A hidden temple reveals a grim secret to pony history. Upon opening the chambers and searching inside a group of archaeologists rather wished they hadn't.
A hidden temple reveals a grim secret to pony history. Upon opening the chambers and searching inside a group of archaeologists rather wished they hadn't.
A crossover of mlp and Ridley Scott's Alien franchise this fic will be gory and confusing to those not used to the films it will also contain ovipositon, gore, decapitation, pony consumption, possible deaths of canon character's and more
2000 BC the time before Celestia and Nightmare Moon's imprisonment there was an ancient tribe of warriors named the Yautja. These predators of sorts lived among the ponies of old seen and worshipped as gods by all. The hunters were so skilled at their sport they designed the ultimate race to hunt the xenomorph. This alien creature was a creature unlike any other it was a black bio mechanical being that was deadly as well as it was terrifying. It had a black body filled with acidic blood strong enough to corrode all known elements. The creature had a domed head filled with two sets of jaws one extendable to kill its prey.
The predators proud of their creation needed to find hosts for their ultimate kill to breed they looked at their worshipers the ponies as hosts. The process involved a sacrifice to complete the process, a process that ended in carnage.
Many years later after the reign of Discord, fall of Nightmare Moon, crystal war, the Reformation, the return of Princess Luna, the changeling invasion of canterlot, the return of the crystal empire and coronation of Princess twilight was an archaeological search team found something extraordinary a tablet from before history. Upon it, the tale of Noble Cause scribed upon a tablet found in one of the many hidden temples across Equestria.
My gosh I don’t believe it. I’ve been chosen to enter the temple. I am about to be enlightened by the gods. This is something none of my family has had the chance to do yet I'm so honoured thank the high priestess and our gods for being so generous to me. “Noble goodbye my sweet child!” my mother Honest Cause said her arms around me like a rope knotted.
“Mum don’t worry the gods have chosen me for a reason it’ll be ok I promise!” I said before the temple guards pulled me inside and closed the doors. The inside was insanely well decorated it was foreign to normal pony architecture it must’ve been the god's work. Oh, the halls long and vast the ceiling so high I could barely see it. As I looked around I felt the guards hit the back of my head knocking me out cold
When I was woken by one my fellow chosen I noticed we have been kept in a holding pen of sorts like slaves at market or prisoners in the crypt. Then I saw it. A god was walking by our pen. Its mask covering its face was a cold metallic colour it wore armour and heavy weaponry unlike any our smiths could forge in town and it gave me a strange feeling in my gut. Upon staring at this god I saw its hair was a sort of dreadlocks like form pouring around its helm at the back and sides.
Then it stopped at the door causing a few of my fellow chosen to shudder which I thought was weird considering how he was obviously here to take us to enlightenment. Then he pointed at me and dragged me out of the cell along with a mare beside me who began to protest screaming and writhing as if she was scared. Was she a heretic or was there something I didn’t learn. Either way, she and I was suddenly put to sleep again.
I woke in a chamber filled some sort of resin like substance holding me to a wall our gods nowhere to be seen but across from me was the mare who was struggling to get free “Miss why are you struggling the gods have chosen us for a reason.”
“NO I WON’T BE HARVESTED NO NO!” The mare screamed struggling still my words not reaching her “YOU WON’T TAKE ME I WILL BE FREE FOR MY NAME IS SNOW FROST!” “Miss Frost what are you on about I'm sure you are fine the gods…” I said as she glared at me angrily nodding her head to her left to what seemed to be a pony with this strange crab on its face hugging it a bulging in the stallions throat told me it wasn’t good.
“It’s laying something inside him…. Coming from those eggs in front of us now try to break free or we’ll end up like him!” Snow screamed as one egg opened the one in front of her and a crab creature jumped at her hugging her face despite her screams it attached to her and began to do what it did to the stallion putting her in a sleep like trance.
“WHAT WAS THAT OH NO NO…. MUMMY HELP ME!” I screamed literally shitting myself trying to get free as the stallion woke up beside me the crab creature dying off letting him free “MR ARE YOU OK?”
“Ok where am I?” He asked not knowing what was going on “Ah…. my chest!” he said suddenly urging forward his chest bulging weirdly as if something growing inside it tried to get free. “Help, please…. Please!” he screamed as his chest burst open and a creature came shooting out of the cavity running away. It was at this moment my egg opened and…
Outside the Crystal empire twenty years into the luna reformation period of Equestrian history a team of archeologists led by one Eclipse Darklight commissioned by princess Cadence to search for rumours of an ancient temple outside of the city and into the cold north ice. “Hey Darklight!” A silver coated mare called from behind the head of the expedition stood on a hill of the digsite watching from the tent. “We got something for you to take a look at sir!”
“Thank you Silver Soul Lead me to your discovery!” Eclipse said with a playful tap on her rear as the two had been courting for a few months by this point and had a playful attitude around their fellow colleagues.
“Eclipse that’s enough dear!” Silver said with a chuckle as the two walked out into the main dig site where a young thestral named Steel Ice was carefully removing something that looked like an emerald tablet from the ground “Boss it looks like ancient Equestrian we need a translater?”
“Lucky you have me!” Silver said taking the tablet and reading the tale upon it suddenly shuddering in shock “It’s a tale…. By someone from that era of… horrible things.” she said stuttering in fear as she handed it to Eclipse and sitting down in the snow. “Silver what did it say?” Eclipse asked as he noticed concerned workers around him and taking Silver to her tent “Ice get em back to working!” he ordered his tone harsh but worried and Ice knew it.
“You heard the boss!” Ice said with a sigh as the group got back to working. Watching Eclipse take Silver into the tent “I hope the bastard is OK with her!” he mumbled to himself as he continued to look for more clues in the snow
Up in the tent Silver was shaking like a leaf holding the tablet in her hand reading out to eclipse “And it was at this moment my egg opened and…. That's the last of it he got implanted by this facehugger crab creature he was on about… Eclipse what are we looking for!” she demanded to know in fear.
“We are looking for a temple dear!” Eclipse said with a sigh as he sat next to her “If this tablet is from that one I promise we won't go inside just to find it and make sure nopony lets what happened to whomever wrote this to another pony!”
As Silver opened her mouth to speak a sudden collapse in a nearby cliff wall revealed something “Eclipse we found it!” Ice shouted out as before him was the temple they was looking for. The temple that started everything.
“Wait what do mean Ice we found what?” Eclipse asked staring at Ice as behind him Silver was shivering like a leaf mumbling stuff about death and curses.
“The temple we’ve been looking for… You know the Acheron!” Ice said as giddy as a foal at hearth's warming as he bounced on the spot all giddy.
“What? ”Eclipse exclaimed stepping out of his tent and looking to where a few ponies were gathered around a point on the top of their mountain dig site was evidence of the mountainside giving way to the top of what seemed to be an Aztec style temple with markings like the tablet found earlier. “Mr Ice get your team together and miss Silver be ready to translate whatever scripts they find within I'm heading back to the empire to get an extra crew and to tell her highness we found it! Ice and silver you are in charge of the dig until I get back!”
“Yes, sir!” Both Ice and silver said with opposite levels of enthusiasm as the tablet had her scared of what was waiting for them as she saw her love begin to head to the supply train to head back to the crystal empire isolating the group with the temple.
“I guess that means we’re stuck until he returns let’s not waste time waiting then team let’s try and find us an entrance!” Ice said rounding up the workers and headed towards the temple.
“Wait! You know this is a temple hidden for millennia unknown we need to be careful in case of any traps or intruder blocking methods like explosives or the ancient equivalent of them!” Silver said blocking the group pushing her glasses to her eyes “And some of the traps I've seen or heard of have destroyed the artifacts inside the crypts they protect!” she added with a sigh.
“So madam Silver what would you have us do?” Asked one of the workers surrounding her. now as others of the group began to think on her speech murmuring between themselves.
“Well if you insist we find an entrance and any mechanism to open it before we try digging our way in,” Silver said making a few heads nod and a few eyes roll to the more professional workers on the dig.
“No offence Silver we know that we need to be careful about the dig and sure I'll look for a proper entrance but you are jumpy… Ever since you read that tablet you've been afraid of something! Now tell me what has you so spooked!” Ice said crossing his forehooves and staring at her impatiently like a filly who wanted her papa to get her an ice cream and would not give up.
“The tablet is what had me spooked it was an account of what happened inside that temple and it wasn’t pleasant for all we know the ‘things’ I read about are still in there.” Silver said sounding insane as she stood before the group a few scratching their heads in confusion.
“Silver dear you are not making any sense please tell us what ‘things’ you are on about!” Ice said with a sigh as he walked slowly towards the scarred mare that was beginning to shiver and not just from the cold. “Silver your shaking Coal and Spark take her inside as we’ll head to the temple!”
“Sure we’ll look after Eclipse’s nut job,” Coal said looking at his twin sister shaking his head as he went to pick up the insane mare as she began mumbling something about oviposition and incubation of some sort of alien-like creature “Spark get her legs I'll grab her front!”
Spark being born a mute just nodded with agreement coming around to silver’s behind and picking her up in her magic as her brother tried to carry the rest on his back before heading back to the encampment as she was shaking and mumbling insane obscenities.
“Well, that could’ve gone better let’s move onto the temple we have to get this job done team!” Ice said as he shook his head and began to walk towards the temple “We need to move fast I think a storm is brewing from the east now move it!”
“Yes, sir!” The group of stallions and mares said as they picked up their gear and made a move towards the valley of death that was the temple.
-------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile in the crystal empire Cadence was walking to a meeting of the four royals of Equestria as Eclipse fresh with the news from the dig site came to her side “Your highness I have a report from project Yutani Ma’am!” he said with a salute.
“Oh, Mr Eclipse please follow me… Guards leave us and if shining armor asks why simply tell him if he doesn’t want an ear ache from me to respect my decisions.” Cadence said as both of the guards flanking her nodded and turning the other way leaving the princess with Eclipse “Report on Project Yutani agent Eclipse!” she said her mood and demeanor changing to one of formality and sternness as she began to walk towards the meeting again but at a much slower pace.
“Well, your highness we found the temple as per your instructions I left anyone else who was working behind to further the project hopefully what’s inside is worth their lives in peril ma’am!” Eclipse said with a sigh as he knew that he left his team for dead as the train wasn’t returning anytime to his team and he knew Silver’s tablet explained what they were entering out there.
“Well done agent this will be good maybe we can get a good specimen and find out how they used to terrorise our shape-shifting enemies in the badlands!” Cadence said with a smile as she was happy that the project was moving onwards “You may be excused, agent.”
“Yes, your majesty.” Eclipse said bowing and leaving her to continue to her meeting
“Boss we found a way in over here,” A black stallion said calling over to Ice as he was pulling away debris from an opening near the stone steps of the temple, “I think it must’ve collapsed due to time or something.”
“Hmm seems so, but we should get clearing this debris fast and have a good look inside.” Ice said as he and the rest of the team began to move debris carefully to keep the pile from shifting collapsing and taking and caving the entrance in.
The team slowly but surely working together was soon able to make a hole just big enough for them to climb inside the temple “ok team light up those lamps it’s dark in here.” Ice said as he dropped inside being handed down one of the team's’ oil lamps as he surveyed the temple looking around the unexplored temple whistling in awe sending an echo through the long thin winding corridors a maze of sorts of ancient walls filled with knowledge unknown for millennia as they carved themselves into the wall.
“Come on in team just watch your step on the way down we don’t to move that debris and block our only known exit.” Ice said as he began to explore deeper into the darkness his team following.
“Shame our only translator went doolally she might have been able to tell us what this all meant.” A thestral called Qrow said walking through the opening before tripping landing on his face on the floor in behind Ice “I’m ok don’t worry!”
“Oh, brother you really are dimwitted or drunk or both.” A darker thestral said as she walked down behind her brother tutting in disappointment, “Get up and get a lamp on Qrow!”
“Why don’t you pull your own weight instead of dictating we ain’t at home and you're not in charge!” Crow said as he brushed himself off as his sister came down followed by the rest of the dig crew who stared around in amazement as they never seen this sort of temple they were used to holes and rubble, not this big structure that was towering somehow hidden for millennia.
“Ok let’s split into teams Qrow you go to the left side Raven you take the first right I'll go towards the center… meet up here if you find yourself lost you look for the nearest entrance to you and head back to base camp.” Ice said with a sigh before taking his group forward as Qrow and raven went their separate ways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile back in the Empire Eclipse was fretting about his friends that he left behind in the frozen north. “You can’t just leave her Eclipse she’s your fiance her parents are in the guard for crying out loud they’d rip you to shreds.” Pacing with his wings tensing in fear he knew he had orders to leave them in that temple to die but he couldn’t, not her. Not Silver. He let one love die on his job before he couldn’t let another one die.
That’s when he decided to go. For the first time he flew out of the window and dived for the station making it seem like they had an order from the princess to speed up the supply run. The stallions loading the train nodded and hurried on the final crate “Sir are you sure we want to leave now that storm is fierce and untamed?” the station master said as he looked beyond the bubble as the storm raged out in the frozen north.
“My team is out there and I’ve been told to bring them back so yes.” Eclipse said as he got aboard the train “Now move this wagon and let’s go get them.” he said closing the door and pacing through his carriage worrying as he hoped they hadn’t gotten inside yet as then it would be too late to save them. He had to try he had to save at least silver.
