Into the Unknown
The three mares stood facing the mouth of a cave. It's opening lined with jagged rocks, giving it the impression of some unnatural beast. Twilight, Rainbow, and Daring all shivered in both excitement and nervousness. In exactly five minutes, the three of them would enter the cave system and begin their little adventure.
"How did no one notice this place before? This isn't exactly a small cave!" Rainbow waved her hoof at the entrance.
"Apparently, there was an earthquake just recently. The shocks to the earth must have loosened the rock and caused it to collapse in order to form the entrance. But we always have earthquakes in Equestria every once in a while, why would--
CLANG!
The three jumped as a piece of metal collided with a chariot somewhere behind them, causing them to swivel around.
"Hey! Who put this here?" The stallion pulling the chariot kicked the large metal sheet to the side. The sun glinted off of the material, causing Twilight's eyes to narrow. She could swear she saw...
Twilight gasped and quickly flew over to the metal sheet, startling the stallion and causing him to fall backwards. Her focus remained on the metal however as she tried to pick it up in her magic. Her two companions soon joined her.
"We found this thing near the door to the tomb. Our speculation is that it fell off the tomb's door over the course of time, but w aren't certain. The other archeologists haven't been able to figure out what it's made of and we didn't have any unicorns to analyze it. I was actually going to show it to you, but it had disappeared a few hours before you showed up." Daring waved a hoof at the metal. "But here it is! I guess someone must have moved it and accidently dropped it in the sand."
Twilight nodded as she took a closer look at the metal. It seemed to be a large, silver square of sorts, but that wasn't what had caught her attention. No, what grabbed her focus was the strange, red coloured inscriptions glowing across the surface. The lights were dull, but visible even in the daylight. Daring leaned in as well and gasped in shock.
"It wasn't like that before! When we found it, it was just a large hunk of metal!" Daring grabbed the material off the ground, ignoring Twilights cry of protest when her magic dissipated.
"Why can't I pick it up? It can't be that heavy if it can be lifted by hoof! Ugh!" Twilight fumed at the piece as Rainbow patted her on the back.
"That's why we are going on this expedition! Maybe we can find out more about this device once we get the door to the tomb open?" Twilight looked at rainbow with determination.
"I think so. Whatever secrets this place may hide, we will discover them!" Twilight jumped to her hooves. Carefully opening her saddlebags, Daring Doo slipped the metal square into her saddlebags for later.
"Let's get ready to go! Common Daring, bring the metal with you. We will likely need rope, flashlights, extra batteries..." Twilight continued to ramble as Rainbow rolled her eyes. Daring chuckled as the three trotted off to gather their supplies; it was time to crack open a tomb!
*****
Initiating Alpha reboot Protocol...
Beginning Recalibration Process Zeta-Omega...
Detecting available Personnel... Scanning... //Error// Code #34534#
System Failure...Index Unaccounted...
Scanning...
Index Detected...
Initiating Retrieval Protocol... Protocol Disrupted...
Begin Defensive Scan... Defense Protocol Alpha-Bravo, Delta...//Error//
Defensive Status: Yellow // Current threat readiness: Defcon~:// Unknown, Presumed Error // Weapons Systems: 22% Capacity // Main Generator Error... Requesting Technician... Technician Unavailable... Requesting Immediate Remote Activation... Priority: Alpha...
Index required for remote activation...
//...//
//...//
New Lifeforms Detected... Scanning...
Scanning...
Scanning...
Scanning...
Scanning...
*****
Beams of light cut through the gloom like a knife through butter. The occasional shuffle echoed around the cave system as the trio made their way forward. Rainbow and Daring had a headlamp attached to her head, enabling them to always have a clear view ahead. Twilight had settled for a regular torch due to a lack of unicorn friendly headgear.
"It shouldn't be to far ahead. I was down here a few days ago and poked around. This cave system actually goes back pretty far, but there is only one entrance to the tomb." Daring trotted ahead, ears perked and senses sharp. She had to admit that there was something nagging at the back of her mind. What it was? She probably would never know. Maybe it was the darkness in her peripheral vision; seemingly squeezing around the group and barely being forced back by the light. Maybe it was the looming stalactites hanging from above, each seeming ready to fall and impale one of the intruding ponies.
A quick gasp from Twilight caused the two Pegasi to whirl around in alarm. Their fears were put to rest however when all they found was the Alicorn holding a small rock in her magical grip. The very idea of holding it seemed to cause her struggle, for her face was scrunched up. After a few seconds, she dropped the stone with a loud clatter before facing her friends.
"This rock was hard t-to lift, but I was able to cast a special spell that the lead geologist in Canterlot taught me." Twilight trotted up to the duo; Rainbow stayed hovering in the air while Daring sat down.
"What exactly did he teach you?" Daring cocked her head to the side. Twilight's eyes had dilated and she had an excited smile on her face.
"It was an age analyst spell! That rock... it predates over ten thousand years! I-I had to stop the spell when it just kept counting!!" Daring nearly stopped breathing at that, her eyes going wide. Her breathing began to quicken as her eyes scanned her surroundings in a new light. Never before had there been a discovery of something so ancient. The oldest locations ever found were around six to seven thousand years old, before the reign of Discord! How was such a place this close to the surface? How had nopony discovered it??
"I don't understand. Why is that important?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the two ponies beside her.
"Rainbow, there has never been a location this old in our worlds entire history. The oldest discoveries only go back roughly seven millenia! What Twilight is saying, is that this area here is older than ponykind!" Daring turned around and began trotting towards the tomb with renewed vigor, her friends not close behind. "We should almost be there! Oh, I wonder what might be inside?!"
The group continued on with a much faster pace, and after five more minutes of plodding along, they finally came to the door.
The thing itself was utterly massive! Some twelve hooves tall and twenty wide. It's surface was worn down and corroded in quite a few places. A massive circular cut out sat in the centre of the door with similar, albeit straight cutouts making their way across the length of the entrance. Massive, rusty pistons sat on either side of the tomb entrance, neglected for un unknown amount of time. Twilight couldn't believe her eyes. She could only stare at the door with childlike wonder, her headlamp slowly moving across it along with her eyes. The story was different for Rainbow Dash and Daring.
Unlike their intuitive companion, the two were feeling slightly uneasy. The doorway seemed to absorb the glow of their headlamps, the rusted metal loomed above like a mighty wave of despair, and the atmosphere seemed to grow thicker.
A flicker of light caught Daring Doo's attention, causing her to look up. A small red light was blinking on and off at regular intervals. With narrowed eyes, she slowly flapped upwards so that she was eye level with the dot. Upon closer examination, she found that it was some sort of bright light.
"This thing is electronic?" She mumbled to herself.
BEEP-BOOP!
All three ponies jumped in fright. Rainbow gave a high pitched squeal as she propelled herself backwards, causing her head lamp to fall off and go skirting into the darkness. Daring fell to the floor with a thud and her head gear also came loose. Instead of coming off, a mighty crash sounded as the bulb shattered from the impact. The only available light left was Twilight's torch. The mare in question started to scramble backwards, her light waving sporadically and causing shadows to dance across the cave. Then everything stopped, like a switch had been flipped. Rainbow crept towards Twilight's light, as did Daring.
"W-what was that??" Twilight stood up, her ears tucked against her head. Rainbows wings were aggressively unfurled while Daring remained staring at the doorway with wide eyes. All three stopped several meters from the metal door, seemingly frozen. The only sound was their breathing. Five seconds passed, then ten. Rainbow's wings slowly folded back to her body.
"We musty have scared it! I knew my awesomeness was, well, awesome, but this takes it to a whole-"
"PLEASE PRESENT ACTIVATION INDEX."
The gravelly male voice seemed to echo through the cave, and shake everypony to the core. All three screamed once again and jumped back. Twilight flopped to the floor and prepared to teleport away while Daring took a defensive stance. Rainbows wings were unfurled once more.
"Show yourself!" Daring called into the darkness.
It was silent once more... until Rainbow cried out in surprise.
"Rainbow! What's wrong?" Twilight ran over to her friend, who was lurching ever few seconds.
"What the hay! Twilight! Something's moving around in my saddle bag!"
Twilight quickly examined the prismatic mare and saw and sure enough, a glowing red light coming from within her saddlebags and seemed to be moving sporadically. Thinking quickly, she opened the top and tilted the carrying device onto the ground. Upon doing so, the square sheet of metal flew towards the door at speeds to fast to follow. Just as quickly, a large rectangular object erupted from the ground just beside the door. The Metal square changed course and smashed into the panel atop the pillar with a mighty crash.
Daring took a step away as the now now attached piece of metal turned from a dull red to a brilliant blue. A quick glance up showed the red light from before was now the same colour as well.
"INDEX RECEIVED, PLEASE STAND BY FOR INITIAL SCAN."
All three mares suddenly stopped when a wide, blue laser, not unlike the ones Vinyl Scratch used at her parties, flew from the dot at the top of the door. Instead of a strobe effect, the laser moved down the three ponies once then back up again before ultimately disappearing. After a few moments, a loud groan reverberated through the cave, causing all the ponies to pin their ears to their sides.
Even with the horrid noise of metal scratching on metal, Twilight could only stare in fascination as the previously sealed door began to swing open. The pistons and gears she had seen beside the door worked in tandem, letting the ponies finally see what was on the other side.
All three held their breath. The door kept swinging wider and wider, the obnoxious screeching never seeming to stop. After exactly three seconds, the door finally ground to a halt. Silence reigned throughout the cave once more. After a few seconds, Twilight took a step forward, the single clop of her hoof on the stone snapping the others out of their shock.
"Well, we didn't come all this way to sit around, let's go and explore the, er, definitely not creepy tomb." The others chuckled halfheartedly and began to follow the Alicorn princess into the tomb. Twilight lit her horn in order to provide more light and passed the torch to Daring Doo, who tucked the device under her wing. The inky blackness was cut through by the torches beam of artificial light, providing a measure of comfort to the three ponies as they plodded forward into the abyss. But there was still something nagging at the back of each and every ponies mind as they entered what was thought to be a tomb, something that caused their fur to stand on end:
The feeling of dread...
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exsterminastion protocol activated : target 3 animalistick creatsures idedified as hostile
11142366
More like:
EXTERMINATION PROTOCOL ACTIVATED: TARGET THREE COLORFUL, EQUINE-LOOKING ANIMALS HEADING TOWARDS THE MAIN ENTRANCE.
Reminds me of a certain game, involving robots and a lovely redhead. I can hardly wait to read the rest.
DEFCON? Metal doors? 10,000 years? I wonder if it's in the side of a mountain. The fact that there are Greek letters for codes, and the term DEFCON means this has something to do with the United States Armed Forces.
Gary. Gary. Gary.
I think it'll be Gary.
In case anyone was concerned, this story is not dead. I am focusing on a Soldiers harmony right now before continuing with this. I merely needed to get the idea out in order to continue it later.
11177363
I just thought I should check the comments for "is it dead?" and was pleasantly surprised. Looking forward to the next update.
11177740
Won't be for a bit, but I will continue it
Well that was good is there going to be more
11196529
Eventually, yes, but not until a Soldiers Harmony is finished or mostly done
11150281
Nearly half a year, and I just got the Final Space reference!
11389401
Vault 108 noises intensify
Update?