//------------------------------// // 93- Troy // Story: Changing Expectations // by KKSlider //------------------------------// “How many?” I whispered. Four whispered back, “One.” “Pony?’ “We think so. No one has checked.” I steadied myself upright and stopped leaning on One. “Do they know that we know about them?” “Unlikely.” I thought about our situation. “This isn’t a good spot to ambush them. Any attempts to go back towards them will alert them, and they could flee before we catch them. We need to ambush them later on. Let’s keep moving, and as long as they follow us, we can capture them.” “What if they wander off?” Two whispered. I rubbed my eyes, “I mean, I suppose I could just teleport right behind them and stun them. But that sounds very anticlimactic. Ambushing sounds more fun.” “Sir, please,” One begged, “just make things simple.” “Uh… hold on, let me try to come up with excuses…. Teleporting burns a lot of juice, and I might need it later.” “We brought spare rations.” “... They could be an expert fighter, and teleporting takes a few seconds to recover from. They could defeat me while I’m recovering.” “We’ll be right behind you, not to mention the fact that no pony knows we’re here. It’s one of the archeologists, too foolish for their own good.” “... I don’t know exactly where they are, and teleporting inside of something else is an experience I never want to have again.” One paused, “Okay, you might have a point there. Even getting your destination wrong by a hoof will put you in a wall. Fine, we can do the ambush.” “Yes!” I cheered, too loudly, while pumping a hoof in the air. ‘I love ambushes!’ “Alright then,” I said at normal conversation level, “I guess we just keep moving forward then, now that we know what we’re looking for. Big shiny metal armor.” “Keep an ear out for sound and a… whatever-sensory-organ-detects-emotion for emotion behind us, but otherwise keep looking forward, with only the rare, cautious glance behind,” I whispered over the weave. The group reordered ourselves and we set off down the right set of stairs, skirting the abyss that water was pouring into. The area that the stairs ended at was similar to the one where the vision had taken place, albeit in a far worse state. What was once an open area of smooth black gel-covered stones was a torn up battlefield. Pieces of armor, rock, bones, and unidentifiable debris covered the forum. In most areas, the black covering was ripped off and the stone surface beneath exposed. But there were no bodies. The pony following us was wise enough to keep out of sight. “I see we have options,” I announced. Then I pointed to each of the main throughways out of the forum, “We have rubble strewn path number one, chaotic pile of broken rocks and shards number two, rubble strewn path number three, or suspiciously clear road number four.” “Which do you feel is the right direction, Zero?” Three asked me. After taking a moment to concentrate and feel out each direction, I sighed. “The suspiciously clear direction.” So we went, looking for prime locations to ambush while at the same time utterly aware and on guard for ambushes against us. Just because we haven't seen anything yet doesn't mean that the Third Hive was empty. The spooky corridor that whispered death was testament to that fact. As we walked down the street, a distant, echoing clatter and boom of a collapsing structure startled us. After freezing for a minute and scanning our surroundings, we started moving forward again, more slowly this time. Our hoofsteps crunched too loudly in the minuscule layer of debris. Very quickly we left behind the idea of not looking behind us, as our paranoia began to mount. There were so many questions all of us wanted to ask, but none did. Where were all the bodies? What was the infection? Where did it come from? Where were we headed? I paused mid-step as I felt a stirring within my Weave. Immediately, the other changelings froze too and began looking at our surroundings, scanning for danger. Meanwhile, I focused on my Weave. I imagined chasing the stirring; it was like a guitar string that was plucked, vibrating slowly, and growing more still over time. Still, I chased the movement. I managed to discern the fact that it originated from somewhere to my right before I lost the vibration entirely. “Something’s to our right, off the path. We’re going to pursue it, keep an eye and ear out for anything suspicious,” I spoke aloud, though very quietly. Following gut feelings and Weave vibrations could lead us to this Prince Carotid just as easily as it could lead us to our doom. We got off the path and started to climb through a low pile of rubble that lay between what had to one be foundations of buildings. Very quickly, a low sitting squarish building rose out of the rubble before us. It collapsed in many places along its roof and walls, but overall it was the most intact structure we had seen outside of that statue and pyramid beneath it. It was also quite large, the widest structure we had seen so far. The front doors were completely gone. If they had been wood, then they rotted away countless centuries ago. Now, debris cascaded down into what once was a lobby. We slid down the foot-tall-drop onto the tiled flooring of the lobby, with me leading the way. The room itself was mostly barren, with staircases on the far corners of the room, a half-destroyed half-wall straight ahead that was the front desk area, and two sets of closed doors on either side of the desk. These doors were metal, with square openings halfway up, showing a pitch black room beyond. “What is this place?” One asked. “Can’t tell yet,” I responded. “Let’s keep going.” As I approached the door, I got an idea. “We’ll ambush the pony when they enter the building. Two of you stay here, go in each stairwell. Stay just out of sight and wait. The rest, follow me.” With that said, I pushed open one of the doors and lit up an illumination spell. A soft white orb materialized at the end of my horn and cast out enough light for me to see the majority of the room I was entering. It was two-floored, with the second floor being almost like a balcony that ringed the room. It was large and rectangular, extending far back. Finally, it was filled with debris and rubble. Blown out windows let some light in, but mostly the room was dark. It was also just as empty as the previous room. Despite this, from the general layout and the pattern of debris on the ground, I managed to figure out what we were standing in. “Any ideas where we are, sir?” One asked. “A library. Everything on the side seems to have rotted away, but this was one massive library once.” “A library? In here?” “A library. Now, I’m going to keep talking. Line up by the door and spring the trap when you hear them enter.” I began walking across the room, “Nothing seems to be left. If this Hive had books, it sure as hell doesn’t have them any more. So why was I lead here…?” My hooves crunched on small glass fragments from the windows, indicating that they had been blown inwards. When I got halfway across the room, I felt another vibration in my Weave. This time, it was stronger. The stirring came from ahead of me, from a solid wall. “A secret door, eh? Good thing I’ve got a key!” I reached out with my telekinesis and ripped the entire section of the wall off around where I felt the disturbance. I was in darkness for a brief moment as I stopped casting the light spell to use levitation. Though I was only in the darkness for five seconds at most, I got the distinct feeling that I wasn’t alone. When I brought the light back, the feeling went away. ‘Hahaha, awesome! That wasn’t disturbing in the slightest. On the bright side, that should be enough noise to entice the pony into coming inside.’ Sections of the wall started to collapse as its structural integrity was literally ripped to pieces, however there was an opening beyond. It looks to be about the size of a closet, and the opening shimmered blue. A shield was enveloping the secret room I had opened up. ‘Shame I don’t have God-Splitter. So, a secret room in a library. Not going to question why it's here, considering there was a vault within a vault back at the Fourth Hive...’ I approached the shielded opening and saw that through it, a small bookshelf occupied the back wall. There were tomes, about six of them. From what I could make out through the shield, they weren’t written in Equish. I pressed a hoof against the shield but there was no response. ‘A library within a library. I’m sensing a pattern here. I really hope I’m not supposed to cut myself here to open this shield.’ “Open Sesame?” I asked quietly over my Weave. Surprisingly, the shield collapsed, letting me access the books. “Oh.” ‘So this was created by a royal, for access only for royals. Not sure why it's in a library, but maybe the contents of the books will explain that.’ I slowly lifted a book out from the shelf using my magic. When I removed the book, a spike immediately shot out from the ceiling above. Had I been inside, I would have been impaled through the withers. “What the hell?!” I yelled as I jumped back. “In a public library?!” ‘Spike traps, hidden rooms, things in the dark, Ascension, infection, missing bodies. Maybe I should get that armor and get out as soon as possible. Yeah, that… that sounds like a better plan.’ I pulled all the books off the shelves and levitated them out of the secret room. No further traps activated, so I set them down on the ground in front of me and scanned each one. Aside from what seemed like durability enchantments, I detected nothing from the books ‘Well then… that happened. Why was there a trap within a room that apparently can only be accessed by royals?’ I slowly lifted each one, inspected them, then placed them into my saddlebags. Each book had a title written in a language I had first seen in the Vault and Ascension Chamber back at the Fourth Hive. Once I got back to Manehattan, I would have to see if any changelings knew the language, and if I could learn it. Learning the hieroglyphics language would also be useful. There was a loud crash and yelling from behind me, where the changelings were waiting by the lobby. I immediately galloped over, sending pieces of rubble flying as I nearly flew through the room. The changelings had barged through the door ahead and were yelling commands. I jumped over a small pile of clutter and skidded to a stop through the doorway. The changelings had surrounded a yellow pegasus who had sat down and raised her hooves. When I arrived, the changelings quieted down and the pegasus looked me over. I took a moment myself to try to get my nerves back. This place was putting me on edge, and I was breathing heavily. “Good work everyone,” I applauded over the Weave. “Gotta admit, that scared the bajeezers outta me,” she said. “That was a good ambush. This place is really something else…” “Who are you?” I asked her. “I should ask the same thing. Who are you, and how did you open the door?’ I slowly began to pace around her. She kept her haunches parked on the ground, instead turning her head to track me as I walked. She was a yellow pegasus wearing a canvas shirt and pith helmet, and had a pleather bag strapped around one shoulder. She also had a five-tone mane and tail, something I had never seen before. Fittingly, her Cutie Mark was a compass rose. ‘Definitely one of those archeologists. Wait a second, that one Element Bearer had a similar mane. They’ve got to be related somehow...’ “Do you think you're in a position to be asking questions?” The pegasus chuckled, “I know your type. You love the sound of your own voice, so as long as I keep pestering you with questions, you’ll answer at least a few of them. Who are you, and how did you open the door?” “Take her bag,” I ordered. The changeling opposite of us pulled her bag off her shoulder. Then, he backed off and started looking through it. “Tell us your name pegasus. Refuse to answer our questions, and no one will ever find your body.” “No one, eh?” ‘Stupid pony terminology.’ “You think there’s only ponies down here? You’re a fool if you think we’re alone. Tell. Us. Your. Name. I don’t have the patience nor time for this, so unless you really do have a death wish, you might want to start being a little more cooperative.” She gave me a half-grin, “How about a trade? A name for a name. That’s how it’s always done.” “Always done? You find yourself taken prisoner in underground cities often?” “Something like that. I am Daring Do, I’m sure you’ve heard of me.” “... No.” Daring Do rolled her eyes, “You have now. You must be new to the whole temple-diving business…. If you’re even part of it. What’s your name, and how do you know so much about this place?” ‘I can’t say I’m directly related, as those statues are clearly changelings.’ “Zero.” “Zero?” She shook her head, “That’s a terrible name. Choose another.” “Choose another?” “Yeah, that one’s horseapples. Look, all the best bad guys have cool names. It’s pretty much a requirement.” ‘That was the entire point. Zero is simple and forgettable.’ “Why did you follow us here, Daring Do?” She folded her forelegs, “New name.” “What are you, twelve? Do I really need to show you just what situation you’re in?” “Nothing much in her bag, Zero. Some magical detection equipment and survival gear,” the changeling with the bag announced. “Really seems suited for exploration, not excavation or study.” “Why did you follow us, Daring Do? Why are you here?” “I’ll give you a name, then. Nil. If you must know, Nil, I am here to stop you.” “Zero.” I refrained from showing my annoyance, “Stop me? Pretty sure we got here after you, so how could you be trying to stop us when you didn’t know we were coming?” “Nil. You’re not the first to do this whole song and dance. Mysterious bad guys show up to ancient temples or ruins, mysterious bad guys rob the place and try to make off with artifacts, Daring Do shows up and stops the bad guys, saving the day. The really weird thing is the whole opening of the temple. That’s our job. How do you know about this place, and how to open it? Are you some kind of cultist?” ‘She is being forthcoming with information. I guess it’s worth my while to humor her.’ “... Ouroboros. If you really do desire a different alias, then you may call me that.” “That’s better. Ouroboros… Or should I say, King Ouroboros? Heh, that’s right, I caught that. You wouldn’t believe what ponies will let slip when their guard is down. So, King Ouroboros, how do you know so much about a mysterious temple complex that had been sealed for centuries? What is it that you intend on doing here? What exactly are you a king of? Last I checked, there’s no other pony kingdoms.” “Bind her wings and always keep her in sight, at least two of you,” I commanded nonverbally before answering her question. “Why, we’re here to loot and make off with artifacts, just as you predicted. That, and find out just what felled this ancient kingdom. It seems whatever killed them might still be around, so if I were you, I wouldn’t try to escape. Since you are complying, I suppose I should try to make sure you don’t die.” ‘Can’t split the party and send her up, so it seems we’re taking her with us.’ "Still around? Just what do you mean by that?" "I mean watch the shadows, pegasus. They're watching right back." When the drones bound up Daring Do, which she only tested the tightness and did not protest, I told them, “I found what I was looking for in the library. Let’s get back to the path.” 'Now I can add annoying adventurer to the amount of things I have to juggle right now. But better to keep her where I can have my eye on her, than let her loose in this dead city.' As we left the library and slowly walked over the rubble back to the cleared street, Daring Do mumbled quietly, "Spooky cult, dead underground city, thing in the dark that destroy civilizations... This is going to sell so well." "Sell well?" Daring smiled, "I'm on a government contract. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Why don't you focus on... whatever cultists think about. The taste of blood? Strange esoteric knowledge? Just what exactly where you looking for in the, as you called it, library of this place?" "Anything worth finding." “... You never did answer, what exactly are you a king of?” Daring asked as she casted her gaze around the ceiling of the Third Hive. “If I were you, I’d be very careful of just how many questions I ask. We can still bind your muzzle, Daring Do. Now, stop pestering me before I decide to start using you as both a shield and a trap checker.”