Their gallop slowed to a light canter as Daring and Rose drew deeper down the hall. Without their lantern or a torch the only light came from the deep blue smears along the ceiling and the top of the walls. Daring’s eyes were as adjusted to the dark as they were going to get, and it was still tricky to see the ground in front of her hooves.
Despite the distance the tunnel appeared to travel, and despite how long they’d travelled down the waterfall only to crash again at the bottom of a massive crevasse, it still felt to Daring like she was walking through a hall in the city above. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling were all finely engraved out of the surrounding rock. The ceiling was impressively high, and the walls set apart far enough to allow a half dozen ponies to walk comfortably side by side. Spaced evenly into the walls were massive columns that stretched up into the darkness. Even the decorations were familiar. Only the slimey feel under her hooves and the luminescent algae stains far above reminded her just how old and abandoned it all was. The air seemed to suck the sound from the echoes of their horseshoes.
Daring was about to try and break the disconcerting silence when she heard noises up ahead: hoofsteps clattering across open stone; a low whistling breeze; then, a few moments later, something low that might’ve been voices. She and Rose shared a look, then Rose slowed her approach, trying to mask the sounds of her own hoofsteps, while Daring took to the air, hovering just above the ground.
The hall grew noticeably brighter as they approached whatever was ahead. They could soon feel drafty air accompanying the whistling that bounced around among the pillars. There was enough light to finally see what was right in front of their hooves, instead of wandering blinding and hoping they didn’t run into anything.
“What the—?” Rose muttered, stopping and looking at her hooves.
Daring landed silently and peered at the shape at Rose’s hooves. “A book?”
Rose reached for the book. “Ew, it’s all mildewy,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Pretty heavy.”
“What’s it say?” Daring asked.
“Ah can’t tell, it’s too dark. The pages are all stuck together and damp.” She lifted the book to her face, sniffed, then winced and held it out at a foreleg’s distance. “Yuck.”
“What’s it doing here?” Daring wondered. “Maybe Cairo dropped it?”
“Too damp for him to have just dropped it, unless he takes to bringin’ mouldy books around. It’s been here for a while.” Rose looked back and forth along the floor, then pointed ahead. “There’s another.” Rather than hold it in her mouth or try to walk on three hooves, Rose carefully set the book back in place and approached the next.
This book was lying open, its pages in worse condition than the first. It glowed faintly blue, stained by the same algae smears as the ceiling. Daring could at least make out the writing on the pages, though she couldn’t tell what they said.
Further ahead, closer to the end of the hallway, there were more of the books. Now that they knew what to look for, they could see the small dark shapes littering the edges of the floor, piling up in some places. Torn pages were stuck to the wall and floor, and there were several book covers and bindings that had almost no pages remaining. They were in a sorry state.
“Ah hope none of these are the Tome. We could walk right over it and never know.”
Daring shook her head. “We might not, but Cairo would notice.”
Rose inspected another pair of books and whistled. “Too bad Ah don’t have the tools to protect these books. Damaged or not, they’d still fetch a pretty bit on the market.”
Daring rolled her eyes. “They should be taken to a museum where they can be restored.”
Rose scoffed, and said casually, “Maybe one of us’ll hafta come back here some day and collect ’em.”
Daring’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe.” She could probably finance a return expedition, now that she knew where to go and what to expect. She’d have to call in a few favors, which were always in short supply . . . and she could probably find some friends that would enjoy the thought of taking on a city of monsters . . . “Of course, we’d need to make it out of here alive, first.”
Rose nodded. “Truce?”
“Truce.”
With the relative safety of the artifacts assured for another day, Daring turned her attention back to the remaining hallway. It hadn’t forked so far, and there had been no doorways or openings on either side that she’d caught, though in the darkness it would be easy to miss one.
The activity ahead grew louder. The end of the hall appeared, bright enough to conclude that there were torches lit on the other side. The light flickered as ponies moved about the room. If anypony looked down the hall Daring and Rose would be spotted immediately. Daring pulled Rose aside, and they hid behind one of the massive columns, standing over a small pile of books.
“Cairo’s gonna have guards on the other side of the doorway, just waiting for us to stick our necks through. We need to get inside without being seen.”
Rose slowly peeked around the pillar, then pulled back and searched the walls up and around them. “Well, unless we can find another way in, we might just have to turn invisible.”
“We snuck past his goons earlier,” Daring pointed out.
“Yeah, when we had a whole jungle to hide in and any number of ways to get past them.”
“Good idea,” Daring said, whispering. “Hold on.” She quietly took off into the air. There was a lot of wall to check, but even in the light from the doorway Daring couldn’t see any balconies or windows or doorways up above pony height. In fact, aside from the piles of ruined books lining the floor, the only irregularity was a pillar that had cracked and crumbled partly, leaving it pockmarked up its height.
Daring landed beside Rose. “Nothing.”
“Figures. And unless Ah’m rememberin’ wrong, this was the only way onwards from those stairs.” She leaned out again, watching the doorway.
“We need a way inside without being seen.”
“That’s only a problem if they’re watchin’ the doorway.”
“A distraction?”
Rose nodded. “A diversion. Course, they’re gonna be on the look out for us.”
“What about a disguise? So they don’t notice us?”
Rose cocked an eyebrow. “As what? A pile of books? Or do you have something better in those bags?” When Daring started grinning, Rose stomped her hoof. “No! No. They would absolutely see a pile of books wandering around. And how would we make a book costume anyways?”
Daring’s smile faded. “I’m sure I’ve done it before. Alright, what’s your bright idea?”
“If we can get the guards out here, maybe we can slip in behind them, and get inside before anypony else notices.” Rose smiled. “I’ve got a plan.”
---
Rose was pleased with her plan. Mostly. They had to assume Cairo knew they were coming, and that he was waiting for them—she was surprised Cairo hadn’t trapped the hallway—but not that he knew where they were. If Cairo did know where they were—if he was watching them—then he’d just come out and catch them himself, right?
So Cairo would have guards ready for anything and eager to find them. Any sign of Rose and Daring, and the guards would come running. All Rose and Daring had to do was stay hidden as the guards ran past.
Hence Rose dangling precariously high above the ground.
“They’ll have torches,” Daring had reminded her. “They won’t just run blindly down the hall at the first sign of trouble. They’ll be looking for us. Even if we crouch behind the pillars and stay very quiet, they’ll see us.”
“Ah thought you said hired muscle wasn’t smart.”
“They’re only ever smart enough to make things worse.”
But they wouldn’t be as likely to look up, Rose had reasoned, and so was clutching herself to the face of the pillar, her hooves dug in as deep into the pockmarks as possible, trying to pretend that the ground was still right below her hooves, that if she wanted she could just hop down, that even if she fell it wasn’t too far . . .
“This is a terrible idea,” she muttered, head turned to the side and her eyes fixed horizontal. Behind her was the entrance they’d run through, while ahead on the other side of the pillar was the chamber full of Cairo’s guards.
Daring hovered right beside her, with a clear line down the hallway and a mouldy book in her hoof. “Yeah, this time I gotta agree,” she laughed quietly. “You’re just full of them tonight.”
“Shaddup. You gonna do it or what?”
“Just waiting for the right moment. I wanna bean one on the head.”
“Just—just throw the thing already!” She could feel her right forehoof slipping, and reached for another hold. Her left forehoof had practically nowhere to grab.
Daring sighed, wound her foreleg back, and threw the book. Rose tilted her head to watch. The book sailed through the air, quickly fading into the darkness.
Daring grunted. “Damn. I can’t see—Whoops!”
The sound of a book slapping against a pony’s barrel echoed through the hallway. Rose tilted to the side, out of sight, and Daring floated in behind her, as shouting erupted from the far room. Soon lights were bouncing through the hallway.
“Uh-oh,” Daring muttered. “They’ve got a Pegasus with them. Don’t move,” she whispered, grabbing onto the pillar beside Rose and holding herself to the wall.
“I wasn’t gonna!” Rose hissed.
The sounds of hoofsteps slapping against the stone grew closer and closer, along with persistent wingbeats stirring the otherwise dead air. Rose chanced a glance out the side of the pillar. Two ponies were racing along the tunnel, a Pegasus in the air and an Earth Pony on the ground, keeping impeccable pace with each other.
After the first few pillars, once they were sure the intruders weren’t about to knock their faces in, they slowed and began inspecting behind each pillar. Daring nudged her with a stupid smirk. Rose scowled.
The Pegasus was floating above and ahead of the other pony, though still slightly lower than Rose and Daring were hanging. They might pass right underneath, after which Rose could slowly make her way down and sneak down the rest of the hallway—assuming she didn’t fall, or make any noise whatsoever getting down.
It felt like hours, hanging in place, and Rose’s hooves and legs started to complain; then it was no time at all, and the two minions were right there, and she had no plan—
The Pegasus flew underneath them, scanning the spaces between the pillars, while the Earth Pony kept a bit behind, torch high, peering into the piles of books in the corners. Rose smirked and gave Daring a nudge, knowing Daring couldn’t respond without giving up their ridiculous hiding spot. Daring nudged back, shifting Rose’s weight ever so slightly. Rose’s left forehoof slipped and she scrambled to keep her balance, shoving a hoofful of dust free.
The Earth Pony paused, ears flicking upwards. Rose gulped. The pony held up his torch with a hoof and squinted into the darkness.
Daring growled, “Aw, ponyfeathers!” and kicked off of the wall.
“Above us!” the Earth Pony growled.
The Pegasus was already turning, torch held high, just in time to catch a hoof to the gut. Daring and the Pegasus guard tumbled, grunting and yelling.
The other guard grabbed his torch in his mouth and took off after them. Rose judged her height and his speed, leaned to the side, then threw herself out into the hall. Suddenly the ground was rushing up at her, way faster than she’d expected. She clenched her jaw shut, trying to keep from yelling, and aimed.
The Earth Pony caught the motion and looked up, eyes widening just as Rose’s hooves connected with his shoulders. They tumbled unceremoniously in a large pile of crumbling books. Rose rolled and only barely made it back onto her hooves before a large hoof kicked right where she’d landed. She spun and found herself face-to-neck with the hulking stallion Earth Pony, far larger than she’d guessed—Cairo clearly didn’t mess around with muscle. She ducked, leaning forward and to the side, just as he swung. His forehoof passed her withers so closely she felt it in her mane.
She leapt past him, compressed her weight forward onto her forehooves, and sprung her hindlegs back at him, all her forward momentum transferred into those powerful legs. She caught him in the barrel as he turned, sending him flying backwards with a surprised grunt. With all her weight now on her forelegs she tucked her head and rolled forward, up onto all fours with a leap.
Motion above her. Rose looked up just in time to see Daring and the Pegasus falling right at her. She grabbed for her hat and ducked, turning to follow them as they barrelled towards the ground. Daring pulled up; the guard Pegasus continued in a straight line and bowled into the Earth Pony, sending them both end-over-end into the wall.
“C’mon!” Daring said, hurrying ahead. Rose ran after her.
“What now?” Rose panted, looking over her shoulder. The two ponies were down for the count.
“They clearly didn’t hear anything,” Daring reasoned, “or else we’d be surrounded by Cairo and his goons.”
“But them missing ain’t gonna go unnoticed for long.”
“Right. We still gotta get inside. If we can sneak in quickly and then find someplace hidden, we can wait for the rest of the guards to leave and investigate. Then we grab the Tome, rescue Midnight, and escape.”
“Lotta holes in that plan.”
“You got anything better?”
Rose didn’t. Listening for any approaching ponies, they made their way to the entrance and crouched on either side—Rose on the left, and Daring on the right. The doorway was narrower than the hall and offered some cover. From this close Rose could feel the warmth from lit torches, and smell burning lantern oil. She could hear hoofsteps on the inside, but couldn’t tell how many ponies there were. For all she knew there was a glowing purple horn right around the corner ready to drill a hole clean through her the moment she showed her face. So she couldn’t look directly through the door, unless she wanted anypony looking outside to see her bright face in front of the black hallway, but from her angle she could see down the right side behind Daring’s hiding spot. Daring mirrored her view, checking behind Rose, then whispered, “Hurry down the outside. I’ll watch your back.”
“Try not to stare too hard,” Rose said.
Daring grinned, and Rose found she was grinning too. Daring’s enthusiasm was infectious. Rose checked again, saw nopony, and nodded. Heart thumping, and fully expecting a rock-hard hoof or a brilliant purple bolt to slam into her face, she slid around the doorframe and slunk to the left.
Inside was like a late summer afternoon compared to the damp, chilled tunnel. Suddenly she was awash in brilliant warm colors, and she had to squint just to see. At first she could only make out walls and the floor, and brilliant orange lights around her. Then she found a low wall and ducked into its shade, and looked back and forth. She could see Daring watching her from the other side of the doorway.
No other ponies in sight, but she could hear them talking over the sounds of several large fires burning around the chamber. Facing to the left from the way she’d entered, she moved out of the way and waved Daring inside, careful to keep her hat tight to her head and not above the edge of the low wall.
As her eyes adjusted to the bright light Rose could make out more of the room. The low wall to her right blocked her view of the center of the room, but she could see that the room was circular, and the wall curved ahead to the right. She kept low and followed the curving walkway between the wall and the cover beside her. Daring was silent enough that without checking over her shoulder every few moments Rose couldn’t even tell she was there.
Rose continued until the low wall she was using for cover ended rather abruptly. She pressed up against the edge and listened for noises other than her own thudding heart, waited to be sure, then darted her head out for a quick look. Only when she’d ducked her head back did the view she’d taken register.
Books—and the barrel of a pony. She clamped her hoof over her mouth before she could gasp and pressed back under cover. She could hear her own heart hammering in place, and she was certain the pony could as well. She made eye contact with Daring behind her, but Daring was already flat on the floor, carefully shoving books out of the way.
The books were everywhere: small piles along the floor, bunches against the walls, and stacks towering unevenly into the darkness, defying gravity and balance. The lighting in the room came from brightly burning books atop large braziers, with some sort of magic keeping those fires from spreading to other books—otherwise the whole room would be already up in flames. Even the low wall beside her was a bookshelf, she realized with a start.
She waited another moment, but the pony either hadn’t seen her or was being very clever. She chanced another quick glance. The pony, an Earth Pony mare, was walking in the direction of the entrance. Rose pulled back and looked towards the middle of the room. There the floor was recessed, a large circular section two steps lower than the rest of it. It and the floor around it had been cleared of books, leaving large piles like statues guarding the center. At the top of the room, furthest from the entrance, a low, long table of blackened glass stood shimmering gold in the torchlight.
Lying on her side atop the table was Midnight, with a heavy looking anklet-and-chain holding her in place. She was partially obscured by a large, brutish looking Earth Pony stallion, but from her face Rose could tell Midnight was unconscious.
“Got her,” Rose whispered, quickly checking to see that Daring was still with her. The crackling fires gave enough low noise to mask her voice. “A beast of an Earth Pony guardin’ her. And a mare Earth Pony heading the other way. Maybe more.” She peered between the books separating her from the patrol on the other side. “Ah think the guards’ll see us if we keep crawlin’ forward.”
“We can’t just hide forever.” Daring tilted her head to the side and back, cracking her neck. “But we do it smart. Quiet. One at a time.”
Rose nodded. “Plan B?”
Daring’s grin got a little wider, and she quickly checked the position of the other guard. “Follow me.” Daring turned and crawled back the way they’d come. Rose followed behind Daring, keeping low to the ground with the room curving ahead to the left, and checked on the mare’s progress. The minion stopped for a moment, looking back down towards the center of the chamber at the altar at the head. Rose urged Daring forward and they pushed ahead.
Daring reached another gap and whispered, “We need to surprise her. Give me a shove when she’s right beside you.”
Wondering exactly what Daring was going to do, Rose nodded, slid back, and peered through a gap between two books in the shelf beside her. She could see the legs of the patrolling pony approaching. Three meters. Daring was muttering to herself, looking ahead and moving her forelegs through a particular motion over and over. Two meters. Her wings were quivering and her ears were flat against her head. One meter. She readied her hoof.
Now! Rose shoved at Daring’s rump. Holding the shelf beside her, Daring sprung forward and pulled herself around the edge. The last Rose saw of Daring was her tail flicking out and away, then she heard muffled grunting and the thumping of flesh on flesh. Rose scrambled forward and skidded around the edge, and her jaw dropped.
Daring had swung around the pony and, before the mare could react, had let go of the shelf, reached around her neck with the crook of her knee, and hopped atop her back, straddling her and putting her in a rear naked choke. The mare had maybe five seconds before she passed out. Eyes bulging and face turning red, she tilted to the side and crashed them both into another bookshelf, trying to dislodge Daring, but Daring had the hoof of her business foreleg under her other armpit, holding herself in place like a pretzel. The pony staggered and collapsed, and Daring had to free her forelegs and jump to avoid being crushed.
Rose rushed out and checked the Earth Pony. Her chest rose and fell reassuringly, but she was otherwise motionless and dead to the world. Rose stared at Daring. “Since when . . . ?”
“Puh-lease. It’s not my first rodeo.”
Rose looked from the unconscious pony to Daring and back. “Alright.” She tried to catch her breath, and asked, “Do you suppose we’ve been—”
A heavy roar slammed into them, knocking Rose forward over the snoozing pony. Daring absorbed the sudden force better, but only before being struck by a particularly nasty-looking stick that whistled when swung. Daring spun, cradling her foreleg as her wings twisted back and forth to keep her in the air.
Rose followed the stick back to its owner. A lithe Pegasus stallion soared overhead, circling for another hit. “Look out!” Rose cried.
“Shit! Where did you come from?” Daring demanded, shrugging off her saddlebags and flapping hard for altitude.
The Pegasus swooped in again, stick held in both forehooves. It was easily as long as Daring’s wingspan; Daring was going to have to get creative if she wanted to get within reach of the other pony without getting seriously hurt.
Daring spun towards the Pegasus and dove, aiming low. The Pegasus followed suit and dropped towards her. Daring kept going straight, even as Rose found herself leaning to the side to get Daring to turn. The other Pegasus wasn’t going to chicken out—not with the reach advantage. Daring seemed to reach the same conclusion just as the Pegasus swung his stick, and she banked sharply to the side. The Pegasus whirled around and followed as Daring struggled to gain altitude.
Rose dropped her gaze to the ground, checking that the brute wasn’t sneaking up behind her. Obviously he knew what was going on, but there was no sign of him. Rose looked at the nearby bookcases, wondering how high she could jump. Just how she was supposed to help Daring when the two Pegasi were fighting high above her head?
Daring pulled into a tight loop and flew straight back at the Pegasus. The stick swung in a tight arc toward her. She folder her wings for a split second, dropping just underneath the Pegasus, and twisted to kick at his gut, but the Pegasus was already slipping sideways. He sliced his stick through the air and knocked Daring in the back.
She cried out and tumbled, pulling out of her fall at the last moment, and wove between a pair of towering book spires. The Pegasus took the long way around; Daring spun in place and kept the books between her and the Pegasus, hoping to lose him.
For a moment Rose couldn’t see the Pegasus on the other side of the books; then with a roar the books exploded outward, showering around Daring. Daring yelped and rolled as heavy tomes rained down around her, knocking her wings aside even as she dodged and weaved around the Pegasus’ weapon.
She turned and raced towards Rose, hoping to lure the Pegasus back towards the middle, but he hung back, high enough now that he was hard to spot against the dark ceiling. He wasn’t going to risk flying within range of Rose, apparently.
“Get ready!” Daring yelled.
Get ready? “For what?” Rose yelled, double checking that the other minion was still guarding Midnight. Daring didn’t answer, though; she turned to face the Pegasus and started climbing. The Pegasus swung around and faced her.
Daring pulled up, higher and straighter but slower and slower. Rose knew Daring was close to stalling, even with her innate Pegasus Magic.
The Pegasus rushed towards her, stick held firm in both hooves.
Daring stopped, hovering briefly in midair.
Rose’s hair stood on end and she shivered. Her wingstorm? But Daring was still far too low for that—
Daring barked a yell loud enough for Rose to hear it, all the way on the ground; then a roar filled the ceiling. Her wingstorm erupted from the very tips of her feathers, crackling with lightning and bursting with thunder. Books fell and shelves tipped over in a wide arc in front of her. The Pegasus was knocked from the sky and tumbled, but at that distance the storm had spread out enough and he caught himself.
Daring, though, plummeted backwards towards the ground, having spent most of her magic. Her wings twitched and flicked, trying to catch some air to stabilize her. Rose gasped and ran towards her, but with the debris of books and paper strewn about, blocking her path, she was sure she wasn’t going to reach Daring in time to catch her. And the Pegasus, having spotted an opportunity, folded his wings and dove right for where Daring was going to crash.
“No!” Rose cried out. “Look out!”
“You look out!” Daring yelled. She twisted until she was falling head first, and flared her wings. Instantly her fall became a dive, and she curved hard into forward motion, aiming right for Rose. Rose’s eyes went wide and she scrambled back.
“Now!” Daring yelled, waving her forelegs in a circle, and Rose understood.
Daring raced overhead, so low she nearly blasted Rose off her hooves. The Pegasus followed, easily going twice her speed.
Rose flicked her tail in a complicated motion that even she didn’t understand fully, and swung the lasso right into the Pegasus’ path.
Suddenly Rose was wrenched painfully backwards, and dug her hooves into the ground, skidding to a stop. With the rope tight around his barrel, holding his wings flat, the Pegasus slammed into the ground. Before he could even yelp Rose was on him, wrapping the rope around his legs, quickly hogtying him in place. The Pegasus grunted and swore, and Rose smirked, feeling pretty helpful.
Rose turned to face the brute guarding Midnight. He stood with his hooves spread slightly, in a practiced defensive posture. He was easily twice as large as she was, towering over the tiny Unicorn lying prone on the altar, and was waiting for Rose to make the first move—either he was under strict orders to not leave Midnight’s side, or he was incredibly confident that he could overpower Rose. His expression was composed, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips, like he was excited.
Rose rolled her shoulder and cracked her neck, then slid her forehoof across the ground. “Hey, asshole. Do you know who Ah am?”
His grin spread, and he answered, “Eeyup.”
“And mah friend?”
“Of course,” he said with a sneer.
Rose nodded. “And do you know where she is?”
The stallion paused, then his eyes opened wide as he heard the sound of flapping wings. He looked up.
A heavy-sounding book stuck him right between the eyes. The stallion crumpled, his legs going limp. He was out cold, groaning and breathing slowly but otherwise dead to the world. The chamber was silent again, save for the fires crackling and sputtering. Rose looked left and right. No other guards, no raised voices, no bolts of magic shooting at them. Rose panted, trying to release some of her excess energy. Her head was ringing, and it felt like her tail had been nearly ripped from her dock.
Daring hovered beside her and nudged her shoulder. “Check on Midnight,” she said, before floating back towards the mess of books.
Rose nodded and hurried over. Midnight was breathing, but unconscious, lying on her side with her injured leg tucked in tight. There was dirt and a scratch of blood over her cutie mark. Her shoulder was scorched. She looked more ragged than before, somehow. One end of the metal chain was attached to the wall, and the other to the heavy anklet around her injured hindleg. An experimental tug showed that it was quite solidly attached.
“What did he do to you?” she whispered.
The table itself was a solid black stone of some sort. Rose traced the path of the chain to the point where it crossed up and onto the surface of the table, turned, and shattered the chain on the edge with a powerful kick. The table rang out with the force of the blast.
“Daring, Ah need your help grabbing Midnight. She’s hurt bad.”
“One moment!” Daring called back, digging into a large pile of books.
“What—Daring, forget the Tome. We’ve gotta go!”
“No way. It’s here somewhere!”
“We’re getting Midnight out of here. She’s hurt!”
“Yeah, but so will everypony else be if Cairo gets his hooves on the Tome of Shadows.”
Rose fought the urge to swear. “You said he wouldn’t use it!”
“I dunno, he might accidentally trigger some dark spell, or lose control of the Tome—”
“That could happen to us, too!” She blinked. “Yer not looking for the Tome, you just want yer notebook!”
Daring whirled around and glared at Rose. “Yeah? So what if I am? What if Cairo had stolen your dad’s hat?”
“Ah’d gladly give Cairo mah hat if it meant rescuin’ another pony. It’s a hat!”
“But your hat won’t help us escape this tomb!” Daring argued.
“Fine. Grab your notebook,” Rose said simply, waving at the piles and piles of books. “I’ll wait.”
Daring turned and craned her head up, her eyes tracing the spires of books. “It could be any of them,” she muttered.
Rose sighed. “Cairo’s obviously got yer notebook—Ah’m sure of it—and the only way we get it back is to steal it. And we’d never find the Tome in this mess.” She paused. “Ah don’t like leavin’ them with him any more than you do. But we can’t fight him like this, and even if we could, it’d be with Midnight in the middle.”
Daring looked from Rose to Midnight, to the piles of books scattered across the floor.
“Please?” Rose asked.
“Yeah,” Daring said, nose wrinkled in disgust. “Whatever.” She looked Rose in the eye. “But if Cairo uses the Tome and raises an army of Shadow Ponies to take over the world, it’s totally on you.”
“Duly noted,” Rose said, rolling her eyes. “Help me get her up. Once we got her secured we can wrap around the side and make it out the tunnel.”
Rose stood beside the table and crouched, bringing her back in line with the gleaming black surface. Daring leapt over to the other side and hesitantly pressed against Midnight’s shoulder.
Midnight stirred. “What’s going on?” she grumbled, almost immediately curling in on herself as her injuries made themselves known.
“Don’t you worry, Sugarcube,” Rose said gently. “We’re gonna getcha out of here.”
“Where’s Cairo?” Midnight asked. She lifted her head up, trying to look around. She was pale in the fire light, and her mane was a tangled mess.
Daring opened her mouth to say something.
A magically amplified, deeply sarcastic laugh echoed through the hallway and into the chamber. Cairo.
Rose’s gut plummeted. She’d figured she’d have more time, somehow. Rose whirled around and looked to the front of the chamber, but there was no pony there.
“Miss Gambit! Miss Do!” the voice called out. “I am so happy the two of you have decided to join us. Miss Oil and I were worried you’d given up.”
Rose snarled, resisting the urge to kick something, and said, “He knows we’re here, but Ah don’t think he can see or hear us. Otherwise he’d be knockin’ us around. Gotta be down the tunnel.”
“You sure?” Daring asked, eyeing the entrance.
“Just help me get her on my back.”
“Then what? We can’t take the tunnel if he’s there.”
“Ah don’t know!” Rose cried. “Ah don’t have all the answers! But Ah sure as hay am not about to leave her.” She turned to level her gaze at Daring.
“Got it,” Daring said, and carefully placed her hooves on Midnight. “Sorry. This is gonna hurt.” She started pushing.
Midnight held her breath for a full few seconds before crying in pain. “Ow! Sweet Sisters! Ow!”
“Sorry sorry sorry!” Daring pleaded, shoving her to the edge of the table.
“C’mon, Midnight. Grab on. You can do it!” Rose said.
Midnight reached around Rose’s withers and pulled. With Daring’s help she managed to heave her weight onto Rose, forelegs and head off one side and hindlegs and rump off the other. She released Rose’s withers and gasped. Rose winced. Midnight was shivering, her body cold and clammy, with dirt and sweat in her coat—she was in a bad way.
Cairo’s voice echoed through the chamber, louder this time.
“All three of you will play a very important role in the ceremony, and I couldn’t have asked for a better cast.”
Rose rolled her eyes and looked at Daring. “Ok, Daring. Yer the expert. Where would you put a secret exit?”
Daring looked over the room. “I guess I’d put in a backdoor.”
“No . . . ” Midnight groaned, shaking her head. “Not the back. The walls are rigged to collapse.”
“How in Equestria d’ya know that?” Rose asked.
Cairo interrupted Midnight. “Midnight Oil: the wise, cunning Unicorn.”
Midnight groaned, grabbing at her head. After a moment she panted, “Those runes are my life. I can read them in my sleep. You gotta go down the middle.”
“Yeah, right,” Daring scoffed. “The obvious route? There’s no way that’s safe.”
“Cairo carried me in here and walked all over the center. It’s safe. I’m surprised you guys didn’t trip one of the traps on your way in.”
Daring puffed out her chest. “Well, I am—”
“Daring Do: the agile, proud Pegasus.”
Daring shrank slightly, and muttered, “No way he can’t hear us. He’s close.”
Midnight continued, “Besides, you wouldn’t make it down the tunnel. There’s a—”
“Secret exit?” Daring asked excitedly.
“—a cage lock that keeps Shadow Magic out if the priests needed to escape. Not a secret exit, per se, but . . . well, I guess you could say it was secret. None of the other citizens knew what went on—”
“Can we just go?” Rose asked over her shoulder.
“And Rose Gambit: the tough, dependable Earth Pony.” His voice was noticeably louder.
Rose grumbled and glared at the entrance. “Y’ever get the feeling Earth Ponies are an afterthought?”
“Sure,” Daring shrugged.
“That way,” Midnight said, pointing weakly with her hoof. In the center of the chamber, large piles of books had been pushed to the sides, revealing a recessed circle large enough for a half dozen or so ponies to crowd within. “The floor folds into a stairwell that leads down and away from the sacrificial chamber.”
Rose checked one last time that Midnight wasn’t about to fall off, then carefully made her way down the dais and towards the recessed circle in the center, watching for loose books strewn in the way. The closer to the center she walked the warmer the chamber got, as more and more book-braziers lined up into view. The wash from Daring’s wings was a welcome breeze in the thick, oily air.
Cairo’s laughter boomed through the chamber. Near the center his voice seemed to bounce at Rose from all directions. She reached up to press her hat tighter to her forehead and stepped down into the recession at the center of the room. The entrance was in view, right ahead, inviting and promising. If Cairo was standing anywhere in the tunnel, there was no way Rose could hide from him. As soon as he could see her . . .
Trying not to rush Midnight, she asked, “What now? How do we open the hatch?” She could see different sections in the ground, and runes carved into circles around the perimeter. “A pressure plate? Lever?”
“It’s triggered with magic. The priests would’ve used it if anything went wrong. Hold on . . . ”
A soft yellow glow painted the floor around Rose’s hooves, and she could feel a telltale prickling all over her coat. She gulped but stood still, waiting.
Midnight’s magic flared, and there was a thud below them. “Uh . . . we’re not gonna fall, are we?” Rose asked, watching the floor beneath her hooves. Trickles of magic traced the grooves in the stonework, before fizzling out with a zapping sound.
“No, it’s—I think it’s stuck. We’re not heavy enough.”
Rose looked up. “Daring! We need more weight!”
Daring flew a tight circle above them, searching one last time for Cairo or his guards, then landed beside Rose. Another mechanical clunk rattled the ground. The prickling, itchy intensified, enough that Rose wanted to furiously scratch herself.
A ring of tiny circles surrounding the recession flashed a brilliant yellow, and with a crack they started pushing upwards into metal bars, growing like fast shoots of bamboo. As they slid up with a rough squeaking sound, they curved inwards.
“What? Hey!” Daring cried, leaping off the ground. “Stop, you’re gonna trap us!”
“No! Don’t! You’ll get stuck outside the lock!” Midnight cried.
“Oh, c’mon!” Daring scoffed. “There’s no way this is right.”
Rose looked over her shoulder. Midnight’s face was scrunched up with effort, like she was carrying the weight of the room itself itself on her horn. Midnight caught Rose’s challenging stare and her face softened.
“Trust me,” Midnight pleaded. “Or would you rather stay with them?”
Rose looked up at Daring.
Daring floated just out of reach and stared at them with a gobsmacked expression on her face. “Really? After Celestia-knows-how many times she’s stood up for him? After she begged him to take her back? Hey, how about when she tried to zap us with that snapstone?”
“I’m sorry!” Midnight cried, burying her face in her hooves. “I was scared, okay?”
“It’s a trick!” Daring yelled. “There’s probably a way out behind that altar or something. Don’t listen to her, Rose!”
“Land sakes!” Rose clenched her eyes shut and stomped her hoof. Cairo’s voice echoed through the chamber again, from so close there was no way he couldn’t see them, but she tried to tune it out. Neither he nor Daring was being helpful.
Deep breath. Either Midnight’s trying to trap us in a birdcage, or she’s trying to get us to safety. Just pick one.
Rose opened her eyes and stared at the ground. There were lines drawn from the edge of the recession towards the center, at which point there was a smaller circle. It looked like the corolla of a large flower made of very straight petals.
She tilted her head and leaned closer, ignoring Midnight’s protests and Daring’s accusations. What had Midnight said before?
A stairwell that folds down . . . Her eyes shot open. “Daring! Git yer ass down here! It’s a spiral staircase!”
Midnight groaned. “I’ve been trying—”
“You shut yer mouth and get us a way out of here,” Rose snapped, looking over her shoulder to glare at her. “And if this is a trap, you’ll be trapped in here with us.”
“I swear!” Midnight looked up at Daring. “Daring Do, please! We don’t have much time! He’s almost here.”
Daring slumped helplessly and touched down beside Rose and Midnight. The ground shifted, then dropped an inch. The bars flashed yellow and started growing up and inwards again. Rose could feel the tremor of some large mechanism underhoof.
“Almost there!” Midnight grunted. The metal bars had curved nearly up and over their heads. Suddenly Midnight’s plan made sense: once the bars joined together not even the Pegasus could get to them, and they could safely use the secret passage without being followed. She just had to get them closed first, and open the stairs below.
Motion ahead caught Rose’s attention. Standing at the entrance to the chamber was Cairo, flanked by the Pegasus and Earth Pony minions they’d fought in the hallway. They did not look happy to see Rose and Daring again. Cairo muttered something to them, and the two guards hurried off to check up on the three still in the room.
“Here goes nothing,” Daring muttered.
“Miss Oil,” Cairo said, stepping down towards the dais. “What are you doing?”
“She’s stopping you!” Rose said, allowing a sneer to slide over her mouth.
Cairo shook his head, and his horn sparkled. “I highly doubt that.”
The bars glowed purple and froze. Cairo’s magic descended like a hoof fishing into a jar and wrapped around Midnight’s barrel.
“No! Don’t you dare!” Rose yelled, whirling around and reaching for Midnight, but Cairo was already lifting her up towards the opening.
Daring leapt into the air and grabbed around Midnight’s hindhoof. Midnight cried out in pain and Daring let go with a start.
Rose dropped her saddlebags and reached inside, looking for her lasso. “No!” she cried. Still tied around the Pegasus!
They watched helplessly as Cairo floated Midnight up and out of the cage. The bars slammed shut right behind her and, with a flash that hurt Rose’s eyes, welded themselves shut.
Rose blinked the flare from her vision and watched as Midnight was lowered gently to the ground. Cairo towered over her and said something Rose couldn’t hear, then tendrils of magic stretched from his horn and stabbed into her leg. Midnight wailed.
“No!” Rose yelled, reaching through the bars. “You leave her alone!”
Cairo ignored Rose, and after a few moments his horn faded. Midnight lay still for a few breaths, then her horn took over, wrapping yellow magic around her injured leg. She struggled to all fours and turned to face Cairo. He leaned close and whispered something. Midnight nodded slowly, then reached up, wrapped her foreleg around his neck, and hugged him close.
“What the actual fuck?” Rose muttered, feeling the room spin under her hooves.
Daring flew up and grabbed at the bars. “Midnight! You whorse!” she spat, rattling their cage. “We trusted you! We helped you! Why are you doing this?”
“Shut up, Daring,” Midnight sneered. “I hate hearing you whine.”
Rose’s jaw dropped.
Midnight turned and led Cairo and his minions—Her minions?—from the chamber, leaving Daring and Rose on their own.
Daring took a deep breath, released her grip on the bars, and sauntered back to stand beside Rose.
“Well, I totally saw that coming,” she said finally.
“Argh!” Rose hollered, smacking her.