It had been a long and strenuous effort to get the University of Canterlot to fund this expedition, as they were notoriously stingy when it came to archaeology for reasons unknown to expedition leader Digger Stones, a brown earth pony equally dark eyes with a pickaxe superimposed over a diamond on his flank. Ever since he was but a colt, archaeology had been his first love. Digging for rocks and stones and examining them for ancient treasure had been his hobby for hours if not days at a time.
But one thing was odd about this whole foray is that for caverns of this size, you'd have thought someone would have mapped it by now, but anyone who went near it reported powerful magic fields, as well as halleucinations, deep fear and other things. Nonsense, all of it! He and his hoof picked team are made of sterner stuff, and a few shadows and strange magic tricks wouldn't shake them, not at all!
Cave opening, outside the caverns
Digger and his team walked up to the mouth of the cave, the opening swallowing the light cast into it by the afternoon sun. It had been an unventful trip up here, although the saddlebags laden with equipment had been something of a strain to carry all this distance.
He took a deep breath, quelling a shot of adrenaline. "alright everypony" he said, his deep voice ringing out "if there are no objections, we enter now, and keep an eye on the time. We should come out by nightfall to set up camp" he said, his team for four other lined up in front of him, listening intently. Crystal Seeker, a pale skinned unicorn spoke up in her higher pitched voice "I can keep us lit, i've been practicing my illumination spell for hours at a time, I can hold it steady" she said proudly, her horn briefly lighting up. Digger nodded in acknowledgement "good, good. you'd best light up now, we're going in" he said turning around, leading the way in. Crystal directly behind him as the others followed in single file.
Even as they entered, the cave was cold and dank, making everyone shiver a little. "stay close" said Digger, his voice echoing as they went on, Crystal's horn sending a pale white light all around, the rocky ground sloped gradually down, everyone looking around at the various rock formations as they went on, the light occasionally glinting off an exposed crystal.
"strange" said Spectrum Scramble, a magic expert. A bookish male unicorn with a light red coat, a wand and a few stars for his cutie mark. "there's no magic here. Not even the normal background traces you get in the open" he said, hovering a notebook and pencil in front of his bespectled eyes. "the field cut off not long after we entered, even in deeper caves the magic field doesn't change much, if any" he scribbled the notes into his book, his magic glowing a light shade of vermillion. "And some of these mineral formations look odd too, but that's not my specialty" he sighed.
"They do look a little strange, actually" said digger, stopping to examine a tall, rough stalagmite. "the mineral dispersal in this rock is positively anomalous" he noted, a magnifying glass in one of his front hooves. "over here!" called out Crystal, her glowing horn pointing down a smooth looking tunnel to their side "I'm no expert by any means, but this looks like it was done by workers or something" Both Spectrum and Digger turned to it. "so it is" said Spectrum thoughtfully "I recommend we look" he added. Digger nodded "perhaps we're nearing the point at which the other teams went back" A confident grin adorned his face "This is getting interesting".
The team filed down the quite narrow passageway, which was lines with smooth and glossy obsidian. "This has to be the work of a determined set of ponies" said digger, his voice echoing "maybe there's some kind of treasure at the end of this" he added excitedly. "I'm still not detecting a single bit of magic. It's like this whole cave system is lifted out of somewhere in which magic doesn't exist. But then again, why hasn't the natural field outside since permeated in?" He mused, writing more in his book which was filling up quickly "I sure hope we find some answers, I can't figure out anything about this place" he huffed, frustration in his voice. "I just hope we find anything" noted Crystal "This might all be some wild goose chase and this is all some kinda huge misunderstanding. Hope not though, this is getting interesting for sure"
After some more walking, the passage suddenly widened enough for all three to stand side by side with room to spare. "Alright" Digger said with fire in his voice "There is no way in Tartarus that this is a conincidence, there's something good ahead" he said looking back at his cohorts "I can feel it in my-" He was cut off by a tall, rusted metal door. Ancient rivets visible all around it's outline, and he had just collided with it. "-bones" he grunted, stepping back and shaking off a moment's concussion. "Looks like we found something" said Crystal plainly. "ya don't say" snarked Digger, rubbing his head. "But this looks like a vault of some sort to me. We have to find a way in, there has to be something of value inside for it to be this well hidden!" he said almost bouncing with excitement.
"The hinges look well worn, but there doesn't appear to be a lock. I think Crystal and I could get this open with a bit of force" he said tucking the book into one of his bags. Digger put a hoof to what looked like a handle, he pressed down on it hard, causing it to slowly inch down with a metallic groan. Eventually, after much straining, he had pushed it all the way down "I think this is where you come in" he said turning to Crystal and Spectrum.
"Alright" said spectrum confidently, his horn lighting up. Crystal nodded along, her own gaining energy. They pointed their horns squarely at the door, and Digger stood aside. The beams of energy got thicker, and the door groaned and scraped under the amount of force pulling at it. Eventually, it started to move, slowly moving open as flakes of rust pinged off the ancient hinges, a trail of dust left behind as it slowly moved open. "nearly....got it!" strained Crystal, the door moving a little quicker. And with one final yank with a bit of pushing help from digger, the door was finally fully open. Both unicorns stopped their magic, breathing hard. "take 5" said digger gently "sure sound like you need it"
Spectrum leaned hard against one of the walls, taking a flask of water out of his bags. "This...had better be...worth it" he panted, stopping to drink. Crystal was doing the same, her head drooping "don't think somepony wanted us being in there" she said between breaths. After some respite, with all three having caught their breath, Crystal lit her horn up and they pressed on inside past the vault door. All three were quiet, Digger determined not to look like an oaf for blundering into something again. "I still don't see why the others who came here were sent running" mused Spectrum "doesn't look so bad down here. Just kinda dusty".
After a moment's walk, the passage opened up into a massive chamber, slightly below them. Massive trenches in the ground could be seen, as crystal swept her horn light over the huge cavern. All three of them stood side by side "I think this is a vault of some kind" Said Digger, his voice ecoing loudly around the huge room. "Agreed in full" added spectrum, taking a step forward. "but for wha-" He was cut off, as his hofo sank slightly into the floor on a stone. "I've found...something!" he said "I stepped on a stone, and it sank into the ground. Could be a switch of some kind" he suggested.
As they were examining the sinking stone, light flooded in from above. The massive light orbs in the ceiling giving the impression of daylight inside the chamber. All three snapped their eyes shut, recoiling hard. "yep, it's a switch alright" struggled spectrum. Digger cautiously opened his own eyes "At least we can see better" he sighed "let's get a better look at this place" he said walking down a slope towards the trenches.
"statues, as far as the eye can see" Said digger, holding his magnifying glass to one of them. "They stand upright, on two legs. All in an identical row, all wearing the same clothing. Maybe a uniform?" he said to his cohorts. "The stone is mostly granite and marble. Very durable stuff" Crystal said "but it's a lot harder than I can cut through, my magic can normally get through it". Spectrum, who had been doing his own analysis, spoke up. "most of them are carrying what looks like a weapon or tool of some kind." Digger paced in a loose circle, musing to Spectrum "could this be of an extinct species? who made one final hurrah for themselves before they...departed" suggested Spectrum "best explanation we've got so far" replied Digger with a light nod.
"hey!" called Crystal from slightly afar "I've found something! looks important!". The two others made their way over to the centre of the room where she was calling from, where a raised plinth with a large, white orb stood on an ornated platform. "Look at the markings on it" she said excitedly, pointing her horn at it "looks...powerful". Out came Digger's magnifying glass again. "Important indeed" he said, interest in his voice "but these markings are alien to me. Spectrum, can you make any sense of this?" he asked, turning away. "Let me see" said spectrum, stepping closer to the mysterious object. "hmm...no, in all my years I have never seen anything like this at all. We should take this, and analyse is further at a lab" Digger nodded "Agreed. They'll love this. But handle with care, This is invaluable, I sense a great deal of magic attached to it". Crystal lit her horn "no problem, boss" she said lifting it slowly from its berth "Careful is what I do".
But as soon as it was away from the plinth, it shattered explosively, sending flecks of magic everywhere. All three where thrown back into the trenches with a cry of shock and anguish. A rumbling was heard all around them, a slight tremor in the ground. "A bomb!" coughed Spectrum "it was a trap!" he helped Digger and Crystal up "we have to get out of here!" shouted Digger over the noise. They started moving through the line of statues, but the stone appeared to be cracking and flaking off of them, revealing monochrome skin beneath. "I don't understand!" cried Crystal "I was careful, wasn't I?"
As they got to the ramp at the exit, there was a shout. "Stop!" came a gruff voice, one that hadn't been used in a long time "stay where you are!". Spectrum turned to digger "I don't think they're gone after all".
