Laccarentia's body spiraled around the cavern, black spines trailing his length. His long, serpentine neck tapered to a gaunt chest, skin taut against his ribs. From then on there was little between his back and his belly - if he had been a normal creature, he would have long been dead from starvation. His impossible length only thickened where gaunt yet wicked limbs sprouted. The pair that sprouted from his chest sprouted claws with spikes on all the knuckles, while the other two pairs were like insect legs that ended in a vicious point. His flesh appeared to be a ghostly white, and his face was, in it's entirety, like a long, hooked beak - though the grin he bore showed row after row of thin, pointed teeth.
Despite every instinct telling her to panic - and Tornado Bolt trying to hide under her tail - Half Note swallowed her fear and stuttered out.
"We, we came to ask you a q-question, Laccarentia."
The serpent twisted his coils, the spines clinking like crystal. "THEN ASK."
Half Note shuddered at the sound of his voice, but pressed on. "We've...we've been wondering, what kind of magic Earth Ponies have, exactly."
No muscles moved on Laccarentia's face, but the tone of his voice betrayed amusement. "YOU CAME TO ME TO BETTER UNDERSTAND EARTH PONY MAGIC? YOU HAVE A STRANGE SENSE OF HUMOR."
Firelock trembled. "Well, we read about you and your...your siblings, Laccarentia. The other Earth Spirits. We found Aestrak, and he was offended that we didn't know what it was, and he sent us to Zephyr, who sent us to you."
A long, forked, black tounge slid out from between Laccarentia's teeth and flicked at the three Ponies. "AH, YES. THEY MADE THEIR MARKS ON YOU, I SEE. BUT THEY DID NOT ANSWER YOU?"
Half Note shook her head. "No, not really. When we talked to Aestrak, he said that we should know. With Zephyr, she said she thought she understood why we were confused, but didn't have the time to explain." She stopped, blinked, and looked up at the terrifying maw. "Are...are you in a hurry too?"
Laccarentia laughed, and she felt chilled to the bone. "NO. NO I AM NOT. I NEED NOT RUN THIS RACE, FOR I HAVE ALREADY WON. SO, TELL ME THEN - WHAT PUZZLES YOU SO THAT MY SIBLINGS SENT YOU TO ME?"
Firelock shook her head. "We were wondering about Alicorns, and Aestrak said you had to have a complete understanding of a kind of Magic to become one, right?"
"THAT IS CORRECT."
She nodded. "Unicorns can do all kinds of Magic, and Pegasi have weather manipulation which kind of counts, right?"
"ALSO CORRECT."
"But..." here the Unicorn stumbled, and looked to Half Note. Half Note sighed and continued.
"...But the only things we could think of that are attributed to Earth Ponies, are, well, things any Pony can do. A Pegasus can be strong, and a Unicorn can grow things - but an Earth Pony can't fly, or levitate something with a thought. Maybe we're better at those things, but...but it's not really magic, is it?"
Teeth were shown in what had to be a grin. "AH, THAT WOULD BE WHERE MY BROTHER WOULD HAVE GOTTEN ANGRY AT YOU, WOULDN'T IT?" The three nodded, and the serpent laughed. "AND THEN, I IMAGINE, IS WHEN HE GAVE YOU HIS GIFT OF FIRE. QUITE LIKE HIM - HE SAW YOU DROWNING AND OFFERED YOU A GLASS OF WATER."
Half Note furrowed her brow. "I...I don't get it. What do you mean?"
His coils spun as the serpent shifted, surrounding the three Ponies. Tornado yelped and tried to keep something between his empty face and herself, but he was looking down upon them. Half Note craned her neck, attempting to meet his eyeless gaze.
"I MEAN THAT I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND EARTH PONY MAGIC. YOU HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY IT, SPOILED BY IT. AS A FISH DOES NOT CONSIDER THE WATER WHICH SUPPORTS HIM WHOLLY, YOU CANNOT SEE THE LIGHT WHICH HAS LONG AGO BLINDED YOU." His coils spun and legs skittered, but his head remained stationary, leering down at them with it's darkness even as the walls of the cavern disappeared behind his ghostly flesh.
Half Note pulled herself up and glared at the serpent, despite the chill that ran down her spine. "So you mean to say that there is so much Earth Pony magic that we just don't notice it anymore? Is that it?"
Laccarentia laughed, and drew his coils tighter. The three were soon pressed tightly against each other, though they could not feel any warmth radiating through their layers of clothing. "YES, YES. THAT IS EXACTLY IT. THERE IS ONLY ONE MORE SUITED TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION THAN I." He leaned his head down, the curl of his thorny antlers surrounding them. "BUT YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND HER GIFTS WITHOUT FIRST UNDERSTANDING MINE. I CANNOT SHOW YOU EARTH PONY MAGIC, FOR YOU HAVE SEEN IT ALL YOUR LIVES - BUT I CAN SHOW YOU WHAT IT'S ABSENCE IS. THEN, WHEN YOU SHALL MEET THE YOUNG MOTHER - YOU WILL UNDERSTAND."
He raised himself up, his gaunt, skeletal limbs all held out at his sides - impossibly tall, yet still encircling the three completely, so that the cavern was nothing but Laccarentia's coils and the three Ponies.
"WOULD YOU ACCEPT THE GIFT OF ICE?"
Half Note and Firelock shared a look, and turned to Tornado Bolt. She had her wings pressed firmly to her sides and shook violently with every breath. The Earth Pony and Unicorn held out a hoof, and the Pegasus nodded and took them. They embraced, and Half Note raised her head to the serpent.
"We've come this far - we're not turning back."
"THEN THE PACT IS MADE?"
Three nods. A toothy grin.
"VERY WELL. YOU WILL KNOW THE LIGHT ONCE IT IS TAKEN FROM YOU - BY SHOWING YOU THE DARKNESS THAT IT HAS KEPT AT BAY. WHENCE YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE LOST, YOU WILL WISH FOR THE MAGIC YOU THOUGHT WAS MUNDANE. FOR NO MATTER HOW FAST THE LIGHT TRAVELS, THE DARKNESS IS THERE, WAITING."
A moment of stillness - Half Note couldn't tell if her heart was beating as the void in Laccarentia's skull stared into her soul.
"I GIVE YOU THE OLDEST GIFT OF ALL."
He lunged - and they felt nothing.