//------------------------------// // Oracle's Grotto // Story: Prisons & Ponies: Vignettes // by Composer99 //------------------------------// Dark Thoughts Evening came early that night. Twilight wasn’t sure just how early: Starswirl’s enchanted clock was back in his cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville, and she didn’t possess any portable timekeeping device. But she knew it was early all the same. Lying in her bedroll, she stared up into the starry sky, dimly aware that most of her travel companions were already asleep. She could hear Spike's quiet breathing beside her, Applejack's snores across the campfire, and the strangely chipper murmuring of the... eccentric pink mare who had joined them. Twilight couldn't tell where Winona was. Maybe out patrolling or hunting? The distraction of discerning the others' whereabouts was over, and her thoughts came rushing back to the front of her mind. Why, Starswirl? Why did it have to be me? That thought stood out starkly amid the chaotic swirl of half-formed ideas racing through her mind, as it had almost constantly since she had left Ponyville. Despite his reassuring words to the contrary, Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow, in some way, Starswirl was just – just getting rid of her. She wasn’t good enough to go on the quest for the Elements of Harmony: not smart enough, not learned enough, not brave enough, not skilled enough at magic, or at subterfuge, or at roughing it through the wilderness, was she? He’d had to get rid of her, in order to find somepony else, somepony who could be all of those things, somepony who could be the apprentice he deserved, not like her, not a - ‘No. It’s not like that.’ It took more than a few deep breaths for Twilight to settle her nerves, to remind herself that Starswirl had expressed every confidence in her abilities. That was why she was going off to actually look for the Elements while he was going to make a theatrical show of looking for them, for the sake of anyone who might be watching. At the thought of the Elements, Twilight turned her head to look at the red velvet bag that had, ever since that fateful morning in his kitchen, never left her side. But then, was it really confidence in her abilities? Or was it in Applejack’s? Starswirl had taken Twilight on trips through the wilderness, and even into the vast Everfree, to learn about the natural world, but Applejack – why, she had far more experience roughing it, and especially with long-distance travel, what with some of the exotic deliveries she made on behalf of her family. Twilight glanced at the bag again. And what of the Elements of Harmony? Starswirl was convinced she possessed one of the relics, passed down by some stroke of chance though generations to her mother, before coming to her. Was that why she was going? Because she had a-a former foalhood playmate who knew her way around the backwoods and trails of Equestria, and because the Element had come to her and not to Starswirl? She looked up at the sky once more, her eyes brimming with tears. Here they were, three weeks since leaving Ponyville, and she felt as lost and confused as ever. Twilight tried to will the doubts and fears out of her mind, to quell them with the thought that, perhaps, they would get some answers tomorrow, when they met the fabled Oracle of Hollow Shades. Try as she might, they would not fade. The feeling of her unworthiness roiled within her. It was some time before a fitful sleep came upon her. The Outskirts ‘Three days’ travel from Hollow Shades just to get to the Oracle,’ Spike complained. ‘You’d think with a name like “Oracle of Hollow Shades” that we could’ve stayed in town.’ ‘What’re ya complainin’ about?’ Applejack asked with a hint of irritation. ‘Ya spent almost this whole trip on Twilight’s back.’ ‘Hey, I’m a dragon who likes my creature comforts, okay?’ Spike shot back. ‘Besides, we were in Hollow Shades for less than a day. I’m still getting used to this whole “being on the road all the time” thing. Maybe you hadn’t noticed, but I’ve spent my entire life as a familiar to Twilight Sparkle.’ Twilight turned her head to glare at Spike. ‘And just what is that supposed to mean?’ Applejack chuckled softly. ‘Ah suppose ya got me there,’ she answered amiably. ‘Bein’ a wizard’s familiar doesn’t sound like the career where ya get used to this kind of travel.’  ‘What’s it like, being a wizard’s familiar?’ Pinkie Pie broke in, bouncing up beside Twilight. ‘Well, there’s a lot of sleeping involved,’ Spike answered. ‘And eating yummy gemstones!’ He smacked his lips. Twilight sighed. ‘And lots of work, Spike.’ ‘Eh, that’s what you’re there for,’ he replied. ‘I’ve never seen Starswirl’s owl do anything around the house or in the lab.’ Twilight rolled her eyes. ‘That’s because you’re hardly ever doing anything around the house or the lab. Owlowiscious catches rats and mice around the cottage. I imagine he’s out with Starswirl now.’ ‘Sleeping and eating. Sounds like my kind of work!’ Pinkie said enthusiastically. ‘Although… what about partying?’ ‘Actually, if ya wouldn’t mind, Spike, why don’t ya go on with Pinkie for a bit? I’d like to talk to Twilight for a few. It’d give you a chance to say what ya want without Twilight correctin’ ya all the time.’ ‘I’d love that!’ Pinkie exclaimed. ‘We could go on a trip, tour the big cities, bond over our travels and become total besties!’ There was a moment of stunned silence. ‘Pinkie… I meant for a bit – you know, a few minutes.’ ‘Oh. Well, that’s not nearly as fun, now is it?’ Into Darkness The brackish water around the cavern entrance reeked with a rotten egg smell that Twilight vaguely recalled from her lab work. The stone around the entrance glistened with slick moisture. She shared a glance with Applejack. ‘Ready to go in?’ she asked. Applejack looked around with obvious distaste. ‘No, but Ah said I’d follow ya anywhere, even while you were making me do the leadin’. So here we are.’ Twilight craned her head to look at the small form curled up on her back. ‘How about you, Spike?’ ‘Why couldn’t I have stayed behind with Pinkie Pie and Winona?’ he mewled piteously. ‘Pinkie insisted that you come along. Given the state she was in, I wasn’t about to gainsay her. Were you?’ The pseudodragon shrunk into himself. ‘I don’t like this – not one bit – but if we’re in this together… let’s just get this over with, okay Twilight?’ Twilight turned her head to look back at the cave, and its uninviting darkness. She made to clutch at the red velvet bag tied around her neck before remembering that they’d agreed to leave the Element of Harmony with Pinkie. There are old things – ancient things, evil things – there. I can tell from the rocks. We should turn back. Pinkie’s warning raced through her mind. In the short time since she’d met her, Twilight would never have expected Pinkie to be so serious about anything – or to suggest that she had any mystical connection with rock. And yet – and yet… We would go down to the caves as fillies – for a good scare, see? Just for fun, like telling spooky campfire stories, Pinkie had told them. Cover up our glowstones and just listen. We would listen to the taps of the knockers, to the creaking of the moving stones. But what scared me most of all were the whispers. The whispers in the dark. Once you could hear them, it wasn’t fun anymore. Twilight though of Pinkie’s final, desperate warning. One of the whisperers is here, Twilight. Was this really the home of an Oracle? Could she really learn where to find more of the Elements of Harmony here? What was wrong with the water? Why was Pinkie so afraid? What was ‘one of the whisperers’, anyway? Twilight took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. ‘I have to know,’ she said to herself. She trotted forwards into the darkness. The Oracle The pond within the grotto was completely still. As far as she could see with her hornlight, it also seemed very murky. ‘Twilight,’ Applejack whispered, ‘Can’t you get a bit more light outta that?’ She gave Twilight’s horn a meaningful glance. Twilight looked over. ‘No – something’s hampering the light.’ Indeed, a sinister whisper echoed in her mind. Twilight and Applejack both leapt in surprise. Twilight looked around wildly. Spike flew off of her back and stared at the water, baring his teeth in a threatening display. Little morsels, the whisper echoed again. What brings them here? ‘Who-who are you?’ Twilight asked hesitantly. She backed a step away from the pond, her flank coming into contact with Applejack’s. ‘Show yourself!’ Who are we? If they cannot remember, then it is none of their concern. The morsels forget – they forget everything. But we remember, oh yes. The surface of the water rippled. At the very edge of her hornlight, right where it faded into the complete darkness of the cave, Twilight saw a dark shape emerge briefly from the water. Then… nothing. ‘Are-are you the Oracle?’ Applejack asked, trying to sound brave. Twilight thought she had done a decent job, though the cracking of her voice at the start of the question belied her confident-sounding finish. Spike was still in the air. He hissed incoherently at the pond. Oracle? Oracle, morsel asks. Many things we have been called. Once, ‘Master’, long ago. ‘Answer the question!’ Applejack retorted. SILENCE. There was no sound, no movement from the water, but Twilight reared back as if trying to catch herself before being blown over by a forceful gust. It was as if, instead of air moving to create the blast, it was instead the malice of an ancient and alien intelligence directed at the two ponies. Morsel does not make demands of us, oh no. Morsel provides supplications. In return, we grant knowledge. That is why morsels call us, ‘Oracle’. But it is a mere fraction of the secrets we possess, what we have learned over ages and ages. What have the morsels brought? ‘What have we brought?’ Twilight asked aloud. ‘Nopony said anything about having to bring an offering!’ The voice laughed, a low, guttural, cruel laugh. This time, though, the sound wasn’t in Twilight’s head. It came from within the water. Morsels didn’t bring anything? ‘Could lead to trouble for morsels’. This second whisper was spoken aloud, and the distinction startled Twilight enough that she jumped slightly. Twilight saw more rippling in the water, and heard a splash. At the edge of her hornlight loomed an ill-defined shape. ‘Maybe we should take one of the morsels for ourselves, oh yes. That would be a worthy offering.’ ‘NO!’ Twilight shouted, cringing. She took another step back. ‘If we have to bring an offering or supplication for knowledge, we can come back later.’ In response there was another laugh. ‘Morsels won’t come back. We already know this, oh yes.’ The shape shifted closer, staying just out of range of Twilight’s hornlight. ‘Once, we were masters,’ the guttural voice whispered. ‘Once, ponies all worshipped. All brought supplications. They were ours to rule, and ours to feed upon. ‘Long, long ago. But we found a way. Found way to be given supplications once again, oh yes.’ Twilight and Applejack both took another step back. Twilight staggered, feeling an awful weight in her mind, as if something were pressing down on her will, trying to suppress it. Something like a mix between a whimper and a growl escaped her throat. The pain brought tears to her eyes. ‘St-stop it, please,’ she begged, falling to the ground and trying to cover her ears and head with her front hooves. She heard a strangled cry from Applejack. Was it trying to do the same thing to her? What was it doing? Spike was still in the air. He let out an angry snarl, and flew towards the pond. Twilight heard a sickening slap. Spike came flying back out of the darkness. There was a crack as he smacked into the cavern wall. ‘Spike!’ she cried. At once, the pressure eased. The whisper echoed in her mind again. We can taste the fear, morsels. The terror. Delicious. Satisfying. We will answer two questions. Each morsel may ask one. Applejack was there, then, laying a comforting hoof on Twilight’s back. ‘Ah’ll ask about the Elements,’ she whispered to Twilight. ‘You see to Spike.’ Applejack stepped forward, taking a confident posture. Twilight raced to the edge of the cave where Spike had gone flying. He was lying on the ground, gasping for air. She picked him up in her magic and laid him on her back. He groaned and lay still. ‘Where’re the Elements of Harmony?’ Applejack asked. For a moment, there was silence. Morsels haven’t given enough to deserve answer to that question, oh no. But we will give morsels something. Enough to find their way, perhaps. The Elements have all been found. They have corrupted those who possess them. Twisted them. Each goes against the Element’s true nature. No more will we tell morsels – not unless morsels offer more. ‘That – that’ll do,’ Applejack said quickly. She backed away. Twilight’s curiosity won over her fear. She stepped closer to the pond, taking Applejack’s place. She knew she should have asked a question related to their quest. But she couldn’t help herself. The question came, unbidden. ‘What are you?’ she asked. The guttural laugh echoed through the cavern. ‘What are we?’ the voice said aloud. We are the ancient forgotten, it said in her head. We have told the morsels much of us already, oh yes. More than morsels deserve to know. ‘Oh,’ Twilight said, trying to sound casual. She took a step back. ‘Well, in that case, we’ll just be going, then –’ Oh, but we want morsels to know. To remember. To fear, oh yes. We will tell morsels. Twilight froze in mid-step, staring at the pond. They took it away from us. The Sisters of Sun and Moon. Broke our empire. Freed ponies. Left us in the dark, in the deep, forgotten places. Morsels forget. Morsels always forget, oh yes. But we remember. We have never forgotten. And when the stars are right, we will have our revenge. ‘Twilight,’ hissed Applejack, ‘let’s go!’ Twilight felt the pressure in her mind again. She cried out in agony, stumbling and collapsing. ‘We haven’t given morsels leave to go,’ the voice said aloud. Twilight could hear a pained moan in what sounded like Applejack’s voice. We haven’t finished answering the morsel’s question, oh no. And their fear leaves us wanting more, oh yes. Morsels must come. We will show them what we are. Twilight’s consciousness dissolved. She felt free. For the first time since the sun had risen late, she felt fully content. She sighed happily. She was sitting in the kitchen of Starswirl’s cottage, contentedly examining each of the Elements of Harmony. Here they all were. It had been a hard quest to find them, but she had prevailed, with Master’s help. It was all so easy when she listened to Master and did what Master said! Master had told her she would find them, and she had. Still, it was funny, she was having a hard time holding them up. They slipped through her fingers – right through them, as if they were insubstantial! Wasn’t that funny? But it was all right, Master had told her something like that could happen, and Master was always right. She giggled and put her hooves down on the table, and wasn’t that funny? Her hooves slid right through the table like it wasn’t even there, and – Twilight came to when she heard the sound of a thick, wet smack! There was a roar, a mix of pain and outrage. ‘Liar!’ Applejack was shouting. ‘Don’t think ya c’n fool me!’ Twilight’s head felt dark inside. She wondered what Applejack was talking to. Her horn had gone out, but there was a bright light. Where was it coming from? Her vision swam before her eyes. Looking up, she saw Applejack tossing an axe at a fish-like thing in the water. The creature had a bizarre, circular maw, with row after row of conical teeth, each forming a concentric circle. Its three eyes were about where its snout should have been. The axe connected with its flesh, and it reared back, roaring again. ‘Come on, Twilight,’ a bubbly voice spoke softly but urgently beside her. ‘You gotta get up, silly!’ ‘Whuzza?’ Twilight managed, as she felt a pair of hooves heave her back on her feet. She leaned against a warm, thickly furred body and shook her head, trying to clear it. There was a rushing sound in her head, like she was holding a seashell up to her ear and it was defeaningly loud. ‘Let’s go!’ Applejack shouted, running past them. Twilight was half-pulled, half-dragged by the hooves. The furry creature bore part of her weight. Her hooves slipped often on the slick, slimy stones of the cavern floor. A swirl of water rode up the floor and caught her back hoof. Twilight felt it tugging at her, threatening to drag her back towards the pool, but hooves yanked at her and pulled her away. Overcast and gloomy daylight flooded Twilight’s eyes. She stumbled, blinking furiously. ‘Don’t stop now, Twilight,’ Pinkie’s voice said cheerfully from nearby. ‘We’re not far enough away yet! But don’t you worry, Applejack and I have got you!’ Winona’s great shaggy shape went out in front, sniffing and scouting around. Applejack came in to take her place, helping prop Twilight up. ‘Spike… Spike,’ Twilight managed, a hint of agitation in her voice. ‘Easy does it,’ Applejack said. ‘Pinkie’s got ‘im.’ Twilight felt a buzzing in her mind. An inarticulate, faded voice sounded. Twilight thought it might be trying to say something. A primal fear rose in her belly, twisting her guts. ‘It – that will – it’s coming –’ ‘Dontcha worry none, Twi,’ Applejack said gently. ‘Ye’re with friends now, y’hear?’ Friends. For some reason, the word just felt… felt right. Her body calmed at Applejack’s words. Twilight sighed contentedly, then pitched over into an unconscious heap.