The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Erratic Elevators

The guiding wall faded from sight as the guard led Maple and Starlight deeper into the maze of crates that made up the storage room. Unlike their earlier prison, it lacked a high, natural ceiling, reducing visibility to nearly zero. It wasn't incomparable to walking through fog, if that fog was made of boulders.

Maple and Starlight scurried side-by-side, the filly no longer choosing to ride. Her horn was at its limit, and if the guard turned out to not be as helpful as she hoped... well, if there were two of them, at least one would be able to get away. The thought was morbid to the point of being unusable, but it wasn't doing what felt nice that had gotten him to help them in the first place. Fortunate, she thought, that she had come to accept long ago how rarely her comfort could be a priority.

Weaving right and left, they passed crates that had been unprofessionally deposited without rhyme on reason, a strange job for an elite military organization... but exactly what she would expect from a militia held together by a common cause and a leader's charisma. It didn't take Starlight long to decide that was where the Defense Force belonged, and her lip nearly curled at the thought of being abducted by such ponies. Without adherence to rules, things became unfair. And while unfairness was too common for her not to tolerate, it would never, ever be accepted.

The guard wandered through the storage room as if he had lived his entire life among the crates, however, displaying the same kind of navigational ability that had fascinated Starlight when she first moved to Riverfall. Soon, the crystalline shaft she had seen when they first arrived - or another exactly like it - faded into view.

"Elevator," the guard casually explained, confirming their initial suspicions. "You girls want the shortest way out, right?"

Maple nodded gratefully. "We'd like that very much!"

"Guess we're going up, then," the guard said, sliding open the door and waving a forelimb. "After you."

They stepped in, and he followed, pressing a button that caused the elevator to begin its ascent. The ceiling quickly scrolled past, and then they were surrounded by blue stone, the only illumination a tiny manalight at the top of their cylinder.

The guard hesitated as they rose, looking as if he was pondering whether or not to make small talk. Starlight hoped he wouldn't. He did.

"So, uhhhh... what were you girls doing?" he asked slowly. "That led to getting a bad tour?"

"We're tourists," Starlight answered, hoping to say enough to dodge the question without making anything more up on the spot. "Here visiting a friend."

"Oh. Huh." A floor slid past, and they kept rising. "Where are you from normally?"

"A city of llamas," Starlight lied, stealing a story Gerardo had told in Riverfall and hoping it was accurate. "I don't know what it's called, because they change the name every day."

"Really?" The guard raised an eyebrow, and another floor passed. "I heard about that once. Is it really-"

BRRRRRNNNG! BRRRRRNNNG!

He was interrupted by an ear-splitting siren that caused both Maple and Starlight to cower in panic. A second later, the pale blue manalight illuminating the elevator turned blood-red, and a magical voice blared to life on a hidden intercom. "Armed intrusion detected on B87 floor. All guards report."

The guard's ears folded, and he glared up at the discolored lighting. "Oh boy, whoever pulled that alarm is in a world of hurt. Don't worry," he added, nodding down to the stricken Maple and Starlight. "Selma outlawed drills after midnight, so it has to be someone fooling-"

"Repeat: armed intrusion detected on B87 floor. All guards report. This is not a drill. We are under attack."

"Well... icicles," the guard spat, immediately punching another button. The lift jerked to a halt, stopping flush with another floor, its door sliding open. "I have to handle this," he grumbled, pointing outward, wingblades at his sides rattling. "B87 floor is far down from here, so you girls aren't in danger; don't worry. Wait here until you get the elevator, then go three floors up. Get out, take a right at the first intersection, and you'll be outside in the blink of an eye. Now hurry up, I have to go!"

He shoved them hastily, if gently, out of the elevator, and it immediately closed behind them, dropping out of sight. An In Use sign flickered on the console beside the entrance.

Starlight and Maple both tripped, landing on their chests in front of the shaft. "Oomph!" Maple grunted as she impacted the ground.

Starlight hissed, more from annoyance than pain, though she was hardly comfortable. Scrambling to her hooves, she glared at the console, then the empty shaft, the chain running through it descending at a rapid rate. "Hey!" She banged on the glass. "Don't... ugh!"

Dejected, she slumped, eventually feeling Maple's hoof on her shoulder. "What?"

"I..." Maple bit her lip. "I don't know. I don't know what to do..."

The red emergency lighting that flooded the room shone darkly on her coat as she stood over Starlight. Around them, the room seemed largely disused, one dilapidated steel panel partially detached from the ceiling. A few metal-lined corridors and one of bare stone snaked away, but most of the room was filled with old foals' toys and discarded medical equipment. At least half of the lights weren't working, period.

Behind them, the elevator chain stopped moving for several seconds... and then began its descent again. It had stopped to let more guards on, presumably.

Maple's stomach loudly growled, causing Starlight's ear to flick, and she hugged herself. "I wish I had brought food..." she whimpered. "Who knows how long we'll have to wait for this thing...?"

Starlight was hungry too, but she said nothing, sensing that it would make Maple feel even worse. The chain stopped again, and she snorted. Was it really smartest to sit around doing nothing? It wasn't like there were any guards left that high up. If there had been, they would have ran into them waiting for the elevator already. Still, it might have been wise to hide... but that was doing nothing, too. Hooves moving of their own accord, she wandered toward the corridors leading away, instinctively drawn to the single stone one. Perhaps there was something useful she could find.

"Starlight?" Maple called softly, watching her go.

"I won't go far," Starlight answered. "Not out of sight. But maybe there's something I can find."

She could feel the reluctance radiating off Maple even with her back turned, and almost considered it would be a better use of her time to stay and comfort the mare. But danger wasn't abolished through hugging and hiding, and neither was being lost, hungry, or possibly hunted... even if their hunters did have bigger things to worry about. Following her hooves, she trotted down the long, straight corridor, until in the distance... She squinted. Was that another elevator shaft?

"Starlight!" Maple's voice called softly from behind her. "The elevator is coming back up!"

Whipping around, Starlight kicked into a canter. Of course they would get a chance the moment she left. Wasn't that how the world always worked? Maybe she should have left sooner.

"Starlight, look!" Maple was beckoning at the chain as she re-entered the room, and it was definitely rolling its way up. But even as she watched, it stopped... before moving downward once again. "The elevator is... Oh."

"There's another one over there," Starlight snorted, pointing a hoof down the stone corridor. "I didn't see if it was in use. We could try it?"

Maple shrugged. "Well, it's better than not trying?"

Starlight nodded. "Let's go!"

---

The elevator shaft stood empty, its console looking older than the sleek, previous one. It was rectangular instead of cylindrical, and significantly larger, enough that it was likely meant for cargo instead of personnel. Why anyone would turn a room directly connected to a pony elevator into storage space when something like this was so close by was beyond Starlight, but it didn't matter. What was important was that no dangling chains were visible, and there wasn't an In Use sign anywhere to be seen.

Maple peered at the console, and Starlight looked over her shoulder. "These buttons..." Maple mused. "I've never used anything like this, but I bet this one is 'up'..."

"This one is in the middle," Starlight pointed out, hoof hovering over another. "Maybe it makes it come to you?"

Maple pressed it. "Well, let's find out!"

Seconds passed. They would have given up and tried another, if not for the sudden, delayed presence of the usage sign... and then, after a heraldic grinding of gears, the large, boxy elevator car descended into place, its double-doors sliding open.

"Yes!" Maple beamed. "Good job, Starlight!"

Starlight nodded, moving to stand in the elevator. "So we go up three floors," she recited.

"Hmmm..." Maple rubbed her chin. "Do you think that means we press up three times? Let's try it..."

After a quick succession of jabs, a warning light lit up, and Maple scurried into the elevator after Starlight. A short moment later, the doors closed, and the elevator began to rise.

"Well, that worked," Maple said, wiping her brow as the previous floor disappeared from view. Another soon scrolled past, and she beamed when the elevator didn't stop. "We did it!"

"Yeah," Starlight said dully, not wanting to waste energy chatting now that waiting was actually productive. She did move to sit by Maple, however, leaning into her soft, if dusty, coat. "Almost there..."

The second floor passed by, and Maple nudged Starlight's horn. "How are you feeling?"

"Mmph."

"Any better? Anything I can do?"

The third floor moved into view... and the elevator didn't stop, continuing to rise. Any serenity that had allowed itself to build up was instantly lost as Maple flew to her hooves, looking for a way to stop the ride. Unlike the earlier one, however, it completely lacked an internal control panel, and their ascent continued unabated.

"Starlight..." Maple whined, shaking. "Starlight! I set it wrong! I don't know what to do!"

Starlight's eyes were fixed on the elevator entrance, where a fourth floor should have been passing by... but instead, there was only blue stone, flowing downwards like a waterfall. As Maple's breathing sped up behind her, she flicked her tail once against the ground. "I think," she said as the next floor continued to fail to show, "we just wait..."

Comments

[alamais]

...and then, with a cacophonous shattering of glass, the elevator broke through the ceiling of its shaft and flew into the air!~~~

[RoboRed]

8450060

[Quinch]

"B87 floor is far down from here, so you girls aren't in danger; don't worry. Wait here until you get the elevator, then go three floors up.

Hmm... I'd suspect the boxes, but the guard would probably know which floor he picked them up on.