//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Enter the Spider... or Whatever I Am's Web // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 6 ___________________________________________________________ “A bit lower, Miranda,” the Earth Pony stallion calls out. “You got it, Hard Hat,” I call back, easing my grip on the web rope in my hands, lowering a slab of purple marble until it’s sitting gently atop a pile of slabs. It’s been just under three months since Applejack and I retrieved Rockhoof’s shovel from the dig site of the home of the Mighty Helm. Twilight has stored the shovel in a special chest in her castle, with multiple wards to prevent anyone taking it without permission. Like me, she’d been wary once she learned something else had been after a relic of an important figure that no one should have known the location of. After all, we didn’t even know it existed until the Map told us to go get it. I’m helping with construction of a new school that Twilight’s planning on starting here in Ponyville. The School of Friendship. When I asked what the point was teaching friendship solely to ponies, since they mostly have the concept completely figured out, she informed me she’s actually planning on all creatures being allowed to attend, though will be starting small, just five non pony students, though she hasn’t said who or what they’ll be. The school itself won’t be open for quite a while, but it should happen. If we all work really hard, construction should be finished before autumn. Things have been interesting, both in Ponyville and Canterlot. Spike had Dragon Lord Ember visit, along with Thorax and, after several misunderstandings and miscommunications, not only had things gone well with the visit, but Ember and Thorax became good friends, each able to help the other with understanding how to be better rulers, which Thorax really needed the help with, as his brother and several other Changelings hadn’t been willing to change, wanting to keep things as they’d been under their former queen. Starlight and Trixie had apparently helped solve the problem with his brother, Pharynx, after he became the lone ling left who refused to change, though only because he hadn’t understood that he didn’t have to change who he was to be welcome in the new Changeling Kingdom. Granted, that did have the kind contradictive effect of him changing into a new form to match his fellow Changelings, but you get the idea. Not only that, but I met Applejack, Big Mac and Apple Bloom’s grandfather. On their mother’s side. His name’s Grand Pear… and, for reasons I cannot fathom, he sounds like William Shatner. Apparently he’d moved away from Ponyville shortly after his daughter had married Granny Smith’s son, Bright Mac, due to a feud going on between the Pear Family and Apple Family and him being too focused on that to accept his daughter wanting to be happy, nor that, by her marrying into the Apple Family, the Apple and Pear families were on in the same and him only recently having seen the light and wanting to meet his grandchildren. A shame he learned to put the feud behind him too late to reunite with his daughter. Everyone knows the Apple parents have been dead since before Twilight came to Ponyville. Rainbow, Rarity and AJ just got back yesterday from a camping trip, where they’d apparently run into a flock of something called Fliders, a horrific sounding amalgamation of spiders and flies. They’d been putting off the trip for a few months due to an accident regarding Rarity’s mane. She bounced back from losing most of her mane, it resulting in her taking on a new Punk Rarity look for a while, which I personally think she should’ve kept, but it’s her choice how she looks. Apple Bloom told me how they’d shared stories of three ponies on the trip, one of them being Rockhoof. The other two were also, interestingly, ponies from history I’d learned about not to long after AJ and I returned with the shovel. Mistmane and Flash Magnus and, yes, I did actually ask Cadance if there might be a blood relationship between him and Flash Sentry, though, apparently names, being stallions and pegasi were the only things those two had in common. Mistmane and Flash Magnus were friends with Rockhoof, along with three other ponies, being Mage Meadowbrook, whom Starlight had lied about the Staff of Sameness belonging two back in season five, a Pegasus mare named Somnabula whom is the Equestrian version of Egyptian and Star Swirl the Bearded himself. The six were part of a group called The Pillars of Light, kind of the precursors to the Bearers of the Elements, I guess. Of course, I haven’t had a chance to do much research beyond that, as I’ve been helping with the construction of the School of Friendship a lot. I do intend to learn more about Meadowbrook and Somnabula when I get the chance. It’s actually kind of funnily fitting that the girls told stories about those ponies on their camping trip. A couple weeks ago, Rarity had been sent by the Map on a mission to retrieve a relic of Mistmane’s… though it was an even odder relic than Rockhoof’s shovel. Mistmane’s relic is a flower. A flow that is still blooming after over a thousand years. Whatever magic is keeping that thing alive, it’s gotta be potent to keep it fresh for longer than Luna was stuck in the moon. Apparently she’d found the flower with a descendant of Mistmane’s best friend from their youth and she’d given Rarity the flower after Rarity helped the mare fix a garden that had been in her family for generations, but had become overrun with weeds and the like over the centuries. The flower is with the shovel, though in a positon where it can get plenty of sun and water, Rarity going over to the castle to water it daily when there’s no rain scheduled. Blueblood has been taking an interest in Ponyville, making occasional visits, especially whenever I’m working. He’s actually been trying to reacquaint with Rarity… which did not go well at first, understandably. Rarity wanted nothing to do with the prince at first, it not having reached her that, while she and the rest of the Mane 6 were gone during the Storm King event, he’d been the one making sure Canterlot kept running and why it was better prepared to fight the Storm King when he arrived. It took me getting the two to sit down and talk for her to actually listen. It helped when Blueblood explained his actions at the Gala and Rarity blushing as she realized, she’d kind of asked for that treatment with how she’d been gold-digging while thinking she was doing the opposite. It helped that she’d still been in her Punk Rarity style at the time and he’d complimented her on it. Now, the two at least talk to each other. I don’t see anything resembling romance forming anytime soon, but talking at least is better than nothing. I spit out a new threat of webbing and start pulling to lift several girders up to a platform, while simultaneously carrying a large create of bricks over my head with both hands, when I get a familiar tingling all over my body. I finishing moving my current loads and inform Hard Hat. Twilight had briefed him about what being summoned by the Map could mean and that I’d been summoned once before, so he understood and left me clock off early. I head over to Twilight’s castle to find Pinkie Pie and a very anxious and irate Rainbow Dash there too, both their Cutie Marks glowing. “Can’t the Map wait?!” Dash is asking as I enter. “A.K. Yearing needs our help now!” “Rainbow, I’m not happy to hear A.K. Yearing’s planning on retiring either, but I’m certain this is a more pressing matter,” Twilight states, noticing me and waving me over, indicating to the Map. Like with Rockhoof’s shovel and Mistmane’s flower, there’s a light over a specific location in Equestria, an Egyptian looking place… though now I’m wondering if the Map is just trolling us now. First the time it wanted us to retrieve was a shovel, then a flower and now… “A blindfold? Seriously?” I look to Twilight, giving her an “is this a joke?” expression. “I… don’t understand it myself,” she sounds as annoyed as I am. “But, for now, we need to find out what’s so important about that blindfold. So, the three of you are off to Somnambula.” I blink, making an effort to clear out my ear. “I’m sorry, Twilight. Can you repeat that? I must have misheard you because it sounded like you said you want us to go to a dead pony.” I blanch. “Oh, please tell me we aren’t going to have to go into a tomb to take a blindfold off a corpse?” I swear, if that’s what the Map has planned for us, I’m going to break it in two with my bare hands. Twilight looks very confused. “No… You’re going to the town of Somnambula, named after the mare herself.” My face goes blank. Oh. That would make more sense. ___________________________________________________________ I am now worried for how this mission could go. Despite Twilight telling us the mission was more important, Dash insisted we go see Daring Do first. Oddly enough, though, we might be able to kill to bird with one stone. The reason Daring Do is retiring is because, here in Somnambula, the ponies apparently really don’t like her because of all the damaged caused during her latest adventures in Southern Equestria, her most recent one being in Somnambula itself… though that is also where my concerns started. Apparently she’d been trying to save something called the Sister Crown Relics that, if separated, would’ve cursed the region with eternal night and Somnambula would’ve sunk into the ground. … Yeah, minus the “sinking into the ground” part, that sounds an awful lot like what happened with Nightmare Moon and the fact the Sister Crown Relics are a pair of crowns, like day and night? I might have to get Twilight to look into this and ask the princesses about it too. There’s no way that’s just a coincidence. Though that’s not the main issue right now… nor is our Friendship Mission to retrieve the blindfold, apparently. Dash is determined to help Daring Do clear her name… not that I see that being easy. Several ponies we’ve encountered have had very poor things to say about the mare and their grievances sound pretty plausible. Well, all except for one. We first came across him when we (well, Dash) started asking around to prove ponies saw Daring as a hero for saving them from the curse. After an elderly stallion with a similar build to Grand Pear, and who’s apple themed Cutie Mark makes me think he’s a distant Southern Equestrian relative of the family, told us Daring had destroyed his apple cart, a stallion in a hooded cloak had called Daring a menace who destroys all she touches. This had caused Daring to run off and, while trying to find her, we stumbled upon an inn Dash recognized from one of Daring’s books. While there, the owner of the inn had talked about how, not only had Daring not paid the last time she stayed there, but a bunch of “ruffians” as the mare called them, had trashed the place looking for Daring. However, she’d also told us something that, while everything else has sounded reasonable, this one has to be false. She claimed that, apparently, Daring has been going around stealing gemstones called glowpaz, her even pointing to the pony we met earlier who’d called Daring a menace, saying he said Daring had stolen his glowpaz just yesterday… which immediately made me suspicious. Daring had told us she had returned from Somnambula several days ago, the stories she’d had newspaper clippings of confirming her story. So, there’s no way Daring could’ve stolen that guy’s glowpaz yesterday, not only because Daring isn’t some common thief, but she wasn’t even in Somnambula yesterday. You can’t have stolen something from someone if you and that someone never interacted to begin with. The three of us start following him, myself very intent on asking him how Daring could’ve stolen something from him yesterday when she wasn’t anywhere near Somnumbla yesterday, when we find A.K. sitting at a table, looking extremely sad. We go over to her and watch as the stallion she’d supposedly stolen from stands on a stage clearly meant for in house entertainment and addresses all the ponies gathered. “Daring Do ruined our town and stole our precious glowpaz!” he called out. “We need to make sure, that if she ever shows up again, they will be consequences! Everypony that’s with me, meet at the statue tomorrow.” Daring sighs. “Now I’m getting blamed for things I didn’t even do? Why would I steal from them?” “Or how?” I nod. “You weren’t even here yesterday, when that guy claims you stole from him. I don’t know why he’s lying, but we should find out.” I sigh. “Though, we’ll have to wait til tomorrow. I highly doubt these ponies are going to want to listen to reason this late at night. Better to wait til morning, when everypony’s well rested and more level headed.” I glare at the cloaked stallion. I’m keeping my eye on him though. ___________________________________________________________ “Here it is!” the cloaked stallion says as he stands in front of the remains of a crumbled statue the elderly Apple stallion had pointed us to yesterday. “The remains of your— I mean our Somnambula statue!” My eyes narrow. Your? And when he corrected himself there, he put a heavy emphasis on our, almost like he hoped no one would notice. Now I’m even more suspicious. I have the sneaking hunch this guy isn’t a member of the town. Of course, as I should’ve figured, Dash, while trying to help matters, doesn’t. After another pony claims Daring stole their glowpaz, Dash flies to the front of the crowd to convince them Daring didn’t steal from them at all and how Daring actually saved them all by stopping Ahuizotl from destroying their whole town and it starts to work, I even notice the cloaked stallion seeming nervous, suggesting further that he’s been lying about Daring stealing from him and others… but she then flubs it by referring to the statue as crummy and old when trying to explain how losing just the statue is better than the whole town being swallowed up. This immediately turns the ponies against her again, the elderly Apple stallion telling a story about Somnambula and I actually pay a lot of attention to it. The reason Somnambula was a Pillar of Light is because, when a Sphinx that had been tormenting the town had ponynapped their prince, Somnambula had gone into the Sphinx’s temple to save him, the Sphinx saying she’d let the prince go if Somnambula solved a riddle and, while wearing a blindfold I recognize the description of to be the one we’re looking for, walk across a rope bridge to retrieve the prince. If she’d fallen, she’d have perished due to there being a spell on the temple that prevents flight without its wall and a drop with an unknown depth below. She’d managed to succeed and the Sphinx left in a rage, with the prince rewarding the brave mare with a necklace of glowpaz for not losing hope and that’s why the gems are so precious to the town. Dash, upon apologizing for not realizing how important the statue was, then compares Daring to Somnambula and tells the town how, if Somnambula were still around, she’d say Daring was a good pony too, since they both worked hard to save the town. At first, it looks like it’s working. The townsponies are amongst themselves, seeming to be coming around to the idea of Daring not being so bad a pony. Good. Sooner we get this over with, the sooner Dash, Pinkie and I can try retrieving the blindfold. Maybe it’s in the Spinx’s old temple? “If Somnambula were here, she would condemn Daring do for destroy your— our symbol of hope!” Or, we could still have to deal with this. I rub my temples. Did nopony notice him flub that? It was so freaking obvious he’d said “your” and then corrected himself. This guy clearly isn’t part of the town and working some kind of angle here, yet nopony seems to see it. Daring just runs off, clearly too heartbroken to put up with this anymore. The crowd quickly disperses, myself and Dash going to confront the stallion, the Pegasus demanding to know what Daring could possibly have done to make him slander her the way he has. He decides to reveal himself and I find myself annoyed I hadn’t put the pieces together from the voice alone that it’s actually Caballeron, one of Daring’s enemies. Then again, he only appeared in those two episodes and I didn’t think he would be around here since Daring had recently dealt with both Ahuizotl and the Wild Bunch Gang. Though, when you watch as much TV as I used to, where it was a villain of the week format most of the time, so villains normally didn’t interfere in episodes another villain was in, I suppose that’s just the mindset you go with and you forget how villains can be in episodes they’re not the main feature of. After he thanks Dash for unintentionally giving him the perfect opportunity to destroy Daring Do’s reputation along with her spirit (though, since he doesn’t know she’s A.K. Yearling, I guess he just assumed she was nearby), he makes it clear he’s not going to let us go so we can foil his plans. When his cronies move in to take us, I throw a fist, clocking one of them in the jaw, sending him flying back several feet. Dash and I keep up the fight, before Caballeron uses my being distracted by his cronies to throws sand in my eyes, blinding me. I keep waving my arms around, my show of strength earlier clearly being enough to ward them off, even if I can’t see them. They can’t capture me if they can’t get to me, after all. “Help!” Dash’s voice calls, but I can’t see where... though I don’t need to see to know when Pinkie shoots past me, clearly running after the Pegasus. “Miranda, are you okay?” Daring’s voice asks and I feel a hoof take my hand. “Yeah,” I say, wincing from the sand in my eyes. “Can’t see is all.” “Here,” she says and I feel cool water trickling over my eyes. I try to open them and then rub my eyes as best I can. Once my vision’s cleared, Daring changes out of her A.K. clothes and we hurry to catch up with Pinkie We eventually find a pyramid that is clearly the same one from the story we heard in the town. We hear Dash’s cries for help as we run in, eventually coming to a large open chamber, Dash tied up on a platform with no way of getting to it without flying. “Miranda? Pinkie Pie? Daring Do? Is that you?” Dash calls quickly in a panic, clearly scared due to not being able to see anything. “Don’t worry, Rainbow,” Pinkie calls. “We’ll rescue you.” The moment she says this, the platform Dash is on shakes and start to sink into what looks like boiling green slime. A cruel laugh from above makes us glance up to see Caballeron looking down at us from the opening in the pyramid’s room. “If my previous plan didn’t cause you to give up, Daring Do, then the shame of losing your friend, Rainbow Dash, to the slime, will,” he sneers down at us. “Oh, and that ancient magic from the legend? It’s real. There’ll be no flying in the pyramid! Good luck, Daring Do!” He gives that signature evil villain laugh as he leaves... the roof somehow closing behind him? What? Daring immediately starts trying to open her wings, but it seems the spell is preventing her from doing so… which is odd. Not allowing them to fly, I get, but stopping wings from even moving? For pegasi, that’s like a human being unable to lift their arms in a room that prevents you from using your hands. “He’s right,” she says, her tone worried. “We’ll never get to her in time.” Pinkie laughs. “Don’t give up hope yet. We can still get over there, no problem.” “How?” Daring looks at her frantically. “I’m the only one of us with wings and, even if you did, nopony can fly in here.” Pinkie grins. “Good thing there’s more than ponies here. We’ve got a secret weapon Caballeron is clueless about.” I smirk. “Me.” I know exactly what she’s talking about. I thought of it the moment Caballeron bragged about no flying in the temple as if that meant there was no way to reach Dash at all. “Who needs flight,” I take several steps back, then do a run up, leap into the air and fire a web from my mouth at the highest point I can, swinging on the rob and cut it off as I land on the platform, detaching the web from my mouth, “when you can web it?” “Who’s there?” Dash asks anxiously. “Just me, Dash,” I say, quickly untying the ropes and removing her blindfold… before glancing around. Something feels… strange. Like, similar to when AJ and I first found… I glance down into the rising slime, frowning as I scan my eyes over the area, before I feel my eyes fixate on one specific point, as if I can feel something calling to me. I fire a web straight into the slime. “What’re you doing?!” Dash and Daring yell out once. I wait, feeling the web being pulled further and further, until I can tell something caught on it. Grabbing the other web line hanging next to me, I get Dash to put her forelegs around my neck and we swing across, myself holding on tightly to the one still in my mouth. Once we’re on the other side, Pinkie cheers, hugging Dash, before rushing over to me and starts helping me pull. We pull and pull, Dash and Daring joining in. After about a minute, we feel the cord yank suddenly and we tumble back as something come out with the end of the web, slopping against Pinkie’s face. At once, the slime drains out of the area below, like water down a bathtub. “Looks like this blindfold was blocking the drain,” Pinkie holds it out in her hooves, where it suddenly starts glowing with a golden light. “Somnambula’s Blindfold!” Dash, Daring and I exclaim. Pinkie blinks. “Oh, yeah. We did come for this, didn’t we?” She giggles, bouncing in place. “I knew we could do it!” “Thanks for reminding me never to give up hope, Pinkie,” Daring smiles to her, then looks to me. “Though, to be fair, I certainly never expected that. What even are you, Miranda?” I smirk. “That’s a long story.” “Uh, we can talk later,” Dash indicates to the entrance. “Right now we gotta stop Caballeron before he gets away with the town’s glowpaz!” “Just make sure he doesn’t see the blindfold, Pinkie,” I warn the pink mare as we hurry to get out of the temple. “Last thing we want is to let Caballeron know we’ve a priceless ancient Equestrian artefact.”