When a loud gong was rung, it was time for lunch. The provisions were minimal, just enough to keep the workers healthy and strong enough to work. Scootaround was definitely in need of some nourishment. The walked slowly over to the area where the food was being hoofed out. There was some fruit in a large wooden crate, which had been collected by a few foals whose job it was to pick them off the trees in the jungle. They had been carefully guarded by the adults, of course. They had managed to harvest some Guavas off of wild Guava trees. Scootaround took one of the greenish fruits, and took it with her as she slipped off. She knew that most of the adults had fallen into a complacent pattern, as she had been told by Charlie that breakout attempts didn't happen very often. She was able to slip over to the area where the ladder was without being disturbed by any of the adults. Dr. Do herself was down with the others getting food, as this was the time when the adults ate as well. They just allowed themselves more time to finish.
Scootaround bit into the pinkish flesh of the Guava as she ascended the ladder with her free hoof. She wasn't really concerned with getting up with due speed or efficiency. It took twice as long to ascend the ladder with only one of her front hooves, but she eventually made it to the rocky ledge at the top. She turned to look out at the expanse of the mine, and down at the greasy machinery. Steam and smoke continued to rise from vents as rock crushers crushed rocks.
Scootaround galloped into the larger chamber, spitting the seeds of the fruit she had just eaten out onto the ground. The temple was not in use, although Scootaround knew that it wouldn't be long before Bloodhorn was back. She needed to act quickly. The filly set right to work, going up behind the stone altar and knocking the chalices onto the ground. The chalices clanged to the floor, some of them cracking and breaking. The sound of the crashes reverberated off the walls loudly.
Scootaround then trotted over to the chest, and opened it up with both hooves. Inside was the Ivory Idol, looking as proud as ever a phoenix did. She picked up the statue respectfully, taking off her newsboy hat and placing it inside. The hat was poofy, but the idol was far too large to fit inside. Scootaround sighed, and removed the idol from the hat. She looked about the chamber, eyes darting from the statues to the stone altar to the pillars. The chalices that she had swiped off the shelf were all on the ground to the right of the altar. Scootaround squinted, sizing up the altar itself. It wasn't incredibly large, but it's stone surface was wider than the main box shape itself. She carefully placed the idol down onto the floor next to the altar, leaning it up against the side.
Satisfied, Scootaround returned to the mine facility. She stood up on the same ledge she had gotten to in order to reach the temple chamber. Instead of descending again, she walked slowly along the edge. If her feeling was right, there were several large boulders resting on the far end of the ledge. Looking over, she could see that she was right. A sizeable rock was resting on the ledge, and had the beginnings to a statue's legs being carved out of the very bottom. Chisels and cutting tools were scattered about the dusty surface of the ledge beneath her hooves. Scootaround looked over the edge. Below was a conveyer belt control console. It was a simple console. Essentially it was a number of switches on a box, and the switches controlled the speed of the various belts running throughout the mine.
Scootaround got behind the unfinished sculpture. She was only a filly, and the rock itself was heavy enough to give her a hard time. She had to really dig her hooves into the ground and push hard with her side in order to get the rock to budge but it did. Gradually the rock sculpture began sliding along towards the edge of the ledge, and Scootaround's face was scrunched up in a contorted expression of struggle and effort. Sweat poured down her nose, and she grunted and gasped. Her struggle payed off, though. The sculpture teetered on the edge, and one final push sent it careening over, smashing into the conveyor control console. Immediately it exploded, sending out a shower of sparks and a blast of acrid smoke. The conveyors around the mine slowed and came to a halt.
It took a couple of moments for the adult ponies to notice what had happened. When they did, two gray pegasi were on Scootaround before she could blink. They pinned her down, angrily staring into her face and preventing her from moving. Scootaround did not put up a struggle, and allowed herself to be held down. Swe was cussed at, spat on, and struck by the angry ponies, but Scootaround didn't fight back. She wasn't set on getting away from them. She was almost glad when she saw the tall imposing figure of Bloodhorn himself looming over her authoritatively.
"What in the world have you done, troublesome filly?!" exploded Bloodhorn, his face contorted in an expression of rage. He spat at Scootaround, and growled.
"Please don't hurt me!" Scootaround begged, now attempting to wriggle free from the two pegasi that pinned her down. Bloodhorn fell for it, and within a moment she had been grabbed by his magic and lifted into the air, unable to move a muscle.
"Oh, by the time we're done with you!" bellowed Bloodhorn, saliva dripping down from his mouth as he bellowed. He was infuriated, and the whites of his eyes appeared bloodshot. The entire mining operation had been put on hold until repairs could be made, or at the very least reduced to much slower manual labor.
"Please, just let me go!" Scootaround pleaded in a scared-sounding voice.
"Let you go?!" asked Bloodhorn, looking wide-eyed and incredulous, "Nay! You have caused damage, Scootaround! Unforgivable damage! It is uncommon for a filly your age to be forcefully join the New Disciples of Discord, but the rites must now be performed!" He turned to face the crowd of ponies gathered.
"All of you, to the temple chamber! Young Scootaround has volunteered for early initiation by her misconduct, and will pay for her misdeeds!" yelled Bloodhorn, addressing all ponies gathered, "Our previous initiate, Dr. Daring Do, will assist me in the ceremony!"
With that, Scootaround was dragged off behind Bloodhorn, restricted by a magic spell and unable to break free of it. Bloodhorn stormed out of the mine chamber in a furious tizzy, Scootaround dragging right behind him.
****
The temple chamber was packed. The air smelled sour, like sweaty bodies that had not bathed in some time. All the chaotic ponies were gathered in a tight-nit group, observing as Bloodhorn dragged Scootaround up to the front of the chamber. A resounding cheer echoed off the walls. The ponies were angry that Scootaround had destroyed some of their equipment. They wanted to see her fall, and become like them. Scootaround had no intention of doing so at all.
When she had been dragged in front of everypony gathered, she stopped right in front of the stone altar. Bloodhorn held her there with his magic, and she was unable to move an inch. Well, she could move her head a bit, and bend her knees, but the bottom of all four of her hooves seemed cemented to that spot of the stone floor. She could hear jeers coming from the ponies in the crowd, as well as chanting. The chanting was in that language she didn't recognize. What was it again? Dr. Do had taken time to explain it earlier to her, but she couldn't quite remember what she had said.
Dr. Do... Dr. Do.... where was Dr. Do? Bloodhorn had called for her specifically to assist with the ceremony. Scootaround turned her head to look out at the crowd. It was hard to pick ponies apart from others when they were all gray. The mares and the stallions had different head shapes, yes, and there were a few different mane styles that she could pick out, but having everything be monochrome made distinguishing individuals exceptionally difficult. Perhaps Dr. Do wasn't in the crowd?
She wasn't. Not a moment after Scootaround had wondered where she was, Dr. Do appeared out of a side chamber. She had no vest, but her pith helmet adorned her head. The helmet was not gray, and it's olive green and khaki colors remained. The pony wearing it was a different story. Daring's mane was already blackish to begin with, but her golden yellow coat was faded and grey. Her bright violet eyes were also grey, and her demeanor was different. She seemed twitchy, and unfocused. She looked sweaty, and unable to concentrate. She didn't even make eye contact with Scootaround.
Bloodhorn spoke with ceremonial words, word that Scootaround herself did not comprehend. The chanting of the other ponies died down, and all was quiet in the chamber except for the crackling of fires burning at the base of several stone pillars. He turned to pick up one of the chalices, and Scootaround grinned when she saw his reaction. He looked infuriated, eyes bulging angrily. The chalices were all scattered across the ground, broken. Scootaround stood her ground, not making any sign of struggle. When Bloodhorn glared at her, she made no facial expression whatsoever. She kept her mouth closed, and her eyes wide open. Bloodhorn leaned his head in closer to hers, squinting. He seemed to stare into her eyes, and for a moment Scootaround wondered if he was trying to hypnotize her into becoming all grey. But he didn't, and a moment later he bellowed some words out, stretching his great head up into the air. The unicorn swiftly turned about, and exited the chamber at a sprint. He had gone to get a new chalice.
Scootaround stood where she was, unable to move a hoof. The crowd of ponies were murmuring among themselves. In the distance, the sound of Bloodhorn's horn casting levitation spells could be heard, and he muttered a few choice words from another chamber. He was going through equipment, trying to find a new chalice. It sounded like he was being unsuccessful. As the frantic lifting and sorting in the other room depended heavily on magic, the spell on Scootaround's hooves was weakened. It was just one hoof at first. Then two. She could feel the release as the spell decayed, but did not fight against it. Three hooves were now loose. Then the spell collapsed, and Scootaround could tell that she was no longer rooted to the spot by Bloodhorn's magic. He was still busy rummaging through supplies trying to find a container to hold water, and Scootaround took the opportunity.
The filly turned, which caused a few gasps from the crowd. Instead of turning her hooves and running, she went to the altar and picked up something that had been resting against the side. She held it carefully with both hooves, not wanting to drop it. The ivory idol of the phoenix looked as proud and powerful as ever, and Scootaround held it out in front of her. She stood on her back hooves, walking wobbly towards Daring Do on two legs while holding the statue stretched in front of her.
Dr. Do made eye contact with Scootaround, glaring instinctively. She didn't seem to recognize her or the idol, and even backed away from the filly. The crowd was getting uneasy, and was starting to send out jeers. To Bloodhorn it must have seemed like they were jeering at him, and so the pace of his searching quickened.
"Dr. Do, remember me? It's Scootaround!" said Scootaround, hoping that speaking to her would get through. Dr. Do made eye contact, but was still backing away from Scootaround and the idol.
"Dr. Do, you need to listen to me! The idol can help you, it can help me! It's a protector, that's what the Chief said, right?" Scootaround said, "You just need to believe that it can help you! Deep down in there, I know the real Dr. Do is in there. Please Dr. Do, you've got to fight your way out of there! You need to want the phoenix to help you, you need to believe..."
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FILLY?!" bellowed a voice. Scootaround recognized it as Bloodhorn. In a last-ditch effort, she flung the idol at Dr. Do, who grimaced before catching it with both of her hooves. As soon as Scootaround had flung the idol, she was grabbed roughly by Bloodhorn's magic once again, and dragged back to the spot where she had been before. Bloodhorn yelled some words over to Dr. Do, in the language that Scootaround still didn't understand, and Daring shook her head. Bloodhorn pointed to the ground with his horn, and then Daring nodded. She placed the idol back onto the ground, and resumed the spot where she had been standing beside the altar.
"You're not going to get through to any of these ponies, little filly," Bloodhorn said in a cold voice. He circled Scootaround, holding what appeared to be some kind of cider mug, suspended by his magic. That was all he could find, and it was filled with the bubbling green stuff that had turned Dr. Do into the twisted version of herself. The potion that corrupted ponies and forced them into a life filled with chaos and deceit.
"And don't even think of spitting it out!" demanded Bloodhorn. He cast another spell with his magic, forcing Scootaround to rear her head and open her mouth wide. The crowd was cheering for Bloodhorn to pour the potion down her gullet, to finish the deed. Scootaround couldn't close her mouth, as hard as she might have tried it was forced open. Bloodhorn grinned, now unopposed. The mug was raised high, right above Scootaround's head, and began to tip to the side. All the sounds in the room sound amplified a thousand times as Scootaround stared up into her impending doom, resting only on the tip of a mug and its contents spilling into her open jaw. She was overwhelmed by the cheering, and the chanting. The noise seemed to build up and become ever louder, and more unbearable than before. What in reality was only a second seemed to take minutes as the acoustics rose, and culminated in a loud CRACK.
The mug was yanked from its position forcefully, its contents spilling all over the stone floor. The greenish potion was on the stone, no longer useful to anypony at all. The white mug itself was yanked right out of the grasp of Bloodhorn's spell, and smashed as it was slammed into the ground as the whip recoiled.
"Let her go," came a stern-sounding voice, belonging to the pony holding the bullwhip. The voice belonged to a mare with a golden yellow coat, grayish black hair, and bright violet eyes. She wore a pith helmet atop her head, and had a bullwhip out, while holding the ivory idol of the phoenix under her other hoof. Daring Do had returned.
Bloodhorn's eyes bulged in anger and frustration. He stood agape, unsure of any reaction to fit what was going on at the moment. Here stood Daring Do, who moments before had been a loyal member of the New Disciples of Discord.
"I said LET HER GO!" Daring yelled in a stronger voice. She kicked off the ground with both back hooves, and raised one of her back hooves back. The shocked Bloodhorn was late to react, and he did not have sufficient time to raise his defenses. Daring Do slugged him in the face. Hard. The unicorn's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the ground. As he slipped out of consciousness, the spells deactivated, and Scootaround was released from her vice-grip stance. She coughed as her windpipe was relaxed, and rushed at Daring Do. The larger pony accepted the embrace of the filly, and hugged her tightly. They stood like that for a moment, amid the jeers and yelling from the crowd.
"Thank Celestia you're ok, kid," said Daring. Both ponies looked like they were about to cry at any moment.
"I thought you were gonna be gone forever." said Scootaround, fighting back tears. The embrace was released, and Daring stood in front of Scootaround, leaning down to see eye to eye.
"Kid, I can't thank you enough for what you went through to get me back. I really mean it kid, you saved me," Daring said. She rubbed her hoof on top of Scootraound's head, causing the hat to fall down over the filly's eyes. Daring then stood up on all fours, reaching her full height. Scootaround fixed her hat, grinning, and stood next to Dr. Do.
"How are we gonna get out of this, Dr. Do?" asked Scootaround, suddenly noticing that they were surrounded by a horde of very angry looking ponies, all of whom were grayscaled.
"I don't suppose that trick with the idol's gonna work with this crowd...." muttered Daring, holding it out in front of her. The pony directly in front of her, a very perturbed-looking mare, did not even flinch.
"What's the plan, Dr. Do?" Scootaround asked, looking about the chamber for a way to exit.
"I dunno..." said Daring, also scanning the chamber, "I'm making all this up as I go along."