Daringmom Part 8

>As you slowly recover your strength, mom neurotically studies the decorations on the walls.

>Eventually you determine that nothing important is damaged, and you make your way over to mom, who's still staring at the wall.

>You take the time to note how filthy the two of you are once again,

>Dried blood splashes one of your hind legs, and you can't smell anything but smoke.

>Both of you are equally covered in soot, but mom doesn't seem to be bothered,

>You don't really mind either, you're more interested in whatever mom's looking at.

The walls sure are fancy-looking.

>''I've seen these before, but I can't quite be sure...''

>She turned to you and shrugged,

>''I'm sure it'll come back to me eventually, let's keep moving.''

>You simply nod and keep walking.

>As you make your way further into the cave, the walls open up dramatically.

>The inner chambers look like they could have been magnificent one day, now dust and wear has crept into it's walls.

>They almost rival pictures of Canterlot castle that you've seen.

>The walls are bare yet ornate, they somehow come off as sophisticated.

>More sophisticated than you're used to seeing in Equestria, which is a bit disturbing.

It looks like we came in through the main entrance, I wonder why it was underground...

>Mom looks puzzled too, she pauses and scratches her chin.

>''My guess is when they built it, it was above ground.''

>You continue walking, and a massive open portcullis comes into sight.

>''Thousands of years at the foot of a volcano probably buried it.''

>The room beyond the gate is wider, and the light from the lantern does all it can just to spill out and get swallowed by the darkness.

I would've gotten there eventually.

>''Hey, at least you're asking the right questions. Insight like that can save your life.''

>The room is big, and the lantern only barely lights up the far walls to the left and right.

>You're both walking as lightly as possible, and the deathly silence creeps into your mind.

You scared?

>''No, you?''

Nah.

>It's pretty hard to not be freaked out.

>A few more steps in, and you can see something at the far end of the massive chamber,

>It's appearance makes you jump a bit, but you soon notice it's stoic nature.

>Made of some kind of dull green metal, it looks like a vaguely cyclidrical squat torso with no head,

>it's resting on a stone pedestal, and two limbs stretch out in an angelic pose.

>Standing about four metres tall, it almost looks like a giant piece of armor, and it has segments jutting out from all over its carapace.

>Your so taken aback by the imposing thing, you almost don't realize when mom runs towards it.

What's going on, mom?

>She doesn't answer, her hoof-steps are frantic as she approaches the stepped rise at the base of the monument.

>In hot pursuit, you soon notice what she's headed for,

>At the base of the rise, a lifeless body melts into the light of the lantern, laying sprawled over the steps.

>''Adam! Sweet stars above!''

>Damn...

>It's pretty clear he's dead.

>She reaches the body and kneels down next to it, pressing her face close to his.

>You approach the scene, taking it in.

>Mom's silently hovering over the body,

>You catch a glimpse of it, he looked old due to his gray-bearded chin, but his face looked so youthful.

>A vicious puncture wound was embedded deep in one side, and dried blood spilled out over most of his lower half all over the floor.

>You give mom a few seconds to herself, and look around the room a bit.

>Not much to see, really. There were two more massive hallways on either side of the far end of the room, flanking the decorative statue.

>''Adam, you idiot.''

>She leans back on her haunches,

>''Why'd you have to go and die?''

>You approach her from the side, putting an arm over her shoulders.

Sorry, mom...

>She looks up and gives you a warm smile,

>''Don't be.''

>She starts rummaging through his pockets carefully,

>''What's done is done, he died doing what he did best; if we don't carry on we'll have failed him.''

>She sounded like she was used to it, like this was some kind of tradition.

>Of course, it probably was. She mentioned she'd lost alot of friends in the line of work.

>You take a step back and let mom finish sorting through Adam's remains.

>It would feel disrespectful going through his corpse when you didn't even know him,

>One of your hoofs comes down on a piece of glass from a shattered lantern, probably Adam's.

>It crunches and breaks loudly, echoing through the chamber.

>Somehow, mom doesn't seem phased by it.

>As you settle down, your vision drifts to the lifeless body of one of mom's closest friends.

>You can't help but notice the huge puncture wound in his side, it doesn't look like a gunshot wound,

>That much is obvious.

>It almost looks like a stab wound, but it's much too big for one.

>''I knew I'd seen these before!''

>Mom's shouting startled you, and you could hear the echo down the halls for several seconds later,

Sweet Celestia, don't yell down here...

>''Sorry, but our path is that much brighter now.''

>You walk up to her, she's leafing through a small, beat up booklet.

Explain, mom.

>''It turns out these ruins are dated to late BCE, according to Adam, and he should know. He made it his life's journey to learn as much about the PreCels as possible.''

>She turned to look at Adam's body, nodding her thanks.

BCE? PreCels?

>''BCE, Before Celestial Era, it just refers to the time before Celestia and Luna ruled, thousands of years ago. PreCels isn't an official term, it's what Adam used to call the ponies who lived right before the Celestial Era.''

>''By the way, back in Equestria, both of those are more likely than not heresy in the princess' eyes, understood?''

>You nod, interested in the subject at hand,

>But you can't fully seperate your thoughts from Adam's gruesome source of death.

>''There's alot of evidence of the PreCels outside of Equestria, all of it indicates that they had access to unbelievable levels of technology.''

>''But the last trace of them is dated to at least three thousand years ago, after that they seem to have vanished, replaced by two goddesses. Thus beginning the Celestial Era.''

>''Adam speculated that their technology and sophistication destroyed them in the end; and we've both seen the proof.''

What proof?

>''All the guns and vehicles, all the machines and devices you've seen since leaving Equestria, they're all based on PreCel technology.''

>''Adam was also pretty sure the princesses know more about the PreCels than they're willing to talk about.''

>''Understandably, of course.''

>All this is getting a bit hard to swallow,

So what's all this mean for us?

>''Not sure. Adam seemed to think that PreCal technology was a by-product of item X, or vice-versa.''

>''If only I knew what he was on about in here... ''

>She began vigorously leafing through the pages, stopping here and there.

>''Apparently Adam was working with The Red Coast undercover,''

>You were about to reply, but she seemed to be ignoring you as she continued rummaging through the pages.

>With nothing to pay attention to but the sound of flapping pages, your hoof paws one of your jacket pockets, and withdraws the old compass mom gave you.

>It only had one visible arm, pointing north.

>''As soon as they got through the reinforced doors leading into here, he was able to determine that this was in fact a PreCel ruin...''

>You turn around in different directions, and watch as the arm of the compass chases north,

>It brings a smile to your face, you never really figured out how these things worked, but you'd love to one day.

>As you stare at the face, the arms starts wobbling, and mom's still flicking through pages.

>The arm then begins spinning sporatically as you put it back in your pocket.

>You approach mom from behind, staring down at Adam's body,

>The entire cavern reverberates with sound as the familliar noise of the volcano rumbles throughout the mountain,

>''Aha, he was the first to discover that that the ruins could be connected to item X,''

>The rumbling subsided, but left a buzzing noise in your ear.

>''According to his notes, as soon as he found out, he sent that message to me and sabotaged some equipment to cave in the entrance temporarily...''

>You rub your left ear when the buzzing doesn't go away, to no avail.

>As you turn your head, the buzzing switches to the other ear, which is when you realize the buzzing isn't in your head.

>Looking around, a low hum is echoing across the chamber.

>''I thought that the sabotage looked like Adam's handywork!''

>It's hard to identify where the humming was coming from, but luckily you don't need to.

>You begin to back off as the hulking statue quivers with a slight flicker of life,

Mom...

>It almost seems like you imagined it at first, but you're sure now.

>''Damn, it looks like he never figured out who the commissioner was.''

>Mom was still violently flipping pages,

MOM!

>She seemed startled, nearly dropping the book as she looked at you,

>As soon as she saw what you were doing, her head snapped up to the construct as it screeched to life.

>It's arms swung downwards to mirror its previous pose, metal screeching as it's ancient surfaces protested movement.

>A dull light emanated from somewhere within, as a red spot of light appeared along a slit situated on it's front carapace,

>''Whoa, it's some kind of PreCel automaton!''

>The look on her face is more one of amazement than fear, as the two of you slowly back off from the rising it was situated on,

>Like clockwork, the pedestal it was situated on split into two pieces, revealing an orb, onto which the torso lowered itself.

>As it rolled forwards, the two of you began backing off quicker.

>Each step it rolled down made a crashing noise as the stone sphere fell,

This couldn't have killed Adam, could it?

>''Don't underestimate PreCel tech, son.''

But Adam was killed by some kind of puncture-

>With another screech of metal on metal, a long, rusted blade slid out from one of it's previously featureless limbs,

>There wasn't enough time to comment, as it charged the two of you.

>You'd never seen a statue so limber, it raised the blade above its head and swung downwards as you dove off to the side, mom jumping backwards and getting airborne.

>It advanced on her, rearing back to take another swing, as you fly up to it and buck it as hard as you can.

>It didn't work, the thing barely seems to notice it, while it left your hind legs aching like you just kicked a block of iron.

>Which you kinda did, in the spurr of the moment.

>You don't have time to ache, the machine swings an arm at you, swatting you out of the way.

>At least it's not going for mom, is all you can think as you skid across the floor, eventually catching yourself and standing upright.

>Surprisingly enough, it doesn't move towards you,

>All it does is point it's other limb in your direction,

>Given recent events, you've grown uncomfortable having things pointed at you.

>You hear a whirring noise, and immediately start strafing, just in time for shots to erupt from the bladeless limb of the construct.

>It doesn't take a genius to tell these bullets are far deadlier than the ones fired at you outside, each shot leaves a small crater where it hits, sending chips flying in all directions.

>Won't take more than one hit and you're done for.

>As you strafe around the radius of that thing, the shots get closer and closer, and you try to run faster.

>You see a tan blur out of the fading light of the lantern,

>Mom flies out of nowhere and tackles it's arm, misdirecting the shots right before they reach you.

>Before you can do anything else, it flicks her away into the darkness,

>You're thinking about running, but the machine seems to have stopped.

>It's torse convulses, and something starts shining inside it.

>A gap telescopes open somewhere along the carapace, a small flame visible inside.

>Your insticts tell you to watch it,

>Just in time for a massive gout of flame to erupt from the hole,

>It's not aimed for you, but you decide to dive out of its reach anyways.

>Then its body whirls, pivoting on the sphere, flames flying in wild arcs across the room.

>As you skid acros the floor with your hooves over your head, you sneak a peek at mom,

>The flames are so bright you can see the entire hall, and mom's airborne, dodging the flames,

>As the torso continues to spin, an arc trails across the floor and heads straight for you,

>You can feel the heat on your back as you dive towards it, the flame passing over your body.

>Looking up, the machine is wasting no time trying to kill you,

>The flames are gone, but it's already mid swing, bringing the blade down above you.

>You roll out of the way, and catch a glimpse of mom hovering behind it,

>The blade comes into contact with the floor, sending a shower of stone and sparks in all directions,

>You scramble to your feet as it swings the blade straight from the floor into a wild horizontal arc,

>All you can do is leap and get airborne, as the blade sweeps beneath your feet.

>The swing doesn't stop, as it's body pivots again, bringing the blade around and towards mom, who dives under it while somehow remaining in the air.

>She shouts something, but you don't catch it.

>Using the motion from her previous maneuver, she bolts for one of the hallways that was flanking the automaton.

>The machine was still righting itself from the sweep, giving you the only repose you needed to get out of here.

>With renewed haste, you dart for the hallway behind mom,

>Before you got 30 feet, you hear the whirring noise again, preparing yourself for the worst.

>Mom disappears into the blackness of the door frame, and you're still a couple meters away when the metallic banging began, blowing holes in the walls adjacent to the door frame,

>Looking back, it's adjusting it's aim towards you,

>You quickly rise up and fold your wings as you approach the doorway, plummeting towards the ground and rolling diagonally through the frame as the ground behind you erupts into chips and dust.

>Taking cover behind the frame, you can feel the wall behind you rupture as shots tear through it like it was glass, showering you with debris.

>A second later they stop, and you hear rumbling that you know can only be it lumbering towards you on it's stone chariot,

>Looking around in the sudden darkness, you can easily tell it'll fit in this hallway,

>That's all the excuse you need to get out of here.

>You can vaguely make out the shape of mom further down the hall, figuring that's a good place to run, you make your way towards her.

>Catching up, you fall in step beside her.

That thing's unstoppable!

>''We'll survive somehow,''

>''For now, run!''

>You strafe down the hall faster, when you hear a smashing noise, followed by crumbling stone.

>The hulking thing is standing in the dust of the now destroyed doorway, silhouetted by the light from the abandoned lantern in the previous room.

>As soon as it broke through the doorway, you both ducked into another doorway, this one was much smaller.

>You both lean against the wall inside, not making a noise.

>In the silence, you can hear the thing rumbling towards your location,

>Glancing at each other, you're both hoping it'll pass by without noticing you.

>It gets closer without any sign of slowing down, and for a second you're relieved.

>Then the wall above you explodes as the length of the blade punches through it,

>You both dive away from the wall as it drags the blade diagonally through the wall, bursting out through the frame of the door you came through.

>As you back off, it becomes obvious this is just a single room, and the only exit has a crazed death machine blocking it.

>Backing further into the room, the machine rips through what's left of the doorway, exposing thin girders where the wall was.

>As soon as it can fit though, it advances on you,

>It's cramped for it in here, but that won't seem to stop it.

>Lunging out with it's blade, you and mom scatter to opposite sides of it.

>It brings it's arm up to swing at mom, but then turns back and swings at you instead, only missing you my an inch as you leap away from it.

>With the two of you on either side of it, the hole in it's body telescopes open again, the familliar jet of flames spewing forth.

>There's no room to avoid it in here though,

>You look around frantically in the light, and see some obscure objects against the wall, probably furniture or something.

>No time to think, you dive behind it and kick it on it's side, blocking the flames as they pass by.

>When the flames subside, you peek out and look for mom.

>She's not in the room, but neither is a burnt corpse.

>That's good news.

>You spot mom in what's left of the doorway, as that thing swings it's free arm at her, smashing more of the wall.

>Mom dodges it, but stays close,

>It swings at her again, clipping the cieling and causing debris to rain.

>Not much more of this and the whole hallway's going to come down on top of us...

>Wait a minute.

>You fly up behind it as it has another go at mom, missing her and smashing some girders into dust.

>The cieling is crumbling now, even when it's not being hit,

>As expected, that thing knew you were behind it, and it pivoted once more on it's base, attempting to back-hoof you.

>Successfully predicting it's move, you fold your wings and dive, landing right in front of it's spherical base,

>Circling around it, it nearly runs over your legs in an attempt to crush you.

>The cieling is violently coming down now, and you dash for the way out,

>Mom's ushering you out, obviously aware the cieling is about to come down any second.

>You clear what's left of the doorway as the construct spins back around, wasting no time as it charges for you,

>Looking back was, in hindsight, a bad idea.

>The time you wasted gave it a huge start, and you have to dive out of the way as it rolls towards you at a blinding pace.

>As you skid across the floor for the millionth time tonight, the machine crashes into the wall opposite the ex-doorway.

>A huge chunk of cieling comes crashing down a few feet to your left as you scramble to your hooves, practically running before you're even standing.

>Behind you, the hallway practically disintegrates before your eyes, burying the automaton in seconds,

>Mom eventually slows down and stops, and you come to a stop beside her.

>Both your heavy breathing and mom's are echoing in the sudden silence,

Was that on purpose?

>''Nothing so far has been on purpose, son.''

>''get used to it,'', she adds with a wink and a smile,

>At least that's what you think she did, you haven't fully djusted to the dark yet.

>As your breaths slowly return to normal, you both resume walking down the hall at a brisk pace.

>Only a few seconds pass before a low rumble is heard,

>Your heads snap backwards in tandem,

>The rubble from the cave-in has begun to shift, and the sound of metal screeching on stone is audible.

>''Well shit, can't a pegasus catch a break?''

>With that, the two of you book it down the hall.

>Before long, there's a split, and you stop to look at mom,

>''Uuuuh, eenie, meenie, minie-''

Left!

>You bolt down the hall to the left, mom following.

>The hall feels long, but you can't really tell in the blackness.

>Behind you, you recognise the rumbling of stone as the sphere that thing rolled around on.

>Eventually you reach a room,

>it's big, but not as big as the hall where you found Adam.

>You both halt in the center of the room as your eyes adjust to the dark.

>There's a decorative fountain in the center of the room, and a few tall rows of shelves to the right,

>Nothing else.

>It's a dead end.

>You and mom exchange worried glances,

>Looking back, that thing's already coming down the last hall, still out of sight.

Shit, I guess this is it.

>''C'mon, don't think like that.''

>Mom glanced over at the shelves, then withdrew her compass.

>''We probably should have gone right, that would've taken us towards the center of the mountain.''

>You take out your compass as well,

What makes you think that?

>''We were on the north face of the mountain when we entered, my compass here says south is that way.''

>she gestures toward the hall,

>You squint at your compass, it's still freaking out.

How come your compass works? Mine's going crazy.

>Suddenly her head snaps up,

>''Is that the one I gave you when you were little?''

The very same.

>''Wierd, those old kinds are supposed to be extremely reliable,''

Why don't you use one, then?

>''They stop acting properly when they're near a source of...''

>She smiles, yanking the compass from your hoof,

>''Active magic!''

What's that supposed to mean?

>''Don't you get it? That thing must be powered by some kind of spell!''

That doesn't mean it won't kill us!

>''Yeah, but I have a plan,''

>You were about to comment, but you hear a screeching at the doorway,

>The construct is lumbering along slowly, dragging the blade along the floor,

>Before you have time to react, mom stuffs the compass in your mouth,

>''Keep it busy, and tell me if your compass starts working again!''

>She starts rummaging through her pockets as she dashes off to the safety of the shelves.

>Leaving you alone, staring down the metal giant.

>Its carapace is heavily dented, and it's missing a few parts here and there.

>The fact it took its time getting here was no sign of its speed,

>You almost don't have time to react as it rolls towards you, dragging the blade along the ground.

>Sparks lit up the room as it closed in, and you got airborne.

>The roof is high enough that you can almost defeat the reach of the blade with your flight,

>As it gets close to you, it brings the blade up in a deadly horizontal swing, missing your feet.

>Now out of reach, it points its other limb at you, and you hear the whirring noise again.

>You prepare to dive out of the way, but a vicious clanging interrupts you, as the machine's arm bursts into flame,

>The mechanism must have jammed in the cave in, and for a second you're relieved

>As soon as its weapon ceased working, it reared back, revealing the flamethrower on its torso.

>The hole was busted open, but the flame sputtered steadily within.

>Elicting an obscure curse you must've picked up from mom, the flame choked to life, spouting an orange tongue of flame.

>You dodge out of its path, but when it hit the cieling it erupted into a bright inferno, showering you with flames.

>Not sure, but you think you're on fire.

>Without hazarding a second thought, you nose-dive into the fountain at the center of the room, as mom yells something.

>Plunging into the freezing, stagnant water, you hear a hissing noise right before your body collides with the shallow bed.

>Quick to recover, you surface again, just in time to see something bright blue fly across the room, sending light in all directions.

>It lands right in front of the automaton, as it readies the flamethrower again.

>This close, your soaking body probably won't save you.

>You're about to fly off, but mom leaps into the pool next to you.

>''Get in the water, now!''

>She grabs you by the back of your neck, and shoves your body into the stale liquid as she flattens herself out as well.

>While underwater, you can hear an extremely high pitched noise,

>Realizing your eyes are still closed, you force them open,

>To your surprise, you can see mom's face clearly a few inches away from yours.

>In fact, everything's incredibly bright, like it was day time.

>Your compass floats past your sight, and you take a second to grab it.

>The arm is still spinning spastically,

>A couple more second pass, and the bright light starts to subside.

>Before you both surface, you glance at your compass,

>it seems to have stopped spinning.

>You both break the surface of the water in unision, and the light blinds you.

>Prying your eyes open, you glance around the room.

>Or what's left of it.

>Whatever mom threw across the room was nothing but a pile of ashes and two metal caps,

>And the entire room, now dark again, was burnt to a crisp,

>But more importantly, the automaton seemed to have frozen where it stood.

>You drag yourself out of the pool, shaking the water off your body.

I don't know what the heck you did mom, but it worked!

>''Heh, I knew I was onto something.''

>You approach the frozen monster, compass still in hand,

>The arm hasn't moved yet.

>You rub some soot off the odd, dull, now-blackened metal,

>The entire body creaks to life again, and you fall back in shock,

>As the whole structure collapses, falling to a lifeless heap on the floor.

>Shakily scrambling to your feet, you hear mom laughing.

That's not funny.

>She took a few seconds to respond,

>''Whatever you say.''

>A minute passed as the two of you come down off your adrenaline-high, and the coldness seeps into your wet body.

>''Man, he's gonna be pissed.''

>Mom's staring at the remains of the device she threw,

Was... was that the thing you took out of the ship?

>''Yeah, and a radio I found on Adam's body.''

I don't know how that works, but I'm glad it did.

>She starts walking towards the exit, rummaging through her pockets

>''I'll tell you how it works later,''

>''For now, we ought to get moving.''

>You set off behind mom,

So,

Have we survived yet?

>''I've been asking myself that for years now,''

>''I honestly don't think there's an answer to that question,''

>The words recounted in your head sounded so sad,

>But her warm smile told you otherwise.