Consequences

by GJT_Productions

The Secrets I

Captain of the Guard Gibraltar and his two Upper Class Guard escorts had to leave behind the worrying puzzle of the shrine and proceed on with their search. One of the escorts documented their findings, both with descriptions and a crude mapping, before returning to the old mining elevator that had gotten them into the mountain hiding place of the defeated Agents of Chaos.

"We're going to proceed down to the Office level. Remember escorts, we must always be aware of traps and other possible defenses." Gibraltar comments to his escorts as he activates the elevator to take them further into the mountain.

The escorting pegasi could tell even a Captain of the Guard was uneasy with the situation he faced - hardly surprising considering this entire "base" of the internal enemy had gone undetected for who-knows-how-many years. This would form the seed of further paranoia about internal enemies, paranoia that other and more real external enemies would exploit to their own ends later...

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When the elevator stops, a quiet sigh of disappointment is let out by the three stallions inside. Facing the way down the shaft is a large pile of rocks, but the cracked open space above the rock pile suggests a crude attempt to cave in the passage by explosives attached to the ceiling - an attempt that failed because of the lack of explosive power necessary to form a complete collapse.

"Pull enough rocks to form a passage and place them in the elevator cage - hopefully the weight won't cause a cable failure..." Gibraltar warily commands.

"Yes, sir." the two escorts reply, carefully starting to climb to the top of the pile.

Some rocks beginning sliding down the pile to land near Gibraltar's hooves, and Gibraltar himself levitates or pushes them into the cage. As the stallions work, an opening is formed leading further down the passage, and a powerful smell begins wafting through the opening, causing a temporary pause in the work.

"That smell... the smell of death and decay... we need to be careful... ponies have probably died in there." Gibraltar replies, his speech being interrupted by bursts of coughing as the sickening stench fills the tunnel around him.

"Yes, sir." each of the escorts replies in turn, realizing this search was turning out to be much more than a simple survey as rocks continue to be cleared away...

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As the opening is expanded, the stench makes the three stallions more and more queasy, and they only proceed cautiously through the opening once it is expanded enough. The three stallions slide down the other side of the rock pile slowly, and the lanterns they carry show three options for the path ahead: just off to the left, a right a little further ahead and straight on.

"Which way, Captain?" one of the pegasi escorts asks Captain Gibraltar.

"No splitting up, we'll try each way in sequence. Left first." Gibraltar firmly orders, turning down the left passage before the escorts with him had a chance to state an objection.

After a short passage and a turn, Gibraltar's party emerged into a sight that amplified the effect of the stench that surrounded the stallions - they had entered the "trophy room" where Aten as Snake had displayed the cut-off body parts of other ponies! To the left was a series of decorated busts, to the right an ominously smoothed and labeled wall, although Gibraltar couldn't see what the labels were from where he was standing.

"Sir, requesting permission to throw up." one of the escorts besides Gibraltar asks, the Guard Captain noticing the pegasus had turned a very sickly shade of green, doubtless from the experience he had at the moment.

"Granted, keep the mess in a corner though." Gibraltar replies numbly, too shocked by what he was seeing to give a more passionate response.

As the sickened escort retreats to "toss his cookies", Gibraltar moves with morbid curiousity toward the row of busts on the left while the other escort moves to the right to look at the wall in more detail. The puking sound effects echo in the chamber as Gibraltar moves past the neatly-labeled busts in opened-mouth shock. He recognizes some of the names below the busts decorated with real unicorn horns: Quartermaster Tallymark, Lieutenant Quill, Lieutenant Pyros, Star Dancer...

Several other busts are labeled but do not have horns on them - Gibraltar recognizes one of the names as Lieutenant Xergraphos, who had been executed during the rebellion the previous night, and several other Lieutenants on his staff are also named. The implications are clear - Aten intended to kill and/or dehorn every unicorn he could get under his control.

"Sir, I think you want to see this." the escort looking along the right wall of the chamber speaks in Gibraltar's direction. Gibraltar quickly turns around and sees the horror in the escorting stallion's face, so rushes over to his side, looking up in further amplified shock at the smoothed-over and labeled wall.

"Your name is on there, sir. So is Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor's. And all three alicorns too, with space for the wings as well. Fancy Pants, Fleur Dis Lee, Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas... any powerful pony with a horn, labeled on this wall..." the escort pegasus replies breathlessly.

"What kind of mad pony would do this?! Or even want this? I... I'm afraid there's so much we may not even know, searching in these tunnels..." Gibraltar exclaims in shock at what he sees.

"There's still two more rooms to look over, sir. Do you think we'll find anything more like this?" the escort asks.

Gibraltar looks over with a haunted expression before replying: "I'm expecting it, Guard. And that's what's most horrifying about this whole thing..."