It seems like the other horses are a bit… bad… at finding strange symbols embedded in rocks. It’s pretty clear what is added after the rock was already formed and what wasn’t. The rocks weren’t even that badly weathered! Sure some of the symbols were broken, but honestly Limestone had expected at least Magna, who was a bit of a weirdo about codes and such, to be able to find them, but at this point, out of the eight symbols to find, Limestone had found FIVE.

Finally all four coursers met back up in a circle.

“Well? Did we find them all?” Fird asked generally.

“…6, 7, 8! Yeah I see 8 patches of moss!” Sable said excitedly.

“Well. I found one, but it is broken.” Magna looked at Limestone. “I’m not sure what to do about it.”

“Well, lemme see.” The geologist followed Magna over to the patch of moss marking the symbol, which had a big chunk of stone missing. There were some other rocks scattered around that looked like they could fit into the hole though…

Limestone started nosing the other rocks over to look for the rest of the symbol as Fird started talking out loud behind them.

“It’s a bit odd to have this sort of code for a test.” Fird was saying.

“Well, maybe it’s a trap instead!” Sable suggested.

“Hm. Maybe… but usually a trap tries to keep a courser still and catch them off guard rather than just presenting a mostly insurmountable challenge. Like, I’m sure that a determined puck could cross those stones without a password.”

“It’d still be a huge risk to try just brute forcing your way across though.” Magna threw in.

“Wait, you said traps try to keep coursers all in one spot…?”

“Got it!” Limestone pushed the correct rock down into the hole, where a faint, mechanical, click sounded.

“Uh oh. We… might want to get out of here.”

“Why?” Magna turned away from the symbol towards Fird and Sable who were both backing away towards the exit.

“I don’t think the trap was the stones.” Fird said right as the whole cavern started shaking.

A rock slammed into the ledge they were on, narrowly missing Limestone’s hind leg. A glance over the edge showed that all the moving platforms from before were gone, darkness extending too far down for the thought of jumping off to be considered.

“Limestone! Get OVER HERE!” Sable shouted from the entrance, the hallway illuminated from their lanterns shaking and crumbling as well.

“On it!” Magna slammed its whole body against Limestone, causing them to stumble and get started on getting out of the danger zone.

Limestone took a second to get their hooves under themself as the floor itself was shaking and cracking now, but their mind was still sputtering a bit. How had they messed up so badly? What was the purpose of the code then? Why did- Magna nipped them on their haunches causing them to bolt into the hallway after Sable and Fird.

Fird, the only horse with any head equipment, had his visor down to protect from the falling rubble. He was pressed to the side of the hall way letting Sable lead the way back to the surface despite his fears.

Sable meanwhile had gotten Trout 2 to lift off and both make sure the way out was still available as well as get out of the way as soon as possible. His wings were easily damaged from the falling rocks and no armor had yet proven to be light and flexible enough to protect them.

Limestone followed Sable’s path as the whole hallway seemed to be going through death throes. Giant fissures rip the passageway in half, but instead of earth and dirt, the gaps in the floor simply extend down into an abyss.

Rocks were hitting Limestone with more frequency now, some taking out fur, skin, and flesh from the larger ones. Ahead of them, Sable’s exposed flesh was also taking abuse, though their packs and pelt was taking most of the damage.

Limestone could hear grunts and cries of pain behind them from Magna and Fird as well, motivating them to run faster.

Finally ahead of them, sunlight! Sable skidded out onto the grass, Limestone nearly slamming into them as they bolted out after.

As Limestone caught their breath, Sable turned back towards the dungeon, Trout 2, a bit worse for wear, on their shoulders.

A call came from still inside, neither Magna nor Fird visible from where Sable and Limestone were.

Without a backwards glance, Sable charged back in.

Limestone looked around in a panic, gaze alighting on a fallen tree. Grateful for their strength, they pushed it into the opening of the dungeon. Once there, they propped it up, keeping the ceiling steady as much as possible. Stuck in the entrance to keep the tree steady, they could only watch what was occurring deeper in the dungeon.

Fird had slipped into a fissure in the floor, his hooves scraping against the floor trying to get out. Limestone couldn’t see his eyes through the welding visor Fird wore, but he knew how terrified the courser had to be, this scenario straight out of one of their nightmares.

Sable and Magna were both hovering over Fird, as Limestone watched, Sable reached down, biting into his gear to heave Fird out. Magna perked their ears and immediately joined, biting the other side of Fird’s gear to help out.

Slowly, the two coursers on solid ground backed up, ignoring the rocks falling on them as Fird was, inch by inch, pulled from the fissure. Fird seemed to get a bit of a hoof hold on the side of the fissure and was able to kick his way onto fully solid ground.

“Come on! We don’t have much longer!” Limestone shouted, carrying a massive amount of weight from the stone pushing down on their back and the tree.

Fird shook his head before lunging for the exit alongside Sable.

Magna was the first to pass Limestone, both of them barely able to fit side by side in the collapsing tunnel, before Fird and finally Sable made it out.

“Limestone! Please be careful!” Sable called out.

Limestone grunted, bowing under the weight a bit, ducking their head and suddenly shuffling backwards. Splinters from the dead tree embedded themselves in their withers and neck but they managed to get out before the whole passageway fell in on itself.

The four coursers, far worse for wear stood in a semi circle around the now entirely crushed entrance catching their breath.

After a few seconds, Fird flipped their visor up.

“Thank y’all. I… I appreciate it immensely.” He ducked his head.

“Hey, you know Sable would do anything for you, but, you are important to us too.” Limestone nudged him gently. “I personally need a hot bath and possibly medical assistance though.” 

Magna laughed.

“Ugh, you’ve never had a better idea Limestone.”