They arrived at their next destination around midday, though one could be forgiven for thinking it was late. A storm was brewing, and the cloud cover was darkening the sky. To make matters even gloomier, the group found themselves tripping over stones at every turn. The graveyard they were walking through had long ago fallen into disrepair, and while some of the headstones were still legible, many more were worn down to the point where they could no longer be read.
"I wish we could see clearer," said Twilight, tripping over another headstone. "It seems disrespectful to be walking over somepony's grave. Especially hitting their tombstones."
"It can't really be helped," sighed Kai. "We don't have the time, nor the equipment to cut down all of this high grass. We'd have even less means of restoring the headstones."
"I know. I'm just saying, this doesn't feel right."
"Agreed. The moment we finish here, we let them rest peacefully once more."
They came to a stop at a particularly large tomb. Despite the unkempt nature of the rest of the graveyard, this one looked as if it were scrubbed clean. On top of that, two torches hung in sconces on either side of a placard. The text carved into the placard was written in an ancient language that was no longer in circulation. Twilight knew some of it, but not much. From what she could gather, it said something about only the strong being chosen for tasks, a concept that she took exception to.
Kai opened the back door of the wagon. "We need to discuss how we plan to proceed. This is a trial of combat, so I'm required to face it, being the only one with any combat training. Fluttershy, I know you want to stay out of this one."
Fluttershy nodded, feeling very uneasy. "I don't do so well with tombs."
Kai nodded. "That leaves Nikolas and Twilight. Time to decide. You can join me if you so choose, or you can stay out here with Fluttershy."
"I'll go," answered Nik. "I'm the most involved in this, and it's my life on the line. It behooves me to ensure that you make it through."
Kai nodded. "That's Nikolas, what about you, Twilight?"
Twilight shook her head. "Somepony should stay up here with Fluttershy. I'm not exactly the best when it comes to combat spells, but I should be okay for defending the entrance."
Kai nodded. "Don't worry about fighting alone. I wager the residents here would be more than happy to aid you if it comes to that."
"No," growled Twilight, a scowl forming on her face. "I refuse to let more ponies sacrifice themselves."
"Don't worry about them," replied Kai, shaking his head. "These are highly skilled warriors. They live for that sort of thing. That's why I'm a bit nervous about this trial. Almost all of my knowledge was gained through being attacked, and I try not to kill if I can avoid it."
"Let's go, then," said Nik, stepping out of the wagon and making room for Twilight. "If this is going to take multiple tries, we need to start right away. Sitting here isn't going to help us finish any faster."
Kai nodded in agreement. "We'll be back as soon as we can," he assured them.
"Uninjured?" asked Fluttershy.
"I'll certainly try," responded Kai, closing the door.
Nik stood in front of the tomb. "So, how do we enter? Shovels?"
Kai shook his head and placed his hooves against the stone slab sealing the tomb. With a hard push, it slid aside, revealing a stairway leading down. A burst of cold air rushed out of the tomb entrance and blew right into Nik's face. He grimaced and waved his hand to dispel the air, but to his great surprise, there was no foul smell.
Kai took the lead as they descended the stairs. It was five flights, almost straight down into the ground. Despite the lack of smell and the immaculate stairs, there was a large pile of severed limbs at the bottom. It wasn't particularly bloody or visceral. If Nik could compare the sight to anything, he would say they looked akin to a pile of torn apart action figures. This was especially true due to the multitude of colours.
"You have a lot of explaining to do!" shouted a voice from the other end of a hallway. Approaching them was a patchwork pony, seemingly made from spare parts from other ponies. "I had no indication of a new arrival today. Who are you?"
Kai bowed. "My apologies for the short notice, but we're in a bit of a rush. We're here for approval of your master for an audience with his master."
"What approval? I wa--" The patchwork pony was interrupted as part of his leg collapsed and he fell to the floor. He mumbled something to himself as he reached into the pile of limbs, rifling through it until he found one about the same size as the one that had just collapsed. Rolling onto his back, he tore the old one off and socketed the new one into place. "Sorry about that," he chuckled, rolling back onto his hooves. He still only had three, as the new leg ended in a griffin claw. "Now, what was it you wanted again?"
"We're here for one of these," answered Nik, pulling one of the stones out of his pocket. "Do you have one?"
The patchwork pony shook his head. "No, but my partner does. The androgynous one, not the clearly female one. Come, let's go find it."
The hallway was very short, and at the other end was a large rotunda, with several rooms leading off. It was spotless, and two of the rooms even had beds. It looked much nicer than the grove, and significantly nicer than the library. Those had been wide expanses with only the sky above, but this looked rather cozy. Not at all like a tomb.
"This isn't remotely what I was expecting," Nikolas thought aloud.
"You think that just because we live in a tomb, it has to be a terrifying nightmare scape?" Nik had no answer. "Two of us can't really blend in with normal society. I mean, I almost could, but that'd be short-lived. So, since we can't really live anywhere else, we decided to make our home a nice one."
"Big, too," chuckled Nik. "My head doesn't even hit the ceiling."
"It has to be," responded the patchwork stallion. "Bone is taller than you are, and he doesn't want to hit his head, either."
Kai stopped in his tracks. "There's a pony taller than Nikolas?"
The stallion turned around. "Well, he's not really a pony, per se... Not anymore, at least."
"So, what is he then?"
The stallion chuckled. "He's Bone. By the way, I'm Flesh."