//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 – The Greatest Lie is Half a Truth // Story: Outlaw Mares 2: For a Few Ponies More // by Digodragon //------------------------------// There were some ponies who believed that it was sensible to give up a few liberties for the security of society. Total freedom opened the path to dissident thinking which then led to conflict. However, the counter argument always stood that acquired security by the surrender of liberty was how Equestria built prisons. Trixie was now a resident of the most infamously built prison in all of Equestria. The San Anponio Cell Block was the largest prison in the entire province, but its size was attributed to the worst disregard for construction ethics ever attempted in the nation. It comprised of an entire city block of abandoned buildings that were haphazardly joined together and then hollowed out to form a large, stadium-like rectangular bowl. A large net of silk and razor wire was erected above the central field to prevent pegasi prisoners from flying away, although they all had their wings shackled together anyway as a matter of course. Other than this basic framework, the prisoners were largely left to roam around the inside block and fend for themselves. Makeshift shacks were constructed of whatever trash happened to make its way inside, along with the troughs of food and water delivered three times a day. Armed guards patrolled from several wooden catwalks constructed above the field to ensure fights were quickly dealt with. It was such a simple and low-cost design that it pleased the bottom line of the city and horrified tourists from neighboring provinces. Princess Celestia was going on four years to design a proper prison for the city, but the high construction costs, bureaucratic red tape, and large prison population made the efforts neigh impossible. Trixie had her gear confiscated when she arrived at this wretched facility. One quick photo later and she was escorted past a series of sliding fence gates into the prison proper. Two muscular guards with water hoses ensured no inmates would rush the exit when the gates opened. Once inside, the guards unshackled Trixie’s hooves and then closed the gate behind her. She was now left to the vices of the city’s worst scum. Trixie took only two steps before she was tackled from behind by a white unicorn that wore cardboard wings and a crown made of newspaper. Trixie kicked the assaulting unicorn in the chest, but not before the white pony snatched the show-mare’s purple hat. The thief galloped away with the hat uncontested. Trixie snarled at her loss, but what aggravated her more was the black iron shackle latched around her horn. The guards said it was enchanted to prevent unicorn prisoners from using their magic, and that it required a specific key to remove. Trixie tried a simple levitation spell on some trash, but the only result was a terrible ache on top of her head. Defenseless, Trixie hoped that she didn’t meet that hammer-wielding stallion in here. All she could do for now was find a vacant spot of ground to sit on and watch a group of earth ponies hoof-wrestle each other for bottle caps and sips from half a jug of whiskey. Cheryl once joked that alcohol was Celestia's backup plan to keep her subjects happy. Well, it seemed to keep these inmates happy. “Hey you, the blue unicorn,” shouted some pony from the crowd around the hoof-wresting event. Trixie examined the crowd for the voice and found it belonged to an athletic pegasus mare with a tan coat and buzz-cut mane of a soft orange. Trixie pointed to herself and the pegasus nodded. “You’re up next!” the tan pony stated. “No thank you,” Trixie said politely, “I don’t hoof-wrestle.” Several other ponies from the crowd waved Trixie over and demanded that she participate. The tan pegasus walked over to Trixie. “House rules, partner,” the pegasus said sternly. “Greenhorns have to hoof-wrestle Prickly Pete. No exceptions.” “And what if I refuse?” Trixie asked as she stood up. “Are you all going to beat me into a pulp? Have me drawn-and-quartered while you all make a wish?” The pegasus punched Trixie square in the stomach. The azure unicorn doubled over in pain as all the air was knocked out of her. “You make… a good argument,” Trixie wheezed. She wobbled back up on her hooves after a short coughing fit and obediently followed the pegasus back to the crowd. The group parted and Trixie sat down at the table. Across from her was a large and beefy green earth pony stallion. He had a matted black mane and a scent that Trixie could only describe as expired egg salad. The earth pony put a muscular foreleg on the table ready for the challenge and Trixie locked hooves with him. Several of the spectators placed bottle caps down on the table for bets on who would win. The tan pegasus counted down from three, two, one, and it was on! And it was over. Trixie lost the match so fast that the entire crowd roared in laughter. She wasn’t sure if this humiliation was better than having the snot kicked out of her. The crowd shouted for a rematch and the green stallion was all for it. Trixie took in a deep breath and this time positioned her body better, not that she thought she could win against her brawny opponent. Well, not fairly that is. More bottle caps were placed down as a bet, but a near-empty jug of hard cider was also added to the pot. The pegasus counted down once more from three. At ‘one’ both ponies grunted and the rematch began. Trixie strained as she fought against the advancing hoof of muscle. Her foreleg was slowly pushed down toward the table. The crowd began a chant of ‘unicorn power!’ which sounded half encouraging and half mocking amusement in Trixie’s ears. Well, if the crowd wanted a show, then who was she to say no? Trixie leaned in and kissed the stallion on the lips. The green pony flinched and Trixie took the opportunity to push his stunned hoof back around and against the table with a notable slam. The crowd roared in cheers and laughter as Trixie stood up triumphant. She had the taste of sand on her lips and her foreleg felt quite sore, but the trick worked its magic. The green stallion rubbed his lips as several other stallions slapped him on the back with jealousy. Trixie managed to worm her way out of the chair before the crowd could give her a new challenger. She massaged her sore leg as other inmates taunted her for a kiss. Trixie could only roll her eyes and assume that this was going to be a long afternoon of sore legs. The warden showed up at the gate and let out a series of three whistle blows. Trixie wasn’t sure what three blows meant, but she was about to find out. “Trixie Lulamoon?” the warden shouted out to the prisoners. The guards scanned the crowds and located the azure unicorn. They shouted and pointed towards the gate. Trixie walked over to the gate with a slight limp from her sore leg. Perhaps three whistles meant a visitor? Maybe Cheryl or Ellie got word that Trixie was incarcerated and they came to check up on her? The gate opened and two guards escorted Trixie out of the prison field. She was led to a small office that contained two chairs and a broken end table. The guards asked her to sit down in one of the chairs. A minute later Mosaic showed up and the office door was closed, giving the two ponies privacy for their conversation. This day just kept getting better. “Afternoon, Miss Lulamoon,” Mosaic said pleasantly. “I see that you are no stranger to troubles and hardships. I’m glad I was able to track you down quickly.” Trixie noticed Mosaic held a small folder under her right wing. “Trixie is fine,” she replied. “Is speaking in the third person a shtick of yours?” Mosaic asked. “No,” Trixie corrected, “I mean, yes, but what I meant was that you can use my first name. I never use Lulamoon unless I’m doing business with someone. Oh, but maybe that’s why you’re here?” Mosaic’s pleasant smile died and she returned to her usual deadpan expression. “Very well, Miss Lulamoon,” Mosaic said as she punctuated the surname loudly. “This meeting is indeed for business. It appears that I was too quick to judge you earlier, for I heard rumor that you have skills useful to my current project.” Trixie leaned back in her chair. “Excellent, I gladly accept,” she said confidently. “I haven’t revealed to you the proposition yet.” “Does it matter?” Trixie promptly asked. “I’ve been incarcerated here so the only business deal you could work out with me is if I’m released from prison. Therefore, I shall accept whatever your proposition is so that I can get out of this hole.” “You seem very confident in yourself to the point of absurdity,” Mosaic stated flatly. Trixie waved her hooves as if she were reciting a poem. “It is better to be absolutely ridiculous, than to be absolutely boring.” Mosaic raised an inquiring eyebrow. “The fourth rule of being great and powerful,” Trixie explained. “Why do you think some of our greatest celebrities act as stupid as they do? They all fake it just for the attention and ponies buy into it like suckers. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of the gossip magazines out there are owned by pop stars.” “I see,” Mosaic said slowly with a bored nod. “Very well, consider this a prerequisite test pending your acceptance.” Mosaic pulled the folder out from under her wing and handed it to Trixie. “Do you know what this says?” the pegasus asked. Trixie opened the folder and flipped through several sheets of images. The images were black-and-white copies of stones with chiseled runes on them. Trixie recognized the language as an old runic script used primarily by alchemists of olden days long since gone and modern scholars who had nothing better to waste government grants on. Trixie read the writing on one of the photos aloud. “Bones to stone and his flesh made clay, forever reclaimed by the earth.” Trixie handed the folder back to Mosaic. “Quite a cheerful text,” the unicorn commented. Mosaic shrugged. “Right now you appear to be the only pony in this city capable of reading this script,” she said. “That is the crux of why I am here speaking to you.” That was an interesting tidbit of news to Trixie. “What about Debon?” she inquired. “He’s a world-class traveler who collects old things. I'm sure he has experience with dead languages.” The pegasus flicked a blue curl away from her eyes. “If he knew this one, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Mosaic explained plainly. The pegasus placed the folder back under her wing and she drew closer to Trixie. “Here’s the truth about your situation, Miss Lulamoon,” Mosaic began. “Lulu Gauge had just survived an assassination attempt as you no doubt know first-hand. However, what you haven’t been told yet is that none of the witnesses saw you fire that magical beam at her.” “Seriously?” Trixie said with surprise. “I guess Artemis was right about ponies being unperceptive.” “Furthermore, the magical beam that hit Miss Gauge was described to have a sickly green aura,” Mosaic continued. “If I’m not mistaken, your magical aura is a pale magenta. I’m not an expert at unicorn magic, but am I correct to assume that unicorns cannot mask the color of their aura?” “Ah,” Trixie said, now that she was illuminated to the full story. “Under interesting circumstances we could change our aura’s color, but at present I’m not able to do that.” If Lady Luck was playing dice with Trixie, then Luck just rolled an eleven. “So, if I understand my situation right,” Trixie continued, “I’m only being held here as a person of interest because I was at the clock tower where the magical shot was fired.” “That and,” Mosaic added, “You’re charged with vandalism of the clock tower interior.” “Bah, details,” Trixie dismissed. “If there’s no evidence to pin me as the shooter, then they have to let me go, right? I can just sit around until they release me instead of agreeing to your job. How long does it take to get out of here, anyway?” “For San Anponio law,” Mosaic answered, “They can hold you up to three days.” “Three days?!” “Not counting the fine for damaging the clock tower,” Mosaic added. “However, if you agree to work as my translator for the dig site I’m supervising, I will pay your bail and your fine. You can then spend the next three days doing something productive in repayment.” Trixie slumped slightly in her chair, but tried to hide her disappointment. “Very well, it seems that I don’t have a real choice here.” “Of course you don’t,” Mosaic said casually as she stood up. “You already agreed to my proposal before I had set forth the terms for negotiation. Therefore, I will see you at four o’clock tomorrow morning at the train station. Pack light and wear a good hat.” “Oh, you crafty little fox,” Trixie whispered as she watched the marble-coat pony leave the office. It would seem that Trixie's big mouth got her tangled in Mosaic’s little pet project. Well, since the wand would be nigh-impossible to heist with the Canterlot Royal Guard about, Trixie’s only real problems were the two impersonators disguised as herself and Daring Do that still roamed free. She doubted the Trixie impersonator could fool her friends, and even if the copy caused more trouble, Trixie now had an alibi for the next three days. Lady Luck seemed to have suddenly dropped the dice under the table. ~ ~ ~ If you were not a morning pony, then time was meaningless at any point before sunrise. Such dark hours were usually grouped together under the universal category of ‘Way too early’. However, at four in the morning, it was so early that most folks liberally threw in a curse word after the adverb. Trixie arrived at the well-lit train station right on the mark. The station’s large spring-driven clock that hung over the platform rang out four times in the night to remind her that the rest of the city was still in their soft, warm beds. The unicorn yawned as she leaned against the post of a gas-powered lamp, unaccustomed to such an early hour of the morning. Trixie had tried to visit Lulu just after she was released from prison last evening to gather information about the identity of the shooter. Disappointingly, security refused to let any pony in to see the zebra. Trixie was only able to assess that Lulu was doing well and that her campaign for mayor was just as alive as she was. As for the mysterious shooter, the city police was researching several suspects and no pony needed to worry of a second attack. At least, that’s what the sheriff told her at the hospital when she asked him one too many questions. Trixie also had missed a meet up with Ellie and Cheryl. She left a note on Ellie’s hotel room door that explained why she would be out of town for the next three days. Since Trixie didn’t know where the dig site was located, she could only give Ellie a vague description of where she would be. ‘A hot sand dune out in the desert where I read rocks’ was about as precise as the directions got. Trixie saw Mosaic on the station platform speaking to a small group of about a half dozen ponies. The marble-coated pegasus was reviewing the various roles each pony had here. The majority of them were stallions with strong backs to carry the supplies and then dig at the ruins when they arrived. There was also a small, but robust blue-gray mare with light blue eyes and a yellow unicorn stallion with a green mane. The latter introduced himself to the group as Roc, a professor of archeology who specialized in ancient rituals and forbidden magic. Trixie was now curious to know exactly what Mosaic expected to find out there. The azure unicorn went over her own inventory mentally. Trixie wore her Stetson and long purple cape to block the sun, her saddle-belt was filled with little tools and magic tricks in case she needed to avoid a confrontation, and should a fight be unavoidable, she had her slingshot with a pouch full of iron bullets ready. Trixie saw two soldiers from the Canterlot Royal Guard greet each other on the far side of the platform as a distant train approached from the east. The guards chatted and watched Mosaic’s group as if they were profiling the ponies. Trixie was curious what these guards were up to so she casually trotted over to find out. “Good morning, sirs,” Trixie said politely. The two pegasi guards removed their helmets as they eyed the unicorn suspiciously. Trixie was briefly stunned, for it was now apparent that the armor they wore gave the soldiers the illusion to all look identical. Without their helmets, the differences were quite apparent. The soldier to Trixie’s left had a much darker coat of gray with blue eyes, while the soldier on the right had a light green mane and hazel eyes. The most jarring detail was that Trixie now realized the illusion hid the fact that they were both mares. ‘Spade’ and ‘Spearmint’ were written on the guards' name tags. Trixie wondered how she missed that little detail. Well, it was too late to take back introductions. Trixie had to roll with the punches. “Did you want something?” the blue-eyed Spade asked. “She looks awfully suspicious,” Spearmint said in a defensive stance. “I don’t want any trouble,” Trixie explained. “I was only curious to know why royal guards are here at four in the morning instead of protecting the Lunar Wand.” “What’s it to you?” Spade interrogated. “Yeah,” Spearmint added, “Are you a spy?” “No, I’m The Great and Powerful Trixie,” she responded, “A magician of many magical talents. I noticed that your armor utilized illusions to make your appearances all alike. I find that detail fascinating.” Spearmint flapped her wings eagerly. “She knows our military secrets! She must be a spy!” “Calm down, Mint,” Spade retorted. “That really isn’t a secret, just uncommon knowledge.” Spade sized Trixie up and down and decided that the unicorn was not a threat. However, there was still something about this unicorn that she didn’t trust. “Our job is none of your business,” Spade said. “Just get in line when the train comes and you won’t have any trouble.” “Get in line?” Trixie said inquisitively. “Are we being searched for something? Oh, I bet you’re just checking to make sure none of us is Lulu’s shooter, right?” “Shut it,” Spade commanded. Trixie held her ground. “I have a right to know. Equestrian citizens cannot be searched without probable cause.” “Spade, let me probable cause her face!” Spearmint shouted as she hovered in the air. “I think she was one of the train passengers yesterday! Maybe she’s the one!” “The one what?” Trixie asked curiously. “Mint, get down!” Spade commanded. She yanked her comrade back to the platform with a hard pull and then returned her attention to Trixie. “You mind your own business, Trixie, or I’ll be the one breaking your face!” Spade threatened. Trixie felt a hoof tap her on the shoulder. She turned and saw that the blue-gray mare from the group stood beside her with a look of concern. “Excuse me,” the young mare said softly to Trixie, “But maybe you shouldn’t antagonize the guards.” Trixie looked at the two confrontational soldiers and then back to the shy earth pony beside her. She sighed and backed away from the two soldiers. Perhaps it was too early to get into a fight, especially against well trained soldiers who had done no obvious wrong. Trixie walked back to the group as the train stopped at the platform. The guards continued to watch the group climb aboard the train. It was a small engine that towed six cargo cars, one coal tender, and a caboose. The last car was where everyone was settled in. The blue-gray mare that stopped Trixie earlier sat next to her on the ride, but she remained quiet. Trixie leaned over to her and struck up a conversation. “Thanks for pulling me away from the guards earlier,” Trixie whispered. “I’m not very friendly with authority.” “Oh, that’s okay,” the blue-gray mare shyly replied. She hid behind the bangs of her lavender mane. “I’m The Great and Powerful Trixie,” the unicorn introduced confidently as she held out a hoof. “I’ve been hired by Mosaic to translate the runic language at the dig site. How about you?” The blue-gray mare hesitated, but slowly warmed up. “RainBlazer,” she said with a quick hoof-shake. “I’m the guide to get us through the desert safely.” Trixie nodded. “Lots of dangerous critters out there among the dunes, I take it?” “Sometimes,” Rain replied, “But the real danger is the heat. A pony won’t last long if they don’t know what they’re doing out there.” She tugged on Trixie’s long, purple cape as an example. “See, this isn’t very helpful to you during the day. You want bright colors to reflect the hot sunlight.” Trixie examined her cape. After a moment of pondering she had an idea and wove a spell over her cape. The purple hue slowly bleached away and left the cape with a plain white color. Satisfied, Trixie showed Rain her corrected wardrobe. “How is this?” Rain nodded with a smile. “Yes, much better.” “Excellent,” Trixie said. “This trip should be a breeze.” ~ ~ ~ “This trip sucks,” a fatigued Trixie mumbled. The train had dropped the group about thirty miles out west of San Anponio with six carts of supplies. They had to travel by hoof the rest of the way to the site. RainBlazer put them on a southerly path and remarked that they should arrive at the site before noon. Two dogs were brought along to spot for predators along the way and Roc had packed a snake bite kit just in case they ran afoul of rattlers. The trouble Trixie had was a lack of experience walking through a desert. The heat had quickly zapped away both her strength and her confidence. The late morning sun made the desert sands feel like a sizzling skillet over a fire. Although Trixie’s now white cape helped prevent her back from burning, she wished she had brought along hiking boots for her burning hooves. The air was stiff and smelled quite dusty. It was so dry that Trixie swore the bushes followed the dogs around for a drink. “We’re nearly there,” Mosaic stated calmly to the group. Trixie made out the outline of a ruin on the horizon. A few tired cheers echoed among the ponies and a water bottle was passed around to celebrate. Trixie took a large, thirsty gulp from the bottle, but she recalled the earlier tip from RainBlazer not to drink too much water at once. She settled on savoring the one gulp before passing the bottle along. As the party came closer to the dig site, Trixie noticed a large group of tents huddled together near the ruins. The camp appeared too large for the hoof-full of residents presently there. It seemed that the site was quite low on workers. In Trixie’s mind this was likely because only crazy ponies worked out in the middle of a desert willingly. “How close have you gotten to the main chamber?” Roc asked Mosaic. “We’ve reached the last door, but magic has kept it sealed,” the marbled pegasus answered. “One of the diggers foolishly tried to blast it open with dynamite. That resulted in two hospitalized workers and three hours of digging out the entrance again.” “Hmm, well never let it be said they aren’t thorough,” Roc commented. One of the workers on the site waved frantically at the approaching group. Mosaic and Roc exchanged curious glances on why the pony waved like that. That was when they felt it. The ground began to rumble and the sound approached from behind at a quickened pace. The party turned around and saw a horde of bison charging them. “Bison stampede!!” Roc shouted. “Everyone to the dig site now!” The ponies ditched their wagons of supplies and broke into a mad scramble for the ruins. Trixie whined as she was quickly left behind for being the slowest runner of the group. The bison, nearly twice the size of a pony, smashed through the carts with the force of a freight train. Food stuffs and equipment was trampled flat. Trixie, now fueled by her survival instinct, stomped her hooves down on the soft sand. There was a blast of air followed by the burst of a colossal purple smoke cloud. The thick smoke enveloped Trixie and concealed her position. The bison steered around the thick cloud of smoke as they reached the workers. With muscular necks and sharp horns, the bison knocked the ponies to the ground forcefully. The workers at the camp fought back with steel bullets shot from their slingshots. The lethal orbs struck the bison and inflicted painful punctures in their skin. There were screams and incoherent shouts thrown about the chaotic field from all sides. Mosaic and Roc reached the site and dove into a shallow ditch for cover. The yellow unicorn looked up from his cover and raised his hooves into the air. He cast a spell from his horn, which glowed of a bright golden color. The sand before him rose up and formed a thick, impenetrable wall that blocked the bison from reaching the camp. The bison turned and stampeded away from the sand wall with their wounded. However, they left a wake of destroyed supplies and injured ponies behind. “They’re getting desperate,” Mosaic remarked casually, “Attacking us in broad daylight like this.” “Then we must skip the trench digging and open that final door immediately,” Roc replied. Trixie picked herself up from the rough, sandy ground. She had tripped over a sizable stone, but was fortunate that the smokescreen deterred the charging bison away from her. Trixie spat out a mouth full of dust and looked around. Half the traveling party was injured and none of the six carts survived the attack. There were no casualties at least, and those hurt were still able to limp their way to the camp. Trixie felt slightly bewildered by the experience. She turned to RainBlazer who was nearby. “Does this happen often?” “I don't know,” Rain replied. "I certainly didn't expect bison to attack us. Well, lets help scrounge up the food so we have something to eat tonight.” Trixie helped pick up what remained of the supplies using her levitation magic. She scooped up crushed apples, flattened bread, and leaking jugs of water. If this was what survived of the food, then the job was going to end sooner than three days. Trixie stacked what she could scrounge by the tents before Mosaic waved her over to the ruins. The azure unicorn trotted over where Mosaic, Roc, and three workers were gathered. “Organize what you can with the injured,” Roc said to one of the workers. “Mosaic and I will take a party into the ruins to open the last door today. We should be done within the hour.” Roc dismissed the worker and turned to the remaining two. “Be mindful of what you touch down there,” Roc warned. “We’re looking for a large circular lid and it may be protected.” Trixie stepped up to the group and adjusted her hat. “This party can get started now, Trixie has arrived,” she said confidently. The group remained unimpressed and quietly stepped into the ruins. Trixie hid a frown and followed them inside. The ruins consisted of three surviving walls of adobe from time immemorial. The roof was little more than large irregular debris that was dug out and piled to one side. In the center of the ruin’s floor was a descending shaft that dropped into the darkness. The workers dropped two anchored rope ladders into the shaft and then climbed down into the ruin’s lower level. Mosaic quickly followed them, but Roc and Trixie were slower and more cautious. The shaft bottomed out into a deep and dusty interior that smelled strongly of earthen clay. The two workers lit bulls-eye lanterns while Trixie and Roc supplied a more diffuse magical light from their respective horns. The air felt cool, but strangely humid. There was a door smashed open down here that led into an adjacent square chamber. It was about forty feet wide and twenty feet tall. Mosaic instructed the workers to light a brazier that was set up to illuminate this room. Once lit, the room showed decades, if not centuries of age with the numerous cracks that ran down from ceiling to ground. Trixie looked over the faded paintings that adorned what remained of this chamber. Roc pointed out a few of the better preserved paintings that he discerned as old dances from a now extinct bison tribe that once frequented this area. Trixie glanced over at Roc’s cutie mark as the archeologist explained the paintings. His mark was a pickaxe striking a geode. This got Trixie’s imagination thinking. Roc sounded like rock, and another word for rock was stone. Trixie entertained the funny little idea that Roc was the mysterious ‘Stone Rose’ that started her on this quest. However, nothing about Roc was rose-colored or rose-like, so maybe it wasn’t him. Mosaic led the group across the chamber to the opposite wall where another door was smashed open. Behind it was a short roughly cut passage forty feet long that ended abruptly at a large stone slab. The walls near the slab were severely cracked and were missing large chunks as if a blast had occurred here. Lights were focused on the slab. Trixie saw an earth pony skull carved upon the slab along with several rows of the same runic script Mosaic showed her back at the prison. The carved image sent a shiver down Trixie’s spine. Something bothered her about this place. Mosaic motioned for Trixie to step forward and do her part. The azure unicorn approached the stone slab and shined her magical light upon the text. She looked over the letters and then read them aloud. “Stand before this door and tremble, for this is the tomb of Gung the Cursed, scourge of the three tribes. May the moon turn his bones to stone and his flesh made clay, forever reclaimed by the earth mother. Now go, turn back and remove all thoughts of this memory forevermore.” “Quite a charming quotation,” Roc commented. “I thought the same thing,” Trixie said in agreement. “In fact, it reminds me that I’m not Lara Clop and maybe I should take my chances outside with the bison instead of tomb raiding.” “Read the rest,” Mosaic commanded impatiently. Trixie gave the marble-coated pegasus a concerned glance. “I guess you’re not one for curses, huh?” She sighed and continued reading the remainder of the slab as instructed. “We, the sons and daughters of the earth mother, implore that you never undo this seal. May the moon’s eye never again grace of Gung's eye to where you stand now.” “Ah, so that’s the riddle that has confounded you,” Roc casually said to Mosaic. “Off Gung's eye? Is there a slot carved where the skull’s eye sockets appears to be?” Mosaic reached into a pouch and produced a large, uncut sapphire stone. She held it up to where everyone here could see it. “No, but I believe the clue refers not to the carving, but the floor. Trixie, please step aside.” “Wait, that stone,” Trixie said with a sudden realization. “That’s the sapphire from the Lunar Wand! How did you get that?!” Mosaic pushed Trixie aside and dug at the cold clay ground. She uncovered a slot that was large enough to fit the uncut gem. The pegasus pushed the stone into the hole and it magically sunk into place. “Do you think that is wise?” Roc asked hesitantly to Mosaic. “I understand we’re pressed for time, but we should check this ward for magical traps first.” The slab rumbled as it slowly sank into the ground. On the other side was a large and circular burial chamber filled with carvings of earth ponies and bison locked in battle. A colossal urn stood on top of a dais in the center of the room. It was sealed with a heavy, iron lid. Roc stepped forward with the two workers and they approached the urn carefully. More writing was carved on the urn as well, but in a much larger size. Trixie could tell that this writing was some kind of ancient warning about the jar. Mosaic stepped forward into the room, but Trixie grabbed her at the shoulder. The unicorn had a terrible feeling about the unfolding situation and she needed to know what was going on. “Answer my question!” Trixie demanded. Mosaic slapped Trixie in the face with her wing. “I made all the arrangements for Artemis to transport the wand here,” She said condescendingly. “At what point did I not have access to it?” The azure unicorn backed away and rubbed her stinging eye. “Some pony is going to notice that the sapphire is missing,” Trixie countered. “Artemis is too stupid to notice the replica stone I substituted,” Mosaic explained, “And by the time the museum curator finds out, I’ll already have what I want.” “When did you make the switch?” Trixie muttered in puzzlement. She then thought back to the train. It was taken by the orange and lemon colored ponies, then it was recaptured by Daring Do, and finally Do returned it to Artemis… that was it! “You made the switch on the train with Daring!” Trixie said accusingly to her own hoof. “I was foiled not by another adventurer, but by the true thief!” “Who are you talking to?” Mosaic asked. “Do you normally narrate a monologue or something?” Trixie waved off Mosaic’s questions. “Never mind that! I can see now that you’re using me to get to whatever is in that jar and I doubt it’s going to be ancient delicious cookies.” “Now doesn’t that statement ring a bell?” said a familiar female voice from behind the group. Trixie slowly turned around. She hoped to Lady Luck that the familiar voice didn’t belong to a cream-coated lightning-flinging earth pony mare with a red mane done up in a bun, eyes like liquid silver, and a desire to murder magicians who meddled in her affairs. It did. Golden Jubilee stood confidently in the hallway. Behind the sorceress were Daring Do and two more workers from the camp above. “Trixie, I would like to say it is a pleasure, but lies do not become of us ladies,” she said slyly. “The feeling is mutual, I assure you,” Trixie responded casually. “How’s Debon doing? I see that you’re running his errands while he tries to win the election. So what have you been doing for the campaign trail? Creating ad slogans? Raising campaign funds? Assassinating the competition, like say… Lulu?” “That was a mistake that will not be repeated,” Golden said with gritted teeth. She glanced hard at Daring, a look that made the pegasus slink back with fear. “I was just guessing on that last part,” Trixie said as she slowly reached for her weapon. “Thank you for admitting fault. Perhaps you should send Lulu some flowers while she recovers. Throw in a nice little get-well card too, maybe something that reads how much you missed her.” Daring jumped forward and cracked her whip when she realized Trixie was stalling. Trixie was faster and not only dodged the whip, but had her slingshot out and armed with an iron bullet. It was magically hovering by the unicorn and aimed right at Golden’s head. “So, is Mosaic one of your Horizon Walkers?” Trixie asked. She took a step away from the marble-coated pegasus. “I see you’re hiring them young. Not a bad idea to mold them properly at an early age so they can meet your expectations.” “She’s not one of ours,” Golden answered with a small grin. A large stone struck Trixie from behind and knocked her hard to the floor. The unicorn held onto her slingshot, but the iron bullet bounced away. “I am the Horizon Walker,” Roc stated plainly. “The name is Roc Tumbler, head archeologist for this dig site as hired by Debon Aire.” Trixie cursed the Horizon Walkers, along with all the stars and wagon wheels that spun around her pounding skull in a fancy dance. Why the wagon wheels? Who knows, her head hurt a lot. Golden turned to Mosaic and scolded the young pegasus. “What do you think you are doing?” “I’m collecting the lid for Grogar’s bell,” Mosaic responded without hesitation. "You are three days too early!" Golden scolded. "You haven't even finished the moat and half your team out there is injured." "I can handle this!" Mosaic countered. "I knew your group was coming here and I wanted to prove to you that I know what I'm doing, that I can be just as good as you!" "What?" Golden said with surprise. "What are you on about?" “I’m tired of my dead-end job babysitting my stupid boss!" Mosaic explained. "I read about the Horizon Walkers from an old text about Princess Platinum and then I found out my boss had been contacted by them through Debon. It wasn’t hard to figure out Debon was a leading member of your group after I dug into his personal journals.” “You are quite the crafty one,” Golden commented. “So what is it you wish of the Walkers, child?” “I want to join them!” Mosaic answered. “The Walkers wield great power to protect Equestria. I want to be a part of their greatness and have the respect of peers that acknowledge my contributions!” This was the first time any pony had heard Mosaic put any passionate emotion into her voice. “You are not ready,” Golden said flatly. “Like pickles I’m not!” Mosaic shouted back. Roc stepped in. “Golden, if I may,” he said calmly. “I was the one who decided to move ahead with our plans, not Mosaic. I have watched her and she is intelligent, resourceful, and has maintained an air of calm thinking through every bison attack here. She has the potential to be a useful member to our cause.” Golden pondered her options for a moment. “Very well, bring her along and I shall have Debon interview her. Daring, Roc, assist the workers with carrying the lid. We have to act quickly to retrieve the bell once that lid is removed.” “What about the great and powerful blue lump down there?” Daring asked. “Not now!” Golden replied harshly. “Time is of the essence!” Trixie’s blurry vision slowly sharpened as she watched the workers break the clay seal on the iron lid. It appeared quite heavy and required all four workers, Daring, and Roc to lift it off the jar. From Trixie’s low vantage point, however, she also saw that the underside of the lid had a map etched onto it. Trixie committed as much of the map to memory as she could, but did not move from her position on the ground. She waited until the group carried the iron lid into the square chamber before Trixie sat up. Golden moved quickly so the azure unicorn had to act just as fast. Trixie mentally cited her seventh personal rule of being great and powerful. ‘Never delay action, for time certainly won't.’ Trixie jumped up and pulled an iron bullet from her saddle-belt pouch with lightning reflexes. She dashed through the short hallway with a wobbly gait and fired the deadly bullet in between the workers to get their attention. The bullet sailed between their heads and cracked against the far wall. Their attention was quickly had. “Drop it!” Trixie commanded. “Ugh, you annoying little pest!” Golden angrily spat. Her eyes took on a faint glow as electrical pulses arced at the tips of her fore-hooves. Golden reared up and pointed her right fore-hoof at Trixie. A bolt of lightning made of the blackest night shot out of her hoof and darted at the azure unicorn. Trixie jumped to the side, but the bolt struck her in the right foreleg. The electrical spell bit hard into her flesh and began to drain away her strength. Trixie shut her eyes and focused her complete determination to shrug off the spell’s effect. She would not lose this quickly. Not today. “I said… drop it!!” Trixie shrieked. The black bolt wrapped around Trixie’s foreleg and then shot right back out at the metal lid. The spell burst into sparks as the electrical pulse danced on the lid and bit every pony holding it. The group panicked and jerked away their hooves from the spell’s painful shock. The immense iron object lurched and fell over onto one of the worker’s hooves. He cried out in pain as he hopped around the room. Trixie stumbled and fell over onto her butt in an awkward sitting position. Her foreleg hurt, but she was otherwise okay. Golden stood there stunned for a second. Did Trixie just throw her lightning spell back? That wasn’t a trick she had ever seen this second-rate unicorn do before. Trixie’s bewildered face indicated she didn’t know how she did it either. Roc quickly reassembled the workers around the lid. They managed to lift it on its edge, but wavered in their attempt to carry it. The injured worker was useless to carry anything. “Roll it!” Roc shouted, “Just roll the lid out on its side!” Daring Do covered the workers as they rolled the lid toward the exit. She lashed out at the unicorn with her whip. Trixie rolled away from the attack and drew another bullet. Daring closed in and slapped Trixie in the face with her wing before the bullet could be aimed. The pegasus then grabbed the unicorn by the clasp of her cape and pulled Trixie up onto her hooves. “You are one stubborn halfwit,” Daring said. “I’m one-hundred percent wit!” Trixie corrected in reply. She head-butted the pegasus and broke free of her grasp, but her first steps back stumbled from the induced headache and she collapsed onto the dusty floor. Daring Do apparently had a very hard skull. Golden held up a hoof to blast Trixie again with her spell, but the azure unicorn was still aware of her presence. Golden turned to leave after a moment of hesitation. She followed the group to the shaft and left Daring to wrestle with Trixie in the square chamber alone. Once the lid rolled to the bottom of the shaft, the workers tied one of the two rope ladders around it. Workers up on the surface began to hoist the heavy lid up. Mosaic glanced back at the two battling mares as she prepared to fly up the shaft exit. “What about Daring?” Mosaic asked Golden. “We have no more need for that creature,” Golden said plainly. She closed her eyes and with precise concentration, the red-maned earth pony vanished in a flash of red light. Trixie and Daring rolled over each other on the dusty ground, but the two mares were unable to pin the other down. The pegasus jumped into air and readied her whip for another strike, but Trixie grabbed onto the other end with her levitation magic. The azure unicorn staggered to a standing position as she held onto the whip tightly. “You can’t win against the daring of Daring Do!” the pegasus taunted. “I don’t know what’s worse,” Trixie replied, “Your stupid grin or your stupid phrases.” With a hard pull, she yanked the pegasus out of the air and into her grasp. Trixie latched onto Daring’s foreleg and held on. “Oh, you want stupid phrases?” Daring asked as she let go of the whip. A flash of sickly green light pulsed over Daring’s body and she transformed into an alluring unicorn of an azure coat and cornflower blue mane. “Behold Equestria’s most hammy pony!” The Trixie duplicate fluttered her violet eyes and kissed the real Trixie keenly on the lips. The double’s mouth felt icy cold and rough like sandpaper against Trixie’s lips. She shoved her duplicate away and wiped her own lips in disgust. “Ugh, what was that for?” Trixie asked. “Just fulfilling your lifelong dream,” The duplicate sardonically responded. “Funny,” Trixie said unimpressed. “Wait, if you can take any pony form and your aura is sickly green, then… then that must make you a changeling!” “Give the unicorn a prize!” the changeling shouted playfully. She dropped her disguise in a second, brighter flash of green light that revealed her black carapace body and iridescent insect wings. A green glow emanated from the changeling’s curved horn upon her head just before it released a magical beam at Trixie. The unicorn drew up her cape, but was blown off her hooves from the magic attack. She landed on her back with a hard thud. The changeling closed in, but Trixie retaliated with a spray of magical fireworks that blinded the changeling. The unicorn quickly scrambled back up on her hooves with the whip still in her magical grasp. "The second conductor, Daring, Lulu's shooter," Trixie said, "Now everything makes sense." The changeling rubbed her eyes. The fireworks left her vision blurry. "Present company excepted." The ground rumbled as a foaming liquid crawled out from the circular burial room and into this chamber. The two ponies backed away towards the shaft as the liquid began to bubble and smoke furiously. “Okay, let’s call this fight a draw,” the changeling commented nervously. “Agreed,” Trixie said. Trixie hobbled after the changeling back to the shaft where a single rope ladder awaited. The changeling flew up the shaft toward the exit as fast as she could. “Not without me you don’t!” Trixie shouted. She lashed out with the whip and caught the changeling around her hind legs. Trixie held on tight as she was slowly lifted off the ground. “How much does that ego of yours weigh?” the changeling said as she strained to ascend the shaft with the unicorn’s added weight. “Shut up and flap those wings, hayseed!” Trixie commanded. She took hold of the whip physically and focused her levitation magic to make herself lighter. Now the two made progress and exited the shaft quickly. However, the quake that rattled the ground began to grow in intensity. Sand began to rise into the air and circle the ruins like a sandstorm. The workers panicked at the unfolding disaster and ran off in all directions. Trixie let go of the changeling and the insect-like pony shot off into the air. The sandstorm batted the changeling around until she plummeted into a sand dune and disappeared. Trixie saw no pony around at the camp site. Had they all already fled? “Hey, help me out here!” she shouted, but there was no reply. Trixie held onto her hat and limped around the dig site alone. She was unable to run and the storm’s intensity made it hard to see anything outside the camp. Trixie stumbled upon the lid Golden acquired from the tomb. It was sitting in a wooden cage and tied together with rope. Trixie raised a hoof to undo the bindings, but as she reached for it, a giant anchor swung in front of her and latched onto the crate. The iron lid was hoisted into the air. Trixie looked up and saw that Golden commanded a large, red airship dirigible. The lid was lifted onto the deck of the long, majestic ship. “Mine now,” Golden taunted as the airship sailed out of the sandy maelstrom. “Curse you Golden Jubilee!” Trixie shouted at the top of her lungs. This was followed immediately by a coughing fit as sand entered Trixie’s lungs. The wind chuckled sinisterly before it picked Trixie up off the ground and threw her into the air like a rag doll. The white canvas of a tent struck the unicorn in midflight and enveloped her. Trixie’s vision went white, then red, and finally to black.