//------------------------------//
// The Cavern Behind The Falls 
// Story: Origins of Equestria 
// by LZRD WZRD 
//------------------------------//

	Luna lay panting on her side. “I did it,” she gasped.
Celestia was sprawled out on the floor, She turned her head to Luna and smiled. “Yes, you did! Thank you-”
“Did you see me teleport?” Luna asked ecstatically. She sprung up and stood on her hind hooves. “I was like, ‘I’m not afraid of heights!’ Then I just jumped off the cliff and then, boom! I proved that I could teleport if my life depended on it!”
“Not just yours, but mine too,” Celestia reminded her. “You saved my life.”
“Oh yeah,” Luna said, grinning. “That too.”
She turned and looked around the cave. On one side was the roaring falls they had come through. On the other was a tunnel that extended far beyond the reach of light.
“This cave is huge,” Celestia said. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it when I was hanging over the cliff.”
“It’s very secluded,” Luna said. “You have to stand from the point I was at to see it. Even then, I thought it was just a ledge.”
Celestia stood there, pondering the walls of the cave. These seem unnaturally smooth for a cave, she thought.
“Hey,” Luna budged her. “You want to check it out?”
“Are you crazy Luna?” Celestia asked. “We just almost got ourselves killed and the first thing you want to do is explore a dark cave we’ve never seen before?”
“Come on, it’ll  be fun,” Luna said, walking ahead. “Don’t tell me you’re a scaredy-pony.”
Scaredy-pony! I’m the one who just ventured into the dark part of the forest all by herself trying to get food! Speaking of that...
Celestia’s stomach growled. “You know Luna, we really should get some food. Remember, that was the whole point of me going out earlier? You must be hungry after doing that teleportation spell.”
Luna continued walking. “Yeah, but maybe we’ll find some food here.”
“The only food in here is us!” Celestia insisted.
“And the only way out that we know of is to teleport back up to the cliff,” Luna said, pausing. “And I doubt those timberwolves are very far away. It wouldn’t be wise to leave yet.”
She has a point, Celestia thought. Looking at the smooth-cut walls again, she couldn’t help but feel intrigued about what lay ahead in the shadows. 
“Okay, fine,” Celestia conceded. She trotted up to Luna and illuminated her horn. “But we can’t stay too long,” she insisted. “We still need to get food and we don’t want to get lost in here.”
Luna nodded her head in agreement. “You lead the way.”

Light from Celestia’s horn shone upon the cave walls as the two sisters marched along the tunnel. Celestia slowed down as she noticed a series of strange words carved onto it. 
“Hey, what gives?” Luna stopped. “I can’t see ahead.”
Celestia plodded over to the wall and examined them closely. The carvings appeared to be gibberish; the words had no meaning to her. The letters were also strange, although some resembled ones in their language. The carvings themselves were not etched very deep, but they were long and jagged. 
“What do you suppose this is?” Luna asked.
Celestia shook her head. “I don’t know what to make of these,” she confessed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were the deranged scribblings of a mad mare.” She then gestured towards the edges. “But these edges are so sharp and the letters, strange as they are, appear to be made with precision. I don’t know if that means anything, but I can’t help but think that whoever wrote this had a purpose.” She shone her light along the wall down the tunnel. The carvings seemed to have a pattern to them. The same sequence of symbols appeared all along the wall at different heights.
“It’s like they’re trying to tell us something,” Luna remarked. “It’s the same phrase over and over. They want to make sure you see it. It must be really important, like a name perhaps?”
Celestia narrowed her eyes. “Or a warning.”
They pressed on and Celestia noticed that the carvings appeared less and less as they moved deeper into the tunnel. The carvings and whatever meaning they had faded away just as the daylight behind them had. The tunnel curved slightly and Celestia felt the temperature drop as they rounded the corner.
“Maybe we should turn back,” she proposed to Luna. “We’ve been walking for awhile and there doesn’t seem to be anything more here.” Part of what she said was wishful thinking. Based on what she had seen, Celestia had no desire to uncover any secrets hidden within the cave.
“Just a little further,” Luna insisted. “There’s something in here, I’m sure of it.”
Celestia frowned. “I don’t know about that. It seems pretty barren.”
“You know as well as I that this cave was not made by any mere work of nature,” Luna said. “Only another intelligent creature could have cut such a precise tunnel in this stone. And I have a hunch whoever it was did so for a reason.”
“What makes you so inclined to finding out what that reason is?” Celestia prodded.
“Oh, come on Celestia! We’ve never seen anything like this before! For all we know, we’re the first ponies to ever come inside here. Unless a pony made those carving back there. All the same, you must be curious to see what lies ahead.”
Against her better judgement, Celestia realized that Luna was right. There’s something about this place. Something unlike anything we’ve ever seen up in the world above. I can’t help but feel an urge to understand it.
As suddenly as those thoughts had materialized she smashed into the wall. Luna let out sigh of despondency,
“A dead end!” she cried. She smashed her hooves against the wall in discontent. Celestia came to the realization that never before in her life had Luna been exposed to such an enthralling mystery. It seemed it was the cruel nature of their world to end it in such manner.
Luna fought back a tear as she dragged her hoof down the wall. I really thought we were onto something, she lamented. Suddenly, she felt all of her repressed vexations about their world build up in a fit of rage. She felt her magic manifest inside her horn and with scream of indignation, blasted a beam of energy at the wall.
Celestia gasped. Luna was shocked to see her magic swirling around in tight circle, slowly edging towards the wall. Looking closely, she saw it was heading into a small groove. Above it was a small symbol that resembled a unicorn horn. They stepped back as Luna’s magic fit into the groove, causing the wall to glow an azure blue. The wall slowly shifted apart, revealing a small corridor.
Was my magic a key? Luna thought.
Celestia gaped in disbelief. Luna had been right. There is something in this place. Something that only unicorns are meant to find.
As they stepped into the corridor, Luna’s magic beam broke away from the receding wall and shifted into twin grooves on the walls. They were bathed in the same blue light as it spread down the corridor. Celestia and Luna looked around and gasped as they saw that the walls were lined with masterfully crafted symbols and drawings. The ceiling was made in a perfect arch only a few feet above their heads. Even the ground was decorated in an elaborate series of grooves. 
We found something alright, Celestia thought, watching Luna as she gazed in awe at the elaborate passage. What is this place?