Daring Do and the Ledgend of the Mage's Core

Hey hey, if there are any of you guys wondering if I've abandoned the story, i have not, i am simply waiting for the next inevitable Daring do thread, and once there is one up and running, ill continue writing, UNTIL THEN, feel free to read my other story, Colors Of Coloratura, i assure you, in my (bias) opinion its worth the read ;)






>The flier nearly took flight as I stared upon it, the rough sands of the badlands being kicked up all around, stinging my bare limbs as minuscule grains slammed into them
>lucky enough, I was prepared, dressed with a bandanna around my muzzle, and goggles around my eyes to keep those more sensitive and vital parts of myself protected
>To the south, a sandstorm was fast approaching likely to hit within the hour, although it didn't matter much, i’d be in and out of there in half the time it would take the little ‘storm’ to hit
>I say, ‘little storm’ because, well compared to what i've been though, it's minuscule, ‘badlands’ they call it, ‘bad’, my ass worst thing out here is the heat, and even that's a slow killer
>Ever been to the dragonlands? Yeah, there's just as much heat but add fire breathing dragons to the mix, and what you get is a vacation to your death
>Don't think that's bad? Try Saddle Arabia, They’ve been locked in a 4 way civil war between their 2 extremist religious groups, the nationalists, and the Totalitarian government, for many moons now
>To put it lightly the region is on fire, a much hotter heat than anything you’d feel in a desert, and since everybody basically hates everybody there, travel is as suicidal then a gun to the temple
>What led me to all those areas you ask? Well, let me properly introduce myself
>I'm Silverwing, Professional, well what can I say professional everything, i’m an all around handyman for hire
>It's true that I can basically do any odd jobs you need, plumbing, electricity, hell i’ll even do your taxes
>However, when somebody has such a wide skill set, such as myself, you don't end up doing the easy jobs, high payout leads you to the more dangerous works
>Hence the reason i’ve been to the ends of the world through fire and ice
>On my flank is a pair of silver binoculars, making up the image that is your cutie mark, your special talent, well that attributes to your keen perception
>And it's this perception that led me to be able to pick up new skills as fast as I could read through the manual
>And it was the same perception that led me here, the middle of no man's ‘bad lands’
>I heard by word of muzzle while I was in a bar in dodge city that there was a pony, some sort of archaeologist, looking for help finding some sort of artifact
>the riches mentioned were as plentiful as the danger involved; Though this didn't exactly deter me, in fact I have a natural tendency towards high risk, high rewards.
>The only stipulation that was mentioned was that finding a flier posted somewhere in the badlands was the only way to be eligible
>You know exactly what I thought about when I heard ‘badlands’? Easy street
>Come on, theres only so many towns ever settled there, and the chances were that this archeologist wasn't looking for somebody who could find a flier in a city that's marked on any old map
>so what did I do? Found a hundred year old manifest of all the towns in Dodge City Records, that led me to find, with some luck i'll admit, the city of Derren, where the flier resided, on my first try
>The scenery around me wasn't something to put on a brochure though, the town has seen hell and possibly worse from mother nature
>half the buildings were indiscernible from their original form, warped violently by the marauding sands, the other half of the structures? Well you could say there wasn't another half, they were deep underground, buried by the same sands they were built on, it's an ugly circle of life
>Sticking out like a sore thumb however was a towering flagpole, or what seemed to be, at this point I can't tell what half the buildings are supposed to be
>It this point what I think was a market, may have been a brothel, but based on what little I know about the culture, it's entirely possible that it was both, which wouldn't be something necessarily be something to object to
>On the flagpole was a hefty buck knife, wooden handle, sand stained, stainless steel blade stuck directly into the top of a worm down piece of cloth that bore the inscription of coordinates, naturally I knew around the area the coords were leading to; South of the macintosh hills, in the mysterious south
>’Mysterious south’ Heh, These equestrians were really poets when they named regions huh?
>With the information memorized I quickly rip the knife from the wooden pillar and let the cloth fall into my palm, there wasn't any reason at this point to let anyone else share the riches
>I can't help but laugh at the thought of hope filled wanna be adventures aimlessly meandering around the desert until the give up and run home tail between their legs, or dehydration ends their adventure all too early
>But either way it doesn't involve me, and at this point, although the hilarity might linger in my mind for awhile, I have to get a head start to the Coords if I want to make it before the expedition leaves

>An easy two day venture on hoof, akin to a leisurely stroll in the park, at least for me, led me here, right outside a makeshift camp set up in under the thick canopy of jungle lumber that shunned sunlight from entering and illuminating the surrounding areas, as of now the only scarce light radiated from several torches stuck into the ground
>There were 3 tents, the one one in the center larger than the two to it's side, from the inside the internal light outlined the shadows of two ponies who seemed to be talking to one another in an animated conversation
>i take a few steps forward, hoping to make enough noise to alert the two of my presence
>shortly after I pass into the center of the camp, the animated conversation turns to hushed murmurs before a navy blue unicorn slowly exits the tent, levitating a revolver to his side
>”Woah, well howdy there there Quickdraw, wanna put the gun away?”
“Why don't you tell me who are you are first”
>The blue stallion pushes the gun further toward me , reflexively causing me to take a step back
>”What? I find find you’re damn flier and this is welcome I get?”
>after I say that, the stallion takes pause for a second, before quietly laughing and lowering his revolver
“I was beginning to think nobody was going to find that damn flier”
>with the gun off me, I take second to breath and get my bearings back before replying to the stallion
>”Yeah? Well it wasn't exactly keenly hidden, toddler could’ve found it, You're this Archeologist I take it?”
“No, She’s in there”
>The stallion says motioning his revolver slightly towards the center tent
“She?”
>He nods slightly with a smirk in response to my comment
“I'm Kenavon, sorry for the whole gun thing”
>Kenavon reaches out his hoof gesturing for a shake, and after a moment of criticism, I gesture my hoof out and meet his half way
>”Don't sweat it, i'm just flattered you think I look dangerous enough to hold at gunpoint, SIlverwing by the way”
>Kenavon releases me from the hoof shake before motioning towards the central tent
“Come on, she’ll want to meet the man who actually found her flier”
>Once he starts off I follow close behind before passing through the tents threshold
>inside the walls were littered with maps and manuscript, right in front of me with back turned stood a tan pegasus with a mane composing of many tones of grey, distinct hat atop her her head, and an army green collared shirt
>she quickly snapped her head back upon my entrance and focused her magenta eyes upon mine.
“So you're the guy who found my flier huh?”
>”Guess so, I’m silverwing, you must be the archeologist, sweetcheeks”
>Her expression instantly turns into confusion, as if not exactly grasping what I just said
“Excuse me?”
i sneak a glance towards Kenavon to my side who has put a hoof over his mouth trying to stifle a slight smirk that creeped up his face, before returning my eyes to the expedition leader
>“Well when I heard about this, expedition, I didnt exactly the leader to be a girl”
>she scoffs violently and her mouth is left agape
“Well when Pinned up that flier, I expected an adventurer, not a pig, so I guess we’re both disappointed”
>”Never said I was disappointed, now you gonna tell me your name sweetheart”
“Daring, Daring Do”
> She says after ample eye rolling and shortly before nodding over to Kenavon
“I’m sure you met Kenavon, he knows southern unicorn magic better than anyone I know,
>I'm sure I hadn’t heard it all my life these insults would have actually hurt my feelings, but it's about normal to hear them when I meet somebody new, so I don't let it get to me
>”Yes sir Boss”
>Just looking at the three of us, I can't help but feel slightly underwhelmed, as far as numbers in the expedition, I mean we can't possibly be all that’s here
>”So, are we it? army of 3?”
>It takes Daring a second to connect and get on the same page but once she does, her answer is swift
“Snow Fleur, and Summer Comet are out gathering supplies, you’ll get to meet them soon”
>”Well im looking forward to it, so far we have whiz-kid here, and a hard-ass, with any luck they’ll be just like tweedle dee and tweedle dum”
>With another look of astonishment albeit this one more serious, daring slowly takes her hat off and places it on the table behind her, before starting me down
“Yeah? You got three seconds to apologize”
>I scoff and smirk her way, making exact eye contact no way i’m gonna apologize, guess i’m just too prideful
“One”
“Daring...”
>Kenavon butts in, trying to de-escalate the hostile situation
“Two”
>”Now hold o-”
>before I even finish my sentence, and well before i anticipate the number three, a solid force collides with my muzzle and sends me to the ground without a word of warning, causing an array of pain so broad it nearly causes me to shed a few tears
>Bitch just hit me
>I don't even get a chance to get up her hoof is driven into my side as she applies enough pressure to nearly crack a rib, reflexly I let out a throaty groan of pain before meeting her dead in the eyes, this time hers and mine being a lot more agitated
>”You didn't say three”
>I bark at her in an obviously aggressive tone
“Shut up! let me tell you how this is gonna work, I tell you to do something, you do it, I say move you move, I say stop, you stop, I say jump what do you say?”
>“You first”
>although it probably isn't the smartest decision in the current situation, I saw another way to push some buttons and i'd be damned if I didn’t push them
>in response to this daring pushes her hoof a little further into my side, stealing more of what little breath I had left
“If you don't follow the rules, I’ll toss your ass back out into the jungle where you came, you understand”
>after a few seconds pause I give in and follow up her question
>”I understand”
>I didn't want to say it, but I was dying to get her anvil of a hoof off of me before it broke damn every bone in my ribcage
>it takes a few moments, but slowly I make my way back up to my hooves, grunting in pain all the while
“Sun’s coming up we should get ready to move out”
>Daring starts out the threshold to the outside, presumably to get ready for the trek
“Moving out where”
>she turns back and gets back up in my face, again…
“Hey, what did I just say?”
>realizing my mistake I apologize quickly, of course because I don't want another hood to the ribcage
>“Sorry, I forgot”
>daring was just about to leave my gaze before I followed up with
“Just one thing though, Hit me again, and i’ll kill ya’”
>oddly enough the response I get from this is a playful smile and a one eyebrow raise, as opposed to what I thought would have been another hoof
“Let's move out”
>And with that, daring and Kenavon both exit the text leaving you there alone, and with a muzzle ablaze with pain
>All in all, wasn't my worst first impression
>They did rush out in such a hurry that they left a certain something on the desk for me to take, and based on the events that just unfolded, it should act as a nice life insurance policy.
>Anyways as i leave the tent and get a glace at the slightly brighter camp outside, two more ponies, stallions by the looks of them, one pegasi, one earth pony, to which i was glad too see, so far I thought I was going to be the only one.
“Leaving already?”
>The pegasus questions, while unloading a few bags of oats and berries from his saddlebag and handing them out to Wiz-kid and Daring
>Kenavon steps out from behind daring to further explain
“The sooner we get out there, the sooner we can get this whole thing over with, Fleur did you get enough food for the road?”
>Snow Fleur was the Earth pony, he was grey but had dark brown hair and had a few hoofsteps as a cutie mark
“Aye brotha’, what little we could find, we might have to ration wisely untill I can find more ”
>His voice was soft spoken and had an accent i can't quite place, possibly being from somewhere up in northern Equestria
>The second pony, the pegasus, i assume his name is summer comet trotted over, and stared me down curiously
“you our number 5?”
>Daring, Ken, and Fleur gaze over, waiting for an answer, and wiping a bit of leftover blood from my lips, I answer
>”Sure am”
>Comet takes a closer look at the wound on my lips, before smiling and glancing over to Daring with a knowing expression
“Trip over your shoe laces?”
>Comet says referencing the blood seeping from the cut on my lips
>”Something like that”
>He laughs in jest
“Well i’m just glad someone was willing to scour half the desert to find that damn flier”
>this gives me pause, i guess before now i had assumed everyone here went through the same trial that i had, but apparently it seemed i was the only one
>”Hold up, You're telling me none of you had to find any fliers in the middle of no man's land?”
>The question was mostly so aimed at daring, as it seemed she was the one who set up the whole expedition in the first place, so naturally she's the first to answer
“Thats right”
>I roll my eyes lightly in an agitated manner
>”Well what the hell was the point?”
“I Called Kenavon here because he's the best with southern magic, Fleur here is the best tracker and hunter I know, and Comet knows everything about the mysterious south, and the Nakrai culture, but with you, well I needed somebody with the perception and skill to could, keep up with me”
>”And you couldn't've have, oh i don't know, held an interview?”
“It's not something you can find through interview, and plus”
>Daring says with rather flirtatious eyes, taking me off guard
“It wouldn't have been as fun”
>I'm really having a hard time reading Daring, she seemed to be fond of me, despite of course, almost breaking my ribcage a few minutes ago, if anything she was a mystery herself
“We should move out”
>after kenavon says that, we all move out to the south with Daring leading the charge, me right behind, leaving the camp behind for now

>The whole group has been walking through the jungle for around 3 hours now, and as we pushed further and further into it, the tree canopy got thinner and thinner untill it was so spase sunlight shone down and provided all the light we needed to continue
>surprisingly we haven't met much trouble, although the south is where many a beast call home, Grizzly Bears, Tigers, and many others roam these parts, and there's one thing they love to eat, ponies
>Although that would be in the forefront of most people's mind at this time, i had something else that was dragging me down
> Now I will shamelessly admit i'm a hardy guy, i can withstand heat, cold, dragons, civil wars, you name it, but i always had one weakness that i couldn't hide, hunger
>So since we haven't eaten yet and we made our way to a wide open meadow i take this as a good place to stop
>so I look to Comet, the Pegasus who had the food in the first place, he took a place next to Kenavon in front of me awhile back, as he and the Whiz were studying the map.
>”Alright wide open space, how’s about we stop to cook something up?”
>Comet just tilts his head back minutely before returning it to it's resting position
“We need to keep moving, It's, too Dangerous to stop here
>”Just for a few minutes”
“We Need to keep moving”
>”I'm not saying we have to stay here all day”
“It's Still too dangerous”
>Now he was starting to annoy me, i mean hang out with a bunch of adventures and you don't expect them to be deterred by danger, but i guess the crowd i'm with are pansies
>“Just stop and cook some damn food!”
>I yell furiously, a yell of which gets the unwanted attention of Comet who turns around and barks right back at me
“If we just stop, There might be a damn Bear nearby ready t-”
>Mid sentence all of us here a noise come from within the brush surrounding the clearing, And we all turn towards it, attempting to deduce what was making the noise
“There's something out in the jungle”
>Fleur says right before the rustling continues
“Something's coming
>Daring starts to say as she backs up while the commotion starts to get louder, and louder, until we hear growling
“Come on, Let's Move!”
>Daring yells and shortly after her and the others run in the opposite direction of the noise, not me though
>I reach my hood into my saddlebag to pick up what Kenavon left behind in the tent, His revolver
“Silver”
>I hear daring yell before Comet stops her and tells her to leave me
>Still standing in the same position I make sure it's loaded before I point the gun downrange and in the direction of the noise
>One
>Two
>Three shots before the creature springs out of the wild, but as it lunges out of the thick brush, the fourth shot has the stopping power to send the tremendous animal to the floor, feet in front of me
>I’ll admit, it caused me to flinch slightly, but while it caused me to flinch, i sent to the ground, it's a fair trade if you ask me
>I just stand there and analyse the animal, it's something i've seen before, but didn't know lived this far south, it had the body of a lion, albeit a very large one, Larger than life wings, and a barbed scorpion tail, a manticore
>It takes a few seconds but eventually the rest of the group reconvened around me, seemingly puzzled to see the animal lay in front of me
“That can't be a manticore”
>The utter confusion in Ken’s voice is well apparently, however in response to his question the other 3 say in unison”
“It's a manticore”
>I will admit, it was puzzling me too, although i don’t care as much as the others in the group
“Manticores don't live in the Jungle though”
>Daring says looking at Comet, the expert of the region
“No, Manticores don't live anywhere near this far south”
>Fleur responds
“This one does
>”Did, It did”
>Trying to move the conversation along, i attempt to end the conversation there although Daring had her focus somewhere else
“Why did that come from?”
>”Probably Manticore town, how the hell would I know?”
“Not the Manticore; The gun?”
>After she says that everybody looks to my hoof where i’m still holding the firearm, Kenavon is especially interested as he checks his saddlebags, before figuring out it ook his weapon
>”Kenny Boy over here left it on the desk in the tent, so I took it.”
>Daring takes another step towards me
“Why didn't you tell us?”
>”Because i thought it would come in handy for me, and guess what, I just shot a manticore”
>I explain, pointing the gun at the manticore in front of darling's face, which in hindsight wasn't the best idea
>Daring, in speed i've never seen, rips the gun from my hoof, and points it right back at me,
“Well it looks like you got your use out of it”
>Before tossing the revolver back to kenavon, Daring coyly winks my way, again defying my expectation to what i thought would happen, which was honestly, a pull of the trigger
>I hadn't noticed in the moment but Fleur actually scouted ahead past the far brush surrounding the meadow, and apparently found something worth seeing
“Guys, You’ll wanna see this”
>Comet and Kenavon start over to the source of the yelling while daring and i are still eye to eye.
“You're good, real good”
>She leans in close to my ear, her warm chest colliding with mine, waking up long asleep butterflies inside of me, and whispers
“But i’m better”
>It wasn't long after that rather odd exchange Daring and I pass through the thick brush that divided us from the rest of the group
>On the other side of it was a massive, mile wide, hundred mile long, and 2 mile deep shale gorge that seemed to tear the land in two leaving nothing but the void in the middle
>Kenavon and Fleur were gazing over the edge of the sheer drop while Comet was hovering just over the edge looking straight down in the same direction
>Daring and I take a spot next to kenavon and join in the gaze trying to figure out just what it was they were all so mesmerized by
“Fleur, what do we got?”
>Daring asks while still scanning the sheer cliffs below
“Down to your left just an inch, about 200 feet down, look for a glimmer of light”
>It takes a few seconds for us both but we eventually spot what seems to be a diversion in the pattern of rock, where the rough shale cliff turns to what seems to be a smooth stone wall, a glimmer of sunlight seemingly reflecting off a piece of glass
“That our Bunker?”
>Daring questions before moving farther away from the cliffside and taking off her duel saddlebags
“Aye, Straight out of The Alicorn War era”
>An Alicorn Bunker? I guess it's not an odd place to hide an ancient artifact, I guess I was just expecting some sort of temple or ancient vault build by the same civilization that made the artifact, not a bunker previously inhabited by the racist elitist extremists
>”So this bunker, that where we’ll find this artifact?”
>Without even looking towards me, Daring just pulls out 3 ropes cords of thick rope
“Not exactly, but this is where we’ll find our map leading to it”
>”We came out all this way for a map, you're meaning to tell me we don't even know where this artifact is?”
“Nobody does, rumor has it that an alicorn research team during the war were tasked with finding the Mages Core, in hopes of using it to give power their entire civilization”
>”So what? How can this, Mages Core can power a civilization?”
>Comet Hovers over to your position, away from the cliff to explain
“The Solstice sisters, two incredibly powerful mages from the Nakrai tribe, found a way to transfer all of their magic into one capsule, the mages core, The sisters perished almost immediately after it's creation, but the core itself continued to provide power to their tribe untill equestrian settlers drove them out, the mages core vanished from existence, untill the alicorns started picking up strange magical readings from somewhere in the south”
>”So what’s the plan? We just find this artifact and sell it to the highest bidder?”
>It was Kenavons turn to butt into the conversation.
“Do you know what a price we could fetch, ponies from here to the Crystal Empire will be lining up to buy it”
>it wasn't my first reaction usually to feel morally obligated to object to something that's well out of the grey area, hell half the time it was me doing more immoral things than others but this is a little ridiculous
>”And i gave you guys your gun back?”
“I Took it back, and what? You got a better plan?”
>Daring says, shortly after unrolling the cords of rope
>”Better than trying to sell unlimited power to some crazy guy who can use it take over the world? Hell no, that's the best plan i've ever heard”
“Give it a rest silver, you signed up for this, if you don't like it, don't let the door hit you on the way out”
>He did have a point, i mean i'm really just here to get paid at this point, and if this, ‘mages core’ is going to get a buyer with as much money as this thing is worth, well hell maybe i can finally take my well deserved retirement”
>”Alright Dr. Sunshine, don't take it personally, let's just get get down there”
>Without a single word of warning Kenavon uses his magic to throw a rope over me and tighten it at the waist, all the while holding the other end of it with his magic as well.
>And ill admit it's the first time i’ve been tied up and not been in a, well, very different situation
>Soon after the rope is tightened to Kenavons liking, liking of which had the rope tighter than is anywhere near the realm of comfortable, because yeah, i didn't want to breath anyways
>”Easy Jackass”
>After Daring, Comet, and Fleur have their ropes tightened, Daring Nods to Kenny boy, presumably to grab hold of all the ropes with his magic, as that's what he does right after the nod
>Daring then Adeptly walks up to me with an evil look on her face, i mean downright malicious, untill she's a breath away
“Wanna get there so fast?, take the lead.”
>Next thing i know im falling over the edge after a force filled push from a smiling daring
>The wall that i slammed into side first wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing i’ve ever felt, but what was worse was the sheer drop that caused my heart to jump into my throat and my whole body to go into a state of paralyzing vertigo
“How’s the view down there Silver?”
>Kenavon, the stallion who had my whole life in the grip of his magic yells with a hint of laughter from the top of the cliff, 20 feet away
>”Go To Hell Doc”
>Obviously that wasn't the smartest move because the next ten feet down were spent in freefall for me, until Kenavon decided he wanted to hold the rope again
>I’ll be honest i screamed
>like a girl
>Daring, Fleur, and comet are all gracefully lowered down by Kenavon, landing softly on all four hooves, and seemingly working off the last few giggles of a laughing fit
“What? Afraid of heights big guy?”
>Daring says with a wink, before taking her first few verticle steps toward the bunker 200 feet below us



>It Wasn't easy, in fact the strain placed upon the spire protruding from my cranium due to magically hauling no less than than a few hundred pounds of pony from ropes using nothing but magical prowess and sheer willpower, was far out of the realm of comfort for me
>Still, it's not exactly the most opportune time to up and take a nice leisurely break
>While i peak over the edge, i count steps in an attempt to take my mind of the migraine that flares up higher as I lower the rope.
>one step, ten, one hundred, until  the pack seemed to be dangling within the same vicinity of the bunker below
>Now i'm not one to brag, nor am i the one to lie, so trust me when i say, magically, i can do many things very well, much more than even those unicorns hardened by years of intensive study
>Having that said and in mind, i am no match for the unseen force that seemingly put an extra thousand pounds to my already hefty burden
>As if the group, Daring, Fleur, Comet, and Silver were suddenly grabbed and pulled violently into the depths of the vault, by the force of nothing less than an ursa minor
 >It doesn't take long before the magnitude of the strain becomes unbearable and having no choice in the matter, i have to relieve my magical grip on the ropes, all four of them
>My stomach turned and my whole self went absolutely numb as i imagined and tangibly felt the weight of 4 souls on my conscious; a weight much heavier than that of the ropes
>Reluctantly , i knew i had to shake off the paralysis in order to peer over the edge and determine for absolute certain that nopony was hanging from the nonsensible tree branch
>Dead quiet, Dead still, Dead absent of anypony
>“Dammit!”
>A scream leaves my mouth from the top of my lungs in a fit of absolute despair fueled frustration
 >Just as i'm about to go into a state of rage a light suddenly comes from 200 feet below, from the bunker
>It's like a flashlight, a powerful one that pointed vertically towards me and met where where my eyes were
>Lasting 3 short seconds before just as suddenly as it came, it retreated back into the bunker where it originated
>within a few seconds the hope that possibly my friends made it into the vault and are still alive became all the more factual
>Every part of me that was previously ablaze with the inferno of frustration was extinguished by the rapids of ideas.
>I start pacing, using my front left hoof to tap my head, all the while having the staunch and visible ‘think, think, think’ mentality
>Then suddenly an idea arose, I'll be honest, it was a personally unpopular and radical idea that i’m not sure i could pull off, because i'm not sure it had ever been done before
>It took a heavy amount of self convincing,, but eventually i realized if there was a 1% chance Daring was alive, this was something i had to do
>i've been on around a dozen expeditions with daring, coming to know, and honestly love her, and i'll be damned if i'm not there for her as she was there for me
>I reach into my saddle bag and levitate another cord of rope, and using the same technique as i did the others, tie it around my torso,
>Everything except my conscious was in order as i carefully trudged to the edge of the gorge
>The few moments of pause i gave myself were all the more justified as i forced myself over the vertical cliff
>My stomach,heart,lungs,and throat because instantaneously indistinguishable from one another as the sheer speed and force of the plumet pulled them together
>My eyes seldom left the walls of the bunker though the few seconds; felt years,of my terminal velocity drop
>one foot, ten, one hundred, until the i seemed to be within the same vicinity of the bunker
>every single ounce of willpower was in use as i used my magic to grasp the rope and stop it, and by omission myself in it's tracks
>The sudden stop left me momentarily suspended midair before the pendulum like force threw me through a window that was on the frontal wall of the bunker, shattering it and sending me to the floor on the inside
>I'm not completely sure if i had became unconscious or not, although i do know for sure that i spent a fair amount of time sprung out of the floor on top of several razor sharp shards of glass
>Eventually, the strength i needed to make it to my hooves came to fruition
>As fast as a pony who had just plummeted around 20 stories and subsequently crashed through a wall of glass could, I get my bearings by investigating the hollow room I fell into it
>It's not exactly the easiest feat to determine what the room's purpose is; my best guess is an abandoned observation area
>it's almost completely cleared out, in fact the only things left on the cold concrete floors are the shattered bits of glass from the window and a good amount of rubble originating from what seems to be a massive hole blown into the walls of the bunker
>This hole momentarily grabs my attention, but not for longer than a moment, it wasn't exactly important all things considered
>Instead I turn my attention to the hallway behind me
>Without another beat, I levitate the gun out of my saddle bag and put it promptly in front of me taking a few quickly paced steps down towards the hallway
>As the I passed though the threshold separating the observation wing from the snakelike tunnels, I noticed another oddity to add to the already growing list
>In the seams of the half circle entrance to the hallway there was a layer of thick steel, that I immediately knew as blast doors
>Probably nothing important to keep note of, but an odd sight nevertheless
>Anyways, I begin slowly down the dimly lit all concrete corridor, systems of water pipes above leaked phosphatic water from above and live electrical wires buzzed softly from within the confines of metal conduits that snaked across the ceiling and walls
>At the end of the 40 yard tunnel came an intersection where artificial light poured subtlety into the hallway that beforehand, seemed only lit by the natural light of the outside
>Thats where i'm headed then, that's probably where my friends are
>With every step closer, an odd sensation tingles my horn, causing it to feel as if it was all pins and needles, this feelingly is also accompanied with a subtle yet piercing ringing in my ears
>It's nothing too annoying, but something was definitely interfering with the Magic field in the area
>It not until I turn the corner that I get a glimpse at exactly what is causing the interference
>A substantially smaller room than the observation, but far more interesting and furnished
>There were graphing machines, machines for measuring seismic activity, machines that emitted and received radio signals, and many more that i haven't even seen before, but foremost importantly in the room was what was on the center desk
>It was beyond my belief, but when you're face to face it's hard to deny the visible
>Half the Mages core, or so i presume based on the stories told of it's appearance,
>A stone half circle rune with a special jewel inside, the same jewel said to have been crafted with the magic Starswirl the Bearded and the half sister of Celestia and Luna, Penumbra Eclipse
>2 sisters, 2 halves, and what makes it odd to see a half here, is that one can't work without the other
>But something much worse is at play, and based on what i know about this type of magic, it's easy to sense
>The magic on the inside, it's not dormant, asleep like it should be; it's awake, it's thinking, but even worse, it's suffering, it's dieing, like it's starving, and the ringing in my ears and tingling in my horns, the interference, it was the core, it was seemingly crying out for help.
>Infatuated with the present situation, i begin to levitate the core, hoping to be able to manipulate it to further understand the situation
“Kenny, I Wouldn't do that if i were you”
>Perhaps with a bit too much haste, i drop the core and whip the levitated gun towards the direction of the voice
>To my genuine relief it was Daring, all fine, not a scratch apparently, even after the incident that took place, although something was noticeably off
>”Daring, what happened back there are you alright?”
>Naturally i lower the gun so that it was levitating pointed downwards and close to my side
“Ken, I-”
>Before there was time for a reaction, another firearm levitates out of the blind spot created by the intersection in the corridor
>Re-entering the flight or flight mentality, the my own gun reenters the air pointed right at the hand holding the gun at daring
“Move at all, and i'll kill her”
>there's a slight pause between the statements of the unseen male pony
“Put the gun down”
>”Where are the rest of them?”
“Ken, it's okay”
>Daring explains with a less than enthusiastic tone, before the unseen unicorn demands again
“I said drop it”
>“Where are they?”
“Do you want her to die? I said drop the gun”
>”I’m not dropping anything!”
>all the while were yelling back and forth daring had been trying to get my attention, and once she did, she kept pointing her eyes up towards her forehead and mouthing a certain word
>Pulps
>Pulls
>Pulse
>Pulse!
>After i get on the same page with her, I immediately do what she was suggesting, casting  a spell amplifying the magical field around me, and as expected the sudden change in the magical field led to the core to react with a pulse of it's own
>However the pulse emitted from the core was a hundred times stronger than mine, so strong it caused my magic and subsequently the other unicorns magic to surge and naturally became so strong it's impossible to hold
>Both guns hit the floor as my entire body reels from the shock wave, my brain, feeling like i was thinking a thousand thoughts all at once
>Before i had time to recover daring was already handling the situation with the unicorn