As I walk down the path to Ponyville I notice three children up ahead. One is an all-white unicorn with curly light purple hair that has a strand of pink, the next is a light yellow earth pony with light red hair that’s tied in a big light pink bow, and the last one is a light orange pegasus with scruffy purple hair. I also notice that none of them have their marks yet, so I figure that they're pretty young. Once the three of them spot me they all immediately freeze in place, making me do the same. We stare each other down for an awkward amount of time until the light tan one starts to slowly approach me, keeping her head low. Soon the other two follow her, walking in the same manner. I don't know what they're doing, but something tells me that I should just wait for them to do whatever it is they’re going to do.

"Umm... yer that Miles feller...right?" says the light tan one, in an accent similar to Applejacks.

"Well duh he's Miles, there's only one Miles in all of Equestria," says the orange pegasus.

"I know that... I'm jus' makin sure he knows that... we did sorta hit him in the head with a box... and some pumpkins..."

"Well, he is standing right in front of us," interjects the white unicorn.

"So you three were the ones making all that commotion?" I ask, getting their attention.

"Yeah... we're really sorry about that... we didn't mean ta get anypony hurt, we were jus' tryin ta get our cutie marks."

I sit on the ground and cross my legs as I ask, "How exactly does one get one of these cutie marks?"

"Well, a cutie mark is supposed to show up when you find your special talent..." says the orange pegasus.

"...So we've been going around trying all sort of crazy stuff to see if it's our special talent..." the white one says energetically.

"...But so far we haven't been so lucky," the light tan one says, making them all pout. OH... SWEET... BARBRA... these are the most adorable things I've ever seen... and they're pouting! GAH! I have to make them stop before I get a heart attack.

"Hey, what if I... I don't know... help you out somehow...?"

"You really want to help us?" the pegasus says, as the three of them lift their heads up in hope.

"Uh... sure, why not." The three of them immediately run up and jump into my lap, hugging me with all their might. GAH... the cuteness... RAH... COR MEUM! "Alright, I'll help, but at least tell me your names." They jump off and line up in front of me.

"I'm Sweetie Belle..." says the unicorn...

"I'm Applebloom..." says the earth pony...

"And I'm Scootaloo..." says the pegasus...

"AND WE'RE THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, YAY!" they scream as they jump into the air and high hoof one another. Ow... my ears...

"Well girls, I'm Miles Eremita. What do you mean, you’re crusading?"

"We're on a quest!" Sweetie Belle says with a squeak.

"A crusade!" says Scootaloo.

"Ta find our cutie marks!" finishes Applebloom.

"Well alright then... why don't we get crusading!" I say as I stand up. I assume this will be pretty simple. I mean, what kind of trouble could these sweet little girls get into?

After we stop by a clubhouse that was situated behind Applejack's house, they decide on going cave exploring in an attempt to get their geological cutie marks... I don't really know what that means, but okay. After listening to their conversation a little, I found out that Applebloom is Applejack's little sister - go figure - and Sweetie Belle is Rarity's sister. Every time they talk about their siblings, I notice that Scootaloo looks a little troubled by it. I wonder what that's about. I'll have to ask another time though; they've already started to head out. I run out and catch up with them, and even though they are running, I only need to do a light jog to keep up. We make our way into the Everfree Forest and slow our pace down to just walking. I don't understand why, but this area seems to make the girls really apprehensive.

"Hey, you three alright?"

"Wha? Oh, yea... don't worry about us none, we do this kinda stuff all of the time," Applebloom says timidly.

"Yeah, I'm surprised we don't have cutie marks in trying to get cutie marks," Scootaloo says jokingly.

"What would the cutie mark of getting cutie marks even look like?" Sweetie Belle asks, oblivious to her sarcasm.

"Maybe it looks like this," I say as I point at Applebloom’s markless backside, making the girls chuckle. We continue in higher hopes now, the girls running around and examining every little thing that could be of any interest. The path finally leads us to a massive cave. Its entrance has plant life growing all around it, some even hanging in the entryway. The entrance is about nine or ten meters high, while being about six or seven meters wide. The path inside looks as if it was flattened by several tubular objects, that wind their way deep inside the ground. Before I can raise my concern, the girls run inside, giggling as they go.

I follow them inside and try to find them in the darkness, but after a few steps I can't even see in front of my face. I raise my hand above my head and ignite my magic, lighting the way. The cave has jagged sides, but the bottom seems smoothed out from something traveling in and out of the cave. I can't see the girls anywhere, how could I have lost them so easily? I keep walking until I come to a fork in the cave. The two roads look almost identical, except that the one on the right seems to have been recently traversed, so I go right. As I go the path seems to get shorter and shorter. Pretty soon I have to walk bent completely over just to get by. The path suddenly opens into a massive cavern, bones of various creatures scattered about in small piles throughout the room. I walk into the room and see the girls cowering in a small indent in the back, holding onto each other for dear life.

"Girls, come on, let’s..."

SMACK

I awake in the dark abyss with a massive headache, and slight chest pain. I try to focus on the area around me, but soon remember that I’m underground. I stand up and flare both of my hands, lighting the room. I seem to be in another cavern. This one has no bones around, but has a deep impression in the ground that I'm standing in. As I look around I soon find what brought me into this part of the cave. Sitting a few meters away is a massive, scaly beast. It has no legs and is coiled around itself. The head is standing erect a good six or seven meters high, and I can see the tail sticking out. It has a massive bony ball at the end that has a single bony spike at the top of it. The creature has an all-black back and an all-red underside, speckling into each other. It must be a meter in diameter, and long as fuck to be coiled up as high as it is. As I examine it, it raises its tail and lets it drop, making a loud thud as it drops to the ground.

From behind I hear several hisses and the sound of something sliding towards me. I turn and see several smaller creatures racing towards me, mouths open and revealing dagger-like teeth. As they quickly approach I push both hands down, creating a wave of energy that sends them flying back. Before they can recover, I draw my sword in my right hand, making white archaic text appear on the blade, and create a man size force field with my other hand. I bring my shield and sword forward and prepare for another charge. The creatures before me have recovered and are biting and hissing at one another. I take a few steps forward and lunge for the closest one, slicing my blade straight through its side and making it scream out in pain. I back away and wait for them to attack. The one I hit is squirming around on the ground, sending blood everywhere. The others watch for a while until they all lunge at their fallen comrade and begin to devour it.

"What the fuck?"

"Youuu sssshall diiie!" says the creature from behind in a slow hushed voice. I turn and look back at it, but before I can say anything one of the smaller creatures lunges straight for me. I quickly sidestep and swing my blade, lobbing off the top half of its head. The other three snarl at me and all charge me at once. I set my shield to catch the first and parry the second one, but the third one is able to bite onto my left shoulder, digging its teeth into my flesh as I sense blood pouring out. I scream and try to chop at it with my sword, but miss as it lets go and scurries away. I twist and raise my shield in time to catch the other creature. Instead of biting me, it bites onto my shield and tries to tear it away. I push forward and send it flying into the wall behind, knocking it out. I turn to face the other two, but suddenly I drop my shield as a massive burning pain takes over my shoulder, forcing me to my knees.

"GAAAHH... what the fuck is happening?" I cry out.

"Sssoon youuu ssshall sssee," teases the adult creature, "orrr perhapsss not. Feassst, my children." As the other two quickly approach, I raise the dark lines up to my elbow and stab my sword into the ground. Dozens of stone blades shoot from the ground in front of me, stabbing the two smaller creatures and killing them instantly. As I pull my blade from the ground and begin to stand, the adult creature screams out in anger and lunges its head for me. I swing my sword and bring a column of stone up to take the bite.

As the adult bites into the stone, it swings it tail over and tries to impale me with it. I dodge-roll to the side and watch it hit the ground. I try to swing and chop off the end, but my sword just bounces off its scales, making it chuckle. I focus on my sword, making white energy seep from it and try again. This time I chop off the end, sending jets of blood from the stub and making the creature roar in pain and anger. It tries several times to bite at me again, but I either dodge it or feed it another column of stone.

It soon rears its head back and spits out green liquid. I’m lucky enough to be behind one of the columns when the spray comes out, and don't get a single drop on me. The ground next to me is now covered in it and seems to be melting. I need to get out of here. I look around to find the exit, but the creature devours my cover, forcing me to move. As I run, I make sure not to touch any of the green slime that is burning the room and filling it with a noxious gas. I run up beside the wall and take cover in a small indent, just as the creature tries to bite onto me. Before it could pull its head back I lunge out and give it a large slash just below the head. It rears back and hisses at me angrily. I look around and find the exit, it's behind the creature... of fucking course it is.

I decide that this fight is over and dig my sword into the ground, making a small hole in the floor. I jump in and begin to dig my way towards the exit - I have to leave this room, but I can't leave this cave, I have to find the girls. As I make my way, I can hear the creature above moving around, until it suddenly stops. After a few seconds of silence the ground behind me explodes as it digs its head into the ground. I turn back and stab into its head, making it rear back in pain. I quicken my pace and dig for the exit. As I go, the ground behind me explodes again and again, every time getting closer and closer. When I think the next one will hit me I stop digging and let it smack into the ground, which it does. When I clear the ground ahead of me, I find a deep impression in the ground. I run up and find myself in the exit.

I run down the path and try to escape the creature, but it soon gives chase. I run and run until I come to a fork in the path. Which way were they? I hear the ground behind me shake as the creature approaches, so I go right and run as quickly as possible. I soon see the light ahead and realize I went the wrong way... FUCK! I look back and see that nothing is chasing me, so I stop and start to walk back into the cave, but at the same time, I feel as if someone is watching me again.

"Miles!" I turn back to see Storm running down the path with Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy following closely.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" I yell as they all stop and look up in horror. I turn around to see the creature strike at me and swallow me up. As I fight being in its mouth, I flare every portal of my magic and hold my breath for dear life. I can smell my magic burning its insides as it twists from side to side. I punch forward with my sword and blow a solid chunk out of the creature. I punch and kick my way out of its lifeless body until I'm completely out and collapse on the ground, taking in as much air as possible. "T-the girls... we, we have t-to get them..." I say as the burning sensation takes over my body and sends me to unconsciousness.

Shout out to shadownamesto for picking the destination. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!