“How many?” I whispered.
Four whispered back, “One.”
“Pony?’
“We think so. No one has checked.”
I steadied myself upright and stopped leaning on One.
“Do they know that we know about them?”
“Unlikely.”
I thought about our situation.
“This isn’t a good spot to ambush them. Any attempts to go back towards them will alert them, and they could flee before we catch them. We need to ambush them later on. Let’s keep moving, and as long as they follow us, we can capture them.”
“What if they wander off?” Two whispered.
I rubbed my eyes, “I mean, I suppose I could just teleport right behind them and stun them. But that sounds very anticlimactic. Ambushing sounds more fun.”
“Sir, please,” One begged, “just make things simple.”
“Uh… hold on, let me try to come up with excuses…. Teleporting burns a lot of juice, and I might need it later.”
“We brought spare rations.”
“... They could be an expert fighter, and teleporting takes a few seconds to recover from. They could defeat me while I’m recovering.”
“We’ll be right behind you, not to mention the fact that no pony knows we’re here. It’s one of the archeologists, too foolish for their own good.”
“... I don’t know exactly where they are, and teleporting inside of something else is an experience I never want to have again.”
One paused, “Okay, you might have a point there. Even getting your destination wrong by a hoof will put you in a wall. Fine, we can do the ambush.”
“Yes!” I cheered, too loudly, while pumping a hoof in the air.
‘I love ambushes!’
“Alright then,” I said at normal conversation level, “I guess we just keep moving forward then, now that we know what we’re looking for. Big shiny metal armor.”
“Keep an ear out for sound and a… whatever-sensory-organ-detects-emotion for emotion behind us, but otherwise keep looking forward, with only the rare, cautious glance behind,” I whispered over the weave.
The group reordered ourselves and we set off down the right set of stairs, skirting the abyss that water was pouring into. The area that the stairs ended at was similar to the one where the vision had taken place, albeit in a far worse state. What was once an open area of smooth black gel-covered stones was a torn up battlefield. Pieces of armor, rock, bones, and unidentifiable debris covered the forum. In most areas, the black covering was ripped off and the stone surface beneath exposed.
But there were no bodies.
The pony following us was wise enough to keep out of sight.
“I see we have options,” I announced. Then I pointed to each of the main throughways out of the forum, “We have rubble strewn path number one, chaotic pile of broken rocks and shards number two, rubble strewn path number three, or suspiciously clear road number four.”
“Which do you feel is the right direction, Zero?” Three asked me.
After taking a moment to concentrate and feel out each direction, I sighed.
“The suspiciously clear direction.”
So we went, looking for prime locations to ambush while at the same time utterly aware and on guard for ambushes against us. Just because we haven't seen anything yet doesn't mean that the Third Hive was empty. The spooky corridor that whispered death was testament to that fact.
As we walked down the street, a distant, echoing clatter and boom of a collapsing structure startled us. After freezing for a minute and scanning our surroundings, we started moving forward again, more slowly this time.
Our hoofsteps crunched too loudly in the minuscule layer of debris. Very quickly we left behind the idea of not looking behind us, as our paranoia began to mount. There were so many questions all of us wanted to ask, but none did.
Where were all the bodies?
What was the infection?
Where did it come from?
Where were we headed?
I paused mid-step as I felt a stirring within my Weave. Immediately, the other changelings froze too and began looking at our surroundings, scanning for danger. Meanwhile, I focused on my Weave. I imagined chasing the stirring; it was like a guitar string that was plucked, vibrating slowly, and growing more still over time. Still, I chased the movement. I managed to discern the fact that it originated from somewhere to my right before I lost the vibration entirely.
“Something’s to our right, off the path. We’re going to pursue it, keep an eye and ear out for anything suspicious,” I spoke aloud, though very quietly.
Following gut feelings and Weave vibrations could lead us to this Prince Carotid just as easily as it could lead us to our doom.
We got off the path and started to climb through a low pile of rubble that lay between what had to one be foundations of buildings. Very quickly, a low sitting squarish building rose out of the rubble before us. It collapsed in many places along its roof and walls, but overall it was the most intact structure we had seen outside of that statue and pyramid beneath it. It was also quite large, the widest structure we had seen so far.
The front doors were completely gone. If they had been wood, then they rotted away countless centuries ago. Now, debris cascaded down into what once was a lobby. We slid down the foot-tall-drop onto the tiled flooring of the lobby, with me leading the way. The room itself was mostly barren, with staircases on the far corners of the room, a half-destroyed half-wall straight ahead that was the front desk area, and two sets of closed doors on either side of the desk. These doors were metal, with square openings halfway up, showing a pitch black room beyond.
“What is this place?” One asked.
“Can’t tell yet,” I responded. “Let’s keep going.”
As I approached the door, I got an idea.
“We’ll ambush the pony when they enter the building. Two of you stay here, go in each stairwell. Stay just out of sight and wait. The rest, follow me.”
With that said, I pushed open one of the doors and lit up an illumination spell. A soft white orb materialized at the end of my horn and cast out enough light for me to see the majority of the room I was entering. It was two-floored, with the second floor being almost like a balcony that ringed the room. It was large and rectangular, extending far back. Finally, it was filled with debris and rubble. Blown out windows let some light in, but mostly the room was dark. It was also just as empty as the previous room. Despite this, from the general layout and the pattern of debris on the ground, I managed to figure out what we were standing in.
“Any ideas where we are, sir?” One asked.
“A library. Everything on the side seems to have rotted away, but this was one massive library once.”
“A library? In here?”
“A library. Now, I’m going to keep talking. Line up by the door and spring the trap when you hear them enter.” I began walking across the room, “Nothing seems to be left. If this Hive had books, it sure as hell doesn’t have them any more. So why was I lead here…?”
My hooves crunched on small glass fragments from the windows, indicating that they had been blown inwards. When I got halfway across the room, I felt another vibration in my Weave. This time, it was stronger. The stirring came from ahead of me, from a solid wall.
“A secret door, eh? Good thing I’ve got a key!”
I reached out with my telekinesis and ripped the entire section of the wall off around where I felt the disturbance. I was in darkness for a brief moment as I stopped casting the light spell to use levitation. Though I was only in the darkness for five seconds at most, I got the distinct feeling that I wasn’t alone. When I brought the light back, the feeling went away.
‘Hahaha, awesome! That wasn’t disturbing in the slightest. On the bright side, that should be enough noise to entice the pony into coming inside.’
Sections of the wall started to collapse as its structural integrity was literally ripped to pieces, however there was an opening beyond. It looks to be about the size of a closet, and the opening shimmered blue. A shield was enveloping the secret room I had opened up.
‘Shame I don’t have God-Splitter. So, a secret room in a library. Not going to question why it's here, considering there was a vault within a vault back at the Fourth Hive...’
I approached the shielded opening and saw that through it, a small bookshelf occupied the back wall. There were tomes, about six of them. From what I could make out through the shield, they weren’t written in Equish. I pressed a hoof against the shield but there was no response.
‘A library within a library. I’m sensing a pattern here. I really hope I’m not supposed to cut myself here to open this shield.’
“Open Sesame?” I asked quietly over my Weave.
Surprisingly, the shield collapsed, letting me access the books.
“Oh.”
‘So this was created by a royal, for access only for royals. Not sure why it's in a library, but maybe the contents of the books will explain that.’
I slowly lifted a book out from the shelf using my magic. When I removed the book, a spike immediately shot out from the ceiling above. Had I been inside, I would have been impaled through the withers.
“What the hell?!” I yelled as I jumped back. “In a public library?!”
‘Spike traps, hidden rooms, things in the dark, Ascension, infection, missing bodies. Maybe I should get that armor and get out as soon as possible. Yeah, that… that sounds like a better plan.’
I pulled all the books off the shelves and levitated them out of the secret room. No further traps activated, so I set them down on the ground in front of me and scanned each one. Aside from what seemed like durability enchantments, I detected nothing from the books
‘Well then… that happened. Why was there a trap within a room that apparently can only be accessed by royals?’
I slowly lifted each one, inspected them, then placed them into my saddlebags. Each book had a title written in a language I had first seen in the Vault and Ascension Chamber back at the Fourth Hive. Once I got back to Manehattan, I would have to see if any changelings knew the language, and if I could learn it. Learning the hieroglyphics language would also be useful.
There was a loud crash and yelling from behind me, where the changelings were waiting by the lobby. I immediately galloped over, sending pieces of rubble flying as I nearly flew through the room. The changelings had barged through the door ahead and were yelling commands. I jumped over a small pile of clutter and skidded to a stop through the doorway.
The changelings had surrounded a yellow pegasus who had sat down and raised her hooves. When I arrived, the changelings quieted down and the pegasus looked me over. I took a moment myself to try to get my nerves back. This place was putting me on edge, and I was breathing heavily.
“Good work everyone,” I applauded over the Weave.
“Gotta admit, that scared the bajeezers outta me,” she said. “That was a good ambush. This place is really something else…”
“Who are you?” I asked her.
“I should ask the same thing. Who are you, and how did you open the door?’
I slowly began to pace around her. She kept her haunches parked on the ground, instead turning her head to track me as I walked.
She was a yellow pegasus wearing a canvas shirt and pith helmet, and had a pleather bag strapped around one shoulder. She also had a five-tone mane and tail, something I had never seen before. Fittingly, her Cutie Mark was a compass rose.
‘Definitely one of those archeologists. Wait a second, that one Element Bearer had a similar mane. They’ve got to be related somehow...’
“Do you think you're in a position to be asking questions?”
The pegasus chuckled, “I know your type. You love the sound of your own voice, so as long as I keep pestering you with questions, you’ll answer at least a few of them. Who are you, and how did you open the door?”
“Take her bag,” I ordered.
The changeling opposite of us pulled her bag off her shoulder. Then, he backed off and started looking through it.
“Tell us your name pegasus. Refuse to answer our questions, and no one will ever find your body.”
“No one, eh?”
‘Stupid pony terminology.’
“You think there’s only ponies down here? You’re a fool if you think we’re alone. Tell. Us. Your. Name. I don’t have the patience nor time for this, so unless you really do have a death wish, you might want to start being a little more cooperative.”
She gave me a half-grin, “How about a trade? A name for a name. That’s how it’s always done.”
“Always done? You find yourself taken prisoner in underground cities often?”
“Something like that. I am Daring Do, I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”
“... No.”
Daring Do rolled her eyes, “You have now. You must be new to the whole temple-diving business…. If you’re even part of it. What’s your name, and how do you know so much about this place?”
‘I can’t say I’m directly related, as those statues are clearly changelings.’
“Zero.”
“Zero?” She shook her head, “That’s a terrible name. Choose another.”
“Choose another?”
“Yeah, that one’s horseapples. Look, all the best bad guys have cool names. It’s pretty much a requirement.”
‘That was the entire point. Zero is simple and forgettable.’
“Why did you follow us here, Daring Do?”
She folded her forelegs, “New name.”
“What are you, twelve? Do I really need to show you just what situation you’re in?”
“Nothing much in her bag, Zero. Some magical detection equipment and survival gear,” the changeling with the bag announced. “Really seems suited for exploration, not excavation or study.”
“Why did you follow us, Daring Do? Why are you here?”
“I’ll give you a name, then. Nil. If you must know, Nil, I am here to stop you.”
“Zero.” I refrained from showing my annoyance, “Stop me? Pretty sure we got here after you, so how could you be trying to stop us when you didn’t know we were coming?”
“Nil. You’re not the first to do this whole song and dance. Mysterious bad guys show up to ancient temples or ruins, mysterious bad guys rob the place and try to make off with artifacts, Daring Do shows up and stops the bad guys, saving the day. The really weird thing is the whole opening of the temple. That’s our job. How do you know about this place, and how to open it? Are you some kind of cultist?”
‘She is being forthcoming with information. I guess it’s worth my while to humor her.’
“... Ouroboros. If you really do desire a different alias, then you may call me that.”
“That’s better. Ouroboros… Or should I say, King Ouroboros? Heh, that’s right, I caught that. You wouldn’t believe what ponies will let slip when their guard is down. So, King Ouroboros, how do you know so much about a mysterious temple complex that had been sealed for centuries? What is it that you intend on doing here? What exactly are you a king of? Last I checked, there’s no other pony kingdoms.”
“Bind her wings and always keep her in sight, at least two of you,” I commanded nonverbally before answering her question. “Why, we’re here to loot and make off with artifacts, just as you predicted. That, and find out just what felled this ancient kingdom. It seems whatever killed them might still be around, so if I were you, I wouldn’t try to escape. Since you are complying, I suppose I should try to make sure you don’t die.”
‘Can’t split the party and send her up, so it seems we’re taking her with us.’
"Still around? Just what do you mean by that?"
"I mean watch the shadows, pegasus. They're watching right back."
When the drones bound up Daring Do, which she only tested the tightness and did not protest, I told them, “I found what I was looking for in the library. Let’s get back to the path.”
'Now I can add annoying adventurer to the amount of things I have to juggle right now. But better to keep her where I can have my eye on her, than let her loose in this dead city.'
As we left the library and slowly walked over the rubble back to the cleared street, Daring Do mumbled quietly, "Spooky cult, dead underground city, thing in the dark that destroy civilizations... This is going to sell so well."
"Sell well?"
Daring smiled, "I'm on a government contract. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Why don't you focus on... whatever cultists think about. The taste of blood? Strange esoteric knowledge? Just what exactly where you looking for in the, as you called it, library of this place?"
"Anything worth finding."
“... You never did answer, what exactly are you a king of?” Daring asked as she casted her gaze around the ceiling of the Third Hive.
“If I were you, I’d be very careful of just how many questions I ask. We can still bind your muzzle, Daring Do. Now, stop pestering me before I decide to start using you as both a shield and a trap checker.”
Not really satisfied with this chapter, but eh, it'll do.
Teleports behind you, nothing personnel kid
I love how all the other Changelings just go along with Phasma's shenanigans.
I'm not even done with the chapter yet but that was pretty funny, though I guess I shouldn't really be surprised
10854753
I’m just happy they met daring! Still expected him to break the trope of him being the “bad guy” and her being the “good guy” by having reality slap her on the face or something but they’re still together exploring the spooky place so theres still time for that I suppose.
10854771
That would basically require him confirming his identity, which he does not want to do.
10854775
Eh it'll probably happen at some point and I can't wait to see, or read, the look on her face
10854753
I think this chapter was pretty good. Phasma's shenanigans and sarcastic comments never fail to brighten my day and I could feel my heart racing for a split second whenever he mentioned the presence he kept feeling
And this story is immediately on trending, let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I thought it was one pony..?
I love how she immediately thinks that this is just another one of her artifact adventures and Phasma is just another one of her average, cliched "bad guys" to beat.
Daring, Daring, Daring, you know so much and yet have so much to learn.
He is being pretty reasonable with her.
It suffice, Daring Do using her usual sas, capture, trick bad guys to spill the beans, the usual stuff.
She only made two mistakes. She though Phasma is a bad guy, and thought he will do the usual leave her at traps, or simple sell whatever he took. And he doesn't want to hurt her. Just make sure she doesn't ruin the plan.
which is probably confusing her by now thinking
"Strange usually this is the part where the bad guy just tie me up or put me in a trap. And did he just warn me of what he was gonna a do anyway?…Hmm does this one has a conciences or some weird cultist code of honour or something? Wow this bad guy has layers, even his goons doesn't seem like the run of the mile type. They look competete and he clearly doesn't had a big head if he is willing to complimenet them...oh yeah he is gonna a sell for sure."
And the moment they finally bind her someplace else, seal the door behind them like nothing (they can't risk destroy the entrance and risk releasing whateve death lays dormant) happen and then just leave. She is for the surprise of her life when unlike her others encounters this guys simple vanish without leaving any sort of trace.
Yep congrajulation Phasma, you must likely just create your first pony follower…and maybe stalker depending on how much Daring is determine to solve the mistery of king Zero.
I do hope Daring Do ends up becoming an ally for the changelings if she ever learns the truth.
Is Phasma covering up his nerves by being silly?
Also, it is good to be King. They can't call you out on your madness!
10854786
them as in gender neutral, not plural.
I think I might have been playing too much Star Wars the Old Republic, because whenever Phas said anything, I read it in the voice of the Sith Warrior.
10854786
It says “them” because the gender of the pony is unknown to the Changelings.
I can see Phasma transforming into his full royal self when he gets the armor, right in front of Daring Do just to see the look on her face
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10854806
There's gotta be a better term. I mean, I would've said saying "it" would be gender-neutral, but that's kinda mean on Phasma's part. I mean, the pony, or prey, or something else might work. Though I suppose those do kinda mess up the fluency of dialogue, still, it just stuck out to me.
Anyways, does Daring's attitude make anyone else want to administer a beat down on that cocky attitude? I can't tell if it's reverse psychology or not. But if it is, it's working
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why even live
10854810
I was gonna argue that that would be stupid, but he really does love hamming it up. He's not dumb just... I mean honestly, he's Phasma. What are you gonna do? Just gotta make sure we don't flanderize the poor guy too hard.
What if he came clean and convinced daring do to his side of things?
10854810
Even though that would be amazing to read. I highly doubt that phasma will do this he's to smart and if he did do this I think we would lose some respect for him
10854759
There use to it
this is going to be interesting i am sure DD / AK Yearling will get some of this puzzle right , but if they stop to rest and Luna visits and DD hears the hole story she is going to help.
this chapter is just right not much action but it sure help out with the story line and opening up so many possibility.
When I saw the title: Heeeeeectoooooor!
Phas will be the only "bad guy" in darings books to win and that will make it sell more. Also she doesn't know that they haven't ran into the true bady yet
I wanna read the god dang book when daring writes it. I wanna see her perspective via the book.
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i think you can still use 'them' for a singular person if you don't know their gender. Like you know you're being followed, you don't know who though so its safe to just use neutral 'they/them' term
I can't wait for that smug smile to be wiped off Daring doo's muzzle.
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Maybe the first book in this adventure ends with him winning as king Ouroboros, but the second book will probably be her writing herself in to how she helped the King purify/defeat daybreaker and return celestia, revealing how the snake king was on the good side the whole time and needed daring's help. No such thing would have actually happened, of course. It would sell well, especially how the first book would end with him getting away with the artifacts and her loosing the trail, big cliffhangers always bring sales to the sequel.
I can already see Daring Do freeze in shock when they wncountred the Zombies. There will be zombies, right?
And i can already see the book sales when she reveals that Phasma was the only "Evil guy" who actally beat her. He is going to beat her, right?
10854847
I mean... come on, wouldn’t you do the same? :P
Will Daring Do recover the Armor of Carotid?
Or will her new rival, Ouroboros, find it first?
Find out in Daring Do and The Lost Kingdom
eagerly anticipating the next chapter. i can almost see the scene. something along the lines of
"Fine! you insufferable feather duster! you really want to know what's going on? you may refer to me as King Ouroboros of the fifth hive. i am a changeling king in direct opposition of queen Chrysalis of the fourth. She has committed grave crimes against both changeling and pony kind. she broke the great masquerade and invaded pony lands openly, she is directly responsible for the possession of Celestia by a nightmare the likes of witch possessed luna a thousand years ago. she mutilated and lobotomized her own children in a sickening ritual she calls ascension, using them to reinforce her control over the weave. we are hear to find the origins of this ritual, how to counteract it, and hopefully find a means to take her down and save Celestia from the demonic possession..."
" so miss do, i ask you again.... are you going to stand in my way?"
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Why is even live.
:-p
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This is correct
10854805
Lol I read it in the Male Twi'Lek Sith Assassin voice
10854753
I'm happy with it, so there is that.
Daring Do's going to find that Phasma isn't her typical antagonist. So she'll either learn to respect him, fear him, ... or become infatuated with him, because honestly I see all three as possibilities, and they are not necessarily mutually exclusive either. Whatever is lurking in the shadow, is something to be feared and respected without question. When you stop giving things the proper respect they deserve is when those things kill you. Be it your ancient shadow evil, or your chainsaw that requires a "Do not stop blades with hands or genitals" warning label due to the stupidity of the populace.
Ouroboros, the serpent eating it's own tail. Often interpreted as a symbol for the eternal cycle of renewal, Life, death, and rebirth. A fitting alias for Phasma given he is a living representation of it.
Atleast hes honest about the dangers. Damn Daring's cocky even back then, hope he saves her ass. She's part of the timeline after all.
I am appalled at the lack of sense... but we are talking about a pony. And her rogue gallery is hardly competent...
She is a foal playing games; she should go back to her mother before she gets hurt.
I totally sympathize with Phasma's outrage. Don't you just hate it when you are forced to dodge poison darts just to check out the magazine racks?
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"Where are the adult novels?"
"Over there, sitting as bait in the oversized mousetraps."
The snark from Daring is glorious, and Phasma is handling her much better than I expected.
I deeply love this chapter, phas and his shenanigans, something leading them to goodies off the path, ambushing daring, oh and something in the darkness, watching
Oh and can't forget, phas and daring, with daring taking way to much then she can handle.
No Offense to Daring, but like... Phasma is on a whole different level then most of your rogues. Now I keep expecting Ahuizotl to jump out from nowhere and get beat up by Phasma.
Or some demon-changeling thing. That would work too
10854942
Ah, but this is an AU timeline, so KKSlider is well within his rights to murder any Official Character he likes.
Hell, even the Main 6 aren't exempt, though that would add some fun Complications down the line.
I hope they don't let her escape. It's obvious she's been in similar situations before. I'm surprised he didn't break a wing or anything, it's what I would have done, to stop the Sass, loosen the lips etc.