Light and Shadow

by oop

Chapter 15: Descent

As it was, the mountain turned out to not be all that fantastic of a march. The tribe was familiar with the terrain and knew safe paths around the high slopes. Lightning walked at the front of the procession with Song, a brown headband tied around her head with a big red feather attached to it. She felt a little awkward with it, especially since it didn’t seem like the buffalo had actually started wearing them yet, but she thought it was a definite source of pride.

It was a frightening trip nonetheless as rocks tumbled around the mountain on occasion, causing Lightning to tense in fear, and once or twice a boulder would pass right over their heads, which caused her alarm. Song, however, never flinched as she led the group along the hidden path. She walked with utter surety afforded only by a very great wisdom of the route. It wasn’t just the fact that she had the status, or the knowledge. It was more that she radiated the fantastic aura of leadership and pride that was just easy to follow. The influence was clear as the stampede group, which had been pigheaded and rowdy in the camp, marched in perfect synchronization, not so much as speaking to one another.

“They’re being so quiet…” Lightning observed, looking back at them “They were so mean earlier though… You must be a really great leader.”

“I wouldn’t say they’re mean,” said Song with a laugh “They have fierce loyalty to the tribe and everyone in it. Occasionally they get a little hot tempered when things get in the way, but they’re all like that.”

“Didn’t you say that they all fall into a stampede or something?” asked Lightning “Like a river I think…”

“The worst kind of stubbornness…” said Song “The kind where the blind lead the blind. When similar opinions are mistaken for being the same. They mold together and the ideas, instead of clashing like they should, become a single thought. A thought that is altogether alien as opposed to any individual’s idea.”

“Like when the kids at school get together to play a game!” said Lightning “No one gets exactly what they want, so we make up a new game that everyone has fun with. It isn’t what anyone thinks of at first, but everyone has fun!”

“That’s the idea,” said Song “I’m glad you understand. A lot of core values determine what happens in the end though, such as not to cause any individual extra burden, and most importantly, to never harm a fellow buffalo.”

“Wait…” said Lightning “That can’t be right… they beat up Mesa!”

Song looked down at her in surprise “That… is most unlike them…” she said “Who was it and why?”

“He said his name was Black Mesa,” said Lightning, not missing the flash of recognition at the name, “He found me out on the plains and I tackled him for following me. When the stampede found us they just kept kicking him…”

“I see…” said Song, in a tone of barely contained anger “And then they brought you back… took credit for a discovery that Mesa actually made…”

“That’s pretty much the gist of it,” said Lightning “I guess the group opinion was that the reward was better than whatever happened later.”

“They could glean no punishment…” said Song “Mesa is spending time away from the tribe to mature for now…and will likely remain there for some time…”

“Oh…” said Lightning “But why can’t he be part of the tribe? Did he do something wrong?”

Song didn’t respond immediately. “Some are more fortunate than others,” she said “Those born in to the easy life must learn hardship somehow or else risk destruction…”

Lightning’s head tilted slightly “What does that mean?” she asked.

“We’re here…” said Song. Lightning wasn’t sure if she had even heard the question, but the view distracted her.

The ponies had built a little village out of tents themselves, though these were not nearly as neat as the buffalo teepees. It reminded Lightning of the movie Hunchback of Canterlot, where a group of poor ponies had a secret tent village much like this one. The only difference was that this little rag town was anything but secret. With tarps flapping around in the plain’s open wind it was a wonder that even the mountain hid them from the buffalo.

“You aren’t very well off are you?” asked Song, sounding concerned as they began the descent “Have you had some enemies, or exile?”

“No idea,” said Lightning simply, as confused as Song was at the sight “That sure isn’t Ponyville… well it could be… I mean it was started as a settler pony town and now I’m in the past…”

“You can stop now.” Said Song.

“Oh…right…” said Lightning.

As they got closer and closer to the camp Lightning was able to make out more distinct pony features. She was pretty sure that most of the group were unicorns but it was still hard to tell. Her heart jumped into her throat as she spotted the wide white wings of Celestia walking toward the edge of the camp. It probably wouldn’t be wise to point out the monarch to Song, but it was hard to resist.

It was obvious as they got close that Celestia was not looking at them, but rather something near the base of the mountain. Lightning marveled at how the buffalo’s fur blended into the stone perfectly enough that Celestia’s attention was so diverted. It was a little embarrassing to think that her red coat probably stuck out like a sore hoof against the brown.

What she was really watching for was whatever Celestia was walking toward. It seemed like they wouldn’t get a good look until they had made it back to the mountain’s base. She squinted slightly as Celestia’s horn glowed a bright yellow, some magic beaming down on her object of focus. A shout rang out over the mountain. An all too familiar shout…

“Lightning?” said Song “Is there any reason you’re walking faster than the rest of us? It’s still a dangerous way down.”

“N-no…” Lightning stammered, knowing it was a bad lie.

Fortunately her hooves came in to contact with grass no more than a minute later. The stampede clambered down off the rocks as she and Song stared forward. Lightning’s eyes widened as she saw Celestia glaring over the limp form of a pony. A pony with wings…

“Shadow!” she shouted, unable to hold herself back any longer. She shot forward, only to slam head first into an invisible barrier. She beat at it as Celestia approached with fire in her eyes.

“Another one of Luna’s is it?” Celestia growled as Lightning cowered backward “And with a war party of buffalo nonetheless. I never should have thought that my ponies would turn against me so.”

“We have not come here to make war,” said Song, approaching Celestia without fear “The presence of new creatures on the plain did not go without notice. We’re here for an introduction, nothing more.”

Relieved that Song had drawn Celestia’s attention away from her, Lightning moved back toward the barrier to try and find some way to get to Shadow. Iris was already at his side, but she was willing to ignore that for now. Unfortunately the barrier showed no sign of weakening at any point.

“You say you come in peace?” Celestia exclaimed “And yet you brought a war party? How do you explain this?”

“A tribe’s chief must not go about unattended,” said Song evenly “I suppose you are the ruler of this group? It’s an honor to meet you, Nature Song, chief of the…”

“I don’t care who you are,” Celestia interrupted “All I want to know is why you’re really here. As you can clearly see we are more than capable of defending ourselves.”

“Quite the contrary,” said Song “We are here to ask for peace from you, though by the looks of things it would be better of us to provide you with aid.”

“So you wish to subjugate us?” Celestia shouted, having completely forgotten her desperation to anger “How dare you even suggest such a thing?”

“That isn’t…” Song started.

“And what of this red one?” Celestia demanded to which Lightning flinched “Is she your saboteur? She isn’t a unicorn you fools. Have you perhaps convinced the ponies of earth to rise with you against us? You people never cease to disgust me…”

“Shut up,” said Song, prompting an awed gasp from the nearby ponies “I will not stand for my tribe to be falsely accused. If it is truly war you desire then it shall be war you receive. Though I highly advise you re-think your position…”

Celestia was furious to say the least. No pony had ever disrespected her like that. How dare she? Was she not aware of the fact that she was in the presence of a veritable goddess? She had half a mind to tell this buffalo just what she thought of that…

The only problem was, she was right. The momentary lapse of thought was enough to let Celestia come back to reason. They needed help, desperately, and it seemed that the buffalo were willing to provide it. She was vaguely aware of her magical barrier falling as she contemplated this.

Lightning dashed forward the moment the wall was down. “Is he okay?” she asked Iris quickly “What happened? How did you get here?”

“I-I-I think he’s fine…” Iris stammered “We got here by following the river… Celestia attacked him… because he’s Luna’s son…”

“Some way to treat a nephew…” said Lightning “Have you guys figured out the time travel part yet?” Iris merely nodded, letting Lightning continue “I got the cylinder thing back, we need to get out of here before something bad happens.”

“I think they’re starting to agree on something…” said Iris “And we may still need their help…”

“I don’t know if we have time for that,” said Lightning “And even if we did, I don’t think Song is going to get along with Celestia.”

They turned simultaneously to watch the heated debate that the two rulers had fallen into. It seemed that Celestia was still very unwilling to give ground against someone who had so shattered her pride, but it did look like some sort of compromise was finally imminent.

“Okay, maybe you’re right,” said Lightning “This thing isn’t exactly an easy use utensil. We need all the help we can…”

Her sentence was abruptly cut off by a groan from below. Shadow had woken up and was forcing himself groggily to his hooves. His mane was sticking up in a puff and when he finally managed to open his eyes they were crossed. Under any other circumstance Lightning would’ve laughed at how silly he looked.

“What happened?” Shadow muttered, shaking his head to return his eyesight “I just got shocked and blacked out… what are those funny stars?”

“Great, he’s delirious,” Lightning growled “He has to be delirious now doesn’t he…?”

“Lightning…” said Iris, tugging gently on her tail “I think they’re almost finished…”

Lightning looked up to see that Song’s mood had brightened considerably. Celestia looked unhappy, but resigned. Whatever bargain they had come to was probably mutually beneficial, but the pony monarch was too headstrong to be happy about this too soon.

“We’ve never had proficient magic users about the plain,” said Song “It will be an interesting experience getting to know your people.”

“While we try and figure out some sort of living…” said Celestia ruefully “I’ll send some ponies out to try and get some earth and pegasus ponies to help. I don’t think we’re going to be able to get started that easily.”

“I look forward to meeting the pegasi,” said Song cheerfully “People with the gift of flight… I imagine they would be incredibly majestic.”

“Flattery won’t do you any good…” said Celestia “I’m still ready for an attack if you dare to launch one.”

Iris smiled “I knew they would get along…” she said.

Lightning’s focus had changed to the side of the mountain. She wasn’t sure of it, but she thought she saw a flash of brown against the rocks. Maybe a latecomer from the stampede? Whatever it was, it was moving remarkably fast along the trail… getting closer…

“Hey,” said Shadow, catching a glimpse himself “What is that…?”

The brown form suddenly took a tremendous leap off the mountain, throwing itself high into the air. With a rush of terror, Lightning realized what, and who, this was…

“You won’t take the land from us vile fiend!” Mesa shouted, striking hard at Celestia’s side as he fell at her “The plains belong to the buffalo and the buffalo alone!” He landed perfectly on the grass again as Celestia stumbled backward against the force of the kick.

“Mesa you fool!” Song shouted “What in all the plains are you doing here?”

“I came to help you guys defeat the ponies!” Mesa exclaimed “And look how good I did! I got the big winged one right in the kisser!”

“I knew it!” shouted a furious Celestia, regaining her balance “You’ve already broken a treaty that was made no more than a minute ago!”

“You don’t understand!” said Song, shoving Mesa aside “This stupid child was…”

“I’m tired of your excuses!” Celestia snapped “This has become a matter of war Nature Song! We will meet you on the field of battle come sunrise tomorrow!”

Celestia turned her back and walked back toward the camp. Song, realizing that reason would be a futile effort, turned on Mesa.

“You idiot child!” she exclaimed “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? That could very well have been the beginning of peaceful interactions with a magical race and we’ve lost it because of your stupidity!”

“Hey calm down!” Mesa exclaimed “We can take these bozos in combat!”

“I cannot believe you!” Song continued “You will not even admit to your own incompetence after such a crushing idiocy? Go! Never come back! If I catch word of your presence on the territory of the Thunder Trail Tribe ever again I’ll have you trampled!”

Mesa finally looked shocked “B-but…” he stammered.

“No excuses!” Song shouted “Just go!”

Lightning quickly ran over and started to drag him away before he could dig himself into a deeper hole. She had to wrestle him away as she shouted violent protests, kicking and screaming for release.

“Who’s this?” asked Shadow as they approached “Don’t tell me you actually know this guy…”

“Only person I ever met who’s more idiotic than you are,” Lightning practically growled “And he just started a war…”

“Hey, it was going to happen eventually!” Mesa said, still struggling to break out of Lightning’s grip, “Better to just get it over with!”

“Stop trying to make excuses!” Lightning scolded, dropping him onto the ground and delivering a swift kick to his hindquarters “You screwed up! Now we have to go fix it!”

“B-but how…?” Iris stammered “There’s nothing we can do…”

“Well we’re not staying here that’s for sure,” said Shadow “I don’t want to get in Celestia’s sight again. We can make a break for it while she’s distracted.”

“And we can’t go back to the buffalo as long as we’re chaperoning this moron,” said Lightning, kicking Mesa again as he tried to get up “Any bright ideas smart guy?”

“Why don’t we just stay here and tell the winged idiot to leave?” groaned Mesa. Shadow moved forward to attack him, but Iris bit down on his tail and held him back.

“S-sorry…” she stammered as he turned around in surprise “I just don’t think you have to hurt him… he knows the area better than anyone…”

“Yeah, I do know the plains!” said Mesa sharply “And if you’re not interested in kicking him out, you’re stuck with me.”

Lightning kicked him again “Lead the way then,” she said “We need food, shelter, and probably somewhere to sleep depending on the agenda.”

“You think we really have time for that?” queried Shadow “We need to stop this war from happening don’t we? We only have until sunrise…”

“I love how you guys think there’s something you can do about all this…” Mesa grumbled, unable to get up “You need a base camp before you do anything else anyway…ow… I can lead you somewhere…If you want…”

“I think you kicked him a little too hard that time,” said Shadow “We’re not carrying you so go ahead and haul yourself up.”

“That might take awhile…” said Lightning “I got him where it really hurts…”

Eventually Mesa was able to haul himself into a slightly more dignified walk and Lightning forced him forward. They weren’t quite sure if he had a destination in mind, but with Lightning hounding him the way she was, they felt he better. They were lucky enough to have gotten out of camp before Celestia had regained her senses, which was something, and they sort of had a guide, which was also something. Being lost would hopefully not be all that great of a “something else” as long as they had enough positives on their side.

“Shadow…” said Iris as they made their way across the grassy plain “Why is Lightning being so mean to Mesa…?”

“I’m not entirely sure…” said Shadow “She could have something against the buffalo I guess. From what I can tell they did kidnap her. Though honestly I think he’s just stupid and it gets on her nerves.” He snickered “At least it isn’t me this time right?”

“R-right…” said Iris, not laughing along “But I thought they might be… you know…”

“Might be what?”

Iris cringed slightly at the question as if it physically hurt her. “I thought they might be…flirting…”

Shadow took another look forward to where Lightning and Mesa looked on the verge of trading blows. It certainly didn’t look like what little hearts and hooves day flirting he had seen. But… then again…

“Guess you never know with Lightning,” he said with a shrug “It’s either that or she’s trying to kill him.”

“Oh…” said Iris “I really hope they’re flirting… I mean! Just so no one gets hurt!” She blushed wildly “I-I’m sorry! That sentence kind of got away from me…”

Shadow laughed again “It’s okay,” he said “But for your own sake do not let Lightning hear you say that. She’d probably go crazy and try and kill us all.”

Iris “stared” at him for a moment, the laughter completely offsetting the initial horror of what he was saying. It was all too confusing to figure out, so she let the matter drop. Turning her face away so Shadow wouldn’t be able to tell how much attention she was giving him, she started to mull it over.

“So where are we going anyway?” Shadow called forward, temporarily distracting Mesa from his mudslinging “You kind of forgot to mention that.”

“There’s a cave under the waterfall,” said Mesa “It used to belong to a crazy buffalo who was exiled for killing kids. The cave’s still got torches and stuff but the lunatic’s long gone.”

Shadow turned to Iris, who thankfully seemed too distracted to freak out at this comment “You don’t think there’s anywhere safer?”

“I’ve been living there for almost a month now,” said Mesa “Trust me, it’s as safe as safe can be. No one will bother us there anyway, the tribe’s too scared to go near it and it’s too hard for you ponies to find on your own.”

“Don’t underestimate us,” said Lightning, throwing him another sharp jab “And pick up the pace will you? We want to get there before nightfall and the moon’s already starting to rise.”

“Would you just shut up and come on?” Mesa grumbled, wincing from the blow “We’re almost there, even if you can’t see the falls.”

“I hear them…” Iris offered.

“No one asked you!” barked Mesa.

Iris’ ears drooped as she turned toward Shadow again. Mesa was right, the falls were really close. It was beginning to seem like now or never. She took a deep breath, psyching herself up, then jumped, effectively tackling Shadow, who crumpled from the unexpected blow.

“What the hay?” He exclaimed, watching as Iris immediately jumped off of him and ran to catch up with Lightning, who was watching this with a look of shock and surprise.

“What was that?” Lightning asked, not sure if she should be amused or afraid.

Iris was beet red now, and desperately trying to hide her face with her tail. She listened a moment to make sure Shadow wouldn’t be able to hear, and then whispered a single word to Lightning.

“Flirting…”

The sky was well in to the slow transition of orange to purple when they finally came to the small cleft in the rock wall that Mesa had pointed out. From a distance it didn’t look like something that would’ve gone very far back, just a wide crack in the rock wall, easily overlooked considering the pounding waterfall directly in front of it and the wide pool that it was feeding. Mesa led them down to the alcove, where the pool was beginning to reflect the coming stars.

“How did you find this place?” asked Lightning, marveling at how smooth the water remained throughout the deluge.

“Well everybody in the tribe knows about it,” said Mesa “It’s just no one wants to come out here after a murderer goes crazy inside.”

“I’m going to guess he was crazy already,” said Shadow, pulling his attention away from the moon “I mean, he got exiled for killing foals right? That’s pretty insane if you ask me.”

Iris’ ears fell flat against her head to block out the conversation, whimpering a little in fright. “Well there’s this old legend,” said Mesa “That his son got taken away by a monster, so he was rounding up other kids to trade and get his son back. Of course it didn’t work out in the end, and he was caught and exiled, but no one really has proof he killed them. They just disappeared…”

“Do you think the monster’s still around?” asked Shadow curiously.

“I don’t think there ever was a monster,” said Mesa “It’s just a kid’s story to make sure you don’t go out after nightfall and stuff.”

“Kind of like the Everfree forest,” Lightning pointed out “Everyone says that it’s super dangerous just go keep ponies from going in there and getting lost.”

“Does ‘giant snake’ ring a bell to you?” said Shadow, glaring at Lightning “Think there might maybe be some critters in there that eat ponies?”

Lightning ignored Shadow as Mesa leapt from stone to stone protruding from the water, eventually coming to the sandy bank near the rack in the wall. Shadow turned to Iris, knowing she had no way of finding the stable surfaces.

“They’re using rocks to get across,” he said, noticing her bewildered expression “Do you want me to carry you across?”

“Only if it isn’t too much trouble…” said Iris.

Lightning turned around as Shadow flew over her head with Iris in tow. “Show off…” she muttered, slipping a little bit as she hopped onto the sand in front of the crack.

Mesa had already squeezed himself through the crack, so the rest of the group followed suit for. For a brief moment they were as blind as iris, the crack not even letting a trickle of moonlight in the utter darkness. Iris could smell long dead flames, wet stone, and a bit of moss. But there was also something else, something she couldn’t identify…

There was a sharp clicking sound and a few flashes of light as Mesa struggled with a flint rock. It took him about five minutes to finally light the wall mounted torch with a smug smile.

“Well what do you think?” he said “Been managing the place by myself pretty well haven’t I?”

The walls were smooth, unnaturally smooth, as if they had been magically carved out by astonishingly meticulous unicorn magi. It was perfect, except for the gouges cut periodically in the rock. More interestingly, it also seemed to be a perfect sphere, round and exactly proportional. Mesa had hauled a mass of grass into the chamber which was bundled in the exact center of the room, apparently to be used as a bed.

“Adjectives fail me…” said Shadow “What do you think Lightning?”

“Well ‘creepy’ is a good one,” said Lightning, running a hoof over one of the jagged carvings on the otherwise perfect wall “What do these mean anyway? ‘Always watches, no eyes,’ what is that talking about?”

“The moon maybe?” said Mesa with a shrug “The oracle once said used the moon as an analogy about seeing only not with his eyes. Heck if I know though, they were here long before I was.”

“What is this thing anyway?” asked Shadow, pointing to the likeness of some strange creature that was somehow walking on two legs “Is that the monster you were talking about?”

“Probably,” said Mesa, “I’ve never seen anything like it though, that’s for sure, have you? It must have been pretty bad for him to have written the word ‘no’ so many times all over it.”

“I know what that is!” exclaimed Lightning “It’s a human! Lyra was right! Humans must have existed at some point, otherwise this wouldn’t be here!”

“Or it could just be a really old legend,” Shadow pointed out.

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I think I’ve earned myself some rest!” said Mesa, having hardly comprehended a word that was being said “Goodnight y’all.” He proceeded to flop down in the grass pile and curl up sleepily.

Lightning seemed torn about this for a moment, “I guess we can’t exactly do anything about that war right now can we?” she said, clearly exhausted “I’m just going to find the softest spot on the floor and go to sleep.”

“I don’t know…” said Shadow, looking around the carvings again “This just doesn’t feel safe… at all… maybe we should…?”

“Hush…” said Lightning “We’re here we might as well just sit down and shut up. If you have a legitimately better idea, let me know.” She proceeded to kick the ground a few times and flop down with a long sigh.

Shadow looked to Iris, who was clearly a little annoyed at not getting to see the strange markings, but her shy nature was hiding it under a veil of serenity. “What do you think?” he asked.

“I think…” said Iris, seeming to think hard about it “I’ll just do whatever you want to do… If you want to leave… then…”

“Nah,” said Shadow “I’m not afraid of the dark, especially if Lightning isn’t.” He flopped down on his back, closing his eyes with a smile “Goodnight Iris.”

He was a little surprised as he immediately felt the soft, silky mane nuzzling against his side. “Sorry,” said Iris, blushing a little “It’s just a little cold in here…”

“It’s…alright…” said Shadow, feeling more than a little awkward “Just go to sleep okay? In the morning we’ll go home and laugh about this all day.”

“You promise?” asked Iris, her eyes glinting in the torchlight like twin stars.

“Yeah, I promise,” said Shadow “We’ll be home by the end of tomorrow, you mark my words!”

Iris nuzzled a little closer, smiling as her eyes closed. “Okay…” she said, her blush fading as she started to relax into sleep “Goodnight Shadow… sweet dreams…”

“You too,” said Shadow, turning onto his back with a smile. He was almost asleep when he spotted the carving he had missed. At the top curve of the ceiling. His brain read the words, but his eyes had drooped, too tired to comprehend them as the soft tendrils of sleep wrapped slowly around him.

“Don’t look or it takes you.”

Author's Note:

The absolute number one thing I've learned from being an author here on fimfiction is that having a long story does not mean you have a good story. Light and Shadow is more prolific than a majority of the stories on this site, yet it remains one of the least popular. I'm not discouraged by this, quite the contrary, I'm more inspired than ever to keep going and make this a sucess. Along with Allons-y of course, which I did expect to have the next chapter of by now but was wrong... I had about five paragraphs to go when I said I'd get it done, and thanks to a busy schedule I've barely had time to just get this chapter up. I'm sorry guys, I'm trying my hardest...
Also, whoever recognizes all the references i placed in this chapter is automatically 200% cooler. Who has them all? I know someone's found at least one.
See you all next week, hopefully sooner if I can get Allons-y written on.
-CC

Comments

[Primrose]

All the references? Hmm

"Don't look or it takes you." Is that A Slender reference?