"Sometimes, the best plan is no plan at all."
- Unknown
Location: Canterlot
Time: 3:30 PM March 8th
The Wonderbolts Derby was a grand affair for many ponies. Tickets were hard to secure for most middle-class ponies in Canterlot. For people like Fancypants however, it was as easy as breathing. Fancypants however was unique, he didn't just receive tickets, he had his own private booth for viewing the races unimpeded. It was relatively private as well, only he, Fleur-de-Lis, and a select few of his most trusted yes-ponies were in attendance. Having a booth like that comes with being one of the richest and influential ponies in Canterlot.
"This should be most exciting." Fleur said, observing the track with keen eyes. Currently on the field were the first competitors, mostly trainees, "I especially like the look on that new one, Spitfire? I hear she's quite speedy but with a touch of dexterity."
"Indeed." Fancypants said, not really paying attention.
"Fancypants, are you alright?" Fleur was beginning to realize that Fancypants wasn't all there today. He had a relatively lazy look on his face, "Normally you're quite ecstatic when the Wonderbolts send in trainees."
"Yes, seeing them crash and thrash about is enjoyable but..." Fancypants sighed, "There is something."
"This is about Derring-Do and the expedition isn't it?"
"Indeed." Fancypants leaned back a bit, adjusting his monocle slightly, "We haven't heard from them in quite some time."
"They started the expedition nearly two days ago." Fleur said, unlike Fancypants she wasn't nearly as interested in Archeological pursuits, "Canterlot wasn't built in a day you know."
"I'm sure." Fancypants said, nodding, "Lysander is competent and Derring-Do is very dedicated, she's very much like her father."
"And her father found the journal despite the odds." Fancypants had to agree with that sentiment, if anything there would be probably something wrong if they did communicate this soon, "Don't worry about it."
"Yes yes." Fancypants said, "Now I feel somewhat ashamed for doubting them. I'm sure wherever they are now, they're safe."
*T*
The smell of burning rubber was in the air of the great huge tunnel as the convoy advanced speedily through. Their formation which was once an orderly column was now more of an "every man for himself" deal with headlights cascading and crossing to light up the darkness. The shouts of the crewmen were evident of fear and surprise as they attempted to make some kind of knowledge of their situation. Derring-Do flew ahead of the column, guiding them so they did not drive headlong off a cliff or against a wall. Lysander was driving his own truck doing all he could to coordinate the convoy. Digger was trying to get the Siege Tank to get past twenty.
All because a Giant Centipede the size of the Submarine was chasing them.
"Drive, Penworthy!" Sidonus shouted as he shot at the Centipede fruitlessly with his revolver. Penworthy was struggling to not faint from fear as she took the wheel. Driving was also a relatively new thing to her, so that was another thing she was struggling with, as she tried to avoid colliding with anyone else.
"Derring!" Lysander screamed at Derring flying ahead, "How much farther!?"
"It should be coming in sight in just a minute!" Derring was flying ahead of the convoy, the Journal in hoof. The Centipede screeched as it chased after the trucks. Thankfully, for its size, it was pretty slow, the trucks were outrunning it just fine at full speed. But Digger's Siege Tank was only just faster than the centipede, much to his alarm.
"Digger is going to be lunch if we don't hurry!" Digger screamed, pulling at the various levers to make the thing go faster.
"There! oh..." Derring immediately stopped in the air. Her eyes immediately filled with anxiety.
"What? Oh for..." Lysander immediately spotted their ticket out. A building illuminated with torches, Derring had identified as a Gate to the Trial of Fire. The only problem however was the fact that between it and the Convoy stood a downhill slope, a very steep one that could be mistaken for a direct drop. The slope went down some half mile and was lined with rocks and floored with gravel, "Dang it! Heads are going to roll if we just go down there!"
"Do you see a safer option Captain!?" Derring shouted. Lysander slammed his head on the wheel in frustration. Either go down the slippery steep slope and risk rolling a truck or two or risk it with the giant Centipede. It was like choosing between Scylla and Charybdis.
"Fine! Everyone down the slope!" Lysander immediately accelerated forward, his truck bumping as it lurched over and onto the slope. The other trucks and the Siege Tank went in after, followed shortly by the giant Centipede. The trucks immediately were faced with fighting gravity and the suddenly slippery gravel that made up the slope. Sidonus immediately kicked Penworthy back into the passenger seat and drove, correcting the truck as it lurched left or right. Unlike the trucks which were slipping left or right, the Siege Tank simply slid down the slope like water. The Siege Tank hit the immediately righted terrain first then proceeded to the gate.
"I'm here!" Digger shouted, Derring immediately flew down to his level, flipping through the Journal.
"Digger! On either side of the gate are large cranks that'll open it, help me turn them!"
"Digger thinks not! He can simply drill through and-"
"No time!" Lysander shouted. The two looked towards the slope and noticed that the Centipede was now sliding down towards the trucks, apparently having lost its balance. Now the convoy faced the very real danger of being crushed at the bottom.
"Fine!"
"Go!" Derring commanded. The two immediately hopped down to the gate. As Derring said, there were two large wooden cranks with chains jutting up into the building at an angle. Digger and Derring immediately set about turning them. Much to their relief, the crank didn't fight back and the gate began lifting itself open. The trucks hit the ground with a thud and immediately drove for the gate. The Centipede hit the ground with a sickening crack some ways behind them. Archimedes flew in and took the helm at the Siege Tank. He drove it inside quickly along with the trucks, that left Derring and Digger outside.
"Go Digger!" Derring shouted. Digger gladly left his post and ran inside. Derring struggled to keep the gate open.
"Derring!" Penworthy screamed, she immediately noticed the Centipede righting itself and turning round, "Come on!"
Derring let go of the crank, it began spinning in the opposite direction. Much to Derring's horror, the gate began closing like a penny being thrown off the side of an airship. She immediately brought her wings up and down in but a second and in a quickly flash of speed and with a loud crack like a whip, she was past the gate just as it closed. The gate smashed shut as the Centipede rammed it full speed, knocking dust off the walls.
"Close one." She muttered, she checked her head. Her father's hat was still on her.
"Looks like we're all here." Sidonus said, rubbing the sweat out of his feathers.
"Yes. Could've been far worse." Lysander exited his truck. He examined his surroundings, beyond the headlights, there was near darkness past the gate. He guessed it must've been some kind of tunnel of sorts, "Derring, where are we now?"
"Well..." Derring quickly flipped through the journal, "According to Clover the Clever's writing, we're at the beginning of the Trial of Fire. Apparently, we have to succeed at some kind of test in order to gain the first Key."
"What's the test?" Digger asked, "Digger can probably solve it all himself!"
"It says something about whales." Derring said, "Penworthy, can you clarify this? You translated it."
"Well..." Penworthy took the book with her magics and examined the page, "It says here that in order to gain the key, first you must draw out the whales."
"You're kidding, whales this far underground?" Archimedes said, coming in from the Siege Tank, "Impossible, next thing you know you've got whales flying to orchestral music."
"Well we did just get attacked by a Giant Centipede and a mechanical serpent the size of a mountain, I wouldn't use the word 'impossible' just yet." Lysander bluntly stated. Archimedes scoffed in response. Penworthy awkwardly came in between the two.
"Anyway." Penworthy continued, "The whales carry the key to unlocking the bridge, and the Gate to Thule."
"Alright. Derring take point, Digger get the Siege Tank going, we'll get the trucks in formation behind you." Lysander commanded. Derring and Penworthy immediately ran ahead of the group. Their path was lit by the Siege Tank's great foglights. So far, what they could see was a flat carved out floor and dilapidated walls on either side, the stone and cement surprisingly holding the tunnel up. The tunnel continued on for some time as Derring and Penworthy felt their legs start to tire, but suddenly, there was a light at the end of a tunnel.
"Penworthy, you see that?" Derring said.
"Yeah, I thought we were dead!" Penworthy responded. The two quickly picked up their pace, the light growing larger and larger until-
"Whoa!" Penworthy nearly fell off the end of the tunnel, she quickly righted herself, "Derring! You know how much I hate lava!"
The tunnel literally opened into a massive sea of lava. Derring and Penworthy could barely see the other side area, another tunnel that apparently continued on. The ceiling was featureless save for a large chandelier of some kind made from a material that shined like gold and gave off the most ominous humming noise over the ambiance of the lava sea. The convoy caught up to them, stopping just short of them. Lysander, Sidonus, all the specialists and even Braeburn and Trixie walked up next to them and observed their obstacle.
"Sea of lava. That's just great." Sidonus said.
"So where are these whales? I don't imagine they can swim in lava Sidonus." Archimedes said, crossing his arms in a huff.
"Well, we have to draw out the whales." Derring stated, "But..."
"Whales aren't particular for swimming in seas of lava I hear Derring." Lysander said, "Is there any other way through?"
"I don't imagine so," Penworthy examined the Journal's contents, "even if there was, we'd still need the key to open the Gate to Thule."
"Maybe we could blow up the ceiling," Mu suggested, Lysander and Sidonus looked at him like he just grew a second head, "Make a bridge across the lava."
"Magma." Digger corrected, Mu slapped him upside the head for his troubles.
"We have no idea how deep that sea is." Lysander said, his frustration becoming apparent, "Is there anything else in that journal?"
"Let me see..." Penworthy skimmed the journal, Derring and Sidonus looked over her shoulders curiously, "To draw out the whales, you must activate the catalyst."
"I'm guessing that," Sidonus pointed towards the golden chandelier above, "is the catalyst."
"Alright then, Sidonus, Derring, get up there." Lysander commanded. The two nodded and immediately flew up to the chandelier. The Chandelier was much larger than they thought, it was like an upside down fountain. The humming sound emitting from it was becoming slightly uncomfortable for Sidonus and Derring. The two immediately searched it for a button to press or a lever to pull. After about five minutes of floating around it, frustration started to set in.
"How in Tartarus are we supposed to turn this on!?" Sidonus shouted. Derring flew up closer, right underneath it. There was a very faint red glow coming from the apex.
"Hmm..." Derring scratched her chin, then examined it much closer. The chandelier possessed dark lines around it that sharply turned and split into more. The chandelier also possessed four plates that were attached to the top of it and surrounded it, "Sidonus, could you try rotating these plates?"
Sidonus nodded and pushed at one of the plates, it noticeably lurched as it slowly revolved around. The faint red glow suddenly brightened.
"There!" Derring immediately started pushing at another plate, and the two began spinning the plates around. Slowly, the red glow started brightening from a faint glimmer to a now fantastic orb of light. After several revolutions, the two stopped pushing and floated outside the chandelier. The plates were now spinning of their own accord. The orb of light then produced a beam that fired into the magma. The humming now erupted into a full roar. For a full minute this continued, until the suddenly, the plates stopped spinning and the orb of light subsided back into a faint glow. Sidonus and Derring returned to the group. Lysander observed the magma sea curiously.
"Did it work?" He asked. There was an uncomfortable void of nothing happening, "I'm guessing it didn't work."
Lysander was immediately answered by a huge monstrosity bursting out of the sea of magma. This thing looked like it was made of rocks, and yet was organic looking, it possessed fins and a tail of a regular fish. It hovered in the air for but a second before gravity came and took it down back into the sea. This repeated with several more of these things bursting out of the sea and simply falling back in. These must have been the whales.
"Well don't that jus' beat all." Braeburn said. His shock was joined with the rest of the group.
"Penworthy," Derring called, still observing the display, "Which one has the key?"
"Largest one." Penworthy responded, observing the sight of magma whales just hopping out of the sea, "How are we supposed to get it?"
"I'll take care of it. Trixie!" Sidonus called, Trixie immediately responded with running away. Sidonus, having none of that, immediately picked her up in his arms and flew out into the sea, punctuated by Trixie's screams of terror.
"LET GO OF ME YOU RUFFIAN!" Trixie screamed.
"Poor choice of words!" Sidonus screamed back. He flew past the whales as they jumped from the sea, dodging the molten liquid as it sprayed at him. The heat however was unavoidable, and it felt like he was being turned to roast chicken as he flew. Then, he spotted a particularly large whale with what looked a golden plate on its head. Studding the plate however, was a red crystal, "There!"
"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Trixie screamed.
"SHUT UP AND GRAB THAT THING WITH YOUR MAGIC!" Sidonus screamed back. He immediately flew up to the whale. The whale was reaching the apex of its jump, there was barely any time, "GRAB IT!"
"AAAHH!" Trixie screamed as she reached out telekinetically for it. Her blue magic encased it as it tore free from the whale. It roared in some kind of pain before falling back into the magma sea. Sidonus, deciding not to stick around immediately flew back to the group. He dropped Trixie on the ground, who landed in a catatonic state, barely able to breathe. The key landed next to her, no longer in her grasp. Colgate trotted up to her and started calming Trixie, while Sidonus picked up the key, and unsurprisingly found it hot to the touch. He nearly tossed it over the side in pain.
"Okay- AH! What now." Sidonus was hopping the key, which was apparently some kind of red crystal, between hands. Penworthy caught it in her telekinetic grasp to relieve him.
"Well, we put it in the key hole." Penworthy scratched at the ground. She rubbed some of the dirt and grime away, revealing some intricate carvings. Derring nodded in approval, then started helping her clear up the grime. Then she noticed a hole.
"Penworthy, here!" Derring called out. Penworthy immediately ran up to Derring's position, then placed the crystal into the hole. Suddenly, the floor's intricate carvings started glowing bright red. The carvings possessed lines, that formed straight, right angles with few, if any curves. The lines proceeded to branch out into the walls, then suddenly, two beams of light shot out from the tunnel floor and cascaded out over the magma sea and to the other tunnel. It then formed a humming, shining floor between the beams.
"Well..." Archimedes started, "Is it safe to cross?"
"Let's check." Penworthy said. She and Derring walked up to the end of the tunnel, then slowly, walked forward. To their surprise, they were still standing above the magma sea, at the same level of the tunnel. The very light was holding them up, "It works!"
"I meant, throw a rock or something." Archimedes said, "But that works too."
"Right," Lysander immediately pulled the crystal from the hole. Derring and Penworthy flinched, but the bridge did not fade or even visibly weaken, "Let's get across."
The two mares looked at each other with a bit of nervousness, then proceeded to their positions in the convoy. As always, Digger and the Siege Tank was first. Reluctantly, he drove onto the bridge apparently made of hard light. The bridge barely registered the weight thankfully and he drove on. The rest of the trucks continued as well.
"It's impressive!" Derring excitedly said. She was sitting next to Lysander in his own truck, "It must be like some kind of forcefield like the ones the Royal Guard uses! Except... Square!"
"So that was the Trial of Fire?" Lysander said.
"I think so, I mean, Sidonus and Trixie did have to grab the key from a Lava Whale." Derring tapped her chin in contemplation, "The people of Thule must not have designed these trials for things than can fly."
"Well, I don't want more surprises, that Centipede kinda killed surprises for me." Lysander said.
"Alright, I'll go consult the Journal." Derring exited the truck and flew back for Penworthy. Lysander sighed.
"Ponies..." He muttered under his breath. The convoy continued to power through to the other tunnel, then disappeared into its darkness. The trip to Thule continues.