The Catacombs of Zalgo

Chapter 18: Returning to The Dark Depths

As the sun setted, the land darkened, while the moon began to rise. As it rose, the moon ushered its brightening moonlight. Almost every pony was asleep at this point. Dark clouds covered most of the brightening moon up upon the sky, making to believe that the temperature would be a bit cool. The ponies prepared themselves for a cold trip inside the Everfree Forest, as they knew that tonight was going to be chilly. However, the darkness that swarmed over them felt very unusual to the ponies. Usually, the shadows would drop to a chilly degree, but this instead felt different. It was as if the air was stinging their skin in a paranormal way. It wasn’t a cold sensation they felt; it was more on the lines of… a searing temperature of unexplainable presumptions. Twilight would try to conjecture a hypothesis for this mysterious event, but her only answer was the Everfree Forest’s doing. After all, the forest was very unnatural, due to the rumors and facts she heard. But still, this was never mentioned before the previous times she went in here.

Venturing along the path deep within the Everfree Forest, Aero lead the ponies towards their destination. As they walked, Fluttershy explained Jack’s history to Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Never before they felt this much sympathy in their lives towards someone. Alongside with Aero was Rarity, who was interest in his biography. As the questions were shot away, Aero gladly responded to them.

“Ah yes, about that ghastly rumor the ponies were mentioning. I dare say that rumor was not entirely true! In fact, I was an archeologist one time when I was with my pen pal. And the reason why I couldn’t return home was to research the zebra tribes within a mysterious native land.” Aero stated. Rarity gaped in surprise from the unexpected truth.

“You’re kidding! So it wasn’t because you were having an artist angst predicament that you didn’t have the strength to return home. No… it was just an excuse to research them for your future works. Right?” Rarity guessed.

“Hohoho! I say, you read me like a book, Rarity!” Aero laughed. “Indeed I was researching with them. I took my time off to study their way of life. How the zebras perform enchanting spells to help their kind. And their herbalist skills were just fascinating, I say. But I was more fascinated by their work of art. Their artwork inspired me to never give up on my dreams. And that you shouldn’t judge the book by its cover!” At this point, Aero sighed in depression, as he hung his head down.

“Ahhh… but alas, they’re probably instinct by now. Those zebras were so fascinating to research with. I only wish that I could study their culture some more, I say. If only there were a zebra alive that I can chat with.” It felt a little sad to know that Aero wouldn’t had that sort of chance ever again. But convenience came, when Rarity displayed her smirk.

“Well I can tell you this darling. I happen to know a friend who is indeed a zebra. And that this zebra is an enchantress and a herbalist.” Suddenly, Aero lifted his head and shot a disbelief stare at Rarity. He was cut off by Rarity’s words.

“I-I say! That’s impossible!” Flummoxed the skeleton pony. But Rarity kept her smirk, as she stood what she said.

“It most certainly is not! She lives in a tree hut within this forest! If you would recall a while back, you said that you found Fluttershy at a hut. Well, that hut belongs to a zebra named Zecora.” Rarity explained, while using her usual haughty manner. It took a few seconds for the curious stallion to believe what she had said. Armed with this knowledge, it made him all happy inside in an instant.

“My word! If what you say is true, then there really IS a zebra! Hohoho! Jolly good show! I say, after this is all over, would you kindly introduce me to your zebra friend?” Aero asked in excitement. In an instant, Rarity nodded her head.

“But of course! However, we mustn’t lose track of our assignment.” Rarity spoke passionately. Knowing that this mission comes first, Aero nodded his head in agreement.

Finally, after twenty minutes of walking deep into the Everfree forest, the ponies stumbled upon a large underground passage. It was pitch black in the entrance, as the familiar scent of decay once again hit the ponies. They all gulped down in fear from the sight of its unnerving appearance. Knowing what was lurking down deep within the eerie hole, Fluttershy was determined to see through to this. The fear she developed within that hellhole was all but pushed away. However, the fear struck the other ponies, as they begun to develop second thoughts. Rainbow Dash felt the adrenaline the moment the hole howled an eerie tone. She looked over to Fluttershy to see how she was reacting to this. But to her surprise, she only sees her glaring at the hole with no sign of fear.

Whoa… is that Fluttershy? When did she become this tough all of a sudden? Dash thought. As much as she wants to admire her bravery, she had to focus on the task at hand. Knowing that this would smell trouble, she put aside her fears the best she could, and prepared herself for the returning horror. With every pony ready, Aero looked behind the group.

“Alright then, let’s do this, I say.” Aero began to walk down the stone slabs, plummeting down into the eternal blackness. Fluttershy didn’t hesitate to enter the hole next, as her strength guided her. Giving one last look to each other, the other ponies descended into the darkness with Aero.

Down the stone stairs, the familiar rotten stench hit their noses. The reminiscence of this place instinctively brought back haunting images into the ponies’ minds. How they were all affected by the daunting experiences they developed in here made their spines chilly in an instant. It was like revisiting their nightmare head on. This time; however, they had the confidence and the spirit to see through to this.

Passing through Fluttershy’s dungeon room, Fluttershy couldn’t help but revisit her memory. She thought up the memory of meeting up with Jack for the first time. How Jack just stood at the doorway, staring at her with a pale expression on his face made her feel woeful. But she couldn’t let her feelings get the better of her now, as she tried to refocus herself on the rescue mission. The ponies cautiously ventured down the catacombs, as the fog became thicker the deeper they go. There was no sign of Jack or the enemies yet. It is as if the whole place was abandoned completely. Twilight Sparkle, who was still not used to this oppressive atmosphere, was keeping her head low in fear. She frantically darted her eyes from side to side, trying to spot an enemy.

Oh sweet Celestia… this is more frightening than I’ve ever anticipated. Twilight spoke in her conscious. I mean… how is Fluttershy not affected by any of this? If I were her, I would be-

“Uuuruuughuuuhhh…” Out came a nearby dark broken moan. Somewhere within the thick fog that surrounded the ponies came heavy footsteps and the sound of chains being dragged on the ground. The ponies huddled up in a circle, with their backs facing each other. They stood perfectly still; their ears perked up as they listened to the sound of huge footsteps gradually become louder. No pony dared to make a single sound, as they were focused on finding out where the direction the noise was coming from. Suddenly, Twilight spotted the outline of a huge figure in the fog heading towards the group. The massive shape looked partly familiar to Twilight. It is as if she'd knew that shape somewhere before. But she was knocked out of her thoughts when she heard the broken moan again.

“Auughruuugh!” At that moment, Twilight pointed her hoof at the outline shape.

“Girls! There!” Twilight announced quietly. The other ponies looked into her direction, and locked their eyesights on the incoming enemy. They all went into their fighting stance, and prepared themselves for whatever was coming their way.

When the figure was in good sight range, the massive shape revealed itself. It was the same abomination as before when the mane six first encountered them. The undead atrocity gazed its piercing gleaming red eyes at the ponies, as it made yet another broken moan. The sight of this horrific reunion made the ponies tremble in defeat. Each step the abomination made forced the gang to back up slowly.

“Oh horsefeathers, not you again…” Twilight mumbled in fear. With no will to run away from the monster that struck the foundations of their sanity, the ponies faced death itself. Without Jack around, they were helpless and defenseless against this monster. The only thing they could do was collapse to their knees and tremble in fear. Fluttershy couldn’t help but revisit the moment she first encountered this disgusting creature. And the fear she experienced back began to sink into her head. At this point, her sanity began draining away. She developed tears that unexpectedly came out of her eyes. It felt like this could be it, that all of this effort was for nothing. She closed her eyes and began whimpering.

Be strong and face your challenges head on when they’re present it to you. Or regret everything with your life. The voice of Jack echoed in Fluttershy’s consciousness. Fluttershy shot her eyes open when she heard the unexpected message.

Fluttershy… I know you were scared, but you've got to be stronger than this. You need to gather your strength and face your fears head on! The voice of Rainbow Dash rang in her head. At this point, the messages overtook her mind for the moment.

Ah know how ya feel, pumpkin. But you're not always alone. We all got each other’s backs and there ain't nothin' that will put us down. If the situation seems hopeless, don’t you go and believe it. You will always have us no matter what situation we're in.

That's right, sweetie. And no matter what happens, no matter what the situation is, or how scary and frightening it looks, you have to face your fears, darling. We're always here to comfort you in your desperate time of need. At that moment, Fluttershy started to feel warm inside. Something about those lessons was starting to make her feel strange.

Wha… what is this feeling? Fluttershy pondered. It’s like… It’s like I’m getting… stronger. I…

And don't forget to laugh at anything that scares you! Laughter is the best medicine you could ever ask for! Pinkie’s voice echoed in her head.

The point is, Fluttershy… you've got to stand up for yourself and help your friends. I don't know what we would do without you. You've taught us so much about kindness, and we couldn't have gotten this far without your help. We love you so very much. Just then, her own voice could be heard inside her consciousness.

I thought that having friends was enough to live a peaceful life. But now, I know now that friendship wasn’t the only thing I needed. I also needed to become stronger by myself… to believe in myself that one day… just one day… I’ll become stronger like Rainbow Dash. And Jack… he showed me the way.

J-Jack deserves… more t-than friendship. H-He deserves… a second chance in life. S-So that… he can e-experience more things… he hasn’t… c-crossed yet. T-This… this is why… I want… t-to go back! S-So… so it… will be our turn… t-to save him! S-So… that… I can show him… h-how strong he made me! I-I want to save him… l-like a good friend would do! I WANT TO BE STRONG TOO!! When the message struck Fluttershy, the tender pegasus stopped crying.

Fluttershy gasped in surprise when her consciousness reminded her vow. Knowing how tough the challenge would be, she couldn’t know how strong she really was unless she faced the challenge head on. Putting her courage to the test, she slowly stood back up and made eye contact at the abomination.

“That’s right… I did wanted to become strong.” Fluttershy reminded herself. The strength she was developing was unbelievable, she felt like a new pony from the inside that was blooming twice. She couldn’t describe how she was getting this much courage. For this strength flowing through her, it felt like she was on fire. Twilight, who was still trembling on the floor, decided to take a peek from what’s holding back the inevitable. She spotted Fluttershy standing firmly in defiance against the horrific creature.

“F-Fluttershy… w-what are you doing?!” Twilight shuttered. “R-Run! Don’t be the hero! Save your-“

“NO!” Fluttershy screamed. Suddenly, Fluttershy galloped straight towards the abomination. Then, Fluttershy dashed straight between the abomination’s legs and disappeared from sight for a brief moment. The abomination turned its head around to track the yellow pegasus, only to be met with Fluttershy grabbing a hold of it’s head. Then, she made a hart twist that forced the beefy neck around 180 degrees. The spinal column in the abomination’s neck twisted, and snapped loudly. After the spinal column was snapped, Fluttershy performed her finishing blow and jerked the head skywards. To her surprise, the skin around its neck tore off easily, and the head popped out. Black blood flooded out of the monster’s trachea, as blood sprayed into the air.

As the abomination collapsed senseless to the ground, Twilight and the others’ jaw dropped from sheer disbelief, as they witnessed the unprecedented event before them. The ponies gazed at her with an incredulity concept. They viewed her as a totally different Fluttershy. She would never come this high towards violence, let alone slay her first predator. Given a few seconds for this awkward silence to pass, Fluttershy descended down and tossed the decapitated head to the side. Once she landed, she gazed at the defeated abomination with astonishment. She then looked at her own front hooves, as she spotted sprinkles of blood on it.

“I… I don’t…” Fluttershy was too stunned to even finish her sentence, as she viewed her own work. After she was finished looking at her own results, she eyed over to Twilight and the gang.

“Are you all… alright?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight’s irises and pupils quivered in shock.

“I… Flu… H-how…” Twilight tried to speak, but her words were clogged up. The other ponies tried to speak as well, but they were loss of words. As the gang stared at her with pure disbelief in their eyes, Fluttershy looked away in shame.

“I don’t know how… but somehow… I was shown how strong I really am. Maybe… this is what you guys were talking about.” Fluttershy made a smile after that.

“Maybe this is what strength is… to protect the ones you love. I-“ Suddenly, Fluttershy was interrupted by the abomination’s sudden movements. The gang gasped, as the headless abomination rose back up from the dead. Knowing that this monster was already taken controlled over Zalgo, meant that these types were impossible to take down. With no time to waste, Fluttershy went over to help the others rise up. Once they were up, Aero dashed off and lead the way.

“I say, let’s hurry up!” Aero called out. The ponies rushed after Aero, as the abomination begun its search for its missing head. While the group was retreating, Rainbow Dash caught up to Applejack.

“Pst… remind me not to make her mad.” Dash spoke in an unease tone. Applejack couldn’t help but giggle quietly from that. Twenty minutes of galloping later, the group went straight north through the huge hallway and stumbled upon a passageway. As they went through the passageway, Aero realized that he had to make a complete stop. At this point, the gang found themselves in an intersection. The east passageway lead to some series of large shelves filled with books. The west passageway leads to series of bunk beds with pillows on them. And the north passageway was a sealed stone door. The door had perpendicular lines that were intersecting with each other, as it had a key slot at the center of the door where the lines intersect. Seeing as this could be the door leading to The Chamber of Darkness, the group rested easily for now.

“Is this… The Chamber of Darkness, Aero?” Fluttershy asked. Aero observed the sealed door, as he tried to recall his memories. But it didn’t took him long to respond.

“Indeed it is, chapette. And seeing that both security doors are now opened, I believe that Ja-“ Aero was trailed off by the sounds of heavy and hastily footsteps coming towards the west passageway. He realized that something was coming their way. But despite that it could obviously be Jack, Aero couldn’t take any chances, as he had to hide behind the corner. Aero dashed straight towards the corner behind the west passageway and sat down against the wall. He then gave a gesture to come hide with him.

“Psst! Come over here, I say!” Aero whispered loudly. The rest of the gang went over to the wall and hid themselves behind the corner. Once they gotten themselves in position, they awaited for whatever was coming. Everypony was quiet, as they restricted themselves to produce a single sound. All they could do was watch the center of the room. A few seconds later of waiting, the hastily footsteps slowed its pace. They could hear someone panting for breath, as it kept walking towards the center of the intersection. Fluttershy couldn’t resist but to take a small peek. She leaned her head to the left, keeping the rest of her body hidden. Suddenly, Fluttershy gasped quietly from what she saw. Her heart skipped a beat, and her eyes widen. Then… she slowly lit up a big smile.

“J-Jack…!” She happily spoke in a low volume. Standing in the middle of the room was indeed Jack. But he had a few torn holes in his worn out shirt, a few cuts and bruises all around him. Not to mention he had bandages wrapped around his forehead. But other than that, Jack looked perfectly fine. Seeing Jack alive and well made Fluttershy’s heart filled with joy. She was just about to stand up and meet Jack, when Twilight suddenly intervened. She immediately snagged Fluttershy’s body and pulled her back to the corner. She wrapped her left forearm around Fluttershy’s waist, and her right hoof covered her mouth.

“Fluttershy, wait!” Twilight whispered anxiously. The sound of Fluttershy’s sudden squeak alerted Jack. He swerved his head behind him to see where that sound came from. Standing still, he eyed around his sights. He could only see the empty passageway, along with the fog moving about. Seeing as it was nothing for now, Jack glared curiously ahead, and produced a small grunt. He faced forward again and continued walking towards the sealed door. As Jack proceeds towards the door, Twilight slowly leaned her lips next to Fluttershy’s ears.

“I know you want to help him so bad. But,” Twilight paused for a moment before continuing. “You gotta have faith in him. Let him face his own battle alone. And when things look bad for Jack, we’ll do our best to get him out of there. But promise me… promise me you won’t do anything reckless in there. I don’t want you to get hurt… or worse. Understand?” Fluttershy wanted to help Jack so bad, but seeing as Twilight was right, Fluttershy nodded in resignation. Once Fluttershy agreed, Twilight released her body.

At this point, Jack stood in defiance against the large door. He glared at the keyhole, while he clenched his fists. Determined to prove his worth, Jack was ready to give everything he’s got. Jack reached into his left pouch, and pulled out the connected key fragments. Seeing as it fits in the hole, he aligned the key properly for it to fit inside the keyhole and inserted it into the lock. As the key was inserted, it made a loud lock sound. The large stone door began to quiver, as the perpendicular lines on the door lit up in a blazing red color. Then, the stone door slid open in four directions. Each door fragment dragged along a single piece of the key fragment. Once all four stone fragment doors were hidden in the doorway, Jack slowly proceeds into The Chamber of Darkness.

Inside the room was a huge circular room that had the Necronomicon Gate sigil engraved on the center of the floor. On the other side of the room was a colossal sized shelves. Each shelf was stored with ancient totems and books. And standing in front the colossal sized shelves was a huge desk with a quill inside an ink bottle.

Seeing as this place was abandoned, Jack walked towards the center of the room to further investigate. Once he stood above the Necronomicon Gate sigil, he began to observe the room. While Jack was looking around, the ponies made their move and quietly went into the chamber. Just as they were about to enter, Jack could feel the floor shake. Alerted, Jack darted his eyes down, and noticed that the Necronomicon Gate sigil started to sink into the floor. Like a hidden elevator, the sigil circle descended into the floor. The ponies gasped, as the floor around Jack started to descend. They all dashed inside the room and went after Jack. But just as they reached towards them, they noticed that the doorway began to close itself, imprisoning them inside the chamber with Jack. With their hope of ever returning to the surface waned, their only concern was for this confrontation.

As the platform descended into the unknown second floor, Jack observed his surroundings. Everywhere was pitch black, not a single shred of light could be seen. After that, Jack looked below and gasped slightly. Down below was another floor. However, it looked as if it was a huge pillar rising from unseen depths. On the surface of the pillar was the exact replica of Eye of Eternal Darkness symbol. The lines were red and the rest of the pillar was visibly gray. But what struck Jack the most was that he noticed someone standing still near the center of the pillar. It was a shirtless and shoeless buffed male human. He had spiky yellow hair and was wearing a white long cloth trouser. His back was facing towards Jack, while his head hung a little. Once the elevator platform descended to the floor, Jack noticed right away that he was standing on the center of the eye, where the platform fitted perfectly in the slot.

The ponies above the second floor poke their heads over and observed Jack and the mysterious human above the hole. The second floor looked like a long ways down. They could only see the two of them like ants from this distance. Fluttershy gulped down in fear, as the showdown was about to start. Back down to Jack, he gazed at the mysterious human in front of him puzzled. He’d expect the black-cloaked person to be down here. But instead, this human was standing here in its place. Unable to confirm that this human was the avatar of Zalgo, he kept his composure and continued to glare at him. As he stared, Jack felt an unease presence from him. It was as if he wasn’t a normal human being. But just as Jack was about to continue his observation on this guy, the human raised his head up a bit.

“It’s been a while…” The unknown person spoke. At that moment, Jack glared at him with concern.

“Who are you?” He asked suspiciously.

“I am called many things. Things that were, and things that will be. All the same, I am nothing more but truth itself.” The unknown person calmly said. Jack couldn’t understand a single thing this person was saying. But knowing that he’s the only person in this floor, he went on with the actual question.

“So tell me… are you the Avatar of Zalgo?” Jack asked cautiously. But the mysterious human spoke nothing at this point. The two of them stood there silently, as moments slowly went by. Each second passed gave off a slight eerie tension towards Jack. The ponies above the second floor could strangely hear their conversation well. How it was possible was beyond their guessing. Twenty seconds went by, and still no answer. Becoming impatient, Jack clenched his fists harder and was about to ask him again. That is, until the unknown human finally spoke.

“Indeed I am... Jack.” At that moment, Jack slightly jolted his head back in revelation. Not only to his suspicions, but how this person knew his name. Given a few seconds to calm down, Jack went back into staring at the avatar with his cold eyes.

“So… it really is true then. I’m not the avatar of Zalgo after all.” Jack said, confirming himself. But at that moment, the avatar grunted a chortle.

“You are correct… however, you and I are still the same.” After hearing that, Jack was thrown off guard by his words.

“W-What? What do you mean?!” Jack asked anxiously. Once again, the avatar grunted another chuckle.

“Do you want to know the real reason why you were allowed to live?” Suddenly, Jack’s face jolted in shock, as the avatar peeked his interests significantly.

“…What…? The… real… reason?” Jack uttered in confusion.