"Tell me, guide, we kill demons, yes. What is this demon?" The first knight asked.

"Demon big, white, greedy. Eat like dragon. Gems. Eat, come out of stomach alive. Birth." Their boar guide spoke.

"Wtf was that?" The one who drew the map said.

The first would stop his rudeness and suggest that he just listen.

"Continue," he asked.

"Demon Castle, big, many child of demon.
She eat, become child. Not eat, not eat, you child; she eat you."

"What demon, spider? Horse? Monkey?" The first asked.

"Many, many but pony with horn. Ugly. Kill demon."

"Well, that's our answer; we are up against a unicorn," the mapper butted in.

"If so, then that would be easy," the first knight proclaimed.

"Im sure this one is either a chimera of some sort or a draconicous one," he continued.

The boar would stop moving and point northward. "End of forest. Cave, village, crazy ponies. Bye."

The boar then casually leaves as if nothing happened.

"Ain't they friendly?" The mapper knight added.

"Better than Gallus's army," the soft-spoken knight replied.

"Quickly, let's move. This place gives us more questions than answers, and it's giving me a headache." The first answered.

Their journey toward the cave was quick. No troubles presented themselves.

"Why have our days become so dull and boring?" The pillager knight voiced out his boredom.

"Must you jinx us? Be grateful for what fate has presented us," one of the knights answered.

"Well, we can open our flames again since we'll need it for the dark cave upon us," the first suggested.

"Neigh, we might choke ourselves if we do that, and caves tend to have weird gases that might explode," the mapper warned.

"Great, we still need that light, though."

The first would enter first and release his flames.

"I'll go first. Distance yourself a bit so not everyone would get cought in the explosion. The rest should practice limiting their flames."

"Must you always have a brave front?" The soft-spoken knight asked.

"I chose to lead; I must set an example. And besides, how else am I to impress you?"

"It would be for nothing if you end up dying, knight; don't forget who you showed your sword."

"Yes, milady." He gave a kiss at her hooves before continuing inside the cave.

Slowly, the knights trek the insides of the cave.

_______________

Up in the sky, Gallus's army blocks the sun, giving the ground beneath darkness.

"We are about to cross boar territory, my lord," one of the dragons informed his lord.

"And so?" he replied.

"I heard boar meet is exquisite."

" Onyx, they are part of my territory. If you ate them, that would be less for me, or is it that you wish to take what is mine?"

A whip would crack and strangle Onyx.

Silver stream would land on the dragon's back and continually choke the dragon.

"My dear, let him talk. It would be a waste if you killed him."

"Don't be soft, dear," she replied.

"I'm not; do not worry. Your griffon will never be soft."

" Hmhm, good." She giggled.

As soon as she released her whip, Onyx was able to grasp for air.

"AGH.. forgive me, my lord. I did not mean to take what is yours."

"I know you can be stupid sometimes, Onyx, that I can understand, but if she's here, be careful what you say, or better yet, don't talk at all. Next time might not be pretty. Even I won't be able to help you."

"I understand, my lord."

"And to me, dragon, what would you say?" Silver Stream asked while still on top of him.

"Forgive me, my lady!" He panicked.

"Good. Now behave." She sat at his back and rested there.

"Visiting the boars might be a good idea, though. They know the forest well, correct? We descend to their village; do not eat them."

As he gave the signal, they dove into the forbidden forest.

_______________

The cave was wet and damp as they got deeper inside. There were no signs of life, not even cave dwellers or insects.

"Be careful of poison; there is no reason for creatures to abandon this cave if so," the mapper warned.

"Perhaps we are ending up burning the poison in the air."

"Or perhaps it's the water itself?"

"Just don't do anything stupid while we are in here," the soft-spoken knight answered.

"I see light!" The first responded.

He quickly galloped to the source, only to be met by an earth pony dazed and staring at the distance.

It was wearing mining gear, complete with a pickaxe and a lamp. But his clothes were tattered and torn.

"Are you alright, sir?" The first was genuinely worried, as this was the first time he had met a fellow pony that wasn't burning—a citizen they were duty-bound to protect.

The rest of the knights would rush in and help.

"I have first aid!"

"I know the arts of healing!"

Everyone looked at that knight, questioning his decision to hide that skill up until now.

" W-What! No one asked!"

Everyone decided to let that one slip by, as they needed to help the miner.

"Alright, we leave the professionals to do their work while we wait."

The two would do as much as they could to heal the dazed pony while the rest watched on guard.

"Perhaps it's best we bring him out of this cave," the mage suggested.

Hearing that, the miner began screaming and violently shoved anyone away. The rest would be on alert and distance themselves from the miner. A mistake they made, as it began running off a cliff.

"The village is doomed! The village is doomed!" The miner screamed.

"Stop him!"

It was too late.

His fall would not be heard.

Tsk, it might not be too late! We might still be able to save the village! Anything would do! "

But before he could run, the soft-spoken knight would block his way.

"Calm yourself! You have a responsibility to us first before them, and especially to our princess. Your death here will be a shame to us. Now move with caution; everyone here feels your remorse." She hugged him after that.

"Forgive me, and thank you." The first knight finally calmed.

"First aider, what was your take on the miner?" she asked.

"He had no pulse, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was unfocused; he kept looking everywhere and seemed to not know we were here. Hallucination, poison, or perhaps insanity. I can't tell from the little details we have."

"And what about you, healer?"

"Oh, uhmm... I think it's a curse. The white essence we absorb, I see it leaking from him, but only a little. But not only that, a mist of black surrounds him."

"Then we are dealing with magic?" The looter knight asked.

"Most probably," the healer answered.

"How many unicorns do we have in the group?" The first asked.

About 30 raised their hoofs.

This made the first question: how many earth ponys are present, since the majority that raised their hands is a lot.

"Then earth ponies?"

The only one who raised his hoof was him.

Everyone looked at each other and whispered.

"Oh, I hope this isn't a problem," he asked.

"What's with this? Do not disrespect our leader with this kind of attitude! The three races are one!" The soft-spoken knight defended.

"It's not that," one answered.

"It's been a decade since the royal knight stopped hiring earth ponies."

Author's Note

I forgot an important line of the miner
Updated.