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// 2: The Old Homeland: Prologue 
// Story: Akouma's Junk Drawer 
// by Akouma 
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Tink. Sandy Gem did not care for this job. Well, she did like the work, just not where it was taking place currently. Her name alone should tell anypony that she preferred deserts to the frozen north, but somepony had discovered some pottery during a poorly advised ski trip, so here she was.

Tink. Her pick swung, cracking the ice beneath her. “Hey Sandy, any luck over there?” called one of the other archaeologists.

Tink. She put the pick down. “Gee, Buried Treasure, have you heard me yell ‘thank Celestia?’”

“Um, no?”

“Well how about ‘Luna’s wondrous dotted flank?’” Sandy didn’t actually think Luna’s flank was that wondrous, but it was a common enough expression.

“I get it, you haven’t found anything,” Buried Treasure said defensively.

“No no, I think we need to go over this just in case I do find something, Buried.” Sandy wasn’t even sure where this was coming from at this point. She liked Buried Treasure. They’d worked together amicably for years. But her frustration with her situation was boiling over at this point. No stopping it now.

“In the event that I find something in this Tartarus-forsaken wasteland, you will definitely hear me say something wildly inappropriate and disrespectful to our oligarchs. Basically, if you hear something that sounds vaguely sexual in the same sentence as a Princess’s name, assume I have finally found some damned piece that justifies this dig!” In the back of her mind, Sandy knew that this was absolutely uncalled for. She’d be apologizing for it the entire rest of the night. She’d probably even need to throw in one of her few remaining packets of cocoa because a warm drink would help smooth this over. But right that moment, she needed to be heard. She needed to vent.

“In conclusion, I have not found anything.” She picked up her pick and slammed it down into the ice between them. “And if you will refrain from asking going forward, then I promise you will be the first to know when I do find some scrap of evidence that anypony was dumb enough to live here!”

The cracks in the ice surrounding her pick radiated outward as she stomped. After a moment, the area rumbled, and the cracks gave way to an opening beneath them. Sandy Gem and Buried Treasure fell into the hole below, only to see several huts in what appeared to be a village square around them. The area beneath the ice was hollow. Only a few feet of ice and snow had separated them from their goal.

Their argument nearly forgotten, the two ponies dusted themselves off, and immediately went to investigate the nearest of the homes. Inside, there was remarkably well preserved furniture. A table, chairs, several cabinets. There was even food within, all frozen solid. The pair opened the door at the back of the kitchen, and came face to face with a pony, encased in a solid block of transparent ice.

“Luna’s wondrous dotted flank, this is big,” Sandy mumbled as she surveyed the pony in front of her. Had she been looking closer, she would have noticed the mystery pony’s eye follow her around the room.