Chapter 12 - A Voice of Rock and Stone
Scion of Chaos – Chapter 12: A Voice of Rock and Stone
By: SilentBelle
In the pitch-dark tunnel, the young unicorn had stopped her walking and was now sitting gingerly upon the hard, cold, rocky, floor, and had been for the last minute. Her eyes were closed firmly in concentration, not that it would have made a difference if they had been open, but it helped her focus. Though if one had the eyes to see, or the ears to hear it, they would be able to sense the emerald aura that now played upon her horn.
“Like this?” Sweetie Belle asked quietly as visible green sparks began shedding furiously from the tip of her horn. “Just a bit more and-”
With a light chiming sound, a sudden, yet gentle light shed from the tip of her horn, which, in the next few moments, brightened considerably as the filly opened her eyes with a light sigh.
“Just as I said, my dear, it's as easy as making a fire.”
“Yeah, it wasn't that hard,” she admitted, as she got to her hooves and began peering around and squinting. “Wow, I've been in here so long, that I've almost forgotten what it was like to see normally.”
“Not even a single day has passed, in which you've seen no light, and you claim to have forgotten the experience of sight?” Scoddri whispered bitterly, as if he were talking to himself. “After more than a few hours, girl, you would begin to remember all too well.”
A few minutes passed awkwardly as Sweetie Belle continued on the lone snaking path of the tunnel. She wasn't entirely sure how she should respond to the voice's comment, or if she should change the subject. Eventually the silence became heavier than the darkness had been to her eyes; she had to say something.
“So, you've been in caves like this before?”
With a sigh of reluctance, the voice began to speak once again, taking his usual mocking tone. “My dear, I am all too experienced in being trapped within the confines of rock and stone for prolonged periods of time.”
“What did you do in the caves then? When you got trapped I mean.”
“I never gave up,” he said quietly. “Even when the darkness was everywhere, and no sign of light remained. Even then I could still recall the sun, I could still imagine the colours of an autumn day, and, perhaps most importantly, I could see magic. As large as any obstacle seems at the beginning, if you choose to persevere then you will overcome it. Although sometimes, more often than not, what lies on the other side of that obstacle is not quite what you had expected.”
With a tilted head and a quirked eyebrow, the filly let silence reign for another moment. She considered his words as she continued her trek forward, at an even pace. Yet, she walked slowly, for the cave floor was uneven, and even by the light of her own horn, a lapse in her attention could cause her to stumble or worse. Walking on such terrain was not something she was used to. Sweetie Belle was quite certain that a cave-delving cutie mark wasn't likely to appear any time soon.
“Say Scoddri,” the filly said, with a hint of unease, “I've noticed for a while now, but you keep giving me advice.”
“Indeed, that's how advice works. It's mine to give, you don't have to listen to it.”
“No, that's not it. I meant to ask you why. Why are you giving me advice?”
“A fine question, young Sweetie Belle,” the voice chimed sincerely, before falling silent.
Sweetie Belle halted her slow progress down the tunnel, waiting for the voice to respond. After a moment, she felt the weight of the mantle of silence press upon her. Scoddri evidently decided not to follow through with an explanation.
“Well, are you going to answer my question?”
“Which one?” the voice spoke with a laugh. “Now, where's the fun in getting all your answers as hand-outs? The answers you obtain through your own means are, by far, the greater treat.”
The unicorn's light flared up a bit as indication of her indignation.
“See, there you go again. I was only asking because I couldn't figure it out,” she spoke, with a slightly acidic tone. “It just doesn't make sense.”
“Oh? Humor me, girl. Tell me, what is it about me giving you advice that doesn't make sense?”
“It's just that when we first met, I thought you just wanted to laugh at me. And sometimes it still seems like that. But then you saved me back when that monster attacked. And since then, you've given me advice out of nowhere. It just doesn't seem to make sense. Wouldn't you have more fun if you didn't give me advice and just watched as I guessed away at everything and my magic messed up?”
“Girl have you ever watched a performance of slapstick comedy?”
“Slapstick?” Sweetie Belle asked simply. “What's that?”
“It's a routine where ponies will pretend to hit each other or get injured for comedic effect. A fundamental principle behind slapstick is that the audience knows the violence is fake, and that no lasting harm will be done. Because of that, they are able to laugh at another pony's misfortune and violence.”
Sweetie Belle nodded in understanding. “Kind of like how at the talent show, the crowd thought that the stage was supposed to fall apart and everypony laughed. Hmm, yeah, I guess I can see how pretend violence can be funny. But what does that have to do with you giving me advice?”
“Perhaps more than you think.” the voice said with a simple laugh.
The white filly only sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to wrestle the answer she wanted from the voice.
* * *
Sweetie Belle had no way to be certain, but she had managed to convince herself that, since she started using magic to light her path, she had been walking down the tunnel for longer than an hour. During that time she had managed to keep herself busy by focusing on the treacherous ground and examining in how many ways she could change the light spell she was using.
The filly had managed to change the spell in a few different ways. One time she made it so her horn only shone light in the direction of her choosing. Later on, she also made the light bright enough to cause herself to cry in pain and lose her grasp on her magic for a moment. During that instant of confusion she also managed to trip. The result had been an eruption of laughter from Scoddri, and a dour silence from Sweetie Belle.
As such, she had deemed it prudent not to play around with her light spell any more, and spent the rest of the time squinting at the ground, trying to make certain that she wasn't going to lose her footing again.
Eventually, her sullen expression had melted away as the filly felt a sense of thirst fall upon her. And the echoing lull of the river that ran alongside the tunnel became too much to ignore. Keeping her eye on the small cliff that separated herself from the river, she kept moving on, hoping that her path would dip down for easy access to the water.
“This is a long tunnel,” she voiced her observation aloud. “I wonder how big this mountain could be that I'm still inside it after all this walking.”
“As tall as many mountains are, or as wide as they span, its roots are always the most expansive.”
“That doesn't answer anything,” Sweetie Belle complained to the voice.
“And complaining doesn't answer anything either,” Scoddri replied curtly.
The unicorn simply huffed in response and continued her search for access to the river.
As she moved further down the stone tunnel, the sound of the river seemed to quiet down, and soon she could hear only the gentle sound of water lapping against the stone, in place of its steady surging that had accompanied her up to this point.
With a frown, the filly walked over to the ledge that had been over-looking the steam. She placed her fore-hooves on the edge and cast her light out into the darkness before her. The unicorn let out a gasp as she noticed that the once-flowing river now lay as a stationary lake inside an enormous section of tunnel. It stretched out further than she could see. Below her, the water spanned outward as a serene pool of darkness, save for the reflection of her horn's light upon its surface.
“What is this place?” she asked in a whisper as she continued to gaze out into the darkness.
“A cavern, my dear,” the voice supplied offhandedly. “With an underground lake to boot.”
“Wait, we're underground?” the now-dumbfounded filly asked.
“But of course girl, how else could you still be inside such a small mountain, unless you were heading downwards. Besides, following a river's path will always lead you downhill. Surely you know that.”
“Um,” the filly stuttered, she hadn't known that, but she was quite content not admitting that particular fact. “But if we're underground now, then how do we get out? I mean, if I hadn't caused that cave-in, I'd probably go back.” Sweetie Belle said anxiously. “I really hope there's another exit out of this place.”
“There are plenty of exits,” an unfamiliar, grating, voice called, from directly behind her, “but only if one can make their way to it.”
The young filly let off an ear-piercing peal. In a spastic motion of surprise, she spun around and backed up, to get a glance of the speaker behind her. She managed to catch the sight of green eyes just before her hind leg stepped off the edge of the short cliff she had been standing on.
The unicorn's earlier screech transformed into terrified scream as she plummeted uncontrollably off the edge. In that moment, the light from her horn flickered out in perfect unison with the sound of her backside crashing into the dark waters.
Cold! The feeling shot through the filly quicker than ever before. After a moment of disoriented panic, she managed to break the surface of the lake. Good thing I actually know how to swim. All those times we've tried to get swimming cutie marks really paid off, she thought as she gasped a breath of air.
“Ehe, silly pony, why do you jump into the waters? It is cold, you know?” the rough voice called out from the top of the small cliff.
Glancing up from her position in the water, she couldn't see anything save for the glow of magic all around. The brightest source of which was the pool of water she was within. But on the cliff she was surprised to notice just the faintest of outlines, standing stoically perched at the cliff edge, looking down at her. It had a shape she had never seen before; the closest thing she could place it to was Spike, but even that was stretching it. And at the center of dark entity, was a single rhombus ruby that sparkled with its own energy.
“He is quite right, you know,” Scoddri picked up, with a chuckle. “There are plenty of other ways in which you could get a drink of water.”
“It's not like I meant to jump into the water!”
“Well, pony could have fooled me,” the new voice said. “I saw pony jump, and then splash.”
“I fell because you scared me!” Sweetie Belle protested, while treading water and trying to locate a dip in the cliff edge. “It's your fault!”
“Is it my fault to join in a conversation?” he asked. “You were talking for that reason, yes?”
“But I wasn't talking to you!” she retorted as she managed to spot a lowering of the cliff and began slowly making her way towards it.
“Aha, but then who was the pony talking to?” he asked as he slowly kept pace with her. “For no one else is around.”
The floundering unicorn couldn't be certain, however the creature's tone made her imagine a grin spreading quite contently across his face.
“I was talking to-” she began before biting her tongue. I can't mention Scoddri, he'll think I'm crazy. “Um, myself. Yeah, that's right, myself. I didn't even know you were around. I would have talked to you if I did though, it is kind of lonely in this cave.”
“The pony is all alone?” the harsh voice asked as Sweetie Belle pulled herself out of the water.
“Yeah, kinda.”
“Once again, I face the bitter taste of exclusion,” Scoddri piped up, with his overly-dramatic voice, to which Sweetie Belle shook her head slightly.
“Why, little pony travel alone?”
“Well, it's a long story. I kind of don't have a choice at this point, what with the cave-in and all that,” she admitted sheepishly, as she shook herself off. She then peered directly at the creature before her. “Say, what are you anyway?”
With her unmitigated curiosity in full-swing, Sweetie Belle, closed her eyes for but a moment of concentration. Then with a brilliant chime, light spilled forth from her horn in an even glow.
“Gah!” The gravel-voiced individual leaped back in surprise, landing just on the outskirts of her illumination. He nearly slipped off the ledge as he did so. “Don't do that, pony!”
“Oh, I'm sorry,” Sweetie Belle called out earnestly, as she examined the creature as closely as she could. “I should have said something first. I didn't mean to frighten you.”
“Me, scared of a little pony? I think not!”
Sweetie Belle let out a small giggle before calling out to him again. “It's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone gets scared now and then.”
“I did not get scared,” he protested angrily, “just startled. I don't like bright light,” he admitted quietly. “Say something next time, pony!”
“Okay, but you don't have to keep calling me 'pony' all the time. My name's Sweetie Belle, pleased to meet you.” she said, displaying an honest smile.
“I am, Ruben. It is, good to meet Sweetie Belle as well,” he said in his scraping voice. He moved closer to Sweetie Belle and his features becoming more defined as he approached the light source.
He stood on two legs, much as Spike did, but this creature was quite the contrast to the baby dragon. Ruben, was covered in a dark gray fur, and had big hands that could function as fore-legs. He wore a ragged vest of purple, and a black studded collar with a single ruby rhombus that was centered at his throat. He had a short tail that seemed to sway in an arrhythmical manner as he hesitantly waddled into the light. His eyes were downcast, as if the light were painful to him.
The filly had never seen a creature like him before. “What are you?” she asked in wide-eyed wonder.
“I,” he pronounced confidently, despite looking away from the unicorn's horn, “am a diamond dog, and I am here to bring Sweetie Belle back.”
“Back? Back where?”
“Home, down to the others. I do my job, as I am supposed to.”
“What's your job?” Sweetie Belle asked slightly nervous and confused. “And what do I have to do with that?”
“I was given a simple task. To find Sweetie Belle, and now that I have, Sweetie Belle will come with me,” Ruben explained curtly, and suddenly he looked directly at Sweetie Belle, with his own pair of green eyes. “I take Sweetie Belle to the boss, and my job will be done.”
“But, I don't want to go down deeper into the cave, I just want to get out. I mean you already said that there are other ways out of this cave didn't you?”
“Yes, there are exits, but the only way is down first, not up.”
Sweetie Belle took a moment to consider her options. She did not like the idea of going deeper underground, but if there was sure to be an exit, then it was worth it. As much as she dreaded the idea of being deep underground, she held thoughts of wandering aimlessly in these caverns in much deeper contempt.
“So, you know the way out, right?”
“Of course, Sweetie Belle, but the way up from here is blocked by the cave-in,” Ruben said matter-of-factually. “So follow me and I will take Sweetie Belle down, so that Sweetie Belle may later go up.”
The filly let out a soft sigh. “Alright, I'll go with you, but first let me get a drink, I'm still thirsty.”
“Right.” Ruben nodded. “Then after, Sweetie Belle follows me.”
“Haven't you always wanted a pet dog?” Scoddri said with a snicker. “He does seem quite attached your name, doesn't he, girl?”
She simply responded with a roll of her eyes as she finished drinking.
End of Chapter 12
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Great as always! And Ruben the diamond dog is something I did not expect! Now she has two guides.
Fantastic story is fantastic.
Ruben's totally working for Rarity.
Spike, You've been replaced. By a pack of Diamond Dogs.
...Am i the only one who thinks it's a trap?
1289801
Ruben already knew the name of Sweetie Belle, so is quite unlikely.
It's a trap! Ruben doesn't know it's a trap, but it is!
il admit, i avoided this story the first time i saw it due to only having 140ish thumbs, but after i saw it on display, i figured id actually give it a read, and this story is amazing so far! i must apoligise for this initial assumption, and i really should have given it more of a chance. I am very interested to see the direction this story is going to go, will it end with sweetie belle`s return to ponyville, or will you explore her magical talents further after she learns about them more? maby she will break discord out and have a battle to the death with chaos magic! :O nah that would be kinda stupid, but i look forward to what you do nonetheless.
I'm not usually the one that does this, but MOAR
1289935
I'm sure it's Rarity who set the trap!
1291329
Ah, nice catch, thanks
The fact that Ruben knows who Sweetie Belle is implys one of two things
1. the Mane 6 have enlisted help in their search
2. the diamond dogs simply got wind of a lost unicorn called Sweetie, whom they can steal for gem hunting.
Follow Ruben, my dear Sweetie, but do not take anything at face value.
Loving this series, the Chaos magic seems similar to Tamora Pierce's Wild magic; the fundamental power that flows through everything, out of reach of most mages, and thus not recognised as a true magic disipline.
Thanks to everyone for reading so far. I know I keep saying this, but I do plan on getting the chapters out quicker, but many things keep coming up. Hopefully I can devote more time to it, for I am just as excited as everyone to see the rest of the journey in written form. I also enjoy your speculation on how the story will conclude. I hope I do not disappoint. Once again, I appreciate all of your comments and thank you for reading; for every time I visit my account, it feels almost surreal.
Who's a silly pony? Who's a silly pony? Who is? You is,
ApplejackSweetie Belle.Great chapter, and I really like the introduction of Ruben.
two of my favorite characters together
1289316 Obviously. We all know Rarity has the Diamond Dogs wrapped around her vocal cords. :D
Just some ambiance for this chapter...
1289935 1293482
What? No he didn't.
It's totally a trap.
Ah Ruben, i fell sorry for you. your going to spring a trap, and then you will have a trap sprung upon you.
Discord! make sure you teach her a bunch of spells about dismemberment for this soon to be sprung trap!
1338719 Just wait until they figure out that she's Rarity's kin.
great chapter. love when sweetie met rueben. good work.
1413313
She didn't write an essay on Discord himself, she wrote an essay explaining discord, not the person, the word, concept, idea, thought.
...
That didn't make much sense did it?
Throughout this chapter some of the paragraphs beginning with Scoddri's italicized dialogue were indented and some of them weren't. Don't know if this was intentional or fimfic having weird formatting or what, but the inconsistency bugged me a bit.
4028293 It was FimFiction being silly, and my fault for thinking FimFiction would treat:
[i](Indent)Text
the same as:
(indent)[i]Text
It gets rid of the tab with the first version... Thanks for pointing that out though.
Sweetie* Belle
Interesting developments so far. Really loving Sweetie Belle and Discord's characterizations, especially the latter's little comments about being imprisoned and what not.
I knew Ruben was a diamond dog when I first saw him talking. That means that you did awesome.
4321966 Could have fooled me. First I thought it was a rock creature, then a Human, then a rock creature again, and then a Diamond Dog. There needs to be more Humans in the story! I fully expected Sweetie Belle to find one as a monster in the Everfree Forest earlier, but at that moment she was attacked by the Owlbear instead.
5090603 Look at the dialect. The first line or two could be anything, but with the occasional flipped word and the way he says "pony" it's pretty obvious.
also, having a human in it would seriously derail the story. Humans in Equestria draw an inordinate amount of attention plot-wise, and it's no surprise.
Say he's a human. then what? How'd he get there? why is he in the cave? how is he relevant to the story? What happens if/when he escapes the caves? if/when he meets ponies? does he return to wherever he's from, and if so, how? Are there more coming?
This is why human cameos are usually reserved specifically for EQG/HiE stories and/or crackfics, rather than casual appearances. (the other exception would be if it's an intersection with another story.)
Ponies hiring diamond dogs? Now that's just low.
Move down a line.
_____________________
5968110
Exactly this. One of the few things I loathe are fics that randomly throw humans into for no reason. That and most HiE fics make no sense, since they don't ask the questions you pointed out above.
I was getting a feeling that it was a trole when I first read Ruben's lines.