Sisters of Willowbrook

by Starscribe

Chapter 33: Sightless Eyes

The deep was a strange place, even Derek could admit that. Deep underground, she could feel the gentle pressure of attention on her at all times, as though creatures just out of sight were watching her.

In Equestria, perhaps they might be. Even after years of time to grow up here, learning as much as she could about the natural magic of the place and its residents, Derek did not feel as though she had any real confidence. It felt as though every new lesson with Iris might add new information that completely undermined her understanding.

But Cyan Mine was worse than any ordinary cave. Here the sense of watching attention was hostile. If someone told her that a terrible mining accident had killed hundreds of locals and entrapped their restless ghosts in the stone, she would believe it.

"I don't get why this has to be underground," said River Breeze. Charlie's stupid friend, who didn't belong here and was wasting all of their time.

At least if she'd brought the bat, Velvet Moon would have some useful contributions to their navigation. A bat could use echolocation to find her way around, sensing hidden passages and threats before they came. River could only complain and slow their progress.

"We're going into one of the most dangerous places in Willowbrook. Everypony knows you don't go into Cyan Mine. But here we are, putting ourselves in danger for no reason. What's the reason?"

"She already explained," Charlie said. "I get it."

"No, you just believe everything she says and never stick up for yourself. I'm asking her. I know it isn't just to make us uncomfortable, is it Lilac?"

"No." She stretched her tone with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "But you won't understand. You're a pegasus."

"And you're an earth pony. I think I'll manage."

"She's more than—" Risk snapped, stopping his forward progress. He stood straight up, glowering at River. "You're right, you don't belong here!"

"Please stop arguing." Charlie stepped between them, pacing in a slow circle. "Just let Lilac answer the question. And listen carefully this time so she doesn't have to explain again."

"We're here to cast a special scrying spell." Derek didn't want to say more—but from the way River spread her wings and pawed at the ground, she could tell she wouldn't get away with so little information. "A scry is a spell to see into somewhere we aren't. Like looking at another city.

"Only instead of looking into another city, we are looking at another universe."

River nodded, but there was no trace of comprehension on her face. "Okay. But explain the underground part. I know you're here for magic, and Firefly cares for some reason."

"When you scry, you need sympathy and you need proximity," she said, the exact two words that Iris had used. Just because she was answering the question didn't mean she had to make it understandable for River. "Sympathy is something Firefly and I bring no matter what. Proximity comes from the mine. Down in the bottom is a low-place. It's very close—less than a hundred meters from us. You should be able to feel it right now."

"I can," Charlie whispered. "Like a... drain. Like I should've slept hours ago. It's dragging me down."

"It will do more than that!" Risk snapped. "A low place is a cold fire—drawing the life and heat from everything that gets close. Touch it, and it will kill you. That's why nopony is allowed down here. If they were unlucky enough to get close to this thing, they could get themselves killed. A few years ago, a dozen ponies died down here."

Died summoning us, Derek thought. Nopony had told her that outright, not even Iris. But she could put the pieces together. The deaths of so many townsponies were impossible to hide. There had been a royal investigation and everything.

Very fortunate for her that the investigation hadn't discovered her or Charlie. If the Lightless Star was to be believed, the rulers of Equestria would kill them without a second thought. She had no reason to disbelieve them.

"I think it's through there." Derek pointed just ahead, where the glow of Risk's horn illuminated a heavy metal door. It was so far the only one they'd discovered that wasn't made of rotting wood. This was heavy metal, with a sturdy-looking lock in the center.

They all crowded around, and even River fell silent to look. Derek got up close, squinting through the gloom.

At least she wasn't still trapped by her illiteracy. Derek could read with full proficiency, and she did.

"EXTREME DANGER TO LIFE
DO NOT ENTER FOR ANY REASON
THAUMIC HAZARD"

They weren't even dressing it up. The cult hadn't bothered trying anything particularly cloak and dagger here.

"So we're giving up?" River asked. "Oh well. Maybe we could go back to your place and prepare for the Fetlock Fete, eh Vale?"

She rolled her eyes, fished around in her saddlebags, and removed something in her mouth—a walnut, hollowed and covered in dense writing. She held it up to the door, pressing it right to the lock. Then she smashed it down with a hoof, directly into the mechanism. The delicate shell crunched and fell away, releasing the magic trapped inside.

"Knock knock," Derek whispered. The door clicked open, and swung backward.

There was darkness beyond, or... what was darker than darkness? A dense, persistent absence filled the room beyond. Even Risk's horn light barely made it through the doorway.

"That's awful," River whispered. She clutched at her stomach, wings falling slack. "It got so much worse when you opened the door. True gods, I'm gonna be sick."

"Stay back," she said, stepping over the threshold. "You too, Risk.” She stepped inside, crossing the open doorway into the room. It was a little like standing in a drain, except it was pulling at the substance of her soul, weakening her second by second. But it didn't debilitate her. She didn't drop to one knee the way Risk did, wobbling.

He looked like he wanted to object. But his word was strangled in a gasp, and he just nodded.

"Firefly, come in here. I have a theory."

Charlie followed her. She wobbled as she walked inside, wings splayed to either side. But she didn't fall over either. "I hate it," she whispered into Derek's ear. "This place is ugly. I've been to haunted houses that were more inviting."

"Of course you have. Those ghosts weren't real."

That silenced her. While she stood there, Derek fished around in her pack for something else. After a little digging, she came up with an actual miner's torch, wrapped in paper. She struck it against the rock wall, and light flared up around them.

Even the pure orange of fire was dimmed somewhat by the awful darkness of the chamber beyond. Its light was visibly weakened as it shone towards the center of the room, maybe five meters further on. The smoke didn't rise, but instead trickled down towards a point in the middle.

If she squinted into the center, Derek could see a purple... reflection, visible there in the middle. Light's sickly cousin, from a far darker place than the one they inhabited. "Can you carry this?"

Charlie took it in her hoof, nodding. "How come we can come in here?"

Derek kept her voice just as low, but she didn't think the others would overhear. There was something deeply sickening about being near this thing, one that she expected would make memories of it foggy.

Not for them, though. "We're from there. We can be used to Equestria, but that doesn't cut the ties to our home."

"It's pulling," her friend replied. "Do you feel it? Like a slope in the floor. Except I can see the ground is flat. How long will this take?"

"Not long. Stay close to me. If I slip, grab me. I'll do the same for you."

Charlie nodded seriously. Whatever argument they were having outside, any trace of it was gone now.

Derek set to work as quickly as she could. There was no time to discuss or second guess. This place felt so awful even she wasn't sure that she would have the strength to come back for a second run. She would have to get things right the first time.

She already had the spell worked out, or else she probably would've left already. Derek removed the outline from her pack, then began recreating it on the cavern floor. She drew carefully with chalk, staying well away from the event horizon.

If they ever wanted to transit the low-place, they would need to actually bisect it with a magical tool, and somehow not get sucked in alive. For a scrying spell, they just had to get close enough to work with its magical resonance.

Or... anti-resonance. The tree people had told her about this, confused and repulsed whenever she discussed her intentions to return home.

"It's a dark, disordered place. Outer darkness, without governance or purpose. Why do you think the ancient evil was banished to it? It was the only death complete enough to know they would not return."

Saffron had said things like that, and some that were even worse. Now the fear from all those breezies made much more sense to Derek.

She worked without stopping, ignoring the growing weakness that permeated her muscles. If she stopped now, she might never finish. The magical essence of her spell would be eroded by the low-place as surely as the tide lapped at a sandcastle, leaving nothing for her on a return visit.

Despite the feeling of gravity pulling her into the event-horizon, nothing actually pulled them. Charlie didn't slip either, just followed her around with a torch and kept the workspace clear.

Far from the assistant that Risk could be. But when she looked at that unicorn, she found him on the ground, outside, cowering behind the protection of steel.

It took less than ten minutes to work the spell, but those minutes felt like days. By the end, Charlie was panting, and Derek had to settle back and draw on the strength of earth with every single step. At least she had an endless well of power. Her friend was far from the sky, where her power came from. It would be much worse for her.

But Charlie didn't have to cast the spell, Derek did. She was the one who had to keep her strength up.

Eventually, the magic was complete. Derek settled the precious gemstone into its place in the diagram, and retreated from the hole in reality. "We're ready," she said.

"Do you... think it will work?" Charlie asked, leaning on her for support. Derek normally wouldn't let her get that close—it made her feel too girly. She needed her personal space.

But just this once, she let Charlie do it, stupid girly pony instincts and all.

"Mathematically, yes," she said. "But magic is only about... half math. The rest is about stories. I don't know what kind of story ends with a low place. Not a good one."

"But we want to go back through. Our story in Equestria ends here, doesn't it?"

"Not today it doesn't." She moved over the gemstone, lifting one hoof directly over it. Even runecrafting would require a powerful expenditure of magical energy to get the process going.

"Picture home, Firefly. Hold it in your head, but don't try to touch it. It's only an image, no matter how convincing it looks. Got it?"

Charlie nodded. Her tail tucked between her legs, ears flat. "Are we sure this is worth it? Maybe... maybe we shouldn't be fighting so hard. Maybe we should wait. We could come back in a few years. Is this spell even safe?"

"No," Derek answered. "Iris made me promise to never use a scrying spell to look beyond Equestria. Does it matter, Firefly? Do you want to give up our home forever, or not?"

Her friend shuddered, keeping her eyes focused stubbornly on Derek. "I... don't want to go without saying goodbye. I left p-pe-ponies behind."

"Me too." Derek smashed her hoof down with all her might. Despite being hard as rock, the gemstone shattered, seeming to melt into light. Her mind went with it, perceptions drawn inexorably into the scry.

There was no turning back now.

Comments

[Level Dasher]

You and your cliffhangers.

[minibox]

The worse possibly thing is to invite another darkness to enter Equestria. Maybe even Earth. There's no harm waiting a couple more years until Derek becomes a full master. The sisters are more or less considered dead on Earth anyway.

Charlie's stupid friend, who didn't belong here and was wasting all of their time.

I'm guessing Derek's disdain goes beyond River's utility in the spell.

"Only instead of looking into another city, we are looking at another universe."

But will you be able to look into the right universe?

"It's a dark, disordered place. Outer darkness, without governance or purpose. Why do you think the ancient evil was banished to it? It was the only death complete enough to know they would not return."

And if the stories of the Lightless Star are true, apparently that wasn't enough to stop them.

"No," Derek answered. "Iris made me promise to never use a scrying spell to look beyond Equestria. Does it matter, Firefly? Do you want to give up our home forever, or not?"

Her friend shuddered, keeping her eyes focused stubbornly on Derek. "I... don't want to go without saying goodbye. I left p-pe-ponies behind."

Maybe settling down isn't too bad.

There was no turning back now.

Of all the possibilities, I'm thinking the most interesting one is if they don't escape but manage to drag another hapless human into Equestria. Another sister. That would cause a lot of chaos, but it would cement the sisters' place in the cult if they actually manage to bring back another "god" without any sacrifices... assuming Risk and River survive.

[Gavier]

11143176
at least Starscribe updates super regularly and consistently. I don't mind cliffhangers if they're resolved in one or two weeks

[RandomCommentor]

11143218
Same.

[ponepony]

Are they going to get full blown dysphoria changing genders again .

[FanOfMostEverything]

Just because she was answering the question didn't mean she had to make it understandable for River.

Though if she did, it might get River to stop asking.

Derek's going to need to learn to stop her extremities into other worlds. One of these day, something's going to bite it off rather than drag her in. For now, let's hope she gets out of this with body and mind relatively intact.

[hmaf43]

it kinda get worse and worse after the timeskip.
how their relationship got stained. how the two gave in to the social norms. how coping turned into acceptance. how earth pony's witchcraft and pegasus magic works.

everything got skipped. organic psychological development, magic system. all the interesting things got shoved out.

and both have personality changed so much that they might as well be new characters.

[NotSuspicious366]

There was darkness beyond, or... what was darker than darkness? A dense, persistent absence filled the room beyond. Even Risk's horn light barely made it through the doorway.

Are the photon readings negative?

[tsaukpaetra]

Let's see if this little test is worth it. If nothing else, they have witnesses.