Helianthus viewed the Hall of Memory like a museum patron held in the thrall of a vast gallery of horrors. The big mare seemed disturbed, out of sorts, frightened even, and it scared Tarnish to see that the big mare was shaken. Big, over the top mares like Helianthus did not become shaken by mere trifles and it began to settle into Tarnish’s mind that some very real next level stuff was going down.

Rubbing his nonexistent chin, Maledico’s projection said very little as Helianthus viewed the same panels as Tarnish had and he allowed her to experience them and all of the horror they represented. As for the others, those who could not see, they huddled together, seeking comfort from one another.

As Helianthus studied the panels, committing them to memory, or whatever it was that she was doing, Tarnish began to look around in other places within the Hall of Memory. This place had once been like a museum, and Tarnish found places where exhibits should have been, but were now empty. Barren alcoves and display stands lined the walls. Spotlights shone on empty cases that held no priceless artifacts of the ages.

Whatever had once been stored in this place was now gone, moved elsewhere, or perhaps taken from the city. Tarnish walked down empty hallways past empty displays, wondering what might have been kept here when the city was still a living thing. Some of the floors held crystal conduits, the artificial ley lines, and when Tarnish stepped on one he felt buzzed, like he did when he had tried the chemical-laced salts in Dodge City Junction.

Turning a corner, Tarnish discovered that not all of the display cases were empty. As he approached, the lights turned on, revealing a display behind glass. He stared at it, trying to make sense of what he was seeing, and he drew closer to have a better look. For whatever reason, this display was still out for public view.

“Is that a… penguin?” Tarnish asked.

“Yes,” Maledico replied after his projection eyeballed the exhibit. “That is the genocidal King Charlatan, the Emperor of Ice. Well, a depiction of him, anyway.” The projection fell silent and studied the display as Tarnish came to a halt.

The penguin had to be at least a yard tall and wore a crown made of ice. Not real ice, of course, as this was a mock-up, but it was still impressive. The Emperor of Ice also wore an intimidating suit of armor. There was a sign near the display, but Tarnish couldn’t read the words. Towering over the Emperor of Ice, Tarnish sneered down upon the display. Who could possibly be scared of a penguin of all things?

“King Charlatan is long gone,” Maledico said in a soft voice to avoid an echo in the hallway, “but others of his kind still exist to the far south where the world is frozen and they beat the drums of war. I have learned a fair bit in the astral realms. There has been an awakening in the darkness…”

“The goat.” Tarnish nodded his head, understanding.

“Yes.” Maledico let out a weary sounding sigh. “Grogar will embolden many ancient enemies. His dark shadow will rally them… armies will be formed. Do not laugh, the penguins pose a great threat, they will freeze the world as they advance.”

Tarnish did not laugh. No, he thought of windigos and the time that the world was buried in ice. As ridiculous as it might seem, Tarnish realised that the penguins posed a real threat. Their advance would freeze the land, destroying food and sustenance. He heard hooves behind him and realised that the others were seeking him out. Turning his head, he saw them approaching, then, turning in the other direction, he saw that there was more to see ahead.

With a few effortless strides of his long legs, Tarnish took himself to the next exhibit and found pigs. Not barnyard pigs, but large bipedal pigs wearing armor. They were taller than he was and even though they were just a display, Tarnish found them quite intimidating. The soldiers were armed with axes, swords, maces, and spears.

“War pigs,” Maledico said in a soft voice. “Princess Porcina’s shock troops. Armed with pig iron, they make for dangerous foes. Pig iron is very magic resistant and their swords can chop right through a unicorn’s shields with ease. Should you ever fight one, know this—your magic will do little to protect you and you will do very little harm with your magic. Learn swordplay, learn archery, and learn how to use that magical shield of yours. I fear that ponies have grown arrogant with their magic once again and will be in for quite a surprise should they battle these old foes.”

“They look dangerous,” Maud said as she pulled up alongside Tarnish.

“Oh, they are, and their favourite meal is pony flesh.” Maledico paused and allowed his words to sink in for a moment. His projection turned to face Maud and he scowled. “Together with the various orcs, such as the ice orcs, the war pigs made for terrible foes. Even now, they stir, having heard his call and awoken.”

“We shall thoroughly crush them.” Helianthus’ voice rang out like a bell in the hallway. She looked haunted, disturbed, and there was no merry twinkle in her eye. “Back in the time of Discord, he held them under his sway. Princess Luna drove them before her like swine to the slaughter, and she pushed them into the sea with a storm so terrible that it forever altered the western shores of Equestria. Princess Luna despises them—if they have returned, as you claim, she will be put into a very bad mood. A very, very bad mood indeed.”

“Helianthus, did you learn everything you need to know?” Tarnish asked, not knowing how to respond to what the big earth pony mare had just said. Something about Helianthus’ anger worried him, frightened him, and he desperately wanted her mood to improve.

“Most of it.” The big mare scowled and stared at the display full of war pigs.

As Tarnish stood there watching, Helianthus strode forwards, deeper into the display hall, her hooves making heavy sounding thuds upon the floor. Curious as to what had caught her attention, he followed after her, and the others followed after him. Passing other displays filled with terrible foes and dangerous enemies, Tarnish didn’t have time to look at them while he hurried to keep up with Helianthus.

The big mare came to a stop before a statue of a strange creature that Tarnish had never seen before. Helianthus walked right up to it, let out a faint, soft whicker, and then rubbed her cheek against the smooth stone. It was strange behaviour, but then again, Helianthus was a strange mare. Tarnish watched as she took a step back, and then he looked up at her, trying to read her face.

“The Gunslinger... Danny Williams. He first came here as a boy, with his older sister, Megan Williams. I know of them through stories. Megan became a knight and Danny… he brought justice at gunpoint.”

“Helianthus, what is he?” Tarnish asked.

“A human,” Helianthus replied. “Occasionally, some stumble through thin places between our worlds and for whatever reason, they do not become ponies. It is a great mystery. Usually, passing from one side or the other causes a transformation of the body.”

Shaking his head, Tarnish muttered, “I don’t understand.”

“Megan Williams was the oldest, Danny was the second oldest, and little Molly was the youngest. The stories say that Megan took up sword and shield, Danny took up a pair of guns, and that somehow, Molly learned how to use magic. Together, they became a powerful force for good.”

“The centaurs found a way to gift magic to those who normally did not have it.” Maledico’s voice was deep and troubled. “We tampered with much, changed much, altered much, and it does not surprise me that a human somehow learned the magical arts. We learned how to steal magic away as well as giving it to those who had none.”

“Like Tirek.” Helianthus turned and looked at Maledico.

Maledico said nothing, but turned away from Helianthus’ heavy gaze. Instead, he focused upon the stone statue of Danny Williams and began to study it. Tarnish, holding the orb, felt a peculiar tingle of magic and he wondered what was up. He glanced at Helianthus, who was still staring at Maledico.

“We should be going. I wish to check the ossuary. No doubt, there is a story waiting to be told there and my earth pony senses say that we should go there.” Helianthus let out a faint whinny and stepped away from the statue. “Old bones can share many secrets with those who know how to listen.”

There was still so much to see in this wing, other displays, other exhibits, old enemies and maybe even old friends tucked away in forgotten nooks. Tarnish sighed and hoped that he could come back here, so that more could be learned. Both Helianthus and Maledico knew a lot about history. No doubt, both were keeping secrets and the tension between the two disturbed Tarnish a bit.

“Come now, we must hurry…”

Bones. So many bones. Tarnish began to feel a little uncomfortable around the bones. He didn’t like them, not at all, he felt his muscles begin to tense and quiver as he thought about being surrounded by bones. His pace slowed a great deal and he no longer walked behind Helianthus.

“There is a presence here,” Helianthus whispered, “I sense something that I have not felt for a long time.”

“These bones should have turned to dust a long time ago.” Maud’s head turned from side to side, taking everything in. “These are bones that should not exist. I feel peculiar. I’m not sure that I like this.”

“I too, feel a little off.” Octavia pressed up against Vinyl, who was filming everything. “My earth pony senses feel weird. I feel out of sorts.”

None of this made Tarnish feel better. Without meaning to do so, he whimpered and backed into Maud. When everypony turned to look at him, he felt ashamed and embarrassed for being a big scaredy cat. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop trembling and it was difficult to keep a magical grip on Maledico’s orb.

“Don’t be scared Tarnish, it’s just bones. They can’t hurt you.” Maud pressed herself up against Tarnish and then shushed him, making soft comforting sounds as she rubbed his neck with her cheek. “Just stay close to me and you’ll be fine.”

“These bones,” Maledico began.

“What about them?” Helianthus asked.

“They are tainted,” Maledico replied in a low, reverent but worried whisper. “These bones were the living when they buried this city. They watched the end as the city was sealed away and became a tomb. One by one, they passed, dying of old age… or corruption.”

Teeth chattering, Tarnish pushed up against Maud so hard that if it was anypony else but her, they would have been bowled over. Patient, gentle, Maud showed no signs emotion, but just stood there, supporting her husband and best friend. With slow and careful steps, she herded Tarnish along as the group went deeper into the ossuary.

Coming to a stop, Vinyl turned her camera upon some odd bones. There was a skull—it was distorted, elongated, and two mismatched horns were visible. Some of the other bones in the rack didn’t look like pony bones at all, but other animals. Vinyl filmed them in mute silence, preserving some very curious evidence on film.

“These look like draconequus bones.” With these words, Maud spoke aloud what everypony else present was thinking. “If everypony died here, who put these bones in the ossuary?”

“The automatons that serve the city,” Maledico replied.

“So… this city… the ponies here… they became… like Discord?” Octavia’s voice was slow and halting. Looking more than a little unnerved, she pressed herself up against Maud and Tarnish, not wanting to disturb Vinyl as she was filming something so important.

“It appears that way.” Helianthus had herself a look around, and then continued ahead. “Something lives up ahead. Prepare yourselves. Something has survived the long eons down here.”

Pushing into the small chamber at the end of the ossuary, Maudlin Persephone Pie let out an ear piercing shriek that caused her companions to almost jump out of their skins. With swift movement, Maud lept from the floor and landed upon Tarnish’s back, startling him and almost knocking him over as she buried her face into his mane along the back of his neck.

“Oh buggery,” Octavia gasped as she tried to recover from the sudden fright while clutching at her barrel with one foreleg.

The only pony unaffected by Maud’s outburst was Helianthus, who now examined what had unhinged poor Maud so completely. A stone statue stood in the small circular room, a pony statue. An alicorn statue, or what had once been an alicorn. The horn was snapped off, the wings had both been broken off, and the left front leg was gone.

Without warning, Maud let out another scream that threatened to implode the eardrums of all those nearby. Tarnish shuffled, but didn’t know how to comfort Maud, who was almost strangling him with her forelegs, which were tight around his neck. He could feel her violent trembles and he knew why she was freaking out.

She had never fully recovered from him being turned to stone.

“What happened to you?” Helianthus whispered to the stone statue that wasn’t a stone statue.

The alicorn was huge, larger than Princess Celestia by far. A look of anguished horror was upon his face and his mouth was open in a terrible rictus. Helianthus, in shock, reached out one hoof and touched the statue, then backed away, shaking her head. Her eyes began to water, causing one tear to roll down her cheek, splashing down to the dustless floor and leaving behind a dark spot.

“He’s gone mad from the pain. He’s still there and he’s been screaming for thousands of years now. Oh dear stars… how awful… I can’t even imagine…”

“Immortality isn’t everything it is cracked up to be,” Maledico murmured.

“Why was he turned to stone and broken?” Octavia, who was worried about Maud, stood next to Tarnish and stared at the statue in wide-eyed horror.

“I think I see why.” Helianthus pointed at the alicorn stallion’s hind legs. One of them, the right rear leg, was covered in tumorous growths all around the hock and below the lumpy, diseased growths, the leg was no longer equine in nature. It ended in a paw of unknown origin with bladed, curved claws. Helianthus took a step back and shuddered in revulsion.

“Over there are two stone wings”—Maledico pointed with his finger—“which do not match. Also, I see his horn.”

“We’ll be needing that.” Helianthus, trembling, turned her head to look at the mismatched wings that had been snapped off of the alicorn. “We’ll be needing the horn. I suspect that parts of the city are locked away and the horn will serve as a key.”

“Correct.” Maledico’s projection let out a sad sigh and shook his head. “We can do nothing for him. Returning him to flesh would be monstrous and we don’t know how sick he might be, never mind the fact that he is dangerously insane. With his bits broken off, he will never fully heal. I doubt that he could be restored. If anything, he would continue to mutate instead of heal and become something truly terrible to behold.”

“Can’t we end his suffering somehow?” Octavia asked.

“No,” both Helianthus and Maledico said together.

“Grogar’s magic did this.” Helianthus gestured for Tarnish to take the horn sitting on a low shelf in the back of the circular room. “This is the threat he represents. The corruption of all life. It seems even alicorns aren’t immune to his evil.”

“There is one who is immune to his touch.” Maledico turned his gaze upon Tarnish, who had Maud clinging to his back.

“Me?” Tarnish stood there, blinking, and using his magic, he retrieved the horn.

Maledico’s projection nodded. “Before this is over, I suspect that you will find this out for yourself…”

Author's Notes:

Next chapter: what has been locked away...