//------------------------------// // Chapter LXI // Story: Journey to the center of Equestria // by Rarity Belle //------------------------------// With the knowledge of Nightmare Moon having some kind of involvement in the deaths of the settlement, Twilight Sparkle was at the verge of another mental collapse. Even though she didn’t show it to anypony, even though she tried to hide it even from herself, it still lingered deep within her mind. It was haunting her, hunting her even to degrees both unknown and unspeakable. The ghosts that had surrounded them all faded from existence with the exception of the bright white one and perhaps two dozen more. It was a massive relief that the things would have finally left the mares for what they were. But they were still on their guard. While it was true that Twilight’s heart spoke the words already said, the ghosts were having a difficult time to identify just what laid in the hearts of the other mares. The soothsayer shook her head a couple of times before she spoke up her words against the ghost. “It pains me to say, but there simply isn’t anything that I can do in order to help you. I want to, I really, really do. But there’s just, nothing inside of my own arsenal that could possibly be breaking the curse laid upon you,” she spoke to them with a tone that was filled with perhaps the deepest regret she had ever felt in her life. But the ghost itself just shook its head. It almost seemed as if it was glad that Twilight spoke her words in the way she did. The very fact that she wanted to help them out of their dire situation was a thing that was enough to be appreciated. “Don’t hit yourself in the head with it, living one, we've been here longer then time has been running. Or so it seems, this is all we have known for an eternity and shall we know. Your visit will soon be forgotten as we all return to our slumbers. The curse that Moon had placed upon us, was one that prevented anything from moving further,” the ghost returned to her. It hoped that it would calm the strain of the mare’s mind. Those words alone caused some eyebrows to have raised by the anthronies. Something just didn’t felt too right in the eyes of Applejack as she constantly began to shift between the ghosts that were still surrounding them. “Ah didn’t like those words, explain yarself, now.” Her demanding tone was one that caused a couple of ghosts to growl towards her in a sinister tone. But all of them just got a growl in return from the admiral. She appeared to be though against the undead spirits but deep inside of her heart was she just as scared as a foal. All of them were actually scared to death for the spirits. Once again were they facing something that they had never expected to have happened within their lives. The bright ghost nodded in an understanding manner before the moans and groans of its brethren were released. But those were all nullified by one giant moan that came from the talking ghost. Almost as if that one was the only one who held the most intelligence through the years. “Our curse, was to be an undead army and storm the center of your land all that time ago. We would have succeeded, if it wasn’t for the fangs… A terrible things lays beneath, far worse than any of you can imagine,” it spoke to all of them. “That still ain’t explaining anything. Are ya gonna stop us if we would try to continue forward?!” Applejack exclaimed towards the ghost. She finally focused her attention upon the talking ghost. Who made an unusual gesture towards the admiral in return. Silence was the sound that took over for just a little bit of time. A silence that was eerie and calming at the same time. Eerie because of the ghosts, calming because it gave the mares the time to actually think about their next cause of action. “Applejack, please be quiet for a change will you? I know you will do everything to protect me, but this matter is a little bit more sensitive and can’t be solved with sailor talk or action. Am I understood?” Twilight hissed through her teeth towards the admiral. The earth anthrony nodded with her head before she made a return to her spot and continued to keep an eye or two out for trouble. The soothsayer focused herself again upon the ghost as she repeated the question asked previously. “If we would dare to pass the other side of the settlement, down to the deeper regions of the land, would you come after us and do what you have been told to do?” The ghost just released a gentle moan through its undead body before it calmly shook its head. It was something that caused a massive relief within the mind of Twilight Sparkle, but the troubles were far from over. That much she knew as well, for there was always something else hidden among the trees of the forest. Something ready to jump at any given time. “We shall let you go, even if it means we defy the orders of Moon herself. Each of you know a great deal of pain that is both physical and emotional. No, having us block you in the way of your quest would only be another smash of a sledgehammer in your moral confidence. However,” the ghost spoke just before it pointed a finger over to the far side of the settlement, the very way that they needed to be going. “However, what? You will chase us?” Twilight replied to the ghost. She had to know exactly what was going to be happening with them once they had left the settlement. “You don’t turn us into ghosts yourself when we’re asleep, right?” The ghost itself had to chuckle a little bit to itself as it found her humor interesting. It had been a long time since it had laughed like that, that much could have been told straight away. “No, if you somehow manage to pass away beyond the gateway, know that there’s always room for more ghosts in this place. We would welcome you all with open arms, but you wouldn’t be bound by the curse, meaning you could just roam around and return, to the surface.” The ghost then looked up to the ceiling of the room just before a deep exhale was being released. The surface, how long had it been since the mares had made their departure down into the deadly abyss of rocks and stone? None of them could tell, none of them could even tell how the rising sun and moon looked anymore. It was something that they took so for granted, yet there was a world that didn’t even knew it all existed. The mares looked up to the ceiling as well for a couple seconds. Twilight then lowered her head once more to face the spirit. They were on the turf of the ghosts, they were both the lord and masters of the place. If they wanted to pass through it, there was only one thing that could have been done to grant them access to the tunnels at the other side of the settlement. And that was to ask. Just ask for permission to leave and venture onward. “Wise spirit of the settlement we have entered, we would like to ask you to grant us permission to cross beyond your realm. To venture even deeper into the caverns and find what we’ve set out to find so long ago.” Twilight’s tone was respectful, humble and begging for the permission she wanted. The ghost fell into a deep silence while it thought about the sheer amount of possibilities that it had. But hundreds of years without having seen a living thing had taken a toll upon it, it didn’t knew what it wanted in return. It had already gotten the respect from the unicorn that it wanted. Not to mention the fact that she was in fact asking them permission to continue forward. “The reasons of why you happen to be here are your own, whatever quest you have been sent out on to is also something only you can worry about. Dead men tell no tales, as they said. The permission for you six to continue shall be…” Once again did the ghost fell into a great silence as it almost seemed it was still in doubt about what it needed to be doing. At one end could it just have ended the whole quest right there. On the other could it allow them permission and thus hopefully resolve the matter that was going on through the whole of Equestria.  When it opened its eyes once more were they aimed straight towards Twilight herself. The eyes didn’t just look at her violet rims, but also right into her soul. Everything that had ever been done by the mare was weighed against the odds of the decision that would be given to them. The unicorn could only have stood her ground and hoped for the best thing to come. “Granted.” That was the one word that the whole of the group was actually hoping for to hear. Even though they perhaps never would have been able to understand just why the permission was given to them. But they wouldn’t have been the ones that would have been complaining about the facts as they were. The six members of the company all made a bow before the spirit. Only for it to continue its words in the haunting tone. “She carries a great will inside of her soul, a bright light to help every last being. Your desires to help us are strong within you, however…I’m afraid that you can’t be helping us. The power of the devil is strong, stronger than you can ever become. One can call it luck you have never encountered her. For you’re close to matching her, but lack the know-how of the dark arts.“ That almost felt like a massive hit right in the face of Twilight. Once again was she confronted with the fact that she lacked the knowledge of the dark magic that fueled the devil herself. But the ghost was also right, Twilight did wanted to help all of them with their problems. She wanted them to finally be free from their torment and live a much more comfortable life in the afterlife that she believed in. Wishful thinking it may have been, in the eyes of the others. The company rose up from the bow they had made and Twilight’s purple rims stared into those of the ghost. “I’m so, so sorry of what happened to you. First being burned to death before being locked here for all eternity. I don’t know, how it all came to be and…I lack the knowledge and resources to make it undone. I’m sorry but, I just can’t help you.” “Woe not for the dead, living one. Woe for those still alive. For they shall never know the freedom that death can give one. Woe for those who never found their true selves in the time spent living. In our time here, we realized who we were, before slowly forgetting it. This, is all that we know. This, is all that we love. This, is our slice of heaven.” The tone of the ghost was calm and peaceful. It almost made it seem as if it really didn’t wanted to be dragged out of the place and be send someplace else. A little fact that Twilight could have understood, if she wasn’t blinded too much by her own emotions. It took Rainbow Dash to get a hold of Twilight’s arm. She then shook her lightly to get the mare out of her dreams and back in the real world. “W-What? S-Sorry, my thoughts slipped off. But yes, I can see your points. You wish to remain here and fulfill your duties as they were placed upon you by Nightmare Moon. There isn’t anything that can be bargained with. So this, is going to be our farewell,” she said to the ghost with a weak smile. “…Finally,” the pirate captain whispered to herself. The place was getting on her hooves as she just wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. The sheer amount of shudders she had gotten from the place and not to forget the cold breath always traveling down her neck were far from pleasant to say the least. A thought which was shared by the rest of them. Safe passage was granted by the spirit of the settlement. If they would have died along the way would they have been welcome in the place to stay and call it home. But they didn’t had any intention to make the latter one becoming a reality. They wanted to succeed and return to the surface. Even if the thoughts and rays of hope were just so small of actually getting it done. The company of mares walked in calm away from the group of ghosts and moved into the direction where the border was. The very place that would have been sending the lot of them over to their literal final stretch of the journey. Or so they hoped at least. The ghosts returned to their eternal resting place one by one, all but the talking spirit vanished from the plane of existence. It kept on watching as the company walked away. Only after they were near the archway would the last whispers have been spoken by it. “Beware the fangs, beware for what lays beneath… Never, lose your guard.” Perhaps they were words of comfort, perhaps they were a major warning. Though sadly enough for the ghost did the group of mares knew those very words for a very long time already. In the end did even the talking spirit just vanish from existence. The settlement had turned once more into nothing but a ghost town with the magma acting as its light source. It still looked as creepy as ever when it came down to it and none of the company’s members were having any actual intention of looking back at it. They only had one goal in their minds and that was to just move forward. The time to finish the job had gently fallen upon them all. Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Applejack just didn’t look back at the settlement. They were happy to have finally left it for what it was. Yet Twilight herself seemed to have had a couple of issues with it all. She didn’t had the knowledge to save them from their prison, but perhaps there was something in her arsenal that could have helped them to ease their suffering just a little bit. It was a massive gamble and the unicorn knew that. They were the undead but rebellious servants of the devil herself. Which meant that the chance of things having gone wrong was still very much present there and then. Yet the unicorn became determined to execute the thing that she had wanted to be doing. She allowed the rest of the mares to take the lead from her and thus she formed the rear guard once more. Twilight charged her horn. With the staff held in one hand and the other free, it was time there to execute her plan. All of the other mares stopped in their tracks and turned around for something. The unusual light among the orange glow of magma had gotten their attention. Even though some wanted to just shout to Twilight about what she was doing, none actually did it. Whatever she intended to be doing, they would be having a massive respect for the unicorn. The free hand was brought up in front of the mare her face and had coated itself within the raspberry aura. Nopony know what would come, they only hoped it wouldn’t have angered the ghosts to degrees that they would have come after them and possibly end their lives. But the thing that Twilight did was something that none of them could possibly have been expecting. For with her hand he drew the symbols of both the sun and moon goddess before they were sent over to the square of the settlement. There they would have been just placed down upon the ground like burn marks before the mare discharged her magic for a little bit. She then turned around and looked at the group of mares and realized they needed a new set of torches. With the magma flowing in the way it did, she didn’t saw any harm in actually having the torches lit up. Out of the ground they appeared and were given to the anthronies. Even Pinkie received one and then did the magic of the unicorn finally discharged itself completely. In silence did the group of mares leave the settlement and made the decision to venture even deeper into the ground. They could feel it all deep inside of them. The very fact that they were actually just that close to their goal. The goal that seemed to have been utterly impossible. The symbols were lit up for just a moment or two before they faded away and shifted into a burned mark like state. The magic of the goddesses was doing its work pretty quick. It would have been rooting the dark magic of Moon out and hopefully make the settlement a little bit more free from the devilish grasp. But the devil herself, the one who was locked deep inside of the inner circle of Tartarus itself, was having other plans. Her head was moving through the always foggy area that was created by the dark clouds that came from her nostrils. Though without a warning did she felt an aching pain in her heart. Or better said: the black hole that had taken the place of her heart. Something was wrong and the devil knew that. It had been a terrible long time since any being actually had been able to wound her in the way that was being done. Nightmare Moon had closed her eyes for just a moment as she groaned in pain. The aching pain in her heart made her even reach out for it. “What has that little thing done?!” she groaned to herself while the magic began to travel through the fog. “Their influence, may never reach that place. No, it has to serve as a clear reminder that I am also still in this game.” The haunting tone of the voice and the sheer determination within had all contributed to the massive amounts of dedication that the devil would been having for everything. The hunt was on for the group of mares via the eyes of the ghosts. “I knew that place would have been giving me more trouble then that I needed. Grraw, my mark shall reign and my mark only!” The devil then shot a massive ray of dark purple magic through her domain, after which she dropped herself back on the throne. A throne which was made out of bones from creatures long gone. The top however, was finished off with a skull that could only have been from a dragon. But the body of Nightmare Moon was never revealed in any physical form. Only that haunting set of eyes were truly given off through the fog. Everything else remained hidden right within it. There where the goddesses of the sun and the moon were only appearing to those in need as a whisper, the devil had actually a bit more of a physical form. Perhaps it was better that it was left unknown to the things that laid within that very fog. Back in the settlement it then appeared. It emerged out of the ground like a purplish hellfire. It managed to simply burn away both the symbols of the sun and the moon and replaced it with the symbol that was her own. She wouldn’t have wanted any intervention from anypony else in her little settlement. Punishment for letting the mares escape would have been there eventually. But compared to what had been done already, Nightmare Moon couldn’t be doing much anymore. She had locked the ghosts up in that place and that was in fact the worst thing she had possibly been able to do against them. The ghosts only hoped that she wouldn’t have gone after Twilight Sparkle and her company. Speaking of the company, they were wandering through the caverns once more. But the thoughts always kept on chewing against Twilight. She just didn’t seemed to have found any kind of comfort when she placed the symbols on the ground. “Hey Twi, why did ya even place ‘em on the ground, if Ah may ask?” the admiral asked in a genuine curious tone. The others weren’t really that interested in hearing what would come next, but they knew all that they would just pick it up anyway. “I did that, because I hoped that the goddesses would have been able to pick it up and thus make the settlement a little bit more habitable for them. That the grasp of Moon would have been loosened up for just a bit so they can just wander whenever they wanted,” replied Twilight in a sad tone. She still felt genuinely sorry for the spirits trapped inside of that place. Though she had no idea of what happened or even if her plan would have happened at all. They were so far underground that even Twilight’s connection to the goddesses became fainter with almost every passing moment. They were deep in the grounds of Equestria, far deeper than they ever should have been. “Ah see, ya tried to redeem them all a little bit? Honorable indeed, but whether it works…” “Remains to be seen,” added Twilight before a deep exhale was being released from her nostrils. Applejack could only have nodded to that before the silence returned to the two of them. ~~~~ Further and further they walked away from the settlement as the thoughts of smooth sailing finally dared to have made its way into their minds once more. After all, how far could it have been if the ghosts had seen the place? That thought was motivating for all of them as the pace was kept high. The light of the torches shone both bright and proud into the cavern while they always listened for sounds that weren’t supposed to be there. They didn’t want to be fooled twice by the same trick twice. They knew that spiders could have been surviving in pretty much every situation, so why wouldn’t there have been a couple in that part of the underground caverns? Though the spiders were among the things that they didn’t wanted to encounter at all. Their arachnophobia would have made certain of that little fact and with the encounters still fresh in their minds, it was less than ideal to say the least. While they walked further down, it was Twilight who had dared to taken the lead again. Though Fluttershy also had moved herself up front and joined Twilight in the lead. She didn’t say it straight away, but there was a little matter that was boiling up in her mind. One that had been there ever since they had been going past the statue of the princess of Equestria, the alicorn Celestia. Twilight and Fluttershy travelled in silence and the soothsayer could clearly see that the doctor was sitting with something. Yet the words just wouldn’t have been able to be left through her mouth on her own. Fluttershy wanted to speak the words just so much and they were even laying at the tip of her tongue. But in the end was it Twilight who had to open the conversation with her. It wasn’t a thing that she minded all too much. She knew the personality of the doctor and therefore knew that she was both timed and shy. She wouldn’t have been the kind of anthrony who just opened her mouth and said what was on her mind. Hence the reason of why she was heard from so little during the whole of the trip. “What’s on your mind Fluttershy? Obviously you are sitting with something. Perhaps you would like to share that thought you’re having with me?” the soothsayer spoke while she gave the doctor a genuine, small, well-meant smile. Fluttershy on the other end released a little eep. She wasn’t expecting Twilight to actually react to her. Then again, she was walking all the way up front with the leader of the company. That had never happened before and most likely wouldn’t be happening anytime soon again either. The doctor nodded calmly to herself before she would speak the matter that was troubling her mind. “W-Well, ever since, ever since we went past that statue, I’ve been thinking about it. That book, is actually the truth of our entire, species,” managed Fluttershy to stumble out. The words had gotten the attention of the soothsayer almost straight away. Twilight would have lied if she said that she wasn’t  curious as to where the pegasus would be taking them. “What are you going to say, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked in return. She became only more curious with every second of silence. “What has your mind been thinking about all these past days?” “It, if it’s, if the book is true and we know it, how do we bring that news to the land? I mean, they have the right to know it, right? But we can’t just barge in and tell thousands of years of religion have been flushed down, the drain basically.” Fluttershy explained and stuttered up. But she was having a massive point. The book that was being seen as highly controversial by almost everypony in the land happened to be the truth. And not only that, the six them of them had all the evidence right in their hands. How they would have brought it over to the rest of the world was something that remained to be questioned for a long time to come. Twilight allowed a deep exhale to be released through her nostrils before she looked over to Fluttershy. A thing which caused her to lose all sense of direction in front of her. All that mattered to her mind in the moment was the fact of how they would have been able to bring the news to the land. Yet only one way seemed to have been the way that wouldn’t lead to too much trouble. “I think it’s best if we keep it to ourselves. I mean, we don’t have any drawings of it and it lays too deep for public visiting or excavation,” she commented on the matter. The unicorn shook her head from side to side before her eyes were closed for a little bit. “No, if we bring this news to the land, we would shatter the believes of so many beings who had been growing old with them. I say, it is best that we keep all of this to ourselves. We know that it is true and if we are subtle enough, we might be able to spread it.” The doctor released a little nod in response to the words of the soothsayer as she seemed to have been content with them. They seemed to have been pleasing her enough to lay the matter to rest. Though as one matter was being resolved, another one was standing ready for them. For both the doctor and the soothsayer were the first two to walk through the curve that laid ahead. “Wow,” did the both of them say in choir as their eyes were stuck on something they had never expected to see. Once again were they gob smacked with something that seemed both impossible and that they had never expected. From the looks of it, the miracles still weren’t out of the land yet. They just looked for them in the wrong places. For they came once again in a giant stone chamber. One with a giant hole in the middle of it and one that went through the ceiling as well. The eyes of Twilight quickly managed to have picked up a staircase which meant they could at least walk down, again. A grumble was being released from her mouth though. She wasn’t in the mood at all to once again walk down a series of stairs. Yet the most impressive feature of the room was still something that needed to be seen. More members of the company entered the room until they were all just there. With their hooves moving forwards gently did the group of mares walk over to the edge of the cliff and dared to look down into it. Their eyes were met by a chasm that seemed to have been running for an eternity without an end. Yet there was also something that said to each of them that that chasm could have been the last one they needed to have gone through. That they were just that close of finally being on their destination. The group made a couple of steps back when they realized something they should have realized before. The chasm was actually lit by something they never held possible. They even felt it upon their skins before the icy shards kicked back in weakly. There was a massive column of light that was sent down from the ceiling, all the way down into the chasm. The light eventually gave way to the darkness that laid beneath it, but the sight alone was something majestic to see in and of itself. None of the mares were having any words to say upon the matter. All of them just were amazed by the scene. A scene which may not have been much, but at least was able to give them some form of hope. A form of hope that brought them all together and in unison they decided to set up the tent again. Perhaps a foolish move after it had only barely survived the magma flow, but they needed a place to rest and to tackle their plan of attack in peace. So the unicorn soothsayer opened the void storage again and pulled out the tent. A tent that was a little bit ruffled up as the unicorn didn’t have the time to fold it up nicely when they were being chased by boiling rocks. The tent was set up with both ease and haste, even with the faults that were to be found within the fabric. The torches were set down at the entrance way and the group disappeared within it. Only Twilight seemed to not have entered it. It was Pinkie Pie who came outside mere seconds later and asked the question that possibly shouldn’t have been asked. “Are you coming, Twilight?” she asked in a kind but also seemingly excited tone. The unicorn had turned herself around and gazed with her eyes over the column of light when the sounds were caught in her ears. “No Pinkie, I’m not. I require a little bit of time alone, by myself. My mind and I need to agree upon a couple of things. Have a good rest if I don’t speak to you anymore.” And then she was just off. Off to who knew where but remained in the nearby area of the tent. The lamia nodded towards the words that were spoken and she then returned back into the tent to bring the news to the rest of them. Nopony would have been certain about the facts as they would be happening next.