Chapter 15
Shadow of the Sun
By Starwin
Chapter 15
The path sloped steeply downwards, descending deeper into the heart of the mountain. Twilight’s horn glowed brightly, helping to light the way. Even with the three unicorns all casting illumination spells, the tunnel was very dark.
Atop her head, Twilight’s element continued to pulse softly. If she was right, then this path led to another Element of Harmony. It wasn’t their destination but it was something they desperately needed.
If she was wrong, then they would have wasted valuable time they already didn’t have.
The friends walked single file behind Twilight. The passage had narrowed so that there was no longer space to walk side-by-side. Rarity was in the middle of the procession, her horn shining with light. Trixie brought up the rear, just behind a very nervous Rainbow Dash.
As they turned a bend, Twilight saw something through the darkness ahead of them. At first she thought it was daylight, but as they got closer, she wasn’t so sure. It was definitely light, but she couldn’t tell what it was coming from.
Something in the light moved and Twilight came to an abrupt halt. Applejack crashed into Twilight’s rump and Fluttershy did the same to Applejack, creating a pony-pile-up.
“A little warning next time,” said Applejack as she struggled to untangle herself from the collision.
“Sorry,” whispered Twilight. “I thought… I thought I saw something move up ahead.”
“Something? SomeTHING?” asked Fluttershy, panic welling up in her voice. “Like a giant pony eating monster something?!”
“What? No,” answered Twilight. “I’m not sure what it was. Not a pony eating monster… most likely not… In any case, I don’t see it moving anymore.” Climbing off of Applejack, Twilight got back to her hooves and continued onwards. Again, she could make out the faintest movement. The light she had seen was also getting brighter… closer.
“Hello!” called Twilight. The earth around them dampened her voice. “Is anypony there?” No answer came. Twilight slowed her pace. She squinted, trying to see what the shape was. She could make out the vaguest of shadowy silhouettes against the light.
Whatever it was, it was pony shaped. If Twilight wasn’t mistaken, it appeared to be another unicorn, also casting a light spell, and walking right towards them!
“Hello?” Twilight tried again. This time she heard he faintest whisper of words reply to her, but she couldn’t make them out. “Can you tell us where this passage leads?” Again, words replied but she could only make out the end of it.
“…age leads…” said the words.
“Wait a minute,” said Twilight, once again stopping abruptly. Applejack crashed into her again.
“Dang it Twilight!” exclaimed Applejack.
“That isn’t another pony,” cried Twilight ignoring Applejack’s complaint. Twilight trotted forward at a quicker pace, with only a slight protest from her legs. The other unicorn did the same, charging towards Twilight. The friends watched as Twilight and the other pony finally came face-to-face. Except, it wasn’t just another unicorn, it was another Twilight Sparkle.
“Oh no, there’s two of them!” cried Trixie in horror.
“What? No! Of course not!” said Twilight. “Although, that would be kind of neat…” She reached out a hoof and the other pony did the same. “It’s my reflection.”
Slowly, the others approached — their own reflections doing the same. As they reached the end of the passage they were able to see how they had been fooled. An enormous, almost clear, crystal stretched from the ground up to the ceiling above. Its surface was highly reflective, creating a perfect natural mirror.
They had reached the entrance to a chamber filled with giant crystals of all shapes, sizes and colors. The walls, ceiling and even the floor were no longer stone. They were in a room made completely out of crystal and filled with their own distorted reflections.
“It’s so beautiful,” said Rarity. Her eyes sparkled at the incredible sight before her.
“I’ve been here before,” said Twilight looking around. “These are the crystal mines below Canterlot, where the changeling Queen banished me and trapped Cadence.” Twilight raised her horn and the light at its tip flared. The crystals all glowed around them, making the cave much brighter. “I don’t think it’s exactly the same section though.”
“Look how many me’s there are!” exclaimed Pinkie rushing from one reflection to the next, stopping to make a funny face in each one. “I wish there were more of me sometimes…”
“I think one plenty is Pinkie,” said Applejack. “I mean, one Pinkie is plenty.”
“At least there is more room!” cried Rainbow Dash. She leapt from the ground and flew up into the air, circling high above. Dozens of her reflections did the same, while a few of them did the opposite and flew around on the floor.
“It appears that we still only have one direction to go,” said Trixie peering ahead. “We should keep moving.”
“For once I agree with Trixie,” said Spike. “I don’t like this place.”
“I thought you loved gems,” asked Fluttershy.
“I do,” answered Spike. “But these aren’t gems, they’re crystals…” he stuck out his tongue and made a face. “They make my tummy upset just looking at them.”
The group continued forward, spreading out a little in the less confined space. The crystal floor beneath their hooves glowed with color at the slightest touch. As the group walked they left glowing hoofprints. Ripples of light spread in a wake behind the ponies. The room shimmered with multi colored light as they traveled through it.
Rainbow Dash continued to fly, preferring to observe the light show from high above, rather than take part in it. The next chamber they entered was much larger than the first, but still the path did not split. The cave of crystal continued to glow with dazzling rainbow light, enhanced with each step.
It wasn’t long before they reached the abrupt end of the path. Twilight slowed to a stop as she saw what was ahead. Thankfully, Applejack did not collide with her this time.
The ground dropped away at a jagged edge, falling down into nothingness. A narrow stone bridge extended out from the end of the chamber to another like it across the way. The crystals that should have made up the back wall and the sides of the bridge had fallen away.
Twilight looked over the edge, but could see no bottom below. Rainbow flew out into the empty space. She made a wide circle, not straying far from her friends but enough to get a good view.
“I can’t tell how far down the ground is,” Rainbow called back. “But… woah!”
“What is it Rainbow?” shouted Twilight in concern.
“I wish you guys could see this!” exclaimed Rainbow excitedly. “All the crystal rooms we just walked through are lit up and glowing. It looks amazing!”
“Can you tell how big this place is?” asked Applejack.
“Nope,” said Rainbow. She flew back to her friends. “It looks huge though. All these rooms are stuck to the ceiling.” She tapped the crystal floor beneath their hooves, sending out a dozen rainbow colored ripples of light. “There isn’t anything holding this up except the crystal walls. The chamber just ahead looks like it’s the last one, so I hope what we are looking for is in there.”
“We’ll have to cross this bridge then,” said Twilight. She looked down at the very narrow stone path that stretched two dozen hooves from one chamber to the next. With a gulp, Twilight put a hoof out onto the stone. It felt solid enough. She put another hoof out in front of the other and closed her eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Twilight mustered up the courage to keep going. She opened her eyes, now filled with determination. One hoof at a time she crossed the bridge, looking straight ahead. Before she knew it, Twilight had made it across. She let out a sigh of relief.
“Come on everypony, you can do it,” said Twilight looking at her friends. “Just don’t look down and you’ll be fine.”
One by one, her friends came across. Applejack went next, then Rarity, who looked unbelievably frightened with each step, but made it all the same. Pinkie bounced across next, hardly even seeming to notice the bridge. Spike made it across with the most ease after Pinkie. His small size meant that what was a narrow bridge for everypony else was more than wide enough for him. Trixie also crossed, doing her best not to show the worry in her eyes.
Finally, only Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were left.
“Come on Fluttershy,” said Twilight when the little yellow pegasus hadn’t moved. “You don’t even have to walk across, you can just fly!”
“Oh, no,” said Fluttershy, “I’m way too frightened to fly. Why don’t you guys just go on ahead and I’ll wait here until you get back?”
“Come on Fluttershy,” said Rainbow putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “It’s easy, I know you can do it.” Fluttershy looked at her friend.
“You… you know I can?” stammered Fluttershy.
“Of course!” said Rainbow with a laugh. “You’ve done way more dangerous things before. Besides, if you fall, I’ll catch you.”
“You… you will?” asked Fluttershy.
“That’s what friends are for,” replied Rainbow with a smile.
“Alright,” said Fluttershy getting back to her hooves. “I can do this!”
“Come on Fluttershy!” called Pinkie. “We know you can do it!”
Fluttershy put her hoof out on the bridge.
“Don’t look down,” said Fluttershy to herself as she took another step and then another. “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.” She looked down. “Oh no, oh no, oh no! I can’t do this!” screamed Fluttershy.
A sudden crack split the air. Fluttershy looked behind her. There was a jagged break in the stone where the bridge connected to the crystal room. Sharply, the bridge dropped a few hooves. Fluttershy let out a scream of panic.
“Hang on Fluttershy!” called Rainbow Dash. “I’m coming!” Suddenly, the whole bridge gave way. With a crumbling sound, the rock broke apart and plummeted down into the black abyss below. However, Fluttershy remained right where she was, her wings flapping and holding her in place. Rainbow stopped next to her. “You can open your eyes now,” said Rainbow.
Fluttershy had both hooves over her face and just shook her head. Rainbow rolled her eyes. She placed both hooves on Fluttershy’s back and pushed her the rest of the way across the gap. At last they landed on the opposite side.
“Well, it looks like we’ll have to find another way back across,” said Twilight. She turned to the new room they had arrived in.
This room was almost perfectly round. Unlike the previous rooms, it was made mostly of stone, save for three floor-to-ceiling crystals that were placed evenly around the circle. In the center of the room was a pool of dark blue water. At the center of the pool was a crystal pillar and atop it was…
“My Element of Harmony!” cried Pinkie Pie excitedly. She made to leap forward, but Twilight held out a hoof and stopped her.
“Wait,” said Twilight. Her eyes still swept the room. “So far, every Element we’ve encountered has been protected somehow. We need to be more careful this time.”
At first glance there didn’t appear to be any dangers in this room. No deadly ice storm. No fiery nightmares. Besides the pool and the pillar, there was only their reflections in the three large crystals. Except, something about the reflections bothered Twilight. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew something was odd.
“Come on, lets just go grab it!” said Rainbow Dash impatiently. With a burst of speed she ignored Twilight’s call for her to stop. The Rainbow pegasus rushed to the center of the room. She took hold of the Element and pulled, but she couldn’t move it. “Uhf, it’s stuck or something!”
Cautiously, Twilight moved forward and her friends followed. She kept glancing at the reflections in the crystal. What was so odd about them?
The pool of water was only hoof deep but it was icy cold. The group trotted through the water until they reached the pillar at the center of the room. It was not a natural formation, it had been carved, smoothed and carefully placed in this perfectly round pool.
“Maybe I have to pick it up,” suggested Pinkie, bouncing forward. She put a hoof on it and tried to move it. It did move slightly, but it was like there was something holding it back. Pinkie strained, trying to take it but she couldn’t.
“Maybe we just need some magic here?” asked Rarity.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” said Spike. “The last element we use magic on almost froze us!”
“True,” said Rarity. “But I don’t see an ice storm here.” She looked to Twilight for her approval.
“It’s worth a try, I’ll shout for you to stop if anything bad happens,” said Twilight. Rarity’s horn glowed and the Element lifted easily from the pillar. The white unicorn couldn’t help but smile.
“See, it just… required… a little… uhnf… finesse…” Rarity grunted with effort as she tried to pull the element towards them. However, while she could levitate it up and down, she couldn’t move it away from the pillar. At last Rarity set the element back, disappointed by her fruitless effort.
Twilight moved up to the golden necklace and examined it. There didn’t appear to be anything she could see that was holding it in place. Experimentally, she used her magic to try and lift it. Indeed, up and down was easy enough, but moving it in any direction didn’t seem to work.
Twilight released the element from her magic and as she did, her reflections all did the same. A sudden realization dawned on Twilight and she glanced at the three large crystals that held their reflections. As she looked at the crystal to her right, she finally realized what was odd.
“What in the world…” said Twilight.
“What is it, Twilight?” asked Applejack, following her friend’s gaze to their images reflected in the wall. It took Applejack a moment to realize what she was seeing. The reflection she was staring at, wasn’t staring back. Their reflections were mimicking them, but not from the direction they were reflected.
In the crystal to their right, their bodies all should have been profile. Instead, the reflections faced them. In fact, every reflection in every crystal faced them. As Twilight and Applejack stared at the crystal to the right, their reflections were looking to their left.
“I think,” said Twilight aloud. “I think we can’t move it, because our reflections are stopping us.”
“So, we just have to smash the crystals then?” asked Rainbow. Twilight looked around the room and shook her head.
“You said this room was attached to the ceiling. Doing that might make this whole thing crumble apart,” said Twilight.
“Well, what do we do then?” asked Rarity. “How can we fight our own reflections?”
Twilight pondered Rarity’s words. How could they fight their own reflections? Her eyes searched the mirrors. There had to be an answer. What where they supposed to do? And then Twilight saw it, staring her right in the face… or rather… Twilight turned to look at Trixie.
“You,” whispered Twilight. Trixie took an uncertain step back, her expression a little unnerved at Twilight’s sudden attention.
“Me what?” asked Trixie uncertainly.
“You aren’t reflected,” said Twilight. Trixie raised and eyebrow, then turn her head to look at the reflection to their side. Sure enough, no reflection looked back. There were only six ponies and one baby dragon reflected in each wall. The others stepped aside to make way for Trixie.
Trixie walked slowly through the water, moving up to the pillar. The reflections waited and watched, just like their real counterparts. Trixie put a hoof on the element. Then, taking a deep breath, she lifted it clear of the pillar. In each reflection, the element dangled in mid-air, not held by magic, but simply floating.
“You did it!” cried Pinkie Pie, leaping forward and hugging Trixie. The Pinkie in each reflection did the same, hugging the air. The only Trixie in the room looked at Pinkie in shock and surprise at the sudden contact.
“Help!” cried Trixie as Pinkie grappled her in a crushing hug. The others laughed.
However, their moment of triumph was cut short. With a bellowing crack, the three crystals broke. A spider web of lines ran up the length of each reflective surface. Twilight caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror directly ahead. It smiled wickedly and wave goodbye to them. Then the crystal fragmented again and the image was lost.
“This can’t be good,” said Applejack as the ground began to shake. The crystal mirrors shattered, falling away in gleaming shards. The whole room shivered violently and cracks spread out across the floor. The shallow pool of water drained away.
“We need to get out of here!” shouted Twilight. The group galloped back towards the entrance where the bridge had collapsed. The gap was too far to jump. “Rainbow! Fluttershy! Fly Pinkie and Applejack across!” commanded Twilight.
Without hesitation, the two pegasus scooped up the two earth ponies, flying them over the gap. The ground trembled beneath them. The far end of the room collapsed away, the stone floor cracking and starting to break apart. Rainbow and Fluttershy were on their way back.
“Rarity and Trixie next!” ordered Twilight. Rainbow’s eyes widened in disagreement as she looked from Twilight to the collapsing room behind her friends. Twilight could see her friend’s internal struggle. “Do it! Now!” Rainbow nodded and grabbed Trixie while Fluttershy lifted Rarity.
Twilight felt the ground beneath her hooves shift and drop. Rainbow blazed across the gap, dropping Trixie haphazardly before looping in a back flip and rushing towards Twilight.
Twilight could see that Rainbow wasn’t going to make it. She looked down at Spike, her horn glowing softly as magic wrapped around him. The dragon was shouting something, pleading with her, but Twilight couldn’t hear him.
As if in a dream, Twilight levitated Spike out towards Rainbow Dash. Her friends were shouting to her but their voices were lost in tumbling stone. She smiled at them. Expertly, Rainbow grabbed Spike out of the air. She didn’t even slow down as she continued to speed towards Twilight. Her hooves outstretched, pushing herself to fly faster, Rainbow sped across the gap.
The ground broke away and Rainbow rushed past, narrowly missing her friend.
“TWILIGHT!” shouted Rainbow Dash, watching as Twilight plummeted down into the darkness below.
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One day, twilight's selflessness is going to be the death of her.
Well done... but uh... ANOTHER CLIFF HANGER! no pun intended
Why didn't Twilight and Trixie just teleport to the other side?
Well...there goes Twilight
2307114
cliff? what cliff? the entire damn floor broke underneath everyone!
2307124
If I remember my facts correctly, Twilight has been practically 'magic exhausted' for a long while, making it impossible (in immediate circumstances anyways) to teleport. Trixie has to take time to gather the power to teleport since magic is being cut off as well (easier around the elements but still time consuming)
A cliff faller.....
Nice idea. Spike's marvelous display of self-control at the Crystal Empire: explained. I also love the image of Rainbow receiving him like a football.
Hate to say it, but I'm afraid I may not have two or three paragraphs worth of stuff to comment with every chapter.
Pinkie Pie: “Come, señor, there is nothing to fear here.”
Twilight [grab, shove]: “...That's what scares me.”
2311707
It is not the length that's important but the content and intent. The simple act of taking the time to read my story and write your thoughts means a great deal to me.
I have a question here, how much longer does this go on? I mean, they still have to find three Elements, but it's getting to be pretty repetitive and thus more than a little boring. They walk around, peril, they get out of peril, they walk around and find an Element, peril, they get out of peril, repeat. Frankly how they get the Elements isn't nearly as important as what's going on, something I came to this story to find out. I like the idea that they have to get their Elements, but this seems kinda drawn out.
Now don't get me wrong, I like the story and I'm curious to see what happens, but I'm wondering when we'll get to that as opposed to the same thing over and over again.
Gemstones are minerals, rocks, or similar hard substances like amber that are commonly used for jewelry. It's a fairly vague term, more an expression of aesthetic value than a physical classification.
Crystals are solids arranged in a regular geometric pattern at the atomic level. They are not a specific type of substance. Crystals can be formed from carbon, quartz, ice, salt, sugar, and so on.
Most of the gems Spike has eaten or expressed interest in (rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds) are also (surprise) crystalline! And most of the unspecified gems he's eaten or drooled over are visibly faceted, which is a pretty big hint that their atomic arrangement is geometric: hence, crystals.
The only gems I can recall Spike eating that are not also crystals are the turquoise gems from Over a Barrel (technically cryptocrystalline, meaning it crystallizes on such a microscopic scale as to be nearly unnoticeable). If he's ever expressed interest in opals or pearls, those are also not crystals.
So this distinction between gems and crystals? Entirely bogus.
“Oh no, there’s two of them!” cried Trixie in horror.
-
-Based on Twilight's response I have to guess this is before "Too Many Pinkie Pies"...
“I think one plenty is Pinkie,” said Applejack. “I mean, one Pinkie is plenty.”
-Reference noted? Don't feel like checking pubication date against air-dates.
“I thought you loved gems,” asked Fluttershy.
“I do,” answered Spike. “But these aren’t gems, they’re crystals…” he stuck out his tongue and made a face. “They make my tummy upset just looking at them.”
-Nice world-building... also explains why he wasn't salivating over everything in The Crystal Empire...
The group continued forward, spreading out a little in the less confined space. The crystal floor beneath their hooves glowed with color at the slightest touch. As the group walked they left glowing hoofprints. Ripples of light spread in a wake behind the ponies. The room shimmered with multi colored light as they traveled through it.
-Nice effect. Has it always been there, or is it part of the trap/phenominon around Honesty? .... PRETTY sure it will be Honesty, based on how it was AJ who felt the tremors...
Rainbow Dash continued to fly, preferring to observe the light show from high above, rather than take part in it.
-The floor going to attack them?
Rainbow Dash continued to fly, preferring to observe the light show from high above, rather than take part in it.
-Shades of LotR? I swear, if Fire Nightmare Iron Will shows up, I shall be slightly peeved.
Rainbow Dash continued to fly, preferring to observe the light show from high above, rather than take part in it.
-And it will all start dropping off the ceiling when they take the Element? Hope Twilight remembers her Reverse Personal Gravity spell...
“Of course!” said Rainbow with a laugh. “You’ve done way more dangerous things before. Besides, if you fall, I’ll catch you.”
“You… you will?” asked Fluttershy.
“That’s what friends are for,” replied Rainbow with a smile.
-I find it a nice touch that she is scared enough she has to ask, even though she knows the answer.
A sudden crack split the air. Fluttershy looked behind her. There was a jagged break in the stone where the bridge connected to the crystal room. Sharply, the bridge dropped a few hooves. Fluttershy let out a scream of panic.
-Broken by her fear (the power of fear is a big thing in this story), or her shout hitting the resonant frequency of a key weakness?
her wings flapping and holding her in place. Rainbow stopped next to her. “You can open your eyes now,” said Rainbow.
Fluttershy had both hooves over her face and just shook her head. Rainbow rolled her eyes. She placed both hooves on Fluttershy’s back and pushed her the rest of the way across the gap. At last they landed on the opposite side.
-Well, that is an improvement for Fluttershy then...
“My Element of Harmony!” cried Pinkie Pie excitedly. She made to leap forward, but Twilight held out a hoof and stopped her.
-Well, either they didn't go back the way they came, or AJ felt the avalanche zone somehow, rather than her Element... in any case, I expect the whole room to drop when Pinkie touches the element, Twilight to know this will happen, but Pinkie to grab it before Twilight can get a sentence out.
She made to leap forward, but Twilight held out a hoof and stopped her.
-Ok, that works too... it would have been a REALLY deadly trap if they weren't prepared... and I bet the bridge was rigged to go for the LAST of the bearers (and Trixie?) to cross it.
Twilight moved up to the golden necklace and examined it. There didn’t appear to be anything she could see that was holding it in place. Experimentally, she used her magic to try and lift it. Indeed, up and down was easy enough, but moving it in any direction didn’t seem to work.
-Locked in place by its reflections?
Twilight moved up to the golden necklace and examined it. There didn’t appear to be anything she could see that was holding it in place. Experimentally, she used her magic to try and lift it. Indeed, up and down was easy enough, but moving it in any direction didn’t seem to work.
-I'd actually have mentioned them refilling their waterskins either here or on the train...
“Well, what do we do then?” asked Rarity. “How can we fight our own reflections?”
-Stand outside the triangle and TK? Probably not.
“You aren’t reflected,” said Twilight. Trixie raised and eyebrow, then turn her head to look at the reflection to their side. Sure enough, no reflection looked back. There were only six ponies and one baby dragon reflected in each wall. The others stepped aside to make way for Trixie.
-So because she is NOT a destined hero, she can do it? Or did the protections single Trixie (as opposed to any other pony in Equestria) out for some reason?
It smiled wickedly and wave goodbye to them.
-Ouch... so intelligent... maybe borrowed from the Mirror Pool and tainted?
“Rainbow! Fluttershy! Fly Pinkie and Applejack across!” commanded Twilight.
-With two teleporters, this should work... of course, I expect the cracks to follow them, perhaps even past the T-split (thus the importance of knowing they had to go BOTH ways so they don't decide to head back into the known tunnel with the cracks hot on their heels).
“Rarity and Trixie next!” ordered Twilight. Rainbow’s eyes widened in disagreement as she looked from Twilight to the collapsing room behind her friends. Twilight could see her friend’s internal struggle. “Do it! Now!” Rainbow nodded and grabbed Trixie while Fluttershy lifted Rarity.
-Oh... only she will teleport? Rainbow will grab her falling? Reverse Gravity? Of course in listing their past victories, you didn't include Sombra, so I doubt she knows that spell yet (she specifically said she studied it while trying to get ready for Celestia's test).
-Nice cliff-hanger, doesn't eliminate any of the options I stated. I also wonder if the water was supposed to be so they COULD have refilled their water-containers, but who-ever planned it couldn't foresee everything? Or was it another set of reflections?
Why are they worried when she can teleport?
Man, reflections moving independently have always f
king creeped me out. And that creepy smile and wave almost made me p
s myself.