//------------------------------// // Excavation // Story: Archaeology // by owlicious //------------------------------// Lyra couldn't believe she was on an expedition with Professor Hareson, the most famous archaeologist in all of Equestria, and the inspiration for the Daring Do series. Still, he wasn't as interesting as Daring Do. He used his magic to sense all of the traps, and set them off. Not that being safe was a good thing, but she thought it'd seem a bit riskier. She was also tired, and scared of the dark. Well, she could always use your horn if you couldn't see. "Okay, just tie the rope. That should be good, I'll be right down there in a second." Lyra wasn't sure why she was here. She tied the rope, and gave the all clear. I mean, this was almost like the Daring Do adventures, but she was tired, and aching. "Okay, that should be good. I'll meet you down there," Hareson said. Lyra waited for him to go down, then followed. "Really... here of all places." "What is it, Professor!" Lyra wondered what happened now. "We're packing everything up, and moving back the doors. We can sell all of the valuables to museums..." The professor was lost in thought. "But I can't write anything about this. I can't even mention it, and you shouldn't either." Lyra looked around to see what he was talking about. Somepony had carved a statue of a tall pegasus in elaborate armor, in what looked like marble. Through the darkness, she saw dozens, or hundreds of marble statues of soldiers. Lyra tried to sit down on a pedestal, and looked at them. "Who carved all of these? It's so lifelike." "You don't know?" Hareson sighed, frustrated. "You should have studied enough for your exams to guess. And get DOWN FROM THERE! This is an important site!" "Hehe..." Lyra looked embarrased, shifting around.. "I'll study later." "Finals are in a week!" "Eeek!" Lyra fell off balance. The pedestal cracked when lyra's hoof hit it. She swore she could still hear something cracking. "No, no, no, no, no!" Cracks were forming in the statues around her. "I swear, I didn't touch them!" "It isn't that!" The professor said, while trying to put the pieces of the pedestal back. "They're ponies! They were sealed for a reason, and you let them escape!" The statues continued to crack, and some of them glowed faintly Hareson shouted, "We're getting out of here, NOW!" The professor grabbed her, and teleported to the the trap door. Harreson then moved the stone back over the trap door and pulled up the rope with magic, and looked like he was panicking. Lyra heard more and more voices from below her. "Horseapples, some of those were pegasi." "Lyra! Help me move this!" Hareson was pushing a stone sarcophagous over the trapdoor with his hooves and his magic. She struggled to move it. "This... should confuse them... for a few minutes!" Hareson said, out of breath. "NOW RUN!" THUNK They ditched most of passed through the way they came, teleporting past the traps they found on the way there. SMASH They passed through the entrance. Lyra turned around, looking for h Her professor was crouching down by the entrance, and setting something up. "Lyra, you ... should really get back." The professor ran away from the entrance, grabbed Lyra, and teleported to the wagon! BOOM Was that.... The horses looked confused. "We're leaving now! Stop waiting around, put on the reins, and go to Canterlot, on the double! It's an emergency!" The horses Wait, what? What kind of professor carried around explosives in his bags! Wasn't it important to preserve the site? They rode off as fast as they could towards the castle. Lyra asked, "professor, who were those ponies?" Author's notes Professor Hareson was supposed to be the unicorn that inspired the Daring Do series. I'm not sure if I'm including Lyra for anything. I just needed an assistant for the story. If you thought this was the story with humans, you might have been looking for Anthropology.