Musical Suggestion: Uncharted Themes 1,2 and 3
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Uncharted
It had been only a day's travel since we left the mountainous region. And to The Baron's accurate estimation, we had reached the Lost Civilization at last. And although we had expected something of this calibre, there was nothing that could have prepared us for it.
Descending closer to the city, we could examine it even further. Almost all buildings were made of stone or granite. Some only had one level, others were built as high as to hold ten storeys in one. A system of roads crossed through the entire town, and the town itself stretched for miles. To me, it looked like the amount of land could have rivalled Ponyville's, even to its outskirts.
But even thought the civilization was once built for greatness, time had taken its toll on them. Some buildings lay crumbled, collapsed from the aging of a few thousand years. Some multi-storey houses still fought to hold its structure, but it would soon fall like the other structures. There was debris blocking some of the roads, and the roads themselves had grass and trees scattered across all routes, having broken through the stone, cracking the stones once perfect pattern.
But there was only so much we could tell from the Air Balloon. We had to land.
And there was no place to land.
"We can't get any closer! Even if we try, we might knock into one of the structures." Twilight looked around for any form of flat surfaces to land on, but those that were had debris, or wild vegetation.
"Looks like we don't have much of any other option other than on the cities edge." I scanned the city, the nearest outskirts weren't too far.
Tossing the rope to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the pegasi pulled the Air Balloon to the outskirts of the town, where only a few, low leveled buildings scattered the plains. We went lower, until we could make a safe landing.
The Air Balloon landed for its third time, making a slight 'thump' noise as it hit the ground. A puff of sand and dust rose from beneath it when it landed, purposefully getting into the eyes of everypony and I.
"Well, it's offical!" Coughed Rainbow Dash. "I'm calling this dump 'Old Town'. Because everything we've seen so far is just that!"
Waving the sand from my face, I surveyed the surroundings more carefully. Indeed, Rainbow Dash was right. Everything was at least a thousand years old, and there wasn't a single person in sight.
Pinkie Pie fiddled with the map, this time in confusion. It could be seen in her exaggerated expressions.
"That's strange... none of this is on the map of Equestria!"
"It shouldn't be." Twilight corrected her. "This place isn't charted. If it were, ponies or other creatures would have come and re-inhabited this place."
"So you're saying it's Uncharted?" I chuckled slightly at my own reference. It did in fact look like the ruins from the game. Down to the age blocks of granite.
Applejack joined in the conversation, having finished anchoring the Air Balloon. "So what now fellas? We came here to find answers ain't we?"
"I agree with Applejack. Maybe Keith can find more than just a way home here?" Rarity inquired.
"I doubt it, but let's not waste any more time." I reached back into the basket, pulling out all my possessions. Slinging the backpack that held all my possessions over my back, and strapping the sword back onto my waist.
"Why do you think you'll need... that, darling?" Rarity pointed at my weapon. "There is nopony-er... nobody else but us."
"Better safe than sorry right?" I flashed a smile, then headed back into the dense, uninhabited stone city. Or as Rainbow Dash called it, Old Town.
Everypony trotted along. Rarity being the last to follow.
"Well... we are the only ones here... right....?" Rarity frowned nervously.
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We were in the middle of the city now. I could have imagined it as it once was, bustling with humans, and living in the equivalent of the medieval age.
Pinkie Pie bounced from street to street, 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing at every block. Applejack was coaxing Fluttershy to hurry along faster, and Rarity was trying as hard as possible to not touch or blow any of the 'dirt' that coated everything else. Twilight was buried in the book of Legends, occasionally raising her head to identify landmarks that may have been mentioned.
But I just walked on. With no real objective, it was still shocking to find that humans had once lived in a small part of Equestria, albeit sitting on its border.
Remnants of the symbol of harmony were found everywhere. There was a broken circular object that lay on the road, and in the center of it, was the same symbol that hung from my neck. There were torn flags with the same symbol, but the colours had faded, leaving only the outline of the shape.
There was a glint on in the next street. Out of curiosity, I turned the corner, and knelt down to see what it was. I picked it up, to find that a very small disc shaped coin also had the Harmony symbol on it. It certainly had a big impact on the people that once lived here.
"I found gold." I called out.
"Gold?! Where?!" I heard Rarity cry out from around the corner. The white unicorn appeared the next second. Her grin faded when she realized it wasn't what she that it was.
"That's not a bit? What is it?"
"Human currency I guess... what else could it be?" I pocketed the coin. It wasn't worth anything now, but it would be one of the last things I would remember the city by.
"Keith! Rarity! Come back, we've got a big landmark!" Twilight's voice rang out.
We returned to the main road which we came from. Rainbow Dash kept a lookout in the air.
"Alright Rainbow Dash, look out for a big, flat building. There's a bit of a dome on it, so it shouldn't be that hard to find..."
Her voice trailed off, something else had caught my attention. But it wasn't a coin, or any other object.
Come this way...
It was like a whisper, but it was directly in my ear. My mind began to fuzz, and there was a strange urge to follow it.
Arty? Is that you?
There came no response, but the voice still beckoned.
Yes, keep going...
"Keith? Where'd you go?"
"I'm over here..."
There's no need to call them...
Yeah... they probably already know where I am...
In a daze, I walked into an alleyway. It was a small passage between two buildings, and led to another road. On one side, was a tall building, and the other was a short, one-storey structure, or what was left of it.
I was in a relaxed state, but a part of me knew something was wrong. But I put the thought at the back of my mind, almost automatically.
I stopped in the middle of the alleyway.
Now put the coin on the ground...
Almost on command, I retrieved the coin from my pocket. The gold coin was caked in dirt, and the tall building's shadow removed any hope of it shining at the moment. As I bent down to place the coin, I noticed a small circular carving in one of the stone blocks. I decided to place my coin there. It slid perfectly into the carving...
... which was the last thought I could think of, before falling down. And it wasn't onto the ground. In fact, the ground had given way. The blocks opened up, in two sections, and fell inward like a trapdoor. I looked down only to see darkness. I couldn't see anything else, and I was falling into it.
I had fallen for few seconds, but it felt much longer. I could only look up at the light from where I came from; above the surface. There was no ground beneath the stone blocks, only hollow empty space for all I could tell. I heard a shriek come from above, followed by multiple calls of my name. The Mane Six definitely knew where I was now.
It didn't take me long to remember what the Baron had said. There was indeed an underground part of the city.
I fell, back first, hard onto what I hoped was just a stone floor. The wind got knocked out of me, leaving me breathless and staring up at the trapdoor. It was closing! But as it moved back up into place, one single block broke off, tumbling to the ground nearby and landing with a loud 'thud'. At least it brought my out of my dreamy state.
The coin I had used earlier rolled from the shadows and twisted into a circle before falling by my side.
My vision blurred, but the voice no longer spoke. I thought I had passed out for a moment, but I woke up to hear another voice. A more familiar one.
"Keith? Are you okay?" Fluttershy called out. The shape of her head peered in from the hole.
"I'm fine." I lied, trying as best as I could to hide the groan in my voice. "It was a trap!"
"Trapdoors huh? Was that what it was?" Twilight's muffled voice was heard.
"I think that's what it was! I don't think I'll be going back that way!" I picked the coin back up. The block that it had fallen with was probably the trigger, and now the trigger was broken.
"Have no fear, Keithy! We'll get you out of there!" Pinkie Pie shouted in her usual cheery voice. But the gap they all spoke through was so small. Nopony or human could fit through it.
"It's alright, Pinkie! I'll try to find my way out!"
"Are you sure?" I heard concern that coated Fluttershy's words.
"Don't worry! I'll be fine! Keep going to the landmark! I'll meet all of you there... sooner or later!" I sat back up, rubbing my lower back. I wondered whether I should be thankful that I could still walk.
"If you say so, Keithy..." Pinkie Pie trailed off.
"Stay safe! We'll see you soon!" Called Applejack.
Then, no more shadowed heads appeared at the gap. Only the block of light that came in from it. And that was the only source of light.
"Now to find my way out..." I said to myself.
Easier said than done! I can't see a thing!
I rose shakily to my feet. Everything seemed to be intact, and that included my body.
"Uh... Keith?"
Oh, so now you talk? Where the hell were you?!
"Forget that for now. Remember when I said that I was the only Aura in this universe?"
.... Yes...
"Still got you Potion of Truesight?"
I pulled forward my backpack, pulling out the blue liquid. It seemed to glow slightly in the dark. I popped the cork and gulped down more of the light blue liquid, and let it effects take over.
In another flash, my eyes turned to magic once again. At least now, the pitch black was now a lighter shade of blue.
But the blackness was the last of my worries. I saw something much worse.
Surrounding me, were white figures. Thousands of silhouettes stood around me, facing me... staring into me. They were of different height and age, but all shared the same blank expression. It was emotionless, but they still had the intent. I knew, because I could feel it. The whole circle of people was not alive. They couldn't have been.
... They're... dead...
I felt the colour drain from my face. This time, I was really looking at ghosts.
"I was wrong, Keith..."
Yeah... oh, so wrong...