I. Arrival
Carrot Top opened her eyes to the light of the new morning as the warmth of the morning sun flowed through the room. She closed her eyes and rolled on her back to stretch out. When she opened her eyes she nearly jumped out of her bed when she saw a silly eyed grey pegasus hovering over her.
“Derpy! What are you doing here? You scared me half to death.”
“I’m sorry,” Derpy replied, never removing the smile from her face. “I just wanted to say, ‘Good morning.’”
Derpy set down on the floor to let Carrot Top up. The earth pony stretched and looked around. “How did you get into my room?”
“Through the window,” the pegasus answered pointing at the now shattered window. “Sorry about that.”
Frustration and anger overcame Carrot Top seeing the shattered glass all over the floor. But she quickly realized she couldn’t stay made at Derpy, especially seeing the smile that she still had on. After cleaning up the broken glass, the two ponies headed outside to wander around a bit. With each of them having the day off, they decided it was best to spend it by hanging out together.
They wandered the street of Ponyville, visiting shops and seeing friends. The small town was always welcoming and the warm summer day only made things more enjoyable. They never grew tired of the quiet, but of course a day with Derpy always brought excitement whether one wanted it or not.
“Hey Carrot Top,” Derpy said randomly, “do you want to see something cool that I found up South…er…North? Or was it West? That way!” She pointed in a random direction, still smiling.
Carrot Top smiled, giggling at her friend’s randomness. “What did you find?”
“Some really cool ruins. Do you want to go check them out?”
“I suppose. How far away are they?”
“Not far. Let’s go”
Before Carrot Top could agree, Derpy grabbed her up and soared into the sky. They flew to the very outskirts of Ponyville and beyond. They continued flying even beyond Canterlot and still Derpy did not slow. Carrot Top soon started to wonder exactly where these ruins where as they continued their flight. Three hours into their extensive journey, worry took a tight hold of the orange pony as more unfamiliar landscape slid below.
“Are we there yet?” she asked. “I think we just past Phillydelphia.”
“Almost there.”
“How did you find them in the first place?”
“I got lost during a delivery.”
Carrot Top held her peace at the response, feeling it was best to let this one go given how far they had traveled so far. It was not long after that Derpy finally pointed out the ruins of an old city.
After landing, Carrot Top’s breath was taken at the site of the old city. It was more massive than it appeared from the sky given the amount of foliage covering it. The trees had formed a thick canvas covering more than half of the ancient city and vines and algae encased many of the buildings and statues. While most buildings were crumbling or already in rubble, some had survived the test of time now battling the vegetation that was intent on reclaiming the land. One such building housed a massive tree that grew in the center and out through the roof, and yet the building refused to collapse.
Several statues lined the road the friends were on, each of a pony wearing ancient armor. As she examined each, Carrot Top had to wonder exactly how old this city was. The design of the buildings and the armor portrayed by the pony statues were extremely ancient. The two ponies wandered through the ruins awe struck at the scale of such a place. As they wandered Derpy found an old helmet, in surprisingly good condition, and placed it on her head.
“Look. I’m a brave warrior of old. No, I’m an adventurer. Or maybe I’m both.”
The pegasus looked over at her friend and smiled. The earth pony simply smiled back and the two continued their exploration. As they wandered through the old city they admired the architecture and stone work. The detail that went into each building, statue, and other structures was fascinating. What they did not notice was something lurking in the shadows, watching their every move.
Down the road the friends came to an archway which stood as a kind of entryway to a road leading up a mountain. As they past under the arch, they found numerous stone walls lining the road, each decorated with painted or carved pictures on them. With the amount of decay, most of the pictures had faded and the walls had crumbled leaving many of the depicted images indecipherable. The surviving pictures showed pony armies as well as possible rulers and hero soldiers of the past. One image that kept appearing was of a mare with a crown, one such possible ruler, who was always depicted with a trail of ice following her.
As the two wandered, Derpy began to notice movement from within the shadows. She looked around to see nothing but stone and overgrowth and pushed her worry aside thinking she was only seeing the movement of animals. Carrot Top looked up at the road ahead, watching it spiral up the mountain all the way to some kind of fortress or palace at the top. Just looking at the trek ahead exhausted her.
The orange pony was about to call of the rest of their adventure until she noticed a hidden pathway through the bushes. She wandered over and looked through to find it led to a secluded area with more decorated walls. Curiosity got the best of her and she started making her way down. The new stone walls seemed different than the rest of the crumbling, plant infested ruins. Each was clean and the pictures were in pristine condition.
“Hey Derpy! Come check this out!” she called to her friend.
Derpy flew through the overgrowth into the opening wondering what new mystery her friend had uncovered. The two stared in awe at the stone walls that line the new path. Each depicted different scenes ranging from battles to various drawings of heroes and monsters. Again the image of the queen was all over. Derpy noticed one image that showed a skeletal pony, a spider, and a pegasus. The image made little sense and she paid it no mind.
“He, he, he,” she giggled. “That’s funny.”
Carrot Top continued to explore and soon found a small space hidden amongst the undergrowth. As she started to push aside some of the foliage, she found a small entrance large enough for a pony to fit through. She continued to uncover the secret entrance as she called to her friend.
“Hey Derpy! Check this out! I found a secret tunnel.”
Instead of hurrying to her friend the grey pegasus looked around at the surrounding brush, seeing more and more movement in the shadows of the trees and bushes. Worry began to build and she felt that now was a good time to leave.
“Carrot Top, there’s something out there. We should leave now.”
“Are you kidding?” Carrot Top asked. “I find something really cool and you want to leave?”
Several shadows leapt out from the foliage causing Derpy to jump and fly towards her friend. The two collided and tumbled into the hole, yelling and screaming the entire way down. The foliage that once covered the hole slid to the ground revealing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on either side with another pony on top.
Several skeletal ponies emerged from the brush and walked over to the entrance.
“They have uncovered the tomb,” one said.
“Shall we go after them?” said another.
Another skeleton wearing armor walked up to the tunnel entrance. “Leave them,” he said. “They will not survive for long.”
With that the skeletons turned and vanished into the overgrowth.
