Pieces

"Okay, that's good!" Azimuth Reference called. "Set it down!"

The team of pegasus lifters descended gently. Ropes went slack as the bundle of galvanized steel conduit settled on the wildgrass with a clatter.

Twilight Sparkle checked off another sub-item out of several dozen. She re-rolled the scroll and set it aside, consulting another. "And the digging team is on their way?"

Azy nodded. "Should be here in 10 minutes."

"Perfect", Twilight said. "They should have their work orders, but please make sure they stage in the marked area—" she motioned to a roped-off section of the ruins several paces away "— and that they only dig at the prescribed depths. I want to make sure the shoring and weight distribution are configured properly at each phase of the re-route."

"Will do, your highness." Azy scribbled a few notes on his own parchment. "By the way… thank you again, for trusting me to help with this."

Twilight smiled. "Of course; you're the pony most familiar with the technicalities. And you've proven I can trust you to pull me out of any holes I stumble into."

"Hopefully it won't be necessary again," he said, and they both chuckled.

Overhead a streak of cerulean blue split the sky. Rainbow Dash banked around, clouds swirling in her wake, and skidded to a dusty landing. "Sorry I'm late," she said, pulling off a pair of flying goggles. "Clearsky was slow on cloudbusting, again."

"No trouble at all," Twilight said, checking off another item and setting the scroll aside. "Azy, can you hold down the fort for a few minutes? Rainbow Dash and I need to take care of something."

Rainbow raised her light gem and peered at the hoofprints on the tunnel floor. "Has anypony else been down here?"

"Not since us," Twilight replied, leading the way along the string. "I have a team of archeologists and equinologists scheduled for later this afternoon, once the construction team has done their part."

"That seems pretty fast," Rainbow said. "Usually you like to take your time with stuff like this."

"Usually yes, but…" Twilight pursed her lips. "I don't want to leave this any longer than I have to."

Rainbow nodded. "In your shoes, I wouldn't either," she said softly.

With that, they started forward, falling into silence.

Their trek down the tunnel seemed to go faster the second time around. The curves were already oddly familiar, the carvings on the walls expected instead of novel. Twilight kept waiting for the rattling, hissing sound to return, but only an occasional patter of scampering rodents disturbed the darkness.

The burial chamber soon opened ahead of them. The crude brass alicorn was where they'd left it, glimmering in the gemlight.

Twilight took a deep, calming breath. "Okay," she said, and carefully shrugged off her saddlebags. Two parchment pads levitated out, one for each of them. "Like we discussed, just a quick itemization of each alcove and anything else you notice."

"Got it," Rainbow said, moving down one side of the chamber, quill in mouth.

Twilight took the other side of the chamber, jotting rough notes as she went. A ceremonial dagger set differently than the rest. Bones facing a different direction. A partially collapsed alcove. An arrangement of decayed pottery at the base of the altar. An excess of runes over one set of remains, and a conspicuous lack of writing over another.

It was far from a thorough cataloging, but it didn't need to be. The following team would lay grids and go over the whole room with precise magical scans. She just wanted to capture an initial broad overview of the chamber for future reference.

Also a convenient excuse to gather her courage for a few extra minutes.

Soon though, the impromptu survey was exhausted, and she met with Rainbow at the far end of the chamber. Twilight gathered the parchment and tucked it neatly into her saddlebags again.

Then, magic quivering, she levitated out a small cloth pouch, closed with a drawstring.

"That's it?" Rainbow asked softly.

"Yes."

Together they turned and took the last few paces to the last alcove where the galvanized steel pipe lay, garish and obscene, through the skull of the long deceased mare.

After a short silent pause, Twilight levitated the pouch next to the remains and set it down gently.

"Is something supposed to happen?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't know," Twilight replied. She paused for a few breaths, then shook her head. "Apparently not."

"Probably for the best." Rainbow sighed and looked around the chamber. "Can we get out of here until the rest of the crew arrives?" she asked, wings fidgeting. "My feathers are getting itchy."

Twilight shook her own wings and nodded. "Yes, lets go."

They did one more pass of the chamber, and then followed the string back out to the tunnel. Rainbow trotted ahead, light gem held high, but Twilight paused at the entrance.

Already the nocturnal terror was fading into a distant memory. Looking back into the dark soon to be filled with survey lamps, construction coordinators, and other bustling activity, she wondered for a moment how much of it had been real, or just her imagination.

At that moment, she felt the faintest brush of air. A soft, cool sigh rustling her mane.

Then it was gone, and she was alone.