A harsh glow cast a multitude of shadows upon the cavern walls. Cables coiled around the legs of a folding-table, each leading to various metallic boxes. Atop the table sat a variety of flickering monitors, all giving off the steady hum of fans spinning furiously. One showed a video of a large tree house, in front of which was a sign with a book on it. Another flashed images of a castle gate with guards on either side. On a smaller screen was a flat waveform line labeled, "ARCH."
A whistling melody could be heard over the hum of the machinery, coming from a corner of the room.
A tall dark figure sat hunched over a keyboard, fingers dancing in a flurry. Waves of numbers and symbols flew behind the glass in front of him as he whistled his tune. The fingers stopped for a moment as his eyes glided across the pieces of code. The figure then gave a hearty press to one final key as he turned to get up. The machine gave a small beep as a the symbols began to move on their own.
Walking over to a small chest resting on the ground, the creature glanced at the running screens, looking for anything of interest. The only movement was that of a couple of flashing red dots with the letters "REC." next to them. He continued to whistle his little upbeat song as he flipped open the chest lid to reveal a pile of ice covering some metal cans, chilling inside.
Grabbing a can, he knocked the lid back down and pivoted to the monitors once again. A loud snap echoed off the stone walls as the figure pulled the tab on top of the can. Taking a long swig from the metal cylinder, he tapped the continued beat of the song out on his leg.
"Dun da dunt da dun da dun," he muttered aloud, pulling the can away from his lips. "What was it called again?"
His eyes shifted to a blinking light on a dark monitor.
"You can remember every note, but you can't remember the name."
He ran his free hand through the dark blonde hair atop his head.
"Dun da dunt da dun da dun."
His hand reached for a remote on the table behind him.
"I think it started with a "P". Punter? That's not it. Porcelain, maybe? No, but I'm writing that one down for later." He flipped the channel on the monitor. "Sounds like a cool title for a song. Maybe even a book."
The screen that had caught his interest displayed what looked like an entrance to a cave with tracks leading into it. There were boards covering the entrance that were rotting and busted, leaving a rather large gap.
The creature tapped the remote against his chest in the beat of his song, pressing the same button each time.
A yellow bar marked "VOL." grew on the screen. The soft whisper of a distant conversation could be heard.
The creature gave a quick glance to it's wrist, revealing a simple analog watch. There were no numbers, but he could see that it was almost eight o'clock.
The image of two ponies walking along the tracks was now visible on the screen. One was a purple unicorn carrying a brown saddle bag. The other was a taller, blue alicorn with a starlit mane. Both stopped a few feet from the entrance. They seemed to be debating over how to approach the situation at hand.
"Or at hoof, as they would say," the creature thought, grimacing.
"Welp, it looks like I've got guests," he said aloud, snapping of the monitor with a click of the remote.
Looking around the room, his eyes came to rest on a shard of red rock encased in a clear box.
"Though I should probably tidy up a bit first."
He resumed whistling his tune once more.
"Now where did I leave that detonator?"