Tarnish had awoken to a dull ache in the base of his skull and a near-crippling stiffness in his legs. He had over-exerted himself. Just as Daring Do had said, he had carried far too much. His enchanted saddlebags allowed him to carry a surplus of gear, but bottomless was not weightless. Without realising it, he kept adding just a little bit more, repeatedly, until at some point, he had crossed the line into fatigue-inducing encumbrance.

He was the lone stallion of the group, but he was not the strongest. A part of him wanted to feel inadequate about this; he felt that he had good reason. But it was a matter of physiology and build. Daring Do was a sturdy, strong mare. Rainbow Dash was like him, lithe, slender, and built for speed, but she was also a conditioned athlete that endured extraordinary strength training, while he… well, he was not. He was a runner, plain and simple. That was his claim to fame. He could run like few others could run, and his body type was uniquely suited for marathon distances. Endurance, not strength, was what his body excelled at, and he took pride in the fact that he could push himself harder, further, and longer than all of his companions.

The three mares were sleeping together while he kept watch. Flamingo was sheathed so that she could recharge. Alone, Tarnish had only boredom and the imposing, unsettling statue of Princess Celestia for company. He had tried studying the tiny spell primer tucked in his bag, but couldn’t muster enough concentration to stay focused.

All he had were his thoughts, and he wasn’t sure if his thoughts were good company right now.

He paced to and fro, going from door to door, his ears pricked and alert to any sound of danger. It was quiet. Perhaps too quiet. It was dark here, even more so with Flamingo sheathed, and the only light came from a floating orb of light Vinyl had conjured. It offered a cold, harsh light, but no warmth, no comforting glow. Just squint-inducing illumination that left a harsh glare on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Daring had fashioned a pair of makeshift packs from carefully rolled blankets, with numerous small items tucked inside as the blankets were rolled. They were secured with some straps and a bit of twine, ready to go. As Tarnish paced, his stomach growled. He had eaten. Perhaps too much. They had a fair bit of food, but there was no telling how long they might be trapped in here, so everything needed to be rationed. He and Vinyl would need to be careful, cautious with their magical expenditure. Unicorns needed far more calories if they engaged in heavy casting.

Vinyl might have overdid it.

The escalator hadn’t moved for who knows how long. It was of an odd, ornamental design with broad step sections, broad enough for a pony or a centaur to stand upon, but there was no mistaking what it was. It had either been turned off or it had seized in place, there was no way to know. Each riser was a bit too tall for little ponies and short quadrupeds; not a problem for Tarnish, but his companions had to scramble a bit.

Something hummed here, the thrum of still-functioning ancient machinery. Tarnish’s ears strained to hear the sound, to discern its direction and its source, but to no avail. It came from everywhere all around them. Everything was made of steel and metal, all of which vibrated in some odd, unpleasant, unsettling way. Tarnish could feel the vibration in his sinuses, just behind his eyes, and deep within his ears. It was stressful, the sound, more than just merely annoying, and well beyond irritating.

Somepony had traversed the escalator not that long ago, and left the dust disturbed.

It was cold here, far colder than other places they had passed through. There was nothing alive here, not even plants, so it seemed that this section had been left unheated. It wasn’t freezing; being underground, buried within the heart of the mountain kept it at a stable temperature, but it was chilly.

“This is a bad design.”

“What makes you say that, Miss Dash?”

“Well, Miss Do, if you stand facing ahead, the average pony will be right about at asshole level with whatever is in front of them. Not that assholes are bad to look at all, but some of them are found above saggy, wrinkly balls. And who wants to stare at those while you’re going up an escalator?”

Tarnish was almost certain that he could hear the sound of Daring Do’s eyes rolling. Probably up and to the left. Rainbow was chuckling at her own joke, and try as he might, he found that he could not withhold his own laughter. Daring Do groaned, grunted as she lept up a riser to the next step, and Rainbow Dash’s chuckles transitioned into titters.

Then, Tarnish suffered from the keen awareness that he was leading the way.

As he progressed upwards, worrying about Vinyl scraping something against the unforgiving edges, he became more and more aware that the magic here was all wrong. It was like the sensation of standing over an artificial lay line, but worse. He was reminded of how wrong the land felt just before the volcano erupted. His mind vividly recalled the withered, ravaged land. He and Maud had trekked into the very heart of the soured magic… and then they had ran, trying to outrun the volcano’s deadly fury.

“Stay close to me,” he said to his companions. “The magic—”

“I know,” Daring Do said as she climbed up just behind him. “The magic is all wrong. I’m not a unicorn, but I can feel it too. In my wings. It feels like all my feathers are going to fall out as we go further up.”

“That’s a fear that I didn’t need,” Rainbow remarked while she helped pull Vinyl up. “Tarnish, can you see the top yet?”

“Nope.” Try as he might, he saw no end, only darkness ahead.

“Rainbow, new plan. Carry Vinyl. We can’t have her fatigued and out of breath if we’re ambushed.” Daring Do paused on a step and took a moment to catch her own breath. “You’re not even breathing hard. Impressive.”

“Eh, this is no worse than my usual cardio and strength training.” Then, after a pause, Rainbow added, “Come on, Vinyl. Climb on. You get a pony ride. Careful of the pack on my back.”

Once more in silence, Tarnished Teapot led the way.

A grand foyer awaited at the top of the unmoving escalator. Vinyl shooed her light upwards, but the vaulted ceiling could not be seen. Double doors made for giants were ahead, one of them halfway open, revealing the shadow-shrouded hallway beyond. Darkness, as real and as solid as any rumour awaited them, and Tarnish, almost overcome with stress at this point, could not help but shiver.

This place was a tomb.

Great piles of bones were scattered around the double door. Old bones. Dusty bones. Shattered, splintered, scattered, the bones were strewn all over the foyer. How many had died here in this spot? Hundreds, perhaps. What had killed them? That was unknown. If this place had defenses, Tarnish was uncertain if he could defeat them. If hundreds had besieged this place and failed, what chance did he have?

Just ahead, the floor was pitted, warped, and appeared as though it had bubbled. Licking his lips, Tarnish arrived at the conclusion that the floor had melted; the steel floor had melted into a liquid state, it had boiled a bit, and then had cooled back into a solid. Daring Do brushed up against his leg and he let out a faint, startled whinny.

He did not want his bones or the bones of his companions joining those scattered on the foyer floor. What could have done this? Who? His eyes sweeping the floor, he saw scattered teeth and unrecognisable bone fragments. Just slivers and busted bits. Lifting his head away from the chilling sight, he studied the doors, the tops of which were barely visible in the available light. The doors were imposing; surely no creature that big passed through those doors. How could they? These dragon-sized doors were just here to impress visitors… surely.

Tilting his head back, he peered up into the darkness, wondering if some way in and out might be hidden up above, out of reach. How else would a dragon-sized visitor gain access? Certainly not on the escalator. When he looked down at the bones strewn over the floor, he felt very small and insecure. Foalish. He didn’t feel tall and imposing, not in the slightest.

In the parasitic darkness, he felt his confidence falter.

The worst lay ahead. Somewhere, down the long hallway there was a service shaft that would allow him access to the facilities below. Once the mechanoid production was shut down, they would be just a tiny bit safer with one less threat. No new mechanoids could be made, and fallen mechanoids would no longer be recycled. He knew a fight was coming, a fight that would no doubt be unlike anything else in his life. A fight that he might not win.

With a turn of his head, he looked at his companions, each of them, one by one. He knew what had to be done. What was necessary. Would they forgive him? Maybe, if he survived. When they reached the service shaft, they would rest, and he would take watch. And when they slept, he would slip away to do what must be done.

It was a plan riddled with all manner of risk.

The production facilities had to be shut down, no matter the cost.

“Vinyl, send that light ahead, through those doors,” Daring Do said to the unicorn mare. “Dash, follow that light. Scout with your ears. We’ll stay right here, not moving.”

“Good plan,” Rainbow Dash replied.

Rainbow Dash crept ahead on silenced hooves, with all of her senses on high alert. Vinyl had cast a spell and now Rainbow could trot upon the steel with impunity. It was just the sort of confidence booster that she needed. Now, she was Rainbow Dash, the extraordinary scout, as silent as a fart slipstreamed in the wind, and just as deadly.

She poked her rainbow-maned head through the doors, looked left, then right, and then had a thorough look around. Then, squinting, she was just able to make out something ahead, something big… something ginormous. She couldn’t tell what it was, but it gleamed and glinted off-white in the cold, pale light. It almost appeared metallic.

It was a tooth longer than her body. Beside it was another tooth, a little shorter, but not by much, and Rainbow figured out that she was looking at a skull. When the light flew forwards a bit more, the darkness shrouding the skull was driven back, and a massive neck came into view. She was looking at a dragon’s skull. As for the rest of its body, it remained obscured in the darkness.

She thought of Spike and felt incredibly homesick.

After a closer inspection, she noticed the cracks in the skull. Big ones, just around the left eye. There were several broken teeth, and below the teeth, there was a gap in the jawbone. Frozen in place, Rainbow tried to imagine what had happened, and her mind painted a picture that she didn’t like, not one bit. The poor dragon had no doubt been left trapped in here when Skyreach had closed. Perhaps as a guardian for this laboratory. Or maybe it had volunteered.

Trapped alive in a tomb.

She shivered so hard that her teeth clattered together painfully.

The melted floor out in the foyer now made sense, as did all of the bodies. A major battle had taken place here, with the dragon burning some of the attackers, and smashing the others, because that is what dragons did. The dragon had been grievously injured in the battle, and had died, here in the dark tomb of one of Skyreach’s forgotten laboratories.

She looked up and could not see the ceiling. Still shivering, she tried not think about claustrophobic thoughts, but failed. Would she ever see the sky again? She hoped so. Even if she couldn’t fly, she just wanted to be out of this place so that she could stand in the sun and see vivid blue overhead.

But there was only darkness, with tons of rock overhead.

Looking down, she saw the glint of metallic scales on the floor, and thought they looked like a glittering pile of coins. These were rather silver looking, all things considered, an odd colour, not one that she could recall seeing. Upon closer inspection, she found that these scales were silver. Not just silver colour, but what appeared to be actual, real silver. A princess’ ransom lay on the floor, a veritable fortune of incalculable value.

How odd.

Rainbow Dash left them where they lay, because they were not hers to take.

She peered down the hallway, her eyes straining to see anything other than darkness. Her ears, which never stopped moving, pivoting this way and that way, could hear nothing other than the maddening, droning thrum of unseen machinery. Perhaps if it wasn’t so quiet, the droning sound wouldn’t be quite so annoying.

There was nothing here. Nothing at all. This place was as dead as the bones on the floor. The tenebrous darkness was terrifying and Rainbow knew that if the light went out, the stygian curtain would wrap tight around her and she would suffocate. She thought about stumbling around in these lightless depths, blind, searching, feeling about with her wings to find her way, and she felt her nether regions clench so tight that it was excruciatingly, extraordinarily painful.

She feared that she might have kegeled her clitoris to death.

Author's Notes:

The conjugated verb that should not be. I offer no apologies.