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The ponies froze. There was a rolling sound in the ceiling, the sound of something heavy and massive closing down toward them. Apparently, the tendrils had only been a part of the trap.

"Swim! Wait, no, run!" Depth Charge blurted, as the sound grew louder, echoing off of the Library's interior walls and sending fish fleeing from the ruins at its approach. Small puffs of falling sand could be seen escaping between the bricks far above, even as slabs of stone tumbled down; each one shaken loose by the growing thunder of whatever lurked overhead. Still caught within the magical trap, Crash Dive fought to free herself, wading against the writhing masses as she edged toward the exit. Every time one faded about her legs another would rise in its place, snatching at her and trying to pull the pegasus back toward the centre of the hall. Upon seeing this Depth Charge paused and, with the Codex still firmly wedged inside his mouth, wrapped both legs about Crash Dive's air hose.

The hose bulged as he formed a pocket of air bubbles into the rubbery material, sending it racing down the pipe and into her helmet. The suit bulged under the sudden increase in pressure, ballooning for a moment as it expanded to accommodate the sudden influx of air. The material flexed under the grip of the magical trap, before bursting outward. Tendril after tendril was torn apart as its captive ballooned past their capacity to hold her, until none we left. With the tattered fragments of the fading spell trailing in her wake, Crash Dive stumbled forward, awkwardly running as her suit's emergency valves fought to vent the excess air.

The pegasus attempted to offer thanks, but the effort was drowned out by an infinitely louder noise. A vast section of the ceiling overhead swung inward, scattering centuries of built-up plantlife in that moment. From within, a vast rounded boulder dropped into the room, crushing the ornate pedestal and fragmenting the ground beneath it. The boulder itself was easily the size of a cart and had been carved until it was a near perfect sphere, with each side bearing the sigil of Luna. For a moment it sat there, before it began to roll forward toward them.

"Oh, ponyfeathers!" Crash Dive said, her lumbering trotting speeding into an ungainly gallop as the trap, hurling herself after Depth Charge down the corridor, "Why would anypony add this to a library!?!"

"I don't know, you're the expert!" Depth Charge yelled back, risking a fearful glance behind him. Snatching up the slacking air pipe for Crash Dive's suit, he began wrapping it about one foreleg before it could fall behind and become caught under the pursuing rock. Swimming with all the speed he could muster, he began half-dragging Crash Dive behind him, ignoring her stifled protests as they raced for the entrance. The boulder behind them was picking up speed, bearing down upon them like a charging bull, with the deafening noise of its rolling echoing up the corridor.

Galloping with all her might, Crash Dive leaped over a pressure plate they had picked out during their initial journey into the Library. Rolling onto it, the boulder fell for a second as the entire floor dropped away, opening up to a pit of sharpened spikes. It caught the edge, its momentum carrying it over the lip of the trap. It bounced twice, slamming into the ceiling, again and again, raining fragments down in the ponies' path. Dust erupted down in front of them as part of it sagged, threatening to cave inward entirely.

"Just a few more meters!" Depth Charge warned, the words sounding garbled as he spoke about the book still firmly clamped inside his mouth. Something told Crash Dive that she might need to embellish certain details about their escape, or perhaps invent some convincing lie as to why there were fresh bite marks in the otherwise pristine cover. The deafening echo of the boulder rebounding off of a wall promptly reminded her that this was a problem for later.

A flash of water-dimmed daylight from somewhere ahead caught her eye, as she spotted the half-buried doorway. By some miracle it hadn't been buried by the falling rocks, as the ceiling overhead continued to disintegrate under the boulder's rampage, losing one support after the next as it tore through the walls. They were mere seconds from escaping now, but she could feel the boulder behind her, and sense it thundering through the ground perhaps inches from her hind legs.

Depth Charge raced under the door, swimming low as he squeezed through the half-gap while still pulling Crash Dive after him. She dived forward, kicking off of the floor at the last second and propelling herself forward under it. There was a loud clang as her helmet struck the edge of the frame, the sound of the ringing in her ears as she landed painfully onto the sand dunes outside. Instinctively she rolled sideways, moments before the boulder smashed through the weakening stonework and raced out into the open water, missing her by mere inches. It didn't stop, rolling forward and out across the dunes until it was long out of sight.

"Where do you think that will end up?" Depth Charge asked, between breaths, releasing his hold on Crash Dive's air pipe and allowing the Codex to fall into his hooves.

"So long as it doesn't come back," Crash Dive said, shaking her head inside her helmet, "I honestly don't care."

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Page 3 of a commission/collab with Turanic~

Upvotes at import: 25 | Stars at import: 14
Posted previously at: 2018-11-21T06:42:48 | Posted previously by: the-furry-railfan