private That Which Lays Beneath (1x1 with Yuu Xeno)

[CaptainJinx99 128]

It was a rather average day in Ponyville, with its many residents going about their daily lives... Excelt, something was different. A giant sinkhole right in the middle of town. It’s been there for a few days, and it’s reventky been revealed they led down into hidden catacombs that’d never been discovered, until now...

Twilight couldn’t help but pace around her room, anxiety growing inside of her. It’d only been a day since she had reported everything they knew about the catacombs and sinkhole so far to Princess Celestia, and the Solar Princess had replied with a note, saying she’d be sending her sister and one of her many guards, to partake in an expedition down into the catacombs... And they were supposed to be arriving any minute. Spike had tried to calm her down, but now was merely laying around in his basket, having given up on that already.

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Solar Flare eyed the large hole in the center of town carefully. It was quite large, and even deeper than its width. He didn't know why the ground decided to give way, but one thing was for certain...a whole slew of catacombs and things to see waited for him. He was quite excited to see what it had to offer, but at the same time, he didn't know what was inside, He knew what catacombs were, of course, but actually seeing them was a different story.

Breaking out of his thoughts, he turned to see Princess Luna beside him, looking at the sinkhole as well. He didn't know why the Princess of the Night had decided to come, but he wasn't going to be the one to complain about it. He simply sighed and let go of the edge the chariot, sitting down on his haunches. Whatever this was, it must be important, and he was determined to see it through.

[CaptainJinx99 128]

Princess Luna couldn’t help but sigh a bit as she turned her head away from the sinkhole and began to look forward, closing her eyes as she mulled over everything she’d been told by her sister before they left. A potential days long expedition into a winding labyrinth of a catacomb certainly didn’t sound too fun to the Lunar Princess, but she, in the end, knew how important this was. Besides, this was probably one of few times she’d ever get to do something like Daring Do would do, the adventurous ponies adventures becoming a guilty pleasure of Luna’s... And getting to see Twilight never hurt, too.

The chariot would soon come to a halt on the ground, right in front of the Princess of Friendships castle, which hasn’t changed a bit since it’d first appeared. Princess Luna was quick to disembark from the chariot, giving her large wings a stretch as she got out.

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Solar Flare was right behind Princess Luna, giving her some space to stretch her wings. He would admit, he could never see how the Princesses wings were larger than anypony else, but he figured it had something to do with the whole Alicorn race. He looked up to Luna.

"Well, Princess Luna, here we are!" He smiled. "This town reminds me a lot of my home, in a sense."

He the looked to the castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Again, he would say it was quite the beautiful looking castle. He was no expert, but it looked well made for somepony of Twilight's importance. "Shall we wait outside for the Princess, or...?" He glanced back to Luna.

[CaptainJinx99 128]

Princess Luna chuckled, before letting out a content sigh as she felt she'd given her wings a good enough stretch. It certainly did feel better to finally be out of that stuffy carriage.

"No need, Twilight Sparkle is most likely waiting for us inside." She said, glancing back at Solar Flare with a smirk before she began to walk on up the steps up to the rather large front door of the castle itself, which she firmly knocked on when she reached them, just loud enough for the purple Alicorn to hear such a thing.

"A-ah, Princess!" Twilight quickly said as she opened the door on up, her gaze going from Luna over to Solar after a moment. "Please, come in. I've got everything prepped and ready for the expedition!" She said, in a mixture of excitement and slight anxiety, as she stepped off to the side, allowing Luna to enter the castle without any trouble.

The inside was quite grand to say the least, probably helped by the fact it was seemingly made of crystal, or, most of it was at least...

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Solar Flare stepped inside, taking a moment to admire the interior. It was...quite the sight, to say at the very least. The walls were completely crystal, which was to be expected, but to actually see it was a different story all together. He admired the castle for a bit longer before turning back to the Princesses. "Princess Twilight, it's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed out of respect. Although the only royalty he's really been around was the Sisters, he's only been visited a few times personally. He still knew how to act around them, however.

[CaptainJinx99 128]

Twilight smiled softly, as she gazed upon Solar Flare. Admittedly, she never had gotten used to ponies bowing to her. It just felt... Weird. Maybe she just wasn't as used to being a Princess as she thought she was by now. Whatever the case, she managed to keep a straight face, and quickly replied. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you as well. Your... Solar Flare, right? Princess Celestia mentioned you in her letter!" She said, trying to strike conversation as she began to walk further into the castle, to wherever the gear she'd packed up happen to be.

Luna followed along closely behind, taking a curious glance around, since she'd never really been inside the castle itself all that much. "Yes, Solar Flare here will certainly be a valuable asset on this expedition of ours. And he'll certainly be getting some experience out of the whole thing, as well."

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Solar Flare nodded,"Yes, that would be correct, Princess Luna." He turned to Twilight,"Although, as much as I do know about ancient ruins, I still have a few questions about this particular one, if I may ask." He used his wing to open the top of his saddlebags, and pulled out a small book with his teeth. It was enchanted by his boss, so it wouldn't get damaged, be it by a fifty foot drop or his teeth. He motioned for Twilight to take it, along with the small enchanted quill on a string around his neck.

[CaptainJinx99 128]

Twilight's eyes curiously scanned both the book and the quill on the string wrapped around Solar Flare's neck, but she made it quick, and soon enough, her magical, magenta aura would envelop both of the items, as well as her horn, as she carefully floated them on over to her, making sure to pull the quill up over the stallions head, as to not, y'know, choke him or something. While waiting for Solar Flare to say more, she quickly flipped on through the book she'd been given, her eyes skimming over the pages.

 

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"There's a few pages you might find interesting, Princess. Mainly the ones at the end." He stated. "The last few...adventures I've had the pleasure of joining were somewhat linked to this, I think." He pointed a hoof at the page she was on at the time,"Ah, don't mind that one. I was slightly drinking that day, so don't mind my unintelligible scribbled words." He chuckled a little. He then looked back to Luna, who was still trailing behind slightly. "Pardon my curiosity, Princess Luna, but why is it that Princess Celestia was so...vague on detailing this little escapade?"

[CaptainJinx99 128]

Twilight couldn't help but become rather engrossed in the book she'd been given, reading over the last few adventures Solar Flare had been on. It was all so fascinating to her, she was lucky she wasn't at risk of bumping into something as she walked down the hallway.

Princess Luna sighed, bowing her head slightly before glancing over to the side. "I had hoped she'd give you more than just a partial picture of the situation, but... Ever since the catacombs were unearthed, a lot of strange occurrences have happened all over Ponyville. Ponies disappearing, rumbling deep beneath the earth. While our mission is to map the catacombs, our mission is also to try and find out what could be causing these things to happen, as we believe they're most likely linked to the labyrinth that lays beneath our hooves..." Luna sighed again, before looking directly at Solar Flare, still trudging behind slightly. "If... You'd rather not partake in the expedition now knowing this, I understand."

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Solar Flare cocked his head,"Oh, I see. Well..." He paused, lowering his ears. This all sounded strange, if not dangerous. He knew what could be down there, but at the same time, he didn't. Would he risk everything he was and worked for just to map out a few strange corridors? After a few seconds, he raised his ears again with a large smile. "You thought I was going to back down? Pfft, as if. This is my job, and if I went back to my boss empty hoofed, I'd be worse for wear!" He the coughed a little,"Sorry, got carried away. My apologies, Princess."

[CaptainJinx99 128]

Luna gave a smile, as she nodded her head. "No need to apologize. Just know if you begin to have any doubts, you can speak of them to me." She replied, just as the group finally reached their destination: The Map Room.

Twilight floated the book and quill she'd been given on over to the map, and gently placed both of them on top of it, right next to some saddlebags for the ponies of the expedition, and a regular backpack for Spike, who was currently sitting on Twilight's throne, though he did get out of it to bow in respect of Princess Luna, who merely giggled a bit. 

"Spike, you do know you do not have to do that around me. We are friends, are we not?" She said, as Spike chuckled nervously. "Heh heh, yeah. Friends... A-anyways, I got everything packed up Twilight." He said, as the Princess of Friendship gave a look of approval. "Great! Now we're just waiting for... Ugh, Rainbow Dash. Why couldn't she be on time?" She grumbled to herself, huffing out of annoyance.