History Repeats

by Vexx3

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure
Length: 571

Legends are just old ponytales, right? Maybe not...

This story is a collaboration between myself and my good friend Böser.

The tale of Tenebris Equum is oft forgotten among Equestrian lore. It speaks about a brash young earth pony whose impetuous behavior not only costs him his life, but endangers the lives of his family and the entire Equestrian world.

Twilight Sparkle is overjoyed when she receives an invitation from one of her favorite scientific scholars, Discovery, to accompany her on an archaeological expedition in the Drackenridge Mountains. When they stumble upon a once sealed cave, they realize that there may be more to the old fable than just a grim lesson against imprudence. What they find could have drastic implications towards a period of history not well observed. And when history repeats itself, it doesn't make the same mistake twice.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-31 03:54:34 UTC

Prologue

History Repeats

By Vex3d and Böser

Pre-read by Dave247

Prologue:

2302 years ago

His ears rang loudly as the crash of lightning exploded at his side.  He tripped and pitched forward, face scraping the floor of the cave.

I shouldn’t have done this!  I shouldn’t have come here! He thought to himself as he stood back up and continued running.

At least, he tried to run.  He looked at his side and saw a deep gash on his leg right below his cutie mark.

He could hear the wailing scream getting closer.  His eyes widened and he took off in a panic-driven adrenaline rush.

Why did I come here?!  I’ve angered them and now they will take my life as punishment.  He thought gravely.  He should have heeded the warnings of his family and friends, but his curiosity and need to seek out danger overtook his judgment.  He hadn’t believed any of the tales; he dismissed them as pure legend.

Now here he was running for his life in Night Horse Cave in the Drackenridge Mountains.  His moss green coat and grey, black striped mane were covered in sweat and dirt.  His fire-orange eyes were bloodshot and wide with terror.  The gash below his horseshoe-on-fire cutie mark was bleeding profusely and made his whole leg feel like it was being touched by a white-hot brand.  His limbs screamed at him to stop running, to just give up and rest, though he knew he couldn’t do that.  The inscription on the stone tablet was burned onto his mind.

Illis quis tollere sacramentum obsidione dimittet umbra ignes in terra.

Those who doth remove the oath from siege shall release the shadow fires unto the land.

As he rounded a bend in the cave, relief washed over him as he spotted the entrance.  A burst of adrenaline rushed through him and he charged as fast as he could towards the opening.  He heard a loud, piercing cackle and suddenly, the entire cave was awash in a sinister deep red glow.  Black tendrils sprouted from the walls and reached out for him.  He skipped past them as he glanced down the cave and gasped.

The entrance was suddenly much farther away.  It looked like it was getting smaller as if he was running away from it.

One of the tendrils grabbed his leg and he fell forward.  Terrified, he yanked as hard as he could to break free and managed to snap the tendril.  He got back up and tried to keep running but his legs froze suddenly. He looked down and saw that they were covered in a black substance similar to the tendrils and it was slowly making its way up his body.  It felt ice cold.

He tried desperately to move but it was no use.  He let out a bloodcurdling scream.  He knew nopony would hear him but it was the only thing left he could do.

Another wailing scream resounded through the cave.

He looked back and all the air left his lungs as if they were punctured balloons.  It was right behind him, staring at him.  The black substance was now at the base of his jaw.  His entire body was as cold as he had ever felt before.  He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the creature standing behind him even if he wanted to.

It seemed to grin at him as the substance crept its way over the top of his head and around his snout.

He took one long, final breath and let out a whimper as the world turned black.