Chapter 13: Ancient Magic
The ponies finally found a small clearing, and spent the night there. Nopony rested easily, despite Tyro's idea of posting a watch. Morning came, and with it the sun. Anywhere the sun's light could reach, it was said, Princess Celestia could watch over those in need. This was litle consolation, however, as the trees quickly blocked out the sunlight once the company left the clearing. Spike brought up the rear today, stopping for a moment to send off his report to the princesses.
As the ponies went on, they fell silent as the gloom closed in around them. Wisps of thin fog floated here and there in the still air, and the forest itself was silent. Fluttershy knew there must be some animals living there, but she saw no traces. These animals were careful to remain undetected, to avoid the notice of the creatures said to stalk the heart of the Everfree Forest.
This was not the Everfree Forest she knew. It was the forest Princess Celestia had warned them about, where dark and dangerous powers lay chained beneath the earth.
She was not alone in her nervousness, however. Even Rainbow Dash, for all her bravado, was afraid. She could see the her own fear reflected in the eyes of her friends as the walked onward through the dim light.
Finally, Tyro stopped. Looking oddly at him, Twilight asked what was the matter. "Twilight, we've come as close as this path can take us." He pointed with a hoof. "That is where the power resides that calls to me."
Rarity shivered, but stood firm. "We will follow you, then. But I hope wherever you're going has a nice, warm bath..."
Applejack rolled her eyes at Rarity, following Tyro as he stepped off the path. "Come on. Let's not stay here any longer than we have to."
They walked on. Hooves became sore, and hopes were falling when Tyro stopped again. Looking at the small clearing before him, he turned to his companions. "You may rest easier now, I think. We have arrived."
The clearing sat at the bottom of a tall cliff. A few stones lay here and there, from some ancient ruin. "Odd that there would be so little remaining of the stucture," Twilight mused.
"Everypony! I know where we are," cried out Rainbow Dash. "These stones are from a ruin at the top of the cliff!"
Tyro looked at him, not understanding.
"We're standing at the bottom of the cliff today, but we once stood at the top, to face Nightmare Moon. This is the Palace of the Sisters!"
Nopony had a response to that. After a minute passed, Tyro broke the silence. "We still need to find what we came here for. It's very close now. Look for anything suspicious. It would probably be best to keep the elements with us." Guided by a reddish light, five neclaces fit around five throats, and Twilight's tiara settled onto her head.
The ponies searched for some time, until Rarity called out. "Hey, I found a door hidden in this crack here. It won't open, though!" Twilight cantered over, summoning her magic. A small explosion later, the stone had been blackened, but the door was untouched. Tyro walked over, and was about to try it himself, when the door swung open on its own, as though welcoming him. He shivered. "Weird. And kinda creepy. But what I'm here for is in that chamber." With that, he walked inside, his horn glowing to provide light. "Twilight, you have to see this! They're the same symbols as in the book!"
Twilight ran to the door, but found herself unable to enter. "Tyro, it looks like you're the only one the chamber will let inside. But you have Spike's book, don't you?"
There was silence from within the chamber for a time, then an exclamation. "I've got it! It wasn't a regular book, Twilight, it was a guide to reading the runes here! If you give me a minute, I can tell you what they say. The sound of pages turning emerged from the darkness, then Tyro began to speak. "Okay, so there are symbols carved into the stone on every surface I can see. Some are those runes from before, but there're also these lines, like from when you cast the spell that brought us here. Except these look a lot more complicated and they cover the walls and ceiling and stuff too. Anyway, here's what it says...
"'The traveller will come, and bring harmony.' That's the same symbol it uses when it refers to the Elements of Harmony, though. Hmm. Anyway, next one. 'With chaos he will come, but with balance the traveller will leave.'
Okaaay. I don't think these riddles are going to get us anywhere. I'm going to look around some more." There was silence from within again. "Hey, Twilight, when you used that spell to take us here, how did those circles work?"
Twilight blinked. "Uh, they absorbed the magical charge from my horn, and spread it through the spell I drew on the ground."
"So you pretty much just stood in the middle of your circle and used your horn to activate the spell?"
"Uh, yes, but why?"
"Hang on a second, I'm going to try something."
"Wait, Tyro, what are you doing? Are you—" She saw a reddish glow in the darkness. It shot to the floor, then travelled outwards along what must have been the lines carved in the rock. There was a flash of blood red light, then a wave of dark mist spread from the door of the chamber, quickly surrounding her before she could even react. Everything she saw was bathed in darkness, except for the Elements of Harmony, which now glowed with a sickly, greenish aura.
Another light appeared, the red of Tyro's magic. He was suspended in the air, standing upright, magic flowing around him. His eyes glowed, but they were black. A wave of dark energy slammed into her, and she lost consciousness.