AiE Chapter 13: What Lies Beneath/End Of Arc I: Genesis

>Deep inside Everfree forest sat a large cave that had recently collapsed; large stone rubble blocked the entrance, but lately large booming noises would cause the caves rock wall to shake vigorously.
>Boom!
>The cave shook as a tremendous amount of force caused some of the rocks to fall.
>Boom!
>More rocks began to crumble and fall as small rabbits and squirrels fled the area; then a sudden voice filled the forest.
"GRAH!! JUST ONE MORE TIME!"
>Suddenly the rock wall exploded; sending stones and boulders everywhere as two shadowy figures walked forward in the smoke.
"*Huff* *huff* what did I tell ya Luna? Doesn't look like the moon to me! *hff* *hf*"
>Luna(L): "I warned the stupid monkey to rest, but I see stubbornness is also a trait the stupid monkey possesses."
>Anonymous and Luna emerged from the pile of rocks after tunneling for two hours. Anonymous collapsed to the ground sweating and out of breath, but with a wide smirk on his face.
"It's okay, I didn't want you sitting in there any longer *huff* looking miserable; besides, we *huff* ...gotta find Twilight."
>L: "Hmpf! I was not miserable! I was perfectly content with sitting there, but..I do appreciate the stupid monkeys concern."
"Heh, no problem; so where should we start looking?"
>L: "I shall take a quick scope of the area for any signs of Twilight; I shall return shortly."
>Luna was about to take off when she peeked back at Anonymous, who was still gasping for air.
"Don't worry *hf* I'll be fine; I'm just gonna rest a bit and I'll help search when you come back."
>As Luna reluctantly stretched her wings out she quickly ascended into the night sky and above the Everfree forest.
>Luna felt the cold night air rush through her mane, and the illumination of the moon she was so used to gazing at calm her racing thoughts. So many things had gone wrong because of her error, and the situation got blown way out of hand all because she couldn't control her temper.
>It was just that she felt afraid that she would lose the respect of the ponies she worked so hard trying to earn back, and her anger at Anonymous was misplaced yes, but at the time she felt like his accident caused her so much trouble that she just...lost it.
>L: "*sigh*"
>Anonymous couldn't control where he landed, and maybe the forest incident really was an accident...a horrific, unexpected, yet strangely pleasurable accident.
>Even after the incident and fights she had with him, and almost sending him to the moon out of anger Anonymous still forgave her; not only that but he even shared some of his painful memories with her just so she wouldn't dislike him as much.
>Luna felt a mixture of admiration and guilt; she decided that she should at least try to get along better with Anonymous; and who knows, maybe they could even be friends in the future.
>Suddenly a large black mist came into view as Luna soared through the sky; the mist floated into the sky like a a thin tower from what looked like a magical explosion on the ground.
>Luna immediately turned back around and flew back towards the spot where Anonymous sat at full speed; when she landed Anonymous got up and ran to where she was.
"You see *huff* anything?"
>L: "Yes, not too far from here there is a spot that looks unusual; it should not take long to get there from here."
"Then what are we waiting ...*huff* for then?"
>Anonymous began running, but collapsed a short distance after.
>L: "The stupid monkey is still exhausted."
"I'll be *huff*...*huff*...fine." Anonymous said while picking himself up off the ground."
>Luna then trotted up to Anonymous; who looked at the blue princess questioningly.
"...what?"
>Luna then slammed her front hoof into Anonymous's foot; causing him to topple forward.
"Luna!? What the he--!?"
>Anonymous was cut off as Luna slid under him; making Anonymous fall on her back.
"Luna?"
>L: "This isn't what you think stupid monkey! I-it's just that if I leave the stupid monkey here, and the stupid monkey gets hurt sister would be upset..."
Anonymous tried to look at Luna for a minute, but she wouldn't turn to meet his face.
"Alright Luna...thanks, I owe you one."
>L: "Stupid monkey..."
>Luna then flew into the air with Anonymous on her back; as they soared above the trees Anonymous couldn't help but be taken back by the scenery.
"Woah..."
>Anonymous could see rivers off to the distance that sparkled in the light of the moon; giving it a crystal like reflection that shined brightly in the night. The trees shimmered and glowed in the moonlight with a metallic effect; and above his head the stars decorated the night sky as they seemed to surround a giant clear white moon.
>It was truly a sight to witness.
>L: "Is this the hairless monkey's first time flying?"
"Yeah, but I didn't know a world could look this nice at night...back on Earth the large buildings, smoke billowing factories, and city lights sort of killed any kind of view a person can have; but, this world looks so much more peaceful and beautiful."
>L: "While I am unsure how the stupid monkey's world was; I am sure Equestria looks no more or less beautiful during the day than it is at night."
Anonymous slowly shook his head as he continued gazing down.
"I've seen Equestria during the day as well, and while it does look very nice and colorful in the daytime; there's something about the night that seems to bring out the hidden beauty in things; things you wouldn't be able to see during the day."
>L: "So does the stupid monkey prefer night to day?"
"It's not like that; it's just that I find the night special in its own unique way."
>A small smile emerged on Luna's face as they soared toward the towering black mist.
>L: "Hmpf...is that so?"
>As Luna and Anonymous circled around the black mist a purple blur could be seen on the center of it.
>L: "Is that--?"
"TWILIGHT?"
>Twilight Sparkle was laying lifeless in the middle of what looked like a large black crater that was emitting black mist. Luna quickly landed and Anonymous leaped off; as they both rushed up to her they noticed that there was a strange shape the black crater took.
>The black crater was in the shape of a cross.
>Anonymous quickly tried shaking Twilight as Luna pointed her horn towards Twilight's motionless form.
"What happened to her?"
>L: "She appears to have suffered a blow to the back by magic, but for the most part she is fine; we should get her to Ponyville medical."
>Anonymous then picked Twilight up out of the crater and cradled her with both arms.
"Alright, let's get a move on then!"
>L: "The way back to Ponyville is this way stupid monkey."
"You should take the lead then; I'll be right behind you with Twilight."
>Luna quickly galloped towards Ponyville with Anonymous running beside her; leaving Everfree forest behind then.

???: "The day of reckoning shall come soon..."
-----
[Meanwhile...]

>In Dodge Junction the small little town was silent as all the houses contained sleeping ponies; all except for one shack that was lit brightly. Noises could be heard from outside of the small shack as a tall figure suddenly swung the front door open.
>Mark emerged from the small shack; his right arm was covered in small bandages, and he had two band aids covering a scratch on his face.
Shortly after he began walking a dark brown stallion rushed out the shack behind him.
>"Sir you can't be seriously trying to leave in your condition can you!?"
Mark(M): "Sorry doc, but I gotta get going."
>"You still shouldn't move just yet; you're still injured!"
>Mark simply waved his hand in the air as he continued walking into the desert.
M: "Don't worry I'll pay you doc, so just sit tight and I'll come back eventually."
>"Payment isn't the problem here sir! It's dangerous out there and you're hurt!!"
It was already too late for the stallion's words to reach Mark; for he had already disappeared behind a wall of dust flowing through the air.
>Mark continued walking forward inside the windy desert as multi-grain colored sand flew through the air; as the light of the moon illuminated the open sandy canvas he thought back on what previously happened.
>It had been two days since coming to Equestria and his fight with the captain of the royal guards Shining Armor; Mark had the upper hand until Shining Armor used magic and flung him like a rag doll on a rope.
>In all honesty Mark thought he was done for until his ring started glowing; presenting him with a small deck of gold playing cards.
>Mark rummaged through his pocket and pulled out the deck; they looked exactly like a normal deck of playing cards he would see on Earth; except that they appeared to be made out of actual thin gold cards with a black design on the back.
M: "Teh! Magic huh? It still sounds like bullshit, but I can't deny the fact that it saved my ass..."
>A large rock came into view with gaping holes of sand scattered around it; there was also a long black line that Mark recognized as the spell Shining Armor shot at him; after the spell was reflected Mark had passed out, and the next thing he knew some horse had dragged him to a nearby shack to be treated.
M: "This looks like the place, so they should be around here somewhere..."
>Mark looked around the the rock to find nothing but sand.
M: "Damn."
>As Mark turned around he searched all through the crash spot, craters, sand piles and small rocks to find absolutely nothing.
M: "Fuck! Where is it!?"
>While collapsing to the ground sweating Mark leaned back against the rock and looked up in the night sky.
M: "I know they where with me when I came here; they're nearby...I can feel it."
>Mark hung his head back and closed his eyes; remembering a mysterious woman's voice inside of his head:
>>???: "Happy Birthday Mark! I know what you do is dangerous so I got you these!"
M: "Argh!"
>Suddenly Mark grabbed his head in pain; there was something his mind was blocking out forcibly; something to do with...a woman?
>Did he lose some memories?
M: "*sigh* I see my mind has been fucked with since coming here."
>???: "HAH IT'S ME LUCKY DAY! TWO GOLD THINGS AND A NICE LOOKING HAT!!"
M: "The fuck?"
>Mark sprang up to see a large dog looking creature wearing a small vest while holding up the items he had been searching for; his hat and custom made pistols.
M: "Hey dog shit that's my stuff you have!!"
>Before the dog like creature could turn around Mark ran up to it and drop kicked it in the back of the head; knocking it out in one blow.
>Mark quickly picked up his fedora and put it on top of his head.
M: "Perfect fit! Now for the--"
>Suddenly another dog like creature popped up out of the sand and grabbed Mark's pistols.
M: "Hey!"
>The medium sized dog had pretty long arms and wore a green vest; the dog had taken off towards another hole as Mark chased behind it."
M: "Give me back my guns you little bastard!"
>Mark jumped down the hole after the dog creature into the darkness; it wasn't a long drop as he hit the stone floor after about five seconds of falling.
>Mark got up and dusted himself off; after he was done he looked around for the dog like thing that took his pistols.
M: "Shit, can't see a thing..."
>Wherever Mark had fallen it was completely shrouded in darkness; nothing could be seen besides a small hole above Mark that shined a dim light from the moon overhead.
>Suddenly there were large footsteps that were moving towards the spot Mark stood; it sounded fairly large as the footsteps kept getting louder and louder the closer it got.
>Two yellow eyes with long red pupils came into view from the darkness; after the footsteps stopped a set of large white teeth formed into a smile as it almost seemed to glow in the dark.
>???: "Well, well, well...what do we have here? Are you lost little monkey?"
M: "Not impressed; you could've put more effort into that one liner big boy."
>The expression of the face covered in darkness did not change as it continued smiling at Mark.
>???: "How cute, the little chimp has spunk...well why don't you come with me for a bit?"
M: "Fine."
>???: "I'm afraid you don't have much choice...wait what did you say?"
M: "I said I would go with you; seeing as you probably have me surrounded by a dozen or so of your kind."
>Suddenly a multitude of torches were lit to reveal a crowd of dog like creatures wearing a vest of some kind; all of them were wearing confused looks except for a big black colored dog who was smiling even wider than ever as he stood over Mark.
>???: "Very impressive! You're as sharp as a knife chimp."
M: "My make is Mark you dog brained moron."
>The big black dog creature let out a large bellowing laughter that filled the area.
>???: "AHAHAH! How funny! The boss will want to have a look at you; come with me 'Mark'."
>One dog creature in the group stepped up and shoved Mark forward.
>"Move monkey!!"
M: "I get it, I get it, so stop shoving me."
>Mark followed the large black dog looking creature into the depths of the underground as the crowd followed behind them.
>Mark's fate was now in their hands.
-----

End Of Chapter 13: What Lies Beneath
End Of Arc I: Genesis