//------------------------------// // The Dark Descent // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// Rarity stared into the darkness of the tomb with more than a little worry. Even from the top of the stairs, the structure seemed cold and menacing. Something about it made her skin crawl and her hair stand on end. She couldn’t even see inside and already she regretted opening it up. Around her, several of her companions seemed similarly wary about venturing into the blackness at the bottom of the stairs. Ball Bearings and Soft Step hesitated near the back of the group, with the masseuse nervously chewing on her feathers. Even Stargazer trotted down the steps with caution in his hooves, his wings still a little unfurled at his sides for a quick getaway if need be. The only pony who didn’t seemed fazed was Rainbow, who advanced on the tomb with careless abandon. Rarity figured the pegasus was treating this whole experience like a Daring Do novel more than anything else, and that worried her. “Rainbow, darling, please do wait up,” Rarity said, mustering the courage to quickly trot down the stairs and join Rainbow by her side. “There’s no point in rushing headlong into a scary tomb when we don’t know what awaits us inside.” “We’re on the clock, Rares,” Rainbow said. Her eyes momentarily flicked up to the moon hanging still overhead. “The faster we get in and out, the better.” “A tomb like this could hold nasty surprises,” Rarity said. “We don’t want to blunder headlong into them. That won’t do any of us any good.” Rainbow paused at the bottom of the stairs, right in front of the gaping door. “Yeah, good point. And it’ll be harder to see anything in the dark. Can you make us a light?” Rarity nodded and let her horn glow with energy. In short order, soft blue light illuminated the stone walls of the ancient tomb, glistening off of rocks slick with grime and moisture. Almost as soon as her light touched the darkness, however, a torrent of screeching and leathery wings burst out of the tomb, sending the small team of Equestrians screaming and ducking for cover as the swarm of bats passed. After the screeching stopped for several seconds, Rarity cautiously raised her head. Somewhere up above her in the night sky, a thin and swirling cloud of bats slowly spread across the island, looking for insects to make up their next meal. One or two stragglers flitted out of the tomb, and then all was empty once more. Or at least, so Rarity hoped. “I hate bats,” Rarity grumbled, using her magic to try and comb her chopped mane down into place. “Absolutely dreadful creatures. Perhaps this is a sign that we’re messing with something we shouldn’t be.” “It was just a bunch of bats,” Rainbow said, shaking her head. Though her feathers were a little disheveled from jumping back in surprise, the pegasus didn’t seem bothered by the bats at all. “There’s nothing to be worried about. Now come on, we’ve got a tomb to check out!” Swallowing hard to steady herself, Rarity once more lit her horn and ventured into the dark first room of the tomb at Rainbow’s side. Almost immediately, she grimaced as her hooves splashed in chilly, sloshy mud pooled across the floor an inch deep. Her horn illuminated small cracks in the stone blocks that made up the walls that had dirt and mud dripping through them. The temple was hardly waterproof, and somehow, that made the thought that Rarity was venturing below ground with tons and tons of water and mud over her head that much worse. Amazingly, though, she wasn’t the one the most bothered by it. The three pegasi with her, Rainbow included, all looked a little on edge, their eyes immediately wandering to the low ceiling above them. “I hate caves,” Rainbow muttered. “I hate being underground.” “Maybe I should’ve stayed outside,” Soft Step said. “I get really claustrophobic.” “Really?” Rarity asked. “Then by all means, darling, don’t feel pressured to join Rainbow and myself. I’m sure Blow Off and Champagne will enjoy an extra set of eyes with them.” Soft Step nodded and quickly backpedaled to the door. “Sorry, I’m just…” “Don’t worry about it,” Rarity insisted. “We’ll see you when we return.” That left just four of them inside the tomb, but nopony else seemed like they were ready to back out like Soft Step. Now that Rarity knew there weren’t any more bats to attack her, she let her horn brighten some more until the four ponies could clearly make out the interior of the tomb. The first room appeared to be a grand entrance of some sort. Despite Soft Step’s worries about claustrophobia, the first room was actually rather large and spacious, complete with a vaulted ceiling that Rarity assumed had to make up the floor directly above it in the temple ruins outside. Stone statues of ponies sat in alcoves along the walls, many of them wearing simple armor and carrying simple weapons like harpoons and slings. More glyphs and carvings decorated the interior of the chamber, but Rarity couldn’t make much sense of them. At the far end of the chamber, a large stone archway led deeper into the tomb, while two bat-like pony statutes stood guard, their slitted eyes seemingly staring Rarity down. It was like they dared Rarity to try and pass them, warning her that she wouldn’t like what she found beyond. Rainbow didn’t seem to have any of those worries. Once her pegasus uneasiness about being below ground had passed, she started examining the room more closely. “This is pretty neat,” she said, walking right up to one of the statues and booping it on the nose. “Look at all these warriors and stuff. Any idea why they’d put a bunch of statues of soldiers in a tomb like this?” “I saw a carving that showed the Polynesians’ own interpretation of Nightmare Moon,” Rarity said. “Their version gave the moon god an army of thestrals which he used to try and take over the world or something of that sort. They probably put these soldiers here to guard the temple afterwards.” Rainbow nodded and felt around the stones some more. “Yeah, the carving on these statues is a lot better than the walls around it. The statues are newer than the tomb.” “I guess that makes sense, then,” Rarity said. She stopped in front of the two statues guarding the entrance leading deeper into the tomb and bit her lip. “I’m worried about advancing much further,” she said. “What if the pirates are right? What if this place is cursed?” “Nothing seemed cursed when we were here,” Stargazer said. “It was just a temple. I don’t know why the pirates would think it’s cursed.” “Yeah, if it was cursed, I’m certain these guys would know,” Rainbow said. “They actually lived here for a little. And if they didn’t see anything, then it can’t be that bad.” Rarity wasn’t sure about that, but she dropped it for the moment. Perhaps Rainbow was right. They’d already discussed this before anyway, and it seemed like something Squall must’ve just told her crew to keep them in line. Right now, the best thing they could do was venture deeper into the tomb and find out what it held. Besides, how much larger could it be? “Come on, let’s see what’s past these statues,” Rainbow said, and she quickly glided between the two thestral statues standing guard to the inner tomb. Stargazer and Ball Bearings followed her, leaving just Rarity in the main room. Rarity gave both statues a nervous look, but they remained impassive. She half expected them to come to life and attack her as soon as she walked past, they looked so lifelike. But they didn’t move when she hurriedly darted past them, and they still didn’t move as she went down the hallway. “Get a hold of yourself, Rarity,” she quietly muttered. “You’re worrying about nothing…”