After packing their supplies, the few ponies who had volunteered to go to the cavern headed outside. Though Octavia didn't exactly want to go on this expedition, Vinyl had forced her. She couldn't turn back now.

Black Thunder, Lyra, and Bonbon were waiting outside, along with Trixie, a mare and a stallion that Octavia didn't recognize, and Minuette and Lucky.

"Glad that you could join us," Lyra said, "I'm proud that you went on a mission, turned around and went on another back-to-back. You two are very impressive!"

Minuette cleared her throat.

"Oh, and of course, I'm proud of you too, Lucky and Minuette."

"May I ask, who are these two?" Vinyl said, pointing to the stallion and the mare. The stallion had a dark red coat and a blonde mane. His cutie mark was a half of a green apple. The mare beside him was a pegasus with a light purple coat. She had an orange mane and the cutie mark of a cloud.

"Oh! I forgot you haven't met these two," Lyra said with a slight blush, "These two are Big Macintosh and Cloud Kicker. Mac works underground, indentifying the ponies who come in. Kicker here works above, keeping the skies above Ponyville clear. She took Rainbow Dash's job after she left to guard the Gear of Loyalty. Occasional both will help the Guild out on mission if we're short on members, like today."

"Hiya!" Greeted Cloud Kicker, "I heard about you guys. You're the ones who saved Derpy's kid from the psycho changeling, right?"

"That's us!" Vinyl replied. She turned to Mac, looking him over, "To think, I was scared of you at one point? Ha!"

"Huh?" Mac questioned.

Vinyl fell silent, "Nothing."

"Wait, you aren't that fraidy-cat mare who would stand on the grate, then run away screaming, are you?"

Vinyl's eyes shifted around, "No. Somepony else."

"Hm... Eeyup."

Thunder harrumphed, signaling it was time to go. "Oh yes!" Lyra exclaimed, darting to the front of the group, "We best be on our way before Whooves gets there first! On to the Cavern of Generosity!"

---

Octavia really wanted to punch Vinyl in the face right about now.

They had barely walked a mile before her hooves were already killing her. She certainly didn't get enough rest, and her hooves were making sure she knew that.

They walked on and on and on. They passed Dead Mare's Desert on their way, which had taken a toll from the stolen Gear. The remaining cacti and desert plants had died. Any oasis in the desert had dried up and filled with sand. The once golden sand itself was now completely gray like steel. Truly, it would have made anyone feel depressed and sympathetic.

The sun was beginning to set by the time they finally arrived. A large cave entrance was cut out into a long, stone strip. Right at the mouth of the entrance were beautiful ice-blue crystals, reflecting the sun's light into the ponies' eyes.

"Here it is," Lyra announced, "This is the Jewel Cavern. Deeper in is the Cavern of Generosity. I believe they're completely seperate actually, the Cavern of Gernerosity being below us."

"So how do we find it?" Question Cloud Kicker.

"We split up," Thunder cut in, "Everypony should be with a unicorn who can use their magic to light the way. Cloud Kicker, you're with Trixie, I'll go with Macintosh. The rest of you already have a unicorn partner."

Lyra elbowed Mac in the ribs, "Trade partners with me!" She hissed.

"Ahem," Bonbon harrumphed, glaring at her supposed partner, "If we trade partners, neither me nor Macintosh will have a unicorn partner. Nice try Lyra, but we're going together."

Lyra silently cursed under her breath, trotting back over to join Bonbon.

"With that being said," Thunder interrupted, "Let us go."

As soon as he said this, the group trotted into the cavern, splitting off into groups of two and heading down different path ways. Octavia and Vinyl were together, of course, and had picked the path to the far right to head down. The cave was beautiful. Gems and crystals of many different kinds grew out of the ceiling and walls, reflecting the light blue light from Vinyl's horn. Sparkly dust from the precious gems had fallen on the floor, getting stuck to the two mare's hooves.

"Wow..." Vinyl breathed. She started to reach for a bright red ruby growing out of the wall, but Octavia smacked her hoof away.

"Vinyl!" She hissed, "Don't be rude! These are Rarity's gems and she probably won't appreciate it if we took them!"

"But she's the Guardian of Generosity!" Vinyl argued, "She shouldn't care!"

"But we have to be generous too," Replied Octavia in a wise tone, "Taking one may not be a big deal, but it might prove to be in the long run. Let's just leave them alone for now."

Vinyl glared at her friend for a moment. Her gaze dropped to the sparkly floor, her glower softening a little. Octavia noticed that some stress-induced wrinkles had appeared on her face since the first time they had met.

"This rescue team thing," Octavis began, "Is it... Stressing you out?"

Vinyl shook her head quickly, "What? No, of course not! It... I..."

"Tell the truth, V."

Vinyl's ears laid flat against her skull, "Maybe a little. This whole Whooves thing, combined with getting attacked by Queen Chrysalis and our rivalry with Team Vengeance has kind opened my eyes as to just how dangerous being a rescue team is. Sometimes... I don't think I'm cut out for it."

"Don't say that," Octavia argued, "You're a brave mare, Vinyl. Even though you may act afraid of things, you usually face up to them when they pose as a threat. You remember when Chrysalis attacked us, right? You stood up to her fearlessly, even before I did. Not to mention, you're encouraging and you can tell a pretty good joke to get me laughing. And," She placed a hoof on Vinyl's shoulder, "You were there when I washed up on the beach. You saved me and became my best friend."

Vinyl's sad expression seemed to lighten, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Why am I even moping about it? I know I'm a good team member; we're both good team members."

Octavia nodded in agreement, "Good. No more being down on yourself, Vinyl."

Vinyl smiled and continued to walk without looking where she was going. With little warning, Octavia suddenly yanked back on the scruff of Vinyl's neck, throwing her backwards a few feet.

"Octavia!" She screamed, now laying on her back, "What the heck was that for?!"

"You just about impaled yourself on that diamond." Octavia replied as if it was no big deal.

Indeed, a five foot long diamond was jutting out of the wall. The very tip of it was very sharp, and definitely would have made a Vinyl shish-kabob if Octavia hadn't yanked back on her. Unfortunately, this was where the tunnel ended, signaling that they had to turn back.

"Well dang," Vinyl mumbled, rubbing her neck where Octavia had grabbed it, "Thanks, 'Tavia. I've got to be more aware of my surroundings. Is this as far as we can go?"

Octavia put her ear to the wall with the diamond. She was silent for a moment before she turned back to Vinyl.

"No," She answered, "There's running water behind this wall. There has to be a way to get in."

"Maybe that diamond that tried to kill me is a way in?" Suggested Vinyl, standing back up and brushing her fur of crystal dust, "Maybe a key?"

Octavia stared at the diamond for a moment. She gingerly touched it with her scraped hoof. She yelped and jerked it back as the diamond began glowing blue. The tunnel rumbled, as the wall with the diamond suddenly slid upwards, revealing another room.

Vinyl was nearly speechless, "You amaze me sometimes, Octavia."

Octavia laughed a little, "I don't want to sound vain, but I amaze myself sometimes!"

They trotted through the now open doorway. The room which they had entered was much larger than the tunnels, with a high ceiling and a spaced floors. Gems still grew upon the ceiling and walls. A small stream flowed in front of three large diamonds, about ten feet high.

"Another puzzle?" Vinyl questioned.

"Possibly," Octavia replied, "It's probably got something to do with those diamonds."

The two mares waded through the stream and over to the diamonds. Upon approaching closer, the diamond in front lit up in a blue shade, while the other two lit up in a red and green shade.

"Cool," Vinyl said with little interest, "But how do we find the Cavern of Generosity?"

The middle diamond lit up for a second then died down again. Octavia stepped closer to it and touched it. This caused it to light up again and the left one to light up as well.

"I think I get it," Vinyl spoke up, "It's like that game where different colors light up and you have to remember the order which they light up in."

"Good thinking," Octavia agreed, "Let's try it it."

Octavia touched the middle diamond, then the left one. This caused the middle and the left one to light up again. The right one lit up immediately after, signaling that Vinyl was correct. Octavia repeated the sequence, this time adding the right one in. Again, they lit up, this time adding another left one.

"Middle, left, right, left," Vinyl relayed, "Don't forget it. Who knows what will happen if we get it wrong."

Octavia repeated this sequence. However, the colors in the diamonds began flashing too quickly for them to register.

"Middle, left, right, left, middle, middle... Erm... Was it left or right?" Vinyl questioned, now rubbing her head in confusion.

Octavia followed this sequence, but stopped after the last middle. Upon touching the diamond, the dizzy feeling came rushing through her head. She knew this meant that another vision was coming, hopefully to assist her.

"Octavia?" A concerned Vinyl asked, "You okay?"

"Vision!" Octavia cried, her sight going black. Vinyl managed to catch her just in time before she toppled over.

"This is really getting annoying." The white mare said, but her buddy was off in a different world.

Octavia found herself in the same cavern with the same diamonds. A dark figure stood before them as they flashed their pattern.

Middle, left, right, left, middle, middle, right, left, right, middle. Octavia made a permanent mental note to herself about the order before the vision cut out and returned to the cave.

"Whatcha' see?" Vinyl questioned, helping her friend up.

"The pattern," Octavia replied, pointing at the diamonds, "Middle, left, right, left, middle, middle, right left right, middle."

"You got all of that from one vision?" Vinyl asked, sounding quite skeptical.

Octavia however, was already repeating the pattern she had memorized on the diamonds. When she touched the last diamond, the whole cavern rumbled. A passage way appeared out of the ground in the middle of the diamonds, rising up like an undead soldier. It looked to be a small cave, surrounded with gems and crystal of all sorts.

"Well," Vinyl said, "That was a little overdramatic." Octavia ignored her friend's comment and trotted to the small cave. Vinyl had no choice but to follow, seeming slightly intimidated by the "overdramatic" cave. They stepped through and were greeted by a totally different room. This room was ten times larger than the one they were previously in.

The ceilings had to be fifty feet high and a huge lake about a mile wide laid before them. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, crystals, and every other gem that one could think of was here, growing on the ceiling, walls, and in the lake. The lake itself glowed a gentle purple from the Gear of Generosity, signaling that they had arrived at the Cavern of Generosity.

"Look!" Vinyl exclaimed, pointing to the edge of the lake.

Already, it appeared that they were too late. Whooves stood before a white Alicorn, though luckily she appeared to be at full health. Both of them were staring down at each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

"If you think in going to let you take my Gear, then you're going to be in a world of hurt!" The Alicorn snarled, "We ladies may act polite most of the time, but we aren't afraid to get mean!"

Whooves looked down, "I'm sorry, Miss Rarity. It pains me to do this, but I have to take that Gear."

"Hold it!" Cried Vinyl.

This caused Whooves to turn, seeing the mares who had attempted to foil him the last two times.

"You?" He asked, sounding as though he couldn't believe these two were still at it.

"That's right, Whooves!" Vinyl growled, both her and Octavia getting into battle stances, "We aren't going to let you take another Gear this time! Come at us!"

Rarity took this time of Whooves' distraction to attack him. She fired a powerful beam of blue magic at his backside, blasting him into a wall. Vinyl and Octavia drew their instruments, preparing to attack when Whooves stood again.

As expected, he did indeed stand again, turning to his opponents, "You're just making his harder on yourselves. I'm going to get that Gear, and you aren't going to stop me."

He attempted to charge, but Vinyl fired her bass cannon, blasting him with a dubstep bass drop. Octavia came in right behind the blast, throwing her cello bow at the stallion and smacking him in the face. He recoiled as the bow came back to Octavia. She attempted to throw it again, but Whooves avoided it by rolling to the left.

Vinyl couldn't stop him, for her bass cannon still needed to charge up again. Whooves went for the lake, but Octavia took him down hard. She kicked him in his side, knocking him sideways a couple feet. He attempted to stand again, but Rarity was already on him, blasting him with her magic. Vinyl came in again, hitting the battered stallion with another bass drop. He skittered across the floor, ending up on the other side of he room. The three approached him, looking down upon his battered form with bitter distaste.

"You've stolen your last Gear, Mr. Whooves," Rarity growled, "I may be the Guardian of Generosity, but I'm certainly not going to be generous to a criminal like yourself!"

Whooves coughed, pulling something out from behind him. None of them had time to see what it was before an incredibly loud electronic squeal assaulted their eardrums. Whooves shot up, kicking Octavia and Vinyl to the side, then going for Rarity. Stunned from the noise, Rarity couldn't fight back as Whooves punched and kicked her until she was completely weak and helpless.

"I told you, you were only making things harder on yourselves," Whooves growled, starting to go to the lake side, "I'm getting that Gear."

"Don't you dare, you ruffian!" Rarity cried, attempting to stand up. She was too weak to do so.

Whooves gave a familiar sympathetic look to the mare. That was when Octavia realized her vision was coming true.

"I'm sorry," Whooves replied, "I have no choice."

Right before Whooves jumped into the lake, Rarity stood to all fours, her horn glowing blue.

"I do!" Argued the Alicorn, "You won't be taking that Harmony Gear! You won't be taking anymore!"

The cavern suddenly rumbled, causing Whooves to stop dead in his tracks. He yelped and jumped back as huge, ten foot tall diamonds shot up from the ground right at the lakeside. This blocked his ability to get to the Harmony Gear. Though he looked as though he was about to climb over the diamonds, a beam of green magic shot past Vinyl and Octavia, hitting Whooves and stunning him.

A familiar gray blur darted through the Musical Mares and tackled Whooves while he was helpless. He struggled against his opponent who was holding his limbs to keep him from punching and kicking.

"Your time of wrong-doings has come to a close, Whooves," Said Black Thunder with a triumphed smile, "You won't be stealing anymore Gears anytime soon."

A green magic wafted from the gray stallion's horn, hitting Whooves' head and causing him to relax a little. Eventually, his head slumped to one side and his eyes slid shut as he began snoring softly. Thunder took this time to hog-tie the stallion to make sure he couldn't escape when he did wake up.

"What a relief," Thunder sighed, wiping his forehead of sweat, "Finally, this criminal is in our custody." He turned to Vinyl and Octavia, "Thank you, you two."

"Don't thank us," Vinyl replied, "This was all Rarity's doing."

At the mention of her name, Rarity limped over. Her originally beautifully styled mane was in a complete frizzy mess after her fight with Whooves. Her necklace was missing and her left wing was bent at an odd angel.

"You don't look so good." Octavia stated.

"I'm fine, dear," The white Alicorn replied, "Just a couple scratches and bruises. They'll heal!"

"That wing however," Thunder cut in. He had slung the slumbering Whooves over his back in order to be able to carry him easier, "We need to get that checked. Come back to the Guild with us."

Rarity made a face, "Very well. But I expect for you to take care of that monster Whooves!"

Thunder turned back to Octavia and Vinyl, "You two have been very impressive. It does my heart good to see that somepony can stay loyal to a cause in order to stop the forces of evil. Very rarely to I see loyalty nowadays," He gestured to Whooves, "I can't imagine what was going through this stallion's head when he was stealing the Gears. He must have realized he was betraying all ponykind by doing this."

"He doesn't care," Octavia replied, "He's probably demented, insane, or some other mental condition. He said that I hadn't changed a bit back at Dead Mare's. I haven't even met the guy personally!"

Thunder hesitated, "Yes, of course. Insane ponies do insane things, after all." He glanced around, "But we should gather up the others and head back to the Guild. I'm sure that everypony else will be ecstatic to know we finally captured Whooves. Rarity, won't you come with us?"

The four trotted out of the cavern together. However, Octavia's thoughts were swirling once again.

Why do I feel as though I've done something horrible?

---

I'm sorry if this feels rushed. And short... And boring... Hopefully the next chapter will have a little more action and stuff. Until then, remember to leave and review and tell me how it was!