Maze.

Just what we needed. A fucking maze in this fucking temple. Even the PipBuck speaks for itself; paths are everywhere! This goddess-damned temple expects me to navigate through tedious paths like as if this is a game. Well, its not a fucking game and all the different paths are bound to have either visible or hidden traps that could potentially kill us all!

My Pinkie senses are pretty active and can detect even the most well-hidden traps and I urged Gale to not fly, knowing that this temple is known to take cheating very seriously. “Well, if you insist. I won’t use my wings inside the temple, but hey, you’ll never know when I’ll be using them again.” She gave me a wink with a hint of using her wings again despite my order, but only for emergency uses which are fine.

The Temple of Ahuizotl is quite huge for anypony to explore, but I have a dreadful feeling about this… its as if this temple is designed or impossible puzzles to solve and only the chosen few like us would be able to survive them.

“Tootsie, stay close to us. There’s hidden traps that are waiting to strike without warning…”

The filly nodded and stood close to Gale. And she has a point; there’s hidden booby traps that’s a sure sign of anyone letting their guard down means instant death. Up ahead contains numerous tiles engraved with various kinds of animals on the floor. Up ahead is another path, but I’m already having a feeling that we’re not gonna traverse through it easily. “What are you thinking, Zero?” Gale had asked me with a hint of curiosity. I pulled an item from my saddlebags; a maize. I took a quick meal to make sure I’m well-fed and as soon as they’re emptied out, I tossed the emptied maize in the air as it lands on one of the tiles - a cat - and it sinks down.

Suddenly, arrows from both walls began viciously firing from both sides! Thankfully, it hit no target except the spent maize, but we backpedalled in surprise, “Well… guess flying is no longer an option, r-right?” She nervously chucked at us, with Tootsie Roll being obviously terrified at the sight.

“E-Erm… s-should we… tippy t-toe on the f-floors without us b-becoming d..dartboards?!” The obviously-terrified filly suggested. Great idea, if we don’t want to get pelted with arrows that could kill us in an instant! Right, then…

I carefully scanned the tiles around and these animals have the following: Cat, Gryphon, Dog and Mouse. All are ancient and possibly vicious-looking, too…

Now, which one of the floor tiles have the least predatory looks?

“Please be careful, Zero. Many tiles are instant death the moment you set even the slightest hoof to it…” Gale cautiously warned me. Trust me, I could feel cold sweats snaking through my face right now. Let’s see… a rat? Mouse? Or simply a rodent? Either way, I carefully placed a hoof onto one of the tiles, which is a mouse. I slammed my eye shut, expecting the worst…

Nothing. The tile I stepped on didn’t sink in. I opened my eye and saw the tile still intact after stepping onto it. Whew, what a relief! I turned my attention to Gale and pointed a hoof at the tile as to indicate that we have to navigate through times that only has the mouse carved to it. Every other tile that isn’t a mouse is instant death.

“So, the mouse tiles are considered safe to step on, huh? Alright guys, we need to only go for the mouse tiles in order to get through this puzzle. Tootsie, on my back. Bob, get on Zero’s back. Bullseye, follow us and avoid stepping on any tiles that doesn’t have carvings of a mouse. Understood?”

Oh great, Gale’s ordering Bob to hitch onto my back. AGAIN!

But hey, what can I do about it? He can’t jump whatsoever so unless he can jump at considerable distances, its virtually impossible for him to do so. We’re gonna have to start navigating around tiles with mouse carvings to it; every other tiles that aren’t mice are a no-go.

Right, here we go. Avoid other tiles that is not a mouse. I went in first, taking a step onto the mouse-carved tile as I carefully navigated along the mouse-covered tiles and narrowly avoiding other tiles that could mean instant death, all while Bob lounges himself onto my back. Great, he’s perfectly calm while I’m sweating nervously and profusely!

Gale was up next and she limits her flight as to not completely fly over the tiles, considering that this puzzle - and possibly other puzzles - takes cheating very seriously. Bullseye, on the other hoof, was left behind as he seemingly forgot on what he was supposed to do, “Remind me again on which tile am I supposed to step on, boss?”

For a ghoul pony who works for nearly everything, he apparently forgets things, too! Goddess-dammit, I hope he doesn’t jeopardize us all!

“Step on the cute, mice floors, mister not-scary ghoul pony!” Tootsie reminded him while hitching onto Gale’s back as she was carefully flying and stepping on mouse tiles as we were almost through this puzzle, save for the clueless ghoul ally whose puzzles are nowhere near his strong suit.

“Umm.. mice floors… ah! Found one.” He finally got the idea of what the filly just said and began to navigate through mice-covered tiles around it. One of the mouse tiles has a fairly long distance to make that jump and if the landing were to be short or missed, it could spell trouble.

Fortunately though, Bullseye was able to remember on navigating along patterns of the tiles. I myself am not so fortunate as the tile I needed to step on was further away from me that leads to the next and final mouse tile. If I screw up the landing, we’re all dead. Goddess if I was a unicorn, I would’ve (slowly) levitated my whole body towards it! Why does this temple make this first puzzle oh-so fucking impossible?!

Gale realizes that I can’t make the jump as she glides forward to me, scooping me up with her forelegs, “Hold on, Zero! Let me take you to a nearby mouse tile!”

Well, I hope you don’t throw me towards our death, Gale! I’ve had enough having to climb all the way to the top of a goddess-damned temple!

And I sure as hell hope she doesn’t accidentally kill me! “Quick, set your hoof on the mouse tile! Hurry!”

I would if you put me down! Nevertheless, I reached my hoof down whilst wincing in pain from Bob clamping his metal claws onto my shoulders. Fucking hell, you’re grasping it too tightly!

Luckily, I was able to reach my hoof onto the tile. She released me shortly afterwards with Bob lessening his vice-like grip on my shoulders. Fucking hell…

I stood by and waited for Bullseye to catch up. And I hope to Goddess that he doesn’t step any tiles that aren’t considered mice. Luckily, Bullseye was able to navigate along the patterns with relative ease and catch up to us. As we got through the first puzzle, the ghoul pony had inadvertently stepped onto the wrong tile which resulted it to sink, “Oh shit!”

Gale had quickly shook the filly off before sprinting towards him; thousands of arrows slid dangerously from the walls and began to fire off shots! Oh no! Gale!

She was quick enough to retrieve him, but the arrows, while her armor were able to deflect a barrage of skin-piercing arrows, managed to penetrate her wings. She let out her agonized yelp and coughed up a bit of blood as she scrambled her way out of the arrow trap with Bullseye in tow. I was immediately worried at the sight of her being barely alive from having taken the punishment from those arrows and I quickly opened up the saddlebags to get the healing potion; Bullseye’s injuries were minor but Gale’s were severe as she collapsed onto the stone floor. Tootsie screamed out with her voice immediately breaking, “Gale! Y-You’re hurt and your pretty wings are covered in arrows!!”

Goddess fuck, this isn’t a good time… I need to heal Gale Storm right now; she’s too important… a couple of healing potions will have to do, but how the hell can I take those arrows off of her wings without causing further harm, or even killing her… no, I don’t want her to die. I lost Solar Eclipse and Carbon Monoxide; I refuse to lose another! I refuse!

I quickly trotted over to the severely wounded ex-Enclave before glancing at the ghoul pony. I would’ve blamed him for setting off a trap that nearly killed her, but I had no time to play the blame game. The filly is pretty helpless as she was already in tears at the sight of the bloodied mare. I quickly wrote down a couple of words on the PipBuck with the use of my muzzle, showing it to Bullseye as it reads ‘Carefully pull the arrows off of her wings so I can pour the Healing Potion into her mouth’.

“Hmm… got it, boss.” The ghoul pony focused his magic on the arrows that pierced through her wings as he carefully slides them off of her. Her agonizing moans rung out from her mouth and made me wince more. Please don’t die… not now, not today either.

Eventually, all of the arrows were out of her wings, which shows bloodied, gaping holes festering her wings. She was about to lose conscious and I gingerly placed a hoof under her chin and lifted up a little, soon pouring the first healing potion down into her slightly open mouth. I need to give her more for the wounds to close up because they were still bleeding. Please just hang in there… you’re too important to us…

After using up all the Healing Potions, I could see her wounded wings having sealed up from those goddess-damned arrows, but her mouth was still bleeding a little bit and her face was beginning to grow pale. She wasn’t dead (thankfully), but she slid into unconsciousness. I let out an uneasy sigh at this; it would’ve been severely traumatizing if she would no longer be able to fly ever again. Tootsie’s cries were lessened, but it wasn’t much. All we have to do was keep moving and hope for the best. Please feel better, Gale. We need you now more than ever if we’re gonna get out of this temple of pure hell.

Despite the weight from Gale Storm’s power armor, I carried her along my back as we ventured along the path within the temple. I can’t believe that the first, simple puzzle went to hell within a blink of an eye which nearly killed my friend from a barrage of wall arrows. I used up all Healing Potions just to save one pony who saved me back in New Hampshore, and I’m willing to return the favor for her. And I’m not letting her die in vain.

The stimpak I used on her was enough to keep her resting until she can fully recover and assist us within the Temple of Ahuizotl.

“Hey, Zero? Is our good Enclave ally will be better soon?” Tootsie was still worried over her condition. All I could do was reply with a hopeful nod. I doubt there’s a medical facility in this ancient temple. And if there is, there’s probably living ponies that possess unusual remedial skills with questionable results. I’m no medic pony, but I did what I could to keep my friend from dying. If any, this is one fucked-up temple we’re in.

“Boss, I think there’s a second puzzle up ahead. Filled with unusual writings, too.”

After being notified by Bullseye, I carefully lifted a hoof for the PipBuck to scan and decipher the writing engraved on the stone wall.

“Scanning…

“Scan complete. Translating…

“One must navigate through platforms to reach the button of savior. Only the brave can lessen Ahuizotl’s unquenchable desires and move on to the next, lest the floors below rise within.”

‘Navigate’? Did it meant jump onto the platforms?! Holy hell, this puzzle is railing me up against the wall here…

And with Gale being unable to fly, none of my allies are capable of flying or jumping. And I myself am just miserable; nowhere near athletic at all. But, what am I gonna do about it? Unless Gale is fully recovered, she can’t take us up to those platforms so I guess I have to fill it in for her and take the risk. Climbing back down out of the temple is out of the question; its most likely barred us from exiting anyway.

I finalized my decision, that I’ll be the one to navigate through the treacherous platforms. The plateaus are seemingly high and the only thing that can propel me up is Bullseye. As far as I know, there aren’t any hidden springs that can propel me towards them. Carefully enough, I set Gale down against the stone wall for her to lean on and sympathetically looked at her. I had a guilt-ridden expression.

Guess now I have to return the favor for her, huh? I wrongfully killed Solar Eclipse out of pure mercy before, but Gale Storm… she’s just too important right now, including the others.

I wrote down the instructions from the PipBuck to Bullseye, reading as ‘Throw me as hard as you can onto the platform, and don’t have me killed along the way’.

Even though it seems rather vague, it was still enough for Bullseye to understand. “Got it, Boss. I’ll launch you onto the elevated platform.”

Yeah, you’d better or I’ll be falling to my death and have you to blame for it.

Of course, Tootsie was very skeptical regarding on how high the first platform is. Her only suggestion was, “Zero, you won’t be able to make that jump! You don’t have wings! Surely we could just have Gale do so for us, right?”

She’s still unconscious and even Bob’s efforts of waking her up by nudging his claw against her hoof isn’t gonna jolt her awake. She’s still recovering from the arrows that pierced through her wings. And even if she wakes up, I’m greatly concerned if she’ll even be able to fly again. The nerves in her wings would still be very sensitive should she attempt to fly.

All I could do was shake my head in response.

“Awww…” She frowns with her ears folded back. Bullseye readies himself with his forelegs scooped onto my hind legs, “Okay, boss. I should warn you that I don’t know my own strength very well so just hang on.”

So you as a living ghoul pony has the strength to lift ten ponies at once?! Surely you must be joking…

Of course, knowing a ghoul pony with unpredictable strength, he launched me up high in the air, enough for me to land onto the first platform… and holy fuck, that was seriously unexpected! I was in sudden shock on how Bullseye’s strength surpasses my own! (And I had an Applejack statuette before, too!)

Well, at least I didn’t fell down to my unexpected death. That’s a plus. The negatives are having to jump over two more platforms. And suddenly; rumbling noises. And not from hungry stomachs at all.

The platforms soon began to slowly but surely move side-by-side, all while are even levels, but now this makes platform jumping a lot more challenging than it ever is. Goddess-dammit, having to deal with reaching up to a high platform is one thing, but moving platforms?! Celestia, how dare you treat a scientist this way by giving me deadly, death-defying obstacle courses?!

Great, now I have to time the jumps carefully if I wanna make it to the switch up ahead. A single misstep would mean instant death.

Right… I carefully stood back, but not too much as to not fall off balance from the moving platforms, including the one I’m standing on.

I scanned its patterns as it was moving along left and right at medium speeds. Timing is everything and even I felt the platform I’m standing on are moving the same (albeit in opposite) directions. After a small amount of minutes of analyzing its patterns, I began to quickly gallop forward and propelled myself forward onto the middle platform and nearly throwing me off-balance. Thankfully, I landed chest-first which was a big relief for now. Too bad S.A.T.S. doesn’t work on moving platforms; it would’ve been a lot useful to time my jumps very easily.

Now its just a matter of getting over to the last platform and activate a switch mounted on the wall, all while speed was picking up which makes things quite more complicated than it seems.

I was hesitant enough to make the jump, resulting me in falling off-balance and fall down to my death! Fuck! I motioned myself to control the flow of my fall, but was shortly interrupted by a third moving platform as I was slammed against it. Gah! Dammit!

I barely held on to the rocky platform as it dangerously moved back and forth. I could feel the tips from spiked floors barely grazing against me, and I’m beginning to think what sick and twisted puzzle is this. Even Gale can’t help out much because let’s face it; she has yet to be fully recovered and here I am about to die for her. Just how fucked up is the Wastelands anyway?! (Especially on how twisted and fucked up on whoever is writing this!)

All I could do is pray hard to Celestia as I slowly climb myself up on the platform while enduring its unpredictable speed, and my hooves are dangerously shaking with the intent of losing its grip and for me to fall down to my certain death. Need to stay focused…

Despite its unpredictable speed, I was already halfway up as Gale soon came to. “Nnngh.. Z...Zero…?”

Her vision was blurry but slowly coming to, her sights gazed upon me as I was barely holding onto the third, moving platform. And I was starting to fade from the harsh impact earlier. Despite my efforts, I was short on reaching up to the final platform as my hooves were weakened. Fuck this…

“Zero!!” She cried out before wincing from the sharp pain from her wings, but had quickly ignored it and took flight; I was shutting my eye, waiting for my inevitable demise.

Bob had quickly waved his claws at the filly as to indicate for her to cover her eyes. Tootsie was confused at first, but had quickly realized that I was falling and Gale was on a daring rescue as she quickly covered her eyes with her small forelegs, “Wah! Please let me know when this is over! This temple is too evil to begin with!”

“Boss!”

As Bullseye looked on, Gale quickly flew down o retrieve me just when I was about to get skewered by the spiked floors, “Gotcha-- ack!”

Her wings still unleashed stinging pains like thousands of needles driven into her but it didn’t stop from making a split-second rescue. I slowly opened my eye, wondering if I was still dead… to my surprise, I wasn’t! In fact, Gale came to the rescue after her recovery from a barrage of arrows! H-How?!

She flew above the moving platform with me in tow as she bucked her hind leg against the switch, triggering the platforms as they stop moving and slowly descended down below; spiked floors slowly retreating back down with the stone floor emerging from the other end and soon connecting to another, creating a new, safe path to cross through. Gale was having trouble keeping flight due to her wings not being fully recovered even after having used up all the Healing Potions into her. “Ahh! F-Fuck! My wings are still..!”

She was desperately trying to hold onto me as we’re now in mid-flight. Despite her efforts, she lost her grip and I soon began to fall down; again!

“Hold on, boss! I’m coming to rescue you!” The ghoul pony shouted and galloped as fast as any athletic ponies would from Equestria games (which is never held in the Wastelands anyway and if there is, they’re probably twisted and death-riddled events that were previously held) as my (obviously) wingless body fell down, but I didn’t hit the ground this time; I instead landed on my own ghoul companion!

THUD!

“Gah! I got ya, boss!” Amid the struggle from the weight, Bullseye managed to keep his hooves in place after I was landed onto his back. I stumbled onto the stone floor with a bit of daze from falling down twice and being hit by the moving platform. On the other hoof, Gale landed on the floor but backpedalled for a brief moment due to her wings unleashing painful spasms inside. The other two rush over to me, “Zero! Are you okay?!”

I nodded at Tootsie before laying back on the floor. I swear to Celestia, this temple can kiss my scientific ass for all I care…

All I could do for now was nod to Bullseye in thanks. I got myself up to my hooves and went to check on Gale Storm; my expression became guilt-ridden.

As she was carefully tending her wings, her eyes were on me and she seemed pretty worried about me, “Zero… what’s wrong? I’m perfectly fine, just wasn’t able to fly properly. I’m sorry if I was forced to let you fall down again, but know that I deeply care for you ponies. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Even though Gale was the first to admit her guilt to me, I quickly countered with writing down a hoof-ful of words from my PipBuck, though I was visibly shaking that resulted me in accidentally choosing the incorrect words and had no time to fix it as I showed her the screen, reading as ‘It wasn’t not your fault, I am fault for hurting you’.

At first, she didn’t understood what it said. However, as she muttered the words carefully and realizing what I truly meant, Gale gave me a sympathetic smile and gave me a caring embrace, “Aww… well, we’re both to blame and we forgave each other. Its nice to know that you seem to show a lot of care for me, even inside this deathtrap. And before you cry, I need you to toughen up a little and keep moving for us to get out of this temple. Okay?”

I gave her a confirmed nod. She responded, “Good. That’s what I like to see.”

I was even rewarded with a kiss on the cheek. Her soft, warm lips pecking my cheek was enough to not only stop me from going on the verge of breaking down again, but my cheeks and my face become really warm! Oh my Celestia…. a… a former Enclave kissing me?! I… I was really surprised….!

And her kiss was enough to boost my confidence as I hopped up to my hooves and motioned my head at the three, as to let them know that we need to keep on moving.

“Aye-aye, Mr. not-number pony!” Tootsie marched along with both Bob and Bullseye. And for the love of Celestia, don’t refer my name as a goddamn number!

My ears picked up faint noises from above, somepony (or something) talking about stuff but I can’t determine anything.

“Do you ponies hear something?”

We nodded to Gale, but until we could find the source of the indistinct conversation, we have yet another puzzle to solve, only its significantly less harmless than the previous two. This is something akin to solving Neighkola Tesla’s questions in order to retrieve the PipBuck 4000 and made it my very own.

The floors contain tiles engraved with strange objects with a passageway currently sealed by a stone wall door up ahead. Before long, the tiles on the floors start to flash and change at random before becoming blank. Only one engraved tile was shown from it. I have a feeling this will be the biggest time-wasting puzzle solver this fucked up temple has ever come up with…

“Well, we can’t go back now. We need to get this over with or we’ll be stuck in here forever. And the nerves of my wings are still damaged so I can’t carry you ponies all the way back down, and I don’t want to risk further damage to them.” Gale advised us, stating that she can’t use her wings without damaging it further. Guess now we have to heavily rely on our wits in order to complete this near-impossible puzzle.

There aren’t too many tiles to say the least, but it doesn’t excuse it from being the most challenging puzzles there is. And one mistake means they reset themselves, forcing us to start over from scratch. We need to get through this. We just got to.

“Ready to do this, Zero?”

I gave her a determined nod; if we’re gonna get out of this fucked-up temple, we will.

Even if it takes grueling hours until our stomachs start to protest for food, we want out of this hellhole once and for all.

All I could do was use my sight to figure out the clues regarding on matching the correct tiles on the floor, lest we end up starting it all over again. But we’re confident enough to get through this.

“Stand onto that tile.” Gale pointed a hoof at the direction of the tiles. At first, I didn’t know what she was pointing at, but I soon realized that there was a faint flow pointing at the tile… wait, a glow?!

Before I would proceed, I quickly texted to Gale from my PipBuck, showing it to her which read as ‘Did you see the glow ahead?’

Unfortunately, she didn’t believed. She had a confused look on her face, “What glow? I don’t see any kind of glow. You shouldn’t get too overconfident…”

What?! I understand that we’re in a dire situation, but how could she have not seen an obvious glow directly in front of her?! Maybe Tootsie can believe it? I showed the filly the screen of the PipBuck with the same text. And I get the same reaction, “I see no glow thingy up ahead, silly scientist! You’re supposed to be a smart pony, not a grown pony who plays pretend!”

Now I’m really dumbfounded by the filly who accuses me of being superstitious! I call lies and slanders! Maybe her robo-scorpion friend knows? I mean, he’s a robot. Surely he would detect a really-obvious glow directly in front, right?

Bob himself shrugged, emitting his ‘I Don’t Know’ beeps after trying to convince this robot on what I meant. Just… goddess-dammit, how come I was able to see it yet you can’t see them yourselves?! Seriously, what’s a very smart scientist like myself being viewed as superstitious?!

“Boss, the filly’s right. Can we move along, please?”

Okay, fine! If NONE of you believes me, then I’ll PROVE that I’m not CRAZY!

So much for my determination; seems everypony has no beliefs in having me as their trustworthy leader. Hmph.

Shaking my head to regain focus, I gallopped over to the nearest glow pointing at the tile (which is considered non-existent by my own allies, of course) and soon stepped onto it; the strange engraving was soon revealed, which matches the original tile shown on the far right. Yes!

Gale and the others gazed on with amazement, “Whoa… how did you know that this was the right tile, Zero?”

...I feel the need to facehoof to ridiculous levels when she asked me that.

The next engravement emerges from the tile behind me. Looks like I can complete the next ones in a cinch, even if I were to be told that I’m a psychic despite having no unicorn characteristics or being able to read other ponies’ minds. If I can pull this off, we’ll be one step closer to exiting this goddess-damned temple.

And just when I was getting the last puzzle from the tiles, I suddenly heard a familiar voice in my head.

"Hello! Sorry I was away, was busy travelling on what your head is like inside and yowza! You’re clearly a grade-A nerd after all, and I made it easy as well as you were inside that weird-looking temple with your pals! By the way, were you worried about me? Well, shucks. Sorry I was away, needed to take a rest inside your head, which was all nice and comfy and I heard that you’re into that Grand Pegasus Enclave pony, amiriiiite?! She must be thinking about you already!"

What the-- Pinkie?! Where the hell did you come from?! You had no response from me when I was thinking inside my head and you stopped responding! What, did my injuries involving my head being jarred from being attacked by Ponelurks, being overrun by Plunderseed Carriers, ambushed by Bloatsprites AND having nearly fallen down to my death by a large, moving platform which I couldn’t get a hold on?! Do you have any idea on how I’ve been going through?!

My mind was ranting along from Pinkie’s unannounced presence in my head. Like, how and why she didn’t appeared sooner instead of later?! Its completely baffling! And don’t get me started with the ‘it just came out of nowhere’ bullshit, either!

"Pfft, for a scientist, you’re still quite a silly little sourpuss! Of course I didn’t respond because even I need naps, y’know! So c’mon! Finish the last puzzle and stop slacking off, silly Zero! And I don’t mean your name as a number, riiiight?"

The last thing I wanted was to be called Blueberry, and its just as insulting as being mentioned as a number! Now cut the nonchalant jokes and let me focus!

I think I liked it better when Pinkie Pie wasn’t making overused jokes in my head at all…

Now, the final puzzle. A gentle press to it and it’ll be all over.

And… done! All the engraved tiles began to glow simultaneously and become blank as we’re rewarded with a large stone wall opening up for us to enter. Fucking. Finally.

I was soon greeted by Gale who gave me a hug that showed success, “Hehe, what can we do without our scientific leader?”

Obviously when you ponies said that you couldn’t see an obvious glow earlier, or because Pinkie here tricked me into thinking that she was long vanished in my head for unexplained reasons other than to make an unnecessary prank on me. Even though I was proud, I was unamused at the same time. Talk about a goddamn farce.

No new puzzles for us to solve, which is a good sign. The bad news is that its a total vanishing point up ahead. Now I’m wondering if we could either find hidden passages or find treasures that could help curb the hunger. There’s bound to be, anyway.

“Does this temple have a fast food restaurant somewhere, like a Hay Burger or something? I’m hungry!” Tootsie whined. Do you honestly think a temple would have a Hay Burger joint in here? Its nowhere invented! And the other Hay Burger restaurants are probably destroyed by the Megaspell and even the foods managed to survive, they’d be considered highly lethal and inedible whatsoever.

I scanned the area around and wrote down a couple of words from the PipBuck, showing it to my friends as it read as ‘Find any walls that has secret areas inside, but be careful about traps’.

The others gave a nod with Bullseye replying to me, “Gotcha, boss. Avoid the traps in secret areas, even if it’ll take hours.”

For Celestia’s sake, I hope it doesn’t take hours…

We began to search around the temple to find any hidden switches from the sides of the stone walls. All of us pressed our hooves (Bob with his metal claw) as we carefully strafed to find anything that has hidden switches within the area. Gale Storm was next to me.

I guess Pinkie was right… for once, that is. I do have an interest to her, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m romantically interested of her…

That is, unless my pony mind is attempting to impede me with unnecessary eagerness inside. Then I want no part of it. My own Pinkie sense isn’t going off as of yet but now it would be a good time for it to go off, especially when we’re in need of leaving this temple. I feel as if we’re overstaying our welcome and sooner or later, somepony or something will eventually discover our presence.

I felt the tile suddenly sink inside when I pressed my hoof against it. I quickly backpedalled and armed myself (which I’m extremely thankful my sniper rifle stayed in place or I’d be fucked in too many different levels), with Gale providing assistance. Let’s see what this first surprise has something for us…

“Get ready…” She warned me. The other three stopped for a brief moment to look on, albeit cautiously because even they know this temple has traps that are waiting to strike.

Inside reveals a small treasure chest that was currently closed, but can be opened without the need of a lockpick. I was a little uneasy at first as I was the first to slowly approach the treasure chest with her following me behind, “Right behind you, kiddo.”

Thanks. A bit of backup will do nicely.

I carefully pushed the lid off of it as it slid off and land onto the ground with a bit of a noise from its landing. I let out a hard swallow, fearing that a curse would be let out loose. I waited a couple of seconds… nothing. No curse whatsoever. That’s a plus.

She took a peek first from the open treasure being revealed; inside were strange, edible meals inside of unknown origin.

“Hmm… they look weird-looking…”

I don’t blame you, Gale. They look weird indeed. I shone the flashlight and shone over to the hieroglyphic writing which resulted the PipBuck to decipher the writing engraved on the treasure.

After the PipBuck had deciphered the writing, it read as ‘Those who consume edible treats are blessed with eternal strength for a limited time. Only one can be consumed each’.

Huh… well for once, its a food that isn’t filled with a deadly curse. I showed her the screen of the PipBuck from the writing and even she was unsure about this, “Are… are you sure they’re safe to eat? I mean, we don’t know what purpose do they have, they could be lethal even though the--”

She was unexpectedly interrupted by the rumbles of her needy stomach inside as Gale gently caressed a hoof around her hungry belly. Her cheeks reddened brightly with a hint of slight embarrassment, “Then again… we ate worse before, just to keep the adventure going.”

I have to agree with that. We need to conserve our strength if we want to keep going. As strange as they look (which resembles as sausages), we have to do so just to curb our hunger.

“Well… let’s just grab those… things and show the other two before we can start eating, okay?”

I gave her a confirmed nod, considering as how its one of each and enough to save one in case of emergency (knowing how Bob is incapable of eating anything, much less metal). Not sure how they’ll taste, but if we need to curb the hunger, so be it. We took the chest with us and showed the three strange-looking, edible meals shown in a small, treasure chest. “Why do they look weird?! I’m not sure if I can eat those!” Tootsie Roll had a mixed reaction to it as do Bob, who emitted his confused beeping noises as they have no idea what they taste like. Even Bullseye was mystified of its true nature, “So… I guess we’re supposed to eat them, boss?”

What choice do we have? We need to eat something in order for us to continue or we won’t have any strength to proceed on through. All I could do was nod to him.

“Well, I suppose. I’m a ghoul pony so I’ve had worse anyway. At least it doesn’t involve bathing in radiation or I would’ve become mindless and eaten you already. But, I’m not that kind of a ghoul, to say the least.”

I really hope Tootsie didn’t heard what he just said. Then again, she’s too hungry to be scared and floats up a piece of an unknown, edible object and took a small, cautious bite out of it. Sure enough, it was pretty tasty, “Mmm… tasty! And no weird flavors, too!”

Huh… so they’re safe to eat, then. I took a bite myself with another piece to test it out. And it turns out, the filly’s right; it is tasty!

After Gale tasted it herself and nodded in approval, we chowed down the temple has given us. For once, that is.

Right. Our hunger’s been curbed back - even though Bob doesn’t need to eat anything - and we continued on along the long path towards the unknown. Hopefully there’s an exit, but as we continued on we heard indistinct conversation echoing within the temple.

“Do you have any idea who is talking about, guys?”

We shrugged in response to Gale’s question. None of us are experts in architect so anyone is making unusual comments deep within.

“Say… I once read a book about Daring Do my sister showed me when I was a filly. She told me a weird-looking creature known as Ahuizotl. It said that he had strong desire to unleash eight hundred years of unrelenting heat with the Rings of Scorchero, even after a failed deal attempt with Dr. Caballeron and his henchponies. Of course, that’s when Daring Do herself came to stop him from doing so. Appearance-wise, he has a weird-looking hand for a tail and uses feline creatures that doubles as his servant in order to hold her back, but that failed in the end. But, all in all, those are just basic, foal-ish rumors, hehe. Besides, Ahuizotl’s most likely dead anyway.” After Gale finished her story, I think I finally caught the idea of the temple’s true nature; it was run by the strange creature known as Ahuizotl. His only appearance I’ve been told by her (and the most notable one, too) was a strange hand for a tail, and also had an unlikely deal brokered by Dr. Caballeron and his men, but I’m not entirely sure if the deal was finalized or not.

Still however, these traps and puzzles had put a strain in our minds and bodies. Not to mention Gale Storm’s near-death experience or incapacitation to the point where she would never fly again stung me really hard. Same goes to my own near death as well when that pillar-like platform hit me so hard that I lost grip and was about to be skewered through the spiked floor before she came in to save me. Turns out that there are some good left over, even if its one of the Grand Pegasus Enclave soldiers gone rogue.

As for Daring Do? I’m not too entirely sure if she was still alive along with the creature going by the name of Ahuizotl. All that matters is getting the hell out of here and settle ourselves back in Stable Town on what to do next.

“Oooohhh, is Daring Do and Ahui-whatchamacallit real, Gale?!” The filly’s eyes glittered with excitement, hoping for an answer. Sadly, she shook her head in response. “I’m afraid I don’t know if these two are real or not. Its been too long since I read that book, little Tootsie.”

Tootsie pouted in response. Surprising enough, the E.F.S. has yet to detect any friendlies or - more obviously - hostiles. Guess we have to keep on venturing deeper, huh?

If that’s the case, so be it.

A large shrine adorned a row of tribesponies and feline creatures sitting dormant next to a throne that is currently seated by an unusual, mythical creature; Ahuizotl, onlooking at his servants chanting about the sun, with three, yellow rings of varying sizes currently sitting into the stone pillar with the last ring still missing.

“Caballeron should be pleased with all the treasure I’ve given him… for it will be his last, and all of Equestria’s inhabitants as well! Soon, the eight hundred years of sweltering heat shall commence!” The malevolent creature grinned and gently strokes a tiger with a hand-like tail as it purred contentedly. “A shame Daring Do isn’t here to stop me from going along with my meticulous plan. I’ve been waiting years for this! YEARS! And everything will come true.”

Emitting his diabolical laughter echoed throughout the temple. It was enough for us to pick up the sounds but we’re still too far away to get anywhere close, and the E.F.S. was still unable to pick up any traces of living beings.

“Do you hear that, Zero? I think we’re getting close, but unless we can find any secret passages, it’s gonna be a while…”

I could only shrug to Gale. With so many confusing paths, its like we’re getting nowhere. And I doubt using explosives would be a good idea to blast the walls open; not only will we get spotted by them, but if we’re up high, its impossible to get down from here and she’s not capable of flying fully yet. All we can do now is keep on moving.

We could hear faint chanting noises as we made our way downstairs. Probably ponies from the other side of the temple.

“I don’t like the sound of this, boss. What could it be?” I have to agree with Bullseye. Something’s going on and its not a good sign. I know how fucked-up this temple is, but ponies? Are they… chanting? Well, they’re not chanting the goddess Celestia herself but rather… another god, or goddess? No. But they’re worshipping at something that are significantly different than other deities…

Once we were at a lower level, I (inadvertently) stepped on a tile that sunk down; rumbling ensued. And not from our stomachs either.

“Eeep! W-W-What was that rumbling n-n-noise?!”

Oh fuck… please tell me I did NOT just set off a trap!

“Whatever it is, Tootsie… we gotta hoof it NOW!”

The floor behind us began to collapse and in an instant, we galloped as quickly as we could! And my Pinkie sense failed me this time because it doesn’t detect well-hidden traps very well! And the floor collapsing below behind us is nothing more than a bottomless abyss!

To make matters worse? The door in front of us was slowly and dangerously closing in, threatening to trap us inside if we don’t pick up the pace! I quickly lowered my head and scooped Tootsie Roll up to my back, with Bob being picked up by Gale, considering as how his small legs aren’t enough for him to go faster. Bullseye on the other hood, was simply keeping the pace.

Fuck me if I’m not athletic enough to get through this shit; I just want us to be out of here alive and well! The stone door was already slowly and dangerously halfway to closing down our window of opportunity, and I’ll be severely pissed at this stupid temple giving us yet another impossible challenge!

We were almost there, and the door in front of us was about to trap us inside as its opening gap began to close down; we hoofed it as fast as we could. Even Gale proclaimed, “C’mon, we gotta hurry!!”

You don’t have to tell me twice! You’re just as athletic as the rest of us are!

Almost there…!

We lunged ourselves forward with Tootsie hitched onto my back with Bob hitched onto Gale’s in our last ditch effort to get through this deathtrap. And with the door crawling to a close, the filly grasped onto me tightly whilst Bob’s metallic back grazed along the stone underneath.

My eyes were shut, wondering if we had fallen into the bottomless abyss. Miraculously enough, we all made it through!

“Nnngh… everypony okay?” Gale Storm debriefed to us after our hasty runthrough. Goddess, what’s next? Are we gonna eat each other to death? Because I loathe cannibalism!

“Yeah… we’re okay. I’m not the best runner I used to me.” Bullseye replied; even our ghoul companion didn’t have much stamina in him, apparently.

Still though, we had just narrowly escaped through hell and back. This temple is seriously sadistic, and we want out of here!

Of course, even I’m out of breath and while Tootsie Roll got off of my back, Bob did the same by skittering himself off of Gale’s back and I was just leaning myself next to her to keep myself balanced. She gave me an exhilarating smile, “Hehe, that was fun, wasn’t it?”

I don’t recall adventure being fun when your wings barely function and I was still recovering from having to deal with a pony-killing platform that included spikes on the floor. Its miraculous that we’re still alive yet still trapped inside the temple of no return. I’m starting to get the feeling that the only way out is to find a secret exit that doesn’t involve maiming all of us to death. I felt her wing draped around my back and I nodded her in thanks. Her wing does feel soft, too…

“Let’s keep moving. We don’t wanna keep hanging around here for too long.”

Yeah. Not planning on sticking around anyway. Although I forgot about one thing regarding Bullseye… is his small, intact moustache. How did his moustache survived after he became ghoulified?!

And to top it off… wait, why am I getting this fluttery feel in my chest? Am I… interested in her?! The ex-Enclave who’s my ally?! Oh fuck I hope Pinkie isn’t watching this…

Nevertheless, we continued on along and we were a bit of out of breath, save for Tootsie Roll and Bob, who hitched onto our backs instead of having them running with us as the filly’s hooves are too small to catch up with faster ponies, and Bob having small, mechanical-like arachnid legs which are significantly slower than normal ponies.

I seriously hope I don’t happen to step in another tile that sets off another deadly trap. I’m tired of solving death-defying puzzles that not only nearly killed me, but Gale as well.

“Bwaaahahahahaaaa! Its almost time! The eight hundred years of unrelenting heat is nearing in! Rise before me, servants! Riise!!” Ahuizotl bellowed as he rose from his throne, his animal servants roaring (and meowing) triumphantly, along with tribesponies who cheer on their sadistic master. The ceiling atop slowly slid itself open, hoping the angry sun come blazing down in order for the ritual to be fulfilled.

What the creature god received instead was… nothing. Dull, gray clouds had completely blocked the scorching sun from gaining entrance within the temple. Silence ensued.

Tribesponies looked on in disbelief, as the same with Ahuizotl’s animal servants. He couldn’t believe that his ritual had ultimately backfired.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!”

His angered roar echoed inside the temple, and we were able to hear him, despite that we’re in another room.

“Looks like somepony’s pissed from the other side…”

I really doubt it’s a ‘somepony’ when someone screams louder than any alicorn would. But, at least there aren’t any traps that would be set off and put us into yet another daring escape which we don’t exactly want. All we want is out of this temple and return to Stable Town for a well-deserved rest. Tootsie of course, hid behind me in fear because of the sudden, loud and booming voice. Who can blame her?

“Sounds like its coming from the other side, boss. I think there’s an exit on the left side. Don’t ask why, I was a navigator before.”

Well gee, thanks for pointing the obvious. It makes my PipBuck 4000 completely obsolete. Wonderful.

“Follow me, boss.” Bullseye instructed. So he’s the leader now? I’ve had Gale Storm taken over my leadership before she was even a mare and now I have a ghoul ally who claims his place as our leader?! Celestia, what the fuck is going on in here and why did I unexpectedly lose my privilege of leading others by my side?! What’s next, am I gonna be told what to do by Tootsie?! This is goddamn preposterous!

Well I hope he’s not lying or I’m gonna land him upside his head when Bullseye ends up leading us into yet another booby trap that could kill us all.

We heard someone ranting angrily along the way; we must be getting close to (hopefully) an exit Bullseye told us about. I still felt rather skeptical about this. Is he sure he’s leading us to an exit and not double-crossing us unintentionally?

Me and Gale looked at each other. “Let’s hope to Celestia he’s right. If not, then we have to expect the unexpected. This temple will always leave nasty surprises so be armed and ready.”

I nodded and went to get--

Wait… where’s my… oh no…

My eye went wide.

“FUCK!! I LOST MY SNIPER RIFLE WHILE I WAS NAVIGATING THROUGH MOVING PLATFORMS!!!”

My pony mind had burst into bouts of unfortunate rage. I. Can’t. Believe this is happening to me! I’m unarmed yet again! First I lost Carbon Monoxide’s rifle back in new Hampshore after being abducted by the fucked-up surgeon Dr. Scalpel, then I had my sniper rifle stolen by Taser and claimed ownership, THEN this doubly fucked-up temple had made my sniper rifle I got back in Conneticolt slipped away between me and my saddlebags without my acknowledgement with no way of retrieving it back! How can the Wastelands be THIS fucked up like Celestia’s hot, scorching buns is beyond me! I’m having a severe case of bad luck-entitis and its pissing me off just by thinking about it!!

Oh man, how is Gale gonna find--

“Wait… Zero, where’s your sniper rifle?”

DOUBLE FUCK! She already did!

I’m not sure what to tell her… even if I’m (ironically) silent, she’s still wanting to find out on my missing weapon! Why does the Wastelands have a sadistic sense of humor on making me weaponless?! AGAIN?!

“Why is the scientist had no weapon? I mean, he’s supposed to protect us from harm, not use his own body as a weapon! Zero is such a silly scientist!”

Not helping, Tootsie! Not even at the slightest!

Gale shrugged a little, “Well, we’re not gonna wait and find out what happened. We need to get out of the temple or we’ll be here forever and the edibles we ate won’t keep our hunger forever so we need to ready up, ponies… and robo-scorpion.”

It’ll be the biggest suicide run of the century. At least for me, of course. They’re well-armed and I’m not.

Once Bullseye lowered the lever that was mounted on the stone wall, the entrance slowly ascended to open up a new window of opportunity. Of course as it opens up, we could hear screaming rants echoing the throne room up ahead; sounds like this Ahuizotl was inside regarding of a botched ritual. There’s also tens of hundreds of tribesponies and wild animals (mainly feline ones) who were looking and talking to each other as to wonder why their false god’s ritual attempt had failed. As we carefully entered the room, there was sudden silence. Their attention were diverted to us. Well… triple fuck.

“What is this?!” Ahuizotl’s voice boomed inside the large room. Seems Gale’s description of Ahuizotl’s appearance were right all along. And he’s pissed as well!

“You DARE set your hooves inside MY throne room?! Especially with-- wait… are you… Daring Do? THE Daring Do that had been resurrected after eight-hundred years?! Impossible!”

Gale looked nothing like a Daring Do pony as the tribesponies armed themselves with spears, ready to take us on.

She clarifies this. “No, but I’ve read about her back in those days when my sister first introduced me to her latest issue. She told me all about your past attempts that were refuted by Daring Do herself, and she stopped your efforts in bringing eternal harm to Equestria. But, one thing puzzles me… how come you’re still alive yet Daring Do isn’t?”

Her story had fallen to the creature’s ears with a booming laugh, “Bwaaahahahahahaaa!! Foolish pony! Do you still believe in Daring Do’s false fairy tales?! Sure she may have stopped me, yet I had gained the upper hand in succeeding a ritual that could bring all of Equestria to its knees with eight hundred years of unrelenting heat! But the darkness of clouds have foiled my plan yet again, even after Daring Do had ceased to exist eight hundred years back! And before you ask, no. Dr. Caballeron and his lackeys never made our deal, so his loss, my gain. You must be Daring Do’s successor! Or should I say, new Daring Do!” He spoke dangerously from his final sentence, his sharp teeth dangerously against each other.

Wait… Daring Do is dead? How?! Old age, maybe? Curse that had afflicted her? I don’t know? I'm a scientist, not an architect!

Looking at them, its clear that even with ancient weapons, we’re still outnumbered. And unless I have my rifle to thin the numbers, we’re as good as fucked.

“Get them!! And get the new Daring Do, too!!” Ahuizotl bellowed at his tribesponies and feline animals, as they roared and charged towards us. A sea of red had flooded the E.F.S. and it looks like we’re gonna have to fight our way out of here, even if it means we’re going down hard!

We charged forward with Bob, Bullseye and Gale Storm firing off shots at the ponies and animals while me and Tootsie were just avoiding on being speared, mauled or clawed to death. Of course, Ahuizotl was quick to leap from his throne and leaped along the pillars as we fought through them. If his ritual couldn’t succeed, he’d take matter into his own hooves (or hands, paws, whatever you might call them).

His eyes were on Gale Storm as we gunned down a couple of tribesponies and animals to get through (save for me and Tootsie; neither of us are armed).

As we went to find a switch in front of Ahuizotl’s throne, the mythical creature swooped down and caught ahold of Gale Storm as she and the others were fending off deadly animals and tribesponies alike, “H-Hey! Let me go, you monster!”

Oh fuck! Gale! The other two had to evade their relentless attacks and tried to shoot Ahuizotl down. Despite their efforts, the mythical creature was too agile and the bullets only pierced into the pillars. And as I have no weapon with me, I could only watch and try to think of something to retrieve Gale Storm back. Think, Zero! Think!

“Use PTMs if you have any!”

The fuck are PTMs anyway?! Post-Traumatic Mondays?!

“No, silly! Party-Time Mint-als! It’ll help you think better!”

WHAT?! I’m a scientist, not a drug addict! Party-Time Mint-als are the bane of its existence! I’d rather use my wits alone to get out of a hairy situation!

“Pfft, you’re such a sourpuss! But oh well! Not gonna force you or anything, tee-hee! Just don’t die out there!”

What purpose do Party-Time Mint-als have, huh? That it’ll get me addicted as fuck so that I’ll be in a depraved state 24/7?! No! I don’t have time to get myself drugged over; I need to rescue Gale, no matter the cost, even if it means going out there weapon-less!

Hold on, Gale! I’m coming!

“Wait, Zero! Where are you going?” Tootsie asked, not wanting to be left alone as she was already close to the lever behind the throne. “What should I do about that lever thingy?”

I quickly skid to a stop when she asked me that. Fuck me…

All I could show her was motion my hoof around and pull back, as if instructing her to pull the lever. I really hope she gets it or all she’ll be doing is prolong my rescue attempt. Besides, that was seriously bad timing, little filly! She was rather clueless at first but soon nodded in understanding, “Ohhhhh! Okey-dokey-wokey, oh faithful scientific leader, sir!”

Thank you! As I diverted my eyes, I could see both Bullseye and Bob having managed to single-handedly gun down all the tribesponies as they look upon Ahuizotl making an escape, “Boss, that… thing is escaping! Should we stop it?”

Along the way, Tootsie Roll pulled the lever which soon reveals a secret passage in front of her, “Yay! I did something good!”

No time to celebrate just yet; we gotta rescue Gale and fast! She was struggling to pry herself free from Ahuizotl’s grasp. “Nnngh! Let me go, bastard!”

“Never, New Daring Do! You will not be continuously interfering with my flawless plan, not after having to wait eight hundred years for this moment! My ritual will happen with or without my henchponies to do my bidding!” Ahuizotl boasted as she was helplessly trying to fire off shots, but soon the Plasma Rifles mounted on her battle saddles didn’t had any ammo left and can’t reload with his hand-tail grasping her.

“Fuck! Dammit all! Zero! Everypony! Help me!”

Her yells of distress were enough to echo through the throne/ritual room we’re in and I waved a hoof to Tootsie Roll as we need to rescue our ex-Enclave ally, pronto!

“Aww… well, I suppose rescuing our not-Enclave baddie is better than discovering what that secret passage is ahead anyway! C’mon, let’s go!”

She wasn’t very far as we caught up to Ahuizotl easily. He however was waiting for us and my Pinkie sense failed me this time as Gale’s warning came too late, “Wait, don’t step on a tile! Its a trap!”

We inadvertently fell into the hidden net trap as we took a step closer, the catching net trap going off and snagging us up inside as we’re not suspended in mid-air! Dammit, my Pinkie sense didn’t work how?! Was it because I didn’t want to take those goddess-damned PTMs which hardly exists in this fucked-up temple?! Or was it because Pinkie Pie shut off the Pinkie sense on purpose just so I could learn it the hard way?! Either way, that wasn’t funny, Pinks!

“Bwaaahahahaha! You fell RIGHT into my trap, now your friend will be perfect for Daring Do’s replacement, and my ritual shall be completed, no matter what!” His maniacal laughter echoed within the room with Gale Storm still in tow as she was still struggling to pry herself free from Ahuizotl’s grasp.

“Uhh… quick, Bob! Try and fire off your laser thingy onto that weird creature’s hand-tail!”

Bob shook himself in decline; the net trap doesn’t have any opening for him to fire and refuses to risk on hurting us and himself. He even pointed his metal claw at the net, which was layered with mesh that prevents it from being fired open or allow his tail gun to squeeze through the net to open fire. “Aww… well, at least you were honest about it! Besides, we’re too high up anyway and we can’t fly”

Well, neither is Gale.

“Now, to complete my ritual with or without my henchponies! A shame Dr. Caballeron isn’t here to witness this, but you ponies and that… thing will have front row seat as your new Daring Do shall succumb to the eight hundred years of unrelenting heat, and Equestria shall be whole again!” Ahuizotl emitted his maniacal cackle; his first attempt had failed, so how will his second attempt will succeed? Its probably nighttime anyway!

Still, how are we gonna get out of this net? It seems to be difficult to chew through and mostly resistant to magic, bladed weapons and firearms so all we can do is hope that Gale Storm can make it out alive.

She of course gritted her teeth together, being easily irritated of Ahuizotl’s constant boasting of his ritual. “First off, I’m NOT Daring Do! Second off, I’m not some kind of pony who WISHES to become a sacrifice for your stupid ritual! Now let me go, dammit!”

“Silence! Don’t interrupt my speech, new Daring Do, whether you like it or not! My ritual will be fulfilled!” Ahuizotl ties her hooves up with ropes that connect to the boulders, rendering it impossible for her to free herself. Shit, I need to think of something, and quick!

As Gale helplessly struggled, I glanced up at the stone ceiling, seeing one of the tile coming loose in front of us. If I could maybe swing us back and forth for me to reach it up there, it could free her and stop Ahuizotl once and for all from completing his sadistic ritual. I glanced at Ahuizotl, who is currently chanting using a strange, foreign language not heard in Equestria as I motioned my hoof to Bullseye’s shoulder (even if it felt… rather icky and slimy for some ungodly reason), “Yes? Got any plan, boss? We could sure use one right about now.”

I confirmly nodded to our ghoul companion as I quickly typed in a couple of words from my PipBuck and showed him the screen, reading as ‘We need to swing ourselves back and forth for me to reach on the switch that will hopefully free us and Gale before Ahuizotl finishes with his chant’.

“Hmm… alright. Little one, boss told us we need to swing ourselves back and forth so he can reach over to the switch thing on the ceiling.” Bullseye instructed Tootsie. She was a little uneasy at first as she hasn’t fully interacted with a living ghoul pony before but does give him a nod. “Okey-dokey! Bob, hang on! This is like playing on a swing back in Mayne!”

We don’t have much time left, so we need to time our motions and reach for that tile before his ritual is finished!

We swung ourselves back and forth as we picked up momentum. Gale would shout, but quickly clamped her mouth shut, knowing that interrupting Ahuizotl will resort him to unleash violent acts against her and even a likely death.

Almost there…

I reached out my hoof, pressing against the net as it pressed against the tile from the ceiling, which was enough for it to sink inside and the trap net begins to lower itself down with us inside and freeing us in the process for us to make a mad dash for Gale, just as Ahuizotl had finished his chants! The ceiling above begins to slowly slide open, this time revealing a scorching sun! “Guys! Hurry!!”

As Ahuizotl emitted his booming laughter of his success, Bob fired off laser shots at the ropes that were soon burned off and allowing our ex-Enclave companion to free herself before she would’ve gotten herself worse than radiation heat. And not even sunscreen can protect it!

She frantically flapped her wings amid the sharp pain spearing into her to avoid the scorching rays that were making its approach, and she was struggling hard. “Nnnghh!! C-Can’t fly so much…!”

A voice was soon emitted; no pony figure to encounter as well.

“You can flap too, you know!”

Ahuizotl’s boastful laugh was interrupted by the voice only he was familiar with, “What..? Was that… no… Daring DO?!” And before long, he witnessed Gale already beginning to soar up in the air as a result of the voice of an unseen Daring Do motivating her to endure the pain.

“I can flap too… I can flap too, you know!” Gale’s wings were graceful and the pain from earlier when the arrows struck her had completely subsided as she flew towards us with significant speed, “C’mon, ponies! Let’s get out of here!”

As we made our mad escape, Ahuizotl snarled furiously at his second attempt being refuted and emitted a threatening roar. “You have foiled my ritual plan for the second and LAST TIME!”

Before long, he was relentlessly pursuing us by jumping from wall-to-wall and swinging along the vines to catch up to us. And by the goddesses, he is PISSED!

“Boss, anytime we could shoot that thing down now!” Bullseye suggested me, but Gale quickly countered this, “No! Save the bullets for when we get out of this fucked-up temple!”

At the same time, the temple began to give way, threatening to collapse and bury us whole as I took the lead and motioned to Gale to follow my lead. The exit is in the throne room, behind the chair.

“Alright. Everypony, follow Zero!”

It was race against time, all or nothing. The temple we’re in was shaking violently and we were hoofing it as fast as we could with Ahuizotl still hot on our tails. “GET BACK HERE!!”

We inadvertently stepped onto the wooden cart and we were plunging along the tracks, with him narrowing catching us but failing as we’re riding along the twisty tracks and clinging onto each other. (Wait, am I holding onto Bullseye?! Goddess, his flesh feels like mold! Gross!)

The temple began to crumble down, burying Ahuizotl while we’re going along for the crazy ride, “Hang on, everypony!”

This is like a rollercoaster ride from hell! Why does Celestia think that this is a good idea to even ride in it?!

We clung onto each other as we were screaming (except me, due to having no voice for obvious reasons; blame Dr. Scalpel for that one) and loop-de-loops and twisting turns about as we were escaping the temple and leaving Ahuizotl to suffer and die in his own screwed-up temple and his fucking rituals.

Soon enough, the wooden cart screeched to a stop; we were now deeper underground and still inside the temple, although relatively intact.

“Everypony okay?”

We nodded to Gale as Bullseye and later Tootsie and Bob got off of the wooden cart. Of course, being unintentionally clingy, she had her fore-hooves around me and we were immediately blushing as she looked at me. I was really hesitant to move at first but I moved back a little and she followed suit afterwards, “Oh! Heh, sorry, kiddo… dunno what went in my mind just now.”

Yeah… its fine, really. I let out a soft, nervous smile and an awkward, silent chuckle as we got ourselves off of the cart.

The inside of this temple are adorned by lit torches with unusual engravings on stone walls as I led the others in hoping to resurface back to the usual Wastelands. Up ahead lies a shrine with a large book that’s sitting onto it. There are steps, but not as much compared to the other temple that took nearly hours getting up there.

“I wonder what that voice we heard before, Zero?”

I merely shrugged; the E.F.S. never detected anything apart from Ahuizotl who was chasing us and all we heard was Daring Do’s voice Gale Storm talked to us about.

“Hmm… wait here, you three. Me and Zero are gonna check something out.” Gale ordered them, assuming her role as second-in-command as they’re aware of the temple’s surprising traps, “Alright. Be careful, you two.”

We nodded to Bullseye and the two sat and waited, “Just be careful about scary booby traps!”

Trust me, we’ve been there before and it wasn’t at all entertaining. In fact, it was a plethora of sheer madness throughout our hellish journey.

“Hmm…” She inspected close at the book that was seated on a small stand, unoccupied.

I took a glance of the PipBuck for it to identify the name of the book:

It even has the cover art of Daring Do herself! And there’s virtually no chance of it setting off the trap, although I could be obviously wrong regarding of the temple’s nature.

“Oooohh… should I take it, Zero?” Gale gleamed at me, her eyes sparkling with sheer eagerness. Well, it seems I’m not the only one who admires an idol as I myself idolize Neighkola Tesla as a young colt three years ago.

I motioned my hoof to the book in response with a caring smile to my friend. I’m not stopping you from getting the book you cherish the most.

She emitted her fangirlish squeal and grasped me into a hug, “Ohhh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank youuuuu!”

Gale even gave me another kiss to my cheek before eagerly taking the book to fulfill her strong and fanatic desires on reading Daring Do’s journey. My cheeks were burning up again, but at least I didn’t felt too embarrassed for that. Instead, I feel quite happy that she got her chance of reading Daring Do! Come to think of it… does she share similar interests as I do?

And the plus side is that this item is purely harmless; no deadly traps or anything, just this book that needed its new owner. The real Daring Do is somewhere, but its mostly unlikely. She must’ve been really old if she were to be alive. We went back down from the shrine and Gale Storm was the first to show the others the Origin Story book she had obtained, “Look what I got, everypony!”

“Oooohh… looks so cool!” Tootsie emitted her gleeful squee at the sight of the cover art of Daring Do. Bullseye nodded briefly before glancing back at me, “So, boss. Should we get out of here now?”

I suppose. All we could do now is find an ancient elevator shaft that could take us back to the Wastelands. Gale stored her book into my saddlebags and I led my team to another room where an unused elevator shaft awaits us. The bigger problem is that I had no weapon with me for the third time, which means the temple became extremely anal when it comes to handling weapons. Too bad its unrecoverable and this makes me utterly defenseless. I swear, this shit is getting old…

After we arrived inside an elevator shaft, I pulled the lever down and we were taken up to the surface. I wrote down a couple of words to Gale personally, reading as ‘Sorry about what happened earlier that nearly killed you’.

She gave me another sympathetic smile, “Hey, I’m alright now, Zero. You don’t need to worry about me too much, but judging by your facial expression, its almost as if you care much about me. And its really sweet of you to think of me as such.”

Erm… no need to take things a little awkward; there are three of our allies listening in and there’s a high possibility that I’ll be teased at. But yes, I do care and… you remind me too much of Carbon Monoxide and Solar Eclipse combined. I lost both of them, and now I don’t want to lose you and our friends.

At the aftermath of the collapsed temple, Ahuizotl, gravely injured but still miraculously alive, emerged from the rubble and coughed a couple of times from the dust pluming in before gazing up to the skies angrily and raises his clenched fist, yelling out loud,”Curse you, New Daring Do! Curse yoooouuuu!!” before slumping his head and cries audibly in defeat.

Once we reached up to the surface, it was pitch black already. Nighttime already?!

I immediately turned on the flashlight and it turns out to be a wide space of nothingness!

“Umm… where are we?”

Yeah. Good question there, Tootsie.

I glanced at the map and as I took a closer look at the screen, we’re further away from Stable town, twenty miles even! Is the Wastelands that chauvinistic or something?! I utterly refuse to make a very long and unnecessary trek back to Stable Town! I utterly refuse!

“Ohhh boy… guess it’ll be a couple of days until we return to Stable Town, huh? Whaddya say, ponies? I know its not pretty, but once we return to Stable Town, we’ll rest over at Stable 75. Remember, I can’t fly all of you ponies back over there at once.”

Gale has a point and unless we have wings, it’ll be a long journey back to Stable Town. Furthermore, since I lost my sniper rifle, I’ll have to rely on my wits to avoid any possible dangers we encounter. And there doesn’t seem to be any radio signal at all, just static. Most likely as a result from the extreme darkness that prevents normal radio broadcasts to be picked up by the PipBuck so we’ll have to follow the map.

Tootsie frowned at first, but nodded in understanding, “That's fine! C’mon, Bob! Let’s go!”

The robo-scorpion emitted his beeping-like groans, him complaining that his crazy adventures regarding escaping a crazy temple wasn’t just enough and now being forced to make a long trek back to Stable Town. I hate walking too, Bob, but what can you do? You’re a robot, you basically have limitless stamina and you never eat anything organic at all.

Bullseye asked me while we are traveling along the path into the unknown, “So, boss. Where do you think we’ll be going?”

I don’t know where we’re going. Unless there’s a functional station back to Stable Town, we’re gonna check what’s up ahead and rest up for the night.

And we’re sticking together. No matter what happens.

Even if the nighttime is dangerous, it beats living off an infestation that’s ravaging on the other side of Equestria.

Let’s see where this path I’ve chosen takes us.

Footnote: Level Up.
New Perk: Action Filly/Colt -- Gain an additional 15 Action Points.
Penalty: Your repeated loss of weaponry has reduced your Firearms skill by -5. Handle with care next time!

Author's Notes:

Major credits goes to Kkat for allowing me to use Daring Do.

The Origin Story is used in the chapter with permission of Kkat herself.