//------------------------------// // The Discovery // Story: The Twelve Caves from Displacement // by TrashTyping //------------------------------// ==>ACT ONE: The Beginning ==>Ponies, and dragon, discover cave "Around here you say Fluttershy?" Twilight asked as she and the others ventured deep into a certain section of the forest, it was around midday and Fluttershy was taking the lead and showing them the path towards to something she and Zecora found just the day before when they were picking the rare herbs within the area. "Yeah, it should be around here somewhere. Zecora and I found it yesterday and thought you should check it out, we rarely go to this area of the forest except for the rare herbs we need to restock but while we were picking the herbs we noticed this strange symbol on the boulder and when we got a closer look we got this strange magic-kind of thing feeling, it wasn't bad per say but it was kind of uncomfortable." It's been a few months since Starlight became Twilight's pupil, she was quite enjoying her new life and concentrated on her studies underneath the Princess of Friendship's tutelage. She had true friends, a nice home, a great teacher, and recently she was reunited to a close childhood friend of hers, Sunburst! Life was going great for Starlight Glimmer. "Well whatever it is, the map encouraged all all of us to go, even Spike and I!" Starlight exclaimed as they thought back to this morning. It had been a regular morning, the everyone had been within Twilight's castle and just as Fluttershy had mentioned finding something in a section of the Everfree forest the map had instantly reacted as everypony's cutie mark as well as Spike's little symbol appeared on the map right on top on a certain part of the Everfree forest. Which was where they were now. Fluttershy trotted faster as she recognized the boulder ahead, "Right there girls! Here it is." She said as they all stopped at the boulder, true to her word, there was something strange about the boulder and it wasn't just because of the symbol on it. Said symbol was something they haven't really seen personally before, but it felt somewhat familiar especially to both Starlight and Twilight. "Uugh, I see what you mean on the 'strange magic-kind' feeling. It does feel sort of unsettling." Rarity grimaced as she shivered slightly, feeling her own magic prickle slightly. She blinked before taking a closer look to the symbol, "Erm, this symbol reminds me of Sweetie Bell's spirograph toy back home if a bit more... ancient and ominous." Spike looked at the symbol and nodded, "Yeah you're totally right Rarity. It does remind me of a spirograph... along with it being kind of ominous and obviously ancient." He lets out a nervous laugh before taking a cautious step towards Rarity. Rainbow deadpanned, "Spiro-what now?" "Spirograph, you've never had one growing up? Well, it's popularity has taken to a small decline over the decade but it's a toy that uses mathematics to make a drawing or symbol similar to that symbol right there." Rarity explained as both Twilight and Starlight stepped up to take a closer look which made the others back away slightly, they were the two of their most smartest friends, they'd figure it out. "Oh oh oh! I know that, Maud had one back when we were fillies and showed me how to draw with those things. Are they still making them? Are they? I should buy one, it's beem a long time and it brings back so many great memories!" laughed the ever-energetic Pinkie, bouncing about but was making sure to give both Starlight and Twilight space to look at the boulder properly. "Hmm, I heard of them but I don't think I ever got or bought one." Fluttershy admitted, "But I'm sure it's a nice toy." Applejack grunted before shrugging, "Ah had one I reckon' but ah probably chucked it out somewhere in mah old closet or out the trash, who knows? Preferred focusin' on mah chores then play on some doohickey I got for Heart's Warmin' Eve." The colorful pony above them snorted, "If it involved math then count me out, never heard of this spirograph-thingy and I'm glad I didn't! It probably would've turned me into an egghead like Twilight, no thanks." She said dryly before jolting at the equally dry voice of Twilight. "Haha, very funny Dash," Twilight said aiming a deadpan at the now sheepish Rainbow before shaking her head, "Anyway, Rarity's right. That symbol does closely resemble as a spirograph and it does seem to be ancient but I can't shake the feeling that it's something more than that, it's really familiar and not just because it resembles to an old toy drawing of shapes I made when I was a filly." A loud gasp caught their attention as Starlight took a step back and uttered a disbelieving, "No... Could it? Could it really be?" She quickly turned to them with a wide grin on her face, "I think I know what this is!" Starlight exclaimed and everypony stepped closer to the pink unicorn. "What? What is it?" Twilight asked, a look of interest in her along with everypony. Starlight shrugged, "I'm not really sure, I'm guessing right now but..." She trailed off before turning to the slightly faded carving of a spirograph symbol, "We're going to confirm and find out soon!" With that she slammed a hoof on the spirograph, hitting it dead on the center of it before anypony could stop her. For a tense second nothing seemed to happen before the circular spirographic symbol glowed pure white making everypony plus one dragon gasp as the ground shook. They all tensed though Starlight's eyes practically sparkled as something in their surroundings changed right before their eyes. CRACK!! The boulder had been near a cliffside wall which was predictably covered in moss and grass while also being at the very edge of a small field that held herbs that both Fluttershy and Zecora would go to to replenish their stock on such herbs. However right before them a second after Starlight slammed her hoof on the symbol, the solid rock wall cracked as if made of fragile glass before crumbling away and revealing a secret entrance to a cave that had been hidden there with magic. Twilight's eyes sparked with realization but before she could say anything, Starlight interrupted with a loud squeal of excitement. "I KNEW IT!" She exclaimed before running into the cave opening. "STARLIGHT!" Her friends shouted before rushing in to follow her, unaware of the series of events that would follow afterwards with their discovery as in a location far away from the Mane 6... A pair of flashing yellow and purple eyes opened as its owners twitched before letting out a chuckle, across from them the other frowned in concern. "What'th wrong?" "I think things are going to be more interesting for us, they've found his cave dear..." Bi-colored eyes widened in surprise before their owners let out a cackle, "Really? Finally!! Hahahaha! Thith ith going to bee great!" The two of them shared laughter as the Mane 6 reached the main chamber of the cave, gasping at their discovery. ==>Narrate for a bit Scattered all over Equestria are an unknown number of caves of unknown origin that hold many unknown things that describe an unknown species one by one ranging from carvings to intricate and delicate statues, so far only 6 caves have been discovered though ponies have theorized that there were 12 caves in total. Nopony knows for sure who originally carved these caves and made them into what they were today but a few have made some theories that have yet to be proven. Over a thousand years only 6 have been found as of yet, the first being discovered by Starswirl the Bearded along with the Princesses themselves, who were very young and were under the powerful unicorn's tutelage. They had been out in search for a special herb for the Princesses studies when they discovered the cave, by accident as Princess Celestia once admitted as a storm had unexpectedly appeared and they were forced to seek refuge from the heavy rainfall. This refuge turned out to be a cave in the mountain that would in the future be in place of the great City of Canterlot. As they sought refuge they wandered deeper into the mysterious cave and discovered the intricate carvings on the walls that lead even deeper into it. It was something that they've never seen before, the carvings were beautiful and unique if a bit inane, it seems that they were carved for the sole purpose of leading them into the main chamber of the cave and beautiful as they were it was nothing compared to what they found in the cave's main chamber where even more carvings and surprisingly enough carved statues were held in. They had nearly mistaken the statues as creatures with how realistic they were! But as it was said, these caves were describing a species one by one for it seemed that each cave was carved for a specific seemingly historical figure of said species which were dubbed as 'Alternians' from one of the translated text from the carvings of the wall. The cave Starswirl, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia discovered was dedicated to a female figure that was named, "The Dolorosa". The meaning of her name was still unknown to this day but she was seen as a figure for maternal ponies as the biggest and most lifelike statue had her cradling what seems to be their species' infant protectively in her arms along with another special factor however her story depicted in the carvings was one that the ponies found as one of the most heartbreaking stories to ever be discovered. However she was just the first to be discovered. Over time, historians have managed to find more caves that kept referencing their species as well as each other. The next to be discovered was the "The Disciple's" cave, then "The Summoner's, "The Psiioniic", "Marquise Mindfang Spinneret" and of most recently a decade ago today, ponies discovered "The Handmaid's" cave. Very strange names or perhaps titles? Their true names have yet to be discovered, even The Dolorosa's. Each cave told a story to the ponies, stories that involved things and concepts that the ponies of today never heard in real life in such a way. Each cave referenced one another in one way or another, The Dolorosa, The Disciple as well as the Psiioniic were closely related, referencing each other as well as the most mysterious and sought out figure known as the "The Signless" whose cave has yet to be discovered. These four Alternians told the most heartbreaking story known to ponykind, there were still many pieces missing from the whole picture as the cave of the Signless was still hidden but historians have yet to give up hope. However the latest cave, the cave of The Handmaid, have been eating at their curiosity as she as well was mentioned from every cave they've found so far and her cave was different from the others. Hers was shrouded in mystery as well as non-lethal but still very dangerous traps, adventure ponies have worked together with historians in trying to find out more about The Handmaid and have been steadily succesful over the decade but the full mystery has yet to be solved. Though, with Mane 6's latest discovery, that and so much more might just change.... ==>Enough narration, back to the story! "OH MY CELESTIA I KNEW IT I JUST KNEW IT AAAAAAH!!!" Starlight practically screeched, her voice echoing after her horn flared and light flooded the cave and revealing whatever was inside it. The cave was huge, pillars lined the walls that were covered in carvings depicting a different language as well as beautifully carved figures, some rare ones even had some paint! Though what took their attention most was the giant statue that was right in the middle of the cave's main chamber. It was bipedal, standing on two legs and was most of his figure was hidden by the cloak it wore though it frayed and was torn at the bottom of the cloak that pooled around its feet. Two limbs were out, one against its chest and the other pointed upwards, it looked as if it was singing or preaching and atop of his head that pierced through the hood of the cloak were two dull nubby horns. What was so captivating of the statue however were the brightly colored ruby red eyes the statue had, that was pointed upwards, as if looking towards the sky and somehow they thought a flash of longing appeared but nothing of the sort had happened seeing as this was just a statue. A very realistic and almost ominous looking statue but a regular statue nonetheless. Twilight's jaw dropped, and she wasn't the only one, the others followed her briefly as Starlight squealed and bounced around. "T-That's... this, this is!" stammered the Princess of Friendship before a burst of excitement coursed through her just like her student. "DEAR CELESTIA STARLIGHT DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS AND WHO THAT IS?!?" Starlight halted and smiled so widely at her mentor Twilight was almost worried her face would split in half, "THAT'S THE THE SIGNLESS!!!!" Twilight screamed with Starlight screaming with her, both magic-prodigies squealed so loud together the cave itself shook but a moment. "The what?!?!!" the remaining five ponies plus one baby dragon yelled as their eyes grew wide at the revelation. The two turned to the others and grinned, "It's the Signless! The Signless Sufferer? Don't you recognize his cloak?! Those red eyes?! You guys gotta know the Signless right? I mean, who doesn't?! He's been mentioned in every Alternian cave found in Equestria, especially in the caves of the Dolorosa, the Psiioniic, and the Disciple, not to mention the Summoner!" Starlight asked with speculative brow. That certainly snapped the others out of their stunned states and confirmed to Starlight's questions. Of course they knew of the Signless! Who wouldn't? Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows of the cave, two certain beings quietly snickered to each other as they listened in on the conversation. "I thtill can't believe we both managed to do thith, dear gog PH. I mean like, wow, it'th been fun though even with the... you know, thtuff." "Yeah I know dork, neither can I sometimes. Also, eloquent as ever TB, 'stuff', the perfect word to describe our long years together as immortal moirails of an originally fictional species in a world of technicolor and originally fictional mythical ponies. Nice to know that you're still you even after all these years old man." "You huthh your mouth and thoothh, tone done the tthatth I want to hear more of the ponieth fangirling over Thignletth." "Yes momfriend, whatever you say momfriend." ==>Go to the beginning as ??? (*** YEARS IN THE PAST, AND I DO MEAN YEARS LIKE A VERY VERY LONG TIME AGO KIND OF YEARS ***) {V. ??? PoV .V} I groaned as I sat up, feeling the soft ground underneath me and a headache spearing my skull. "Did I make the mistake of getting piss ass drunk?" I muttered to myself groaning as opening my eyes made them hurt, really bad. Closing my eyes isn't enough, I use my hands to block more of the light. I hear a groan beside me, distinctively male in tone, I dread for the results of whatever this was if I did get piss ass drunk. Last time was not fun, especially when my best friend found out, so I kept my eyes closed and behind my hands and prayed that something else happened. "Did, thweetth trick me into drinking again? Dammit, thweetth, I thwear to g... Wait... do I... when the fuck did I a lithp?!" The male voice cried out and I pause, my headache recedes a bit, sweets? Sweets?? Only one person dared to call me that with such casualness and familiarity. "TB...?" I hesitantly called out, opening my eyes after getting my palms off them, light shining at me from the bright as hell but I trudge through it and my eyes adjusted to it in no time. What I see is... Excuse me as my brain short-circuits and needs time to reboot, PH.exe has crashed and is rebooting please wait a minute. The, erm, Psiioniic, TB? stares back at me with probably the same expression I have as I look at him, her, they. TB??? "PH???" Psii-uh, TB, exclaims, pointing at me hesitantly before noticing his own arm and almost missing my own subconscious nod that answered his question. Though with him looking all over his body made me blink and make me look at my.... hands... Which were pitch black, like the Psiioniic's, TB, whateverthefuck something'shappened and I'mhellapanickingrightnow. Then I notice the familiar dark red and green dress... Feeling suspicion as well as dread, I reach to the top of my head to feel... horns... Hahaha, PH.exe has crashed again. "OH THHIT PH!" Yeah, I fainted into the darkness. Not really cool but, what can you do about it? Now leave me alone, I'm unconscious. PH==>Be TB, or is it Psiioniic? Who cares! Just be the other guy!