Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

Chapter 19: In The Pit

Chapter 19
In the Pit

“Hey, Dash, AJ!” I called. I spotted their brightly colored coats standing out against the dark forest on the other side of the clearing.

“Acrylic? Torchwood? What are y’all doin’ out here? Ain’t ya supposed to be watchin’ the perimeter or somethin’?” They circled around to join us, and we met them halfway.

“We were tired of waiting,” Torch answered, looking back to the ruin. “So this is what we’re out here for, eh?”

“It must be. She usually calls on Twilight to investigate unusual and mysterious happenings. I don’t remember this place. I’d say that falls under ‘unusual and mysterious.’”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re saying you don’t remember this being here, even though you grew up in the Everfree? Okay, now I’m a little freaked out.”

“Aw, come on, Dash. You ain’t afraid of an abandoned castle, are ya?” AJ challenged with a smirk.

“Who? Me? No way! Are you?”

“Never!”

“Prove it!”

“Alright, I will! How about a little bravery contest? We’ll both go down in there and find whatever it is the Princess sent us here for.”

“And if one of us leaves before we find it, they lose,” Rainbow finished.

“You’re on!”

“Wait just a minute!” Torch spread his wings wide to obstruct their path.

“We don’t even know why the Princess sent us here. For all we know, we might’ve been sent just to pinpoint the exact location of the castle. She might not be looking for anything particular inside.”

“And don’t you think we should at least let the others know where we are before we go charging into an old ruin?”

“Just look at that thing. Most of those trees have probably rotted by now. It’s unstable!”

“Don’t tell me you’re chicken, Acrylic. You grew up here!”

“I’m trying to not get killed!”

“Let’s at least show Twilight what we’ve found,” Torch intervened. “Then she can decide.”

“But Twilight will never let us go investigate!” Rainbow protested.

“Then how’re we supposed to know who’s the bravest?”

“You’re both very brave,” I interjected. They puffed up with pride. “But not always too sensible. That’s something Twi’s never short on, so let’s let her make this call, alright?”

“Who you callin’ insensible?” the indignant AJ shook a fist. I rolled my eyes.

“No offense.”

“Rainbow, why don’t you go back and collect everypony? I’ll create a fire pillar like last time to mark our place,” Torchwood interrupted before we could start a fight.

“Oh, alright.” She was gone in a rainbow-colored blur, and as promised, Torch swooped over the castle to create a vortex of orange and green fire. There was no way they could miss it.

We were back to waiting around for our friends to catch up, which took longer than I expected since they opted not to fly everypony over this time. When they finally all crashed out through the underbrush, they all took a moment to soak in the scene.

“Any news from the Princess?” I asked Twilight, trying to bring her out of the stupor.

“No,” she breathed. “But this must be it! You say you don’t remember it being here before?”

“I didn’t often come out this way at all,” I admitted, “because I lived in another sector. But I’ve never heard of another ruin in the Everfree.”

“Nor have I,” Torch concurred.

“Most of us steered clear of this area altogether,” Cedar commented. “It’s teeming with more monsters than anywhere else in the Everfree.”

“Say what?” I choked.

“This is the Pit?”

“What’s ‘the Pit’?”

“As foals we were always warned to stay away from here at all costs,” Wild Flower whimpered, cowering at the realization. “It’s infested with hydras, timberwolves, manticores, cragadiles, ursas and more monsters than you could ever imagine.”

“But if this is it, why haven’t we seen them yet?”

“Maybe it isn’t the Pit after all,” Twilight concluded.

“I dunno. That looks like a pit if I ever saw one,” Dash pointed out. The castle was indeed standing at the bottom of a deep gorge.

“They probably weren’t talking about a literal pit, Rainbow.” A snarl from behind silenced her. Those of us brave enough to turn pivoted at a snail’s pace. A hungry looking hydra raised all five of its heads, and bellowed at the top of its lungs.

“Nope, this is the pit.”

“Everypony, RUN!” In their panic, ponies darted every which way. I didn’t know where I was going and ended up cornering myself against a boulder.

“Where? Run where?!” I squealed, delivering a sharp blow to the nose of one head before it got ahold of Blaze. He frantically clambered up to the safety of my back.

“To the castle!” Twilight fired a shot from her horn at another head.

“Inside the castle?” I shrieked.

“It can’t follow us in there! Just do it!” Torchwood distracted the hydra by spraying an array of sparks at three pairs of eyes, buying us all a head start. Now organized, all twelve of us were darting for the dark entrance to the ominous castle. While grand, the doorway still wasn’t large enough to permit the hydra to enter, and we all slid to safety at the center of the room. Though it was dark inside to begin with, all light was finally blotted out when the hydra managed to wedge itself in the entrance. Its distressed calls were all that could be heard over our collective panting.

“Is everypony okay?” Applejack was the first to speak.

“Are we all here?” Twilight added.

“I’d tell you, but I can’t see!” Dash complained. With between four thestrals and two dragons, we managed to spark a fire for light. The hydra hissed angrily at the mere sight of its prey escaping, but was helpless to stop us.

“Great. Now how’re we supposed to get out?” Rainbow snorted, gesturing to the blockage trapping us inside.

“Oh, you poor little hydra,” Fluttershy cooed, hovering over to its aid.

“Fluttershy, wait!” The yellow pegasus wasn’t an idiot, and knew to stay just out of reach.

“Now, my friends and I can help you out of there, but you have to promise not to eat us when you’re free. Do we have a deal?” She held out her hoof to ask for a truce. The nearest head hissed again and spat at her. She dodged the hydra before it could hurt her. “How rude!” she squealed. “That’s it, Buster! I’ve tried being nice, but you’ve left me no choice! I’ll just have to use the Stare!”

“You go, Flutters!” Pinkie rooted. We all waited patiently, but the creature had five heads. So as to not succumb to her authority, at least one head always turned the other way. It would rather remain wedged and prideful than humble and free.

“Why won’t you just let us help you?” she desperately wailed.

“Forget it, Fluttershy,” Twilight sighed. “It’s no use. If it wants to stay there, let it. We’ll just have to find another way out.”

“What if there isn’t another way out?”

“It’s a castle, Spike. Of course there’s another way out.”

“And if worst comes to worst, we can always smash a way out through one of the windows.”

“And ruin ancient art? Didn’t you see the detail put into those stained glass panes? They must be priceless!”

“I’m all for preserving long lost art, Rarity, but right now I’m more concerned about preserving our lives.”

“Well, I suppose that’s a fair point.”

“Come on, everypony. Let’s split off and see what we can find. Princess Celestia sent us out here for a reason. We might as well find out what we can while we’re here.”

“I’ll go with Applejack. We have a dispute to settle.”

“You’re on!”

“Let’s all pair off like we did before,” Twilight suggested. “Cedar and Wild Flower, Acrylic and Torchwood, Pinkie and Rarity, and Fluttershy and I.”

“And I can go with Blaze?” Spike hopefully chimed.

“I’d feel a little better if you stayed with me,” Twilight smiled. I nodded agreement.

“After that hydra incident, I’d prefer to know you two were safe.”

“Alright,” Spike reluctantly submitted.

“Everypony, take a light.” Twilight levitated an unlit torch from its rest on the wall, stuck it in the fire, and offered it to Fluttershy. She squeaked in nervousness as she took it. She also distributed torches to Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow, but she and Rarity used their horns for light. Torch, Cedar, Wild Flower and I all summoned up a small flame for ourselves. I kept mine dancing by my hooves, but Torch showed off a bit and let his hover in the air.

“Alright. Shout if you find anything. We’ll meet back here in an hour.” The hallway we started out in branched off in seemingly endless corridors and passages.

“What if we get lost?” Fluttershy trembled.

“It can’t be that big. But if you do get lost, head for one of the outer rooms. We can reorient ourselves by the windows.”

“Ooh, what’s down here?” Pinkie bounced off after whatever had caught her eye, leaving Rarity to scramble after her. Rainbow and Applejack charged down the darkest, scariest hallway they could find. Cedar walked Wild Flower down another hall, and Twilight weighed whether she was more likely to find a library down the left or right corridor. Torch turned for the nearest passage. I nudged Blaze to let him know where we were going, and he shambled along beside me as we started off.

---

“Don’t you think it’s about time to start heading back?” I prompted.

“It’s only been half an hour.”

“It feels like we’ve been walking for ages,” Blaze complained. I stopped to let him up onto my back.

“It is easy to lose track of time in here,” Torch agreed.

“Then how do you know how long it’s been?”

“I chose to stick by these windows for a reason.” He pointed through the open door of another room, which we assumed were staff quarters. “I’ve been watching the sun.”

“I’m glad I was paired with you,” I sighed. “But how will the others know?”

“We’ll meet up eventually,” he promised, sensing my worry. “We’ll all get out of here safe and sound. You’ll see.”

“Getting out of the pit won’t be as easy as getting in. Nopony’s ever done it before.”

“They just tell you that to spice up the stories. After all, somepony came back to tell the tale, didn’t they?” I shot him a doubtful look.

“I think I see light up ahead!” Blaze brought out, pointing to the end of this hallway. Unlike the dim, yellow illumination filtering in through the windows, this was a bright, unnatural light with a golden-orange glow.

“Stay behind me,” Torch cautioned, creeping ahead. I did as I was told, wings tight with worry. Blaze shrunk further into my mane.

“What in Equestria?” he muttered. He deemed it safe, and moved aside so I could enter. We were in a large, pentagonal room that opened up to more passages on all five sides, much like the hallway we’d started off in. But it was the room’s centerpiece that caught our attention. A lone pedestal stood sentry, placed in the center of a golden design that reminded me of a flower. I counted ten elongated ovals overlapping each other on the sides and converging on the base of the pedestal like petals connected to a stem. Unlike the natural, gnarled wood used on the exterior of the castle, this pedestal had been formed from finely crafted mahogany, polished to a shine under a few layers of dust. On top of the pedestal rested a strange sphere.

It looked to be made of some sort of sandy, gritty material, packed tightly into a solid sphere. It was hard to tell under the branches it was wrapped in, though. The rough bark didn’t look quite so coarse and dark as that of the castle’s exterior, but fresher and more... alive. A white, braided band of what almost looked like hair had been tied securely around it. A single, royal blue gem had been inlaid in the top. And it was glowing.

“What is that thing?” Twilight gasped.

“Fancy meeting you here.” We waved to Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy, entering from the hallway opposite us. It wasn’t long before Rarity and Pinkie approached from the corridor to my left.

“Sweet Celestia!”

“What kinda dohickey is that?” Applejack demanded, entering with Dash from the right.

“Is that unicorn magic, Twilight?” Wild Flower and her partner were the last to join us.

“I’ve never seen anything like this!” Twilight led the way, and we all closed in on the pedestal. “Is this thestral craftsmanship?”

“You got me,” Cedar shook his head. “I have no clue what this is.”

“Where are we?”

“That letter from Celestia would do us good about now.”

“Alright, everypony, calm down. We can work this out together.” Twilight fired up her horn to lift the orb so she could get a better look.

“Wait! Is that safe?” Wild Flower fretted.

“Twilight’s a professional,” I assured her. “If she thinks it’s safe, it probably is.”

“Wild Flower does bring out a good point. We don’t know anything about this thing. It could be dangerous,” Torch spoke.

“Or it could simply be somepony’s idea of art,” Rarity rolled her eyes. “It is a rather peculiar relic, but it is probably nothing more than an odd trinket.”

“Do what ya gotta do, Sugar Cube,” AJ pressed. Receiving affirmative nods from most of her friends, Twilight went ahead and lifted it off the pedestal. As soon as it was removed from its home, we were blinded by a flash of light from the floor. The golden flower design was glowing brightly.

“Put it back, Twi!” somepony screamed. There wasn’t time. Blaze’s claws dug into me in terror. I closed my eyes. Though it didn’t actually move, the very floor seemed to be disappearing out from under me. I couldn’t tell up from down. I was being sucked into an empty void. I vaguely heard the shouts of my friends, but at the same time there was silence. Soon, there was nothing left but blackness.

Comments

[Luna-tic]

sometimes less comments mean better story. that makes this a very good story.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

during all of that why didn;t they have Spike send a letter to Celestia asking about the ruins and if this is what she was looking for?