A Storm is Coming

A Storm is Coming

Ch. 8: Onward and Downward

The party woke eventually, and camp was dealt with in short order. With Twilight directing them, they continued their trek to Tartarus. Taranis and Shining Armor took point as usual, along with Twilight at the helm, leading them along. Soarin’ flew in lazy circles above the party, keeping an eye on the rear of the procession. Every now and then Rainbow Dash would join him in his patrol. Both Twilight and Taranis were taking great pains to avoid making any kind of eye contact, and all conversation was kept curt. Twilight spared a few moments to steal a few sidelong glares at her older brother. Shining Armor kept up his own stony countenance, and he appeared deep in thought.

The behavior of the leading group was not lost on the others. The curt silence by the ponies ahead of the group was only accentuated by the silence of the forest around them, devoid of sound except the occasional chirping of birds or the noises of other scattered wildlife. No monsters in this section of Everfree would attack a party of their size, unless it was sizable. Rarity and Fluttershy walked side-by-side, deep in conversation concerning their friend.

“Really, I haven’t the slightest what could have come over them. Twilight and the prince were as thick as thieves the past few days. I do hope they are all right,” Rarity said, gaze fixed worriedly on the two ponies.

“They did have a good chemistry together,” said Fluttershy softly. “Maybe Twilight is just confused about liking her teacher’s son.”

“I don’t see what you two are so worried about,” said Pinkie. “It’s probably just the Highway to Hell getting to them.” Without warning, she broke out into song.

“I’m on the Hiiiiighwaaay to Hell,

I’m on the Hiiiiiighwaaay to Hell.”

“Pinkie Pie, can ya cut the performance short,” said Applejack, “Havin’ to share a tent with Rainbow Dash made it difficult ta sleep.”

“What are you saying, AJ?”

“Ah’m sayin’ ya snore like a cow with asthma.”

“I do not!”

“Do too.”

“If I may interject here, ladies,” Soarin’ said, landing with a light thump next to the arguing pair, “I couldn’t help but overhear your little argument. Dash, you do snore. I could hear you during the third watch from the other side of the campsite.”

“Ha, told ya!” Applejack smirked at the cyan Pegasus’ wide eyes.

“However,” Soarin’ continued, “You aren’t completely innocent in this, AJ.”

The farmer gave the Wonderbolt a sidelong look. “How so? And who said ya could call me AJ?” Soarin’ smirked, ignoring the question.

“You talk in your sleep.”

Applejack’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “W-w-what? Ah do not!”

Soarin’ just grinned at her denial. “Well, unless you were carrying on a conversation with somepony named Applebloom when you were supposed to be sleeping, then you were talking in your sleep.” Soarin’ chuckled, and proceeded to do a poor impersonation of Applejack’s accent. “Dagnabbit it Applebloom! Ah told ya ta pick up yer mess!”

Applejack blushed, but she laughed it off and swatted at the flyer, who deftly dodged, laughing the whole time. “Yer goin’ the right way fer a licking, flyboy!”

Soarin’ just grinned cheekily at the orange Earth pony. He stuck his tongue out at her and continued his lazy circling overhead. Rarity nudged Fluttershy gently.

“Speaking of good chemistry…” Rarity gestured toward Applejack and Soarin’. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in realization.

“Oh, I think you may be on to something Rarity.”

“What’re you two yammerin’ about?”

“Oh, nothing, darling. It’s just that you and that Wonderbolt make quite the pair.”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you two just seem to a good rapport, is all. It’s really quite adorable to watch you two flirt.”

Applejack reddened. “Ah ain’t…we weren’t…”

“Are you all right, Applejack?” Fluttershy asked. “You look a little red.”

“Red is an understatement, dear. Big Macintosh isn’t even that red.”

“Jus’ mind yer own dang business.” Applejack shifted the brim of her hat to hide her face and stormed ahead, leaving the other ponies in the dust. Rarity and Fluttershy simply giggled amongst themselves.

The remaining ponies continued on in silence, pondering the curious foliage of the Everfree Forest, until the sun began to set in the west. Twilight calculated that they should reach the gates of Tartarus by noon of the next day, so the party decided to camp for the night. After a while, they arrived at a relatively clear area.

“This ought to be a good spot to camp,” Twilight said.

“As good as any,” Taranis agreed. “Let’s set up.” He looked over at Twilight, who made eye contact. It did not last long, and both ponies dropped their gazes an instant later. The ponies then set up the campsite. Soarin’ volunteered for the first watch.

An hour into his watch, the Wonderbolt felt a prodding at his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Shining Armor standing above him.

“I’ll take it from here, Lieutenant. Get some sleep.”

“Sure thing, Cap.” Soarin’ stood up and stretched, popping a few joints. He began to trot back to his tent.

“One moment.”

Soarin’ stopped and looked back at the Unicorn.

“Yes?”

“What’s your opinion on Prince Taranis? In all honesty.”

Soarin’ cocked his head, as though he had not considered the question before.

“Well, he seems decent enough. And in the interactions I’ve had with him, he has proven to be a polite stallion. Plus, he’s a damn good sight to see in a fight, as I’ve come to experience. Not the greatest warrior I’ve ever seen, but he can really pull through in a pinch.”

Shining Armor nodded slowly, taking it in.

“If I may, sir, why do you ask?” Soarin’asked.

“Just call me suspicious. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just over thinking this. There has been no activity to give you pause?”

“Well, at first, I was skeptical about turning the Wonderbolts back into a full military outfit, but in hindsight, it was probably for the best. The battle might not have had the same result.”

Shining nodded again. “Go ahead and get some shut-eye, Lieutenant Soarin’. See you later.”

“Got it.”

The Pegasus stallion trotted over to the rest of the slumbering ponies and settled down into a spot. Shining hunkered down and set about his vigil. His ears twitched as he heard the soft clopping of hooves. His sister walked into his line of sight.

“So, are we going to talk about your behavior last night?”

Shining sighed. He had been expecting this.

“There isn’t anything to discuss, Twilie. You were disturbing the prince when he was supposed to be keeping watch.”

“That isn’t what I was talking about and you know it.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“For a start, I want you to apologize. Taranis has been nothing but cordial and yet you insist on treating him like a criminal of some kind.”

“I’m not apologizing for anything yet. Once I know for a fact that he can be trusted, I’ll consider apologizing. And he’s Prince Taranis. Since when were you so buddy-buddy with him that you got to address him without his title?”

“Since I became his friend.”

“You two certainly didn’t look like friends last night. You were an inch away from sharing a face.”

Twilight blushed, but kept arguing.

“You’re acting like such a hypocrite! I don’t complain whenever you and Cadance decide to swap spit in front of me! And considering the whole fiasco with the wedding, you have no right to get uptight about this!”

“Don’t you feel even the slightest twinge of doubt about your actions?” Shining shot back. “About anything?”

Twilight paused. “Well, he is Princess Celestia’s son. I have no idea how she would respond if told we were developing a relationship that extended beyond platonic, or that I was even interested in him.”

Shining nodded. Maybe having her reason through it would bring some sense to her.

“And if she didn’t take it well…it might jeopardize my whole relationship with her. If we manage to free her soul from Discord, that is. And he took that whole scenario pretty hard. His emotions could be running rampant. It might throw his other thoughts out of proportion, including…” She paused, and Shining could practically see the light bulb over her head light up. “Thoughts about me? It might explain his rather forward behavior.” She looked at her brother.

“It may be best if you just let him have some space to think things through. It turns out you two may not actually click like you thought,” Shining said carefully.

And maybe it will keep him from possibly hurting you, he thought.

“Maybe…” Twilight walked back to camp. “I should get some sleep.”

“Sleep well.”

Twilight nodded and kept walking, even more troubled than before she talked to Shining. That conversation had not gone the way she had rehearsed it in her head.

On the dawn of the third day, the group once again packed up camp and followed the path laid out before them by Twilight. The first thing they noticed was that the foliage became much thicker, and the natural noise of wildlife gave way to an eerie silence. The ponies found themselves much closer together, nopony wanting to stray too far away from the group.

“When we get to the gates, prepare to deal with Cerberus. My father took the idea of a guard dog a little too literally and created one that could guard three directions at once. It also had some motif about symbolizing the past, present and future, but I never paid attention to that part. If my memory is correct, he is quite vicious.” Taranis stopped talking, and was greeted by a low, guttural growl. “Everypony. Get behind me.”

He flared his wings in anticipation of the dog’s attack. The behemoth jumped out onto the path in front of them, all three heads gnashing and dripping thick strands of saliva. Taranis tensed and prepared to counter whatever the dog threw at him, but before he could, Fluttershy walked out from behind him and strode toward the canine.

“Fluttershy! Are you mad?”

To his utter shock, the three heads immediately ceased growling at the sight of the yellow Pegasus, and fought with each other over which would be the first to lick her. She giggled lightly and rubbed the dog, which eagerly rolled onto its back to allow her easier access to his tummy.

“Fluttershy has a gift with animals, darling. Even guard dogs,” Rarity said, cantering by and watching the spectacle before them.

Taranis simply stood there with his head cocked, taking it in. “I must remember to talk to Mother about getting a better guard dog, once we retrieve her soul. Was he this docile the last time he was in Ponyville?” He looked at Twilight for verification.

“Uh, um, yeah, yeah he was.” Twilight tripped over her words, her mind still on last night’s conversation with her brother. She could not be sure if Taranis truly held feelings for her or if he was simply unbalanced by the delicate nature of their mission.

Am I overanalyzing this? I might be overanalyzing this. Or I might not be analyzing it enough, and I’m missing some crucial component… Her thoughts continued on in this manner.

If Taranis noticed her stammering, he chose to ignore it. Instead, he simply motioned the others forward, passing by Cerberus and issuing a stern command to the dog to stay. The group continued forward, passing beneath trees that looked ancient. Every breeze was amplified by the tight spaces, until it seemed that the whole forest around them sang a sad, breezy song. Pinkie eventually started tunelessly whistling, leading the forest in her own chorus.

The travelers stopped before an ancient cave, seemingly hewn from the side of the earth by the unyielding force of time. It was so nondescript and remote that most of the group almost missed it.

“Here we are,” Taranis announced, stopping in front of the cave.

“This is it?” Rainbow Dash asked, clearly disappointed by the lackluster entrance to the underworld.

“It seems kind of…plain,” Rarity admitted. “I would have imagined the gate to Tartarus would look more elegant.”

“Yeah, it looks more like a place where a bear would live. Or an ogre! Or a troll! Or…” Pinke was silenced by Rainbow’s hoof in her mouth.

“It’s the perfect disguise,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “It keeps the curious away, and nopony wants to wander through a cave for fear of what they might find.”

“Precisely.” Taranis smiled at Twilight, which she awkwardly returned. “Well, in we go. Soarin’, take point.”

“Gotcha boss.” The Wonderbolt flew into the cave, followed by the Alicorn. The latter signaled with his forehoof, and the rest followed. The inside of the cave matched the outside, plain and nondescript, only noteworthy for the amount of cobwebs that hung from the ceiling, shrouding the stalactites like an old shawl. The mares in the back unconsciously found themselves huddling together, winding their way through the cave.

Every once in a while, the group would have to find their way over puddles in the ground, and around large stalagmites protruding from the floor of the cave, which took a not inconsiderable amount of time. Eventually, the group came to realize that the path had begun to descend, heading deeper into the earth. A subtle increase in the overall temperature was also noticed. Before long, the ponies began to sweat.

“Uh, boss?” Soarin’s voice echoed uncertainly from further down the large tunnel. The echo reverberated back, making him seem further in than he was.

“Yes, Lieutenant?” Taranis returned, noticing his own echo.

“Getting any further may prove to be a bit of a problem.” His voice was reaching its normal pitch as the group approached him, and it became quite obvious as to what he was referring. They had reached the end of the main portion of the tunnel, where it opened up into a much larger cavern. Before them stood a massive iron gate, gilded with golden edges and inlaid with elegant scrollwork. The gate encompassed the entirety of the opposite end of the cavern, which was big enough to house a fully-grown dragon comfortably.

“That’s more like it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Now that’s a heck of a door if Ah ever saw one,” Applejack breathed. The enormous dimensions of the cavern made her feel downright puny. She glanced around at the others, and it was evident they shared her feelings.

“W-what d-does that scrollwork mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Its Ancient Equestrian,” Twilight responded, her voice muted in awe. “ I only brought Cerberus to the path, I wish I had gone further and seen this gate the last time. It says, ‘If Thou would continue Forth, abandon Hope.’ Not a very comforting message…”

“You said it,” Shining Armor said.

“Anyways,” Soarin’ said, after the silence stretched on for too long, “we need to get back to my original point, considering this gate is kind of barring our passage.”

“Its really quite simple,” Taranis said. He stepped toward the immense gate. He raised his hoof. “You knock.”

He rapped his hoof against the gate, listening to the echo bouncing off the cavern walls. A moment of silence followed that seemed deafening.

“I’m terribly sorry Taranis, “ Rarity said gently, “but I do not think that will provide the best results in this-“

Before she could finish, there was a great creaking sound, accompanied by the sound of metal grinding against metal in such a way that made it clear they had not seen use in many years. Taranis turned back to the group and smirked.

“Oh, ye of little faith.”

The gate slowly opened, releasing a foul smell into the chamber. The ponies covered their noses as the acrid stench threatened to over power their senses. After coughing and sputtering for a few moments, they composed themselves and followed Taranis to the entrance. For a while, they simply stood there and surveyed the scene before them.

Above them, red clouds wisped about with a seemingly random flight pattern. In the distance, tall spires jutted up, and the tops of several could not be seen as they reached toward the invisible ceiling. All around them, the land was the color of rust, and everything seemed to radiate heat. It was much more palpable now that the gateway had been opened. Even from their narrow vantage point, the ponies cold tell that their path was a steady descent.

Rainbow Dash confidently stepped forward. “Well,” she said, nothing left but to keep going.” She flew down the path, while the rest followed. When they had cleared the entrance, they heard the gateway shuddering to a close behind them.

Fluttershy looked like she was on the verge of tears, and Rarity simply looked disgusted. The yellow Pegasus moved closer to her friend for protection.

“You said we’d be ok…right Rarity?” Rarity looked at her friend and tried her best to conjure up a smile, but she found it to be a difficult task.

“Yes. Yes I did. Let us hope I am right.”

The trotted down the path, acutely aware of their surroundings and a mist that was encroaching about them. It grew thicker as the descended.

“I don’t like the looks of this. Girls, ready your elements,” Twilight said. The others followed her example and braced themselves as they surveyed the area. Taranis, Shining Armor and Soarin’ also took up fighting stances.

“I assure you, my dear, there is not a need for any senseless violence at this moment.”

The group collectively jumped at the voice, which came from directly in front of them. To their surprise, the mist dispelled, and a wizened old stallion came before them. His robes were elegant, and contained a representation of the starry heavens above. Bells encircled his wide-brimmed hat. A long beard hung from his sagging chin. Twilight gasped in awe when she saw him.

“Starswirl the Bearded,” she whispered.