//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: That Which Crawls Below 
// by roflgar 
//------------------------------//

As they neared the battleground, Twilight sensed an enormous buildup of energy.  She managed to put up a shield just in time as a massive burst of energy spread outwards from the horrible creature, threatening to tear apart anything it hit.  It was then that they heard it speak.
“Who dares defile my citadel?!  I recognize you, you who killed my children.  How dare you come here!  This will be your tomb; my children will feast upon your corpses!”  Twilight sensed another buildup of energy surrounding the horror.
“Twilight?!” Celestia had finally noticed the new arrivals, though Luna seemed to be concentrating on something else.  “What are you all doing here?  It’s too dangerous! Run while you can!”
“Too late.”  
There was a low rumbling that grew steadily louder.  The ground beneath them seemed to shake.  There was a loud crack, and the ceiling above the entrance collapsed.  Many tons of rock cascaded down over the entrance, sealing it.
Luna’s horn began to shine.  A shadow seemed to emerge from it in the shape of a gigantic bat.  The bat flew towards the best and exploded in a cloud of darkness which seemed to wrap its tendrils around the creature as if trying to drag it down into the earth. It laughed cruelly as if considering them no more harmful than a bear might find a fly.
“I grow bored with this game.  I think it is time I started playing in earnest.”
Even as he finished speaking, he began to radiate pulses of energy.  Though they had all huddled together and pooled their strength to form one shield, the toll it was taking became evident mere moments after it began.  After two minutes of being unable to do anything but stand there trying to resist it, the unicorns Eisenhorn had brought with him fell down exhausted, unable to contribute more to without running the risk of suicide.  The general himself was beginning to look worn, his years of experience the only thing keeping him from collapsing.  Twilight had fallen to her knees for support but kept up the flow of magic.  Even Celestia had abandoned her normally calm demeanor, though she remained resolutely on her feet.  Luna broke off her contribution to the spell and tried to shout above the roar of the tempest around them.
“Sister! We feel that the only possible way to win is to call upon him.”
Celestia sighed and closed her eyes.  “Doing so could cause the destruction of Equestria; you know that, Luna!”
“If we do nothing, Equestria WILL be destroyed!”  Luna countered, a look of determination on her face, betrayed only by the fear and pleading in her eyes.
“You understand what the price will be, don’t you?”
“I have been considering it since they arrived.”  Luna said sorrowfully.
Celestia turned to Twilight “My faithful student, what would you give to save Equestria?”
Twilight did not have to consider the answer.  “Anything!”
“Luna, show Twilight the spell we will cast.  Show her everything.”
Luna nodded and walked over to Twilight.  “I am sorry, little one.  There are things nopony should see.”  Her horn began to glow softly and Twilight felt her consciousness fall into what first seemed like a painting.  She recognized the sensation of being shown a memory, though she didn’t think that she’d ever get used to the sensation.



They were in a beautiful garden.  The garden was ringed on three sides by tall walls and a castle on the fourth.  In the middle of the garden was a patio.  It was the sort of place which might, under normal circumstances, be home to a dinner party or some such gathering.  But these circumstances were anything but normal.  All the furniture had been removed and in its place, a large stone circle had been placed.  On the slab, seven concentric circles had been carved and between the circles, Twilight could see runes.  In the very center of the circle sat five iron chains.  Though Twilight did not recognize most of the runes, those she could see told her that this was not going to be a pleasant memory.  Moments later, she watched as two Alicorns and a dragon walked out of the castle, accompanied by dozens of guards and a white unicorn.  The unicorn was in the center of the throng and clearly the object of everyone’s attention.  Everyone gathered had a look of anger, resentment, or fear on their face, everyone except the white unicorn whose face contained only boredom.  He walked into the center of the circle, and as he did so, the chains sprang to life.  One joined itself to each of his paws, the last one hooking onto the red collar that encircled his neck.
“Are we all prepared?” asked one of the Alicorns, who was orange and sounded not unlike Celestia.
“Neigh, sister of ours.” Replied the other Alicorn, sounding similar to Luna despite having a deeply purple coat instead of the blue familiar to Twilight.
“Twilight, do you understand what is about to happen?  I realize most of those runes should be meaningless to you.”  Twilight mentally jumped when she heard Luna’s, and it was definitely Luna’s, voice.
“I think so.  I see symbols of binding and prevention, but they aren’t quite the same as the ones I know.”
“That does not surprise us, er, me; the ones you know are for inanimate objects, making sure things stick together, sealing liquids in a jar, etcetera.  These are not things we allow the general populace to use for their power is in bending another pony to your will or limiting her power.  Their use is only for the most heinous of crimes, often in cases where the death penalty has also been considered.  Do you know the significance of the circles?”
“I know that some powerful spells recommend drawing a circle and writing runes inside of it, though nopony seems to know why.  The common theory is that drawing a circle helps one visualize a stable flow of magic.”
Though Twilight could not see it, Luna could not help but smirk at that.  “No, Twilight, the circle is itself a rune.  Lesser magics can be performed without it, but the energy cost is much greater.  Greater magics require one because the amount of magical energy needed increases exponentially with spell complexity.  Knowing when to use a circle is important and far more complicated in practice than that, but we don’t have a lot of time.  As a rule of thumb, don’t use a circle when it isn’t necessary and the more circles a spell requires, the more terrifying its power.  This is one of a handful of occasions where a spell has required more than three circles.  To put it into perspective, binding you in this manner would require only a single circle, and you would be more completely subdued than he is about to be.”
“Who is he” she asked, filled with awe and suddenly afraid, having begun to piece together what Luna wanted them to do.
“He is one th—” Luna stopped mid-sentence.  “He is an ancient being.  That is all you need to know for now.  Watch this next part, it’s important.”  The ceremony below had been going on for a couple of minutes now, though no significant changes had happened.  Then the orange Alicorn stopped her incantation.  The white unicorn seemed to glow; there was a flash, and when the flash had passed, the white unicorn had vanished.  In its place stood an identical pony, but the new one was pitch black and seemed somehow less substantial than before, like a silhouette or a shadow of the original.  The eyes had changed, too.  Where before they had been a faint green, they were now red.  Then he spoke.
“None of you shall live much longer, for I have seen your dyings.  This very ground I curse as I pass from this world.  May you all suffer great pain for destroying my world!”  With those last words, the area around his horn seemed to become darker, and the chains that held him began to shine brightly.  Several guards dropped to their knees, holding their heads as though experiencing great pain.  The Alicorns and the dragon merely looked discomforted.  The greatest change, however, was to the plants that grew in the garden.  Suddenly, the trees seemed to grow more twisted, and the flowers began to curve maliciously while sprouting thorns.  Twilight could see beyond the walls as well.  She watched as a small forest of sinister trees sprang up right in front of her eyes.
After that the memory began to fade, reality once again coming into focus.  The last thing Twilight heard before snapping back to real life was: “Today, we are going to release him from his bonds.”