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// Act 4: Chapter 15 - Society of Slumber 
// Story: The Apocalypse Ponies: Origins 
// by PlagenShiki 
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For months the Society of Slumber went on with what it normally did prior to my joining. We would meet up in the hideout and just hang out discussing random things. There was no grand plan or methods to uncover the conspiracy. We knew it existed, but none of us had a plan of how to prove it to anyone. And even if we could prove it to all our classmates, without the support of adults we couldn’t do anything about it.

But, that didn’t stop me from trying. Aurora, Hem, and Lucky didn’t seem like the types to research, so I began to do so alone. I looked in the library for any information I could gain to support our claims. However, as I looked I began to realize quite quickly, that if there was a conspiracy they surely wouldn’t leave any trace of proof. There were no books on the Great Tragedies, rarely any books on history, and nothing about the history of Vanatonem. It was as though the history of everything had been erased. 

I didn’t know what else to do so I just began to wonder around town. With no knowledge to consume I felt somewhat empty. However, I could take some solace in the fact that I was growing up and soon I would have to find a job and learn a trade that would preoccupy my time.

But that would have to wait.  For now I was deep in thought about what I would have to do next. My fellow members of the SoS wouldn’t be of much use in coming up with any idea. So I continue to wonder around the town aimlessly. It just so happened that I was passing by one of the closed off mines when I snap back to reality. I look over it the entrance, noticing the guards around it, and turn to continue on.

I stop, however as something crosses my mind. ‘What is actually in those mines?’ I ponder. I had never seen anyone coming in or out of them and they were always under fairly heavy guard. I felt as though the proof to our conspiracy accusation would be found down there. I couldn’t rightly march past the guards and investigate, so I decide to go back to the hideout and discuss it with the other SoS members.


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I open the door to the hideout and walk inside. I am greeted by a chorus of “hey”. “Good news everypony, I think I might have an idea of how to get some proof. Do any of you know anything about the mines?” I ask them. They all shake their heads to which I reply, “Good, then I might just be correct. I believe that in those mines lies the proof we need. We just need a plan to get into them.” They look at each other before Aurora says, “Brilliant! Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen inside them ever. Great! This is just what we need! Let’s march down there and demand they show us inside it!” Her eyes sparkle and she breaks out into a grin.

Lucky rolls his eyes as he says, “Come now, Aurora, they aren’t going to just give us a tour. They guard it for a reason, you know.” I nod and say, “Exactly, Lucky. We need a plan, and a good one at that.” “Ugh, fine. We’ll make a plan then,” Aurora says dejectedly, “but, I haven’t really been a mare for plans. I have something else to take care of anyhow, so you guys get discussing a plan, I’ll be back later!” Aurora then left the hideout without another word.

“Heheh…She does that too often,” Lucky says with a slight smirk. “Every time,” Hem agrees. “Yea…Now then, on to the plan. Any ideas?” I ask. Hem shakes his head, as expected, but Lucky begins brainstorming, “Well, how many mine entrances are there?” I think about it for a moment. I recall there being three in total, one in the north, south-east, and west. Each is guarded by two guards at all times. “Three,” I reply. “Which do we try for?” Hem asks. “Good question,” Lucky says, “Perhaps we should  scout them each out, first?” I nod, “Yea, that seems like a good idea for now. Let’s see which would be the easiest to deal with. I suppose we can each take one entrance?” Both nod and we all get up to leave. As I reach the door I turn to them, “Be careful not to do anything suspicious and draw attention to yourselves. Just take a look around.”

I take the Western entrance while Hem takes the North and Lucky takes the South-East. We agree to meet up back at the hideout once our scouting is done. I trot to the west mine entrance and take a look at the surrounding area. There aren’t many buildings around it, and a lot of ponies are moving around the area. The only thing of note was a larger building that rose higher than the others. However, it has too much of an open area, and the guards will see us coming from a ways away.

It would certainly be complicated to get into the mines from this entrance. If there is something in the mines that we aren’t supposed to see, the guards will be on the lookout, for school children especially if all the adults are in on it, and the rest of the adults walking around the area certainly won’t let us just fool the guards and sneak in.

The guards themselves were clad in their usual armor and were completely stoic and unmoving. I am not sure I even saw either one blink yet. They were certainly dedicated to guarding the entrance, I’ll give them that. I turn to leave when I catch glimpse of a pony looking at me through a curtained window. But when our eyes meet they turn away and close the curtain. ‘That was odd,’ I thought, ‘well, not much else I can scout out here. I might as well return to the hideout.’ I turn my gaze from the window and begin walking back to the hideout.

As I got about half way back to the hideout, I spot Aurora going that way as well with some full saddlebags. I trot up to her and say, “What you got there?” She jumps a little at my sudden approach before saying, “Just some stuff for our…” she pauses and lowers her voice, “trip.” I’m confused for a moment before what she means sinks in. “Ah, is that what you meant by having something else to do?” I inquire. “Yes,” she responds, “I’m not a planner, I’m a doer.” She gives me a sly smile as we continue on towards the hideout.


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Once we arrive at the hideout, both Hem and Lucky are already there. We swap greetings before I ask Aurora, “So, what’s in your bags?” She gives a wide smile as she puts them on the table and opens them, letting us see the contents. “I wasn’t sure exactly what we would need,” she says, “so I got quite a few things. Food, ropes, medical supplies, that sort of thing. We have no clue what we might find or how long we will be in the mines, so I thought it best to be prepared.” Well, I thought, she wasn’t our leader without reason. She always thinks ahead, even though she never plans anything out. Lucky lets out a whistle and says, “Good work as always, Aurora.”

“Indeed,” I agree. “Now then, how did the scouting go? Personally, my entrance had a lot of traffic and the guards looked ready for anything. I also saw something odd. A pony was looking out a window at me, but when I saw them they closed their curtain and turned away.” “That seems like a no-go, right?” Aurora asks. “Yea, that’s what I was thinking,” I reply. “What about you two?” Hem and Lucky exchange glances and Hem begins.

“North was similar. Lots of ponies, unmoving guards, and not much room to hide. It would be hard,” he says. “Eh? That one too?” Aurora sighs. “What about you, Lucky?” I ask. “Well, my entrance had the same type of guards as you both found. However, there wasn’t much traffic around it at all. While it doesn’t have much in terms of places to hide for the most part, there are a few small buildings near it we could use, if necessary,” he says. We all exchange smirks before Aurora exclaims, “That sounds like our ticket in!” She gets up and heads to the door, “Let’s go then!”

The others and I exchange questioning looks before Hem says, “We need a plan, we can’t just march in.” Lucky stands up as well, “He’s right, you know. If we go at them without a plan of action, we won’t make it far.” Aurora turns around and sits back down at the table. “Fine then,” she says with a pouty look on her face. “Let’s make a plan, I guess.” Lucky sits back down as he uses his magic to float over some paper and a pencil.

“I’ll start us off by drawing up a map of the entrance,” Lucky says as he starts scribbling on the paper. “This goes here, I think this is how this looked…” he mutters as he draws. A few moments pass till he exclaims, “And…Done!” He sets his drawing down in the middle of the table so we can all see it. “This is pretty much how it looks,” he says. Hem and I try to hide a grin, but Aurora bursts out into laughter, “Seriously? That’s your drawing? A filly could have done better!” Lucky just rolls his eyes and says, “Yea, yea, I get it. I’m not an artist…But all the basic details are there. Quiet down…”

Once Aurora manages to stifle her laughter, we continue on with the planning. “So, what do you think Lucky, could we use those small buildings to hide behind while we create a distraction?” I ask. “We should be able to, but how will we distract them? They didn’t seem to move for anything,” he replies. “Don’t worry about that, I’ll do it,” Aurora declares. “I’ll prepare a backup for when she fails,” Hem says bluntly. Lucky and I laugh slightly while Aurora puffs out her cheeks.

Once we finish laughing and everyone calms down we go over the plan in a bit more detail with Aurora stating that her distraction will be a “surprise”. When we get all the details down we decide to put our plan into action tomorrow morning. We say our goodbyes before heading home for the night.


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The following day we are currently gathered around the small building, as per our plan. We had met up at our hideout to go over the plan one last time and then traveled here together. Aurora was just about to start whatever distraction she had planned. She looks back at us and we nod to her. She then takes a deep breath and begins to run straight to the guards screaming for help. Lucky almost falls to the ground laughing while Hem and I just roll our eyes.

“Guards, help!” Aurora cries as she runs towards them. “Someone stole my saddlebags!” She runs straight to them while continuing to shout for help and claiming someone stole her bags. “This was her brilliant plan?” Lucky asks. “Yep…Only Aurora could come up with this…” I reply. “Don’t worry. My plan is ready.” Hem says.

Aurora reaches the guards in a few moments, but they remain as passive as ever. “Hello!? Guards!?” Aurora shouts frantically, “Someone stole my saddlebags, can you like…help!?” She begins waving her hooves in front of their faces, “Hello? Anyone in there!? Things got stolen? Guards help?” After a few moments of this she stands there dumbfounded while staring daggers at them before grunting and exclaiming, “Ugh! Fine! I’ll get it back myself! Thanks a lot, guards!” She then turns and gallops back to us.

Lucky can barely contain himself while teasing her, “So, that was your brilliant distraction, eh?” Aurora puffs out her cheeks and says, “Shut it.” Hem and I smile at the scene of Lucky laughing at Aurora while she tries to make him stop. “Ok, enough playing around.” Hem says, “My turn.” He moves to leave our hiding spot when he stops and turns back towards us, “Oh, also,” he says, “This plan requires that I don’t go with you. Find something good.” He then runs out of cover towards the guards.

He covers the distance quickly and when he is close enough, he turns around and kicks one of the guards with enough force to send the guard into the other one. Hem turns to face them as they recover, their passive expressions turning to anger. I hear one of them say, “Why you little…” before Hem turns around and runs the opposite direction from us. The guards get on their hooves and begin to chase him. “Now that, is a distraction, Aurora,” Lucky says with a smirk.

Aurora turns to say something back but I speak up before she can, “Save the bickering for later, let’s get in the mine while they are away!” We dash out of cover and towards the mine entrance. Lucky gets there first, but stops and turns to us, “It’s locked,” he says. “Of course it is, they wouldn’t leave it unlocked, genius,” I say as I levitate out my lock picking tools from my bags and begin to open the lock. “What?!” Exclaims Aurora, “You can pick locks?” “Of course I can. You spend enough time reading books, and you can learn all kinds of things,” I say as I finish opening the lock. I open the door and we hurry inside before I close it quietly behind us.