//------------------------------// // Slip Out the Back // Story: Surviving Sand Island // by The 24th Pegasus //------------------------------// The boom and rattle that followed it didn’t escape Rarity’s attention. Shocked enough as she was by what she’d just encountered in this offering room of sorts, she still had her wits about her enough to notice something as obvious as that. But what was it? She turned around, frowning down the hallway leading back to the pool of water. It sounded like it came from the direction of Rainbow and the others. What exactly had happened? As far as she knew, the survivors didn’t have any explosives with them other than what little powder her and Rainbow had stolen from the pirates. It definitely wasn’t enough to make an explosion that loud. So what could have? And what did that mean for her? Rarity quickly realized that she was basically trapped in this room. There was only one way in and, conversely, one way out. If she wanted to leave, she had to go back through the water again, back out through the door and to her friends. But now she started to worry that there might be something between her and Rainbow, or if something bad had happened to them that led to the explosion. She looked at the unicorn statuette in her magic. Almost immediately she knew that whatever was happening at the tomb had to be tied to him for some sinister reason. But what? Why? How? She couldn’t answer any of those questions, and she swiftly realized it’d be better if she didn’t try. One thing at a time, after all. First, she needed to see if she could make it back to Rainbow. Galloping away from the obsidian altar, Rarity quickly splashed down the steps and into the clammy water separating the two chambers. Remembering just how long it was between the two chambers of air, Rarity stood on the tips of her hooves as deep in the water as she could, tried to meditate to slow her heart, and sucked down a deep breath before venturing into the briny cold once more. Again, the sensation of salt stung her eyes, but she pressed on regardless, confident in her sense of direction now that she at least knew what awaited her. Churning her legs, she steadily propelled herself through the water, descending to get below the depression in the ceiling before reaching the inclining hall on the other side. It didn’t take too long before she reached the low part of the chamber, but when she did, she almost gasped in surprise—a move which would’ve been her end had she actually done it this far from either air pocket. Two ponies trudged across the floor of the hall towards her, seemingly not bothered by the salty water surrounding them. Rarity thought she recognized Soft Step, but she couldn’t pick out the other pirate at her side. Blood drifted off of open wounds on their bodies in scarlet tendrils snaking into the water, and the ponies’ eyes glowed with a harsh, white and blue light. Rarity knew without a doubt that they saw her, because their heads both pivoted slightly in her direction. They continued their synchronized march across the bottom of the hallway, and there wasn’t even the slightest spark of recognition in Soft Step’s face. Rarity could only stare at the two ponies as they slowly walked closer to her. What had happened to them? What kind of foul magic was at play in this tomb? She decided she’d rather not find out. Spinning about, Rarity quickly retreated back the way she came, legs flailing for something to push against in the water. Once more using the rocks and debris lining the tunnel to propel herself onwards, Rarity hurriedly retraced her steps and broke the surface of the water with several gasping breaths. As water ran off her coat and splashed across the stones, Rarity retreated to the unicorn god’s shrine and quickly started looking up and down the walls for something that would help her. She briefly considered trying to take the horn and use it like a knife, but even when she tugged on it, it refused to leave the altar it’d been bolted to. And after further consideration, Rarity wasn’t sure she wanted to take it, anyways. She had a feeling that only bad things would come from it if she did. But what if that was what Soft Step and the other pony were coming for? After encountering that dark spirit, she wondered if maybe it was controlling the two in some fashion. If it was, then it had to be trying to get to the horn. If that spirit was the unicorn god, through some impossibility, then maybe he was trying to reclaim his own horn. Given that the carvings on the doors they’d unlocked earlier showed the sun pegasus slicing the horn off of the unicorn, and given all that she’d seen, Rarity drew the conclusion that the tomb was less of a tomb and more of a vault or prison. A prison which her and Rainbow and the others had foolishly opened in their quest for the statuette. She wasn’t sure what was a more worrying concept, though: that the horn in front of her actually belonged to a divine being slain long ago, or it was something else whose sinister purpose Rarity couldn’t ascertain. She heard water begin to splash and drip behind her, and she redoubled her frantic search for an out before the two ponies could get to her. But what could she do? Where could she go? As far as she could tell, the room she found herself in was just four walls, a ceiling, and a floor, all perfectly chiseled even. There certainly wasn’t another exit that she could see, and she began to panic as the possessed ponies drew closer. Then something squeaked ahead of her. Behind the large statue of the unicorn god, a bat suddenly emerged, flapping its wings about and clumsily fluttering through the room. After a moment of stupidly watching the bat, Rarity suddenly gasped and sprinted to the statue. If the bats could get in, then they had to get out… Her intuition didn’t fail her. Behind the statue, she saw a gap where one of the stone blocks had broken and been weathered down by a small trickle of water. Beyond that, a pitch-black cave loomed, filled with the squeaks of other bats. Though the gap wasn’t large enough for Rarity to fit through, perhaps she could pull off another telekinetic stunt. Hopefully her horn wouldn’t give out on her; she’d already stressed it so much today, and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep it up. Hoofsteps on stone didn’t give her much of a choice. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Soft Step and the other pony crawl through the gap in the broken doors and begin marching across the room toward her. Their eyes seemed to glow brighter, and Rarity found them hypnotizing, almost impossible to look away from. Bats squeaked and squeaked around her as they began to talk in frightening, monotone voices. “The tomb is open,” they both said in unison. “Blood has been given. The seal has been broken, and he shall return.” The horn in the room seemed to radiate vibrant energy like fingers of moonlight. As Rarity hesitated by the door, they started worming their way into her mind, chasing away stray thoughts and errant ideas before they could form into plans. For some reason, the horn made Rarity think of the moon, and all its glory, and how beautiful and perfect it was… A flash of crippling darkness blocked Rarity’s sight from the ponies and the horn, and the spell was broken. The two possessed ponies howled in frustration, but Rarity didn’t squander her chance. Flinging basic spell components together, she quickly assembled her crude teleportation spell and fired it off without bothering to check to see what was on the other side of the wall. Splitting pain wracking her body forced her to pass out almost as soon as she reappeared.