Valkyrie led Fire Fight’s group through the forest just before the gorge itself. It seemed that the harpies from earlier had learned their lesson, because no more had come to attack them. However, that didn’t stop Valkyrie from continuing to boast about her strength and heritage much to the foals’ annoyance. Her bet with Turf War seemed to cause her to target him especially, which he took rather well, having dealt with big egos before.
A few more stories about eating contests and earning medals later, the foals and griffonlet finally happened upon Galloping Gorge. It was….more a of crater-like dip in the landscape surrounded by cliffs rather than a canyon like Ghastly Gorge, but there was a clear, albeit steep stone path down. At the bottom were very few trees surrounded by some patches of grass, but there was mostly dirt and gravel making up its floor. “So, uh….where are the harpies? This place looks pretty barren.” Fire Fight asked.
“There should be a cave entrance hidden behind some rocks somewhere around the walls. If I recall, it should be….somewhere on the northern side.” Valkyrie said. “But don’t lower your guard. This place is a little more active than it looks, and I’m not just talking about the harpies.”
“If the flora at the base of this gorge is any indication, than there must be water running underground here. I can see why your estranged cousins chose to inhabit this place.” Shadow Shroud said.
Tidal Wave suddenly felt an urge from his water jewel pulse throughout his body. “Huh?” Just like back in the submerged tunnels within the Great Horn Summit, he could suddenly perceive the locations and flow of moving and still bodies of water below the surface. “Yeah, you’re right. It looks like most of it is in the northern part of the gorge, so I’d say Valkyrie’s recalling right.”
“How y’all know dat?” Turf War asked.
“My amulet is showing me. This thing’s handier than I thought!” Tidal Wave said. But he then thought back to the bullies in Yodelneigh that he nearly drowned upon discovering just how ‘handy’ his new trinket really was….
“Just be careful with it, ok? Don’t wanna overflow with power and cause more problems, right?” Spiral Galaxy said.
“Hehe. ‘Overflow’. I see what you did there…” Tidal Wave said, hiding his shallow anxiety.
Spiral let out a little giggle. “I’m serious, Tidal Wave.” She said as she pointed to her horn.
“Ah reckon we can worry about stuff like that when we’re cleanin’ out the chicken coop. C’mon, y’all.” Kickback said. Valkyrie spread her wings and flew down into the gorge, circumventing the path before them. Tidal Wave followed suit, but simply glided down. The others carefully trotted down and met up with them momentarily. When they got down there, Tidal Wave was holding out his spear like a dowsing rod as he began more closely scanning the area where he detected the higher concentration of groundwater.
“Have you been here before, Valkyrie?” Shadow Shroud asked.
Valkyrie shook her head. “No. I’ve only been shown a few maps. One of them detailed the reported entrance to the harpies’ lair.”
“Least we ain’t gotta worry ‘bout d’hem bein’ hella tough, right?” Turf War said.
“Yeah, yeah. Laugh yourself while you can, hammer-boy.” Valkyrie scoffed. “I’ll chop up so many more than you, you couldn’t even count how high!”
“Alright, alright!” Fire Fight said. “Let’s just head over to that wall and see if we’re right, so save the friendly rivalry for later.” Turf War and Valkyrie exchanged determined glares as Fire Fight turned around towards the northern section of the gorge.
Kickback grimaced a little as they all followed him. “This is gonna get a li’l ugly…” he said. The gorge itself was about as silent as the forest above it, except the evil presence of the harpies felt more prevalent, especially since they actually knew that they were here. Looking up at the sheer rock walls preventing them from making any quick escapes, it almost felt as if they were slowly being swallowed, and they hadn’t even entered, much less uncovered the entrance to the lair. Shadow Shroud noticed that there were apples growing on the few trees that grew in the gorge, and had some edible mushrooms surrounding them, so she took the liberty of harvesting them as they continued.
When they reached the northernmost part of the gorge’s base, there was a large ovular boulder leaning against the wall that was about as big as a door entrance to a throne room one might see in a castle, such as the ruined castle in the Everfree Forest. Knowing that she was the one for the job, Spiral took a deep breath. “Ok. Stand back, guys.” She said as she shined her horn. Fire Fight lit his horn as well, and the two unicorns easily managed to move the large rock quite a ways away. What was revealed to be behind was….a little surprising.
“Da f***?” Turf War said. Exposed to Celestia’s sun was indeed a cave entrance, but it had a stone-carved gate sculpted around it, meaning that they were likely headed into more ruins. “Aw, lord. I know we ain’t ‘bout to bump into no more zombie ponies down dis b****!”
Valkyrie raised her eyebrow. “Ehh….Come again?”
“Y’all don’t even wanna know!” Turf War said. He drew his hammer-axe and took to the front. “A’ight. Y’all stay behind yo’ boy.”
Valkyrie swooped down right next to him with her sword drawn. “Me too! You guys are gonna need me once you see that these guys aren’t a joke like their grunts were!” The two snarled and glared at one another as they walked into the cave, leaving the others to follow suit with worried and annoyed expressions.
“I feel safer already…” Shroud sassed.
“<sigh> This better not turn into another you vs. Air Slash situation.” Fire Fight said. As they delved deeper and deeper into the cave, it became increasingly clear that the ruins they were entering were far less preserved than what they encountered in Ghastly Gorge. Fire Fight and Spiral Galaxy had to keep their horns lit simply to light their way forward since anything that could’ve been described as a torch was as dead as the ominous silence that echoed throughout the enveloping darkness.
“They must be way far in. It’s too quiet in here. They’re usually pretty noisy when they’re not out hunting.” Valkyrie said.
“You’ve dealt with them before?” Shroud asked.
“Yep. I’d just retired from a sword training session with my mentor and was going to visit my uncle when I saw them swarming his house. I managed to chop up a good chunk of ‘em, but they stole all of his firewood, so I had to track ‘em down and finish the job.” Valkyrie explained. “They looked like they were trying to light some sort of ritual fire, and boy let me tell ya, they were cawing and yelling like it was their last day.”
“Yer uncle wasn't hurt none, was he?” Kickback asked.
“Meh. A little, but he’s sturdy.” Valkyrie said. “Besides, he’s got me to watch his back! What more could he ask for?”
Everypony rolled their eyes, save for Turf War. “How ‘bout you to watch his back right now?” he snarked.
Valkyrie shot him a glare. “You know what I mean.”
“Regardless, we’re not even that sure this is the place. For all we know, there could’ve been some hidden entrance in the forest that we passed by.” Fire Fight said.
Valkyrie shook her head. “Believe or not, they like caves, so if their lair is around here, then it’s probably gonna be in here.”
“Well, if they were going for a good hiding place, than they sure hit the nail on the head. I can barely see anything.” Spiral said. Despite the light she and Fire Fight were creating, the pitch darkness could barely be pierced, only revealing cave walls and fallen stone structures that had no apparent origin. The only real thing of note was that they were walking along a path that was surrounded on both sides by water, little else. However, their light eventually illuminated a set of large stone doors at the end of the path with archaic paintings of two harpies on either door mirroring each other.
Fire Fight noticed that there were torches beside each door, so he lit them. What nopony expected was that it activated a complex lighting system in which the fire from the lit torches traveled up sections of the wall and one by one, lit other torches throughout what was revealed to be a big chamber with a large lake in that was divided in half by the path leading up to the doors. “Whoa….”
“Golly…. How many hidden wonders r’ we gonna uncover?” Kickback mumbled.
“Fo’ real.” Turf War said. He then looked back at the door and walked up to it. “A’ight, y’all. Let’s bust loose!” He forcefully pressed himself against the door, but despite his strength, it wouldn’t even budge. “Nrgh! Soon as I…Nrgh!...get dis m*********** open…..Nrgh!....Sorry I cursed again.”
Valkyrie creased a deviously amused smile. “What’s the matter, tough guy? Having some trouble with a door?” she taunted.
Turf War continued to struggle against the behemoth of a door. “Rrrgghhh!..... I got dis, y’all.”
Shroud rolled her eyes. “Turf War, that’s obviously not how to open it. Just let up.” Reluctantly, Turf War listened to her advice and let himself off of the door. He could feel Valkyrie’s sneering gaze looming onto him, but he paid her no heed. Shroud then inspected their obstacle. “Hmm….It’s obviously locked, but….”
“Where’s the keyhole, if there even is one?” Fire Fight asked.
“Ms. Quantum Tech’s presence would sure be helpful right about now.” Kickback commented. “Unless you could tell us somethin’, Ms. Valkyrie.”
Valkyrie flamboyantly brushed her feathers back. “I sure can.” She declared. “Harpies have a security measure where they never make a lock that can be opened from either side, only the inner side so any potential intruders couldn’t just pick it from the outside, so we’ve gotta find a way to sneak to the other side and unlock it.”
Oh! Well, that’s easy. Right, Shroud?” Fire Fight said.
Shroud inspected the immediate vicinity, but her sixth sense wasn’t picking up any sort of crack in the walls or otherwise hidden passages she could crawl through. “Hmm….. Maybe not so much this time.”
“Man, why can’t we just bust through? We gonna bash d’hese punks anyway, so what’s the harm in wreckin’ s***?” Turf War asked.
“Now Turf War, Ah don’t reckon runnin’ headlong into a swarm o’ these ‘ere varmints is a rightly smart thing to do. You remember that crystal monster underneath Canterlot?” Kickback said.
“Damn. Yeah, y’all got a point.” Turf War said.
“Pfft! Sounds like you guys really have seen a lot!” Valkyrie commented.
“If only you knew, Valkyrie.” Fire Fight said.
Tidal Wave used his jewel to more closely examine the water. The waterways he’d sensed earlier were now pretty much right before him underneath the lake. While complex, they indeed seemed to ultimately lead to the other side of the door. “It looks like I can swim my way up to there. It might be a while, but the path’s there.”
“If you say so, dude. Just make sure to stay stealthy. We don’t wanna wake these guys up in case they’re deciding to be calm.” Fire Fight said.
Tidal Wave nodded. “Right.” He said before looking over at Shroud. “You can take a break from being the sneaky one this time, Shadow Shroud.” He said.
Shroud giggled. “Go ahead and impress me. I might give you a cookie if you do a good job.” She joked.
“Be careful, Tidal Wave.” Spiral said.
“Yeah! I will.” Tidal Wave said. He jumped into the water and began his dive into certain danger.
*****
Just as with the Great Horn Summit, Tidal Wave found himself traversing through tubular caverns with only the gleam of his jewel to light his way apart from the ‘water senses’, as he called them that it granted him. They weren’t as impressive as the ones in the mountain, but they were much bigger, and he could more easily maneuver through them. The only thing that really stood out was the much denser population of marine life. Fish, crustaceans, plants, and other forms of life that came in many sizes and strange shapes filled the tunnels like a vast underwater neighborhood, and he must have travelling down its Main Street.
“Wow….” Tidal Wave was beginning to take it the sights more and more as he swam deeper into the submerged cavern, and its ecosystem became more and more abundant. Every now and again, a fish would swim next to him for a moment or so, no doubt curious about a creature that’s normally foreign to an aquatic community. Much of the creatures that Tidal Wave saw dazzled him with bioluminescent glows radiating from their bodies. “Man, Quantum Tech would have a fit down here!”
After a while of following some tunnels, Tidal Wave found himself exiting out into a vast, open void in the caverns. He had to look around more diligently to get his bearings, but his water senses made mapping the area around in his head much less of a chore. Funnily enough, he could sense a whole lot of life immediately around him, but he dismissed that to the fact that he was in much more open area…….and not something else…..
As he causally swam towards the next tunnel to traverse, Tidal Wave felt a huge amount of movement coming from below him. He stopped for a moment to look down, and his water senses picked up something big….swimming right for him! “OH, CRAP!!” He darted backward as he felt the unseen mass almost graze him. He looked back to try and sense what it was, but he didn’t have to. It held still and lit its entire body, revealing that he was looking a gigantic eel right in the eye! “U-Umm….M-Morning?” he stammered.
<RAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!!!!>
"AIIIIIEEEEE!!!!" The eel made another dash towards him, its gnashing jaws glistening from its bioluminescent glow, but Tidal Wave managed to swim fast enough to the right and just barely avoided being its lunch. Thinking quickly, he used his jewel and his spear to churn the water around him in such a way that he could fire a high-pressure bolt at the glowing goliath. It hit, but all it seemed to do was irritate the beast, and he could feel its angered gaze pierce through his soul as it turned its massive head towards him. “Uh-oh!” The eel made another mad dash, but this time, it got a little creative. It snaked it body up, down and all around so as to confuse Tidal Wave, which almost worked. He had trouble keeping track of its movements, and opted to just dart backwards to avoid it, but it was smart enough to straighten its path so as to tail him. “Oh, shoot! Shoot! SHOOT!!!” Tidal Wave could feel himself being pulled towards it as the eel opened its mouth, which alone created a relatively weak vortex that drained into its maw. That’s when Tidal Wave had an idea. Using his gear once again, he manipulated the water swirling into the beast’s mouth in such a way that it intensified into an outright whirlpool, one that was strong enough to pull in loose rocks from the walls of the cavern and other detritus into the mouth of the monster. Once it started to get a little close for comfort, Tidal Wave forced the vortex down its throat like a javelin. The serpentine scourge began violently choking, leaving an opening for the aquatic lancer. “MY TURN!!” Tidal Wave gathered his stamina and thrust his way towards the monster with his spear ready to pierce it; his form cleaved through the water like a hot knife through butter. He managed to strike the eel just above its gill, causing the beast to roar in agony. Tidal Wave then went the extra mile and started traveling down its mile-long body with his spear still lodged beneath its skin.
However, he could only go for a good ten yards before it thrashed around hard enough to smack him away. “ARGH!!!” Being body slammed by a giant eel isn’t exactly healthy, as Tidal Wave could now tell you. Even underwater, the aquatic pegasus went flying and almost slammed into a wall, but he managed to correct himself just before he could impact. “Ugh…” His body horribly ached, but he couldn’t let that hold him back now. Clouds of the eel’s blood obscured the water around it, but it simply continued to assault Tidal Wave with unbridled fury. It’s war howl echoed throughout their shared arena. It was either desperate, stupid, pissed off beyond clear consciousness, or all three, because despite its injury, the titan of the deep whipped its body around and slammed its tail into a section of the rock walls surrounding them, causing the water to shake violently. “WHOA-OA-OA-OA-OA!!! CRA-A-A-A-A-A-AP!!!” Tidal Wave couldn’t barely keep himself balanced as he had to avoid rocks that had been shaken loose by the tremor, and realized that the eel was charging him again. “NOOO!!” Tidal Wave manipulated the water around him to rocket him to the side just quick enough for his gargantuan opponent to miss and ram head-first into the rock wall. The shock of the impact wad enough to knock Tidal Wave back even further and throw him further off balance. “WAAAAHH!!” He managed to correct himself again, but when he looked back up, the eel just faced him again as if getting a concussion was nothing! “HAVEN’T YOU HAD ENOUGH!?” Tidal Wave plead. His only answer was another guttural roar, which showed that even knocking a few of its teeth out wasn’t going to stop it.
It took the eel a moment to ready itself, meaning that it was getting at least a little fatigued, and it was then that Tidal Wave thought of something. One of his favorite comic book heroes from his childhood, Hydro Horse, had a magic sword that could elongate by making water around congregate to the point that it was basically solid. “Hmm!” Tidal Wave got his game face on as he realized that he could basically so the same. He focused the power in his jewel around his spear, and sure enough, water began forming around it into a long blade of aquatic light. It finished just as the eel found the strength to charge him. “HYAAH!!” Tidal Wave swung his charged weapon, and he managed to parry the leviathan away with one swipe, a swipe that sliced across its face, which was anything but pleasant for it as it winced back in pain. “NOW WERE TALKING!!” Tidal Wave’s will seemed to enlarge his blade of water even more, and that’s when he knew he could finish this. “And now I finally get the chance to say for myself: <ahem> ‘TIME TO TURN THE TIDES IN JUSTICE’S FAVOR!!” He took but one swipe of his spear, but the eel seemed to know that it was doomed and bravely took his deadly punishment. Tidal Wave kept swinging his spear every which way but where, leaving no room for the monster to counter or recover. Once he knew he was done, he released water around his spear and watched the diced pieces of his adversary sink into the darkness below.
“Phew! That was scary…” He sheathed his spear and took a moment for his stamina to regenerate before pressing on.