//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: The Dark City 
// by awf 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 7

The group settled for a late lunch in the old mess hall, which seemed appropriate and had some unbroken tables. Of course, the only reason those were still intact was because they were carved from stone, and the ponies needed to stand because the wooden benches had long since rotted away, but it still felt a lot more civilized than eating on the floor. A nice bonus was also that there didn't seem to be any ancient dead ponies in that particular room. To Rusty Bones' relief the room was lit by a few torches stuck in scones on the nearby wall, mainly because the unicorns were starting to complain about magical exhaustion. It turned out that even something as small as a ball of light was quite draining if maintained for most of the day. She actually preferred the yellow, flickering light of flames over that unnatural, bright white spell. Perhaps that was simply because she was used to primitive torches, but an added benefit she had thought up was that failing torches would warn them about the lack of oxygen. It had been a concern, but so far apparently unwarranted. There was not so much as a breath of wind in the ancient ruins, but it seemed as if some air still circulated, or they would have undoubtedly noticed the effects by that time.

"Curio, do you have any spells to warn us if there's not enough oxygen in the air?"

If the stallion was surprised by the sudden question he didn't show it. His eyes got that thousand-yard stare as he considered, then Curio nodded. "Sure. I understand what you mean. Good thinking."

"Yeah, as we go deeper in-" she began, but the professor finished her sentence.

"The diffusion from the entrance might not be enough. For what is worth, I believe the ancient ponies who built this place ensured some kind of ventilation, but you're right. Whatever system of shafts they had made might have collapsed by now."

Gustaf thought this over for a bit, then nodded. Rusty guessed he also hadn't thought of the problem, but now he was satisfied with their solution to it.

"What will happen to us if there's not enough oxygen?" Ember Clover asked.

"Tiredness, yawning, those are the first symptoms, so be on the lookout. Then headache, confusion, dizziness, then unconsciousness," Rusty explained, but didn't finish with the last bit: death, but Rusty felt they all understood it. There was a moment of silence and then Winter Shine resumed eating. It was just dried rations and melted ice, but after a whole day of exploring it felt like a feast.

Curio went back to his report: "Anyhow, the officers' records are interesting, but they are mostly just lists of names, supplies, training schedules, things like that. It did give us one very useful bit of information."

"Oh? What's that?" Rusty asked.

Curio flashed a triumphant grin at the group as he answered: "The date when this place was abandoned!"

The two students just nodded quietly and Rusty guessed they must have heard this before, but she and Gustaf looked at one another in surprise. "How?!" the griffin beat her to the question.

"Simple! The officers' records stop on that date."

"Yeah, okay, but are you sure? Maybe you're missing the last few pages of records or something," the mare pointed out.

Even before she had finished her objection Curio was already shaking his head and he looked ready to burst with excitement as he answered: "I know for certain, because the record stops mid-sentence and there is a blot of ink, as if the pony writing it had been interrupted!"

"Oh. Wow. That's amazing," Rusty said, both excited and slightly dumbfounded. "So, what's the date?"

"I'll have to double check with the records in Canterlot Library, but if they used the common pre-Grogar calendar, it was April twenty-second, eight hundred sixty-three years before Nightmare Moon. That would make it approximately nineteen centuries ago!"

Winter Shine was practically bouncing on her seat and she hurriedly added: "Which matches the magical dating on the most recent items and the bones!"

It confirmed some of their theories and Rusty found herself sharing that excited grin with the other mare. The rush of discovery made her start pacing around the table and she began talking on automatic. "That's incredible! Okay, okay, next step is to place an upper bound on when this place was established. Any ideas so far? Blast, probably not from the weapons and armor, those must have been replaced frequently. They probably also didn't keep military records for more than a couple of years back."

"Correct," Curio confirmed. "The weapons we were able to date at most fifty years before the Event."

Gustaf raised a claw. "The Event?"

Ember rushed ahead to answer the griffin: "That's what we're calling whatever happened to wipe them out. Until we know more details, at least."

"Okay, do you need more time to search through the mess hall and the kitchens, or do we want to push further today?" Rusty asked.

"Push further!" Winter Shine said, but the others didn't immediately agree.

The Professor rubbed at his chin with a hoof. "As tempting as that sounds, Winter, we should finish the preliminary survey of the bodies and objects before we rush forward, or we'll just make a mess of things. You and Ember catalogue the rest of the barracks and I'll get started on the kitchens. We'll push forward tomorrow."

It wasn't what the students wanted to hear and their ears splayed in dismay, but they both nodded and chorused: "Yes, sir."

Hearing him mention the kitchen, Rusty asked: "Anything unusual in the kitchens?"

Ember Clover spoke up before the Professor had finished thinking. "A lot of bones. It's not a happy place."

Curio shook his head in bemusement and explained in more detail: "Yes, I believe the kitchen staff barricaded themselves in the kitchen. The door has rotted and fallen off its hinges by now, but I think it had been bolted originally.

Rusty Bones gulped and her ears pinned back at the unwelcome thought. "Uh, do you think they were trapped in there for a long period? Did- um, did they die of starvation, or what?"

Both Ember and Winter Shine's ears folded down and they looked at the Professor for the answer. "It really isn't obvious, one way or the other. We just have the fact that they never went out."

The answer and the uncertainty made Rusty shudder. She could almost imagine a group of ponies, scared and desperate, lingering in that kitchen until their supplies ran out or rotted. Had it been something physical keeping them trapped, or just their fear? It would explain something of what had happened, but it would likely need detailed magical forensics to get the answer. She forced her mind off the mental image. "Well, we'll know eventually. Do what you can right now, then it'll be time for bed. We've got a lot of walking tomorrow."

"Will we go back to sleep in that tiny office again?" Winter Shine asked as they begun packing up what was left of their lunch.

Rusty leaned her head to one side in thought, then shrugged. "I guess... not? Okay, me and Gustaf will go get our gear and bring it here. We can sleep in the mess hall, since there doesn't seem to be any corpses in here."

"Need a hoof with that?" Ember Clover offered suddenly.

Rusty glanced at Curio, who gave a small shrug.

"Sure, if you like. It's just carrying stuff, but it's always nice to stretch your legs a little."

The group split up without much ceremony and Rusty grabbed two of the three torches as they headed back. Gustaf accepted one without her having to prompt him.

"So, question," Ember Clover said from behind the griffin as they made their way back to the grand hall, "why aren't we using battery lanterns? You specifically said we don't need them in your letter, Miss Bones."

"Mostly because they don't last nearly long enough for how heavy they are," she explained. "Like, for example, a box of tar and some cloth will keep you in torchlight for a couple of days, but the same amount of batteries will last what, maybe eight hours?"

"Yes, that's what I found too," Gustaf confirmed. "If you're near a store and can go buy new batteries that's fine, but out here? Torches are better."

The stallion was quiet for a bit, then went on: "Okay, but what about those magical, unicorn-powered batteries?"

"Magical what now?" Rusty twirled to look at the stallion.

"They're new, but it's like batteries, except a simple spell will fill them back up. Any unicorn can charge them up in a minute or two."

Rusty caught Gustaf's disbelieving stare and knew she had a similar one. Had she really lost touch with modern technology so much? Then again, she hardly ever adventured with unicorns. "They have that?"

Ember pushed his way forward so he was walking between her and the griffin, and he smiled. "They're a bit expensive, but you don't have to buy batteries ever again."

"Do you have any with you?!"

Once again the stallion nodded. "I know Winter Shine brought a couple and I have one too. We- uh, we didn't want to bring them today in case you had some reason you didn't want them, and I guess Professor forgot to ask you about it."

"What kind of a reason?" Gustaf asked curiously.

"Dunno, we figured maybe since they are magical batteries they might trigger some kind of magical traps?"

It was a very good thought, and something Rusty herself was wondering about. It reminded her of something she had forgotten to ask Curio. "By the way, any unicorns among the bodies you checked out?"

This time Ember Clover shook his head. "Strangely, no. So far they were all earth ponies. The Professor is starting to think this was an entirely earth pony city."

"That is strange. What about the military records?"

"Same thing," Ember said, "all earth ponies. I mean, it wasn't unusual in those times for tribes to segregate like this."

"You're right, it wasn't. There was that whole Wendigo thing, after all," she noted. That laid one of her worries to rest and Rusty got a bit more bounce in her step. "In that case, we probably don't need to worry about magical traps, so that's a relief. I think we can use these new lanterns, although I have enough stuff for torches to last us a couple of weeks."

They walked in silence for a while, with the mare leading the way mostly by memory. She and Gustaf had explored these tunnels and they both knew the shortest way back to their camp.

"So," Ember Clover piped up after a few minutes, "how long until we reach the bottom of this place? Professor says that's what he's most interested in. That group who made our map didn't go all the way down, it looks like, and he's wondering what's down there."

"I don't know. I mean, the ruins are probably really big. This was an entire city, after all. If we made a beeline for the bottom, I guess we could reach it in three or four days of hiking, but we'd have to sleep down there." It wasn't something Rusty was fond of thinking, but perhaps their small group was in over their heads. She sighed and lowered her ears. "We'll have to pick a few things to explore, then hoof it back to Ice Floe and call in more help. This is a project for whole teams of archaeologists."

Gustaf laid a gentle claw on her back. "Maybe so, but you'll be the one who discovered it, remember that."

His words cheered her up and Ember Clover sidestepped to give the bird a full-body nuzzle. "Thanks, Gustaf. That was nice of you to say," he thanked the griffin in her name.

"What, it's just the truth!" Gustaf protested, but he kept his eyes on the opposite wall.

"Alright, left here, then we'll be at the grand hall. We pick up all our stuff and head back to the mess hall. We'll camp there tonight and discuss what to do tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Ember Clover said. The new corridor wasn't wide enough for three of them, at least not if they didn't want to bump into ancient furniture, so the stallion fell back to walk behind the griffin.

"Anyway, I think we should go to the bottom of the ruins. The ponies who built this place would put their most valuable treasures down there, as far away from the surface as possible," Ember Clover suggested.

"That makes sense," Rusty confirmed, having had the same thought herself. "Maybe that's what we'll do. Hike down, catalogue any interesting rooms, see what's at the bottom, then return slowly and check out what we marked, and that'll be it for this trip." She fell silent as they stepped into the large, echo-ey room and so did her companions. Perhaps, Rusty thought, they didn't have to call for help or publish their findings just yet.

It would depend on what Curio wanted to do, but maybe he would agree to the plan she was formulating. They could retreat to Ice Floe, rest for a bit, restock, and mount another expedition right away. For some reason she wanted to at least poke her nose into every single room in the ruin before letting other ponies come there. Maybe the academics would agree with her.





Before long the four ponies and one griffin were gathered in the now-familiar mess hall, where they were camped around a softly glowing unicorn-powered lamp. It wasn't quite as homey as a torch, Rusty thought, but it was more diffuse than the harsh glare the unicorns produced directly. Off to one side Winter Shine and Curio Trinket were going over some notes and quietly murmuring to each other while Rusty and Gustaf discussed the possible designs for traps they might see the next day. Ember Clover had looked undecided which group he would like to join, but in the end he went and sat himself on his sleeping bag near the griffin.

"This one says 'darts', but it's crossed out and 'empty' written next to it," Rusty explained. She had to compare the map with her own notes where she had the translations. She had memorized the few markings around the entrance, but not the whole thing.

"That's a relief, but we should still be careful," Gustaf said.

"Agreed. Then there's the usual, trap doors, secret passage, snake pit, yada yada yada, then here- 'falling blocks'. We really don't want to trip that one, or it might block off part of the city."

"You think there's only one way to get to that section?" Gustaf asked.

"Could be. If it was important enough for such a drastic trap."

"I see."

The mare traced the path they would take and memorized the turns and stairways. It went pretty deep, but still nowhere near to where they wanted to go. Curio Trinket had agreed with her that they should hasten to the bottom of the ruin. That's where the most interesting stuff would be hidden. "Okay, we'll take all our gear and we'll keep an eye out for a good place to camp. We'll keep going until we're tired. It doesn't matter if it's day or night down here, after all."

Her two friends seemed to agree and Rusty had no doubt Curio would be all too eager to delve into the mysteries of the place. Their course was decided and she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. The rest of her companions fell silent and she listened to the deafening silence of the ruins. It must have been a lively and interesting place back when it was full of ponies, but now it felt like a grave.

For some it was literally a grave, she remembered. All those bones in the barracks.

"Huh?" Ember Clover suddenly grunted.

"What is it?"

"Say again? I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, 'what is it'."

The stallion shook his head. "No, before that."

Rusty had to think back, but she remembered the gist. "I said it doesn't matter if it's day or night down here."

Once again Ember Clover corrected: "Not that far back. Just now, you murmured something to me."

"I didn't."

He blinked at her in confusion, then poked at his ear with a hoof. "I was sure I heard you say something about ponies."

Surely he couldn't have read her thoughts, could he? Pegasi didn't read thoughts. Unicorns, maybe, although Rusty had never heard such a thing.

"I didn't hear anything," Gustaf pointed out. The three looked at one another, then the griffin pointed. "Maybe it was them and the echo made it sound like it came from Rusty Bones?"

The Professor and Winter Shine had their heads together and were whispering something. That had probably been it, Rusty thought, and relaxed once again. Ember Clover seemed to agree, but he drew a little nearer to Gustaf. "I don't mind telling you," the stallion muttered quietly, "this place gives me the creeps sometimes."

"Because of all the bodies?" Rusty guessed.

"No, it's not that. It's like- do you ever feel like somepony is watching you from the shadows?"

Despite her conscious effort Rusty's ears folded down at the thought. She hadn't thought about anything like that, but now she couldn't help it. "Well, I didn't use to!"

"Sorry."

She sighed. "It's fine. It's not a natural place for ponies. Us earth ponies like good, solid ground under our hooves and sun on our backs. I guess pegasi are similar with open skies?"

Ember Clover nodded emphatically. "Sure do. It feels weird having the ceiling this close."

"Yep," Gustaf agreed.

"Should we go out so you two can stretch your wings before we head deeper tomorrow? We're still pretty near the surface," the mare proposed.

The two looked at one another, then Ember shrugged. "I'm okay. You?"

"Same."

That would save them some time, but Rusty wouldn't have minded seeing the sky and the sun, or possibly the stars before descending into the depths. "Well, I guess we better get some sleep," she announced when she saw Curio and Winter Shine split apart and head for their respective sleeping bags. She was already sitting on hers so it was just a matter of lying down and wrapping herself up in cloth. Ember Clover did the same, but Gustaf had to unpack his still. As he was doing that the stallion grinned and patted the ground next to him.

"Here, I saved you a spot," he whispered. "In case it gets cold, we can, uh, share warmth, right?"

It was a stupid thing to say and they all knew it, but Rusty still grinned to herself where nopony could see. The excitement of discovery had distracted the pegasus for a bit, but now he was apparently back.

Gustaf shrugged and set his sleeping cot down a short distance away. "Uh, I'm fine over here. If you get cold I can loan you a blanket."

That made Ember Clover sit up, eyes gleaming in delight. "Would you?! I mean, if it's not too much trouble..."

The response was surprising enough that it made Gustaf pause, and he wordlessly held out the piece of cloth in his claw. Ember grabbed it before the griffin could change his mind and wrapped himself up in it.

"Uh... what just happened?" Gustaf whispered to Rusty Bones.

She didn't answer as Ember Clover heaved a comfortable sigh. "I like your cologne, Gustaf," he said. "Your blanket smells nice."

This just made the poor bird more confused. "B-But I'm not using cologne..."

He got a slightly suggestive wink from the pegasus. "I know."

That was too much and Rusty Bones chuckled a little. "Sorry. Sorry. It's just... cute. I didn't mean to laugh."

"Cute?!" poor Gustaf almost squawked. "Bah. I don't get paid enough for this," he grumbled and laid down so he was facing away. He tried to sound annoyed, but Rusty knew he didn't really mean it and obviously so did Ember Clover, because the stallion chuckled.

"Enough, you two. We really need to sleep. Ember, since you're still up, turn the lights off."

He did as instructed and the room was plunged into darkness. Rusty listened to the noises as the group settled down and pretty soon she heard their regular breathing.

"What?" Ember whispered a few minutes later.

"What is it?" Rusty asked.

"You said something."

"No I didn't."

There was silence, then Ember continued in a hesitant tone: "Uh, G-Gustaf?"

"No. I didn't hear anything."

"Me neither," Rusty confirmed.

Suddenly Rusty Bones was worried. Was her companion starting to hear things? Could he be losing touch with reality this quickly? "Ember, you feeling okay?"

"I just thought I heard something," the stallion explained, but that didn't exactly improve his case. Rusty decided she would keep a closer eye on him, just in case.

All was silence again, except for the soft breathing of ponies and griffin. The mare felt her eyes starting to close. Things would look better in the morning. Except they wouldn't. They were already in perpetual darkness and they were about to go deeper. This was a tomb, full of ancient corpses. Were there ghosts? Did she even believe in ghosts? Perhaps in a place like that a pony might start to believe in ghosts. She sighed and turned to her other side. Despite the nameless, lingering worry, they had had a busy day and the mare found herself drifting off. Her thoughts became unfocused and jumbled together as she drifted off. A quiet, gentle wind ruffled the fur on her muzzle and brought a smell of ancient dust. She smiled to herself. Soon the secrets of this place would be hers.

With that thought Rusty Bones fell asleep. The last thing she was aware of was a faint echo of a single drop of water, somewhere in the depths below them. Probably an aqueduct or a well, she thought to herself.