An Undertale of Equestria

by David Silver

28 - Dark Secrets

"I'm just going to start swirling here. You're free to look, or not. It's not as if you're curious or anything..." The green smile spread out into a miasma of flowing greens and purples.

I reached for the door to the hatch in the dim light provided by the shadow creature, which itself felt a bit ironic, but the door was locked securely. "Hey, kid. Last chance. You wanna get out so bad, fine, but you'll be sorry not knowing."

Was this the right way? This was a lot more complicated than a lot of the other choices given to me. Well, I wouldn't have to take its advice either way. Let it show what it wanted. I looked at it, and the vision came.

I was back in the dark pony explorer of 'outer space'. It hurt everywhere. Bruised and banged up, my hooves were tied up to a post and being carried by two crystal ponies, with a lot of others marching aside us. They spoke in a strange language to one another. They sounded nervous, or excited. With a painful thump, I was set down so the post holding my legs came down on two stones, holding me aloft.

A pony in flowing robes approached me as all the other ponies bowed to them. They said something loud and important, pointing at me before the crowd erupted in a rough shout. The... priest? chief? Whoever they were, they waved for something, and several ponies came in, burdened with a large slab of crystal that they set beside me.

The head pony loomed over me, speaking something in somber tones as the other ponies all sat in quiet. I was certain he was addressing me, but I couldn't understand him. "Please let me go. I'm not here to hurt anypony, promise." He? She? The robes made it hard to tell. They didn't care or understand my pleas.

Light drew my attention. They hadn't yanked my mask off, in a small miracle, so I could still see. Their horns were glowing. Most of them didn't have horns, but the ones that did began to light up, one by one.

"We shall bind this demon of the darkness." Why could I understand them now? "His soul shall infuse the totem, so that we can turn away others of its kind." The various lights seemed to fire at me, forming perfect lines from around the crowd to my prone form. The head pony sang and chanted as everything became dark. Blissfully dark. Maybe they would send me home...

I awoke to the hatch being opened and Trixie's face poking in. "Familiar? Why haven't you turned on the lamp? Oh, are you asleep? Trixie apologizes, but we've arrived. Come along."

I sat up and scrambled after her. "The big green grinning thing came with another vision."

Trixie scowled at the news. "Are you certain Trixie should not have simply destroyed it the first time we laid eyes on it? Go on, tell Trixie what you saw while we go. Sweet couldn't be slowed down." Trixie lifted me up onto her back and began trotting towards the rather obvious preparation of tents, booths, and other things for the Crystal Fair.

So I told her, and I had a few ideas, but they felt more like wild conjectures. "I think the crystal heart might have been involved."

"Did you see any hearts?"

"Well, no, but I did see a crystal. What if they carved it down into a heart shape later?"

She tilted her head. "This is possible, but how would we know for certain either way? Though the heart seems involved one way or the other." Ah, there it is." As we passed by the castle, she pointed to where it floated serenely. Several guards were posted around it, looking alert and nervous. "Trixie does not think they'll let us examine it."

I doubted it. "Let's talk to Cadance first. Is that where Sweet ran off to?" Terror clutched at me at the thought of Sweet losing it in front of Cadance as she had in my aborted save. I was too far to see or prevent it if that happened again. "Let's hurry!"

Trixie broke into a proper gallop beneath me, charging around half-formed stands and looming booths to make her way down the road. There they were! Cadance had a hoof on Sweet's prone form, looking worried, but no explosions of tar looked like it had happened yet. Our rapid approach caught her attention, her and her guards. They moved to stop us and Trixie stomped a hoof at them. "Let us past. We're on official business."

Cadance gave a little wave. "Come here, Trixie. Your friend arrived first and seems ill." That was enough to banish the guards from our paths, and we were allowed to get in close. Sweet was heaving on the ground, hooves weakly twitching. "I don't know what's wrong with her. She appears to be in great pain. Is she sick? Why did she gallop through the city to reach me?"

I hopped off of Trixie and hurried to Sweet's side. "Does the crystal react to the fair's preparation?"

Cadance nodded. "Not nearly so much as the culmination, but yes. It builds up towards it. Why?"

I waved a hand over Sweet. "It's hurting her."

Trixie nodded firmly. "Another way must be found. The heart hurts shadow and dark ponies, as you can see. The dark ponies are innocent and don't deserve this."

Cadance looked guilty a moment. "But there is only one dark pony. I can't sacrifice the safety of the entire city for any, one, pony. I... I'm sorry... I can provide a train ticket, so you can take her away from here?"

I hugged around Sweet's neck. "No. I think this whole thing's like a feud. You have to stop fighting."

"S-stop fighting?" Cadance tilted her head at me. "We don't fight. We just want to be safe. My people want to be safe. That isn't so unreasonable, is it?"

Trixie gestured to me. "My familiar is correct. Every Crystal Fair is an attack. The city of shadows of legend may not be shadow at all, but instead Sweet Tooth's entire city, trapped and miserable under this constant assault. Besides, we've already neutralized four out of six weak spots, why the hurry?"

"I'm glad to hear you're doing well in your quest." Cadance sat on her haunches, taking a slow breath. "You'll be paid in full either way, so worry not. Even if we do activate the crystal, you will be remembered as a hero of our people. You don't have to worry about that."

Trixie trembled a moment before she stomped a hoof. "Forget the payment!" She shook as she said it. It was hard for her to say. I knew she wanted those bits, and the fame. "Forget being a hero. Stop this fair! It's the right thing to do!"

I gently stroked over Sweet's mane. "This war's gone on long enough, don't you think?"

"War?" Cadance frowned at me. "Sombra enslaved this entire nation. We never attacked him. His shadow beasts hunt and attack ponies, we don't go hunting them. If this is a war, it's a very one-sided one." She waved for one of her guards. "Fetch one thousand bits from the treasury." He dashed off towards the castle. "When he gets back, take it, and Sweet, and move her somewhere else. I'm very sorry, but one pony isn't enough."

I raised a hand. "There are at least two."

She closed her eyes a little. "And where is this second? Not that two ponies against a city still counts for terribly much in the end."

Trixie huffed and squirmed a moment. "Trixie thought the sister of Twilight Sparkle would be more understanding."

Cadance recoiled. "How da..." She raised a hoof to her chest before letting her breath out as the hoof moved away. "Look, we're all under a good deal of stress. I know you're all trying your best, for the Empire, and I appreciate that, I really do. But all you have is stories and conjecture. Even if you defeat the last two weak points, the damage has been done. The seal to the shadow city will become broken if we don't hold the fair now. Weighing the very visible threat to my people against the theoretical stories you're weaving, as princess, my choice is clear."

A guard returned with a large bag of bits, placing it besides Cadance with a salute. She nodded at him. "Thank you. Here, take this, and get her to safety. She seems like a nice pony. I'm sorry she can't live here..."

My mind whirred, trying to think of a way to convince her, when it hit me. How was that a vision of the future? It was certainly the past, the far past... The crystal, the sacrifice, the dark pony... "Cadance."

She looked back to me. "Yes? I really must get back to these preparations."

"I think I understand."

"Oh, good." She smiled with relief. "So you'll take her and go?"

"Not exactly." I rose to my feet. "This disturbance was created on purpose, to scare you into activating the crystal early. If you do, you won't seal the shadow, you'll burst it free."

Cadance scowled. "Start explaining."

"Every time it pulses." I gestured down to Sweet. "They're set back. Sweet becomes a creature of misery and shadow. Aquator forgets his child. Everything resets, pushed back. If you set it off when they're already so far back, what do you think will happen? You think the shadow is bad now? They'll truly become mindless creatures of destruction, maybe never to recover. The entire city of miserable dark ponies will become the shadows you're afraid of them being, and surge from their hiding place in a wave you'll have no way of stopping."

Cadance and Trixie stared at me, as if neither really could comprehend the situation I'd painted.

She rose on trembling legs. "That's a very serious accusation... What... would you have me do?" She spun on Trixie. "You've summoned a very vexing creature! What if he's right?"

Trixie held up her hooves. "Wait. Let Trixie and her familiar see the remainder, the last two. When all the points have been put to rest, only then can we move with confidence. The very last thing we need to do is be hasty. Their city has waited patiently this long, it can wait a little longer."

Cadance put a hoof to her head, doing little but breathe a moment. "Right... very well... You haven't led us wrong so far. Please, you must understand, an entire tribe of ponies rests on your action, or inaction. If two days go by without hearing from you, I'll have to assume the worst, and we'll proceed." She turned to one of her guards. "Spread word that the festival will be prepared, but not held until my sayso."

We had time. I hoped it would be enough.

Author's Note:

A vision of future past? Why can't visions be more straight forward!?

At least typos are nice and blunt.

Comments

[TheShippingJR]

Still going strong, keep it up. Did that little PM boost your ego?

[Booster Spice]

When crossing the tightrope, you have to be careful of throwing up your hands in success when the end is in sight.

With how this shadow is going, because Im somewhat paranoid, Id assume that theres a reasonable chance theres a hidden puppetmaster boss after it all. It gets really nasty if its after the credits.

[David Silver]

6694704 My ego is a fickle thing.

[Seeking Dusk]

Two tribes of ponies depends on this, actually. And that 'soul empowering the totem' sounds all kinds of creepy...

[Emtu]

I think this whole thing's like a fued.

feud

[David Silver]

6694736 Why do you fail me, spellchecker?! Fixed!

[Tonto the Trotter]

So Cadance is still willing to doom the Shadow Ponies if Trixie and Frisk can't finish their tasks in time. Well Cadance does have a habit of blasting invasive forces from cities like the Changelings or Sombra. But now knowing that the last time they activated their shield, likely reduced the Dark Ponies even closer to Monsters. We can only hope Frisk and friends succeed in time. Otherwise Frisk is gonna have to do a True Reset and give Cadance a bad time. I think there's a knife they can use in the Royal kitchen. -OUO-

But lets hope it doesn't come to that terrible end point. I like Frisk with a soul Q^Q. vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/undertale/images/c/c4/SPAWN_OF_SATAN.png/revision/latest?cb=20151025095809

[David Silver]

6695108 It can't even be vaguely proven or shown. She was willing to draw back and delay, which is more than many would do.

[TheifofZ]

6695108 Frisk always has a soul. It's just that by the end of the Genocide route, that soul isn't actually the soul of Frisk, but Chara instead.
And if you go all the way to the very end of it, then every run after as well.
... I don't like the genocide route very much.

[David Silver]

6695212 You're not supposed to.

[Tonto the Trotter]

6695212 Yeah the Genocide Route is designed to be unsatisfying, judging from the amount of work you have to put in, just to get that ending. It's a slow and deliberate process, which most people won't enjoy. Killing is easier, and it gets you to the end faster, but it's not nearly as fulfilling as learning about everyone and being friendly.

Other games like the inFAMOUS series make being the bad guy fun, with all the flashy powers. Undertale rubs your face in the fact that you're intentionally, deliberately killing people. *Feels sins crawling on his back for all the evil playthroughs in various games T_T*

[TheifofZ]

6695219, 6695244
I don't mind having my face rubbed in how evil I'm being, except for the fact that the first run I ever saw was a pacifist run, and I grew fond of everyone.
Friends, friends alone are sacred.
The fact that I cried tears of Determination at the end of the Pacifist run? Only clinched it.
Most other games that have 'characters' that you can interact with? Don't go out of their way to make you feel like they're more than just a set of scripted lines. So... it's easy not to care about them.

[fractalman]

6695946
Speedrunners, of course, do it in about an hour.

...then again, speedrunners, so :P

[fractalman]

6695244

Speedrunners, of course, do it in about an hour.

...then again, speedrunners, so :P

[Fistfire]

Cadance put a hoof to her head, doing little but breath a moment. "Right... very well... You haven't

breathe
From one of my previous you can move that 'e' over here

[Andy Ray]

"Spread word that the festival will be prepared, but not held until my sayso".

What's a "sayso"?

[Andy Ray]

A vision of future past?

Yes, or rather "Future in the Past" (like "would do") ?

Or an actual "Future past" ?

Or "X-men: days of future past" ?!