The Dungeon of Terrors

*wooosh*

*wooosh*

The wind is howling its plight

on the desolation of time past

Hidden there a dungeon most fright

its labyrinths going ever downcast

Traps and monsters in it roaming like blight

bringing nothing but swift death at last

*wooooooooooosh*

Once the last word was finished, the author looked at her completed work. ‘’Hmm, it’s… not bad but… I just don’t know. Is it too much? Always seems like I can’t tell if my writing is too dramatic?’’ The mare mused as she looked at the short poem she’d drawn on parchment.

The mare in question was sitting on the top of a stone archway. Or rather, what was left of it. That ancient stone monument was all that was left of the building that was once there. The roof and even the walls were long gone. Even the archway itself wasn’t whole, its left side having long since crumbled, a testament of the ravages of time. It was on the top brick that mare was sitting. From that perch, she could gaze at the whole valley.

Expressing a sigh, she decided to put back her papers and quill back into the pocket of her spacious, green scholar robe. ‘’A fool's hope. Distracting myself from these worries was pointless. Not when it’s all I ever think about.’’ Pushing aside a lock of her brow mane that was obstructing her view, her golden irises looked at the source of her anxiety.

The night was at its end so the sky was more blue than black and the visibility was good. Not far from where she was, the mare looked at what could only be described as a giant sinkhole. At a glance, it was like looking at an inverted hill. And at its heart, was resting a small structure. Something that was looking like a pagoda made of stone. The howling of wind seemed to intensify around it.

‘’Time is running out. I hope it will work.’’

It was at that moment that the sun decided to rise, bringing the dawn with it. Very soon, the sky was now filled by a bright, clear blue. The scholar mare turned to her right and looked at the horizon.

On an old dirt road, a wagon drawn by a green dragon, was leaving a trail of dust smoke in its wake.

Above, an airship was following it while slowly losing altitude.

Both were coming her way.

‘’Ah. So our adventurers have arrived.’’

Sunny Starscout couldn’t help but feel that this was a wonderful morning. Light was filtered across the canopy of the trees and birds were singing beautiful melodies. To make the scene even more idyllic, butterflies of all colors were fluttering around Sunny. One of them, a blue one, even landed on Sunny’s snout and just stayed there, leisurely flapping its wings.

Sunny, finding that too adorable, couldn’t help but laugh. ‘’Alright, alright. I’m glad you found a comfy spot but please, you’re tickling me.’’ With one light jerk of her head, the butterfly went away, flying among the pretty rays of light. ‘’Gosh, I really took the right decision to take the scenic route.’’

With a feeling of wonder, she continued on a walk. On her path, there was the trunk of a fallen tree blocking her path. The trunk was twice her size. But instead of walking around it, Sunny jumped, effortlessly landing atop it on her two front hooves, jumping again while doing a backflip. She re-landed on the ground on her fourth hooves and, without skipping a beat, resumed her trot as normal. That obstacle may as well never have been there.

She continued her travel through the forest when she noticed something peculiar. At first, the trees on her path seemed less healthy than the previous ones. Admittedly that alone wasn’t strange, some trees simply grew weak or sick, it was a part of nature. But after some time, the trees and vegetation looked more than unhealthy. They were sick. Nay, they look as though they were dying. And the more Sunny was going forward, the more it was getting worse.

‘’That’s strange. What could cause that? A disease? An infection?’’

Soon enough, she reached the end of the forest. But she understood that this statement wasn’t quite right. There were still trees but fewer and more importantly, they were all dead. Little more than barren, dried out gray husks resting on a soil as dead as them. For a moment, Sunny thought she’d walked into a bog but even bogs had more life than… than this.

Sunny took step forward and—

It all came to her without warning. The moment her hoof touched this new land, she was submerged by an irrational fear. Her body was shaking and she found it hard to breathe. The sensation was simply horrible. Her hoof immediately leapt back as though the ground were burning.

‘’Something… there’s something evil in these lands!’’

Sunny could somehow sense it. An invisible force that was perfide. Unnatural.

Unnatural and yet… somehow familiar! Like—

Sunny chased those thoughts off her head. She tried to relax and took deep breaths to get back in control of herself. ‘’It’s alright. It’s alright to feel fear. There’s no shame. There’s no need to panic. Remember your breathing. In. Out. In. Out.’’

After a few of her breathing exercises, Sunny Starscout felt calm enough and took back control of her thoughts. The dread was still in her but she was in control of herself. She looked around to see if there was anything interesting. On her right, her eyes fell on an airship that was in the middle of a vertical descent. Its position was toward the valley, on a hill, a place much more welcoming than this place of dead.

‘’Ah. More ponies. I guess I should have expected that I would not be the only one to take that job. I should go meet them. Also… I wouldn’t mind company right now. I just hope that we can get along.’’

‘’Wooooo, check that-up, check that-up, check, that, up!’’ Say the blue unicorn while shaking enthusiastically her yellow pony companion. ‘’It’s a flying boat! A boat! That flies! On the sky!’’

‘’Haha. I take it’s the first time you see an airship Izzy.’’

‘’That’s what they’re called! Oh it’s way more cooler than a flying boat. Hitch, you think they’ll let me ride in it? Just for a minute?’’

‘’Hold your horse Izzy.’’ Hitch had said while frowning. ‘’We still don’t know if they’re friendly.’’ Carefully, he slides his hoof toward the handle of his sword.

The airship, at last, landed, causing a slight blast of air, forcing Izzy to hold tight on her pointy hat to make sure it wouldn’t fly away. From its deck, the head of a pony slowly rises up. Clearly, that pony was also being careful around strangers.

‘’Hum…hi. Good day to you.’’ She said shyly. That mare had a pretty fur of fuchsia color and her mane was of a vivid violet. It was kept in a well-dressed hairstyle and a golden diadem was on her head as an ornament. But the most noticeable aspect of her appearance was her pair of wings which were of a pure white and were unusually fluffy as if her wings were made of clouds.

‘’Pegasi’’ Hitch whispered under his breath. He couldn’t help but tense a little. But then, his head was stomped by Izzy front hooves, innocently, as in her excitement, wanted to be at the front to greet her. ‘’Hi new friend. My name is Izzy. What’s yours?’’

‘’Huh! Hum… Pipp. It’s Pipp.’’ At first, that pegasi was confused. But she then warmed up and flew down to their level. What surprised them was that she was wearing a dress which was not really what you’ll call travel clothing. Although, that dress wasn’t that fancy. It was a rather simple design and the skirt in her haunches was open at the front, leaving all the space for her behind hooves to move freely.

‘’Alright, let me try again. Properly this time. My name is Pipp Petal. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’’ She held her hoof for a hoofshake. Izzy immediately bolted at her, took her hoof and didn’t just shake Pipp's extremity but the whole pony for several seconds before placing her back on unsteady hooves.

Once Pipp recovered from her dizziness, she became so friendly. Seems Izzy enthusiasm was contagious. ‘’Oh my gosh! I love your hat so much. It goes so well with your colors and it gives you a… oh what’s the word… I know! A mystical aura.’’

‘’Really! That was exactly what I was going for. Your hair is so pretty. I’ve never see a mane being so well kept.’’

‘’Aw, you’re such a sweetheart. I work really hard on it.’’

The two mares went on as if they’re already besties. Hitch, seeing that, smiled and relaxed. He gently rubbed the back of his mount, his green four legged dragon. ‘’Well Sparky, seems I was worried for nothing.’’ Sparkeroonie answered with his usual cry that sounded a lot like baby babbling.

Hitch went out of his cart to meet the new pony. He made a bow in front of her. ‘’Greeting Miss. My name is Hitch Trailblazer.’’

Pipp eyed the earth pony and examined his appearance and what he was wearing. At first, it may seem that he was wearing simple clothes: a white shirt and brown pants. But everypony could notice that it was wearing armor beneath it. Despite how light the plates appeared to be, Pipp could tell they were sturdies.

Hitch too shook her hoof. ‘’A pleasure to meet you Miss.’’

‘’Oh my, you’re quite a charmer.’’

‘’Nay, I’m just trying to be a respectable gentlecolt. By the way, did you came alone?’’

‘’By the stars, no. I have no idea how to pilot that thing. I travel with my big sister. She’s the pilot. And mechanic. And cartographer. And mare of action as she likes to call herself. While me, I serve as hmmm… well… the… entertainment department, yes that’s it, I make the travels less boring which is super duper important. Anyway, you're gonna love her.’’ She shouted at the deck. ‘’Sis. Don’t be impolite and come meet these ponies.’’

‘’Just a sec Pipp.’’ The unseen pony from the deck spoke. ‘’I just want to make sure the engine is fine. It’ll only take a minute.’’

‘’Sis. The engine’s not going anywhere. It can wait. Be a dear please.’’

‘’Fiiine.’’

A figure lunged from the ship and did a few volt-faces before making an epic landing. The ponies couldn’t help but admire her impressive wings. Most strikingly, They were of different colors, which was a trait that was rare among pegasi. Those colors were even contrasting on her fur that was a pristine white.

The clothes she was wearing were giving her the look of a corsaire. Fitting, Hitch though, since she was coming from a ship. Just one that flew on the blue sky instead of the sea. On her front head was resting a pair of goggles with a harness. A model that Hitch knew was used by airship pilots.

When the pegasi opened her eyes, her cocky smile was replaced by sheer surprise and her wings went straight up. She stayed like that, frozen as a statue and that silence was starting to become awkward for everypony.

‘’Umm.’’ Had to say Hitch. ‘’Is there a problem?’’

‘’... … Whoa! An unicorn and an earth pony! Together! You don’t see that everyday.’’

‘’Oh! Right, of course.’’ Hitch, as well as Izzy, were now in an even more awkward mood. Both understood the implication behind the pegasi’s words but none wanted to elaborate on that matter.

Nopony noticed it but Pipp was looking at her sister with suspicion. She couldn’t put her hoof on what but she found something was… off with Zipp reaction.

Realizing she was acting weird, the white pegasi regained her composure. ‘’*couf**couf* Right. But where are my manners? Pleasure to meet you. My name is Zephyrina. Please, call me Zipp. That’s how all my friends call me.’’ She shook the hoof of both Hitch and Izzy. ‘’Now then. I’m presuming you’re here for the same job as us.’’ She had said while taking a brownish paper from one of her flank satchels. That paper was a typical notice asking for the help of adventurers, promising a generous payment for the fulfillment of a quest.

Hitch went in the front pocket of his blazer and took out the very same notice. ‘’Yup, that’s right. I must confess, that notice was a godsend since me and Izzy, we kinda short on bits. Hope you don’t mind… um…’’

‘’Sharing the reward, is what you’re gonna say?’’

‘’Well… yeah.’’

‘’Nah, don’t worry, we’re fine with that. Quite the contrary, me and my sister are glad that our team of two has become one of four. This will make the slaying of those monsters far more easier.’’

‘’Actually, do you mind if you make it five?’’

Everypony was surprised and turned their gazes towards the sound of this new voice. So engrossed in their conversation they were, that they didn’t notice the new mare that was walking toward them. That earth pony had orange fur and both her mane and tail were of a bright magenta. But the most noticeable element for this pony was the exotic cloth she was wearing, which was a simple uni robe, tight on her body but airy on her four sleeves. Its color was a plain red and the only accessory on it was a belt made of cloth that was the same orange as her fur. This didn’t look at all like an attire from the region but more like the clothes of a far away country.

‘’Hey there everypony.’’ That new pony made the brightest smile that they have ever seen. ‘’Sorry if I interrupted you. I saw you from far away so I deduced you were also here for the job.’’

‘’Wait, you took the job too!’’ Pipp questioned, echoing the sentiment of the others.

‘’Yep, that's right. And I’m happy to give my contribution. Oh right, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is–

Hitch cut in front of everypony, even pushed them away. His face was that of pure disbelief. At first, he thought his eyes were tricking him. ‘’... Sun… Sunny! Is that really you! But… it can’t be!’’

It was the turn of Sunny to be as shocked as him. Like him, her face was frozen in disbelief. ‘’Hitch?! My old friend?’’ But gradually, joy spreaded on her face until she could no longer contain her jubilation. ‘’OooaaaAAAAAH, it’s you! Hitch, I can’t believe it’s you!’’

Both Sunny and Hitch galloped toward each other and grabbed themselves into a big hug.

‘’It’s you! Sunny, it’s really you!’’

‘’It is me. You don’t know how good it is to see you again.’’

‘’Not as much as me. I still can’t believe you’re here.’’

‘’I didn’t expect to meet you. This is a miracle.’’

‘’Are you alright? I’d been worried sick. You’ve been gone for a long time. I was imagining the worst.’’

‘’I’m fine. I’ve never been more fine. I’m sorry Hitch. For having disappeared. I needed to go. But I should have at least told you before I went away.’’

‘’No, I understand. Don’t worry, I’m not mad. I understand now.’’

Perplexed, Pipp asked ‘’You two know each others?’’

‘’Oh right! I should explain.’’ Hitch finally broke the hug and addressed the other ponies while holding Sunny by the shoulder.

‘’This is Sunny Starscout. We’ve been close friends since, well, forever.’’

‘’Hello again.’’ Sunny waved eagerly at the group. ‘’He’s right. In our town, we were neighbors. So, as kids, we spent all our time together.’’

‘’Everyday we were playing all sorts of games. Like pretending to be knights or playing family. The usual stuff.’’

‘’On the record, I was the one that usually wanted to play knight and Hitch the one that wanted to play family.’’

Hitch’s face turned red. Very red.

‘’Sunny! Stop giving a false image of me! I see you didn’t lose that mischievous side of you.’’ Both ponies laughed and jabbed at each other, a testament that time and distance did nothing to diminish the camaraderie they were sharing.

Zipp shook her head in happy-disbelief. ‘’Well by the gods. What are the odds? It’s as if fate was involved.’’

The dragon Sparky made a happy cry toward Sunny. ‘’Sparkarooni! You still have him!’’ Exclaimed Sunny, looking at the drake with excitement. The dragon went toward her, bringing the cart with him, and snuggled his face against her and Sunny did the same. ‘’Oh Sparky, you remember me! Yes yes, I’m also happy to see you.’’

Once she finished being affectionate towards Sparky, she didn’t even have time to breathe that already, she was being tackled by Izzy. ‘’Hi. I’m Izzy. Want to be friend?’’

‘’Huh! Just like that! We barely met!’’

‘’Who cares. I can already tell we will be besties.’’ But then, Izzy's expression darkened. ‘’Unless you… have a problem with unicorns.’’

‘’Do I have a problem with unicorns? What make you say to that?’’ With her earth pony strength, she playfully lifted Izzy with her front hooves. The unicorn bursts of laughter and Sunny followed suit.

She couldn’t help but she noticed that Izzi had a scar on her face. A long but very thin line was coursing on her left cheek. Though it did nothing to blemish the adorable face of that vibrant pony, Sunny thought.

‘’Yaaay. I have a new friend. A friend of Hitch what’s more.’’ Had said the jubilant Izzy.

‘’You’re friends with Hitch!’’ replied Sunny.

‘’Righto correcty. Me and Hitch had been traveling companions for a long time.’’

‘’For one day Izzy.’’ Hitch corrected. ‘’We’ve been traveling together for just ‘one’ day. Hardly what I call a long time.’’

Sunny looked confused so Hitch decided to explain. ‘’I met Izzy at the nearby town of Grewhawk. She needed a ride to the west and since it was on my way, I decided to let her tag along and we became friends. Not lifelong friends that is.’’

‘’Potatoes tomatoes. But don’t think I’m just here for the ride. As a thanks, I’m insisting on helping you on your quest. I am after all an adventurer.’’

‘’You’re an adventurer too!’’ Sunny practically jumped with surprise and excitement.

‘’Yeah, I was surprised too.’’ Answered back Hitch. ‘’But she has shown me she can do some awesome tricks. Plus, she’s very fun company when you get to know her.’’

‘’Oh Hitch!’’ Izzy took her hat and pressed it against her chest. ‘’That’s the nicest thing somepony ever said to me. Well, I knew you’ll eventually fall to my amusing quirks.’’

‘’Not that hard.’’ Sunny said, lightly nudging Hitch in the ribs. ‘’Under his exterior of ‘I’m a stallion of duty’, underneath, he’s such a marshmallow.’’

‘’Yeah, that’s true, that’s true.’’ Izzi nodded with a knowing smirk

‘’Sunny!’’ Whined Hitch.

Both Sunny and Izzy burst into laughter. It quickly proved contagious as Hitch did the same and started laughing with them. Pipp smiled at the scene. She went towards her sister and jab her at her shoulder. ‘‘Well sis, it seems like things are looking good.’’

‘’Yes, I agreed.’’ Answered Zipp. ‘’Better than I thought. Not only is the team getting along better than I’d hoped but five members! With so much ponypower, this quest should be a breeze.’’

‘’Speaking of it, sis. Any ideas on what we should expect? ‘Ancient dungeon’ is… not what I would call an explicit description. Truthfully, I’d found that whole notice dreadfully vague. In search of professional adventurers, preferably in big numbers, to purge an underground historical site of monsters. Promise a huge fortune for everypony. Meet Vitali at the highest hill of the valley of Laments. I mean, it’s so vague as if it was on purpose. Should we be worried?’’

‘’About that.’’ Hitch said. ‘’When I found it, it was on the billboard of a tavern. Naturally, I wanted to inform myself of where exactly I was going. And since tavern are the perfect place to gossip, well, I took advantage and went to talk with the locals.’’

‘’And what did you find?’’ Said Zipp while putting the index feather on her chin.

‘’Not… a lot. Ponies and non-ponies were surprisingly silent each time I mentioned the name of this valley. Only the bartender gave me a little tidbit of information.’’

‘’What did he said?’’

‘’Apparently, this valley has a lot of spooky legends around it. That this place is haunted by the dead and that all that went into this valley never came back. You know, the old classics ones’’

Pipp's smile just became more forced. ‘’Oh really. That’s not really reassuring.’’

‘’Oh I wouldn't be worried if I were you.’’

‘’Huh! After all you’d said! Why?’’

‘’Let’s just say… that I have a few experiences with horrors. And the true ones don’t tend to have those poetic undertones. True places of death are spoken of with dry facts without any kind of spooky embellishment. Don’t get me wrong, the people of that town were genuinely scared of this valley but I think it is more akin to superstition. Plus… I’m pretty sure I know the true reason for the nasty reputation of this location.’’

‘’True reason? And what do you mean you have experience–

‘’Hum, not important. What’s truly important is that although we should be careful, we should not feel fear from those legends because that's just what they are. Legends.’’

‘’He’s right. The legends are not real.’’

Everypony was surprised by the appearance of that unfamiliar voice. So much they tensed up and they felt their blood freeze. They were looking everywhere to see where it was coming from. At first they could not find the source, only for a sound behind them finally guiding them to the intruder. They didn’t know when she got here but on the top of a dilapidated stone wall, there was a mare leisurely resting on it. She had a long brown and flowing mane and was wearing a green robe that screamed an academic vibe. Her expression was dead serious.

‘’It’s way worse than what they are told.’’

She then jumped from her perch and landed on the grass. She looked at everypony with a cold stare.

‘’And I don’t like that you aren’t taking it more seriously. I’m warning you now. This won’t be a fun little adventure, no. The dungeon you will be going to is the most terrifying place on earth. I guarantee that nothing could prepare you for what’s to come. So I beg you to be on your guard. Because I can’t promise… that you all will make it out alive.

Author's Note

And it's here that it begin. The start of a great adventure. As you know, this story is heavely inspired by the most famous, (sorry, I meant infamous) campaign of Dungeons and Dragons. The Tomb of Horrors. Yeah, my title wasn't subtile at all.

For those who don't know, The Tomb of Horrors is among one the oldest campaign ever made during the first generation. And the reason that made so special is that campaingn had been created not to be fun but for the goal to actively killed its players. A whole party could be wiped out with just a single mistake. Oh! That doesn't bode well for our heroes!

I emphasize that I 'just' took inspiration from this campaign. It's not a copy-paste of it. I have taken a lot of liberties out of it. I hope you enjoy.