//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: Tomb of the Lost Luggage // Story: Rise of the Runelords: Burnt Offerings // by redtau //------------------------------// There was a rushing sensation, and it looked like a tunnel of stars whipping by so fast that each star streaked into a long glowing line. The tunnel wasn't straight either, it twisted and spiraled in sickening ways. All in all, Twilight came away with only two sensations: disorientation and speed. It was with something of a jolt then that she stepped out of the portal at the same speed she had entered it, nearly tripping at the apparent change in velocity. The startled cries from her friends told her she wasn't the only one. The room around her was dark, but not pitch black. Light filtered from somewhere nearby, and she heard the sound of waves not far in the distance. There was a slightly damp and salty smell in the air. "Twi, can you give us some light?" Applejack asked. At least, it sounded like Applejack. Twilight tried to make out something of her friends in the dim light, but all she got was a rough outline. She focused and felt magic begin to flow through her, but could not see the glow, nor feel it center on anything. "Twi? You there?" "I'm here Applejack," Twilight said, reassuring her friend, "I just can't seem to make my horn glow." She brought her hoof up to her face to learn that she now had hands like she did in Canterlot High. Also like Canterlot High, she didn't seem to have a horn. Carefully she felt around the ground and picked up a fist sized stone. "This is kinda neat!" Pinkie Pie chimed in, "Like camping!" "Ugh, wherever we are it is a mess!" Rarity fussed, "I can't take half a step without nearly tripping on something." Twilight focused her magic on the stone, trying desperately to to get the familiar glow to envelop it. "Come on darn you!" She cursed at the stone. "LIGHT!" She felt something, like the energy within her shifted to her neck, and then suddenly the stone she was holding was glowing brightly. Twilight dropped the stone in surprise and backed away from it, blinking to let her eyes adjust. After a moment she looked around. The room mirrored the one in Equestria, except that the walls had large alcoves, about two hooves wide and tall, that looked fairly deep. Most had bags or boxes in them. Also, half the ceiling had collapsed, pinning part of the gate and denying access to a good portion of the room. More interesting to Twilight however were her friends. Their forms reminded her of her friends in Canterlot High, but larger and more mature. Rarity spun around gracefully trying to see all of herself, showing off a long simple dress of pure white, along with simple slippers and a pair of golden bracelets. Applejack, who was waggling her new fingers and watching them move, had on a rougher shirt and pants, along with her signature stetson. Rainbow Dash was currently searching desperately for her wings, running her hands over the back over he tank-top and spinning left and right in a pair of long shorts. Fluttershy was just staring at everyone wide eyed, her long hair matching her long dress that fell almost to the floor. Only Pinkie Pie seemed to have moved past her new form to begin poking at the contents of a nearby alcove. The fabric of the bag sagged and gave out when she touched it. "Where are my wings?" Rainbow panicked slightly. "Hush now Rainbow Dash," Applejack said, "Ya'll be fine without them for a short while. After all, if Twilight found a way to magic, you'll probably find a way to fly soon enough." She flexed her muscles and stretched, quickly coming to terms with her new form. "Though I'll feel naked without some armor." "Wha? Applejack you've never worn armor." Rainbow Dash said. "Well of course!" Pinkie said, dancing around the light. "She's never worn armor and Twilight's never cast a light spell like that before and none of us except Twilight have walked in these forms but we don't have any trouble moving around so it must be the stone thingies giving us these abilities!" She put her hand to her cheek thinking. "I don't think I have any specific new memories, but I can just now think of a lot of stories I didn't know before. I think I might be a bard." "A what now?" Twilight asked, honestly confused. "A bard! A traveling storyteller and adventurer." Pinkie pointed at Applejack "AJ's a fighter, well skilled in all kinds of combat," Then Rainbow Dash "And Dashie is a monk!" She grinned and poked a finger at Twilight. "You are a wizard! That explains the amulet around your neck and how you cast your light spell." "Amulet?" Twilight's had flew to her neck where she encountered a large triangular amulet hanging off a chain. She lifted it to her eyes and nearly cried out in fright. It looked like the alicorn amulet, so much so that Twilight was worried she was already being corrupted before she noticed the subtle differences. While the the original amulet had been all straight lines and menacing, this one had more of a flowing grace to it. The central gem was also a purple starburst instead of a single blood red gem. "Oh, what am I?" Fluttershy asked, creeping over to Pinkie Pie. "Am I something nice?" "I don't know, I haven't seen you do anything yet but since the guy you took your gem from was a druid I think you are one too." Pinkie cocked her head to one side. "You probably won't notice much difference since you could talk to animals before, but now you ought to be able to summon them. We've got a lot of magic in our party!" She nodded happily. "And for diplomacy we can rely on Rarity because she is a nob-" "THIEF!" Rarity yelled, collapsing to the ground. "I'm a thief! I picture courts and ballrooms and dances in my head and it all seems to revolve around who has the most jewelry and where the guards are standing!" She began to actively sob. "Even when I think of Celestia I start to plan on how I might rob her!" "Aww, you're not really a thief, you're probably just a rogue." Pinkie Pie said. "A... a rogue?" Rarity asked with a small bit of hope. Pinkie nodded encouragingly. "Yeah, someone who uses charm and stealth to get into places and defeat baddies or undo traps. Like a ninja! You don't have to be bad, like a thief, you could be good." "How do you know all this?" Twilight asked, astounded at the amount of information Pinkie was pouring out. "Like I said, I just suddenly know a lot of stories about heroes and villains and dungeons and dragons and such. You just seem to fit certain stereotypes." "Well," Rarity said with a bit of pomp, drawing herself up, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I intend to find an exit before Twilight's magical glowing rock, as amazing as it is darling, decides to stop glowing. I hear water nearby." Nodding in agreement, Twilgiht picked up their light source, noting that the light did nothing to change the temperature of the stone, and began to follow the only exit they could see. Several minutes later, just as the stone was flickering and going out, they came upon a small opening no bigger than a door. Beyond it was a sheer cliff face that looked out onto a beautiful ocean and a star filled night. "Darling it's breathtaking!" Rarity said, looking out at the scene in wonder. "It's not going to be possible to go down or up tonight." Rainbow Dash said, looking out at stone around the opening. "We'll have to wait for light. "You all right sugar cube?" Applejack asked Twilight, who stood at the door with her eyes fixed on the stars. "It's just, it always amazes me. I know this is a different world, and we are in new bodies and everything, but it all still looks the same sometimes." She waved her hands at the cliff face and the ocean beyond. "The trees are all shaped like trees and the rocks are all rocks. It's only when I look up into the night sky and I don't see any of Princess Luna's influence or design that I realize I really am somewhere else. That I'm so far from home I don't know if I could even point the way back." "I CAN!" Pinkie Pie announced before hooking a thumb over her shoulder. "Gate's that-a-way." "We'd better camp here near the entrance tonight." Rainbow Dash said, "We can start really looking around when the sun comes up." Fluttershy shivered in the dark, even with her friends close by this whole experience was so terrifying to her. They were in a new world! A dangerous one, where none of them knew what threats might be out there, what kind of terrible monsters could be waiting just beyond the next door. "I have to be brave!" She whispered to herself. "For my friends, for everyone!" A light passed over her eyes and she opened them slowly. A single firefly had wandered in from outside and landed quietly on her nose, glowing softly. "Oh my, look at you. I didn't know there would be fireflies here." "Of course there are," said a friendly male voice nearby. Fluttershy looked up to see an older gentleman with a kind smile leaning against the far wall and smoking a pipe. He sounded a lot like the image of Craig had. I'm dreaming Fluttershy thought, relaxing and smiling at the image. "Your friend said it after all." "My friend?" "The one with the purple hair, sunset? There are the same rocks and trees, so of course there's going to be the same birds and bees. There will be snakes and spiders, yes, but also beavers and bunnies. This world is full of wonderful creatures just waiting to meet you. You aren't going to disappoint them by being afraid and hiding in this dark spooky cave forever are you?" Flutershy shook her head, smiling even wider now. "Good," Craig said, "Now get some rest, you've probably got a long day ahead of you." Fluttershy laid her head down and was quickly, peacefully asleep. A moment later Rainbow Dash raised her head and looked around the dark empty room. There was nothing but her friends and a single firefly. After a long while she put her head back down. Huh, she thought, I could have swore I smelled smoke. The next day saw everypony slowly waking to crashing waves, beautiful sunlight, and empty stomachs. "Anybody got any hay?" Applejack asked, rolling over and yawning. "We can't eat hay in these bodies," Twilight said, "We'll have to find some other food." "Oooh, my back." Rarity said, stretching and cracking. She paused mid stretch. "Does anypony else hear singing?" Following the sound back down the corridor they found Pinkie Pie strumming a guitar and singing in the dark. "Midnight Fix-up! Midnight Fix-up!" She said as she strummed a familiar tune, she looked up as the girls came around the corner, bearing another glowing rock from Twilight. "Oooh! Now I can see what I fixed." "Pinkie! What are you doing?" Rarity asked. "Fixing stuff!" "Ya can't fix stuff just by singing to it sugarcube." Applejack said. "Oh yeah?" Pinkie asked. She picked up a broken bow from a nearby alcove, set it before her and waved her hands. "Ancient object destroyed by time/ listen now and head this rhyme/ undo the damage of time gone bye/ thus commands me, Pinkie Pie!" Before everyone's eyes the bow began to mend itself back together. It didn't completely restore itself, but it was definitely in better shape than when it had started. "Pinkie can do magic?!" Twilight asked, astounded. Rarity sniffled and eyed Pinkie, feeling depressed at the loss of her own small power. "Only a few small things, like this." She reached behind her. "Acio Drum!" Suddenly there was a small drum in her hands. She tapped out a quick rhythm on it, enjoying the warm sounds. "Lemmie see that!" Applejack said, taking it from Pinkie. "I wanna know if my singing can fix things too! Maybe I can repair my barn with a ballad next time!" She tapped the drum experimentally but there was no sound. "What the?" "A magically summoned instrument that only the person who summoned it can play?" Twilight asked, eyeing the drum. "Yup," Pinkie Giggled. "You can't beat it!" Everyone groaned. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were busy looking at the few items Pinkie had managed to repair that morning. Mostly it was light clothes and traveling gear, but something stuck out to Rainbow Dash. She carefully lifted a thick leather bound journal and presented it with care to Twilight. "Looks like Pinkie fixed them up enough you can touch one without it falling to pieces." Carefully Twilight opened the book, smiling as she saw the writing was fairly legible but in a strange language. She cast about in the few items Pinkie had pulled out before spotting a small clear crystal. Picking it up she focused on the book again and found the writing becoming something she could read. "It's a spellbook!" Twilight cried out in delight. She flipped through the pages to find a good number filled in. She flipped to the middle and began to read the notes aloud. "Phantom Steed! A moderately complex conjuration spell for long distance travel! To cast the pasta you noodle boogle fangle.... what?" She flipped through some of the pages nearby. "Pinkie! Only the front section of this book is even remotely legible!" "'Gee, Pinkie Pie, thanks for all the hard work you've done'" Pinkie said, mimicking Twilight's voice. "'It must have been tough for you, getting up early and coming to sit here in the dark to sing to books older than Celestia long enough I could pick them up and complain about not being able to read them.'" Twilight cringed, realizing she had mad a huge miss-step. "I'm sorry Pinkie, I just got excited about learning new magic." "It's OK Twilight," Pinkie said with a smile. "I'm just worried we won't find much of use. Most of the books are so far gone that I don't think I could even touch them, and all of the equipment in here is rusted and worn or degraded to the point I could sing all day and maybe repair one tiny knife." "Well then, it looks like I found something of importance!" Rarity announced, bringing a small wooden box about the size of a shoe box over to the group. She opened the top to show the empty insides. "Um, Rarity, not to chide or anything, but that's just a box." "Hmph, I should have known better than to expect excitement from you Rainbow Dash. You can see it's value, right Fluttershy?" "Oh yes." Fluttershy said with a bit of excitement. "It's a very nice box. I'm sure we could put some of the smaller items or even a piece of clothing inside for later. Rarity stared at her friends in befuddlement. "Can you really not see it?" "See what Rarity?" Twilight asked, leaning in and looking carefully at the box. "Th- the panel. The false bottom? The notch on the side? See, where you hook it with your nail and drag it up? There are tale tell scratch marks." Twilight eyed the little notch Rarity indicated and the near invisible scrapes that curved slightly away from the edge of the box. She just shook her head. Rarity looked at the box herself in awe. "So that's what being a rogue is like." She reached in and lifted the bottom out, revealing ten gems packed in sand. "OH MY!" She exclaimed. "These must be worth a small fortune!" Two hours later Twilight was using a spell called Mage Hand to affix a grappling hook with a length of rope to the top of the cliff. Rarity huddled under her new cloak pouting. "I'm just saying I found them and it's not fair." "Don't be like that hon," Applejack said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "We need money more than you need gems right now. We'll sell them if we get the chance and buy ourselves some proper equipment." There was a general rumble of a couple of empty tummies. "And some food."