//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Feather of Fire // by nerothewizard //------------------------------// Two months earlier Most ponies didn't put much thought into high temperatures. For them, heat was heat, no matter which form it took, and the most common reactions were to complain about it, stay inside out of the oppressive sun, or grin and bear the rising mercury with an extra glass of water or three. Then again, most ponies didn't travel far outside Equestria in search of ancient civilizations and artifacts, so they hadn't been exposed to the various degrees of heat that existed in all parts of the world. Daring Do, on the other hoof, was well-acquainted with two distinct, yet equally uncomfortable types of sweltering circumstances. First, jungle heat: wet, thick, sticky, and likely to induce sweating within a matter of seconds. She had experienced this incarnation of heat many times in her travels, most recently in the rain forest of Coltombia. Despite the excitement of the dig she was there to assist, almost immediately upon her arrival at the base camp, her coat became damp with sweat, and it clung to her body for the duration of her stay. The thick jungle canopy did little to nothing to alleviate the brutal rays of the sun and the sauna-like atmosphere among the tropical trees. Humidity, she had decided quickly, was the natural enemy of all sensible ponies and should be avoided if at all possible. The second type was desert heat. Many years ago, when she stepped outside for the first time into an arid environment on a cloudless day when the sun was at its peak, she felt as though she had walked directly into a wall of fire. Breathing was difficult for a moment, and her skin felt as though it would burn within mere seconds. The initial shock, she found, was the hardest obstacle to overcome when it came to dry heat. Eventually, her body's natural cooling mechanism kicked in, and the sweet relief of sweat helped to make some of the nigh-unbearable temperatures at least a little more tolerable, unlike in the jungle, where sweat only compounded the humidity and made the situation even more stressful. Dry, desert heat was much more to Daring's liking. The current expedition, then, was pleasurable for two reasons. Not only had there been a recent discovery of ruins long hidden in the depths of Zebrabwe, but the ancient structures were located deep within the Sandmane Desert and not in some stifling tropical climate. Tectonic Shift, the geological expert on their team, had informed them that over a thousand of years ago, a river flowed through this area, and the indigenous ponies had settled near the life-giving water. Time and erosion, however, had caused a drastic change of course close to the source of the river in the northern part of the country, and this tributary had dried up. The ancient ponies left quickly for a more habitable area, leaving behind remnants of their culture and many crudely-constructed buildings, now devoid of pony life. While their major settlement had been known about for centuries, it was only within the past two weeks that a new discovery had been made. Several miles outside the main buildings was a sheer cliff face with a narrow pass carved into its side from the once-present river, creating a very thin canyon. A team of explorers had ventured into said canyon, which at its widest point was barely enough for four ponies to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, and had found an ancient door built into the cliff face. News of this find spread quickly among the archeology community, and Daring Do had been one of the first to volunteer to investigate further. It was before that very door that Daring now stood. She tilted her pith helmet back to get a better view, her eyes wide with wonder as she surveyed the long-forgotten craftsmanship. The large stone door looked like part of the rocky cliff where it had waited centuries to be found; it was a miracle that the initial team had stumbled upon it. The only things that distinguished it as a door were the thin, almost imperceptible line surrounding it and a circular hole directly in the door's center, whose purpose Daring could only guess. Upon closer inspection, the face of the door had one other characteristic that made it different from the cliff face above and around it: the seemingly random indentations of the rocks were anything but random. It was a script, a written language that had not been spoken in, as far as Daring knew, over a thousand years. The writing was jagged, harsh; Daring wasn't sure if it was a result of it being carved into solid rock or if that was how those symbols were supposed to look. Deep down, she hoped it wasn't some sort of cryptic warning not to enter the chamber. Her thoughts were interrupted by a male voice calling out from the direction of the canyon's entrance. “Ho there, Daring! Fancy meeting you here, my dear!” Daring smiled and turned to face her greeter. A short, vermilion unicorn with a short, dark green mane walked gingerly through the rocky canyon, stepping carefully through the uneven terrain. He looked up briefly to flash a grin in Daring's direction and promptly face-planted on the canyon floor, his own helmet rolling forward as if to make up for his lost momentum. Daring suppressed a chuckle as she trotted over to help the fallen pony, lifting his hat in her mouth before she reached his prone form. He looked up with a weak smile and gratefully accepted her helping hoof, as well as the return of his hat. After brushing off his cotton vest and clearing his throat discretely, he said in a low voice, “Perhaps I should be a bit more cautious in the future.” Daring patted his shoulder. “Perhaps you should, professor. I'd hate to have to explore this cave all by myself, with you back at the camp lying in bed with a concussion.” She grinned softly. “Now, now, Daring,” the stallion scolded, “You know that's not impossible these days. As the old saying goes, I'm not as young as I used to be. As much as I hate to admit it, there'll come a day when I'm no longer fit to join you on these little adventures.” “Professor Annals!” The harshness of Daring's tone caused the professor to look up in shock and confusion. She continued, “I don't want to hear you say anything like that again, understand? Just because you took a little fall doesn't suddenly mean you're old and gray and not able to take care of yourself. You didn't come all this way just to let some rock get the better of you, did you?” For a moment, the stallion was dumbstruck. Then, he began to chuckle. The chuckle grew into a high-pitched peal that echoed off the cliff face around the two ponies. It didn't take long for Daring to join in, adding her deep and gravelly laugh to her friend's. As their merriment eventually died down, Professor Annals said, “Ah, Daring, whatever would I do without you? Just as I dive into the very depths of my own self-pity, you're there to hoist me right back to reality.” “I learned from the best, professor,” responded the pegasus. “Now, how about we do some research?” A fire sparked in the stallion's eyes, and he tilted his helmet down. “Quite.” The two ponies made their way back to the door. Daring raised her hoof to point at the mysterious script and asked, “What do you make of this, Professor? I don't recognize it myself.” “Hmm...” mused the professor. “Not ringing any bells on my end either, I'm afraid. We'll have to bring the camera lads down here later to get some proper photographs so we can solve that mystery later. As for now, we should solve how we're going to get this immense thing open.” Daring gasped. “How didn't I think about that? This thing must weigh a ton, if it's carved right out of the rock face like that.” She put a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “Come to think of it, how would the ancient ponies have opened it?” “An excellent question, my dear. But I have an idea that may provide a suitable answer.” He stepped up to the door and placed his hoof next to the small hole in its center. “Does this look at all familiar to you?” Daring merely shrugged, prompting Annals to continue, “I thought it might not. Pegasi aren't usually expressly familiar with the more magical means of manipulation. This is a magical lock. Only a unicorn casting the appropriate spell, their horn inserted into this opening, can open this passageway.” “So how about it?” queried Daring. “You up to the task?” “There's the rub, Daring,” the professor responded with a frown. “There's no means of knowing what the correct incantation could be. Why, it could be something more complicated than an intricate mathematical formula, or just a few simple words. I'm inclined to believe that the carved writing surrounding the lock holds the key, as it were. Deciphering it, as difficult a task as it seems, may be our only means of accessing the chamber beyond.” Daring stamped her hoof. “That could take weeks!” With a snort, she reared up on her hind hooves and propped herself up against the door, bringing her eyes closer to the carvings in a desperate attempt to make some sense out of them. The professor placed a hoof on Daring's shoulder. “I feel it's my turn to reassure you, my dear.” She turned to face him as he continued, “Yes, at the moment, we have no information regarding this unusual writing, and yes, the process of decoding may take a significant investiture of time. On the other hoof, it's not as though this particular find is going anywhere in the foreseeable future. Patience, Daring, is our best solution.” He smiled warmly. “Now, let's head back to base camp before you drive yourself into a frenzy.” With a sigh, the pegasus dropped back onto all fours and turned away from the source of her frustration. “Thank you, professor,” she said, a smile working its way back onto her face. “Got excited, I guess.” “Perfectly understandable,” Annals said. “I must admit, I was quite looking forward to some exploration this day, but the anticipation can only build as we hurdle this new obstacle. I, for one, am now rather thrilled by the prospect of piecing together this perplexing puzzle.” Daring chuckled. “Always adept at alliteration, Annals.” “Touche, my dear. Touche.” *** Night descended quickly in the desert, the sky which had played host to the elder Princess' star now decorated with Luna's softly-glowing satellite and distant pinpricks of white light. Dry heat had given way to a cold, barren chill, made worse with each gust of desert wind, but not enough to dampen the spirits of the two ponies who sat wide awake in the temporary comfort of a large canvas tent. A table was erected in the center of the portable shelter, flanked on either side by the two pony archeologists seated on their haunches. Upon the table rested a single candle, its wick now nearly half-gone, which cast its flickering illumination over a haphazard pile of photographs, each one depicting the canyon door and its mysterious markings from a different angle. Each picture bore the evidence of fresh markings: circles, arrows, and brief notes jotted down by one of two tired but determined ponies. Despite all their work, though, neither Daring nor Annals was any closer to deciphering the ancient carvings. The late hour began to take its toll as Annals let loose his third yawn in as many minutes. Daring looked over to her counterpart and noticed his drooping eyelids. “Get some rest, professor,” she said before yawning herself. “You can come back to this tomorrow.” A weak smile graced the stallion's face. “If you insist, my dear.” He rose slowly and stretched. “You'll be retiring for the night soon, I trust?” “I'm sure I'll get there eventually,” Daring said with a smirk. “Do try and get some rest, Daring,” Annals said with an edge of seriousness in his voice. “You'll want to be fresh for tomorrow's work.” He walked slowly out of the tent toward his sleeping quarters. Daring grinned, yawned, then turned back to the pile of photos. After having studied them for several hours, all the strange shapes were beginning to blend together into one indiscernible mass of confusion; Daring swore that her head had been aching since they started this arduous process. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs. When her gaze returned to the pictures, there was no sudden revelation, no instant understanding of the riddle that lay before her. She sighed. Idly, she slid the photos around on the table, almost like she was pool-shuffling a deck of playing cards. She scanned the sea of captured images, each one the same dark gray color as the rocks of the cliff face with different indentations centered on each one. A broad overview was getting her nowhere. She was just about to give up entirely when something strange caught her eye. Apparently, the camera pony had snapped a picture of each individual marking, being very thorough in his documentation of the curious carvings. As such, on the outer edge of each of those photos, a different marking was also pictured. The one that Daring noticed had as its focal point an image of an elongated triangle, but on the left side of the picture she saw what appeared to be four straight lines, evenly spaced, with the first and third lines longer than the second and fourth. Another photo lay next to that one, the center image an oval with three small lines etched into one edge. It wasn't the center image that made Daring start, however. On the right side of that picture, she could see the adjacent carving: four incomplete circles in an offset pattern. As the photos lay on the table, the image of the four straight lines was next to that of the circles. Except, Daring realized, they weren't circles at all. “They're hoof prints!” she suddenly cried out. Her voice began to catch up to her brain: “And the four lines...for four legs! It's not a language; these are symbols! But what about the other...aha!” She shouted again as her hooves scrambled to arrange the messy pile into a slightly more organized pile. No longer were the images at the center of the photographs her primary concern; she only cared about the ones captured on the edges of each picture. She matched the elongated triangle with a shape resembling a sunburst. Her eyes shot open, all sleepiness forgotten. “A unicorn horn...using magic...” The curious oval was suddenly a pegasus wing, tucked close to the body; she scoured the photos until she found what she was looking for. “And this shape looks like a cloud...crude, but close enough.” Over and over she matched the pictures with each other, a pattern emerging from the jumbled images. They were depictions of the three types of pony: earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. Rather, they were an artist's attempt at showing the various traits that each of the three types possessed, carved primitively into solid rock. The creator of the carvings had done so without putting two of the same type next to each other, and Daring saw a pattern there too. First, an image described an earth pony attribute; then, one for a pegasus; and finally, a unicorn. All three were represented equally, and all in a circular pattern around the magical lock. Daring stroked her chin thoughtfully and said quietly, “I can see it, yes, but what does it mean? How is Annals supposed to open the lock if I don't know the right spell to- She slammed her hoof down on the table and shouted, “Of course!” The candle wobbled dangerously, and Daring quickly reached out her hoof to steady it. Once she had righted the lighting instrument, she hastily swept all the photos together, retrieved her saddlebag from the nearby floor, and dropped them inside. It was difficult to concentrate with how excited she was, but as calmly as she could, she exited the tent – after extinguishing the candle – and stepped into the cool night air. For a moment, she considered rushing over to the professor's tent and telling him the good news, but thankfully for the slumbering unicorn, she was able to curb her enthusiasm. Her hoofsteps were light as she walked to his tent silently and peeked inside. To say that he was out cold would be like saying that Celestia was a princess, if his snoring was any indication. Daring smiled and retracted her head, and a yawn worked its way out of her mouth. She remembered all at once how tired she was. The news could wait until morning. Under the moonlit desert sky, Daring Do stumbled her way to her tent and collapsed onto her bedroll, asleep within seconds. *** “All right, Daring, we're all here,” muttered Professor Annals as he blinked against the mid-morning sun, still not quite fully awake. “I do believe an explanation is in order.” “Yeah,” chimed in Tectonic Shift, the geologist pony of their expedition. He was a stocky, if not very tall, dark blue earth pony with a golden yellow mane and a chin heavily forested with stubble, and while Daring and Annals were frequently called upon to explore caves and ruins of ancient pony civilizations, the most excitement Tectonic experienced during a typical day with the team was when one of the more adventurous explorers brought back an unusual rock or photos of a strange strata. “I ain't even sure what I'm supposed to be doin' out here. Ain't no cave explorer, that's for sure.” The three ponies stood before the rock door, Tectonic and Annals still rubbing their eyes after being awakened by a practically-squealing Daring Do. Her late night had led her to sleep in later than usual, and the sun was already beginning its ascent over the eastern horizon when she finally emerged from her tent. After a swift breakfast, Daring had done her best to rouse the older unicorn and the gruff earth pony from their beds, with limited success. Her two companions had followed her, reluctantly but alertly, to where they now stood. “I need to say first, sorry about the rude awakening, but I couldn't wait another minute to tell you what I found,” Daring began, giddiness clearly present in her voice. Pausing occasionally to catch her breath, she recounted the tale of her discovery the previous night to her friends, pointing out the patterns in the stone door with her forehoof. As her story went on, the professor's face lit up more and more, while Tectonic's bore a look of puzzlement that only grew into confusion. When her retelling of the events of the night before was complete, Daring looked expectantly at the other two. Professor Annals was the first to respond. “Marvelous...simply marvelous, my dear! Absolutely brilliant! As disappointed as I am in myself for not seeing it earlier, I must say I'm glad to have shed at least some light on this mystery. Well done.” Tectonic spoke up, “Look, that's all fine, but I still don't get how it matters to a bale of hay.” “Don't worry, Tec,” said Daring. “This is where you come in. And you too, professor. I realized last night that the lock on this door was far more than just a magical lock. Why would there be a depiction of all three types of pony if only a unicorn could open the door? Because you need more than a unicorn! In order to gain access to whatever's beyond this annoying slab of rock, you need-” “All three!” the professor blurted out at the same time as Daring. “Simply astounding.” Tectonic blinked and said, “So, we got one o' each type standin' here. How's about we crack this thing and just call it a day, 'stead of standin' around talkin' about it?” He stepped closer to the door , while Daring and Annals looked at each other with grins before joining him. The professor stood in the center of the group, with Daring on his left and Tectonic on his right. Slowly, he lowered his horn to the opening of the lock, then tilted his head to Daring's side and asked, “What about the spell aspect of this whole thing? Do you know the words I should say?” Daring said softly, “I don't think there are any words, professor. Our presence here will be enough, from what I can understand of the carvings. Now, insert your horn into the lock, and Tec, place your hooves on the door next to where he is.” The two stallions did as they were asked, Tectonic leaning against the ancient stone structure with his forehooves. Daring stepped close to the door and unfurled her right wing. Slowly, cautiously, she spread out the wing toward the rock, her eyes glued to the door and the carvings whose secrets she hoped she had fully uncovered. Finally, her outermost feather made contact with the door, and she gritted her teeth in preparation. Nothing happened. The eyes of all three ponies began to glance nervously from side to side. Tec finally said, “Huh. I sure was expectin' some kind o' show or somethin'. Oh well, guess I'd better head-” As if on cue, there was suddenly a bright flash of light, and the three ponies covered their eyes and swiveled their heads away. The pegasus mare dared to look first and saw that all of the carvings in the door were now lit with a brilliant blue light that seemed to emanate from within the passage behind the rocky obstruction. She shouted to her companions, “Step back! I think something's about to happen!” The stallions didn't need any further encouragement, and all three ponies ducked away from the glowing stone. A sound akin to a grinding millstone began to rumble from deep within the bowels of the cliff face, and as the explorers watched in amazement, the light coming from the door faded just as quickly as it had begun. The door, however, had developed a split down the middle and was slowly opening, the grinding sound echoing from within the hidden chamber beyond. After several seconds, the heavy stone door lay wide open. Daring and Annals were transfixed, but it was Tectonic who broke the silence once the mechanical motion was complete. “Nifty,” he managed to breathe out. “Indeed,” agreed the quiet voice of the professor. Daring quickly turned to the geologist and said, “Tec, I'm gonna need you to head back to camp. Let the rest of the team know that we're through the door. Annals and I are gonna head inside and take a look around, alright?” Tectonic gave a quick salute. “Sure thing, Daring. I'll send 'em your way soon as I can.” He turned to follow the narrow canyon back to their temporary home. “Oh, and Tec?” The stallion turned back to Daring. She smiled and said, “Thanks. I owe you one.” The gruff earth pony returned the smile and said, “Don't mention it. Always glad to help out.” As the third member of their party picked his way out of the rocky crevice, Annals said, “Well, my dear. Shall we away, then?” Daring grinned a toothy grin, her eyes wild with anticipation. “Sounds like a good idea to me, professor.”