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

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen

"Ouchy... mah nothz"
Maple tries to rub her face with a hoof.. but only succeeds in giving herself a static shock to the face.

"could one of you get the scissors out of that med kit I just had out... I'll be even more uselesser than normal if This goes on any more..."
Maple said, not moving from her seemingly -so far -safe from rocks spot.

"After you do whatever it is you're doing."


"Yeah, this is what I was hoping to talks about. Oh, and it totally wasn't my choice to 'skip out' on the gym session. I was in a 'do it or lose my job' enforced anger management with Mr. Sands. Believe me, I think I rather would have been at the gym that night." he said honestly. That session was not fun. "As for this little course,"
Spoiler


"Ain't no training better than the cold hard streets of Manehatten!"


Rhapsody nods to Static and smiles faintly. "Very impressive." She states as she takes the the air and shows off her ability to zoom through the course with ease, it would probably be more impressive if others could actually see it.

Spoiler


Snowy's horn focuses into a brighter beam, illuminating the wet mark on the wall. "That settles that. Someone's clearly been here, and probably headed in that direction. And regardless of whether the drum of solace is there, there might be a small child in these tunnels."


Static could barely see the shadow flying amongst shadows. Still, knowing the close quarters she just zipped through in the sheer darkness of the cave, he could only be left with one impression. "Okay...I'm impressed. Strong enough to bust through rock with your bare hooves, nimble enough to fly full speed in a cramped cave...

"Not trying to flatter, just curious...what leads an astronomer to train that hard?"


He's still listening though he turns and lifts up his fungi lantern to see what he can see further down.


Static could barely see the shadow flying amongst shadows. Still, knowing the close quarters she just zipped through in the sheer darkness of the cave, he could only be left with one impression. "Okay...I'm impressed. Strong enough to bust through rock with your bare hooves, nimble enough to fly full speed in a cramped cave...

"Not trying to flatter, just curious...what leads an astronomer to train that hard?"


He's still listening though he turns and lifts up his fungi lantern to see what he can see further down.

Rhapsody hehs softly. "The short version is that my and I sister nearly died through me being too weak, if it wasn't for my other sister we would have. I decided that I wasn't going to allow myself to be that weak again, so most my summers growing up after that was just me pushing myself to be faster and stronger. When I got to Calabustion a run-in with COIN lead me to realize I needed more then to be strong... so I signed up with Sky Lynx and learned from him how to actually fight and focus myself on what was going on." She says giving a quick summery of things she's told Maple and Snowy already as she continues to keep watch in the darkness, Static's light helps but she still tries to keep a look out for as far as she can see.


"That...explains some things." Static wondered just how much of the blame she took upon herself was actually her fault. It was the kind of story he'd heard before and it usually involved the sibling holding on to a lot of guilt that really shouldn't.

Still, it wasn't his place to say.

Static walked with a bit more confidence with the light source.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Maple Struggles ... tiny zaps are heard as she inches her way toward Night Cap.

"Did you do it? ...whatever it is you were doing?"


Amber stepped up behind Night Cap to read the tiles as he laid them out. "Oh, simply capital! Excellent work, Mr. Cap," said Amber. "But what does it have to do with this pulley, I wonder...?"

She turned her attention to the red shrubbery requesting scissors.

"Oh, poor dear, here, just tie it back," she said, her voice firm but with an undertone of both anxiety and concern, as if caring for a small, wounded animal that might hurt itself or her at the wrong move. Amber drew a couple of elastic bands from her tool kit and set to work getting the mass out of Maplejack's eyes. "This is why I keep my mane short," Amber said, "but I can recommend a very good anti-static shampoo when we get back out again."


"But he's our friend?" Maple chuckled softly.

"Thank you for fixing it for me."


Nodding in agreement, Anchors Away pulled Snowy Skies to the freshwater river and dragged him under. Swimming for a bit, Misty Monsoon, Snowy Skies, and Anchors Away soon came to another air pocket. This one was much larger, forming a defined shoreline adjacent to the river. There was a wall with several rocks creating a steep incline to what seemed to be a tunnel of some sort.


When Static Signal and Rhapsody reached the end, they saw a wall with a single narrow tunnel. The wall seemed to ripple like it was made of some sort of gelatin instead of stone. Farther in, they could hear rumbling.



Static nearly walked by the gelatinous rock when he remembered Flairvoyant saying something about the meteorite doing something to change the earth in a way the scientific community would be interested in studying. He went into his pack to see if he had anything to hold rock samples.


Within his pack, Static Signal found a few small jars and some chisels.

Spoiler


Maple took a few tentative steps toward what Night Cap had found ... whether the bands Amber had loaned her were some strange magical Unicorn invention Maple wasn't going to ask, what she didn't know about unicorn magic couldn't hurt her... thankfully however it worked- it seemed to stop her from zapping herself with every movement. She made a mental note to return them when her hair calmed down.

"Very good work, I'd have been at that for hours." Maple Giggled as she made a 'pretending to think really hard' face at Night Cap

[Night Cap]​
I hope that's not what my face looked like while I was working on this.

"Thanks. I'm good with puzzles. Puzzle boxes, puzzle tiles, it's a whole branch of my work."

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Static collects a sample and puts it in his pack. He then touches the wall, pressing in to see if there was any give to it. He half expected to be instantly teleported to an upside-down mansion or have some kind of viscous gunk eat away at his hoof until only bone remained. But never let it be said he wasn't thorough in his investigations.


When Static Signal touched the wall, he felt the entire thing ripple. It otherwise had no reaction to him.


Rhapsody looks to the wall as it ripples. "Obviously there is only one possible outcome to be done in this case." The black pegasus states and trots up behind Static. "You need to act the part of probe, since your the communications officer. Something happens, you can report it. Also if something negative happens, I'd probably be better to come and and help you; since if something traps me, it might not be as easy for you to deal with." She states completely reasoning this out. This isn't a 'I don't like you you go first', this is her seeing you having the best chance of communication and since you've acknowledged her physical abilities she feels that Static would admit she'd be better for rescue then exploration on the off chance it goes wrong.


"Time for a climb? You two might want to go up first, because if you slip and fall, I can catch you. Or at least break your fall?"


"Yeah, no need to reason it out. I was thinking the same thing. I may be a bruiser, but you're more experienced. You can cover me easier than I can cover you...

"I was just hoping you'd have a better idea is all."


Static starts walking toward the rumbling, mushroom lamp leading.


Amber scowled at Night Cap with one eyebrow raised in clear challenge, but turned her attention back to the "well."

"Well, then, we know where to go from here," said Amber, slowly. "But I should doubt if we're expected to leave yet. Let's see what's in this well." Pulling down on the rope or lifting it directly was much the same for Amber's magic, but she began to draw it over the pulley.

"To your earlier question," Amber said as she drew up the rope, "Mr. Cap is quite right that there have undoubtedly been quite a lot of forgotten princesses - well, Mr. Cap and I fought one ourselves, after all. But I believe it's only a part of the game. Still...."

Spoiler


Patchouli Knowledge:
"Time for a climb? You two might want to go up first, because if you slip and fall, I can catch you. Or at least break your fall?"

Snowy nods. "The higher I am, the better lit the rocks should get. I'll go first." He begins to make his way up the rockfall.

Spoiler


The ground in the tunnel was soft and wobbly as Static signal walked through. The air was silent and the rumbling had temporarily stopped. Eventually reaching the end, he simultaneously discovered multiple things, including the source of the rumbling sound. Before him was a grand cavern that was at least two miles long. Above was a dense collection of clouds with crackling flashes of electricity leaping between them. Soon, lightning struck in the distance, briefly illuminating the expanse with a booming thunder.


"I'm better with down than up with hills. Maybe Snowy should go first with Misty as spotter, then she could lift me up there."

Spoiler

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Snowy carefully makes his way up on rock, hopping lightly onto the next rock instead of stepping down so that he could land on all four hooves. Feeling more confident that he could make his way up, he moved on at greater speed, reaching the mouth of the tunnel. He turns around and focuses his light into a beam once more, shining it down onto the rocks for Anchors. He was going to have to be careful to keep the light ahead of her, so she wouldn't be blinded.

Spoiler


Static pulled up short, holding up a hoof to keep Rhapsody from continuing. "Stay back. There's an electric deathtrap in there."

Static takes a deep breath. "Well, this is not how I wanted to find out." Static looks to Rhapsody taking another deep breath. "Umm...well...there's this little thing that my father's side of the family can do." He takes another look at the crackling electric field. "Well...here's hoping!"

Static takes one more deep breath and walks out into the room. As the lightning strikes around him, he starts singing, voice shakily.

"Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
It's alright, we're doin' fine
It's alright, we're doin' fine, fine, fine
Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah
Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, baby, baby
Thunderstruck, you've been Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
You've been Thunderstruck"


He then realized none of this was hurting. The lightning struck. It didn't hurt...didn't even tickle. If anything, it made him feel energized. He saw the static as it traveled up and down his hooves.

"Well, looks like I'm living up to my name," he said with a grin. "It feels...like home!"

He laughed as he looked up at the clouds. "That all you got for me? Come on! Give me a good one."

He laughed again, but soon came back down to reality. "Right...now let's find a way to stop this field so you can come join me."

Spoiler


As Amber Spark pulled on the pulley, the rope lifted up a fairly large wooden pail. that had a soft, mint green blanket lining the bottom.

Spoiler


Misty stands against the rock wall, watching Snowy as he ascends, making sure he makes it to the top safe and sound.

After he reaches the top, she turns to Anchors. "Want a lift?"

Spoiler


"Yeah, down's easier than up for me. Thanks for the lift Misty."

Spoiler


"ooh pretty colour!"

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Walking into the tunnel, Anchors Away, Snowy Skies, and Misty Monsoon were immediately confronted with a locked door. There was a bubblegum pink ribbon tied to the handle and a lantern filled with fireflies hanging near the lock. "This reminds me...Snowy, do you know if anything was discovered with those boxes we found on the last expedition?"

Spoiler


Maple remained prepared as Night Cap had instructed... focusing all her readiness at the bucket and blanket ..waiting for something to happen...

<_< she still wasn't convinced the roof wouldn't fall down on her, a momentary vision of falling rocks flashed before her eyes ..and she stopped thinking about it. Maple wasn't sure if she just had a vivid imagination or she was so scared her life started flashing before her eyes and that was a memory.

"...has a blanket attacked you before Night Cap?" Maple asked quietly ... adding a furrowed brow to the stare she was giving the blanket.


Static pulled up short, holding up a hoof to keep Rhapsody from continuing. "Stay back. There's an electric deathtrap in there."

Static takes a deep breath. "Well, this is not how I wanted to find out." Static looks to Rhapsody taking another deep breath. "Umm...well...there's this little thing that my father's side of the family can do." He takes another look at the crackling electric field. "Well...here's hoping!"

Static takes one more deep breath and walks out into the room. As the lightning strikes around him, he starts singing, voice shakily.

"Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
It's alright, we're doin' fine
It's alright, we're doin' fine, fine, fine
Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah
Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, baby, baby
Thunderstruck, you've been Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
You've been Thunderstruck"

He then realized none of this was hurting. The lightning struck. It didn't hurt...didn't even tickle. If anything, it made him feel energized. He saw the static as it traveled up and down his hooves.

"Well, looks like I'm living up to my name,"
he said with a grin. "It feels...like home!"

He laughed as he looked up at the clouds. "That all you got for me? Come on! Give me a good one."

He laughed again, but soon came back down to reality. "Right...now let's find a way to stop this field so you can come join me."

Spoiler

Rhapsody watches Static and hehs softly. "I think its a good thing your a projectionist and not a singer." She states in regards to the song. "Though I suppose it could be considered a shocking performance." She replies as she watches the yellow pony attempting to dodge the lighting. "Though it looks like your gear might be making a target out of you, more then your bravado."


Setting the pail down in front of the well, Amber looked to Night Cap, then to Maple, puzzled. She took a step forward and gently lifted out the blanket with her hooves, looking it over.


"With them? You mean, like, next to them?" Snowy asks, not listening too hard for a reply as he studies the lock. He delicately lifts up the firefly lantern and floats it farther back in the cave, setting it down behind him. The light was unsteady and flickering, and he preferred his own steady horn light.
His hair rustles, then abruptly gains volume as a few subtly pinned curls fall free and three lockpicking implements slide out. He delicately sets about inserting them into the lock, shifting them around in seemingly random patterns.
Spoiler
He nods in satisfaction as the lock clicks open. "Misty you should take the lantern with you. You might need to move farther away from me if the tunnel widens."


"Okay!" Misty grabs the handle of the lantern in her mouth and picks it up.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Static went instantly from bravado to cringing. "I was singing that out loud?" He gave Raphsody a sheepish look. "Don't tell the others."

Static walked back over to Raphsody, electricity dancing over him like a jacob's ladder. "Stick close enough so I lure the lightning away from you...but not so close that it arcs from me to you."


"I worded that poorly. Was just wondering if you'd heard of anything being done with them. I was curious and meant to ask sooner."

Once Anchors Away, Misty Monsoon, and Snowy Skies opened the door, they were met with a room filled with a multitude of shallow pools of water. Stalactites were dripping water into each in a way that caused a musically tuned echo across the chamber. The light created by unicorn magic and the firefly lantern created a sparkling array of color. Anchors Away quietly gasped upon beholding the room's wonders.


Misty gaped at the awe-inspiring sight, the lantern's handle dangling precariously from her lower lip.


Snowy acknowledges Anchor's clarification with a noncommittal "Mm." as his mane rustles once more. The lock-picks disappear alongside several locks of hair, and he turns to answer her question. "Amber and I took a look at them yesterday. We don't think the symbols on them are actually from anywhere in Equestria. Or any time, for that matter. All we've got is that one of the characters was embroidered on a curtain in that mansion dimension they found Desert Rose in. How--" His question was precluded by the room, which required a certain period of respectful silence to absorb. The colors, the music...beautiful though it was, it all seemed out of place in such a da! nk, dark cavern. He casually picks up a few loose stones and lobs them into the room, some of the floor and some in the puddles. "How is Desert Rose doing?"


Maple Shivered at the thought, but set about getting ready for her adventure anyway... Taking off her pack -so she'd better fit in the bucket, Maple looked into the pack this time, so she could maybe find that light she thought she saw...

Spoiler

Sadly she'd gone completely through the pack and realized that she saw it as she'd taken it out and left it back with her own bags.

"Amber I don't suppose you can loan me one of your horn lights to take with me?" Maple asked... her eyes getting bigger and more cute as she got closer to the potential salvation from the scary dark hole.

O_O The shivering got more intense despite the warm dry air... and Maple pawed at the green blanket as well .... "If not could I maybe borrow this... it could be magically ..um... resistant to whatever nasty creatures are down there that might think ponies are tasty...even snack-sized ponies... ESPECIALLY SNACK-SIZED PONIES!" [/B]


After Snowy Skies tossed the rocks, all of the natural music in the cavern became greatly off key and out of harmony with itself. Then there was a brief silence followed by the sound of dripping, though it was no longer musical. Anchors Away winced at the noise, then answered Snowy Skies's question. "She's doing surprisingly well. Breathing well and moving around like nothing's happened, the only reason the doctors won't let her go is because they want to be sure she's okay. It seems like that place was making her sick and simply getting her out of there began to clear it up."

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Amber looked worried, but produced her headlamp, gave it a charge with a tap of her horn, and pulled it tight on Maple's head, the band making a further mess of Maple's voluminous mane.

"Not, ah, quite as good as mine, but I hope it will do," Amber said, smiling. "Good luck. Remember, you're looking for something on your left."

Spoiler


"oooh so pretty!" Maple Blushed and remembered where she was and what she was doing... "Thank you Amber, left okay Got'cha!" Maple held up her right hoof and waved it ... until her wings corrected her by forcing the one hoof down and the other up.

"Ha, right!..not right" Maple giggled as she hopped into bucket.


As the natural harmony of the cave was broken, Misty's face reverts to its standard expression. She walked forward with carefully placed steps, watching the light from the lantern reflect back from the surface of the pools and dance on the cave's walls.

"This is so pretty. It's like... I dunno... a little part of the reason the Chief Director sent us down here... was because she wanted us to see it too? It's definitely a place I would want my friends to see." It wasn't obvious whether she was addressing the others or simply talking out loud.

Spoiler


Among the shimmering reflections across the room, Misty Monsoon spotted a tunnel opening far off in the distance. "That would be nice. I usually don't get to show others what I get to see so I can understand if that's what she's doing."


"Give us a tug on the line to let us know when you need to come back up - treasure or no treasure," Amber amended quickly.


The soft creaking of the pulley could be heard as Maplejack's teammates lowered her down slowly. Upon reaching bottom, the light of the lamp she was now wearing as a necklace revealed that there were three seemingly identical tunnels in front of her.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Maple's hooves planted themselves firmly in the bucket and her wings fluttered enough to lift her and the bucket up and over the edge of the well.

"If I don't make it back Amber, thank Rhapsody for helping me get better at flying." Maple flapped her wings slightly less rapidly and began to lower herself down the tunnel

Spoiler
Zam


As Maplejack shined the light around the room, nothing seemed to stand out. She did notice that none of the tunnels seemed to provide their own light. Otherwise, the ground and cave walls seemed to be the same type of stone as the previous area where her teammates previously were.


Maple tugged on the rope... no sense flying back up, if she was going to have to fly her friends down here anyway.


Static went instantly from bravado to cringing. "I was singing that out loud?" He gave Raphsody a sheepish look. "Don't tell the others."

Static walked back over to Raphsody, electricity dancing over him like a jacob's ladder. "Stick close enough so I lure the lightning away from you...but not so close that it arcs from me to you."

Rhapsody thought it over, trying to find some other possibility but shrugs. "Alright, fine, you can play Decoy, the colt wonder." She states and tries to keep a respectable distance between her and static to avoid the strikes directly and indirectly.


Feeling the tug, Amber motioned to Night Cap and began pulling back the rope.


"Decoy?" Static asked curiously. "Nah, decoy would imply I'm putting myself in any kind of danger. This? This is something I never knew I could do. And now that I know? I'm going to have to go playing out in thunderstorms more often. This here's my birthright!"

Another bolt of lighting struck Static to no effect as if to punctuate his statement. He looked around the cavern to see if there was anything of interest; any unnatural rock different from what he'd already taken a sample of or anything that stood out as not belonging in this cavern.

Spoiler

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
"There are just 3 more tunnels down there." Maple informs her team mates as she crests the surface of the well...
If we drop the bucket back down, I can maybe spot each of you while you climb down.


Among the shimmering reflections across the room, Misty Monsoon spotted a tunnel opening far off in the distance. "That would be nice. I usually don't get to show others what I get to see so I can understand if that's what she's doing."
"That's a nice idea." Snowy didn't want to mention that he usually had the opposite problem. "I doubt we're going to find a more pleasant room, do we want to break for lunch?"


Looking around the enormous cavern, a flash of lightning allowed Static Signal to see that the tunnel he spotted had an indigo ribbon hanging next to it.


"Well would ya look at that!" Static says, directing Rhapsody's attention to the ribbon. "I guess that means we're on the right track." Static starts to head off towards the ribbon.


"With more rope, we could each simply lower ourselves in the basket, owing to the pulley," said Amber, contemplatively. "If there were only a little more metal at hand, I might even be able to make a cable long enough to use instead."


"My shovel is .... entirely metal" Maple says as she rushes to her pack to see if she did or did not leave extra rope behind.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
"Well would ya look at that!" Static says, directing Rhapsody's attention to the ribbon. "I guess that means we're on the right track." Static starts to head off towards the ribbon.

Rhapsody nods "Seems we are, so I guess we need to go further on down this rabbit hole then?"


"So it would seem," Static replied with a nod. He led on until they got to the ribbon where he decided to look around again. "If she placed a ribbon here, she either wanted us to know we're on the right path, which I doubt sense there hasn't exactly been a lot of forks in the road...or she means for us to find something here."

Spoiler


"Oh. Ah. Yes," said Amber. She took the end of the rope as Night Cap finished and stood ready to lower down the first pony into the hole.


"I'm sorry." Maple's eyes twitch... fighting back tears as she closed her pack.


Amber gradually lets out the rope and lowers Night Cap toward the bottom, motioning Maple to cast her light downward as Amber focuses on the rope.



Static Signal saw nothing of interest in the cavern.


Upon being lowered to the ground, Night Cap saw the same three tunnels that Maplejack saw when she was lowered down.


Anchors Away sat where she was.
"We've traveled a good bit so lunch sounds nice. What do you think Misty?"

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen

"*Sniff* I've already seen it and not been any help, so you can go next Amber." Maple said, waiting for Night Cap to get out of the bucket


Misty is still distracted by the sights and sounds of the cavern. "Hm? What? Oh, right, lunch! Sounds good to me!"


Amber looked perplexed. "Maple, you were very helpful. In any case, I think I'd be better off lowering you than the reverse, don't you think?" Amber smiled and pictured, for a moment, Maple struggling to hold the rope for her, then gasped as she pictured Maple being dragged off the ground and dangling. "I might need to insist," Amber said, somewhat weakly.


"Amber... I can fly down the hole, you need to be lowered in the bucket." Maple just looked at Miss Spark like it was the most sensible thing and she really shouldn't need to point it out.

"Did you want to hoof Wrestle?" Maple put her hoof up on the edge of the well and smirked.


"Miss Jack," Amber said softly, "as team lead, I do have some responsibility for your safety, and -"

Amber had what she could only describe to herself as a "Rhapsody thought". She almost successfully bit back any signs of a grin.

"And if I'm left to hear you wisecracking about my weight all the way to the horseshoe and back, I can't make any promises. Now please, get in the basket."



Maple got in the basket... "I wouldn't ever say something like that."

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Amber shot Maple a look but began lowering the basket down the hole.


Maple rode down in the basket, using her wings to lighten the load on Amber.

"Did you find it in a spot I might have missed?" she asked Night Cap as he came into view... there was no sarcasm or malice in her tone, she hoped he had found it. Maple tugged the rope after she got out of the basket.


Amber drew the basket back up and, hanging onto the rope, stepped inside, slowly letting the line out with her hooves. The sounds of the pulley and the taut rope seemed much more immediate now that she was the one depending on them to hold her up, but at the very least, it was impractical to look down. She felt a rush of relief as she passed from the uniform shaft into the open chamber beneath. Stepping out of the basket, she tied the free end of the rope on the pail's handle as planned and joined the other two, looking around the chamber with a flashlight-like beam from her horn. "What have we found?" she asked, looking ahead into the tunnel.


"See Amber, you made it down without snapping the rope, or bursting through the bottom of the basket." Maple tried giving Amber a hug, but then remembered they were professional treasure hunters today.

"Is it okay for Professional Treasure Hunters to hug each other for not being too fat?" Maple's mouth had asked Night Cap, before her hoof had time to get in the way of the words...


"ooh" Maple says, around her hoof... while trying to shuffle slightly out of the direct line of fire from Miss Spark's horn.


"I would prefer you didn't," said Amber, scowling. Looking down the corridor, she smiled. "Well, let's go, then! I'd rather we weren't the last team out, wouldn't you?" She walked down the corridor toward the fork.


Maple flew slightly ... maybe only a few centimeters off the ground... at least this way she could avoid stepping in it any deeper.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
After Static Signal and Rhapsody crossed the cavern, they came to a short quite tunnel with nothing in it. That is, until they looked up and saw a pure vertical climb with natural hoofholds in the wall. It was perhaps two stories tall and had a few glowing pieces of metal stuck in the stone.


Traveling a long distance down the tunnel, Amber Spark, Night Cap, and Maplejack arrived at an opening. In front of them on the ground was a metal square that was large enough for three ponies to stand on. It was suspended over a hole of almost the! exact same shape and size by four mint green ropes, one at each corner.


Anchors Away searched through her pack for her rations. She took a big gulp of water then pulled out some kelp.
"If they aren't too dry, I'll trade you a few berries for some kelp."


"Wow! Funny how this cave just naturally formed into something that only the two of us would be able to traverse!" Static gave a great sigh. "Looks like we're going up. We should probably get samples of whatever that metal is too on the way up.

"I also apologize in advance for any terrified screeching in the ear or death grips from holding on for dear life."



"Deal!" Misty sifted a few berries out of her trail mix and passed them over to Anchors.


"Wow! Funny how this cave just naturally formed into something that only the two of us would be able to traverse!" Static gave a great sigh. "Looks like we're going up. We should probably get samples of whatever that metal is too on the way up.

"I also apologize in advance for any terrified screeching in the ear or death grips from holding on for dear life."

Rhapsody looks to Static with a grin. "Well, if you want this over with sooner, we could always revisit the idea of 'Static Tossing'."


Static returns the grin. "I'm game. Of course, that would leave you figuring your own way back through that electric field on the way back out." Static looks up again at the tunnel and takes another deep steadying breath. "I'll leave that up to you. Shall we?"


Snowy tosses a few hoof-fulls of trail mix into his mouth and chews gratefully. As he swallows he settles onto the ground, sitting very still and watching his teammates. His mind flicks back to their earlier conversation. "I practice a lot." He deposits another mouthful of trail mix immediately after the statement, chewing quietly.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Maple looks around the two larger ponies and sees the thing ..the whatever it is?

to avoid a path bla bla bereft ... something something on the left... "Well we're as far as we can go with the last clue." Maple said after mumbling through it in her head...

"The only other thing we have is the blanket...does it want us to do something with that?" Maple says... pointing a hoof at the thing on the ground as the the 'it'.


After trading with Misty Monsoon, Anchors Away munched on some berries. "I wonder how well the other two teams are doing. Things have went rather smoothly so far."


Maple shines her light up to see if there is anywhere Up to go to.

Spoiler
Zam


Above her, Maplejack could see that the four ropes were threaded through four tiny holes. Otherwise, all she saw was more rock.


After trading with Misty Monsoon, Anchors Away munched on some berries. "I wonder how well the other two teams are doing. Things have went rather smoothly so far."
Misty pauses, thinking about Night Cap, Amber Spark, and Maplejack. "I'm sure they're doing just fine!"

She thinks about Rhapsody and Static Signal. "...probably," she adds.


Static returns the grin. "I'm game. Of course, that would leave you figuring your own way back through that electric field on the way back out." Static looks up again at the tunnel and takes another deep steadying breath. "I'll leave that up to you. Shall we?"

"Do we have rope? I could always tie some around you and then fly up. Then at least you'd have a life line if you loose your grip and no longer have to worry about splatting."


"There may be a simple counterweight system. Just stepping onto the platform might cause it to descend," said Amber.


"Hmm, that's a good idea, especially if I'm going to need two hooves free to take samples on the way up." Static looks in his saddlebags and takes out the rope. He makes the necessary ties and breaths deep. "Okay. Take me away!" He takes out the chisel and sample container so he has it ready. No way did he want to be fumbling for it when he was up in the air where no earth pony had any business being.


Rhapsody nods and works to fashion a makeshift harness with a series of knots out of the rope so that Static's weight will be better distributed if he looses grip, tying it around the barrel of his chest, in front and behind his forlegs. "There, its not pretty, but it should hold and keep you from feeling like your being cut in half if you do fall." She states and takes hold of the rope and flies to the top of the cliff.


"Yes, you're right of course, Mr. Cap. We should of course be cautious," said Amber, stepping onto the plate.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Static nods his appreciation. "Functionality over looking pretty." Static takes samples of the glowing mettle on the way up.


When Amber Spark stepped onto the metal plate, it slowly sank a few inches, then stopped.


Upon reaching the top, Rhapsody and Static Signal found an opening about the size of a small office room. In front of them was a revolving door built from wooden planks and was between two stone walls.


Once Anchors Away finished her kelp, she asked her team,
"Do you want to rest a little more or start back up?"


Assuming the same marching order as before, Static goes through the doors first with his mushroom lantern out in front.


Pushing hard, Static Signal could feel the revolving door rattle and budge slightly but not properly turn.


Once Night Cap stepped onto the metal plate, it lowered two feet, then stopped.


Static gave the door a peevish glance. "Hmm, a revolving door way that doesn't revolve? How innovative!" Static takes a closer look.

Spoiler


Upon inspecting the revolving door, Static Signal didn't find anything out of the ordinary outside of it not being made of glass like most.


Static tries to pull instead of push.

Spoiler


Once Anchors Away finished her kelp, she asked her team, "Do you want to rest a little more or start back up?"

Snowy nods. "Let's head out." He was a little disappointed their own silence hadn't allowed the dripping music to start up again, but there wasn't much he could do about it.



"well, looks like we all go down together this time."
Maple says after seeing Night Cap stop moving part of the way.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Unlike the slight budging from pushing it normally, Static Signal felt the revolving door lock into place when he attempted to push the other side.


"Same rules Amber... If I get on this and it drops like a stone..." Maple smiled, happy for so soon a chance to make it up to Amber Spark... however it was she managed to upset her... Maple almost hoped the unelevatorer did go down on them really fast.

Maple flapped over to the platform and dropped all of her tiny self onto it at once. Squeezing her eyes tight... maybe not as hopeful for the drop as she thought.


As Maplejack's small body landed on the metal square, it began to slowly descend once more. After a few feet, it slightly accelerated. Soon, Amber Spark, Night Cap, Maplejack found that they had been lowered two stories. Seeing a single tunnel directly in front of them, they could feel a definitive 'click' as the platform stopped about an inch off the ground.


Static sighs and looks over to Rhapsody. "Right...well...unless you have any ideas, I'm all for smashing this thing to splinters."


"Smashing it should be saved as a last resort. Let me see if I can't find anything you might have overlooked, as there is certainly more to this then a simple jammed revolving door." Rhapsody states as she walks up and examines the door herself.

Spoiler


Amber stepped to the edge of the platform and sidled off, with two hooves still on the platform, shifting her weight to see if the platform would begin to recede upward again.


As the group headed towards the tunnel Misty had seen earlier, she suddenly spoke up. "Um, Snowy? I know this doesn't have anything to do with the mission... but... well... when can I hear you play music again? Ever since you played that song when we were on the airship, I've been wanting to hear you play again."


Looking over the revolving door, Rhapsody thought about how it would work. Revolving doors are designed to only go in one direction for general safety. Another safety precaution, was that they have a governor that acts as a speed limiter so somepony doesn't push too hard and hit another. If tightened sufficiently, it could be built to require the strength of more than one pony to push open. While it might be easier in some cases to simply break the whole thing, this would fit more in line with Static Signal's earlier suggestion that the two of them were placed on the same team so they could work together.


As the group headed towards the tunnel Misty had seen earlier, she suddenly spoke up. "Um, Snowy? I know this doesn't have anything to do with the mission... but... well... when can I hear you play music again? Ever since you played that song when we were on the airship, I've been wanting to hear you play again."

Snowy raises an eyebrow. "I don't have an instrument with me, Misty. It makes playing a touch difficult."


"Oh, yeah, that would make it difficult... but, waiting until later is fine too," she says with a smile. "Were you a professional musician before you joined STOMP?"

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Snowy shakes his head. "No, I've never played music for money. Well...except busking, but I wouldn't call that 'professional.' I've never gotten along too well with other musicians."


"So you've never been part of a band before?" Misty asks.


Snowy's eyebrow, given hardly a moment to rest, rises again. "A band? I don't think bands take on too many stringed instruments."


"Oh, they don't? I actually haven't seen many bands myself, but I thought some of them had instruments with strings... or maybe that was an orchestra..." Misty's voice trails off as she tries to remember what she knows about music.


Spoiler



As Amber Spark stepped off the metal platform, she thought about the combination boxes that were discovered in the caves outside of Nightmare Heights. She missed bowling practice because of them but her diligence paid off. The first one she managed to open had a folded up piece of translucent paper. All over it was numerous lines of different sizes and positions. The second box had a similar piece of paper but with numbers on it. With night approaching, she documented her findings, took a few photographs, then stored everything for the next time she could work on it.


Snowy smiles, and a light-bulb appears over Misty's head. "That's what you're looking for. A band has drums, trumpets, flutes, and oboes. Orchestras have all that and more, namely stringed instruments. Those are what I play."


"Ah! Alright. Have you ever been in an orchestra? Or wanted to be?"


Snowy shakes his head. "No, I haven't. I've never really been in the position to apply. And though my experience is limited, I don't get along too well with other musicians."


"So what do we do now?"

Looking over the revolving door, Rhapsody thought about how it would work. Revolving doors are designed to only go in one direction for general safety. Another safety precaution, was that they have a governor that acts as a speed limiter so somepony doesn't push too hard and hit another. If tightened sufficiently, it could be built to require the strength of more than one pony to push open. While it might be easier in some cases to simply break the whole thing, this would fit more in line with Static Signal's earlier suggestion that the two of them were placed on the same team so they could work together.

Rhapsody looks over to Static. "Seems that more strength is definitely what we need, though trying it together might yield more results then simply breaking it. Afterall, it's not like we are on a real time-table here that would require brute force, less this doesn't work."

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Static sighed. He really couldn't see how this was going to help. He pushed the hell out of that door. If it hadn't moved yet...heck with it. She was in charge. Besides, given how things have been working so far, maybe Ms. Iron really did build this specifically so they'd have to do it together. With a shrug, he walked up to the door. "Together it is!"

Once Rhapsody was in place, he started to push it in time with her.

Spoiler


Night Cap, Amber Spark, and Maplejack found that the tunnel extended for a mile and slowly became wider and steeper farther in. Eventually, they arrived in a fairly sizable room, though most of that was vertical. In the center of the room was a short wooden platform. A box was setting on it with a rope tied to the top that extended upward. Surrounding it about teen feet away were three metal plates with ropes that seemed similar to the one they just came from but each plate was only big enough for one pony. Across the room was another tunnel opening.


Misty was quiet for a moment, then spoke up again. "So you don't get along well with other musicians... but, do you... do you like being part of STOMP?"


Snowy's fur rustles, and he looks contemplative. "I haven't really given it much thought. It's certainly better than the alternative."


Static sighed. He really couldn't see how this was going to help. He pushed the hell out of that door. If it hadn't moved yet...heck with it. She was in charge. Besides, given how things have been working so far, maybe Ms. Iron really did build this specifically so they'd have to do it together. With a shrug, he walked up to the door. "Together it is!"

Once Rhapsody was in place, he started to push it in time with her.

Spoiler

"Look on the bright side." Rhapsody states as she sees Statics dour reaction to the news. "If this doesn't work, then we get to break. So either way we get through." She says as she joins him and trying to get the door to budge.

Spoiler


As Static Signal and Rhapsody began to push, they felt the revolving door slowly moving. They also heard a mechanical grinding that grew louder until the entire revolving door broke off its hinges and shattered into many pieces. In front of them was a small room with another tunnel directly across from them. Suddenly, four bright light on the ground turned on and pointed at something on the ceiling. There was a pony sized sphere hanging there that was painted black with a sizable amount of glitter on it. While there was a faint smell of still wet paint in the air, what wasn't faint was an increasing pulling force from the sphere that was trying to drag Static Signal and Rhapsody towards it!

Spoiler


"OH YEAH MORE PULLEYS!" Maple moved to one of the plates, and just waited for her two smart and more experienced friends to tell her what she need to do.


As Anchors Away, Misty Monsoon, and Snowy Skies ventured forward, they found that the new tunnel was much more winding than those before.

Spoiler


Static sighed. He really couldn't see how this was going to help. He pushed the hell out of that door. If it hadn't moved yet...heck with it. She was in charge. Besides, given how things have been working so far, maybe Ms. Iron really did build this specifically so they'd have to do it together. With a shrug, he walked up to the door. "Together it is!"

Once Rhapsody was in place, he started to push it in time with her.

Spoiler



"Look on the bright side." Rhapsody states as she sees Statics dour reaction to the news. "If this doesn't work, then we get to break. So either way we get through." She says as she joins him and trying to get the door to budge.

Spoiler

Static grins. "I like your style." He had a fleeting thought that he might truly be sorry if this worked and they weren't able to shatter the door.

As Static Signal and Rhapsody began to push, they felt the revolving door slowly moving. They also heard a mechanical grinding that grew louder until the entire revolving door broke off its hinges and shattered into many pieces. In front of them was a small room with another tunnel directly across from them. Suddenly, four bright light on the ground turned on and pointed at something on the ceiling. There was a pony sized sphere hanging there that was painted black with a sizable amount of glitter on it. While there was a faint smell of still wet paint in the air, what wasn't faint was an increasing pulling force from the sphere that was trying to drag Static Signal and Rhapsody towards it!

Spoiler

"Woah, hey! I think we found the 'meteorite'."

Spoiler

The magnetic force was too much with all the camera and radio equipment. Static's hooves began to pull off the ground. "Oh crap! Hooves not on the floor again. This trip has had too much of hooves not on the floor!" Static starts to panic. "No no no. It's okay. If the magnetic field can lift me up, it won't drop me to my death. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." Static gives a panicked look to Rhapsody. "Help?"


Amber waited and watched, wanting to see whether the platforms would descend individually.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Through Amber Spark's astute observation, she saw nothing happen as the other two members of her team stepped on their platforms.


Maple's hooves had had a mind of their own and seemed to move her onto the platform shortly after Night Cap managed to drag himself onto his.

Noticing that nothing had happened Maple looked at Amber Spark ... who seemed to be waiting. waiting.. hmm

"Oh right weight! ...Amber maybe these plates are all linked together and they need the weight of 3 average sized ponies to move them..." This time Maple wasn't going to let Amber think she was calling her overweight...
"Can you levitate your pack over to me for a moment and that might even us out... I think Night Cap has sweat enough on the way down the tunnel that even with his packs on he's no more then average mare mass right now." Maple giggled, a big strapping Stallion -putting on a show like this to make Maple feel better about how little she was contributing... it was sweet.


"Yeah, I think so too!" Misty replies, assuming that "the alternative" was not being part of STOMP. "I've always wanted to join a team like this. My father is a sailor, and he used to tell me that the most important thing a sailor can have is a good crew. He told me about how they always looked out for each other and worked together to overcome any challenges. When I left home, it was my dream to become part of something like that... and, I really hope this exercise helps everypony work together better."

She looked a bit bashful for a moment. "Sorry, I'm kind of talking a lot. I didn't mean to talk your ear off or anything, haha!"


Snowy was simultaneously disappointed that his prepared response wasn't going to be used and appreciative that she wasn't pressing the issue, so he simply smiles. "I've been more verbose." He says, encouragingly. "You work weather in Caballuston sometimes, don't you? It must be nice to have a job available wherever you go."

(spoiler) I'm probably going to get to work on the maze soon, so I figured I'd leave this up.


Spoiler

Static took a deep breath. Luckily, though his hind hooves were being drawn up into the air, his front hooves were still on the ground, pawing for purchase. He felt his hoof snag on something. A rock to hold onto? The root to an underground plant? He didn't know and he didn't care. He used whatever it was to pull himself down and steady himself.

As he came to rest on the ground he looked up to the meteorite with a scowl. "I'd like to keep my hooves on the ground thank you very much!"


"Yeah, 'cause everyplace needs weather! And I'm a natural at it. It's even in my cutie mark!" Misty said, taking a moment to glance at the rainclouds on her flank."Oh, wait, that reminds me... I never asked you what your job was. What do you do at the Keep?"


"I'm the janitor. Well, a janitor. You may have met Dusty; she's my boss." Snowy halts as the cavern stops twisting and widens. "That was quite winding."

Spoiler


"Oh, yeah, I guess it was? I wonder how far we've come."
Misty thought hard, trying to figure how much distance they'd traveled and where they might be in relation to the starting point.

Spoiler


Anchors Away, Misty Monsoon, and Snowy Skies arrived in a small room. In the center was a short pedestal and setting on it was a bubblegum pink treasure chest the size of a small foal.

Spoiler


Spoiler

Misty's attention was suddenly drawn to the treasure chest. "Hey... is that..." She pauses for a second, looking at her supply pack, then at the chest, then back at her supply pack. Yup, they matched! "Oh good, it is ours! It would be really awkward if we found one of the other teams' treasures instead."

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
Snowy looks to Anchors. "Now, I'm not a major fan of adventure novels, but I must say that that is the most trap-likely pedestal I've ever seen."


"It varies. I've seen obvious traps but sometimes it is out in the open. Remember that the chest the Wand of Incomparable Green was supposed to be in wasn't all that well hidden. I'd recommend trying to pull it with your magic but I don't want to put you at risk if you don't want to try it."


Snowy eyes the pillar, carefully gauging the distance off the floor and the size of the chest. "We're here for a drum, right? I should be able to drag the chest off the pillar, but I can't make any promises about it surviving the trip to the floor. At a guess, I'd expect a drum to be sturdy enough to survive inside the box, especially a magical one, but it's tough to be sure."


"Want me to try and catch it?"


"I think that defeats the purpose of staying as far away as possible." He stops to consider for a moment. "Maybe we should start carrying around some light wooden planks. Gravity wouldn't be such a big deal if I could make stairs for falling objects." Though most of the time when he dropped something there wasn't much time to build a staircase, he silently admits.


"It doesn't seem big enough for the really big drums. Do you think you can just lift it with your magic? I mean, it's a training exercise so I seriously doubt the real thing is in there. If it looks like you can't carry it, Misty could swoop in to catch it."


Snowy rubs his head, remembering the last time he had tried to grab a falling object with magic. "I can try lowering it to the floor slowly, then pulling it over to us. Don't overestimate me." He reaches out and wraps the small chest in his magic, making certain to buoy it up off the pedestal as much as he can before pushing it forward with what little magic he had left. As he watches the chest inch slowly towards the edge of the pedestal, he prepares to switch all of his force to pushing against gravity.


Snowy Skies found that the treasure chest was abnormally light. It seemed more like it was empty, in fact.

Static sighed. He really couldn't see how this was going to help. He pushed the hell out of that door. If it hadn't moved yet...heck with it. She was in charge. Besides, given how things have been working so far, maybe Ms. Iron really did build this specifically so they'd have to do it together. With a shrug, he walked up to the door. "Together it is!"

Once Rhapsody was in place, he started to push it in time with her.


Spoiler

"Look on the bright side." Rhapsody states as she sees Statics dour reaction to the news. "If this doesn't work, then we get to break. So either way we get through." She says as she joins him and trying to get the door to budge.

Spoiler

Static grins. "I like your style." He had a fleeting thought that he might truly be sorry if this worked and they weren't able to shatter the door.



As Static Signal and Rhapsody began to push, they felt the revolving door slowly moving. They also heard a mechanical grinding that grew louder until the entire revolving door broke off its hinges and shattered into many pieces. In front of them was a small room with another tunnel directly across from them. Suddenly, four bright light on the ground turned on and pointed at something on the ceiling. There was a pony sized sphere hanging there that was painted black with a sizable amount of glitter on it. While there was a faint smell of still wet paint in the air, what wasn't faint was an increasing pulling force from the sphere that was trying to drag Static Signal and Rhapsody towards it!

Spoiler

"Woah, hey! I think we found the 'meteorite'."

Spoiler

The magnetic force was too much with all the camera and radio equipment. Static's hooves began to pull off the ground. "Oh crap! Hooves not on the floor again. This trip has had too much of hooves not on the floor!" Static starts to panic. "No no no. It's okay. If the magnetic field can lift me up, it won't drop me to my death. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay." Static gives a panicked look to Rhapsody. "Help?"

Rhapsody pushed along with Static, but whoever put this door here didn't seem to have planned on Rhapsody's strength being a factor, since while the door started to move, and kept moving as it flew off and smashed into many tiny shards. "Huh, so rather then an either/or option, it was 'both', they certainly don't build ruins like they used to." She giggles and then notices the broken shards starting to rise up off the floor... and then the familiar sound of yellow panic horse. Rhapsody closes her eyes and braces herself, using grounding technique she knew from Sky Lynx to keep herself steady.

Spoiler

Thinking fast she realizes that they never removed the make-shift harness from the previous 'hooves off ground' scenario and tries to grab at it in her mouth before its completely out of reach, in hopes she can use it to tug her partner back down.

Spoiler

However it proves harder then expected, since keeping herself grounded requires quiet a bit of focus and is unable to reach it before its completely out of reach for her. "Alright. Maybe this can work to our advantage... Since you're up there, maybe you can try and dislodge it?"


Snowy grimaces, a mite embarrassed. "I think it's empty." He says, levitating it over. "Either that or filled with some light-weight powder." he comments, undoing the latch and pushing the lid of the box open.

 


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