The next day proved to be another sunny, clear day as Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders made their way to the cave. Both Twilight and Applejack had their saddle bags with them. Twilight did try to convince Spike to come along as well, but it seems the young dragon had already made up his own plans for the day: hanging out and helping Rarity for the day.
"It's not very far now." Twilight stated
"Are we really goin' ta look fer fossils Sis?" Applebloom excitedly asked her sister.
"That's what ah'm gettin' from what Twilight told me." She replied with a smile.
"Well..., to be honest, most of the 'fossils' we find will more than likely be fake." Twilight explained as she gave a nervous look.
"What?! But if they're fake, what's the point?" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Well, real fossils are very difficult to come by, not to mention that real ones take a lot of patience to excavate and catalog properly, and are probably in several different pieces." Twilight explained
Applejack gave a chuckle, "Just think it this way, it might be yer special talent and this is good practice."
All three crusaders looked at each other, as if asking if they've done that already, before shouting out, "Cutie Mark Crusader Archaeologists! Yay!"
Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash immediately stopped in their tracks and clenched their teeth at how loud the three were.
As the ringing in the three older ponies' ears started to subside, the sound of somepony chuckling started to be heard.
"Those three sure sound excited." a blue stallion stated, the same one who ran the cave tourist attraction that Twilight mentioned the day before.
"Good afternoon sir." Twilight greeted.
"Afternoon." he greeted, before looking at the crusaders, "Also as a side note, the term you three are looking for is 'paleontologists', not 'archaeologists'."
"What's the dif?" Scootaloo asked
"A paleontologist is somepony who studies ancient life, particularly ancient animal life. Archaeologists is around the same area, but is more centered around ancient cultures like...the culture of the Three Tribes before Equestria." Twilight explained
The blue stallion gave a nod to that before saying, "Well, seeing you six are up here, am I to assume you're here to visit Broken Bone Cave?"
"Broken Bone Cave...?" Applejack repeated questioningly.
"My grandfather named it, not me. I think he named it after the fossilized bones that were found here those years ago. Don't worry though, I've spent my whole life around this cave, and I haven't gotten hurt yet."
"Yes, we are." Twilight replied to his earlier question
"I'm pleased to have you here. You can call me Dusty, and welcome to Broken Bone Cave. Now for the matter in regards to the entrance fee, and if I can get you to please sign these waiver forms." he stated as he handed them a copy of the waiver each, "It just a formality, so it's understood that I'm not held responsible in the event you get injured due to issues regarding existing medical conditions you may have, and any injuries you may suffer in the event you go into the unmarked areas of the cave." he explained as Rainbow, Twilight, and Applejack signed the waiver forms and gave it back to him.
"Now...for the entrance fee...I usually charge three bits a pony, but I think I can give three of Equestria's heroes a discount. How about for eight bits, the six of you can go in?"
"Ah ain't much for things like that, but thank ya kindly fer the discount." Applejack stated as Twilight and herself paid the fee. Rainbow couldn't since she didn't have any money on her at the moment.
"You don't have to be so humble about it." he said as he gave a chuckle, "Some ponies may forget what you six did during the Nightmare Moon and Discord incident, but not me. I'm thankful you mares did what you did."
As the six of them started their way in, they heard the stallion give a shout to get their attention, "I almost forgot, there is one rule you have to abide by. You can have any fossil you find, though five is the usual limit, but no getting any fossils that are heavier than you can carry, or bigger than your torso. It's more for your personal safety, than for the continuation of my business."
They each said something about understanding the rule and continued in as the stallion started voicing out his usual pitch to attract more tourists.
The cave itself was actually very well lit, and the walls and ceiling certainly looked sturdy as it was reinforced with the typical wooden-beam supports. Though it probably was stable without the beams, as the walls and ceiling started to look more solid as they got further away from the entrance.
"Kinda looks like the cave we slept in when we went campin', eh Applebloom?" Applejack remarked with a smirk.
"Yeah, ah suppose it does...It don't have those hanging spikes though." Applebloom noted as she looked up, "How are we gonna tell when we see a fossil?" she asked as she looked at Twilight.
"Well... first off try looking at some of the rocks we see as we walk. If you see something, take a closer look at it and see if there's any distinguishable features that may not naturally appear on any rock, such as the shape of a leaf, a hoof-print, or a bone."
"Ya mean like that one?" Applebloom asked as she pointed at a rock that appeared to have a very large bug on it, just before the three fillies ran over to have a closer look.
The rock in question was a fairly good sized one, about 5 inches in length and 4 inches wide. It was also a fossil, though quite possibly fake, of a trilobite.
"Oh, yes, that's a good example of one. That's a fossilized trilobite if I'm not mistaken." Twilight stated as she, Applejack, and Rainbow came over to also have a look
"A trilobite...?" Scootaloo asked, "Is that scientific-y for 'Giant weird bug'?"
"That's actually it's common name, and I guess you're somewhat close in your guess. Trilobites are actually similar to horseshoe crabs, which belong in a subgroup to crustaceans called chelicerata, which is similar to arachnids." Twilight explained as she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a book with her teeth. After flipping through a few pages, she found the section she was looking for about horseshoe crabs. "Here, this is a picture of a horseshoe crab. They're usually found near shallow ocean waters, and they tend to eat small clams, worms, and algea."
"Ya said this thing is possibly closer to arachnids? As in spiders?" Applejack asked with a raised brow.
"Yes, that would be correct Applejack; but, if you prefer, you could just think of it as a type of crab."
"You know Twilight, it'd be easier to just say, 'It's a really old spider' than to say all that about horseshoe crabs." Rainbow stated as a matter-of-factly.
"It's not exactly a spider, that's the point of explaining it in a greater detail Rainbow."
"Ah found it, it's mine." Applebloom announced as she raised a hoof in the air.
"Be my guest. I don't think I want a-" Scootaloo was saying, just before catching herself, "I mean, I'm sure they'll be a much cooler find later than some old trilobite."
Sweetie Belle agreed without a second thought, she wasn't too fond of the idea that it was possibly a big spider.
After Applebloom managed to get the trilobite into her sister's saddlebag, the group pressed on till they reached a large cavern area. The entire cavern area looked to have been an area eroded from water coming from above, or possibly suggesting the entire cavern at some point was below sea-level filled with water in its past. Either way, it resulted in a large cavern that showed prefect examples of stalagmites, stalactites, and columns features, that also had obvious mineral deposits which made the whole area sparkle. It definitely stood out by a long shot compared to the tunnel they just walked through.
"Wow, this so cool!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "I've never seen anything like this before."
After another moment of awe and amazement, the group heard Scootaloo state out loud, "Well, what are we waiting for crusaders?"
"Yeah! Let's git lookin'." Applebloom replied, before the three fillies ran off and disappeared behind some large boulders to look for fossils, or just about anything really.
"Hey come back, ya hear me?!" Applejack yelled before running off after them.
"You're not going to follow them?" Twilight asked Rainbow after a couple of moments of silence.
"Nah." she answered rather quickly, "Like I said yesterday Twilight, I'm going to make sure you lose your bet with Applejack WAY before I ever do."
"So...? What, are you going to follow me around till I do?"
"Yep, that's the plan." Rainbow responded firmly with a nod.
"That's absolutely ridiculous Rainbow." Twilight declared as she shot her friend a look, before giving a sigh, "Fine...but don't bug me on what I choose to do."
Rainbow nodded in response.
"Applejack, Rainbow and I are going to check the other side of the cave. " she announced, "Think you can handle those three on your own?"
"Sure thing. Jus' make sure ya find us before these three decide to split up." they heard her reply
With that, Twilight and Rainbow trotted off in the other direction.
"So..., um, how are you enjoying the vacation Rainbow?"
"What...?"
"I asked how are you're enjoying your time so far at Lunar Bay?" Twilight repeated, "I figured as long as you're going to follow me, I might as well try striking up a conversation."
"Oh...Yeah, I guess it's alright. The cave is very nice." Rainbow replied, "Though, I think I'd rather be outside breathing the fresh ocean air."
"Well, it was your choice to come along with us Rainbow." Twilight stated with an amused smirk.
Rainbow gave a light scoff in response, before noticing that as much as Twilight should've been looking at all this science-y fossils, the alicorn wasn't. In fact, there was quite a number of small trilobite and seashell fossils that the alicorn just passed by without a second glance.
"Uh...Twilight...you're not going to look at the fossils? You just passed like...a bunch of them."
"Well, most of these fossils are the usual common ones I've seen; and, like I said before, they're most likely fabricated fossils. Besides, I've had my chance to look at real ones back at Canterlot as a filly."
"Then why wander off from the others?"
"I guess, I wanted to have a quick look around. You never really know what you'll find Rainbow."
After about twenty minutes of silence between the two, the only real sounds coming from Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders somewhere in the cavern, Rainbow gave a loud groan in boredom and rested her head on her hooves. She was currently laying flat on her stomach on the ground. All the while Twilight was closely looking at what Rainbow could only guess was a fossilized leaf.
"Are you done looking at that yet?" Rainbow asked sounding almost like she was pleading
"I'm almost done." Twilight replied without really taking her attention away from the fossil, "Hm, if only I could have a closer
look this." she muttered to herself, wishing she had remembered to bring her magnifying glass.
Rainbow groaned again before looking off to the side. Her boredom was replaced by curiosity as she took notice to what looked like a path to another cavern deeper in the cave. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Rainbow trotted over to have a closer look.
"Hey Twilight, check this out."
"Hm...? What did you find Rainbow?" she asked as she put the fossil she was handling down and went over to see what the cyan pegasus had found
"It's another cavern."
"Hm..." Twilight took a quick glance before taking a step back to look at a sign that appears to have been bolted onto the cavern wall, "Caution: Area beyond this point deemed hazardous by management. Proceed with extreme caution." she read outloud for Rainbow to hear.
"I don't know Rainbow, it's probably best we t-" Twilight was saying before noticing that Rainbow had gone ahead and walked into the other area already, "Rainbow!"
"What...?"
"Rainbow, weren't you listening? The sign just pointed out that this area is dangerous."
"Oh come on Twilight, where's your sense of adventure? Or...are you just chicken?"
"The level of my bravery is beside the point here Rainbow, if something goes wrong, you could die."
"Come on, it won't hurt to have a little look." Rainbow stated as she went over and looked at a rock, "See, look. I just found a fossil we didn't see in the other area."
Rainbow rolled it so Twilight could have a better look at the fossil she had found.
Twilight was about to rebut her friend before her mouth hung open as her eyes settled on the fossil Rainbow had found. The fossil itself was simple, but it was of one that Twilight had taken interest in seeing, it was a fossil of a jellyfish.
"I'm not sure what it is though. Is it a dino egg?" Rainbow asked, the fossil wasn't of the typical types of jelllyfish, it was one of the variants where the tentacles weren't as obvious.
"Actually Rainbow, that's a jellyfish fossil." Twilight replied, still looking in disbelief at what her friend had just found.
"Oh..." Rainbow dully stated, "And here I thought I found something cool. Then proceeded to kick it off to the side.
Twilight reacted by quickly rushing in and grabbing onto the fossil, "Rainbow, this IS a cool find. A jellyfish is one of the hardest creatures in ancient history to find fossilize."
"But a jellyfish is soooo boring. All it does is float around doesn't it?"
"Well, yes, it does mostly just float around; but, it is impressive when you consider it's a species of animal that doesn't have a brain or any basic internal organs." Twilight stated, "So even if it is a fake, it's still a worthwhile keepsake."
"Is that so?" Rainbow asked, her tone sounding interested now, "Well, then I want it back."
"What?! But you just kicked it off to the side!"
"Well, that was before I found out it's a worthwhile keepsake." Rainbow stated, "Besides, I found it." she added as she tackled Twilight, just enough to knock the alicorn onto her side, grabbed hold of the fossil with one of her wings.
"But you didn't even like it." Twilight stated as she got back up and did the same to Rainbow to take back the fossil. As soon as she got a hold of it she started running from Rainbow, who quickly gave chase.
After a few moments of chasing and tackling each other for ownership of the fossil, Twilight managed to get Rainbow to a point where pinned Rainbow to the ground, her hooves firmly planted against the pegasus's stomach.
"You...you seriously want that fossil?" Rainbow asked
Twilight couldn't give more than a nod as she panted, quickly tired out in comparison to her friend, though that obviously didn't stop her from having just enough energy to hold Rainbow down without the use of her magic.
"Fine..., you can keep it. Just get off'a me."
Twilight obliged as she stepped aside and sat herself down to rest.
"Jeez, Twilight, I didn't think you had that kind of fight in you." Rainbow stated as she rubbed her stomach, "Not bad...for a librarian anyway."
Twilight took the chance to give a small grin of victory, then gave a deep breath and a sigh.
"Also Twilight, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need to lose a few pounds. You're actually kinda heavy." she remarked as she gave a grumpy look at her friend, all the while still rubbing her stomach.
Twilight proceeded to give a sheepish grin, before looking around, "Hey where did the fossil go?"
"Um...I think I saw it roll that way when I last tackled you." Rainbow pointed in the direction she believes she saw the fossil roll away.
Twilight started walking in the direction that Rainbow had indicated, closely followed by Rainbow.
"By the way, don't tell anyone that I gave up." Rainbow stated.
Twilight giggled in response and said, "Sure, I won't breath a word of the matter."
Though it did take a little time to do so, they eventually found the fossil near one of the center most columns.
"Hmm...Oh good, it doesn't appear our little tussle caused any damage to it." Twilight stated cheerfully as she tried observing it as close as she could.
"I honestly don't know how you can tell that Twilight. I mean it did look roughed up to begin with."
Twilight opened her mouth to explain, but then closed it again as she thought about her answer. "I guess, I'm just good with details like that."
Rainbow gave a scoff, "Whatever..." and proceeded to look at the column the fossil landed closest to.
"Hey, Rainbow...I was thinking, you said you were going to follow me around until either one of us loses Applejack's bet, am I correct?"
"No. Until YOU lose Applejack's bet." Rainbow rebutted with a smirk, "You really think you're going to best me, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Nonetheless, you're going to be following me around, correct?"
"Uh, yeah, I am." Rainbow replied dully, as she decidedly gave the center column a quick test kick with one of her rear hooves.
"Twilight, Rainbow, mah sis' an' her friends are done 'ere." they heard Applejack shout out to them
"Alright Applejack, go ahead and leave the cave. Rainbow and myself are almost done here, we'll meet you up front in a couple of minutes."
"Got it."
"Well, I was thinking..." Twilight began saying as they listened to the sounds of the Crusader and Applejack heading out, "Since you're pretty much decided on taking this as something more of a competition between the two of us. Why not make it more official?"
"Huh...?"
"What I mean is, why not the two of us make a bet between ourselves as well?" Twilight suggested, "The individual between us that gives in firsts will owe the victor one favor."
"What kind of a favor?"
"Anything really, as long as it's reasonable. For example, if I win, I could ask if you could help me with my study with clouds and wind currents."
"Hm...Eh, why not. You're on Twilight." and put a hoof out.
Twilight hoof-bumped to seal the deal, just before noticing that Rainbow seemed to be more interested in the column behind her.
"Um, mind explaining to me why you're kicking that?"
Rainbow gave a grin in response before saying, "Just having a little fun. Hey, look, I'm Applejack." and gave the column another kick, "Howdy thar, I'm Applejack, and ya can find me on mah farm bucking apple trees." another kick, "See, it's as easy as apple pie." another kick against the column.
Twilight gave a scoff as she smirked at Rainbow's attempt to mock their friend, "That's not very nice Rainbow, I'm certain Applejack wouldn't take it too kindly if she finds out that you're making fun of her."
"Oh, fine...you're no fun." Rainbow gave the column one final kick, one that unfortunately proved a little too strong for it.
The two ponies started to hear the column begin to crack, and the sound persisted till it reached the roof of the cavern, which was quickly followed by one of the stalactites coming down. Fortunately it didn't hit any of them, though the closeness was more than enough for make both jump.
Twilight inadvertently dropped the fossil again in panic just as another stalactite fell down nearby, "Run!"
Twilight was the first to start toward the exit, while Rainbow did just that, but took a little extra moment for another matter to grab Twilight's saddlebag, which had fallen off it's owner during their little fight for the fossil earlier.
Both having just made it out in the nick of time. The unstable cavern area didn't completely collapse, just enough to obstruct the small tunnel that led into it.
Rainbow gave a short chuckle, "Wow, we sure were lucky we managed to get out."
"'Lucky'...?" Twilight repeated in disbelief, "Lucky?! Rainbow, you're the one who caused the tunnel to collapse."
Rainbow gave a nervous grin
Twilight then gave an audible sigh, "Well, were both okay, and we both got out of there in time. We should be happy about that." she said before taking her saddlebag back from Rainbow, "Thank you."
"Heh, you're welcome Twilight. You're also welcome for this." Rainbow stated, as Twilight gave her a curious look, and the pegasus uncurled her wing off of the fossil that Twilight wanted.
Twilight's jaw could only drop in response. Apparently Rainbow had taken the extra time to also re-obtain the fossil for Twilight.
"Don't worry, I made sure I could get it safely. Besides, you should know by now that wings or no wings, I'm still a very fast pony." she boasted.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Twilight quickly stated as she gave her friend a quick hug.
"Hehe, no problem Twilight. You know I'd never leave my friends hanging."
"I still can't believe you'd actually go out of your way, just to get a fossil that you dismissed before I even told you about it."
Rainbow gave proud grin in response, as Twilight put the fossil in her saddlebag for safe-keeping. It took a moment for Twilight to do so, but she managed to get her saddlebag on her back again. One of the annoyances she deemed necessary to this no-magic bet. Afterwards, the two ponies started toward the exit to this cave, the noise created from the cave in they could already guess caused some concern from the others.
"Are ya two alright?" Applejack asked as they neared the cave entrance.
"Don't worry, we're alright." Twilight replied
"What tartarus happened in there?"
"Rainbow and I were exploring the cavern we found deeper in the cave, and well...the cave started to come down."
"Didn't you two did see the sign I put up?" Dusty asked
"Yes, we did sir. We understood what we were getting ourselves into." Twilight stated, sounding as respectful as she could.
"Anyway, did you two find something worth taking home? Afterall, going into an unstable area, you two must've had something you two were after."
"It was mostly me who found something worthwhile really." and carefully pulled the fossil out of her bag with her wing.
"Oh, well, that is quite a find indeed." Dusty stated
"What's so special 'bout that? It kinda...looks like one of those jellyfish ah saw in picture once." Applejack stated.
"A jellyfish fossil is very difficult to come by, mostly because they lack any real hard surface like that trilobite your sister found." Dusty explained
"It's due to that fact Applejack that finding one is by sheer luck, as the only way a fossil of one could ever form is if a unique number of events occurred to it." Twilight added, to which Dusty gave a nod in confirmation.
"Now, I just finished asking your friend this, as well as these energetic fillies, but by any chance would be willing to trade that fossil for some bits?"
Twilight thought about the offer, but respectfully declined the offer. "I'm sorry, but I was really interested in being able to take this one home."
"I understand. Be sure to take good care of it, and give it a proper home." Dusty stated, "Also, I do apologize about what happened inside the cave, I've been working on getting some wood to help support much of the unstable inner cavern."
"That's alright, we managed to get out without any injury anyway." Twilight stated as the group started back toward the hotel, "Thank you having us."
"It was a pleasure. Oh wait! I forgot, I wanted to ask you three something."
They stopped and looked back at him
"I wanted to ask, I know that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are in town as well right?"
"Yes, they're the ones that suggested we take this vacation."
"Do you know if any of the royal guards came with you?"
The three looked at each other, wondering if any one of them remembered seeing a guard on board the train, or getting off when they arrived.
"I'm just a bit curious since there was incident yesterday. My wife heard about a photographer pony from Manehatten that got attacked yesterday."
"What?! Are you serious?" Rainbow asked
Dusty gave a nod, "They say the poor fella's camera broke in the incident. Now, he wasn't hurt too badly from what I heard, just a bruised shoulder; but, from what I heard he was near the beach yesterday when the Princesses were there, and the description of the attacker kinda sounded like it was a guard."
"Do ya know if he was robbed?" Applejack asked, deeply concerned
"No, it was just a hurt shoulder and a broken camera, nothing any more serious than that from what I heard."
The three looked at each again before they all shook their head.
"We don't think so. We don't quite recall seeing any guards onboard the train or when we got here."
Dusty gave it some thought, as if he was thinking, "Now, the mystery deeps further." before deciding to shrug it off, and continued to wave the others good-bye.
"Do ya think any of the guards tagged along with us sugarcube?" Applejack asked Twilight, as they continued on their way.
"I don't think so, but I suppose it would hold to reason that a few guards would be around while the Princesses are outside of Canterlot." Twilight replied, "I'll try asking the Princesses later, if there's any pony who would know, it's them."
"But wouldn't they be, you know, guarding the Princesses, not attacking a random photographer pony?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah, that's not really 'guarding'." Scootaloo agreed.
"Again, I don't really know. It's best we just ask either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna about this later." Twilight stated
Later that night, they shared with the others how their cave exploring went, with a few mixed reactions. Such as while Pinkie sounded a little jealous that she didn't tag along at all, Fluttershy showed concern for them and they had to constantly tell the timid pegasus that she didn't have to worry and they got out just fine. Nonetheless though, they did show interest in what the others had found. Twilight and Rainbow with the jellyfish fossil, Applebloom with her trilobite, Applejack who found a grasshopper that got entrapped in amber, Sweetie Belle who found an old gold necklace, one of those supposed pirate treasures, and it was one she gave her sister Rarity, and Scootaloo who found a small fossil of a supposed raptor claw.
After a good dinner, which closely resembled their meals about two days ago, the others decided to head to bed early today. The events of the day had left most of them tired. Before Princess Celestia was able to hit the hay as well, Twilight, along with Rainbow, asked her and Luna about the attack yesterday and the possibility of a few guards following along. Unfortunately, they got even more confused by the Princesses' reply. While Celestia seemed to hesitantly admit that maybe one or two guards were in the town with them, Luna seemed somewhat firm in her statement that there wasn't any guard in the town outside of the usual local police. Either way, Twilight didn't want to think too much about the matter, and didn't feel like staying up late calculating the possibilities of the matter.