//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: The Vaults of Wun Perr-Synt // Story: Daring Do and the Hand of Doom // by Unwhole Hole //------------------------------// “Stop.” When Withers spoke, the rest of the group did not need to be told twice. They stopped in their tracks, standing at the front of a large square room with a high ceiling. It had four openings but no doors, each sitting in the center of the span of each wall. “What is it?” asked Caballeron, now sounding increasingly annoyed. He compulsively checked his watch, only to remember that it was not real. The more time they spent in this hole, the more time they were at risk. “What now?” “Do any of you have any flour?” “Why in the name of golden bits would we have- -” “I think I know what he’s thinking/and the ideas that he’s linking,” said Zel. The zebra reached into one of his pockets and removed a pile of exceedingly fine, glittering dust. He held it one of his hooves and blew it into the room in front of them. Almost as soon as it left his possession and the air carried it throughout the space before them, numerous fine blue beams became visible forming a network throughout the room. “Lasers,” groaned Caballeron. “Of course there would be lasers. Because one can hardly expect class in these modern security systems. You would never see this in a true mausoleum!” “That’s not true,” noted Rogue. “Remember, in the Abbey of the Golden Crystal? The one where Rosebud got his flank stuck in the- -” “NEVER IN A TRUE MAUSOLEUM!” “I can’t shut them down,” said Withers. “And I can’t get the controls on your side to run without setting everything off. You’ll have to shut it from the far side.” Caballeron glared at the lasers, and then turned sharply. “Argiopé! You know what to do!” “Of course I do.” Argiopé stepped out from behind the other ponies. For a moment, she looked almost like a twin to the black stallion. She was herself a pure-black earth-mare, save for an orange blaze in the center of her face and her short-cropped white mane. In addition, she was wearing an exceedingly tight catsuit that left nothing about her pony figure to the imagination. “What are you wearing?” groaned Caballeron. “Argiopé, we spoke about this in advance. In situations requiring- -wait, what are you- -stop! STOP! I order you to STOP!” Argiopé did not listen. With a single graceful movement, she reared on her hind legs and flipped into the field of lasers. Her grace did not cease as she twisted and turned several more times, moving amongst the beams with ease and speed that no normal pony would be able to achieve. She moved as though she were dancing, with each step planned both to evade the beams and to demonstrate that she was, in fact, wearing skin-tight clothing. Not once did she break her step, and not once did she cross a beam- -although she looked back several times to see that every stallion save for two was staring wide-eyed at her and nearly drooling. That normally would have been enough- -but the closest Argiopé came to slipping came when she saw Caballeron’s face. He was glaring at her, not with a look of attraction or enumeration. He was furious. When Argiopé saw his expression, she partially lost her balance. With a soft cry, she fell, only managing to catch herself when her face was mere millimeters from one of the beams. She was so close that she could see the dust moving in its path, oscillating as she breathed through it. Argiopé closed her eyes and regained her composure, but it was too late. Yes, the beams had not been tripped- -but she had failed. The whole point of this was to be impressive, and the only pony she wanted to impress was displeased by the whole affair. After a moment, she resumed her routine, although this time with less flair and joy. In seconds she reached the other side. Breathing hard, she pressed the control button and watched as the beams flickered and went out. The other ponies crossed, with Caballeron leading. “Herr doktor,” she said. “I thought you would like to see- -” Her sentence was interrupted by a loud snap as her head was knocked to the side by Caballeron’s hoof. Argiopé stared aghast, unable to comprehend what had just happened. “You…you hit me,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “I should do MUCH more than slapping you!” roared Caballeron. “That show, was it worth it? Was it worth jeopardizing the entire mission? My work, my CONTRACTS? Because you wanted to SHOW OFF?!” “I- -I just wanted- -” Caballeron raised his hoof again and Argiopé recoiled and cried out. “Boss!” exclaimed Rogue, grabbing Caballeron’s hoof. “Boss, please. That isn’t gonna help anything.” Caballeron glared at him, but did lower his hoof. He glowered one last time at Argiopé, and then pushed past her. “You’re too kind, dear bloke,” sighed Zel, only loud enough so that Rogue and Argiopé could hear. “One more inch and my spear would have given him a poke.” Rogue just sighed. “Argiopé. Are you okay?” Tears were flowing from her eyes, and a red mark was forming on her face. “Just leave me alone,” she hissed as she turned away. Some voices came over the intercom. “Um, yes, I’ll tell them,” he said, his voice sounding as though he was speaking some distance from the microphone of his earpiece. “No, no it’s not that important. They’ll be fine.” His voice stabilized at normal volume. “Yeah. About that. Whatever you do, don’t touch the lasers, okay? Turns out they’re not detectors. They’re industrial cutting beams.” Argiopé immediately became immensely pale as she stumbled. “Really,” grumbled Caballeron. “A shame, then. We were nearly rid of our least-valuable employee. Or perhaps second least-valuable. Is there anything else you neglected to mention, Withers?” There was a long silence. “Yeah,” he said. “I just got word from the griffon. We have company.” “Police?” asked Rogue. “No. Guess who.” Caballeron stamped his hoof in rage. Then, suddenly, he turned on his heal and faced Argiopé. He was smiling. “Excellent,” he said. “Argiopé, it looks like you will have a chance at redemption.” “I’d be glad to wipe the floor with her stupid fluffy wings.” “No. Out of the question. She CANNOT know we’re here. Turn her away- -but without letting her know anything is amiss.” “But I could take her, hear and now- -” “Fine. Then I will send that one in your place.” Caballaron pointed toward the black stallion, who seemed somewhat surprised. “NO!” cried Argiopé. “No! I will do as you wish, herr doktor! I will make you proud!” She took a breath and regained her composure, allowing a seductive smile to cross her face. “I will prove that I am worthy of your love.” Daring Do pressed her hoof against the gate. It slid open without creaking even slightly. “The gate is open,” she said, turning her eyes to the thick fog that surrounded her and Rainbow Dash. “I don’t like this.” Rainbow Dash did not seem to like it either. She kept looking around. “I don’t see anypony. But all this fog…” “No. There’s nopony out there.” “How do you know?” “Experience.” Daring Do entered the complex, passing under the gate and past the thick walls that surrounded the mansion. A sound suddenly distracted her, and she turned suddenly to see that the exterior wall was covered in crows. They had not been there a minute ago- -or they were perhaps waiting in complete and total silence. Now they made their presence known, but then went back to watching quietly. Daring Do’s heart sank, but she did not know why. “So,” said Rainbow Dash. “Do you want to try the door? I mean, she didn’t exactly seem like the kind of pony who likes being woken up late at night.” “She sleeps surprisingly little,” said Daring Do. “But yeah. I guess the door is…” She trailed off, looking at the forest to her left. Rainbow Dash looked where she was looking, but could not see much through the fog. “What is it?” “Look at the trees,” she said. “They’re parted.” “So?” “They weren’t like that last time we were here.” Rainbow Dash laughed. “So, what? They just got up and moved?” Daring Do gave Rainbow Dash a look that conveyed that she was being completely and utterly serious. Rainbow Dash’s humor vanished almost instantly. “You’re…you’re kidding.” “Look,” said Daring Do, pointing to the space near the trees. “Tracks. Faded, because the ground’s hard, but the grass is all pressed down. And one of them was carrying something heavy. One of them who…walked on two hooves?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Right,” continued Daring Do. “I say we follow these. But not on foot. We need to fly. At least three yards above the trees.” “Sure. I can do that. But why?” “Because I have a bad feeling about those trees. And I’m fresh out of bubber.” “Of what?” “Never mind. Just stay high and keep your eyes focused. It’s going to be tough to see in the fog.” “Trust me, I can see. Zero-visibility navigation is part of Wonderbolts training.” They took to the dark sky, moving over the rustling trees. The rustling confirmed what Daring Do had already suspected. There was no wind, and yet the trees were moving. Passing over a strange and abnormally large yew tree, Daring Do suddenly called out. “There!” she said, pointing at an access door on the foundation level of the mansion. Her and Rainbow Dash- -still being careful to avoid the trees- -descended to the ground. The hoofprints all seemed to lead toward the door. “Sompeony came here.” “A lot of someponies,” noted Rainbow Dash. “You think Caballeron came this way?” “I’m not sure. It’s hard to tell. The grass isn’t normal.” Daring Do shook her head and pushed on the door. It swung open easily. “Huh,” she said, quietly. “That’s not a good sign.” They entered. Daring Do had not been in this part of the mansion in almost four decades, and it had changed substantially. Still, navigation was not especially difficult. “Wow,” said Rainbow Dash as they eventually started to descend the stairs leading down level after level. “How deep does this place go?” “Very. Wun bought out the mineral rights for this place, as well as to the rights to half the city’s catacombs.” “Catacombs?” said Rainbow Dash, excitedly. “Yeah.” Daring Do shivered. “Drafty, old ones. She treats them like a personal park. Or as loading tunnels. Or who even knows. I don’t really want to myself.” They came to the end of the stairs, where they opened into a wide but completely unlit room. Daring Do frowned. That did not seem right to her. There was no reason for a room like this- -especially one critical to the security of Wun’s beloved collection- -to be kept in the dark. “Right,” she whispered. “Keep your eyes opened. I have a bad feeling about this.” Rainbow Dash nodded and followed Daring Do into the darkness. Almost as soon as they entered, though, they heard hoofsteps. Both of them braced for an attack, and suddenly received one- -in the form of a blinding white light. “Hey!” grumbled an elderly-sounding voice. “Who are you? What are you doing down here?!” Daring Do’s eyes adjusted, and she found herself face-to-face with an old, grey-haired stallion. He was pale blue in color and wearing a stereotypical security guard’s uniform, complete with a hat and a ridiculously long flashlight, the latter of which had been the source of the bright light. The stallion peered at Daring Do over his prodigious white mustache, his brown-colored eyes eying both her and Rainbow Dash suspiciously. “Who are YOU?!” demanded Rainbow Dash. The old stallion frowned. “I’m Key Jingler. CHIEF of security in these parts! But I shouldn’t have to explain that to you! YOU’RE the trespassers, after all! Breaking into Lady Perr-Synt’s collection- -you should be ashamed of yourselves!” “We’re sorry,” said Daring Do. “We thought that there might be a problem, ponies trying to steal something really important- -” The stallion leaned forward, invading both Daring Do and Rainbow Dash’s personal space. Rainbow Dash wrinkled her nose in response, as though she smelled something unpleasant. Daring Do knew what it was; the stallion was wearing a horrible smelling cologne. “Ponies trying to steal things, you say? Well, if it isn’t two of them now…but say, young lady, you do look awfully familiar…” Daring Do sighed. “I’m Daring Do. I’m a friend of Wun Perr-Synt.” “Daring Do…” the stallion’s expression softened, but only slightly. “Say, I know that name. But you still can’t be here. No one can. Lady Perr-Synt left specific instructions, yes indeed! She doesn’t like ponies in here without her. Too much of a risk. These artifacts are priceless, you know?” “And yet each and every one has a price,” muttered Rainbow Dash. “At least they did to her.” Daring Do elbowed her associate and turned back to the stallion. “I understand. I was just worried that somepony was going to break in. There were hoofprints outside, and- -” “Hoofprints? Well of COURSE there’re hoofprints! From the workers!” The stallion pointed his flashlight at the ceiling. “Look! These darn electrical who-fangles! They keep going out! I had to call the crew in at night.” He sighed. “They’re going to be working overtime now just to get this all fixed.” “And security…?” “I’m right here, aren’t I? Besides.” He waved dismissively. “It’s just the lights. The security system is still working fine. Trust me, nopony’s been here except me and the workers. And you two.” “We’re sorry, but if we could just- -” “No buts!” shouted the stallion, suddenly pushing Rainbow Dash and Daring Do back. “But she didn’t even say ‘but’!” protested Rainbow Dash. “I don’t care! Look, I’m glad for your concern, I really am, but you can’t be here! I’m letting you go without calling the police because I know that you’re one of the Lady’s friends. But just having you here is a security risk! Please leave! If you want to see the collection, find Lady Perr-Synt and ask her!” Daring Do and Rainbow Dash were pushed back to the stairs before they were released. The stallion remained, watching them, until Daring Do sighed and addressed Rainbow Dash. “Sorry, Dash,” she said. “I guess my gut was wrong on this one.” She began climbing, as did Rainbow Dash. Key Jingler harrumphed one last time and turned back to his security duties, yelling to the workers. “Hurry UP! I expect to be able to get home before my shift ends!” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, and then caught up to Daring Do. “That was weird,” she said. “Tell me about it.” “But I guess we don’t have anything to worry about. I mean, if Caballeron DID show up, that guy would be the one to know, right?” “Right,” said Daring Do, still sounding utterly unconvinced, even by her own words. “It’s just…nevermind. Something isn’t right.” “I’ll tell you what’s right,” said Rainbow Dash. “Did you smell that guy? Yuck! I’ve always hated that smell…” Daring Do stopped suddenly. “Wait a minute. You’ve smelled it before?” Rainbow Dash looked confused, clearly not understanding why the subject of the conversation had moved to perfume. “Of course I have,” she said, slowly. “It’s what Thorax always smells like. I asked him about it once. I forgot what he said. I think that it was some kind of perfume called ‘Fairy Moans’.” “Fairy Moans?” said Daring Do, confused. Then, suddenly, the thought clicked, and her eyes became wide. “Dash! It’s not perfume! It’s pheromones! That’s what he was telling you! Changeling pheromones!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes goggled as she realized the implication of the presence of that smell, and her eyes widened in shock. “That means…that means that wasn’t a security guard at all! Or even a pony!” “No,” replied Daring Do, trotting down the stairs at full speed. “That was a changeling!” Caballeron and his skeleton crew of ponies had paused at a large door. The unicorn Oxford was in the process of manipulating a control panel at Withers’s instructions as the latter attempted to take control of the door’s locking mechanism. All of them were so preoccupied that all but one of them failed to notice a large tricolored snake slowly and silently slithering from where just minutes before there had been a number of industrial cutting lasers projected across the expanse of a large room. Rogue was the first to see it. “SWEET CELESTIA! SNAKE!!” The snake stared at him, and then her body shifted in a glow of green magic. For a moment there was a glimmer of black chitin, and then instead of a snake a small but fuzzy thestral was standing before them, her body covered in black clothing that included a number of bronze straps. “Don’t ruin the fancy tiles, Rogue,” muttered Argiopé, taking silent joy in having surprised him. “Sorry,” said Rogue. “It’s just that…snakes…you know. Where I come from…” “There are snakes in are Zebabwe as well,” said Zel, calmly. “The difference is that we know better than to yell.” Caballeron did not turn his head to look at are Argiopé. Instead, he addressed her while staring bored at Oxford attempting to manipulate a control panel. “So. Is it done?” “The mare is a total steed. Did you expect her not to fall for my ruse?” “Don’t underestimate her,” snapped Caballeron. “I know her far better than I would like to, and I know that you have at best bought us some time.” “Rainbow Dash was with her.” Caballeron turned. “Who? I do not know that name. Why do you?” “Because a great many of my sisters were members of Queen’s army during the siege of Canterlot. Before she was usurped.” “That’s all very interesting,” said Oxford, finishing what he was doing and opening the panel entirely. “But if you don’t mind, I’ve got the biometric sensors open. If you could get your buggy little bum over here and- -” Argiopé bristled and thestral-blushed. “Why you impudent- -” “Argiopé,” warned Caballeron. Argiopé sighed and threw her head back ostentatiously. “Of course I can.” She strutted to the sensors. “I got more than a good enough look at her during the party.” Argiopé leaned forward, opening one of her eyes. It’s shape changed, replicating Wun Perr-Synt’s large blue eye. At the same time, one of her hooves shifted, becoming larger and longer with the slightly cloven appearance that tended to occur with higher unicorns. She then pressed both appendages against their respective slots on the reader. It paused for one breathless second, and then beeped, identifying that the user had been confirmed without a doubt to be Wun Perr-Synt. “See?” she said. Argiopé took a step back and blinked, her eye returning to its normal milky blue-green. “Would you work for me if, say/ I agreed to double your current pay?” asked Zel, clearly intrigued by the idea of having a changeling agent in his group of mercenaries. “He doesn’t pay me. Except in food.” The door began to open. Argiopé once again threw her hair back and approached it. She stopped, though, as she approached. Something was not quite right. This time, even she could sense it. Before them was a long but thin hall with a high ceiling, made from stone on both sides. There was little light, and what light there was came from did not have a clear source. Looking more closely, though, it came from the far end of the hallway: there, at the very edge, was a stone arch made of material that seemed vastly older than the remainder of the stone that had been used to surround it. The light seemed to be coming from the arch itself. Upon seeing it, Caballeron went pale and took a step back. None of the others questioned why. They could understand as well; each of them could feel cold evil radiating from that ancient stone arch. “What- -what is that?” asked Rogue, his normally powerful voice quavering. “The Arch of Atonement,” whispered Caballeron. “I- -I didn’t think it still existed.” “What is it?” “An exceedingly powerful and exceedingly deadly artifact,” he said, breathlessly. “It once stood at the entrance to the Cathedral of the Horrid Moon. Which is now in ruins, save for its door. That door.” “But,” said Argiopé, angered by her own inability to take a single step forward. “There- -there is no door. Just the frame…” “There never was one,” continued Caballeron. “There was never a need. The Arch is cursed. Only its owner may enter, or a pony invited from the far side. No other pony can cross the threshold and survive.” Zel stared hard at the gate. “She uses a piece of her collection/ to provide it with the ultimate protection.” “Can…can you get us through?” asked Rogue to Oxford. Oxford shook his head. “No. Not a snowball’s chance on Celestia’s bum. The magic coming out of that thing? It…it’s just too ancient, too powerful. I don’t even think Clover the Clever could get her way through that level of sophistication.” The black stallion’s eyes suddenly tilted. He stepped forward toward the arch. None of the others tried to stop him; even if they had wanted to, not one of them dared to move even one inch closer. “The runes written on the side,” he said. “They state that no pony can cross.” “It’s a finite rule construction,” added Oxford. “It’s unchangeable, not without completely destroying the fundamental structure, and even that- -” “But, wait,” said Rogue, looking around him. “What if…what if it’s not a pony?” The others looked at each other. “I…I’m not a pony,” said Argiopé. “Out of the question,” declared Caballeron. “We have no idea how the curse is constructed. I cannot risk you.” “You- -you can’t?” “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a changeling willing to do this job? Or how much paperwork there would be if you ended up…well, you know.” “What about Brass?” asked Oxford. “We can’t risk her either,” sighed Caballeron. “We need her to open the door.” “I can deal with this,” said the black stallion. “I don’t think that is true,” said Zel. “This is something that none of us can do.” “I can,” repeated the stallion, now sounding both annoyed and, oddly, bored. “My special talent makes me very good at hiding. I’m more resistant to curses than most ponies. Especially ones that have conditions.” “No,” said Oxford. “You can’t. It simply isn’t possible! No pony could- -no, wait, STOP!” No one moved to stop him. The black stallion approached the fatal arch- -and stepped through it unharmed. A collective gasp filled the near side of the arch as the stallion turned. He shuddered slightly, but then stared at them all with his enormous yellow eyes. “I hereby invite all present to pass this arch and enter this chamber,” he said. The oppressive sensation of magic suddenly faded. It was still clearly present, but it had become tolerable. Despite this, none of the other ponies stepped forward. “Is it safe to cross?/ Without the risk of loss?” “Do I look cursed to you?” “No,” said Rogue. “But what if, you know, it’s delayed, or- -” “A latent effect,” said Oxford. “But no. That’s not how the curse is constructed. It- -it should have been deactivated. According to all analysis, parameters, and design predictions. It should be safe.” “Excellent,” said Argiopé. “Then you wouldn’t mind going first.” “Second,” corrected the black stallion. Oxford stared at her, and then gulped. Despite his fear, he steeled himself; he had, after all, just put his reputation as an expert on the line. Further to his credit, he did not hesitate or falter. He stepped forward and passed through the arch. Nothing bad happened, which seemed to be as much to his surprise as to that of the others. “I’m alive!” he said. “Clearly,” said Argiopé, following him. There definitely was a sensation- -a rather ghastly one- -but she ignored it, instead focusing on proving herself to Caballeron now that she knew that two ponies had survived the ordeal. Still, she did not quite know how the black stallion had been able to pass through such a horrible feeling without even flinching, especially since he had apparently taken it at its full dose. The others followed, with Zel and Caballeron crossing together. Rogue hesitated, looking back one more time before he held his breath, plugged his nose, and jumped through.