//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: The Second Prison // Story: The Blue Mage // by Nebula Star //------------------------------// The Blue Mage By Nebula Star Chapter 15: The Second Prison *** Twilight sighed as she looked over the results of her latest attempt at scrying Apple Bloom’s location. Like all her previous attempts, it had failed almost completely. Even the most advanced forms of scrying that she’d recovered from Achlys’ knowledge had only given her a very vague result. A fatal flaw of all scrying spells was that you either had to know the place you were scrying yourself, or you could target a specific person, but to do that you had to have a sample of their magic. Usually a treasured possession would be enough to provide the needed sample, but the thing was, a person’s magical signature could sometimes change if something major happened in their life… such as having a foreign magic bound to theirs. Rekaj’s Sa’Dracori had changed Apple Bloom’s magical signature, and was still changing it. As a result, none of her spells could get a lock on the filly. “It’s no use.” She groaned. Feather gave her a sympathetic look. “Still can’t get a lock on her?” Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Her magic is still in flux from taking Rekaj’s Sa’Dracori. The nearest I could get that she’s somewhere in central Equestria.” Twilight held up one of Apple Bloom’s bows. “This has the strongest sample of her magic of anything I could find, but even it didn’t give any better results than that.” “Do you think any of your books back at the library would have anything that would help?” Feather asked. Having needed access to Apple Bloom’s possessions, Twilight had stayed at Sweet Apple Acres while Applejack, Big Mac, and Rainbow Dash had joined Rekaj, Rarity and the rest of Twilight’s guard in search of Apple Bloom, though without some clue where to look, they weren’t having much success. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were with them as well, having convinced their families to let them join the search effort. “I doubt it, but I suppose it would be best to make sure.” Twilight said. “I’m not making any progress here. Has there been any word from the guard?” Feather shook her head. “The pegasi and nocturne are flying a search pattern, while the unicorns and earth ponies search for clues on the ground, but with the darkness and not knowing where to even look…” Twilight nodded understandingly, then glanced out the window wondering just what time it was. She knew it was well past midnight. In fact, it was likely getting near dawn. “Alright, well let’s move this back to the library, Rekaj, you still have a clone at the library right?” The blue stallion standing in the corner, still as a stature suddenly became more animated as Rekaj focused his attention there. “Yes, I still have one at the library; and I’ll leave this one here in case Apple Bloom returns.” Twilight nodded. “Alright, let us know if she does. Come on, Feather, let’s get going.” Feather nodded and tapped a new gem on her chest piece. “All Guard Alert;” she said and after a moment the gem gave a soft chime. “Attention, Mother Hen is returning to the nest, mother hen is returning to the nest.” Twilight raised a brow as she stepped outside. “Mother hen? Really?” Feather just shrugged, following. “It wasn’t the worst option for a code name. Might even throw enemies off. Most think of Celestia as the mother hen…” Twilight rolled her eyes and took off, Feather following close by her side. Something wasn’t right. Twilight glanced around trying to spot what had given her a strange feeling all the sudden, but nothing seemed out of place. Still she was tense the entire flight home. Even when they landed at the library without incident, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. ~~~ “Geronimo!” Apple Bloom cried as she leaped off the cliff. She didn’t have her wings on, and she plummeted into the ravine. About halfway down she clipped a rock protruding from the cliff that broke both her hind legs with a loud crack and caused her to begin tumbling. She glanced of another rock, then hit a slope near the bottom, breaking several more bones and sending her into a roll the rest of the way down, finally coming to a stop just on the edge of the stream that had dug the gorge over the centuries. “Ow” She groaned, as the pain caught up with her. All together she was pretty sure she’d broken both hind legs and one of her forelegs. There might have been a break in her other foreleg as well, but the other three limbs were demanding her attention. There was no way she would be getting up anytime soon. She wasn’t dead though. “Ah great…” She moaned realizing she’d likely have to wait to slowly bleed to death; she was pretty sure a couple of her broken bones had torn through the skin. Honestly though, it wasn’t as bad as drowning; even with all the pain. With nothing else to do but wait to die, Apple Bloom looked around. It seemed like weeks had passed. With how many times she’d reset, it might have been, but it was still just before sunrise. The sky was just now beginning to glow as if the sun were eager to be risen to begin the day. There was just enough light that she noticed an odd shadow in the cliff opposite of where she’d fallen and a little downstream. Was it a cave? She strained as much as she could trying to get a better look, but it was still too dark. With a groan, she laid her head back to wait for the inevitable. A half hour later, she was beginning to wonder if she was going to bleed to death at all. Perhaps she’d have to end it herself. The pain had faded enough that she could probably focus enough to cast a spell now. She sighed. The sun was just starting to light the ravine now. A twig snapping made her look down along the stream. There she spotted a welcome sight. A timber wolf was slowly advancing on her. “Oh good.” The wolf froze seeming surprised by the lack of fear. “Well get on with it!” Apple Bloom said impatiently. It hesitated a moment more, then seemed to decide that she’d simply accepted death, and dashed forward. Apple Bloom felt its jaws clamp around her neck and its teeth pierced her neck even as it crushed her windpipe. Just as darkness began to creep into her vision, though, her eyes fell on the strange shadow in the opposite cliff. With the sky brightening, she could just make out a little more detail. There was something there. It was definitely a cave, but it seemed a little too clean… almost as if it weren’t natural, what was more, she felt a strange urge to investigate. Sometime later – it had taken her some time to find the spot again, even while flying – Apple Bloom looked down into the darkened entrance that had been almost completely hidden in the ravine. It was several paces above the stream with no ledge or path leading up to it. Her eyes hadn’t deceived her. It was definitely not a natural cave entrance; it had been widened and carved into a doorway. In fact, the ancient stonework seemed familiar in its simple functional design; weathered as it was. It looked like the intact stonework of Achlys’ prison. Could it be from the same time period? It certainly looked old enough. What was odd about it was the feeling she was getting. She felt drawn to it; as if something in the depths of the cave were calling to her. It didn’t make sense; if this were an alicorn prison like she thought, then wouldn’t they want ponies to stay away? Unless… was the alicorn imprisoned here the source of the strange attraction? Were they trying to escape by drawing ponies in to free them? She frowned. ‘Might as well check it out.’ She thought. If she messed up and the alicorn was trying to escape; then she could just turn back time and prevent it. But if it were something else drawing her in; she wanted to know why. If it were an alicorn prison, there was the possibility of traps; but Apple Bloom didn’t think they’d be a problem. She’d just spent an entire night getting herself killed and reset again and again, after all. She was fairly used to dying at this point, so even if she were killed a few times figuring them out, she’d be fine. Casting the reset spell, she went inside. It was immediately apparent that this cave had been entirely natural when the ancient ponies had decided to convert it for their cause. Just beyond the entrance, the cave opened up into a fair-sized chamber with a slanted ceiling and floor. A level path had been cut heading deeper into the cave, but much of the chamber had been left intact. Having been open to the outside; she’d expected to find evidence of the local wildlife having made their home in the cave; especially in this first chamber, but the cave was strangely clean. It was as if something had kept wildlife away. ‘Probably some kind of repulsion charm; if there are traps down here, it wouldn’t make sense to let them be set off by wild animals.’ Not for the first time, she wished she had some way of detecting unicorn magic. Perhaps RJ had a spell, she resolved to ask him the next time she saw him; not that it would help her now. Continuing through the natural chamber, she found it ended at a carved tunnel; a tunnel lit by softly glowing crystals embedded in the walls near the ceiling. She examined the hall as closely as she could in the dim light but didn’t see any sign of traps, so she continued through. It wasn’t very long and soon opened up into a large pony-made chamber, with four columns around the outside of the room and a stout column near the center that only reached halfway to the ceiling. The entire chamber was lit by just a few clusters of glowing crystals hanging from the ceiling leaving the corners, behind the support columns in deep shadow. She looked at the short column for a second, curious about its purpose, but then spotted the way out across the chamber from her. “Hold it, kid!” A mare’s voice called out from the shadows, making her stop mid step. There was a flutter of wings and Apple Bloom looked up to the side as a mustard yellow pegasus with a greyscale mane landed next to her. She was wearing a vest with numerous pockets and a battered, but still functional pith helmet. “You’re Daring Do…” Apple Bloom said calmly, recognizing the mare from Applejack’s description. Figured, if anypony was going to be exploring an ancient ruin that likely contained dangerous traps; it would be Daring Do. “Heh, that’s right.” She said with a bit of a smirk at her lack of enthusiasm. “Usually fillies your age that recognize me are a little more excited to find out I’m real.” “Ah already knew you were real.” Apple Bloom said dismissively. She looked a little surprised. “You did?” “Yeah, my sis and her friends helped you out a while back with some magical rings or something…” “The rings of Scorchero?” “Sounds right.” Apple Bloom nodded. “Your sis is one of Rainbow Dash’s friends, huh? Lemme guess; Yellow Pegasus, pink mane?” Apple Bloom raised a brow. “No, that’s Fluttershy.” Daring looked taken back. “Oh… then was your sis the earth pony, orange coat, wearing a classic cowpony hat.” “Yep, that’s sis; her name’s Applejack. I’m Apple Bloom.” “Heh, well I’m glad to meet you, Apple Bloom. But I’m going to have to get you out of here; this place is far too dangerous for a filly your age, and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt. Especially if you’re a friend of Rainbow Dash.” She reached her wing around Apple Bloom and started trying to guide her back the way she’d come but Apple Bloom twisted out of her grip. “No, there’s something down here that’s callin’ to me and I’m going to find out what it is,” she insisted heading toward the next hall. Daring Do zipped around in front of her stalling her once more. “I’m not kidding kid; this place is way too dangerous. I’m not letting you go any further even if I have to drag you home myself.” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Ah’d like to see you try.” Apple Bloom’s voice came from behind Daring Do and she looked to see another yellow and red filly standing there. She looked back toward the first to find there were now half a dozen fillies in front of her. Her eyes widened a bit in surprise; the filly wasn’t a unicorn; she hadn’t been expecting magic. Certainly not anything this advanced. “You can’t drag me home…” one of them started. “…if you don’t know which one is the real me.” Another finished. Daring gave another smirk. “That’s pretty good kid, but… WHAT’S THAT!?” “WHERE!?” One of the Apple Bloom’s exclaimed, looking where Daring had pointed, while the rest showed no reaction. Daring quickly scooped up that filly and flew them up into the air with a triumphant grin. “Well looky here; guess I found the right one.” Apple Bloom twisted around in her hooves and grinned. “Sorry…” She faded away along with all but one of the others, leaving only one of the Apple Blooms that hadn’t reacted. “…But Ah was trained by the best.” Daring looked at her stunned; the filly she’d picked up had felt so real. Even as she’d twisted around, Daring could have sworn she’d felt her muscles flexing under her skin. “Alright, that was pretty good. But I’m serious kid. I’ve seen ruins like this before; and they’re way too dangerous for a filly.” “Ah’ll be fine.” Apple Bloom said dismissively, heading for the next tunnel. Daring dashed in front of her again, trying to stop her. “Kid, the last one of these I came across had some of the deadliest traps I’ve ever seen! And if you know anything about my books then you know that’s saying something. Apple Bloom sighed. “Look Ah appreciate your concern, but Ah’ll be fine; in fact, Ah’m a heck of a lot safer down here than you are.” Daring snorted. “How do you figure that?” Bloom’s eyes narrowed. She sat down and raised her right forehoof, conjuring a glowing translucent blue blade extending from her hoof. Daring looked at it in surprise; so, the filly had a way to defend herself at least… Then Bloom raised her other forehoof holding it out in front of her. Daring watched, wondering just what she was doing. She swung the blade down and the next instant her left foreleg was several inches shorter and spraying blood all over the floor. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” Daring screeched in shock. Apple Bloom just winced a bit at the pain. A moment later, the mark on her shoulder glowed brightly and Daring had the unique experience of watching everything go in reverse unable to do anything but observe. Apple Bloom’s severed hoof flew up, reattaching itself to her leg even as her blade swung backwards until she was sitting there once again whole. Once it was over, the filly’s shoulder stopped glowing and the blade faded away. “Like Ah said; Ah’ll be fine, but if you need more convincin’, Ah’m cutting off your leg next time.” “Uh, no… no. I’m good.” Daring said, still in a bit of shock. This filly was something else. She shook her head. “Alright, that’s great and all, kid; but I’ve seen traps that could kill you in an instant in places like this.” “Ah’ve already died several dozen times today; a few more won’t matter. Now Ah’m going to find out just what is drawing me to this place; if you want to tag along, then come on, you’ll be safer with me anyway.” She once again headed toward the tunnel deeper into the ruins. “Do you even know what these ruins are?” Daring asked following. “Do you?” Apple Bloom challenged. “Kid, I may spend a lot of time treasure hunting; but I am an archeologist.” “That doesn’t mean you know.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve done my research. This is the second site like this I’ve found, and this one is much more intact than the last.” “Was the other also in the Everfree forest with a path melted through the rocks at the entrance?” Daring blinked. “How did you…” “Ah’ve been there. Ah’m guessing that this place is the same as that one: an alicorn prison from way back during the purge.” “You know about the purge?” Daring asked, understandably surprised. Apple Bloom nodded. “But what Ah want to know is if this is a prison – one that they didn’t want to be found – why is there something drawing me to it?” “You felt that too, huh? I wonder if it’s specific to pegasi…” With the sound of grinding stone, a slab slid down in front of the tunnel that led deeper into the ruins. “Watch it!” Daring shouted, realizing they’d sprung a trap. Looking back the other way, they found the entrance had been likewise closed. Then the ominous sound of grinding stone came from above as the ceiling began to descend. “Horsefeathers…” Daring cursed, frantically looking around. “This kind of trap; there’s usually some way to stop it. A secret way, just in case one of the builders triggered it.” Apple Bloom looked around as well. Though she had been crushed to death once already it had been much faster than this slowly descending ceiling. This, she imagined, would be more like what she felt in the hydra’s throat. Unpleasant, but not the worst she’d experienced. She just wished she’d seen what had triggered the trap, so they could avoid it next time if they died here. “There, the center column!” Daring shouted pointing. Apple Bloom looked to see that the half column she’d noticed earlier was positioned directly under a hole that had been revealed in the descending ceiling, but if it could be shifted just a little to the side… It was then she noticed that it seemed to be set in a groove in the floor; one that would allow the column to be moved just enough in one direction to put it under the descending ceiling. Daring was already there, pushing with all her strength, but the column wouldn’t budge. Apple Bloom ran over to help, trying to get into a good position so they both could push, but with how narrow the column was, they couldn’t both get good leverage at the same time. “Move, you stupid rock!” Apple Bloom shouted. Applejack could probably push the column, no problem, but she was still just a filly, and even with a grown pegasus helping, they just didn’t have the strength to move it. “It’s no use…” Daring growled. “We’ll have to find another way!” She flew up to the hole in the ceiling to see if it led anywhere before the column sealed it. Apple Bloom glared at the column. “Stupid rock!” She spun around and bucked it with all her strength. It moved. It was only an inch or so, but it moved. Grinning, Apple Bloom coiled herself and bucked again, moving the column a little bit more. The ceiling was getting lower, so she didn’t stop. Kicking the stone column again and again, she slowly moved it into place. Finally, with one last buck, the column reached the end of the groove it was set in only a few seconds before the ceiling reached it. With a clunk, the ceiling connected with the column and somewhere within the walls, they heard another mechanism activating. With the sound of grinding stone, the doors to the chamber opened once more. Apple Bloom sighed in relief, flopping down on the floor to rest a moment while her breathing slowed back to normal. It was then that she noticed Daring Do staring at her. “Dang kid, I’ve never seen a pegasus filly with that kind of strength before.” Apple Bloom looked up at her confused for a moment, then realized that this entire time, she’d still had her wing spell on. “Oh, Ah’m not actually a pegasus,” she admitted and deactivated the spell. “Ah’m really an earth pony.” She snorted shaking her head. “That explains it. You’re full of surprises kid.” “Ah’m just glad we got through; Ah may be getting used to dying; but it sure isn’t any fun. She looked up at Daring. “And watching other ponies die isn’t much fun either, even if they come back too…” Daring laughed. “Well thanks, kid. Why don’t we take a break before going on?” Apple Bloom looked up at her curiously. “You’re not going to try to force me to go back.” “You made it pretty clear you weren’t going to. And I’m experience enough to know a losing battle.” Daring told her, sitting down to rest as well. “So, why’re you so determined to explore this place.” “Like Ah said, Ah want to know what’s drawing me here. And if Ah can, put an end to it, so nopony else gets drawn into the traps. What Ah’m wondering about, is if it’s the alicorn imprisoned here that’s drawing us in, or if it’s something else… If it’s the alicorn, they’re probably just trying to escape. But if it’s something else…” Daring nodded, seeing what she was thinking. “Then why would the builders of this place want to draw ponies to what was supposed to be a secret prison? That’s a good question.” Apple Bloom nodded then glanced at the column holding the lowered ceiling. “You know, now that Ah think about it, Ah probably could’ve conjured something to give us more leverage on that dumb column…” Daring snorted. “Heh, yeah, that probably would have been easier, but you know, hind sight and all that. You got it done, and that’s all that matters.” They grew silent for a bit; the only sound being that of Apple Bloom’s rapid breathing as it slowed back to normal. “So, how’s Rainbow Dash been?” Daring asked, breaking the silence. “She’s good, she was the one that taught me how to fly.” Daring gave a small laugh at that. “An earth pony learning how to fly… She up to anything else exciting?” “Well she helped save the world again a few months ago.” Apple Bloom told her, matter-of-factly. “She did? Wait, what do you mean again? The whole thing with the Rings of Scorchero was bad, but I wouldn’t consider it world threatening.” Apple Bloom gave her a deadpan look. “You have no idea who Rainbow Dash is, do you.” Daring looked at her a little taken back. “…Should I.” “Well let’s see… she performed the first Sonic Rainboom in Equestria’s history when she was just a filly, then did it again to win the best young flyer competition a few years back.” Daring Do’s eyes widened in surprise, but Apple Bloom was just getting started. “But before that, she, my sis, and their friends defeated Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony and turned her back into princess Luna. Later they used them to defeat Discord. In the battle of Canterlot, they fought off dozens of changelings and helped drive them away.” Daring was starting to look like she was staring death in the face as she realized just who Rainbow Dash’s friends must be. “Then they defeated King Sombra and freed the Crystal Empire. A couple months after that, they reformed Discord, and then one of Rainbow’s closest friends Ascended and became the Fourth Princess of Equestria! And if that’s not enough, they went on to save the Tree of Harmony and finally, just a few months ago, helped to defeat the alicorn Achlys; the alicorn that had been imprisoned in the ruined prison out in the Everfree forest! Which, by the way, would have been nice to know about since Achlys imprisoned Princess Celestia there!” Daring just stared back at her, eyes wide and jaw agape as it sunk in just how important Rainbow Dash and her friends were. “Rainbow Dash is one of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s friends!?” “Yeah, and Twilight was with Rainbow Dash when they helped you out.” Apple Bloom told her. “What?” Daring squeaked. She raised a brow. “Are you telling me that you didn’t even notice the purple alicorn in their group?” Daring swallowed nervously and shook her head. “Was she…upset that I didn’t notice her?” Apple Bloom snorted. “You don’t know Twilight. She doesn’t care about recognition; she was just ecstatic to be helping on one of your adventures. She’s been a big fan of your books since she was a filly.” She let out a relieved sigh. “Might be a good idea to keep in touch with the rest of Equestria, though.” “Heh, yeah. I guess it would be a good idea.” She agreed then looked over at Apple Bloom. “So, your sis is one of the element bearers, huh?” “Yep,” Apple Bloom nodded proudly. “She’s the element of Honesty.” “So what element is Rainbow Dash?” “She’s Loyalty.” Daring considered that for a moment then gave a smirk. “Guess that makes sense. Even when I tried to push her away and told her that I work alone she still refused to give up on me. Have to admit, it was nice having somepony I could count on…” Apple Bloom looked over at her with a grin. “Ah’m sure Rainbow would be glad to help you out again anytime you ask.” She laughed. “Yeah, she probably would… and as annoying as her fan-girling was; I wouldn’t mind the company sometimes.” Apple Bloom smiled sadly. “Even being a hero can get lonely sometimes.” She pushed thoughts of her friends away. She knew she’d have to deal with it sooner or later; but not just yet. “So, why’d you decide to keep it a secret that you’re actually Daring Do?” “Heh, believe it or not; I didn’t want to be famous.” Apple Bloom raised a brow questioningly. “I mean. A famous archeologist, known to historians for finding lost historical treasures, sure, but definitely not a famous action hero.” She sighed. “But early on in my career I was a bit short on cash. Heck, I was flat broke. That’s something I left out of those first few books; no one wants to read about my financial troubles back then.” “Probably not.” Apple Bloom agreed. Daring gave her a smile. “Anyway a little while after my first encounter with Ahuizotl, I happened to read some adventure book, I can’t remember what it was called, but it was on the best seller list at the time and I remember thinking; my life is more exciting than this. “So, I decided to try writing about my adventures, ‘maybe I’ll make a few bits’ I thought.… I did not expect that first book to sell like it did. I went from flat broke to super rich practically overnight, and pretty soon everypony in Equestria knew my name. I’m just glad my agent suggested I publish the book under a pseudonym cause if ponies knew the stories were true, they’d be swarming all over the jungles searching for the ruins I’ve been to. Even so, going anywhere as A.K. Yearling I still get mobbed. “Fortunately, my publisher doesn’t distribute my books in the areas where most my adventures take place, so most ponies there don’t know about the books. To them I’m just an adventurous treasure hunter. “A few of my enemies are a little ticked that I got rich off my stories that include them, and they didn’t, but they’re not exactly in the best standing with the authorities, so there’s not much they can do about it.” She shrugged. “And it helps the Princess Celestia herself told me that she would back me if any of them ever did try to make a legal claim against me. She said I have every right to tell my own stories and if they don’t want to be in them, then they’ll just have to stay out of my life.” Apple Bloom snorted. “Yeah, that sounds like Princess Celestia.” “You know Princess Celestia?” “I just told ya my sis is an element of harmony.” Apple Bloom deadpanned. Daring smirked. “Right, so I guess you’ve met her a few times.” Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah definitely know Princess Luna better, but Ah know Princess Celestia too.” “I haven’t really met Princess Luna. The one time I met with Princess Celestia after her return was during the day, so Luna was asleep.” Apple Bloom smiled. “She came to Nightmare Night in Ponyville, that’s when Ah first met her.” Daring grinned. “Nightmare Night huh? I can’t imagine that went over well…” “She was a little upset at first, she even wanted to cancel Nightmare Night at one point. But once she got into the spirit of things, she had a lot of fun. She even disguised herself as Nightmare Moon to scare us when we went to do the candy offering. Course, now she looks like that anyway…” Apple Bloom frowned, wondering how that would affect nightmare night in the future. “Looks like what?” Daring asked, raising a brow. “Haven’t you heard? Princess Luna looks like Nightmare Moon again.” “She does?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Yep, but she’s still Luna, she just looks like Nightmare Moon, without the armor.” “Huh, so I probably shouldn’t freak out next time I visit Canterlot then…” “Probably not.” She laughed. Daring grinned then climbed up onto her hooves once more and stretched. “Well, shall we continue on?” Apple Bloom nodded and got to her hooves as well. “There’s probably more traps ahead you know.” Daring said, starting toward the tunnel leading deeper into the ancient prison. “Yeah Ah know. We’ll figure them out.” “You sure you want to go on?” She asked, clearly hoping Apple Bloom would change her mind. “Ah’m not backing out.” Apple Bloom told her firmly. “If we don’t figure out what’s drawing ponies in here an’ stop it, then somepony might get hurt.” “Okay, okay. I just feel a bit like an irresponsible adult, letting you tag along.” “Ah came in here on my own, if anything, you’re taggin’ along with me!” Apple Bloom countered. “And, Ah’m going first.” She took the lead into the next tunnel. Daring dashed in front of her. “Hey, no, no, no! We got lucky once, kid. Let me go first. I know the kinds of things to look for to avoid triggering any more traps.” “Didn’t help with the first trap.” “Yeah, well I was a little distracted with a filly that seems determined to get herself killed.” Apple Bloom opened her mouth to retort, then blushed. “Ah guess you have a point… but Ah’m still going first.” “Oh come on! Kid, are you really that determined to get yourself killed!?” “Better me than you.” Apple Bloom said softly. “What!?” Daring gasped. Apple Bloom sighed. “If Ah die, time just resets back to when Ah cast my spell and Ah get to try again. If you die, ah have to watch it happen… Ah can turn back time and reverse it; but I still would rather not see it in the first place. So, if you really want to protect me, let me go first.” “Oh…” She frowned, looking conflicted. “You’d really rather die yourself than have to watch someone else die, even though you can reverse both?” Apple Bloom nodded, looking down. “The first time Ah died… Ah had to watch my friends die first. Ah just froze up, couldn’t do anything while that hydra… That’s why ah decided to get used to dyin’; so that next time, Ah won’t hesitate to put myself in harm’s way to protect others.” She shook her head. “Dyin’s not fun. Not by a long shot. But it’s still better than watching somepony else die. Daring stared at her for a moment in silence, then slowly smiled. “That’s the heart of a hero, kid.” She stepped to Apple Bloom’s side and wrapped a wing around her. “So how about this; we work together, side by side, and Ah’ll do my best to make sure neither of us dies.” Apple Bloom snorted, but gave a small smile all the same. “Alright.” The path beyond the first trap opened back up into a mostly natural cave again with a level path cut into the floor. More enchanted crystals provided light, though these where set into the low wall along the side of the path where it had been cut into the natural cave floor. The lack of pony made features let Apple Bloom relax a little. The ancient ponies would have to build something to make a trap, right? She looked down the path ahead trying to pick out anything that might trigger a trap of some kind, but it seemed to be smooth stone with no cracks or seams whatsoever. Fortunately they crossed the natural chamber without incident, and soon they stood before another door. The chamber beyond was dark. “The feeling is still a ways off.” Apple Bloom stated. Daring nodded looking up and down the pony-made wall that sealed off this end of the chamber. “Yep, which means there’s likely another trap or two before then. And considering they purposely walled off this section of the cave, I bet one of them is on the other side of this door.” She reached back to one of her pockets. Apple Bloom took a deep breath. “Well, there’s nothing else for it.” She stepped through the door. The room lit up as she entered. “You could have waited for me to get out my sunstone…” Daring said, following behind her. Apple Bloom looked back to see she was holding a brightly glowing stone with one wing. She glanced at the glowing crystals spread around the walls of the chamber. “Guess it wasn’t needed though.” She slipped the sunstone back into one of her vest pockets. The chamber they found themselves in was unusually tall, this time with no pillars. “Yeah, I’m betting this is another trap…” “Do you see anything that might be the trigger?” Apple Bloom asked looking around. Daring sighed. “No. But then if it’s magic in nature, there wouldn’t be an obvious trigger; there may not be any visual evidence at all.” “Do you have anything that could detect it?” “Not reliably.” She reached into one of her vest pockets and pulled out a gem pendant; an oval shaped pearl that had a distinctive ruby tint, held in a golden setting. This glows whenever it get’s close to concentrations of magic, but in this case by the time I get it close enough to detect the trigger, we’ll probably already have set it off.” Apple Bloom frowned… “Well Ah guess there’s not much choice then; try it, see if you can detect the trigger, but if we set it off, then we take our chances trying to escape. Worst case, we die, and Ah get to meet you all over again.” Daring hesitated then taking a deep breath, nodded, silently vowing not to test the filly’s claim. Carefully, she started forward again, holding the pendant out in front of them with one wing. “You know if it’s a magic trigger, detecting it may be futile. It could very well spread across the entire chamber. They could have set it as they left to make it impossible to enter without setting it off.” “Then we’ll just have to try to figure a way out… By the way, Ah’m still cutting off your leg next time.” Daring looked at her sharply then smiled when she saw the filly’s smirk. “Hey go easy on me. If it works like you said, then I won’t know any better.” “Still cutting off your leg.” She snorted. “As much as the morbid part of my mind is curious what that would be like; I’d still prefer if you didn’t.” The pendant suddenly glowed with a ruby hue and Daring froze. It was already too late. The all too familiar sound of grinding stone announced the closing of the doors both in front and behind. “Great…” Daring muttered, slipping the pendant back into her pocket. The doors closed with a loud thud, and then nothing. They both looked around the silent room, wondering what was about to happen.