Chapter 4: The Lost City

The morning after the attack was not particularly a fun one for our little group. Jackpot helped to repack everything but was still pretty grumpy with me, Grit was the first one of us up, despite being the last one to go to sleep, Enyi was particularly hard to shake awake but when we got him up he busied himself helping Jackpot with the camp and Grit woke me up first of all of them to help wake the others.

“Well most of the food was ruined but from here it should only be a few more hours until we arrive at the ruins.” Grit said as he looked at what Jackpot and Enyi managed to save from the ruined campsite.

“What if we get attacked again!” I said realizing that it was a real possibility.

“The beasts here are surely a fright, but fortunately they only come out at night.” Enyi said giving me some assurance.

“Nevertheless, there are other dangers in the jungle and we would do well to get a move on.” Grit said while finishing gathering up our packs.

Enyi had about one good saddlebag left with only the one pack left on it, Grit still had two left which would end up holding most of our supplies and Jackpot slung his one full pack with his several empty ones over his own back. As for me my pack was already filled with the books I had brought along and of course the bracelet from Canterlot.

Once we were packed up and ready to go the group set out again into the thick jungle now more eager than ever to reach our destination. The day was even hotter than yesterday and as if Jackpot wasn't grumpy enough it started to rain about half an hour after we got going. The jungle itself also became far more dense than what we had seen up to this point with all of us working to clear out every inch of ground we walked over of the tightly packed foliage. The going was slow but we were still going as we passed the four hour mark of our journey that day.

“We should be there soon, right Grit?” I said in a somewhat whiny and exhausted tone.

“About another hour or so, we are getting pretty close at this point.” Grit said with a nod from Enyi that we were indeed getting close.

I was about at my limit from this point onward, the bugs were getting really bad and really big at the same time. Every time I saw something move in a bush or heard something fly overhead I would cringe back a little thinking that the Pyth had come back and every time it proved to be nothing more than some small scampering lizard or more insects. Grit needed to stay beside me most of the time just to keep me calm through the rest of the trip. I don't think that I was impressing Jackpot much anymore and I did get the feeling he would be annoyed with me the rest of the trip unless something big happened to change his mind. Enyi on the other hoof proved to be more enjoyable as he had seemed almost as scared as I was and it felt somewhat better to know I wasn't the only one.

“Hey Enyi?” I asked him as we were resting and watching Grit and Jackpot trying to tear down a heavy wall of vines which blocked our way.

“How can I help you Ivory?” Enyi said as he sat down to take a small break himself.

“I uh..just want to thank you for saving me from that acid stuff last night.” I said rather sheepishly.

“Oh, it was no trouble at all, after all I'm sure if you were able to move you would have done the same for me as well.” he said giving me a smile which I reciprocated.

“The paths clear so lets hurry up and get a move on!” Grit yelled back at us.

“Shall we go then?” Enyi said as he helped me to stand up.

“Yeah, I want to see this place more than ever.” I answered with my excitement beginning to return to me for the first time in a while.

The last leg of the journey went rather smoothly especially compared to everything else and within the hour we found ourselves standing on the edge of a stone bridge that spanned a small river. Enyi seemed to light up as we began to cross it, looking at every stone and carving which graced the sides of the bridge. I must admit that I too took a big interest in the carvings as they showed images of towers and Zebra magicians brewing powerful magic in their cauldrons. As the bridge went on the images seemed to follow a somewhat chronological order of events with the same tower appearing on multiple panels and each time becoming more built up and ornate. To my surprise and shock the final panel depicted a large monster, somewhat resembling a dragon, destroying the beautiful tower and sending burning Zebras running in fear. Enyi however didn't get all depressed when he saw it, instead getting even more excited.

“Hey Enyi, what does this show?” I said somewhat confused at his elation.

“It is a story that is very old, one which all Zebra children are told.” he said while still staring at the last several panels.

“It's an old Zebra legend about a dragon which could supposedly eat cities.” Grit said as he and Jackpot passed us by, “It is a common and well known myth so they don't mind talking about it too much.”

“It is what you call a nursery rhyme, that tells of a terrifying dragon from olden times.” Enyi added as he continued to closely study the old pictographs.

“I had no idea it was as old as this.” Grit added as he too began to examine the carvings. Jackpot just grunted and continued on towards the end of the bridge.

As we crossed the bridge we crossed one final small clump of trees before finally gazing upon the ancient city of Numnah. The city dipped into a small valley which gave us a pretty good view of it from our vantage point. It had several towers constructed of stone which circled a large empty area in the center. Outside of the circle of crumbling towers were several grass fields with smaller stone structures which had mostly eroded over time which each had a small gravel pathway which led out of them. The remains of several small canals could be seen interconnecting these structures with a little trickle of water still flowing through them and out into the river which we had just crossed.

“No offense, but this looks less like a city and more like a big hoofball field.” I said somewhat underwhelmed.

“This place has been laying abandoned in the jungle for thousands of years Ivory, its a miracle even this much survived.” Grit pointed out to me.

Enyi was extremely happy to be here and made it very obvious tot he rest of us. For as long as we stood there looking at the ruins he couldn't stop smiling a huge and somewhat nonsensical smile. As we walked down into the valley he made sure to point out to me every small thing that we passed that could have been connected to the ancient city. It was hard not to catch his enthusiasm so eventually I gave in and started to nerd out with him about every small stone or little drop in the path that at one point could have been a step or a railing or anything really.

The sun was high in the sky as we arrived at a small camp of Zebra guards who had been posted to keep out intruders or tomb robbers. Enyi showed them a special pass he had for us all to get in and we happily got to go and sit down by a nice fire and eat some weird but good tasting leaves the Zebras gave to us. The guards themselves then seemed to keep their distance and trotted back up the stairs to the entrance of the valley.

So Grit, whats your plan about getting us into this tomb of yours?” Jackpot said finally breaking his silence.

“According to the team that discovered this place there were a series of tunnels that ran beneath that ring of towers near the center of the city. After some reading up on what we know about ancient Zebra architecture it was tunnels like that where the rulers of the city were usually buried.” Grit said taking a stick and drawing several lines in the dirt to resemble tunnels.

“I could have told you that.” Enyi said while taking a look at Grit's diagram.

“Yes Enyi, I'm sure you could have but when it comes to bumbling around in ancient and half ruined tunnels I think I am a bit more qualified than you hmm.” Grit said to Enyi as the Zebra backed off after looking at the drawing in the dirt.

“So then Grit what'll we do?” I asked letting my eagerness to finally explore an ancient ruin build up inside me.

Grit sat and thought for several seconds before answering, “Once we get in there and see what we're dealing with I will assign everyone something do do while I look for the burial chamber.” the rest of us agreed and we set out towards the ring of towers which stuck out in the center of the valley.

“I wonder what these towers were?” I wondered out loud mostly to myself but loud enough that the others heard.

“They would most likely have served as the corners of the palace or house that the ruler of the city would have lived in.” I heard Enyi whisper in my ear, “It is a design choice many Zebra buildings keep even to this day.”

“Cool” I said in response.

As we approached the towers We saw that one of them had an entrance carved into the side of it. It was a tight fit as the edges were worn down and some rocks were blocking the inside but we managed to get through with little difficulty. Sure enough there was a set of stairs that led downward big enough for two of us to walk down at a time. Grit took out several small lamps from his saddlebag and gave one to jackpot and Enyi to light up as it got darker the farther we got from the surface. After a couple minutes the stairway finally ended and we entered a chamber which the lamps illuminated only a small portion of. Even in the dark we could see the copious amounts of pictures and writing on the walls which were written in Ungul, the ancient language used by Zebras.

“The language is of the correct time, the knowledge on these walls must surely be sublime.” Enyi muttered out loud.

“You can't read them?” I asked somewhat surprised.

“Only a little and not that well, this language was lost when the first kingdoms fell.” Enyi said as he continued to stare at the walls unceasingly.

At the other end of the room there were two hallways that led in opposite directions down darkened pathways. Grit took a quick peek down each one and came back to us with his plan for each of us.

“Enyi and I will go down the hall on the right, Jackpot you go down the left passage and Ivory, you stay here and take some rubbings of these writings.” Grit said quickly to each of us.

“Hey, why do I have to stay behind and what am I even supposed to do that with?” I asked somewhat disappointed.

“Because I don't know what might be living down here and you showed that you weren’t ready for any kind of monster attacks. As for the tools I'm sure the guards outside have some supplies for you and will be happy to take the rubbings from you when you are done.” Grit answered.

I took a rather depressed sigh, “oh, ok.”

“Don't worry Ivory, remember everyone has to start somewhere.” Grit said giving me a reassuring smile.

That did make me feel better and I waved the three goodbye as they each disappeared into their respective tunnels. I had to clamber back up the steps and try to communicate with the zebra guards what Grit wanted me to get. They did not speak Ponyish very well and seemed a little apprehensive around me but I eventually got what I needed from them. At least they were nice enough to give me a bigger lamp than what Grit was able to bring along so I could have an easier time with my task.

Even with the bigger lamp the room remained rather dark and even a little smelly surprisingly. I did what Grit told me and began to carefully take some rubbed off images of some of the more interesting looking pictures and writings with the supplies the Zebras gave me.

“Hard to believe nopony has done this yet.” I said to myself, “Or maybe Grit just doesn't trust me after last night.” this kind of thinking would only depress me so I kept on working for several more minutes.

As I worked, doing the best I could of course, I got to a section of the wall near the hallway Jackpot had gone down. Here in a small corner was written several letters in the same language as on the bracelet.

“Wait, what!” I shouted to myself. I took the bracelet out of my saddlebag to get a better comparison and sure enough there were several letters that matched up. At the end of the wall writing was in fact the same mark that Grit said belonged to Abila which seemed to mark down this specific hallway. It was small so unless somepony would have been looking for it they probably wouldn't have seen it.

At this point I had to follow the hallway as I kept scanning the wall and finding more of the same kind of writing. I was getting pretty excited as I made rubbings of more and more of the letters as I followed the hallway further and further from the entry chamber. At a certain point the writing would stop and pick up again further down the hallway which only deepened my curiosity and descent into the tunnels.

Luckily I had taken the lamp with me or else I would have missed some of the other things that had been drawn on the walls. Images of strange places and cities lined the hallways, next to them were rough etchings of Griffons, Yaks, Buffalo, Ponies (of each type), and even....NO WAY!!!

“Alicorns!” I gasped in a sudden spurt of astonishment. I quickly used the last of the etching paper I had as quickly as I could and then just stared at what I saw. I saw a troupe of Alicorns flying above the ground wreathed in a green aura of magic while spurts of energy shot out around them. On the ground were a stampede of Buffalo smashing into some darkened splotches on the wall. On the other side of the splotches were Yaks and Earth Ponies wielding large spears and shields as Griffons and Pegasi flew down from above them. Behind all the other lines stood Unicorns with glowing horns throwing up plumes of magic into the air above their heads in a rainbow of different colors.

“What is this?” I said, “This certainly isn't any Equestrian history I know of.” I followed the wall a little further down and saw a picture that scared the life right out of me. A great and beautiful tree sat in a ringed city of white stone, fountains and gardens grew up from the streets and buildings as a city right out of a fairy tail. Unfortunately directly above the city was a great cloud of night that seemed to penetrate right through my skin and chill my bones. The painting seemed to almost come alive as I looked at it thinking about what it might be.

“Could this be Sombra?” I said out loud to myself, “He was supposed to be some kind of smoke monster if I remember correctly.” I sat down as my hooves were getting a little tired and continued to think. “No, this is too old for him....maybe.....hmm.” I really couldn't think of what this could be.

Either way after a quick break I didn't want to look at this picture anymore and continued on down the hallway following some chipping noises I was hearing. About a minute later I came to a corner where I could see a small light poking out from around it. I peeked around the corner and with my light and the light in the room I saw a beautiful fresco of a beautiful Zebra covered in Emeralds and other wondrous gems. Around the Zebra were small silver clasps which held golden pots that glowed with little flickers of flame. As I stared at this beautiful sight I caught sight of Jackpot who was taking a quick swig from one of the flasks he seemed so fond of. It was then that I saw what he was really doing and when I did I let out a slight gasp. Around him were holes in the wall where he had picked out several of the many gems that had once adorned the fresco. The empty saddlebags he had with him were now partially filled with something and I easily guessed what they were. Unfortunately for me he heard that little gasp I let out and quickly turned around.

“Who's there!” he shouted so suddenly I stepped back and tripping over myself hit the wall and heard a little click.

“Ahh!” I shouted as the wall gave way and flipped me into a completely dark space where the only light trickled in from the cracks in the wall from the room I had just been in. “Ahh!” I screamed again not knowing what else to do with my sudden surprise.

“Oh shit!” I heard Jackpot say from behind the wall. As I stood there still frozen in the sudden shock and not being able to see anything at all. I heard hoofsteps as Jackpot ran around the corner to search for what he had heard, “Come out now and show yourself!” I heard him yell.

“Jackpot it's me!, I'm stuck in the wall!” I yelled back at him.

“Ivory, howd you get inside the wall?” he said seeming genuinely confused and probably thinking or at least hoping I didn't see anything.

“I don't know I must have hit something and the wall moved!” I started banging on the wall trying to get out.

“Um...hold on one minute I'll try to find a way to get you out!” Jackpot shouted through the wall.” I heard him running back into the room, probably to hide what he was doing. I decided not to mention it as I didn't want him to leave me here in the wall.

As Jackpot rustled about I heard several hooves come running down from a passage I must have missed. I heard Enyi's unmistakable accent as he and Grit ran into the room looking for the source of the yelling.

“I think Ivory's stuck in the wall.” I heard Jackpot say.

“What the hell did you do!” Grit yelled back at him.

“Nothing, I swear, she must have tripped something in the main chamber and wandered in this direction!” Jackpot yelled back at Grit.

I heard Grit's hooves run up to the wall panel where I was as he shouted through it, “Ivory just stay where you are and we'll find you a way out ok!” he shouted.

“Ok, it's pitch black in here so I can't see anywhere to go anyway!” I shouted to Grit through the wall. I decided to sit down as Grit and the others looked for any sign of a switch or button to try and flip the wall back around. Grit yelled at Enyi to go back to the entry chamber and look around there for anything that might get them through.

“Don't worry my pony friend, we'll have you out in the end!” Enyi shouted through the wall as I heard him running through the hallway.

I felt reassured by this and began to calm down until for a split second I thought I caught the whiff of some nasty odor coming from somewhere in the room. My ears twitched slightly as I quickly stood up and remained still as the smell slowly began to get stronger. I could have sworn that I was beginning to hear little pebbles shuffling about somewhere in the darkness. I stood there, alert and aware as I scanned what little the small trickles of light afforded me of the dark room. The smell was getting stronger now and even more repugnant with each passing second. It was then that I realized the smell was slightly familiar and then exactly what it was.

“Grit!” I yelled starting to panic, “I think somethings in here!”

The shuffling noise behind the wall stopped as I guess Grit and Jackpot began to smell the same odor as me, “Jackpot get the damn door open now!!” Grit angrily yelled as the shuffling noises increased. “ENYI GET BACK HERE NOW!!” Jackpot yelled even louder down the hall as Enyi's hoofsteps could still be faintly heard. “Ivory listen to me.” Grit said frantically, “Ignore what I said and just start running, right now!” he yelled very seriously.

“I can't see anything, there is only blackness!” I was getting panicked now.

“I don't care, just pick a direction away from the smell and start running right now ok!” his panicked voice was getting worse as he started banging on the wall himself.

I slowly turned my head as I now heard a very real hissing sound on the other end of the room. Laying there near the ground was a single glowing eye in the darkness, the other almost certainly the one Grit had kicked out last night. I stood there in absolute terror as all I could see was the one slitted eye starring at me in the darkness. The hissing was rather loud now as I knew it sensed me in the room and knew exactly where I was. I tried moving my hooves slowly at first, it didn't work, then I shouted to myself in my head to move or else I would die and slowly but surely one of my hooves started to inch outward.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, I SAID RUN YOU IDIOT!!!” Grit's booming voice suddenly shocked me out of my paralysis and got me jolting down in the opposite direction of the Pyth.

I felt a large mass suddenly burst past me, almost knocking me down but just barely missing me. With one eye gone and the nasty smell still permeating the monster seemed to still be slightly dazed.

“This place must be it's lair or something.” I said to myself as I just ran and kept running since I hadn’t hit any walls yet. I soon realized that I must have been in a hallway as I was able to keep running for a good while before slamming into a wall and dazing myself for several seconds. I was able to take a quick look back and saw that the one glowing eye was still coming towards me so I felt around for an opening and then ran down there.

“Lucky this snake is so big or else it could be faster in these confined hallways.” I said as I continued to run blindly down the darkened hallways. Every other second I could hear the hissing getting nearer and nearer and every time I heard it my body just moved faster and faster as adrenaline took over me.

As I ran I suddenly heard a strange splashing noise from behind me in the direction of the Pyth, “Oh no! The acid!” I immediately ducked down and scrunched myself next to the wall as a slather of viscous liquid splattered where I had just been standing. I was not so lucky as last time as several drops hit my flank burning my fur and skin horribly, just barely missing my cutie mark and causing me to cry out in pain.

“Princess Luna please help me!” I shouted as I cried in pain. The dark hallways reminded me of night and I thought that calling for her would either do something or at least give me some kind of courage to go on. With tears streaming down my face and a burning pain in my flank I picked myself up and continued to run down the dark hallway.

I wasn't nearly as fast now as I was pretty much limping which turned out to be lucky as I hit another wall. I turned around and the Pyth was closer than ever before now with it's hissing nearly on top of me. I lurched forward trying desperately and frantically to find the next passage in the hall as it jumped at me, smashing into the spot and the wall where I had just been laying. One of its wings flew out and knocked me down again off to the side.

“Lucky break, the hallway continues down this way!” I shouted, half panting from the pain and exhaustion I was now feeling. The Pyth must have dazed itself when it hit the wall as it's eye had closed and I could hear it shaking around back at the hallway corner. I could barely trot at this point with the acid still eating away at my coat and skin. Lucky it had only been a few drops or it might have eaten through me by this point if the stories Grit has told me were to be believed.

The smell coming from the Pyth was becoming overbearing for me and I had to stop a second to vomit on the ground as I continued to limp down the hallway. I leaned against the wall trying to get a few breaths in when I heard a low rumbling sound behind me, “Oh fuck no!” I screamed as I frantically began to run again down the pitch black hallway with the large monster close behind me. I was frantic, I was panicking and I was in serious pain as the leg the acid hit finally gave out and I had to go back to limping on three legs.

KAAAAAA!!!!!!

“Stay away from me!” I yelled just hoping that anything I did would work at this point. The beast was now almost on top of me, I could only go so fast on three legs and I was beginning to tire out very fast. The Pyth was now very close and very angry and probably very hungry as well. I heard a crash behind me as it leapt forward one more time in my direction with it's acid dripping from it's mouth. Luna must have answered my prayer for at that moment I hit stairs and flopped right down them with the Pyth smashing into the sloping ceiling causing it to collapse and block the passageway and the monster from getting to me.

My whole body was hurting now as I hit the bottom of the stairs, bruises covered my face and the burn mark from the acid had spread to cover most of my thigh. “That thing knows these tunnels pretty well I'd wager.” I said as I dragged myself back on to my hooves, “It'll find a way around before long.” I began to limp further down this new passage.

I had to stop not long after starting to move again as I was almost completely out of breath, “Where are Grit and the others?” I asked myself as I collapsed back on to the floor. I laid there for several minutes just trying to get any energy back I could. I slid off my saddle bags and took a look at them, “At least these weren't damaged too badly.” I said as I only saw a few small holes in one of the two packs. I slid out their contents and gobbled down the last few nuts that were left from the night before. I took a few glances of the books I had brought with me and ended up tossing all but the on written in the ancient script as I wanted to be as light as possible to conserve my energy.

When I was able to get moving again I stumbled my way away from the stairs and deeper into the tunnels. As I kept walking I slowly noticed a glimmer of light emanating from the end of the hallway I could now clearly see I was in.

“A light down here, how?” I wondered as I stopped to ponder if I should keep going towards it. “It might be Grit and the others or maybe some ancient trap.” I wondered.

The only way to know for sure was to go forward and going back really wasn't an option so I kept stumbling on. When I finally reached the hallway end I turned the corner and saw that the light was coming from a large open doorway at the end of the hall. Once I approached the doorway and saw where the light was coming from I almost couldn't believe my eyes.

The room was large with two more doorways leading out the sides of the great chamber, the room was well lit but I couldn't see where the light was coming from, only that it was there. On each and every wall was more frescoes of the kind that Jackpot had been picking gems off of but they were of more than just Abila. I immediately recognized them as I took out the bracelet and took a count of who was pictured on the wall.

“The Griffon is there and the Buffalo, the Pegasus, the Earth Pony and that is Aurora Solstice.” I said as I compared what was on the bracelet and the wall. Abila was of course up there as well and they all were positioned in a circle around a white Alicorn with a starlit raven mane. I took note of the appearances of each of the individuals shown on the wall as well as what they were pictured with.

“Lets see, the Buffalo and the Earth Pony each are shown carrying a pair of spears, Aurora has some kind of jeweled staff, Abila has her helmet, crown thingy, the Pegasus has a shield and the Griffon has a silver cloak.” I looked at the Alicorn in the center and saw that she was wearing a beautiful set of silver armor that even in the picture seemed to sparkle in the light in the room.

As I turned my head away from the beautiful frescoes I saw the far end of the room and probably the most amazing this I had ever seen in my life, “Grit was right, this is her tomb.” I said once again to myself as I approached the staircase that led up to a large stone container with a smaller directly in front of it. Written on the larger container was a few letters in the Pre-Celestial Script and next to it was several more letters in the Zebra language Grit had mentioned earlier.

“These must each be her name in both languages.” I said as I gave both etchings a good look over. I gave a small glance to the smaller box when suddenly a tingly feeling began to emanate from my saddlebag. I reached back and picked out the bracelet from the pack as it glowed and seemed to vibrate the closer it got to the smaller box, “Should I?” I asked myself kind of curious but also a little grossed out by what might be in the smaller container.

“Here goes nothing.” I sighed and pushed my two front hooves against the top of the stone chest and heaved all of the strength I could muster against it. My back leg began to hurt again but I managed to slide the lid slightly before collapsing back to the floor. I pulled myself back up and with the top already slightly moved I had an easier time getting it the rest of the way off.

“No way!” I said as I stared at the contents of the stone chest that began to shine in a silvery light once the top had been removed.

Within the chest sat a silver helmet, adorned with more ancient writing and the image of a large tree surrounded by a ringed city. It was the same image that had been portrayed back on the upper levels of the tunnel but without the dark cloud hanging over it. I slowly slid my hooves under it and lifted it up as the pain in my back legs seemed almost to vanish as though it was never there. The helmet was surprisingly small and had no ornamentation aside from what was etched onto its surface. It's weight also surprised me as being extremely light as it took almost no effort to pick it up in me weakened state.

“What is this made of?” I said as I turned the helmet around several times to get a good look at it, “It almost looks too small for my head.”

I was so enraptured by what I was looking at I didn't notice the foul smell begin to creep into the room. I decided that I should at least try it on and as I lifted the helmet and placed on my head it seemed to grow and fit naturally and comfortably as though it was made for me. Once it was on I felt a jolt of energy shoot through my body as the jewel on the bracelet began to glow brightly. It seemed to grow as it latched itself onto my foreleg and covered most of my hoof like a large glove.

Feeling much better all of a sudden I took the helmet off only for all of the pain and crumminess to come sweeping back onto me. I debated putting the helmet back on but decided against it, instead putting it in my saddlebag to keep it safe. It was now as I turned back around, looking at the new form the bracelet had taken on my leg that the familiar stench breached my nostrils.

“Darn it, I took too long!” I yelled as I immediately started to limp back down the stairs only to see the face of the Pyth slowly slither in through one of the two side entrances to the burial chamber.

I froze in place as it stared at me with it's one good eye and it's forked tongue whisked in and out of its fanged mouth. One passageway was blocked by rubble, the Pyth blocked another and the third and only other way out was too close to the snake and led to Luna knows where. I slowly backed back up the stairs to the tomb before slipping on my bad leg and falling on my back. The Pyth was being more careful now as it slowly coiled its massive length into the chamber, blocking any possibility of escape. It's body began to coil up as I just sat there on the ground not knowing what to do at all and wondering if I was actually going to die here in this dark and lonely tomb. Suddenly the Pyth sprang forward at a great speed that had surpassed anything it had shown me before. I instinctively threw my hooves up in front of my head as the jewel on the newly enlarged bracelet glowed even brighter. I closed my eyes and began to scream as I though I was done for when I was suddenly jolted back by a large burst of force. I kept my eyes closed as I was too scared to look until a large splattering sound hit my ears and I was suddenly covered in a large amount of some sticky substance.

I was breathing heavily as I carefully slid one eye open to see the Pyth lying there on the ground with half of its mid-section blown away. The bracelet was still emitting a small amount of magical energy as I saw last bit of its wave hit the walls of the chamber but doing no damage to them. The Pyth lay dead on the ground and I noticed all to soon that I was covered in it's insides.

“AHHHH!!!” I screamed as it's foul smelling guts and blood covered a large portion of the front of my body. I tried to crawl out of the mess but I only ended up slipping on the slimy entrails and falling down the stairs right next to the dead body of the creature. I must have hit my head on the floor when I landed because after I hit the ground I fell unconscious.

****

When I finally woke up I was back outside at the campsite that sat right outside of the city ruins. Grit was sitting there next to me at the fire pit biting his hoof with a nervous look on his face. Jackpot was sitting next to him poking at the fire with a stick and fanning it slightly with his wings.

“Grit, what happened?” I asked in a weak voice as I sat up.

“Oh thank Celestia!” Grit ran up to me and gave me a huge hug.

“It's ok, I'm all right.” I said as Grits hug was suffocating me a little.

“So, yer awake huh, well I have to say you did a number on that monster down there.” Jackpot said with a slight nod of his head.

“I thought you'd never wake up!” Grit began to cry a little as he continued to hug me.

“Really Grit I'm fine and I can't breathe.” I said now trying to push out of his very strong hold.

“Oh, um, sorry about that, I was just...just so worried and...”

“I know, I know.” I said as Grit finally relaxed his hold on me.

“You had us right scared for a while there kiddo.” Jackpot said as he floated above Grit and landed on the other side of me. “We searched all along that wall for whatever you triggered and when we heard all of that commotion we thought it had got you.”

“We managed to get in but the Pyth had just passed us and the first passage we tried was blocked at the end and then came the blasts and the screaming.” I had never seen Grit this worried about me before, but then again I had never been in any real danger before.

“Yeah about that Bracelet thingy you got there, its kinda gotten bigger.” Jackpot sad as he pointed his hoof down towards the now greatly enlarged piece of jewelry on my foreleg.

“Yeah it got that way when I put on...wait where is my saddlebag?” I suddenly realized it was gone. I began to look around and beside the fact that I was no longer covered in blood and guts I saw nothing that I was looking for.

“Don't worry kid, we got those Zebra guards to carry all our stuff back to the boat while we stayed here to let you rest.” Jackpot said gesturing for me to calm down.

“You mean all of our stuff?” I just remembered what I had seen jackpot doing before I got flipped into the wall and just gave him a look that I am pretty sure he understood the meaning of.

“Yes, all of it” he said as he turned towards Grit with a look of his own.

“Listen Ivory what matters now is that we are all safe and sound and ready to take a nice long rest and then head home, right?” Grit asked me.

“But Grit there is something I need to tell you!” I needed to talk to him about Jackpot.

“Like I said, we will talk when we get home, ok.” Grit gave me another reassuring look.

“Ok.” I answered giving a little smile of my own. “Oh and by the way, where is Enyi?” I asked looking around for but not seeing him.

“He's still inside looking at the burial chamber.”

“Or what's left of it.” jackpot interjected with a little laugh. I gave him a stern look for that comment but he just shrugged and retorted, “What, it was a compliment.”

“Either way, I just want to get back to Equestria and get some rest.” I tried to stand up only to feel a sharp, stinging pain shoot through my back leg prompting me to fall back down.

“Careful there Ivory.” Grit said as he stooped down to help me back up, “The acid from a Pyth will hurt for several days.”

“Great.” I said with an exasperated tone.

“Listen, I'm gonna go see whats taking our striped friend so long so we can head out soon, ok?” Jackpot said as he got up from his sitting position. Grit nodded at him while I just gave a worried expression as I watched him float up and over back towards the towers.

“Grit, we really need to talk about Jackpot.” I said once I saw Jackpot enter the tower.

“I told you Ivory, we will talk when we get back home.”

“Why, what difference does it make, I saw him..” I didn't finish as Grit put his hoof to my mouth to stop me from talking.

“I told you, when we get back to Canterlot we will talk about everything, I promise.”

“Will I like what you tell me?” I asked now being kind of concerned about what was going on.

“Once I explain it all to you, you will understand why Jackpot needed to be here but for now please don't hate him.”

I nodded to Grit and turned my head back towards the fire as I took a look at the now blistering burn mark that now graced my flank. It looked better than it did in the tomb but still it was not pleasant to look at so I turned away from it.

“Grit, were all of your adventures like this one?”

“No.” is all he said as he took a stick in his mouth and began to poke at the fire.

A little while later Jackpot and Enyi both emerged from the tunnels and Enyi ran straight up to me and gave me a hug just as tight as Grit's.

“I am happy to see you are awake, it is good your life that monster did not take.”

“Thanks and all but you’re um squishing me Enyi.”

“Oh sorry!” Enyi let go and changed from a hug to a friendly pat on the head.

“So was it her?” Grit said from behind me.

“Indeed it was our hero of old, much of her life the glyphs on the wall have told.”

“So that was really her then?” I asked.

“The glyphs on the tomb do not tell lies, I know I did see her with my own eyes.” Enyi sounded very honored as he spoke those words.

“I really would like to know more about some of the pictures I saw down there and about Abila and her life.” I said with a genuine interest.

“And one day I would love to say, but for now a mystery bids me to stay.”

“What mystery?” I asked.

“Grit must had told of our hero's magic crown, the fact it was not there makes me frown.” Enyi said with obvious disappointment in his voice.

“Wait but I..” again I didn't finish as Grit interrupted me.

“It is a shame that such a legendary relic of you people was not found here and I of course would have loved nothing more than to just have seen it but remember Enyi we still have business back in Equestria.”

“Oh you Ponies and your quests, as I promised I will continue without rest.”

“I wish I knew what you guys were talking about.” I sighed to myself.

“You'll know soon enough Ivory.” Grit said as he stood up to take another good look at the ruined city. “This was once the capitol of a powerful empire, I would love to stay longer but now that Ivory is awake I think we should be on our way.”

The walk back through the jungle was not an easy one, we stayed at the ruins long enough to see several more Zebra guards appear to replace the ones who had left to load our stuff onto the boat. Zebras apparently could move far more quickly than us ponies through the jungle and as I watched Enyi as we walked back I could see him struggling to stay slow enough so as to not leave us behind.

Walking was still fairly difficult for me. We needed to take many breaks to let the pain in my back legs die away which caused our journey back to take nearly twice as long as it took getting to Numnah. Spending an extra night in the jungle did not help matters especially since we had little shelter with none of our tents having survived the first Pyth attack. We were exceedingly lucky as we suffered no more giant monster attacks and just had to deal with large insects and other gross and disgusting animals.

Returning to the village was not an easy thing to do and not something I looked forward to. When we came back I could barley walk through the village as several more graves had appeared since we left nearly five days prior. Grit helped me hobble through the village as I was still somewhat scared to pass the graves on my own. The few times I opened my eyes I could see the Zebra in the village giving us disparaging looks as we passed. As we neared the dock where out ship still lay anchored and waiting Enyi suddenly shot up and ran towards a hut near the dock.

“I nearly forgot this.” Enyi said as he returned with my Adventure Incorporated hat in his hooves. “Due to your state of being when we set out, you forgot this here.”

“Oh yeah, I assumed it got crushed back in the camp but I guess I did leave it here.” I said taking the hat back and flipping it onto my head.

As we neared the boat my heart sank at the thought of spending two more days of suffering on that accursed boat made me queasy before I even boarded. Though the burn on my flank no longer hurt as badly as it did I dreaded the now double suffering I would be enduring on the ride back to Equestria.

It turned out to be every bit as agonizing as I had feared, luckily the weather held out and the water stayed relatively calm throughout the journey home. As I sat there with my head hanging over the edge of the boat I could see a large chest near the bow that Jackpot and Grit spent most of their time sitting near. Enyi would come over to check up on me from time to time which cheered me up at least a little since I had somepony to talk to that seemed eager to learn about ponies and decided to ask me. It felt good to get to tell somepony else a bunch for a change and he promised that he would reciprocate my information telling one day. Even with this the time passed slowly but eventually I found myself staring at the shores of home and even though another day and a half of traveling awaited me I still felt a sense of ease come over me as my first adventure came to an end.