The Sun's Song, Ch. 13

Pinkie Pie remained awake. She wasn't tired. She wasn't the sort to easily get tired, given her boundless energy. Yet she found it hard to keep her energy in this gloomy place. It reminded her too much of home.

She HATED home. True, it was there where she'd learned her calling in life, throwing extravagant parties... but after the Sonic Rainboom that had changed her life forever, after the first-ever party she'd thrown that had succeeded in making her family smile, the ground and sky remained the same drab gray they'd always been. Her parents remained rock farmers and would always be rock farmers. Though they'd become a bit warmer since that party, Pinkie had known full well that the farm was no place for what she wanted to do with her life, and so left for happier, more colorful Ponyville. Now, it felt as though she was back on the farm all over again.

"...Nee-iii-gh..."

Pinkie turned her head to look down at a sleep-whinnying Luna and suppressed a giggle. Maybe not the WHOLE farm, she thought to herself, calming down. She bent her hooves and laid down on her stomach. I do still have my friends here, and we're not that far away from outside. Plus it's nice and cool in here! And no meanie bats around to spoil our sleepover!

At that moment, Pinkie's entire body trembled violently enough to move the pink pony along the cavern floor. "Brbrbrbrbrbrb," Pinke managed in a vocal earthquake impersonation as her body shook itself. While this might be a cause for concern with most ponies, this was just her "Pinkie Sense"--various strange things the earth pony's body did to alert her to future events, such as falling objects, or in this case...

"A doozy?" Pinkie asked quietly. "Why now? I mean, it's like the most boring time to have one!" But her shaking had pushed her deeper into the mines... not far, but far enough for the pony to make out a very faint sound...

BINK... BINK... BINK... Over and over again, the sound repeated itself, coming from much deeper within the shaft.

"What's that sound?" She asked. "It sounds kinda like something's hitting rocks." But then her early childhood on the farm kicked in, and she added, "It's pickaxes! That means there are ponies here!" But the overgrown entryway and ruins of mine tracks strongly suggested that nopony came here regularly in a long time. So, which was it?

"Time for Detective Pinkie to investigate," she said, suddenly sporting a brown-and-red plaid deerstalker cap on her head and a magnifying lens in her mouth. Pinkie might have registered the potential danger in exploring a mine shaft alone, but... thinking was not Pinkie's strong suit. Not in terms of general wisdom and common sense, at least.

Pinkie herself acknowledged that even she didn't understand herself sometimes. But somepony--or something--was down in that mine shaft. If whatever was down there came up here, there could be trouble. And so the pink earth pony trotted down on her still-merry way.

The mine shaft began straight onward, just one long path. Yet it wasn't long before other branches opened up, some leading upwards, others downwards. The tunnels were getting wider now, wide enough for a dozen ponies to walk side by side. The walls looked as though they'd been stripped bare some time ago; now, only old wooden support beams remained as evidence that ponies once worked here.

Pinkie continued to follow the sound of pickaxes, growing slowly but steadily louder. For a time, they followed the main shaft... but then the pink earth pony approached a three-way intersection, and stopped. By now the tools sounded quite close... close enough for the sound to echo off the walls. Which way did they come from? Pinkie didn't want to call out, remembering that not everything that mined was a pony--Diamond Dogs, for instance, and those could be the least of her worries.

She looked at her choices. Both ways went to her left, but one opened upwards while the other led downwards. There appeared to have been a fourth tunnel straight ahead, but had collapsed long ago. There appeared to be something white among the rubble, but she didn't look that closely at it. For all she knew, it was just more salt rock.

She struggled with which way the sound was coming from. It's so confusing, she thought. My ears can't tell the way! Maybe it's better if I just know where it's coming from, and leave it at that...

But at that moment, her Pinkie Sense kicked in.

Pinkie's body once again vibrated violently, as though the pony was in an earthquake. Her trembling carried her up the upward slope, "Brbrbrbrbrbrbrb"-ing audibly as she went.

The sound of pickaxes gradually stopped, as their owners listened to the sound of Pinkie's "doozy". Pinkie herself stopped trembling, this time sprawled on the ground, looking upwards. As she got to her hooves, she could hear the sound of... more hooves, clopping very slowly and surprisingly quietly across the floor above. Perhaps it was something else, but... it sounded a lot like hooves.

"Hey! Is anypony up there?" She asked. "Whatcha doing in here?"

She received no answer but a chorus of low moaning. It sounded sad, mournful--and chilling. But the warning signs were lost on her.

"Ooooh... pretty spooky!" She said, clapping her hooves together. "You guys must've practiced pretty hard! Let me try." She closed her eyes and cleared her throat. "WoooooOOOOOOOOO--"

She opened her eyes at that moment, and vaguely registered the figure of a pony slowly moving towards her. But at that moment, she began to hear a distant scream of horror, and the scenery around her changed...

Pinkie now found herself surrounded by endless gray, stretching onward. No detail; just gray as far as the eye can see. She wouldn't have minded black--at least black she could laugh at for trying to be creepy and unsettling. Gray was just... dull. Boring. Lifeless. The only thing breaking the monotony were the images of her five friends, who were for some reason all standing away from her.

"Girls?" Pinkie asked confusedly. "Rarity? What are you doing here?" She trotted over to the figure of the white unicorn. "I thought you were back in--"

Suddenly, the figure crumbled apart as quickly as it had appeared, leaving nothing but dust.

They'll leave you, you know, whispered a voice in her head. One by one. Pinkie began to get nervous. Her friends would never leave her! She'd thought so in the past, sure, but... they hadn't been mean to her! They were just trying to throw a surprise party for her!

She turned to Rainbow Dash, who had been on Rarity's left. "Dashy!" She called out as she galloped over. "What's going o--"

Your fears never die, the voice said as Rainbow also crumbled into dust. They just fade back... biding their time. You can laugh... but they never die. Never.

Tears began to well up in Pinkie's eyes. "What's going on? Why are you all abandoning me!?" Her voice started to crack. "Twilight--Twilight! You're the smartest pony ever! You'll tell me!" She galloped over to the purple unicorn's image. "Won't you?"

In the end, all friends leave, the voice replied as Twilight, too, crumbled into dust. Pinkie shook violently.

"N-no... no..." she cried weakly. "They wouldn't leave me here! They wouldn't... not them... not Fluttershy!" She added, desperately grasping at hope as she galloped to the figure of a yellow pegasus. "She's so nice to all of us! She'd never..."

Those who dine with friends know only hunger, said the voice hungrily as Fluttershy crumbled to dust. Only Applejack remained now, the figure standing resolutely away, still staying in place.

"Please... AJ..." tears and once-poofy mane now streamed down Pinkie's face. She began trotting to the last remaining pony. "Don't leave me here in this awful place. I hate it here. I'd never be happy again without any of you. Please..."

"Pinkie!"

"Huh?" Pinkie stopped sniveling and grovelling for a moment, and turned away from the turned-away Applejack to see... "AJ? But what is--"

"Those ponies, those THINGS ain't your friends!" Applejack cried angrily. "Get away from 'em!" She began galloping at the figure of herself. "Ain't nothin' scares mah friends n' gets away with it!"

Pinkie looked from the charging Applejack to the image. That's the AJ I remember! she thought, and new hope flooded into her. She looked down, and realized she'd been crawling on her hooves. No more.

She stood up, and watched as Applejack spun around and BUCKED the image of Applejack with all her might...

The gray infinity vanished, and Pinkie found herself back in the mine shaft... but not alone. Above her, she could see four or five ponies shambling towards her... or at least, they looked like ponies. Strips of blackened, rotten flesh clung tightly to noticeable skeletons, and instead of eyes only sockets remained... though it felt as though they were staring more into her soul, reaching into her fears and laying them bare to break her mind.

But right now, they weren't focused on her. No, they were focused on another pony directly in front of her...

"AJ!" Pinkie cried out in relief. "How did you--"

"Too many of 'em!" Applejack shouted. "Let's git along outta here!" The orange earth pony bolted, Pinkie right behind her. She noticed Applejack look over her shoulder, and grimaced. After dealing directly with that traumatic nightmare, she preferred not to look back...

The two earth ponies galloped hard, heading back towards the entrance. They hadn't taken any major twists or turns, and so had no trouble reaching their sleeping place. Luna and Twilight were still fast asleep.

Both ponies breathed hard, but for different reasons.

"Pinkie Pie." Applejack turned and glared at her friend. "What in tarnation possessed ye t' go traipsin' 'round the tunnels? This ain't no field trip!"

Pinkie Pie sniffed. "Oh, AJ!" She threw her hooves around her friend's neck, pulling the surprised earth pony into a big hug. "It was horrible! I saw all of you, but you were turned away from me and when I came over, you all fell apart like crumbs and something said your fears never die, they just keep coming baaaaack!" She sobbed quietly against Applejack's flank, and the cowpony lost some of her anger.

"Whoa, whoa... slow down there, sugarcube. What's all this about? When ah found ye, ye were starin' at them things like you were seein' ghosts!"

"I... I don't know," Pinkie replied, calming down a little. "Everything just changed, and there was this voice in my head. Thank goodness you came looking for me, AJ..."

"Ah don't know why ah did. Ah mean, ah'm glad ah did, it was just..." Applejack paused, and looked towards the ground. "It was a dream ah had. One second ah was standin' in Sweet Apple Acres eatin' th' world's biggest apple brown betty. Then th' next thing ah know, mah mouth's full o' sand, an' I'm standin' in a desert next to this weird-lookin' red-maned earth pony, an' she tells me 'Ye better go save yer friend, 'cuz she's in a heap o' trouble'. Then ah woke up an' came lookin' fer you."

"Whoa..." Pinkie was engrossed by Applejack's story, her recent near-death experience seemingly forgotten. "You're getting a sense of your own, AJ? Are we calling it AJ Sense?"

"Ah don't think it's like that," Applejack answered. "But ah don't think it was a dream..." she resumed glaring at Pinkie Pie. "But don't ever go off on yer own like that again, ye hear me?" She softened. "We're yer friends, Pinkie Pie. Forever. An' don't you forget that."

To hear such honesty from Applejack made the pink earth pony very happy.

Your fears never die...

But they can disappear, Pinkie thought as she and Applejack rejoined the other two ponies and settled down to sleep, Pinkie nestled closely to the orange pony.

"Hey, AJ?" Pinkie asked quietly. "What made you look sick back there, when we were running away?"

The other things were startin' t' chow down on the one ah bucked, thought Applejack.  But all she said was: "...Pinkie, ye don't wanna know."

It soon became clear to both Applejack and Pinkie that they had not been pursued--no further noise reached their ears from far down the tunnels. Nevertheless, Applejack remained awake for a while afterward to keep watch. She later nudged Twilight awake, said "Just in case" when Twilight asked why, and fell asleep. Yet the unicorn didn't have to wait long before Luna stirred.

"Owww... my flank..." she complained as she climbed to her hooves.

"Good morning, Luna," Twilight whispered with a smile.

"It's never a good morning..." Luna replied, looking grumpy. The alicorn had never been a morning pony, and saw no reason why it should start today. That is, until today... "Wait a minute... is it really morning? How long was I--"

"Ssshhh. Applejack and Pinkie Pie are still asleep." Twilight looked over at her friends. Applejack whinnied softly as she slept on her stomach; Pinkie, by contrast, seemed to toss and turn even in her sleep, sometimes drooling and saying things like, "I don't want... toast, Gummy, I'm still... mmmm, cupcakes..." Twilight giggled. "Oh, and you were out for a while, Luna. You just seemed so tired..."

"I'm better now, I think." Luna stretched her legs. "Mmmmmm! I guess it's better if I wake in the mornings now, right? None of you are nocturnal?"

"I'm a night owl, sometimes," the unicorn replied. "I grew up studying magic late into the night. That habit hasn't changed at all--it's become part of who I am."

"Tia says you're very good with magic," Luna commented.

Twilight blushed, a wide smile on her face. She always enjoyed praise from her mentor. "I suppose so. I'm definitely strong with unicorn magic. But..." she turned back to her sleeping friends. Pinkie for some reason was now lightly chewing a small rock and making humming noises. "These ponies shared an entirely new magic with me, and I still have so much to learn from them about it. There's a spark I get that comes from being with them that I just can't from regular unicorn magic."

Spark... the word rolled through Luna's head. It sounded somehow familiar, like she had heard that word sometime ago. She got the impression it had been when Tia first reappeared... at that time, she'd been so happy to be free of her inner demon that she'd forgotten all about the other ponies in the background. But she remembered that word. It was all hazy, but she remembered it. When all seemed lost, one pony had arisen with renewed confidence and some companions, talking about some "spark"... that spark had been...

"It was you..." Luna began. "You were the one who..." She looked at the other two sleeping ponies. "And they... I'm so sorry. I'd totally forgotten who was there when Tia appeared. All I could think was that I could get my life back in order. You must think me terribly rude..."

"It's nothing, Luna. I'd won so much from that adventure, I didn't mind that you were focused on your sister again. You both must have had tons of stuff to talk about."

"Ah... well... we did, for a while." Luna gave a fake smile, but rallied by changing the subject. "Still, you and your friends became the bearers of the Elements? That's amazing!"

"Well, we've only used them once," Twilight said, failing to note the awkward moment. "But it's strange, now that you mention it. All that happened was we used it once and got necklaces... or at least, my friends did. I got a cute tiara for some reason. But nothing's happened since then. Even though we've become the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, there haven't been any side effects or enhanced abilities from what I can tell. I've tried looking for more books on the elements from time to time to see if I can learn anything more, but..." Twilight shook her head, now fully engrossed in the subject. "All I could tell for certain was that they were created by six other ponies, around even before Celestia's time."

"Even before Celestia's time..." Luna stroked a hoof against her chin. "Before her time... I wonder... I'll think about it for a little while. I might know more, but maybe you should get some sleep. I'll stand watch for a while."

"Good idea. Thank you, Luna. I think we'll get along very well on our journey." Twilight closed her eyes.

We did get along for a while, Tia and I... but we're as different as the Moon and Sun we move. I haven't felt better, coming back.
...But these ponies... they're not so bad. Are there others like them in this world? Are there some who would even think of me as a friend?

--------

At last, dawn came... or at least, the idea of dawn. Around this time, the sun would be breaking over the horizon to the clearing of silver trumpets, Luna thought sadly. The view of Canterlot at daybreak was always beautiful. So many colors to choose from... I never fully appreciated it until now. Now, an entire day has passed and it all remains black.

But isn't it what you wanted? A deeper thought asked in her head. Ponies didn't care about your beautiful night, they only cared for HER day!

"Stop that," Luna said softly to herself.

Stop what? You saw your subjects taking the time you gave them to sleep. And so you thought that if they were too tired to see it when you rose the moon, you would have it always there, so that all would love you!

"I said, stop."

Hmhmhmhmhm... you little foal. You ask me to stop? But you're the one who created me. You are me, and I am you. You ask me to stop, but you don't WANT me to stop. Part of you wants me here. And that's fine by me! One day, you'll beg for me back! And then!? The night WILL last... FOREVER!

"No!" Luna found herself outside now. "Someday I'll put you to rest for good! I swear it!"

But they still don't see you as Luna, do they? The smug train of thought continued. No, they see you as...

"Don't!"

"Luna...?" A sleepy-looking Twilight Sparkle emerged from the mine entrance. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Luna's darker thoughts seemed to fade.

"...Nothing," she lied.

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked. "You sounded very upset. Luna, if there's something bothering you, please..." her eyes opened further, and she blinked to clear off any vestiges of sleep. "Please tell us. It's no good bottling up your feelings."

"Well..." Luna paused. Had anypony ever taken the time to really talk to her, to see if she felt okay? "I guess I... still feel lonely sometimes. Ponies still blamed me when the sun didn't rise. I've come back, and it feels great to be back, but... I'm still buried in my music and my magic, nothing more. It almost feels as if nothing's changed."

"That's not true at all." Twilight walked over to stand beside Luna. "A lot has changed. We saw your meteor shower that one night. That was truly beautiful. I still remember standing outside with my friends to see it. But Luna? Maybe you need to open up a little more. I, too, used to wonder what friendship could be... until my friends shared its magic with me."

Luna was about to reply when both ponies heard the sound of hooves from behind them. Pinkie Pie emerged from the entrance with a sleeping Applejack balanced on her back.

"She's still out like a log!" Pinkie proclaimed. "Must've been bucking the zombie way back in the tunnels!"

"...Zombie?" Twilight said skeptically.

"Zombie?" Luna asked. "What are you talking about?"

Pinkie relayed the events from the previous night, though she managed to maintain seriousness throughout. "...If it wasn't for Applejack..." she left the sentence hanging.

Twilight remained unconvinced. "There's got to be a reasonable explanation for whatever you saw back there..."

"Don't be too sure." Luna narrowed her eyes at the tunnels. "You said there were a bunch of collapsed rocks at the end. This IS a mine, is it not? Accidents can happen... fatal ones, at that."

"Then they would have all been buried," Twilight commented, grimly.

"Yes... but you don't need a corpse for dark magic. Some... someTHING may have been in there, and felt the regret. It might still be in there, for all we know. The things you describe are known as RePonies, regretful and vengeful spirits twisted and given form by dark magic. They're terrible creatures... but slow and vulnerable. Your friend did well to buck one of their number back to oblivion."

Luna looked back into its depths. "But if more are inside, we shouldn't take chances leaving this shaft open."

"How would we close it?" Twilight asked. "There's nothing nearby to close it with. Will it end the problem if we seal it?"

"After a time, the magic will slowly wear off. Then yes, they will one day die, unless whatever raised them still lives in the mines. We may never know, but... we don't have time to look now. The best we can do is make sure nopony else suffers. Allow me..."

Luna spied an overhanging rock higher up on the hillside. Her horn glowed brightly, and soon cracks were appearing in the rock, growing larger and larger until the outcropping broke off entirely, leaving a very large boulder well-suited for sealing away the entrance. Luna had little trouble placing it squarely in front of the entrance.

"That's amazing!" Twilight breathed. "You barely struggled with that! I don't think I could handle all that weight!"

"Well, I am Celestia's sister," Luna said with a faint smile. "Let's be on our way!"

"Okee dokee!" Pinkie chimed in, Applejack still fast asleep.

--------

The ponies didn't get very far before Twilight had to point something out.

"Y'know, Pinkie, you don't HAVE to carry Applejack all the time."

"But she won't wake up!"

"What."

"Nonononono... I mean, AJ wakes up with the sun. If it's not out, she just sleeps in all day. I'd kinda feel bad to wake her up with my trombone!"

"You... brought a trombone."

"Yup! For Luna so she can raise the moon!"

"It takes more than that," Luna commented. "Did you ever see the Summer Sun Celebration, where Celestia would raise the sun to the clearing of many trumpets?"

"I... always saw her horn glowing," Twilight replied. "I assumed the trumpets were there for show."

"Even for an alicorn, raising the sun or moon is a colossal feat of magic," Luna said as they galloped onward. "It's true that we use it, but to raise our celestial body, we need more power. That is what music is for--as composers, good music provides a powerful augmentation of our abilities. It surrounds us, gives us feeling, and makes us strong. It's the banging of the percussion, the strength of the trumpets, the roar of the crowd... Without these, we are powerless to raise either sun or moon.

But, ahh... I fail to see how one measly trombone is going to help me raise the moon," she said warily.

"I'll get you to raise it off my trombone, or my name's not Pinkie Aloicious Montague Dashomite Cupcakes Party Pie!"

"...Pinkie, I'm pretty sure your name ends with Pie." Twilight said monotonically.

"That's what I said!"

"No, I mean--"

The three awakened ponies continued on their way with the sleeping Applejack in tow, slowly but surely leaving Colttown behind them. If Celestia's soldiers had made it this far during the night, the four ponies didn't see any in the skies. Nevertheless, they gave the town itself a wide berth... curiously, however, the town appeared deserted to their eyes. There seemed to be little out there but street lamps. Twilight grinned. Rarity, keep it up. You're doing great, she thought, emboldened by her friend's apparent success. "It looks like Celestia's ponies didn't come out this far," she said. "Rarity's doing her part!"

The road continued ever on and on southward through what was becoming rocky country. The earth still contained plenty of grassland, though now the four ponies galloped between large, rocky hills, gradually growing larger as they pressed onward.

"It looks like a whole row of mountains off in the distance," Pinkie cried out. "Twi, what's the map say?"

Twilight's horn glowed to once more bring the map out. "We were here once before, remember? Up ahead is Dragon's Teeth Ridge. The entire range is just one long row of steep mountains! We need to shoot for the Missing Tooth," she added, nodding towards a conspicuous lack of mountain between two others in the range. "If we can get through that, we can reach the village of Bridleburg. Then it's just a train ride through to Appaloosa!"

"What if some of Celestia's men still reach the Tooth before us?" Asked Luna. "Won't they be a bit suspicious to see us come this way?"

"I don't believe it. If they didn't come to Colttown, that means they couldn't have come this far south yet. That gives us an advantage!"

"Hrrrruuuuummm..." Applejack yawned. "What's all... th' ruckus for..."

She blinked her eyes sleepily for a few seconds until she realized she was moving fairly fast on something very pink.

"P-Pinkie Pie?" AJ's eyes snapped open, and she tried to move from her sleeping position. "What're ye--whoa!" She promptly fell off Pinkie's back, tumbling along the ground a little ways before coming to a stop seated firmly on her flank. "Can ah get a little warnin' next time ah'm gonna be picked up?" She complained as she stood, walking over to where her hat had fallen off her head. Picking it up in her teeth, she flopped it back on her head.

"Good morning, Applejack," said Twilight warmly. The other three ponies stopped to let their now-awake friend join them.

"Ugh... ah never did wake up well t' no sun." Applejack grumbled. "Alright, ah can move."

They continued onward, but it wasn't long before Luna began to mull over last night's events. "Applejack," she began, "Pinkie said something interesting about your adventure last night. She said that you had a dream, and you saw a strange-looking pony."

"Was she ever! Definitely a mare. She had this dark tan coat an' a fiery, long red mane trailin' from her body. Didn't look like she was from these parts. 'Cept ah dunno if it was a dream. All seemed so dang real..."

"Curious..." Luna mused mysteriously. "Very curious. Is this the first time you've had this vision?"

"Hmmm..." Applejack searched her mind for any past recollection. "Now that ye mention it... jus' these past few weeks, ah'd been getting these dreams about a desert lately. Nothin' serious, nothin' fancy... it'd just always be somethin' t' do with a desert. Ah'd go walkin' in it, or findin' campsites in it..." she shook her head. "Before ah paid it no mind, but now... is somepony... or someTHIN'... tellin' me somethin' ah need t' know? 'Cuz if so, it ain't funny. Ah don't like anythin' givin' me visions!"

"Curious... very curious." Luna remained silent for a moment, then said slowly, "Perhaps... perhaps it has something to do with you being an element bearer. What was your Element, if I may ask?"

"Me? Honesty. Why?"

"So you hold the Element of Honesty, and you've been seeing visions of the desert..." Luna grinned. "I think we're getting a clearer picture to our puzzle. I might have an idea...

The short version is that a long time ago, long before Celestia and I were born... it is said that a stallion with terrible power walked these lands, crushing any pony bold enough to face him, annihilating any army with hordes of dark creatures at his command. Yet there was one who stood bravely against him. It is said that this one traveled to the ends of Equestria and back, seeking the aid of six sages to fight the dark one.

One was a kind little filly who liked the flora and fauna of the forests.

One was a gigantic stallion who was... surprisingly given to dance.

Another was a great mare, a leader of a tribe of ponies who lived near the shores of a vast lake.

The fourth was a shadowy figure... not much was known of her save her loyalty to the royal family.

The fifth was something of an accomplished magician, a scholar in Canterlot.

And the sixth--perhaps the same pony you have seen--was a thief hailing from the Dromedaro Desert."

"WHAT!?" Applejack cried out. "Consarn it! You mean t' tell me th' pony ah been seein' was a thief!? I ain't no thief!"

"Whoa there! It's true, but she was depicted as being surprisingly honest and to the point. ...Though I must admit, it is rather strange," Luna added. "But my point is this: it is said that these six sages helped the one pony by giving him the same elements you carry today. So it is very interesting that you, Applejack, should be seeing such visions. Perhaps something has happened in the desert that requires your attention."

"...Maybe. But I still ain't no thief." The orange cowpony scowled.

The four ponies galloped onward towards the large gap. It was unlikely, however, that they would get through totally unhindered...