Twilight opened her eyes a crack as her body told her to wake up. Her leg was still sore from the constant scratching motions it had been going through last night, and she still felt very cautious about the tip of her hoof. She briefly wondered how long she’d been sleeping, what time of day it was, and if she could go fast enough to finish today, but she pushed the thoughts aside knowing straight and simple she had to finish it today. She just had to.
She got up groggily and noticed there was no scratching noises in the next cell. Dash must have tired herself out and went to lay down like Twilight had. “Finally tired out?” She asked as she approached the cell bars. They only briefly got visited last night by the guards to get food, a rather dry, somewhat dusty dish of grain and seed, just barely filling but granting enough energy to give her some more time to work. They hadn’t noticed her attempts to escape though, as the water pooling around the cell floor got sucked into the hole when she’d pushed away the straw barrier keeping it at bay while she worked. The combination of stone flecks, mud, and dust made it too cloudy to see the hole. Twilight spent a bit of time praying to the Princesses for her good luck.
“Nope.” Was the response over in the next cell. Twilight blinked as she heard Rainbow Dash move around. “Just trying to find the right angle for this. The bar’s all rusty in the ground, so I think if I aim this just right…” Twilight winced at the loud clang from Dash kicking the bar. It was followed by a grunt of disappointment. “Okay, that wasn’t right…”
Twilight pulled as much water out of her hole as she could and admired her work. She’d spent half a day chipping a water-logged stone block with only her hooves and so far had a fair hole. She predicted there wasn’t too much to dig through, and using her other, more awkward hoof, continued to dig as Rainbow Dash kicked her bar again, getting another pained grunt. “Aww c’mon! You’re all rusted up and crap, break!” The Pegasus shouted. Twilight had noticed since gaining a goal, Dash’s vigor had returned. The vulnerable, meek pony from before was now back to normal.
“It’s still steel, Dash. And keep quiet, what if somepony hears us?” Twilight whispered. Rainbow Dash silenced herself and seemed to toy with her cell bar for a while, probably trying to find weakness. “You put more pressure behind the back of your heel than the rest of your hoof. Just use your head Dash, you’re a smart girl.” The small encouragements they traded back and forth to each other since enacting the plan had been a minor, but welcomed morale boost. Their relationship together had been a standard jock and egghead deal, Dash being headstrong, unstoppably persistent, and all about physical skill, and Twilight being incredibly cautious, over-prepared, nose in a book, and more concerned with her mind than her body.
They’d rarely been alone together before, and it always seemed to devolve into sniping at each other’s lack of abilities. Here though… Dash trusted Twilight to be tough, Twilight trusted Dash to be intelligent. There was another loud clang, followed by a vicious crack. “Hah! That did the trick. Few more of those…” Twilight continued to dig, and after a few moments she could see she found the bottom of the bar. Elation filled her, and she began to widen the hole, offer it a little more room. She kept hearing Dash kick the bar, and finally she heard a sharp snapping noise. She listened and heard the rest of the bar fall out of the hole in the ceiling.
In the other cell, Dash was quick to cash the remains of the bar in her teeth before it could fall loudly on the floor, and carefully placed it in her cell. She stared at the gap between bars, and with a smug grin pushed her head through easily. She wriggled her body as it caught on the front of her legs, and she twisted to get her legs through, and carefully turned back and forth to get it around her ribs. The squeeze was tight, and she had to exhale to reduce her size just a little. She squirmed and wriggled, getting the bars past her chest and she slid through, now working to get her back legs out. When she turned her head, she could see Twilight watching her, and she smiled proudly. She kicked her back legs, twisted, and turned her body sideways to slide through the bars, and landed on the ground, outside her cell, one step closer to being a free filly. Twilight didn’t say anything, but the look of relief that crossed her face, and the elated way she jumped in her cell told Dash that she was proud.
“You finished in there?” The Pegasus approached the cell bars and stared down at the bar Twilight had been working on and saw the hole was practically deep enough.
“Just about,” Twilight checked the hole again and kept scratching. “I just need to widen it a little and-” she ducked as Dash’s hoof connected with the bar, causing it to shake.
“Feels right to me. Help me.” She kicked again, making it shake again.
“It’ll be easier if you let me-”
“It’ll be faster if you start kicking! I did it, so can you.” Dash grunted, a third kick making a few pebbles fall from the ceiling. Twilight looked skeptical, but backed up, turned, and kicked. She did not have Dash’s strength, nor quite her precision, and it ended sloppy. But she tried, and she tried again, and again, the two kicking the bar as hard as they could repeatedly, until finally the rusted end broke, letting the rest of the bar fall. It was caught, placed out of the way, and Twilight pushed her head through.
Like Dash, she’d been caught by her front legs, and with Dash’s instruction pushed them through. Dash, being a Pegasus, had thicker muscle around her ribs to support her wings, so Twilight slipped through more easily than she had, but was caught by her stomach. “Nng!” She grunted, pushing until it had hurt. “Nng… Nng! Dash, I can’t-” she turned and stared at her own stomach, trying to take a deep breath to slide through.
Dash stared, examining the way Twilight flexed her stomach, and grabbed the unicorn by her mane and began to tug. “You’re too thick!” She grunted from between her teeth, “We might have to just… Pull!” She growled, making Twilight pause.
“Thick…?” She mumbled, then took a deep breath and wiggled around, slowly sidling herself bit by bit, only to get caught on her back legs.
“Crap, okay, lemme think, maybe we could use water to lube you up?” She offered as Twilight struggled to twist like Dash had to straighten her legs and pull through, but even when she’d matched her movements the bars still caught her flank and legs. “We have got to get you working out…”
“Not… Thick!” Twilight grunted, pulling herself as hard as she could. Rainbow Dash snickered at Twilight’s insistence, then turned. Twilight continued to struggle, stopping only as Dash’s legs struck out underneath her head, kicking one of the bars holding her still.
“Keep moving!” Dash hissed, doing it again as Twilight pulled herself. Slowly it began to work, letting Twilight squeeze out until she popped from her cell. Twilight landed on front with a groan, and looked up to find Dash smiling at her goofily. It was an expression Twilight matched as they’d realized they’d gotten out. It was short-lived as Dash turned her head to face the door. She grabbed its handle and tugged, but it stayed fast. “Locked.” She muttered bitterly.
She turned to see Twilight holding the steel bar they’d knocked loose from the ceiling, carrying it over. “I got a small idea. The lock should be pretty old, so if we line up this bar right and give it enough force we should jar the lock enough to open it up.”
“Or we could bust it and end up permanently locked in here.” Dash pointed out dryly as Twilight inspected the angle.
“No way, I’ve done this a few times before when I forgot my room key.”
“… You’ve broken down doors.”
“Uh huh. Usually with magic and a banister but a sharp kick to the end should get it right.” Using her hooves, she held the bar up straight where Dash could kick it.
“They might not even be the same kind of lock!”
“Well, we can do this now or find something else for later.” Dash opened her mouth to argue, but let it die on that logic. She turned, and angling carefully, gave the bar a nice, hard kick. The bar struck the lock, denting the keyhole and causing the whole thing to rattle. Twilight pulled the door open. “Nothing to it!” She grinned at that, and Dash let out a tiny breath of relief.
“Alright fine, you’re the smart one. C’mon, before they get mad at us for breaking their stuff.”
“And escaping their prison…”
“That too.”
----------
Shallom stood quietly on the cloud, staring at the sight just below. He wondered how many ponies knew this place existed in Equestria, how many even tried to go this far south through forests so dense that the slightest misstep could have you turned around on your hooves, sending you barreling around aimlessly until exhaustion, hunger, and thirst overtook you? The only sign of correct progression is when you walked into the stone wall of a temple whose top didn’t even touch the tree canopies? The only way Shallom even knew was because his legs felt incredibly twitchy above it, and his wings had begun to shiver.
It wasn’t the most perfect of hiding places, but Rukafelth’s report had mentioned it hadn’t been touched in many many years. Shallom descended slowly, through the tree canopies to land on the stone roof of a building he was familiar with in text only. He walked along to the sloped side and leapt to the ground some twenty-five feet below. He turned towards the entrance, which was an arch made of rock with a pair of stone slabs serving as doors. He stared at the doors, and his wings began to twitch and quiver. A spark of blue lightning began to arc along the stone from his wings, between the stone slabs, and they began to glow blue. They shook softly, and slowly separated to create an entrance. He stepped inside, the doors closing behind him as the magical connection ceased.
He walked down a dark, featureless passageway until he entered a brightly lit atrium. There were ten of Rukafelth’s soldiers gathered, eating on woven carpets, until Shallom cleared his throat loudly. They stood immediately and faced Shallom. “Sky Steed!” One called in surprise, bowing low alongside the other nine as they recognized the Pegasus. “What brings you to us so suddenly Sir Shallom?” The same one asked. Probably a captain. Not that he could tell, Rukafelth insisted on one standard outfit, so rank would show through intelligence and strength rather than flashy armor.
“I have information regarding The Fake that Rukafelth should hear. He hasn’t connected to Lord Galio so I needed my own speed to deliver this information quickly. Where is he?” Shallom asked, holding himself proudly before the soldiers. They looked up to him quietly and then back to the throne room.
“He’d be in his quarters, Sir. We’ll go ask him for audience.”
“Do tell him that I’m here.” The many soldiers nodded quietly and three approached the door to their leader’s quarters. One raised a hoof and knocked politely, three times, and waited.
“I’m in my meditation, please allow me several more minutes.” Was the deep response.
“Sir, Sky Steed Shallom is asking for an audience. Should we ask him to-” The door opened rather suddenly, and Shallom watched Rukafelth’s mighty bulk emerge from the comparatively small door to step out into the room. The black-haired Juggernaut watched his winged counter-part, then he smiled.
“This is a pleasant surprise. What brings you Shallom? Care for some grain?” He asked pleasantly, and Shallom relaxed. The guards backed away from the two mighty commanders as they approached and gave the other a formal bow.
“Grain would be welcome, I’ve had a long trip and those Sonic… ‘Rainbooms’ the locals call them are quite strenuous.” Shallom mused while Rukafelth nodded to one of his soldiers, who sped towards the kitchens to retrieve a fresh bowl. “I also have some interesting information regarding the Fake.”
“A Sonic Rainboom…” Rukafelth lead Shallom to the carpeted seat of the throne, and the two sat. “Odd, those. I’ve read they’re exhilarating to see. Odd they can only be performed in Equestria.”
“Do keep in mind that the Princesses have surprised us before with their magic. It would almost be worth exploring it myself, except that it’s all but useless.”
“I’ve actually taken the time to read about it myself. The magic around here is fairly docile, serving more as a helping hand and a grand show over offense. I read it’s the ponies’ duties in Equestria to even manage the seasons and the weather. I’ve never heard of such things elsewhere.”
“Keeps them responsible and busy I suppose… Speaking of responsibilities, my information.” Shallom urged. Rukafelth bowed his head to apologize, and nodded to let Shallom continue, right before a bowl of fresh grain was pushed in front of the Pegasus. “Her name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“I know, I’ve asked her.”
“Right, but how much do you know about her history, where she comes from, what she’s done?”
Rukafelth closed his eyes to think, and Shallom nibbled the grain before him while Rukafelth thought. Finally, his eyes opened. “She told me nothing of her history, just her name.”
“Precisely. My captains decided to look into her past during their free time and found some halfway legitimately threatening information on her.” Shallom stated calmly, studying Rukafelth’s reaction. There was none.
“Shallom, all I saw in her was a scared filly. Warriors, anypony who’s faced danger do not cower so easily or cry so openly. I highly doubt she’s a threat.” Rukafelth mused while Shallom shook his head.
“You‘re correct, she is not a warrior. She is Princess Celestia’s personal student of magic.”
A pause. Then, “We’ve placed magical inhibitors on her. No magic can be done through the horn. She does not have knowledge of the power she took either. She is aware of its existence, but not how to exploit it.”
“Have you ever heard of Nightmare Moon?”
“I did some research on the ancient evils here, the former and current Princess Luna, correct? Twilight said she was stopped immediately and about incident.”
“By Twilight.” Shallom watched as Rukafelth’s face fell, and began to work her jaw in slow circles. “Twilight and friends, I should say. There were five others.”
“… So she activated the Elements of Harmony.” At Shallom’s confused look, Rukafelth explained, “They’re old artifacts, apparently associated with the sixth and final element, Friendship. They’re powerful, powerful enough to defeat an Alicorn. And if I’d read correctly, they still contain each element within them.”
“So she may still have an Element of Harmony inside of her… And we may not even know it.”
The two stood abruptly, but Rukafelth suddenly relaxed, moving to lay down again. Shallom stared at him. “The sixth element can only be activated when present with the five other elements. She’s alone with one filly downstairs. She can’t activate her element, and the magic is useless right now.”
“Fine then. So maybe she can’t activate the element, maybe she doesn’t know how to use the stolen magic, maybe she can’t use her own magic, there is still cause for concern.”
Rukafelth was growing an amused little smile now. “You make her out to be some multi-purpose tool. She can’t use her power at all, what’s left? She’s weak. We feed her just enough to sustain her, and the water around the cell isn’t exactly healthy. She’ll be fine to move to Lord Galio’s encampment after Laputa is opened.”
“She’s intelligent. Resourceful. She’s solved several situations on wits alone. I don’t understand it well enough myself but she can substitute resourcefulness for brawn. She’s probably even considered several ways to get out of her cell, probably save her friend too. For all we know she could be acting on it.”
“And to what end? Guards are stationed inside the atrium at all times, and thanks to our Lord’s blessing they have excellent senses. Not to mention she wouldn’t be able to open the front entrance for that matter. The only other way they could go is the door to Laputa, and if the ancient magics don’t crush her soul before she gets a good look at it she would be unable to open it. Behind every wall is a mountain’s worth of dirt and their cells are positioned against the wall of the ocean.”
Shallom thought to himself about what he was told. Something still irked him. He knew there was something… Maybe he was working himself up over nothing, but she had power dwelling in her that could rival a lesser alicorn, and he figured she had the smarts to get around without the power anyways. He stood up and finally spoke. “Alright, but I would still like to see her myself.” He insisted. He had been curious about her for a while now, he wanted to see, to speak to this mare and learn about her himself.
Rukafelth had joined him on his hooves, but looked uneasy, “It may not be a good idea. Two of my guards have expressed some… Reluctance at her living arrangements after two full minutes of escorting her. I myself felt… Lax around her. She is good at drawing sympathy. The less time you spend in her presence, the easier her passing will be for you.”
Shallom wasn’t listening though, he’d moved to the middle of the atrium and flared his wings in annoyance when Rukafelth didn’t follow. Rukafelth let out a great sigh and lead him towards the cells.
----------
(Several minutes before)
It was just a door. Two stone slabs surrounded by an arch covered in runes in a hallway with no doors. Rainbow Dash was watching down the hallway to make sure nopony had seen them. They were in the clear for now, but she doubted it would stay that way for long. Still, it was just a stone door with an arch.
So why didn’t she want to approach it? She’d just slid into the hallway out of direct view of the atrium but still, when she looked at that simple stone door, she felt uneasy. Twilight was approaching it freely without caution, either ignoring or not feeling the same thing Dash was, and that worried her. She felt like she had to keep Twilight out of more trouble but at the same time they needed to approach the door if they meant to escape. Dash hated that door though.
She took a few steps closer towards it and shivered, feeling an ice cube slide into her tummy as she stared at the door. It took her a few seconds to realize Twilight was hastily calling for her to come forward, yet her hooves almost refused to move. “C’mon Dash, get over here! Quickly!” Twilight whispered.
“… There’s something wrong with this door, Twilight.” Dash whispered back, an oppressive force squeezing her from all sides, making her want to turn and flee, warning her that if she stepped any closer, it would not hold back. How Twilight didn’t notice the thick, aggressive force in the hallway was beyond her, but the Unicorn approached Dash with an uncertain look. “I think… It’s like I feel it… It wants to eat me…” She explained with a soft gulp, staring at the door with broad eyes as she felt it would open up at any time and swallow her.
“That’s ridiculous Dash, it’s just a door. There’s nothing wrong with it, c’mon.” Twilight grabbed ahold of the Pegasus’ mane and began to pull her along, inching her closer to the door, but was stopped. She turned, seeing Dash’s hooves dug into the ground as she stared at the door with a shocked face.
It was coming at her full force now. She had experienced magic-induced levitation only once and had never forgotten the experience, and the feeling of magic always felt so… Wrong. It felt like a tyrant taking ahold of her, shaping her the way it wanted, the way it felt like, taking her where it demanded. She’d humbly told Twilight one day to never ever touch her with a spell unless it meant to save her life, because she never ever wanted to feel like Twilight was that tyrant.
Yet before a cold, unfeeling door made of basic materials and held together by magic, she could feel the tyrant looming around her. She’d entered its domain, and whatever enchanted the door was well aware she was there and was daring her, encouraging her to step closer to be under its control. Before her eyes flashed yawning mouths that glimpsed into an inescapable abyss, mouths that had many tentacled tongues to grab its prey and tug them in, surrounded by razor-sharp teeth that would grind her like a saw blade, and into the cold, black serpentine eyes that hypnotized her into walking in. The pale white, slimy skin it had suddenly encircled her, and she could feel its massive tail tugging her closer and closer to the beast’s maw, which widened to reveal the skeletons of the other creatures it had consumed laying strewn among its teeth, not their bodies consumed but their minds and souls, leaving everything else to rot. Suddenly the great beast lunged, and Dash let out a silent scream as her eyes burst open into a blaze of bright light, to find herself staring into Twilight’s white eyes.
“… You let it take you.” She stated plainly in a familiar voice that made her stomach churn. Twilight scoffed as the orange aura around her pulled away from Dash, sucking away a black orb that had been tucked into her chest where her heart had been. “Even the most foalish of Pegasi would know better. I was under the impression you were a fighter.”
Dash stared at Twilight, whose voice was so calm and full of venom, her face tight with disappointment and bemusement at Dash’s failure, and Dash let out a soft sob. Twilight reared back in surprise and Dash began to cry. “It was scary, okay!? I didn’t know… I’m not used to magic…” She whimpered, her eyes half-lidded, but she could see Twilight twitch in discomfort.
“Well…” Her slightly deeper, sarcastic voice slowly grew lighter as her white eyes faded. “Well maybe you just…” The orange aura stopped, the black ball of Dash’s fear fading with it, and Twilight smiled sympathetically. “Maybe you just need me here with you… C’mon…” Twilight slid her front hooves under Dash’s chest and lifted, helping her stand up. Dash smiled gratefully at Twilight, rubbing away the tears as her fear lessened. She trusted Twilight, and no longer felt so afraid of that door.
“How are we gonna open it?” Dash asked, looking to Twilight. She noticed nothing out of the ordinary, just how she always saw her.
“Well, my magic is out of the question since it’s blocked off… Or I don’t know how to use it.” She mumbled bitterly. That orange aura had given her so much hope during her frustration at Dash’s weakness, but now all she felt was regret for doubting her friend’s integrity.
Her eyes widened and her ears began to Twitch wildly as she felt something nibble her horn. She finally realized that Dash was leaning up, mouth around the rings on Twilight’s horn, and was tugging. Twilight was too embarrassed to say anything until Dash pressed her hooves to her face and began to tug harder. “Ow! Dash! That really-”
“Jus’… One… Momen’!” Dash grunted with each tug and push, until Twilight felt her face had taken just about enough punishment and she pushed Dash off. “Those things are hard as hay to get off. We probably need another Unicorn to get them off.” Dash mumbled angrily as she turned and approached the door. She began to inspect it closely, earlier fears forgotten with Twilight by her side, and she began to paw at it to look for weakness. “This thing is tighter than Rarity’s jewelry box…” She stated in a soft sigh.
“Uh-huh…” Twilight murmured, rubbing her sore face and horn.
“This is no time to beauty up Twilight, help me!” Dash hissed, but her eyes widened in surprise immediately. Twilight watched the way Dash’s face fell from determined, to very suddenly oh so very scared. She turned her head to follow her gaze, and found herself staring at a Luna-sized Pegasus.
The enormous blue Pegasus slowly turned to face them, looking equally surprised, decked out in golden flight armor, with a sky-colored coat and a mane, tail, and wings the color of purest snow. His eyes were piercing gold, and he moved with the fluid grace of a prince. Yet that image shattered when they narrowed with such ferocity, Twilight knew death was on his mind. “YOU!” He shouted, his voice a mighty boom as he reared back and stomped hard on the ground, his wings fanning outwards violently, and the entire building rumbled as a lightning storm was thrown their way.
Twilight watched in terror as the bolts jumped from wall to wall, with no possible way to judge where they would go, or how many there were. They were trapped between a rock and death. Her mind cleared as solid terror replaced all thoughts, and with a scream she forced the bolts back with an orange-colored barrier. It disappeared in an instant as the huge Pegasus flew through it unheeded, his gold eyes glinting with anger. Twilight turned, and tackled the equally stunned Dash towards the door.
In her maddened rush she’d felt no resistance, no pain, no anger, just terror. Fear was rattling her mind and vision and all she knew was she had to escape their certain death, and it was only when a solid something hit the side of her head did she stop.
----------
“NO!” Shallom crashed his hooves into the stone door, flames leaping from his legs and wings, enveloping himself and the entire hallway with a menacingly bright fireball. He stared at the doors with grit teeth and narrowed eyes, and whirled around aggressively as he felt a presence nearby.
Rukafelth stared at the door, his face a mixture of shock, agony, and slight despair. It had opened. In an instant when the unicorn ran, it had opened in a flash of orange, and just as quickly slammed shut. The few unicorns he had working under him had been experimenting day and night with the door, but due to their limited understanding of how it worked had a time limit. All doors associated with Anemone had this enchantment, and they had lost several mighty fine unicorns when they were first experimenting with them.
But on top of that, the girl was out of his hooves. He knew the irony was there that she’d escaped after reassuring Shallom, but he chose to ignore it. He knew Galio would be disappointed in him, and would step up all measures to recapture her. First it had been eight experts in live capture, then it had been himself, and he would have oppressed her, but at least kept her safe. The next step would be either the commander with the grudge, the sadist, or the Lord himself. He had to get her back if he wanted to keep her safe.
He paused and closed his eyes; he shouldn’t think such things like that. Protecting her was a great risk, but at the very least he could treat her fairly. As fair as the situation could call for. He looked to see Shallom still staring at him, in full attack mode, ready to unleash himself on the next threatening thing that crossed him. “I am sorry.”
“Sorry!?” Shallom shouted, tossing his mane back in irritation.
“For doubting you. I’ll gather the Unicorns, you take my riders over sea. They’ll be heading for Laputa.” Rukafelth turned away. He knew Shallom, and he knew the only thing saving himself from being chewed out was the quickly formed plan. As long as he had a mission, his fellow Commander could focus his anger into something useful.
“With any luck she’ll die in Laputa as well.” Shallom snorted as they briskly made their way to the atrium.
“Don’t be so morbid, we do need her after all.” Shallom stayed quiet, but Rukafelth knew he was fuming.
----------
Rainbow Dash really hated to kick from an angle, but she didn’t have a choice in the matter. Twilight picked herself up off the floor, rubbing her smarting cheek with tenderness as her wide, quivering eyes slowly calmed down. Dash shook her mane out of her face. What a rush, one moment certain that death would be coursing through her, the next being shoved into… Wherever they were by the normally calm, meek Twilight. “That was an epic freak-out.” Dash said as she looked back the way they’d come.
She could see those stone doors a long ways off, up a dark, cavernous hallway. Twilight had bull rushed them through the door somehow, and down a steep cave that lead deeper underground. The entire place was lit up by weird white orbs that almost looked pearl-like, and cast the cave in a soft, blue light. That worked for her, better than stumbling around in the dark.
“Sorry…” She looked around slowly, taking in what Dash took in, then looking ahead. They were at one end of a wide cavern, standing on perhaps the one bit of dry land there. Most of the ground past the entrance had a layer of water on top of it, but due to the lighting and the griminess of the water, it was hard to tell just how deep it went. Along the sides of the wall were those orbs of light, that cast just barely enough of the light to keep most of the room lit up. There were some raised parts of the floor that weren’t wet, and a good jump would probably be enough to cross them.
Perhaps most telling was that in the middle of the room, surrounding by a circular platform that wasn’t wet, was a slightly submerged statue. Since the light clung mostly to the sides of the room it was difficult to tell exactly what the twisted, tentacle-like statue was. For some reason though, it was absolutely fascinating. As Twilight leapt from their dry land to the next, she continued to stare at the statue. Dash followed behind her closely.
Dash’s instincts told her to take Twilight around another way, some place that didn’t seem so suspicious or dangerous, to never trust what was behind the oppressive door, but glancing around she knew that wasn’t an option. They could only move forward and hope to emerge safely. Still, that statue in the middle made her chest scream to back away, to leave it alone, to never touch it, never approach it.
She was more cautious than Twilight as the Unicorn quietly stood before the statue. “Whatever this is, it’s old. Really old. It may even be older than Equestria…” She mumbled, leaning forward to get a closer look. Dash jumped in close, her teeth grasping Twilight’s tail and she tugged her back, away from the submerged thing. “Dash, what are you doing!?” Twilight demanded, staring at the other filly incredulously.
“This thing gives me the exact same feeling as the door did. Whatever made this…” Dash whispered, staring at the statue. “I think it wants to eat us. I think it wants to eat everything. In the vision the door gave me I saw a lot of bodies.” The former-Pegasus whispered as she recalled the enormous fishy thing that had so clearly intended to devour her.
“It’s just a spell on the door to give you a pre-rendered hallucination Dash. It’s an old spell only really paranoid Unicorns would use on a secret room or a drawer they wouldn’t want anyone to go through.” Twilight stated, staring at the statue again. She wanted to go see what it was, but it was so hard in the dark.
“That felt way too real and way too cruel to just be a simple hallucination to scare us off! I could feel it trying to eat my soul!” Twilight didn’t look like she believed her, so Dash continued. “And when you went all glowey on me that orange stuff around you pulled something black out of my chest!” Twilight’s stare slipped a little as she thought back to what the aura had taken, and she chewed her lip. “Explain that to me!”
“… I don’t know, okay. It might just be a really good spell. I have no idea what I did, its like everything was moving around on its own. My body, my thoughts, the weird magic…”
“That’s because you let that thing take you over again. It seemed to know exactly what it was doing.” Twilight lowered her eyes, remembering the powerful annoyance she’d felt towards Rainbow Dash for daring to show weakness, for letting herself get taken by a spell she felt so confident she knew. Maybe it did know what it was doing… “Anyways, I don’t like that statue or the door or whatever made both. I don’t want to mess with them.”
There was a rumble above them, and the two stared upwards. Loose gravel fell as the ground shook softly, gradually increasing in viciousness and causing the light around them to waver. It stopped just as suddenly as it had started. Above them, there was a tiny spark of light, and then an orb that had gone out lit up again, just above the statue. Twilight stared at the very odd statue now that she could see it.
It was of an Alicorn she did not recognize, unpainted and non-decorated, staring down at her and Dash with subtle intensity. It was like he was judging them from his skewed stone-throne, and it was almost… Daring them to move forward. Coiled around him in a circle but not obscuring the Alicorn’s sight was an enormous eel like being. Its head and body were clearly eel-like, but it had long, thin arms that reminded her of Spike’s hands, each ending in a four-fingered hand topped with hooked claws, and the body ended in multiple tentacle-like tails. The eel’s face had wide, blank eyes, suggesting minimal intelligence, and its open mouth revealed many lovingly carved sharp teeth, and some ten tiny, thin tongues wriggling out of its open maw. She glanced down at the pedestal holding the two beings, and saw it was in a language she did not understand.
“Well, I got my wish. C’mon Dash.” She started to walk around the statue, but paused when Dash did not follow. She turned her head. “Dash?” She looked to her friend, and saw her staring, stock-still at the statue, her face a mask of terror. Concerned, Twilight walked back towards her and gently bumped her with her side. “Dash?” She whispered.
“That’s it…” Dash whispered, staring up at the enormous eel-like beast. Twilight noticed that before, it seemed like the eel had been staring at her. Now it was staring at Dash. “That’s the thing that was going to eat me…”
“Dash…” Twilight whispered in worry as she looked to the statue. It was still staring at Dash, its little hands curled up into tight balls, every part of it looking ready to lunge, despite being only six feet tall or so. “Dash, snap out of it, it’s a statue.”
“We’re walking into its lair…” Rainbow Dash whispered low, and Twilight’s hair stood on end as her eyes began to roll back into her head. Like before when they’d been at the door, Dash’s eyes showed solid white and red veins as she was pulled viciously into her own mind. It was something she’d only read about, spells powerful enough to force ones consciousness inwards, often leaving the face and eyes blank. She had heard of the consequences, of losing your mind to the magic. All that was left was a blank shell, an empty mind, and a soul roiling in its own prison. “We admit the body of our fallen comrade to the depths-”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted to her, but Dash’s head rolled downwards, and Twilight started to shake her rapidly. She could feel her panic rising. She could feel the thing that controlled her magic pushing up, but she did her very best to calm down and think of what to do.
“-where illustrious Anemone may take them beyond the veil between ours and the underworld, where they may forever watch us in their Earthly wisdom-”
“Dash!” The unicorn shoved Rainbow Dash onto the floor, but the Pegasus lay limp on the ground, whispering loudly, rapidly, with passionate dedication to her words.
“-to advise us from beyond the veil through the whispers of the sea. Glory be to the grand Anathema, whose stare from beyond has rent our enemies asunder, open wide the jaws of hell and consume this offering of heathens we give you in place of the soul of our comrade-”
Twilight stared around in panic as Rainbow Dash continued to whisper, and an idea sprang to mind. It had only a chance of working but she just needed to shock her out of it. She grabbed Dash by her tail and began to drag her to the water’s edge.
“-and forever grant us passage through your waters while dismaying our enemies of the sea. May our passage to the underworld be peaceful. Amen. We admit the body of our fallen comrade-”
Twilight held Rainbow Dash’s head in her hooves, and with a soft apology, forced it under the water. Bubble sprang up rapidly, and she could hear Dash trying to articulate words, and she waited until the bubbles stop. Then Dash’s body jerked, and Twilight pulled her up from the water to let her breath.
Dash sucked in a deep breath of air, her eyes wide and red as she tried to refill her lungs. Twilight watched with worry, holding her friend around the neck as Dash calmed down. She stared at her distorted reflection in the water, and then to Twilight, and gave a very soft whimper. “It was in my head…”
“It’s okay Dash, it’s gone now.” Whatever ‘it’ was concerned Twilight. She’d figured the door had just been a defense, but now the statue? And it was a handsome, well made statue too. Unless the pony who enchanted it to attack people’s minds were truly vain, they wouldn’t waste such a valuable image…
… Speaking of which, why didn’t it attack her? She was just as foreign as Dash, no more special than her either since while she herself was an expert Unicorn, Dash was a professional flier. Unless…
“Anathema…” Dash coughed up some water, and Twilight’s ear perked. She’d mumbled that word while being attacked. “Anathema was in my head… He was going to eat me, and send me beyond… But he saw you… Through my eyes he saw you… He wants us to come to Laputa…”
“No.” Twilight said firmly in response. “Whoever he is, he attacked you twice and obviously isn’t a great guy. We have more important things to worry about than him or Laputa, we have to go warn Celestia-”
“Laputa is deeper in the cavern. It’s the only was to get out of here. It will lead to Anathema.” Dash stood and stared down the cavern towards another door, her face very calm. She was still suffering the aftereffects of the attack on her head. Twilight gently wrapped a leg around Dash’s shoulders, and the rainbow-haired filly turned to meet Twilight’s eyes. They were heavy with concern, and it took Dash a few moments to calm down. “… It’s not like we have any other choice.”
“… I still don’t like it.”
“Well, I don’t like a lot of things and live with them. I told you that horn was going to be dangerous. C’mon, while you still have that thing we should keep going.” Dash continued forward and Twilight sighed quietly. She didn’t know if she was okay or not. She would just have to keep an eye out for her.
The two walked towards the door at the far end, which luckily was just a stone door that needed to be pushed open. The two ponies worked together to get it wide enough for the both of them to walk past and entered a steep, narrow cave. The two walked down it slowly, watching their steps to keep from slipping down the long passageway.
It seemed to stretch on forever, and the only noises around them was the sound of dripping water and their hoof steps. Twilight turned to look at Dash, who still seemed unfazed. “Dash, are you alright?”
“… Fine, why?” The Pegasus answered. Twilight continued to stare with more worry.
“You just had your mind attacked, invaded, turned in on itself by a statue and got told to come meet some guy called Anathema, whom apparently opens the jaws of hell to consume heathens. Yet you haven’t reacted at all since it happened.” Twilight pointed out, stopping. Dash stopped with her and they stared at each other.
“Well… Okay, it was pretty freaky, but we don’t have a choice, right? We have to go this way, and Anathema happens to be along the way.”
“We do have a choice Dash. There’s never just one way, you just have to keep your mind and eyes open. Why do you even care if we meet this Anathema guy?”
Rainbow Dash smirked a little, but it shook. “Well duh, he can help us escape.”
“How do you know that? Did he say it?”
“Well, no, but he saw you and wants us down there. That must mean he wants to help us.”
“Or capture us, like those soldiers back there. What’s going on Dash, why do you want to see this guy?” Twilight tried to look suspicious but it couldn’t push out the worry in her eyes.
Dash’s smile quivered a little, but she kept on walking before Twilight could get a good look. “I saw my little brother with him is all.”
Twilight stared at Dash for a while before springing forward, letting her momentum and the slick floor slide her down to Rainbow Dash. “Your little brother?”
“Um, yeah. His name was Teller Pen, he really liked to tell stories and stuff, had a good imagination for it. He, um…” Dash quickened her walking pace, and Twilight did as well. “He would always go out looking for inspiration for stories, even when he could barely fly. He had an accident though.” She sucked in a deep breath and started to trot faster, and Twilight kept up with grit teeth, barely keeping traction on this slick floor.
She could see Dash ahead of her, head lowered, not up to watch ahead, and she continued to talk, but not to her. “He was always off by himself!” Dash shouted as she ran. “I was supposed to watch him but I was so busy practicing my flying! I was supposed to be teaching him but I was too caught up in my own thing! So he’d run off without me! I should have been watching him but he fell! He didn’t know how to stabilize and-” She stopped suddenly, sliding a good ways before catching herself. Twilight caught herself a little late, but took the effort to get by Dash again. “-and that was it…” Rainbow Dash let her hair hang around her face as she took in deep, pained breaths. “I could have spent that time showing off with the older kids to teach him to fly, to stabilize, but I didn’t. So he fell.”
Twilight watched Dash carefully, a cold feeling in her stomach. She knew Rainbow Dash was an only child but, never knew that it hadn’t started that way. “Dash…” She reached out a hoof, but it was knocked away.
“Don’t tell me it wasn’t my fault! I’d been told to teach him to fly, but I didn’t. He wasn’t a natural like me, I thought everypony could fly as well as I did but… But Teller…” She sucked in a ragged breath. “He couldn’t. Everyone tells me it’s not my fault but I just kept a damned eye out for him… If I taught him how to fly…” She looked up to Twilight, her eyes wet, but no tears sprang forth. She wondered how many ponies knew this story… “Mom and dad told me he wouldn’t want me to ever stop flying, he loved to watch me get better and better, so I got better and better at it for myself and for him. And right now he’s with Anathema, and I’m going to see him again and beg for forgiveness. Okay Twilight? I don’t care if I have to see those images again, as long as I can see Teller.”
“…” Twilight didn’t know what to say. Dash hated to show weakness, and didn’t talk a lot about her childhood, only stories about her time at the Young Flier’s Academy. Maybe this was why. Dash did seem rather helpful when it came to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and despite being a braggart and consistently mocking her for not being athletic, never looked down on a pony younger than herself. Not to mention the big sister instinct she had around Fluttershy, and the constant attempts to get her to improve herself from a shy, small-voiced pony. “Alright. We’ll go see Anathema.”
She didn’t want to point out that the dead didn’t talk, but somehow, after her experience with the week, with Pegasi summoning lightning, ponies bigger than Celestia, and doors and statues that ate minds, she was finding it a little more credible. What concerned her more and more was Dash’s mood as they traveled down the seemingly endless tunnel. She could tell she was on edge, probably regretting telling Twilight what she’d seen, but Twilight felt… Not good, nor comforted, but understanding.
She did want to tell Dash that it probably wasn’t her fault, but the more she thought about it the more she thought about her own situation. She blamed herself for the deaths of those eight Pegasi, and began to think on it more and more… In a way, it was their fault. Not their complete fault but they weren’t blameless. Despite this they’d been forgiven again and again.
Twilight knew she’d never forgive herself for not taking some control during that fight, like Dash would never forgive herself for what happened to her brother. Being able to analyze it in her head, rationalize their feelings and compare them, and see she wasn’t the only one… It made it a little easier to forgive herself for what happened. But Dash… She had to try.
“Dash?” Twilight turned her head to Dash, and Dash turned her head to Twilight. Twilight’s eyes were sympathetic, but she had a tiny smile. Dash had a look of annoyance, as she expected Twilight to start forgiving her for what had happened. But instead… “Tell me about Teller.”
Dash slowed down, her annoyed look becoming confused. “Huh?”
“Tell me about him. All you remember. I want to know about your family.” Dash’s eyes batted rapidly, and Twilight smiled a bit wider. It felt good to watch Dash’s face soften, and hear her start to talk. And talk. And talk.
Teller, like Dash said, liked to make stories. He was lively, and just as active as Dash, always running about, opening his mouth to tell anyone about his day in live-action detail with maybe some exaggeration thrown in, following Dash wherever she went to watch her fly and show off. It seemed to put Dash at ease to speak so freely, and the longer she spoke the more detail she put in. Dash seemed to even laugh a little at her own story when it got funny, and the smiles came easily.
“Do you talk about him often with anypony?” Twilight asked as the long path finally began to level out slowly.
“No. I don’t like to. The memories hurt a lot. Sometimes when I’m up on my cloud, I try to think to him, y’know? Wherever he’s gone I tell him about the day. I keep imagining him reacting and making it bigger and better, making Fluttershy transform into a huge dragon to fight off the other before it could devour us, or how I fell so fast during the Sonic Rainboom that I went through the ground and came out the other side. But I never told anypony, not even Fluttershy. It figures it’s the smart one that would make me talk.” Dash smirked a little, and Twilight matched it. She then took a deep breath, and sighed out loud. “But any chance to see him again, to tell the stories for real, and to apologize… I’m gonna take it. I’ll look into the mouth of hell if I gotta, and just to keep giving him stories. I’ll fight back out of it when I’m through. I’m his big sister, I gotta be strong and amazing for him.” Twilight nodded at that simple fact.
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea, but it means a lot to you, so let’s go see what we can find. Oh, and if he’s as good a storyteller as you say he is…” Dash looked to Twilight expectantly as the ground finally became flat, and they walked towards a light. “Put in a good word for me? Please?”
The two shared a small laugh as they entered a chamber. Other than the floor, it was perfectly cylindrical, and in the middle was an old carved column with stone serpents wrapping around it, their heads meeting at the top, mouths open to hold a brightly glowing orb of light. The two approached it with small amazement as it shown on them, and they looked around slowly.
“I don’t see an exit.” Dash frowned, and Twilight continued to stare at the orb. “Is this some sort of puzzle we need magic for again? Glow orange and be rewarded or something? Who even built this place?” Dash mumbled. “Some old kooks who feel like placing weird traps on doors? Big circular rooms to confuse us? Did we miss a path?” She turned to Twilight. “Hey, Sparkle, what’s with the eyes?” She took a step back.
Twilight’s eyes were glowing white, reflecting the color and the intensity of the orb sitting on the pedestal. Dash watched closely, waiting for that bitter, nippy side to come out, but Twilight continued to just stare. “Hey, Twilight… Um, it’s cool but we need to go.” She shook the unicorn, who did not respond. “Twilight? You aren’t falling for the trap I did, did you? You can’t just let this take us-”
“TAKE US.” Twilight repeated loudly, and Dash’s eyes widened as a stone slab carved to match it’s curved surroundings slid over the entrance of the tunnel they’d just left, and above them, in the middle of the ceiling, a hole appeared, and began to widen.
“Twilight?” Dash asked meekly, as Twilight blinked her eyes slowly, the brightness leaving them. Then, from the newly opened hole, sea-water began to pour in, coating the orb in a waterfall as it began to rapidly fill up the room, the hole in the ceiling widening still. “Twilight!” Dash shouted this time, leaping away from the pouring water with the Unicorn as the water filled up to their knees, then their stomachs, and then their necks.
The two of them took deep breaths of air and began to swim in panic as the water continued to fill, but the waterfall was growing as did the hole above them, letting in more and more water until the entire ceiling opened, the force of the water pushing them away from each other into opposite ends of the room. The two took a last gasp of air before they were completely submerged, floating around helplessly in the water-filled cavern. They stared at each other with wide eyes, until the glowing orb blinded them with a sudden burst of light.
Rainbow Dash sucked in a deep breath, staring at Twilight, still floating across from her but not in water. It took her a moment to realize they were in the middle of an enormous bubble. “This… This can’t be for real.” She mumbled loudly.
“I think it would like to argue that with you…” Twilight stared at the glowing sphere as it lifted off its pedestal, the two ponies still hovering just around it. Twilight stared up at the hole where the water had filled the cave, and saw nothing but darkness. That did not deter the orb any as it, inside of its enormous bubble, began to steal Twilight and Rainbow Dash away, up into the darkness.