//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: From the Dark to the Light // Story: The Impossible Journey Part 1: The First Encounter // by Decimatore123 //------------------------------// Chapter 6: From the dark to the light I shook my head. This was just going from bad to worse and I honestly wondered how Jake made it through all this. All the more reason to keep watching, I suppose. However, I was still uncertain whether or not curiosity would kill this kitty. When Jake awoke, the area was so dark he couldn’t tell if his eyes were open. He could feel his muscles moving and his eyelids open, yet he couldn’t see anything around him. He tried to stand and found himself quickly losing his balance and collapsed to the ground again. He remembered everything that had happened prior to his capture and knew he needed to tend to his injuries, but he also knew he couldn’t do squat without light. He reached down into his pocket for his flashlight and pressed the small black button in the back. Nothing happened. “What the heck? ” He began to twist the back slowly. He removed the back and tipped it over to dump out the dead batteries but he didn’t hear anything hit the floor. He put his finger inside the small cylinder confirming the obvious that nothing was in there. “Odd. I don’t remember using this in between the time I visited Twilight’s library and now…Did someone else have access to my tools? Argh, I don’t have time for this.” He reached into another pocket for spare batteries which he always kept on him in case of emergencies and found nothing. He searched his other pockets and found no batteries to spare. He knelt down and removed the backpack from his back and began to search through it using the small display that glowed slightly in the dark. “I hope you packed spare batteries Richy…” He mumbled. He tapped through the Other category. “…You don’t have batteries?…Of course you don’t…” He powered down the display. I didn’t pack a light because I always had multiple spares on me and I rarely travel alone. Jake sat down against the hard rock floor and began to think. He tried using his night sight, but the moment he did, a massive amount of pain surged through his head. It was unbearable and he felt his forehead bleed again. He desperately needed to replace the bandages on his head. It was at that moment his aura sensing abilities began to kick in and he sensed one aura. It was very weak but he didn't know if that was because it was very far from him or if his powers were fading because of his injuries. When on the train he didn’t notice a difference with the car closest to him and the car furthest from him when sensing the auras of the ponies on the train, but it could have been they weren’t far enough away from him in order for him to notice a difference. He needed to get to them if he wanted to survive. He concentrated harder, trying to identify the source and maybe learn a little more about it. His head ached as he tried harder and harder until he couldn’t bear the pain in his head and stopped. He could only make out a direction of which the aurora was coming from. He stood up and slowly began to make his way toward it but found a rock wall blocking his path. Until he could get some light he wasn’t going anywhere. He let his back hit the rock wall and then slowly slid down to the ground. He didn’t want to give up, but he didn't want to wander around aimlessly in the dark. For now he decided to be still and his body began to relax as his mind wandered to some place better, hoping to escape the darkness. He went to sleep and dreamt of his home: that little suburb on the edge of the city, the bright blue skies – when he was a child the skies weren’t nearly as polluted as they were now thick smog clouds covered most of the earth. He walked inside his old home and saw his two brothers and parents there waiting for him. He reached out ,trying to grasp the memory being presented to him only to see it fade away. His eyes opened slowly and he was again greeted by darkness. “Why is it always the good dreams that get interrupted…?” He muttered to himself. He was in horrible pain and felt as though he hadn't eaten or drank for days. Of course, army food wasn’t the best but at least you had something to eat. I had packed emergency food supplies in the pack, but without a heat source and water there was no way to eat most of meat packed in there. This limited his options but at this point he wasn’t picky. There was beef jerky and a wide variety of crackers, along with anything I could stuff in there. He opened the pack again and used the display light to see the contents of the bag. He tore the top off the beef jerky and even though he could barely see he ate greedily. After eating a few strips of the jerky, he felt much better. He brought out the crackers and devoured them in two seconds. His stomach wasn’t full but he knew he should save some of the food because he had a feeling he would be trapped for a while longer. He found a canteen for water in the pack as well but drank little to conserve water. He sealed everything back in their assorted bags and cases and then placed them back in the pack. He tried to locate the aura he had sensed earlier. He was able to sense it still there, and the pain was much less intense but it continued to intensify the longer he tried to locate the aurora. He still could not identify the specific entity that the aurora was surrounding, or if it was even a living being anymore it. “I’m never getting out of here…” He looked at his watch. It was 7:26 PM. He didn’t know how long he had been out. For all he knew it could be the next day, the same day, or even a week later. Down where he was, there was no other measure of time besides the watch he had. “Wait…my communications device!” He remembered that he never took off the earpiece . He crossed his fingers hopping to hear something, then static came over the earpiece and he exhaled. “…Thank you!” He set the headset to broadcast on all channels, hoping to get Michael and Jiggs’ attention. “This is Jake canceling radio silence, can anyone hear me?” He waited for a moment and received nothing but static. “ I need evac, and a location…IS THERE ANYONE THERE!?” He was calling out for help yet no one would hear him. He received no response, his final hope was crushed instantly. “I guess I really am trapped down here…No! I won’t give up hope! Someone else is down here. Maybe it’s Cadence or maybe it’s another human . If I ended up here unintentionally what if someone else did to? But it could be another trap... No, I won’t give up. I must get out of here.” He powered down the headset to conserve energy for later use. “I can’t go anywhere. I need a source of light. I wish I kept that small cigarette lighter...” He threw his hands back against the wall in frustration. He instantly saw what was in front of him as he looked down at the ground and looked up to see his hands were on fire. “My hands…..are on fire?!HOLY CRAP! MY HANDS ARE ON FIRE!!” He flailed about to extinguish the flames but nothing happened. In his confusion he tripped over a small rock behind him and fell over backwards releasing a flare into the air. It raced toward the ceiling of the cave and hit the roof with a small explosion. Jacob was stunned by the sight he just sat there staring at what he had done. Rocks at least three times his size fell and when he finally snapped back to reality he raised his hands in a vain attempt to protect his face. His entire field of vision went red and he saw that fire surrounded him and he saw something in his hand. He heard the rocks smash against the flames but the object didn't appear to be damaged by the rocks. When it was all over, he stood up with little effort and no pain. He saw that his entire body was immolated in flames. He noticed that the object that had saved his life was attached to his right arm – the one furthest out when the rocks fell. He found that the shield was in the shape of the old ones that the Roman centurions used in battle. When he tapped the shield, it felt solid yet sparks flew off. He looked down and saw that the fire had formed into various pieces of armor. He was literally covered from head to toe with a set of fire armor and the light it glowed was more than he could have ever had hoped for. For the first time he was able to see his surroundings in full detail. Rocks lay scattered all over the cavern floor. He saw that he was in a sealed area and began to miss the darkness's illusion of escape. He looked at his shield and wondered if he could use it to escape when it disappeared. To his surprise, he found that something else began to form on his arm. It took the shape of a cone then several sharp edges formed along it and it began to turn rapidly. “A…drill? But how?” He didn’t question it too much as he was almost afraid that it would disappear in a puff of logic. He walked over to the wall and shoved the fire drill into the rock. He saw cracks form and then they widened and formed massive cracks and snaps as the rocks crumbled under the power of the drill. He still wasn’t sure how it was being powered or how it had formed on his arm in that case, but all he knew was he now had a means of escape. Soon he had drilled a small whole through to the other side. He enlarged the hole by using more fire to blast the rocks away. He looked down the long tunnel in front of him and his hope had been rekindled as he felt the aura. It was stronger, but he could still not figure out its identity. He walked further into the cavern and as he moved through the caves, he felt as if an invisible entity were guiding him whenever he came to a fork. For some reason, he was compelled to go one way without even thinking about it. As he walked he still could not explain how he was even in flames right now, much less how he was on fire yet did not burn. That shield and drill were something else “Could I make more objects? They were solid--can I have more than one tool out at a time? That shield withstood the impact of a 600 pound boulder and that drill tore through the wall like tissue paper.” He tried to form another object by thinking of one, as he did that before when the ceiling collapsed. He saw the flames come together and take shape, and the object had a double-edged blade and a handle. He created a sword out of fire! “This is amazing! The boys back home are never going to believe this. I wonder how powerful it is...” He brought it above his head and slashed at the wall. It left a fine mark on the rocks and the crack it left behind glowed bright red and the rocks were smoking. The sword cut through the solid rock and burned it in the process. “Whoa, this is just too cool! I wonder…” He pointed the sword towards the tunnel behind him and channeled all his energy into it . “Can I blow stuff up with this?” The entire tunnel turned bright white as a massive fire ball was released. When the light died down, Jake saw it traveling rapidly through the tunnel lighting up the dark areas it past for just a moment. It reached the end and he saw a massive wave of fire speeding towards him. “Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea...” He reformed his flame into the shield again and braced for the worst. The flames surrounded him, wrapping him in a cocoon of fire and the wind nearly blew him away with its force. It was over within a moment and even though the shield didn’t prevent the fires from hitting him, he wasn’t burned and the shield didn’t even have a scratch. I am guessing he is immune to fire somehow, but he did manage to collapse the passage behind him. Not that he planned on going back there anyway, as the aura was still giving off its location as if it were begging to be found. Jake found himself running through the cavern. He felt like he had enough strength to use his super speed once more, even though just a while ago his legs were probably the sorest parts of his body. Paradoxically, his head sustained the most injuries yet he felt no pain. He didn't know if he healed quickly or if it was because of something else. He was still exploring the abilities of this new power had recieved. So far he felt strong and was running faster than before; his recovery was by far the most astonishing part, as he went from falling apart to physically fit and ready for action in less than a second. He eventually entered a wider cavern, which was decorated with crystals and gems all exposed and waiting to be plucked from their place. He noticed sets of rails and mine carts throughout the cavern. “Miners? Guess I’m really not the only one down here. I wonder where they all are…” He tried to remember if he had missed any details in the episode of the show. As far as he could remember, Chrysalis did reveal that these mines were indeed abandoned by their owners long ago, yet they showed traces of recent activity. “And why is there an aura still present here…?” He continued to move through the cavern until his instincts told him he had reached his destination. The world around him was silent; the only sound that could be heard was his breath as he breathed through the faceplate the helmet of fire provided. “Hello?” Jake called out, “Is anyone here?” There was no response. he began to panic. “What if I am the only one down here and this was just a trick to toy with my mind? NO! Someone is here. SOMEONE HAS TO BE HERE!” He took a deep breathed a yelled as loud as he could “PLEASE, SOMEONE ANSWER ME!” He heard his own words echo off the chamber walls and he fell to his knees waiting and praying for an answer. The flame of hope which was burning brightly was about to go out. He tried to focus more on aura, but he couldn’t get any closer to it. He tried to pin it down, but his attempts proved to be in vain. He just couldn’t reach it. He began to breathe hard and felt the fire growing dimmer; now that which he held most dear to him was being taken away, the light was going out. “Hello?” Jake lifted his head up and saw an alicorn. Its mane was three separate shades of magenta, purple, and a creamy white on the edge and its cutie mark was a blue heart with an arrow through it. The ravaged condition of its mane as well as the terrified look on her face gave her away. Jake knew it was possible but still could not believe that before him stood Princess Cadence. Jake’s fire went out and immediately all the aches and pain returned, but he was too exhausted to deal with his pain and he fainted. But he blacked out this time knowing he was – for the time being – safe. Jake was sick and tired of blacking out so much in the span of however long he had been there. Sadly, he had lost his sense of time since being shut out from the world, but he was pretty sure it hadn’t been all that long. Usually he is pretty good in combat and doesn’t get put out this much. He was going against mythical beings as well as powers he had never had any experience with prior to his visit to Equestria . So don’t take him for a total wimp. Chances are he’d kick your sorry butt easily, seeing as he is combat trained and blows up stuff for a living. He woke up and found himself in a strangely well-lit cavern, despite being who knows how many feet underground. He looked around and saw that the gems were lined up along the walls and a small orb of light floated in the center of the room. The light bounced off the gems and lit them like lanterns. His fire armor was gone and he reasoned it was but another gift to master. A moment later, Cadence was standing over him and he still couldn’t believe he actually found her. More importantly, she had made herself a small safe zone. Besides both extremely kind and gentle, she was incredibly smart as well. “Ah I see you’re awake.” Jake turned after hearing that voice to see Cadence really wasn’t a figment of his imagination. “I was hoping you’d be asleep for a little longer. You have a really nasty cut across your head and it’s going to need serious attention. I know a few spells to treat it, but the spells I know only work on foals." Cadence was still as friendly as ever despite her situation. Jake moaned as he became aware of his pain.“Ooooooh…Where am I?” “You are underneath the city of Canterlot.” “Specifically?” She sighed “I’m sorry, I don’t know all that much about this place.” “Well, it was a question worth asking I guess.” “Yes, I think that is a fair question to ask. I hate to tell you that I don’t know the answer. I don’t think we have been properly introduced; my name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but I realize that’s a mouthful, so please just call me Cadence.” “Well, it’s a shame princess we had to meet this way. My name is Jacob Samuel Fischer, but all my friends call me Jake.” “Well, which would you prefer?” "I would consider you a friend..." "But you just met me." "Yeah, but right now I need a friend and you seem like a good one, so please call me Jake." "Well, then it is a pleasure to meet you Jake. I don't know how bad it is up there." Cadence out her hoof over Jake's head and lightly touched it. Jake winced at the pain in his forehead. "Well Jake, this is going to take a moment, so I want you to just lay back and relax." Blue magic began to surround her horn, as she prepared to heal Jake. "We'll have to pass some time, so why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself? I know it help this go by much faster." It took him a moment, but he realized that the bandages strapped around his head had been removed and his injury was now exposed. He saw light blue magic come forth from Cadence’s horn. The magic instantly went to work on the injuries but if the way it worked was it would disinfect the wound and then seal it, he imagined that this would hurt a lot. “Well, you see as you can probably tell- ow!” He winced back as he felt a light burning sensation as the first stage of the healing began “….I’m not from around here..” Cadence smiled and even laughed a bit. “I can see that. So are you considered an infant or adult from where you come from?” “I am twenty-five years old, which is considered adulthood. I was supposed to have a career by now but instead I got pulled into the army.” Cadence continued then as the spell continued to reach further into the Jake’s injury a puzzled look came over her face. “You have a terrible infection in that cut. Why didn’t you go to Canterlot medical hospital? They have some of the best doctors in that building.” “Let’s just say I’m not strictly speaking welcome in this city. I'm kind of a persona non-grata right now.” The burning sensation increased as the spell continued; it went deep into his skull, practically annihilating any possible infection. “How long have you had this injury? The spell is taking much longer than it should be.” “Since the day I got here, which I think was the day before I was thrown down here.” “Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “And why were you brought down here?” Jake was unsure of what to do. He wanted to tell her the truth but he was worried that she would stop healing him if she found out he was considered a criminal topside. The fact that her fiancé chased him around the city would decidedly not help his case. At the same time, he thought it likely that she would find out anyway and didn't want to lie to her. So, he told her a half-truth. “I ran into the fake you.” “I see.” She frowned. “She got me while I was in the mare’s room.” “Wow, really?” “Afraid so.” I personally thought Cadence's capture would be a little more dramatic, but guess everything is never as you think it would be anymore. “I almost had her too. If only…” He stopped for a moment and remembered his firearm. He pulled it out and examined the chamber to find two bullets missing. “If only what? And what is that?” She asked trying Jake to get Jake to complete his sentence. “I come from a planet or world known as Earth. This is my weapon. Back at my home, I am an air force pilot, which means I fly in the air a lot. Sadly, we aren’t blessed with wings like you are, so we built machines to allow us to fly.” “No magic? Wow, you must live an interesting life. How do you make the weather happen? Or have the plants grow? Or raise the sun and moon? Do your people also have machines to do that? Or do they do that themselves?” “Well, originally they did that themselves. But we made machines that can do that, too. It has its ups and downs, anyway. This was given to me to defend myself in case I crashed or ran into a sticky situation where my bird wouldn’t be useful. I had two bullets left in it which are these gold casings” He held up an empty round for Cadence to see. She stared at the seemingly alien object, but allowed Jake to continue. “The idea is you shoot a small piece of metal so hard and so fast that it goes through the other guy, killing him before he can kill you…” “But that would mean you were…!” Cadence's eyes grew wide with alarm. “Yeah, I tried to kill her. I knew she wasn’t you," Jake said, trying to calm her down, "as you wouldn’t try to pry your way into my mind and force me to do your bidding.” “How do you know that? We’ve only known each other for a few minutes!” “I know probably too many things. It got me into this mess. Anyway, for some reason when I had her at point blank, which is where you take this end of the gun and hold it so it is practically touching the skin of the one you are trying to kill, I pulled the trigger and heard a metal click similar to that of a door locking. When using one of these you never want to hear that noise. It means you are out of shots and need to reload, but the weird thing is that even though I only used four of my bullets, two went missing for no reason at all. My torch and battery stash were also taken from me. I had the light but nothing to power it with, I have been trapped in the dark for who knows how long, that’s why I went searching for anyone who may be down here with me, which lead me to you.” Cadence calmed down, but she then inquired almost forcefully, “So then, tell me what are you doing here in Canterlot that would cause you to injure yourself like this.” “Do you want the detailed version or the skimpy one?” “Well I am not sure how long this is going to take, so please be as detailed as possible.” She knelt down and got in a comfortable position near Jake, still performing the spell but now listening intently to everything he had to say. So naturally he told her everything, how he had broken into the city for the sole purpose of going to her wedding, stalked the ponies to their assorted rooms, broke into the castle, was chased throughout the city, and then thrown down into the caverns under Canterlot. “So let me get this straight: you illegally broke into the city, you forced your way into a heavy guarded fortress, you snuck into several rooms and silently stalked several ponies, you are willing to risk life in prison, your personal well being, and your life for a chance to see me get married?" “Yeah, that sounds about right.” The smile returned to her face and she even laughed a bit. Guess she found his insanity humorous. “ You crazy colt, or whatever you are. If you had wanted to get in that badly I would sent you an invitation and saved you all this trouble.” “Wouldn’t have been much good. I didn’t even know I was going to be in your world to see it. This was the spur of the moment kinda thing and usually I don't care much for weddings.” “You're weird. I am not sure I wish to understand you. But I will admit that was an interesting story. Just one question: you said my Shinning Armor was chasing you?” “Yeah, apparently my breaking into the castle forced even him to chase after me! Amazingly enough, I am never this popular back home.” “I’ll try to talk him out of being too mad at you.” “Thanks. You don't seem surprised to see me; have you seen my kind before?” “No, I cannot say that I have, but I am not surprised to see you. Equestria is so diverse that a new creature is not surprising. Although you do seem like you would be an interesting species. I am sure our scientists and historians would love to talk with you to study you and see how long you’ve been here.” “But I’ve only been here for a couple of days.” “How do you know there isn’t more of your kind in Equestria? Even if you came from another world, it doesn’t mean your species doesn’t exist in ours.” There was a moment of silence between the two before Jake spoke up once more. “Well, there was a second reason for my coming: I honestly came to this city also looking for answers as well, knowing that some of the brightest minds in Equestria reside here.” “Answers to what?” She asked as she increased the power to the spell hoping to get it done slightly quicker. Jake was currently resisting the pain and found it difficult to speak. "Here in this world, I have abilities or powers that I can’t use when in my world. I don’t know where they came from or why I have them and I keep discovering more and more of them the longer I stay here and I have no idea how to get home…” “Every pony is special in his or her own way. The reason is we are all unique and different.” “Yeah, but can unique and different do this?” He tried to trigger his fire abilities and it worked. He was able to light his left hand, startling Cadence almost causing her to lose enough focus to continue the spell. “Well…that is… certainly very unique.” Jake stopped the fire from spreading to his entire body, and promptly put the flame out. He was surprised that in his state he could even create the fire, but what puzzled him was that he thought for certain she had seen him do it earlier. Most likely she reacted the same way he would have if he had seen a man on fire then suddenly go out. She probably thought it was just her, and he sadly reinforced a memory that she didn’t want to believe. “I know a pony who could help you answer your questions. Her name is Celestia and she is ruler of Equestria and by far one of the wisest ponies in existence. There has never been a problem that she could not solve. I bet she could help you return home, and if she can’t she could probably point you to the pony who does.” While Jake knew this to be true he was afraid to meet her because he had broken into her castle, broken her window and successfully aggravated her royal guard captain. Jake felt the burning sensation stop as Cadence stood up to start the second stage. “That should do it. I must admit you had one nasty infection. Now to get the easy part done, after this you should be all patched up.” “Awesome, let’s do it.” The seal was quick as she ran her magic across his forehead sealing the wound. Jake felt much better, but she prevented him from standing. “You are still in no condition to go anywhere. Your external wounds are all healed but your body clearly needs time to rest.” “But you need to get back to the surface!” “That is true, but that can wait a little longer. I will not do it at the expense of some pony else suffering. We will begin after you get some sleep.” “I’m a soldier, princess . I have been trained to be without sleep for several days. Your kingdom needs you and I don’t have the time to rest.” “You’re going to make time.” “Or what?” Given that Jake liked Cadence and was a brony, his defiance was unexpected. “Here, let me give something to help you relax.” Jake felt himself growing tired, and he realized that she had used her magic on him once more. As he felt his body growing limp, she knelt down next to him and brought her wing over him and pulled him closer. “Don’t worry. I’ll watch over you and keep you warm. For now, sleep Jake.” She wrapped the wing around him allowing him to use it as a blanket and gave him room for his back and head to rest against her body. She was much larger than him, so he found her to be very comfortable without making her uncomfortable. She was almost motherly to him, which made it all the more harder to resist her enchantment. "Sweet dreams," she said as she dimmed the light in the cave and Jake quickly fell asleep. He will admit that to this day that was probably one of the best nights of sleep he had ever gotten.