//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Going Deeper // Story: Discovering the Past // by Astral Star and Company //------------------------------// Canterlot Castle “Tia! I have grave news from the Underworld!” Celestia looked up from her virtual mountain of paperwork to see a rather frazzled and tired Luna burst through the doors into her private study. The study was nothing special, a simple room made for practicality than aesthetics, being full of shelves, books and writing material. Something of a similarity between herself and her student. She drew in a sigh, awaiting the new information. Underworld news, was bad news. “The Underworld has been abandoned!” Now that, is news she thought she’d never hear. Hades’ relationship with the two princesses was a shaky one at best, but both knew that conflict would do unparalleled amounts of unnecessary harm. Hades’ kept the cycle of life and death flowing, making sure that no evil being or creature ever returned to the land of the living. While Celestia and Luna kept the land above, guiding them towards peace and harmony. If he is gone, and so are the dead… “Where have you received this news?” Celestia asked, worry starting to creep over her composure “Twilight and her friends found a lead. There are four foals that the three look after. Their names are Asphodel, Elysium, Noctilucent and Snowdrop, sound familiar?” “Too familiar,” agreed Celestia “But what does that have to do with…” “I’m not finished. Those ponies should be dead, but somehow they were born again. So I checked the Underworld…” “That was very risky of you, dear sister,” admonished the white alicorn “You know very well that there are things down there that could have very well killed you,” “I know, but when I went down, the whole place was abandoned. It looks like the city hasn’t been touched in centuries!” Celestia put a hoof to her chin and pondered these events. If every soul in the Underworld had the potential to be born again, it could cause unparalleled amounts of chaos. That, and every enemy the regal sisters have ever made, could easily stage a comeback. “Go to Shining Armour, tell him to double all patrols around the Everfree, as well as the big cities. I will send him a list of characters the guards will need to look after. I will go to the archivists to see how much more information they can dig up about those three,” Luna nodded and made way for the door, “Wait!” she turned around to her sister, waiting expectantly “There is something I need you to do…” *=_/)|*|(\_=* Astral’s Estate Sleep came easily for foals, something that most adults find and envy. Soon, all the foals slept soundly in their beds. Sweetie Belle had managed to convince Astral to lend her some books, which now rested in a pile next to the white filly. Chest Nut and Charlene set about cleaning up the library. Verity and Honour went to bed, while Astral stayed up a little longer, conversing with some colleagues and revising his experiments. It almost midnight, just the time that the Princess of the Night was waiting for. She is going to pay them a visit. Princess Luna loathed the idea of using her power over dreams to spy on ponies, but Celestia specially requested it. The subject of the three also provided ample exception for the blue alicorn. Sitting in her own dreamscape, the familiar rolling plains in the light of the sunset, she stood vigilant, watching for the dreams she has been tasked to find. It wasn’t long before she found Verity’s dream, it was a globe of light, sending warmth flood through the princess’s mind. Luna readied herself, and took off, heading for the light. Upon getting closer, the warmth and light became harsher, almost painful, but she pushed on. When she could almost touch it, the heat became unbearable. Flames shot out from it, scorching Luna’s dreamscape, and threatening to burn her mind away. It was agony, the only time she felt pain this bad was when she fought Celestia as Nightmare Moon. She forced herself away, diving clumsily back to the ground, and landing awkwardly on her back. She lie there for a few minutes, and then got up to survey the damage. The gentle, rolling plains have become scorched in many areas; some of it was still on fire. She grimaced at the kind of mental harm she put on herself and set about healing her dream. She thought for a moment, that wasn’t a normal dream, it was guarded by powerful magic. Gathering her strength, she flew again, this time towards a dark, ragged circle, like something punched a hole in her sky. A stark contrast to Verity’s dream, Honour’s seemed, broken and chaotic. She approached it easily, and flew onward, into the changeling’s mind. Upon arrival, she found herself in a dark cave, lit by a single torch on the ground in front of her. The cave was made out of a black, smooth, glossy rock, vaguely similar to the material used for the changeling hives. In front of her was a barred gate, framed in white crystal, and the element of magic’s symbol on the top. Luna approached it, and tried to open it. It gave for a few seconds, then as if realising who was opening it, shut itself off. Luna grunted in frustration and turned to the other side of the cave. There, an arch way as tall as herself appeared, leading down further, lit sparsely by green torches. Seeing no other way to go, she ventured downwards, paying no heed to the whispers that echoed throughout. At the bottom, the tunnel opened up onto a platform, looking down onto an enormous cavern. As tall as the mountains near Canterlot, and as wide and dark as the eastern sea, it easily dwarfed the Underworld in size. Below, was an enormous labyrinth of roughly hewn granite stone. The cavern wasn’t lit, and upon trying a light spell, found that she had no horn, and on further inspection, no wings. Being in this situation before, she passed it off as a condition in Honour Bound’s mind and nimbly hopped her way down the wall. The labyrinth was much darker than anything else in this dreamscape, but as if by magic, Luna could still see a couple feet in front of her. Believing the way to Honour Bound’s mind was on the other side, she ventured forth. She has been familiar with mental safeguards, obstacles that one must overcome to gain access to another’s mind, but none as detailed and complex as this one. Following the basic rule of navigating most mazes, she stuck to the left side as she walked. After what seemed like hours of walking, she stumbled upon something. The object was a small, black crown, like the one she always wore… Oh. Searching her head with her hoof, she found that her crown was indeed missing. Turning back the way she came, a wall now blocked her passage. Fixing her crown, she muttered in frustration, not only was she lost in a mental labyrinth, but the walls moved. Cursing herself, she picked up a random piece of chalk on the ground, and began to trace her way through the labyrinth. To her utter astonishment, every wall she drew on did not move behind her. The chalk must’ve been there as a clue, so that ponies Honour trusted could make it. Mere minutes later, she found the centre of the maze. It was a small garden, with crystals in place of flowers and rocks instead of stems and leaves. In the centre was a tall, red crystal spire, glowing an ominous blood red. Around it stood multiple ponies, all of different shape, size, gender and race, chanting in deep bass tones. They paid her no attention as she approached. She’s seen some of them before, but most were complete strangers. When she went to touch one, they disappeared in shimmering haze, like a mirage. In their place, sat a small, blue filly, weeping before the spire. She lacked any wings or horns, but she had a cutie mark, a crescent moon on a splotch of black. “Are you alright, little one?” the Lunar Princess asked cautiously “No” “What is wrong?” “Everything” Luna, mildly confused, but also curious, approached the filly. The filly turned towards her, regarding her with big, sad eyes. “This maze is a death trap,” Luna whispered “how did you get here?” “This maze was made by Astral Star,” the filly explained between sobs “it was put here to deter psychic invaders,” “What invaders?” The filly’s eyes grew harsh, and angry. She stood up and turned to the Lunar Princess, fury etched across her youthful face. Only then did Luna notice, who that filly is. She saw her every time she looked in the mirror. The next time the filly spoke, her small, frightened tone was replaced by the deep thrum of a changeling’s. “Invaders like you!” The filly grew in size, becoming taller than Luna. Her coat became a jet black, and her mane lengthened and darkened to the blue of the night sky. Armour grew across her body, and her pupils shrunk until none could be seen amongst the glowing whites of her eyes. A long, straight horn grew from her forehead, and large wings sprouted from her back. Before her stood her past, the one part of herself she’ll never come to terms with. “Run, little princess,” hissed Nightmare Moon Luna, now utterly terrified raced down the labyrinth as fast as her legs could carry her. Tears flowing freely from her eyes as pure fear seeped into her mind. Nightmare Moon, took long, graceful strides towards her prey, savouring each drop of her target’s fear. Luna payed no more heed to where she went, shutting her eyes, she barrelled through the corridors. Monsters of every shape and size rose out of the shadows, causing her to double-back, turn and flee several times over. She no longer cared any more, only fear controlled her now. Soon, she was backed into a dead end, monsters of shadow stalking towards her. They made way as the presence of Nightmare Moon compelled them, letting the Lunar Tyrant observe her cowering self. “There is nowhere to run…” she said, coming closer “No…” Luna whispered weakly “Nowhere to hide…” approaching arm’s reach “Please…” “And no one to save you…” she whispered, pointing her horn at the petrified princess. Luna lie there, helpless, as Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed, no doubt to end her where she stood. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see death take her… “LUNA!” *=_/)|*|(\_=* Canterlot Castle Luna woke with a start. She was in in the main throne room, where Celestia now sat. The first rays of sunshine peaking over the horizon. She was also standing up, and very tired, and sweaty. Celestia looked down at her sister with mild amusement. Thankfully, they were the only two ponies in the room at the time. “What is wrong, dear sister?” Celestia asked, true concern showing on her face “I don’t know,” replied Luna, dumbstruck at her current situation “What happened?” The solar princess raised a curious eyebrow “You came galloping through the hall, crying. Your eyes were glowing green, and you kept muttering about some pony out to get you,” she stood next to her sister and put a comforting wing around her. She offered her sister a handkerchief and said “Tell me, dear sister, what happened to you?” Luna took a minute to compose herself, wiping the tears away with the offered handkerchief. She took a deep sigh and begun to explain. “I went into the dreams of the three, as you asked. Verity’s was impossible to get to. It was protected by a powerful safeguard; I had to pull out before it did some serious damage to my mind. Honour’s was easier to get to, but it wasn’t normal. His dreams were broken, and twisted. What I found was a labyrinth, a safeguard I’ve never heard of. It tested my patience and my resolve, but I failed,” Luna began to whimper again, but stood strong, fear seeping into her voice. “Honour was there, he knew I was in his head. He conjured up my memories, turning them against me. He created Nightmare Moon; she chased me throughout the Labyrinth. When I thought she was going to kill me, I woke up,” She turned her teary eyes to her sister, seeking an explanation. Celestia’s expression softened, and guided Luna to her bedroom. “It is a powerful mental safeguard invented by Astral,” explained Celestia “It did not create an obstacle, but manifested one instead. The safeguards you saw were composed of the memories, emotions and experiences of whom it belongs to,” “But how did he know about Nightmare Moon? And all those creatures?” “Establishing a mental link is a two way street, but it takes an experienced mentalist to go the other way. Also, according to records, these three could very well be older than you and I, no doubt they have witnessed our… Battle,” Luna nodded her understanding and walked solemnly into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Celestia trotted back to her throne, her mind deep in thought.