Last time on “Beat Up Your Friends” Quest:
>Rescued Rarity.
>Got in a wreck.
>Continued to explore the caverns. exchanging stories with Rarity since you last saw her.
>After walking for a while, literally ran into your other pony friends who you had lost.
>Everyone was ok and happy to see each other.
>They had also discovered something; some kind of humanoid robot. It was badly damaged, with dents and burn marks. You and Twilight tried looking at it, but it seemed simply too complicated for either of you. Left it behind.
>Continued to explore with the party of ponies until you came until yet another fork in the road.
>Twilight used some light spell to look down each way to see whats down there.
>You saw a pony down one, but when Twilight did the spell again it was gone. When you asked the others if they saw it, it was already behind you.
>It caused a cave in on top of everyone, leaving you alone with Twilight. The two of you were attacked by the crazy blue unicorn.
>You tried to fight back, but it's magic overpowered you. It used you like a puppet to continuously punch Twilight until your fist was broken.
>Suddenly snapped out of it. It was some kind of fantasy dream. Everyone was ok and looking at you like you were crazy.
>Rarity recommended that you all leave and head back to Canterlot. Applejack wanted to stay and get the job done.
>You asked Twilight if there was some kind of magic or something affecting you in the area.
>Probing the wall with her magic, Twilight could detect something very far away.
You are Rusty Shackleford, a human with no memory of his past. Currently, you are lost underground with Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. You just had a traumatic episode that you don't fully understand. Some of your pony friends want to head back to town and recuperate. Others want to go on ahead.
"Well, if we are going to try and leave, I see only two ways. We can either try and find a way up the tunnel that flushed us down here to begin with. Oooor, we can go down the tunnel where ea giant tunneling snake tried to eat me."
"Huh, that does sound like a problem." Applejack says, frowning. "I guess we could try the safe way, but I don't see how any of us but Fluttershy can get out."
"Rusty, didn’t that giant worm chase you until you found Rarity?" Twilight asks.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Doesn't it stand to reason that it's not in that tunnel anymore?"
"It could be back already." Rarity argues.
"And there could be more then one," You concede. "But unless you know a spell that can give us wings Twilight, I don't see any other way."
There's a long silence as everyone faces Twilight. You look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You can do that?"
"Yeah, kinda," Twilight says. "I did it once before with Rarity when we all went to Cloudsdale. But it kinda went bad in the end and it requires a lot of effort to do with one pony, lets alone everyone here."
"But you could do it?" You ask.
"Uhh... yes. Yeah, I think I could, if I really had to."
"What if you only cast it on half of us? That way the ones with wings can lift the ones without. Or maybe just some of us could leave to get help."
"I guess that would be do able..." Twilight rubs her chin in thought. "Would still be a tall order of magic."
"Seems like a good plan to me." Rarity says sportively.
"But who's going to get wings then?" Pinkie says, clearly excited.
"I dunno," Twilight starts considering each of her friends, but then looks at you with a critical eye. "Don't know if anyone could lift you, Rusty. Do....do you want me to try doing the spell on you?"
"Uhh, let's hold off on that." You says, deflecting the question. "If you're still up to it when you do the others, you can do me. Besides, it might not even work on me."
"Ok then. Applejack, you're up then." Twilight says, going over to the orange pony. The others very noticeably side step away from her.
"Me? Really?" Applejack says, backing up into the cavern wall. "Why me?"
"You're the strongest." Twilight explains, her horn glowing and a stream of magic flowing from her to Applejack. "If we're going to carry each other, it makes sense for you to do it."
"Wait, maybe we can talk about this a little more!" Applejack cries out as the magic engulfs her in a bright light, forcing you and the others to look away.
When you look back after the spell is finished, Applejack has her hat over her eyes, but is hovering a few feet off the ground, sporting a pair of glistening colorful butterfly wings. When she peeks from under her hooves, she breaths a sight of relief.
"Heh, I guess that wasn’t so bad..."
Twilight is panting loudly and looks really sweaty.
"You OK, Twilight?" Rarity says, going to her friend's side.
"Yeah yeah, just... give me a minute. It's been a while since I did this last."
"Oh, me next! Me next!" Pinkie says, jumping forward.
After taking a short breather, Twilight preforms the same spell again on Pinkie Pie. Another flash of blinding light and who-la! Pinkie now has a bright pair of butterfly wings. She energetically flaps her wings happily and flies over to Applejack, shoving her playfully, laughing. Twilight is panting hard again and looks a little wobbly.
"You still OK, Twilight?" You ask, putting your hand on the purple unicorn.
"Yeah... just... a minute..." Says between heavy breaths.
"How is this going to work, anyway?" Applejack says, counting everyone with her hoof. "I reckon between me, Pinkie and Fluttershy we can carry you two out, but what about Rusty? You must weight at least twice as much."
"I think that's enough," You say, going over to an exhausted Twilight Sparkle. "You all should be enough to get everyone out. We'll figure something out."
"That's probably best," Rarity says, helping Twilight up. "Come on, let's get out of this awful place."
The bunch of you head back up the tunnel you came as before, though now Applejack and Pinkie Pie are fluttering overhead, trying out their new wings. Rarity lights the way with her magic, giving Twilight a much needed break. Before too long you make it back to where you and Rarity ran into the others. The robot is still here, just as you left it. You all continues on to the four way junction of tunnels and take the right path.
Eventually you and the ponies are standing at the end of the tunnel, standing over a a lip. Below is a lot of standing flood water. Rarity's light extends out a ways, but you can't see much in the dark cavern beyond. the room is too large for the little light source. The water is black and still.
"OK, we're here," Applejack says, fluttering over the water. "Who wants to go first?"
"Oh! Oh!" Pinkie bounces around the air, holding up her hoof like she has a question. Applejack rolls her eyes.
"OK Pinkie, you can go first."
"Yay!" The pink pony shouts with joy and grabs Twilight around the neck and body.
"Hold on!" You say, reaching into your pack. You find the hatchet and give it to Twilight. "Just in case."
"Anks." Twilight mumbles with the handle in her mouth. With Fluttershy's help they carry Twilight up and out into the darkness. As they go, Twilight lights up her horn and they become a distant purple glow rising up int other darkness.
"Rarity, I'll take you up and then we'll come back for your Rusty, OK?"
You nod in agreement and was about to say something, but were distracted by the sudden sound of water sloshing.
"Get out of the water!" You shout at the ponies with you, pulling Rarity to you. Also hearing the noise, Applejack glides over to you. There's a ripple in the water and a few little waves slosh against the lip of the tunnel.
"There's something in the water?" Rarity questions aloud. As she does you see Twilight's light heading back towards your group fast. The three other little ponies flop down in the ground next to you, all of them soaking wet.
"What is it?" Applejack asks, frantic. "Another monster?"
"No no," Fluttershy says, coughing. "More water is coming down the tunnel. We tried to get past, but there's too much!"
Rusty currently has on him:
Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy together have:
"More water? Is it another flood?" You parrot Fluttershy. Pinkie shrugs.
The water level in the cavern visibly rises, coming barely up over the cavern floor and sending a little sheet of water trickling down the tunnel you just trekked up form.
"Oh this isn’t good." Applejack comments, watching the water flood.
"What do we do?" Pinkie asks, splashing in the water.
"I think we should get out of here." You say, nodding down the tunnel. "Can't stay here if we can't get out this way."
Seeing no other course of action, your intrepid party heads back down the tunnel. The water is only coming down at a trickle, but it's making the surface of the stone floor slick. You, Twilight and Rarity are having difficulty making your way down quickly without slipping.
Probably between panic of the rising water and her exhaustion from the spells she just preformed, Twilight looses her footing on the wet rock. She slides down the rock tunnel.
"Twilight!" You shout, grabbing at her. But you miss and she slips quickly out of your reach before you can try again. She weakly tries to turn around, but just ends up falling down and sliding faster
"Someone grab her!"
"I got it!" Applejack rushes forward, her butterfly wings buzzing loudly. She shoots down the tunnel to Twilight, who is quickly getting further and further away from everyone else. "Grab my hoof!"
Twilight awkwardly tries to reach up to her friend, but can't seem to stop slipping around long enough. Applejack dives in closer to grab hold of the purple pony herself only to have Twilight suddenly slip into her as she does. Applejack falls to the ground in a sprawl with the other pony, her wings tearing apart in the process.
Both ponies zoom down the slope, into the darkness.
"Quick! Someone get them!"
Pinkie and Fluttershy dive after them, just at the periphery of Rarity's light. As you watch them vanish out of view, you see the same scene play out with Fluttershy. The yellow pony is pulled down into the others and the whole pile of colorful ponies goes beyond your sight, with the pink one whirring after them.
"This is awful!" Rarity yells frustrated, watching her friend. "What do we do, Rusyt?!"
You frantically think. You're losing ground and they're getting lost in the darkness. You need to do something quickly or you risk losing them for good.
"I have an idea!"
"What are yo-"
You grab Rarity to you, much to her protest, then leap forward down the tunnel on your backside. Holding your friend close, the two of you rocket down the tunnel, the light of her magic illuminating the area around you. Rarity screams as the two of you zoom past the four way junction, heading down the way torn up by the burrowing creature. The middle of the tunnel is split with loose rock where the monster burrowed after you, but there is smooth floor on both sides of it.
You catch up with the other ponies, still speeding down the tunnel and on the opposite side of the ridge of loose stone as you. Pinkie is ridding on top of others, whooping.
"Applejack!" You yell to the others. "Do you still have that rope?!"
"Yeah!" You hear Applejack, though you can't really see her in the jumble of ponies.
"Toss it over! We can stay together that way!"
"Got it!"
The three ponies shift position wildly with yells coming from Twilight and Fluttershy. Pinkie hops off and flies just overhead. Applejack pulls the rope that was packed away from somewhere. Deftly she tires a quick lasso even under the circumstances. With a flick of her head, she send the loop of rope towards you.
But it snags on the rocks jutting up from the floor. Before Applejack can grab it, the group has sped away from the rope, leaving it behind all of you.
"Dang it!"