//------------------------------//
// Caves 
// Story: The Nightmare in the Moon 
// by Omega Dracomancer 
//------------------------------//

I stopped by the hospital to see how Jeff was doing. Wait... that wasn't his name. Fluttershy was in the room with him.

"Hey, how's your wing?"

"It's alright. I got 11 stitches. They said that I could leave if I really wanted to, but this little angel said that she was too worried about me to let me leave."

"Oh really? Well, I just came to check on ya. I'm gonna do something dangerous later. I might even meet up with you in here tonight."

"What are you doing?"

"Celestia gave me this map and I've gotta explore this huge cave. No ponies allowed, apparently."

"Whoa..."

"It's gonna be fun. Probably. I'll see the two of you later. I gotta get going."

"Good luck, man."

"Be careful."

"Thanks."

I went to the Everfree and opened my map. After following it for a few minutes, I ended up at the mouth of a cave.

'We could get some ingredients now.'

'They can wait. I'm far more interested in this cave.'

'Alright.'

I turned the map over. It had a layout of the insides of the cave, and arrows told me where to turn. Nightmare took the liberty of memorizing it so I wouldn't have to keep pulling it out.

I pulled a flashlight from my pocket, and glanced behind me.

"Alright, no perks, no clothes, no problem. Lets do this shit."

The cave was fairly narrow for a while, and had a few little curves. It started getting wider, and I saw branching tunnels.

I walked slowly. 'Uh... Nightmare?'

'Yes?'

'I don't like it down here. It's... too dark.' I put my hand on the wall. I felt dizzy.

'Calm down. Get ahold of yourself.'

'Yeah, yeah...'

'Are you alright?'

'I'm ok. I think.'

'Good. Make a right.'

She gave me directions often. She was right, it was a maze down here. I'm sure that it took a full hour until even the smallest thing happened.

I heard a rock fall, and my heart jumped. "Holy shit... that scared the fuck outta me." I got in a few deep breaths. 'This isn't working. It'd be better if you were standing next to me.'

I looked forward again. The cave seemed to go on forever. I lost all track of time, and I was getting hungry. I'm always hungry.

I started seeing a light. It was coming from crystals embedded in the walls. They lit up the tunnel. I put away my light. It got almost daytime-bright.

I entered an old ruin. It appeared that some ancient civilization had tried to live down here before. Nightmare guessed that it had to have been at least 500 years since anypony had been down here.

"This reminds me of that one elf quest on Runescape. Within the light, I think. Man, that puzzle was fucking hard. I was stuck on it for days."

'What?'

'Just rambling. But it does remind me of it. Bright crystals. Underground ruins. Except in the game, there was a crystal-blocked entrance to a 12000 year old city called Prifddinas.'

I did some exploring. It wasn't like the game at all. That was actually a good thing. The monsters in that temple fucked my food supply up. If they were here, I'd be dead.

I found a closed door at the end of the cavern. The doorknob came off in my hand. It was locked, but I don't think that really mattered at this point. I tried pushing it, but it didn't open. I ended up kicking it open, and it came off the hinges.

Inside was a small, dusty room. A small dark orb was sitting on a pedestal in the center, with six pillars surrounding it. I walked in, expecting the door to slam shut. Then I remembered that there was no door.

I stared at the orb.

'I've never seen any of these things before. Where did they all come from?'

'That must be the Dark Sphere. Should I take it?'

'I don't know. It feels strange looking at it.'

I reached towards it. "I guess I should."

'What if Celestia was right, and I disappear?'

'I know that's not gonna happen.'

'Are you sure?'

'Positive.'

I grabbed the item. It easily came off the pedestal.

"Hmm... I expected something to happen."

I examined it. It was just simple a dark sphere, like it was called. It looked like it was made of glass. It was completely black, and perfectly circular.

I threw it on the ground, and it just bounced back up. I tried to catch it and missed, and had to follow it around the room. It didn't get a single scratch on it.

"What is this thing?"

'This was not here before.'

I pocketed the orb. It felt so cold.

"Well, I guess that's it. Is it?"

I looked around the room. Nothing out of the ordinary. Other than the room itself.

I left the ruins. There was a distinct lack of traps. Must not be that important of an artifact. Or it was cursed. One of the two. Or something else.

I kept talking to Nightmare. She didn't like it, but at least she responded. Kinda.

'Stop.'

'What?'

'This is different.'

'Huh?'

'Get out the map.'

I looked at the back of the map with her.

'We should be there.' she had me point at a point on it, 'We came through there on our way here.'

'I remember.'

'We're in a different part of the cave.'

'Oh, that's not good.'

'No, it isn't.'

'Should we go back?'

'Something tells me that won't matter.'

'What? Why?'

She studied the map, then gave me a direction. I couldn't tell where she was leading me anymore. Hopefully, the exit.

The instructions had little to do with the map, as far as I could tell. She kept it out and looked to it very often. I didn't recognize where we were going.

We ran into a dead-end. Nightmare looked over it again, grumbling. She told me to go back for a while, then take another path.

I saw another light. Daylight! I started running towards it.

'Stop!'

I made a sudden stop, just in time, too.

The entire world was upside-down! I looked up, or down, whatever. Grass was coming from there, but below my feet, or above them, was just sky.

'You would've fallen on your head as soon as you exited.'

'Thanks. How do I... wait, I got it.'

I stepped on the wall while I moved forward. A brief second of weightlessness later, my feet were planted on the ground.

"That was close." 'How long were we in there?'

'A few hours, I think.'

'Alright. Seems reasonable.'

I looked at the orb. It was boring. Was this thing important? It must've been, Celestia wanted me to get it.

I bounced it off the ground a few times.

'Hold onto it.'

I grabbed it out of the air and held it with both hands.

'It... makes me feel uneasy. I don't understand. If this was under my castle, then I would've discovered it. Those ruins were far too old for me not to notice. They were built in a very inhospitable area, more than a mile from any source of food.'

'Maybe they were hiding from something down there. Like Discord, or something before him.'

'Maybe. Celestia should know more about it. After all, she sent you down there.'

'Yeah. I'll save that for later. Nopony's by us. Lets find that deathroot stuff.

'Alright.'

I pocketed the orb again and walked through the forest.

She led me very deep into it, far past the castle. It started getting dark, and that wasn't just because the canopy got thicker.

The path was long gone, and it was very hard to traverse with just walking.

'Shouldn't be far, if my memory serves me right.'

'Alright.'

I pulled out my flashlight.

We entered a clearing with a very large tree in the center of it.

'That's it.'

'It better be. I'm starving.'

I walked to it and examined it. I was told that the sap was acidic, so I avoided contact with it.

'Deathroot... to safely take the ingredient, I'll need to take complete control of your body.'

'Yeah, alright.'

I felt myself grow cold as she took over. I couldn't move my body at all. That was fine with me, though.

She had some trouble moving to start, and almost dropped the light. My fingers were the only thing that really messed her up, but eventually she got it down.

She circled the tree a few times, looking at the root system. When she found a suitable one, she grabbed it, and pulled.

The other roots started moving towards me. She eyed them, pulling harder.

They lashed at me, and started wrapping around my arms. Wherever they touched started burning.

'Hurry!'

'I know!'

After a series of heavy tugs, it snapped free, and we flew back through the air, landing just in front of a tree. The roots that had attacked us slowly lowered back to the ground.

I felt sore. I could feel the root squirm in my hand like a snake. She held on tightly as it wrapped around my arm.

It wrapped under my sleeve. She got up and squeezed tighter. The grip on my arm loosened as if she was choking it. It stopped moving entirely.

She started panting. I got my body back, and almost fell to my knees.

'It would've been much easier with a knife, or a saw. I had to use my own strength to pull it free. Your body is so weak.'

'To be fair, I'm not immortal.'

'True enough.'

'That wasn't safe at all.'

I could feel a painful tingling sensation on my arm as the root dropped from it. I avoided looking down at them, partly because it was too dark to see anyways.

After an exhausting trek back through the forest, I arrived at her castle. The bridge was still out.

'You said there wouldn't be a problem.'

'There won't be.'

I felt a drain of energy, just like my first day here. The bridge was lifted from the abyss and tied itself together. I felt a huge drain of energy and almost fell to the ground.

'Nice.'

I slowly walked across. No sign that anypony came here since I left.

I was told to leave it in the basement of the castle. I just dropped it down the stairs. My hand was tingling.

Under the moonlight, I saw that my arms had burn marks all around them. It didn't hurt that bad anymore, but it didn't feel good, either. I'll have to treat it later. I'll just tell everypony I got it in the cave. Man, it would be so cool if it scarred up. It'd be like a freakin' tattoo.

Again, Nightmare took down the bridge. This time I dropped to my knees to rest a little before continuing.

She gave me a few instructions and led me to a pond.

'Dip your arms into the water. Wash them off. There's still sap on them.'

I quickly washed them off. The water was freezing. My arms went numb. I couldn't feel the burns anymore.

'Cool.'

'It may be a good idea to go to the hospital.'

'You said it would be safe! You better get it together. I don't wanna come back here missing a hand next time. I need two of those... for science.'

I headed to the hospital. It was quickly recognized as a chemical burn and I was given proper treatment. They wrapped my arms up and sent me on my way.

It looked so cool! I should wrap my arms more often.

I went to visit Dr. Taco again. He was still awake. Fluttershy had taken off already.

"Yo, what's up?" I said.

"Whoa... what happened to you?"

"Acid burns. I'll be fine."

"Why were you playing with acid?"

"It wasn't my fault. That cave is dangerous. So what about you? You taking off soon?"

"We decided I should get out tomorrow."

"Alright. Dude, you gotta take her out for an afternoon picnic. Doesn't that sound awesome?"

"It does sound pretty great. Are you sure?"

"If you're listening to my advice on this, then... Well, I don't always give great advice. I make suggestions. But a picnic! It's like... the best thing ever."

"Alright, sounds good."

"One last thing. It's like... important. If you wanna not screw everything up, of course."

"Yeah?"

"Fluttershy's... Fluttershy. Ya get me? You gotta be real slow with her. Rush it and you'll probably end up with nothing to show for it. Except a scar. Scars are cool. I got a scar."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you that story later. It's not very interesting or exciting. Anyways, get better soon, bro."

"I will. Thanks."

I decided against going to Twilight's place and went back to the station to catch a train to Canterlot.

I bounced the sphere on the floor. "What is the point of this thing?"

'I don't know. I don't want you to keep it. If Celestia can't take it away, then we are putting it back where it came from.'

'Are you scared of it?'

'Of course not. Would this thing really remove me if it were to be destroyed?'

'There is no chance of that happening.'

'How do you know?'

'It just won't. Trust me on this. You and this orb aren't related.'

'Alright.'

I kept bouncing it like a baseball. It was tough, man. Why was it so bouncy?

"This is kinda fun."

I got an idea. I held the orb in my hands, and closed my eyes. I focused my thoughts on it, concentrating as best I could.

I felt so cold. I could feel my body freeze. It was like it was breaking through my mind. I was going numb.

It was drawing me in. I couldn't let go.

I felt myself toss it away, and I took a deep breath. I hadn't taken a breath since I started.

'That was a bad idea...'

'Are you alright?'

'Maybe. Thanks for letting go for me.'

'What in Equestria was that?'

'I... don't know.'

I retrieved and immediately pocketed it. It felt heavy now. I knew that it was very light, but it was pulling me down. It was weighing down my mind.

I sat down, scared of this strange artifact.

'We should've left it where it was.'

'Don't do that again.'

'Yeah... yeah.'

I fell asleep, waking up in Canterlot. I felt pretty tired. The weight seemed to be lifted from me. I pulled it out again, and bounced it around as I walked.

'Is that a good idea?'

'I don't know. It seems ok. I'll find out, I guess.'

The guards let me pass, and I went straight to Celestia. I held it loosely in my hand.

"Hello, Princess."

"Hello, Phil. Is that the Dark Sphere?" she asked, walking to me.

"Yeah."

"What happened to your arms?"

"I ran into some weird vines in that cave. When I got back out it still burned, so I took myself to the hospital."

She looked under the bandage, then replaced it. "What were you doing near the deathroot tree?" she asked.

"Huh? No, I got this in the cave."

"Those are deathroot burns." she said, "You only get them when you touch the roots.

"Well, I walked through the things in the cave. They were really squirmy."

"I didn't know that the root system reached that far."

"What's with this thing?" I held out the orb. "It's like nothing, but it's something."

She reached for it, but I pulled back. "Don't touch it."

"Why?"

I told her what happened on the train.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"I'm sorry for putting you through this."

"It's alright, Princess."

"Come with me. I want to keep this somewhere nopony can get to it."

"It would've been better off in the cave. A few hours worth of a cavernous maze is better than most defenses."

"It's better here."

"There were some weird things down there, too. Like... ruins of some old civilization."

"What?"

"Yeah. Abandoned buildings were scattered around the area I found this."

"There shouldn't have been anything down there. Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Strange. I didn't know about this."

"Is it bad?"

"I don't think so. At any rate, we must put that orb somewhere safe."

'I think she was telling the truth about the buildings, but she's hiding something else. Should I try to pry it from her?'

'Find out what she knows.'

"Princess... is there something you're not telling me?"

"What do you mean?"

"This was way too easy to retrieve. There were no traps. I think you're not telling me something."

"That's not true. I've told you what I know."

"I know you're lying, Celestia. I can hear it in your voice."

"That's untrue." She was right. She was a perfect liar. I most certainly couldn't tell.

"I know you're keeping something from me."

"I am not. I've heard enough of your accusations." She glared at me, then sighed. "Actually, you're right. You went through the trouble of getting it. I guess I can tell you. I sealed the Dark Sphere away in those caves years ago."

"Really?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, I was inexperienced in sealing it, and recently, it seems to be trying to free itself. Ponies cannot enter that cave, including myself. It was a mistake making the spells so powerful. I've tried to get through them, but it's been stubborn."

"And since I'm not a pony, you wanted me to get it?" I said.

"That's right. You've seen firsthand how dangerous it is. That's why I wanted to give it to Discord, so he can hide it properly."

"Alright."

'I'm quite impressed.'

'Thanks, but we didn't learn anything useful.'

I looked at the orb. "It's so dangerous. Why couldn't you leave it in there?"

"It's been giving off powerful bursts of negative energy, and they affected the world above."

"Did it really have anything to do with Nightmare Moon?"

"No. Nothing."

'See? I told you.' "Alright."

A very bright flash of light came from the orb, covering the both of us. It didn't last long.

"That was likely the burst of energy I mentioned."

"That felt weird."

I gave it to Discord, who made it disappear.

I spent some time with Luna and told her about what I did. She seemed somewhat impressed. I stayed in the castle that night, falling asleep in a chair in Luna's room.

I woke up in my room. I ate something small, and headed back to Ponyville with another hug from Luna. Much less awkward this time. I would've preferred the longer, more awkward hug any day of the week, though. Twice on Sundays. Twice any day, really. I'd hug Luna literally all day if I could. I'm sure we all would.

I went back to Twilight's, and we discussed the Dark Sphere. She had never heard of it before. I told her what Celestia told me, and she was relieved to hear that it was in a safe place.

I thought about going back there, but there wouldn't have been much point. I still had the map, though. I probably would eventually. I wanted to know more about those buildings.

I tried to see how Fluttershy and Lightning were doing. I had no idea where Lightning could be, so I just headed to Fluttershy's house. She wasn't even home.

Oh well. I still felt good about myself. I got something important accomplished. That's more than I've ever done in my entire life.