The Cave of Elements

by Sage Probo

Chapter 6: What to do now? *True Chapter*

“What the hay is going on here?”

That question lingered inside the room. Neither her mother nor her uncle could answer that. Twilight was just as confused as Shining Armor and Stella were.

“I don’t know, Stella,” she replied to her daughter. “I’m just as confused as you are. I think it’s best we wait for tomorrow when we meet with the princesses again. And I need to think for a while, so don’t mind me sitting here.”

Shining Armor was surprised to hear such an answer from his little sister. Normally, she would go berserk with not knowing and head straight for the library and do research for hours, not sitting in a room with her family and do some thinking. But he knew it was only because Celestia and Luna said that there are no books or scrolls on this subject.

He turned towards his niece and saw in her eyes the same puzzled look that he seemed to have. He simply shrugged and sighed. This was going to be a long night.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And then he came out of the toilet, and I was so nervous about asking him on a date that I managed to shout the question, for the whole marketplace to hear. I’ve never felt so embarrassed my entire life. So once I felt my legs again I bailed and ran straight home, headed for my room, and didn’t come out for a few hours.” Stella told Shining what happened the last few days. “When I was about to fall asleep, I felt a resolution rising inside me that it couldn’t go on with this nightmare. I went down to talk to mom about it, and we did some research together with Spike. He’s fine by the way, and sends his regards to you and aunt Cadence. Well, mom decided we should go to Canterlot to continue our research here and sent a letter to princess Celestia.”

Shining chuckled when he heard the last bit. During all these years Twilight lived in Ponyville, the only thing that hadn’t changed was her habit of asking her former mentor for assistance.

Old habits are hard to break, so they say, Shining thought, thinking about his own habit of still thinking Twilight was his baby sister who needs protection.

“So, I set out to get the ticket at the train station, and I happen to run into aunt Applejack,” Stella continued. “We talked a bit and she told me that BigMac’s son, MacGie, would actually like to go on a date with me. I’m so happy. I mean, he is just so handsome, and nice. I can’t believe how lucky I am to actually get a date with him. Can you believe it, uncle Shining?” Stella was all giddy about the prospect to go on a date with her love interest.

“Well, after that I got the tickets and returned, only to see mom sitting dejected at the table and a scroll before her. She told me Princess Celestia had summoned us but didn’t explain why. So we packed a bit and came here. You know the rest,” Stella concluded her summary.

Shining smiled at his niece and pulled her into a hug. He let her go and returned to being serious. The thought that she was involved in something this dangerous hadn't left his mind. At least he knew that she had something to look forward to, even if it was something small like a date.

“As glad as I am for your date, I’m still quite confused what the princesses told us. It just seems so out of the blue that I have a hard time understanding it. You are the one that is involved, don’t you have any questions about it?” Shining asked his niece, showing that it troubled him.

Stella stopped smiling and put a hoof on her chin, thinking about her uncle’s question. Then she answered, “Yes, I have a ton of questions, but I know that when we meet the princesses again tomorrow, a lot of them will be answered, so I don’t burden myself with overthinking them. For now, I just focus on what is in front of me, and that is a good night’s rest .”She let out a small yawn to demonstrate her last statement.

Stella’s yawn was infective as Shining and her mother both shared a yawn of their own. Twilight stood up and cracked her stifled neck.

“Stella has a point here. Thinking and talking about it will only get us this far. I’m sure Princess Celestia and Luna will answer some of our questions tomorrow. For now I think it’s best we go to bed,” Twilight said, before turning towards Stella. “Do you want me to cast a deep sleep spell on you? That way, you can get some rest and you won’t be haunted by the nightmare tonight.”

Stella pondered a bit over the question. “Nah, I’ll think I go through it again tonight. Yesterday, as strange as it sounds, I didn’t dream of the nightmare, maybe because I’ve shared it with you. And with today’s information, I maybe able to figure out a bit more than before,” she replied, turning down her mother’s offer.

"We should go to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day, and I think the princesses haven’t told us everything they know on the matter."

Shining bid the mares good night and left the room to go to his own suite. Twilight took the left bed and Stella climbed into the right one. Soon, both mares were sound asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stella stood in front of the stone pillar again, examining it more closely than before. Like the princesses told her earlier, it had all six symbols inscribed into it. This time however, one of the symbols was glowing. It was the symbol of air. It glowed in a light shade of green, bordering between lime and turquoise.

Stella blinked and moved her attention to the door harboring the same symbol, only to see that it was also glowing in the same color as the one on the pillar. She moved closer to examine the door, but before she could do so, the glow vanished. Turning around, she noticed the glow on the pillar was gone too.

Instead, another symbol was glowing, the symbol of water. It was a deep sea blue, rich and beautiful and calming. Stella, expecting that the same thing happened as it had with the air symbol, moved towards it and saw her expectations fulfilled, with the symbol glowing in the same deep sea blue as the pillar symbol.

Unfortunately, this was the point she was about to wake up. The corners of her sight became foggy and soon she lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stella stifled a yawn as her consciousness slowly slipped back into her body. Still sleepy, she just laid there thinking about what just happened in her dream. It was so different than the ones she had before, it seemed it wanted to tell her something about the doors and the symbols on them. Her closest guess was, that behind the doors was something that, when done, destroyed or solved, lit up the symbols on the middle pillar.

Figuring it was useless staying in bed, Stella ruffled her sheets and moved out of the bed. She looked over to the other bed where she thought her mother would be, only to see it was empty and already made. Surprised that Twilight was up so early, Stella made her own bed and went into the main room. As she expected, her mother was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the book she took with her. The moment she heard her daughter's hoofsteps though, she looked up and smiled at her.

"Good morning dear, I take it you had a peaceful night?" Twilight asked and took a sip from her cup.

Stella poured herself a cup of coffee as well and nipped before she answered the question.

"Yes, I didn't meet the creature or demon or whatever it is. Instead something else happened, and I want to hear what the princesses have to say about it."

This made her mother gave her a quizzical look. Twilight closed her book and looked Stella directly into her eyes. It was this piercing look that amazed her everytime as it seemed she could look straight into your soul.

"Stop it mom, you're using your soul eyes again," Stella said as she closed her eyes.

Taken aback a bit that her daughter had named her gaze "Soul Eyes" - Twilight had dubbed it "Eyes of Inquisition" herself - and pointed out that she was using it, she lowered her gaze and took another sip from her cup.

"As expected, when I fell asleep I was back in the cavern. But unlike the times before, one of the symbols on the middle pillar lit up in color, and when I checked the door, the symbol on it was glowing as well. At first I was surprised, you know that never happened before, but then the light went out and another symbol flared up. And the same thing happened to its respective door.

"Just like the other symbols, it went out and before another symbol could light up, I could literally feel I was beginning to wake up. I lost consciousness and awoke back in the real world." Stella retold this strange deviation from her usual dream about the cavern.

"I could feel that whoever or whatever is making me experience this dream wants to tell me something important, but for Faust's sake I can't understand what it is."

Both were a bit startled when they heard the main door opening and turned their heads to see who it was that came in. Standing in the doorway was Shining Armor, smiling for an unknown reason. He moved into the room and closed the door behind him.

Twilight smiled back and asked:

"Why are you smiling, BBBFF? Something good happened?"

Shining nodded and sat down at the table. Using his magic, he grabbed some breakfast off the wagon and took some bites and sips before he shared what put him into his good mood.

"You see, before I married Cadence and became the prince of the Crystal Empire, I was the captain of the royal guard as you know. So, today when I woke up, I just took a stroll around the castle and ended up in the barracks, and I just happen to see they were doing their morning exercises. One of the instructors recognised me and asked if I cared to join. I accepted and it was wonderful to get some exercise again. Then I hit the showers and came here. That's all."

Twilight and Shining shared a small giggle before they were interrupted by another knock at the door. It opened revealing a guard waiting outside. As if they had planned this, all three rose and followed the guard to the same room they were talking in yesterday.

----------------------------------------------------------------

As before, Celestia and Luna were sitting at the table waiting for them to arrive. The guard closed the door and once again it was only those five inside the room.

"Good morning, my little ponies. I take it you've slept well?" Celestia asked once they were all seated at the table, which all, including Luna, answered with a nod. "Tell me Stella, did you dream of the cavern again last night?"

"Yes, your highness, I have," Stella answered, and before somepony could interrupt, she set out to explain what she saw. "Like the previous dreams, I awoke standing in front of the middle pillar. But unlike last time, there was no sound of any sort hearable. Also, the smoke that should appear from the main door didn't come as well. Instead, one of the symbols on the pillar began to glow with a strange light, a light shade of lime green. I was surprised, so I examined the pillar a bit closer and in the corner of my sight I noticed that the door with the same symbol had it glowing as well. I moved towards the door to have a closer look at it. But just when I reached it, the glow vanished suddenly. I stood there confused and looked back at the pillar and noticed the same happened to the light on it. Well, not exactly.

"Upon returning to it another symbol flared up. Remembering what happened just before I turned to the door bearing the same symbol, and like the other door the picture on it was glowing. I approached it but it also went out. Checking the pillar again, I saw that the symbol was dark as well. I wanted to see if another symbol would light up again, but I noticed I was waking up." With this, Stella finished her story.

Celestia and Luna sat perfectly still, but it was plain as day and night they were troubled by what they just heard. They shared a glance at each other and like the day before, the older alicorn began talking:

"So it has begun. This is troubling news you brought us today. In fact, this is what I wanted to talk to you about today. The doors you've seen and the pillar in the middle. Once this is over we'll give you more detail on what we told you yesterday. For now, let's focus on your dream and what it meant.

"We were already aware of the immense power the natural elements hold as well as the power of light and darkness. So we made use of that power and forged seals containing that very power. We first created the masterseal in the center before the door. As you can guess, it's the pillar with all six symbols on it. The pillar was not yet finished and functioning.

"Next, we carved what would be best described as a hallway with a very deep bottom, and behind that we placed the chamber in which we placed the first seal, the Seal of Air. We bound pure air and wind into it and directed its power towards the pillar. We did the same for the other three elements.

"This could have been enough, but we knew there was always a way to manipulate the natural elements. So we discussed how to insert what could be called a failsafe. We came onto the idea that light and darkness are elements that are very hard to handle. We agreed that this was the best choice, and carved two additional hallways with seal chambers. And to make sure we can't overcome them, each of us dug her own hallway and made the seal at the end of it. Luna infused her seal with the power of the night and darkness while I infused mine with the power of the day and light itself.

"What you saw in your dream was what it should look like once the seals we placed are lifted. Once all seals were in place we weaved the sealing spell into the door and used the pillar as its power source. Doing so made all symbols on the pillar lose their glow."

Celestia continued her explanation of what the pillar was and what exactly was behind the doors. The whole thing took most of the early day, as Stella's wrist watch showed it was shortly after noon when she checked it. The silence was the same silence that reigned the day before after it was revealed what the creature was.

Luna spoke up into the silence:

"Please, join us in the dining hall. By the time we have finished our meals, we will discuss about gathering your friends. I heard the chef talking about something he called 'meatloaf'. Apparently, it is chicken meat formed into a long block with prench fries and a neighpon-style salad. I also heard it is a delicacy over in Griffonia."

Stella opened her mouth and was about to decline when her stomach decided to intervene and grumbled. She smiled sheepishly and closed her mouth. The other four ponies in the room giggled and rose up. Stella, Twilight and Shining followed the princesses into the dining hall and sat down at the large table. Celestia and Luna at the head, with Twilight and her daughter at the left side and Shining at the other.

The meal was eaten in silence, only disturbed by the clacking of the forks and knives on the plates. After they were finished, the door to the kitchens opened again, a ponymaid came out and removed the now empty plates. She left the hall and the door closed behind her quietly.

"I think we should move back to our meeting room, there are still some things I have to tell you," Celestia said as she stood up and headed towards the door. They walked back chatting quietly until they entered the meeting room again and sat down.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Stella had waited until now, there was a question regarding the seals and now was the best time than ever.

"Princess Celestia?" Stella spoke up.

"Yes, Stella? Do you have a question before I continue?" came the sun-diarch's reply.

"To be honest, yes I have a question. And it's related to what you told us earlier about the seals," Stella said, readying herself about what was about to come. She took a deep breath and said:

"Why do the symbols on the doors and the pillars look exactly like the ones on my cutie mark? Except the sun and the moon ones."

Celestia and Luna both kept silent after Stella spoke out the question that have been on her mind since she heard about the seals. It wasn't like they didn't expect it, after all it was related to her cutie mark.

"Stella Dawn, each element has a symbol that anypony can recognise. In the past, those symbols were used in formulas and spells as an easy way to differentiate them as well as to shorten spells which used a particular one," Luna answered Stella's question.

"Also, I liked the design we choose and all our subjects sticked to them ever since. You have to admit, sister, those symbols are simply wonderful."

Celestia smiled at Luna and had a look on her face that showed she was thinking about past times. However, the look was soon replaced with a look of discern. And when she started to speak, it was obvious why:

"We knew this day would come eventually. Back then, when we were young and had just created the sealing caves, a pony whose talent was divination came to us and told us something we found disturbing that day. She said she was given a prophecy by the great creator Faust.

"Luna, if you would be so kind to tell the prophecy of them?" Celestia asked the younger alicorn.

"Yes, my sister, I will," the moon princess replied, and turned to the three waiting ponies.

"This prophecy was not written down. But if my memory serves me correctly, it went like this:

A being of old came through the wall,
to bring calamity and chaos to all.

But two beings, young and strong,
sent it away to where it belongs.

With the aid of the world they barred the way,
the power they have shall remain and stay.

The seals with nature's power will strive,
as long as they shine the world will survive.

One day, however, it shall return,
to crush the beings and watch them burn.

When it comes back, a mare will rise,
to bring back hope, and the beings demise.

The mare will wield the powers of nature, day and night,
with help from harmony she will go and fight.

She will go from where the being came,
and once the fight has ended, everypony will know her name."

Celestia addressed Stella directly, "This was the prophecy given to us. All this time, we waited and looked out for the mare mentioned in it. When your mother first wrote to us about your cutie mark, we knew you were the one mentioned, but we waited to be sure. And we became more and more aware that the day of fighting drew nearer as you unlocked your abilities to control the natural elements." The sun-diarch flashed a frown before resuming her normal regal expression.

"But as you are right now, you can only unlock four of the six seals. You still have to learn and master the power of light and day as well as the power of darkness and night. I'm sure you will learn to use them both within a week."

Stella was surprised by that. The princess just indirectly told her she and her sister would train Stella in using the powers of light and darkness. Her mother noticed it as well, a wide grin plastered on her face at the thought her daughter was going to be tutored by her former teacher.

"I would be honored to be taught by you, your highnesses. But what about the part mentioning the Elements of Harmony? Does that mean I won't go alone into the cave to unlock the seals?" Stella asked, a bit confused about that part of the prophecy.

"Yes, Stella," Celestia replied, "You won't go alone into the cave. We will summon your mothers friends once we start your training. Which will commence tomorrow. For now, I wish that you rest well, our training will be taxing enough for you."

"What about me, your highness?" Shining Armor asked. "In all this, only my little sister, her friends and my niece are involved. Why did you summon me to hear all this?"

"Because Stella will need practical training as well. You will be the one that will train her in the fine art of magical combat," Celestia explained. "You're one of the best unicorn soldiers I know of, and if anyone can train your niece, it's you."

"Well, now that we know what we are going about, I think I will write the letters to my friends," Twilight said. "And I also want to patch up my own combat spells in the Star-Swirl-the-Breaded wing. If it's okay with you, princess?"

"Of course, Twilight. Please do. We'll wait for you tomorrow in the castle gardens," Celestia said and together with her sister she rose from her spot. "It is still early afternoon. What you do now is up to you. As for us, we still have a bit of royal business to attend to."

"Good day to you, my friends," was Luna's statement on the matter as the diarch's left the room.

Twilight, Stella and Shining rose up as well and left the meeting room. Twilight turned left while Shining and Stella turned right.

"I'll go to the castle library. I'll see you when I come back in the evening," Twilight said as she waved her family goodbye.

Stella and Shining waved back and left the castle to grab a little something to eat in one of the city's famous cafes: Donut Joe's Donut Dome. Just as they sat down, the owner of said cafe, Donut Joe, walked up to them and placed a tray with freshly baked donuts and two cups of cocoa in front of them.

"Thank you, Joe," Shining said with a smile. "Even after all these years, you still remember what I like when I visit your place."

"Well, 'Captain,' you came here so often, it would surprise you more if I forgot what you like to order. Anyway, how are your wife and kids? I heard they kept you busy up in the North," Joe replied with a grin on his own.

As the two stallions descended into casual conversation, Stella replayed the news that she heard since yesterday. She always wanted to apply her powers for the prosperity of the country she loved, but this was not the way she wanted to. Sighing, she ate her fill of donuts in silence, not noticing the shadow that walked past the window, a malicious intent glimming in its eyes.

Author's Note:

Yeah, it's here. The true chapter. A lot of talking was done here, but it explains a lot of things related to the nightmare. barbeque actually complained about that there is so much talking, so I had to promise him that the Mane 6 show up in one or two chapters to bribe him for more editing :pinkiegrin:

There won't be that much talking for quite a while since most plot related topics are now official. I have at least one more big talk sequence planned, but that is way off in the future.

Also, spot the one reference to something else I put in here. Could be a name, or a place, or a meme. Or something totally unrelated to anything at all. Happy guessing.

Next up will be the training Stella will recive and then shit hits the pony (or the fan, your choice)

On an unrelated note: Joe makes the best donuts.