//------------------------------// // Chapter 38: The Ancient // Story: World of Chaos // by ugugg93 //------------------------------// Applejack watched as Sarlaka faded into the distance, the mass of purple and green slowly shrinking into the bright blue sky. After their heartfelt goodbye, she wasn't sure what they were going to do next. She wanted to fight of course, the idea that others were going to take on the burden of battle while she sat idly by and watch rubbed her the wrong way, but what could she do? The military Sarlaka had formed up in the valley below numbered in the tens of thousands of ponies, Discord had himself and Sarlaka to fight all of those ponies, and what did she have? A pair of climbing claws. “I can't believe that freak forgot my name.” Rainbow slowly glided to the ground, her wings twitching in slight agitation after landing. Rarity smirked. “Why? Because you're the greatest pegasus that has ever lived?” “Yeah! Not only that, but... wait a second.” The multicolored pegasus turned her head around, looking at the dressmaker standing next to her. “That's sarcasm, isn't it?” With a giggle, the alabaster unicorn exaggerated a roll of the eyes. “Oh, I would NEVER do something like that, Rainbow Dash.” “Yeah yeah, laugh it up, but at least I... um...” Rainbow thought to herself, before shrugging. “Whatever, I got nothing. Laugh it up as you please.” “Anyway,” Applejack interrupted, rubbing a forehoof against her temple. Even after such a heartfelt and touching goodbye, her friends always found a moment to jab at each other. “Twilight, wha' could've he meant 'bout you finally gettin' your gift?” Pinkie beat Twilight to the punch, speaking before the unicorn, “Maybe it's because Twi-Twi never got her gift from when we got our gifties?” “Thank ya Pinkie, but tha's not wha' Ah meant. Wha' Ah meant is, did he give any clue on wha' it would be? Some kind of battery to further power your magic?” Twilight shook her head. “While that would be an amazingly useful device, no. He never gave any sort of indication on what he could possibly be giving me. Besides, if it was any sort of device, why would he even bother giving it to me 'partly complete'?” “Hmm... good poin'.” “Umm...” Fluttershy quietly spoke up, “if you don't mind me asking... why don't we just go in and find out?” “I agree with Fluttershy.” Rarity flipped her hair to the other side of her head. “As much amusement as we are getting out of guessing, there's really no point to it, is there?” All nodding in near unison, Pinkie deciding to nod at at least five times their speed, the six ponies began to make their way back into the cave complex. Thinking back, this was the very first time the six of them had actually been together, without any sort of outsider observing or participating in their conversation, since the night before they had all ran off to do their quest. At first, Applejack was amazed at how long it had been since they simply sat down and talked to each other as they usually did. Of course, that was when the orange mare nearly tripped over herself. It had only been two weeks since they left the cave for the Elements. The idea was mind blowing at first. She had gone countless weeks without seeing her friends together for that amount of time. In fact, during Applebucking Season, she almost went that long without seeing ANY of her friends, let alone all of them put together. The concept was most likely magnified from the terrifying amount of things they all had to do. She and Pinkie alone had to deal with Xavier, travel to that one cave, battle a horde of timberwolves, fight that weird diamond dog robot Apple Bloom had apparently made, come back, and dealt with all the drama that came with it. All in all, it felt like almost eight months, if not more. “Applejack, darling,” Rarity spoke up, snapping the orange mare out of her own mind. Rarity trotted a little bit faster, and very quickly, made her way to join her friend at the front of the group. “I'm... I want your opinion about something.” Thankful for the interruption, Applejack spoke, “Of course, Rares. Whacha be needin'?” The alabaster unicorn thought to herself for a moment, making sure to gather her thoughts, before she began, “So Discord is coming to attack that army outside, right?” “Well, technically he's here to attack us, not the army, but sure.” “True. Also, as far as we know, Spike is going to be on his side, right?” “Actually,” Twilight trotted besides the two others, making sure her thoughts were known, “Spike told us that he was only going to act like he was on Discord's side until he had the Element of Loyalty. After that, he's probably going to leave, and give the Element to Rainbow.” The alabaster mare sighed heavily, but if she was showing any emotion other than simple analysis, she did a good job hiding it. “Right right, but in the beginning, he's going to be on his side, or act like it at least. On our side, we have the very large army, but on theirs they have Discord and Spike, right?” Rainbow now joined them. “Why would Discord come alone? Why wouldn't he bring any jerk-wads to try and help him?” It was then that Rarity stopped, and stamped a forehoof into the ground. The sudden stomp forced Fluttershy to accidentally bump into the unicorn's side, and nearly caught Pinkie off guard as well. Sighing even heavily this time, her agitation no longer well hidden, she glared at them. “You get what I’m saying. Discord and Spike versus army. Right? Right. Anyway, even if we discount Spike, assume that he's not going to end up helping either side in the end, Discord doesn't bring an army, and everything else you could possibly think of... what chance does our army have?” To that statement, Twilight stopped walking, and thought to herself. In fact, that statement made Applejack think as well. What DID that, albeit huge, army have against Discord? He had taken down the Elements of Harmony once, defeated both of the princesses, and completely destroyed Luna and the army she had apparently thrown at him. Not only was there no super powerful artifacts or alicorn princess on their side, but now they had a fully grown dragon going against them as well... kinda. “Well...” Twilight thought to herself as she began walking again. The rest started to follow the unicorn mare as she spoke, “Pretty good, actually.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Pretty good? Twilight, I think you need to get your brain checked, because I think the whole 'Sarlaka is Spike' thing did a number on you.” “No no, hear me out. Like I said before, Spike isn't going to be trying to help Discord. If anything, he's going to do what he can to help our side. At the very least, he's going to be a wash when it comes down to it. Best case, he's actually an advantage for us.” Rarity nodded. “Right, sure. We'll go with that.” “Right. Anyway. Now, what does Discord not have now that he had when he did all of those other battles?” “Umm... an army?” “Not quite, Rainbow.” “His youth?” “Rarity, I don't think Discord actually ages.” “Chocolate rain?” “...Pinkie, why would that change anything?” “Because! I haven't seen a single drop of it since we got here! Duh! I mean, we've been here for how long? Seen how many clouds? How many times have we seen chocolate rain? None! So... no chocolate rain!” “...I’m surprised to say that that might be the closest answer yet...” “The powers Luna took?” “Right!” Twilight smiled nodding towards the yellow pegasus to her right, the pair beginning to cross the hoard of gems. “Remember, Discord lost a lot of his powers when that happened. He's not nearly as powerful as he used to be.” “Sugarcube,” Applejack shook her head, “ya heard wha' he was sayin' to Sarlaka—” “Spike.” “Right, Spike. Anyway, you heard wha' he was sayin' to him when he came here. He said tha' he was able to do all of those crazy things if he wanted to, like reversin' gravity or somethin'.” Twilight slipped slightly on a ruby, but caught herself before slipping too far. “Sure he did, but I personally think he was bluffing. Besides, other than that, there's one more advantage he's giving us.” “Ooh ooh ooh!” Pinkie hopped over and in front of them. “Is it... umm... uhh... umm... eh, I got nothing.” “...Alright then. I'll just tell you girls. He WANTS us to have a chance to win.” Rainbow blinked a little bit, a little bit stunned at what Twilight just said. “He... does?” “Correct. Think about it, not only is it the only thing that explains all of his behavior, from giving Spike the Element of Honesty to not killing Fluttershy when he had the chance, it—” “Wait, what!?” Rainbow jumped back, her cyan wings beating heavily to keep her aloft. “What do you mean he was going to... you know...” Twilight stopped, her violet eyes bore into the pegasus for a few seconds, complete confusion contained in them. It was a few seconds before a wide-eyed realization washed over the unicorn. “Oh yeah. You weren't there when Discord... uhh... yeah... heh heh heh...” Sadly, this only served to send the yellow pegasus, eyes bulging and wings partially extended in fright, into a semi-catatonic state. Slowly, as to make sure not to frighten her mare any further, Rainbow softly settled down next to her, and gently nuzzled her side. Applejack was a little amazed at the sight, the brash and spontaneous Rainbow Dash gently putting a protective wing over her friend's back, whispering comforting words in an attempt to settle the terrified mare's nerves. Even more surprising was that Fluttershy seemed to be reacting quite positively to the words, and slowly but surely, her yellow wings began to fold, her eyes shrank back to their normal size, and the hyperventilating pegasus slowly returned to her normal demeanor. Applejack chuckled slightly; those two, as much as they were the strangest couple she had ever seen, tended to work together. “Sorry about that,” Twilight's ears were flattened against her head. “I didn't mean to scare you. I just meant to say that while he talked about doing it, he didn't go through with it.” Taking a final look into her marefriend's eyes to make sure she was alright, Rainbow raised her head back up to look at Twilight, “So... he didn't do that... because he doesn't care if he loses?” “Don't be silly, Rainbow.” Twilight waved a forehoof in the air dismissively as she slid down the final pile of gems between her and the closed door. “It's obvious he wants to win, but I think he's just bored, and thinks of this as some kind of game to play with us.” “Like when he corrupted us, but still gave us the Elements?” “That's right, Rarity. Like I said, he might want to win, more than anything else I suspect, but he wants to have fun with it.” “Huh... Ah never thought of it like that,” the orange earth pony finally said. It was the last thing that she was able to say before she had to stop, and looking up, peered at the massive iron door in front of her. Unlike most of the other doors in this place, those being wooden ones with small metal plates holding the boards together, this door was completely made of metal. The door itself was as plain as it could be, the only changes in the texture of the entire object being one that strengthened it's structural integrity, rather than aesthetics. Considering that the only other iron door in the entire cave system was the one just nearby, this was another room Sarlaka had not intended the mares to enter without his permission. Twilight sighed. “Well... here goes nothing.” Her horn ignited with a deep magenta hue, and with a powerful pulse, she grasped onto the door handle, and then— “Wait!” The sudden cry broke the unicorn's concentration, the magic flowing through her horn and into the door broken as a result. All of the mares, Twilight included, searched for the source of the call, only to find Rainbow Dash zooming to the front, and hovering between the group and the mysterious portal. “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity shouted, a slight snarl actually forming in her voice from frustration. “What in the name of Celestia are you doing?” The chromatic mare didn't even bat an eyelash. “Oh come on, can't we have a super awesome reveal? Like they have in the stories and such!” To that, Twilight cocked her head. “You read?” Rainbow was about to respond, when Fluttershy interrupted, “No she doesn't. She should though. That reminds me though, could you maybe recommend a few books for her?” A literal sparkle appeared in the mare's eye, “Why, I would love to recommend a few books for Rainbow. I think I can come up with a few that would—” Rainbow landed onto the ground, “Focus here, ladies! Come on! We're supposed to be in suspense over what is on the other side of this door!” “If ya wanna do this whole shin-dig, fine.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Let's jus' get on with it.” Rainbow nodded. “Fillies and... umm... well... more fillies!” Applejack felt Rarity bump her side into her own, a smirk on the unicorn's face. “The mare has a talent for these sort of things.” “Hush!” the cyan pegasus reprimanded. Taking to the air once again, she spread all of her legs wide. “Since about two weeks ago, we've been wondering what Twilight's gift was going to be. Applejack's was some claws and a rope. Rarity's was her sword and a bag of gems. Fluttershy got the weird fake feather thingy. Pinkie got the... actually... I have no idea what she got.” “I got a explosion rocket shooting cannon thingy!” “...I’m just going to say that you got a cannon. Pinkie got ANOTHER cannon. I got that dragon's eye... which sounds much creepier saying out-loud than in my head. Anyway, we all got our gifts, but Twilight, the one pony that is closest to the dragon, has yet to get her's. Finally, after years of waiting—” “Years? Really, Rainbow?” “Quiet, Applejack. Weeks of waiting, that stinkin' dragon finally coughed up the goods. So now, without further adieu, I give you... well... Twilight Sparkle's gift from Sarlaka!” Applejack rolled her eyes so heavily in response, she was afraid that they would be pulled out of her eyes. She heard her lavender friend sigh in response, and with an extra second to focus, the unicorn ignited her horn yet again. The magenta aura enveloped the door handle, and with a gentle push, opened the door. It wasn't a sight they were expecting. In complete contrast to the rest of the cave complex, the room was sparsely decorated. The walls were merely the bare earth, none of the walls or columns having the shining gloss that the rest of the cavern's walls had, though the ground was worked just enough to make it level. There wasn't a single piece of decoration to augment the place, forcing all eyes onto the only object in the room. That object, in the center of the room, was the massive statue of an alicorn. Her wings were outstretched, as if she was in flight, each individual feather perfectly detailed down to the individual fibers building each feather. The statue was massive, at least twice the height of any of the mares, though the sheer presence she gave off made her look so much larger. The face she had on her was one of sheer ferocity, the glare powerful enough to make even the hardiest of stallions question his courage. Her eyes stared off into the distance, trained on some unknown entity. Princess Celestia. Rainbow Dash's wings gained a mind of their own, and with her wings beating softer and softer, she gently lowered herself back down onto her hooves. “Whoa...” Applejack noticed that the mood of their entire group instantly dropped like a lead weight. Of course, Rainbow had stopped flying, but Fluttershy's wings too seemed to lose some of their life as well. Applejack literally felt the warm happiness escape her being as she looked at the terrifying statue. Rarity was slightly behind her, but while she couldn't see the mare, she could tell from barely audible mutters that she was feeling the exact same thing that the rest of the mares were feeling. Because she was behind her as well, she wasn't able to tell what Twilight was doing, but that was probably for the best. “I... umm...” Fluttershy took two tentative steps forward, before stopped alongside her friends. “I never thought Princess Celestia could look so... so...” “Mean?” Applejack offered with a hushed tone. It was strange, for while there was nopony there to shush them or anything, it just felt... right to speak in such a low tone. Maybe it was out of some sort of reverence towards the Goddess, maybe it was to be sensitive to Twilight, or maybe it was out of some other reason that Applejack couldn't guess at. Either way, everypony walked softer, spoke quieter, and even slowed their breathing in the princess' presence. The yellow mare shook her head lightly. “Scary.” Pinkie took a few steps forward as well. “She told us that she couldn't defeat Discord without the Elements...” “And yet, she fought anyways,” Rainbow finished for her, stepping closer to Pinkie's side. “It must have been the most terrifying thing,” Rarity whispered, her head lowered slightly, “fighting that monster over the skies of Canterlot as the city came crashing down around them. She and Luna both must have known that there was no way to win. Yet, they fought to the bitter end. I can't imagine what the poor dear must have been think—” “Twi-Twi?” All of the four remaining ponies turned to look at Twilight, the lavender unicorn slowly making her way towards Celestia's statue. Each step echoed though the chamber, the sound of the hard hooves pounding against the hard stone floor sent shivers up and down the orange mare's spine. It was an eery scene, watching and listening to the Princess' student walk closer to her petrified body. It was enough to make more than one mare slip into quiet tears. Applejack wasn't even ashamed that she was one of them. The lavender mare finally brought herself to the Princess Celestia's hooves, and just stood there, gazing into the alicorn's eyes. Almost a full minute of quiet remembrance passed, the five ponies being the only audience to the event. Twilight took one more step forward, and lifting a single forehoof, carefully stroked Celestia's chest. For some time, student and teacher, one of flesh and blood, and the other of nothing but stone, stood, with nopony daring to say a single thing to interrupt. It was only when Twilight pulled away, turned, and began to make her way out of the room when Applejack was able to find her voice, “Twilight!” The unicorn stopped, but never turned back around to face her. Instead, she just raised her voice slightly, “Yes, Applejack?” “Sugarcube.” Applejack took a step towards her friend, before she stopped. “Where you goin'?” There was a moment of contemplative thought, before a heavy sight escaped the unicorn in front of her. The lavender mare turned, and even though it was Twilight in front of her, Applejack was a little frightened at the sheer anger that was in those eyes. Eyes that saw injustice, and wanted to right that wrong. Slowly, yet ever so sternly, Twilight's anger flared as she spoke, “To find vengeance.” A/N: First, I just broke the 200k word mark, so yay for me. Second... filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler...