//------------------------------// // Part I - The Cave // Story: The Effects of Gravity // by Akela Stronghoof //------------------------------// The Effects of Gravity – Akela Stronghoof ---xOx--- Part I – The Cave ---xOx--- “C’mon, Dipper! Hurry up!” The brown haired-girl scrambled over a log, twigs and bits of leaf matter catching the fibers of her sweater. Leaves crunched underfoot as she continued up the slope. Behind her, the messy-haired boy carefully hopped over the same log, making sure not to lose his footing or drop the thick, weatherworn book he was carrying. “Mabel, slow down!” Dipper panted, squinting a bit as the rays of the dying sun fell across his face. He stumbled, regained his footing, and raced to catch up with his sister. “It’s a cave, it’s not like it’s going anywhere,” Dipper snarked, pulling alongside Mabel. “Oh Dipper,” the brown-haired girl giggled. “Getting there is half the fun! C’mon, I’ll race you!” She laughed and scrambled forward, tripping and landing on her knees but getting right back up and continuing to run. Her hair fanned out into a brown wave as she bounded up the side of the mountain. Dipper’s face split into a grin, his twin’s good mood proving infectious. “Oh no you don’t!” he called, tightening his grip on the book and breaking into a sprint. He leapt over a boulder and was soon neck and neck with his sister, the two glancing at each other with identical grins. Their peals of laughter echoed off of the mountains as day turned to dusk. ---xOx--- The sun shined merrily overhead, easily penetrating the thin cloud layer the weather pegasi had dragged into place that morning. Foals played in the streets, vendors hawked their wares, and the mingled aromas of various restaurants fought for clientele. It was at one such restaurant—The Lemongrass Meadow—that the Bearers of the elements of Harmony were having their weekly lunch. “Delicious, simply divine! Did I not tell you that the food here was marvelous?” Rarity inquired, staring pointedly at the polychromatic pegasus across the table. “Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow Dash yawned, poking listlessly at her sandwich with the tip of a hoof. “I still think MareDonald’s makes a better burger though.” “It needs more sugar!” Pinkie chimed in. “A raspberry soup should be suuuuuper sweet!!” Applejack threw her metaphorical hat in the ring. “’N this apple fritter ain’t nothin’ compared t’ the ones Ah can whip up on th’ farm.” Rarity huffed, pouting. “Fillystines.” Twilight snorted as Fluttershy turned to the fashionista. “I-I think it’s delicious, Rarity.” Rarity bestowed a smile on the butter-yellow pony. “Why thank you, Fluttershy. I’m glad somepopny knows quality when she tastes it,” she added, shooting a glare at the three offenders. “C’mon girls, don’t argue,” Twilight interceded, quelling the burgeoning fight. “Let’s just enjoy lunch, okay?” The five other mares voiced their agreement, and soon the table was loud with laughter and conversation. ---xOx--- “Ummm. . . Mabel?” Dipper spoke, shifting nervously. His voice quavered a bit, an undertone of fear forcing its way into his words. “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to go today. It’s dark out now, we could come back tomorrow.” Mabel didn’t respond. She was too busy staring at one of the most impressive sights she had ever seen, mouth agape and eyes slightly glazed over. Before the two of them yawned a massive cave opening, the small stalactites studding the entrance turning it into the maw of some vermiform beast. The cave appeared to suck in light like some sort of malevolent black hole. Even the air was different, the chill breeze wafting from the bowels of the cave carrying a weight that no wind should carry. “Big. . .” Mabel breathed, her words echoing away into the void. “Mabel.” Dipper shook her arm. The girl didn’t respond. “Mabel!” Mabel started, jumping a bit. “Hwa! Oh. What is it, Dipper?” “Maybe we should go back to the Mystery Shack. It’s getting really late, it’ll take a while to get back and it’ll be even harder when we can’t see if we’re gonna trip over a rock or something. Besides, Grunkle Stan is probably wondering where we are and—” Dipper was interrupted by a snort from Mabel. Scowling at her, he continued. “Okay, fine, maybe Grunkle Stan doesn’t care. But I bet Soos is worried out of his mind—” Mabel coughed and pointed to Dipper’s watch. He took a look—nine oh seven pm, Tuesday. “Oh. Um. Free nacho night in town. That’s right. Um. Well. W-we should still probably go back, just so that—” Mabel giggled, cutting off her brother yet again. “Oh, Dipper you’re such a scaredy cat!” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “Maybe you should go back and play with some yarn! Geddit? ‘Cuz you’re a scaredy CAT? Ahaha!” Dipper adjusted his hat and scowled at his sister as she shook from laughter. “First of all, that wasn’t even clever. Secondly, I’m not scared! I just don’t think it’s a good idea to explore this place at night.” He gulped. “In the dark.” “Oh Dipper,” Mabel giggled. “That’s what we brought flashlights for, silly!” Mabel then proceeded to grab the flashlight from her twin’s belt and demonstrate that it worked by rapidly flicking it on and off. She placed the beam of light under her chin and affected a deep voice, “ooo-oooh”-ing and wiggling the fingers on her free hand. Annoyance temporarily overcame fear as Dipper scowled and snatched the flashlight back from his snickering sister. “Stop it! I already told you I’m not scared. It’s just irrational to do this at this time of night. So come on, we’re leave—” “Scaredy cat.” “I said I’m no—” “Scaredy cat!” “I’m NOT a¬—” “Scaredy cat scaredy cat scaredy cat—” “I’m NOT a scaredy cat!” Dipper flipped on the flashlight and stormed forward into the cave, Mabel following close behind him, snickering. ---xOx--- “Pffft! You can’t fit that entire slice of cake into your mouth, silly!” “Oh yeah!? Watch me! Omnomnomnom!” “Gasp!” “Well tie me up an’ call me a zap apple, she did it!” “Yeah, and now she’s doing a victory dance!” “. . . Pinkie, Ah don’t think tha’ clutchin’ at yer neck an’ turnin’ purple ‘s a victory dance.” Twilight stared at the the spectacle of Pinkie holding Dash’s forelegs behind her back while Applejack bucked her in the stomach repeatedly. Dash finally coughed up the cake, gasping for breath. The lavender unicorn shook her head despairingly. “Why has this happened three times already?” ---xOx--- The light from the outside of the cave quickly faded, leaving the twins in the all-encompassing darkness. The beam from Dipper’s flashlight lanced through the gloom and illuminated a collection of stalagmites shaped vaguely like a claw of some sort. Tiny, squirming, nameless things with no eyes shuddered out of the light as Dipper brought it around. The twelve-year old shivered, a cold trickle of fear making its way down his back and dispelling the anger-fueled bravery that had caused him to walk into the cave in the first place. The beam of light caught motes of dust as Dipper pointed it further inward. It hit the craggy sides of the cave, yet dissipated before it could reveal what lay ahead. Dipper was forcefully reminded of something he had seen only a few months ago. School had been in session then, and Dipper was grabbing a cup of milk and a vanilla pudding from the refrigerator before heading back up to finish his math homework. On the way, a documentary his mother had been watching in the den had caught his attention. It was about something called “blue holes.” From what the messy-haired boy had managed to glean, they had terrified him. In the ocean there were spots where a large patch of seafloor would just drop, leaving something like a sinkhole. The water inside the hole would be exponentially less dense than the liquid around it, and if you accidentally swam into one you would sink to the bottom, utterly helpless. Dipper felt like he was standing the precipice of a blue hole, and that if he took a step further into the cave he wouldn’t come out. His throat went dry and his hands were shaking as he turned to his twin. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, opened it again, and managed a strangled “ghrk.” Now, roughly translated, “ghrk” means “Mabel, come on. We got this far, but something is gonna happen to us if we go any further and that something is gonna be bad. Let’s leave and come back in the daytime, when there’s a smaller chance that something will kill us.” Unfortunately, Mabel was not fluent in the language of pure unadulterated terror, so all she heard was Dipper making a sound like he was choking on a peanut. Even that was then pushed into the dark recesses of Mabel’s mind as she registered a flash far ahead being reflected off of the flecks of mica in the sides of the cave. Mabel was a bit like a cat. The second the mysterious light glinted off of the walls, Mabel’s mind was taken over by instinct and one single, overpowering thought—GET THE SHINY. The brown-haired girl’s legs were in motion before she thought about it. “MINE!” she shrieked, arms outstretched and fingers twitching, shooting down the tunnel and around a corner before her twin could even react. “Mabel!” Dipper shouted, panicking immediately. He took a step forward and stopped, breathing sharply, eyes flicking back and forth between the flashlight with the surely-diminishing battery and the passageway his sister had disappeared down. Should he run after her? He could leave, go back to town and find Soos or Wendy or someone else willing to help him. The decision was made in an instant. Dipper tightened his grip on the tome and the flashlight and ran forward into the depths of the cavern. Even though he was reasonably sure that something was hiding in the darkness, waiting to dine on his flesh, Dipper never looked back. She might be annoying, she might be a bit crazy, but darn it, Mabel was his sister and he loved her. Nothing was going to happen to her, nothing at all. Not on his watch. ---xOx--- “. . . and that is why projection fields cannot be double-cast while working with reactive time-loop spells, and that is also why Spike is never, ever allowed to bring Snips and Snails into my lab again. Ever.” Twilight looked around, eager to see the effect her detailed and engaging lecture had on her friends. Fluttershy was questioning Pinkie Pie about cupcakes for Angel Bunny’s birthday, Applejack and Rarity were debating the pros and cons of a gemstone-encrusted plow, and Rainbow Dash was leaning back and snoring, a stream of drool hanging from her mouth. “Hmph,” Twilight pouted, “Everypony’s a critic.” ---xOx--- The cave floor became slick as the messy-haired boy went ever deeper, his shoes slapping loudly against the wet rock. Dipper rounded another bend, breathing heavily. Just how far had Mabel gone anyway? The cave system was massive, much larger than he had originally thought. If there was a fork in the path up ahead, he could go the wrong way and not find his sister, or worse, he could get lost himself. Dipper just had to hope that the tunnel he was in continued on a linear path and—oh no. The narrow passageway opened up into a huge open space, maybe two hundred feet across. The ceiling soared up into infinity, cloaked in darkness that even Dipper’s flashlight couldn’t penetrate. Ancient, massive stalactites extended like vicious claws from the ceiling, curling into vicious points that dripped moisture. The droplets fell in a sinister staccato, the uneven drip drop playing a nameless tune in the back of the boy’s mind. To complete the image and, Dipper suspected, to mess with him specifically, were at least ten openings to other tunnels. Dipper bit his lip. How the heck was he going to find the right passageway? Walking up to one, he ran a hand along the side. He jerked his hand back with a hiss of pain, leaving a shiny patch on the wall. Dipper gingerly touched the cut on his palm and then gently wiped it on his shirt. Muttering a condemnation of all things sharp he stalked back to his original tunnel and took another look around the chamber. All of the tunnels were on the ground floor, so at least there wouldn’t be climbing involved. How could he find Mabel? He could try shouting her name at the entrance to each passage, but he doubted that she would answer him. How about trained carrier pigeons? No, no, that was stupid. Mabel’s pig, Waddles, would probably be able to sniff her out. It would take an hour to get him from the Mystery Shack, though, and during that time who knows what kind of trouble Mabel could get herself into. The flashlight passed over the tunnels again. What about—wait. Dipper narrowed his eyes. What was that? The flashlight swept back to the third tunnel before steadying. There, clinging to the rocky wall, was a clump of blue threads from Mabel’s sweater that must have gotten caught and torn off as the brown-haired girl ran by. The messy-haired boy wasted no time in sprinting over and inspecting the fabric, making sure it was Mabel’s before turning and following the tunnel. He felt odd—there was a strangeness to the air in this tunnel. The breeze rushing by him had a weight, a viscosity to it, and the messy-haired boy’s movements felt sluggish, as if he was trying to run underwater. Even the sound of his footsteps on the cold, damp stone was muted, seemingly absorbed by the passage’s sides. The walls themselves had long since become far too smooth for it to be normal, and the beam of Dipper’s flashlight, while strong as ever, had stopped piercing the darkness in front of him. Dipper was so preoccupied by these anomalies that he didn’t even stop to wonder why there was a breeze this deep in a cave. A minute later and Dipper was having trouble advancing. The atmosphere had managed to thicken even more, oppressive and smothering. The boy took another step forward and a chill went down his spine, making him twitch and causing him to drop his precious light source. The flashlight appeared to fall in slow motion, yet the force of it hitting the ground was somehow still enough to crack the cheap plastic lens, break open the top, and send the batteries spinning off into oblivion. The darkness, previously held at bay by the now-defunct flashlight, crashed onto Dipper from all sides like the fist of god. Dipper felt like he was suffocating, his heart beating faster than a jackrabbit’s. Choking, he fell to his knees, skinning them but not caring as he frantically groped around for the components of his salvation. The book he was holding fell with a muted thump. His fingers closed on the plastic shaft, and his other hand managed to find one of the batteries. He pushed the first D-battery into the tube, and blindly flailed in a vain attempt to locate the other one. The messy-haired boy let out a muffled sob—he was going to die here, alone in the dark, killed by some strange, unexplainable force that would compress him into nothingness. He wanted to leave, he wanted to go home and tell his parents that he loved them, he wanted to play with Mabel and make jokes with Soos and hang out with Wendy and he wanted to live and— The pressure disappeared as quickly as it came, washing off of Dipper like he had been covered in mud and someone had sprayed him with a fire hose. He levered himself up. The flashlight was ignored completely in favor of the most beautiful light he had ever seen, shining brightly from about fifty feet in front of him. The messy-haired boy grabbed the book, stood, and, as if in a trance, walked forward. The light increased in intensity, brighter than the sun but not hurting Dipper’s eyes even as he stared directly at it. He stepped into the chamber and the glow swelled even more, even though it didn’t seem possible. The entire room was suffused with the white light, thrumming along to some unknown beat that soothed Dipper. He had a sudden flashback, remembering the songs his mother would sing to him to calm his fears when he was little. He remembered the way she would wipe away his tears when he had nightmares, take him and whisper reassurances while she rocked him to sleep. Dipper felt the same sense of peace steal over him now, calming him down to the point that when he saw Mabel, he didn’t immediately run to her. Instead, he drifted over at an easy pace, never taking his eyes off of the Crystal in the center of the room. It was surely the Crystal that the light had come from, of that there was no doubt. It shined lovingly, tenderly, flashing to the beat of waves against a peaceful shore, the light inside leaping in graceful curves off of its smooth, perfect surface. “So beautiful. . .” He breathed, coming to a stop beside his brown-haired twin. “Yeah,” she said quietly, her acknowledgment barely reaching Dipper’s ears. They stood there basking for some time. And some more. Finally, after what could have been a second or an hour, Dipper slowly looked away from the Crystal. “I think it’s time to go,” he said. For some reason, he felt like the darkness couldn’t hurt him anymore. “Yeah,” Mabel said quietly. The siblings looked at the Crystal for a few more seconds before turning away. They went to leave, and they would have made a peaceful exit had not a series of unfortunate events happened in quick succession. Mabel’s foot caught a stone sticking out of the floor. She shrieked, arms wind milling as she pitched wildly back and forth, attempting to right herself. Dipper turned to try and catch her but he also tripped, losing his footing on a stray battery that had managed to make its way into the chamber. He fell, slamming into his twin. Mabel was sent reeling backwards, flailing wildly. As she passed, one of her hands managed to smack the Crystal. The Crystal flew upwards, stopped for a moment, and then smacked down between Dipper and Mabel with all the grace of a swan that had just been knocked senseless by a passing plane. The Crystal’s perfect surface fractured as it hit the ground. The light changed from white to blood red in under a second, and lost its steady thrumming glow in favor of flashing erratically. The sound of waves rose into a piercing shriek at the edge of hearing. All of the calm and peace the messy-haired boy had been feeling was instantaneously replaced with raw terror. “Dipper!” Mabel screamed over the noise, tears of fear forming in her eyes. “What’s happening!?” The twelve year-old shielded his face from a piece of rock that fell as the cave started to shake. “I don’t know!” He yelled back, quickly batting away yet another piece of stone that threatened to pierce his eye. Another, stronger tremor hit, knocking the boy and girl off of their knees and into the rocky pedestal the Crystal had been sitting on. Mabel grasped desperately at her brother’s hand. “I’m scared, Dipper!” the brown-haired girl cried. Dipper looked at her, saw the tears making their way down her cheeks, saw the sheer terror in her eyes and the trembling in her lower lip. Dipper thought of what his father had said to him at the beginning of the summer. ---xOx--- He had just put the last suitcase in the van and was on his way to join Mabel in the back seat when his father had put a hand on his shoulder and gently steered him back into the house. “Listen, Dipper,” he had said, bending down to look the twelve year-old in the eye. “I want you to promise me something. Your sister, Mabel—she’s a great kid. You know that. But she’s naïve. It takes a lot to get through all of that cheer to what’s underneath, but when stuff does, it hurts. It hurts her badly. You know that too.” The man looked out the window, prompting Dipper to do the same. They watched Mabel in the car for a minute, playing with a ball made of rubber bands. The boy’s father smiled and adjusted his hat, turning back to Dipper. “I want you to promise me that you’ll take care of your sister, comfort her if something bad happens. Protect her. Can you do that for me, bud?” ---xOx--- Yes. Yes, he could do that. So instead of cracking some stupid joke about how she was the older twin and that she shouldn’t be scared, he looked her in the eyes. He said, “I’m scared, too.” And he hugged her. The Crystal rose up into the air, flashing frenetically. The sound increased in both pitch and frequency as the cave rumbled, and then the Crystal folded and then the cave folded and then Mabel and Dipper were gone along with a perfectly spherical section of the cave ten meters in diameter. There was a crack as the air slammed inwards to fill the sudden vacuum. All was silent. ---xOx--- Pieces of stone, two preteens, an old book, and a brilliantly glowing crystal appeared in midair. The rocks, the children and the book fell, cushioned by a conveniently placed bush. The Crystal stayed suspended for a moment, letting out one final burst of energy that shot out a good twenty miles in every direction, passing through a forest and washing over a small town. A dull, gray crystal fell to the ground. ---xOx--- “Goodbye everypony!” Twilight called out. Dash was trotting away with Pinkie Pie, Applejack ambled westwards toward Sweet Apple Acres, Rarity cantered in the direction of Carousel Boutique, and Twilight herself was accompanied by Fluttershy as she made her way to the library. Fluttershy’s cottage was on the other side of town from The Lemongrass Meadow, and the library stood in the center. Twilight could’ve teleported Fluttershy back home, but the pink-maned pegasus preferred walking, and the Element of Magic was happy to provide her with company. “So, Twilight,” Fluttershy spoke, “I-is that new book in yet?” “Hm?” Twilight shook her head. “Sorry Fluttershy, there was a shipping delay from Fillydelphia. The Guide to Venomous Plants should be in by Wednesday though, so co—” PAIN It was so intense that the unicorn didn’t react for a second, stupefied. Then PAIN and in unison with every other unicorn in Ponyville Twilight fell to the ground screaming, flailing blindly as her horn was set on fire and pushed backwards through her skull. It was pain on a level she had never before experienced, worse than the piano falling on her, and it hurt oh sweet Celestia it hurt so bad and shejustwantedittoSTOPand As quickly as the pain had hit it was gone, leaving Twilight laying next to a terrified Fluttershy. The normally quiet pegasus was crying hysterically and screaming her friend’s name, shaking the purple unicorn roughly. “Twilight! Twilight, are you okay!? Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay. . .” “Owww. . .” Fluttershy gasped and pulled Twilight into a hug. “Twilight! Oh, thank Celestia!” She pushed the unicorn away, eyes wide and lip trembling. “Twilight, what was that? What the hay was that!?” the pegasus shrilled. “Every unicorn just stopped, and then—and then they—you—” Fluttershy looked downwards, teardrops falling onto the dusty road. Twilight blinked away the moisture in her eyes, still recovering from the pain. Around her the other unicorns were starting to recover, being helped to their hooves by friends and family. The lavender unicorn looked around. She cleared her throat and summed up her professional opinion in seven simple words. “Fluttershy, I have absolutely no bucking idea.” End Part I – The Cave