CRISIS: Equestria
Chapter Eighteen: Inquiry
Twilight led her friends through the strange, metal hallway, her horn aglow. The ponies behind her were in various states of distress: Rarity still lay draped over Applejack’s back, Fluttershy was the same over Flathoof’s, and Pinkie limped side-by-side with Rainbow.
She and her friends passed through an archway, and came to a large, circular chamber. The room had sat abandoned for a long time; thick layers of dust covered the smooth, silvery metal of the ceiling, walls, and floor. Twilight figured it to be a lobby or plaza of some sort based on the décor: grand columns stood tall around the room, decorated with strange, almost familiar markings; marvelous statues stood rigid and true, as though they’d just been sculpted the day before; a large fountain with a dragon’s head for a spout stood at the center of the room, long empty; decorative vines, leaves, and flowers, made of the same metal as the rest of the chamber, snaked along the columns, floor, walls, and other pieces of décor.
The chamber was almost completely devoid of light and sound. The only light source was the glow from Twilight’s horn; the only sounds were their own echoes.
“This looks as good of a place to rest as any,” Twilight said.
She strode to the front of the fountain and started a magical fire; it wouldn’t be as warm or bright as a real one, but it would have to do.
“I don’t feel right stopping with those psychos behind us,” Rainbow said, as she helped Pinkie over to the fire. “Why aren’t they chasing us through here, anyway?”
Applejack grunted. “Yeah, sure seems awful lucky they stopped at the arch there.” She set Rarity down beside Pinkie and Rainbow, then plopped herself down as well. “I’ll be glad if we don’t have ta mess with them anytime soon. I’m downright exhausted, I tell ya what.”
Twilight shook her head. “Whatever Havocwing ran into, it seemed to be stopping them from passing through the entryway. It must be a powerful force field to keep the likes of Starlight Shadow out...”
The rest of the group gathered around the campfire as well to get some rest. Lockwood was the only one to fall asleep; the others were too nervous and antsy to do much of that right now. Flathoof and Tick Tock decided to explore the chamber as a precaution, seeking out other entrances; Twilight went along with them, setting warding spells at the entryways to alert the party to danger. This was no time to be careless.
“So, these are the Gryphon Ruins. I’m impressed,” Flathoof said as they passed by a stairwell leading deeper into the ruins. He whistled in awe at the large statue of an armor-clad gryphon, easily the size of thirty ponies, to one side of the archway. “I remember reading about this place in school. Is it true that the gryphons just up and vanished one day?”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Tick Tock said. She sighed and shook her head. “I know the history books all say that they just ‘vanished’, true, but there’s another theory that’s a little worse than that. The gryphon race was wiped out a few decades after a massive war nearly a millennium ago; even I don’t know the exact dates, what with the lack of records.”
“Wiped out, huh? Sounds a bit worse than just disappearing.”
Tick Tock shrugged. “It’s like you said, one day the gryphons were here, the next day, they weren’t. Entire civilizations don’t just up and vanish; something or somepony caused it. The theory isn’t very popular, but that’s because few ponies believe anypony is capable of such a feat as genocide. Not from a moral standpoint, mind you, but from a logistical one.”
“What makes your world so different that creatures can do this to one another?” Twilight murmured. She moved her gaze back to her friends and shook her head. “It’s... unsettling, if that’s really the case.”
“Spooky, if you ask me,” Flathoof said. He shuddered. “You don’t suppose this place is haunted, do you?”
“What’s the matter, old chap?” Tick Tock asked, nudging Flathoof in the ribs. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of bleedin’ ghosts.”
Flathoof was silent for a moment, then frowned and shook his head. “Scared, no. I’m just... disturbed by the thought of somepony dying and wandering Equestria forever, y’know? Not being able to rest? That kind of thing never used to worry me, but...”
Tick Tock frowned and patted Flathoof’s shoulder. “I don’t know if it’s any consolation, but with all the crazy things I’ve seen in my lifetime, I can say that I’ve never seen anything that made me believe in ghosts. Your friend’s soul is at rest, Flathoof.”
“In our world, we believe the souls of the dead live forever amongst the stars,” Twilight said. “I’d like to think your world is the same. I... know you can’t see the stars up here in the north, but maybe in Utopia... you’ll be able to look up and see her star.”
Flathoof gave her a small smile. “I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you, Miss Tock. Miss Sparkle.”
“You can call me Twilight if you’d like, Flathoof,” Twilight said, smiling. “I’d like to consider you a friend, if you’d like to do the same for me.”
Flathoof nodded. “That sounds good to me, Twilight.”
Tick Tock rolled her eyes. “At any rate, while this place certainly does have a gloomy air to it, I can’t say I’m not excited to be here. This is the first time I’ve seen it for myself. Master Zenith spoke... so highly of this place...” She frowned, and sighed. “I’m sort of hoping to find some clue as to what he managed to learn about it.”
Twilight tapped her chin. “Frankly, the thought of studying the ruins excites me as well. I know we have to find an exit to try and get back out to the Wasteland, but I’m certainly in no rush.”
“Are all of your wards in place, Sparkle?”
Twilight nodded. “One at both entryways, and a more general one across the entire chamber, just in case Starlight and her sisters try to come in some other way. It’ll give Starlight a real taste of her own medicine, if she gets caught by a spell she advised me to use.”
“Well then, let’s return to the others, shall we?” Tick Tock said.
***
Rainbow was the first to notice Tick Tock, Flathoof, and Twilight return to the camp. She grunted and shifted in place. She hadn’t really approved of the trio wandering away from the others, even if it was to set up protective measures. What if something happened while they were gone? The chamber was large enough that they could have easily disappeared without anypony knowing. More importantly, she needed Twilight here to help care for Pinkie.
She looked up from Pinkie, who was curled up at her side, to glance at Twilight as the unicorn trotted over to them. “So, do we have our perimeter set up?” she asked. “You’re sure those psychos aren’t gonna come waltzing in here and try to do anything to us again, right?”
“As sure as I can be, yes,” Twilight replied. She nodded her head in Pinkie’s direction. “Does her leg still hurt?”
Pinkie sniffed, and nodded.
Twilight frowned, then lit her horn and covered Pinkie’s injured leg with a pale glow. “This should help ease the pain until the injury heals entirely. Luckily, it was just a minor sprain. If you get some rest, you’ll recover quickly.” She smiled lightly. “You’ll be okay, Pinkie.”
Rainbow sighed, then ran her hoof through Pinkie’s droopy mane. “You hear that Pinks? You’re gonna be okay.”
“If you say so,” Pinkie mumbled. “I still can’t get those images out of my head, Dashie. The things she showed me...”
Rainbow frowned. “What did she do to you, Pinks? You’ve been acting... weird.”
Pinkie shook her head. “I never wanted to think about the kind of bad things that could happen to you girls out here. But that... that crazy pony forced me to think about it. I don’t know how she did it. It was... so horrible...” She sniffed and buried her face into Rainbow’s mane. “I was so... scared, Dashie. I was frightened for you.”
Rainbow hugged Pinkie as tight as she could. “Hey, c’mon Pinks, I told you, there ain’t nothin’ gonna make me kick the bucket anytime soon, got that? Come on, where’s that Pinkie Pie smile, huh?” She tilted Pinkie’s chin up to look at her, and gave a big, happy smile.
Pinkie nodded glumly and gave her own tiny smile, but Rainbow could tell it was forced.
“Pinkie...” Rainbow sighed and patted Pinkie’s mane. “Hey, I know what’ll get you to turn that frown upside down.” She turned to Applejack, who lay on the other side of the campfire. “You know any new jokes, AJ?”
Applejack tapped her chin. “Hmmm... ah, I know one. Got it from cousin Braeburn in a letter.” She cleared her throat, leaned towards Pinkie and Rainbow, and said, “Okay, what is it, that likes both books, an’ apples?”
Everypony stayed silent, waiting in anticipation.
Applejack grinned wide. “A bookworm!”
While some of the others chuckled at the joke, Pinkie’s frown didn’t shift whatsoever. “Heard it...” she murmured.
“Well, shoot.” Applejack sighed and shook her head. “That’s the best one I’ve got, Dash.”
Rainbow rubbed her temple for a moment, then brightened. “Wait! I know!” She turned to Fluttershy, who lay quietly between Rarity and Lockwood. “Fluttershy, tell that one joke you told me back at Summer Flight School.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “The joke from... Summer Flight School?”
“Yeah! You know the one,” Rainbow said with a wink.
“Oh, um... I don’t think it’s very funny,” Fluttershy murmured, averting her eyes.
“Fluttershy, it’s hilarious,” Rainbow insisted. “Everypony that’s ever heard it has laughed their heads off.”
“I don’t know...”
“I’ve never heard Fluttershy tell a joke before,” Applejack said. She rubbed her chin. “Sounds mighty interestin’.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever heard my dear Fluttershy tell any jokes, either,” Rarity added. She patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. “Come on, darling. Tell us.”
“Yeah, let’s hear it, sugarcube.”
“I must say, the opportunity to hear Fluttershy of all ponies tell a joke intrigues me,” Twilight—horn still aglow—added. “I’d like to hear it too.”
“We all would,” Flathoof added. “This sounds as good a time as any to try and lighten the mood.”
Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind her mane. “Oh, b-but—"
“Come on, Fluttershy,” Rainbow pleaded. She darted her eyes from Fluttershy to Pinkie and back, hoping Fluttershy would notice the look. “Please.”
Fluttershy hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Oh... okay.”
“You hear that, Pinks? Fluttershy is gonna tell a joke.” Rainbow ruffled Pinkie’s mane. “If that doesn’t get a smile, nothing will.”
Pinkie mumbled something incoherent, but Rainbow could see she was definitely interested.
Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Um... knock, knock.”
Rainbow smirked and nudged Pinkie in the side gently. “Who’s there?”
“An interrupting cow.”
“Interrupting cow—"
“Mooo.”
Everypony remained completely silent.
“Oh, I’m s-sorry,” Fluttershy sputtered.
Rainbow let out a great, loud guffaw. Applejack and Flathoof joined in the raucous laughter; Tick Tock snickered into her hoof; Rarity and Twilight chuckled quietly. Most importantly to Rainbow, Pinkie’s frown dissolved just slightly. It wasn’t quite upside-down, and Pinkie hadn’t quite laughed, but it was a start.
At last, Twilight’s horn stopped glowing; her spell was complete. “That’s about all I’m going to be able to do,” she said, shaking her head. “As I said, we’re lucky it was just a sprain. You shouldn’t be in any more pain, Pinkie, but if you are, you just tell me, okay?”
“Okay, Twilight,” Pinkie murmured.
“And you need to keep it still, too. Agitation can hamper the healing process; it’s just like I told Tick Tock back in the city, when I healed her wounds.”
“Okay...”
“Hey, don’t worry about getting bored either, Pinks,” Rainbow said, giving Pinkie’s back a reassuring pat. “Treat it like a game. You like party games, yeah?”
“I guess,” Pinkie said with a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t feel like games right now, Dashie...”
Rainbow frowned, then brightened a second later. An idea. “Hey, I know,” she said. “How about a prize?”
Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “A prize?”
Rainbow smiled. “Yeah. A prize. If you win, you get a super awesome prize, okay?”
“Well... what kind of prize is it?”
“I can’t tell you just yet. It’ll be a surprise for when we all get home... safe.” Rainbow winked, and tickled Pinkie just behind her neck. “I promise it’ll be special, okay?”
“Well...” Pinkie shook her head. “I dunno. It still sounds boring...”
Rainbow smirked, and tilted her gaze over to Rarity. “Well, I suppose a little competition might make things interesting. How about it, Rarity? Up for a little game of ‘Staying Still’?”
“Me?” Rarity asked, pointing her hoof at herself. “Heavens, darling, I’m trying to rest. I don’t know if competing in something would be the best way of going about that.”
“The game is ‘Staying Still’, Rarity,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “If you can’t rest and stay still at the same time, I think you have a problem.” She smirked and gave Rarity a sidelong glance. “Unless... are you worried you might lose?”
Rarity raised an eyebrow for a brief moment, then paused. Rainbow could see in Rarity’s eyes that the unicorn had picked up on her lead.
Rarity gave a dismissive laugh. “Oh that is hardly the reason at all, my dear Rainbow Dash,” she said. “I just find that it’s rather unnecessary, turning it into a game and all. It’s dreadfully silly.”
Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “Is not.”
“Is too,” Rarity replied.
“Is not.”
“Is too.”
“Is too.”
“Is not.”
“Is too!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I insist that this game is unnecessary and totally worthless and silly!”
“And I insist it isn’t!” Rarity huffed. “I am going to play this game, and I am going to like it.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Fine, have it your way.”
Rarity paused, then she quirked an eyebrow. “Hold on a moment... you... ohh. Well, I certainly walked right into that one, didn’t I?” She sighed, then shrugged. “Well, I was likely to agree anyway, darling. Very well, I’ll play your little game of ‘Staying Still’.”
Rainbow nudged Pinkie playfully in the side. “You hear that, Pinks? Rarity’s gonna play too. That means if she wins, I’ll give the super awesome prize to her. You don’t want that, now, do you?”
Pinkie shook her head.
Rainbow patted Pinkie on the back. “That’s the spirit, Pinks!”
Rarity coughed into her hoof. “I don’t suppose you’d clue me in as to what this... ‘super awesome prize’ is, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow smirked. “Well, I’ll probably have to give you a different prize from what I’d give Pinkie. It’ll still be be super awesome, but not quite the same kind of super awesome.” She pointed at Rarity. “But enough about that. It’s game time. Everypony ready?”
“Ready, darling,” Rarity said with a nod.
“Ready, Dashie,” Pinkie mumbled.
Rainbow clapped her hoof on the floor. “Game on!”
Pinkie took a deep breath and stared straight ahead. Rarity did the same.
Rainbow could see it just out of the corner of her eye: Pinkie’s frown wasn’t fading. She was along for the ride, but she wasn’t enjoying it much.
Rainbow switched her gaze back to Twilight, and let her thoughts drift back to the problem at hoof. Truthfully, Pinkie shouldn’t even need help right now, not for a physical injury, and not for being put through psychological torture. Everything had gone south in a short few hours, and Rainbow knew exactly who to blame for it.
***
Twilight couldn’t sleep. Keeping tabs on her warding spells was easy enough, but required her to be alert; she hadn’t planned on getting any sleep, anyway. Her mind was too riddled with questions and worries to even think about sleeping. To be fair, she didn’t feel much need for it: her magical energy was optimum, she hadn’t been injured, and there were more important matters at hoof anyway.
Most of her friends didn’t share her aversion for slumber, though. Apart from Rainbow, Applejack, and herself, everypony had fallen asleep. She was rather surprised that Rainbow was staying up, though. The pegasus had injured wings and other myriad bruises; surely, some rest would do her good. Rainbow kept glancing in Applejack’s direction on the opposite end of camp, too, which piqued Twilight’s interest.
“Is there something on your mind, Rainbow?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow stayed silent for a moment, keeping her eyes on Applejack. She then grunted, and shook her head. “Twilight... you and I need to have a little talk,” she said, keeping her voice low enough that Twilight could barely hear her.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, okay then. Let’s talk.”
“Not here. I want to talk alone,” Rainbow added. She tilted her head towards a nearby statue that would obscure them from the rest of the camp quite easily. “I don’t want anypony to hear what we have to talk about.”
Twilight paused, then nodded. Rarity had done this exact thing a few days ago at the checkpoint, and she figured she knew what Rainbow wanted to talk about. “Well... okay. If that’ll make you comfortable.”
Rainbow rose to her hooves, careful not to disturb Pinkie’s sleep, and beckoned for Twilight to follow. “Come on.”
Twilight rose to her hooves as well, and followed Rainbow, watching Applejack out of the corner of her eye as she did so. Applejack didn’t seem to notice them leaving, or at least did a good job pretending not to.
Rainbow rounded the corner of the statue’s base first, and waited for Twilight to do the same. Once Twilight was around the corner as well, Rainbow discreetly checked behind them, making sure they hadn’t been followed. Once satisfied, she grunted, and turned to Twilight.
“What’s with all the secrecy, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, keeping her voice low. “What’s going—"
Rainbow punched Twilight in the face.
Twilight staggered back and stumbled to her knees, both in pain and shock. She stared at Rainbow, eyes wide, as she rubbed her jaw. She could feel the sharp sting where Rainbow had struck her; that hadn’t been a playful jab at all, that had been a real punch. She was confused. She was angry. Most of all, she was hurt, and not just physically.
“You... you hit me!”
Rainbow pointed her hoof at Twilight. “Damn right I did,” she snapped, keeping her teeth clenched to muffle the noise. “That’s for almost getting us killed.”
“Me? How is this my—"
“Shut up. Just shut up, and let me say my piece,” Rainbow interrupted. She poked Twilight hard in the chest. “I’m sick of nopony listening to me, most of all you. Your determination to show off how great of a leader you are almost got us killed. You had no business speaking for the rest of us, saying that we didn’t want to travel with Grayscale and her sisters.”
Twilight glared at Rainbow, and slowly rose to her hooves. “Rainbow, I know you wanted to travel with them some more. We all did, up until a point—"
“A point at which all you had to do was let Starlight handle Red’s misbehavior. But nooo, that wasn’t a good enough solution for Twilight Sparkle. She just had to put her hoof down and make the choice herself.” Rainbow snorted, and pointed towards the camp on the other side of the statue. “Thanks to you, we’ve got injured, we’ve lost our supplies, and now we’re stuck in these ruins with the only way out being through those six nutjobs.”
“Listen to you!” Twilight snapped. “One minute you’re yelling at me for keeping you from traveling with them, now you’re yelling at me because they turned out to actually be horrible ponies!”
“They were fine up until you decided to tell them to buzz off. I think you got them angry, so they reacted. Overreacted, maybe, but still.”
“Starlight mentioned our Elements of Harmony; I don’t remember mentioning those to her, ever. She also mentioned taking us alive back to the city, just like that soldier did.” Twilight shook her head. “Don’t you get it? Surely they would have attempted that anyway, at some point.”
“Yeah, but we would’ve been closer to the coast by then. We would’ve had the advantage in the open, too,” Rainbow added, flaring her wings.
Twilight huffed. “Oh, well, forgive me for not devising combat tactics against six ponies I never thought I’d have to fight against.”
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “You getting smart with me, Twi?”
“One of us has to be,” Twilight retorted.
“That’s enough! Both o’ ya!” Applejack interrupted.
Twilight and Rainbow both turned their heads in surprise to look at the pony that had joined them.
Applejack grunted and darted her eyes between the two, a firm glare on her face. “Both o’ y’all need ta calm down, before ya say somethin’ ya might regret. Or do somethin’ ya might regret,” she added, fixing her glare on Rainbow. “I don’t care how mad y’all are, Rainbow, that ain’t no excuse fer hittin’ Twilight, and y’all know it. I know Twilight can’t be feelin’ too good ‘bout what happened. Apologize to her, she didn’t deserve that.”
“Yeah... whatever,” Rainbow snorted and turned to Twilight. “Guess I got carried away. Sorry, Twi.”
Twilight frowned. She could tell an insincere apology when she heard one.
“That’s probably the best y’all‘re gonna get, Twi,” Applejack said. She hadn’t been impressed by the apology either.
“It’s alright Rainbow,” Twilight said. She lit her horn and soothed the pain in her jaw. “I understand you’re mad... I just wish I knew why you were so angry that you’d hit me.”
“Because you screwed everything up and nearly got us killed!” Rainbow snapped. “Didn’t I already say that?!”
“I don’t see why I’m to blame for that!” Twilight snapped back. “You heard Starlight, so you know they would’ve tried to do what they did eventually!”
“I understand where Rainbow’s comin’ from, Twi,” Applejack interjected.
“You do?”
Applejack scratched her chin. “Well, it’s like this: all o’ us kinda nominated y’all ta be our leader, in a way. I know we didn’t have no ceremony or official vote or nothin’, but we can all see ya’ll’re right fer the job.”
“I never wanted to be the ‘leader’, Applejack,” Twilight muttered. “Why does everypony keep insisting that I am?”
“Ain’t nopony forcin’ ya inta the role, sugarcube. It’s just... we all kinda look ta ya fer guidance. Y’all know that. So when somethin’ bad happens because of a choice y’all made, I can see why somepony’d be angry with ya.”
“Angry enough to hit me?” Twilight asked, glaring at Rainbow.
Rainbow huffed. “I’ll say it again: your decision almost got us killed.”
“Really? My decision?” Twilight shook her head. “Last I remember, I gave Fluttershy the last call, and she didn’t want to travel with those six anymore. Yes, I originally made the decision to leave, but I allowed you all to voice your own opinions as well. Fluttershy’s vote, even if I hadn’t left it all up to her, would have made the majority in favor of leaving. I don’t see you hitting her.”
“Fluttershy was emotional when you asked her. She wasn’t able to make a choice based on what was best for all of us, only what was best for herself.”
“So what if she was?” Twilight asked.
“Huh?”
“So what if she was emotional? I figured she would be, which is why I made my decision in the first place.”
“Which y’all admitted was ta do what was best fer Fluttershy, not fer all of us,” Applejack interjected.
Twilight frowned. “Well, I—"
“Twilight, I know y’all were just tryin’ ta make the best decision ya could, but Dash has a point. Ya made yer choice based on what was best fer Fluttershy, and in Fluttershy’s state at the time, she would agree with ya right away. She wanted ta get away from that Red Velvet character as fast as she could, and y’all knew it.”
Rainbow snorted. “I learned something from Grayscale: when ponies make decisions based on their emotions, they make mistakes. I made my decision based on what was best for all of us, and that was getting us to the coast as quickly as possible.”
“And what was punching me in the face?” Twilight spat. “Isn’t that an emotional decision?”
Rainbow sneered. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat if Pinkie had gotten hurt any worse than she did.”
“And what is with you and Pinkie, anyway?” Twilight asked, incredulous. “She wasn’t the only one who got hurt, you know. Why are you so defensive of her in particular? What about Rarity? What about you?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Y’all’re jokin’, right sugarcube?”
“Joking? Why would I be joking? There’s nothing funny about this,” Twilight snorted. “I’m completely serious. I want to know why Rainbow’s making such a big deal about Pinkie, specifically.”
“Well, that’s ‘cause Pinkie’s special ta her,” Applejack said.
“Pinkie’s special to all of us, Applejack.”
Applejack hesitated. “Not... that kind of special.”
“What in the hay does that mean?”
Rainbow flustered. “Wait a sec... AJ, you know?”
“Sure, o’ course I know,” Applejack chuckled.
“When did you figure it out?”
“A few months back,” Applejack said. “Rarity figured it out before I did. Fluttershy knows too.”
Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”
“Not at all, sugarcube. It’s pretty obvious, ain’t it?”
“What are you two talking about?” Twilight interjected.
“Hmph. Obviously it’s not obvious,” Rainbow grunted. She sighed. “Well, since AJ says everypony knows except you, I guess I’ll make it clear: Pinkie and I are together. Like, together together.”
Twilight blinked, unsure of what to make of the statement. Then, the gears in her head clicked, and it all made sense. “Oh. Ohhh...” She cleared her throat. “I see. She’s your... special somepony. How long since—"
“We started getting serious around the time I was accepted into the Wonderbolt Academy,” Rainbow said, sheepishly scuffing her hoof on the floor. “We didn’t want to tell anypony until... until we were sure you’d all be okay with it. It was my decision to keep it a secret.”
“Don’t make a big deal about it, Twi,” Applejack interjected. “I figured it out all on my own, and so did Rarity ‘n’ Fluttershy.”
Twilight grunted. “I should feel upset that nopony told me that two of my best friends were dating.” She sighed, and shook her head. “But I suppose it doesn’t matter at this point. You’re right: Pinkie and Rainbow kept it a secret, and I didn’t figure it out. Even if it was so obvious, as you said.”
Rainbow snorted. “I blame Pinkie for that. She’s terrible at keeping secrets.”
“I’m actually kinda... surprised that y’all didn’t know, Twi,” Applejack said, “what with the way Pinkie was actin’ when Rainbow left fer the Academy. Waitin’ by her mailbox all day, every day? She sure as hay wasn’t actin’ like that when Rarity went ta Canterlot.”
“I guess the signs were there, if I was willing to look.” Twilight sighed. She turned to Rainbow. “Now, at least, I understand why you’re so upset. If it had been my special somepony, I’m sure I’d be just as angry.” She shook her head. “Not that that really excuses your actions, but—"
“I get it,” Rainbow grunted. She sighed. “Look... yeah, I got a little heated. I’m sorry I did what I did... but I’m not sorry for feeling how I feel,” she added, crossing her hooves over her chest.
Applejack sighed. “I suppose we’ll just leave it at that then. Well, with all that behind us, we’ve got another problem ta worry ‘bout.”
Twilight nodded. “Indeed we do. Our time limit isn’t our only problem now, and certainly not the biggest one; Starlight and her sisters are. Making it to the coast is difficult enough as it stands, but worrying about running into those six... we might need to compromise our route to avoid them. That might cause delays.”
Rainbow took a deep breath. “I don’t think we’ll have a problem with them if we meet them in the open, and if we’re expecting them to attack. They caught us by surprise in a bad location. Next time we meet, things’ll be different. That Havocwing chump can’t outrun me when I’ve got room to get a Rainboom going.”
“An’ without all them rocks around, I don’t think Grayscale’ll be a big problem either,” Applejack added. “Dash has a point: with more room ta move ‘round, we can probably handle the biggest threats. We know what Red Velvet and Insipid can do, too, and I didn’t see Curaçao doin’ much, so I doubt she’d be a threat.”
“Which really just leaves Starlight to worry about.” Twilight tapped her chin, then shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know if I’d want to risk it. If her claims are true, she’s more powerful than the other five combined.”
“So either we take the fastest route and risk runnin’ inta them, or we try some detour and lose time.” Applejack sighed and removed her hat. “We’re in a mighty fine pickle, I tell ya what.”
Twilight paused for a long moment. Then, she cleared her throat. “Once we get out of these ruins, we’ll make our decision. And I promise, I’ll do whatever it takes to get us home.” She turned to Applejack. “We’ve got you to help guide us now, Applejack.” She then turned to Rainbow. “And you, Rainbow, to watch over us. I’m confident we can pull through, as long as we work together as a team.”
“I hear that, sugarcube,” Applejack agreed.
“Sounds good to me, Twi,” Rainbow added.
“And, when we get home, we can put this all behind us.” Twilight placed her hoof in between the trio. “Deal?”
Rainbow met Twilight’s hoof with her own. “Deal.”
Applejack did the same. “Deal.”
***
Tick Tock led the way through a desolate hallway, her horn aglow to keep her map aloft. At her side, Twilight trotted along, her own horn’s light keeping the path ahead lit. Everypony in the group kept their guards up and stayed close to one another, glancing about in hopes of preventing an ambush. Despite Twilight’s assurances that her warding spells would hold, even while mobile, nopony was willing to risk it.
The hallway steadily narrowed the further they traveled into the ruins. The walls were mostly unmarked except by signs of wear and tear, but were covered with so much dust that it was hard to tell. Thus far, it had been very straightforward; there’d been no branching paths to take. Tick Tock knew from her map that they were approaching a fork, as it was all that remained of what her map had to show. This came as a surprise to her; the map was gryphon-made, thus it should have automatically had all the stored knowledge of its maker, and thus should clearly show the entirety of the ruins; certainly, at least, it might show how the ruins looked when they weren’t ruins. Perhaps its maker was older than the ruins themselves?
The party arrived at the fork.
Rainbow groaned. “Great, which way do we go?”
“Flip a bit for it?” Applejack suggested. “Heads, left; tails, right.”
“If we had any bits, that’d be a swell idea,” Flathoof said.
Tick Tock zoomed her map in on the intersection. “Well, if there’s any sort of rhyme or reason in gryphon architecture, the left path leads straight north, and the right path east. Either one could be useful, but I can’t be sure without having the whole picture.”
“I don’t get it,” Twilight muttered, shaking her head. “How could anypony... anygryphon, rather, hope to figure out where they’re going in this place? You’d think an advanced culture that could build something like this would have directions listed someplace.”
“I remember reading that the gryphons were experts with techno-magic. Perhaps they didn’t need directions to get anywhere?” Lockwood suggested.
“Hmm... so, maybe they all had magical maps like the one Tick Tock has?”
“A valid theory,” Tick Tock said. “This map is of gryphon origin, after all, except—"
“It is?!” Twilight exclaimed. “No way! You’re telling me your map is hundreds of years old?! That thing is a priceless artifact!”
“It should be in a museum!” Rainbow blurted.
Twilight raised an eyebrow and glanced in Rainbow’s direction.
Rainbow shrugged. “What? It’s what Daring Do would say.”
Tick Tock cleared her throat. “As I was saying, it’s a valid theory, except that these maps aren’t the easiest things to make. The enchantments on this thing are bloody complex; I still haven’t pegged exactly which spells were used to make it work. I imagine the amount of magic and time it would take to make a map for every gryphon citizen would be astronomical.”
“All the more reason why there should be a directory,” Twilight grunted. “I’m surprised there wasn’t one in the lobby.”
“Maybe there’s somethin’ under all that there dust?” Applejack suggested, pointing at the wall ahead of them.
Twilight hummed and stroked her chin. “Hmm... maybe. Hang on a second.”
She lit her horn, and used her magic to brush away layer after layer of dust on the wall. After a few moments, the markings underneath became clearer. It just so happened that they weren’t the result of wear and tear.
“Hey! There’s something written here!” Twilight exclaimed. She leaned in to read the symbols on the wall. “Tch, hang on, it’s not in Equine. Drat.”
Tick Tock rolled her eyes. “Well, obviously it’s not in Equine. I doubt the gryphons were expecting any pony visitors to come trekking through here by their lonesome.”
“I could do without the attitude, thanks,” Twilight grunted. “I swear that these symbols look familiar... in fact, I think I actually recognize a few.”
“Really?” Tick Tock asked, eyebrow raised. “That seems improbable.”
“I agree. The similarity is too exact to be possible... but there it is.”
“Why would that be improbable?” Rainbow asked.
“You’re a Daring Do fan, so allow me to refer to the plot of Daring Do and the Map of Stars.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Man, that one’s my least favorite in the series. It got way too science-fictiony for my tastes.”
“Well, even so, it’s plot is relevant,” Twilight said. She turned to the others, and explained: “In it, Daring Do researches ruins of four different ancient pony civilizations that were located in each of the four corners of the world. All four civilizations had distinct similarities in culture and architecture, despite being separated by thousands of miles in a time before efficient travel means for non-pegasi. The odds of such exact similarities is astoundingly low, and Daring Do figured they were communicating in some way.”
Rainbow snorted. “Yeah, and it turns out they all had contact with a race of space ponies that inspired their civilizations and helped them flourish, or some junk. The Map of Stars was a map that all four civilizations had a piece of, that when combined would show the way to the space ponies’ planet.”
“That sounds... incredibly interesting, actually,” Tick Tock said, tapping her chin. “Life on other planets... what a fascinating idea.”
“Anyway, the same concept can apply here,: Twilight said. “Two ancient gryphon civilizations, not just separated by distance, but by dimensions, and yet there are distinct similarities when there shouldn’t be.” She shook her head, and pointed at the symbols in front of her. “See this symbol here? The one that looks like a gryphon paw?”
Tick Tock nodded. “Yes, what about it?”
“This exact same symbol exists in the language of the ancient gryphons of our Equestria. In fact, several of these symbols are exact down to the curvature from other symbols in ancient Hierogryphics.”
Tick Tock narrowed her eyes in disbelief. “Hierogryphics? Seriously? That’s what the ancient gryphons in your world called their written language?”
Twilight shrugged. “Gryphons in our world aren’t known for scholarly pursuits.”
“You’re one to talk, Tick Tock,” Rainbow interjected. “The ponies here named the giant desert wasteland the Wasteland.”
“Touché,” Tick Tock said. “So, Sparkle, can you read anything there?”
“I remember bits and pieces of Hierogryphics from Ancient Civilizations and Societies 103,” Twilight said. “I’m a little rusty, though.”
She leaned in closer to the wall. As she did so, all of the symbols suddenly glowed with a faint purple light, including the ones blanketed by more dust. There were more symbols than had originally been revealed; in fact, there were hundreds of them strewn all about the wall, stretching along both paths for several yards.
Twilight jerked back in surprise. “Whoa... what the hay just happened?”
“What did you do?” Tick Tock asked.
“I didn’t do anything, it just... reacted.” Twilight hummed and rubbed her chin. “Weird...”
“Who cares about that right now?” Rainbow grunted. “Can you read that stuff, or not?”
“No need to be impatient, Rainbow,” Twilight snorted. “Yeah, I can read it. As I said, my knowledge on the subject is a little rusty, but I’ll give it my best.” She tapped her hoof on the set of symbols that started with the one shaped like a gryphon’s paw. “I think this set here reads, Theater of War: Northwest.”
Tick Tock shook her head. “You might want to rethink that, Sparkle. War and gryphons don’t mix; they were a pacifist society.”
“Didn’t you say they were wiped out after a war?” Flathoof asked.
“The events that ended the gryphon society occurred several decades after the end of the war. As far as I am aware, the two events aren’t even related. There’s no evidence that suggests the gryphons fought in the war at all.”
“That doesn’t mean they weren’t involved,” Twilight noted. “Perhaps the gryphons hid their involvement to maintain an image?”
“I’m inclined to agree with Miss Tock,” Lockwood said, stepping forward so that he was at the forefront of the group with Tick Tock and Twilight. “The ruins certainly don’t suggest they were originally built by a warrior society.”
“You’re going to have to explain that,” Twilight said. “How can you tell the gryphons were pacifists based on how the ruins look?”
Lockwood waved his hoof through the air, motioning for the others to look at the walls around them. “Well, let’s start with the design philosophy. Assuming a gryphon’s sociological attitude is anything like a pony’s, it stands that a structure designed for action would be simple. Take NPPD Central Station, for example. All the important things are right at the entrance, and the directory is straightforward.
“Now, look at the ruins. The entryway is as grandiose as can be, the directory isn’t even in the lobby, and this directory here is awfully complicated. It gives you a cardinal direction to locate something, for crying out loud.” Lockwood chuckled. “To me, that suggests the gryphons were more focused on mental activities and scholarly pursuits. This place was designed to be looked at and admired; the gryphons wouldn’t want any unsavory wars anywhere near here.”
“That... makes some sense,” Tick Tock agreed. “The gryphons were well known as scholars and experts on techno-magic, after all.”
Flathoof raised an eyebrow. “Since when were you an expert on sociology, Lockwood?”
Lockwood smiled. “Hello? Massive personal social network? I think it should be obvious that the best way to make friends is to understand what makes ponies tick.”
Twilight nodded. “Well okay, assuming your theory is correct, then this doesn’t read War at all. But, I recognize this symbol, and it definitely is associated with conflict. So, it’s the Theater of Conflict, in its most basic translated form. I assumed ‘war’ because ‘theater of war’ is an actual phrase.”
“Maybe it’s some sort of debate hall?”
“Debate hall... hmm.” Twilight tapped her chin. “That would make it the Theater of Debate. A society of scholars would certainly have a use for that sort of venue, that much is for certain.”
“They certainly would have a use: as an entertainment venue. Intellectual types enjoy debating with one another, and enjoy watching others debate as well, do they not?”
Twilight smiled. “Well, I was on the debate team at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Actually, I... was the debate team.”
“I, for one, do enjoy a good argument here and there,” Tick Tock agreed.
“Yeah, we noticed,” Rainbow muttered.
Lockwood pointed along the left path. “I am of the opinion, then, that the left path, which leads north, will take us towards the center of the ruins.”
Flathoof scoffed. “And how, exactly, did you come by that opinion? The rest of that spiel you gave I can believe, but now you’re telling me you can tell the layout of the ruins based on a single location?”
“Certainly! It’s rather elementary, really,” Lockwood said, with a proud flutter of his wings. “Allow me to explain. New Pandemonium City is nonsensical as far as documentation and government are concerned, yes?”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“However, you must admit that it’s not built in a nonsensical way. The city’s initial architects clearly designed it to be simple, organized, and neat.”
Flathoof paused. “Huh.... say, now that you mention it, that seems about right,” he admitted. “The city is perfectly circular, and all the important structures are easy to find and reach, if you have the means. Where are you going with this?”
“As I mentioned, a debate hall would be used as a sort of entertainment venue for these gryphons. Where in New Pandemonium are most of our entertainment venues located?”
“Near the Inner District, of course,” Tick Tock said.
Lockwood smiled and nodded. “Of course. The center of the city. Why? To maximize business, of course. Thus, logic dictates that any entertainment venue in this gryphon city would be centrally located, as to maximize business.”
“Assuming, of course, that the gryphons and the ponies that built Pandemonium shared an architectural logic,” Tick Tock added. “You’re placing a lot of faith in that.”
Flathoof blinked. “Huh... well shoot, if that doesn’t make sense, I don’t know what does.”
Lockwood pretended to brush dirt off his shirt. “I have always had a fascination with society’s little nuances. It helps to know how society works, after all, if you’re going to touch all the bases and make friends in all the right places.”
“Huh... interesting,” Twilight said, tapping her chin. “Okay then, let’s run with that logic for a moment. Entertainment venues would be located centrally, and so of course other places of importance would be, as well.” She pointed at a set of symbols that started with a cross-shaped, star-studded insignia. “This symbol, which points in the same direction, reads House of Betterment. But that’s just a direct translation; with a little creative thinking...”
“Betterment could mean ‘getting better’,” Tick Tock suggested.
Twilight nodded. “Precisely what I was thinking. ‘Getting better’, as in, recovering. House of Recovering. A hospital.”
“A major hospital being in a central, easy-access location is very sensible,” Lockwood said. “Central General isn’t named ironically, you know.”
“So, by that logic, since the left path leads further into the city center, the right path would likely lead towards the outskirts, where an exit would logically be located.”
“Just to be sure, what sorts of things are along the other path?” Tick Tock asked. “For all we know, the exit’s at the northern edge of the city, which we could more quickly reach by going left.”
Twilight leaned in close to the wall again, scanning the plethora of symbols along the right side of the wall’s center. “There’s nothing here that suggests an exit, but there’s one set of symbols that seem to have a lot of importance given to them; they’re engraved deeper, and the glow is a little brighter, brighter than anything else on the wall, in fact. Hmm...”
After a long pause from Twilight, Rarity coughed to draw her attention. “Well don’t just leave us in the dark, darling. What does it say?”
Twilight shook her head. “It’s very strange. I’m not sure why, exactly, but I’m absolutely certain I know precisely what this place is called. No ifs, ands, or buts about it: it reads, Sanctuary of Knowledge.”
“What do you mean you ‘know precisely’?” Tick Tock asked.
“Well, I mean, for the others, I was able to second-guess my translation and consider alternate interpretations or meanings. Not for this one, though; I know what it says. I’m absolutely certain about it.”
“It sounds like it could be useful,” Flathoof interjected. “A ‘sanctuary of knowledge’ could be interpreted as a library of some sort, couldn’t it?”
“Odd that a library in a city of scholars would be located on the outskirts, though,” Lockwood mused, rubbing his chin in thought.
“Well, at least it’s a start,” Twilight said. “Whatever this place is, it’s been given a lot of importance on the directory here, so it might prove to be useful somehow.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised that the librarian wants to visit a library? This is gonna be boring; who ever heard anything about something exciting happening at a library?”
“I dunno, Rainbow, y’all usually get awful worked up about goin’ ta the library every now ‘n’ then,” Applejack added, nudging Rainbow in the ribs.
“That’s because that’s when the newest Daring Do novel gets released. This library isn’t gonna have any Daring Do. Probably just a bunch of books on like... history. And science.” Rainbow snorted and waved her hoof dismissively at the idea. “Y’know, egghead books, not good books.”
“For somepony that’s a big Daring Do fan, you sure seem to ignore the fact that Daring Do’s other job is as a college professor,” Twilight grunted. “She consistently does research on her archaeological pursuits.”
“Yeah, but those parts are boring, which is why they’re so short,” Rainbow retorted. “Seriously, there isn’t a book in the series called, Daring Do and the Secret of the Dusty Tome.”
“Ugh, give it a rest, Dash,” Applejack huffed. “This’ll be helpful, even if it is boring as all get out.”
“Gee, thanks for the support, AJ,” Twilight muttered. She shook her head, then started along the right path, beckoning for the others to follow. “Come on everypony! To the Sanctuary of Knowledge!”
***
Twilight used her magic to brush some dust off the wall in front of her, uncovering another set of symbols. She glanced at the directory, leaning in to get a better look at some of the emblems. As before, they began to glow when she was in close proximity. Every fork they’d arrived at had fewer and fewer symbols to sort through; this one had three sets on each side.
“Let’s see... hmm...” Twilight pointed along the right path. “Aha! The Sanctuary of Knowledge is... uh.” She scratched her head. “Oh dear.”
“What’s the problem, Sparkle?” Tick Tock asked, stepping up to Twilight’s side.
“Well, I know I’ve mentioned I’m rusty with Hierogryphics, but I’ll admit my weakest point was their numerical system.” She pointed at the symbol just to the right of the set that represented their destination. “This indicates distance, but I can’t tell if it reads twenty paces ahead, or two hundred.”
“What’s it matter?” Rainbow interjected. “It’s in that direction, we just keep going.”
“A lil’ walkin’ never hurt nopony,” Applejack added. “Twenty, two hundred; what’s the difference?”
“Fair point,” Twilight agreed. “Come on then, let’s get going.”
Twilight set along the right fork, and the others followed suit.
“One, two, three, four,” Applejack counted as she trotted alongside Twilight. “Five, six—"
Tick Tock groaned loudly. “Okay, stop. Just... just stop.”
Applejack halted in place and raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”
“You’re not seriously going to count, are you? If you were planning on it, I remind you that gryphons were bigger than ponies by a factor of roughly one-point-five to one.”
Applejack grunted. “Y’all gonna show off that there fancy mathematics o’ yers, or are ya gonna tell me what I should be countin’ ta?”
“Twenty paces for them would be thirty for us,” Twilight interjected.
“And two hundred would be three hundred,” Tick Tock added. “Nopony wants to hear you count all the way up to three hundred out loud.”
“Hmph. Fine then, I’ll just count ta myself,” Applejack snorted.
The party continued in silence for several minutes; three hundred paces, to be exact. Then, they stopped; a slab stood in their way, completely blocking the hallway ahead. Twilight remained at the forefront of the group and examined the slab; Applejack and Tick Tock flanked her, trying to get a closer look as well.
“Uh... is this thing supposed to be here?” Rainbow asked from behind the trio.
“Maybe it’s the door?” Applejack suggested.
“Go on, Sparkle,” Tick Tock said. “Open it.”
“It’s not like any door I’ve ever seen before,” Twilight explained, shaking her head. “There’s more writing here, though. Instructions, perhaps.” She leaned in to read, then huffed. “No... there’s too much here to be simple instructions...”
“Complex instructions, then,” Tick Tock interjected. “This is where the Sanctuary is, according to your directions, Sparkle. This is the way in. So, get us in.”
“Something’s weird about this slab...” Twilight murmured, rubbing her chin in thought. “There’s a lot less dust on it than the rest of the walls.” She cleared the dust away with a single flash of her horn. “See?”
“That metal looks brighter than the rest of the walls, too,” Rarity observed, pushing her way forward to put her hoof on the slab. “It shines almost like new. What marvelous material.”
“Golly, you weren’t kidding, either. That sure is a lot o’ writin’,” Applejack muttered, scratching her head. “What’s it say, Twi?”
“It’s complicated, more so than the rest of the directories we’ve seen,” Twilight said. “The symbols are arranged in a very peculiar manner. Hierogryphics are typically organized vertically, but if that were the case here, it wouldn’t make a lick of sense. I think these are positioned horizontally, like written Equine.”
“Don’t leave us guessing, darling. What does it say?” Rarity asked.
Twilight cleared her throat. “As best as I can tell, it reads,
Those brave enter here
Must not fear, must not fear
Below asleep great might
Day makes wrong right
Sanctuary gives call
One defends from fall
You need bright force
But it comes right source
Come in, strangers
Mark sign, deal dangers
Brave travel below
Gain force alone know
Dream, until mad
What happens if had.”
“And that makes more sense than the other way?” Rainbow said.
“It’s organized like a poem,” Rarity suggested. “Rhyming pairs like that aren’t done by accident.”
“A poem, huh? Hmm...” Twilight sighed. “I just wish I could make sense of it. Hierogryphics aren’t typically used for standard speech, only for names of creatures, places, or things. I’m not sure what to do.”
“Ah... a confusing poem, huh?” Rainbow stomped a hoof on the floor. “I’ve got it.”
“You... you do?” Twilight asked, eyebrow raised.
Rainbow nodded, and confidently gestured towards the slab with her hoof. “It’s like this: Daring Do ran into stuff like this all the time. I know they’re just stories, but I’m seeing the similarities here. Confusing poem on a big stone tablet blocking the entrance to some fantastic place? It’s gotta be a puzzle.”
“A puzzle... hmm. That actually would make some sense,” Twilight said with a nod. “Even so, without a proper translation, I don’t even know what it’s trying to say.” She stepped towards the slab. “I’m gonna get a closer—"
The tablet flashed white for a brief instant, then all the symbols shined a bright purple. The ponies stepped back in surprise; Twilight, in particular, watched in awe as the glowing symbols reshaped themselves into letters she could recognize. The slab’s writing was now written in clear, perfect Equine.
“H-how’d you do that?” Rainbow asked.
“I didn’t do anything, same as before,” Twilight said, scratching her head. “I just leaned in, and it reacted. I have no idea what’s going on...”
“Who’s complainin’?” Applejack asked with a smile. “We can read it now, can’t we?”
Twilight nodded. “We certainly can. Ahem.
To those who dare to enter here,
You mustn’t worry; mustn’t fear;
For far below, our greatest might
Will one day make what went wrong, right.
This sanctuary gives a call
To one who might resist the Fall;
All you need is a shining force,
But it must flow from the right source.
So come forth now, stalwart stranger:
Mark the sign, and face the danger;
Bravely venture far, far below,
To gain power only we know.
Or: ponder, until you go mad,
What may have happened if you had.”
“Oh my, that all sounds rather ominous, don’t you think?” Rarity murmured.
“Is it a warnin’?” Applejack asked.
“Well, by our current logic, the gryphons were pacifists. I doubt this is a warning,” Tick Tock said. She hummed in thought, then shook her head. “No bloody clue what it means though.”
“I dunno, AJ might be right. It talked about facing danger and stuff like that,” Rainbow said. She let out an excited squeal. “Oh man, this is so cool. The puzzle gateway is straight out of Daring Do and the Forbidden Temple. I told you guys there was something you could learn from those books.”
“Any clue what it means?” Applejack asked. “Y’all seem awful keen on the subject.”
Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno. The ones Daring Do solves are always really big and have all sorts of gizmos and gadgets around that she has to fiddle with. This thing is just a slab with words.”
Twilight tapped her chin in thought. “The entire puzzle must have a simple, single solution, more like a riddle than anything. It’s just a matter of figuring out the clue. The rest of the poem is all flavor; it’s insubstantial.” She pointed at the first two lines. “These first lines, for example, are just a welcome, and an assurance that it’s safe.
“The next line,” she continued, shifting her hoof down, “is likely describing the location of the Sanctuary relative to us. The slab is likely the door to an elevator.”
“That makes sense,” Tick Tock said. “The gryphons originated techno-magic, so it stands they’d have at least invented an elevator system.”
“Next, it talks about righting some wrong; naturally the line was reversed to keep the rhyming flow.” Twilight turned to Tick Tock. “The extinction event you talked about seems to me like a great wrong. The greatest kind, actually.”
“Do you think this Sanctuary might contain some way to reverse the effect?” Rarity suggested.
“Unlikely,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “Resurrection spells are extremely unreliable and require enormous amounts of energy to function, and that’s just for a single creature. They’re not really worth the risk; there’s a substantial chance of severe complications.”
“Mass resurrection would be beyond the scope of even an alicorn as powerful as Harmonia or Nihila,” Tick Tock added. “I doubt even if the two were to combine their powers, they’d be able to accomplish such a feat.”
“What’s this bit about ‘resist the Fall’?” Rainbow asked, tapping her hoof on the line. “Seems to me like the Gryphon Kingdom already fell, so how does that work?”
“A better question would be why is it capitalized?” Tick Tock asked.
“Perhaps it means that only a creature that is good at heart can enter?” Rarity suggested. “Resisting the fall of one’s soul? Capitalizing it could be because it is a proper magical term.”
“An interesting thought...” Twilight said. She shook her head. “But not likely a clue for entrance, at any rate. The next line is the first clue, I think: ‘all you need is a shining force’. Obviously, this a reference to magic; I know for a fact that most ancient cultures referred to magic as ‘light’ and ‘force’, so there’s that.”
“How about the ‘right source’? Whatever does that mean?”
“Well, there are three sources of magic: Law, Chaos, and Void,” Tick Tock explained, shooting Twilight a quick glance.
Twilight snorted. “It calls it ‘shining force’. ‘Shining’ would imply bright, which implies light, which in turn implies good. I think it’s asking for Good magic to power whatever spell opens the seal.” She shot Tick Tock a quick glance. “However, I can also reason that it being called the ‘right’ source implies that the magic powering the spell is making right, just like whatever power is in the Sanctuary. Making right; order; Law.”
“If that’s the case, then y’all’re both right. So, uh... can we just agree that Law ‘n’ Good are one ‘n’ the same?” Applejack suggested.
“No,” Tick Tock and Twilight said in unison, each turning to give Applejack a stern look.
Twilight cleared her throat. “Moving on. The rest of the poem is just more flavor, except this one line here.” She pointed at the line in question. “‘Mark the sign’ sounds like instructions. Combined with the other clue, I believe we need to find this ‘sign’ and ‘mark’ it with Good magic of some kind.”
“So now, we just need to find it,” Tick Tock said. She started glancing about in search of it. “What would it even look like?”
“How about this?” Lockwood called from behind the group.
Everypony turned to face him, as he’d stepped a few paces behind the group to stand atop a floor tile that bore a marking shaped like three lines.
“It looks similar to some of the Hierogryphics we’ve already seen, doesn’t it?”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Tick Tock said. She turned to Twilight. “You keep looking around here, Sparkle, in case the ‘sign’ is actually on the slab itself, as logic would dictate.”
Twilight nodded. “Right.”
Tick Tock stepped over to Lockwood and glanced down at the symbol, then snorted and shook her head. “Please. This isn’t a bloody symbol or marking, at least not one purposefully placed here. It’s damage to the floor, nothing more.”
“It looks too straight to be accidental,” Lockwood said, scuffing the mark with his hoof. “Flathoof, you tell me: does this marking look like just random damage to you?”
Tick Tock scoffed. “Oh, sure, call your best mate over here. Ask for his opinion. I’m certain he’ll be unbiased.”
“I highly doubt Flathoof would just agree with me right off the get-go like that,” Lockwood said with a laugh. “Isn’t that right, ‘best mate’?”
Flathoof grunted. “Please don’t call me that. Ever.” He stepped over to the duo and leaned down to examine the marking, too. “I dunno... it looks awfully suspicious, don’t you think?”
“Don’t you even start,” Tick Tock hissed.
While the trio argued, Twilight continued to examine the slab. She noticed a set of symbols bordering the poetic puzzle, each shaped like an equilateral triangle. The one at the bottom, however, looked just slightly off. Curious, she examined every single one, to check the angles. Sure enough, the bottom triangle was not equilateral, but isosceles.
“I think I found it,” she said. She gestured for her friends to gather around and look. “See? This triangle here is different.”
“Is it?” Rarity asked, leaning in to confirm. “I can hardly see it, it’s so dark in here.”
“Here, let me help.”
Twilight lit her horn and leaned in close to better illuminate the marking for Rarity to see. As soon as she did so, the symbol flashed bright purple; Twilight and Rarity jerked back in surprise. The slab itself followed suit, and then so too did a section floor directly in front of it large enough to encompass all six mares; Tick Tock, Lockwood, and Flathoof were too far away, busy examining the marking they’d found.
Tick Tock turned; the glowing had captured her attention. “Sparkle? Did you find something?”
Twilight tilted her head. “What the—"
In an instant, the six mares vanished without a trace.
Tick Tock’s jaw dropped. “Sparkle!” She rushed forward and placed her hoof on the tablet, which gradually lost its luster and dimmed to its regular, dust-covered self. “Sparkle? Rarity? Fluttershy? Anypony?”
The slab shook violently; Tick Tock stepped back from it. Then, as quickly as the mares had vanished, the slab disintegrated into nothingness, leaving just a blank wall behind.
“Where are they?!” Flathoof blurted, rushing to Tick Tock’s side. “Where’d they go?!”
“Bugger all if I know!” Tick Tock exclaimed. “Oh bugger... oh bugger! This is bad. This is bleedin’ bad!”
“What happened to them?! Did that thing just vaporize them?!”
“Relax, both of you,” Lockwood said, stepping between them. “As we discussed earlier, the gryphons are a peaceful race, so this likely wasn’t a trap and didn’t do anything harmful. Think for just a moment, you two. Stay calm, and think.” He turned to Tick Tock. “Obviously, as they have vanished so suddenly, they must have been teleported, yes?”
Tick Tock paused, then lit up her horn. After a moment, she nodded. “I do detect the faint remnants of a powerful teleportation spell, yes.”
“And we’ve established that teleports can’t send ponies too far, correct?”
Tick Tock nodded again. “Right... right. Even Sparkle, as powerful as she is, couldn’t teleport herself and her friends more than a few miles. The ruins are larger than that by a fair margin.”
Lockwood flared his wings in pride. “Therefore, they can’t be far. We simply need to find where they’ve been teleported off to.”
Flathoof shook his head. “How are we going to do that? Twilight was the only one who could read those damned symbols.”
“My dear boy, you underestimate me and Miss Tock, here.” Lockwood clapped Flathoof on the back. “We’ll figure something out. Trust me.”
Tick Tock started cantering back down the hall they’d come from, map out and at the ready. “Come along, colts, no time to dawdle.”
Flathoof and Lockwood followed in her wake.
Not a one glanced back to see the marking on the floor that they’d been arguing over disappear.