Tales from The Oasis

by TikiBat

Legend of the Cursed Treasure

“Have you ever read into the legends that surround this place? Ancient spirits that protect the land, visitors from another planet touching down centuries ago, haunted mines hiding a cursed treasure… that sort of stuff. It’s all superstitious nonsense of course, but for some reason this place is a paranormal hotspot that tends to attract all sorts of strangers, weirdos, and fanatics. For almost two centuries now, fools trying to claim a stake on a treasure they could never hope to claim have scoured the desert to no avail… but what if the legends were real? Supposedly intersecting ley lines can create vortexes of spiritual energy in this valley, points where thaumic energy would likely converge if my predictions are anything to go by. This kind of late night expedition could very well be what pushes our research further… or disprove it, but we’ll never know until we seek out the answers.”

“And you need my help with this… why?”

Gyro looked up from his notes and over towards Phoenix, “Because Tinker and Sprocket won’t try and stay up later just to chase some old ghost story, and I’m not going to be able to do this on my own.”

“So why does this have to be done at night?”

“It doesn’t have to be done at night, but it makes my life easier. Ponies are naturally curious creatures, they see us carrying around some expensive equipment and we’ll be hounded non stop with questions.”

Phoenix nodded, “Okay… but do you even know where you’d start looking though?”

“The legend doesn’t exactly paint a clear picture of where the old mine is, only that it supposedly sits on converging ley lines. Look, I’m just curious to see whether there’s any truth to the notion that there’s science backing the supernatural. I promise it won’t take long, I just want to get a reading on the resonant psychokinetic frequency of the area, I can analyze the data back here.”

Phoenix raised an eyebrow, gesturing his hooves in air quotations “Resonant psychokinetic frequency? Do you have to sound so… text book about it?”

Gyro rolled his eyes, “I mean do you have a better name for it?.. Don’t answer, that’s rhetorical. So what do you say?”

Phoenix paused for a moment, “Why me specifically though?”

“Because I can trust you, and you’re clearly the next most qualified pony here for this kind of experiment.”

Phoenix raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean by that?”

The unicorn rolled his eyes again, “Seriously? It’s just a coincidence that you set up shop on top of a set of intersecting ley lines that would theoretically form one of the largest vortexes in the entire Oasis?”

Phoenix glanced around Gyro’s office in the Ark. “And so what? How does that make me qualified? Maybe I just thought that spot looked nice.”

The unicorn rolled his eyes, “Right… Phoenix, I’ve been studying this stuff for a couple of years now and it’s plainly obvious that you’ve got a fascination with the supernatural just like I do, this is exactly your kind of project.”

“Can’t you just grab Zipper and have him help you? I mean he’s a total nut for the supernatural and psychic too, I’d probably just get in the way of all your science experiments.”

Gyro sighed, how do I put this lightly, “Zipper means well but he’s… well he’s Zipper. You know how he is.”

Phoenix nodded, “Yes, and I also know that he worked at a carnival before ETS and was best friends with the fortune teller. He’s a nut for the supernatural and you know how he is when there’s something that genuinely interests him. Plus he’s been way more responsible since he got his cutie mark, haven’t you seen him taking care of the geese with Blue Spring? I don’t know about you but I think he’s really starting to change for the better.”

Gyro shook his head, “I can appreciate his dedication, but I’d really rather keep him out of this, we don’t need him to suddenly decide that ghosts are real and run off with some hairbrained scheme to use our resources to create some kind of ghost hunting team.”

“Oh come on, I don’t think you guys give him enough credit—“

“No.” He flatly replied.

Phoenix rolled his eyes, “Okay look, I didn’t want it to come to this, but if I’m going to get dragged along for some stupid treasure hunt when I have better things to do, I’m going to drag along someone else who might actually enjoy it.”

Gyro sighed, “You’re not relenting in this are you?”

He shook his head, “Nope. I could just say no and leave, but that’d be an incredibly rude thing to do to a friend. I might as well bring another friend along to pass the time with.”

The orange unicorn put his head between his hooves and sighed, “Alright fine, but you’re going to be the one explaining it all to Silver if he suddenly hatches any crazy schemes.”

“Fair enough. So what is this legend anyways?”

The unicorn gestured to a large painting that sat behind his desk, showcasing a bearded human in fancy clothing, holding a large golden nugget in his hands. “It is the legend of Alexander Ravenscroft, the prospector turned entrepreneur who owned this land almost two hundred years ago… rounding up of course. Legends say that he was ruthless and uncaring, purchasing and inheriting legitimate mining claims through less than ethical practices.”

“So you mean he’d steal them?”

Gyro shook his head, “Not quite, at least not in the traditional sense. He’d scam settlers, cheat their land away from them, even arrange their deaths if it meant he’d be able to strike it rich. By the time he settled here, the man was untouchable. He had every marshall, sheriff, and prospector under his thumb, and he’d still find ways to cheat them.”

“So where does the legend actually begin and the history lesson end?”

Gyro smiled, “That’s a good question. The legend begins in a small mining town called Mesa Verde, better known today as The Oasis. It was a rotting ghost town by the time we got to it, however it wasn’t always that way. Quite the opposite in fact. It was once a thriving boom town where fortunes were seemingly made overnight. The kind of place you only hear about in old westerns. It was an alluring place to a man like Ravenscroft, an easy stake to claim given his nature.

Ravenscroft heard tale of a land full of resources that were ripe for the picking-- iron, silver, copper… but most importantly gold. Legends say that this area housed an abundance of gold at one time, but they also speak of the mysterious spirits that protect it. Specters that inhabit the land and torment those who’d seek to exploit it, like our dearly departed friend.

Now, of course he knew of these legends-- was even intrigued for a time, but in the end he didn’t care. He was a skeptic by nature, a soul blind to the more… mystical sides of the world around him. He figured that these legends were simply old ghost stories told by the native people of this land to try and frighten him. Without a second thought he established Mesa Verde here and immediately set off to claim the fortune he believed lay waiting.

Despite the countless warnings he thrived, robbed the land for all it was worth, and just when he thought he had struck the motherlode, a series of tragedies began to befall the city. It started innocently enough, plants and crops wilting away, the old lake drying up, wells running dry… all seen as warning signs that the legends were true and that the old spirits of the valley had been disturbed.

He was yet to be deterred however, and continued digging into the earth. This proved to be his folly, for it wasn't long after that more tragedy struck. His beloved wife fell sick with an unknown illness and soon passed, followed by his daughter and finally his son. The loss only served to drive him away from everyone else, and he seldom left the mine he had lost everything for.

Rumors of phantoms haunting his nightmares spread and in time he grew more fearful and worried. He finally relented and ordered Mineshaft 13 sealed off, the very shaft where he thought he’d claim the biggest stake of his life. The damage was done though, for on that fateful day, the legends say a great earthquake struck, trapping him in the very mine he had grown to fear, never to be heard from again.

Seemingly overnight the entire town seemed to fade away as the prospectors and townsfolk left, leaving it to rot away, occasionally reviving for a few years only to be left abandoned again. That is until we came along, and well… the rest is history.”

Phoenix shifted around, “You don’t mean… I mean do you actually believe that?”

Gyro shrugged, “I don’t know, but I want to try and explore the old mines and see if I can get a reading there, see if there is indeed latent thaumic energy where the lines intersect.”

Phoenix nodded, “Can’t you just go to the antique shop and get a reading there? I mean you said it was theoretically the largest vortex point.”

He shook his head, “I wish it was that easy. There’s just too much latent background magic in the Oasis for my spell to really work, it’s still a work in progress but the mine in question should be located just far enough outside of the city to get a fairly decent reading.”

“What kind of spell is this anyways?”

“It’s a Class X asset, part of Project Further Beyond. On paper and outside of the Ark project archive it doesn’t even exist.”

“But what does it actually do?”

“It lets me lock onto and identify a specific thaumic signature, gives back rudimentary information like what kind of magic is at play, that sort of stuff, though I’m afraid it’s not quite perfect yet.”

“So you think it could determine if some kind of spiritual turbulence is magical in nature?”

Gyro nodded, “Exactly, that’s why I’m asking you.”

“Well that’s great, so where’s the mine even at?”

The unicorn shrugged, “That’s just it… it’s lost. Records were either lost, purged, or destroyed and none of the currently excavated shafts match up with the few descriptions and shadows I’ve been able to gather from my own research.”

“So we’re just going to dig around blindly?”

Gyro shook his head, “Not quite.” He unrolled one of the large sets of plans that normally sat in the city archives. “These are maps of the mineshafts, showing where they connect and intersect. 13’s not labeled, but neither are a handful of them. Now if I take this survey map of the valley and overlay it with the other map, we can see where tectonic activity likely occurred, that still doesn’t tell us exactly where it is, but it narrows it down to about three locations.”

“So we’re going to look at all three?”

“Not quite.” He unrolled a third map, “This shows various ley lines around the Oasis, there’s a set that intersects in between the three locations, but there isn’t a marked mine there… Now there’s a chance that that could be where the missing mineshaft is, but we won’t really know until we get there.”

“So it’s a good thing we’re going to have a third set of hooves helping then.”

Gyro sighed, “I guess.”

“Alright, well we better get going then.”

“Right. I’ll grab the supplies…” He let out a low sigh, “and I guess you can go grab Zipper.”

---

The full moon shined brightly above the desert as Zipper excitedly led the charge through the outskirts of the Oasis and towards the site that gyro had outlined. He was surprisingly still full of energy despite being awake far later than he was used to, and his enthusiasm was keeping Phoenix in good spirits. Gyro had his roll of plans strung across his back and was currently pulling a small supply cart full of tools and equipment, keeping a short distance away from the energetic pair.

“This is gonna be sooo cool! A real ghost hunt!” Zipper excitedly cheered.

Gyro let out another small sigh, “We’re not chasing ghosts. We’re analyzing the effects of overlapping ley lines and seeing if there’s any credibility to the theory that they create vortexes of spiritual energy.”

“Oh lighten up Gy, It’s almost Halloween, it’s the perfect time for a good old fashioned ghost hunt!” Phoenix added with a laugh.

Gyro sighed again, “Fine. but can we please get the readings I need first?”

Phoenix nodded, “Sure… How are you going to even get those readings anyhow?”

“It’s going to be a mix of casting a special spell that I’ve thrown together and analyzing the effect on the area, and more traditional methods.”

Zipper perked up, “Ooh! You mean using the kinds of tools that ghost hunters use!”

The unicorn sternly shook his head, “Ghosts aren’t real Zipper. I’ll be using very sensitive scientific equipment to gauge electromagnetic activity in the area along with the aforementioned spell.--”

“--Sounds like you’re a ghost hunter.” Phoenix added with a smirk.

Gyro face hoofed, “Alright, sure, whatever. This technology is similar to what those pseudoscientists use, but this is for an actual scholarly purpose.”

“You think the ghost stories are true Phoenix?” Zipper excitedly asked, completely ignoring Gyro’s response.

Phoenix shrugged, “I don’t know Zip, I guess we’ll find out.”

“Alright, we’re almost there, the cave entrance is up ahead,” Gyro said as he gestured towards the nearby cave, “The entrance into shaft 17 should be located inside. I brought along some supplies that should make this easier for us.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Phoenix you can see in the dark relatively easily, you’ll be keeping an eye out for anything lurking in the shadows that Zipper and I can’t see.”

“And what can I do?!” Zipper excitedly asked.

“You can carry the light.”

“Oh come on, just the light?” He asked with a twinge of disappointment carrying in his voice.

Gyro nodded, “Yes. You weren’t intended to be a part of this expedition, I hate to be rude but you can help by carrying the light while I cast the spell.”

“But can’t you already do both?” Phoenix cut in.

“Yeah! That’s true, you’re like the best unicorn here! Can’t I do anything else?”

Gyro sighed, “You can help take readings… IF we get to that point and it’s not already being done by Phoenix.”

He excitedly nodded his head, “Alright! I’m gonna be a real life ghost hunter!”

“Zipper, need I remind you, this is just a routine expedition.”

“A routine expedition into a haunted cave…” Phoenix said in a low voice.

“You’re not helping Phoenix.”

Phoenix shrugged, “Hey look I’m just trying to lighten the mood a little bit, you asked me to come along when I had actual work to do, so I’m going to at least have some fun with this.”

“Phoenix, we’re both part of PRISM, if anything this is you doing actual work— work which I appreciate by the way, and as I’m sure you’re well aware, I don’t say that often.”

“Okay sure, but this is work for a program that I’m no longer really a part of. Sure I’m still on the PRISM payroll, but that’s basically as a consultant and nothing else. I have my own business to run too and I’m not running it right now in case you haven’t noticed…”

“Doesn’t Midnight help with that? I thought you two were close or something.”

“I mean does that matter? She still has her own job to do too. You know, the mare who’s currently working on the monorail expansion plans with Tinker and Sprocket’s R&D team?”

“I guess I didn’t really think about that,” the unicorn paused for a moment, “Look, if it helps I can pay you for your time, technically you’re a contracted researcher right now, it wouldn’t be hard to approve a small bonus for you too.”

“And I appreciate that, I just wish you would try and take other ponies' thoughts into consideration the next time you want to do something like this. We all have our own separate lives too you know. Oh and please try and give Zipper a little more credit, he genuinely means well even if he’s got his own way of doing things.”

“But you know how Zipper is—“

Phoenix bared his fangs and let out a hiss, “And you know how I am when I’m trying to get my point across and it goes in one ear and out the other. I’m not asking you to change your entire life, just to remember that you’re not the only pony here.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll try and keep that in mind next time.” The unicorn added with a reassuring smile.

“That’s all I ask. We’re a team here and we need to remember that.”

“Hey guys? I hate to interrupt, but is this what we’re looking for?” Zipper called back from a rocky hill in the distance.

Gyro watched as the pegasus gestured towards a cave entrance with his flashlight and returned a quick nod, “Yeah that should be it, does the entrance seem clear?”

Zipper waved the light around at the entrance, scrutinizing it for a few solitary moments before flying back over towards the two, “Yeah seems like it. There’s some equipment a little further in but I can’t really make out what it is or if it’s blocking anything.”

“Right, well I guess that’s better than we could have expected for a site that’s been abandoned for as long as this one has.”

“So what should we do Gy?” Phoenix asked as he glanced towards the cave.

“You scout ahead and double check that it’s clear for us. There’s some equipment I need to prepare before we go down…” He paused for a moment, “I mean if that’s alright with you that is.”

Phoenix smiled, “Glad you asked, I’m fine with that. What about Zipper?”

Gyro turned towards the pegasus, letting out a small sigh, “Zipper, do you want to give me a hand with some of this? I know it’s not the most exciting job out there but you’re along for the ride so…”

“Yeah! I’d love to!” the pegasus excitedly replied.

---

Gyro and Zipper had flipped on their headlamps while Phoenix scouted ahead, keeping an eye out for any obstructions that would hinder their progress. The trio was mostly silent, save for Zipper, who was cheerfully whistling every so often, much to the unicorn’s annoyance.

“Okay, I’ll be the one to say it, do you really need to make so much noise Zipper?”

The pegasus shook his head, “No of course not, but it sure makes it more fun!”

“Lighten up Gyro, remember what we talked about earlier?”

Gyro rolled his eyes in response, “I know, but can’t we just—” he suddenly paused as Phoenix held up a wing.

“Quiet, I think someone’s been through here,” the night pony said in a whisper.

“What do you—“

“He said quiet Zipper, zip it!” Gyro cut him off with a harsh whisper, walking up towards Phoenix, “How can you tell?”

Phoenix pointed to a set of fresh hoof prints in a layer of dirt that he hadn’t noticed before. “I thought I saw hoof prints as were walking, but there wasn’t enough loose dirt on the ground to be sure…” he began to trail off as his ears pivoted slightly, “I can hear a subtle click every so often, I think someone’s hunting for treasure just as we are.”

Gyro silently nodded and gestured for the two to follow him. With careful steps they trotted further down the mineshaft, taking extra precaution to make as little sound as possible. As they neared the source of the sound, Gyro caught sight of a trio of ponies, two unicorns and a night pony. The white unicorn mare was currently filming the other two while the night pony talked into the camera.

The dark green unicorn looked towards the camera and dimly hit his horn, “Could the legends of a greedy old miser out in the middle of the Arizona desert actually be true?.. Well we’re here to tell you YES!”

The night pony off to his side suddenly jumped in, completing the unicorn’s sentence, “On another thrilling episode of—”

“ — WORLD OF THE WEIRD WITH RICK AND RUBEN!” The two called out in unison.

Gyro looked over towards Zipper, who had a star struck expression on his face.

Zipper snapped his head towards the unicorn, his face lighting up in joy, “Do you know who that is?!” He excitedly whispered out.

Phoenix held up a wing, “Wait you know them?”

“Will you two keep it down? You’re going to give us away.”

“Trust me Gyro they’re harmless,” Zipper replied back, returning his gaze to the three intruders.

“Okay, that may be, but they’re also intruding on our land,” he gestured towards a small pile of equipment on the ground nearby, “and it looks like they’re not just here for a friendly visit. I’d say we could press trespassing and maybe even theft charges given that they’re clearly here to go hunt down the treasure.”

Phoenix nodded, “Gotcha. So what do we do then?”

“Okay well Phoenix, you and Zipper guard the path behind us, just in case they try and make a run for it. I’d suggest calling Cal too, but I doubt we’ll have any reception down here.”

Zipper nodded, slowly walking a few feet back to a spot where the path narrowed, “Alright, uhh just let us know when you’re going to jump out.”

Phoenix followed Zipper and flexed his wings for a few moments, “Okay, ready when you are.”

With a quick nod, Gyro lit his horn and jumped out, shouting towards the three intruders. “Excuse me? This is private property, I need to know who you—“

“— Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it’s actually you!” Zipper shouted as soon as the light had washed over the trio”

The unicorn stallion set down the pick he was holding with his magic and grinned, “Guilty as charged! So I’ll take it you’re a fan?”

Zipper beamed, “More than that! I’ve watched you guys since you started podcasting years ago! Man this is so cool!”

The mare started to speak up, “Giles is that you I hear? What a small world! You of all ponies set up shop in Ravenscroft’s turf?”

Gyro’s eyes widened in shock, “Connie!? THIS is what you’re doing now?!”

She blinked her eyes at him a few times, “Surprised?”

Zipper looked towards the pair with child-like bewilderment, “You know Constance Tombs?! And you didn’t even tell me?!”

Gyro shot his hoof out in Zipper’s direction, “Zip it Zipper, now’s not the time for this.”

“So this is an old friend of yours I’ll take it?” Phoenix asked, raising an eyebrow and lowering his wings.

Gyro shook his head slowly, “Worse, she’s my ex.”

The unicorn slowly began to trot over, “Oh come on Gil, don’t tell me you don’t miss me.” She interjected with a mock face of sadness.

“I sure don’t miss being lied to and robbed, that’s for sure.”

She rolled her eyes, “Oh come on, we were close to a breakthrough and you wanted to stop and settle down. We could have definitively proven that there was an existence after death, but you didn’t want to.”

“I… I thought it was pseudoscience at the time… figured that maybe the world didn’t need that answer… but you didn’t need to steal the device and claim all the credit.”

Phoenix flashed Zipper a confused look and then turned back towards the two unicorns, “uhh is this really the best time for you two to hash out your relationship problems?..”

The pair ignored him, continuing their conversation, “Someone had to share your work… I know you wanted to stop but I couldn’t let all your hard work go to waste,” she paused for a moment, walking up close to him, “Look, I’m sorry, it was a dumb decision that alienated one of my best friends and I’ve felt terrible about it for years. What happened to the man that thought all scientific breakthroughs should be shared with others? Remember him?”

“He turned into a stallion that realized his folly once his ex mare friend claimed all the credit for his work.”

“So now’s the time to change that Gilly! We can settle this once and for all, just like the good old days!”

Gyro turned towards her, “Connie, can you really say those days were good? We were close but then we kept letting work consume everything. We barely made time for each other then, what makes you think now will be any different?”

She paused for a moment and looked off to the side, “I could. I might not have shown it much, but those hours spent working away in the lab with you were some of the best times I’ve had… you have to admit that. So what do you say? ”

Gyro shook his head, “Maybe…” he looked over towards the rest of the group and then back towards Constance, “Alright, sure. Like the good old days. But let me make something very clear, you three are here on our private property. You’re going to follow our rules, help with my experiment, and then leave. Got it?”

She smiled, “Let’s do this Gilly, we’ll finally finish our greatest research project.”

“So uh… what kind of device was this?” Phoenix asked in curiosity.

Gyro extended a hoof towards their equipment, “The Psychokinetic Analysis module, really a bunch of hypothetical research, but something Connie and I were very invested in at the time. Detects subtle changes in an area’s electromagnetic energy readout, or rather it should… Connie and I never finished it, but I started working on it again not too long ago.”

“-We were so close! That’s why I took it, Giles.”

He calmly turned towards her, “It’s Gyro now, Connie. Regardless I know you never finished it, but that’s where my spell comes in. We can combine the information that I get from it with the readouts that the machine is able to generate--”

“--And then you’d have a spectral readout on the area’s surrounding negative energy, and if you put the patterns together with a personality baseline you’ve no doubt already taken you could tell if there’s some kind of lingering specter! That’s actually really smart!”

The two oasis ponies looked towards Zipper with wide eyes, shocked at his sudden interjection. Gyro sat slack jawed in disbelief for a moment before shaking his head, “Zipper how on Earth do you understand any of that?! Seriously, I’m struggling to figure out how a theme park junkie like you knows so much about the paranormal.”

Zipper shrugged, “What can I say? Strange and unusual stuff interests me, and I myself am strange and unusual… it just kind of clicks with me, y’know?”

Phoenix let out a small laugh, leaning in and whispering to Gyro, “I told you so!”

Gyro shot him an annoyed glare and returned his attention back towards Constance, “Right, well Zipper’s correct. I’ve been theorizing that potential spiritual apparitions could have some basis rooted in magic. I haven’t been able to test any of my hypotheses up to this point, but that’s where this excursion comes in.”

Constance raised an eyebrow, “Rooted in magic? How?”

“Well, it’s not 100% confirmed, but I look at the dream realm as a model. It’s a realm that doesn’t exist in our natural plane, but certain magic harnessing individuals are able to cross a part of themselves into it in a sense. What if there’s a spiritual realm-- the afterlife, where the inhabitants there can do the opposite? And what about how our own human resonances existed as a sort of magical echo post ETS. What if we can imprint a similar resonance on the world around us? Leaving imprints of what we’ve come to see as ghosts in the waking world?”

Phoenix nodded along in interest, “That would explain a lot. I’m not as proficient of a dreamer as Silver is, he’d probably be able to give some insight on this that we don’t have, but maybe it’s plausible. Legends, ghost stories-- all stuff that’s been passed down throughout history without any kind of scientific fact to back it… but I suppose magic goes beyond science…”

“Magic is a branch of science in itself, just one that goes beyond anything we’ve ever known before. This is where our experiment comes in, there’s no guarantee that this will even work, but if my research is correct, this should be a hotspot for psychic turbulence.” Gyro added, point of factly.

“Well what’re we waiting for? Shaft 13 is just behind this wall!”

Gyro rolled his eyes, “Possibly behind that wall. You three want to tag along, so get to it. Connie and I will make some adjustments to the device’s calibration, Zipper and Phoenix can keep an eye on you two and make sure you don’t get us killed.”

---

The group had moved off to the side, towards a makeshift basecamp that Gyro and Phoenix had set up. The portable generator hummed loudly from a short distance away, and the lights hooked up to it flickered every so often, occasionally casting odd shadows around the room.

Ruben stood up from the ground he was sitting on, raising his voice so he could be heard over the generator, “So what’s the plan here uhh…”

“Gyro.”

Ruben nodded, “Right, Gyro. So what’s our plan then?”

Gyro gestured towards the caved in tunnel, “Well we need to get in there right? We won’t be able to get any excavation machinery in here anytime soon, let alone tonight, so we’re going to have to do things the old fashioned way…”

The dark gray night pony, Rick, nodded his head, “Uh huh… and the old fashioned way is?”

Gyro let out a sigh, gesturing towards the cart he was pulling, “The old fashioned way would be setting up some strategically placed mining explosives and clearing the rest away with more traditional methods…”

Rick nodded, “So you mean picking up a few picks like we’re prospectors or something? I can dig that.”

Zipper and Phoenix let out a chuckle in response to the pun, while Gyro simply nodded, “Well you guys probably won’t be able to do that, but Connie and I can use our magic to just lift the remaining rocks away.”

“Uhh, you know I was just joking right? I didn’t expect us to actually be lifting picks up.”

Gyro nodded, “I know. So is that okay with you? Can I trust you two to help and not blow us all up?”

Ruben nodded, glancing between Rick and Gyro, “Yeah, this isn’t our first rodeo, it’ll be just like Calico eh Rick?”

Zipper perked up, “Just like Calico? Oh man that was such a cool episode!”

Gyro and Phoenix shot a glare towards the two ghost hunters. Gyro raised an eyebrow, “What happened in Calico?”

“Oh it was so cool, they brought some old dynamite along and wound up causing a cave in, but they jumped out just in the nick of time!” Zipper excitedly answered.

“I’m sorry what?!” Phoenix shouted out, “Gy they’re gonna get us all killed. I think we should just call Cal and get them out of here. We can come back later when we have the proper equipment.”

Constance ran forward, “Calico was staged Gilly, it was a special Halloween episode to boost tourism to the old Ghost Town, please trust me. We’ve come this far, why turn back now? Aren’t you curious to see if the legends are true?”

Gyro considered this for a moment before nodding, “I didn’t lug all of this equipment out here for nothing, Zipper and Phoenix are going to keep a close eye on you two. If you do anything stupid you’re going to regret it. Do I make myself clear?”

Rick nodded, “Crystal.”

“Good. I have some experimental charges in the cart over there, they’re kind of volatile so make sure you only set a few of them up. The construction crews haven’t run into too many issues with them, I can trust you to properly follow the instructions right?”

Ruben nodded, “Of course. Would you like to give us a quick rundown on everything we need to know before we get started? I’m assuming that this place is probably not very sound, unless you’ve been maintaining the old tunnels.”

Gyro waved the pair towards the supply cart, “Okay. These are experimental explosives, and while they’re fairly volatile, as long as you make sure to handle them properly you won’t need to worry. Our construction crews used them to clear out some old collapsed tunnels so they’ll absolutely do the job here, but the trick is to use them to do the heavy lifting.”

Rick gently touched one of the charges, “Okay, so what’s the best way to go about doing that?”

Gyro looked back towards the collapsed tunnel, “I’d say plant two to start, towards the center of the rubble,” He gestured back to the charges, “You turn this dial to set the timer, tap it twice to set.”

“And then we run?” Ruben asked.

Gyro shook his head, “No, then you take this detonator and activate the charges once you’re a safe distance away. They’re linked together and the charges won’t go off unless the detonator is far enough away. That said you need to tell us when you’re done and set so we’ll have enough time to get back, there’s only one detonator and the charges won’t be able to tell if we’re nearby or far away so give us notice okay?”

The pair nodded.

“Good. Glad we’re on the same page,” Gyro turned towards Constance, “I need to make some adjustments to the device, would you care to help?”

Constance smiled, “I thought you’d never ask Gilly, lead the way!”

Gyro nodded, “Phoenix, Zipper… keep an eye on the other two, okay?”

“Gotcha boss,” Zipper excitedly replied back.

---

Ruben and Rick were currently setting up mining explosives while Constance and Gyro were making adjustments to their device and running over diagnostics. Zipper stood alert as if he was some highly trained guard while Phoenix paced around the group.

“Uhh, do you guys know what you’re doing?” Phoenix asked as he looked on in concern.

Ruben shrugged, “It’s blasting apart rock, what’s there to know?”

Phoenix nodded and stepped further back from the group. “Just uhh… making sure I guess. You guys followed Gyro’s instructions right?”

Rick nodded, “Yeah of course, what do you take us for? A couple of lunatics?”

The yellow night pony glanced towards Zipper, who returned a confused shrug, “Something like that… Look, just please make sure you’re careful about this okay?”

“Yeah yeah, just trust us okay? This isn’t our first rodeo.”

Phoenix rolled his eyes at Ruben and slowly walked away, leaning in close towards Zipper as he passed, “I know you’re a fan of them but please keep an eye on them okay? If they do anything… weird give us a holler okay?”

Zipper nodded, “Yeah okay, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go talk with Gy about this, I’m starting to think that this might not be the best idea.”

“Okay… I’ll uhh, I’ll just stay here then.”

Phoenix gave a short nod and trotted over towards Gyro, who was fiddling away with his machinery and chatting with constance.

“Gee Gilly I didn’t realize that the analysis module on the old model was so broken, no wonder we never got any solid results from it.”

“The machine was broken from the start, we wouldn’t have gotten results at all. We only just recently developed the processors we needed to get this thing working— and we haven’t even had a chance to test it fully yet…”

“Sorry to interrupt Gyro, I just needed to talk about something… alone if that’s okay,” Phoenix said, glancing towards Constance.

Gyro looked towards Constance and nodded, “Okay?..” He took a few steps away from the cart and leaned in, “What is it?”

“I just don’t know what to make of the others, they’re just rigging things up willy nilly and I don’t think they’re paying attention to your instructions.”

The unicorn took a cursory glance towards the pair that were still rigging up the explosives, nodding as he looked back toward Phoenix, “Right. Give me a second,” He began to trot towards the duo, raising his voice as he got near, “Hey, tweedle dee and tweedle dumb, you two finished setting the charges up?..” He paused as he noticed that they were rigging up far too many charges than was necessary. His eyes widened in anger, “Hey! Are you two thinking straight, you’re gonna get us all killed!”

Ruben quickly set the charge and ran back, diving behind a few tall rocks and activating the detonator, “Too late to back out now! Everyone get back! It’s gonna blow!”

Rick and Ruben dove behind a large rock, while Gyro threw up a shield around himself, pulling Connie, and the two remaining ponies that hadn’t found cover yet behind it with his magic. With a loud, bright, blast the cave shook, threatening to collapse around the group.

As the dust cleared and the rumbling settled a deafening silence hung in the air for a few solitary minutes.

“What the blazes do you think you two are doing!? You’re going to get us killed at this rate!” Gyro angrily ran towards the pair, backing them into a wall. “You literally only had to rig up a couple charges and back away, yet you decided it was smart to just light them all up!”

Ruben stuttered for a few moments, “W..well y--yyou see, we have access to the shaft now, we didn’t before.”

“That’s your defense? You’re lucky we’re alive, but once we’re outta here you two are out of here, if I ever see you here again you’re going to wind up locked away and facing criminal charges, do I make myself clear?!”

“Gilly, please calm down, they didn’t know any better. Look, we’re all alive now, and we’re safe. The cave’s open and the wall was a lot thicker than I think we realized, see?” Constance said, gesturing towards the now open cavern, revealing a thicker pile of rubble than they had initially thought.

“I… Fine, but they’re still getting banned after this,” he glanced towards the camera that Constance was holding with her magic, evidently still recording, “You too if that footage gets posted anywhere, we don’t need even more uninvited guests here. Got it?”

Constance smirked, “Oh come on, I’ll give you a copy to study if you want--”

“No.”

---

Ruben, Rick, and Zipper glanced into the now open cavern, noticing the dimly lit sparkle of mineral veins. At once Rick jumped up and ran over, Clearly seeing something with his enhanced vision.

“Do you see what I see?!”

Ruben squinted into the darkness and cocked his head to the side, “What is it Rick?”

“Gold! It’s gold! We’re gonna be rich!”

“Gold?!” Ruben and Zipper both said in unison as they ran towards the excited night pony.

Gyro rolled his eyes, turning back towards Constance and Phoenix, “Come on, let’s get the equipment and get this over with. There’s no telling if the blast damaged the structural integrity of the cave and I’d rather not wait and find out for ourselves.”

Phoenix flashed Gyro a concerned look, “Uhh Gy, are you even sure that this is the mineshaft we’re looking for?”

Gyro shrugged, “I’m not, but I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

A low rumble echoed through the cave, earning an involuntary twitch from Phoenix’s ears, “I just don’t think this is really worth it anymore, maybe we should go before things get dangerous…”

“You’re free to go if you want, but I’m going to get the data I need with or without your help.”

Constance nodded, trotting close to the red unicorn, “Right… so what is it you’re actually looking for here, Gilly?”

The unicorn glanced towards his equipment, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to finish what we started all those years ago… well to a degree that is. I want to see if there’s any correlation between the magical and the supernatural, and in essence that answers what we were trying to do.”

“Do you really think it is— connected? I mean this could be big if the device actually works.”

Gyro shrugged, “I… I don’t know, I guess we’ll find out together, if you’re not too afraid to continue on that is. So what about you? What do you believe?”

Constance shuffled her hooves around, glancing towards the smoking cavern, “It’s hard to say, what if there’s a life after death? Do you think the world’s ready for the answer? I know I am, but you and I are different from the rest of the world.”

“People have been asking that question for thousands of years, and so many think they know the answer— are even convinced that they’re right. You could show them mountains of contrary evidence and I doubt it’d change their minds. I don’t think our experiment will definitively answer it one way or another, but maybe it’ll offer some insight into how magic interacts with the world around us, and maybe that’ll give us clues to that answer. I know we’ve only just now reached our magical awakening, but the universe is so much bigger than we thought, we’re pioneers in unexplored territory.”

Constance nodded, “I guess you’re right. Whatever we learn today, I’m just glad I can find out with you,” She paused for a moment, “Gilly, do you think that maybe we can work together again? I’m not saying it needs to be like we were back in the day, but you’re right, this is a new branch of science and I want to be a part of it.”

Gyro glanced over towards Zipper and Phoenix, giving Constance a quick nod, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t open to the prospect… plus I need an actual assistant instead of the hired help I have now… but I’m not kidding about banning your… associates. They trespassed here— you trespassed here with them too, you’re lucky I’m in a good mood tonight or you’d be going out with them.”

The mare perked up, “So that’s a yes then?”

Gyro sighed, a small smile spreading across his face, “Something like that I guess. We can talk about the finer details later, but let’s see how tonight goes for now.”

“Thanks Gilly, I can’t wait, now how about we go get set up, I think it’s time to see if the legends are true.”

Phoenix walked over towards the cart while Constance and Gyro began to clear out a path on the cave floor.

Excited cheers could be heard from the cavern within, but Phoenix could also hear a low rumble every now and again, as if the cave had come to life and was breathing. “G— gyro, we should really get this done asap… how long do you think it’ll take?”

“About fifteen minutes if we’re in a rush, forty five max. Why?”

“I’ve just got a bad feeling about this, I keep hearing a rumble.”

Gyro nodded, pivoting his ears around, “I do too… I don’t like it either, but you can blame the two powder monkeys for that one, so let’s get this done before we all follow in Ravenscroft’s footsteps.”

Phoenix began to scout ahead while Constance and Gyro pushed the cart into the mineshaft, lighting and leaving small electric lanterns along the way. As the group entered the large cavern, Gyro parked the cart, lighting up the large floodlights that were built in and illuminating the entire place. Constance began to explore the newly lit cavern, poking around at some of the antique equipment with her magic.

As Phoenix panned the light around he caught sight of Zipper, Reuben, and Rick, who were excitedly gesturing around towards the ore veins, no doubt trying to figure out how to knock some of the precious metal loose.

“So you think this is it Gy?” Phoenix asked as he continued to look around.

The unicorn craned his head around to better examine the cavern, “Hard to tell, there’s no identifying marks on anything so we just have to set up our equipment and hope we get a reading before the whole place comes down around us.”

Phoenix slowly nodded his head, “You’re not really reassuring me Gy…”

“Uhhh guys? I think this might be the right place.” Constance said with a worried sounding voice.

“Huh? What do you mean Connie?” Gyro began to turn towards her, pausing as he saw sight of what she was referring to.”

As he turned the cart, the light illuminated a skeleton hunched against the wall that was dressed in the same clothing as the man in the painting that hung in Gyro’s office.

“Alexander Ravenscroft…” He paused for a moment, “This is it for sure.” Gyro said in a low voice.

“So the legend’s at least partially true then?” Phoenix asked as he took in the grim sight.

Gyro nodded, “It appears so… at least the part of him perishing amongst the fortune he so desperately sought.”

As he spoke, the others began to walk over to see what the commotion was about. Pausing as they noticed the long dead prospector.

Zipper nervously gulped, “So it’s true then…” He quickly jerked his head over towards Gyro, “Do you think he’s still haunting this place?!”

The unicorn shook his head, “Zipper I told you that ghosts aren’t real.”

“But what about what you and her were going to do? You know? With your fancy ghost detecting machine?”

Gyro turned towards Phoenix, “That’s different, the machine’s purpose is to detect fluctuations in the magical resonance of an area combined with the spell I mentioned before. Connie and I had some wild theories about the true nature of the afterlife, or lack thereof, years ago, but my understanding is different now. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued at the possibilities of how this could correlate though.”

“So you believe in ghosts then.” Phoenix replied with a smirk.

The unicorn rolled his eyes, “I believe in the possibility of emotional and magical resonances imprinting on the world around us, some may interpret that as ghosts. So I guess you could assume that if that suits your definition of what a ghost is.”

Ruben smiled and stepped forward, walking towards a pair of dusty old crates, “I hate to interrupt this fascinating discussion my dear friends, but how about we hold a good old fashioned seance? Make this a two for one deal.”

“You mean give ol’ ravenscroft a ring and see if he’ll answer? I like it!” Rick added with an unsettling grin.

Zipper beamed with excitement, “Oh man a real life seance! This is gonna be sooo cool!”

Gyro rolled his eyes, “First you three wildly blow a hole in an old, possibly unstable mine and now you want to hold a… seance?” he added with a hint of distaste.

Phoenix cleared his throat, “Just an FYI, you came down here to run some readings on the potentially latent thaumic resonance that you thought might be here right? In case that there was some actual truth to the old legends?”

He nodded.

“Well there you go, worst case this does nothing and we all look dumb, best case you get some sort of solid reading and the chance to prove that there’s life after death. Either way you get to take your readings and we get to have fun.”

Gyro rolled his eyes, “We’re not here to have fun though,” he waved a hoof over towards the three intruders, “In fact, three of you are only here because you snuck onto private property to go on some paranormal treasure hunt.”

“Oh lighten up Gilly, it’s just some good old fashioned fun, what’s the harm in holding a little seance?”

“Now now, let’s not fight. Your night pony friend has a good point, this way we can all get what we want.” Rick finished. “Ruben would you like to begin?”

The unicorn nodded, lighting his horn in a dull blue glow, “Please take a seat around the crates and hold hooves.”

“Do we have to?” Gyro asked in annoyance as the rest of the group took a seat.

“Of course! It only works if we all hold hooves!” Zipper loudly answered.

Gyro rolled his eyes and glared at the pegasus, “Zipper, is all of your paranormal knowledge based solely on movies? Or have you actually done some research on this? Because I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s annoying.”

He shook his head, “Nah, I was good friends with the fortune teller back in the day, this isn’t my first seance.”

Gyro just nodded along and turned on his equipment, briefly lighting his horn and enveloping the area in a sparkling magical glow. With a sigh, he begrudgingly took Zipper and Phoenix’s hooves. “Alright fine.”

Ruben nodded, “We humbly call upon the spirit of Alexander Ravenscroft, proprietor of the Mesa Verde Mining Company.” He paused for a moment and began to recite some strange poem,

The Witching hour is close at hand, we know the risks, yet here we stand.

We call to you now in this place of gloom, seeking the spirit that led to your doom.

Demons and specters, creatures of fright, call in the spirits, to join us tonight.

Serpents and spiders, beasts of the night, open our eyes and show us the light.

Oh Phantom of sorrows, seek out this bond, we summon you now, from regions beyond!

The Grim Reaper’s promise, the spirit’s drive. To the living let now the dead arise!

As he finished the group waited with bated breath, leaving the room silent except for the quiet sounds of their breaths and the low rumble that continued to echo throughout the caverns. With an uncharacteristic laugh, Gyro broke the silence, earning a glare from Constance.

“Ha! I told you it wouldn’t work! Now if you don’t mind can we get back to the task at hand? It shouldn’t be much longer before— ” As if on cue, his machine began to light up and emit a strange ethereal hum, catching him by surprise. “Huh… that’s… actually intriguing.”

Phoenix looked on in curiosity, “What’s up?”

Before Gyro could answer, a low rumble began to break through the silence, followed by a steadily growing shaking.

Zipper immediately jumped up in a panic, “The curse! It’s real! We’ve gotta get outta here, the spirits are after our souls!”

“Calm yourself! It’s likely a result of cavern instability caused by your friends’ recklessness.” Gyro flatly added.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow, “But what about your readings?”

“Likely some sort of interference from the earthquake. This is a sensitive piece of machinery after all, I’ll have to look through them when I get back to the lab.”

Constance glanced back over towards the machine, “I don’t know Gilly, I’ve never seen anything like this before, even with the unfinished prototype…”

A few loose rocks and bits of gold from the surrounding cave began to rain down around them as the shaking got more intense. Gyro began to hastily pack up his machinery, pausing for a moment as he heard a loud crack coming from the support beam that sat at the entrance of the mine shaft, “Damn it, I’m not going to have enough time to pack this, Phoenix grab the readouts, Zipper you go grab the lamp, we don’t have much time, the beam’s splitting!”

Without any argument, the two nodded and made a run for the entrance. Gyro began to follow them but paused as he watched Rick and Ruben desperately try and scoop up bits of loose gold and rock. “You idiots! Are you insane?! Leave the gold and get out of here!”

Ruben hesitated and opened his mouth as if to argue, but a large rock falling dangerously close behind him quickly dashed those thoughts. With a nod, he and the others followed Gyro out of the cavern and back into the main cave, accompanied by the loud rumbling. The six bolted through as fast as they could, dodging loose rocks and hastily navigating their way through the dark caverns. Much to Phoenix’s relief, the mine they had ventured into was largely a straightforward path, but that still didn’t stop him, Zipper, and Rick from hastily flapping their wings to gain speed while the three unicorns ran as fast as they could behind them.

Much to his relief, the entrance of the mine was getting closer and closer, while the sounds of rumbling continued to echo from behind them. It was clear that they were out of the danger zone now, but Phoenix had had enough adventure to last a lifetime and he was more than ready to leave. Out of breath and exhausted beyond belief, the six collapsed onto the cool desert sand outside as the rumbling ceased behind them.

The sounds of their heavy breathing was all that could be heard for a few long minutes until Zipper finally broke the silence.

“That… was… SO AWESOME!” He excitedly cheered, earning a few annoyed glances from Phoenix and Gyro.

“If by awesome you mean terrifying, then sure…” Gyro turned towards the three investigators, “And you two! If you hadn’t been so careless we wouldn’t have been forced to leave so soon! You better believe I’m pressing trespassing charges!”

“Oh lighten up Gilly, we’re all alive, have a fascinating story to share, and we even got to take some readings like we were always meaning to.” Constance added while gesturing towards his crumpled up readouts.

“And… we even salvaged a bit of gold from the mine… If anything that’s gotta be worth it!” Ruben added while holding out a small gold-colored nugget in his magic.

Gyro looked on with a smirk, “Can I see that gold? I promise I’ll give it right back.”

Ruben nodded and tossed it in his direction, watching as Gyro caught it with his magic and cast a quick spell.

“Hmm.. just as I suspected.” Gyro resplied, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

“What’s that?”

He began to let out a few laughs, “It’s pyrite… fools gold! You almost got us killed over fools gold!”

Phoenix let out his own series of laughs, “Huh, so Ravenscroft died over fools gold… kind of fitting that he met his demise chasing a fortune he had no hope of ever finding.”

The duo continued to laugh for a few more minutes until Zipper finally perked up, cutting through the laughter, “Alright, so maybe we didn’t get any real gold, but you can’t tell me that wasn’t a real haunted mine!”

“Zipper, like I said before, ghosts aren’t real, at least not in the traditional scary story kind of way. Obviously we still need to try and make sense of these readings, but for the sake of logging this down and not getting our funding slashed to high hell, I’m going to say that this was probably just cavern instability caused by the explosion...” Gyro began to trail off as a faint glow far off towards the edge of the valley caught his eyes.

The unicorn shook his head and squinted off into the distance, pausing as he tried to focus on a strange series of dim lights that seemed to float around in a strange rhythmic fashion. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them the lights had vanished.

Zipper gave a knowing smirk as he followed his gaze, “You never know Gyro… maybe some of the legends are true after all…”

Gyro shook his head in disbelief, “I guess so Zipper, I guess so.”

Comments

[Numinos]

Heh, it took me way too long to remember the existence of this little series, sorry for that.

But this was great chapter! I like Zipper : )

[ProgAltRocker]

Nice story. Rick and Ruben would probably have been knocked out and trussed up after their little stunt if I had been there