Trials 26

>"Guh... Where did he go?!" Night Watch screamed, mostly to herself.

>Mosina and Gloomie glanced around the room, seeing no signs of Aux.

>"Come on, let's go. The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better," said a stoic Mosina, walking towards the room's dark exit.

>Gloomie silently followed with an expressionless face, as though she had just seen a ghost.

>With gritting teeth, Night Watch kicked a pebble and followed.

>She muttered under her breath, "Coward..."

>The three bat ponies became engulfed in the darkness, trudging forward at a brisk pace while Mosina warily watched the stone tiles beneath them.

>Their light crystals highlighted nothing but length after length of green cobblestone hallways, twisting and turning corners every so often.

>Occasionally, Mosina would spot an out-of-place tile with a carved face on it, calling it out to her comrades to watch out for it.

>"Ugh, it's been nearly an hour, I think," Gloomie complained, her posture sulking as she walked.

>"It can't be that much further, wherever we're heading..." Mosina encouraged helplessly, taking a deep breath for herself in the clausterphobic hallway.

>"Are you sure? I think we're going in circles, or something. It all looks familliar!"

>Mosina grunted. "What more do you expect from uniformly, crafted hallways? There's no way but forward."

>Gloomie let out an intelligable moan. "Night Watch? Are you still back there?" she joked.

>"If it means I still get to stare at your butt, then yeah," Night Watch answered.

>"Nnnnuhh..." Gloomie groaned again, too tired to care anymore.

>"Hey guys, I think I see a light up ahead of some sorts," Mosina said, her voice like an angel to Gloomie's ears.

>"Finally! Next hallway we go through, Night Watch takes point."

>"After an hour of staring at your ass, I think I'm satisfied enough to do for a change for once," Night Watch chuckled.

 

>Several moments later, the three arrived into a square room, not unlike the first they had entered at the start of the dungeon.

>Each of them took the moment to stretch their wings and hooves, Gloomie lying down and splaying her legs out in exhaustion.

>"Come on, girl. You've gone through worse in training," Night Watch said, coming beside her.

>A gasp from Mosina caught her attention.

>"What is it?"

>"Eugh... it can't be," Mosina muttered, her head angled down and her eyes focusing on a spot on the floor.

>"What can't be?" Night Watch asked again.

>Mosina took in a deep breath and let it out with a loud sigh. "It's the powder I put down at the start."

>"What? No..."

>Night Watch quickly trotted up to her side, taking a look at the spot on the floor.

>Sure enough, a small pile of purple powder, exactly as Mosina had left it, lay on the stone tiles.

>The hallway beyond housed several torches on the wall, plus a stairs that lead up to the way they came from.

>"Well, then..." Night Watch trailed off, unsure of what to say.

>"Noooo..." Gloomie whined, her voice barely audible.

>Mustering up some strength, Mosina straightened her posture and turned around.

>"Alright, this doesn't have to be a bad thing. That means we don't have to go down the left path anymore, either."

>She turned to the reamining hallway, right across from the entrance of the dungeon.

>"I guess we should go down that way, now. Come on, girls."

>"Yessir," Night Watch affirmed, taking point.

>Mosina followed, and Gloomie lazily got up from her spot to fall in last.

>Soon, the trio entered the tight hallway, their crystals pushing back the darkness as they walked.

 

>After only a few minutes of walking, however, they were presented with stairs that descended steeply with thin, stone steps.

>Warily, they began to climb down, carefully placing one hoof after another.

>The walls and steps were covered in a thin layer of dust, and the ceiling was nowhere to be seen above.

>It was too narrow for them to spread their wings to descend, either.

>Finally, the floor evened out to a straight hallway.

>A dim light greeted them at the end, seemingly from another room.

>"We're almost there," Night Watch said to the others, quickening her trot. "Get ready, I don't know what to expect."

>Gloomie hardened her posture and Mosina cracked her neck, both of them getting ready for a fight.

>"Let's gallop," Gloomie suggested, her hoof stomps getting slightly louder. "Preemtive readiness is always a good thing! A good jog to get the juices flowing."

>"I could say so many innuendos right now."

>"Shut up, Night Watch," Gloomie snapped, Mosina giving a low chuckle.

>The trio were in a full gallop now, the room approaching quickly.

>As soon as she was in reach, Night Watch leaped out of the hallway and into the room, drawing her spear in one motion.

>Gloomie and Mosina followed, each taking spots beside her with their weapons at the ready.

>However, as ready as they were, they froze in place at what was across the surprisingly tall and wide room from them.

>Embedded at the other side of the room was a large, metal door, sitting a good 20 meters tall.

>A dozen statues of ponies lined each side of the room, each of them clad in armour and holding a longsword at their sides.

>On each side of the large door, however, was an armour-clad shadow pony with a pair of large axe-limbs protruding from their backs.

>In between them, in front of the door and facing the bat ponies, was Aux.

>Gloomie audibly gulped.