“… Then we check in with the Mayor of Stalliongrad and make sure our permits are in order. Then we see what documentation we can look at and go over it. Then --”
“Come on, Egghead,” Rainbow Dash groaned from where she lay sprawled on one of the couches in the train car, “Only you could make exploring a Pre-Princesses ruin boring!”
“Temper, girls,” Revan jumped in before Twilight could voice the annoyed reply that was showing on her face, “We’re almost to Stalliongrad, so let’s remember that we’re all friends, okay?”
“Sorry, Twilight.”
“Sorry, Rainbow.”
“Better,” the twi’lek nodded approvingly at the two ponies, “Now, how about explaining why you brought me along on this little adventure, Twi’? I know that keeping RD away from a chance to play ‘Daring Do’ would take chains and a gag, but why’d you invite me?”
“Oh, that’s simple,” Twilight replied as she brushed a bit of her mane out of her face, “You’ve told us about your prior experiences dealing with ancient tombs and underground ruins, so you were a logical choice. And, well, we’ve barely seen you for the last few weeks …”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Revan apologized, as a quick burst of shame heated her face, “Working on this school and trying to train the Princesses in the Force is really eating up my time, I didn’t mean to ignore you girls.”
Rainbow flapped over to casually hoof the Jedi in the shoulder, “Hey, ponies get wrapped up in things, we’re cool.”
Revan bobbed her head in thanks for the mares’ understanding, then quickly changed the subject, “Do you really think you found something that everyone else missed, Twi’?”
“Not missed,” Twilight corrected, her face aglow with the joy of academic discovery, “But lacked the necessary information to find. While I have every confidence in the expertise of the archeologists who investigated Asphodel, they did not have access to the Crystal Empire’s archives, and I’m ninety-eight percent certain that there is a lower level that has been concealed from ponykind since Discord’s reign.”
Rainbow and Revan exchanged smiles at the unicorn’s enthusiasm, but the Jedi felt a moment of caution was in order, “You do realize that when folk go and hide away part of an underground complex, they usually have a reason for it? And long empty caves tend to acquire residents?”
“Of course they had a reason, that’s what I’m hoping we’ll discover,” Twilight tilted her head slightly as she gave her friend a confused glance, “As for monsters or aggressive animals, the Stalliongrad gendarmerie sends patrols through Asphodel specifically to make sure nothing dangerous moves into the complex.”
A long blast of the train’s whistle warned the three friends that they were approaching their stop, and sent them for their bags.
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The bitter cold of Stalliongrad in late autumn left the twi’lek and two ponies chilled to the bone and deeply grateful for the blazing fireplace as they stood in Mayor Visionary Forge’s office. “All of your permits seem to be in order, Emissary Tvilight,” the red earth pony stallion rumbled through his massive mustache, “Is there anything else my office can be doing to assist you?”
“Thank you, Mayor,” the unicorn replied pleasantly, although her ears had flattened some at being addressed as “Emissary”, “Could you please provide us with copies of any maps, notes or schedules you might have for Asphodel? It would help us narrow our search area.”
Visionary stroked his mustache in thought for a moment, then nodded, “Da, I can be doing that. It vould be best if you finished your vork quickly, however, veatherpatrol will be bringing in first snows next veek. There is an empty office just down hall, my secretary, Dusk Crown, vill bring papers to you there.”
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“Bored,” grumbled Rainbow as the other two poured over the documents Dusk Crown had provided, “Bored, bored, boredy mcbored.”
Unimpressed, Twilight pushed a small stack of papers over to the pegasus, “Just look for any patterns, Rainbow,” seeing Revan’s raised brow, she leaned over and whispered, “Trust me, Rainbow is actually really good at this.”
The quite rustling of papers and scratching of pens filled the room for a time, when Rainbow jerked up from her slouch, “Uh, fillies?”
“What’s up, RD?”
“I found that pattern Twi’ wanted,” Rainbow frowned down at her papers, “I’m just not sure what it means.”
“Show us,” Twilight urged as she and Revan moved around the table to join the pegasus.
“Well, I was looking at these patrol schedules, and I noticed that they all leave one part of the ruin uncovered,” Rainbow pulled over a map and pointed to an isolated, unremarkable chamber deep within Asphodel, “Right here, see?”
“I’ll be buggered,” the Jedi breathed, before flashing a wide grin at the weatherpony and clapping her on the shoulder, “You found it RD!”
“Great job, Rainbow,” Twilight agreed as she affectionately shoulder bumped the pegasus, “If somepony is going to all this effort to surreptitiously maneuver the gendarmerie patrols away from that room, than that is where we’ll start looking for the door to the lower level!”
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Blearily trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes, Twilight sat down at the small table her friends had claimed and gave the waitress her breakfast order along with a groggy smile and a massive yawn.
“Serves you right,” Rainbow teased the unicorn, “You could have just given that secretary pony back the papers, but no, you had to stay up talking to him when we’re hoping to make an early start.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Twilight’s apology was interrupted by another yawn, “It’s just Dusk Crown was so interested in my theories and research, and I got carried away.”
“Don’t worry about it, Twi’,” Revan replied as she casually swiped a piece of peppery haysausage off of Rainbow’s plate, drawing an indignant “Hey!” from the pegasus, “Finding someone who has both the wits and the education to really follow what you’re talking about is bound to sidetrack you a little.”
Rainbow frowned across the table at the Jedi, “Did you just call us dumb?”
“Only in comparison to Twilight.”
“Oh, well that’s okay, then,” Rainbow shrugged in agreement, then leaned protectively over her breakfast and mock growled at Revan as she jabbed her fork at the Jedi’s plate, while the twi’lek smirked in response and raised her own fork in turn.
“You two are as bad as the Crusaders,” Twilight sighed as she watched her friends’ clowning for a few moments, before she prudently moved her own plate away from the field of battle.
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“So what’s the intel on this place, anyway?” Revan asked as the trio made their way deeper into Asphodel’s tunnels, the glow emanating from Twilight’s horn lighting their way.
“The current theory is that Asphodel started out as a mine and storehouse, although we don’t know who built it, as it predates Stalliongrad’s construction by several centuries,” Twilight explained happily, “During Discord’s reign, portions of the complex were converted by different groups of refugees to serve as living spaces and shelters from the rampant pandemonium outside. Unfortunately a chaos storm buried the entrance and reshaped the immediate surroundings, sealing it away until it was rediscovered eight years ago by Jubilee Dasher and Diamond Snow.”
“Mines and stores, huh? What where they digging for?”
“Gold, iron, copper and gems, mostly,” the unicorn replied, “Although there were a few mana crystal deposits, as well.”
“I dunno, Twi’, seems like a lot of tunnels just for some mines and a few storage rooms,” Rainbow remarked as she looked around at the shadowed, echoing galleries that stretched on and on.
“Some of the tunnels and chambers where dug by the refugees,” Twilight admitted, “But Asphodel is still one of the largest mines in Equestria, even if it is mostly exhausted now. Ah, here we are,” the unicorn smiled as she led her friends into an empty chamber that looked the same as all the others that they had passed, “Now we can begin searching for the concealed door,” she continued, rubbing her hooves together eagerly.
“Wait a second,” Revan requested as she rummaged in the pouches on her belt. Pulling out a pair of small tubes, she slapped them forcefully against her other hand, causing them to begin radiating a green light, “Here, RD,” she added as she held out one of the glowing tubes for the pegasus.
For the next two hours the only sound was an occasional murmured query or remark as the twi’lek and the two ponies scoured the small chamber from end to end, before they finally gathered back in the center of the room to compare their findings. “So we’re pretty certain that the northern portion of the eastern wall is the door,” Twilight summarized, “And the two catches to open it are over here,” she waved a hoof at the north wall.
“Makes sense,” Revan observed, “If you have multiple catches that have to be worked at the same time, you don’t have to worry about someone coming along and triggering it by accident like in all those campy holoshows.”
“Well what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked as she eagerly trotted over to one of the hidden catches, while her friends quickly followed after, pausing only to pull a small glowstone lantern from Twilight’s saddlebags to replace the dying glow sticks.
Reaching out their hooves and nodding their heads in a quiet count, Rainbow and Twilight each pushed on part of the wall, their hooves sinking almost an inch into the stone. Without a sound a section of the back wall slid backwards and then moved off to the side, leaving a tunnel deeper into the earth exposed.
Eagerly slipping through the doorway, the three friends found a lever just beyond that sent the stone slab ghosting back into place on silent counterweights when pulled. “Someone is definitely using this passage,” Revan said as she crouched down to examine the tunnel floor, “The tracks for the secret door have been cleared.”
“Oiled too,” Rainbow added as she and Twilight wrinkled their noses at the faint odor.
As they looked around the tunnel, Twilight began to bounce in place while an excited smile threatened to swallow her muzzle, “We did it, we did it, we did it! We found a lost site of the ancient world! Just like Professor Do!” the unicorn and pegasus grabbed each other in a joyful hug, too caught up in the moment to care about how they looked as they celebrated.
“Congratulations, girls,” the Jedi added, as she threw an arm around each mare’s neck, “But don’t forget that someone is using these tunnels and trying to be stealthy about it, so let’s be careful, okay?”
The two ponies having calmed down, the trio headed down the slopping tunnel deeper into the complex, with Rainbow carrying the lantern as she slowly flew alongside her land bound friends.
As the little band passed empty chamber after empty chamber, many with their stone doors hanging open, Rainbow began to grumble irritably around the lantern handle in her mouth. “I know, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, “It looks like looters have already plunder this portion of Asphodel. If we’re lucky, they haven’t stolen everything, and we might even be able to gain some idea of who they are so that we can alert the authorit--”
The librarian’s words were cutoff with a surprised yelp as the wall and floor opened up and three diamond dogs lunged out to seize her and drag the mare back into their tunnel! Revan latched onto Twilight and was drug along with her, while Rainbow charged the tunnel only to find her way blocked by a shield of green magic as the tunnel filled in behind the diamond dogs and her friends.
Dropping the lantern, Rainbow angrily kicked the newly sealed tunnel, “Give me back my friends, you buckheads!” When a few more kicks did nothing more than hurt her hoof, Rainbow scooped up the lantern and flew down the tunnel, determined to find her companions and the plotheaded nags who had just made the massive mistake of foalnapping them.
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As she plunged down the steep incline Revan smashed into Twilight, the impact tore the unicorn from her captor’s paws and sent them both tumbling out into the room below. Rolling to her feet, the Jedi whipped out her blaster and lightsaber, the blade’s iridescent glow illuminated the chamber to reveal a motley collection of diamond dogs, scruffy looking ponies, gryphons and … changelings?
“W-what is going on?” Twilight stuttered in confusion as she scrambled to her hooves, her legs still wobbly from her tumble.
Revan moved to stand guard over the disoriented unicorn as she glared balefully out at the surrounding mob, “Looks like an abduction.”
“Right you are, lass,” a golden-headed gryphon nodded in agreement, then pointed his claw at the pair, “Get the unicorn!”
Two of the changelings ignited their horns as a dark brown earth pony mare dropped with a wet cough, drilled through her chest by Revan’s first shot, while a diamond dog yelped and grabbed his shoulder as he was hit by a second blaster bolt. Then the press of bodies was too thick for the Jedi to take more than the occasional snap shot as she concentrated on her saber work.
Pressed from all side, Revan constantly spun and twisted as she weaved through the mob, warding off the unicorns’ and changelings’ magic bolts and guarding herself and Twilight from their attacks as she fended away the throng, leaving severed limbs and broken bodies in her wake, while the librarian raised shields of her own and unleashed blast after blast of magenta magic that slammed their attackers back into walls or sent them sprawling with its concussive force.
One of the diamond dogs slipped around Twilight’s shield and reached out to scoop up the unicorn, only to have his cry of triumph cut short as Revan leapt back and swept his head from his shoulders.
‘All too easy,’ the Jedi thought as she rampaged through the enemy ranks, leaving two more lying on the cavern floor, ‘Twi’ and I’ll tear through this lot like a bunch of cheap clankers, and then we’ll go find Rainbow.’ She tossed a quick glance at the pair of changelings, their horns still ablaze with green magic, that had held back from the melee so far, before turning to plunge back into the fray, an unpleasant laugh burbling from her lips.
“Revan!” Twilight shouted, her frantic cry echoing through the chamber as the clatter of hooves heralded the arrival of another eight changelings. Whipping around, the twi’lek saw the unicorn desperately trying to hold off the swarm that threatened to overwhelm her, ‘When did … Why did I separate from Twi’?’ Revan saw one of the changelings give her an ugly smirk, ‘The bastards where in my mind!’ The changeling barked an order and Revan’s opponents pulled away, leaving the Jedi exposed and cutoff from Twilight.
No longer constrained by the risk of hitting their fellows, the reinforced changelings brought their numbers to bear, with half of them blasting the twi’lek directly, while the rest turned their magic against the chamber ceiling. Twilight’s pained cry of “Revan!” was swallowed by the rumble of the falling stones as the roof came crashing down and buried the Jedi.