Through Dungeons Deep and Caverns Old
Princess Luna’s mind was in complete amazement.
She had outlived many denizens of not only Equestria, but also its neighboring countries. She had witnessed many strange and wondrous things throughout her lifetime, even having the misfortune of treading through life’s darker paths. However, even with all the vast knowledge she had collected over the years, the sight that lay before her had caught her completely off guard.
Many years before her banishment to the moon, Luna and Celestia had both personally overseen the beginning construction of Canterlot. Originally, with the dwindling resources that they possessed, they had planned for the capital to be much smaller than it currently was. However, as it stood today, Canterlot was one of the largest and most grand cities on the face of the planet. There was many a time when Luna had simply stood out on her balcony to take in the atmosphere of the gleaming capital. Even still, the city before her was quickly putting her own to shame in many ways. In terms of size, it was undoubtedly at least four times larger than the capital, and still she couldn’t see the whole of it. Unlike Canterlot, which had many different levels and walls, the entirety of this city was based entirely off of the cavern floor and had one massive wall running the entire perimeter. Making up the bulk of it were thousands upon thousands of buildings, the likes of which were completely alien to Luna in design and material. Silver towers gleamed in the low light, rising high above her and dwarfing even the tallest of the capital's towers. Alongside these giants stood many differing smaller buildings, all diverse and varying from residences to businesses. However, what drew her attention the most was not the buildings themselves, but the object they were all based around. Directly in the center of the city, reaching up all the way to the ceiling of the cavern was a massive spire, spanning miles upwards and giving off a glow that lit up the whole of the city. Try as she might to comprehend all of this, the alicorn’s mind simply couldn’t process all the information...truly she was left at a loss for words.
This was a fact that her fellow traveler had been more than grateful for…while it had lasted.
“This is, without a doubt, the most incredible city we have ever seen! Truly, to think that such a wonder has been hidden away for so long! Beneath our very hooves no less!” Luna was truly ecstatic over the whole experience.
Erebus on the other hand, was doing the best he could to keep himself collected. They had since been making their way through the deserted city, and Luna’s incessant questions on the architecture had been enough to drive anyone crazy. He had already gone over the use of titanium in their building materials a few times now, and he was afraid she might start asking the origin of human housing structure.
“Listen…I’m sure this is an extremely amazing experience for you.” He deadpanned. “I'm also sure that you'll have a million stories to tell when you get out of here. Just please be sure to not go around touching everything. Remember you were pretty impressed by that gate as well…and it almost vaporized you.”
While actually coming down to the city, the princess had been completely terrified that the lift might simply break off the cliff face due to its age. Yet ever since the platform had dropped them at the entrance of the ancient city, the princess may as well have been bouncing around like a young filly. So naturally, when they came across the massive and ornate security gate, she had been all too eager to rush up and “inspect” it. She was however, unaware that that the city's security measures were still in place and operational. Therefore, had Erebus not realized and quickly intervened, the alicorn would be nothing more than free floating particles in the air.
Despite this being her second near death experience in the course of a few hours, Luna had been far less traumatized this time around. “Oh come now, we can understand that there may have been some form of protection that we were unaware of, but surely you jest when you say that it would have killed us.”
This earned her a harsh glare. “Princess…I don’t know what you may have learned about humans, so let me take a moment to say a few things.”
He gently stooped down to eye level. “They were no mythical fairy tale beings, they didn’t live in perfect harmony, and they were more than a little cautious to strangers at their doorstep. If it meant their own safety, then many humans were quite indifferent to the welfare of others. They were incredibly paranoid, and took every precaution necessary to further their own lives. They were also incredibly technologically advanced, even for their young age as a species; their advances in science were almost terrifying at times. Now…put those two traits together…and you end up with a security perimeter that delivers quite the kick. To be more specific, an electrical field more than powerful enough to reduce you to ash.”
Luna visibly flinched at this statement. “Oh…we didn’t mean to…we understand. We were merely caught up in the excitement of being able to witness a place such as this.”
Erebus took a moment to calm himself before speaking again. The two of them were still a few miles off from the only means out of this wretched place, and personally, he didn’t want to have to reprimand the princess every five minutes. Despite the oddness of the situation, Luna truly was the first bit of sentient contact he had been presented since the passing of an age…first impressions were something he couldn’t afford to mess up.
“Listen…it’s all right princess, seeing as no harm came to you. Just please; don’t touch anything without my consent first. It’s apparent the whole city still has enough power to stay operational, so it’s quite possible every defense grid across the board is still a threat.”
Luna nodded in confirmation. As much as the city had piqued her interest, she didn't want to purposely throw herself into unnecessary danger. “All right then, we understand. Though we do happen to have a question now…if it’s all right.”
The human gave a slight shrug. “So long as it isn’t something off topic and obscure, then you can ask any question you feel like…to an extent.”
The princess decided to take the affirmation as best she could. “Well, you just did happen to say that the city is in fact still using a power source to run its ‘technology’. Yet, what we don’t seem to understand is how any source of energy could not only power this entire place, but also continue to do so for so long without exhausting itself.”
“Princess…that would actually be quite an excellent question.” Erebus lightly chuckled. “You see that stupidly large spire out ahead of us?”
Luna quickly nodded. “Respectfully, there isn’t really a way to miss it.”
“Respectfully?” Erebus gave himself a good moment to laugh over that. “Princess, it’s not as if you’re going to insult me if you put it bluntly. I personally find it much more amusing when things are put straight to the point.”
“At any rate, that thing would be the answer to your question.” He stepped forward and pointed up at the tower. “I won’t bore you with any in-depth technical details, but the basics are that the spire acts as a rather hefty source of power for the entire city.”
Luna raised an eyebrow at this. “What you are saying is…that building supplied an entire populace with energy? We still don’t quite see how that works.”
Erebus shook his head slightly. “Like I said, I personally didn’t want to go into details, but you’re clearly misunderstanding something. The spire isn’t just some massive building or guard tower…it’s a piece of technology in itself.”
“I’ll try to keep this as simple as I can.” He continued with his explanation. “At the center of the spire lies a machine that humans referred to as a reactor core, which generates the energy for the city. Originally it was designed to be a fusion reactor, which would harness the same reaction that is capable of powering the sun.”
Upon hearing that, Luna quickly cut him off before he could continue. “Humans may have been able to control power of that magnitude simply through technology?!”
However, Erebus had clearly been expecting this kind of response, and started up his counter before she could deliver another. “In theory…yes. In theory anything is possible through some means, but that’s beside the point. The point is that they didn’t, as it was far too costly in their current situation. So, instead of spending billions on a project that would exhaust them of all their needed natural resources, they decided on a slightly more efficient method. Instead of trying to create potentially unstable energy, they opted to use a currently unexploited form of power…the spire draws it's energy off of the core of the planet itself.”
Luna took a few seconds to mull this fact over before responding. “There is something we cannot understand. If they were to use the core of the planet as a source of power, would that not be detrimental to the planet itself?”
“Quite the contrary.” Erebus began. “While it might seem like using the Earth’s core was a poor idea at first glance, the power it provided far exceeds even the needs of a city this large. I’m not exactly sure what changes the planet went through during my absence, but over a normal lifespan, the core would have kept running for another six-point-four billion years before its death.”
“At any rate, that would be the answer to your question.” He looked over at the alicorn. “It’s also the answer as to how we’re getting out of the Batcave.”
Luna gave him an awkward glance. “Are we to assume that is the name of these caverns?”
Erebus suppressed a snort at hearing this. “For your own sake…just disregard you ever heard that.”
Though obviously confused, the princess decided not to question this. “Alright then…might you at least let us know how the spire correlates with our means of escape?”
“Most certainly.” The human pointed up at the tower. “The spire was undoubtedly the city’s main provider. Not only did it provide them with the energy needed to power their tech, it was also their tether to the outside world, allowing them to ship supplies between the city and the surface. In short...it’s basically a larger version of the lift that brought us down to the gates.”
“So we take it this spire will deliver us to the surface then?” Luna asked.
“Assuming the lifts are still operational. Otherwise…I’ll have to get creative.” Erebus answered. “At any rate, they still should be the most workable out of anything else here. The spire was always kept under the highest maintenance; to lose its functionality would have been disastrous.”
The princess began to think those last words over as they continued down the deserted street. “He makes them sound so reliant on this technology, as if their lives depended on it. What could have driven humans to build such a city underground in the first place? Did something happen to the planet itself?”
She gazed up at the many buildings above her. Despite this city apparently being ancient, everything still seemed so pristine and fresh, as though it all had been frozen in time. Were it not for the fact that they were the only two beings within the city's confines, the entire place would almost seem as normal as Canterlot itself. "It's as if all the citizens that lived here simply vanished into nothingness. How could something such as this have transpired?"
Though these questions nagged at the back of her mind, Luna knew better than to question Erebus too heavily on his history. Since stepping into the city he had seemed tense and on edge, delving into his human past would only serve to aggravate him even more so. She resolved instead to ask him about his abilities she had witnessed.
“Erebus?” She asked, looking up at him.
“What can I do for you princess?” He returned the glance.
“Well there’s something that’s been nagging at us for quite some time now…” She paused to consider her words carefully. “If it isn’t too much to ask…might you be willing to explain how you were able to fight off those corpses, and how you truly healed us?”
A scowl quickly set onto Erebus’ face, and his stride faltered for a moment. Luna noticed this and immediately attempted to change the subject.
“Please though, it’s nothing you have to trouble yourself over. If it makes you uncomfortable to speak of it, then please pay it no mind.” She hastily said.
Erebus merely shook his head and calmly answered her. “It’s alright princess…no harm done. It isn’t a subject that makes me uncomfortable; in fact I’m quite open about my abilities.”
Looking down, he removed a hand from his cloak and began slowly flexing his fingers. “The main issue I have with speaking about them…is getting the listener to comprehend.” He retracted his hand and sighed. “I do suppose I owe you an explanation though, and it shouldn’t be all that difficult for you to understand.”
Gazing over at the tower they were closing in on, he lightly smiled. “At least this way, I’ll be able to go the rest of the distance without any more questions on human history.”
“Alrighty then, I suppose I should start this off basic. I believe you said something about magic earlier didn’t you?” He asked.
It took Luna a few moments, but she soon remembered this. “Ah yes, it was when you tended to our wound.” She glanced back at her leg. “Over the course of our life we have been able to learn a few spells of healing, but many of them are quite exhausting for the caster and take at least a few minutes to even start, even for somepony as powerful as an alicorn. So when you were able to abate the pain so quickly, it was quite the mystery to us.”
“Exactly…the two methods are quite dissimilar from each other in most every sense.” He pointed out. “What you refer to as magic is also known as mystic energy or mana. It’s a form of energy that exists outside of the normally applied elemental energies such as fire or water. Instead it is a force that links directly with creation itself, allowing for the application of reality manipulation, but can only reach as far as the wielder’s own potential.”
In truth Luna had heard something along these lines before, as it had been discovered by a few well known scholars throughout her time. However it was still fascinating to learn that humans may have had an even deeper understanding of magic.
“Now then, the abilities that I myself use are something a bit more difficult to understand.” He continued. “Just now you probably noticed that I mentioned the primary elements. Well, where my abilities stem…is somewhat the same. Tell me, do you know anything about the abstract elements?”
The alicorn thought for a moment before answering. “Yes, I believe so…you mean forces that don’t correlate directly with nature, such as harmony and chaos…correct?”
Erebus allowed a smile to light his face. “Exactly! Forces that, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t be given a physical form. The two you pointed out, as well as time and space, and light and dark. All of these and more fall under that category of abstract concepts, and therefore affect the physical and spiritual plane in a completely different way than normal elements.”
Luna took this all in. “You mean to say that your abilities stem from one of these forces?”
“I would have thought the dark cloud that appeared when I made my entrance would have given it away. Not only that…but I’ve noticed that you yourself seem to exude some of the same energy.” Erebus stated.
This immediately hit a nerve for Luna, as she now knew exactly what he was speaking of. Normally she would attempt hide her darker powers under her control of the moon, as she was still recovering from the Nightmare Moon incident.
Whipping her head up towards him, she quickly put out her response. “You…h-how do you know about that?”
Erebus was quick to notice her change in tone and demeanor. “Oh, excuse me princess…I didn’t realize that this was a touchy subject for you. I can drop it here if it makes you feel any better…”
“No, it’s…fine. We just have a bit of a dark history when it comes to those abilities.” She sighed. “We may just be able to learn from this experience, please continue.”
Erebus gave her a somber look. “If you’re sure you feel alright with it, then I'll take your word for it.”
“Now from what I can tell, you’ve already gathered that my powers revolve around the manipulation of darkness and shadows. You’ve no doubt witnessed the destructive potential it can bring to the field, as I showed during that little quarrel.” He brought a fist out of his cloak. “Though I will admit, the end result was more a product of simple close quarters combat than anything else.”
Luna wasn’t about to go and doubt the human on this, as she had seen him splinter the bones of most all the corpses. “What about the final one? It seemed as if you burned it to ash.”
“Not exactly…” Erebus bent over for a moment to pick up a small rock on the city’s street.
“You see this stone?” He held it out before her. “Well this stone is, at its very core, a part of the infinite web that makes up all of creation. Everything with a predefined form, be it physical or spiritual, is a part of this web.”
He held out his other hand, a small black orb appearing above it. “This…is dark energy. Every shadow or dark place you have ever witnessed or stood in is comprised of this selfsame energy, though in different varying states. Though this energy may be able to appear within creation, it is actually its polar opposite.”
“Now then, when a part of creation comes into contact with volatile dark energy…” Holding the stone above the orb, he dropped it towards it…only to have it immediately dissipate into black particles upon contact. “It ceases to exist, and therefore serves to expand that darkness.”
Luna looked on in mild horror at this. Not even as Nightmare Moon had she used her powers to completely destroy a being’s essence.
Erebus collapsed the sphere and glanced over at her. “While it may seem that this would only serve as a destructive application, it can be put to use in beneficial ways.” He pointed at her leg. “One example would be the tending of your wound. As darkness can absorb anything born of creation, that rule also applies to abstract concepts…such as pain.”
“In short...while it can be quite the destructive force, it can also be extremely useful at times.” He stated.
Luna glanced up at him. "So then, were many humans capable of such feats?"
"Heaven forbid...I'm afraid that humanity gave up on supernatural and occult practices many years before my birth." He shook his head. "Those that did possess such ability would have never been open to the public about it."
The princess took a moment to think this all over. "Forgetting about magic? How could any species simply give up on something such as that?"
He glanced upwards. “As much as I’m sure we both enjoyed this delightful conversation though, I suppose this would be a fine place to end our little lesson.”
Luna was about to ask if something was wrong, until she looked up. Sitting a few meters ahead of her was the base of the massive spire itself. Gazing up at the giant tower, she could only help but feel minuscule in comparison.
“Oh…We suppose that’s a good enough reason.” She said flatly.
“Indeed it is.” Erebus stepped towards the tower and gestured for the princess to follow him.
Walking up to a cargo door on the spire’s side, he proceeded to wave his hand over an indent in the wall. In a similar fashion to before, another terminal blinked into existence beneath his palm, on which he began working his fingers across at lightning speed.
As her companion was working on his task, Luna took a moment to gaze back on the city behind. Almost the moment she turned around, she noticed at least a dozen different flashes of movement speed from her line of sight.
Taking a few steps back towards Erebus, she quickly got his attention. “Erebus…I think that there’s something out there watching us.”
Keeping his attention focused on his work, he gave the princess a short answer. “Yes I know, it’s nothing you should worry yourself over though. It’s just a few of our friends from before.”
Luna’s eyes widened as she heard this. “If there are more of them, how can you be so calm about all of this?”
Erebus just gave the alicorn a small sigh. “If they were any immediate danger then I would have already gone and dealt with them. As it stands though, they have absolutely no intention of coming anywhere near me. After all, the dead may be mindless…but they certainly aren’t witless.”
A shiver went down Luna's spine regardless. Despite the words of her companion, the thought that they were being stalked the entire duration of their travels...was unnerving.
He gazed down at the princess. “At any rate I’m already done, so we’ll be leaving them behind permanently.”
After a few seconds a loud groan was heard from two large metal doors as they slowly parted back into the wall, revealing a significantly smaller room behind them.
“Um…Erebus, is this what we’ll be taking up to the surface? It does seem a tad bit snug…” Luna wasn’t all too eager to be squeezed into the confined space.
The human apologized to her. “As much as I hate to admit it princess…yes. Most of the other lifts aren’t in operable condition, or are completely disabled. Also, this particular lift will be able to get us topside much faster than the others.”
Luna gave him a confused look. “Why is this one so much faster?”
Erebus stepped through the door and began inspecting the interior. “This meant to be a high speed cargo lift, designed for quick access to supplies in times of need.”
Stepping inside, Luna quickly noticed that she was already feeling cramped.
As Erebus tapped a few keys on the lifts console, a smaller door hissed into place over the open hatch, as well as the larger cargo doors creaking back into place. “Princess, I’m truly sorry about this if you happen to be claustrophobic.”
Luna knew this wasn’t the issue, but she still wasn’t thrilled. “Oh that’s nothing you should have to worry about.”
“There would also seem to be another issue…” He said with a frown.
The princess didn’t much like the sound of that. “What kind of issue?”
The human glanced around the compartment one more time. “Any humans that did happen to ride with the cargo were required to strap into a safety harness…upright. No offense, but your posture isn’t going to do us any favors here.”
Looking up at what she assumed was the harness, Luna could immediately agree with him. “At the very most…that would only throttle us.”
“Well…there isn’t much way around this dilemma, is there?” Erebus sighed. “Princess…I’m extremely sorry about this…but you’re going to have to lie down on the way up.”
Luna’s mind immediately began protesting at that idea however, she wasn’t seeing much any other alternative. “Oh…stars above…”
Erebus put his hand up to his face. “Alright, hang on for a moment…” He began pacing back and forth. “There is one other way; however it’s still quite dangerous.”
While the princess didn’t particularly want to subject herself to unnecessary danger, she also didn’t want to lie down on a high-speed metal death trap. “We’re listening.”
“Luckily for you, these lifts do in fact happen to have slightly adjustable safety harnesses, most likely for young adults and such.” He walked over and proceeded to do mess with one of them, bringing it down a good couple of inches. “It isn’t exactly optimal, and will probably be even less comfortable, but if you sit as upright as you can and allow me to secure the straps tightly, you should be…relatively safe.”
Taking the straps between her teeth, Luna tested them with a few harsh tugs…they seemed secure. “If this is our alternative, then we'll be much less reluctant to take it.”
“That’s what I assumed you would say.” Erebus proceeded to walk over to the wall console. “I’m about to activate a twenty second delayed startup. Before I do that I want to go over some details with you.”
He stooped down to look the alicorn directly in the eyes. “Alright, just listen to me closely. When we actually start moving, it’s going to be quite sudden, whatever you do…try not to fall unconscious. During the ride up, it’s going to be ten minutes of nonstop pressure, whatever you do...try not to fall unconscious. Throughout the entire ride, your blood is going to rush straight to your feet, whatever you do…try not to throw up.”
Luna had absolutely no time to voice a protest to this, as Erebus quickly tapped the console and the entire room was washed over with a blood red light.
“Princess…eighteen seconds now, please get situated so I can lock your safety harness.” He said flatly.
Her eyes widening, Luna quickly got herself into a comfortable sitting position as her companion tightened the straps around her, before moving back and locking himself into place.
Looking up at Erebus, she noticed he not only had one of the safety straps around his torso but also a hand grasping a support strap above him. “What we wouldn’t give right now to be a few hooves taller…”
“Eight seconds, just try to let yourself relax.” Erebus stated.
Though the anticipation did little to calm her nerves, Luna did her best to allow her mind to slip without letting go of consciousness. However, in the back of her mind she could still see the seconds ticking away.
“Five.”
“Four.”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One…”
Luna had one brief moment to gaze up at the human across from her. From the looks of his face…he had fallen asleep…
“Buck…”
Half a moment later, Luna’s body exploded.
The experience was unlike anything the alicorn had ever been through. She could hear nothing, only see red and black, and it felt like a fully grown dragon had decided to lie on her. Put literally…it was as if somepony was trying to push her very soul out of her body through sheer force.
As the seconds went by, her vision began to swim and her mind proceeded to go blank. Despite the entire situation, one thought remained glued in Luna’s mind.
“What have we gotten ourselves into…?”
A moment later, her stomach lurched…and she passed out.
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I see that title and my first thought was this
heirsofdurin.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/lyrics-misty2-copy.jpg
5022015
I am ever grateful that somebody can find the little references I put in.
MOAR?
Hahaha poor luna
Is this a "Luna's a Prick" fanfic?
5027208
More of a "Luna's just a little stressed out right now, and will calm down relatively soon" fanfic.
Good chapter. Glad you made us (as a species) something that demands respect, unlike so many fics before. Looking forward to the next one
Lovely.
Luna!!!!! What did erebus just say?
*sigh* she did both
Looking forwards to the next update. You know, I wonder how Luna would react if Erebus ever revealed some information about the Apollo Program, just to emphasize how technologically advanced we were.
Also, was the city built as a massive fallout shelter following a nuclear war? Natural disaster? Global warming? At this point, I've nearly got as many questions as Luna!
5034615
Indeed...
I found the name fits my character in more ways than one.
Also, I have a deep respect for Erebus as mythological entity.