The Pony, the Sphinx, and the Immortal

by HapHazred

Present Day: Glass Army

“We’ve got more of the ruins clear!” came Digger Douglas’s clear voice echoing through the caverns. “You guys’ll want to see this!”

Twilight and Rarity looked over at Applejack, then Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow nodded, and gestured for them to go.

The two mares trotted down to the dig, where most of the other diggers were waiting. They had cleared away the broken shards of glass, rendering the place as safe as they could make it.

Creeping alongside Douglas was Zerephonzidas.

“It looks like we’ve uncovered a great deal of clear, unburied corridors,” he said. “We’re going to have to explore to go further. I’m convinced that there will be more excavating to do, but for now, we need to examine what’s been buried and what hasn’t.”

Twilight didn’t reply. She was still livid at Zerephonzidas for everything. She was livid at the glass statues walking, and at Applejack being reduced to a wreck.

Everything had gone wrong, and Twilight was determined to get to the bottom of it. If she gave up now, then everything they had gone through would have been for nothing.

“Here,” Douglas said. “Take this flashlight.”

Both Twilight and Rarity’s horns lit up. Twilight managed a smile despite her foul mood.

“I think we’ll be fine.”

Douglas shrugged. “Well, you’ll still need these,” he said, handing them two hardhats. “I’m still worried about the ruins being unstable. I don’t care if you’re a unicorn, an alicorn, or a sphinx, if you get caught in a cave in you’re in trouble.”

Douglas had a point. Twilight and Rarity both strapped on their hardhats. Douglas looked at Zerephonzidas awkwardly.

“I, uh, know I said ‘sphinx’ as well, but I don’t have one your size?”

Zerephonzidas shrugged. “I’ll take the risk,” he said. “Sphinxes don’t wear hardhats anyway. Let’s go.”

The group began their journey into the dark. Douglas turned on his flashlight, illuminating the smooth walls they had uncovered. They escaped the residual pebbles and sand from the excavation site, and became immersed in the sinister, claustrophobic ruins.

“Just like I remember,” Zerephonzidas said. “Well, minus the murals dedicated to the Emerald King, of course.”

“Paint would have peeled off,” Douglas said. “Must have been shoddy paint to not last. I’ve seen some real old paintings in caves that lasted longer…”

“Time didn’t do this,” Zerephonzidas said. “The blast did.”

“I suppose the paint didn’t get turned to glass, then,” Twilight said.

“No.”

The four ponies dove deeper and deeper, until the diggers left outside could no longer hear them.

---

Rainbow flicked open her Daring Do book. She found that getting to the exciting parts was harder and harder these days. She just got too caught up in the build-up.

There were likely too many parallels to the real Equestria, she thought. On some level, she really didn’t want to get to the end of her own tunnel. Not because it was dark, but on the off-chance that there was actually a light at the end and she hadn’t noticed.

Never walk towards the light. That was a lesson a lifetime’s worth of crashing into things had told her. She had an instinct for when she was cantering headlong into danger.

She looked over at Applejack. Alone, sure, why not take a few risks? But Rainbow was surrounded by friends. They didn’t have the same instincts as her. The same survivability. Rainbow knew she was terrible at personal stuff, with ‘feelings’ and things she simply didn’t like talking about, but the real dangers, like hitting the ground too hard, she lived with every day.

Twilight didn’t know what she was getting into, and that put her in way more danger than Rainbow was.

Rainbow heard snoring. She tilted her head, her eyes turning towards Applejack.

Uncomfortable though she looked, at least she was sleeping. Nightmares or no, the body could only stay awake for so long before collapsing under fatigue. That was good. Rainbow didn’t really care about Applejack having a few bad dreams so long as she didn’t, you know, have to go to hospital for them.

Everypony had bad dreams. Applejack could have as many bad dreams as she wanted, but she could only die of sleep-deprivation once.

Rainbow closed her book. She wasn’t going to finish it anyway. She tiptoed over to Applajck, and quickly looked around, checking her surroundings.

Nopony was there.

“Don’t tell anypony I did this,” Rainbow whispered, and folded a blanket and put it under Applejack’s head, making her more comfortable. “I’d lose all my cool-pony cred if they found out.”

Applejack still looked like she was wrestling a bear internally, but at least she wouldn’t wake up to aches and pains the next day. Well. Any more than usual.

Rainbow trotted back to her book, and kept reading. She was determined to finish it, even if it killed…

Well, no.

But she was still pretty determined.

---

Another corner, Twilight thought. The ponies of old sure did like their winding, labyrinthian mazes.

She stopped in her tracks. “Oh,” she said.

This was no corridor. It was, in fact, a rather large room, although certainly nothing impressive. Darkness blanketed it, smothering the light from her horn.

“Ah, yes,” Zerephonzidas said. “This was, I think, used as a mess room.”

“It certainly looks like a mess,” Rarity said, kicking up a small pile of dust. “But if this is a mess hall, then where are all the…”

Douglas’s light flickered from side to side. The stallion was soaked with sweat.

“P-princess?” he muttered. “You seeing what I’m seeing?”

Twilight took a sharp intake of breath. She was definitely seeing what Douglas was seeing.

It was like looking at row upon row of shelves in a library, except instead of books and journals, there was row upon row of ponies, each turned to glass. Each had different expressions on their frozen faces. Some were happy, some were sad, and a few looked angry. One or two looked like they were telling jokes, and perhaps most creepily of all, there were ones that were laughing, their mouths hanging open, forever petrified in time.

Twilight backed away. “Stay back!” she said. “If they can move…”

“They will,” Zerephonzidas said. “But not right now.”

“How do you…”

“The other statue took a day to move. I suspect their reactions are delayed,” he said. “We’re safe for the time being.”

Rarity grit her teeth. “Plenty of time to smash them before they’re a problem,” she said.

Twilight bit her lip. “Rather pragmatic of you,” she said.

“I don’t like them.”

“I agree,” Zerephonzidas said. “No sense leaving them to become a problem later.” He turned towards Douglas. “Can we move the diggers in here to help clean up the smashed glass?”

Douglas nodded. “Yes, but only a few. I don’t want large numbers in here in case we disrupt the fragile stonework,” he said. “Six ponies, tops.”

Zerephonzidas nodded. “Well, that should be enough,” he said. “However, in the interests of me keeping everypony safe…”

“What do you want, Zerephonzidas?” Twilight asked.

“I want to keep one,” he said. “Just to observe it in a controlled environment. My chamber back in the caves should be adequate.”

Rarity spluttered. “Of course not! We can’t leave those dreadful things to shamble about and hurt anypony! We don’t even know what they’d have done if they caught one of us! Maybe turn us into glass ourselves!”

Zerephonzidas shrugged. “I don’t know, and I’ll never be able to find out unless I can study one.” He looked at Twilight. “You too. If I miss anything, I’ll need you to be a second pair of eyes.”

“Don’t tell me you agree to this?” Rarity said.

Twilight sighed. “The more we know, the better we can protect ourselves,” she said.

Rarity folded her hooves. “Well, I won’t help.”

“Rarity, I need you to help me levitate it,” Twilight said. “I can’t do it safely alone.”

“Then you can’t do it.”

Zerephonzidas coughed. “I have been thinking of an alternative,” he said. “Twilight, cast a shield spell on my paws.”

Twilight nodded. “Good idea,” she said. “I imagine you’re strong enough to carry it alone.”

“Quite.”

Rarity snorted, and looked away.

“Rainbow won’t be happy about this.”

“I have to admit, I’m not too keen on the idea either,” Douglas said.

“Well, tough,” Twilight grunted. “If these things have a hidden ability, we need to know about it sooner rather than later.”

“And if they don’t, then we can rest easy,” Zerephonzidas said.

Twilight cast her spell. Zerephonzidas gingerely tested his paws on the nearest statue, then with a smile, easily picked the heavy statue up with one paw.

“Excellent,” he said, and quickly put it down again. “Give me just a minute to dispose of the rest.”

“How long do you…” Twilight began, but Zerephonzidas had already disappeared in a flash of golden feathers and fur. The noise from the smashing glass was deafening, and Rarity had to cover her ears.

It took less than a minute for the crowd of glass ponies to be reduced to pieces. Zerephonzidas examined his shielded paw.

“Quite a good spell, that,” he said. “Solid.”

Twilight blinked. If Zerephonzidas turned against them, she wasn’t sure even she’d be able to stop him.

She tapped her hoof.

“Not quite,” she said. “I think there’s a crack in the shield. Let me fix it.”

Sphinxes could see magic, so Twilight could have to be careful. That was the interesting thing about shields, she thought. They could work both ways.

“Ah? It looks fine to me.”

“I imagine it would,” Twilight said. “The lines are all aligned, but it’s a case of some of them weakening. Just trust me.”

Zerephonzidas, eyebrow raised, extended his paws. Twilight’s horn flashed.

“I’m not sure I see a difference,” Zerephonzidas said.

“It’s subtle. I’ll explain it later,” Twilight replied.

Hopefully, Zerephonzidas would never notice that his claws would never be able to cut through a live pony whilst the shield was active. Glass he could cut to his heart’s content, but hopefully this would provide a momentary advantage if ever Zerephonzidas became a threat.

It just needed to be enough time for Twilight to cast a spell. No matter how strong, Zerephonzidas couldn’t hurt them if he was levitated into the air.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Zerephonzidas said. “I’m genuinely quite curious.”

“Pick up your statue and lets go,” Twilight instructed. “I don’t want to see the others faces when they realise we’ve brought one of these back to the camp.”

---

Rainbow Dash frowned as she saw Zerephonzidas carry the glass statue past her and into his little section of cavern. She eyed Twilight with an accusatory glare. It said ‘you let him do this?’

Twilight nodded.

“How’s Applejack?” she asked.

“Better, but not great. She’s healthy enough to move and do stuff again, though,” Rainbow said. “She’s upstairs cooking.”

Twilight ran her hoof through her mane. “That’s good,” she said. “One less thing to worry about.”

“And one more thing, apparently,” Rainbow grunted. “Another statue?”

“There were lots more down in the ruins,” Twilight said. “There are probably even more.”

Rainbow rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Now we have to keep watch over the ruin entrance in case more come out.”

Twilight bit her lip. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“‘Course you didn’t. Now we’re keeping watch over things outside the camp and inside it. Great. This is awesome.”

“It’s for a good reason,” Twilight said.

“I know you think that, but come on. We’ve hung around Zereph for long enough. Why do you trust him?”

“I don’t,” Twilight said. “I’ve… taken measures.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask any further questions. Zerephonzidas could be anywhere: he was deathly quiet.

“What now?” she asked.

“We wait for tomorrow to come,” Twilight said. “And we see what Applejack’s been cooking.”

---

Evening fell over the camp. Snow continued to fall outside, a bitter reminded that leaving was a foolhardy prospect until the next caravan came around. Applejack had made stew, which was far from gourmet eating, but a nice change of pace from what the diggers kept making, day after day.

Twilight trotted down to Zerephonzidas’s cave. The glass statue stared at her like a gargoyle.

“Good evening,” Zerephonzidas said. “Come to take a look at our friend?”

Twilight nodded.

Like the previous glass statue they had examined, you could see the insides of the pony, perfectly preserved as if frozen in time. Cracks had begun to form across its surface, evidence that it was beginning to try and move.

“Last time I had no opportunity to observe the statue as it tried to move,” Zerephonzidas said. “This time around, I’m taking notes.”

Twilight looked at the glass pony’s expression. It used to have a somewhat peaceful look on its face. Now, cracks had formed around the mouth and eyes, turning its face into a grimace.

“I believe they are awakened by the sound of life resonating through their bodies,” Zerephonzidas said. “Their eyes, ears, and other senses are, naturally, all gone, but the vibrations around them seem to cause them to react.”

Twilight felt inexplicably empty looking into the pony’s eyes.

“It looks sad,” she said.

Zerephonzidas shrugged. “Well, it is dead. It hardly has cause for celebration.” He beckoned to Twilight to come closer. “Here, listen.”

Twilight leaned in towards the statue, as close as she could get without cutting herself: the statue was still incredibly sharp.

She could hear a faint ringing noise, very like the one they had heard earlier.

“It’s been getting fainter and fainter over time,” Zerephonzidas said. “It’s carried the sound from within the ruins to here. Now cut off from the true source of the sound, its beginning to die out.”

“What happens when it dies?”

“I suspect nothing. Perhaps the statue will become truly lifeless? Perhaps the noise is part of what’s preserving their life, such as it is? Perhaps it has nothing to do with anything and is a mere coincidence. I don’t know. I merely thought it interesting.”

Interesting, Twilight thought, but also horrifying. The statue looked like it was trying to convey pain, and each new crack that formed to express agony only brought it closer to its doom.

“What do they want?” Twilight asked.

“If I were a guessing sort,” Zerephonzidas said, “I’d guess that they want to be helped. They don’t understand what happened to them five thousand years ago and want to be saved.”

Twilight swallowed. “Can we?”

“No. We cannot undo this. I do not have the ability or knowledge, and neither do you.”

Twilight frowned. “I’d have thought over your time alive you’d have seen some instances of…”

Zerephonzidas snorted. “I have seen pale imitations. The walking dead are exactly that: dead.” He leaned back. “It takes considerable power to reverse that kind of entropy, and even more difficult is having the knowledge to do so. Anyone can just find a big power source. Nopony has yet managed to wield it to undo death. Not completely, at least.”

“Do you think it’s possible?”

Zerephonzidas grinned. “That is a dark line of thought,” he said. “Celestia would not be comfortable with you asking such questions.”

Twilight was in a foul mood. “Celestia is not here.”

“Indeed she is not.” Zerephonzidas leaned back. “I believe it could be done. Just not by myself. I do not believe in ‘impossible’ any more. Only improbable.”

Twilight looked over at the glass statue.

“Can we at least put it out of its misery?”

“Not yet. Tomorrow, I promise,” Zerephonzidas said. “I have more tests to do.”

Twilight found she didn’t want to watch. “I’m going to bed.”

“Good night,” Zerephonzidas said. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

---

Author's Note:

Some changes to the original plan are taking place, but so far everything is progressing very swimmingly.

Also, a new chapter of True Victor also released today, so if you enjoyed this chapter, do go and check it out!