"This was hilarious!" Mane laughed. "But also sad in some way..."
"Yeah..." Pinka answered with her short inebriation coming to an end. "That guy and me would get along I guess."
"Eh, you both swear a lot so I wouldn't be surprised." Mane took a second read in certain parts. "So yeah... this explains the engravings of elephants murdering dwarf ponies everywhere."
"Didn't he talk about a project... Fuck The World?" She reminded.
"Yeah, let me see again." Mane skipped to the winter part. "Now everything makes sense! The state of the land outside StoneHammer. They actually finished the project and burned the outside. Elephants, griffins... but... unicorns and earth ponies? They weren't in war with them." Mane inquired with suspicion.
"Maybe It was an accident?" Pinkamena wondered.
"I'm not sure. How can you activate something this big by accident and burn your allies?"
"The next diary may have the answers..." Pinkamena yawned while getting up. "I think our previous clothes are dry."
"Indeed, the heat is starting to make me nauseous." Mane grumbled while getting up as well. "How is the binge, tipsy?"
"It passed. Thank Luna I didn't had to throw up." She picked all the clothes drying by the magma forges.
"Where shall we go next?" Mane asked, putting his notebook back in the bag. "There's still a lot to explore, and seems we are still far away from discovering what caused the place to crumble."
"I think that crazy project with lava is what killed everypony." Pinka commented while gazing the red river of molten rock.
"I dunno... If It was the lava, then there would be no skeletons, barrels, workshops... or even these journals!" Mane puzzled together.
"Nicely thought." She agreed.
A noise started to be heard from the depths of the huge hallway. Something coming together and metal rustling on the floor, with clacking steps coming. Mane and Diane looked into the darkness with some fear and having a guess of what was.
Slowing approaching, ponies of low height all in bones showed up in the light of the magma river, holding rusty swords, axes, knifes and all kinds of tools or weapons.
"Shit..." Mane was paralyzed by the army of skeletons walking towards them slowly.
"That's why we have weapons!" Pinkamena grabbed her pistols and shot both of them, cracking two skulls and making the skeletons fall in pieces. The others kept walking slowly. "Mane! Move!" She yelled.
"Oh... right!" Mane snapped out and looked for a way out. They had an army of undead in front of them, and a magma river behind. "We must fight our way through." He said.
"I don't think my knifes would be the best for skeletons..."
"Idea!" Mane announced. He kicked the barrel on the floor and kicked again in the skeleton's direction, leaving a trail of booze behind It.
The barrel stopped when It hit the group, with his magic, Mane ignited the alcoholic drink and a fire trail ran across the line, and reaching the half full barrel, It exploded in a show of fire and skeletons flying in pieces everywhere. But not all of them were finished, leaving yet a small group. What was left of the wooden container was in flames, and some skeletons looked at It and stepped away with a gesture of standing back.
"What are they doing?" Pinkamena asked confused.
"Look!" Mane pointed at some engravings of pony dwarfs burning. "They are afraid of the fire, even if It doesn't kill them!"
"Do your job then!" Pinkamena smirked with a determined look on her face.
Mane stepped forwards with his horn glowing red. He opened his hands towards the weakened group of skeletons. Second by second, the flames gained strength and blooming from his hands, two short ranged magic flamethrowers making the short enemies stumble back in fear, opening a corridor among them. Pinkamena took the chance and ran past them while Mane walked backwards following her still waving the magic fire in front of them. When he had a good distance from them, he stopped the flames and casted his magic light and followed Pinkamena in the dark, leaving the huge long hallway.
"Are they following us?" She asked.
"I don't think so. After I stopped, they didn't dare to follow me."
"They must have though you were a creature made of their worst fear."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Mane giggled. "That was a close one."
"Let's avoid dead ends, or something worse may happen." Pinka suggested with Mane agreeing.
They walked away fast and went back to the normal fortress hallways. Rooms filled with workshops, others empty and others presumably stockpiles with Its items destroyed, most of them looked by fire.
"I don't think we are going somewhere." Mane commented unsure. "Let's go back."
The duo walked back in the same corridors, finding the river bridge with the lava channels, and later one the water river now with It's tides raised almost reaching the fort's ground level. Checking rooms they didn't explore before, they found the farms. Mane's light revealed white and brown mushrooms flooding the dry mud floor, and some of them almost reaching his height, making them what they call tower caps.
"It's... pretty." Pinkamena commented while going under of the giant mushrooms.
"I guess." Mane looked at them drooling a bit. "I'm feeling hungry."
"We still have canned food." Pinka informed.
"I was thinking of these mushrooms. It was their basic diet, means they are edible." Mane plucked a brown mushroom from the mud. "This looks delicious."
"Careful." She warned worried.
Mane levitated the mushroom in the air with his magic and proceeded to grill with his fire. He let It cool down and took a bite. The taste was pleasing and was like eating a baked potato.
"It's safe." Mane smiled while eating the mushroom. "And It's delicious!"
"Let me try!" Pinkamena grabbed Mane's hand and munched what was left of It. "Hmmm! Grill some more!" She requested with a big smile.
"Alright. We could take some with us and save the food we brought." Mane plucked a bunch of mushrooms and grilled them with his magic.
Pinkamena kept walking among the plantation and under the tower caps, a spot where they weren't growing in a rectangular shape caught her attention. She pulled out a mossy book of brass bookbinding.
"Diary!" Pinkamena announced, raising the old book.
"Nice find!" Mane cheered her.
Moments later, the translation was finished with Mane sitting by the door, while Pinkamena kept eating the grilled mushrooms the stallion had prepared.