//------------------------------// // 20 // Story: Rift in Ponyville // by xnaturalblue //------------------------------// Cadance woke with a horrified gasp, sitting up in her bed and waking the four ponies in the room. Bolt burst into the room at the disturbance, seeming groggy as if she’d fallen asleep, too. “What’s going on?” She asked as Marshmallow Creme rushed to the Princess’s side. “Oh my… I’ve just had the strangest dream! Princess Luna is alive!” She heaved in her breaths as if she were going to suffocate. “She visited me last time I slept, too. Now that I think about it, I think she guided us here to you,” Marshmallow theorized, and Bolt noticed Sapphire Swirl stretching out their wings above Jelly Splash, as if they’d been pressed against each other all night. She caught their eye for a moment, but they quickly looked away to her frustration. “She told me… so much. I suppose it’s fair to ask, are you aware of the force that has been living amongst us?” She asked nervously. “Jesterbones. He’s the cause of all of this.” Sonar Moonshadow stood, stretching their legs and trotting over to Fire Bolt. Cadence nodded. “He caused the heart to shatter. I believe I may have some insight that will help you five, but unfortunately, I feel that my time with you all has come to an end.” Jelly Splash froze up, and Sapphire tilted their head curiously. “Why do you say that?” They inquired. “You have far more travel in your future, and I cannot join you. I must restore the Empire,” Cadance said solemnly, squinting around at nothingness. “Your destination will be Sire’s Hollow, but the trains are out of order. I believe I have a map somewhere that may assist in your journey.” She slowly got out of her bed, head spinning as she put a bit more pressure onto her bad leg than she should’ve. Marshmallow instantly raced to offer a hoof and stabilize the Princess, which she accepted graciously before realizing that her brain was registering a slight bit of light. “Hold on…” She squinted at the hoof grasping her own, forcing her mind to work overtime. “I think… I may have the slightest bit of sight. I can see… Marshmallow? Is your coat similar to mine, or am I losing it?” “It is! How much can you see?” She bounced around the room happily as Cadance peered at everyone slowly. “Just the tiniest bit of color. Sort of… really dark and vague tunnel vision? It’s certainly nothing useful, but I can see that your coat is a lovely lilac color.” She turned to Sonar Moonshadow, who smiled. “Sounds like glaucoma blindness. It’s not as common to come from injuries, but it can happen,” He explained hopefully.  “Well… I suppose I should grab that map for you, then!” Her voice was a lot more chipper than it was just moments before. The six of them made their way down the palace stairs slowly and cautiously, yawning and stretching all the way, and then down another flight of stairs and yet another until they were in the basement. “There are archives down here for times like this. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner!” Cadance pushed a squeaky door open, kicking up dust into the air and making Marshmallow cough out a breath. Cadance ushered them inside as Jelly lit a conveniently placed candle, and the room was filled with what looked like infinite bookshelves that stretched down the narrow room. “I… this is kind of silly, but I don’t really know which direction it’s in. If I walk around here for a bit, I think it’ll get my memory back, though.” “We’ll help you look!” Sapphire offered, and the five of them flew into action, some of them literally. Sonar Moonshadow trotted through the bookshelves curiously, his sixth sense unable to discern any kind of difference between the millions of books. Fire Bolt walked with him, pulling a grime-coated book from a random shelf and opening it.  “Light?” She asked, and he illuminated his horn to allow her to read. “It’s uhh…” Bolt flipped through the first several pages. “Oh! It’s about dragons. Haven’t seen one of those in a while!” She suddenly realized, placing the book back in its spot. Sonar’s horn suddenly pulsed oddly for just a slight moment, and he turned in the opposite direction. “There’s a magical book in here somewhere,” He muttered before raising his voice to reach Cadance from afar. “Is there a magical text you’re looking for?” “Yes!” She shouted back. “I think so!” At the verification, Sonar took off in the right direction, and Bolt had to take flight to keep up. It felt like minutes before he slowed to a stop, moving his head back and forth to get a better read before pulling book after book from the shelf of his interest.  “Is it this one?” Bolt asked, feeling dumb for asking as she yanked out a particularly thick book that felt like it vibrated with power. “That’s it,” Sonar replied as he levitated it from her grasp, promptly turning and making his way back towards the center of the room. “Long history in here, I can feel it. Seems like it goes way back, maybe even somewhere else.” He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to Fire Bolt. “Can you tell me what the cover of this looks like?” She placed his hoof on the inscribed book to assist in the visualization. “It’s a dark gray, kind of like charcoal. There are little carvings around the edge, looks like some twists and stars. In the middle,” She moved his hoof to the center. “There’s a silver unicorn on the front, no details on it.” Sonar squinted and thought for a long while before speaking again. “This is the book Misty used, I think. I was able to see it when I was in the Rift, but I’m not so sure now that I can’t,” He explained in a low voice, blind eyes darting around as he tried to gather his thoughts. “Can you try to find Princess Luna’s entries?” Bolt flipped through the pages until she met a large discrepancy – at least fifty pages were ripped from the spine, making the remaining ones sit at an odd angle. “I’m pretty sure they’re gone–” “Sonar Moonshadow? Did you find it?” Cadance’s voice rang out, and the two hastily started their walk again as they remembered their purpose here, watching the other three gather around the princess as well. “I did find it, Cadance. I think I might have seen it before,” He explained as the gap closed between the three of them. “Not with these eyes, that is.” “That’s the one!” Cadance’s eye lit up with excitement after a long moment of squinting and getting closer to the book. “How could you have seen it before? It’s been down here for decades!” “It’s a long story, but… Did you ever know of a Misty Seeker?” He tried, not hopeful in the slightest until Cadance’s face clouded with sorrow. “Oh, dear… I haven’t heard that name in… I don’t even know how long it’s been. Horrible accident she was in, a terribly sad story,” Cadance glanced away. “Why do you ask?” As if to reply, the talisman around Sonar’s neck began to vibrate and flash with light to everyone’s surprise. He shut his eyes with a gasp, sitting down roughly and twitching with energy. Bolt stroked his mane comfortingly, and Jelly Splash looked perplexed. “He has visions,” Sapphire explained to her in a whisper. In Sonar Moonshadow’s mind, swirling magic overtook the usual pitch-blackness that his vision consisted of. Out from the light came Misty in her restored earth pony state from his previous dream with a soft smile on her face. “Sonar Moonshadow! I didn’t expect to be summoned again so quickly!” She pulled him into a hug, which he politely reciprocated with a smile. “I don’t think I meant to, Misty.” The two pulled away from their embrace. “I’m in the Crystal Empire’s archives with Princess Cadance right now, and it has your book. That’s what summoned you.” “Cadance?” She asked in surprised glee. “She’s alive?” “You could say that. She was pretty much undead when Boltie found her, but she’s made a pretty good recovery in the past few hours. In fact, she sent me to find your book.” He replied. “That’s awfully bizarre, I thought… I thought I took the physical book with me to the Rift. Must’ve been a copy, then.” Misty furrowed her eyebrows and looked away. “That’s the thing – everything about you or Jesterbones has been ripped out of the book. Is it possible that you took… a quarter of a physical copy with you?” He theorized, taking the rare opportunity to utilize his sight and observe his magical surroundings. “It is indeed – just about anything is possible when we’re messing with Jesterbones. Well, then, if you have a copy of that text, I can give you some insight!” She sat with a smile as their surroundings began to rapidly change into that of a town. “Cadance said that the book has a map to Sire’s Hollow. Do you think we can get there safely?” He asked. “This is Sire’s Hollow before the Nightfall. It was pretty quaint before, and from my observations, it’s pretty quiet now.” She broadly motioned to their surroundings. “I do not see any threats in your path, but you cannot be too careful. I believe your journey will be clear, but I must warn you – he is silent for a reason.” “What do you mean, exactly?” He tilted his head. “Jesterbones would have killed you – killed all of you by now if he had the time. It seems that he is planning something wicked.” She scowled. “As for this grand plan, however, it does not look like it will unfold in Sire’s Hollow. Get there first, and I’ll find you again.” Misty’s voice got further and further away as everything began to fade back to its usual darkness. He blinked and was met with nothingness once again, but he could feel that he was back in reality as Fire Bolt petted his mane. “Misty spoke to me.” He uttered as his head throbbed with pain. “We know,” Sapphire said softly, and Marshmallow nodded. “You were speaking through the vision.” Sonar squinted. “Anything useful?” “Well, you promised we’d get there safely. That’s all that I need,” Jelly said shortly as Marshmallow helped Cadance flip through the book’s pages. “The map! Here!” She exclaimed, and Cadance tore the page from the book with the pegasus’ guidance. She held it out for everyone to see under the dim candlelight, and the map depicted a straight shot from the Crystal Empire to Sire’s Hollow, with both a walking path and a train track. “This is perfect! Come on, then, we’ve got a plan!” Marshmallow said excitedly as Sonar magically carried the map. Cadance closed the door after everyone exited the grimy archives, waiting for Jelly Splash to blow out the final candle before the six of them slowly made their way up the staircases to the princess’s bedroom once again in silence. Those with saddlebags strapped them on, Bolt getting annoyed with the faulty right-side strap on hers before stomping a hoof in frustration and huffing out a breath. As usual, Sonar Moonshadow magically fastened it. “Thanks,” She sighed, and he nodded shortly, gently placing the map into one of the bags. “We should get going then, shouldn’t we?” She asked. Cadance nodded solemnly. “It is indeed time for you to continue your journey. I will show you out.” A heavy silence hung in the air as the ponies stalled, searching for missing items that didn’t exist until the awkwardness forced them out of the room. Down more stairs they went, and the doors that exited the castle looked more daunting than ever. None of them wanted to leave the false safety that the palace and its princess provided, but the danger would only increase the longer they stayed. “Well… I guess this is goodbye, then.” Sapphire shuffled awkwardly. Cadance smiled, her expression bittersweet. “I suppose it is. You’re always welcome back, my friends.” She looked off in the direction of the softly humming Crystal Heart. “And thank you. Truly. For fixing the Heart, cleaning me up… for everything. It means more than you know.” “It’s an honor, Princess,” He said, and Fire Bolt could detect the slight shortness of his tone, which she decided she would question later. “We’ll see you again!” Marshmallow Creme promised with a smile. Jelly Splash begrudgingly opened the door, listening sadly to the chorus of goodbyes from her friends as they walked out. She started to quietly leave herself before Cadance beckoned her back. “Jelly Splash?” The other four were already a few feet outside, so she turned and let the door close. “Yes, Princess?” “You’ve done incredible things for the Crystal Empire. I know it was you.” The princess of love smiled. “You fixed the Heart.” Jelly let a smile crack. “Yeah, I did.” “Thank you.” The alicorn said sweetly, and Jelly raced into her injured but outstretched arm as they hugged for a long moment. “I’ll miss you, but I know you’re going to fix this.” It was a massive task to complete, but Jelly didn’t ruin the moment by objecting as she memorized the feeling of their embrace. Cadance suddenly pulled back slightly to whisper in her ear, “Oh, and let Sapphire Swirl in. You don’t have to be afraid of breaking your mental walls down.” Jelly Splash grinned from ear to ear. “Oh! Hay burgers? Do you have those in Ponyville? I haven’t had one in ages!” Marshmallow Creme continued her rambling as she flew at a leisurely pace. “If you make them yourself,” Sapphire replied. “You can get bread pretty easily, but hay gets kind of scarce. You know, no weather cycles to let the grass grow tall. It’s pretty much been hoarded by the bakers for a while.” “Makes sense! Is the bread any good? All I really got up in Cloudsdale was green beans and carrot juice, and those got really old, really fast. All those canned foods…” She shuddered. The talk of food was making Sapphire hungrier by the moment - eating was limited to just about every other day at this point with their limited resources. Jelly Splash’s strangely half-crystallized state seemed to leave her less hungry than the rest of them, which helped, but it was still quite uncomfortable. They were able to find nonperishables like canned corn and carrots in the castle earlier, but once they were divided (with some left aside for their journey, of course), they were scarfed down until everyone was nauseated. Marshmallow had opted out of eating the carrots, which now made sense. “It’s alright! Swift Breeze makes a pretty mean loaf. Tasty danishes, too, and cheap.” Fire Bolt was mildly concerned with Sonar’s silence, so she let the other three lead the way and keep chattering while she fell behind with him. “What’s going on?” She muttered lowly. Sonar pursed his lips, thinking for a moment before replying. “Cadance could be dangerous in the future. You remember her horn?” Bolt raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Yeah, but Misty isn’t dangerous, right?” She whispered. “Not yet. I don’t think anything he’s touched is safe. I just… I have a bad feeling about it.” He fixed his blind gaze straight ahead, his expression unreadable. “If they’re not dangerous, they won’t be around for long.” “I don’t blame you for thinking that,” Bolt replied after a long moment of listening to Marshmallow’s chatter. “It’s best that we left, then, right?”  Sonar simply nodded, his stern demeanor never faltering. Bolt walked with him quietly for a while before Jelly asked for the map as the five of them approached a split in the path.  “I don’t remember the general direction we’re heading in,” She explained sheepishly as she levitated the worn paper from the pegasus’ bag. Sapphire helped her figure out the pathway they were currently on, and they were set on their way soon after that. The journey was surprisingly short, as the map depicted that the ponies were already well over halfway to their destination after only an hour or so.  “So, danishes? How much do those come around? I should’ve come to Ponyville ages ago!” Marshmallow asked, and Bolt joined her in flight to keep talking. “Pretty often. Sonar likes ‘em more than I do, though, but they’re pretty darn good.” She tried to clear her mind, looking ahead with a smile to see her sibling and Jelly Splash walking together in quiet conversation.  Fire Bolt estimated that another forty-five minutes had passed by the time a quaint town was appearing in the distance, hope causing everyone to pick up to the pace by just a bit. “Um… Do we know what we’re looking for, exactly?” Marshmallow asked as they grew closer to the soft light. “Nope. We’ll find it, though.” Sonar Moonshadow hadn’t spoken in a long time, and he sounded a bit more lively than his last conversation. “Cadance wouldn’t misguide us. Plus, she’s an alicorn – she’s probably better in touch with all of this than we are, even if her magic doesn’t work,” Jelly Splash considered aloud. Marshmallow Creme was the first to happily bounce through the destroyed gates and onto the dirt path of the town, and Bolt suddenly felt very lost. “Where do we start?” She asked nobody in particular.  “Probably over there.” Sonar pointed in the direction of a home that was illuminated from the inside, guided by his magic, and Sapphire laughed at the obvious answer. As the five of them approached the home, a silence fell over them as they quietly realized that this place could be dangerous. “Are we going to knock?” Bolt whispered as they proceeded to the doorstep. “Well we’re not just going to barge in… are we?” Jelly whispered back, and with an exasperated sigh, Sonar pushed in front of the group to rap on the door a few times. A bit of clattering suddenly came from the inside, getting closer to the door as everyone held their breath. The door creaked slowly before a deep purple pony peeked her head through the small opening. “Oh… hey.” She said, drawing out the ‘hey’ for a while as if she were tired. “Erm, hi there! What’s your name?” Sapphire asked awkwardly. She raised an eyebrow at Sapphire Swirl's question and took a moment to survey the group before responding, her eyes glazed over as if lost in thought. “Name's Lava Lamp,” she said with a slow drawl, a faint smile pulling up the corner of her mouth. She leaned against the doorframe, her comfortable demeanor surprising the group. “What brings you all to my… humble abode?”  “We were sent here by Princess Cadance,” Bolt spoke up confidently. “I’m worried that there's some… trouble in town.” Lava Lamp blinked a few times, seemingly registering the information slowly but choosing to ignore the mention of Cadance. “Trouble, huh? Well… ain't that the norm these days?” She said, her voice carrying a hint of amusement. “But, sure, I guess you can come in. Just watch out for the… lava lamps, they're pretty sensitive.” The group exchanged puzzled glances but followed the earth pony inside, their eyes adjusting to the dimly lit room filled with an array of colorful lights in various sizes. The room had a hazy atmosphere, and the scent of a… particular herb lingered in the air. “Make yourselves at home. I'm just... you know, chilling,” Lava Lamp giggled as she plopped down on a beanbag, grabbing a nearby lava lamp and lazily watching the blobs of colored wax float inside with wonderstruck eyes. Marshmallow, ever the perceptive one, couldn't help but ask, “So, have you just been… well, partaking in some recreational activities?” Bolt cringed. “Jeez, dude,” She whispered, refraining from giving a light kick to the pegasus. Lava Lamp just laughed, a slow and easygoing sound. “You could say that. Keeps things interesting in this ghost town. But hey, you guys are on some cosmic quest, right? I've heard things. Whispers and such.” Sonar Moonshadow was puzzled. “From who?” “Oh, you know,” Lava replied as if it were common knowledge. “…Around.” “What else do you know?” Jelly Splash pushed sternly as everyone stared at the pony curiously. The mare leaned forward in her chair, her eyes showing a glint of genuine interest as her demeanor suddenly shifted into a very sharp one. “There's something shifting in the shadows of this town. The roots of ancient magic run deep here. If you're looking for answers, you’ll get them here. But be aware, this town has a way of revealing secrets on its own time.” She sucked in a deep breath before settling back down. “So, what’re y’all’s names again?” “Sapphire Swirl,” Replied the lime-colored pegasus, suddenly feeling quite rude. “This is Bolt, Marshmallow, Jelly Splash, and Sonar.” “Pleased to meet ya. Care for a snack? I’ve got apples, oats–” She had barely gestured to her pantry before Sapphire was ravenously ripping the door open and pouring a can of oats directly into their mouth. “…And anything else you can find. All yours, just shut the door when you’re done. Don’t need critters getting into it while I sleep.” Bolt awkwardly lingered near the doorway. “Oh, come on, take a seat. Just relax, why don’t ya?” The four that weren’t raiding the pony’s food storage settled into pillows and bean bag chairs of their own before Marshmallow’s strength broke and she joined Sapphire in scarfing down apple after apple. “Hey, careful! You’ll make yourself sick again!” Jelly Splash called over to Sapphire, who simply shook their head and kept eating. “So… three and a half years, and you’ve never visited Sire’s Hollow?” The deep purple pony put the lamp down to focus on her guests. “Hey, my count says three and a half, too! Three years–” “-And almost five months, now. Yeah, I’ve got a pretty good system going.” Lava Lamp pulled back the curtain behind her revealing a contraption made of one large bowl with a hole in its side, water streaming steadily from it into a lower bowl of the same size with large sand-filled hourglasses on each side. A massive chalkboard was propped behind all of the items filled with tally marks and equations that made Jelly’s brain hurt. “Woah…” Jelly murmured, suddenly feeling a gnawing guilt for underestimating the laid-back pony. “Your system is way cleaner than mine. I’m surprised we’re on a similar track!” Bolt marveled at the massive device. “Hey, thank ya! I’d say it’s a pretty good gadget myself!” She smiled softly before it shifted into an almost wicked smirk. “So… you want to hear the story of how Sire’s Hollow became a ghost town?”