New Magic
Chapter 5: Exit
Twilight wondered how Spelunky even know where he was going. These gently sloping grassy hills went on all the way to the horizon.
"And the moss was definitely alive. Do you know the best way to tell if moss is still alive?" Spelunky asked.
Twilight did, of course, but she was lost in thought.
"Color and texture! They may be very tiny and gooey, but they they're just plants like any other. They'll lose all their moisture and turn brown if they die." Spelunky smirked, and seemed a little bit too excited about the green gunk that grows on rocks.
Twilight wasn't listening. Normally she might have been very interested in a discussion like this. She might even have contributed. This time, however, she walked in silence, allowing Spelunky to rant on.
"Now, just like any other plant, moss needs three things to survive: carbon dioxide, water, and light. Now how much light do you think there is in a cave? Not much! I've been in lots of caves." Spelunky didn't seem to notice, or perhaps care, that Twilight wasn't listening.
She thought about Rarity's words. Was she really being a doormat? She knew that nobody would have denied Princess Luna had if she was the one who made a request to investigate some strange new magic, and if somepony did, they'd probably get an immediate earful in the 'Olde Canterlot Voice.'
Twilight smiled at the thought of Filthy Rich getting his slick mane blown back by Luna's bellowing voice.
Spelunky glanced at Twilight's grin. He grinned back at her, and loosed an excited shout, "I know, right! How did the light get down there?"
There were other things competing for Twilight's crowded mind space as well. No matter how much she tried to prepare herself mentally for this visit to the dig site, she couldn't help but think about her brief experience in the illusion platform. It was days ago, but she could barely think of anything else the entire time. It was the last thing she thought about before bed, and the first thing she thought about when she woke up.
Spelunky seemed no less filled with wonder and excitement today than he was when he first discovered the ruins. "I was actually able to see the shadow patterns in the moss, so I could tell where the light was coming from, even though there wasn't any. We found out later that the light 'bulb', if you want to call it that, was broken. It was supposed to remain on at all times but it was super old just like the rest of the place, so it only turned on every once in a while. And let me tell you, I'm glad it turned on when it did. I nearly slipped into a chasm!"
She tried to relive the joys of seeing new magic for the first time in her mind, but the more and more she thought about it, the more it started to hurt that it was still all such a mystery. She had a hunger to decipher its secrets; to start casting new spells of her own. She wished there were books on the subject that she could consume ravenously from cover to cover, but there wasn't. There couldn't be.
Frustrating as it may have been, it was a sweet consolation, in her mind, that it wouldn't be long before she started writing those books herself.
"So, then I found the ruins and took some pictures. And you wouldn't believe how many ponies were telling me it's retirement time for me! But how could I possibly retire now? Sure, I mean, I could retire, but after a rush like that I don't think I ever really truly could, ya know?"
Twilight nodded softly. "Mm hmm."
Spelunky continued, "It takes hours to squeeze down that cave entrance, and none of the researchers wanted to do it, so for a few weeks I was just bringing back little knickknacks with me every time I made a run, up until I discovered the alternate entrance in a-- Oh we're here."
They crossed a large hill, exposing a brilliant meadow, filled with wild flowers almost as far as the eye could see. It was a gorgeous day out, and the gentle breeze made the meadow dance in soft wavy strokes. Just about in the center there was a small camp, containing about a dozen small brownish green tents, and a small hoofful of large ones.
Twilight finally snapped out of her distracted state, and beamed. She flitted her wings gently with excitement. "Is that the dig site?" she asked, without taking her eyes off the smattering of tents.
"Sure is! Come on." Spelunky cantered down into the valley toward the tents, kicking up pleasant aromas from the valley's vegetation as he went. Twilight followed close behind.
Twilight was surprised by how busy the dig site was. There were dozens of ponies moving between the large tents. They were cleaning digging equipment, tying knots in ropes, testing safety harnesses, ferrying books, and all manner of busyness. Twilight was glad that, that for a moment, it appeared she wasn't going to draw any undue attention, thanks to how busy everypony was.
The problem was that you could count the number of lavender alicorns in the world on one hoof, and it wasn't long before she started to draw stares. She grinned nervously at her subjects and followed closely behind Spelunky, who seemed completely oblivious to the stares. It was a bit of a relief when she finally slipped inside of the largest tent.
Professor Crystal looked up from her work bench. She appeared to be working on some small black box, no bigger than Twilight's pocket guide to alchemy, that seemed to be in the midst of some process of being eviscerated. Every one of its hundreds of tiny parts that could be gently removed was being carefully labeled and collected in small glass tubes with rubber stoppers.
A few other professors in the tent were doing similar deconstructions, and reconstructions, of relics extracted from the ruins.
"That her?" Crystal asked.
Spelunky and playfully introduced her with mocked pomp, "Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, in the flesh." He turned and flashed Twilight a smile, making her blush slightly.
Crystal slipped off her green framed glasses, which had a loupe built into them, and took a good look at Twilight. "Welcome to the dig site, Ms. Sparkle."
"It is an absolute pleasure to be here," Twilight began, preparing to share her feelings about this momentous moment in Equestrian history.
Crystal chimed in quickly. "Let's start with the rules. First, don't touch anything."
Twiilight's jaw slowly closed as she saw her chance to make a speech passing by.
Crystal continued, "If you see something, don't touch it. I don't care if it's a piece of dirt.
"Second, watch your step. Always know where all four of your hooves are. The apprentices sometimes spend weeks gently dusting off the sediment on top of the artifact. The last thing they need is for somepony to come by and crush the artifact underhoof. And 'there was no flag or yellow ribbon' is not an excuse. Always know where you hooves are.
"Third, don't use any magic when you're down there. We don't know what kind of unstable magic fields might be down there. For safety, we bring the artifacts up here to one of the tents and investigate them under controlled conditions.
"Fourth, if you see something, you won't be investigating it. Report your findings to Spelunky, myself, or Professor Doppler, and we will investigate with your assistance.
"And the fifth, and most critical rule of all. Don't touch anything."
Spelunky's eyes widened and darted as he stood uncomfortably next to the dig site's royal guest. He expected there to be at least a few minutes before the lecturing started.
Twilight hung her head and furrowed her brow. This was awful. Any hope that she had of sidestepping her position as 'consultant' had been dashed. Crystal knew she was in charge, and she wasn't afraid to make it clear, and what's worse, the rules were even more stringent than Twilight expected.
Rarity's position was starting to seem a lot more appealing to Twilight. Does she even know who she's talking to? Twilight uncovered the Elements of Harmony from a ruin just a few years ago. How many priceless artifacts has Crystal uncovered and used to save the world from eternal night? Still, Twilight didn't want to say anything that would risk getting her kicked out.
Twilight's expression softened with resignation. "Alright. That all makes sense."
Crystal nodded and put her loupe glasses back on. "Good. We're heading down in ten minutes. Go to tent three with Spelunky and get set up with a safety harness."
Twilight's head sprang up, and she beamed with delight. She looked between Crystal and Spelunky with excitement. Spelunky grinned back at her, and Crystal couldn't help but smile a bit, too.
"Yes ma'am!" Twilight shouted.
***
Twilight entered the excavation tent. It was surprisingly small from outside, and she could see why now. There was a single reinforced mine tunnel in the center of the tent, lined with oil lamps. The lamps, however, seemed to be somewhat unneeded, because there was a bright almost pure white glowing in its depths.
Multiple apprentices were attending to Spelunky, Crystal, and Twilight, gently securing and testing the clips of their safety harnesses.
"These would be a lot safer during an accident with an elastic decelerator," Twilight noted.
Crystal sighed, "If your wings do what they say on the tin, then you don't need one at all. And, besides, they're not for accidents. Listen, don't worry about being a consultant for the first little while, Twilight. Try to just observe for now."
The apprentices finish strapping the ropes around the three large wooden cranks, tying them tightly in place.
Twilight nodded resolutely, fully intending, at least for now, to take Crystal's advice, and keep her mouth shut. She fails three seconds later. "Why aren't they for accidents? What are they for then?"
A white pegasus apprentice wearing a very sturdy looking horse collar starts to strap a rope to himself. Crystal interrupts the apprentice with an instruction, "Do the princess first," before turning to Twilight Sparkle to answer her, "They're for lowering you down. Just try to relax and don't jerk the rope. Letting go of the ridge is the hardest part, at least for wingless creatures like us."
Twilight frowned a bit at Crystal's comments, and stretched out her wing to look back at it for a moment, then she turned back to Crystal and nodded. "I'll do my best."
Two more apprentices line up behind the pegasus, and station themselves Twilight's winch, holding on to it tightly. The pegasus apprentice waved Twilight over toward the shaft, and she nodded with a gulp, stepping down the carved staircase of the ramp.
Before long, the shaft abruptly changed. There was a huge broken window in her path, surrounded by shattered glass that has been carefully swept away to prevent any cuts. The glass was absurdly thick: at least three hoof widths, but somehow it was blown to pieces, perhaps from the pressure the earth and rock has put on it over the years. The edges of the window were made of metal that was just as thick, and riveted in place so powerfully that the rivets look as though they were molten when they were put into place. The interior of the window frame was embedded with lights, and it seemed the entire ceiling of the structure was meant to be one enormous window, illuminating the room below.
Twilight peeked over the edge, and widened her eyes. The room was huge. It was easily the size of the Ponyville town square. In fact, it could easily have been a town square. It was filled with benches, and booths. There was also a large field, and several round areas that were filled with vegetation, which have long since died and dried out. What caught Twilight's eye most of all, however, was the illusion platforms, just like the one that she saw in Filthy Rich's mansion. They dotted the sides of the gray tiled paths that connected the various points of interest in the room.
"Are you at the edge?" Crystal called out.
Twilight was staring in breathless awe at what she was witnessing.
Crystal called out once more. "Twilight?"
Twilight excitedly called back. "Yes. It's like a city! There are so many illusion platforms! Your reports didn't say there were that many!"
Spelunky laughed into the mine shaft, "Oh you're in for a treat. That room is less than one tenth of the structure."
Twilight's mind had to catch up to her. She looked down into the vacuous space, trying to comprehend the enormity of what Spelunky had just told her.
The pegasus apprentice called out, "Okay slowly lower yourself over the edge and let go."
Twilight slipped herself down: hind legs first, then forelegs. The pegasus's wings fluttered hard at the sudden jerk of having to support Twilight's weight, and he drove his hooves into the dirt floor of the tent space. He had the comfortable expression of a pony who's done this many times already. The other assistants started to turn the crank slowly, giving Twilight more slack, lowering her gradually.
Twilight started her trip toward the floor, grinning from ear to ear, and staring down at the strange room as it slowly rose to meet her. "I'm really here," she whispered to herself. "This is amazing."
***
Twilight huffed, and whispered to herself. "This is terrible."
Twilight saw Crystal approaching with a legful of specimen boxes. Twilight knew what to expect. Crystal was going to unload yet another pile of artifacts for her to stuff away into her saddle bags.
Twilight was no stranger to slow and methodical research. She knew that real archaeology was nothing like the Daring Do books. She couldn't expect to just run off on some kind of adventure on her first day, but this was ridiculous. Crystal was treating her like a pack mule.
Before Twilight could object, Crystal was already dumping the boxes into her hooves. "Here, hold on to these. They're more of the plastic rectangles and we need to bring them up to the surface when we're done."
Crystal started to move off, and Twilight tried to follow and talk to her while putting away the specimen boxes. "Actually, Crystal, I wanted to talk to you."
Twilight finished putting away the boxes, and pulled out a scroll. She dropped it down and walked after Crystal, letting it unfurl behind her. "Okay, so I have a few suggestions. First--" Crystal could tell this was going to be painful. She turned to Twilight and heaved a long suffering sigh. "--teams three, and five are working on excavating the collapsed tunnel to the north, and I think it would be better if we focused on the artifacts we've already exposed. For one, the black headgear is--"
"Twilight!" Crystal shouted with frustration. "The teams are where I put them. Okay?"
Twilight's voice lost its bravado, and she almost started to whimper. "Yes but I--"
Crystal sighed, realizing she's been overly harsh, and she approached the younger mare. "Listen, I'm just saying there are good reasons why we've prioritized certain things, and I've been listening to your advice all day. I see you're already writing it all down. Maybe you should just submit the list to me when we're back at the camp?"
Twilight replied, "Oh. Right, that sounds like a good idea, but the next one is super important. You see, I've been seeing a four character word all over the place, and I thought we should try tapping it into the illusion box and--"
Crystal furrowed her brow at Twilight with disappointment, and put a forehoof gently on her note keeping scroll. "That?" she asked condescendingly.
"Oh, yes. I think it might be some sort of spell associated with creating doorways."
Crystal facehoofed in frustration. Twilight sunk backward at her reaction, grinning a very wide self-conscious grin.
Crystal tried to explain it as gently as she could. "That word is a navigation marker. It's used to indicate the way back to the main room. That's why it's always above the doors."
Twilight frowned and stared at her scroll. Why didn't she notice that? "Oh, well. I guess that--"
Crystal cut Twilight off. "Listen, how about you go help Spelunky? He's in the newly excavated area in the southeast. Don't touch anything, okay?"
Twilight nodded dejectedly, and started walking off, rolling her scroll back up so she can put it away.
Twilight stared in thought at the gray and white tiles under her forehooves as she walked. She thought it was like Winter Wrap Up all over again. Maybe Filthy Rich was right? Maybe she's just an impediment to the whole project.
But, her talent during the Winter Wrap Up was keeping the team organized, and that was her talent now. Why couldn't Crystal see that?
Twilight glanced up with a sigh, and entered the corridor toward the newly unearthed area. She was about to lift one of the lanterns with magic to light her way, but caught herself in time. "No magic, Twilight," she said to herself. She leaned over to grip the handle in her teeth, and made her way down the darkened hallway toward Spelunky, who was working diligently not far away.
Twilight paused, and took a step back, glancing aside to an open doorway. Inside was the smallest room she'd seen since visiting the ruins. It was cylindrical, and barely bigger than a closet, but that's not what caught her attention. She noticed, inscribed just above the metallic door frame, was the navigation word. She set her lamp down and grinned smugly. Crystal was wrong. Not only does this not go toward the main room, it actually doesn't go anywhere. It's just a tiny room.
Twilight stepped inside, and gasped as the door slid shut behind her.