[IC] Equestrian Radio Show's Adventure Variety Hour: Explorers of STOMP

CoffeeHorse · Apr 11, 2022

Static was about to point out that Maple was neither a seapony nor a Waterborn like Misty appeared to be. But he figured she'd learn by about the time she started drowning. She seemed to be able to swim in any case.

He still keenly remembered trying to convince Night Cap not to jump from suicidal hights in his attempts to fly...and being soundly scolded for it. He couldn't keep being the voice of reason for the crazy ones. It was too exhausting and he'd already had a heck of a day.

Rhapsody didn't want to runaway, she just saw little point in the caves now. The biggest potential discovery was already discovered... and in the hooves of a large hate-filled creature, that wants to be left alone. 'Yeah, we didn't get much info on the caves, because there is a large creature that nearly wiped out half the team that doesn't want any pony to disturb it.' simple report and to the point, and anypony that disagreed could go buck themselves.

Maple swam... not remembering ever swimming before she had no idea if she was doing it right, or if she could do it any better.
Spoiler

Misty Monsoon saw that there were numerous tiny crystals embedded in the wall. Something seemed oddly familiar about them and some looked loose. As Misty Monsoon looked over them, Anchors Away announced. "We should probably head back instead of keeping the group split."

Back in the main cavern, Amber Spark quite effortlessly chipped loose a crystal for future study. Underwater, Maplejack saw the tunnel Anchors Away and Misty Monsoon presumably swam down. However, Maplejack also saw a tiny box at the bottom of the lake.

Not trusting to her ability to swim, or the amount of air in her lungs Maple opens her pack and fishes out the bag of sugar dense toffies Miss Sweet packed special for her. Lining up the bag with the box Maple lets it drop. Waiting to see if it settles anywhere close, before swimming upwards and potentially sending the bag off corse with an errant current.

Spoiler
Zam

When it looks like the bag stops sinking Maple heads to the surface to report her find to a better swimmer.

Misty hears Anchors' words, but her gaze is focused on the crystal-studded wall. "Alright. Just give me a quick moment, I want to check out these crystals..." Swimming over to the wall, she lightly paws with a hoof at some of the loose crystals.

A few crystals brushed loose upon being touched by Misty Monsoon and fell into the water.

Misty dives down quickly and retrieves the crystals with her mouth as they sink below the water's surface, then follows Anchors back out of the small room.

As Misty Monsoon followed out of the tunnel, Anchors Away grabbed the box and Maplejack's bag before surfacing. "Did somepony drop something in the water?"

Spoiler

CoffeeHorse · Apr 11, 2022

Spoiler

"Oh good it must have landed close then... I saw that when I was coming to check on you two and was just coming back up to get help, since I'm not so good at swimming I don't think." Maple said as she climbed out onto solid land, a torrent of water sloshing out from he pack. A quick shake and once again the strange *fwoooshpop* of her mane and tail reforming into their normal shape... if not slightly still damp

"I guess it's okay if it happens only once but try not to drop stuff in the water. Still, this box if an interesting find." And indeed, it was curious. The dark grey box was slightly smaller than a hoof on all sides and intricately carved from some sort of woodlike material. Around the center were to rings that seemed to form dials that split the top and bottom in half but didn't seem to open.

Amber looked to the water as Maple and the others returned, then nearly dropped her shard on its way to her saddlebag when she saw the tiny box. She stepped closer to take a look.

"I wish I knew. Anypony have any idea how to open it?"

*Sploosh*

Misty leaps out of the water shortly after Anchors. "Hey, Amber!" *ptui* Misty spits the crystals into her wing and offers them to Amber. "I brought these up for you to take a look at," she says, smiling eagerly.

As fun as it would be to watch Amber try and split herself into two ponies, Snowy does still place value in efficiency. "I'll have a look at the box, Amber. You take a look at those crystals, and I'll tell you what I've come up with when you're done there." He approaches the box and notes how odd shadows spread over the dials from the overhead light of the powerball. He glares at the powerball, and it morphs into an powerarc, a half-pipe of gentle light that surrounds the box to completely light it up.

Spoiler

Amber smiled at Misty and indeed looked torn, but she nodded to Mr. Skies. Amber looked quizzically at the crystals in Misty's wing and lifted one close with her magic. What were the odds this might be....

Spoiler

Misty takes advantage of the better lighting conditions to look over the crystals she's holding, trying to figure out why they seemed strangely familiar.

Spoiler

Spoiler
Patchi, Zam

Static perks up at the mention of the box that was found underwater. Maybe the expedition wasn't a total waste?

He was about to take some footage of it when he remembered he'd handed the camera off to Night Cap to play with. He looked over at Night Cap. He seemed to be doing a good job of it, so Static decided to let him handle it for now.

Light Fantastic perked up at the fuss the other ponies were making. She noticed that they were crowded around something. She trotted over to the group.

"Whatcha find?" she asked.

Maple grinned... She liked Miss Fantastic, since before she'd known they would both be stomp members and long before Maple remembered yeah had a common interest in the healing arts.

"Miss Monsoon found some beautiful crystals. and Miss Away rescued my candies -and brought up a weird box that I couldn't reach down on the bottom of the water."

Traction is a difficult thing to master when you have fundamentally weak telekinesis, but Snowy Skies could get a decent enough grasp on the box to shift its moving parts. And finesse had always been his strong suit.

Spoiler

Static looks at the box. He may not have been with STOMP when they found the wand of the North Winds, but he'd still seen a lot of stuff in the few days he'd been with them. Plus he'd seen so many documentaries, sometimes you never know what kind of knowledge is up there waiting to be shaken loose.

Spoiler

CoffeeHorse · Apr 11, 2022

Perhaps the greatest unspoken consistency among the group was having never seen anything like the symbols on the small box. There was something distinctly old about it but different from other artifacts in the past. Static Signal and Night Cap were able to able to deduce that the dials were some sort of combination, though the exact combination was still a mystery.

Amber Spark found that the gem had the most similarity to cymophane, more commonly known to most as "cat's eye" to those outside of the scientific community. However, there were various differences a gemologist would be better able to discern. Misty Monsoon recognized it from a rather less scientific perspective. It looked a lot like the centerpiece of a necklace her mother wore many years ago. Embedded in a frame of polished obsidian, her mother sometimes said it was an eye that was always watching and would keep others safe. On one unfortunate day, the "eye" itself wasn't being watched and went missing. None on the island would have taken it but nopony knew where it went.

"Well, it looks like a combination lock if someone would like to open it. Only has two symbols to line up. It shouldn't take too long to go through all the possibilities."

"Hmm. Cymophane, perhaps? Not entirely uncommon, but quite lovely." Amber distractedly thought of Maple's comment about coat colors and glanced in Rhapsody's direction, then at her own coat. It didn't look quite like the cat's eye she was familiar with, but perhaps it was simply a slightly different variety? She couldn't help looking over her shoulder to see whether Mr. Skies was making any headway with the box.

"I doubt that box is as easy to open as it looks. It's probably best that we secure it and keep moving. We're finished here but there's two more tunnels."

"Fair enough." It wasn't like Static really wanted to see what was inside the box anyway. No telling what kind of booby traps secured it...or what kind of nastyness was kept inside.

Besides, the sooner they explore those other two tunnels, the sooner they'd be done with this place.

Light Fantastic stared at the box.

"So, who's the one whose going to open it?" she asked.

"I'm as excited as anypony to find out," said Amber, grinning at the challenge. "But when we do have a chance to stop and study it more closely, I believe Mr. Cap and I are already going to be busy taking notes from the machine tile he discovered, so Mr. Skies should have the first turn at it. Let's get going," she said, and turned to follow Ms. Away.

Snowy nods and stows the box in his pack. Puzzles really were not his strong suit, but he supposed he could give it a shot. As the powerarc collapsed back into ball form, he follows the group up the path.

It was hard to see the wistful, almost sad expression on Misty's face as she tucked the rest of the crystals into her saddlebag. It didn't last very long, though, and she moved quickly to follow the others back into the main tunnel.

Maple recognized the look on Misty's face, a hoof coming up to nudge the locket she wore. She said nothing though, for now they did have at least two more tunnels to check. After all there was no telling if there weren't more junctions further in.

Sloshing slightly as she went past the larger Pegasus, Maple game Misty the barest nuzzles ... more of a one wing hug than anything.

Static takes the camera back from Night Cap. "I was watching. You were doing a really good job. I'll have to make sure to give you more opportunities. Meanwhile though, looks like you've got a heavy enough load as it is. I got this." Static puts the equipment back on his shoulders, gives Night Cap a pat on the back, and moves out with the rest of the team.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 18, 2022

Retracing their path back to the junction, the STOMP team then began exploring the center tunnel. Less cramped than the previous tunnels, the rock and gem structure seemed much more similar to footage of the caves beneath Canterlot. After two hours of travel, they soon came to a ledge overlooking an enormous cavern. There were numerous pillars scattered across the expanse and a distant cliff. Anchors Away let out a low whistle. "Wow, we might have to tackle this tomorrow. It's been a long day so we should probably head out to the entrance and setup camp for the night."

"Tommorrow.... Really?" Rhapsody asks and looks over to Anchors. "You really want to stay in this Luna forsaken swamp through the night and another day?"

Eyes glowing at the pillars and the incredible vast chamber before them, Amber didn't turn to face Rhapsody, but tried to manage the shock of the vista with the shock of Rhapsody's response. "Rhapsody, darling, I think I'd like to live here."

"Swamps don't really bother me. I'm a lot more comfortable in those than most other places on land. However, there's only so soon the air ferry will be back and we still have the other tunnel. I don't want everypony to get burnt out, especially since we're to make the first assessment but don't have to explore the entire thing. I guess I'll ask the group. Does everypony want to go ahead and search the other tunnel tonight or as soon as we get up in the morning?"

Night Cap stops rolling. He's seen STOMP make enough decisions to know where this is going. The Chief Director does not need to see the conversation that's about to take place.

"Some of us aren't quite in peak condition after the... events today. I could use a good rest. Putting that aside, seeing as we don't exactly have the resources to make coffee in the morning it probably wouldn't be best to be up all night. Putting that aside, since we can't make the ferry come any quicker there's little to gain by hurrying this up. I'm eager to get out of this swamp too, but what would we do until the ferry arrives? The ponies of Nightmare Heights are hospitable, but that's their town hall we slept in. I'm sure they need it for something sometimes.

I vote for sleep."

Maple sloshed up next to the edge... and instantly regretted it.

"yes going back would be fine."

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... I think checking the other tunnel would be fine?"

Snowy shrugs. "I can't imagine we're making it back through the forest in the dark, so we'd be here overnight anyways. No reason to force things to go too fast." He whacks the powerball with a hoof and it floats forward through the air, out over the chasm.

Spoiler

As Snowy Skies light floated out a distance, it reflected off of the crystals causing a beautiful display of light like a three dimensional kaleidoscope.

Spoiler

Snowy blinked in surprise at the sudden light show. "I think I might agree with you a little, Amber."

"Gosh, that's really super pretty!" Misty exclaims upon seeing the crystals light up.

Maple has no words to describe how beautiful that was

Amber smiled at the display and nodded to Night Cap's words, suddenly reminded that he seemed to be looking rather the worse for wear. She cast her own light out into the chasm ahead, sweeping along one of the pillars and up toward the ceiling. It would be terribly difficult not to sneak her way back down here while the team was asleep outside, but it occurred to her that this was not at all a reason for objection to the plan.

"After wasps and Barometz and...Barometz...so...tired. I don't care if we camp here or back outside the cave. But Night Cap and Anchors is right. It's been a long, exhausting, painful day. I don't know about the rest of you, but my heart just really isn't in this right now. Personally, I think I need a rest."

Maple let the adults continue to debate what they wanted to do, but she had already started looking for a place to sleep.

as well as a small hole. ... relatively speaking, it needed to be slightly bigger than she was. Fortunately this being a cave nature provided all the sculpted surfaces she could hope for. Being at least partly carved by water Maple had quickly found a bowl of rock deep enough for what she had planned.

taking off her pack, Maple opened it and took out the shovel, returned to her on their walk from Miss Spark. Wedging it into a crystal formation above the hole, water from the underground lake began to drip steadily down into the hole as she lifted it up onto the shovel's handle.

Next using her wings ... Pegasus feathers being somewhat naturally water resistant, an obvious aid to their work with weather manipulation, Maple began to slide he wingtips down her body and legs. Maple was soon almost completely dry - the water forced to run off into the little basin, which was still only partly full.
The discussion had seemed to have quieted for a moment so Maple asked aloud.
"Miss Monsoon, did you manage to dry off after our swim? I'm trying to collect some water to make camping here for the night a little easier for Miss Away."

Anchors Away looked confused as Maplejack began digging a hole but was flattered when Maplejack mentioned why. "Aw, thanks. That should be enough water and if not, I've got a canteen and even some of those vials of swamp water samples. Camping here is fine, just keep away from the edge if you can't fly."

Misty still had the energy to do a little more exploring, but if the rest of the party wanted to call it a day, she was fine with that too.

The discussion had seemed to have quieted for a moment so Maple asked aloud.
"Miss Monsoon, did you manage to dry off after our swim? I'm trying to collect some water to make camping here for the night a little easier for Miss Away."

"Oh, I can help with that!" She opens her mouth and a stream of water shoots out like a firehose, completely filling up the basin. "There you go," she says, looking pleased with herself.

"I forgot you could do that, thanks Misty. None of the rest of you try that, it's not the same." Anchors Away took off her saddlebags and calmly settled into the mini lake.

Maple removed her mostly dry bags and shovel from above Miss Away.
No point in risking them falling on her over the night.

This was much easier than expected. Night Cap sets down his bags and the camera and lies down to sleep between them.

Return to me soon.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 18, 2022

Soon, the STOMP team drifted off to sleep. As each eventually awoke, they found their rations setting near them and Anchors Away looking out at the vast cavern.

Spoiler

Static shoot up out of his sleep. He quickly looks around, making sure everyone was alive. He shook his head muttering, "I have got to stop doing that." He takes the rations and starts eating, looking over to Anchors. "Morning!"

"Morning. How did you sleep?"

Static winced. "Dazzling Midnight killed everyone while I was forced to watch. Then Wasps killed everyone while I was forced to watch. Then Barometz...you get the idea. Awake now though! You?"

"Oh.

I dreamed that Caballuston's canals ran through the Keep the whole team got to swim with some whales."

Static smiles at Anchors. "That sounds like the dream to have!"

Static leaned in close to Anchors. "Don't tell the others, but I think it's possible I'm seriously messed in the head."

Anchors Away nuzzled back. "I wish there was some way I could help. Maybe your dreams will get better over time. But I'm not a doctor or anything. I am looking forward to seeing what we might discover today."

Static laughed slightly. "I've been having nightmares since I was a foal. Not looking for someone to fix me. You make my days brighter. That's enough."

"Ahhhhhh" Maple Sighed... Head in her hooves just sitting there watching the two be adorable.

Misty is still curled up, sleeping peacefully. Every few moments her wings flutter as if she's dreaming of flying.

At home, Amber had years ago configured her coffee machine with an elaborate timing apparatus, set to ten minutes before her own alarm. From long habit, she stirred slightly and sniffed the air, detected no hint of coffee, and rolled back into a contented sleep.

"Go on you two... smoochy smooch!" Maple might have been happy for Mr. Static and Miss Away, but she was still a little filly and thoughts of romance just made her all sappy.

Static jerked his head to look at Maple. He didn't realize they'd gained an audience. He smiled as he turned back to Maple. "I don't know about you...but I'd hate to disappoint her!" He went in for a kiss.

Spoiler

Snowy was a groggy as ever in the morning (he hoped it was morning. He was the light source around here, so it was hard to say), but he had enough meager presence of mind to stay still while the tender conversation moved forwards. He was just preparing to appear as though he was waking up naturally when he found that his stillness had limits, and those limits were broken by extreme sappiness. He snorts at Static's comment, rolling over (but at least making an effort to keep his eyes closed for a moment) before standing up and stretching.

Maple peeked out from behind her feathers in gleeful anticipation...

Rhapsody hadn't slept, she didn't trust this place. So her having a nocturnal preference anyway, made staying up not all that difficult as she kept watch to make sure the others remained safe, that was why she was here; Not like being an astronomer or singer was ever gonna come up in a cave. She let the others sleep as if there wasn't an evil swamp creature that could easily change its mind about not killing them or letting them leave. There wasn't anything about this swamp that felt right, and she didn't like the idea of everyone just seeming to immediately pass out. As they started waking up she said nothing, and just continued to want to get this over with as soon as possible.

Light Fantastic gave a small moan as she slowly got up from her sleeping area. How she missed her soft bed at home.

She stretched her back, being mildly shocked at the couple of pops that came from her back.

'And still no coffee,' she said to herself.

Amber groggily lifted herself from the floor, seeming to take far greater concentration at it than she ever did maneuvering objects with her telekinetic magic. She glanced to one side and then the other through squinting eyes. "Rhapsody, did you -" she shook her head, looking around. "Rhapsody?" she asked, slightly louder, and trotted shakily to her side.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 20, 2022

"You're making this kinda uncomfortable, Maple. Oh! Since everypony's up, let me get breakfast ready."Anchors Away quickly, if awkwardly, walked over to where the supplies were and started distributing rations. She paused in surprise upon walking over to Rhapsody. "Didn't realize you already woke up."

Static sighed. "Thanks for trying, Maple." Static tried to walk as quietly as possible up to Snowy, though knowing Snowy, he might as well be ringing a cow bell with every step. "You can stop pretending. I hope you're not against such sappy stuff when it comes to Light, hmm?" Static walked back over to help with rations.

"HURUMPH!"

as Maple watched Static Signal walk away he comment to Snowy Skies ... caught her off guard. Turning her head slightly to set her eyes on Light Fantastic...
"Well, now... that's interesting." Maple thought about it for a few minutes, this team had its issues but ponies had seemed to have made the best of it...
Miss Spark was with Miss Rhapsody, Miss Away was with Mr. Signal... and Miss Fantastic was with Mr. Skies.

"that just leaves Mr. Night cap and Miss Monsoon." Unbelievably Maple started blushing harder than before as she looked at both the Earth Stallion and her fellow Pegasus.

Snowy snorts again at Static's comment, and elects not to answer him, instead winking and sweeping up his rations in one hoof. "Don't forget about yourshelf, Maple." He says, through a mouthful of nuts.

"You're silly Mr. Skies... every pony already likes me."
Maple smiled as she put one of her candies in her mouth and just grinned like the Cheshire cat.

Amber groggily lifted herself from the floor, seeming to take far greater concentration at it than she ever did maneuvering objects with her telekinetic magic. She glanced to one side and then the other through squinting eyes. "Rhapsody, did you -" she shook her head, looking around. "Rhapsody?" she asked, slightly louder, and trotted shakily to her side.

"You're making this kinda uncomfortable, Maple. Oh! Since everypony's up, let me get breakfast ready."Anchors Away quickly, if awkwardly, walked over to where the supplies were and started distributing rations. She paused in surprise upon walking over to Rhapsody. "Didn't realize you already woke up."

Rhapsody looks over to Amber as her marefriend finally start to wake up, hearing her call her name as Anchors walks over to her. "I didn't sleep." She states. "Somepony had to make sure everypony else was safe during the night since you all insist on continuing this foal's errand."

"Miss Rhapsody... if you get sleepy, please try one of the candies I gave out. Everypony's were made special, I know how much some of you like coffee, so I asked Miss Sweet if she knew how to add that into the mix... it likely wasn't the best coffee around since I didn't give her much notice, but it may help you somewhat." Maple was feeling good after her rest, her grumps didn't tend to stick around long anyway, but sleeping usually helped them move on even faster.

As much as he was grateful for Maple's thoughtfulness in making sure they all had some source of coffee, it took Static quite a bit of self-control to bite his tongue and not let a "now you tell us" slip. But anyone who looked could see him immediately pop a candy in his mouth along with his rations.

Anchors Away tilted her her and smiled. "Dedication to the team is a great thing but don't burn yourself out. I guess the thing with me is that I find all this exciting. The princesses directly requested this and we were the first ones to fill an exploration request from Luna. This vast space is awe inspiring. I usually only get views like this in open ocean. My senses may be off since this isn't water but I don't feel in danger. But with that said, thank you. Had I realized you were staying up, and that does make sense, we could have had rotating shifts. If we're a team, we should be looking out for each other's backs."

CoffeeHorse · Apr 20, 2022

"See what?" Static asks. After all, what did he really see? A pony reacting to a bad dream he was having. There wasn't much of a story to tell even if he had the mind to. Still, he shrugs to reassure Night Cap. "Don't worry. What ever it is you think I saw, nopony will hear it from me."

"You okay, though? That didn't look...pleasant."

"Miss Rhapsody... if you get sleepy, please try one of the candies I gave out. Everypony's were made special, I know how much some of you like coffee, so I asked Miss Sweet if she knew how to add that into the mix... it likely wasn't the best coffee around since I didn't give her much notice, but it may help you somewhat." Maple was feeling good after her rest, her grumps didn't tend to stick around long anyway, but sleeping usually helped them move on even faster.

Anchors Away tilted her her and smiled. "Dedication to the team is a great thing but don't burn yourself out. I guess the thing with me is that I find all this exciting. The princesses directly requested this and we were the first ones to fill an exploration request from Luna. This vast space is awe inspiring. I usually only get views like this in open ocean. My senses may be off since this isn't water but I don't feel in danger. But with that said, thank you. Had I realized you were staying up, and that does make sense, we could have had rotating shifts. If we're a team, we should be looking out for each other's backs."

"Thank you Maple." She says with a soft, probably weary, smile and then looks over to Anchors. "I had planned to discuss such a tactic, but you all feel asleep quite quickly." She says with a shrug before continuing. "As for the princesses, while I am very honored to be on an expedition approved by them; I still feel that we should have left after Barometz let us go. 'Exploration of caves inadmissible, large hostile life-form nearly wiped out team. The creature wants to be left alone, advise to heed such desire and let the caves remain a mystery rather then risk lives.'" She says, clearly quoting a hypothetical report she would have made. "As for my own well being, my profession means that sometimes working through the night to observe certain celestial events. I can handle a night with little to no sleep now and then. Of course I usually have /actual/ coffee to help with that..." That was more her frustration at the lack of coffee on this expedition rather then complaining about the attempt of candified coffee.

"What happensh shometimesh?" Misty asks, suddenly beside the two earth ponies, her breakfast oat bar sticking out of her mouth.

Anchors Away cautiously looked around. "I think we should talk about Barometz when we get back on the air ferry. Something's not adding up and it's been bugging me. But for now, I guess we should focus on breakfast."

Static didn't quite have the heart to tell Night Cap he'd been having second thoughts about learning to dream walk. Truth was, life in STOMP was hazardous enough, and his normal nightmares were terrifying enough. Did he really need to make things worse?

But then it probably wasn't something that needed to be decided right that moment.

Static raises an eyebrow as Misty pops into their conversation. "We were just discussing the odd sight of a fountain of water coming out of a ponies mouth," Static lied. "Thoughts or opinions?"

Misty nibbles on her oat bar thoughtfully. "Hmmm... if that happened, it would be pretty surprising?"

"Miss Fantastic, your bag of candies are made with Saddle Arabian beans. Miss Sweet actually had enough for a part batch. She gave me the awefullest look when I suggested mixing them in with everypony else who was going to get coffee toffees... so it must be good stuff." Maple shrugged, being more a tea pony herself she wouldn't know. "I think they're the darker ones in your bag."

Amber looked concerned as Rhapsody explained she hadn't slept, then nodded as she explained her concerns about Barometz. "If we hadn't needed to make our agreement with Barometz, I would agree that his presence changed the situation entirely," said Amber. "But his sealing spell is binding on both parties. We have found ourselves, strangely, just where we were before we met him, and without much excuse to offer the princesses for calling the expedition."

"Rhapsody, do you need to rest?" Amber asked, her voice and posture seeming ever so slightly less mechanical somehow as she moves away from the discussion of magic and missions. "I know you're not quite as enthralled as some of us with the caves. I suppose they're not quite as exciting for somepony who can make proper use of the skies the rest of us can't, are they? But you kept watch for the rest of us all night. It might be prudent for you to stay here at the camp with somepony to watch guard for you for a change, while we continue to explore. We can lament the organizational disaster of this expedition's complete lack of coffee in our reports, but it hardly helps you now," Amber said, putting a hoof to Rhapsody's cheek and looking concerned for her wearied marefriend.

Light Fantastic perked up.

"Really?" she said, "Why didn't you say so?"

She promptly began to much on her candies.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 20, 2022

Amber looked concerned as Rhapsody explained she hadn't slept, then nodded as she explained her concerns about Barometz. "If we hadn't needed to make our agreement with Barometz, I would agree that his presence changed the situation entirely," said Amber. "But his sealing spell is binding on both parties. We have found ourselves, strangely, just where we were before we met him, and without much excuse to offer the princesses for calling the expedition."

"Rhapsody, do you need to rest?" Amber asked, her voice and posture seeming ever so slightly less mechanical somehow as she moves away from the discussion of magic and missions. "I know you're not quite as enthralled as some of us with the caves. I suppose they're not quite as exciting for somepony who can make proper use of the skies the rest of us can't, are they? But you kept watch for the rest of us all night. It might be prudent for you to stay here at the camp with somepony to watch guard for you for a change, while we continue to explore. We can lament the organizational disaster of this expedition's complete lack of coffee in our reports, but it hardly helps you now," Amber said, putting a hoof to Rhapsody's cheek and looking concerned for her wearied marefriend.

"I don't trust the agreement any further then is necessary, love. For all we know it only really effects us, and he could change his mind at a whim and not be any worse for it. There is nothing that specifically states that his magic has to follow the same rules as pony magic." She replies and shakes her head. "I am fine for now, really. Its really not that odd for me to miss a night of sleep here and there. My Cutie Mark is the moon afterall, the night is just part of who I am." She says and runs a hoof against Amber's leg as it rests against her cheek. "If I do feel the need to rest, I'll take you up on the offer though."

"My dislike for these caves has nothing to do with my tribe, both Misty and Maple seem to be enjoying them well enough. To me, I see this as a similar situation as the Wand of the North Expedition; We're in hostile territory, and I want this completed as quickly as possible." She replies, not getting into the fact that she did loose some enthusiasm early on when she learned a Luna requested mission... was in a bunch of caves... Yet another place where her abilities outside of fighting are useless...

"Well, here. I can't drink coffee so you should have my candies, Rhapsody."

Maple /)_(\ facehooved and then came back with a semi lopsided grin.

"Yesterday was a fairly full day, and there wasn't a lot of room for other conversations on the ride over, the day before that....
also I kinda forgot." Maple shrugged her wings. "It might have been the offer of stew that first night that pushed it right out of my head."

Maple figured since most of the party could hear her she might as well say what every pony's special candies were.

"Everypony has some regular caramel or maple toffees: Miss Away's special ones were made with extra water, so they're a little softer. Miss Monsoon has a few with berries or Peanut butter like at our pancake breakfast. Mr. Night Cap has Coffee just like Miss Rhapsody and Miss Fantastic. Maple looked at Mr. Skies, "We hadn't spent a lot of time together Mr. Skies when I had to make these ..so Miss Sweet and I only thought to coat yours in white chocolate and icing sugar... So I'm sure they're super sweet" >_< Maple couldn't help but scrunch up her face as she looked between Mr. Skies and Miss Fantastic. "just like the two of you.." she couldn't help herself and muttered out loud... even in a whisper she was sure they both heard her.
"Miss Spark, other than the regular version, all of yours are 'mystery flavored' because I know you like that sort of thing. And Mr. Signal, yours are made with Soft apple Cyder... apple juice." Maple smirked and quickly gave her Manehatten friend a big hug. "Miss Sweet was so happy for you when I told her you'd given up the hard stuff, and so am I."

Static regards Rhapsody. "A magically enforced agreement with an supremely powerful being that straight up tells us that he hates us and didn't miss a chance belittling us? C'mon, Rhapsody! What could possibly go wrong?" His sour tone making it obvious that she wasn't alone in her mistrust in the situation.

He turned his regard to Maple. "Soft...apple...cider?" Such a thing exists? Suddenly, Static saw the key in beating his problem. "Maple, you have no idea just how much you saved me just now! Thank you!"

Amber nodded and kept her hoof raised under Rhapsody's for a moment before taking a step back. "Alright, if you're certain you'll be alright - but I'll hold you to that. Let us know if you need to come back and rest."

Amber paced back a few steps more and looked at Static, then back to Rhapsody. "I don't like the deal with Barometz any more than anypony." Amber snorted. "Possibly somewhat less, in fact. But if he were to dissolve the seal, even if he were to dest roy us - well, you explained the situation to him quite well yourself, Rhapsody. We're far more dangerous to him dead than alive and silent. Respecting the deal is the only hope he has." Amber looked out over the cavern, feeling a tickle of vertigo but still in awe of her surroundings.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 20, 2022

Static sighed, not wanting to dwell on Barometz. They had other worries. He edged up near to the chasm...but not near enough to look down. The last thing he needed was to see just how deep the thing went.

"So, I hate to ask. I mean...I reeeeeeeally hate to ask. But, what's the plan for getting past this?"

"I figure there's two ways to do it and neither is easy. One is to have the pegasi take turns carry ponies across. Some pillars are only half height so there's stopping points but that's still a lot of effort on our fliers. The other is to walk along the bottom and climb up the other edge.

Or...hmm.

Or we could split up. A small team with our fliers explores this while everypony else doubles back to explore the last tunnel."

"Well, we do have this specifically for splitting up purposes," Static suggests, holding out the morse code thingy. Really though, he was mostly just looking for any reason to keep his hooves on the ground. "Besides, as light as Amber was able to make my equipment, adding me along with it could get...well...I'd hate to be the flyer in charge of that." "Not least because I'd probably have a death grip on them and screeching in absolute terror the entire way," he thinks to himself.

"And here I was just gonna suggest throwing you across." Rhapsody replies sarcastically.

Static's eyes open wide and his ears pin back in absolute horror at Rhapsody's suggestion.

"I wouldn't question your physical prowess, Rhapsody, but are you quite certain you could make the throw? Mr. Signal is a sizable stallion, and at this distance...." Amber turned to her notebook and seemed to begin sketching out a trajectory and force diagram.

"I wouldn't question your physical prowess, Rhapsody, but are you quite certain you could make the throw? Mr. Signal is a sizable stallion, and at this distance...."Amber turned to her notebook and seemed to begin sketching out a trajectory and force diagram in a quizzical squint.

Rhapsody smiles and looks to Amber, this was just one of the reasons she loved the mare. "Oh I wasn't thinking a single toss, no, I know I'm strong and capable, but even I doubt I could do it in one. No, I was more of thinking a chain, I toss him to Misty, she tosses him to Maple... well maybe not Maple... I wouldn't want to put too much on her with her still gaining confience in herself, and dropping Static would certainly shatter that..." She says shaking her head briefly before continuing on. "No, I suppose I would have to fly a head so she could toss him back to me." She says with a playful, if slightly evil, smirk as she described the likely acrobatic scene of Static Tossing.

"Oh, if you need me to catch him, I could do that!" Misty adds.

Static glares deadpan at Rhapsody. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you in better spirits." "Mostly because I don't want to swear in front of Maple," he adds in thought only.

Maple Gave Mr. Night Cap a big hug. but then went over to see what the talk was about that she'd heard her name pop up in briefly.

"I could catch him... but maybe only if I was above one of the Pillars... so he wouldn't fall so much if he did." Maple knew everypony was teasing poor Mr. Signal, so she wasn't really upset that they didn't think she could do it... after all she couldn't do it on the way down from Nightmare heights.

"Oh, I see, like a Signal relay," Amber said, absently.

Maple giggles at Miss Spark's joke and has to sit down and fan herself with a wing to try and regain her composure. Wonder What MR. Night Cap's idea is helps her a lot and soon she has stifled her chortles enough to go back over and see what he's up to.

"So...Night Cap...please hurry and tell us what your idea is. And please tell me it doesn't involved a game of catch up above a very deep chasm!"

Static was beginning to noticeably keep his distance from the others. He knew they were kidding, but the jokes were getting a bit uncomfortable as he could actually see just how far the chasm went.

"Oh, I see, like a sort of Signal relay," Amber said, absently, eyes still on her notebook.

"Yes, something like that." She replies and glances to the note book. "You trying to figure out the mathematics involved in making sure this can work?" She asks, seemingly oblivious to Static's uncomfortableness, or maybe fueled by it.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 20, 2022

Amber nodded to Rhapsody. "I was," she said. "It doesn't look as if that will be necessary," she added, looking slightly disappointed.

"Hey Miss Monsoon come see this cool thing Mr. Night Cap is doing." Maple was confident this would work if the two of them just spent more time together... teehee

Misty's ears perk up. "Hm? Does he want to go after Static?"

Static looks at the disks rather unenthused. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure what kept them up in the air. But then he thought about what it would be like being tossed around by pegasi like a hot potato and then having one of them missing.

Static reached out tentatively for one of the disks and tried pushing down on it. Feeling that it didn't give and did indeed seem sturdy...

"Oh rumps!" he said closing his eyes. "Rumps rumps!" He put another hoof on the disk. "HOLY SWEET LOVE OF LUNA!" He stepped fully onto one of the disks. He opened his eyes just briefly enough to make sure he was planted firmly on the disk and shut them back tight again.

"The square root of 912.04 is 30.2. Please just get me there. The freezing point of water is 273.15 Kelvin. I'm okay. I'm alright just get me there. 205 bones in a horses body. The speed of light is 186,287.49 miles per second. Fly like an eagle to the sea. Fly like and eagle let my spirit carry me. Just point the fear toward a goal. Just point the fear toward a goal. Just point the fear toward a goal."

Anchors Away cautiously stepped onto a floating disk, then relaxed when it didn't budge under her weight. "Great idea! With three pegasi, we can double up each of these and just make one trip."

Snowy is very slowly waking up today (it seems there are differences between beds that he's unfamiliar with), but see Night Cap jump off a cliff is a good jolt to his system. He cautiously approaches the disks, noting how firm they are as ponies jump onto them. "Neat. Where did you get these?" He asks, carefully leaping onto an open platform.

Seeing Snowy Skies step onto an empty disk, Anchors Away climbed back onto the cliff and then stepped onto the disk with Static Signal. "Alright everypony, double up."

"Just point the fear toward a goal." Static was just repeating the mantra over and over, his voice getting higher pitched with panic.

When he heard Anchors voice next to him, he opened his eyes up to a squint, looking to find Anchors. As he caught sight of her, he opened his eyes more fully and took a few deep breaths. He straightened himself out, keeping his eyes on her and away from the sides of the disk where the bottomless pit awaited.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 20, 2022

"Oh, nothing against you," Static assures Night Cap in controlled and even tones, eyes still firmly planted on Anchors. "I just...do...not...like...heights. The fact that I even stepped onto this thing under my own power..."

"I trust you. Let's just get to the other side...kay?"

"Don't focus on heights, focus on something else. Like uh...um...oh! What was your favorite food when growing up?"

"Already focusing on something," Static said, staring straight into Anchors eyes. "Have I ever told you the effect you have on me sometimes?" Static was sure Snowy would be rolling his eyes at the sappiness. But dang, he really just needed to make it through this trip right now.

"Oh, my. That's simply capital, Mr. Cap," said Amber, stepping out onto Night Cap's own disk, staring down at the chasm and trying very much not to sound as terrified as Static.

Light Fantastic gave a distrustful glance and the disks.

"Are we sure these things are safe?" she asked.

"Oh wow!" Maple couldn't wait.

Static clenches his teeth as Light Fantastic hesitates to get onto the disk. He just wanted this ride over with! And if he, of all ponies, was the first to get onto one of the disks, for Luna's sake just get on the disk!!!!

"I think I trust the disk over having the pegasi toss us around," he says nervously. "Can we please get on our way?"

Static starts muttering to himself again. "The square root of 912.04 is 30.2. The freezing point of water is 273.15 Kelvin. 105 bones in a horses body. The speed of light is 186,287.49 miles per second. Just point the fear toward the goal."

Anchors Away looked over to Light Fantastic. "It feels pretty sturdy to me. You'll be on the disc with Snowy so he might be able to mask it with an illusion, maybe?"

Snowy squints at Anchors. "Are we expecting...something? I mean, we're not going to be on these outside of this cavern, and anyone watching us from the other side is going to notice if one of these disappears."

"No no, I meant that since some are scared of heights, I didn't know if you could make it look like the platforms were bigger or something."

"I'll be okay if I don't look down." Maple smiled, giving Night Cap a supportive look.

Rhapsody watched curiously as Night Cap did his thing and creates the platforms. "Well I suppose that works." She says with a shrug. "I guess we'll have to try the relay toss some other time."

"Trust them like you trust me."

Rhapsody scoffs at that, but says nothing as she moves behind Amber and Night Cap's platform.

"All right," said Light Fantastic, "but if I die, I'm coming back to haunt every single one of you."

She nervously hopped onto one of the discs.

"Pretty sure I'll be right there with ya!"

"Really, you two, there's absolutely no evidence of pony spirits remaining after death to haunt the living. You'd be much better served by seeking your revenge ahead of time."

[This was Night Cap]

"Ancient Queens sometimes come back to haunt the living"

"Or you could be nice and give some pony a hug of encouragement so that you avoid starting a cascade of negativity."

Maple smiled. Stopping to give both Miss Monsoon and miss Rhapsody a quick hug.

"We've got this girls!" Maple's wings buzz in excited preparation.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 25, 2022

"Yes, well, if you must be pedantic about it," said Amber with a scowl. She hadn't looked up from the chasm below from the moment she stepped on the disk, and she spoke with an uncharacteristic snap, as if hoping to save her breath for all of the hyperventilation she could be doing.

"Pe..dan...tic... I didn't know you knew how to speak fancy Prance words Miss Spark!"

"A s-special c-case," said Amber. "Can these things move any faster?"

Carefully and cautiously, the pegasi pushed the hovering platforms with their teammates across the cavern. It was a silent trip with the only sound being wing flaps and the occasional nervous mutter. The opposite cliff was slightly wider, allowing the STOMP team plenty of space to step off of the discs without being near the edge. "That wasn't so bad."

Static scrambled off of the platform as quickly as possible, trying with all his might to resist kissing the solid ground on the other side. After catching his breath for a second and letting his nerves settle, he turned and nudged the platform slightly.

He turned to Night Cap with a sigh. "I was wrong. At the pancake house, I was wrong. Looks like even an earth pony can find a way to fly."

He nudged the platform again. "In fact, place a part on the platform for propulsion that a pink party planner from Ponyville could probably provide, you’re positively primed for pegasus styled play."

Static shook his head at the absurdity of it all. "Got an earth pony who can fly, a pegasus who can stay underwater as long as a seapony, a sea pony who can walk on land, a unicorn that can play an entire orchestra by himself, another pegasus who can shatter boulders with her bare hooves…if you told me you knew an earth pony who could teleport, at this point I’d be forced to believe you!"

After making sure everypony had disembarked from the floating discs, Misty flutters down on the cliff. "So! What's over on this side?"

"It isn't hard to hold your breath Mr. Signal... you just have to know how long you can do it before hand, or not be worried about drain bamage."
Maple smirked, as she landed on the ground next to the still slightly fidgety earth pony.

Misty Monsoon spotted a tunnel leading from the cliff that seemed to have some sort of dim light coming from it.

Static gives Night Cap a lopsided look. After the rant he just rant on and with what he'd just seen, he didn't want to outright deny the possibility of an earth pony teleporting. But it still seemed no less absurd.

"I guess I'll have something to practice once we get back home where we have coffee then!"

Static then regards Maple. "I could probably hold my breath for a while. But as light as Amber made this thing on my back, I'm still pretty sure swimming with it would be a bad idea. Sounds like a lot of flailing and splashing interrupted by occasional bouts of drowning."

Misty points at the tunnel."Looks like we go that way next," she announces.

Relieved to be back on solid crystal and still trying not to show it, Amber was about to correct Static that the projector should indeed survive submersion and raised a hoof, but nodded a silent "oh, yes, of course" when she remembered that ponies were not themselves entirely waterproof when fully submerged for long durations.

"Nopony drowns on my watch." Anchors Away was much more stern toned than usual. However, her attention was diverted when Misty Monsoon mentioned the tunnel.

"I really wasn't intending on it!" Static answers Anchors. He looks down the tunnel Misty pointed out. "So, shall we crack on then?"

"Is there something to be done with these disks Mr. Night Cap, or can they just be left here while we move on."

Maple asked eying both the floaty thingies and then the tunnel ahead.

Rhapsody walks up to Amber. "You look a bit shaken. You okay? You seemed fine when ever you've had me fly you other times." She asks, it being a bit hard for her to image that Amber is afraid of heights considering the few times she's carried her.

"I'm quite alright, really," said Amber. Explaining that she wasn't afraid in Rhapsody's hooves would mean admitting that she had been afraid crossing the chasm now, so Amber simply shook her head. "Let's get going."

Static jerks his head to look at Amber. He'd been so caught up in his own fear, he hadn't even noticed. Being marefriends with a pegasus, he hadn't suspected. Now he felt like a total heel for carrying on so much while she suffered silently. He wanted to say something. But if she wasn't even going to talk to Rhapsody...

He shook his head, angry at himself. "Yeah, let's get going."

CoffeeHorse · Apr 25, 2022

As the STOMP team advanced, they found the tunnel itself was quite short and it led to a most remarkable chamber. Growing from the ceiling was yet another glowing fern cage. However, the light was being reflected by several large gemstones that formed mirrorlike surfaces along the cave walls. The surface of each gem rippled like the surface of water whenever any of them made a step.

"So Pretty!" Maple whispered as she entered the chamber...

Amber physically recoiled at the sight of the fern cage. She stepped very warily into the chamber, unconsciously cocking her ears slightly, a faint static charge building up on her horn.

Seeing Miss Spark react so oddly to another of the ferns .. Maple wonders if taking a closer look would be a good idea.
Flying up slowly maple has a look.

"It doesn't look any different from the first one Miss Spark, but I'll go have a quick look from a little closer"

Spoiler
Zam

Static films the room while also trying to see what he can see.

[broken spoiler tag]1d20+8 → [8,8] = (16)

1d20+8=16[/broken spoiler tag]

As Maplejack looked into the fern cage, she saw a dark grey box with dials around the center, similar to the one at the bottom of the lake.

"Miss Away, there's another of those dial boxes in here. Would you like me to bring it down?"

Yeah, it's worth seeing if they're the same or not.

Misty approached one of the gemstones with the mirrored surface and gazed into her reflection.

Spoiler

Having turned to hear Miss Away's reply Maple watched Misty move toward her reflection... Before turning back to the cage to figure out how to get in, Maple called down her Pegasus friend.

"Now you're just TWoooo cute Miss Monsoon..." a smirk crossed Maples lips as she turned her eyes to another pony. "Don't you think so tooooo Mr. Night Cap."

tehehehe Maple quickly set to work on the ferns, her covert plan set in motion- it was time to get back to work. Maple hoped her keen botanical knowledge would make quick work of this without harming the plant, ...especially if this one was friends with the big one outside ..that she'd already hoofed in the eye.

Spoiler

Light Fantastic eyed the fern cage warily. It'd been a bad day so far, and she was really hoping it wouldn't get any worse.

Maple entered easily, not even brushing a frond.

He hears an electric crackle and jerks his head again over at Amber. "Everything okay, Amber?"

"Fine," said Amber, still scowling slightly but drawing out her notebook. "You know, it was never one of my best subjects, but I really do seem to be developing a positive aversion to botany." She turned away from the cage with a flick of her bobbed tail and began looking closely at one of the reflective gem surfaces, craning in close and turning her head against the wall to observe the reflective surface from different angles.

Maple slipped back out of the fern -after buzzing down she came to a stop in front of Miss Spark. She Knew Mr. Skies had looked at the other dial thingy whatsit, but hearing Amber say she was starting to not like plants... well that just wouldn't do.

"I wanted to save this until we got back as a bit of a surprise for a 'first mission well done' celebration... but I found these while everyone was looking for Peppers. They Aren't all that special but they are rare for this location."

Maple opens her bag and brings out some carefully wrapped samples. Unwrapping them she gives one each to Rhapsody and Amber.
"The black pansy is so dark purple that it's almost black, these have an interestingly coloured middle of the flower - a rich amber heart."

Smiling at the two marefriends, Maple continues.
"These little guys are hardy and brilliant and who does that sound like." Maple rolled her eyes for the next part and added a little giggle.
"It is also said to attract love to one who carries it... if you go in for that sort of thing, not that you two need it."

Maple sat back on her haunches ... "oh and here's the boxy gear thinger." which she held out to Amber on a wingtip, while closing her pack with a hoof.

Static was about to respond when Amber moved away to the wall. Maple came down to start her own conversation and that was that. Static sighed. He had his own work to do anyway.

With the team spread out across different points of the cavern and all the reflective surfaces threatening to put him in the shot no matter where he aimed the camera, it was tricky for him to get any decent footage in here. But he still did as well as he could, getting different angles as the team members moved away from different areas.

Static face hoofs. He thought it was perfectly obvious that Maple was trying to play match maker. Poor Night Cap! He actually wanted to help the process. But then, Static wasn't really sure how to help. He wasn't exactly smooth with conversing with the ladies either. The fact that he was in a relationship with Anchors was nothing short of a miracle.

He remained silent but made a mental note to help Maple in this endeavor when the opportunity showed itself.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 25, 2022

As far as Amber could tell, she had never heard of a gemstone like this. She and Misty Monsoon saw it was solid, despite the liquidlike surface. Misty Monsoon also realized she could partially see into the gem but couldn't see anything in particular.

Misty cocks her head to the side while looking into the mirrored surface. She studies her reflection for a few more moments, then turns to Night Cap.

"I think I might need to get my mane cut. Maybe? Do you think so?"

"Oh, thank you! That's very kind of you," Misty replies, blushing a little.

"Hey, check this out!" she says, practically shoving Night Cap in front of the gem. "For a moment there, I thought I could see inside of it. Can you see anything?"

After filming what he can, Static set the camera down. "Hey, Night Cap. If you're busy, that's fine. But if you're up for some more filming, I think I've gotten what I can."

Static walks over to Misty. "See inside it you say?"

Spoiler

Static Signal felt a fair bit of resistance from the gem as he pushed on it. At the same time, it was almost as if pushing against a thick jelly. The rest of the gem held firm and perfectly retained it's shape but most of his hoof went into the surface.

Static gave an incredulous look at his hoof as it sank into the gem. "Funny! Solid crystal usually doesn't react that way."

Keeping his hoof right where it was, Static looked around to see if he could spot Anchors. "Uh...you're the boss. Should I see how far I can push it? See how far down the rabbit hole goes? Geronimo...Allons-y...all that fun stuff?"

"You should probably stop there and document what you found."

"Right!" Static said, not altogether thrilled as seeing his hoof encased in what should be solid crystal. "Hey Night Cap! I need you over here with my camera if you please! Make sure and get this!"

"Wow, awesome!" Misty exclaims watching Static put his hooves into the gem's surface.

All of a sudden, she gets a weird idea. Taking one of the crystals from earlier out of her saddlebag, she holds it up to the surface of one of the other mirrored gemstones.

Making little headway with the gem surface, Amber happened to look up to see Static with a hoof in the wall. "Oh, well," she said, stepping up to his side and staring at the embedded hoof, waiting to see if it did something else unexpected.

Rhapsody looks to the flowers Maple gives to them. "They certainly are interesting." She says with a soft giggle, as Maple describes them. The black pegasus probably seeming more interest then them then the rest of this cave given her opinion that they should have just left yesterday.

"I don't know, but I'm really curious about what's on the other side." Static said, looking to Anchors. "I think we've documented my having my hoof disapearing into the gem. Shall I take the camera and document the other side, or should I leave it with Night Cap so we don't lose what footage we have if I don't come back?"

"Maybe we should let Night Cap go first, he is supposed to be our Scout, or something right?" Rhapsody asks, of course for here the idea of 'no one of value was lost' if he just happens to disappear forever... but she's not going to say that out loud.

"Aww! I found it first!" Static pouted. "Besides, I'm sure it's safe. I've had my hoof in here for a minute now and nothing's nibbling."

Anchors Away pondered a moment. "I don't want anypony trying to push all the way through. However, it's probably better if Static films this while you push so it's the highest film quality for research."

Having made no progress with her own observations of the gem surface, Amber was happy to see that Maple had been successful in retrieving the box and thanked her as she tucked it away in her saddlebag. She was studying the flower and pondering its meaning, about to ask Maple a question, when the commotion around Static's filming began, and Amber silently watched the curious spectacle of first Static and now it seemed Night Cap having their pictures taken with a hoof in the wall. Curious as she was about this gelatinous substance they had taken for a gem, she couldn't help chucking very quietly at the sight and wondering if she and Rhapsody should have their picture taken with the wall as well.

Static took the camera back from Night Cap, got out of his way so he could get to the wall and started filming. He looked sideways towards Anchors. "Of course, whatever he finds on the other side, we're probably going to have to send the camara through sooner or later to document it."

Trotting over ..just now noticing what was going on beyond flowers and match making, Maple adjusted her wings gave the hoof permeable crystal a close look

Not seeing anything but her own inquisitive Adventure face, and the ponies around her ..Maple reached into her pack and fished out one of her candies...

Spoiler

Maple leans in and licks the goopy goop... if it tastes bad the candy is going into her mouth faster then the one Static hoofed into her face earlier.

When Maplejack licked the crystal, it primarily tasted like carbonated water with a hint of something similar to wasabi. With her not exerting any force, the crystal retained a fully solid consistency. Following instructions, Night Cap walked over to the wall and pushed on the crystal. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light! When the STOMP team's vision returned, they found that Night Cap, Light Fantastic, and Amber Spark had disappeared!

Will this sudden occurrence dim STOMP's shimmering prospects? Tune in next time to find out!

*static crackle*

CoffeeHorse · Apr 25, 2022

*static crackle*

Good evening folks! No time for grieving because you're in for an exciting evening. It's time for another Saturday night with the Equestrian Radio Show's Adventure Variety Hour!

Previously, the STOMP team discovered a cavern with large reflective crystals. While nothing happened when touched by Static Signal or Maplejack, Night Cap's interaction produced a light that blinded the rest of the STOMP team but caused him, Light Fantastic, and Amber Spark to disappear.

Meanwhile, Night Cap, Light Fantastic, and Amber Spark found themselves...elsewhere. They were within a massive hallway. The floor, walls, and ceiling made were of a dark, highly polished and high quality wood. A chandelier with a single candle hung from the ceiling but the pristine room was much more well lit than it should be. However, the air had the scent of mold and mildew with the feeling of stifling humidity. Nearby was a large window covered by a very thick coffee brown color curtain. Up ahead was a pale pink earth pony mare with a two tone pink mane and turquoise eyes. One who had appeared in Light Fantastic's dreams. One who Night Cap found while dreamwalking. She gasped in disbelief once she spotted them and ran to meet them. "You...you managed to find me! I'm finally going to get back to..." The mare broke out in several heavily congested coughs.

Spoiler

The mare tried to respond to Night Cap but was unable to through her heavy coughing.

Spoiler

Static was surprisingly unaffected by the light. He immediately assessed who was missing, and though alarmed, went about his work. He kept his camera rolling while getting out his Morse Code transmitter (glad we established they're two different pieces of equipment). "Thank goodness we made Night Cap the pack mule!" he muttered to himself as he set his transmitter to send to the portable receiver Night Cap was carrying and started tapping.

I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU KNOW MORSE CODE, BUT PLEASE BE SMART ENOUGH TO AT LEAST SEND SOME KIND OF REPLY TO LET US KNOW YOU'RE OKAY.

Spoiler

Misty realizes she's dropped her crystal on the ground. She roots around for it blindly but only manages to find it once her sight comes back. Putting it in her saddlebag again, she happens to notice that some of her teammates have disappeared in the flash of light.

"Hey, where did Night Cap and the others go?" she asks no one in particular.

"Disappeared. To where, hopefully I'll get an answer to that soon," Static replies to Misty's question as he taps away on his transmitter. "Of course, it would probably help if the ponies with the other Morse Code transmitter actually knew Morse Code!"

"Oh."

She thinks for a moment.

"What's a Morse Code?"

"My point exactly!"

At which point, Static goes on in an internal rant. "Oh sure, Ms. Iron. Combat training does sound oh so very important. Never mind everypony here knows how to throw a punch. What we really need training in, obviously, is some #&$#@*& COMMUNICATION SKILLS!"

Spoiler
*Ahhh Choooo!* Maple sneezed hard enough to set her back on her haunches.
"Didn't taste as bad as your hoof Mr. Signal..." Maple tried putting the candy in her mouth... but had no idea where it was ... she had no idea where anything was.

"Stopped your swearing, didn't it? Static walked over to help Maple get a Candy. "Which saddle bag are they in?"

"What's going on Mr. Static... I can't see...!?!"

"Night, Amber and Light disappeared. Night has the other Morse Code transmitter, so I sent him a message. Hopefully they're somewhere where they can receive it. Waiting for a reply now. Until we either get a reply or Anchors regains her senses, I'm not sure what else to do. Where are your candies? I'll get you one."

"I had one in my hoof just in case... but it's fine I don't need it... why can't I see?"

"Because you took a bright flash of light to the eyes when the others were ponynapped. Don't worry. You should see better in a moment."

Maple's vision started to clear, but Static's words made everything worse.

"WHAT..who's not here is it my fault? what did I do!?!" Maple was so not ready for another bad thing being her fault.

"I'm sorry crystal you taste fine... or sorry I licked you, can you give our friends back!" Shaking her head wildly trying to direct her apology at the offended soft crystal... Maple started tearing up and just sat down.

Amber didn't shout, but squinted and crackled electrically, whipping her head from one side to the other as if attempting to look around despite her eyes being completely closed. She felt almost as disoriented by the transition as she had in being teleported to the Keep's arctic facility and slightly less than she did most mornings waking up. "Are we under attack? Where's the coffee?"

Amber shook her head.

"Mr. Cap, do you know this pony?" Amber looked up and down the hallway, and couldn't help the nagging feeling that she'd simply found herself in a hallway in the old Barb School administrative building. "And perhaps where we are?"

[broken spoiler tag]Endurance for the blind check: 1d20 + 7=20 10 seconds.[broken spoiler tag]

The mare attempted to respond to Amber Spark but was unable to through her heavy coughing.

Rhapsody blinks at the bright light. "Buck!" she exclaims at the sudden searing eye pain as the world goes blurry and out of focus. "What the hey just happened?"

"Yes sir," said Amber, walking to the curtain and drawing it enough to peek through, hoping there might be some explanation for all this on the other side.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 27, 2022

Static sighed and sat down beside Maple Jack, putting a hoof around her shoulders. "You didn't do anything wrong MJ. I had my hoof in the thing for several minutes and nothing happened. You licked it...which...by the way...eww...and nothing happened."

"Night Cap touched it and he and two others that were no where near it just disappeared. There's something that deliberately chose those three."

"Thanks Mr. Signal."

"Static. My name...Static."

"Yes, we all know your name, Mr. Signal."

Static face hoofs.

CoffeeHorse · Apr 27, 2022

Anchors Away briefly whimpered in pain and rubbed her eyes with her hooves. "What just happened?"

When Amber Spark opened up the curtain, all she could see outside the window was darkness.

Static hoofs it over to Anchors, putting his arm around her.

"Thank goodness you're okay. When Night Cap touched the gem, a bright flash of light blinded nearly everyone."

"Good news is, your eyesight will return soon. Bad news is, Night Cap, Amber and Light are missing. They just disappeared. Night Cap still has the other Morse Code transmitter, so I sent a message. I'm hoping they'll respond soon. If not...I don't know what the next step should be. The gem didn't react when I touched it. So whatever happened...it's almost like it's because someone chose those three."

"Or chose not to take us." Maple muttered ... ear turned to hear the conversation... which left her looking off to the side over at whatever she couldn't see anyway.

"Possible too," Static conceded.

Misty stares into the gem that Night Cap had put his hooves in just moments earlier. "Helloooo? Night Cap, are you in there?"

While still keeping most of his attention on Anchors, Static still manages a deadpan look in Misty's general direction.

Light Fantastic rushed over to the fallen mare.

"Let me see what I can do," she said.

Spoiler

Traveling in deluxe class easily afforded Light Fantastic a few travel sized mints. Through her medical expertise, she knew that the menthol in the mint would help clear the mare's lungs, even if just temporarily. Instructing Night Cap to pull out supplies, one candy was crushed and mixed into the salve from a first aid kit and was then applied to the mare's neck and chest. Another was was crushed into some water that the mare was instructed to sip once the coughing slowed down. Soon, she was breathing normally. The mare stood up into a very ordered and well trained stance. Addressing Night Cap, Amber Spark, and Light Fantastic, she announced, "My name is Desert Rose and I am an officer of New Coltro, serving under my superior, Tangerine Sands. Due to the undercover investigation I was on, I sent a letter to Light Fantastic disguised as fan mail to alert her and Sands of my suspicions of Double Dusk's criminal activities. Then one day I wound up here. I've been stuck here for a while and have been trying to reach out for help." Night Cap found that there was a door at the end of the hallway. He also realized he saw a table and chairs...on the ceiling.

Static began to get more nervous as minutes ticked by. It's possible that even if they did get the message, none of them would want to be the one to send a reply since they don't know Morse Code...not realizing he didn't care if the dots and dashes actually formed words. He just wanted some kind of signal to let them know they were okay.

"How long before we figure we won't be getting a response?" Static asked to no one in particular. "Actually, let me try something."

Spoiler

Amber blinked pointedly and ducked her head back out from the curtain. "There is quite apparently nothing outside," Amber said to Night Cap, turning away from the window.

Amber nodded as Ms. Rose explained her situation. "My apologies, then, for distrusting your communique - my suggestion when we were informed of the warning was to treat it as a likely misdirection by" Amber shook her head; how much did she really know? "... our rivals." Amber shook her head and snorted, beginning to feel that the mildew was settling contentedly in her respiratory system and beginning to think about school districts. "You've apparently met Mr. Cap, this is Ms. Fantastic, and I'm Amber Spark, that's Spark, singular, from the Equestrian Expedition Keep. As for extracting ourselves from this - hmm, well, ah, this location, I'm afraid that Mr. Cap is our expert for the moment."

Light Fantastic blinked.

"Oh, so that's where that letter came from," she said, "I was wondering. How are you feeling?"

When Night Cap opened the door, he found another hallway that was three times as long as the one they were already in. "The air here has been bothering me. I'm used to a far drier area. Glad all of you are here. Ms. Fantastic is famous so I recognize her. Night Cap...is a little more complicated." An ordered tapping comes from the supplies Night Cap is carrying. *gasp* "You brought a Morse code transmitter?"

CoffeeHorse · Apr 27, 2022

Desert Rose immediately began sending out message but also said, "Night Cap, could you walk up the wall in the next room and see if a notepad and quill is on the table? Yes, you can walk on the ceiling in here."

Static Signal didn't find anypony lurking in the cavern but the crystals almost seemed like that feeling one gets when a nearby door is opened. However, he heard the Morse code transmitter send a message:

OFFICER DESERT ROSE AND THREE OTHERS REPORTING. REQUESTING NAME OF AND STATUS OF RECEIVER.

Anchors Away's ears twitched as the message was received. "They found Desert Rose?!?"

"Desert Rose? Works for Tangerine Sands, Desert Rose? Sent Light that letter about Double Dusk, Desert Rose? What's she doing he...umm...yeah, not really here is she?"

ANCHORS AWAY AND STATIC SIGNAL RECEIVING. EVERYONE HERE DAZED BUT UNHURT. PLEASE CONFIRM IDENTITY STATUS AND LOCATION OF THREE MISSING TEAM MATES: NIGHT CAP, LIGHT FANTASTIC AND AMBER SPARK.

Wording it that way should do several things, Static figures. It will let them know that they're the only three missing and everyone else is okay. It should confirm also confirm that the "three others reporting" are indeed their team mates and not some ponies that were already with Desert Rose.

"This expedition just got really interesting."

"I hope they're able to come back soon." Maple added from her spot on the ground... head turned toward the pony coloured blobs her eyes were showing her. so at least she wasn't looking away at a wall or something anymore.
"I'm really happy we investigated this tunnel, but I also hope Miss Rose wasn't in a lot of danger - while we slept and looked down the other ways first." Maple smiled, though, because Mr. Night Cap was there to rescue her and, Miss Fantastic was there to make her feel better if she was hurt, and Miss Spark was there to make sure everypony stayed on target and they'd all make it back here.

Night Cap immediately saw the quill and notepad. The notepad looked fairly old but in design, as opposed to wear and tear. It otherwise looked brand new. The quill was dark blue and also looked fresh. There was yet another curtained window in the hallway but nothing else of interest. "I was told about you, Night Cap, but for whatever reason, I can't remember by who. It was probably while I was dreaming. If the quill is in there, we should be able to ask three or so questions. Somepony else seems to be trapped here and that's how we talk."

LOCATION CURRENTLY UNKNOWN. NIGHT CAP, AMBER SPARK, AND LIGHT FANTASTIC PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR.

"The others are all together and well," Static said for Maple, Misty and Rhapsody's benefit. "And the good news is that now we can keep in contact with them since they have someone on their side who can use the Morse Code transmitter. Bad news is, they have no idea where they are. So other than keeping in contact, I'm not sure what else we can do to help them."

"Ideas?"

Spoiler
As they had continued deeper into the cave, Snowy had begun to agree with Rhapsody about exiting expediently, but he knew that he was merely feeling peevish; the truth of the matter was that he was of little use in the caves, and he didn't like standing around. His powerball was of small utility, and he had contributed little else. What was he supposed to do? Sing for the group?

His internal griping was cut short (or long, really; it had been going in circles for some time) by the blinding light. As vision slowly returned to him, he registered the many details of the cave, for the first time really. Light was gone. So were Night Cap and Amber. The gems moved like non-newtonian solids, only...not. There was a second puzzle box...or there had been, Amber had taken it with her on her (presumably involuntary) abscondence. "What in Celestia?" he mutters, in a rare moment of shocked piety. He starts ruffling his fur, simulating a wind that wasn't there.

His first thought was that Light and Night had been taken because they were Night and Day. But that made Amber...the dawn? That hardly made sense. Night Cap probably activated things like this accidentally all the time; it was probably a side effect of being a universally relevant creature. But then why had Light and Amber been drawn in too? Amber had the puzzle box, but so did he, and he was still here. And things that weren't Night Cap could flow into the crystal? Only if you approached it correctly...

He had a few ideas worth trying out. He pulls out his puzzle box and holds up his light to it. Did it look any different from yesterday? He idly shakes it with a few sharp twitches of his hoof. It was a pity that they hadn't had the chance to directly compare the two. "What can we see in the crystal? Has anyone tried dipping their face in for a better view yet?"

Spoiler

Static winced. "I would honestly love the opportunity. That crystal thing is...curious. But it's also unpredictable."

"Last time I touched it nothing happened. Then Night Cap touched it and now we're down three people. We touch it again, maybe nothing happens, maybe we get teleported to wherever the others went...or...maybe we get teleported somewhere else altogether and one of the groups is without a Morse Code transmitter to keep in contact."

"We got lucky this time. Curiosity makes me want to give it a shot. Caution is telling me to keep away from it.

Static looks over to Anchors. "You're the boss."

CoffeeHorse · Apr 27, 2022

Desert Rose shook her head. "No clue where we are. The one I've been communicating with seems to have some sort of amnesia. Says he's been here so long that he can't remember when he arrived. Usually comments about being lonely. He has been slowly remembering things since I've been here but doesn't know his own name." On the notepad, several words appeared:

Hello new guests. Each of you may ask one question.

Anchors Away sat and thought for a moment. "I think we should wait. If they're okay, I don't want to risk their ability to get back. Everypony here holding up well?"

Static shrugged non-commitally. "Sure! Once you get past a wasp nest and an all-powerful plant trying to kill us...this part seems down right relaxing!"

Static gave Anchors a more serious look. "What about you? I know none of this has been exactly what you were expecting."

Maple waved a hoof in front of her face... things were coming back into focus but as the after images of her leg rippled past in both directions as she moved it back to the cave floor... it made her head spin slightly... and she was extra thankful she hadn't eaten.

"Eyes are nearly back to normal ..I think, Miss Away." She said, though what the timeline was until /if they recovered fully Maple couldn't say... she was stupidly close to the crystal when the flash happened.

"I would also suggest caution Mr. Skies, I don't think I'd want to have that flash happen again to anyone who got as close to it as I was."

"I don't really like leaving Amber there... wherever 'there' is." Rhapsody says as her vision starts to come back. "But if we don't got any other options, then it's your call as leader. I think I'm gonna lay down in the meantime." She doesn't sound like she's really fond of the idea, and wanted to do something but after all that had happened, she really wasn't going to force the issue, especially since she's had no sleep.

"Don't worry about Amber," Static said, trying to assure Rhapsody. "She's a tough cookie. Certainly tougher than she seems."

"What can we see in the crystal? Has anyone tried dipping their face in for a better view yet?"

"Um, I looked into it, and... um... inside, it just looked like crystal?" Misty shrugs, aware of how unhelpful that was.

Echoes of the Barb School administrative building notwithstanding, Amber felt herself gradually transported into any of an assorted hoofful of fantastic tales she would not casually admit to having read. This simply wasn't the kind of magic she expected to read about in the nonfiction sections. And it was ... exciting. Anything could happen, so delightfully un -

"Predictable," Amber said flatly - as she could manage. "So we haven't any indication in Equestria what this pony knows - or remembers knowing - and we've only one question apiece to ask. Until somepony explains to me what's going on here, I really can't know what your eccentric pen pony might be expecting of us. I have only one question to ask myself: can I trust you to answer my friends' questions honestly?"

Spoiler

I have suffered the long loneliness and now all of you are here.
I dare not repay your kindness with deception.
For any answers I can not remember, I'll gladly answer another question.

Anchors Away sighed in response to Static Signal's question. "It's...been a long expedition."

CoffeeHorse · Apr 27, 2022

Leaving with you would require knowing where I am.
I did not know until now but I now know how to let you out.
If you go through three hallways, the next door will let you out.
You have an hour before the exit simply leads to another hallway.

Static nods, walking over to sit down next to her and give her a nuzzle. "That it has. I'm not even sure how to measure the success or failure of this. I'm not sure success of our stated goal was ever an option. Still, we have a lot of information to hand off to Ms. Iron...plus a couple trinkets. So...success?"

"You can't call any of this a success, if we just give up and go home before we complete the task... when the others get back, we should finish documenting this area for the Princesses." Maple wasn't fond of the source, but she'd made enough mistakes since leaving Mainhatten already. Failing to complete this task as directed... Maple didn't want to think about the repercussions of angry Alicorns...

"I don't know about everyone else, but I do not want the Princesses angry at me, the last time one got angry... she had to be sent to the moon for 1000 years..."

I...think there was a bit more to it than Luna getting 'angry', Maple. Anyway, it looks like we only have one more fork to go. Let's just see how things go.

Maple looked sullen for a moment and then started dragging a hoof in a circle along the floor...

"Maybe I could watch some of the movie you're helping Mr. Night Cap with..." Maple whispered, as she looked up at Static with her lower lip stuck out slightly...obviously fake pouting.

"I guess you'll have to ask him," Static said.

[Oh yes! Maple Jack. I'm beginning to remember why we never spoke when we were in Manehatten!]

[Be nice!]

[I should have said that. I reeeeeally should have said...]

[Be...nice...]

Rhapsody looks up from where she was laying down, ears perked at Maple's comment. Her eyes narrow slightly at the amount of wrongness packed into a single sentence... but Static replies first. Sure, she'll let him handle it. he was making that film after all and It had been a long night, so she doesn't have the energy needed for a proper history lesson on the life and times of Princess Luna.

"oh, okay. I thought maybe I should ask you since maybe you would have to screen it at the keep before sending it to Canterlot. Pony's have been talking..at least when they've been coming in and out of the main doors -that apparently the best seat in the house is up in the projection booth." Maple was all smiles as she talked to her good friend Static from Manehatten. Maple turned to Miss away then and asked for confirmation.
"Is it the best place to watch a movie Miss Away..?" Pausing for a second Maple scratched her head with her wing tip, and then began rubbing her temples when that didn't work... though it was seeming to finally clear up her vision ans she thought.

"now, how did I know about that, that's likely important Maple... stupid log, knocked some things loose and somethings right out... was it Mr. Signal mentioning it at breakfast...umm... Did Miss Away say something about going there while I came and got Miss Monsoon for Miss Naught... ooohh rumps, it might have been that grumpy guy with the funny voice that I never saw coming in or out... weirdest thing. that."

Maple sat back down and continued to rub her head with her wings...

Desert Rose began to frantically scribble into the notepad. "No rudeness meant but if you've figured out how to let us out, I really need to get going. This air isn't good for me."

No offense taken.
If you have no other questions, you are certainly free to leave.
The door is one way but I have this strange feeling one of you will return soon enough.

"Are you asking for a private screening, Ms. Jack? Because...you know...that's kind of an exclusive club. I mean, there's Ms. Away, of course. Shouldn't really include Night Cap since he's part of the department. But then there's that breezie that kind of snuck in." Static grinned lopsidedly at Maple. "I don't know. I start sneeking in too many ponies, it could lead to some trouble." Static scratches his head as though pondering the point. He makes a dramatic sigh as he looks again to Maple. "I suppose I can pull a few strings and get you an advanced screening. I mean, it's always nice to see someone with such a love for the princesses trying to learn more. It may take some doing, but hey..." Static puts a hoof on Maples shoulder like a big brother, "I think you're worth it. I'll let you know when it's finished."

"I may have to tease you more Mr. Signal, it makes you funny." Maple laughed, giving static a quick hug before going back to sit where she had been. If Miss Rhapsody wanted to catch up on her sleep... all this excited talking wasn't helping ...

...did Mr. Signal just say Breezie? ...

Static shrugs. It was kind of a pity. He was hoping Maple would try and call him on it...just to discover he really wasn't bluffing. Heck! He still had enough kelp quiche ingredients left...he could've even brought the snacks!

[IC] Equestrian Radio Show's Adventure Variety Hour: Explorers of STOMP

Exhausted, but still standing.

Exhausted, but still standing.

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Exhausted, but still standing.

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Exhausted, but still standing.

Exhausted, but still standing.

Exhausted, but still standing.

Exhausted, but still standing.

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Exhausted, but still standing.

Exhausted, but still standing.

Exhausted, but still standing.

Exhausted, but still standing.