//------------------------------//
// 7: The Crypt 
// Story: Blackened Night 
// by ZeirMakavar 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 7
The Crypt


Sunny giggle a bit again, taking a sip from her mug. "I get that Raging, I do... but seriously... you need to lighten up. We got here safe and sound did we not? The Relic is back where it belongs, and there's more then 200 other ponies here who's lives revolve around this site. You don't have to worry about any assassins or crazy psycho ponies anymore." She continued, writing a few things into her journal. "Am I wrong?"
"No you are not wrong Sunny Meadow." Raging said, admitting the fact to her. "It is true, that we made it here with out further incident, save for finding out that Princess Luna followed us here. And it is true that due to the increasing number of ponies, it will be harder to get artifacts away from here, in particular The Relic." He added, shaking his head. "Beyond that, I still have my job as Night Guard to keep the ponies in line, and to protect what ever spot the Princesses need me at, namely the Dig Site."
"Ugh!" Sunny exasperated, flailing her front legs a bit out of frustration. "Can't you just relax for five bloody minutes!"
"You know that is the one thing I can not do Sunny, and for good reason." Raging said, as a guard pony approached them. "Did you need something sir?" Raging then asked, turning to the guard after he coughed.
"Sir, Ma'am." The guard said, nodding to each of them. "The miners have requested Miss Meadow's presence at The Maze, they said they found something."
"Found something?" Sunny repeated, looking back at Raging, before looking up at the guard. "What did they find?"
"They did not say."

"Oh, I wonder what they found!" Sunny Meadow said excitedly, her and Raging Night neared the dig site. "Could it have been the entrance? I know we broke into the maze somewhere in the middle, which means we need to find the exit, and entrance. Maybe they found a tomb, or... Or maybe they found the lost capital of Raven-fjord." She continued, trailing on about the dozens of possible findings.
"Either way, they needed you." Raging said, interrupting Sunny's thoughts, which caused her to glare at him. "Which only means one thing. What ever they found, is from The Before Age. Last I checked, you said The Maze was created some time during the Discord Age, correct?"
"In the early days of his reign, yes." Sunny said, nodding slowly. "According to the age of the few wall murals we've seen, it would have been made just a few weeks after his coronation. This would have been before madness fully took control of him, and caused the ponies to rebel against him. In fact, according to some of the works, it seems one of Starswirlled's descendants were put in charge of the construction, hence why it's lasted as long as it has, or that it's a Three-dimensional maze that goes on for miles."
"And you think they might have hidden something inside the maze?"
"Well, they had to have done something to that effect, why else make a maze this large?" She asked, as they got to the entrance the diggers had made.
"Are you Miss Sunny Meadow?" One of the unicorn diggers, who was wearing the cloak that symbolized he was one of Celestia's Geomancers.
"That I am."
"Come with me then." He said, turning to enter The Maze. "And bring Mr. Night with you if he insists on following."

"What... What is this place?" Sunny asked, as she looked around the large chamber, that had skeletons of all shapes and sized scattered about. "It... It looks like a tomb of sorts, maybe some sort of Crypt."
"That is what we believe as well." The Geomancer said, nodding in response. "We broke into it after the readings showed empty space in the rock." He continued, before sighing. "The Crypt, much like the maze above us, goes on for miles. We estimate there is at least space for more then one billion dead here."
"One billion?" Sunny said, in shock. "But... But that's more then the current population of the world, at least, according to census." She said, looking around The Crypt. "And... And is The Crypt like The Maze above? Is it multi level?"
"No, Below this Crypt, The Maze returns."
"So then... this is just a floor of The Maze then?" Sunny said, blinking a bit softly, as sat down, examining one of the skeletons. "This is what, ten, maybe twelve floors down? So maybe about six or seven feet per floor.... And two feet maybe for the floor it's self... that means where anywhere from 80 to 90 feet below the surface. And seeing as we've yet to find the edges of The Maze... that means the maze could possibly go on for another hundred floors... This place is massive."
"And we have yet to find any indication as to it's purpose." The Geomancer sighed, shaking his head. "I do not think, hiding a Crypt this large, is the Maze's purpose."
"I agree, if it was, then the logical thing would for the Maze to end at The Crypt." Raging said, which caused both Sunny and the Geomancer to nod in agreement. "Then, that means, what ever The Maze is for, is further down."