Equestria Divided: Chronicles (NSFW, a lot of violence and gore)

@neutralgrey  
thanks to a latent connection he knew where that one went.
 
“we might be on to something after all.”
 
he and a few elite soldiers rappel to the ground to follow the path of the lost firebird.

@Cerebrate19  
It took a few hours but eventually they found something, a large black pyramid shining in the sunlight. Surrounding it were ruins of what appeared to be buildings that looked like temples.

@neutralgrey  
“Citrine, you are seeing this through my eyes too, right?”

@Cerebrate19  
“Yeah…this is definitely the place!! And I bet my flank that what we’re looking for is gonna be inside that big black pyramid!

@neutralgrey  
“no point dawdling then, i’ll commit my findings to memory as we hurry there, grab the thing and a properly equipped expedition can rifl through the rest.”

@Cerebrate19  
Look for a book! O-or a scroll or something!

@neutralgrey  
he confirms this as the elite mage force enters the ruined city, heading to the black pyramid.

@Cerebrate19  
(How many troops does he have? And what type are they?)

@neutralgrey  
(elite mages are mainly elementalists of varying mastery, he basically left nearly the whole rank and file behind, except a few nightmares that aid him on polaris’ orders.)

@Cerebrate19  
(Got it)
 
As they made their way to the pyramid they could see large objects that looked like monuments. One looked like a giant scorpion, the other looked like a giant eagle.

“now i’m not an expert on ancient culture, but the eagle is a pretty big deal to the desert folk… is the scorpion his sworn enemy?”
 
they coninued on regardless, significance aside, they had a job to do.

@Cerebrate19  
No, these are guardians by the looks of it. Whatever is inside must be important!
 
(Sorry for the wait, had a rough couple of days)

@neutralgrey  
(it’s fine, really.)
 
“so long as they don’t attack us.”

@Cerebrate19  
Before them stood two massive doors leading into the black pyramid, all along the door were signs of skulls and bones

@neutralgrey  
“somehow this feels like a warning… that or skulls had a more noble significance to these people.”
 
he was done wasting time though, an air mage surrounded them in infection shields, not that they’d share the fate of other archeologists that opened these without preparation, and two earth mages got to work enhancing their strength to pull it open.

@Cerebrate19  
(Lol! Good to know you know that you can get sick opening up old tombs!)
 
Upon opening the doors, it sounds like someone groaning as the thousands year old air escapes the tomb. Before them was inky blackness

@neutralgrey  
assembling another firebird, fireshine sent to construct in to act as a flying torch.
 
the air mages made sure to circulate the outflowing air around them and the group had tailwind from the air they brought in.

@Cerebrate19  
There were smaller statues inside that looked like jackals standing on two legs and with two arms with scythe like swords held to their chests
 
”This is so fascinating! I wish we had more time to search!”

@neutralgrey  
“at this point i’d be severely disappointed if those rockheads didn’t come to life and attack us… probably waiting until we try to get out.”

@neutralgrey  
Earth mage: “should we try smashing them now?”
 
“let’s just find that artifact and the wall those things in as we leave.”
 
Air mage: “no ranged weapons we can see, we can beat them.”

They enter into a large chamber with countless rooms that contained vast treasures
 
I read that these ancient Zebras would be buried with their treasures. Apparently they believed that they’d be needed for the afterlife…I think. All the scrolls I read on this topic never called it the afterlife, just the next life.

@neutralgrey  
“i heard about their belief of what happens after death, but seeing as most everything is still here i’d guess the souls of the departed prefer to travel light.”

@Cerebrate19  
(Fashionably late response)
 
An Earth mage picks up a coin and starts to examine it before whistling
 
“These coins are solid gold and are pretty thick. You sure we need to find an ancient tome? There’s enough valuables here we can buy an army.”
 
Another mage spoke
 
“Magic is worth more than coin, if we can unlock their secrets we won’t need a mercenary army.”
 
“Suit yourself, I’m still taking a few. Who knows? Might even be able to fund my own expedition!”

@neutralgrey  
“we travel light ourselves for a reason, soldier. With this find we can afford to send a more suited expedition to generate wells and build waystations later. Now we have a task to finish.”