Trickles 2 - Memory Sound

by Glen Gorewood

Resound the Sound of Memory

Leaves and brush catch the striped, midnight blue, and lavender coats as three mares race through the Everfree. The sound of that terrifying trickling doom echoing in their ears. The screams stopped a few minutes ago, and that can only mean that that viscous fey monstrosity has left Ponyville. It means they are running out of time.

Zecora, her mind still reeling from the horrible memories recently restored, feels each beat of her hooves on the night dew coated underbrush as it matches her fear filled racing heart. Her mind is overwhelmed, her limbs feel heavy. It’s almost as if something is sucking her energy away moment by moment. All of this is amplified by a pounding migraine that keeps getting worse the further into the forest they go. Her head feels like it is on fire. Wincing in pain, she tries to keep the others from noticing so that they won’t slow down for her sake.

Her efforts are in vain, as her is lavender coated friend Twilight Sparkle takes notice.

“Luna, I think something is wrong with Zecora. We need to slow down a bit, she’s in pain.” The lavender mare shouts towards the midnight blue alicorn who has taken the lead.

Glancing back, Luna’s eyes grow wide before slightly narrowing in concern. Slowing to a brisk trot she waits till the other two are alongside her. A discreet magical scan of the zebra shaman causes her to take a deep breath of worry, and release a sigh of woe.
“We agree, the fiend is far enough away, and we far enough in the lead that continuing at a trot will do no harm to thee.”

Internally Zecora thanks the princess, and slows her pace. Almost instantly, her legs trip over themselves and she feels herself collapsing to the side. Her body numbing, her mind in agony. A soft form that smells of books and ink catches her, stopping her from falling to the foliage and moss coated ground. Vaguely she notes that they are on a path she does not recognize, and that there is a moon of unusual size in the sky. The stars too seem different, as if two skies are overlaying themselves at once.

“Zecora!” Twilight’s voice echoes as if far away, despite her face being right in front of the zebra’s eyes.

“Luna what’s wrong with her? What’s going on? You promised to tell us the truth, and now Zecora is..” the voice of the lavender mare is filled with worry, and cracks as she holds back tears and fear. As if holding herself together will make everything better.

A shining pale blue aura fills the shaman’s vision as a soothing light envelops her. The pain receding and energy filling her form, she can feel her legs begin to stead themselves. Supported by what she now sees is the body of her friend Twilight, who caught her as she fell with her side; Zecora gets back on her feet. A very worried Princess Luna stands to her left, and Twilight to her right. As they begin to move forward again neither Twilight nor Luna move to take the lead, instead both flank the zebra on either side in case she falls again.

Despite the earlier question, they move forward in silence for some time before Luna gathers the words to explain the Zebra’s condition.
“Zecora is an anchor.” The princess of the night says softly.

The shaman’s ears turn towards the princess, looking at her she asks; “What do you mean, for I am not attached to any at sea?”

Twilight voices her own confusion.
“Zecora has a point Luna. You promised to explain things to us, so stop being cryptic and explain!” The final word is emphasized with a stomp and a very strong challenging glare from the normally logical mare. A glare that is made somber by the tears falling from her eyes.

As they move further into the unusual and almost surreal woods, Luna glances to the sky and stares at the massive moon overhead. With a deep sigh she asks, “You wish to know everything? What you ask for, once given, cannot be returned. Are you certain you want this?”

Snorting in frustration, with tears of worry for her friend falling down her cheeks; twilight responds with a resounding, “Yes! I do want this. For Zecora, I, no we both need to know the truth.”

The shaman nods, her voice chanting in agreement. “If my current state to the truth does relate, the perhaps gaining this knowledge is fate.”

Staring ahead, eyes looking everywhere but nowhere as her blue star filled mane flows of its own accord; Luna reflects back on the day’s events. With an expression that seems to flow between sorrow and relief, she reveals the truth to the two mares beside her.
“ As you know I am the princess of the night, defender of dreams, and artist of the stars. As well as patron of the arts. However what you, and in truth nobody alive but perhaps my sister and Discord know, is that I have other duties and authorities that have been intentionally hidden from history.”

Twilight’s expression turns pensive, as Zecora watches the trail ahead. Though her ears are focused on the words the Lunar Princess is saying; for she knows that what will be said tonight shall never again be repeated.

Luna continues as the tries trot on, the sound of water still fairly far behind them.
“Those duties relate to the realm of the “other beings”, or as most ponies of old called them, the fey. There are many types of fey in this world, many are not the type who would wish to meet. Others are mere tricksters and annoyances, while the remainder are fairly helpful if of questionable morality.”

As they pass an ancient stone plinth, the world alights with fireflies. They flutter around the three mares, dancing in many colored hues. Luna gesture at them as she continues to speak.
“For example, these little creatures are known as Prism Sprites. Harmless little creatures, they are so small that their bodies are the size of a firefly. They tend to congregate when great events are about to unfold, for good or ill. They feed off the energy of what did not happen, or the pain of those who lost. They also only appear in the Wayside, an area where the realms of the Fey and our realm intersect.”

Luna let’s this sink in, and as Twilight and Zecora look about in wonder, they finally realize fully that they are not exactly in Equis anymore. For the forest around them is strange, yet familiar at the same time. As if two different places are intersecting, two shadows overlaying one atop the other.

Twilight, half in awe and half in fear asks Luna, “Why are we here? When did we get here? Where is here?”

The princess sighs, before replying to the stunned lavender mare, and the stunned silent Zebra.

“We were getting to that part. As we were, I was saying, this area we are in is known as the Wayside. We, I mean all of us, were pulled here when Zecora was brought to the brink of..dissolution. As an Anchor for a particularly dangerous type of Fey, her very spirit and body were being drained from afar. Even if we, and ye and she, had continued to flee it would have been in vain.”

Zecora purses her muzzle in a grim expression, the realization of what could have happened to her settling into her mind and soul. Dissolution is not death, she knows this. It’s a fate far worse than death. Still staring ahead she says, “If an anchor I be, am I to guess you Moon Princess saved me.”

Luna nods, as the Prism sprites dart around in a dazzling dance.
“Indeed, we saved you from your fate by imbuing you with a temporary strength. However it will not last, not until you can resound the memories of the past.”

Twilight’s face takes on a confused expression, “Luna, that makes no sense. How can you resound memories?”

A snort and a dark chuckle, completely out of place given the situation, echo from the night princesses’s muzzle. Then in a serious tone Luna states, “Though we love your inquisitiveness and questions Twilight, perhaps it is best if ye let us tell the full truth before it is too late.”

The mood grows chill and cold, as the reminder of the terrible fiend that chases them sinks in. Ears twisting about, Twilight gulps and all three pick up the pace a bit. For as they had been speaking, the dreaded sound of running water had grown closer.

Luna, knowing they are short on time, continues.
“As We were saying, we are in the Wayside. This is a place where the realms collide, and the location of the Fey Gate; the way by which beings bound by the Nightmare Treaty enter this realm on the Day of Hallows. That treaty has a history too long to convey here, but I can say that it was set in place due to the horrors of the past inflicted on all beings by malicious fey.”

The sound of water grows closer, yet in their peripheral vision more surreal things can be seen. Beings of vague definition line the pathway, some with eyes that spin and swirl that are the size of a pony’s head. Mesmerizing to look at, Twilight almost turns to observe them directly before a smack from a large alicorn wing brings her attention back to Luna and the trail.

The princess of the night growls at the ones with spinning eyes, and with a chittering hiss and eerie giggle they turn and flee into the fell forest. Stunned, Twilight stares straight ahead, something inside her informing the mare that she almost made a huge mistake.

Luna’s voice carries over the growing cacophony of things, fiends, fey, and beings that echo around the trio. “Whatever you do, from here on out, keep your eyes straight ahead. The trail is warded, but you can still be tempted or convinced to leave it. It is best that you keep your eyes straight ahead, leaving the trail will likely lead to a fate worse than death.”

As Zecora and Twilight follow the dark princess’s instructions, her voice continues to speak the horrifying truth to their now very alert ears.

“The dark truth is that Our other duties are to act as the liaison to the fey realms. We are the one that keeps them at bay, and ensures the Nightmare Treaty is upheld. That treaty states that only on one night and day of the year, formerly known as the Day and Night of Hallows; may the malicious and fiendish of the fey cross over into our world. They then proceed to. .feed. Normally this causes only livestock deaths, or the loss of wild animals. Rarely, a pony is lost. Yet as horrible as that is the alternative is far worse.”

The rushing of water has grown closer still, yet on the path before them a light can be seen. A shimmering green, silver, and blue ray of ethereal aura that grows nearer with every hoofstep.

Seeing their goal at hand, Luna speeds up her storytelling.
“The Fey Gate is ahead, and this is where the choice must be made by you young shaman.” She gestures at Zecora with her right wing.

“For you see there is a loophole or twenty in the treaty. One of these relates to an Anchor. A mortal creature who escaped the sights and survives the hunt of certain specific fey may become an anchor to them. A way to stay in this world instead of being pulled back to their own. Over time, that mortal Anchor will be forced to become akin to those bound to it. And once that happens, the fey who bound themselves to the poor soul are free to roam this realm unimpeded.”

As the trio run into the brilliant aurora, Zecora can only stare in terror at what they see on the other side. Terror amplified by what she has just been told, terror and finality that there is no escape from her fate. And guilt and sorrow for the doom that will follow once she is no more.

Noticing the state the zebra is in, Luna places her wing over the mare and gesture towards the horror before them.

Standing in the middle of an otherwise mythically impossibly gorgeous clearing of idyllic form and features; is a monstrosity like no other. Faces, limbs, wings, claws, eyes, and branches and bows of creatures unlike any known to living pony are warped into a ring that encircles a rippling pool of silver, blue, and green. A pool that defies logic and stands like a mirror, a mirror with no reflection.

The grotesque thing towards which they walk is encircled by rings of stones and fungi of all colors. A single braided bridge of branches and vines forms an arching walkway from the edge of the first of the rings to the grotesque gateway at the center. And as they get closer, Zecora swears the things on the gate’s edge are moving, slithering in and out of place like some living amorphous abomination.

Next to her though, Twilight is staring at it not in horror but awe.
“It’s so beautiful, like something from a fairy tale!”

Zecora turns to stare at her friend, greatly confused.
“Do you not see the horror before us, a monstrosity that does not belong in this forest?”

Twilight raises an eyebrow, befuddled by what Zecora just said.
“No, I see a stunning gateway of crystal and living vines, with gemstone like beings dancing on the edges and sigils inlaid at precise points. What are you taking about?”

Before Zecora can reply, Luna steps in between the two. Glancing at Twilight, then Zecora, she lifts a hoof and points it at the ring.
“What you both see is equally true. The ring reflects what it holds for those who view it. For Twilight it seems to be a glorious wonder, to me it looks like a gilded door made of thunder. And for Zecora, who is an Anchor to malicious Fey, it looks like the horrors akin to those very fey who stole your fate.”

Walking up the pathway, Luna points at a single plinth by the mirror itself. At the top of which, is a bowl filled with crystalline liquid. Looking straight at Zecora, the princess of the night solemnly delivers the harsh reality of what must be done.

“The fey bound to you, young shaman, are known as Trickles. They are a devouring amorphous hive mind of viscous sentient fluid made up of and fueled by the bodies of their victims. And their souls. Those devoured by Trickles are doomed to either be one with them, or exist forever in unrelenting agony as they are used to power the voracious fey tide. Trickles can separate into multiple groups to hunt or feed, and take on the forms of their victims or those they have observed for a time. So long as they can acquire something from a body, they can take on that form. They are stealthy, cunning, smart, and ruthless. As for how they are bound to you.. I have a feeling you already know.”

Zecora, having followed Luna up the braided archway, stares into the bowl and the liquid within. What she reflected back at her, brings a tear to her eye. For it is not the face she recalls as her own, but something else. In a voice cracking with pain, and fear, she voices the answer to Luna’s unspoken question.
“To memory the Trickles bind, to follow you for all time.” She replies sullenly.

Twilight stares in horror and shock, ‘No, no, no, no, no! That can’t be true, there must be a way!” Rushing up the arch to stand before Luna, desperation in her voice and eyes, she cries. “Luna, you wouldn’t bring us here if there wasn’t a way to save Zecora would you? There is a way right? There has to be....”

The lavender mare collapses onto the ground, and lightly slaps the woven branches beneath her hoofs as if to batter free a way from the bark below.
“There has to be... Zecora can’t just...there has to be some way to save her..”

Luna, her eyes on the sobbing and frightened Twilight, heaves a heavy sigh before replying.
“Twilight...Zecora... there is a way. However that way is the choice that only one can decide to make real.”

Turning her full attention from the distraught Twilight, to the shocked and weary Zecora; she lays bare the choice at hand. As well as the cost.
“To unleash yourself from the binding, to be no more an Anchor, you must Resound the Sound of Memory. For memory is what they use to connect themselves to their prey. If you have seen them, they can always find you, for you are bound to them. However Memory is also their greatest weakness.”

The zebra’s ears perk up, and Zecora lifts her weary eyes and worn heart to look into the deep and ancient orbs of Luna’s eyes. In a soft voice, filled with the last bits of her own hope, she speaks.
“If memory their weakness be, tell me what ye ask of me. For to live I have no doubts, I will do whatever I must to break out.”

Luna, her eyes reflecting ages worth of knowledge, closes them to hold back tears. For the only way that this Zebra is willing to take, will end with her losing something she can never regain. But the resolution she sees when her eyelids lift again, the determination in Zecora’s eyes; is all she needs to know that this mare is willing to do the deed needed. Regardless of the burden or cost involved.
Luna, nods her head once, as the rushing sound of water grows louder and more fierce.
“I see thou art determined, and so we shall tell thee of the choice. Once there was a Fey that was the opposite of the Trickles. Where they used memory to bind themselves to prey and hunt, this fey used it to free and fight. It could forcibly awaken any and all memories in a foe, and force them to endure them all simultaneously. In the ages before the Nightmare Treaty, that fey was destroyed. It’s remains used to craft the gateways center. And the fragments of its essence infused into the liquid in the bowl. For the average pony, imbibing the liquid allows them to open and close the gate. However for one whose fate has been taken, and whose soul is in between mortal and Fay, it might offer the key to salvation.”

Lifting the bowl from the plinth in her magic, and presenting it to Zecora, Luna speaks a final warning.
“Zecora, you may now choose. Imbibe the essence of the opposite of they, and if it works you will be akin to fey, Resound the Memory, and live. It may not work, in which case you will die. Or you may refuse, and if that is your choice I shall have no choice but to fling you through the gate. The Trickles will follow you, and the Fey Gate will close. Either way, this Nightmare will be over.”

Placing her hoof heavily upon the branches and bows, Luna uses the Royal Canterlot voice. “NOW CHOOSE!”

Twilight opens her mouth, reaching a hoof towards Zecora and Luna silhouetted by the light of the Gate. However deep down she knows there is no other way, as the sound of a roaring river rushes down the path. Glancing over her shoulder she sees the the horrific form of the monstrous Trickles entering the clearing.

And then from her peripheral vision, she sees her friend make her choice.

Author's Note:

What will Zecora choose?
Will our heroines survive!
Will they become one with an amorphous acidic horror from the fey realms beyond?

Well I had to split this chapter in half, so the final revelation comes next chapter. And don’t worry, it’s not the end.

Guess what creature plays a part in the next part if this series? It already made an appearance.

Glen Gorewood

Comments

[LeylaQuartz]

Why did Luna feel the need to shout in her royal Canterlot voice? Zecora already had a headache, she don't need another one. Lol.

I love this story so far.