> Derring-Do and the Lost Kingdom
>  by Eh
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> There's Something Under The Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Hey there Folks. So, my first My Little Pony fanfiction, a series in which I recently got into and a good one at that, and I decide to plagiarize an old Disney movie. Not the best start if I can admit that, but at least I'm not going with the self-insert human in Equestria thing. Hope you'll enjoy it and since this is my first fiction (Well not technically, but I'd rather not discuss that.), any criticisms are welcome.

So without further ado, Derring-Do and the Lost Kingdom.






There's Something Under the Sea



1000 Years Ago


"We've passed the final marker."
Apollo, Captain of the Lunar Guard regarded the worn pages of Clover the Clever's journal, the illustrations faded but still understandable. As was common in the Lunar Guard, Apollo was a unicorn stallion, one of the largest and most powerful. His coat was jet black, his mane a dark silver, and his cutie mark was three stars in a triangular pattern. He lowered the book telekinetically, letting his grey eyes reach out into the open sea. Apollo proudly said, "Now onto the Sentinel's Run, and Thule!"
"But sir," One of his ponies spoke up, a younger earth pony barely past his training, "It says that there's a monster guarding-"
"Enough!" The pony found himself being thrown onto the mast by Apollo's magicks. Apollo had his patience tested by this pathetic excuse of a soldier, nevermind one of the Lunar Guard.
"I would slay a thousand monsters if it gets us there! Just as I would slay you!"
"Sorry sir! I..." The earth pony could feel the very air being sucked out of his throat, before being forcibly slammed onto the deck of the boat. Apollo looked on the earth pony as he would the dirt on his hooves. He turned to his men, thirty of the Lunar Guard's finest and bravest, all of whom gathered around him, watching him with a sense of awe.
Apollo spoke, "Soldiers, I don't need to remind you how important it is that Princess Luna gains the advantages of what Thule provides. This great energy could tip the very balance of this war in our favor. Now back to your posts, sail on!"
The guardsponies sailed on, their small longship rocked against the waves and water splashed the ponies coats and armor. The clouds were grey and uninviting in appearance, it was clear to Apollo that a storm was coming. He would not stop however, he had come far, too far to let a bit of rain stop him and his ponies. The ship continued to press on, the light drizzle that appeared had now grown into a full spray of icy water and the wind was blowing in every general direction.
"Sir! The storm is getting worse! We need to turn back!" One of Apollo's pegasus ponies floated over the ship, scouting in every direction. Apollo shouted that they had come too far to turn back, and to continue. The pegasus nervously continued circling the ship. The pegasus was named Carmine, another new addition to the Lunar Guard. He was adorned with a red coat, brown leather armor (Unlike the iron armor of the unicorn and earth ponies.), a brown mane and his cutie mark was of a tombstone. His shaky brown eyes continued scanning the landscape for any trouble.
Suddenly, something exploded out of the sea. It was huge, easily making the ship look like a filly's toy in comparison. It barreled over the ship, it's serpent body making it seem like it was floating. Perhaps it was, Apollo thought, nothing that big could be that agile. He caught a glimpse of it's head, a featureless face, save for many tentacles and single giant red eye that glowed like a lighthouse. It boasted arms with that ended in lobster like claws and it's body looked segmented, almost as if the serpent was encased in armor. It disappeared beneath the waves just as soon as it appeared, and Apollo's crew suddenly found themselves in panic.
"What was that? A whale?"
"No! It's the monster!"
Apollo found his patience being tried again, Carmine had landed on the ship out of fear. Apollo looked over.
"You, go check it out." He commanded. Before the red coated pegasus pony could complain, he found himself being thrown out of the ship by Apollo's magicks. Steadying himself, he relunctantly flew over to where the serpent had disappeared. He lingered for a moment, then turned to the ship.
"I don't see anything!" He shouted. He didn't even have time to react before he found himself being pulled into the sea by a long thin tentacle. Apollo's crew panicked.
"We've got to get out of here!" An earth pony shouted. Before anypony could do anything however, tentacles bursted out from the sea around the ship and began snatching up screaming ponies to their doom. Apollo however, stood his ground and fought, blasting the tentacles with offensive magic. It was ineffective however, the tentacles would just be blasted back and resume what they were doing as if nothing happened. Apollo suddenly found himself being tossed into the air, a tentacle had grabbed him. He roared in defiance as he was dragged into the very depths of the sea.
The tentacles subsided, there were no more ponies. They had all been snatched up and taken into the sea. The longship floated aimlessly for a moment. Then, a light beneath the ship appeared, a great beam of red suddenly pierced the ship, and it exploded with an earth-shattering kaboom, separating the ship in two barely intact pieces. Wooden debris, flaming or not, flew everywhere, and the two halves of the ship sank into the sea. Clover the Clever's journal flew out into the depths of the sea, apparently untouched, and floated. Its brown hard cover slightly scorched and its pages becoming wet, it sank into the sea.
And with it, the secrets of Thule.





Well that was a doozy. As said before, do leave a comment and criticize.
> Chapter One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location: Royal Canterlot Museum of History and Science
Time: 2:33 PM, March 5th, Five Years before Nightmare Moon's Return

Penworthy trotted up the steps to the museum, her saddlebag rustling with her recently completed manuscript. It only took her about four hours to do, but a Gryphonian typewriter, combined with the fact that her latest work is a children's book meant that she could've finished it in two hours if she hadn't stopped for lunch. Regardless of speed or directed audience, she was genuinely proud of it, as she is in all of her works and in books in general (except for the ones written by her less-than-savory brother Lemon Lime.)

Penworthy was a unicorn mare, violet coat, fluffy purple mane, nothing too significant. Her cutie mark, unsurprisingly, was a cross made from pens with a paper forming the background. Fits for pony with writing as a special talent. Her blue eyes looked upon the museum with awe, something she can't help despite visiting every other day. Her good friend worked there, and she wouldn't be surprised if it was for the building.

The Royal Canterlot Museum of History and Science boasted great white walls of marble, intricately carved with delicate designs of plants and animals into the walls. The building itself was huge, nearly four stories tall and half a hoofball field's long. Great white columns held up the arch over the entrance, the columns themselves decorated with vines with white flowerings blossoming in the spring. The arch itself, triangular, had carvings of Celestia's long lost (banished to the moon) sister, Princess Luna, a well known scholar in her time when she wasn't raising the moon. Even the doors were gilded with shining gold around the edges, and they themselves were carved from naalwood exclusive to Tanith, which were priceless considering their rarity. One could conclude that those who built the museum went a bit overboard with making it look nice, but when your principal funder is, of all people, Prince Blueblood, it might be expected.

Penworthy walked into the museum. She spied small groups of nobleponies walking around spying the exhibits. She also took notice of an earthpony leading a group of fillies and colts along on some sort of tour. The colts in particular were attempting to touch the large fossilized skeleton of a Chrichtosauros, (a fierce apex predator of it's time, huge and with a skull harder than dragon scales, unfortunately driven to extinction by the first Hearth's Warming Eve.) much to the annoyance of the Royal Guardsponies. She continued walking through, eventually there stopped being exhibits of pre-historic animals and science experiments and soon became offices for the museums employees.

She stopped at one in particular, the door holding the name of it's current owner in the window:


Derring-Do
Cartography and Navigation


She magically willed the door open, then noticed the lights were off except for the one closest to her desk. What's more, her giant table that's usually taking up the majority of space in the room was now sitting on it's side against the wall. She then noticed the audience, shrouded in darkness but clearly silhouetted against the light. Finally, she spotted her friend, Derring-Do, currently writing something she couldn't understand on a chalkboard. Penworthy decided to enter in quietly, sitting down next to an earth pony with a cherry coat and a matching cherry and white mane. Derring turned, spied her friend and gave her a quick wink, then began.

"Good evening, my name is Derring-Do, you all know me as the museum's chief cartographer. Now, some of you may or may not have heard of the mythical civilization of Thule." Derring quickly flew over to her desk, grabbing a few papers and books then floated back to the center of attention.

"Now, Thule is an interesting subject mind you, it is said that long before the Princess's reign, pre-history mind you, Thule was very advanced." Derring showed a picture, an illustration specifically of Thule. A bustling metropolis, not unlike Fillydelphia or Manehatten.

"Before unicorns learned magic, they had renewable energy like electricity." She showed off a picture of a carving of a grid, punctuated by strange letters, presumably of the Thulite alphabet.

"Before earth ponies learned how to farm, they had advanced medicine." She showed off another picture of a carving 

"And even before pegasi learned to control weather and fly properly, they had powered, heavier than air flight!" She held up an illustration of an artist's impression of a Thulite flying machine, a chrome, smooth with no edges, bird shaped (even including the bird's head with open beak) flying machine.

"Impressive ain't it? But now you're probably thinking, why did Thule disappear? Well, a great cataclysmic event shook the planet, possibly driving Thule underground. The continent that the civilization and city of Thule once stood upon is now probably underground." Derring-Do put the pictures back on her desk, now insisting on lifting an iron and extremely heavy shield from one side of the room and onto center stage.

"Now..." Derring kind of struggling with the weight.

"Many civilizations and nations have agreed that at some point, Thule may've existed and have attempted expeditions to find it. For example, this Gryp-" She gently let the shield down, catching her breath for a second.

"This Gryphonian Shield has runes around it's circumference in the old Griffinish language. The rune's say, "Thule may be found, but only with the Journal." She slid the shield out of view.

"The Journal in question, is actually Clover the Clever's journal, a book long lost from the archives after the Lunar Rebellion some thousand years ago. The Journal provides detailed explanations of the workings of Thule, and most importantly, how to get there. Mares and Stallions, I've already plotted a route that will take us to where, I believe, the journal now currently resides. With the journal, we can find Thule, and bring it's knowledge here to us. I'll take your questions now." Derring flew up to the lights and pulled a cord with her teeth, the light's came on.

Revealing her audience to be a class of foals and their earth pony schoolteacher. All of whom were asleep. Penworthy nudged the teacher awake. The earth pony quickly came to in a fit.

"Oh! Excellent presentation Miss Do! Absolutely enjoyed it!" She put on a nervous smile, her bright green eyes quivering with being put on the spot.

"Was no trouble Miss Cheerilee, always love rehearsing a speech in front of a willing audience." Derring said. She knew the foals were asleep, but she caused no ruckus over it, she wasn't that mean. Besides, sleeping foals were cute. She tapped the floor with her hoof, rousing the sleeping foals.

"Well, good luck with your presentation then Miss Do, hope you find what you're looking for! Come along children!" Cheerilee walked out the door, her foals excitedly in tow, eager to touch the Chrichtosauros. Penworthy sidled up to Derring.

"Well Derring, I think that was great! That expedition is a shoe-in!" Penworthy said.

"Thanks Penny, so what are you here for?" Penworthy quickly took out her manuscript from her bag and placed it down on Derring's desk. Derring floated over to it curiously, quickly spying the title.


Daring-Do and the Quest for the Saphire Stone
By Penworthy


"Well first off, you spelled my name wrong." Derring quickly said.

"Oh that's just for the fillies and colts. It's to give the character that sense of-" Penworthy quickly reared up into an actiony pose,  barely convincing Derring, "spirit, bravado, a touch of derring-do."

Derring rolled her eyes. She quickly shuffled through the manuscript, noting that she was apparently some adventurer archaeologist who'd saved the day by retrieving priceless artifacts and keeping them away from some evil-doer named Ahuizotl (who literally was an ahuizotl.) She was bemused by the fact that her friend would write a book about her, just not exactly amused by how exaggerated it was.

The description of Derring (Daring) was spot-on, sandy yellow coat, grayscale mane, compass rose cutie mark, even wearing her father's famous safari helmet. She didn't understand however, why Daring would sneak into an ancient temple, steal some museum piece and trigger every trap that results in the temple's destruction. That sounded completely inefficient and wasteful to her. The kind of character Daring was, to Derring, just a glorified tomb raider. Bluntly put, she didn't like it.

"So... why would you base a character off of me Penny?" Derring asked curiously. Penworthy was still doing her sloppy action poses.

"Because you're awesome! I mean..." Penworthy sat down next to Derring's desk, "You're an excellent template for that dashing, brave hero that all kinds of fillies and colts could use a role model."

"I'm just a cartographer, and a navigator occasionally."

"Oh you're just being modest." Penworthy willed the manuscript back into her saddlebag, "So do you approve Derring?"

"I guess..." Derring really did not want to send the wrong message about what archaeology actually entailed, "just, is it going to be just this one book?"

"I'm planning a trilogy!" Penworthy smiled as she trotted out the door, Derring smashed her face onto her desk in frustration. At least it's just a trilogy, she thought. Suddenly, a ring came from the telephone on her desk. She quickly answered it with a well rehearsed:

"Derring-Do! Cartography and Navigation!" On the other line was Secretariat, the museum receptionist. Her crisp and cheerful voice was instantly recognizable.

"Hi Derring, calling to let you know, your presentation for the board of directors has been moved up from 4:00 to 3:00 sharp." Derring quickly looked at the clock, which just recently struck 3:30.

"What!? But-"

"Oh yeah! They also told me to tell you, since you were absent for about a half hour, they've moved to reject your proposal. Have a nice day!" Secretariat hung up. Derring-Do's eyes widened at the news, and her emotions flared from angry, to sad, to confused-

"THEY CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!", and quickly back to angry. She flew up out of her office, scattering papers and knocking the large table on its side back into its proper position.


* * *


Four nobleponies walked out into the main lobby of the museum, all dressed in the most luxurious suits. Chief among them, was Prince Blueblood.

"I swear, if I ever hear the word "Thule" again, I'd sooner throw myself off a cliff," one of the nobles said, to laughter from the rest.

"I'll push you!" One of the nobles said, to even greater laughter. The laughter immediately ceased when they saw the familiar sandy coat of Derring-Do.

"Prince Blueblood! Wait!" Derring-Do shouted. She quickly flew after the now fleeing nobleponies, all of whom ran in different directions, except Blueblood who opted to run for his carriage outside.

"Guards! Stop her!" Blueblood shouted. Two pegasus guard ponies quickly flew in between Derring and the now escaping Blueblood. They braced themselves for any assault Derring could throw at them. Derring-Do quickly took to her wings and simply knocked them out of the way through sheer speed. Derring flew outside into the now increasingly cloudy day and immediately spied Blueblood entering his carriage.

"Wait!" Derring had smacked into the side of the carriage, closing the door for Blueblood. She quickly recovered, but before she could explain herself, Blueblood had poked his head out the window.

"Derring! I know what you're here for, and I'm going to say this clearly!" The unicorn prince scowled at Derring, who quickly shrunk under his gaze, "This museum funds expeditions based on scientific facts and evidence! Not folklore and mythology!"

"But sir, I have new evidence-"

"That is purely speculative in nature!" That quickly shut Derring up. Not because of the tone, but also because he was right. Her only evidence of Thule's existence was based off of theories and cited from rather off-the-wall historians who can't understand geology (one of which adamantly believes in the ancient aliens theory which she admits is stupid.) "Driver! Get me out of here!"

The carriage quickly pulled away from Derring, but she was not just one to give up after a brief lecture. she quickly picked herself back up and flew after the carriage. She managed to catch up to the carriage quickly and flew alongside the window.

"But sir! I have new evidence!" She reached around for a map, realizing she never bothered to pick one up, "It's in Gallia! Off the coast of Gryphonia! I'm sure of it this time!"

Blueblood quickly pulled the curtains, shutting out Derring. This didn't last long however, as Derring simply busted through the window.

"Sir! I'm sorry it has to come to this! But..." She presented a small letter sized piece of paper in her teeth, "This is a letter of resignation! If you do not fund-"

The carriage quickly hit a hard turn, knocking Derring out of the window. She quickly picked herself back up and screamed:

"I'LL QUIT!" She sat there, and to her great delight, the carriage stopped. It then backed up to Derring, Blueblood popped his head out of the window.

"I mean it sir, if you don't-" She was cut off by her resignation letter being pulled out of her hooves and into Blueblood's grip. He closed the curtains, and the carriage was off. Derring simply sat there, shocked at what just happened, letting the events sink in. She had now partly resigned and been partly fired from her job, her expedition to Thule was left dead in the water, and it was going to rain.

"Horseapples." was all she could say.
> Chapter Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Location: Paladin Suites Apartments, Canterlot
Time: 7:30 PM

Derring rolled the dolly of boxes up the ramp to the entrance of the building. The apartment was a subtle kind of grand, its white walls were pristine and clean and its location afforded a great view of the royal palace and the lands below Canterlot, however it looked no different from any other apartment building in Canterlot. Despite that, it was pretty expensive to live there, with the rent being over 200 bits a month, something Derring could afford until today.

Derring opened the entrance, then proceeded to roll the dolly in, but was stopped suddenly. She checked to see the problem, only to find that the dolly was too wide for the door. She gritted her teeth in frustration and thought to herself, It'll be a cold day in Tartarus that I'll be conquered by a DOOR. She rolled the dolly back a few inches, then rammed the door with all her might, shaking the boxes and getting no closer to getting inside than she was 30 seconds ago. She rolled the dolly back up for another try when she heard the last thing she wanted to hear all day:

"Derring? What's with the boxes, need some help with that?" Penworthy lived on the 3rd floor, and always kept her window open for what she called "inspiration". She must've heard what was going on outside. Derring looked up with a nervous smile.

"Uh... Nope."

"You sure? Looks like that dolly's too big for the door, I can just lift some of those things up here for you!" Penworthy's words were punctuated by one of Derring's boxes being lifted into the air and up towards Penworthy's window.

"Wait! I don't need-"

"No no, it's the least I can do for you Derring." Derring quickly flew up and attempted to pull the box out of Penworthy's magical grasp. Penworthy shouted at Derring to let go, but Derring would not, and the force of the two ponies tore the box open. It's contents spilled out into the air, Derring quickly flew to intercept but it was all caught by Penworthy's magicks instantly. Derring quickly attempted to swipe them but they all quickly flew to Penworthy's view. "Derring, isn't this from your office at the museum?"

Derring quickly snapped at each of the things, which included a framed picture of her and her father, her nameplate, her navigational tools, and at least some of her maps. But Penworthy simply took them inside. Derring took a look at Penworthy, who was now wearing a rather concerned questioning look. Derring quietly floated outside her apartment window, trying to find the right words. She quietly tapped her hooves together for a minute or so.

"Um... I got fired." She muttered under her breath, barely audible.

"Come again? Didn't catch that."

"I got fired..." She muttered again, slightly louder but just as inaudible.

"Derring."

"I GOT FIRED!" She shouted, the stresses of today finally exploding. By now Derring was almost on the verge of tears, I never cry dang it! She thought. "T-There was this thing at the museum and I-and he and-"

"Don't worry yourself Derring, pull yourself together." Penworthy lifted the other box from Derring's dolly and brought it into her window, "Come inside when you feel better okay?"

Derring quietly floated for a few seconds before floating over to the window next to Penworthy and opening it. She tapped her hoof on the windowsill, and fast as lightning her black cat came pouncing onto Derring's head.

"I didn't say your cat could come Derring," Penworthy protested, "You know how much I don't like your cat!"

"Is my cat the reason your book villain is named Ahuizotl?" Derring remarked, she felt herself getting a bit more cheery. Penworthy sighed, then quietly submitted, retreating back into her apartment. Derring flew over with her cat in tow and then climbed in through Penworthy's window.

Penworthy's apartment was lavish. White walls, clean furniture, and paintings of various things from those crazy stairs going every whichaway to portraits of her and her parents and even paintings with just red dots on them, all in the name of inspiration. Penworthy herself sat in a corner surrounded by stacks of paper, her typewriter on a table. Derring noticed her stuff was in another corner opposite from Penworthy, and decided to simply sit down on her couch. Derring's cat had other ideas and decided that one of Penworthy's stacks of papers was a good place to rest, it jumped up and knocked several papers out of the stack, much to her dismay.

"Ahuizotl, come here." Derring called, her cat, now apparently named Ahuizotl ran over to Derring and rested next to her on the couch.

"I'll never understand why you called your cat Ahuizotl instead of something sensible" Penworthy filed the papers back into the stack, removing the ones that had been torn up by the cat's claws, "like Patches, or Angel, or maybe even Flower!"

"Those names are boring." Derring quickly remarked. Derring left the couch and went over to her stuff in the corner.

"So what happen at the museum Derring? Why'd you get fired?" Penworthy asked. Derring sorted the stuff not in the box.

"Well, they rigged my presentation on Thule, I threatened to resign if they didn't fund it and Prince Blueblood kind of... took it."

"So he fired you?" Derring nodded, "Well that's rude! You're their chief cartographer!"

"They can always find another cartographer." Derring said sadly.

"But there's only one Derring-Do." Penworthy smiled warmly at Derring. Derring sat down, mulling over her stuff, "So what if they don't fund your expedition, it's not like you need their help."

"You're right. I don't." Derring immediately felt perked up, her sorrow being replaced with determination, "Next thing tomorrow, I'll sell the apartment."

"What?!"

"Sell the apartment. Then I'll hitch a boat to Gallia, get my bearings straight, and then find Thule on my own." Derring quickly sorted her things into the remaining box, then proceeded to start dragging out the door.

"But what about the Journal?"

"I don't need it, sure it's pretty much a map to Thule, but I'm a mapmaker Penworthy. I'll think of something." Derring opened the door, "Don't worry your precious little head, I'll be fine!"

"Wait!" Penworthy jumped, "At least let me come with you!"

"This won't be like the Great Dragon Migration, this is dangerous work," Derring said. As much as she appreciated her good friend's helpfulness, her concern was mostly bred from Penworthy's lack of experience in roughing it in the wild (barring the Great Dragon Migration, but that's a different story.)

"I'm your friend Derring, I'm coming with you whether you like it or not." Penworthy crossed her forelegs, a determined expression crossing her face.

"But-"

"No buts! I'm going too!" Derring sighed, she knew better than to try to refuse Penworthy when she wanted to do something. In a way that was something they both had in common, sheer determination. Derring simply nodded with an appreciative smile, then left for her apartment.

"Wait! Take your cat with you!"


* * *


Unlike Penworthy's apartment, Derring's apartment was far more spartan. There wasn't much furniture save a small sofa beside the window, her bookshelf containing her various books on cartography and archaeology, a table and a few chairs, a refrigerator and a countertop and two doors leading to her bedroom and a bathroom respectively. Regardless, it was home to Derring, for now anyway until she gives the place up for money. She'd quickly realized that she left her stuff in Penworthy's apartment, but decided against going back, she could get those things later.

She noticed the sun barely beginning to set over the horizon, so she entered her bedroom and decided to turn in. As her father said, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a pony healthy, wealthy, and wise." Before that, she mulled over some of the stuff in her room. Derring's room, like the living room was still pretty empty beyond a bed and a dresser drawer (That was just as empty as the room, containing only her khaki work uniform and several copies of it.) On top of the dresser drawer however laid several items important to her: A picture of her and her father, her father's safari helmet and her father's book, The Kingdom of Thule.

She gingerly picked up the framed picture, it was her sitting on the armrest of her father's armchair (It was the most comfortable chair she can remember.) Her father sat in the chair proper, with a rather subtle smile on his face, he was a rather stoic pony but Derring always managed to make him crack a smile however small. The picture's monochromatic color did not do his sandy coat, his grey eyes, his great wings or his black hair justice. His cutie mark, a large X, was as subtle as he was. Most important to Derring however, was the fact that he was wearing his safari helmet.

	Derring bounced giddily on the armrest, she looked up at her father expectantly. Her father looked back down with a questioning look, "Yes Derring?"

"Can I wear your hat Daddy?"

"Nope." Her father went back to reading his book. A tap on his shoulder prevented him from going further, he looked back at Derring.

"Please?" Derring gave him the best puppy dog eyes she could muster. Her father smirked.

"Fine, just this once." He put the book on other armrest, then (reluctantly) took his hat off and placed it Derring's head. It proceeded to completely swallow Derring's small head whole, much to her surprise. She fell from the armrest, her impact cushioned by her budding wings. Derring would've felt immediately mortified, had it not for the sound of her father chuckling in delight. She started giggling too, in response, her father quickly took his hat back and put it back on his head, still smiling a bit.

It was memories like those that made Derring laugh and look upon with pride. Her father was not an easily amused pony. She looked over at the book, the only book that her father ever wrote. The book that had first made her interested in Thule. The book that also destroyed her father's reputation in the intellectual community. Despite his reputation ceasing to exist, he still pursued Thule as best he could, as he described, "It is my life's work." She quickly remembered waking up in the late evening, finding her father perusing over maps and books from unknown sources.

Derring yawned, she spotted her father in his study, surrounded by stacks of books she never knew they had. He was currently splitting his attention between several open books at once, taking the occasional note on a notepad.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" She sleepily asked.

"Working." He responded.

"But it's four O'clock in the morning, why in Equestria are you working now?"

"Well I started at six PM." He responded again. Derring decided to let her father be for now, that was third time this week he was up all night "working."

Then she looked at her father's hat. His most prized possession, at least she thought it was considering he never let anypony else wear it (besides Derring) much less touch it. Even she was averse to touching it despite her father leaving her so many years ago. She nervously ran a hoof along it's brim, as if her father was just waiting to pounce on her for touching it.

	"Daddy? Where are you going?" Derring sat in her father's armchair, watching her father pack his things in his saddlebag.

"Business. Gonna be a while before I come back, Penworthy's parents will take care of you until then." He threw the bags over himself and proceeded to the door.

"When will you be back?"

"Not sure. Maybe in a few days, maybe in a month. Work's like that Derring."

"Can I have your hat?" Derring hopefully asked. Normally, a request like this would've earned an instant "Nope." and smile from her father. But, today was different. He paused, deep in thought.

"Sure." He took his hat off, and placed it on Derring's head. It still wasn't a great fit, it slipped right over her eyes. But that wasn't important, "I love you Derring. Do take care of yourself while I'm gone, 'kay?"

Derring nodded, her confused look being masked by the poor fit of a hat. Her father never gave up his hat for such a long period of time. But there it was, sitting on her head, her father now having left the place. She sat down quietly, deep in thought.

"Where is he even going?" She said aloud.

She never got an answer to that question. That was the last time she ever saw her father. Her father simply dropped off the face of the Earth as it were, nopony knew where he went or where he was going. He simply disappeared just like that. Derring never really got over the fact that her father simply left her, she wasn't sad or angry at him, but more or less she felt that something was missing. Alas, she couldn't just simply make a father appear out of thin air, but his disappearance was her deciding factor in joining the museum and becoming something of a navigator for them. She had traveled to places beyond the borders of Equestria before, usually on some expedition for some shiny artifact, but she knew that it's because she clings to the faint hope that she might encounter her father somewhere.

She slowly walked over to the bed and just hopped onto it. Covering herself in the blankets for warmth, she quickly remembered something her father said before drifting off to sleep.

"Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children."

* * *

Derring cracked an eye open, something wasn't right. She rolled quickly rolled out of bed, then took on a stealth posture. She quietly edged to the door of her bedroom, she could hear her cat Ahuizotl purring, was that what woke her? Probably, maybe it was the rain pattering on her window too, but she didn't like leaving loose ends. She quietly opened the door and quickly spotted a stranger on her sofa, petting her cat.

"Okay," She flared her wings and lowered herself to the ground, "You picked the wrong house buddy!" She snarled.

"Relax." The stranger said, in the most distinctly feminine and sexy voice she's ever heard, "I am no robber Derring-Do."

"Okay..." Derring slowly walked up to the stranger on her sofa, she now quickly made out a long horn so she was definitely a unicorn. The darkness of the room contrasted her white coat and her pink mane, "Then who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Oh, my name is not important Derring-Do, in fact it would be rather-"

"Wait." The stranger stopped at being interrupted, it wasn't as if she had a well-written monologue for explaining her mysterious origin anyway. Derring quickly took a moment to examine the stranger, she spotted the Fleurs-De-Lis cutie mark on her flank and it dawned on her, "Oh my goodness, you're Fleur-De-Lis!"

"How did-" Fleur slapped her hoof on her head, she had been discovered without even a minute for her rehearsed dramatics, "Cartographer, navigator, detective, it's a wonder how you're still single Miss Derring-Do."

"Well..." Derring nervously smiled, but then came back to the situation at hand, "Anyway, what are you doing here!? It can't be because you're here to offer me a contract for modeling."

"Indeed. My employer has-"

"Fancypants?" Derring knew that the rich and famous Fancypants was her employer and husband, it made sense.

"Is nothing a secret anymore!?" Fleur sighed, decided to get dramatics out of the way now that the mood was ruined, "Ugh, he has a proposition for you, will you come with me to his mansion so you two can discuss it?"

"Can I come too?" A muffled voice came out of the wall, Penworthy. Fleur looked at Derring confusedly.

"Can she?" Derring asked. Fleur nodded, getting up from the sofa and making for the door.

"Just meet me in the carriage when you're ready."
> Chapter Three
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"The only good Dolphin is roasted and served with Sweet Apple Acres cider on a silver platter."
- Aeschylus Razorwind, Spheres of Influence, by Penworthy




Location: Somewhere in Canterlot
Time: 3:30 AM

Penworthy yawned, the low patter of the rain combined with the rocking motion of the carriage were barely enough to keep her awake (Barely because that was one comfortable carriage.) Derring was just as tired as she was, but was far more used to working sleepless nights than her good friend was. Derring looked over to the lovely unicorn mare Fleur, who had sought them out, "So what does Fancypants want with me?"

"If I knew, I would've told you by now." Fleur looked just as tired as Penworthy, but she made it look undeniably sexy while she was at it. Derring thought it must be some part of her talent, "I don't probe too far into my husband's affairs to be frank."

"Being married to one of the richest stallions in Equestria must be great though!" Penworthy finally snapped out of her sleepy stupor and decided to join in the conversation.

"It is, he's quite the gentlecolt."

"Oh! We're going to meet Fancypants, Derring! I'm so excited!" Penworthy bounced in her seat, smiling like a filly on Hearth's Warming Eve.

"Just thirty seconds ago you were ready to go back to sleep." Derring remarked. Penworthy giggled, then looked out the window. Outside was Fancypants' grand mansion. Compared to most other nobleponies and their estates, Fancypants' mansion was actually quite small. The garden in front of the mansion boasted a small yet delicate looking fountain, and the normally blooming flowers had been shut by the persistent rain and nighttime. The carriage pulled into the driveway in front of the mansion. An earth pony servant quickly ran out and opened the carriage door, the three mares quickly ran for the mansion and out of the rain.

"Whoa." Derring looked around in the lobby (or foyer as Fancypants would call it.) Despite the mansion's small size, she was amazed at the glimmering and smooth architecture of it all. Much to Derring and Penworthy's surprise, there was no grand golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Two grand staircases joined into one on the second floor, and in between the two staircases on ground level was an admittedly simple looking door. Fleur led the two mares to the door opened it, revealing an elevator. They stepped inside and Fleur pressed a button, the doors shut and much to Derring and Penworthy's surprise, the elevator was descending.

"Where are we going?" Penworthy nervously asked. She didn't like elevators.

"My husband has quite the secluded study underground. It's quite good when he and I need some privacy." Fleur answered with knowing smirk. Penworthy giggled, Derring simply rolled her eyes. The elevator stopped and the doors opened, "Make yourselves at home, I'll get my husband."

Derring and Penworthy exited the elevator. Fleur signalled the elevator to rise, shutting the doors. The two examined their surroundings. One of the most striking things was the large aquarium taking up an entire wall, filled with rather colorful fish. Opposite them was a fireplace, above that were several portraits and paintings, and across from the aquariam was a large bookshelf filled with all kinds of doorstoppers and novels. In the center of the room lied furniture, a large looking purple armchair and a table that looked more like a giant slab of iron than a proper table.

Penworthy, being an author, trotted over to the bookshelf first, "Celestia's bowels!"

"What is it!?" Derring quickly flew over to her friend. Penworthy quickly pulled a book from the shelf with her magic, her face bearing an expression of shock. Derring quickly glanced at it, and it immediately became clear why.

"He has one of my books!" Penworthy only barely remembered writing Spheres of Influence. It was written after reading about Gryphonian expansionism, and the book was nominally a satire of it. She was never good at history so she didn't think much of the book. Her squealing delight told Derring how happy she was however, "HE HAS ONE OF MY BOOKS DERRING!"

"Indeed..." Derring was genuinely happy for Penworthy. Getting your works noticed by Fancypants was a sure sign of success in Canterlot. However, she wasn't much of a reader, it was for eggheads she thought. She quickly looked over to the aquarium, when something caught her eye.

"Celestia!" Derring shouted, she quickly snapped over to the aquarium, pressing her face against the glass.

"What is it? Is it a shark? You know how much I don't like sharks Derring!" Penworthy was indeed very afraid of sharks. She nervously edged over to the aquarium.

"No, it's Coelacanth!" Derring yelled, her voice muffled partially by the glass. Indeed, inside the tank were not just ordinary fish but rather ugly old looking fish. They floated inside, mostly minding their own business, "Amazing! They're supposed to be extinct! He must've had them cloned or something!"

"Cloning dinosaurs, don't be ridiculous Derring." Penworthy left Derring at her place at the aquarium and head for the fireplace. She looked over the portraits. Surprisingly enough for her, there were very few portraits of Fancypants himself. Instead, there were portraits of Princess Celestia, a few nobleponies that Penworthy couldn't recall, Captain Traveller of the Royal Guard, and strangely a grey coated, blonde-maned mare with mismatched eyes. But there was one hanging over the fireplace most prominently and largely.

"Hey Derring, isn't that your father?" Derring looked over from her place at the aquarium. Indeed, the largest portrait right over the fireplace was a painting of Fancypants himself, and her father. Derring quickly trotted up to it, looking upon it with awe and slight confusion, "Your father knew Fancypants?"

"Indeed, finest stallion I've ever met." A posh masculine voice echoed behind them, they quickly turned around. Standing before was the white coated blue maned unicorn stallion himself, Fancypants.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Penworthy was having quite the moment. She galloped over to Fancypants, "You'reFancypantsIcan'tbelieveityouhaveoneofmybooksdoyoulikeit?"

"Indeed Miss Penworthy, I love your work in general, the prose is subtle and your work on Spheres of Influence is one of my favorites. I can say I'm quite a fan of you." Fancypants' response was enough to knock Penworthy on her flank. Derring in the meantime had caught up with them.

"You knew my father?" Derring asked.

"Yes, your father Will Do was quite the stallion. Nervy for a navigator if I do say so myself."

"Wow... it's just... he never mentioned you." Derring was honestly confused, her father had known one of the most influential ponies in Canterlot, and she had never known about this.

"Oh, he respects a stallion's privacy. One needs some time to himself." Fancypants walked over to the armchair and sat down, sighing in relief, "Oh yes, if you're wondering why you're here, do look over there. It's for you."

He pointed at a package on the table. Derring had noticed it, but didn't want to touch it, she thought it was Fancypants'. She looked at the writing on the wrappings:

To Derring-Do
My greatest gift.
Sincerely, Will Do.

"My father sent me this?" She briefly pondered which was his greatest gift, her or whatever in Tartarus was in the wrapping.

"Indeed, told me to give it to you when you were ready." Fancypants answered. Derring bit into the wrapping and tore it open, what was inside caused a great many of emotions to explode.

"It's..." She ran her hoof over the hardcover, slightly scorched and it's pages yellow and stale. This particular book would be pretty unworthy of anypony's attention for more than a minute. Not for Derring, she knew how important this book was, "It's Clover the Clever's Journal. Fancypants, this journal is the key to finding the lost civilization of Thule!"

"Thule, ha! Do I look like a newborn foal Miss Derring?" Fancypants snickered, "We all know Thule is mythological at best."

"No no, this journal is direct evidence of its existence, it has coordinates, clues, locations, even some details on Thule itself." Derring quickly shifted through the pages, careful not to tear the old delicate pages from sheer excitement. The journal possessed a great many illustrations from Clover herself, and was written in Old Equestrian.

"It's just a load of gibberish Derring." Fancypants remarked. True, Derring couldn't read Old Equestrian, there was a reason they called it Old. She knew one person who could understand it however. Derring quickly dashed over to Penworthy, who was lying on her back still in a giddy fan drive.

"Penworthy, you can read Old Equestrian right? You took a course on it in the University didn't you?" Derring pleaded for Penworthy to not have forgotten it. Penworthy snapped out of her catatonic state and quickly answered Derring.

"Oh of course! I still use Old Equus in my books from time to time when I need some dramati-" Penworthy quickly found herself lifted up and dropped at Fancypants' feet.

"There! Translator!"

"Okay," Fancypants wasn't done however, "So you have a translator who can read it, but there's no telling if it's a fake or-"

"It's not a fake!" Derring quickly got into Fancypants' face, staring him down like a cockatrice, "My father would know if this was fake!"

"Even so Derring." Fancypants nudged Derring out of his space, "If it's not fake, it belongs in a museum."

That caught Derring off guard, Clover the Clever's journal was probably older than the Royal Sisters themselves. The fact that the book survives today is probably a miracle on its own. It did belong in a museum. However, she wouldn't have it.

"Fancypants, you can grab all the shiny artifacts and put them into a museum, and you wouldn't understand how people back then lived. Archaeology and history isn't just about what belongs in a museum or not, it's preserving the legacy of those that came before! This journal can be the key to finding Thule and..." She mulled over the journal, softening her features, "making my father's work mean something."

Fancypants took on a sympathetic expression, he knew just as well as Derring how obsessed her father was with finding Thule. Since his disappearance, Derring took on his role, just for his sake. Derring shrugged off the emotion and replaced it with her trademark determination.

"Now I don't need your patronizing Fancypants, I will find Thule using this journal on my own" She quickly looked over at Penworthy, who was waiting patiently for her to finish, "maybe with Penworthy, and I don't care what it takes!"

To Derring's surprise, Fancypants gave a devious smile as if the final piece in his gambit had come to place, "Congratulations, Miss Derring. This is exactly what I wanted to hear."

He tapped a button on the table. Derring quickly backed away, but instead of the table exploding or releasing swarms of bees as she had predicted, the table opened a hatch on its top. Slowly, small models of what looked like Gryphonian weapons of war rose up from the table, "You can forget going it alone Derring, we will travel in style."

"Whoa!" Penworthy sidled up to the table, "These are Gryphonian military vehicles!"

"What? How do you know?" Derring asked.

"I did research when I was writing Spheres of Influence. That's a Nautilus-class submersible battleship. three-hundred hooves in length, crew of over two-hundred" She pointed at the largest model, a long looking submarine, then at a smaller bullet shaped one, "That's an M1A1 Piranha Sub-pod, and that-"

"We get it Miss Exposition." Derring shoved her hoof into Penworthy's mouth, "What does all this have to do with Thule?"

"Well let me start from the beginning Miss Derring," Fancypants stood from his seat and walked to the fireplace. Derring followed him closely, Penworthy remained behind to fiddle with a model of a balloon, "You see, your father when he was around always regaled me with tales of Thule and that journal whether I liked it or not."

Fancypants stopped at the fireplace, dusting off some of the framed pictures and antiques perched there, "So one day, I made him a bet, 'Will, if you find that journal, I will personally finance the expedition to Thule and kiss you right on the mouth!' I said."

He telekinetically grabbed a framed photo and showed it to Derring. It was a picture of his father and Fancypants, both recoiling in disgust, and the journal in Will's hooves, "Imagine my utter horror when he found it!"

"I see, but that stuff on the table-"

"There is a division in the Gryphonian military known as G.A.R.D., or Gryphonian Archaeological and Research Division, very underfunded. All I did was donate quite a generous amount of money to them and in exchange, they provide the manpower for the trip." Derring looked back at the table, Penworthy was now making the sub-pod model fly about with her magic and making weird sound effects out of her mouth, "They wouldn't have been able to requisition those particular vehicles without my help."

"Wow, I'm... simply amazed." Derring said.

"Indeed, I'm not a pony who skips out on a bet, not like my yes-mares or the ones in the Court." Fancypants put the picture back in its place and looked up at the great portrait of him and Will Do, "I am a pony who keeps his word."

Fancypants was indeed honorable, a noblepony in both senses of the word. He hung his head low however, he was keeping his word. But Will would probably never get to see it, "Miss Derring, let me tell you, your father was a great pony."

"I don't need someone to tell me my father was great, I already know." Derring placed a hoof on Fancypants' shoulder.

"Those braggarts at the museum, dragged him down, destroyed him. Wherever he is, I hope he's happy at least." Fancypants sighed, then quickly made an aboutface, "Well what are we waiting for Miss Derring?! There's much to do and so little time!"

"Wait, Fancypants, I know you've already got the equipment but for an expedition of this scale," He quickly trotted over to the table, Derring followed. Penworthy quickly stopped playing with the models and sat down formally, "You're going to need a crew! Specialists!"

"Taken care of, who do you expect to drive the ship after all, you and your friend?"

"You're going to need engineers, geologists, navigators-" Fancypants quickly pulled a large folder from a hidden compartment in the table (Derring briefly pondered just what else he was hiding in there.)

"The Griffins provide nothing but the best Miss Derring." He dropped the folder down onto the table, letting its contents spill out for Derring and Penworthy to see. Mostly wordy documents from the looks of it, along with dossiers on various specialists accompanying the expedition. Penworthy quickly shuffled through the dossiers. There were photos of the various specialists and crewmen accompanying the dossiers. She spotted various unicorns and an earth pony, griffins, a diamond dog, a panda, a few minotaurs, all kinds of creatures, "Let me tell you Derring, Will worked with some of these same people when recovering the journal."

"Where did he find the journal?" Derring never thought to ask the question, she mentally slapped herself for that. The answer however was to her immense satisfaction.

"Gallia!" Fancypants dropped a new photo on the table. It was a group shot of various griffins and ponies. Will Do was in the picture himself, holding the journal together with a rather large set griffin. A rare smile on his face.

"I knew it!" Derring hugged a surprised Penworthy and lifted her up into the air, squealing with delight.

"Indeed Miss Derring. We have the journal, the crew, the location, now all they need however," Derring stopped her little moment, dropped Penworthy, and came back to ground, "Is a navigator, and someone who can read this journal."

"Alright alright, but we'll be gone for some time, our apartments, we'll have to give notice." Penworthy quickly added.

"Taken care of." Fancypants said.

"Our things?"

"Packed and in storage."

"My cat?" Derring quickly asked. A familiar meow suddenly caught Derring's attention. Her cat, Ahuizotl, crawled up her behind her, she quietly whispered, "Hi Ahuizotl."

Fancypants lifted the journal and offered it to Derring, "Miss Derring, your father had a saying, 'Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children', this is his gift to you. Thule is waiting."

Derring slowly took the journal into her hooves. Thule was her father's life, if anything now he would probably never see it. What struck Derring so hard was that he must have had the journal in his possession if he found it. Instead of immediately searching out for Thule, he gave it to Derring. Tears were suddenly starting to form at the corners of her eyes. She immediately took Fancypants in a hug, "Thank you. I won't let you down, I promise."

"I'll take that as a yes Derring, and I assume your friend is coming too?" Penworthy immediately hugged Derring from behind.

"Of course I am! She's useless without me!" The three shared shared a good laugh. They separated from their hug.

"Don't worry Fancypants, I won't make you regret this!" Derring quickly assured.

"You're Will Do's daughter, I have nothing to worry about." Fancypants patted Derring on the head, "Now and your friend should run along, I'll have someone come by in the afternoon to transport you to port."

"Again, thank you!" Derring and Penworthy quickly trotted over to the elevator.

"We're going to find Thule, we're going to be rich, I'll probably get to meet a nice stallion, oh my gosh!" Penworthy bounced in her step, "Derring, I'm so excited I can barely hold it in!"
> Info: Nautilus and Piranha Subs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The standard attack pattern for Sub-Pod squadrons is best summarized as Dive - Attack - Withdraw - Coffee Break. Deviate from this pattern only in the most extreme circumstances."
M1A1 Piranha Sub-Pod Instruction Manual




The Grypho-Dolphin War in its earliest month was a relative bloodbath for the Griffins. Griffin and Minotaur Infantry, armed only with SCUBA gear and harpoon launchers simply weren't fit to deal with underwater combat. Combined with the savage manner in which Dolphins engaged in melee resulted in a lot of defeats and lot of limbs washing back onto the shore even to this day. After the second Battle of the Gallian Reef, top brass of the Gryphonian Military decided to throw what money they had at some engineers and scientists to devise a way to combat the Dolphins and minimize losses.

One of the earliest faults of the Griffins was that they lacked effective artillery support underwater, they simply couldn't point guns and cannons into the water and fire. Depth charges were used for some time, but their slow-to-deploy nature combined with them exploding at the wrong time in the best cases meant they needed to be phased out. Fortunately for the Griffins, a unicorn engineer devised a concept for a "Submersible fighter" that could bring explosives to bear against Dolphins while at the same time be able to screen infantry formations underwater.

The result of this concept was the M1A1 Piranha Sub-Pod. The Piranha (named for a ferocious meat-eating fish) is a bullet shaped submersible capable of carrying a pilot and a co-pilot (In the earlier stages, only griffins.) The engine allowed the Piranha a maximum speed of 30 knots and the unique four finned design gave it surprisingly agility and maneuverability. The two side fins are specially designed to be able to carry a standard payload of eight miniature torpedoes (dubbed Teeny Torries by the troops) that, when fired properly, can explode with such force as to take down entire swarms of Dolphins in a single run.

A more revolutionary concept appeared within the Piranha, a battery separate from the engine allowed the Piranha to maintain lights and radio contact without having to drain the engine of its own power. This allowed the Piranha numerous amounts of room to work with operating alone or in the standard squadrons of fifteen. The Piranha's air supply can last over an hour of continuous use, allowing Piranha squadrons to move with infantry underwater for long periods, and even longer periods when supported by a mothership.

The M1A1 Piranha Sub-Pod was the first variant to be deployed during the war, and its first deployment during the fourth Battle of the Gallian Reef turned the tide of the battle in the Gryphons favor. The Dolphins could not keep up with the Piranha's speed and their close combat oriented forces were slaughtered by the Piranha's torpedoes. A single Piranha scored over eighty-seven confirmed kills before victory was declared. The Piranha had exceeded expectations, and the top brass mandated that Piranha Sub-Pod be used to its fullest potential as a main battle vehicle for infantry rather than support.

By war's end, Sub-Pod squadrons outnumbered infantry formations in most skirmishes, if there were infantry formations even present.


***


As the Sub-Pod was receiving praise for its role in turning the fourth Battle of the Gallian Reef into a victory, engineers were still looking for ways to bring support to the infantry underwater. A request by top brass especially was being worked on, that a "cruiser which can safely transport troops to the sea and act as a forward base" was possibly the most specific they asked. Most believe that a submersible of that size was relatively impossible, however the famed Griffin engineer and scientists Archimedes Firearm devised a workable concept by, as he says, "making it bigger."

The Nautilus-Class Submersible Cruiser was the result of over three months of tired work for Archimedes and his crack team of engineers. Technically, it is a true submarine by the fact that the Nautilus can literally operate underwater indefinitely. Archimedes devised a way to allow the crew to recycle oxygen using electricity and water, and scrub CO2 at the same time, though he never elaborates just how exactly this works (At least a few people theorize that he doesn't actually know how it works). The first prototype was over 380 Hooves in length, as large as an actual Gryphonian Battlecruiser. On the extreme front was the bridge, which was encased in a glass observatory, allowing the commanders a full view of the area. The armament was four turrets armed with two torpedo launchers, allowing a full payload dispersal of eight torpedoes. The two propellers in back were powered by twin engines that could allow the sub a speed of eighteen knots. Another feature was the ability for the sub to deploy a squadron of Sub-Pods from the bottom.

The Military produced at least one fully working Nautilus dubbed the Drebbel during the war. The Drebbel performed with admirable action in the Seventh Battle of the Gallian Reef. The Nautilus Submarines however entered the war late enough that the Drebbel was the only one of its class that saw actual combat. However, the hierarchy within the Gryphonian kingdom recognized the potential for the Nautilus-class as an explorer Submarine and donated generous amounts of money for more to be produced. Today, there are over six Nautilus' in service, the Drebbel, the Hunley, the Alligator, the Spearfish, the Nemo and the Pytheas. Other nations such as the Principality of Equestria are currently attempting to purchase one of their own.
> Chapter Four
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Archaeology and grave robbery go hand in hand."
- Unknown



Location: Three Miles off the coast of Gallia, KGN Heavy Freighter Atlas
Time: 7:30 PM, March 7th

Derring sat down, resting her back against the cold railing of the freighter's deck. Penworthy, meanwhile was busy vomiting her meal over the side.

"You sure you're okay Penworthy?" Derring asked.

"I'm fine..." Penworthy managed to catch her breath, wiping her mouth, "It's just... you know how much I hate ships."

The trip to Gallia was relatively uneventful, save for Penworthy's seasickness. To their surprise, they were already registered members of G.A.R.D., likely Fancypants' doing. They received their identification and other papers, including name tags. To Derring's annoyance, they had misspelled her name to "Daring Do". Once at Gallia, they rested for a couple of hours at a Gryphonian colony, then boarded the Atlas at port. Only about two hours went by and already Penworthy's seasickness was taking its toll.

"Since we're here Penworthy, mind if I check the Journal?" Derring asked. Penworthy politely took Clover the Clever's journal out of her saddlebag and gave it to her quickly before vomiting over the side again.

"Carrots... I didn't even eat carrots..." Penworthy muttered. Derring shifted through the journal, noting that the pages were now filled to the brim with sticky notes containing translations of the text. Derring would have appreciated Penworthy just rewriting the entire journal, but Penworthy insisted on the sticky notes. Regardless of methods, Derring could, to some extent, read the journal. She quickly flipped to one page, the most relevant one considering their location. She read out Penworthy's translation:


The Sentinel is the great masterpiece guardian of Sentinel's Run, the entrance to Thule. His eye glows red like the sun on the horizon and his scales gleaming white in the water. From his face great beams of fire spark and his size makes any ships look like flies. 


"You're reading aloud Derring." Penworthy said. Derring quickly looked up, Penworthy had managed to recover from her seasick condition, but was still swaying unstably and her cheeks were green with nausea.

"Of course. I appreciate you translating the Journal on such short notice."

"It was no trouble, I have more worries writing for pulp magazines than translations." Penworthy sat down next to Derring, quickly steadying herself by leaning against her, "Sometimes though, I just wish you'd get a calmer profession I can follow."

"Well Penworthy, it's better than painting the frost on the windows that's for sure." Derring leaned against Penworthy as well, forming a smile on her face, "We're really doing it though, Thule."

"Yep." Penworthy started smiling too, "Never really thought about Thule like you did Derring until now, no offense."

"None taken." Derring closed the journal and put it back in her saddlebag, "Oh yeah, Penworthy, I got something that might surprise you!"

"You know how much I don't like surprises." Penworthy looked over at Derring. Derring was quickly searching through her saddlebag, then she pulled out the last thing she thought she'd bring on this trip, "Is that...?"

"Yep." Her father's safari helmet. She quickly put it on her head. To her delight, it did not slide down her head, but fit perfectly on her. Penworthy took the time to examine Derring, her khaki dress shirt, the hat, everything.

"You look exactly like-!"

"Don't start." Derring deadpanned.

"Well besides that, you look just like your father." Derring nodded, emulating her father wasn't exactly her purpose. She brought the hat mostly because she wanted some part of her father to reach Thule, and what else than his beloved hat? "I'm sure wherever he is, he's proud of you Derring."

"Hope so." Derring adjusted the hat slightly, she had always wanted to wear the hat on one of her jobs, but it had been drilled into her head that "Daddy doesn't want me wearing his hat" so she never got around to it. She sighed, "Penworthy, I don't mean to offend, but why did you come with me?"

"Why not?" Penworthy answered.

"You already translated the Journal, there's not much left you can really do."

"I'm your friend Derring, friends stick with each other through thick and thin. Remember the Great Dragon Migration?" As if Derring could ever forget. The Migration was what really cemented the two's friendship, but that's a story for another time.

"Fair enough." Derring replied. There wasn't much point in trying to convince Penworthy otherwise.

"Attention: All hands report to the launch bay." The feminine voice over the PA system said.

"We should get going." Derring quickly stood up, Penworthy as well before taking a quick stumble.


***


"To whoever took the L from the motorpool sign..." There was the faintly audible sound of laughter on the other end of the PA system. Derring and Penworthy walked through the immense rows of carriages with no place to put a pony to drive it, the griffins called them "trucks". Despite their ubiquity in griffin lands, the idea of something driving itself under its own power was foreign to the two ponies. Over the sounds of horns and beeps, they could distinctly make out the sound of a conversation.

"...with ample time, I could modify the engine to give the sub a little more speed and what not." One voice said, masculine and rather high-pitched in tone.

"We don't have ample time Archimedes, we're launching the sub in little under a half hour, and you decide now is the time to modify it?" Another said, deeper and huskier than Archimedes'.

"The sub is my pride and joy, there's always time to-"

"No, we've already got it in the launch bay, we'll do fine with the default speed."

"Alright, fine, but you'll regret this Lieutenant Commander, I speak to these machines as a father does to children." The two ponies came up to the source of the conversation, a griffin quickly brushed past the two, leaving the other griffin behind. Derring and Penworthy assumed these two were the ones conversing. The griffin that remained behind they assumed wasn't Archimedes. He was facing away from the two, so Penworthy decided to get his attention.

"Excuse me, we were told to... report in?" Penworthy said. The griffin turned to the two of them, and they instantly recoiled in shock. The griffin's left part of his face was scarred horribly with minor scratches and immense cuts running along it, his left eye (which was probably absent) was covered by an eyepatch and his beak had a noticeable crack in it. Beyond the scars was blue facial markings (indicating tribal descent) and brown eyes.

"Well, that's the first time I've gotten that reaction." He bluntly stated.

"Sorry, it's just-" Derring attempted to apologize but decided to double back, "Uh... my name is Derring-Do... with a D-E-R-R-I-N-G."

"I see," The griffin offered his hand, "I'm Lieutenant Commander Sidonus Sharptail."

Derring took his hand and shook it. To her assumption, Sidonus was at least polite. Penworthy however:

"How'd you get those scars?"

"Ha. Funny story." Sidonus started. There was a pause, Derring and Penworthy waiting for him to actually tell the story.

"...Yeah?" Derring said.

"I said it was a funny story, not that I was gonna tell you it." Sidonus bluntly stated, "Do you two need something?"

"We were told to report to the launch bay." Derring stated.

"Yeah, I was about to head there myself, just follow me and-" Sidonus was suddenly interrupted by (in his opinion) the world's most annoying pony.

"Lieutenant Commander! The Great and Powerful Trixie has something to say to you!" The two suddenly noticed a truck being lowered behind Sidonus (who was now mentally bracing himself.) In the truck bed was a blue unicorn wearing a wizard hat with a matching cape. The truck hit the floor and Sidonus reluctantly moved to address her.

"What do you want now?" Sidonus said, Derring could easily make out the suppressed anger in his voice.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie would like to know why exactly you have filled her storage with completely unnecessary and unworthy items!" The Great and Powerful Trixie quickly started throwing out various ingredients, "Look, lettuce, carrots, eggs, all the most disgusting and horrid of foods!"

"We pay you to cook these things, not eat them." Sidonus quickly added, The Great and Powerful Trixie however was not listening, she pulled out a potato with her unicorn magic and floated it in front of Sidonus.

"Pray tell, what in Celestia's name is this?" Sidonus quickly grabbed the potato.

"THIS IS A POTATO!" Sidonus shook it in front of The Great and Powerful Trixie, who barely acknowledged it, "You boil it! Mash it! Stick it in a stew!"

"Stew? Pah!" The Great and Powerful Trixie said, "With my magic, you don't even need ingredients, let alone these 'potatoes'. The most lavish and delectable of foods is just waiting to be cast from my horn."

"Listen your most magnificentness, my patience with you runs only so thin." Sidonus pecked at the crack in his beak with his talon, "The only reason we actually have you as a cook is because the men would like something other than apples!"

"Well tell Braeburn to-" The Great and Powerful Trixie started to suggest something before being rudely cut off by Sidonus.

"Do not tell me what to do. Braeburn just cannot believe that there's food in this world other than apples."

"Well what can you expect from apple farmers?"

"The same thing I'd expect from you, actual food."

"Tch, The Great and Powerful Trixie simply needs the right amount of ingredients and time and then-" The klaxon blared, interrupting The Great and Powerful Trixie. Sidonus quickly shoved the potato into her hooves, knocking her back.

"Alright, pack it you dolt!" He turned to Derring and Penworthy, "Just follow me to the launch bay."

Sidonus quickly walked away from the truck, Derring and Penworthy following.

"Attention, all hands to the launch bay. Final loading in progress." The PA blared over the marching of minotaurs, griffins and unicorns. Along with trucks driving alongside them, them carrying packs and crates and even rifles, it was easy to assume they were just about to invade a country. Everyone stopped, much to Derring and Penworthy's surprise.

"Why are we stopped?" Penworthy asked. Suddenly, the floor started descending, "This ship has an elevator? How big is this ship!?"

The floor of the elevator descended into darkness, with brief spasms of light through the steel girders. Then through the holes of the girders, it became clear where the elevator was going.

"Is that...?" Derring started. The girders opened way for the sight of immense Nautilus-Class Submersible sitting in a large rectangular pool of water before them. Large ramps on the side were giving way for trucks and troops to be loaded on board. The elevator stopped at the bottom, however the two ponies simply stood there.

"It's a lot bigger in person." Penworthy croaked. Sidonus stepped in front of them.

"The Pytheas. It's been specially modified by Archimedes himself, now I've got something to do, I'll try to be optomistic that you two can at least find your way on board." With that, Sidonus extended his wings, took to the air and quickly headed out of their view.

"Well he seemed nice Derring." Penworthy said. Derring was about to retort with something clever when something hit her on the rump. Derring turned around angrily to face whoever just careless hit her.

"Ah! Hey watch where you're-" She stopped immediately when she noticed that the thing that hit her was a dolly with crates filled with explosives and that its driver was a giant panda giving her the deadliest glare she had ever seen. That, and she was also holding up a sizable line of trucks. Derring smiled nervously, quickly taking to the air and getting of his way, Penworthy stepped to the side doing the same, "Aha... go right ahead."

The panda noticeably rolled his eyes, moving his dolly of explosives through. Penworthy however, noticed that he had dropped something and quickly telekinetically picked it up.

"Wait! You dropped your..." When she picked it up, she immediately realized what it was, "...dynamite."

The panda stepped back and quickly took his stick of dynamite into his paw.

"So... what else you got in there?" Penworthy asked. The panda looked at his dolly with a rather flat look.

"Well, it is things a demolitions expert uses." The panda spoke with a clear pandarin accent. He wore a simple red vest and his round cheeky face bore circular rimmed glasses, "Nitroglycerin, trinitrotoluene, blackpowder, sulfur, wires, wicks, glue, notepads. That is about it."

"Oh I see." Penworthy chuckled, "So what's your name?"

"Mu." Mu put the stick of dynamite back into the top open case and then walked off.

"Must you try and make friends with everyone?" Derring asked.

"Oh it never hurts to be friendly, besides I've never seen a panda before! He's huge!" Penworthy reared up on her hind legs to prove her point. Derring simply smirked.

"Derring! Penworthy!" A familiar voice called out to them, they turned to the source. Fancypants. They quickly galloped over to him.

"Fancypants!" They both shouted. Fancypants had replaced his usual suit with an overcoat and a sailor's cap. His signature monocle however remained where it was. With Fancypants was a large set griffin, the same one from the photo Derring saw quite a while ago.

"Derring, Penworthy, I'd like you two to meet Captain Lysander Cloudbreaker," The griffin's face bore as much as a smile as it could. It was clean white unlike Sidonus' scarred tribal face paint, "He was the leader of the expedition that brought the journal back."

"You must be Derring-Do." Lysander said, his voice was just as rough as Sidonus', "'Tis a Pleasure to meet the daughter of ol' Will."

"The pleasure is all mine Captain." Derring said, "I mean, you helped find the journal!"

"Oh, that dusty thing," Lysander nodded, "Well, if I must admit it wasn't as exciting as the war but I go where I'm needed."

Derring frowned, but was immediately nudged by Fancypants.

"Impressive isn't it?" Fancypants said.

"Indeed!" Penworthy perked up, "When you settle a bet, you settle a bet!"

"You cannot put a price on the pursuit of knowledge my dear Penworthy." Fancypants. Penworthy giggled at the prospect of being called "dear" by Fancypants of all people.

"Well believe me, this will be small change compared to the value of what we're going to find." Derring said, her excitement coming back to her quickly.

"Yep, this should be enrichin' for all of us." Lysander added.

"Attention: Launch will commence in fifteen minutes." The PA sounded. Lysander gave a lazy salute to Fancypants.

"Fancypants." He said before walking up the ramp inside the ramp, "Derring, Penworthy, it's time."

Derring and Penworthy quickly trotted after Lysander, they turned their heads to Fancypants and gave a wave of the hoof to him.

"Bye Fancypants!" They shouted over the closing of the doors.

"Make us proud girls!" Fancypants shouted back.


***


The bridge was a multi-decked observatory, filled to the brim with all kinds of electronics, mechanics, and equipment that Derring and Penworthy couldn't understand. All crewed by all manners of unicorns, minotaurs and griffins. Lysander and Sidonus stood on the center platform, shouting orders.

"Rig ship for dive!" Lysander commanded, which was met with "aye aye!" from several crewmembers. Derring and Penworthy quickly took the time to run up to the window, "Lieutenant Commander, take her down."

"Horner! Submerge ship to depth 1-5-0-3." Sidonus shouted.

"Make depth 1-5-0-3!" A minotaur shouted, presumably Horner. He cranked a valve above, then pulled a lever, "Dive, dive! Five degrees down level!"

"Roger! Five degrees down level!" A crewmember shouted. The ship suddenly shook. Derring and Penworthy could feel the ship splashing about in the water, then slowly sink into the water.

"Theshipissupposedtosinktheshipissupposedtosink..." Penworthy quickly muttered to herself while nervously kicking at the floor. Derring reared up and pressed her hooves against the glass, she could definitely see Fancypants waving at her, a genuine smile on his face. She gave a full grin back.

	"We're doing it Penny! We're really doing it!" Derring shouted. The water flowed over the glass, and by then the ship was fully underwater. The ship descended into the deep ocean slowly and steadily. Derring leaned forward, nearly pressing her face into the glass, the sheer blue immensity of it being taken in. Penworthy trotted up next to Derring, her jaw dropping at the sight of it all. The sub continued descending even further, the rays of light from the surface becoming dimmer and dimmer, until the only points of light in the ocean were the Submarine's.
> Chapter Five
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daring had all the essentials, the map, the plan. All she needed however, was a crew.
- Daring Do and the Griffin's Goblet



Location: The Gallian Trench, 20,000 Hooves below Sea Level.
Time: 8:00 PM

The Pytheas descended into the deep and unwelcoming abyss that was the Gallian Trench, one of the deepest points in the ocean. At these depths, the natural light from the sun was simply no longer visible, and the ocean waters were a foggy dark blue. Despite the eerie darkness, there was still quite a lot of undersea animals swimming about, some curiously swimming alongside the Pytheas as if it were a whale. One particular species however, floated past and scared the everloving bejeezus out of one particular pony.

"SHARK!" Penworthy screamed, she quickly hid behind the minotaur Helmsman, Horner and Sidonus.

"Don't worry your pretty little head Pony," Horner half-assured, half-chuckled, "They're harmless."

"Easy for you to say we've got nearly a hoof of glass between us and them." Penworthy nervously said. Horner gave a deep hearty laugh. Derring sighed, walking up next to her friend.

"Sorry, she doesn't like sharks." Derring said.

"Clearly." Sidonus deadpanned, a bit unamused at Penworthy's antics, "If you're going to cower however, would you mind doing it somewhere that's not the bridge?"

"Well I'm navigating aren't I?" Derring asked.

"We have trained navigators Miss Derring. The Captain will call when he needs you." Sidonus said. Derring frowned, she didn't like being a load on others or having her navigation skills being questioned.

"Well what do I do then?"

"I don't know. Meet the crew or something." Sidonus suggested. Derring shrugged and proceeded to walk away, Penworthy following. They stopped before the door however, as they heard quite the familiar voice.

"Attention: The time is now 8:00... celestiawhowritesthis... Dinner will be apple slices, apple pie, with apple cider, and to mix things up... apples." A white unicorn mare with an electric looking blue mane announced. She was sitting in front of a huge collection of what looked like radios, and weird electronics, a microphone sat in front of her however first and foremost. Derring and Penworthy quietly walked up to her.

"Excuse me." Derring said, the mare quickly turned her head towards the two, revealing she was wearing some cool looking sunglasses, "You're the mare over the PA system?"

"Eyup!" The mare said proudly, "Name's Vinyl Scratch, and I don't just do the announcements, I'm the SONAR spec, Communications, stuff like that. You two are?"

"Derring Do, D-E-R-R-I-N-G." Derring quickly introduced, "And this is my friend, Penworthy."

"Vinyl Scratch?" Penworthy said, "You're that really big DJ pony... what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking the same thing from the biggest author in Equestria." Vinyl said, Penworthy giggled nervously.

"Oh stop! I'm not that-"

"You are! You wrote one of my favorite books! The only book I actually ever read mind you." Vinyl quickly dug through her desk and pulled out a copy of the book, The Joy of Sound. Penworthy rubbed the back of her neck, she definitely remembered writing that, she just thought it was quite risque for her usual work.

"Ehehehe... Indeed." Penworthy blushed, "So, you didn't answer my question."

"Oh yeah," Vinyl tossed the book back on the desk, "Well... mare needs money doesn't she?"

"True, but I wouldn't imagine someone's whose special talent is music would be working as a comm specialist." Derring said.

"Well I-" A ringing noise came from one of the many radios on her desk, Vinyl quickly put on a headset with its own microphone attached, "Ah, sorry, I gotta take this."

Derring and Penworthy looked at her confusedly for a moment.

"Vinyl Scratch here... Oh Octavia, hi!... Yeah, I know it's been torture down here! They're only letting me play Rat Pack stuff, not that his singing is bad, I'd have children with it but..." Vinyl was now apparently busy. So Derring and Penworthy decided to now leave the bridge.


***


Penworthy was hungry and Derring was tired, so they decided to separate. Penworthy left for the mess hall while Derring decided to take a quick nap at the bunks. Derring stepped lightly into the bunkroom. There at least two bunkbeds, allowing for four people in this single room. It was also pretty roomy for a submarine vessel. She noted the big lump underneath a blanket on one of the top bunks. Deciding that Penworthy would like a top bunk, she decided to take the bunk beneath. She hopped into it, and immediately yelped in pain.

"Gah!" What was notable about the bed was that it was rock hard and felt very sharp, as if she were lying on top of a pile of gems. She thought griffins must have liked their beds really hard and simply went with it. She adjusted herself slightly, lowered the brim of her father's hat over head and decided to drift off to sleep.

At least, she tried to. She failed to notice that occupant in the above bed was now watching her. The headpiece he wore possessed a lamp, he turned it on. Derring opened her eyes and was immediately started, knocking her head on the top of the bed. She adjusted the brim of her father's hat and was immediately greeted by the sight of a Diamond Dog, wearing a weird set of goggles that obscured the color of his eyes and a lamp on his head. He had a musty brown coat, and the length of his arms suggested that he must've been quite small for a diamond dog.

"Uh... can I help you?"

"Get off my precious..." He said.

"Beg pardon?"

"GET OFF MY PRECIOUS!" The Diamond Dog jumped down to the floor, Derring jumped out of the bed. He pulled off the covers of Derring's bed, revealing that there actually was a pile of gems in there. The gems were diverse spectrum of different opals, sapphires and rubies, "You have disturbed their slumber!"

"What are gems doing in my bed!?" Derring asked.

"You ask too many questions!" He shouted, getting into Derring's face, "Whoareyou!Whosentyou!AreyouanOSHAinspector!SPEAKUP!"

"No-What-OSHA?" Derring shoved the Diamond Dog away, partly because of his personal space invasion and partly because he smelled like he rolled around in garbage for weeks (Which considering Diamond Dogs, isn't that unlikely.)

"Bah! Digger will know soon enough!" Digger, as he was called, immediately grabbed Derring and pulled out a pair of tweezers.

"Whoa! Hey! Let go!" Derring shouted. As fierce as Derring was, Diamond Dogs were strong, and Digger was only slighter bigger than she was.

"Digger is not going to take your eye you little cryfoal!" He immediately plucked the tiniest speck of dirt from Derring's hoof, then let her go in favor of sniffing it, "Ah... I know now..."

"Huh?" Derring stood back up, she was doing everything in her power not to completely waste him.

"Derring-Do. Cartographer and Navigator. You are from Canterlot, Paladin Suites Apartment, you have a black cat, third in a litter of seven," Digger gave another sniff of the speck, his expression suddenly turning disgusted, "...and your friend is Penworthy, author of Where the Diamond Dogs Are."

"Hey, if you have a problem with my friend-" Derring started before being shoved towards the door.

"THIS ENRAGES DIGGER, YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE! OUT OUT!" Digger shouted. Derring had had it up to here with this Diamond Dog and proceeded to turn around and tackle him. What resulted could be described as a cloud of dirt being raised with occasional sound of either Digger or Derring shouting in pain. This went on for a moment before the two realized that a third person had entered the room.

"You sat on his gems didn't you?" The unicorn had a light blue coat, with a dark blue and white mane and blue eyes and an hourglass cutie mark. Her mane was wet however and there was a towel over her, she must've just came out of a shower, "Digger, what have I told you about keeping your gems on other people's beds?"

"But-" Digger started before a bar of soap was levitated in front of his face, much to his horror.

"I've got soap Digger, you really look like you could use a bath!" The unicorn threatened. Digger immediately retreated, whimpering in fright, underneath the blankets of his bunk. The unicorn walked up to Derring, who was lying on her back, looking at her, "Hi there!"

"Hey yourself." Derring responded. It was a rather odd series of event that took place, but everypony knew that Diamond Dogs loathed hygiene. She was at least glad to see a friendly pony.

"My name's Colgate. Well, not exactly, a lot of people call me Colgate. My birthname's actually Minuette, but people just call me Colgate for some reason. I guess it has to do with teeth." Derring immediately thought she had traded one problem for another, all she wanted was some sleep, "I see you met Digger, don't worry, he doesn't bite as long as you don't touch his gems. He's quite the geologist though. What's your name?"

"Derring-Do. With a-"

"D-E-R-R-I-N-G, no worries." Colgate responded. Derring was at least relieved she understood the spelling of her name, "However you are new to this ship and new to the crew in general, which means, you're due for an examination!"

"What?" Derring asked. Colgate levitated the towel onto the other top bunk and quickly pulled out a saddlebag from there. Inside, she reached for various things which terrified Derring. Dental equipment.

"You see Derring, I am the ship's dentist, which means I have to make sure every crewmember's teeth are as shiny as Celestia's crown and stronger than an ingot of pure mithril." Colgate proceeded to pull out a bonesaw in the middle of this.

"Feathers." Derring whimpered.

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little head Derring, this bonesaw is just for scaring people, the look on their face when I pull this little baby out gets me everytime." Colgate gave a little chuckle, "Though I have to admit, in the right hands, this bonesaw could probably cut through steel in under thirty seconds, as a unicorn maybe I can cut that time in half!"

Colgate pulled out actual practical dental equipment such as a mouth mirror and a tiny drill, which did nothing to reassure Derring. If there was anything Derring feared in this world, it was the dentist. Colgate levitated the mouth mirror and turned to Derring.

"Go ahead and say 'Ah!'" Colgate said.

"Listen Colgate, I don't think-" Derring was immediately interrupted by Colgate forcing Derring's mouth open with her hooves. She slowly put the mouth mirror in, scrutinizing Derring's teeth.

"So Derring, where are you from?" Colgate asked. Derring gave a good amount of gibberish in response, "Canterlot? I grew up in Canterlot, studied dentistry up there!"

"Ahshuthiethuhtherethoo." Derring said in response.

"You did? Maybe we know each other? Were you that pegasus who was always raving about Thule and how it existed and we'd all laugh at you and call you a crazypants and then we'd throw history textbooks at you so that you'd read actual history?" Colgate said. Derring nodded, "Oh you are! Well sorry for throwing history textbooks at you and congratulations for finding the way to Thule!"

Colgate pulled the mirror out of Derring's mouth, much to her relief.

"Well your teeth check out fine Derring, just start flossing, brushing behind them, brush three times a day and after meals and they'll be just like mine!" Colgate gave a dentist smile that nearly blinded Derring. Considering her cutie mark was an hourglass, Derring wondered what her obsession with teeth was.

"Uh thanks Colgate." Derring said nervously, she decided she could skip the nap for now, maybe meet Penworthy in the mess hall, "I should go. They're serving supper right now and I'm a tad hungry."

"Okay! Remember to brush your teeth after every meal!" Colgate said, Derring quickly walked out of the bunk rooms.

"Everypony on this ship is either a jerk or crazy." Derring muttered.


***


The Mess hall was a wide room with a ceiling high enough for minotaurs to comfortably stand in, there were long rectangular tables patterned about like a school cafeteria. Derring yawned, she wasn't exactly hungry, she just needed an excuse to get away from Colgate. As nice as she was, she feared her profession even more. Thankfully, she spotted her friend Penworthy, sitting on the end of one of the tables. Derring walked over to her, and immediately noticed that Penworthy had that dreamy look on her face.

"Okay Penworthy, who's the lucky stallion this time?" Derring said, she was familiar with this. Penworthy pointed a hoof at the serving line. Derring turned her head and noted the golden colored Earth pony with a blonde mane, green eyes, and an apple cutie mark serving food, "Him?"

"Yes!" Penworthy giggled with loving delight, "His name's Braeburn, he can cook, he's nice, and he's got that funny little accent!"

"Why don't you go talk to him then Penworthy?" Derring suggested.

"Oh I could, but I'm definitely enjoying the view from here." Penworthy rested her head on the table, sighing. Derring smirked, she had a point though, Braeburn did look pretty handsome.

"Well how about I get us some supper then, huh?" Derring said, Penworthy only simply nodded, taking in all of Braeburn's physical aspects. Derring walked over to the end of the serving line, which was occupied solely by a unicorn, a minotaur, and a griffin. The unicorn was served apple pie with a glass of cider, and to this he said:

"Hey Braeburn, when ya gonna start serving food that isn't apples?"

"Same time when pigs start flyin' an' Trixie gets 'round to cookin' things y'all can eat." Braeburn started. The unicorn and Braeburn had a good laugh.

"Excuse me! The Great and Powerful Trixie can hear you in the kitchen!" Trixie shouted out from the back. The unicorn had another good laugh before walking away with his food. The minotaur and the griffin took their food quite quickly. At the end, Derring was up.

"Well howdy doo, can't say ah've seen you before. What's yer name partner?" Braeburn asked.

"Derring-Do." Derring didn't even bother with the spelling, she was getting sick of reminding people that.

"Derring-Do, quite the name ye got there, it's like bein' named Awesome McCoolname, hehehe!" Braeburn gave a quick chuckle, Derring perked up slightly, "Name's Braeburn, apples mah name an' game. What can ah getcha?"

"Oh, anything." Derring shrugged, she wasn't particular about what she wanted.

"'Kay then, slice o' apple pie an' a glass of apple cider." Braeburn pulled a plate of apple pie and a glass of cider on it with his teeth to Derring who took it in her teeth. Derring quickly nodded and left for Penworthy.

"He's such a dreamboat ain't he Derring?" Penworthy said. Derring dropped the plate carefully infront of Penworthy, "I mean, he cooks, funny accent, nice pony, I wouldn't be surprised if other stallions want him too."

"Yup." Derring sat down next to Penworthy yawning, "Maybe he's read one of your books. Considering the accent, he's probably a western kind of guy."

"Ohoho..." Penworthy started bouncing in her seat, "Maybe, I do remember writing quite a few westerns when I was just starting out as an author!"

Penworthy started squealing in delight, then dug into her food. Derring watched, not in the least bit hungry.

"You not hungry Derring?" Penworthy asked. Derring shook her head, "Speaking of which, you should probably get some sleep, Captain wants you giving some presentation at 0500."

"Of course." Derring said, resting her head on the table, "Hey, I met some crazy Diamond Dog in our bunk today."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We're going to have to share a bed if you don't mind." Derring said.

"Oh I don't, we're friends after all." Penworthy continued to happily eat her slice of pie, "So Diamond Dog?"

"Yeah, name's Digger, apparently he's some geologist." Derring said, Penworthy looked to her curiously, "Oh yeah, there's another unicorn, Colgate, she's a dentist."

"Hehehe, I know how much you hate the dentist." Penworthy chuckled. Derring rolled her eyes.

"Plus that one demolitions guy, Sidonus, Vinyl, we're meeting quite the crew Penworthy."

"A real rag-tag bunch of misfits!" Penworthy said. Derring chuckled.
> Chapter Six
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There's always a bigger fish."
Pytheas, Griffin Explorer and Archeologist



Location: Sentinel's Run, The Gallian Trench, 22,000 Hooves below Sea Level
Time: 5:00 AM

After a rather embarrassing moment where Derring woke up sucking on Penworthy's horn, the two were quickly on track to the bridge. The two refused to look at each other the whole time, the awkward silence between punctuated only with a:

"So..." Penworthy started.

"Let's not say anything." Derring said.

"Agreed."

The two entered the bridge, climbing up to the central deck, where there was already a small crowd of griffins, minotaurs, and unicorns (with Digger and Mu in the mix.) Sidonus and Lysander turned to their new arrivals, Sidonus with displeasure and Lysander with neutrality. There was already a whiteboard out along with a slide projector, ready for Derring's briefing on the situation.

"Alright." Captain Lysander announced, "I want you all to give Miss Derring-Do your undivided attention."

Derring rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her hoof, Penworthy sat down next to the whiteboard. Derring stood there, giving the crowd of specialists a good look over. She noted that they weren't really that excited for a lecture.

"Hello. My name is Derring-Do. With a D-E-R-" Derring started.

"We know." Sidonus interrupted.

"Anyway. So..." Derring hadn't really thought of a presentation beyond the one she was going to give for the board of directors a few days ago. She'd imagine the people who worked for the military probably didn't have much interest in ancient cultures, especially ones that are supposed to be mythological, "How about slides? Penworthy?"

Penworthy quickly jumped out of her sleep, then trotted over to the projector. Derring sighed.

"So... our current location I believe is Sentinel's Run. The entrance to Thule." Derring motioned Penworthy to put in a slide, "According to the journal, Sentinel's Run is guarded by a great, terrifying monster known as the Sentinel."

Penworthy messily worked with the slides before slipping in a random one. There was suddenly a load of muffled laughs and giggles from the crowd as a picture of Derring as a tiny filly wearing an inner tube and a snorkel was projected onto the board. Derring gave Penworthy a quick slap on the head, who quickly brought the right slide in, a picture of the page describing the Sentinel with illustrations of it sinking ships.

"Now..." Derring continued. Digger continued to try and stop laughing, much to Derring's annoyance, "The Sentinel is described as a masterpiece guardian, with a single red eye and uh... sparks of fire."

"Is this guardian real Derring?" Lysander asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't... well..." Derring quickly mulled over the question, "Clover describes it as a masterpiece guardian, so I imagine it's a statue or some kind of carving."

"So we find this masterpiece, then what?" Sidonus asked.

"WILL WE DIG!?" Digger popped up from the crowd.

"Actually, we won't have to dig. You see," Penworthy took the slide out, and quickly trotted over to the whiteboard with a marker, who began an illustration of the route, "we'll be going down this tunnel which lead into an air-pocket, where upon we get onto this ancient highway to Thule."

"You said there would be digging." Digger nudged Sidonus. Sidonus shoved him away.

"The journal also describes the Trial of Fire and the Trial of Ice," Derring said, "Something about keys and the Gate to Thule. I'm sure we can figure that out later though, that's all I got for now."

There was a collective sigh of relief from the crowd, all of whom dispersed into different directions. Derring sighed, rubbing her hoof into her face. Lysander walked up to her.

"If it's any consolation, you gave your information accurately." He said.

"Captain!" Horner turned from his position on the helm, Lysander, Sidonus, Derring and Penworthy all looked to him, "You might want to take a look at this."

"Alright, give me exterior lights." Lysander commanded, walking up to Horner with the other three in tow. The Submarine turned on its two spotlights powerful enough to blind Celestia herself. The lights brightened the area, giant pillars of rocks and stone and strangely no fish or wildlife. They weren't focusing on that however, they were focusing on the giant graveyard of boats and ships lying on the ocean floor.

"Lycurgus' blood..." Sidonus muttered, "There are so many ships."

"There must be ships here from every era." Penworthy added. The Submarine floated slowly over the massive graveyard, keeping the lights in a tight search pattern. Suddenly, a cloud of sand kicked up, out of sight from the spotlights and escaping the notice of the crew.


***


Vinyl Scratched leaned back in her chair, listening to what techno music she had managed to smuggle aboard ("Messes with the electronics." said Sidonus.) in her headphones. She took a casual glance at the passive SONAR computer, usual expanding circle, few small dots, one huge dot circling the ship, nothing special.

Except the huge dot circling the ship. She quickly threw off her headphones and threw on her work headphones. She turned on the active SONAR, a bwong sound passing through her ears as it sent out sound waves to locate and find out what exactly this strangely huge signature was. The active SONAR indeed hit the signature again, she took a good listen at it, then turned on the hydrophone, fiddling with the settings with her unicorn magic.

"Captain!" Vinyl shouted, "I think you should hear this!"

Meanwhile, Derring was flipping through the journal, Sidonus looking curiously over her shoulder.

"It's amazing really, the illustrations, the writing, the very paper it's all written on." Derring said.

"It shouldn't even be surviving today." Sidonus added.

"Exactly. I figure, Clover must've enchanted it or something, this thing could be indestructible for all we know."

"Captain!" Vinyl shouted again. Lysander also looked inquisitively over Derring's shoulder.

"Enter the Lair of the Sentinel, and there you will find the gateway." Derring recited. She tapped the page for emphasis. Sidonus nodded approvingly. Vinyl called for the Captain again, much louder this time.

"Yes, what is it Miss Scratch?" Lysander said, bored out of his mind.

"There's something on the hydrophone I think you should you hear." Vinyl clarified. She inquisitively tapped her sunglasses, still trying to figure out just what in Celestia was making that noise.

"Put it on speakers." Lysander commanded. Vinyl flipped a switch, and over the speaker system came a terrible roaring noise, almost sounding like a wounded whale but interlaced with some a subtle grinding. Derring, Penworthy, Lysander and the rest of the crew looked up both curiously and nervously. Lysander and Sidonus jumped down to Vinyl's post.

"What in Lycurgus is that, a pod of whales?" Lysander asked.

"Nah, sounds bigger. SONAR picked up one signature, not multiple." Vinyl explained.

"Sounds metallic," Sidonus quickly started turning some of the dials on Vinyl's equipment, "Could be an echo off one of the wrecks."

"Whatever it is," Vinyl interrupted, "It's dropping some serious bass."

"What have I told you about bringing that mindless drebble on board," Sidonus said, he was referring to Vinyl's electronic taste in music, "it's probably messing with the electronics."

"Is it just me or is that getting louder?" Penworthy asked. The strange noise was indeed getting louder, but slowly it simply stopped. The hydrophone only picking up the sound of calm waters.

"Whatever it was," Sidonus pecked at the crack in his beak, "It's gone now."

"Horner!" Lysander shouted up to the command deck, Horner looked down from his post, "Bring us about! Tighten search patterns and slow us-"

The Submarine suddenly rocked, knocking everyone off balance. There were shouts of pain and surprise and the crew scrambling to figure out what happened.

"What was that?!" Lysander shouted to no one in particular, "Horner, get us balanced quick!"

Horner spun the wheel opposite the direction the Sub was listing. Derring and Penworthy quickly ran up to some railings to hang onto. They looked out of the observatory window and dropped their jaws in shock.

"It's the Sentinel!" Derring screamed. The great armored, one eyed serpent whose length was measured in miles and whose arms were currently knocking the ship about. The Sentinel gave the ship another whack, sending everybody to the floor again. It then swam away, weaving through the water at a speed like it wasn't the size of a mountain and then turned around towards the ship.

"Sidonus! Get the crew to their posts! I want this overgrown krill served for dinner!" Lysander commanded.

"Load torpedo bays! Sub-Pod squadron, battle station-" Sidonus was interrupted by the Sentinel ramming the ship again. The Sentinel was ostensibly giving the ship light whacks to probe it of its strength, akin to how a filly would tap a glass bowl with fish in it to wake them up.

"Captain!" Derring shouted, "What do me and Penworthy do!?"

"Get in that little corner and cower!" Lysander pointed to a corner on the lower deck. Penworthy quickly ran to the corner and started cowering. Derring hit her head on the railing in frustration. The ship rocked again, then Derring suddenly found herself falling towards the glass. The Sentinel had grabbed the ship in both its arms and brought it up to its eye. Derring hit the glass, much to her credit she didn't even make a crack in it. She recovered and immediately came to a realization which struck fear and complete surprise into her.

"Sweet Celestia! IT'S A MACHINE!" Derring reared up on the glass, nearly losing her balance. The Sentinel's eye closed its shutters, then reopened them, as if it blinked in surprise. Derring found herself sliding off the glass onto the floor, the Sentinel apparently righting the ship. Lysander leaned over the railing.

"Launch Sub-pods!" He commanded. A crewmember confirmed the order, there was a brief thump.

"Aren't you going to launch torpedoes at it or something!?" Derring shouted over the yelling of the crew.

"He's got us in his arms, we're too close for that," Lysander explained, "We gotta hope the Sub-Pods can get us free!"

"And if they don't!?"

"Good question." Lysander deadpanned.


***


"Everything's green light!" Digger said, checking over the controls of the M1A1 Piranha Sub-Pod. The Sub-Pod sat in the launch tube, waiting to be released out into the water along with the rest of the squadron, "How are you doing Mu?"

"It is a bit cramped." Mu said, his side of the Sub-Pod being slightly too small for him, forcing Mu to arch his back at an uncomfortable level. Mu put on a headset, allowing him to communicate with the Submarine, "Are you sure you can use the Sub-Pod Digger?"

"Of course!" Digger boasted, "No different than the Siege Tank, Digger assures you nothing can go-"

The Sub-Pod suddenly came flying out of the tube, causing the two to scream in surprise and terror as Digger narrowly avoid slamming the Sub-Pod into the sea floor. Thankfully for the two, Digger picked up driving the Sub-Pod quickly, getting into formation with the rest. The squadron accelerated away from the Submarine and the Sentinel then quickly pulled up and around to engage the target.

"Attack Pattern Alpha, fire on my mark!" The squadron leader commanded. Digger steadily lined up the shot for Mu, whom handling the firing of the mini-torpedoes, "Fire!"

The Sub-Pods all fired one mini-torpedo at the Sentinel. The full force of fifteen mini-torpedoes slammed into the Sentinel, surprising it and causing it to release the Submarine. Despite the surprise, all the mini-torpedoes did was produce spectacular explosions but little else to the Sentinel's health. The Sentinel then swam up and over and into the darkness out of sight, apparently gone.

"Did we scare it away?" One of the Sub-Pod pilots asked, obviously a bit nervous.

"This is Captain Lysander, the Pytheas has some minor damage but we're good," Captain Lysander spoke over the radio, still obviously on edge after that close call, "Return to the Pytheas."

"Confirmed." The squadron leader, "All Sub-Pods, turn around, time for a coffee break."

"Ha! Digger showed that overgrown shrimp what for!" Digger gave a snort and a snicker at his boasting, Mu simply rolled his eyes. The Sub-Pods turned around, heading for the now righted Submarine. Suddenly, one of the pillars to the left exploded in a cloud of smoke, the Sentinel was back and was now on top of the Sub-Pods.

"SCATTER!" The squadron leader screamed. The Sub-Pods clumsily flew past the Sentinel's head. The Sentinel's arms caught two of the Sub-Pods and crushed them in hand, "That's not fair! Nothing that big should be that fast!"

"Hold tight. We'll cover you." Lysander reassured them, "Shift around the sides, we're firing torpedoes!"

"Acknowledged!" Mu shouted. Digger pulled the controls to the right and the Sub-Pod speedily lurched right. Four other Sub-Pods followed his lead, shifting to the right as well.

"Torpedoes in the water!" A crewman shouted over the radio. This was immediately confirmed by four standard sized torpedoes flying past the Sub-Pods and impacting the Sentinel. The torpedoes exploding in great clouds of smoke, the Sentinel disappearing behind the cover of it.

"Is it dead yet?" Mu asked hopefully. Unfortunately, the Sentinel bursted from the smoke with nary a scratch or a dent or even scorch marks. Then, the tentacles on its face noticeably grouped together to form a single point, a great red ball of light appearing on the tip. Suddenly, a great beam of red shot from the Sentinel's face and impacted the Submarine, and continued going even after that.


***


Derring picked her head up, the Bridge was now submerged in darkness beyond the emergency red light which really wasn't any better. The crew were picking themselves up from that surprising blow, trying to get electronics to work again and in general trying not to panic.

"DERRING!" Penworthy screamed, still in her corner cowering. Derring quickly ran over to Penworthy, "WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

"Penworthy, calm down!" Derring quickly hugged Penworthy, who was now having a bit of a freak out. Penworthy screamed, being nearly completely overtaken with fear.

"Excuse me." Vinyl deadpanned from her post, which just happened to be right next to Penworthy and Derring, "I'm talking to someone, could you all keep it down?"

Vinyl returned to conversing with Octavia, apparently oblivious to the fact that the Submarine just took a nasty hit from an ancient machine guardian. Vinyl noticed a blinking light on one of her computers and sighed.

"Sir, it's Engineering on four." She flipped a switch. Lysander quickly headed to the radio and turned it on.

"Captain!" Lysander flinched as the other griffin on the line, Archimedes, screamed in his ear, "It's not looking good! The Submarine has a sizable hole in the hull which means we're taking on a considerable amount of water which isn't good for the electronics and the boiler which could rupture if too much water hits, the bulkheads aren't going to hold at this rate if we-"

"Archimedes," Lysander interrupted, "Short version please."

"The ship is going to EXPLODE!" Archimedes angrily screamed.

"How much time?" Lysander asked.

"Twenty minutes at most, I can probably-" Archimedes' end was suddenly interrupted by rushing water and the sounds of panicking crewman, "Nevermind, make that five."

"Five minutes! Get to the Shuttles!" Lysander quickly announced to the rest of the crew. Lysander returned to the radio and switched channels, communicating orders to the Sub-Pod to distract the Sentinel as they escaped. The Bridge crew immediately dropped what they were doing and ran for their lives. Horner quickly ran down to Penworthy and Derring and shoved them out to the Shuttles.

"Scratch!" Sidonus leaned over the railing and looked down at Vinyl's post, "Sound the alarm!"

"I told you Octavia," Vinyl said, not really caring, "If you're going to write your own composition, it's gonna be a bit derivative, true inspiration doesn't just pop you in the head like a-"

"SCRATCH!" Sidonus shouted again.

"Oh hang on Octavia, I gotta go," Vinyl nodded, "No no, I'll call you."


***


The Shuttles in essence resembled boxy whale calfs, one was enough to fit a Siege Tank and several trucks. At this point however, nobody was paying attention to design, the ship was sinking and probably about to explode.

"GET IN, GET IN! COME ON, GET IN!" Sidonus, the normally pretty stoic griffin, was now shouting at the top of his lungs. Derring and Penworthy immediately entered the Shuttle and strapped themselves into a seat on one of the sides. Colgate, Trixie, Braeburn and Archimedes took seats alongside them. Among the other Shuttle passengers were a platoon of soldiers, some of Archimedes' engineers and Vinyl. The Shuttle also happened to be carrying the huge Siege Tank and several trucks, including one with a large barrel on the back. Sidonus entered the Shuttle last and sealed the hatch behind him.

"Lieutenant! Get us out of here!" Lysander shouted, he took the co-pilot seat of the Shuttle. Lysander quickly took the pilot's seat. Next to the Pilot's seat was the emergency release lever. Sidonus pulled on it, but immediately found it to be sticking in place. He tugged on it further, "Lieutenant!"

"SHUT UP! I'M WORKING ON IT!" Sidonus screamed. He tugged harder on the lever. The Submarine and the Shuttles shook hard. The Shuttle radio came to life.

"I think that thing just blew another hole in the Sub!" Horner shouted over the radio, he was piloting the second Shuttle, "Hurry up!"

Sidonus responded by kicking the lever, which immediately gave and blew out the doors for the Shuttles to escape.

"Hold onto your butts!" Sidonus screamed to the passengers. The three Shuttles immediately dived into the water, escaping out into the ocean. As the fourth Shuttle escaped, the Submarine exploded in a spectacular display of fire, taking the fourth Shuttle with it. Debris flew everywhere at high speeds, some unnervingly hitting the Shuttle Derring and Penworthy were riding. Despite the Submarine's destruction, the Sentinel gave chase, roaring its deep bass as it chased the Shuttles.

"Derring, where we going!?" Lysander turned around in his seat, waiting expectantly for Derring's answer. Derring quickly pulled out the Journal from her saddlebag and flipped through the pages. She stopped at the right one in just under a few seconds.

"We're looking for a big crevice of some kind!" Derring responded, obviously wanting to live just as much as everyone else. Lysander and Sidonus quickly scanned the landscape, nothing but ships, stones, big crevice, and water-

"THERE!" Lysander shouted, pointing to the big crevice some distance away, Sidonus quickly picked up the radio reciever, "Up ahead!"

"All craft! Make your mark 20 Degrees down angle!" Sidonus commanded over the radio, "Follow us in!"

"Roger that!" Horner shouted, "Your good eye better not crash us into the landscape Sidonus!"

"Sub-Pod squadron is right behind you!" Mu shouted over the radio. Indeed, the Sub-Pods brought up the rear. Only three of them remained however after distracting the Sentinel for everyone to get to the Shuttles. The motley flotilla of Shuttles and Sub-Pods accelerated as hard as they could for the crevice, the Sentinel hot on their tail. The Sentinel was faster however, and it quickly body-slammed one of the Shuttles against the sea floor, causing its destruction.

"We're getting killed out here!" One of the Sub-Pod pilots screamed. The panicking shouts of other crewmen over the radio didn't help other matters.

"Stay calm!" Lysander grabbed the radio receiver, "We're going to run out of space real fast!"

The Shuttles and Sub-Pods dived into the dark crevice. It was going to take all of their navigation and maneuvering skills to enter the rather small tunnel at the bottom of it. The Sentinel attempted to follow them in but got slammed into the entrance, stuck. Instead of accepting defeat however, it fired its fiery beam, destroying a Sub-Pod and causing the rest of the ships to scatter. It fired the beam again, narrowly hitting a Sub-Pod that dodged at the last second. The Sub-Pod slammed into the Horner's Shuttle however and veered it off course.

"We're out of control! Wait, no-" Horner shouted before the Shuttle slammed into the tunnel entrance and exploded. All that remained was one Shuttle carrying the crew and Mu and Digger's Sub-Pod who immediately dived into the Tunnel.

"Derring!" Penworthy shouted, nearly at tears at this point, "There's something I want you to know if we don't make it!"

"We'll make it Penworthy!" Derring responded.

"It's just that I-" The Shuttle hit a rock, causing it to rock and rob Penworthy of her nerves. The Shuttle and the Sub-Pod continued, the beams nearly missing them. The Shuttle grinded across the tunnel as it suddenly moved upward. Sidonus and Lysander tightened their beaks, every hit and every ding could result in the Shuttle's crash. What was worse however, was that the Tunnel seemed to be getting smaller. Sidonus' skill was being tested, not since the war had he had to do such intense maneuvering. The Shuttle hit a rock and knocked Mu and Digger's Sub-Pod, cracking its viewport. Then, the tunnel got wider and wider as it suddenly hit Sidonus that it was over. The two Subs broke the water and surfaced.
> Chapter Seven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ship's sunk. Captain's dead. What do we do?"
- Griffin distress letter, intercepted by Equestrian Navy



Location: Somewhere underneath the Gallian Trench
Time: 7:30 AM March 8th

The air-pocket that the crew had been forced into was immense. The greatest feature of it being an immense entrance of sorts in the shape of a strange animal that no one has ever seen before, which led into a tunnel of darkness. A large stairway led up to it, worn down by the passage of time, every other stair being nothing more than gravel or rocks. Two huge columns were posted on either side, with carvings of fire and ice on either one. At the bottom of the stairway and at the foot of a lake of water however, was a Shuttle, its cargo unloaded and beached on the shore and the damaged Sub-Pod. The cargo included a massive Siege Tank with its drill forming over half its length and its size being twice that of any truck the crew brought along with them. The rest were simple trucks of many variants, including one with a massive barrel on it, which Derring presumed carried the Balloon. Topping the cargo off was the crew of the Submarine, the Pytheas.

Or rather, what remained of the crew. They were assembled in a small mob just on the shore of the lake, all with mourning, grim, sad looks on their faces. Colgate broke from the group, in her telekinetic grasp a helmet with a single lit candle in it. She gently placed the helmet on the water and nudged it, letting it float away.

"Twenty-four hours ago," Lysander started, his mourning tone evident, "We started this expedition with two-hundred of the finest griffins, ponies and minotaurs I could ever hope to know."

"We're all that's left." He turned to address the thirty five people with him, "Now I won't beat around the bush, we're in deep. But we've crossed the Rubicon before, die or no die. If we pull together, as we've always had, then we'll make it through this."

"From now on," Lysander said, his mourning disappearing and replaced with an air of steely determination, "Everyone pulls double duty. Everyone drives, works, digs, and fight if necessary."

The crew felt their morale pumping up slightly, all quietly muttering agreements for Lysander. Lysander stopped at the head of the crowd and turned to address Derring.

"Derring, looks like all our hopes for survival rest on you." He pointed towards Derring, the crew turned to look at her with expressions of concern, "You and that little book."

Derring wore a look of concern. Theoretically, anyone could read this book, but it took an actual navigator to make sure they didn't accidentally drive off a cliff or into a pool of lava. She sighed, nodding at Lysander reluctantly, the potential fate of the entire crew was now on her hooves. She was determined not to let anyone else die.

"We're so dead." Archimedes deadpanned. A few crewmen shrugged and muttered in agreement, much to Derring's dismay.

"We'll take a breather, then get moving." Lysander said, flying out to a truck, "Sidonus, I want to know what we have left."

"Yes sir." Sidonus flew up alongside, "I've checked the trucks, so far we have seven trucks, the Siege Tank and the balloon."

"Good, we'll need a balloon in a cave." Lysander said. He climbed into the truck, "What else we got?"

"Enough food to last about two or three months if we ration. Weapons, one of the heavy guns survived including some of the flight harnesses and Mu still has his sizable stockpile of explosives." Sidonus explained, pecking at the crack in his beak.

"Good, if we come across any savages or monsters we'll at least have superior firepower." Lysander sighed, "That's all for now Sidonus, dismissed."

Sidonus flew off away from Lysander and over the motley survivors of the crew, who had separated into their little groups. The soldiers were hanging around the trucks, shooting the breeze. Archimedes and his Engineers were checking over Digger's Siege Tank, making sure nothing was out of place. Digger and Mu were loitering around the Sub-Pod, admiring the crack in its viewport (apparently oblivious to the fact that such a crack could've killed them). Braeburn, Trixie, and Vinyl were simply talking around the truck designated the food carrier. Derring and Penworthy were simply sitting by the lake. Much to his disappointment, Horner wasn't anywhere to be seen. Shame really, they could've used a minotaur, Sidonus thought. Sidonus flew down next to Derring and Penworthy and landed.

"You two alright?" Sidonus asked. They both looked up at him with expressions of concern, fear, and sadness.

"Not really." Derring said.

"People are dead now!" Penworthy added. Sidonus would've rolled his eyes but that would've seemed insensitive, the two ponies have probably never encountered people dying from something other than old age. The last thing they needed was someone telling them to just suck it up. Unfortunately, that was probably the only thing he could say at the moment. He was a soldier, not a psychiatrist.

"I don't like it as much as you do, just try and get past it." Sidonus said. Derring nodded, Penworthy sighed, "We'll make it through this as long as you all stay calm."

"Right, you can count on us Sidonus." Derring said. Sidonus nodded, satisfied with Derring's answer, then looked over to Penworthy, "You can count on Penworthy, she'll be fine."

"If you say so." Sidonus nodded then walked out elsewhere. Derring and Penworthy seemed dedicated. Derring especially now considering her role as the expedition's chief navigator. Penworthy, not sure what to make of her. He walked up to the Siege Tank and called out for Archimedes.

"What do you want Sidonus? I'm busy." Archimedes responded. Sidonus rolled his eyes and flew up to Archimedes, who was busy checking the drill.

"Just checking in."

"Well I'm fine if that's what you're asking." Archimedes said, "Now if you'll excuse me, this drill doesn't calibrate itself and it isn't going to last long with that dirty mutt behind the wheel."

"Alright then." Sidonus took his leave, he knew better than to initiate conversation with Archimedes while he was working. One of the scars on his face was a definite reminder of his mistake. His engineers had the same disposition as Archimedes. Much to Sidonus' frustration, those engineers were just as picky with other people as Archimedes was, combine that with a little hero worship and some fantastic racism and Sidonus is going to have a bad time with management. Sidonus noted that keeping the crew working as a whole without killing each was a lot easier when there was 200 of them where divisions were generally small and stamped out quickly. Now however, any kind of division could probably spell death for the entire expedition. He really didn't want to deal with it now however. He walked over to Mu and Digger, "How are you two holding up?"

"We are fine for the moment." Mu said, adjusting his glasses slightly, "Digger is shaken however."

"Clearly." Sidonus added. Digger was standing there, tapping the crack in the glass, testing it as it were. Sidonus could tell that behind those goggles was probably a stare reaching beyond the horizon, he's seen this kind of behavior before during the war after all, "You okay Digger?"

"Digger is fine." Digger said, "We could've been killed definitely but for now, Digger is fine."

"Alright. If you two need anything just call." Mu and Digger nodded, "Digger, you're gonna be up on the Siege Tank."

"Of course!" Digger suddenly perked up, "Digger would not have it any other way."

Sidonus nodded then walked away. Mu and Digger were relatively easy to work with, they kept to themselves most times. He just wished they weren't so eccentric, Digger especially. He briefly wondered why he was bothering checking in on everyone but pushed out of his thoughts. He figured everyone needed to be in tip-top shape if they were going to continue on. He walked over to the three ponies, Vinyl, Trixie, and Braeburn.

"Hey there Sid." Braeburn greeted. Vinyl and Trixie simply nodded, "Come ta check in?"

"Yeah, everything okay?" Sidonus asked.

"Eeyup, we're just about fixin' to get on the road. Ain't we girls?"

"Yeah." Vinyl added, "I mean, I know like nearly everyone's dead now, we've got no contact with the surface, and we're in a foreign environment that's going to try and kill us, but what the hay?"

"Indeed." Trixie said, "The Great and Powerful Trixie will continue on as long as everyone else does."

"Good. And Vinyl," Sidonus said. Vinyl looked up at Sidonus, confused, "Next time, don't bring that music."

Vinyl scoffed at the request. Sidonus walked away again, there wasn't much to check in with the cooks besides "do we have food." Vinyl was a different case altogether along with Trixie. Vinyl as the communications specialist was simply a nightmare because she doesn't work as well as she could (Her tracking the Sentinel was a rare moment in which she actually did something worthwhile.), the same problem with Trixie. Unlike Vinyl however, who could do things when spurred, Trixie was simply lazy and cowardly. G.A.R.D. however needed all the unicorns it could get since recruiting from the military was impossible, and Trixie just happened to be floating around Gryphonia at the time. Sidonus however could barely put up with it, just as long as Trixie didn't do anything stupid and Vinyl actually got around to transmitting orders, they were fine. Sidonus sighed, pecking at the crack in his beak again instinctively. He suddenly realized he had forgotten something, but what was it.

"Colgate." He muttered. He didn't see her after everyone dispersed from the group. Sidonus took a quick look around, not at the lake shore, not by any of the trucks, not by the Siege Tank. Maybe she was inside the Shuttle Sidonus thought. He made his way to the Shuttle quickly and entered. The Shuttle was a lot emptier now that the trucks and the Siege Tank were deposited. The Shuttle's electric generator had also been salvaged, so there little light inside. Sidonus started hearing a faint murmur in the Shuttle, and called out, "Colgate? You in here?"

"Yep! Definitely in here! Just looking for something as all! What are you doing here?" Colgate called back. Colgate wasn't that annoying as Trixie or Vinyl to Sidonus' relief, but the whole dentist thing lost its novelty to him ages ago.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Just trying to find my toothbrush! My special toothbrush! The one I always use because it's special!" Colgate responded. Sidonus rolled his eyes, "Have you seen it anywhere?"

"Nope." Sidonus responded. Colgate immediately appeared right next to him, surprising him. What really surprised him was that Colgate looked disheveled and dirty, as if she just got out of a battle, "What in Tartarus happened to you?"

"Just looking for my toothbrush you know..." Colgate looked down on the floor, kicking her hoof, "I mean, it's my real special toothbrush, I don't think I'd survive without it!"

"It's just a toothbrush." Sidonus said.

"Not just any toothbrush! It's a special toothbrush! It's brushes are specially tailored to be strong and flexible to allow it to reach around the gums, it uses little magical enchantments to break down plaque faster than your normal toothbrush and it can whiten teeth in under a minute with the right toothpaste!" Colgate creeped closer to whisper in Sidonus' ear, apparently with sensitive information, "It cost 6,000 bits."

"I see..." Sidonus shifted his eyes, the last thing he needed was an insane dentist, "Well we're moving out soon, so try and find it quickly."

"Got it sir! I'll have that elusive thing found in a jiffy!" Colgate quickly returned to searching inside the dark recesses of the Shuttle. Sidonus sighed and exited. As nice as Colgate was, she was simply obsessed with dentistry. Sidonus noted that besides the soldiers, that was pretty much all whom he needed to check on. He'd check on the soldiers, but Navy and Army never really meshed well, and he imagined that now wasn't the time to start anyway.

He flew over to one of the trucks and decided to take a quick nap while he still could. He sat inside the truck's cab and got himself comfortable. He was exhausted considering the recent debacle with the Sentinel, and since he knew he was going to have to drive he might as well get some sleep. Driving and piloting was in Sidonus' nature anyway, he never piloted something that big that fast since Crystal Cove during the war. He closed his eyes and let himself simply drift off to sleep.


*T*


"Well that was a short nap." Sidonus deadpanned. Anybody would be cranky after getting only about five minutes of sleep.

"Heh heh... well, sorry Sidonus." Penworthy said. She was sitting next to him in the truck. Sidonus sighed, sucking it up. He pressed a button underneath the steering, causing the engine to roar to life. Penworthy yelped in surpise, "What was that!?"

"That was the engine." Sidonus said. He really didn't want to have to explain how an engine works right now.

"Engine? What?" Penworthy scratched her head. There was good reason for her reaction to something simple to Sidonus. Internal combustion engines haven't seen widespread use in Equestria due to their sheer magical potential, compared to places like Gryphonia where magic was less common.

"It's what makes the truck go." Sidonus added, Penworthy nodded nervously. Sidonus pressed a foot on the pedal, causing the truck to lurch forward, startling Penworthy even further. Sidonus took a glance at her, she chuckled nervously and sat down, "At least put on your seat-belt."

Penworthy quickly put on her seat-belt. Sidonus drove the truck into the column of other trucks headed by the Siege Tank. Over the truck's radio, there came the static messages of check-ins from the other trucks.

"Digger." Lysander's voice rang out over the radio, "Take point."

"Acknowledged Boss!" The Siege Tank surged forward at over 15 Miles Per Hour. Not exactly fast, but at least the convoy could stick together at reasonable speed. Sidonus yawned, it was unlikely that he'd get any sleep anytime soon. Penworthy sat in her seat, looking around curiously. Riding in a truck was simply a foreign idea to her, one that Sidonus found understandable but still slightly funny, she looked like a scared filly. Regardless, Sidonus predicted that the pony's relatively naivety towards all this new technology was probably going to drive him up the wall.

The Convoy drove into the dark tunnel, the way opening up to its powerful and bright fog lights. Flanking the tunnel were groups of large columns as wide as the Siege Tank. The darkness around the convoy showed that the tunnel was far larger than any grand hall in Canterlot or a simple mineshaft. A battleship could fit into it and there still would be room to spare. Nonetheless, the Convoy continued, into the darkness, and on the road to Thule.
> Info: Clover the Clever
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The World is the greatest mystery of all."
- Clover the Clever




The founding of the Principality of Equestria created one of the most prosperous and culturally rich nations in history, which today still applies to a certain extent. Although Equestria has fallen behind on the technological curve in comparison to the far more advanced Gryphonian Kingdom, many of the world's leading figures in the arts and sciences were children of Equestria. One of the nation's most notable figures, if a bit obscure today, was Clover the Clever.

Born sometime before the founding of Equestria into the Unicorn Kingdom, Clover's early life has proven significantly hard to track down. The most hardcore historians have at least pinned down that she was a unicorn serving as the apprentice of famed unicorn wizard Starswirl the Bearded. Her connections to Starswirl, coupled with her quick wit and intelligent ideas led to her landing a position as the Royal Advisor for the King. When the Long Winter encroached into the three pony tribe's territory, it was she who argued for cooperation with the others, though she was often brushed off by her ambassador counterpart Princess Platinum. However, her magical potential combined with the forging of a friendship with the earth pony Smart Cookie and the pegasus Private Pansy allowed the destruction of the Long Winter and the extinction of the Windigoes. This paved the way for the founding of the Principality of Equestria.

After Equestria's founding, Clover served a large role in the nation's development. She opened the first school for unicorns to practice magic and learn spells. She also helped found the nation's first city, although its original name has been lost to time and a horrible burning of a library, the location of this city can be traced down to Fillydelphia. She served as Fillydelphia's and the surrounding area's governor, introducing various reforms such as integrating unicorns into the previously pegasi exclusive military and creating the first democratically elected council in Fillydelphia to govern while she was away.

She was away for quite a lot of time indeed. Beyond her role in Equestria's founding, she was a famed explorer of the world beyond Equestria's borders. Although today Equestria is relatively isolationist, much of the nation's understanding of the rest of the world comes from her records. Famously, she circumnavigated the world to prove Pytheas, the well-known griffin explorer and archeologist, wrong after he proposed the world was round. In her circumnavigation, she discovered an amazing number of lands that hosted other races such as the Pandas, the Zebras, the Camels and even ponies disconnected from Equestria. In the end, while she ended up proving herself wrong, she provided the first map of the world. While at the time incomplete and missing several continents that escaped her notice, it provided a greater understanding of the world and indeed proved the world was round.

However, her life took quite the spin for the worse. After circumnavigating the world, she wrote records of a mythological city of Thule which she claimed she had discovered far underground. Her claim was viewed as relatively wild by her unicorn compatriots, and her works beyond Thule ended up being dismissed by others. Although it ended up destroying her career and reputation, Clover never once back down on her claims, and continued to argue Thule's existence. As was normal for powerful unicorns of the time, she lived to be over three centuries. How long she lived and her date of death is unknown however, as one day, she simply disappeared without explanation. The only thing left behind were her immense records on everything, warranting its own wing in the Canterlot Library. One of the things missing and unaccounted for in these records are her findings on Thule, compiled into a journal. The Journal of Clover the Clever has so far, faded into myth, with many dismissing its existence.
> Chapter Eight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sometimes, the best plan is no plan at all."
- Unknown



Location: Canterlot
Time: 3:30 PM March 8th

The Wonderbolts Derby was a grand affair for many ponies. Tickets were hard to secure for most middle-class ponies in Canterlot. For people like Fancypants however, it was as easy as breathing. Fancypants however was unique, he didn't just receive tickets, he had his own private booth for viewing the races unimpeded. It was relatively private as well, only he, Fleur-de-Lis, and a select few of his most trusted yes-ponies were in attendance. Having a booth like that comes with being one of the richest and influential ponies in Canterlot.

"This should be most exciting." Fleur said, observing the track with keen eyes. Currently on the field were the first competitors, mostly trainees, "I especially like the look on that new one, Spitfire? I hear she's quite speedy but with a touch of dexterity."

"Indeed." Fancypants said, not really paying attention.

"Fancypants, are you alright?" Fleur was beginning to realize that Fancypants wasn't all there today. He had a relatively lazy look on his face, "Normally you're quite ecstatic when the Wonderbolts send in trainees."

"Yes, seeing them crash and thrash about is enjoyable but..." Fancypants sighed, "There is something."

"This is about Derring-Do and the expedition isn't it?"

"Indeed." Fancypants leaned back a bit, adjusting his monocle slightly, "We haven't heard from them in quite some time."

"They started the expedition nearly two days ago." Fleur said, unlike Fancypants she wasn't nearly as interested in Archeological pursuits, "Canterlot wasn't built in a day you know."

"I'm sure." Fancypants said, nodding, "Lysander is competent and Derring-Do is very dedicated, she's very much like her father."

"And her father found the journal despite the odds." Fancypants had to agree with that sentiment, if anything there would be probably something wrong if they did communicate this soon, "Don't worry about it."

"Yes yes." Fancypants said, "Now I feel somewhat ashamed for doubting them. I'm sure wherever they are now, they're safe."


*T*


The smell of burning rubber was in the air of the great huge tunnel as the convoy advanced speedily through. Their formation which was once an orderly column was now more of an "every man for himself" deal with headlights cascading and crossing to light up the darkness. The shouts of the crewmen were evident of fear and surprise as they attempted to make some kind of knowledge of their situation. Derring-Do flew ahead of the column, guiding them so they did not drive headlong off a cliff or against a wall. Lysander was driving his own truck doing all he could to coordinate the convoy. Digger was trying to get the Siege Tank to get past twenty.

All because a Giant Centipede the size of the Submarine was chasing them.

"Drive, Penworthy!" Sidonus shouted as he shot at the Centipede fruitlessly with his revolver. Penworthy was struggling to not faint from fear as she took the wheel. Driving was also a relatively new thing to her, so that was another thing she was struggling with, as she tried to avoid colliding with anyone else.

"Derring!" Lysander screamed at Derring flying ahead, "How much farther!?"

"It should be coming in sight in just a minute!" Derring was flying ahead of the convoy, the Journal in hoof. The Centipede screeched as it chased after the trucks. Thankfully, for its size, it was pretty slow, the trucks were outrunning it just fine at full speed. But Digger's Siege Tank was only just faster than the centipede, much to his alarm.

"Digger is going to be lunch if we don't hurry!" Digger screamed, pulling at the various levers to make the thing go faster.

"There! oh..." Derring immediately stopped in the air. Her eyes immediately filled with anxiety.

"What? Oh for..." Lysander immediately spotted their ticket out. A building illuminated with torches, Derring had identified as a Gate to the Trial of Fire. The only problem however was the fact that between it and the Convoy stood a downhill slope, a very steep one that could be mistaken for a direct drop. The slope went down some half mile and was lined with rocks and floored with gravel, "Dang it! Heads are going to roll if we just go down there!"

"Do you see a safer option Captain!?" Derring shouted. Lysander slammed his head on the wheel in frustration. Either go down the slippery steep slope and risk rolling a truck or two or risk it with the giant Centipede. It was like choosing between Scylla and Charybdis.

"Fine! Everyone down the slope!" Lysander immediately accelerated forward, his truck bumping as it lurched over and onto the slope. The other trucks and the Siege Tank went in after, followed shortly by the giant Centipede. The trucks immediately were faced with fighting gravity and the suddenly slippery gravel that made up the slope. Sidonus immediately kicked Penworthy back into the passenger seat and drove, correcting the truck as it lurched left or right. Unlike the trucks which were slipping left or right, the Siege Tank simply slid down the slope like water. The Siege Tank hit the immediately righted terrain first then proceeded to the gate.

"I'm here!" Digger shouted, Derring immediately flew down to his level, flipping through the Journal.

"Digger! On either side of the gate are large cranks that'll open it, help me turn them!"

"Digger thinks not! He can simply drill through and-"

"No time!" Lysander shouted. The two looked towards the slope and noticed that the Centipede was now sliding down towards the trucks, apparently having lost its balance. Now the convoy faced the very real danger of being crushed at the bottom.

"Fine!"

"Go!" Derring commanded. The two immediately hopped down to the gate. As Derring said, there were two large wooden cranks with chains jutting up into the building at an angle. Digger and Derring immediately set about turning them. Much to their relief, the crank didn't fight back and the gate began lifting itself open. The trucks hit the ground with a thud and immediately drove for the gate. The Centipede hit the ground with a sickening crack some ways behind them. Archimedes flew in and took the helm at the Siege Tank. He drove it inside quickly along with the trucks, that left Derring and Digger outside.

"Go Digger!" Derring shouted. Digger gladly left his post and ran inside. Derring struggled to keep the gate open.

"Derring!" Penworthy screamed, she immediately noticed the Centipede righting itself and turning round, "Come on!"

Derring let go of the crank, it began spinning in the opposite direction. Much to Derring's horror, the gate began closing like a penny being thrown off the side of an airship. She immediately brought her wings up and down in but a second and in a quickly flash of speed and with a loud crack like a whip, she was past the gate just as it closed. The gate smashed shut as the Centipede rammed it full speed, knocking dust off the walls.

"Close one." She muttered, she checked her head. Her father's hat was still on her.

"Looks like we're all here." Sidonus said, rubbing the sweat out of his feathers.

"Yes. Could've been far worse." Lysander exited his truck. He examined his surroundings, beyond the headlights, there was near darkness past the gate. He guessed it must've been some kind of tunnel of sorts, "Derring, where are we now?"

"Well..." Derring quickly flipped through the journal, "According to Clover the Clever's writing, we're at the beginning of the Trial of Fire. Apparently, we have to succeed at some kind of test in order to gain the first Key."

"What's the test?" Digger asked, "Digger can probably solve it all himself!"

"It says something about whales." Derring said, "Penworthy, can you clarify this? You translated it."

"Well..." Penworthy took the book with her magics and examined the page, "It says here that in order to gain the key, first you must draw out the whales."

"You're kidding, whales this far underground?" Archimedes said, coming in from the Siege Tank, "Impossible, next thing you know you've got whales flying to orchestral music."

"Well we did just get attacked by a Giant Centipede and a mechanical serpent the size of a mountain, I wouldn't use the word 'impossible' just yet." Lysander bluntly stated. Archimedes scoffed in response. Penworthy awkwardly came in between the two.

"Anyway." Penworthy continued, "The whales carry the key to unlocking the bridge, and the Gate to Thule."

"Alright. Derring take point, Digger get the Siege Tank going, we'll get the trucks in formation behind you." Lysander commanded. Derring and Penworthy immediately ran ahead of the group. Their path was lit by the Siege Tank's great foglights. So far, what they could see was a flat carved out floor and dilapidated walls on either side, the stone and cement surprisingly holding the tunnel up. The tunnel continued on for some time as Derring and Penworthy felt their legs start to tire, but suddenly, there was a light at the end of a tunnel.

"Penworthy, you see that?" Derring said.

"Yeah, I thought we were dead!" Penworthy responded. The two quickly picked up their pace, the light growing larger and larger until-

"Whoa!" Penworthy nearly fell off the end of the tunnel, she quickly righted herself, "Derring! You know how much I hate lava!"

The tunnel literally opened into a massive sea of lava. Derring and Penworthy could barely see the other side area, another tunnel that apparently continued on. The ceiling was featureless save for a large chandelier of some kind made from a material that shined like gold and gave off the most ominous humming noise over the ambiance of the lava sea. The convoy caught up to them, stopping just short of them. Lysander, Sidonus, all the specialists and even Braeburn and Trixie walked up next to them and observed their obstacle.

"Sea of lava. That's just great." Sidonus said.

"So where are these whales? I don't imagine they can swim in lava Sidonus." Archimedes said, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Well, we have to draw out the whales." Derring stated, "But..."

"Whales aren't particular for swimming in seas of lava I hear Derring." Lysander said, "Is there any other way through?"

"I don't imagine so," Penworthy examined the Journal's contents, "even if there was, we'd still need the key to open the Gate to Thule."

"Maybe we could blow up the ceiling," Mu suggested, Lysander and Sidonus looked at him like he just grew a second head, "Make a bridge across the lava."

"Magma." Digger corrected, Mu slapped him upside the head for his troubles.

"We have no idea how deep that sea is." Lysander said, his frustration becoming apparent, "Is there anything else in that journal?"

"Let me see..." Penworthy skimmed the journal, Derring and Sidonus looked over her shoulders curiously, "To draw out the whales, you must activate the catalyst."

"I'm guessing that," Sidonus pointed towards the golden chandelier above, "is the catalyst."

"Alright then, Sidonus, Derring, get up there." Lysander commanded. The two nodded and immediately flew up to the chandelier. The Chandelier was much larger than they thought, it was like an upside down fountain. The humming sound emitting from it was becoming slightly uncomfortable for Sidonus and Derring. The two immediately searched it for a button to press or a lever to pull. After about five minutes of floating around it, frustration started to set in.

"How in Tartarus are we supposed to turn this on!?" Sidonus shouted. Derring flew up closer, right underneath it. There was a very faint red glow coming from the apex.

"Hmm..." Derring scratched her chin, then examined it much closer. The chandelier possessed dark lines around it that sharply turned and split into more. The chandelier also possessed four plates that were attached to the top of it and surrounded it, "Sidonus, could you try rotating these plates?"

Sidonus nodded and pushed at one of the plates, it noticeably lurched as it slowly revolved around. The faint red glow suddenly brightened.

"There!" Derring immediately started pushing at another plate, and the two began spinning the plates around. Slowly, the red glow started brightening from a faint glimmer to a now fantastic orb of light. After several revolutions, the two stopped pushing and floated outside the chandelier. The plates were now spinning of their own accord. The orb of light then produced a beam that fired into the magma. The humming now erupted into a full roar. For a full minute this continued, until the suddenly, the plates stopped spinning and the orb of light subsided back into a faint glow. Sidonus and Derring returned to the group. Lysander observed the magma sea curiously.

"Did it work?" He asked. There was an uncomfortable void of nothing happening, "I'm guessing it didn't work."

Lysander was immediately answered by a huge monstrosity bursting out of the sea of magma. This thing looked like it was made of rocks, and yet was organic looking, it possessed fins and a tail of a regular fish. It hovered in the air for but a second before gravity came and took it down back into the sea. This repeated with several more of these things bursting out of the sea and simply falling back in. These must have been the whales.

"Well don't that jus' beat all." Braeburn said. His shock was joined with the rest of the group.

"Penworthy," Derring called, still observing the display, "Which one has the key?"

"Largest one." Penworthy responded, observing the sight of magma whales just hopping out of the sea, "How are we supposed to get it?"

"I'll take care of it. Trixie!" Sidonus called, Trixie immediately responded with running away. Sidonus, having none of that, immediately picked her up in his arms and flew out into the sea, punctuated by Trixie's screams of terror.

"LET GO OF ME YOU RUFFIAN!" Trixie screamed.

"Poor choice of words!" Sidonus screamed back. He flew past the whales as they jumped from the sea, dodging the molten liquid as it sprayed at him. The heat however was unavoidable, and it felt like he was being turned to roast chicken as he flew. Then, he spotted a particularly large whale with what looked a golden plate on its head. Studding the plate however, was a red crystal, "There!"

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Trixie screamed.

"SHUT UP AND GRAB THAT THING WITH YOUR MAGIC!" Sidonus screamed back. He immediately flew up to the whale. The whale was reaching the apex of its jump, there was barely any time, "GRAB IT!"

"AAAHH!" Trixie screamed as she reached out telekinetically for it. Her blue magic encased it as it tore free from the whale. It roared in some kind of pain before falling back into the magma sea. Sidonus, deciding not to stick around immediately flew back to the group. He dropped Trixie on the ground, who landed in a catatonic state, barely able to breathe. The key landed next to her, no longer in her grasp. Colgate trotted up to her and started calming Trixie, while Sidonus picked up the key, and unsurprisingly found it hot to the touch. He nearly tossed it over the side in pain.

"Okay- AH! What now." Sidonus was hopping the key, which was apparently some kind of red crystal, between hands. Penworthy caught it in her telekinetic grasp to relieve him.

"Well, we put it in the key hole." Penworthy scratched at the ground. She rubbed some of the dirt and grime away, revealing some intricate carvings. Derring nodded in approval, then started helping her clear up the grime. Then she noticed a hole.

"Penworthy, here!" Derring called out. Penworthy immediately ran up to Derring's position, then placed the crystal into the hole. Suddenly, the floor's intricate carvings started glowing bright red. The carvings possessed lines, that formed straight, right angles with few, if any curves. The lines proceeded to branch out into the walls, then suddenly, two beams of light shot out from the tunnel floor and cascaded out over the magma sea and to the other tunnel. It then formed a humming, shining floor between the beams.

"Well..." Archimedes started, "Is it safe to cross?"

"Let's check." Penworthy said. She and Derring walked up to the end of the tunnel, then slowly, walked forward. To their surprise, they were still standing above the magma sea, at the same level of the tunnel. The very light was holding them up, "It works!"

"I meant, throw a rock or something." Archimedes said, "But that works too."

"Right," Lysander immediately pulled the crystal from the hole. Derring and Penworthy flinched, but the bridge did not fade or even visibly weaken, "Let's get across."

The two mares looked at each other with a bit of nervousness, then proceeded to their positions in the convoy. As always, Digger and the Siege Tank was first. Reluctantly, he drove onto the bridge apparently made of hard light. The bridge barely registered the weight thankfully and he drove on. The rest of the trucks continued as well.

"It's impressive!" Derring excitedly said. She was sitting next to Lysander in his own truck, "It must be like some kind of forcefield like the ones the Royal Guard uses! Except... Square!"

"So that was the Trial of Fire?" Lysander said.

"I think so, I mean, Sidonus and Trixie did have to grab the key from a Lava Whale." Derring tapped her chin in contemplation, "The people of Thule must not have designed these trials for things than can fly."

"Well, I don't want more surprises, that Centipede kinda killed surprises for me." Lysander said.

"Alright, I'll go consult the Journal." Derring exited the truck and flew back for Penworthy. Lysander sighed.

"Ponies..." He muttered under his breath. The convoy continued to power through to the other tunnel, then disappeared into its darkness. The trip to Thule continues.
> Chapter Nine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ever notice that animals on isolated islands tend to get huge? Not a coincidence."
- Preamble to Island Gigantism and Other Weird Workings of the World.


Location: Somewhere under the Gallian Sea, the Thule Highway
Time: 8:30 PM

Penworthy yawned as she flipped through one of the books she had brought with her on the journey. Rascal: Memoirs of a Better Era, a book about a colt and his pet racoon and growing up in a sleepy community. It was one of her favorites, it almost made her want to get a racoon. Although Clover the Clever's Journal was an interesting read, she needed variety at least. At this time of the day, she would be busy writing a manuscript for various books (including her new Daring Do series). However, being some ten or twenty thousand feet underground wasn't that great of a situation for spare paper. Regardless, even if her special talent was writing, reading was one of her favorite hobbies, and quite literally she could make books sing if she wanted to.

The Convoy had stopped for camp in a wide circular cavern of sorts. The stalactites hung high over the crew, barely registered against the darkness. The trucks were assembled in a circular formation, similar to settlers in the Old West, with the Siege Tank nearby out of the circle. Small tents were put up in the circle for various crewmen, with others opting to sleep in the trucks where there was room. For Penworthy, she opted for a truck, why sleep in the dirt when you can sleep somewhere clean she told herself. However, the steel bed was not exactly comfortable, but it was better than having bugs "accidentally" crawl into your mouth when you sleep.

A small sack was thrown into the bed, rousing Penworthy. Derring immediately climbed after, settling herself into the truck.

"Hey Derring, what's in the sack?" Penworthy noted that the sack seemed to be moving.

"Supper." Derring responded with opening the sack. It was a smorgasbord of insects, worms, and other creepy crawlies that sent Penworthy's spine into a frenzy. Derring nonchalantly lured a bug resembling a blue beetle onto her hoof, then threw it into her mouth, chewing it as if it were a piece of candy.

"How," Penworthy nearly gagged at the sight of it, "How can you eat that?"

"Just bite into it, saves the struggle."

"No! I mean- why are you eating that!?" Penworthy closed her book, her appetite for reading being spoiled.

"Penworthy!" Derring said in a mockingly shocked tone, Penworthy rolled her eyes, "I'm surprised, weren't you the one who wrote the dissertation on entomophagy, stating that certain insects are more nutritious than some of what we eat at home?"

"That's not what I-" Penworthy was interrupted by Derring eating more of those beetles, her loud chewing only serving to disgust her, "Is that even safe?"

"Sure is," Derring took the time to suck up a very long pink worm like a noodle, then swallowing with a loud gulp, "According to Clover the Clever, she survived on these insects for a time when she had to ration food. I've even had to survive on eating insects once, remember when I told you about my expedition out in the Tlaxcalan jungle?"

"Yep, I'd rather not be reminded about that," Penworthy indeed had nightmares for a good amount of time when Derring recounted being lost in the brutal hot jungle of Tlaxcala, "Anyway, where did you even get those bugs?"

"Me and Digger were out scavenging, we actually got to learn quite a bit about each other." Derring offered a beetle to Penworthy, who understandably refused, "Apparently, Digger is a professor of geology at the University of Laconia in Gryphonia. Can you imagine that?"

"Nope," Penworthy was indeed surprised, Diamond Dogs weren't exactly known for intelligence, "what else did he tell you?"

"He told me a story, apparently he came from Equestria," Derring immediately popped a cricket into her mouth, Penworthy cringing in response, "Apparently, he once dug a tunnel network near some hick town- Ponytown was it?- so that he and his brothers could mine for gems."

"He and his brothers dug tunnels under-"

"No no, it was just him, and he tells me that it stretched for miles and that was some odd hundred feet underground. I think he's exaggerating, but it's still impressive." Derring took up another beetle and tossed it into her mouth.

"Indeed, it's understandable why you'd hire a Diamond Dog as a chief geologist, but with Digger, its starting to make more sense." 

"Yeah, just wish he was less eccentric." Derring shrugged and simply shoved her face into the pile of bugs, causing Penworthy to scoot back and avert her eyes from the disgusting sight of it. Derring looked up curiously, "You want some Penworthy?"

"Absolutely not!" Penworthy yelled, she turned her head up in a huff, "I happen to be a refined pony with good taste Derring, and I have better things to eat than bugs!"

"Like apples and Trixie's cooking?" Derring retorted.

"Yes!" Derring shrugged and simply went back to eating up the remainder. Penworthy sighed, she briefly pondered why Derring was her closest friend. Then she was reminded that having close friends meant you were going to disagree on somethings, and better to have a few close friends than a thousand people who were friends in name only. Lysander walked up to the bed, getting Derring and Penworthy's attention.

"You should get some rest you two, we'll be moving early." Lysander said, he spied Derring eating some bugs, "Where'd you get those bugs?"

"Me and Digger found some." Derring answered, "Want some?"

"Sure." Lysander immediately picked up a beetle and tossed it into his mouth, chewing nonchalantly. Penworthy widened her eyes in shock. It wasn't exactly surprising considering griffins were half-eagles, but she expected some integrity of sorts, "Always nice to have a snack before bed. Good night."

"Night Captain." Derring responded, Lysander nodded and took his leave. Derring finished off the last worm, much to Penworthy's emphasized disgust, "Welp, let's hit the hay Penworthy, there's a busy day ahead of us."

"Yeah..." Penworthy and Derring laid down on the bed, settling themselves onto the rough steel. It wasn't cozy, it wasn't soft, and it wasn't warm, but it was a bed. Of sorts.


--T--


When Lysander said they would be starting early, he meant it. The crew only had about six hours of sleep before he went around and started banging rocks together to wake everyone up. Despite that, the only person who was genuinely tired was Penworthy. For now however, the convoy had continued their journey. They were now driving on a cliffside road next to a river of lava, big enough that the Siege Tank at least had room to move forward. Thankfully, high enough so that nothing was randomly bursting into flames. This particular cliff however, was studded with strange holes and caves in its surface like swiss cheese. That was enough to at least unnerve Lysander, so the Convoy was taking its time moving along. Derring was walking at the front of the Convoy, Penworthy next to her, Journal in hoof.

"Penworthy, does the journal mention anything about this particular area?" Derring asked. Penworthy flipped through the journal quickly, then stopped at a particular page.

"The Cliffside Road is home to a nest of monsters that will block your path until you defeat or bypass them" Penworthy explained, Derring looked over curiously, "These monster is the size of an elephant, with great bug eyes, mandibles as sharp as swords, yadda yadda... essentially there's some beast or two that's going to block our progress."

"Well," Derring looked ahead curiously, "I don't see anything. Maybe Clover killed them when she passed through?"

"Wouldn't be too sure, she mentioned bypassing it, so that's probably what she did."

They continued on their way. The road itself stretched onto to a barely visible alcove, Derring estimated it to be some ten or fifteen miles away. At the very least, the road didn't suddenly narrow into a pony wide bridge, so the trek wouldn't be frustratingly difficult. However, the holes in the cliffside continued to give an eerie sense of something being completely off. Derring thought, the sooner they get out of here, the better.

"What was that?" Penworthy immediately looked over to the holes, "Did you see that Derring?"

"What?" Derring wasn't really paying attention, but looked over anyway.

"I saw something, in those caves." Penworthy pointed, Derring looked up where she pointed. Nothing moving in there.

"I don't see anything." Derring adjusted her father's hat slightly, observing the cliff face. However, she barely noticed something skulking in the darkness, her eyes only picking up the most animated of movements, "Wait..."

Then, bursting out of one of the cave holes, a great beast jumped out and landed in front of Derring and Penworthy. They immediately ran for cover behind the Siege Tank, the beast remained where it was. Superficially, this beast resembled a giant Cave Weta just barely as big as the Siege Tank, possessing razor sharp mandibles, long spindly legs, a brown body and black eyes. Most disturbingly, its antennae were just as long as it was if not longer, and were swaying about in front of it. Despite the enlargement, like any ordinary insect, it simply stood there motionless. Unfortunately, this doesn't sit well for the crew because that Giant Cave Weta was blocking their way. Lysander, Sidonus, Derring, Penworthy, and the soldiers of the crew took up positions around the Siege Tank.

"A Giant Cave Weta, just great." Sidonus said. He and Lysander loaded their revolvers, the soldiers loaded their bolt-action rifles. Derring and Penworthy weren't actually armed, hooves aren't known for being able to grip guns.

"We'll take care of it," Lysander responded, he looked over to the soldiers, "Boys, five rounds rapid."

They immediately unloaded their weapons into the Weta. The bullets impacted the Weta with varying degrees of noise and smoke. Despite the blistering firepower, the Weta still stood there stock still, with nary a scratch. Puzzled, Lysander scratched at his head.

"Welp, I'm outta ideas." He said. Derring looked over at him.

"Don't we have anything bigger than just rifles?" She asked. Lysander nodded.

"We do, but they're mortars and a heavy artillery cannon," Lysander said with some amount of annoyance, "if we just use them, I doubt we're going to leave the pass intact."

"Maybe we could dig through the cliff, go around them?" Derring suggested. Lysander shook his head.

"Pass is too narrow, Siege Tank can't pull a U-Turn here."

"Why not go through?" Sidonus piped up, Lysander and Derring looked at him like he was crazy, "Can scare it off with the Siege Tank maybe?"

"That is..." Lysander tapped his beak for a moment, "That is actually crazy enough to work."

After having the plan explained to him, Digger refused to get closer towards the Weta. However, he was much more cooperative when Lysander threatened to throw him off the cliff and into the lava. Digger reluctantly powered up the drill. The Siege Tank's drill began spinning, roaring like a wounded animal. Then slowly, it advanced towards the Weta. The Weta, for its part, began backing up slowly, screeching in challenge to the Siege Tank. The Siege Tank advanced further, Digger's nerves being frazzled. The Weta then stopped in its tracks, and screamed at the Siege Tank, intending to stop right there.

"Digger, looks like he ain't budging," Lysander said, talking to him using his truck radio, "time to give that overgrown bug a facelift."

Digger nodded, not even finding in him to make coherent words. He pulled for full throttle, then immediately drove the drill into the Weta. The most immediate effect was the great amount of green blood and guts that got sprayed every which away as the drill impacted the Weta's face. The Weta screamed in pain for just a second before collapsing in a heap. Digger stopped the tank, sighing in relief.

"Wait, aren't there supposed to be more?" Penworthy piped up. They all looked up at the face of the cliff. Sure enough, watching from the caves were dozens of those Giant Cave Wetas, some as big as the first, some the size of ponies. They gave off skittering noises as they began to slowly descend on the convoy, sticking to the walls as most insects tend to do.

"Digger, get moving!" Lysander screamed. Digger yelped in fright as he immediately started pushing the Siege Tank. As the Siege Tank rolled out, it pushed the corpse of the first Weta over the road into the lava below. The trucks followed close behind. While the Wetas were slow, the convoy was hampered by the Siege Tank's own lack of speed. Combined with the extremely narrow pass, this was indeed a hairy situation. Derring and Penworthy immediately climbed into the front seat of Lysander's truck. He yelled into the radio, "Troops, break out the heavy gun, armor piercing rounds!"

The soldiers tore off the tarp off one of the trucks, revealing the sizable Mark Three 88mm Field Gun. This gun had served the Gryphonian military properly in the various wars the nation gets itself in. From Anti-Air, to Anti-Tank, to Artillery, as the soldiers put it, it was anti-everything. The Mark Three variant was a smaller design meant to be mounted in the back of trucks, and here was where it would shine. They began loading the proper shells, armor piercing. A crew of three immediately took place sighting, then aiming. With a loud bang, it fired, blasting one of the Wetas off the cliff face and splattering it with more blood.

"Scylla's tail!" Digger screamed. He was absolutely struggling to make the Siege Tank go faster. Alas, he was a geologist, not a machine whisperer. Another bang confirmed that another Weta had just been killed. But even with the deaths, more were simply popping out of the caves. Suddenly, a Weta the size of a pony landed on Digger's roof, causing him to shout in fear, "Digger is gonna get killed out here!"

"Hang on!" Lysander shouted. The weta began bashing at the roof, denting it considerably. Lysander pulled out his pistol and leaned out, giving himself a good angle on the Weta. He fired his revolver twice, both shots connected to the Weta's hind leg, blowing it off in an explosion of green gore. The Weta lurched forward in pain, tripping over in front the Siege Tank, then proceeding to get crushed under the giant wheels with a sickening crunch.

"Sweet Celestia! This is madness!" Penworthy screamed, fitted in between Derring and Lysander, "Derring, are you-"

"I'M BUSY!" Derring was currently holding the mandibles of a Weta open. Somehow, a Weta managed to grab onto the truck and was currently trying to force itself on easy prey like Derring. Penworthy screamed in terror, alerting Lysander, who blasted at the Weta's head. Unlike the first larger Weta, this one's exoskeleton was less thick, and thus the bullets broke the skin and blasted green blood all over Derring. The Weta lifelessly fell from the truck.

"You okay?" Lysander asked. Derring looked over at him confusedly, rubbing her ear.

"WHAT!?" She yelled back. The gunshots temporarily deafened her. She prodded curiously at the blood now adorning her khaki shirt and coat. Penworthy was currently hyperventilating in her seat, trying to fight back a panic attack.

"Captain!" The radio came to life with the sound of Digger's voice, "The exit is in sight! We're about to cross over a large bridge!"

Sure enough, the cliff pass started to widen out. In Digger's sight as a large alcove, before that a relatively narrow but still passable bridge. The bridge itself was long however and spanned a deep chasm with lava at the bottom. The Siege Tank immediately sped over the bridge, the trucks following close behind. Thankfully and rather luckily, no one had gotten seriously injured or killed by the Wetas. The Wetas however followed even closer behind the trucks, occasionally being sniped by the heavy gun or by riflegriffins. The Convoy made it across in one piece, some trucks with Wetas clinging to the sides, and screeched to a stop just outside the alcove.

"Take out the bridge!" Lysander shouted into the radio. The heavy gun immediately aimed at the bridge, now (literally) crawling with Wetas of all sizes. Instead of an armor piercing round however, it was time for all out High Explosive. It fired, creating a huge explosion and flinging several Wetas in various directions, which was the most immediate effect. Not five seconds later did the bridge immediately start rumbling, then simply collapsed and fell into the chasm, the Wetas with it. The crew immediately began cheering, celebrating their latest victory over what this highway called "nature."

"Yes!" Penworthy relaxed in her seat, raising her hooves in the air. She looked over at Derring, who was laughing like she had been tickled with a feather, "We made it Derring!"

"We sure did!" Derring grabbed her friend in a bear hug, her joining in on the laughter as well. It was only five seconds however that Penworthy recoiled in digust, noting that some of the Weta blood had gotten on her coat. Lysander immediately called to finish off the rest of the Wetas who had stuck around on the trucks. The soldiers gladly went to work bashing heads in.

After an hour of rest, relaxation, and checking to see if the Wetas had destroyed anything important (surprisingly not, but they did chew on several spare tires), the crew resumed formation as if nothing had happened. Indeed, this was only another step forward through what the Thule Highway had to offer the crew. Derring sat in her seat, absently mindedly flipping through the journal. She stopped at one particular page, the next checkpoint on their journey and the next Key to Thule.

The Trial of Ice.