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// Chp.1: Soul's discovery 
// Story: Faust 
// by Rudiobus 
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	This world is older than you can imagine, children. There were creatures here before us, and there will be creatures here after us. But she will always remain. – Starswirl the Bearded in his address to the Council of the Unicorn tribe.
Dust.
Dust, sweat and pickaxes, to be more precise.
Soul Finder had never known a single moment when he wasn’t in one of these situations. The wind at his back, the burning sun over his head, and the harsh terrain under his feet were all familiar sensations to him. That terrain was always different with each dig, be it in the frozen north or in the pits of the Everfree Forest, but the basics were always the same: He was in a long forgotten place, here dig up and recover long forgotten things. And he loved it.
Perhaps it was because he wasn’t swinging the pickaxe himself, of course. Real archeologists never did the hard labor if they wanted to make an impression on the higher ups, the fancy unicorns and the executive Pegasi. No, Soul just had to make sure everything was going according to plan and, when the time came, see what was found and try and identify it.
However, Soul finder was always hoping that maybe, just maybe, he’d one day find something that he wouldn’t be able to identify. That was the real prize: find something new, something unknown, and be immortalized for discovering a new piece of pony history. In retrospect, it was unlikely that he would ever make such a discovery. All the big archeological finds were made decades before he was born, back in the days of harmony, when the newly returned Luna had reestablished the Equestrian Historical Society, which had been known in her first reign as the leading establishment on the history of Equestria and the nations surrounding it. But perhaps today would be different. Perhaps now would be the day Soul would make the discovery of a lifetime.
This was the first dig that he, or anypony for that matter, had made outside the Equestrian borders in centuries. They were in the dry deserts of Saddle Arabia, which had just recently been declared an ally by Princess Twilight, after years of negotiations with the country that was begun by her predecessor. One of the first things the princess had done was to ask for permission to dig in the country, to which the leaders of Saddle Arabia had hesitantly agreed. Tensions had always been high between the two countries over the vast gem reserves in the land, so it was expected that they would be reluctant to allow any digging in their own lands. However, the Princess’s desire for knowledge was stronger, and after what could be described as a night of relentless whining on her part, the Horses finally gave in.
Soul took a deep breath of air. Out here, he thought, there was no telling what you might find. The ground in this particular area had only just been disturbed a month before, when a young zebra filly had found an artifact of interest. It was a small bas-relief, inscribed with a form of Old High Earth Pony script. What the relief had said, Soul hadn't been told, but it was apparently enough to send him and a few other archaeologists of much higher renown to come digging up the entire area for a hundred foot radius. And there he was, and had been, for more than a month, overseeing the digging and consulting his colleagues on what it might be that they were to uncover.
“Hey, Soul!” shouted somepony for deep within the pit that had been dug over the past few weeks. “Come on down here and help out a little bit. We’re not getting paid to look serious and stare at the horizon, you know!”
Soul sighed, and shook his head. He knew he’d be noticed at some point or another. Still, it had been nice to get some time off, even if he did enjoy the job more than most things he did in life. Slowly, he descended into the pit, passing a few Pegasi workers as he went down. He could tolerate Pegasi, at least, because they could on some level understand the Earth Pony struggle. It was the unicorns which got on his nerves. Not all of them, of course, not as a whole. He wasn’t racist, or at least he liked to think he wasn’t. It was just the idea of them that bothered him, the social stereotypes which had gathered around their race which made them seem better than the rest. The long horns, the arcane magic, the aura of superiority and pride which seemed to stick to them like a cloud of perfume was just sickening. At their best, unicorns were treated like kings, and at worst they were seen as miscreant citizens. For most earth ponies, though, it was always the same. You worked, worked, and worked some more, and if you were lucky you might get to spend a few short years in retirement before you rejoined the earth like the rest of your kind. That was the life of an Earth Pony in the big cities like Canterlot and Detrot , and it was disgusting.
Soul tripped over a rock as he climbed down, unaware of his surroundings while in his brooding daydream. He tumbled down, dirt and pebbles flying up in his wake until he landed at the bottom of the pit. Standing up, he looked around. A few zebras were staring at him, but they quickly went back to work, swinging away at the rock floor, hoping to find anything to raise their already meager wages. 
Soul shook his head once more and headed to a bright yellow and green Pegasus mare at the edge of the pit, surveying another group of zebra workers. Soul smiled, and lightly tapped the mare on the shoulder.
“There you are,” she said as she turned around to look at him. “Done daydreaming, are ya?”
“I wasn't daydreaming, Citricus,” Soul replied, using his friend’s birth name to get the reaction he always hoped for.
“Do not call me that!” Citricus said, her eyebrows furrowing. “It’s Cindy, dammit, Cindy!”
“Sweet Celestia, Citricus,” Soul laughed, “That’s a human name, and humans don’t even exist. Do really want to go around using names that aren’t even officially used by our species?”
“If it means not being called… that, than yes, I’ll take the scoffs. Anything to stop ponies from staring at me like I’m some sort of royal vassal.”
“Very well, Cindy,” Soul said. “We’ll see how longs it lasts. Now, what was it you called me down here to see?”
Cindy smiled, and moved aside. Looking to where she had previously been looking, Soul’s eyes widened in excitement. In the dust before them was a small bronze tablet, covered in small etchings and symbols.
“Sweet mother of…” Soul began to say, but his voice trailed off as he became lost in the mesmerizing patterns on the tablet.
“What… what is it?” he continued, not taking his eyes of the swirling symbols and intricate etchings. 
“We’re not entirely sure yet,” Cindy said. “It’s written in a language we don’t recognize, but some of the patterns resemble those of the ancient Earth Pony tribes. We might be able to get some hint to what the message is if we get Astro to look at it.”
Soul’s stomach clenched at the sound of Astro’s name. Of all the unicorns he knew, Astro was the most selfish, arrogant and downright annoying one he knew. He couldn’t think of anypony he’d want less to spend time with.
Cindy sighed when she saw the look on Soul’s face. 
“Oh, come on,” She said. “Yeah, he’s a jerk, but at least you could acknowledge that we need him. Despite all the things that make him so intolerable, he’s still a genius.”
“I know that,” Soul said. “It’s just that…”
“You can’t get over your obvious racism towards unicorns?”
“I’m not-”
“Name one unicorn you’ve talked with on genuinely friendly terms.”
“I…”
Soul stopped. He couldn’t think of a single unicorn that he’d ever really been fond of or friendly with.
“Ok, I’m not fond of them,” He said. “But I’m not wrong! You know what they’re like. They think they’re gods just because they can cast fancy spells.  They’re rich and fat and selfish and…”
“All of them?” Cindy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Soul sighed. This argument clearly wasn’t getting anywhere. Turning his attention to a nearby Zebra, Soul called out an order.
“You! Go get Prof. Astro for me, will you?” He asked.
`	The zebra turned to stare at Soul, revealing a face marred by a long, winding scar which ran from its left temple to its chin. Soul flinched as the zebra nodded and began to walk up the flights of wooden stairs.
“What happened to him?” He asked Cindy.
“She’s probably a survivor of the Zebrazi inquisition. They did a lot of things to those they thought were witches, maiming being the least of them. She’s one of the lucky ones.”
Soul frowned, concerned. It rarely occurred to him how messed up the world really was. Equestria had to deal with such problems as racial discrimination and unequal pay, but it never experienced things like the inquisition. 
“We’ve been living in a bubble,” he said.
Cindy nodded solemnly, understanding what he meant.
“Wait a minute,” Soul continued. “Did you say that zebra was a she?”
“Yep,” Cindy said, chuckling. Soul began to chuckle as well, feeling a bit guilty as he did so.
“Damn,” he whispered. “Things really are different here!”
With that, the two ponies burst into laughter. The solemn feeling of remorse which Soul had felt moments ago vanished in seconds, drowned in the echoing laughter of the two.
“And what, might I ask, is so funny?” asked somepony behind them. 
Soul spun around, his smile gone. In front of him stood a round, grey unicorn, with a stubby little horn and short, yellow tail. The cutie mark on his flank was an asteroid of some kind, and it seemed to glitter in the sunlight as if the fur comprising it were made of gold.
“Hello, Astro,” Soul said, trying not to sound resentful. Despite his dislike for Astro, he didn’t want to risk his job over his emotions.
“That’s Professor Astro, mind you,” Astro said, a slight smirk forming on his face, clearly pleased at hearing the sound of his own title. “Do remember to refer to me by tittle next time, dear.”
“Of course, Prof.,” Cindy said. Soul saw that she was trying to suppress a scowl of disgust. 
“Now, what was it you called me here for?” Astro asked. “I was just enjoying a bowl of Gallopfreyan grapes- you really should try them some time- when that damn zebra came to me, saying you required my presence. Damn those zebras, with their idiotic rhyme-language…”
“Oh, it’s no nonsense, Prof.,” Cindy said, interrupting Astro before he could say more. “We think we might have made a significant discovery.”
“Really? Let’s see it, then,” Astro said, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
Cindy and Soul moved out of the way, and Astro gasped as he saw the tablet.
“My, my, what do we have here?” he said to himself. Walking over to the tablet, he leaned over, inspecting the designs.
“It’s clearly not written in any language I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Is that why you’ve brought me here? To do a translation spell?”
“Yes, sir,” Cindy said. “You are the most experienced unicorn on the site so far.”
“Oh, Citricus, you flatter me,” Astro said, smiling. Cindy winced at the usage of her name, though Astro didn’t seem to notice.
“Very well,” he continued, “I’ll see what I can do. I advise you move back, however, as a translation of something this old will require quite a deal of energy.”
The two ponies did as they were told, and stepped back. Astro’s horn began to glow with a golden light, and Soul could feel the hair around them buzzing with energy.
Slowly, the symbols on the tablet began to shift, changing in to the modern language of Equestria. As they did, Astro read what was written down on the bronze surface.
“Here are the doors to the temple,” Astro began, “whose walls protect the last of our realm. Our last light ends here, where the new realm begins. Let the Fourth World carry our message forth, lest they receive the wrath of the demiurge. What was shall be again….”
Astro sighed. “Dear Celestia, this isn’t anything important. It’s just some religious nonsense of some sort. And a temple? Please. What temple is there to be seen? It was probably destroyed long ago.”
“But you haven’t even read the entire thing!” Soul protested. Astro raised an eyebrow, sighing in annoyance. 
“Fine,” he said. “You want to hear the rest? Then listen, and we’ll see how utterly important this all is.”
Astro looked over the tablet for a moment, before getting to the section he had left off at. 
“Let’s see,” he continued. “Hmm, more superstition, destruction, salvation, something about a ‘fourth generation’, whatever that means…. There might be something here about treasure, but it seems more spiritual than corporeal… Ah! Here we are.”
“What? What is it?” Cindy asked, suddenly much more excited than she had been before.
Astro’s eyes widened and he began to speak aloud what he saw. 
“So go forth, oh Generation of the Sun, and begin your journey to godhood… Speak the words of man, and these doors shall open to you.”
“Interesting,” Soul said. “The doors must be hidden by some spell, which can only be unlocked by speaking ‘the words of man,’ whatever that means…”
“Obviously,” Astro said, wiping a layer of sweat from his forehead. “Anypony could have figured that out. Now, it looks like the words of man are this next section below. Let’s see if they do anything.”
Astro took a deep breath, and in a voice amplified by magic, he began to speak a language that neither Soul nor Cindy had heard.
“AMOR VINCIT OMNIA!” He shouted, his voice echoing against the walls of the pit. 
There was a moment of silence. A light shone out from the wall facing the three ponies, outlining the shape of a doorway. Slowly, the rock within the shape began to crumble, until all that remained was the entrance to a long, dark tunnel, descending even farther below the earth.
“By Faust,” Cindy said. “What kind of language was that?”
Astro was silent for a moment, his jaw wide open in awe. Soul tapped him on the shoulder, jolting him from his trance.
“Oh!” He said, turning around to the pair and blushing. “Well, uh, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure. It must not have been of equine origin, because it didn’t get translated by the spell. No matter, though. We’ll ask the Zebra’s what it might means later, if it ever comes up again.  Until then… well….”
“We’ll have to go down!” Soul said, stepping forwards into the tunnel. He turned around, and faced his companions with a grin.
“Well?” he asked. “What are you waiting for? We need to explore, to find evidence. Astro, don’t give me that look, you know what the tablet said! Godhood awaits!”
Astro stepped forewards hesitantly.
“It did say godhood…” he said, his horn beginning to glow to provide light. “though I doubt they we’re talking about it in the traditional sense.”
“Whatever you’re cool with, man,” Cindy said, eagerly following the two into the dark. “Let’s just not spring any booby traps!”
Soul laughed, and the three made their way down the tunnel. Pickaxe at his side, Soul felt for the first time like things were looking up for him. His first big discovery was at hand, and this time Astro wouldn’t be taking all the fame! He skipped down the tunnel, ready for anything, the dreams of his childhood leading the way.
The trio continued down the tunnel, disappearing into the darkness. At the foot of the tunnel, however, two figures stood, watching them go by. They were zebra’s the one with the scar being one of them.
“And so they go,” she said, her eyes glimmering with something old and wise. “They meet their fate. They go on down, to open the gate. No time is left, the end begins, for Faust shall rise to reap our sins.”
Her male companion turned to her, a confused look on his face.
“Um, excuse me,” he said. “But why exactly are you talking like that?”