//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: On the Brink of Chaos // Story: Daring Do and the Ivory Idol // by Fedora //------------------------------// The two ponies stepped down into the tunnel beneath the floorboards. Daring lead the way, ducking her head down to avoid scraping her helmet up against the dirt ceiling. Scootaround followed behind, looking at the walls warily. The filly also held the grip of a metal lamp in her mouth, lighting the area around herself and Daring enough to allow them both to see down the path. As far as they could tell the tunnel seemed to stretch off for quite some distance, with no major landmarks or features to distinguish any section. The claustrophobic feeling of the tight walls made Scootaround feel uncomfortable, but Daring urged her to press on. Soon, the two came to an area where the tunnel forked in three directions. Daring stopped at the intersection of the three small tunnels, and Scootaround set the lamp down onto the rocky floor of the tunnel. Daring peered down each of the tunnels, tapping one hoof against her chin. "Which one do we go down?" asked Scootaround. Daring looked at the ground, hoping to see some hoof marks to indicate where the assassin had come from, but the ground was rocky and hard. The walls and ceiling were made of a more soft dirt-and-rock mix, and could be marked, but the ground gave no indication of where somepony may have come from. "I've got an idea," Daring said. She opened her bag, and began digging around inside of it until she was able to produce a sheathed knife. She had it in her supplies just in case- they were useful cutting tools and a necessary implement of survival. What she was about to do would ruin the blade, but it was no matter. She could sharpen it another time. "You see kid, I've got a hunch about these tunnels. I want to test this out and see if I'm right. I think that two of these tunnels will end up looping around onto each other. If I take the knife and dig it into the wall on the right..." "Then when you get back here, you'll have marked where you've already been." said Scootaround, finishing Daring's sentence for her. "Makes sense." With that, Daring nodded in agreement and started down the leftmost path, digging the tip of the knife into the dirt wall. The knife left a noticeable line in the dirt. Scootaround walked behind Daring, holding the lamp aloft by the grip between her teeth. After several minutes of walking, Scootaround felt a stab of fear. She felt something on her back, and she could tell that it was crawling around. She coughed, and Daring stopped, looking back. Scootaround put the lamp down, and turned around for Daring to see. "What's on my back, Dr. Do?!" whispered Scootaround. Daring bent in closer to take a look before recoiling. She made a grimace, before adjusting her pith helmet and furrowing her brows. "Stay still for a minute, kid." Daring said in a quiet voice. Scootaround trembled. "What is it?" she insisted, but Daring didn't answer. With a swift motion, she swatted something off of Scootaround's back, causing the filly to jump. Daring quickly stomped her hoof down onto a spot on the ground, making a crunching sound. She grinded her hoof, making sure that the insect she had squashed was dead. She lifted her hoof up, and wiped the remains of the bug off onto the wall in disgust. "Sorry about not answering your question, I didn't want you to get too freaked out if I told you." said Daring. "It was a Tityus scorpion." Upon hearing this, it was Scootaround's turn to grimace. "Is that poisonous?" she asked, curious as to the danger she had just been in. "Maybe," said Daring, "Tityus is just the genus. I didn't take the time to pinpoint the species. It had venom alright, it was a scorpion. I don't know if it was one of the species that was super-poisonous. Let's treat 'em like they are poisonous. If you think you feel another or see one crawling on me, don't keep it to yourself. Alright kid?" "Yeah." Scootaround said, gasping as her eyes widened. She picked up her lantern at the same time Daring picked up the knife, and they resumed walking down the tunnel. As Daring had predicted, the tunnel eventually came back to a three way fork. It was clear which tunnel they had originally came through in the first place, as it was separate from the other three. She peered into the mouth of the other tunnel, and could see the mark of a knife being dug into the wall. That was the tunnel they had taken in the first place, and had just emerged from. The third tunnel was untouched. "That's the one," Daring said, "Just in case we come to another set, I'm gonna keep marking the walls. You keep right on doing what you're doing, kid. Thanks for holding the light so we can see." "Nmmb prmblem." mumbled Scootaround, which likely would have translated to 'no problem' had she not been holding a lamp grip between her upper and lower teeth. The tunnel twisted and turned much more than the other had. The other tunnel had been one large loop, after all. This one switched back, made sharp cuts, and at one point made a sharp downwards slope that Daring Do and Scootaround had to carefully descend. At the bottom of the slope, the tunnel began to widen. It wasn't as cramped as it had been earlier, and it allowed Scootaround to walk beside Daring. Ahead of them was an area where the tunnel seemed to end, culminating in a glowing reddish light. Scootaround extinguished the lamp, and opened Daring's bag, placing it inside. The reddish light was enough for the two ponies to see as they came to the end of the tunnel. There was a sign erected just on the edge. It had odd markings on it, and Daring paused to decipher it. Scootaround looked at it, too. She couldn't make out much other than the word "all", which remained unchanged from the spelling she was used to. "Why are the words so weird?" said Scootaround, whispering to Daring. To her, it looked like every other word was a different language, and formed an indecipherable jumble. "It's ancient Equestrian script," remarked Daring, fascinated. "Pre-Alicornian era. There are only a few artifacts containing this kind of writing." She looked at it, squinting. Daring was trying to make out the message, but it was difficult even for her. Pre-Alicornian language came from what was known as the Age of Chaos, when the young country of Equestria was overtaken by the chaotic rule of Discord. She remembered looking at one of the other artifacts from this era back when she was studying for her degree in archaeology at the university. The language consisted of different words taken directly out of other existing languages. The words rarely attempted to conjugate verb endings. In order for anypony to be able to read what was written, they would have to look at it word by word, identifying which ancient language each word came from and trying to fit it into context with the rest. It was no wonder that once the Alicorns came to power thousands of years ago that one of the first things they did was to simplify the language and make it comprehensible. "Beware.... all..." started Daring, trying as best she could to translate the haphazard language, "the....beings...who...return? No, enter. Beware all those who enter." She moved to the next line. "Chaos.... governs.... no, rules. Chaos rules..... sovereign, or supreme. Chaos rules supreme. Beware all ye who enter, Chaos rules supreme. Chaos with a capital letter beginning it. You know what that means?" "It's important?" Scootaround asked, completely lost. "No, it's a name," said Daring, furrowing her eyebrows. "It means that 'chaos' has been turned into an actual being, or that a being claims to be 'Chaos'. I think one of my earlier hunches might have been correct." Ahead of them was a vast chamber. There were pillars constructed out of stone, statues of a great draconicus, and on the ground was a horde of ponies, mares and stallions. Daring and Scootaround were on some kind of rocky ledge, overlooking the entire scene, and were hidden from view of the vast chamber, though they themselves could see it. A great stallion stood at the head of the crowd. He was taller than all the other ponies, and was very slender. He was a unicorn, and his horn stood tall and powerful. The coat of this stallion was a shade of grey, and was mottled with what appeared to be smudges and spots of darker shades. His ear has a chunk of it missing, and his mane was completely gone. His tail was cut short, and was black. Around all four legs he wore two sets of black hoops, one set around the top near the base of the leg, and another set around his fetlocks. The terrifying appearance of the stallion struck Scootaround harder than it struck Daring, and Scootaround hid behind the rocks, not wanting to look at the stallion if she didn't have to. The stallion spoke in a loud, thunderous voice. The language was one that even Daring was unfamiliar with, and she could only assume that it was the spoken version of the one she had previously been reading. She was able to pick out only a few scraps of what was being said. She heard something about 'resistance falling' and 'chaos will set in.' As soon as those last words were spoken, the stallion took out a wooden chest and produced an object from it. He held it aloft with one hoof, and the crowd of grayish ponies cheered. The object was an idol, and in the light of torches and the burning fires built around the base of the pillars, Daring could see that it was an ivory idol carved into the shape of a great phoenix. The idol's talons were outstretched, and it's wings spread in full glory. Its head was reared back, ready to strike out at any curse that would strike the village it was meant to protect. As the cheering died down, the stallion hid it back in his chest, and placed the chest over in an area on the side. The display of triumph quickly took on a more ominous overtone as the scene changed. The ponies split into two groups, forming an aisle down the middle, with the tall stallion standing at one end. Daring watched as a pony was dragged in from the opposite side of the chamber, through a door that she hadn't noticed earlier. The pony was an older colt, probably around the age of 19 or 20. He had a blue coat, one that was easily distinguishable from all of the grayscale ponies in the crowd. He was being dragged by two pegasi, and he seemed to be putting up a fight. He's drag his hooves, trying to prevent himself from going any further, and then he'd be prodded in the back with a sharp spear, and he'd cave, moving forward a little more. This process continued until he had gone past all of the other ponies, and stood at the front of the crowd, facing the tall unicorn. A few words were spoken by the unicorn, and something was produced by one of his assistants. A chest lined with gold plating was taken out from behind the scary-looking altar, and the stallion opened it. An empty chalice was taken out of the chest, and placed on the altar. The unicorn lifted the chalice off the altar using his magic, carrying it over to a pool of ceremonial water. He dipped the end of the chalice in, filling it with a good sized mouthful of water. The chalice was then placed back up on the altar, and the unicorn said some loud, powerful words. His message was repeated by the entire crowd in one loud uproar. "What's going on, Dr. Do?" asked Scootaround. Daring was speechless, eyes widened as she watched what was unfolding. She watched in horror as the contents of the chalice turned from clear water do a sickly, bubbling green. The unicorn grinned evilly, and turned to the struggling blue pony. The guards forced the stallion's mouth opened, and he screamed. Daring turned away from the scene, not being able to watch any further. The sound of the liquid being poured down the blue stallion's throat were very audible, and turned to gargling shrieks. The struggling sounds echoed off the vast walls, before subsiding. The only sound left was that of the crackling fires around the bases f the pillars. Daring turned back to watch what had happened. Where the blue stallion had been a moment before seemed to be a different pony. In his place was a stallion who was gray, and whose eyes lacked their frightened appearance, instead being calm and without struggle. The unicorn bent over the stallion, asking several questions. The stallion replied in the same tongue that the unicorn had been using. Then, after the question had been answered, the unicorn lifted the stallion's hoof into the air alongside his own, cheering loudly. The crowd of ponies also cheered, and the sound was deafening. The cheer subsided, and in its place was a demonic-sounding chant. The tall unicorn walked out of the chamber slowly, and one by one he was joined by the others in the crowd. After several minutes of procession, the chamber was empty. "What was that?" said Scootaround, finally poking her head out from behind the rock. "It looked like some kind of ceremony," said Daring, adjusting her pith helmet. She was a little bit disturbed by what she had just seen take place. She had seen a cult of ponies gather, and forcefully initiate a young stallion into their cult by making him drink some kind of water treated with a spell. They were all under some kind of curse, a curse that made them chaotic and grey. "I don't like this. I don't like this one bit," Daring remarked. She adjusted her pith helmet once again, wanting it in a good position before she continued. "Where are you going, Dr. Do?" Scootaround inquired, standing up. Daring placed a hoof on top of her head, and motioned for her to lay low. "I'm gonna grab that Ivory Idol," answered Daring, "As soon as I get back, we're gonna head to the surface, alright?" "What about all those other ponies?" said Scootaround, looking back over the rock. "Well, we're powerless to stop their little cult they have going. I'm guessing that most of them were brainwashed against their will like that last colt. I'd like to be able to help them but there's little we can do other than alert the authorities on the mainland." said Daring. "That's the first thing we'll do after we return that Idol. Sit tight kid, I'll be back in just a second." **** Daring Do slid down the rock slope at the edge of the chamber. She stretched her hooves out ahead of her to slow herself, but in doing so other stones were swept up, and one particular piece of rock clattered to the floor below, bouncing noisily into the center of the chamber. Daring winced as the sound seemed to echo off the vast walls, but when nothing happened and no commotion began, she continued cautiously. There was something eerie about the stone statues she walked past. They were built in honor of the evil Discord, who had ruled Equestria for ages, before the alicorns had toppled his dynasty and created order. Why anypony would worship him was past Daring. Of course, perhaps it was that one tall unicorn who had started the cult. If he could drag a pony down into chaos, they might be more willing to work for chaos. Daring found the very thought offensive, and she wrinkled her nose as she continued through the chamber, walking right down the middle. It was odd to walk where many had been just a few moments ago. Daring arrived at the head of the chamber, where fires burned on around the base of great stone pillars. The pillars weren't support, as far as she could tell. They did not connect with the ceiling, nor did they seem attached to the ground. She determined that they must be some kind of ceremonial decoration. The archaeologist pony quickly arrived at the area where she had seen the chest stashed. She could only assume that it had been placed out of the way so that it wouldn't interfere with the ritual. After all, when displayed or used in the correct manner, the idol was supposed to be able to remove the effect of curses. Or so she had been told by the Tapir chief. She was convinced that that was the main reason that the village had been struck: the removal of the ivory idol. "Wouldn't it cancel the effects of the cult rituals?" asked Daring, quietly to herself. She shrugged, and took the chest out of the place where it had been stored by the tall unicorn. No, she thought, the idol only protects when the user wants it to. The way that stallion just locks it up renders it useless. She adjusted her pith helmet, which had slipped down over her face for a moment. Undoing the hitch on the chest was, well, a hitch. She flicked it up with the edge of her hoof, and with another she opened the chest up. Inside was the idol, looking more proud and protective as ever despite being tossed into a chest. Daring took off her pith helmet, and grabbed the idol with one hoof, placing it into the helmet and returning it to her head. Not the best way to carry it, but with her full bag it was the only choice. She nodded with a smug grin on her face and turned, bumping straight into something. With dawning horror Daring looked up into the eyes of the same unicorn she had seen perform the ceremony earlier, and he did not look happy. She smiled weakly, and made a dash for the exit. Her hooves struck the stone of the chamber loudly, and she hadn't made it more than three steps before she was lifted into the air by magic. "What have we here?" said the stallion, in a deep voice. Daring was surprised to hear her own language being spoken, and raised an eyebrow. He grinned, and Daring recoiled. She was dropped onto the ground, and she stumbled back, helmet slipping over her face. "Why are you attempting to rob me, Dr. Do?" the unicorn said, taking a step towards Daring. Daring took another step away, backing towards the wall slowly to keep distance between herself and the stallion. Her mind was racing to find a way to escape from this, and it took a moment for the fact that he called her by name to sink in. "Wha-wait, how the hell do you know my name?" shot Daring, stepping onto the slope of the ledge by which she had come down to get into the chamber. The unicorn paused, looking up above her head, before returning his gaze to Daring. He did not pursue her any farther. "I know about you two, Dr. Do. You and the little Scootaround came here by boat. Your captain was most willing to give me that," said the unicorn, with a smug look coming over his face as he stood tall. "What have you done with the captain?!" Daring angrily retorted. The unicorn smiled again, and lifted his head up. "Why don't you ask him yourself? While you're at it, give me the pig's idol, and I'll tell him not to harm your little accomplice." The unicorn had the same smug expression on his face. Daring looked up the slope to where Scootaround had been hidden. She saw the filly standing there, looking scared. A hoof was covering her mouth as she was forcefully held against the wall by the captain of the ship that had brought them there. He had the same gray tinge to his coat that she noticed of every other pony. "You bastard!" shouted Daring, angered by the threatening of the filly. She charged at the unicorn, shouting loudly, and struck him with a solid kick to the chest. A moment later she felt a sharp pain as she was thrown down forcefully to the ground. Her helmet fell off, and the idol rolled out harmlessly onto the stone floor. "I think you'll find that you are in no place to be hurling insults, Dr. Do," said the tall stallion, chuckling. "Nor are you in any position to attack your superiors." "Superior my flank!" shouted Daring, struggling to get onto all fours. "You're not the boss of me!" "I soon will be," the unicorn said. He turned, and walked towards the altar standing at the head of the chamber. Daring suddenly felt the magic force affecting her, and she was dragged along the rough stone along with the unicorn. The abrasive ground tore at the fabric of the vest she was wearing, and it tore in another place, before the entire left side got torn off, being left on the ground behind her. The same soon came true of the right side, and Daring then felt her bare coat being dragged, which hurt. "Brother Captain, bring the filly down here!" shouted the unicorn, which infuriated Daring even more. She squirmed and she struggled, but for all her effort she was unable to break free of the magic that dragged her along. As they arrived at the altar, she was hoisted up into a standing position by the magic. She tried to break free, but this time she was being held rigidly in place. She could move her head, however. She turned to see what the unicorn was doing. His horn was glowing as his magic was used to keep Daring in place, and he was getting a chalice out. Daring felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Scootaround," Daring said, making eye contact with the filly and staring into her eyes. "I'm sorry." "No, Dr. Do!" said Scootaround, whose mouth was not covered by the captain's hoof. "Don't let him do that! Fight it!" "He's gonna put a curse on the drink, Scoot," said Daring, her eyes looking saddened. "No, Dr. Do, no!" Scootaround pleaded, "I remember what you said back when the Gryphons were rolling down the block in a tank? You said 'We'll get out of this, together!' Don't give up, Dr. Do!" "Would you shut that annoying filly up?" said the unicorn, as he prepared the chalice. Daring let Scootaround's words sink in. She looked from the filly to the chalice in front of her, bubbling with vile greenish liquid. She looked into the eyes of the unicorn, who had an evil-looking sneer on his face. Daring glared at him, and refused to open her mouth. "So you're going to be difficult?" said the unicorn, shaking his head. He focused, and the magic seemed to grab her jaw and force it down, and he mouth was held open. Daring struggled to close it, but the liquid was being poured. Putting all of her power into one desperate motion, she slammed her head forward. The chalice was struck by her forehead, and clattered to the ground forcefully, breaking apart and spilling the liquid everywhere. Daring had not swallowed any of it that she had been force-fed, and spat it back into the unicorn's face defiantly. He looked angered now, and Daring returned the glares he shot her. The stallion was infuriated now, and Daring felt herself being lifted up. Her world tilted, and she was suddenly aware that her head was underwater. She had been thrown into the water fountain head first. She tried to pull her head out, but it was being forced under. The clear water bubbled violently, and turned greenish. Daring tried desperately to back out of the fountain, but the unicorn's magic power held her there, forcing the vile liquid into her mouth, into her nose, and down her throat. After several seconds of agony, Daring was released and fell to the ground gasping for breath. The stallion loomed over her, grinning. He knew he had forced her to swallow the mind-altering potion he had concocted. Daring herself felt her willpower growing weaker and weaker by the moment. Some force within her was urging her to just close her eyes and go to sleep, that the darkness of sleep was welcoming and forgiving. She refused to allow herself to succumb to it. Even as she saw her coat turning grayer and grayer and losing it's bright hue, she refused to let it get the best of her. "Now, as Bloodhorn, leader of the New Disciples of Discord, I welcome our newest recruit, the famed pegasus archaeologist from Equestria, Daring Do," the unicorn said, who was apparently named Bloodhorn. He was speaking in that odd language that Daring head heard earlier, and she was somehow able to understand it perfectly. She stood onto all fours, shaking her head. No... she had to fight it. Why was she raising her hoof with that scoundrel? What was coming over her? It was like she was asleep, and living out some kind of nightmare. She saw the world through a tinted filter- everything was chaotic and grayed. Things lost their luster, instead becoming like herself. "No, Daring!" exclaimed Scootaround, calling her guardian out by name. But her calls were in vain. Daring stood next to Bloodhorn the unicorn, looking proudly about her. Scootaround could see that her coat had turned grey, and her demeanor changed completely. She was no longer resistant, but compliant. No longer concerned about the justice for the tapirs. She even went and returned the idol to the chest she had taken it from moments ago. Scootaround could not bear to watch the descent of so close a friend, and a hero. Bloodhorn's smug look returned to his face. He spoke to Daring in the discordian tongue, and she understood perfectly. "What of you're orange friend?" he asked, with a negative inflection at the word ‘friend’, "How should she be dealt with?" "She tried to prevent this," murmured Daring, in a voice that was much different than her own. It sounded cocky, overconfident, and detached. "She needs to be punished." "The waterworks have need of scrubbing," said Bloodhorn, "Fillies can fit into tight spaces." "Good," Daring replied, turning her back on the young filly. "Have her make herself useful. I have much to catch up on about Lord Discord."