Chapter 7: The Temple of Shumbra
Twilight released the straps on the cart with her magic, and pulled off the cover. They were now far enough from Apploosa that no one would see them, and if they were, it could be read as a mirage. Either way, it was safe to come out, which Nick gladly did. He stood up, popped his back, neck, wrists, fingers, shoulders and elbows. He was sore all over from ridding in a baggage car, curled up in a covered cart, tied down with cloth straps.
"Did you have a nice trip?" asked Twilight, having enjoyed her own. This earned her a sharp glance from Nick.
"Next time, You ride in the baggage car, and I'll be in the dining car."
Braeburn, having followed them from Apploosa at Pinkie's request, had no idea what to make of the creature that stood bipedal before his eyes. "What's this thing?" he asked, getting a glare from Twilight in response.
"Figures," mumbled Nick, starting to stretch out his muscles. "I'm a human, and I need to go see the buffalo shaman. Can you take us to them?"
"I reckon I can. They're nnot too far off. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I've never heard of a human before. Are you some kind of new species or somethin' like that?"
"You might say that." I may just be the first in Equestria."
"Aaahn!" shouted pinkie Pie, trying her best to sound like a buzzer signaling a wrong answer. "There've been humans in Equestria before. The last one was... seven years ago, I think."
"Really?" asked Twilight, surprised at this new found information. "I would have thought that a human showing up out of nowhere would be pretty big news. Why haven't I heard anything about it?"
"Because Princess Celestia wanted to keep the whole thing quiet. Didn't want anything leaking to the press about a possible disaster."
"Did they ever get back home?" asked Fluttershy, worrying about Nick's future.
"Not that I know of. When the princess couldn't find a way, she granted him assylum inside the castle. he has his own personal guard, or so I hear."
"And where did you hear this?" asked Twilight, a bit surprised that the princess would keep something this big from her star pupil.
"The tabloids, where else?" replied Pinkie, causing Twilight to facehoof. She thought about going into tabloid theory, and the difference between it and real news, but thought better of it. Pinkie would learn eventually. For now, it was a better idea to just focus on reaching the buffalo camp.
They marched on, through the sands, the wind being exceptionally strong. 'This is why I moved from Kansas,' thought nick as he trudged ever onward through the sand and thin plants. he recognized one of the bushes to contain thyme, while another bore small brown fruit, roughly the size of a cherry. He didn't recognize any of the other plants, the few and far-between. but e knew identification wasn't part of his job, and continued the march.
Due to the fact that they had a guide, the buffalo were found quickly, and without a need for any searching. "Here we are," said Braeburn, turning to the other four. I'll be waiting up here if you need me."
"You're not coming down with us?" asked Pinkie.
"'Fraid not. Even though we came to terms with each other, some of them, as well as some of us Apploosans as well, are still a bit sore at each other. I'm allowed in, but I don't want to overstep my bounds."
"That's rather considerate of you," said Nick. "I know I don't want to see another bout of fighting. We'll be back soon."
"I'll be here." said Braeburn, leaning up against a rock and tilting his hat to shield his eyes from the sun and sand. "Oh, and Pinkie?" Pinkie turned around to face him. "Please don't start singing."
Nick stepped into the chieftain's tent, following Twilight, and followed by Pinkie and Fluttershy. Nick could feel the tension in the room grow tighter and tighter as they entered. Pinkie in particular stretched it quite a bit more than anyone else.
"We know why you have come," said Chief Thunderhooves. "And we advise against it. That land is cursed, and I dare not send even my strongest willed warrior s in, for fear of the corruption."
"I'm afraid we know very little about it. We were just coming to see if the shaman knew of any way to get our friend home" said Twilight.
"And to do so, you must access the temple of Shumbra." coughed a wretched elderly buffalo. "I have managed to seal the evil inside of the temple, but cannot abolish it. The strongest will would still meet quite the match within its unholy walls."
"Do you know the locations of any others?" asked Nick. "Please, we need to know."
"We know only of the one, but its danger is still too great. Enter if you wish, but we hold no responsibility for what happens in there. The entrance is to the east. When the sand stops, the entrance is below." And with that, the shaman turned back to the wall, and the chieftain showed them all out. They walked back up to the rocky outcropping where Braeburn was waiting. They caught a few steely glances from some of the buffalo, though most seemed to be directed solely at Pinkie. Nick had to stifle the chuckle running up his throat, trying to escape through his lips.
They walked on for four more hours, this time headed east. the wind had died down, and the sand didn't kick up quite as much. Pinkie had stopped to rest once, but soo after decided not to do that again. It was made known at that time that the sand hid cacti beneath its top layer. After a quick chuckle from everyone else, they moved on.
"How much further?" complained Pinkie, who had gone into a slow trot.
"We're almost there," replied Braeburn. "Maybe next time, you'll just walk like everypony else instead of all that bouncin' about."
"This is Pinkie we're talking about, Brae. Bouncing is the norm." commented Nick.
"Doesn't matter now, though," said Braeburn, coming to a stop. "We're here."
Nick and the four ponies gazed over the dune they stood on. Right in front of them was a gorge, and some peaks of a building were just visible above the sand. A solitary obelisk rose above the rooftops, right in the center. Attached to the obelisk was a flag, emblazoned with two black circles surrounded in a dark blue aura, before fading back into the black background. The flag was still, even though the wind whipped across the valley; all around the obelisk seemed still and lifeless.
"This place seems... Depressing," said Fluttershy, looking down at the obelisk. "Not a place I'd ever want to be..."
"Still, we need that artifact, and it's likely in there." said Twilight, determined to show her tenacity. "We should go in, get it, and get out quickly."
"Whoa, there!" shouted Braeburn. "I may have lead you out here, but there is no way I'm allowing you access! This place is cursed, and thus too dangerous!"
"Please." interjected Twilight. "There is no such things as curses, hexes, or anything of that sort. It's just a building."
"There are things in there. Strange things. Things that will change your life forever."
"Like what?" asked Nick, wondering exactly what had made Braeburn change his behaviour.
"Well," began Braeburn. "When I was but a colt, and Apploosa nothing but a hoofful of buildings, one of the townsponies went in. Two days later, he showed up in town again without a word. He walked right into the middle of town, and all out of nowhere, attacked and killed three other ponies!" Fluttershy and Pinkie gasped, Fluttershy now hiding behind Pinkie. "When we finally managed to put 'im down, half the town had some pretty bad injuries. Most of us left, but some of us stayed put, vowing not to go anywhere near this accursed place."
Two days in the desert will do that." scoffed Twilight, completely skeptical toward the situation. "I doubt it was because of this place in particular."
"Believe what you will. But I can't allow you to go in. If you try, I'll have to hold you down and cuff ya for endangering our settlement."
"Fine." said Nick, leaning up against a rock jutting from the ground.
"Fine?" asked Twilight, shooting a confused look at Nick.
"Yes , fine." replied Nick. "The sun's about to set anyway. I suggest we set up a small camp here in the outcropping, out of the wind. We can start back tomorrow."
"Nick's right," agreed Braeburn. We won't last through the night if we're on the move. We need a place to stay out of the wind, and this is a decent place to stop. We'll head back to Apploosa in the morning." Braeburn undid his saddlebags, pulling out a small tent for himself, then two extras. He always carried the extras when he left with company, just in case they hadn't. Luckily, Fluttershy and Nick had thought the same thing, and had brought one spare, stored right next to the makeshift tent Nick had brought. It was a bit small, but it would do.
There wasn't a lot of wood for the fire, but Twilight had brought along a hoofful of notebooks, including one written by Akaitora. That one in particular had a spell to make a sustained flame that required very little feul, and could work without a high degree of concentration. They grabbed a tumbleweed blowing by, and secured it in place with a rock, lighting it on fire, but keeping the flames from being too powerful. They decided to just tend it in shifts, between Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, but Pinkie quickly made it known tha she probably wasn't the best choice for it. Twilight and Fluttershy agreed.
There wasn't a wide variety of food, seeing as most of the food was dried fruit, but Nick declined, instead pulling out a bag of beef jerky from his bag (he always carried one, whether he needed to or not). Braeburn had asked, but Nick simply replied, "You're a herbivore, so I wouldn't recommend it." That was apparently enough to keep the others from asking for a piece.
They all went to bed, save for Fluttershy, who had the first watch. There were a few times when she thought she heard something, but she dismissed most of them as quickly as she had noticed them. Just as she was about to nod off, she woke Twilight, to take the second watch. Twilight happily took over, tending the flame as if it were a small child. About halfway through her first shift, Nick exited his tent, and took a seat beside twilight.
"You about ready?" he asked quietly, not trying to wake anypony.
"Ready for what?" aske Twilight, shooting him another confused look.
"To go in, grab the artifact, and get out as fast as possible. That was your idea, right?"
"I thought you said wew were giving up?"
"Now when did I say give up? I said camp for the night. Plus, I don't believe in curses either. If we hurry, we can finish the job fast, before Brae even notices us gone."
Twilight was taken aback. "I underestimated you, Nick. Here I was thinking we'd have to come back later, and now, you've goot this plan to make it to where we don't have to. I'll wake the others--"
"No! whispered Nick. Just get Shy. I'll get Pinkie, and Brae can stay here, since he would only try to stop our entry." We can do this without even waking him up."
"Clever."