The Discovery Of The Century
Two months ago, after helping find the biggest treasure in Equestria's history...
Flurry Heart had bought a book that told about Celestia and Luna's early life when they were fillies. At the end of the book, she discovered a note about an underground city built entirely of gold. Excited about finding something like that, she notified Celestia and Luna, Neighsay, and Twilight. They all agreed to join her in finding the city.
Everyone met together in Canterlot and looked at the map that Flurry had found in the book. It showed four stars around Equestria with arrows that all pointed to a single spot in the Everfree Forest. Below the map was a single note that explained what the stars were.
"The locations marked with stars are areas I have explored. I found giant crystals at these spots. I have no idea who put them here, but I know that they glow if hit with enough magic. They also appeared to emit beams, but I did not know why until I found a spot in the woods where the beams crossed. I am led to believe that this spot is where the entrance may have been to the cavern where this gold city is hidden. Part of the legend about this place said that the crystals would turn to dust once the city was somehow exposed for all to see, since they will not be necessary anymore. Alas, I never succeeded in finding the city. I only came as far as the forest. I devoted my life to finding this place, but I was heartbroken when I saw how much money I had put into my expedition. If I had continued, I would have had nothing left with which to sustain myself. Long story short, I had to abort my quest in order to save up for retirement. I hope someone will find my notes and finish my quest."
Nopony could believe what they had just read.
"Whoever this was, came extremely close to finding the city.", Twilight said sadly.
"I agree. I wouldn't want to go so far and then have to stop due to possibly running out of bits either.", Neighsay replied.
Nevertheless, they all set off to find the crystals. They found the first one relatively easily, since it was atop the Crystal Palace. It didn't put off a beam when they lit it, so they assumed that the crystals were in pairs. Celestia asked Cadence to radio them when the crystal emitted a beam, and then they left to find the others. When they came close to the Everfree, Flurry had an idea.
"I will stay at Aunt Twilight's castle and you can split up to find the remaining crystals. Radio me when each one is lit, and then meet me at the north edge of the forest."
Nobody objected, and they went their separate ways. They had copied the map so that everyone knew where they were going. Twilight headed south, Celestia and Luna headed east, and Neighsay headed west. Within a day, Celestia radioed in that she and Luna had found the eastern crystal on a ledge in the mountains overlooking the badlands. Two days later, a call came in from Neighsay.
"I have found the western crystal. It was three miles west of Vanhoover. It emitted a beam once I lit it."
"That means the southern crystal is paired with the one in the Crystal Empire.", Flurry said.
The following morning, Twilight called in with a report on her progress.
"I have reached a long abandoned place that appears to have belonged to a villain named Arimaspi. He was the one that stole the idol of Boreas in Griffonstone before falling to his death in the Abysmal Abyss. I found the crystal at the highest point, and have lit it."
Just then, a radio call came in from Cadence. She said that the crystal in the Empire had emitted a beam. Everyone met at the north edge of the forest and they ventured in. The beam that connected the northern and southern crystals shone overhead. Soon they reached the center of the forest. Looking up, they saw the lights crossed. They started looking around until Twilight tripped on a root and pulled on a tree branch. Instead of breaking, the branch moved like a lever and a door opened in the side of the tree. Turning on flashlights, they stepped inside and climbed down a cramped shaft until they found themselves in a wide underground earthen tunnel. Pressing on for many miles, they eventually slid down a slippery slope into a partially flooded stone tunnel. They found a mechanism built into the wall and began turning it until they had forced a door open. When they went through this door, they found themselves standing in a wide open cavity in the cave. There was a little bit of light coming through an opening in the cave ceiling, but even then they could not see, even with their headlamps. So once they had walked a little further, Flurry created a powerful orb that would be bright enough to illuminate the area. Once lighting it and sending it up, the cave became lit up and everyone was in shock at what they saw. They were standing at the base of a temple built entirely from 24k gold bricks. Looking around, they found themselves surrounded by multiple buildings built from the same gold. They were standing in the center of the golden city.
"WHOO!!", Neighsay shouted.
"WE FOUND IT!!", Twilight and Flurry cheered at the same time.
They began taking pictures and then joined the royal sisters at a spot that Luna had found. There was a stone wheel connected to some type of mechanism under the city, and they could not see what it was supposed to do. They struggled to turn the wheel, but it eventually came free. Once it started turning on its own, they heard a loud grinding noise that hurt their ears. They felt themselves moving, and suddenly fell down from how much they were shaken. When they opened their eyes, they were no longer underground. Looking around, they found themselves in what was known as the Badlands. The city was constructed underneath this part of Equestria, and the wheel was part of a mechanism that raised the city above ground. The crystals had turned to dust like the legend said. News reporters from all around Equestria came to write articles about the city, and it was declared a major landmark and an example of extreme craftsmanship. Everyone came to see the city, and could not get enough of it. Celestia declared that if anyone tried to steal bricks to sell them, they would be thrown in jail. Everyone understood how important it was to keep this city in its beauty, and did not dare steal anything. The city would remain standing until the end of the world.