Prologue - Unburial
The mare awoke suddenly and violently, her head ricocheting against a low ceiling. Surprised and stunned, she fell back into her previous position and waited until her senses returned. After a few minutes, the ringing in her ears stopped and the pain receded to a soft throb.
Shifting onto her side—moving carefully this time, so as to avoid hurting herself again—the figure slowly ran a hoof along her body. Nothing felt broken or fractured, so she inched her hoof outward instead. The surface it encountered was hard, but loose, thin, and fragile, with jagged edges. Is that glass? She asked herself. Underneath her there was a cushion-like object. A mattress of some sort, perhaps?
Reaching up, her touch encountered the surface upon which her head had impacted. Several thin cracks ran outward from a small indentation. Did I make that? That hit must have been harder than I thought. The actual material out of which the roof was constructed she could not determine by touch alone, although the texture she encountered as her hoof moved across it, along with the damage she had caused, suggested it was constructed of wood.
Although the mare felt like she was in no immediate danger, she could not rid himself of a certain sense of wrongness; something simply did not seem right. A few moments of devoted thought provided the answer: she could see absolutely nothing. The pure darkness frightened her, and she shakily reached up to feel her eyes. They were open, so either she had been blinded or there was simply no light able to reach them. Neither conclusion instilled confidence in the already confused mare.
A few more minutes passed as the mare continued to explore her immediate surroundings. To her back was a solid wall, very smooth and cold to the touch. Her head and hind hooves were pressed uncomfortably against a series of poles similar in texture to the ceiling. The space was rather confining, offering only one potential opening; straight ahead, through the shattered material.
Nothing else stood out to her, although she did notice a faint creaking noise that seemed to come from above her, somewhere beyond the barrier she had so recently clashed against. Well, I guess there’s no other option than forward, she thought grimly. The prospect of leaving her protective cubby for the unknown was daunting, but she pressed forward nonetheless. As she inched further ahead, she noticed a breeze flowing from above. Reaching up, the mare discovered that there was no longer a roof above her, which both relieved and scared her at the same time.
A loud crunching sound echoed slightly as the mare hesitantly stood tall, still unable to see anything around her. The darkness was absolute, without even a glimmer to illuminate the world around her. Just where am I? As she stood wondering what to do next, she noticed that the creaking seemed to be growing louder. Wait a second… that’s not a creak. It’s got a rhythm… no, it’s definitely not a creak. So what is that? I’ve heard that sound before. It’s… a jackhammer?
The sound rapidly crescendoed, knocking the mare off her hooves for a moment as her teeth and skull vibrated from the pressure.
In fact, the noise was so strong and close she was surprised she couldn’t see anything yet. The ground began to shake as the mare retreated back into the space she had woken up in. Within the confines of the hole, the jackhammer’s intense vibrations made the mare feel as if her very bones were slowly shaking themselves to pieces. The mare squeezed her eyes shut, pressed her ears as flat against her skull as she could, and shrunk away from the opening, wishing that it would end sooner rather than later.
The noise increased to a roar before suddenly cutting away, leaving nothing but indistinguishable muffles in its wake. The mare, almost too scared to move, slowly opened one eye, only to slam it back shut as an intense light penetrated her sight. She could feel hooves poking at her, trying to coax her from her sanctuary, but this time she refused to leave, pushing them away before they could wrap far enough around her to pull her out of the hole. Eventually her assailant gave up, opting instead to rest a hoof on her shoulder and mumble muffled words in her ear.
Slowly, ever so slowly, her senses returned again, allowing her to open her eyes fully. The sight that met her was confusing at first as she could see nothing but dark and vague shapes ringed by white light, but as the light moved away her vision became gradually clearer. The next thing she saw was the face of a rough-hewn, dull-brown earth pony wearing a typical construction hard hat. His hazel eyes stared stoically back at her shrunken sea-foam green pupils as she gazed out at him from her small cubby.
The mare saw him move his lips, but the sound that accompanied the movement was jumbled beyond comprehension. “What… what did you say?” she asked hesitantly. Her voice sounded coarse, and there was a peculiar pressure in her throat that made it hard to speak. Am I injured?
The stallion before her turned his head and gestured to somepony behind him. Another stallion, almost a twin to the first, cantered over with a canteen, which he promptly offered to the mare. She slowly reached toward it and took it, then chugged it in a sudden frenzy. After downing the entire flask, she dropped it and heaved a very satisfied sigh. The pressure in her throat was gone, and the cooling sensation of the water had eased her nerves enough to allow a small smile to creep onto her face.
“Better now, miss?” the stallion asked. She nodded, smiling again. “Excellent. Now, back to my question: are you feeling okay? Do you have any injuries that need attending to?” She shook her head. “You’re absolutely sure?” Another nod. “Well, alright then. Okay, question two: do you remember how you got here?” The mare paused to think.
“No,” her voice was much smoother now, “but I do remember what I was doing before I found myself here.” The stallion cocked an eyebrow.
“And just what were you doing down here?” he questioned in a slightly accusing tone. “The mines are off limits to anypony without special permission from the princesses—and for good reason, as you can clearly see.”
The mare quickly glanced around again, taking in the shattered flakes of stone she had mistaken for glass, the large pile of debris, and the now apparent bed frame that bore its weight. Thinking quickly, she turned to the stallion and stated, “My team and I were hired by Princess Celestia to explore and uncover a series of artifacts that were exposed during the changeling attack. We have express written permission from her, and I can show it to you when we return to the base camp.” Hopefully he’ll buy that long enough to get out of here.
The stallion shook his head and sighed. “Miss, my team was tasked with restoring these tunnels to a proper stable condition,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you. We are always kept up-to-date on who does and does not have the right to come down here, and right now my roster shows ‘no allowances’. Also, you did not pass through the official checkpoint. Therefore, you are lying.” The mare frowned slightly as the stallion debunked her lie. Damn! Why’d I have to be rescued by the chief guard? Ah well, no use lying any more.
“Okay, okay, so we’re not supposed to be down here. But we really did find some interesting things! I mean, just look around!” She pointed a hoof at the bed. “How many tunnels do you know of that have random beds sitting in them? And look at these walls!” Her hoof traveled around, stopping when it was aimed at the wall next to them. “They’re completely flat, and they don’t seem to be made of stone like the rest of the tunnels down here! You’ve gotta admit that there’s something down here!”
The stallion followed where she was pointing, properly taking in their location. Although he hated to admit it, the mare had a good point. Never had he seen a tunnel so perfectly straight and square as the one they were currently standing in, nor was it common to find a bed randomly placed within a tunnel. “Alright, I’ll admit that I can see your point. That still doesn’t excuse you from sneaking down here though. You’re lucky we were close by, or you might have been trapped in here forever… or, at least until you died.” The mare shuffled her hooves awkwardly.
“So… what do we do now?” she asked. The stallion hesitated a moment before a small frown creased his face.
“Now, we get you and the rest of your crew out of here. We did find them, by the way. They seemed to be alright, but they’re anxious to see you. After that, who knows? We’ll be handing you over to the royal guard once we get out of here, so it’s up to them. More than likely, you’ll be jailed until a proper trial can be arranged.”
The mare’s face shot up so fast that for a second, he was afraid she had broken her neck. “J-J-Jail? I can’t go to jail! There’s still too much to find down here, so much to uncover!”
“Listen, lady-”
“Sand Scout. My name is Sand Scout.”
“Well Miss Scout, maybe you should have thought of that before you went on an illegal romp through condemned government property.”
Sand Scout was almost cowering in front of him, her front legs wrapped around one of his. “Can’t you at least tell them what we found?” she pleaded. “Can’t you make them see why our work here is important?”
The stallion nearly rolled his eyes, but managed to restrain himself at the last second. “No, I can’t. As an unofficial member of the royal guard, I’m supposed to uphold the rules and regulations set upon the land—more specifically, these mines.” Sand Scout slumped in defeat, and although the stallion tried as hard as he could, he couldn’t stay mad at her. Her entire life had just almost literally crumbled underneath her, after all.
“However—“she whipped here head up again “—I will say that there is someone close to the princess who might be willing to vouch for you. Does the name Twilight Sparkle ring any bells?”
She looked at him in confusion. “Of course it does. She’s the newly crowned princess and one of the Elements of Harmony. Everypony knows who she is. Why are you asking me that?”
“Well, did you know she also happens to be a bookworm, avid scholar, and scientist? She will support exploration and study of almost any artifact. If you can somehow contact her or request an audience and convince her that your cause is worth the effort, your chances of being pardoned would increase more than one hundredfold.”
Scout simply stared at him, her mouth hanging slightly open in surprise. Shakily rising to her hooves, she asked, “How can you be so sure? Do you know her?”
The stallion shook his head. “I’ve never met her personally, but I’ve met her friends Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash before, and they both talked about how Twilight is always studying in the library.”
Scout raised an eyebrow. “You’re friends with two of the Elements? How’d you manage that?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘friends’ exactly; we’re more like ‘acquaintances’. I know them because I used to live in Ponyville, where they all live. It’s a pretty small town, so it actually isn’t uncommon to see them walking in the streets or going about some business or other. Even Twilight still lives there from what I’ve heard, despite her recent… changes.”
He sighed heavily. “Look, the point I’m trying to make is that your situation is not the least bit in your favor. However exciting ‘mystery tunnels below Canterlot’ may sound, it’s not going to win you any sympathy votes in a court room. In fact, it may even be cause to close the mines indefinitely. Twilight can help you, but save all that for later. Right now, let’s go meet you team.”
They turned and walked through the new hole in the wall, the last of the demolition crew following closely behind them with any spare equipment. Beyond it, the steep and narrow tunnel forced them all to walk single file. As they trudged upward, Sand Scout said, “Ya know, you never told me your name. I told you mine, so it seems only fair that I know yours, right? Also, why is your cutie mark a telescope if you’re a guard?” Adorning each of the stallion’s flanks was indeed a picture of a simple telescope, which to her seemed to clash with the pony that bore them.
He chuckled slightly before saying, “Yeah, interesting story about that. My parents were both well-versed astronomers, and they thought for a long time that I would follow the same path. When I got my cutie mark, though, we were all more than a little shocked. You see, I didn’t get it for stargazing—I got it for spying.”
Sand Scout paused. “Spying? You were spying on ponies when you got your cutie mark?”
“Like I said, it’s an odd story. Anyway, I didn’t realize it at first, but when my parents saw it, they were ecstatic. ‘You’re going to be a great astronomer,’ the claimed. Well… long story short, I had to tell them the real story. They eventually got over it, and have been pretty supportive ever since. I think they rationalize it by telling themselves that I’m simply observing the world around me instead of the world above me, and I agree. Even though I’m not a stargazer like they are, I know their profession at least somewhat played a role in making me who I am today.”
Sand Scout smiled, although nopony noticed in the darkness of the cave. “That’s a very interesting story, but you never told me your name.”
“Oh, yes. My name is Sky Light.”
“Sky Light? Your parents are quickly becoming the king and queen of irony.” They both chuckled softly.
“How about you?” Sky Light questioned. “What’s your story? Sorry, but I didn’t catch your cutie mark.”
“Oh, mine’s not as unique as yours. As a filly, I always used to find things out in the farmland I lived on and collect them. Sometimes, I would try and find the owner and return it to them, but most of the time I was rather proud of my collection, and rather unwilling to give it up. Anyway, one day, there was a flash, and in my bedroom mirror stood a copy of me, but with a cutie mark. It’s a depiction of an ancient pillar half sunken into sand.”
The conversation ended there as the group filtered into a significantly larger cavern, this one lined with large crystalline surfaces in place of the usual rock. Glancing down the right side of the tunnel, Sand Scout could barely make out the outline of a jagged hole in the tunnel’s floor. That must be where I fell. Looks like a nasty tumble from here. As she continued to study the hole, an odd thought crossed her mind. How did I manage to get underneath all that rubble when I was standing on top of it? Her thoughts were interrupted by a distinctly neon-green-furred body slamming into her at high velocity and clamping a vise grip around her neck.
“YOU’RE ALIVE!” a slightly hoarse voice shouted, causing everyone else in the cave to wince from the amplified noise. “I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, YOU’RE ALIVE! How did you do it?”
The body relented just enough to allow Scout to shove a hoof in between them and push them apart. “Dramatic as ever I see, Kiwi,” she chuckled as the two remaining members of her team trotted up behind him. She nodded to them and they smiled back. A sudden devious thought entered her mind, and before she knew it, she was wearing the best mask of indifference she could muster. “Hi there,” she called, silently giggling to herself, “are you the guards escorting us out?”
The pair screeched to a halt, concern and disbelief plastered on their faces. “You… you don’t remember us?” the mare on the left hesitantly questioned. Sand Scout simply stared blankly at them. “You know,” the mare continued slowly, “Nifty and Jinx? We’re part of your… we’re… we’re part of… of your team…?” She glanced at the stallion next to her, pleading with him to help. He took no notice however; all he could do was stare at Sand Scout with wide eyes and an open mouth.
Scout waited a moment longer, then laughed and stamped a hoof. “Wow, I can’t believe I actually got you with that! As if I would remember Kiwi and not you guys? I mean, I know he’s unforgettable—”
“Hey! Wait, is that a compliment or an insult?”
“Both. Anyway, of course I remember you guys!”
“That wasn’t funny at all!” the stallion, Jinx, grumbled. “I thought you had seriously been hurt!”
“Yeah,” the mare piped in, “not cool. Like, at all.”
“Oh, it was just a bit of fun guys. Lighten up,” Kiwi laughed. The laughter quickly died down though, and he turned to Sand Scout with a serious expression. ”You are okay though, right? Nothing broken, no concussions, nothing like that?”
Scout shook her head and her team breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She looked around at all of them before saying, “I’m perfectly fine, at least for now. Unfortunately, we now find ourselves in a good news-bad news situation, so which would you like first?”
“Good!” yelled Kiwi.
“No you dolt, you always go for the bad news first!” Jinx lightly cuffed the back of Kiwi’s head with a hoof. “Nifty, back me up on this!”
The mare nodded. “He’s right. Bad news first, then soften it with the good news.” She turned to face Scout. “So let’s have it then. Bad news first.”
“The bad news is that we’re all going to jail.” Gasps bounced up and down the tunnel at her revelation. Moving on quickly, she added, “the good news, however, is that I know a way to make everything right.”
“And what would that be exactly?” questioned Jinx.
Sand Scout smiled, glancing briefly at Sky Light before continuing. “Ever heard of a mare named… Twilight Sparkle?”
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Interesting thus far.
Personally, i think you drages this out way more then necessery. Nothing of fram intrest has happened and my interest and curiosity has not been stirred by any omnius event, spooky legend or even something that goes bump in the dark. I see promises of a good story so I will fave this.
I am telling you this, not to be mean but to help you. If you want it that is. You can just say fuck off if you want to.
2499408
Thanks! I wouldn't consider this the 'interesting' bit though, so I guess it can only get better from here!
2499972
Nothing too exciting has happened yet because that chapter is only the prologue. I'm mainly establishing my characters and the initiating factors right now. In order for this story to work, the characters have to be united in a certain spot under a common goal, and while I could simply say 'stuff happened and now shit's getting serious', that's not what this story is about.
Also, this isn't an adventure story, so if you're waiting for action or fighting, there won't be any for a while. (Edit: Actually, I finally decided in a direction for this story and it really is an Adventure... oops, silly past me!)
Thank you for the feedback, though!
2502393 i know and i am a patient man so i shall wait. a general tip though, this isn't really fit to be a prologue. the prologue is to give the readers a sneak peak on what might be coming while the next 3-4 chapters are filled with character introductions, character development and early plot points