And now, with the odds stacked against both parties, it would seem that the chances of survival are growing even more slimmer by the minute for our heroes!

When Pinkie and Gilda met with Justin, they soon found out that they stumbled into a trap that quickly led to their capture, as well! Now, all four of our heroes appear to be caught in a bind, with their arms chained onto the same wall that Justin was chained to. As the four of them are trapped, however, Justin begins wondering about the skeletons from the unused cells.

With that in mind, he also begins to wonder if there may be any more innocent people inside this Hellish dungeon that need a hero to come to their aid. Before he could do anything, however, he would have to find a way to save himself, and the other three who appear to be in the same bind that he's in. Little do they know, however, that he had a whole week to find a solution... and could've already stumbled across one...

Justin sighed, as he continued listening to Gilda ask him countless questions about where he's from, what his business was in these lands, and where he was trying to go to.

"I told you already, ma'am... I ain't telling you, because that could risk too much. Now, can I ask you the next question, please?"

Gilda glared daggers at him, as she retorted, "Not until you answer at least one question!"

Justin rolled his eyes, and sighed. "Does it have anything to do with me?"

Gilda shook her head, and replied, "Actually, it has something to do with one of your co-workers!"

With another sigh, Justin said, "I'm sorry, but I put their safety above my own, actually."

"THEIR SAFETY?!" Gilda shouted, which caught Justin off guard. "YOU HAD MY BROTHER CAPTURED! NOW TELL ME WHERE GILDED BLADE IS, ALREADY!"

Then, Justin's eyes widened at that statement. "Wait a minute..." One of his eyebrows raised, causing him to stare at the angry Gryphon in confusion. "Gilda?!"

Now, it was Gilda's eyes that went wide. "You... know me?!"

Justin sighed in relief, and replied, "Well, yeah! Your brother told me about you..." Then his smile dropped, and a glare soon followed. "Wait a minute... from what I heard, it was you who caused the flight from Gryphonia to Equestria to be cancelled out!"

Gilda glared at him again, and retorted, "Well, what's that gotta do with YOU, or even Gilded?!"

"EVERYTHING!" Justin shouted, causing his voice to be heard from the whole room. Gilda's glare turned into a mixture of shock and surprise. "If you didn't cause the commotion in Equestria, then my daughter and I would probably be home again, your brother would be in Gryphonia, and everything would be back to normal!" Then he closed his eyes, and lowered his head. "And in case you didn't notice, the 'Black Wings', as they call themselves, are probably hunting me now, because I sabotaged their entire base in Druathica... and with knowledge like that, then we don't have long to save them."

Gilda raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Wait... it was YOU who single-handedly took down the entire base?!"

Justin nodded his head, and replied, "Yeah... but it wasn't for glory, or money. I just wanted to save my daughter, and my first friend I've made in this world... your brother."

Gilda looked away from him and sighed, as her expression seemed to show sadness at that point. Then she said, "Well... I'm sorry for delaying your trip to Equestria... I honestly didn't expect Celestia and Luna to make that kind of judgement, because of my actions."

While shaking his head, Justin replied, "It's fine... I guess it was for the best, right? Goldwood probably wouldn't have their people back, Druid Lake would probably be completely wiped out, and maybe the Black Wings would've done worse up here, then." Then he looked at Gilda again, and smiled. "By the way, my name's Justin. It's... nice to meet you, Gilda."

Gilda smiled back at him, and nodded her head. "Yeah... it's nice to meet you too, Justin. And as you already know, I'm Gilda... the mare on your right is Pinkie Pie."

Justin looked right, and was about to talk, until he found that the pink mare was staring wide-eyed at him, with her mouth opened in a wide smile, almost completely unfazed by the fact that all four of the people were chained to the wall. Looking closer at her, he also noticed that she was... drooling. "Um... it's... nice to meet you, too?"

Pinkie Pie continued to stare at him silently, causing his gaze to turn away from her, and back to Gilda. "Gilda... is she alright?"

Gilda sighed, and replied, "I don't know. She normally speaks a lot more than this." Then she looked at Pinkie, and asked, "Hey! Earth to Pinkie! SNAP OUT OF IT, WILL YA?!"

Pinkie quickly shook her head, and looked at Justin nervously. "Um... hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Are you single?!"

Justin raised an eyebrow at her, completely surprised by her sudden bluntness, but replied, "Yes...? But I'm not interested in romance. Sorry."

Then, her mane started to deflate, while her nervous expression started to sadden, which only added to Justin's confusion even more. "W-wait... what? Why not?"

Justin sighed heavily, and was about to reply, when he heard hoof steps from outside. "I'll tell you when I bust us out of here."

Gilda raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Wait... you have a plan?!"

"Had a plan from the start. I was just using these boneheads to get a good idea on where they took my daughter, and friends." Then he looked at the Minotaur who slowly opened the barred door that separated the cell from the main room.

When the Minotaur entered the room, he grinned menacingly at Justin, and said, "Time for your lunch, maggot! Oh, and don't worry, your siblings have already gotten their fair share!" As he said that, he lifted a dark brown pile of gunk that had worms and bugs crawling inside it... much to Pinkie Pie's disgust.

Gilda, on the other hand, smiled at him, and asked, "Hey, ya got any of that for me, too?"

Justin looked at her confusedly, and asked, "Wait... you can eat this kind of-" Before he finished his sentence, he remembered just who he was looking at... a Gryphon, which is part bird... and quite frankly, birds can eat worms and bugs like a delicacy.

Even so, the Minotaur grinned at Gilda, and replied, "Sorry, lady... you ain't got anything on the menu, yet!"

Gilda sighed, and glared at him. "Well, ya damn well better get something on it, quickly!"

"Gilda! Shut up, already!" Stealth Paws huffed from Pinkie's right-hand side. That statement, of course, caused Gilda to glare at the cuffed Fox, while the Minotaur smiled at him.

"Ah, a prisoner that I may actually like!"

Then Justin sighed, and said, "Will you ALL just shut up, and let me eat, already?!"

Pinkie looked at him confusedly, and asked, "Wait, so... you WANT to eat that?!"

Justin deadpanned at her, and replied, "No, Pinkie... but considering I haven't even eaten yesterday, I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" Then he looked at the Minotaur, and asked, "But just so you know... I'm aware of the 'One Week to Poison' rule that your friends made... so please... tell me where my daughter is, and if she'll be okay, while I'm gone... I want to think of her... in my final moments."

The Minotaur laughed, and replied, "Oh, she'll be fine, alright!" Then his grin turned into a weak smile. "She's been assigned to be our captain's future bride, over in Fort Shivercrest, deep in the Shaded Meadows!"

When he said that, Justin's heart rate picked up, and with a glare, he spat on the Minotaur's face.

Pinkie gulped, and watched as the Minotaur wiped the saliva from his face, shrugged, and then spat in the food. "There... extra flavor for you, maggot!". With that, Justin closed his eyes, and reluctantly opened his mouth, as the plate inched into his face.

Then, when Justin began to feel the bugs crawl onto his beard, his right hand started to dimly glow green. As it did, the bugs crawled into his mouth, and waited for the food to enter. As it did, Pinkie stared in horror at the scene, while Gilda and Stealth stared confusedly at what was going on. The Minotaur, however, didn't seem to focus on the bugs standing neatly in a row in his mouth, eating all of the food, due to the fact that the plate was blocking his view of the bugs.

When he lowered the plate, his eyes widened when he saw the bugs fly out of Justin's mouth, and spit the food into the Minotaur's face, while Justin's left hand started to glow red, causing the cuff around his left hand to melt away. As it melted, the Minotaur screamed in horror, while the bugs began crawling into his throat, causing him to choke and gag. Then, when the bugs filled his mouth, he began relentlessly trying to spit the bugs out, only to find that they blocked his mouth and nostrils. When they spat the food in his throat, he gagged, while vomit began to fill his throat... only for the bugs to relentlessly keep inside.

In the matter of two minutes, the Minotaur fell to the ground, and made a gargling noise, as he choked on his own vomit. As he did, Justin slid slightly to the right, giving his left elbow enough room to move freely. Then, in one fluid motion, he forcefully yanked on the cuff, causing a hole to form in the wall, as he broke free. With his left hand freed, he reached to his right elbow, and pulled the other cuff off of his elbow, followed by the one on his right wrist.

When he turned to face Gilda, Pinkie, and Stealth, he noticed that their expressions showed how they were feeling. Gilda's eyes were widely opened, and her beak was held low. Stealth Paws' eyes were wide open, and his jaw hung low. Pinkie Pie, however, was different. Her mane was fluffy again, and her dilated-eyed, drooling smile returned.

"Anyways... it would seem that y'all have the same goal that I do..." Then he looked at Pinkie Pie uneasily, and added, "...I think. Because of that, I believe it would be best that we stick together, and get to the bottom of this attack... something tells me these 'Black Wings' are more than just a common band of pirates and thugs." Justin said, as he turned to the Minotaur's corpse, and held his right hand out. "May I have the key, please?"

As soon as he asked for the key, a group of beetles flew the key from the corpse, and placed it on Justin's hand. With a smile, he nodded his head, and said, "Thank you... please do enjoy your meal. We don't want anyone to suspect that their goon was attacked, do we?" The beetles all seemed to reply with nods of their own, and in the matter of seconds, they flew back to the corpse, and ate it relentlessly, while Justin turned back to the others.

Then he walked up to Gilda, and unlocked the cuffs around her. Following her, he unlocked Stealth, who smiled at him, and then thanked him, while introducing himself. Finally, when he reached Pinkie Pie, he raised an eyebrow. "Are you feeling alright?"

The second her senses came back to her, she looked up, and noticed just how close he was to her. This, of course, caused her drooling smile to drop, and be replaced with a nervous expression, while her cheeks turned red. "Oh, um... y-yes... my name is Pinkie Pie?"

Justin rolled his eyes, and replied, "Yes... I caught that the first time. Anyways, hold still for a moment." As he stated that, he held the key up, unlocked the cuffs from Pinkie's bindings, and motioned for the three of them to follow him.

When he reached the end of the room, however, he stopped the group, and whispered, "We should probably go deeper... it might not be safe for us to go back up, knowing how many eyes are working for the Black Wings over here."

Gilda raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Wait, what? Why?! I thought you said we're leaving this place!"

Justin raised his right finger over his mouth, and shushed her. And then, he whispered, "Because they might have more innocents in here... maybe even someone willing to help us go through the town unnoticed, even! We'll just need to find a way to get further down the dungeons without being seen... and besides that," he looked down, and scratched his chin with his right hand, "I have a feeling there might be a tunnel under here... there's gotta be a way how they managed to sneak past the security unnoticed."

The minute he finished whispering that, a light started to glow from upstairs, with the sound of yelling and laughing. This caused the four to step back into the room, and hide behind the wall. Quickly, yet quietly, Justin closed the cell door, and drew his staff from his saddlebag, after wrapping it back around his waist. Then the barred door slowly opened, and in walked a pair of Minotaurs who were carrying a third Minotaur between their arms. This one, however, had black fur, and pure white horns. On his body, he wore a brown ragged sleeveless shirt, and a tattered pair of brown shorts that must've been pants at one point in time. On his hands, he had a thick chain wrapped around his wrists, binding them together.

With a loud huff, he said, "You'll see what happens when you try to take over OUR city!"

The two guards chuckled lightly, and then pulled on a torch that was resting on a wall, revealing a hidden door that, when opened up, led to a large hole in the ground. Then one of the guards shoved the Minotaur into the hole, and replied, "Tell it to your friends down there, chump!"

As they shoved the prisoner inside the hole in the ground, Justin slowly drew his bow, and then shot a ghost arrow at the other side of the room. Just the sight of the action caused Gilda's, Pinkie's, and Stealth's eyes to widen. Pinkie looked at Gilda, and asked in a hushed tone, "I thought only Unicorns could use magic!"

Gilda looked back at her, and whispered, "Looks like this guy knows it too, apparently!"

Then, ever-so-slowly, Justin tiptoed towards the two guards and, before they could turn around, covered their mouths in roots that he created from the ceiling, and wrapped the roots around their necks. Before they could even make anther sound, the roots lifted them up by the neck, while another four wrapped onto their toes, and stretched them in an uncomfortable noose. In mere seconds, their flailing arms went limp, and their breathing ceased entirely.

Quietly, Justin looked around the room, and sighed in relief when he found that nobody else was in there. Then he went to Pinkie, Gilda, and Stealth, and motioned for them to follow him... which they did, without question.

All four of them looked inside the circle, while Gilda asked, "So... how deep do you think it is down there?"

Justin shrugged, before replying, "Not sure, to be honest. Here, let me check." As he said that, he created a small spark of flame, and dropped it into the hole, illuminating the path to the ground level... which seemed to go unbelievably far down.

Then Justin looked at the group, and asked, "Alright... which of you won't be able to survive a fall like that?"

Stealth smirked, before replying, "I'm a Fox, mate! I can handle a fall twice as far!"

Gilda shrugged her shoulders, before replying, "I'm a Gryphon, so I'm naturally capable of handling falls from miles high without even the slightest bit of pain."

Pinkie stared in the hole silently, with a look of fear in her eyes. Then she slowly raised her right hand, which made Justin nod his head. "It's alright, Pinkie... here, take my hand."

He held his left hand for her to grab onto. She looked at him for a second, before nodding her head, and grabbing onto his hand with both of hers. Then he said, "Now, would you please climb onto my arms?"

Pinkie was about to ask why, when the sound of movement from the stairway behind them caught her off guard, and caused her to instinctively jump into his arms. Then Stealth and Gilda jumped into the hole, and whispered through the tunnel when they were safely out of the way.

With a nod, Justin jumped into the hole, holding onto Pinkie Pie as he did. While they fell, Pinkie closed her eyes, and gripped onto Justin's shoulders tightly, with her eyes closed. Then, once they landed, her eyes shot open, and the first thing she noticed was Justin looking concernedly at her. "Are you alright?" He asked.

Her eyes started dilating, and her mind started going someplace else. This time, however, Justin noticed it first-hand, and sighed. "I guess that's a 'yes'." Then he gently placed her on the ground, and turned away, while Gilda snapped her fingers in her ears, which got her attention.

"Oh... s-sorry." She replied, before looking away from Justin, who began looking around the area they were in.

"It looks like there's a hallway here... but where did that Minotaur go?" Then he started to feel sweat building up, as he quickly drew his staff from his belt, and held it defensively, before adding, "I hope he doesn't work with the Black Wings. I have a problem with them, myself."

Gilda raised an eyebrow at him, and replied, "Yeah... I kinda figured that, by the way you killed that one guard that nearly poisoned you... but why are you saying that out loud, exactly?"

As if on cue, the sound of the barrel of a gun clicking caused her eyes to widen, and her head to turn towards the source of the sound. Out of instinct, she also drew a sword she picked from the guard, and raised it defensively, while Pinkie and Stealth backed in-between the two experienced fighters.

When they prepared for an attack, the sound of more barrels clicking could be heard surrounding the four, with the addition of blades being drawn from sheaths.

"What's goin' on?!" Gilda asked. "There ain't anyone in this room! How is it that I can hear the sound of weapons?!"

Justin raised an eyebrow at her, and replied, "What're you talking about? They're all around us, in clear sight!"

Then, a confused man's voice asked in a rough low-pitched tone, "Wait, you can see us?!" That statement caused Gilda to jump, and turn towards the source of the voice... a small pebble on the ground.

Justin nodded his head, and replied, "Yes sir, and we mean you no harm."

"Put down your weapons, then, and we'll believe you!"

Justin nodded his head, and placed the staff back on his belt, while Gilda sighed, before dropping her sword on the ground.

"I said put it down!" The voice added, aiming towards Justin.

"I am, sir... I'm just keeping it all in one place, so that it could be easier for you to inspect." With that, he unclipped the belt that held his shoulder pad, and placed it on the ground, while also unclipping the belt that held his saddlebag, and placing it on the ground next to it. Then he held his hands up, and said, "Alright, sir... I also have four rings on my fingers, but I don't intend on using them for anything evil... will it be okay if I keep them on, at least?"

The voice huffed, before another one said in a higher-pitched voice, "I say we blow 'em all up! I can already tell that they ain't from around 'ere!"

A different voice that belonged to a female with a pirate-like accent, added, "Aye! They sure ain't welcome 'ere, if they have somethin' with the Black Wings!"

The original voice shushed the other voices, before replying, "I'll make the call on this one!" Then he asked, "How do you know about the Black Wings, exactly?"

Justin closed his eyes before replying, "I was the one who destroyed their base in Druathica."

A collection of gasps was heard, before the first voice asked, "You? You?! As in, just you, and no one else?" Justin nodded his head, while the voice hummed. "Well, I did hear rumors from our leader of a foreign creature destroying their base... but everything else was just common chatter." Then he sighed, before saying in a louder voice, "Lower your weapons... we'll let Boulder and King Goldheart decide what to do with them."

As he said that, the group lowered their defenses, and revealed their appearances.

The leader of the group was a male Diamond Dog that stood about six feet high, Justin's height, with a rugged brown coat, a darker brown-colored, torn vest, and a pair of equally brown-colored shorts that were torn at the bottom. His hair was flat-topped, and rose an inch over his head. He had bright green eyes, resembling an emerald.

To his left was a Slithian lady with golden-colored scales, but due to the dirt that she was covered in, it was difficult to tell the color directly. She wore the same kind of clothing that the Diamond Dog wore, along with the rest of the group. On her scalp, a pair of dark brown fins extruded three inches out, and five inches back. Around her eyes, there was a pattern that shadowed her thin-pupiled red eyes.

To the leader's right stood a Changeling with blue eyes who held two copper-bladed daggers, while the Diamond Dog held one copper-colored rifle, facing up, and the Slithian carried two copper-colored pistols, the one in her right hand facing up, and the one in the left facing down.

Directly behind Justin were three more Diamond Dogs, one a male with gray fur and blue eyes, one a female with yellow fur and purple eyes, and one another female with silver fur and yellow eyes. All three were holding similar rifles up, pointed away from the group.

To Justin's left was a Minotaur male with a gray coat, holding a copper longsword, but in a non-threatening way.

To Justin's right was a Minotaur female with a yellow coat, holding two longswords, also in a non-threatening way.

The strangers nodded at the group, while the leader said, "Alright, then... if you promise not to try anything, you may wear your equipment... but you may not draw anything out, including your staff! Knowing you're from Druathica, there ain't a doubt in my mind it's a 'Shimmerwood Staff', the only kind that is said to be physically unbreakable... correct?"

Justin smiled at the Diamond Dog, and nodded his head. "Yes, sir... I'm surprised you actually knew that! Nobody else could figure it out just by seeing it."

The Diamond Dog chuckled lightly, before replying, "Well, there's a lot that living in a cave most of your life can do for your eyes, when it comes to certain details!"

Then he motioned for them all to follow him, which they did. As they walked through the dark caves, Justin looked back towards Pinkie Pie, who looked nervously around the entire area, and silently hummed to himself. "What is it with this one? Out of all the creatures I've met, this one seems, by far, much more different..." Then he looked away, and sighed. "And why does she remind me so much of Ruby?"

Once they reached a large opening in the hallway, Justin's, Pinkie's, Stealth's, and Gilda's eyes all widened at the sight before them.

There, sitting at the bottom of a huge underground hole, was a large rock with countless holes in it, each of which contained a light that illuminated the large numbers of tall rocks that had entire rooms mined into them. Large numbers of creatures of different races wandered large bridges that connected the rocky roads that surrounded the large rock, and the rocks from within it.

The leader of the other group looked back at their four "visitors", and smiled. "I see you didn't expect to see this, huh?" They shook their heads, causing him to chuckle. "Welcome to Undercity! I am Topaz Claw, by the way."

Justin nodded his head, and held his right hand out, causing the guns to aim at him again, which made him back away, and raise his hands behind his head. Topaz sighed, before glaring at the ones who pointed their guns at him, and stretched his right paw towards Justin, who continued what he started. "I'm Justin Daniels... it's nice to meet you, Mr. Topaz Claw, sir."

Topaz chuckled again, and shook his head. "No need for formalities... I hope you don't take it personal about how we... revealed ourselves. Nowadays, we can't seem to trust anyone out there, anymore."

Justin nodded his head, and replied, "I understand... and don't worry, it isn't the first time I was nearly attacked just for entering someplace. Ever heard of Druid Lake?"

Topaz's eyes widened. "Yes... did something happen there?"

Justin replied, "It was attacked by a few odd, shadow-like creatures, along with a monster from a pony tale. Grimsley. Ring any bells?"

Topaz nodded his head. "Indeed... blasted pictures gave me nightmares!"

"Well, when I made it there, I was attacked by the same patrol that I helped protect from him... her... it... whatever it was."

Then Topaz stopped in place, and glared at Justin. "Sorry, but there's just no way that you could've even looked at that monster! And without any proper evidence, you might as well keep it to yourself!"

Justin lowered his head, and thought for a second, before remembering something that could, without a doubt, be the evidence that he needs. "Actually, if I had the proof that you need right now, would you be willing to trust us even more?"

Topaz's glare lowered, and he scratched his chin in thought, before nodding his head. "As long as you can show me proof that you fought that thing, then I suppose we can at least lower the security for you and your friends!" As he said that, he motioned for them to follow him down the stone steps that led to the bottom of the city.

With a nod, Justin reached into his right pocket, and pulled out his cell phone, which received an odd look from all of those around him, including Pinkie Pie, Gilda, and Stealth. Then he tapped on the screen a few times, until he reached the picture of Grimsley that he took from behind the cart.

The second he showed the picture to Topaz, Topaz's face turned completely pale, and that very second, he stopped in place, while the entire group looked at Justin with wide eyes.

Pinkie Pie's pupils, instead of dilating, completely shrunk at the sight of the creature, as she turned from the picture to Justin, to the picture again, to Justin again, before asking, "W-wait... YOU ACTUALLY FOUGHT THAT THING?!"

Justin nodded his head, before replying, "Yes, but I wouldn't have done it without the help of my friends, Gilded Blade, and Swift Justice."

The moment Justin mentioned the second name, the group of Undercity Residents gasped from around them. Topaz then asked, "Wait... you know Swift?!"

Justin nodded his head, before replying, "Yes, sir... is he a friend of yours?"

Before anyone could reply, a loud booming voice shouted out, "WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY SON?!" When the entire group looked at the source, the Undercity Residents bowed their heads, while Justin looked up at, who he would assume to be, the tallest horse he has ever seen, standing at nine feet high, and having the strength of a Minotaur.

He wore a sleeveless black metal chest plate with a golden trim, a red half-sized cape, and a pair of brown torn shorts over his legs, while a pair of black metal leg braces that had the same color as the other plates were clamped over his shorts. On his head, he wore a black helmet with a Roman Warrior-type look, with a red feather at the center of the top.

Justin looked up at him again, and punched his chest with his right fist, then bowed his head politely, saying, "I'm sorry... I'm new here. Please, sir, may I know who you are?"

The behemoth of a stallion looked down at Justin, and replied, "I am King Goldheart... and Swift Justice... is my son."