Shadow Grave

by Composer99

The Whispering Dark

It was all your fault.

Twilight twitched. As they descended down the tunnel, the whispers had become more prevalent – and more insistent. They were so loud, she almost couldn’t hear her own hoofsteps on the rock. For the most part, they were a din of susurrations and fragments of words – but every so often a phrase sprang out clearly.

“Shouldn’t we have reached the bottom by now?” Rainbow Dash moaned. “It’s been like forever! How long can this tunnel even be!?”

You will succumb to the darkness within.

Twilight shook her head. It was too much – too much. She could hardly stand it any longer.

Bringing up the rear, Rarity pawed at an ear with one hoof. “This dreadful buzzing sound’s been getting stronger as we go deeper into the cave. It’s terribly annoying.”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a look. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, Rarity,” Applejack said. “I don’t hear nothin’.”

“Me neither!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

In forgotten depths, you will be changed.

Twilight lay down, clapped her hooves to her ears, and grimaced. “Stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP!”

The others froze, looking at her.

“I didn’t think we were that annoy – you’re not talking about us, are you?” said Applejack.

“Twilight? What’s the matter?” Fluttershy asked softly.

Those you love will perish by your hand.

Twilight looked up at her pleadingly.

“The voices,” she whispered hoarsely. “Make them stop. Please.”

“Voices?” Fluttershy asked. “I don’t hear any voices.”

Twilight lay her head down, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Now, wait just a second,” Applejack said. “We earth ponies and pegasi can’t hear voices. But Twilight does, and Rarity’s being bothered by a buzzing in her ears. What if it’s some magic – magic made to affect unicorns? And not just any unicorns, either: unicorns who are thumpin’ good at magic themselves?”

Rarity chimed in, saying, “And since alicorns have exceptionally powerful unicorn magic…”

“… the magic would have a stronger effect on Twilight than anypony else!” Rainbow Dash finished for her.

In the stillness between silences, they hunger for you.

Twilight moaned again. “Please. Make them stop.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Well, we can’t let some silly old voices stop us, can we?”

She stepped up to Twilight. “Twilight,” she said, smiling brightly, “whatever the voices are saying, I’m sure they’re just making things up to scare you. Things like this!”

Pinkie got up on her back hooves, made a fake-menacing posture, and half-grunted, half-shouted in a low vocal register, “I’m gonna eat you up, pony!” Then, unable to contain herself, she doubled over, laughing. She began to softly glow a pink light.

“Ooooh! I’ve got another one!” Pinkie said, managing to stand upright. “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dragon, too!” she shrieked, before falling over laughing again.

The glow around her brightened, and wisps of pink magic began to swirl around her.

Pinkie managed to stand again. “Here’s an even better one!” she gasped in between fits of giggles. She pulled her party cannon in front of her, managing to look defiant.

“Uh, anypony see where that came from?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Say hello to my little friend!” Pinkie Pie shouted before firing off a blast of confetti. Then she fell over again with fresh peals of laughter.

As she did so, she began to float in the air. Her mane and tail puffed up in size, and with a blaze of light, gained stripes of pale blue, yellow, and light brown, and became adorned with yellow outlines of stars. A pale blue bow with yellow star clasp popped into existence on her mane, and the bottom of her hooves took on a yellow sheen, before becoming decorated with purple, brown, and pale blue balloons.

Everypony had to turn away as the pink glow surrounding her grew brighter, before washing through the tunnel with a blinding pulse of pink light.

As it faded, Pinkie Pie had returned to her normal appearance. She panted, out of breath, still giggling slightly.

Twilight shook her head, and stood, eyes wide with amazement.

Save for the sounds of their breathing, the tunnel was silent.

Twilight suddenly broke into a grin. She let out a short laugh and skipped over to Pinkie Pie, grabbing her and twirling her in a tight embrace.

“You did it, Pinkie Pie! You did it! Thank you!”

“But what did she do, exactly?” Rarity asked. “I mean, apart from stopping that infernal buzzing.”

“She looked like she did when we unlocked the chest at the Tree of Harmony,” Fluttershy said.

“It was the magic of Laughter!” Twilight said gleefully, still spinning Pinkie Pie around.

“Iiiiiiiiiiiiii’m getting diiiiizzzzzzzyyyyyy!” Pinkie Pie crowed happily.

Twilight finally released her, still beaming.

Rainbow Dash looked around. “Hey, is it just me or does the tunnel seem… I dunno, shorter somehow?”

They all glanced around. When they had stopped, the way forward had seemed interminable. Now there was already a bend to the left, and the unmistakeable shape of the ceiling curving up into a larger gallery.

“I wonder if that was part of the magic creating the whispers?” Twilight pondered.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy asked, “did that seem like something Shadow Grave could have done?”

Twilight closed her eyes and her horn lit briefly.

“No,” she replied. “I can’t sense any of her magic in the tunnel. Whatever that spell was, it was here before she came to this place.”

“Well, now that Pinkie’s gone and made things much easier for us, let’s get goin’ again!” Applejack said.

“Right you are, AJ,” Twilight responded. Despite the gloom of the caverns she was obviously in good spirits as they trotted around the bend.

“Let’s see what else Shadow Grave and this cave have to throw at uuuaaaaaAAAAGH!!”

Everypony else stopped suddenly at her cry.

The ceiling rose into the dark beyond the light of Twilight and Rarity's horns, but the tunnel ended suddenly around the bend in a wall. Carved into the wall was a small archway, slightly taller than pony height.

“What is it, Twi?” Applejack asked. “All I see in that doorway are… mirrors?”

Twilight stepped back, trembling. “We can’t – we can’t get through,” she said. “Don’t get too close to the door – that thing will swallow you up!”

Applejack stepped forward slightly. “I don’t see anything, Twilight. Just our reflections in the mirror.”

Rarity squinted at the mirrors. “I don’t suppose the reflections you see are oddly distorted?”

“Nope. We all look pretty normal to me.”

“Me, too,” Fluttershy said.

“Me, three,” added Rainbow Dash.

“I look so silly!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed brightly.

“Uh, yeah,” said Rainbow Dash, “that’s because you’re… wait, where did you get that rubber duck costume?”

Applejack stared at the mirrored door a moment longer. “Must be one of those trap things again,” she finally said. “I’ll take care o’ this.”

She turned to Twilight. “Twilight, I don’t know what you’re seein’ now, but ya gotta believe me: it’s a lie. There ain’t nothin’ there but whatever the mirrors are usin’ to scare you.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked.

“Absolutely!” Applejack exclaimed. “Just watch.”

She stepped up to the mirrored archway. As she did so, she began to emit a glimmering orange light.

A step away from the archway, she slowly extended a hoof. It passed almost through the archway before glancing off a magical barrier on the far side.

“Applejack! Don’t prod it!” Twilight shouted.

Applejack turned around, smiling with satisfaction. “There ain’t nothing here: the mirrors are lyin’ to ya, Twilight, and I’m gonna prove it.”

She braced herself on her forehooves and bucked one side of the archway, hard. There was a loud pang! when her hoof met the mirrored surface, but nothing happened to it.

Applejack, however, had begun to glow more brightly. She took another deep breath, got up on her forehooves and bucked again. There was another pang! This time, a sliver had appeared in the surface.

“It’s waking up!” Twilight wailed. “Applejack, you’ve got to get away!”

“Just one… or two more…” Applejack groaned with concentration. Her mane and tail became longer and fuller, and stripes of red and pink shot through them from her head and rump. She bucked the mirror again. The sliver elongated and radiated into a web of cracks.

“I can’t look!” Twilight said fearfully.

By now, Applejack’s hat had sprouted a shiny red apple, and green ribbons had appeared and tied themselves around her mane and tail. Her hooves had taken on a deep red colour, and were decorated with multi-coloured apples.

“Ha!” she shouted with one final buck. All of the mirrors on the archway shattered at once with a burst of orange light, and the countless tiny fragments evaporated in puffs of orange smoke, which showered over and enveloped Applejack.

When the orange smoke cleared, she was standing in front of the now bare archway, her left legs crossed in front of her right, smiling coyly, her appearance returned to normal.

Twilight shook her head, staring at Applejack. “Wow,” she said. “That was amazing!”

“Aw, shucks,” Applejack replied modestly, “all in a day’s work savin’ the day.”

“No, really, you and Pinkie Pie both managed to channel the Tree of Harmony’s magic right when we needed – well, when I needed it. How?”

“I can’t speak for Pinkie Pie, but once I’d had a good look at those mirrors, I just knew bucking ‘em would sort ‘em out. All the rest of it didn’t even cross my mind.”

Twilight took Applejack into a hug. “Thank you,” she said warmly.

Applejack blushed, but returned the hug. “You’re welcome, Twilight.”

They collected themselves and passed through the archway.

---

Sunset Shimmer had a scratch on her cheek, and a bruise over one eye, but she stood her ground, firing blasts of cyan light at any skeleton that dared approach the balcony.

Around her were residents of Ponyville who had volunteered to defend the balcony, mixed with Royal Guard ponies. They were doing their best to fend off the waves of attackers, but some ponies had been hurt and had been taken back inside, and they were starting to run low on rocks to hurl.

Sunset’s concentration was broken when she heard an angry bellow from behind her.

“Apple Bloom!”

That sounds like Big Macintosh, she thought.

“Get back inside!”

“NO!” came a high-pitched shout in response.

Sunset risked looking around. A thick-set stallion, who could only be Big Mac, and a young filly - Apple Bloom, of course, Sunset thought - were glaring at each other. Apple Bloom’s friends - Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, wasn't it? - were there as well: Scootaloo was also defiantly glaring back at Big Mac, while Sweetie Belle was nervously watching the affray in the skies above. Beside the three fillies were barrels full of apples.

Sunset turned back to the railing, blasted an approaching stack of skeletons, sending them toppling to the ground below, then judged the moment quiet enough to trot over to the developing confrontation. Someon - somepony, she figured, had to smooth things over.

“It’s too dangerous,” Big Mac insisted.

“Ponyville is our home, too!” Scootaloo shot back. “We want to defend it as much as anypony!”

“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, you want to help, don’t you? Isn’t that why you brought up the apples?” Sunset cut in before Big Mac could retort. The ponies started and stared at her.

“Who’s she, and how did she know our names?” Sweetie Belle whispered to her friends.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom replied. “We overhead somepony saying they needed more stuff to throw, and we’d brought apples in case there was a long stay here at the castle. So we snuck out from where Miss Cheerilee has been keeping all the colts and fillies, and brought some up here. And we want to toss ‘em!”

“I can’t really override your big brother here, Apple Bloom. He’s right: it’s dangerous.” As if to punctuate Sunset’s words, a skeletal pegasus swooped over the balcony, forcing everypony to duck. Pursuing it was Spitfire of the Wonderbolts.

“But I won’t deny we need more ammunition. If it’s okay with Big Mac, you can each throw one apple at the skeletons, and then go get more apples for us to throw. But you can only be on this balcony while delivering apples – and if a grown-up takes over delivering apples, you’re to stay inside. Understand?”

“Works for me!” Scootaloo said enthusiastically.

“Well, can we do what… what she suggested?” Apple Bloom asked Big Mac. “Please? We wanna help defend our homes!”

Big Mac looked around, pursing his lips. Finally, he nodded and reluctantly said, “Eyup.”

“Yay!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted. They quickly grabbed apples and bolted for the railings.

Sweetie Belle hesitated with a cringe, then grabbed an apple with her magic, running after her friends. “Wait for me!” she squeaked.

Sunset trotted over to them. She looked up and blasted a flying skeleton out of the sky before speaking.

“My name’s Sunset. Princess Twilight’s a friend of mine. She’s told me about you three.”

“Oh, so that’s how you knew who we were,” Apple Bloom said. She grinned savagely. “I bet Princess Twilight didn’t tell ya I’m a crack shot with an apple!”

She held her apple in her hoof, saw another flying skeleton approaching the balcony, and tossed it with all her might. The apple cracked into its skull. The skeleton’s flight slowed long enough for a Wonderbolt to smash it with her rear hooves, sending it crashing to the ground below.

“Great shot, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo whooped.

A formation of four skeletal pegasi swooped towards their balcony. Sunset and another unicorn on the balcony fired magic at them, but missed. The pegasi weaved and got back into formation.

Sweetie Belle threw her apple with her magic as best she could towards the advancing fliers. Scootaloo whipped hers hard towards the skeleton closest to the balcony. Their apples missed, but they caused the skeletons to break formation again, and this time two of them were caught in blasts of unicorn magic. Their shattered bones fell to the ground below, only to begin reforming anew.

The two remaining fliers swooped down, their hooves reaching for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Then they slammed into a shield Sunset had conjured, and bounced off. One of the skeletons had crushed its skull on the shield; it too clattered to the ground below. The last skeletal pegasus stayed still for a moment too long – and burst into fragments as Sunset struck it with a blast of magic.

“Okay, that’s it!” she snapped. “Inside, all of you!”

“Come on, come on!” Sweetie Belle shouted, already leading the way back in.

“Fine!” Scootaloo responded, clearly disappointed.

“Thanks for giving us a chance!” Apple Bloom called to Sunset as she ran after the others. Before long, they had gone back into the castle.

Sunset allowed herself just a moment to smile before getting back to the grim business at hand.

---

Celestia watched as Shining Armor and the detachment of Royal Guard ponies stationed at the castle doors continued to reinforce it with timber.

“Unless Shadow Grave starts using her own magic to try to batter down the door,” Shining Armor said, “I don’t think those skeletons are getting in.”

“Good,” Celestia replied. “All the same, you and your ponies should remain here, so that you can stop any attempt to breach the door.”

“Of course, Princess.”

The Royal Guard messenger pegasus came cantering around a corner. “Your Highness! Canterlot’s sent word: They’ve sent their Royal Guard detachment here by sky chariot. They should be here within a few minutes. I’m told Princess Luna sent orders for their redeployment here after hearing the castle was under attack.”

“Thank you, sister,” Celestia said, looking up to the ceiling.

She turned back to the pegasus. “Tell Captain Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts to retire from the skies once reinforcements arrive. They must be rested if they are to follow me to defend the Tree of Harmony.”

“Yes, your Highness!” The pegasus snapped off a salute, and dashed down the corridor from whence he came, half on his feet and half in the air.

“What now?” Shining Armor asked.

“I must return to one of the balconies. First, though, I should send Twilight a message via Spike. She must know of our situation.”

“I hope Twily’s all right.”

Celestia nodded, her expression grave. “So do I.”

Author's Note:

The whispers tormenting Twilight appear in a previous chapter as well as this one; Internet cookies will be awarded to any who recognise their inspiration. (A few of them come straight from the eldritch abomination's... er... mouth (as it were).)

Two out of three Pinkie Pie's eldritch-whisper-dispelling lines are film references.