"We made it!" Bolster happily declared, closing the door behind him. "I can't believe we actually made it!"
"Heh," Holster, his brown unicorn partner chuckled. "We still have to make it all the way back," he reminded him.
"Oh... right," the gray unicorn replied, his enthusiasm at having survived the journey dampened. It wasn't just enough that they had to brave raider territory to get there; no, now they had to somehow sneak back with whatever equipment they found. The city of Chicoltgo had become a dangerous place since the megaspell hit it some two-hundred years ago, not that Bolter or Bolster new of a time when it was any safer.
Equestria itself was a dangerous place nowadays; monsters, radiation and raiders all made life very difficult for the few ponies attempting to rebuild civilization. The Grand Pegasi Enclave kept the skies in perpetual overcast at all times making growing food almost impossible. The two unicorns thought of Chicoltgo's barricaded section of town, known as Stuckway, as their home and so had snuck through raider territory at night to try to secure a new source of food.
"You think we're really going to find what we need in here?" Bolter asked as the two walked deeper into the tunnel.
"Of course we are. There's no way we can't," Bolster replied, looking over his shoulder.
"How do you figure that?"
"Because if we don't, we're all dead. Now get your light on," he told his partner. The two had learned what little magic they knew from, of all things, a friendly alicorn living in town. The two had heard tales about how the Enclave has plenty of food and water in the skies and that they hoard it all for themselves. They didn't allow ponies access to the clouds or their resources and kept it overcast so no sun could reach the ground. The Enclave controlled the skies and didn't allow unauthorized flight. Bolter and Bolster had come in search of Stable 1 in search of a different kind of authorization.
The two used what little magic they knew to cast simple light spells from the ends of their horns. The tunnel was dark and silent as the two walked. Bolster led the way, keeping his light forward while Bolter scanned the walls around them in a search pattern. They didn't need any surprises. But they were staring one in the face.
"Wait a minute, turn your light off," Bolster said, decasting his own spell. "I see something."
"What is it? You see something? Glowies? Hellhounds?" the frightened unicorn behind him jumped to conclusions.
"Relax," the green unicorn said. "There's a light or something up ahead."
"What? Did they leave the lights on or something?" Bolter asked. He didn't fully understand the implications of there being a light at the end of a tunnel to a Stable.
"Buckin' hay..." Bolster cursed, frustrated. There was only one explanation: somepony had beaten them here. The two walked into the light. A massive, steel cog-shaped door emblazoned with a number "1" in the center was rolled off to the side to their left. To their right, a small panel containing a lever and speaker system were hooked up to the side.
"It's been opened already. Somepony may have already been here and taken everything," Bolster explained.
Bolter groaned. "You mean we came all this way for nothing?! We walked all this way, could've been shot, eaten, captured and enslaved... for nothing?!" the gray unicorn kicked the ground in frustration. It looked like he was right though and Bolster almost felt like doing the same. But it wouldn't get them home any faster.
"We'll stay here in the tunnel and try to make our way back in the morning. Hopefully, the raiders will be out... for an early morning raid or something and we won't see any," Bolster said. To be honest, he had no idea. Did raiders raid more in the day or at night? Or did they raid twenty-four/seven? But then, why would they bother defending territory? It wasn't something he planned on learning more about.
"We might want to check the Stable while we're here. Maybe they missed it," Bolter suggested.
Bolster shook his head. "If they're smart enough to get the Stable open, they're probably not dumb enough to leave a Sidewinder Stone behind."
Bolter let his head droop. Ever since the alicorn Zero told them about the fabled "wing spell", Bolter and Bolster had been fascinated with it. But wings alone would just get them up there. They also had to get back with enough food for the town.
Their plan, which hadn't exactly been approved by the rest of the residents in Stuckway was to literally bring down the sky. Using a modified wing spell, they would create steel wings for themselves and search the clouds for food. When they found it, they would attach a specialized hook to tear down a section of wherever it was the pegasi kept the food and take it back to the city.
So, essentially the two unicorns had dodged raiders to retrieve an item to help them raid the sky. Not a glamorous plan but one that was nevertheless necessary. Stuckway needed food and the Enclave had plenty of it if the rumors were true. It still didn't make either of them feel better... but then again, neither did hunger. They were different than the raiders, they had to be. Somehow...
"Hey, what's that?" Bolter asked, pointing to something on the ground in front of the door. Bolster used a levitation spell to pick it up. It was small, flat and round, almost like a clam.
"Memory orb?" Bolter asked.
Bolster shook his head. "No, this is something different. It looks like some sort of-" The top of the object sprung open like a trap door.
"Hi Marigold!" a chipper, female voice spoke from the device.
"What is-"
"Shhh!" Bolster shushed his friend. The two listened as there was a pause and then the voice spoke again.
"I'm leaving this behind in case you find it. I guess you know now that I left the Stable and I think it's for the best. I wanted to leave before you woke up but I didn't want to go without saying 'good-bye' first. We had a lot of fun and I'll never forget all those late-night slumber parties! You just don't know when to quit! You kept me company when I thought I'd be all alone in Stable 1... stuck in my own little toy box forever. And we both know I didn't want that. So, thanks again for taking such good care of me and being such a great friend! I'll never forget you! And remember..."
The recording paused. The voice trailed off and sounded like it was moving into the distance away from the device. Then, all of a sudden, it came back.
"TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK!" the voice said in a sinister tone. The two ponies almost jumped back at the last statement.
"Wha... what does that mean?" Bolter asked.
This time, Bolster was almost as frightened as his friend was. "I... I don't know." It did make him think though; somepony left the Stable. He turned around to the panel that controlled the door. Bolster just now noticed that the lever was still in the "up" position.
"The Stable was opened from the inside. It might be that there's still something worth taking back in here," Bolster said, approaching the door.
"What did that thing mean? 'Do your homework'? What is homework?" Bolter asked, following him.
"I don't know. Maybe whoever they were talking to is still in here."
"Yeah," Bolter agreed. "But who do we have to worry about? The one who left or the one who stayed?"
Bolster didn't have the answer to that. He had a feeling that they were leaving at least part of the answer behind them at the foot of the door. They'd found the message and were now stepping into the bottle.
