//------------------------------// // 10 - Treasure Hunt // Story: Limits of Mercy // by Beware The Carpenter //------------------------------// Clastic Strain fell face first into the sand, turned, and threw himself at the door, battering his hooves and magic against it without effect. After minutes of pointless effort he slumped down on the burning sand and banged his horn against the impenetrable door, regretted it and then saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. There was a camel train; distant but coming nearer. They weren’t on a course for him, but he could catch them if he left now. If Dinky really had just stranded him here he might need their help. Would they help him? They could be slavers. He could promise them a substantial reward for returning him to Equestria safely, but there was no way he could prove his identity unless they’d seen pictures of him somewhere. He was an alicorn though; that didn’t really give anyone status, but a lot of foreigners thought that it did. He remembered a story about another alicorn stallion that convinced a tribe of camels he was a prince, and would reward them if they did his bidding. When they found out he was lying, they gelded him and then buried him up to the neck near a fire ants nest. Maybe these were the same camels? He turned back to the door of the TARDIS and started pounding on it again, even harder than before. His horn and hooves hurt even worst this time. In a momentary lapse of control, he even tried swearing at it; but that didn’t work either. He looked back at the camels, then to the TARDIS. Benefair and Crackle Jack were probably in there trying to open the door the inside, but he had no idea what they could do against Dinky. So much about that mare confused him. He waited. Minutes passed. Nothing happened. Benefair and Crackle Jack weren’t opening the door for him; maybe the camels would help. He cast one last disdainful look at the TARDIS and then headed out from its shade towards the camels. He made it eight steps and then his neck snapped to the left. He stared for a long minute, “Very funny Dinky.” He yelled back at the TARDIS, “Were one mile away from city walls.” The TARDIS doors swung open showing Dinky with a stop watch laughing her head off. “It took you three minutes and forty two seconds to think to look behind the TARDIS.” She said smirking, “You know we originally landed so the doors faced the city, but I turned us around so it would be funny. “Where are we?” “Timbucktoo.” “Why are we here?” “Do you remember how I said that the reading I got from the palanquin was of a unicorn with MQ of about three hundred using an artifact to boost their magic another nine hundred?” Clastic Strain nodded. “Whatever that booster is, it’s linked to some kind of generator located inside the city. Finding it won’t get my mom back, but it will break the power of the unicorn that shot her and there’s a very good chance I could use the generator to get an exact lock on the magic booster it’s attached to, so we can home in with the TARDIS directly. Now come inside, you’ll get a sunburn standing out there.” Clastic Strain slowly obeyed and the doors shut behind him, though he didn’t know how. “What does this generator look like?” Crackle Jack asked. “Not sure; could be a furnace constantly burning enchanted oils, it could be a crystal that a whole coven of normal unicons are charging; I’ll know it when I see it.” “Timbucktoo has over a million people. How are we supposed to find something when we don’t even know what it looks like?” “It’s between thirty to forty-two feet underground, and between three, to three point four miles from here that way.” Said Dinky with a thrust of her hoof, “That gives us the general location and my screwdriver should be able to give us hotter and colder signals as we get closer. Mind you, most of the area we need to cover is under the grounds of the Shaman Temple, meaning they probably orchestrated the attack and we’re on the brink of an international war, but let’s not just to conclusions just yet. “… Could we take the TARDIS back to Canterlot and make a return journey if we have to?” Benefair asked slowly. “I left a locked beacon in the cottage before we left, and there’s another one in the sand outside.” Dinky nodded, “We can travel between here and Ponyville safely.” “We should go back and get reinforcements.” Ordered Benefair, “We could get some royal guards, and our father, and maybe Celestia or-” “That’s a no.” scoffed Dinky, “Celestia’s been trying to kill me for the last twelve hundred years.” “… Why?” “I don’t know.” “You seem awfully happy about that.” Observed Crackle Jack. “Of course!” Dinky laughed, “Can’t think of anything I’ve done to her so far that would make her that mad at me, so that means at some time in my future I must go back in time and do something really bitchy. That means someday I get the TARDIS working and don’t spend the rest of my life in a drab little town full of stupid ponies.” “… But you feel safe telling us this?” “Well I know I’m probably going to have to erase all your memories of this anyway so, what’s one more bit of interesting trivia I need to burn out of your skulls.” “But aren’t you afraid that one of us might stab you or something?” “That could be fun!” laughed Dinky gleefully. Clastic Strain felt himself changing into a mare again, and was faced with three exact replicas of Dinky, all looking equally confused and horrified. Then he was teleported to swap positions with who had been Crackle Jack, then to where Dinky had been standing, then back to Crackle Jack. A knife materialized out of nowhere next to him, with three more appearing next to his companions before Dinky’s voice seemed to come from everywhere, “Now everyone stab the pony to your left.” “… We promise not to stab you.” offered the Dinky in front of Clastic Strain after a few awkward moments of silence. “You’re no fun.” Dinky sighed, turning everyone back to their original states. “…Are you sure Celestia might not have a good reason for attacking you?” Asked Benefair slowly. “Not at all; but it’s just as likely she was doing it because she’s crazy.” “Don’t talk about Celestia like that.” Warned Clastic Strain, “I know she’s been going through depression since Luna fell again, but our parents knew her before then and-” “Which one of your parents ever realized that Celestia is climbacophobic?” “…What?” “Celestia won’t climb stairs. She flies up them or teleports, but never just walks up them.” “… Flying is a lot easier.” “It’s not that she chooses not to walk up them.” Rebutted Dinky, “It’s that she downright refused to for centuries, and by now she doesn’t even know how to anymore. She’s forgotten how.” “…That …makes… no sense.” “And yet when was the last time you actually saw Celestia climb a staircase?” Clastic Strain thought like mad; she flew up the steps to her throne, she flew down, and he really hadn’t seen her many places other than her throne room. “I haven’t but that’s not enough to prove she can’t do it, either for me or you.” “Well I once decided to stab Pinkie Pie with a hypodermic needle to knock her out and stuffed her in the closet so I could pretend to be her for the day. Luna told me about the stairs, and proved it to me.” “Why did you stab Pinkie Pie?” “Because why the fuck not!?” yelled Dinky, “Now are you three going to waste all morning with stupid questions, or are you going to eat breakfast so we can go take a look at this generator?” “If we’re going to be breaking into the Shaman Temple; shouldn’t we at least work on some sort of plan so we don’t spark off an international incident?” Asked Benefair cautiously. “Planning’s for wimps;” Smiled Dinky; “I think we should just wing it! But remember what we said before about me keeping whatever magic booster the unicorn in the palanquin was using? This applies to the generator as well. If it’s movable, I’m keeping it.”