

Rachel looked around them as all were mending their wounds, she looked at the artwork, seeing it telling stories and moments of the past. As she looked, the flames of the torch flickered as if something was sucking the flames into the cracks of the wall.

She watched the flames a little before switching hands and placed a hand on the stone. “Something’s here…” she muttered as she felt the stone.

Rachel rubbed across the wall before feeling her hand sink into itself and the entire wall itself swiveled fast, smacking her from behind and pushing her forward with a yelp before the wall closed.

“Rachel!?” Spike shouted.

He, Lucy, AJ and Sunset ran up to the wall. “Rachel? Rachel!”

“G-guys?!” Rachel called out from the otherside, her voice muffled loudly. “Try to find a button!”

“Hold on!” They continued to try and locate the button but they quickly learned that they didn’t know what Rachel did. They kept at it for two minutes before more clicking sounds echoed where they were.

“Crap, there’s more coming.” AJ grunted as she started punching the wall, thinking she could break through the wall.

“We got to go. Rachel, try to find us, be careful!” Sunset shouted.

“You can’t be serious??” Both Rachel and Spike snapped.

“We can’t get you out of there, try and find your way to us, we gotta move.” Sunset said as RD, Elizabeth and Cassandra helped Serenity up on her feet.

“Guys, get me out of here!!” Rachel shouted. She bangs on the wall on her side, hands sliding on the stone to try and find the button herself.

“Try and find us, we have to go now!” Sunset said before she and the others got going.

Spike snarled. “Damnit!” he snapped, forcefully tearing himself away and followed the others.

“Fuck!” AJ smacked the wall out of anger before running after them.

“Guys?? GUYS?!” Rachel screamed, trying to get their attention, but was only left in silence.

The remaining girls ran as the sounds of the Dwellers chased after them. Sounds of the adults this go around running and climbing on the walls to reach to them.

“W-we have to go after Rachel!” Spike shouted as he jumped out of the way of spears narrowly hitting him.

“We can’t help her without helping ourselves first!” Sunset snapped. “I’m sorry but Rachel is a tough girl, maybe tougher than the rest of us, she can handle herself!”

As they ran down to hide in a room, they were stopped when six more Dwellers dropped from the ceiling and faced in front of them, nearly taking a swipe of Elizabeth’s head.

The girls and Spike continued to scramble away, lights were flickering, all of them trying to get away. They ran and ran until they found another room and quickly shut the doors behind them.

“Okay, yeah, this place is literal he-AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Serenity screamed.

The room they had found themselves in was riddled in bodies and corpses. Corpses of fallen soldiers, animal caracases, bloody creatures lay in many piles and pools of blood faced before them, the smell was unbearable, it was sickening.

“Okay, we need to leave this place of horrors, right now." Aj grunted before attempting to open the doors back up.

Cassandra counted the girls and Spike, making sure they were all there. “Oh no… oh no no no!”

Spike sniffed and stiffened. “Oh no…Where’s Rarity?!”

“What?!” The other girls yelped, looking around the room to find their missing friend. Counting everyone to make sure it was correct.

But Elizabeth wasn’t there.

Instead, Elizabeth was out there. During the scrambling and the lights flickering, Elizabeth found a large crack in the wall and had shimmied herself inside and held her breath in, watching the creatures run past her.

Both Rachel and Elizabeth were now separated from the group, for now, both are alone facing the monsters that inhabited this godforsaken Temple.

Author's Note

Maybe the two girls can find each other, work things out with each other and find the group together??

< --- The Male Dwellers

<---- The Female Dwellers.