//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: A.L.I.S 
// by Undead Equestrian Writer 
//------------------------------//

Twilight walked through the dense undergrowth of the Everfree Forest, following the small group of archeologists to their dig site. It was early in the morning when the group of six archeologists barged into her castle, frantically talking about a tomb they found buried in the Everfree that they wanted Twilight to look at. They said the door, to what they assumed was a tomb, had writing in letters they had never seen before, which was why they wanted Twilight, to make sure they weren't about to dig up some ancient tomb to some ruler who was buried and sealed in his tomb.
Twilight glanced over to Spike and Starlight, who she had brought along in case the 'tomb' was a significant discovery and needed their help studying it. She brought Starlight along in hopes that she could read the language written on the tomb, assuming it wouldn't be typical Equestrian writing. Spike was brought along so she could quickly send messages to Celestia, Luna, and the rest of her friends.
"We're almost there, Twilight," one of the archeologists called back to her. The one who had called back to her was the group's informal leader, Stone Chip. From what Twilight knew, he wasn't an archeologist but was a hippologist, and was brought along to help determine what artifacts were dug, and to help date them to specific periods, but even Stone had no clue what the tomb was they found. He said he didn't believe it to be a tomb, as the design and material were not used in any period in recorded history.
After a couple more minutes of walking through the forest's underbrush and sweltering heat, they entered a large clearing with several tents, tables, and crates around a large hole. The hole was a large square dug into the soil, each side around 20 to 25 feet, and about 10 feet deep, with several levels of dirt with ladders descending into the pit. In the deepest part of the hole, was a large circle cut into what appeared to be marble. Twilight stood at the edge of the pit, with Starlight and Spike to either side of her.
"Down there is what we assumed was a tomb," Stone pointed to the circle that was cut into the stone. "It's a door, as I tried to open before we left to get you, although I couldn't open it too far."
"I thought you said the material is unlike anything used in recorded history, we've been using marble for centuries?" Starlight asked, confused as she glanced over at Stone.
"I thought it was marble at first too, but when I touched it, it felt too smooth, almost like the iron we use for our modern train tracks, except after trying to stick a magnet to the door, it didn't stick to the door," Stone explained. "I assume the material is some type of metal, but not one that I can determine without some form of test."
"It's not steel either, then, since steel is also magnetic, so metallic, but not magnetic," Twilight spoke softly under her breath, before jumping down into the pit, using her wings to slow her fall as she landed next to the door, tapping the metal with her hoof, as the soft metallic ding echoed back at her. Starlight flashed into being before her, the soft smell of magical residue blowing past Twilight.
"Well, definitely not a language I've studied, although it looks relatively similar to the written script of the Minotaur language, similar characters and all," Starlight spoke softly as she began sketching the letters into the notebook, as Spike finally got down to them, slightly winded.
"Minotaur? Fluttershy knows a bit of Minotaur, back when she took assertiveness courses from that one Minotaur guy a few years back," Spike offered, as Starlight looked over at him, before writing a little more into the notebook and ripping out the page and giving it to Spike, who quickly burned the paper up, and the ashes flew up and over the trees of the Everfree Forest.
Twilight wandered around the edge of the door, looking for a handle to open the door. She stopped after the third trip around the door, having found no handle or visible hinges. With a slight frown, Twilight's horn lit and the door slowly became illuminated in her magical glow, the loud creaking of the hinges swinging open and the grinding of metal on metal echoed out, causing birds to fly out from their perches in the nearby trees. The door lifted, and then out, as gross stale air rushed out of the tomb, making Spike and Starlight cover their noses. When the door crossed the halfway mark, it quickly fell backward with a bang, as it came to rest and left a large hole in the ground, about 3 feet across. On the wall was a ladder heading down, and more Minotaurianesque script on several signs that had been eaten away by rust.
"Well then, that is interesting," Starlight quipped as she looked down the hole, into the darkness at the bottom. "Should we wait for Fluttershy to get back to us, or just risk it?"
"We wait for Fluttershy, I don't want to accidentally intrude on a Minotaurian tomb," Twilight spoke, as she walked near to a side of the pit, as the archeologists looked down at the hole that Twilight opened with both intrigue and fear.





Twilight was shaken awake by Spike, as he handed her a scroll with a wax seal of Fluttershy's cutie mark. Twilight took the scroll and rubbed Spike's head, before breaking the wax seal and unrolling the scroll.
'Dear, Starlight
The Script you have sent me is not Minotaurian or any other script that shares the Minotaurian alphabet, however, the symbols that are used are very similar to Minotaurian, with a few differences in punctuation. However, without more writing to use, I can't get a lock on how this language is used to convey basic concepts, although this is more of a linguistic standpoint. I was able to translate the writing you sent me, and I was able to translate it loosely to "A.L.I.S Central Hub." I have no idea what you stumbled upon, but I'm unsure of what an 'A.L.I.S' is. Please send me more of this written language, as I would love to translate it for you.
Fluttershy'
"A.L.I.S Central Hub?" Twilight spoke softly as she closed the scroll and put it into her saddlebag, before taking out a scroll of her own, and quickly penning up a letter to Celestia, explaining their current situation, before placing a wax seal on the scroll and giving it to Spike to send off. "Alright, I'll go in first, I want you two to follow me in."
Twilight approached the hole and took a deep breath before lighting up her horn and slowly descending into the vault. As she slowly descended, she passed a few rusted-out signs written in the same script, and a few bumps, that she assumed were lights that had long since been dead. The walls appeared to be made of the same unidentifiable metal that the door was made of, as it was clear of any rust. At the bottom of the ladder, Twilight carefully stepped off the ladder and glanced down the hallway at the bottom. She heard Spike descending the ladder behind her, and nothing in front of her, as the darkness, seemed to silence the very hallway in which she stood. The floors were clear of any debris, seeming clear, although the smell of stale air and decay made her nose tingle and throat burn. She slowly began walking forward, sticking to the right wall, before eventually coming across a doorway on her right, as well as one on the other side, on the left wall.
Twilight slowly glanced into the room on the other side of the door, and from what she saw, it was a small bedroom with two bunk beds on both sides of the walls. There was a table and a bookshelf with several books on them. However, Twilight's eyes were drawn to the four bumps in the beds, each around 6 feet tall. Twilight slowly entered the room, her horn lighting up the entire room, as she approached one of the beds, a lump formed in her throat. She slowly pulled the blanket back on the bed and quickly backpedaled as she saw the skeleton of a creature lying in the bed, what she assumed was a lab coat on the skeleton, in just as good condition as the blanket.
"Twilight, this place is weird, there is no sign of deterioration on the walls or floor, and the signs at the entrance are the only thing rusty, even the ladder, which seems to also be made of iron, is also in near perfect conditio-," Starlight stopped talking as she walked into the room Twilight was in, her eyes drawn to the skeleton, lab coat, and bedspread. Twilight swallowed the bile in her throat, before approaching the skeleton and reaching for a small card that was pinned to the skeleton's chest. The card was in good condition as well, the picture of a creature, presumably male, was on the card, along with more characters in the same language. "Twilight, I wouldn't touch that."
"It's alright, I'm not going to disturb it anymore than I did," Twilight turned around and left the room, before walking further down the hall with Starlight and Spike in tow. The hall came to an end, a door with more script on it, although this time, Twilight just quickly slid the door open with her magic and walked into the room. Within was a large central console, placed against the wall, with weird mirrors placed on the walls.
"Hey, I found a switch!" Spike yelled out as he flipped a switch up.
"Spike, don't mess with things!" Twilight scolded him but was quickly shut up as a slow whirring sound could be heard somewhere in the small vault, followed by a flash of light that momentarily stunned all of them. When they regained their senses, the entire room was lit up by lights on the ceiling. The console against the wall was lit up with lights and colors, and the door behind them slid shut with a mechanical click, although Starlight quickly made sure it wasn't locked as she walked over and the door slid open again.
"What is this place?" Spike spoke softly as he quickly got back over to Twilight. The group's blood ran cold, as a voice spoke up, in a language alien and unfamiliar to them.
"A.L.I.S Central Hub coming online, running diagnostic routine," the voice sounded feminine, but Twilight didn't understand any of the words the voice was saying. "Diagnostic routine complete, all online systems appear functional, good morning, Doctor Straus."