The door led into another brick-lined tunnel, descending in a gentle slope. It was illuminated by more of the glowing orbs on the walls, bathing the fillies in a light that was eerie and cold rather than warm and reassuring. The further down the tunnel the Crusaders went, the chillier and clammier the air became. Eventually, it opened up into an irregular chamber that looked more like a natural hollow than a constructed room. Soil pressed in from the walls and ceiling, glow-globes partially consumed by the earth providing some degree of lighting. The floor was paved with large, crude stones littered with dirt fallen from the bare ceiling. The stones ended about halfway across the room, giving way to a mass of something in a darker shade of brown than the rest of the chamber.
“What do you suppose this room is for? Seems like there’s no way to go on from here,” Sweetie Belle murmured, glancing around the peculiar chamber. A fine, thin mist shrouded everything in a ghostly veil. A solitary table served as the room’s only piece of furniture. Several papers were scattered across the table as well as on the stone floor.
“Ah ain’t sure, but Ah suppose this is where Tincoat wanted to go,” Apple Bloom replied. “Must be somethin’ important here.”
She and Sweetie Belle went over to the table and began to look through the various papers. Most seemed to be rough sketches of various parts of the equine body, complete with measurements of leg length compared to the main body and similar odd details. Some of them had peculiar notes, such as one sketch of a pony’s legs with arrows pointing to the joints and the word “important!” scribbled next to them.
Scootaloo walked towards the brown mass at the back of the room and began to dig at it with a hoof.
“Looks like this is… clay? Why’s there so much of it here?” After a moment, she realized that the “dirt” scattered across the floor was in fact small pieces of even more clay.
Apple Bloom looked from the sketches to the pile of clay and back again. “Y’all remember that Ah said Tincoat had made that golem thingy? That book Ah found about her said it was made out of clay.” She looked at her friends who were staring at her. “Ah think this might be where she made it.”
“So, what, you think this was some kind of workshop? Doesn’t really have a lot of tools, does it?” Scootaloo pointed out.
“Ya don’t need nothin’ but yer hooves to model somethin’ outta clay,” Apple Bloom replied. She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Ah bet Ah could do it.”
“Why the hay would you want to do that?”
“Well, jus’ think about it! A pony who’s stronger than ten Big Macs would make applebuckin’ super easy! We could get work on the farm done so much faster. In fact,” Apple Bloom said, her face lighting up in a big smile, “Ah bet everypony would like to have somethin’ like that to help ’em out. This could be big. Like, really, really big!”
“Hold on a second,” Sweetie Belle interjected. “If it’s that easy to make this… golem thing, why hasn’t anypony thought about doing it for the last thousand years? In fact, why doesn’t every sculpture made by artists or foals playing with modeling clay start to walk around?”
“Well, obviously ya need to do more’n just slap some clay together,” Apple Bloom replied, rolling her eyes. “The book said it also needs magic. Probably needs a unicorn to cast some fancy spell on it. Or maybe this here is special magic clay or somethin’.”
“I don’t know, it still seems too simple,” Sweetie Belle muttered.
“Not everythin’ needs to be super complicated, ya know.” Apple Bloom dug up a hoof-full of clay and dropping it on the floor. “Ya gonna help me out or what?”
“I’m just trying to be reasonable here! There’s got to be more to it than that!” Sweetie Belle protested. “Maybe there’s something back in the other room that we missed. I think we should go back there and have a look.”
“Yeeeah, well, when you’re done playing Twilight, you can come back here and help us get our Cutie Marks in golem making,” Scootaloo said, moving over to join Apple Bloom in gathering up a pile of clay.
Sweetie Belle puffed her cheeks and stomped out of the clammy chamber. Sometimes there was just no arguing with her friends. She wondered if Rarity ever had as much trouble getting along with Applejack and the others. Somehow she found it hard to believe.
It was not until she approached the dented metal door and reentered the foreboding circular room that she became acutely aware of just how uncomfortable she was about being there all by herself. The image of the two apparitions was still fresh in her mind, as was the thoroughly disconcerting knowledge that she had been the one who had conjured them up. Above her, muted and sounding strangely distant, she could hear the rustling trees of the Everfree Forest. How long had they been here? Was it starting to grow dark outside? All manner of monsters came out in the forest at night; she knew that from first-hand experience. Even as she stood here, a cockatrice might stumble upon the entrance to the cellar and come down here... or maybe a manticore, or a hydra!
Sweetie Belle began to tremble as she stood rooted to the spot by rising panic, too afraid to look behind her lest she would come face to face with the ghosts again, too terrified to move further into the room for fear that a rampaging monster would hear her and come down the stairs, regardless of the limited size of the doorway. She could hear an eerie whisper behind her, a chill creeping up her back. Her heart beat so fast that it felt like it was trying to break out of her chest and make a run for it on its own. She had to fight the urge to scream and run as far away from the haunted cellar as possible.
The whisper shifted in tone, her panic-stricken mind slowly realizing that the voice belonged not to any ghost or specter, but to a filly with a coarse voice exchanging light banter with a farmpony. The sound of her two friends chatting was incredibly mundane and infinitely reassuring. Sweetie Belle almost wanted to laugh as she thought of how she had almost freaked out mere moments ago. No creature was just going to wander down here, and there had not been other ponies here, ghosts or otherwise, for a thousand years. Whatever it had been that she had accidentally conjured up earlier, the apparitions had acted as if none of the three fillies had been present. Apple Bloom had been right; it had just been some sort of memory or echo of what had once happened here.
With the creepiness of the room diminished, though not entirely gone, she took a deep breath and began to look through the papers scattered all over. Most of them were burned too badly to make much sense of what was written, though a few of them were more intact. They seemed to be research notes, marked with dates that made no sense to Sweetie Belle.
—thinks the key lies in following a very specific procedure when crafting the form. Each step must be followed precisely; otherwise it might as well be an oversized paperweight. I am dubious about such a ritualistic approach, but Amber is insistent—
Sweetie Belle began to pick up the most useful notes and collect them in one spot. With luck, they might be able to make more sense out of what they were doing rather than just fumbling blindly.
The theory may seem ludicrous on paper, but I cannot argue with the results. I am not convinced by Amber’s explanation, though. “Magic is as magic does” is not enough to account for the—
—a gem to serve as its “heart”. I am perplexed by this sentiment, but Amber believes that it was the crucial part missing in order to make it come to “life”. I am still dubious as to whether it is truly alive or merely animated, but the evidence before my eyes cannot be refuted: the construct walks!
—simply infuriating. All my own attempts at shaping the form, even when following the steps suggested by Amber, have yielded no result. Is there a connection between earth ponies and the procedure of shaping, or am I simply missing a crucial step in the process?
Sweetie Belle frowned as she looked through the notes. The fact that they were fragmented did not help much in understanding the confusing texts, but what was that about earth ponies? And those steps being referred to? One note in particular caught her attention, however.
—a momentous occasion. Last night, Princess Luna herself came to see our creation, and while She still seemed as melancholic as ever, it is with a horn trembling with pride that I now write that for the briefest moment, the sight of our creation brought a flicker of genuine delight to our beloved Princess Luna’s noble features. I believe I speak on behalf of Amber as well as myself when I say that it was the single most joyful moment in our lives. It has made all the hardships we went through to get to this point seem trivial and insignificant, and—
The more Sweetie Belle read of these notes, the less certain she felt about the whole thing. From the notes, it sounded like Tincoat and Amber had been close, but the echo of the past they had seen had implied that something had eventually made Tincoat turn on her friend. Why? And how did Princess Luna fit into all this? Still, despite her uneasiness, Sweetie Belle had promised her friends she would help them, and that outweighed whatever trepidations she might have about this. She was still going to bring up her findings with them, though, as well as her concerns.
She gathered up the papers she had found and headed back down the tunnel to her friends. As she approached the chamber, she could hear Apple Bloom’s voice.
“All right, says here that step five is to stomp firmly on the clay that’ll be used for the hooves.”
“Oh, for—Are you just making this stuff up, AB?”
Sweetie Belle entered to see Scootaloo stomping on chunks of clay on the floor, while a larger lump was rolled up into a ball next to her. Apple Bloom stood over a piece of paper, studying it intently.
“Okay, so the next step is to shape the main body usin’ yer back,” she continued. “Guess that means ya roll yerself back and forth over it until it’s got the right shape.”
“Hey girls, you should have a look at what I found,” Sweetie Belle said, putting the papers down on the floor.
“If it’s about how to make the golem, we already know. We found the guide amongst the other papers here,” Apple Bloom replied, moving over to join Scootaloo in rolling across the larger lump of clay.
“It’s not that. Well, it is, but it’s more. It says that only earth ponies can make the golem work. Tincoat tried several times, but it was a dud. Seems like only Amber could do it,” Sweetie Belle explained.
“Wait, you’re saying I worked my tail off for nothing?” Scootaloo groaned and stood back up.
Apple Bloom shrugged. “Guess that just means Ah gotta do this on mah lonesome, then. Anythin’ else we should know about?”
“Well, there’s also something about needing a gem to act as a heart of sorts for it.”
“Oh, that’s easy, Rarity’s got loads of those, right? You and Scootaloo can go get one while Ah work on this,” Apple Bloom said cheerfully.
“Wait, you’re going to stay here alone?” Scootaloo asked incredulously.
Sweetie Belle held up a hoof. “There’s more. Listen to this.” She read the note about Luna aloud. When her friends both looked at her with nonplussed expressions, she continued in a slightly exasperated voice. “Don’t you see? Something very wrong must have happened somewhere in all this. Why else would Amber have tried to stop Tincoat from coming down here again?”
“I don’t know, it does sound a bit weird,” Scootaloo admitted, but Apple Bloom just shook her head.
“Maybe we’ll find out when we discover where Tincoat went. Right now, we gotta make this golem thingy.”
“Why?” Sweetie Belle replied, frowning at the yellow filly. “Why are you so obsessed about making it? Shouldn’t we rather tell somepony about what we’ve found?”
“No way!” Apple Bloom shouted, jumping to her hooves. The sudden intensity of her outburst made Sweetie Belle flinch. “This is our big chance to do somethin’ special! What do ya think will happen if we tell Applejack or Rarity about this? They’ll just tell us to stay home while they go look themselves, or have somepony else go!”
“You keep saying it’s our ‘big chance.’ To do what, exactly? I know I promised to go through with this, but don’t you think there’s a reason why Amber refused to let Tincoat come down here?”
“Look, if ya wanna call it quits, just go ahead and leave—”
“Would you both calm down?!” Scootaloo snapped, surprising herself as well. It was not often that she found herself in the role of the mediator. “Look, I’m still not totally convinced about all of this, but what if, maybe, this really is our chance to find our special talents? Isn’t that worth a bit of risk?”
“I’m not sure what this is about anymore.” Sweetie Belle sighed and was quiet for a moment before continuing. “So what do you suggest we do, Apple Bloom?”
“Right, so here’s the plan,” Apple Bloom said, moving over to look at the notes Sweetie Belle had gathered. “If what these here notes say is true, we’re gonna need a gem to complete the golem. Ah still think Rarity’s our best bet for that. The stuff about makin’ the golem seems to be kinda like when Granny Smith has to make zap-apple jam; ya just gotta do stuff in a certain way. Ah can take care of that if you and Scoots can get the gem.”
“Are you really sure you want to stay here on your own?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I mean, the Everfree Forest isn’t a nice place to be alone. Do you think you can find your way back on your own before it gets dark?”
“Just come back here after ya got a gem. Maybe bring some food too. Just tell anypony who asks that we’re havin’ a sleepover somewhere.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Scootaloo agreed with a shrug.
Sweetie Belle nearly choked on her own tongue. “Wait, wait, wait, you want us to spend the night here?”
“Why not? It seems pretty safe down here.”
“But it’s—” She looked from Scootaloo to Apple Bloom, and then finally hung her head in defeat. “Oh, fine.”
“We’ll be back soon,” Scootaloo said, before heading up the tunnel and back the way they came. Sweetie Belle gave Apple Bloom another look, but the yellow filly had already engrossed herself in the notes again as she dismantled the work she and Scootaloo had done so far. Sweetie Belle shook her head and followed the pegasus upstairs.
“Let’s see, step one…” Apple Bloom muttered to herself.
“You sure it’s a good idea leaving Apple Bloom all alone down there?” Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo as they made their way back through the forest, following Jitterleaf’s markings on the trees the same way they had done while searching for the ruins. Even though leaving Apple Bloom behind did not sit well with her, Sweetie Belle still felt a sense of relief at no longer being in the cellar.
“She’ll be fine,” Scootaloo replied. “Besides, we’re only gone for a short while. It’s not like we’re just abandoning her there.”
They walked in silence for a bit. “Don’t you think Apple Bloom was acting a bit… strange?” Sweetie Belle asked at length. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. “I mean, she seems really keen on making this golem thingy and finding out about Tincoat.”
Scootaloo shrugged lightly. “Well, it was her idea to do this. I guess she just really wants to see it work. I guess if I had come up with it, I’d push for us to do it, too.”
Sweetie Belle wanted to press the issue, but it did not seem like Scootaloo shared her concerns. After a walk that seemed a great deal shorter and quicker than when they had gone the other way, perhaps aided by the fact that it was no longer raining, the two fillies found themselves at the outskirts of the forest.
“Maybe we should split up,” Scootaloo suggested. “I’ll go tell my dad and Applejack that we’ll be out for the night, and gather up some food too, and you’ll get a gem from Rarity. We’ll meet back here when we’re done, all right?”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Okay. See you soon.”
The unicorn filly trotted off towards Ponyville while Scootaloo went to the clubhouse where she had parked her scooter. Getting to enjoy the rush of speed, even just for a little while, would be a welcome change of pace from trees, musty cellars and dusty old pages, not to mention the weird ghost-but-not-really-ghost ponies they had seen down there. It all seemed more suited for someone more bookish like Twilight. She wondered how Rainbow Dash would have dealt with things like this, but as she did, she remembered what had happened the last time she had seen the blue pegasus. It was with a considerably dampened mood that she got on her scooter and headed back home.