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One Last Game Book 2: Temple of Chaos

by The Wizard of Words

Chapters

The Temple's Entrance

Celestia was lost in fear and confusion.

She was trapped in a cage of crystals, powerless to free herself. Beside her was a warrior from a land she never imagined, capable of things she’d never thought of. Around them both was a ruined hall, once grand in stature and form now sullied with battles twice. There were no guards around her, no friends dear, and no family close.

The only other souls nearby were enemies both she and her close ally loathed.

Discord stood tall above them both. His snake like form nearly curled around their crystalline prison. A mocking smile hung over his lips as his mismatched red eyes watched them.

She watched him slither and float through the air, kept safe from her fury by the thin wall of translucent material between them. His talon arm scratched over the pink crystal, mocking her. Her horn glowed with a rage she could barely contain.

Her companion was little different.

He watched the other being that stood outside of their prison, donned in leather, a cape of rags, with a head of fire and aura of evil. This man watched the trapped princess and warrior with arms crossed, approaching them with slow but powerful strides. Just as plain as his evil intentions were, so too was the confidence he held.

“Aren’t you excited, Link?” Discord spoke from above them both. The green-garbed warrior paid the Spirit of Disharmony no mind at all. “I’ve reunited you with your long-time friend and enemy. Oh, I think this counts as my good deed for the day.” The smile the draconequus wore was nothing short of electrified.

“Discord,” Celestia spoke with a voice straining against her own rage. “Who is he?”

“I am the enemy Link fought all his life against.” The power behind the voice forced Celestia to turn. The man was far taller than Link, a giant by many standards, easily as tall as the draconequus was. “I tricked a king into giving me his land, and lured Link into giving me the power of the gods.”

Celestia was stunned silent.

“But he won in the end, that time.” The green man smiled as he spoke of his own defeat. “I should thank him for it. For without it, I would not have the chance I have now. I would not be this close to a god, this much closer to obtaining my goal.”

Ganondorf slowly walked around their prison, opposite to the path Discord took around them. Celestia heard Link’s boots slide on the floor as he followed the man. She heard her own golden boots do the same.

“And he’s got some pretty wicked goals, too.” Discord spoke from behind them. “I thought I was being ambitious, but this guy really takes the cake, not to mention how he does it. When I saw how he tricked Link here into trapping himself in a different realm for seven years, why… I-I almost think I shed a tear.” The alabaster alicorn shot the draconequus a vicious scowl, watching as he mockingly wiped a dry eye.

“If Link was able to best this monster once before, then I see no reason for him not being able to do so again.” Celestia threatened carefully. She hid a smile as she saw Discord’s eyes widen, perhaps in shock. But as soon as words passed his lips, she knew it was just another ploy.

“Why by golly you’re right!” He mockingly spoke as he pumped a balled paw. “Why didn’t I think of that? Doing the same thing and getting the same results. Why, it almost sounds, I’d dare say predictable!”

Link never moved his eyes from the Gerudo man, smiling as wickedly at the Hylian now as he did during their first meeting, all those years ago. The hatred had yet to smolder, and the evil had yet to dissipate.

He was no less dangerous now than he was during their climactic battle atop his castle.

“The god is right,” Ganondorf spoke again. Link heard the princess next to him turn. “You know better than any other life the depth of my plans, Link. Why would I try the same thing again when the first resulted only in failure?” His palm extended, placing itself over the crystal prison.

Celestia watched the monstrous appendage, covered in thick black leather and muscled more so than many other creatures in her land. Her mind could not stray from thinking of the power that was held in that one hand.

“That is why fortune fell on me when Discord brought me back from that cursed realm, trapped between life and death.” The smile grew even sharper. “He gave me an offer that I wouldn’t have refused even if I was still king of Hyrule. He offered me the power to reclaim what was mine, and to take what I deserve. He would give me the power to do all the things my plans require.”

“Oh but don’t get so hung up on the details now.” Discord interrupted the man. “It was really actually pretty easy. I mean, Hyrule doesn’t have any Elements of Harmony. No, they have gods that think it’s a good idea to drown a land in a hundred years of rain instead of just, say, killing something.”

If she could, Celestia was sure her coat would have turned a shade whiter. She could hear Link next to her, clenching his fist against the guard of his sword. Her pink eyes glanced up to his own blue ones, looking to see the depths of rage within this silent warrior.

If it weren’t for the blue of his eyes, she would have sworn she was looking into fire.

“What…” The princess began carefully. “Have you done to Link’s homeland?”

The gleeful smiles that came from the mad draconequus and evil man did nothing to calm the flames within Link’s eyes, neither did they settle her restless heart.

But neither spoke. Instead, Celestia watched with a careful gaze as Discord turned his mismatched eyes from her within her prison to the leather armored giant. Ganondorf’s gaze was an expression she was, uncomfortably, familiar with.

The evil was there, the vileness as well, but above both of those unharmonious qualities, she saw the outlines of something… good.

Fond memories.

The hand he had across their crystal prison turned. He rose and fell on the pink glassy material, creating a dull, but loud, echo inside their cage. Both princess and warrior grit their teeth at the noise. The back of his glove was across the dome, and his hand was clenched like a fist.

That was when Celestia saw his hand begin to glow.

It was no different than Link’s. A pyramid of three triangles, outlined in shining gold. It emerged from the back of his hand with an almost heavenly aura, a radiance Celestia was, fearfully, comfortable with. Her breath caught in her throat, holding itself there as the triangle atop the hollow two glowed brightly, filling itself with a golden power.

“That, is the Triforce of Power.” Ganondorf spoke darkly at the princess’s expression. “He who holds it commands unimaginable powers of magic and might alike. Enough to conquer a kingdom. It has made me, nearly, immortal.”

Celestia flashed her gaze to Link, hoping to spy some false words reflecting from the evil man’s speech. The rage that continued to boil across his features, however, was all she needed to know the horrifying truth.

But then it got worse.

A second triangle, the last Celestia had not seen, began to glow as well.

CLANG! Clang. Clang.

The alabaster princess jumped in her coat as she heard the sound of metal falling on the floor. It took only a glance to see the sword of her ally laying across the ground.

It took a steady gaze from both eyes to see the Hylian kneeling with wide, terrified eyes.

That was when Ganondorf began to laugh, and Celestia began to scream.

“What have you done?!” Her voice bellowed within the prison, watching with only the faintest glows of satisfaction as the prison shook. The man, however, didn’t waver in smile or form.

“I killed his precious princess and took the power she held from me.” He brought back and slammed his fist against the prison, shaking the air within again.

“I took the Wisdom of Princess Zelda. I took from her the knowledge of the gods, their wisdom, and their plans. And with the fall of its bearer, with the death of Princess Zelda, the kingdom of Hyrule became but ruin.”

“And like I said, the Gods on high there didn’t think it would be in their better nature to descend and, you know, save the people who worship them. Wonder how that feels, worshipping something your entire life only to see it fall out from beneath you.” Discord mockingly spoke as he let his talon run through his goatee.

“They thought it would be more fitting to a drown their entire world than to save it.”

Celestia’s horn hummed with energy. Discord paid her as little mind as any moment before now.

“You’re a monster.” She hissed at the spirit of chaos. Her eyes turned with daggers towards the green skinned man. “Both of you.”

“No need to compliment us princess.” Discord mockingly spoke. “We’re just making sure you’re brought up to speed. After all, it’ll be awfully hard for you two to enjoy the show when you don’t even know what it’s about.”

Princess Celestia’s carriage shook with each breath she let in, legs vibrating with every ball of air she released. Every part of her, feathers to fur, wanted little more than to unleash the full strength of her magic towards the two. Her mind played with the idea of seeing this cruel man turn to ash before the mad god would howl in pain.

But she didn’t. Instead, she did what a true leader of her ponies should do. With one final breath to control herself, she spoke.

“What are you planning to do… now?”

“Now there’s the million bit question!” Discord announced with a cheer and point of his claw. “It’s not what I want or need, it’s what I’m going to do that matters. Finally some pony understands.”

“You will see what we have planned.” Ganondorf continued where the draconequus left off. “But not by the words we or any other speaks.” Celestia’s lips curled into a snarl, her brow knit in unbounded rage.

“How then?”

“With your eyes, of course.”

Ganondorf pulled his fist away from the prison, both triangles on the back of his hand still glowing with a powerful light. The light, Celestia watching, began to bleed from his hand, surrounding the thick muscled appendage and rough leather around it. The green, the black, and the brown were all slowly surrounded by the liquefied gold.

It pulled backwards, reaching behind his massive head and fiery red hair. It glowed behind him like an undeserving halo, shadowing his eyes with the same darkness that consumed his heart.

Then his fist of light slammed on the prison of crystals.

Celestia and Link were gone in a flash of gold.

Discord cheered to the empty hall.

“YES!” The mad god flew into the barren hall, ruined with battle. “I DID IT! THEY’RE GONE! YES! OH, YES!!”

He snapped his claw. A pillar turned into sand.

He clapped his paw to his claw. The stone throne grew legs and ran through an open hole in the wall.

He screamed to the rafters above. They turned into glass and rained to the ground.

Ganondorf walked through the broken double doors before the deadly shards touched the stone below.

His massive boots echoed down the hall he walked, barren of light aside from the faint glow of candlelight. His sharp golden eyes looked ahead, walking with a clear destination, but enjoying the time it would take to get there. The smile chiseled across his lips was evident enough.

Discord celebrated his victory with chaos and destruction. Ganondorf let his take root. When it grew into a grand tree, a testament to his power, then he would lord and display his power. For now, it was useless to celebrate when there were none to despair.

He turned another corner, entering another long barren hall. Still he walked on, the heavy thud of his boots the only sound the walls heard.

Just before Discord flew into the hall Ganondorf journeyed through.

“This is perfect!” Discord cheered as he flew into the air, letting an explosion of fireworks erupt around him. “I’ve waited so long for this moment!”

“And what moment would that be?” Ganondorf asked from far beneath the Chaotic God. “Victory?”

“No, no, no.” The multi-formed creature dismissed. “Victory is never difficult. You of all people know that. There’s no fun in just having victory by itself. It’s like eating a cake without candles, or getting an “A” without effort. It’s so empty.” The draconequus fell backwards in the air, letting his elongated form hang over an awning with his lion paw over his head. Ganondorf offered him only a glace of his eyes before he continued to move down the hall.

“Humiliation then?” The Gerudo King offered. His large form turned down another empty hall, sharp eyes already sighting the exit at the far end. Discord hovered above him as he continued to walk.

“Close, but you’re still a bit shy of getting a gold star, or triangle in your case.” There wasn’t a reaction offered to the clear taunt. “Come now Ganny-poo, I know you know what I know. It’s why I’m me, you’re you, and you’re perfect for the job I’ve got for you.”

Now Ganondorf stopped.

“You want to break them.” There wasn’t a question in his tone. It was stated like an absolute fact.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

A bell rung like siren above the Gerudo King’s head.

“And two points to the Evil King.” Discord congratulated, to the annoyance of the man continuing to walk. “I knew you knew, just like I said. After all, it is for much the same reason you play the game you do.”

“I play no games.” Ganondorf spoke strongly as he continued towards the opening at the end of the hall. “I follow the plans I create for victory. Rebellions only grow when you hold victory. Hope can be kept by the weak even as the strong continue to rule. Complete and total victory is only held when your enemy is crushed, their spirits destroyed, and their kingdom yours.”

Discord didn’t suppress his chuckle in the slightest.

“And that’s why you are perfect for the job.”

The draconequus flew ahead of the Gerudo king, flying to the opening at the halls end. He reached it in second, and flew into the night air as he did so, out into the free starless night air, and out of Ganondorf’s view.

The Evil King continued to walk, letting his cold smile stay chiseled across his lips. This wasn’t a game. Not to him. But that didn’t mean was unaware of the rules. All good plans were made and kept in the dark. This was no different.

This wasn’t a game to him. This was just another step to another plan.

“I know that smile.”

The sharp feminine voice caused the Gerudo King to still. He was not frightened, nor shaken, but he was cautious. As powerful as he was, in mind, magic, and body, he was a stranger in magical lands, as alien to every creature and power as they were to him.

Fortunately, he knew this voice.

Ganondorf turned to see a woman leaning against the wall of an adjacent hallway. Her arms were crossed over chest, sharp golden eyes looking into this own. Her smile was just as piercing, possibly even more wicked. Light garbs and cloths of red flowed down her form, cut into pieces, but hanging with great care. It was no uniform the Gerudo King was familiar with, but he knew enough about the strategies of others to know its purpose.

It appeared to be light, flexible, easy to move in. It wouldn’t stand to a blade, let alone an axe or hammer, but he was sure this woman would be able to move as deftly across the field of battle as a cat did chasing a mouse. This cat, however, had more than just claws.

“I’m glad you recognize me still.” Ganondorf spoke with all of his strength behind his voice. It was deep, commanding, and just as dark as his soul. The woman’s own grin turned vicious.

“You’re a hard man to forget.” She spoke easily enough. “But that smile of yours, I’ve seen it more than once, on more than one person.” A thin digit from one of her hands pointed at the man’s strong face, aiming towards his twisted lips. They didn’t flinch.

“Oh?” He asked, letting to one of his muscled hands raise to his chin. “And where have you seen this before?” He made sure to turn his smile into a vicious grin.

“On the faces of assassins before they kill.” She never let her own smile falter.

“On the lips of generals as they killed their kings.” She leaned off the wall, elegantly walking towards him.

“But mostly,” she continued, looking up to the man who stood a full two heads above her. “Across the lips of traitors, thinking of the moment when they will strike.”

They smiled at towards one another as the silence between them grew as sharp as the gazes in their eyes and ends of their lips.

“You’re a dangerous woman.” Ganondorf spoke honestly.

“And you’re a cunning man.” The woman offered back.

“Are you planning to stop me, or tell the mad god about me?” He was not expecting a straight answer. Who would?

“No, not yet at least.” She softly admitted. The red clothed woman spun on her heel, turning till she faced the balcony Discord had flown to and up from. “You’re interesting, to say the least, and it would be a bad idea for me to rat you out. Provided, it would definitely earn me some kind of praise from that thing that brought us here, but I trust you both about the same. Besides,”

The woman turned again, letting the shadows of the night sky behind her silhouette her form. She kept that sword sharp smile, kept that sharp glint in her eyes, but now offered a aura the Evil King could visibly see. He was right before. She was dangerous.

“It did turn to you when it wanted a plan.”

Ganondorf was only too proud to admit it.

“Indeed he did, Princess Azula. Indeed he did.”

The Evil King walked on then, carefully passing the woman who gave him the same feeling as that of a killer or thief. She very well could have been both. He was too, after all.

The pounding of his boots was dulled by the carpet, but the sound of her shoes clicking behind him was clear and audible to his ears.

The night sky came into view the moment he passed the archway, letting the beauty and spectacle of a castle’s spire prove itself to him again. He breathed in the crisp air with a slow breath, taking it in until the leather over his chest gave a muffled cry of strain. His smile had yet to fall.

It was odd, even to him, seeing a sky black as shadows, no clouds nor stars across it. There were no lights to pattern the black canvas, or even other objects to drift across it. Like the desert he hailed from, and the land he ruled, it was barren of life.

Except for a castle sitting in the sky.

Like a chunk of land ripped from the earth, it hovered over the land far below. Spires and walls and towers of stone decorated its surface, in a size larger than almost any other structure Ganondorf had ever seen. No temple in the lands of neither Hyrule nor castle from lands far and wide compared to the size of the structure.

He didn’t need to think or imagine to know that creatures on the ground, both near and far, would see the object with some form of terror. This was not a new star, nor even a display of celebration. It was a colossally sized piece of land, larger than the mountain and castle he and Azula were standing on, floating in the sky like a cloud.

Ganondorf smiled all the brighter at the thought of the ponies far below, looking up in terror and awe.

Azula, just beside him, stared up at it with just as much marvel. She had seen feats of engineering across the world. Blimps that reigned fire. Metal that swam through the sea. But a castle, hanging in the sky? It was something she thought as possible as controlling the spirits.

Then again, it was a spirit that made it possible.

Discord was hanging like a cloud in the air, claw and paw spread wide as he faced away from the castle they stood in. It was beyond her sights to see, but she could tell he was smiling, laughing, and probably even crying with joy.

“So were you serious before?” She asked the taller man next to her, golden eyes never drifting from the castle in the sky or the spirit that was cackling in the air. She heard the leather groan as Ganondorf turned to look at her.

“About what?” His deep voice spoke to her.

“About what you and Discord were talking about. Not just beating them, breaking them.” Her hand stretched to the castle in the sky, her palm not even able to cover the entirety of the massive structure.

“It’s the only way you can guarantee victory.” She turned to face him now.

His smile was gone, replaced with a face she instantly thought belonged to a king.

“I wouldn’t say that. Once you win, you just have to make sure no one else has power.” She twisted her palm until it was between them, three fingers raised in the air.

“You can kill them.” Her ring finger fell.

“Enslave them.” Her middle finger fell.

“Or break them.” Ganondorf finished for her as her index finger turned her palm into a fist.

“Exactly.”

“Except killing everything leaves nothing to rule. Enslaving everything means nothing can grow. And trying to break something after you’ve already won is like trying to crush ice after it’s melted.”

He held up his fist, to making sure she could compare the size of it. It was easily the size of her entire head. The power contained in it was something she didn’t want to test.

Especially when she saw two triangles glowing over the heavy gauntlet.

“But if you break the enemy you are trying to beat, you will rid yourself of the chance for others to keep their hope. Watching the person they put their faith in giving up, running away, or being killed in tears is an image that no soul can forget. Besides,” Ganondorf focused on the Princess of the Fire Kingdom.

“Wouldn’t you want to see the thing you hate most being broken?” His smile was as wicked as the words he spoke.

Azula was silent.

Yes, she did want to see that. To see the woman who had frozen her in ice and chained her to a grate being left in tears as she, herself, stood above her with laughter rolling from her lips. Then, she would watch the broken body and spirit burn in fires of blue, turning into nothing but ash.

The idea was something she didn’t soon want to be rid of.

“So why couldn’t you win?” She asked the Demon King. “Why did you lose?”

“I did win.” He spoke it with power that shook the stones they stood on. It made Azula’s smile falter. “I was the king of the Hyrule and the Gerudos. The power of the gods was, is in my hands. I was close, so close, to gaining the power of the Sacred Realm.”

His dark eyes turned to the sky above.

“But he couldn’t be broken.” Azula traced his eyes. She thought it was going to land on the castle above, and be for one of the heroes Discord had sent away. But it wasn’t. She thought then it could be for the draconequus now sailing through the air like the care-free spirit that he was. But that wasn’t it either.

There was an object sitting in the sky, even higher than the temple worthy of giants. Like the lone star in the sky, the only essence of light, hanging over the canvas of black. But it was not of the soft white, but of sharp pink. It was not a round sphere, but a jagged crystal.

What it was, was clear.

Ganondof’s eyes were focused on the crystal prison hanging in the sky.

“Link.” She spoke for him. “You couldn’t break a single man? Even with all the power of the gods?” Azula let her voice taunt him, already pushing her weight onto her heels. If he we to strike, she would be able to move.

Instead, he gave her a glower of utter disdain. She was almost satiated by the heat behind it.

“Don’t underestimate the strength of Courage.” He spoke simply. “Many others ventured into the dungeons that he did, temples that I had changed and altered until they were deathly traps of horror and madness. I watched guardians and sages alike fall to them, kneeling in the horrors I had created with my power.”

With a harsh turn, he faced the ominous castle again, watching as the draconequus flew closer to it, shrinking until he was nothing more than a spec to the titanic shape.

“But he wouldn’t falter.” Azula hid her smile within herself. She noted the detail about this man carefully before she spoke on.

“But didn’t you already fix that? I can’t say he was too pleased with seeing that new piece of jewelry in that glove of yours.” His stern gaze only made hers grow.

“It damaged him, of that I cannot deny, for I am immensely proud of it.” The ghost of a smile came and left the Ganondorf’s lips. “But he has endured such loss before. Whatever you saw, and did see, was nothing more than the shock and discomfort of the news. Allow him a day, maybe only half, and he will be ready to face me again.”

“Then what it is your plan to break the rest of those warriors then?” Azula asked, this time with far more care than a mocking tone. “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy to make the same mistake twice. But from what I heard, you told Discord to make that based off of temples and ruins from your own world. The same trick rarely works twice, especially if it didn’t work the first time.”

For a moment, the evil king was silent. He turned from her, staring out over the castle’s balcony again. His golden eyes resting on the monolith floating in the air, a gem eternally within vision, yet out of reach.

“Do you even know the purpose of that temple?” The tone was as mocking as Discord was. The Princess of the Fire Nation gave a hard look to the Gerudo King. It only made his lips curl into a sick smile.

“Enlighten me, please.” The coldness in her tone was easily a match for the flames she could conjure. His sick smile grew malicious, but Ganondorf spoke on.

“The mad god of chaos knew every creature that was going to be involved in this. From those that would pull from the portal, and those that would be pulled from it, the same as we were.” His fist clenched for a moment, but relaxed as he spoke on, eyes trained on the crystal prison far above.

“Each of those warriors, ponies, and animals above has a strength, or trait, that makes them strong. Whether it be the strength of their body, their mind, or their spirit, they can overcome many obstacles. However, that does not mean they can overcome every obstacle.” Ganondorf’s hand extended in front of him, showing the Evil King the two triangles on the back of his palm. Azula watched on, memorizing every detail.

“They have limits, boundaries, and things that keep them from growing. It would be easy to focus on the weakness in someone, use that to grab victory from beneath him or her. But if you make them lose in the area they are most proud, their spirit will dampen, and their hopes fall.”

“And when they lose hope, they lose the will fight on.” Azula finished for him. Her smile, as careful as it was, had returned. “I stand by what I said before. You are a cunning man.”

“I don’t need your words to know it.” Ganondorf smiled as he let his arm return to his side.

“So you asked Discord to split them up into groups.” Azula spoke, attempting to lead Ganondorf on. “You paired them with their strengths.”

“Correct,” he admitted. “I made sure that each and every wing of the temple of above was made for the pair that would be thrusted into it. Rooms of ice, ceilings of fire, floors of sand, and everything else that has been the end to both man and beast before.”

“Sounds like fun.” Azula slyly admitted, spinning until she was leaning against the small guard of the balcony.

“You did make sure that we would be able to watch, right?” She twisted her gaze until one eye was left wide and accusing, the other squinted with mischief. Ganondorf paid it little mind.

“I was told that the other human Discord brought forth would be responsible for that.”

Azula smiled at the memory, fighting herself to hide a choke of laughter.

“Him?” she asked. “That guy was one of the most pathetic excuses for a man that I have ever seen. He had no strength, no talent, and he was sobbing about his daughter to no end.”

“I did not say I admired or enjoyed him, only that he would take care of giving us sight of what the warriors are doing in the castle of my creation. Which leads me to my question.” The Evil King put his power and will behind his voice as he spoke to much smaller woman beside him.

“What is your purpose?”

“Me?” Azula asked mockingly, a single digit of her lithe hand place above her covered breasts. “Shouldn’t that be obvious by now?”

“Pretend it isn’t. Indulge me.” The Princess of the Fire Nation held a hand in front of her mouth as she mockingly held back another chuckle of laughter.

“It’s very simple really. Discord gave us the means. You gave the warriors their path. Our pathetic third member makes sure we get to see everything, including the grand finale. That is where I come in.” Pushing off the balcony, she turned towards the mighty structure floating in the sky, letting her arms extend in front of her as she spoke.

“What you don’t understand is that sometimes, you have to break things by force. I enjoy ploys, tricks, deception, and thievery in as many forms as you do, but at least I know that there is a time to strike. Ganondorf, it’s simple.” Azula made sure that her smile was malicious and sharp, no less deadly than the lightening she could summon through her hands.

“I was the one who chose the final foe for every group up there.” The careful gaze in the Gerudo King was questioning her words without moving his lips. There was silence between them, broken only by the occasional whistle of wind around them.

It was the Evil King that broke the silence.

“You knew of the temple that I designed.” Her smiled didn’t falter. “And of the groups that were being made.” Her eyes sparked with pleasure. “Why ask then?”

“To be sure.” She began. “You are planning something larger than all of this.” Azula motioned towards the giant castle again. “And this is already larger than most things I’ve seen, but not all.”

“What is your point?”

“I just had to make sure I could trust you for now.” Her golden eyes fell back on his own. “If you were to lie to me about something as simple as what you are doing for Discord, then I’d have to make sure you were done away with. I can’t have myself being surrounded by untrustworthy people, now can I.” The gaze in the taller man’s eyes had yet to soften.

“Just think of it like this,” the Princess of the Fire Kingdom started. “If you lied to me now, I wouldn’t be able to rely on you for anything.”

“You’re speaking of using me like a tool from a shed.”

“Were you thinking any differently of me?”

The two stared at one another for a time, neither moving a muscle and neither revealing a chink in their words. One held a smile of confidence. The other had an expression of apathy.

Slowly, Ganondorf let his stern features slide into a knowing grin.

“I look forward to working with you, Princess Azula.” The Fire Princess smiled.

“I’m sure we’ll be mutually beneficial to one another, King Ganondorf.”

Extending their hands, the large gauntlet of the Gerudo King dwarfing the near petite frame of the smaller woman, the two shook with one another.

“I have to go now.” The Princess of the Fire Nation watched as the Dark King turned from her, walking back into the castle behind them, barren of life. “The plans may be set, but I have more to create. Where one plan may fail, another must exist to replace it. For now farewell.”

“Wait a moment.” Azula calmly ordered. Ganondorf stilled at her voice. She paused, letting the silence turn pregnant as she continued to watch him. With a slow breath inwards, she voice her question.

“What is your goal?”

“Goal?” He mimicked her.

“The goal you taunted in front of the knight and princess, the thing you keep speaking of, alluring to as being greater than the power of Gods. What is that?” Her brows knit themselves in neat knots as she waited. With a soft, yet utterly wicked, smile, he answered.

“Something I am sure you will one day see.”

Ganondorf disappeared into the castle behind them. The Fire Princess watched him walk until he was nothing but an echo in the barren halls.

Azula turned back to the colossal structure, watching it in the air. She could imagine, easily, the ponies and warriors that had been gathered in that ruin hall being tested and toyed with in the innumerable amount of rooms. She could see some failing, leaving those they were with in distraught tears and broken spirits.

The few warriors and ponies that survived would be enraged by the news that not all had succeeded, that some had failed, and that they’re chances for success were slipping. They would fight hard, but not as hard as if their numbers were greater. Soon, they would all fall to the power that the monster Discord held.

It was a plan that would never work.

Fortunately, she had one of her own.

At least now she knew she was not the only one who did.

Her wicked smile never faltered

“Up and down and around the bend.” Discord sang to himself as he sailed towards the colossal structure in the sky. He weaved and spun through the air in time with his song, letting the bubbly energy within him lift his chaotic spirit to heights he hadn’t felt in centuries.

“And this is just with a few appetizers. The first dish isn’t even brought out yet, and I’m already feeling stuffed!” He cackled aloud as she held his claw and paw outwards, letting them spin like propellers as he flew towards his goal.

The closer he came to the colossal figure, the more he was dwarfed by its size. It brought a sense of salivation to his lips, looking up and seeing something so great hanging in the dead night sky that it would be viewable from every corner of Equestria.

Knowing what it was for made him drool.

His legs touched down on the hanging earth, letting clumps of dirt fall free from their fragile grasp, sailing down to the earth far below.

“Now let’s see.” He spoke to himself as he walked upside across the surface of the monolith. “He did say the spot would be right around… here.”

Discord snapped his finger, and then he was gone.

He reappeared in a room completely different from almost anywhere he had stood before. Through all the stone, through all the earth, through all the hanging magic that kept the monolith in the air, Discord found himself in one of the most unlikely of rooms.

A room filled with metal and technology.

It was large, grand, easily matching the size of the once sacred Hall of Elements. Sheets of slick metal were screwed and secured across every visible surface, from the walls to the ceiling and even the ground. Lights danced through the room across tracks, shimmering from thin exposed sections like little fireflies scurrying in a group beneath a tree’s bark.

The air hummed with activity, working with a power he could easily imagine, and yet had never touched. It was as simple to him as air, but just as foreign as every creature that had come through the portals so far. It was an entire room made of something Equestria had never seen before.

Discord pranced across the room.

“This is excellent!” He cheered again, performing a small twirl in the air. “An entire room filled with things Equestria has never seen! Televisions, electricity, circuitry, and so much more!”

The mad god turned his mismatched eyes towards the center of the room.

“And you are the one have to thank for it!”

His claw pointed towards a small platform, raised above the rest of the smooth metal floor. On it knelt a small figure, an ant in comparison to the room entire. A speck of dust compared to the colossal castle they were hidden within.

Discord flashed out of and into appearance next to the lone figure. He stood tall above the small form, crouched over an open panel of metal. The form was clearly human, dressed in short leave coat, long enough for the edges to drag across the ground. Human, obviously, but the details of what he looked like were completely hidden by his hunched form.

“I give you the materials and time, and you give me a room that I can literally call the center of a new world.” Discord spun again on the back of his hoof, admiring the alien room he was surrounded by.

“And it’s just so… unnatural!” It was not a word one was used to hearing as a compliment. “The sharp edges, the bright yellow, the sleek steel, not to mention the power it’s all using! No magic, no fire, nothing but the power you seem to create.”

“It’s not creation.” It was the first time the man had spoken since Discord had appeared. “It’s a conversion of natural energy sources into a usable form of electricity.” Silence was kept at bay only by the dull hum of power through the panels around the two.

“That’s it?” Discord asked. “No witty remark, no sarcastic comeback, nothing? Just… that?” The disappointment in the voice of the chaotic god was as plain as the metal he stood on.

“Nothing else to say.” The man continued. “Not until I get this done.”

His hands moved to his sides, lifting up the metal shoot that stood there. It slid across to him as he pulled, grinding across the floor as the harsh sound of metal on metal vibrated through the massive room. It fell into place with a sharp clang, hiding the work he had done.

Standing, he turned to face the draconequus, wearing a smile that hung over a mask.

“Or if you want I could stop, you know, pull up a chair, maybe get a nice chat going between us. It could be fun! I could tell you about how many bandits I’ve killed, or you could tell me of how many times you’ve been beatin’ by ponies with magic.” The man extended his hand outwards in offering.

“Do you want to start?”

Discord was fighting himself, caught between wanting to snarl with rage, but also curl his lips with glee.

“All at once I’m remembering why I love and hate you. I’m sure it’s a feeling a lot of people have towards you.” Discord bowed the same way the man did in front of him, extending his paw forwards as his sinister smile grew deep.

“Your daughter, for example.”

The man’s mask grew furious in a second.

“Aw, why so blue, handsome? Did I strike a nerve or two?” Discord watched with a hideous smile as the man’s hand twitched left and right, reaching for, then pulling back from a small holster along his hip. His slithering tongue wet his lips.

That was when Jack turned away.

“Aw, so soon? We were just starting to have fun!” The man stalked away from the multi-formed creature, fists clenched at his sides as his jacket jerked with every step he took.

He stopped and knelt in front of a small podium made of the same yellow steel as the room he was in. Just barely taller than half his height, it had a small pane of glass over the top of it, and an open panel in front of it. His hands reached inside, pulling at the wires within.

“Don’t be too offended Jack, it’s not like I can help it. I have my charms and you have yours.”  The man was mute in both response and action to the draconequus’s luring words. Instead, he focused his heterochromatic eyes on his work, letting his mind work out every calculation he need. His fingers deftly spun the wires, resistors, and capacitors together, twisting the metal lines before covering them in a light layer of bendable plastic.

“I know you get focused on your work, but you can’t have too little time to talk. C’mon, I can get something witty from you, right?” The multi-formed creature asked, but still the man did nothing.

Jack heard a pop of magic outside his line of sight. He didn’t flinch or falter in his work, continuing to connect, solder, and weave wires together.

“You know, I remember watching you and thinking, “That’s the kind of guy who knows what I’m trying to do.” But now… eh, you’re rather dull. A little gray maybe.”

The man still refused to give a response to the mad god, working diligently on the system in front of him. His hands lifted a metal sheet, placing it over the wiring, hiding it from view. Reaching backwards, he brought forth a small automatic screwdriver. He quickly went to work securing the metal in place.

“Oh come on, I know I’m not that boring,” Discord whined. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you're clearly so excited to get this done, but really, you gotta learn to relax some. Let go. Let you loose, you know?” The man’s fist rapped across the metal twice, creating a dull boom with each impact. Secured, he stood up and turned to face the monster.

He drew a gun from his hip as soon as his eyes fell across Discord.

“There we go!” The master of chaos cheered. “That’s what I was expecting. And all it took were a few more actions and few less words. Too bad I love to hear myself talk.”

Discord continued to twist his claws through the hairs of the girl beneath him.

Jack scowled in rage.

“Get away from her. Now!” The gun in his hand slowly hummed, filling itself with energy.

“Why? So you can go back to feeling dull and lifeless? That’s useless. I’d much rather see you trying to kill me than outright ignoring me.” The brow across Discord’s mismatched eyes furrowed as his lips twisted in savage glee.

But his claw slowly slipped out of the girl’s hair, leaving the black fibers to fall back in place.

“Then again, if I have to deal with a bit of predictability in order to get a whole world of chaos, I think I can live with that.” His paw lifted itself, rubbing over the girl’s forehead.

“It’s too bad she can’t.”

BOOM!

Discord vanished from the air as a stray bullet sailed through where he once stood. The ring of impact echoed across the metal chamber, vibrating like the clap of thunder.

“There we go!” The voice cheered above him. Jack wasted no time in turning his gun towards the ceiling, only to see the twisted draconequus embedded in one of the screens high above.

He was either deep in outer space, looking through the lens of a camera hanging in orbit, or he was prancing about in that mystical realm only magic could access, looking through the black screen like a shattering looking glass.

Jack scowled regardless.

“That’s better to see.” Discord commented as his paw pounded on the screen, causing a dull boom to echo through the spacious room.. “Get mad. Get angry. Get ready to fight. That’s what I need right now. I need you make sure every pony sees what’s going to happen. That’s all. You just need to make sure the entire land can see what we do.”

“They will.” Jack spoke harshly. “I’ve built systems a hundred times more complicated than this without magic.”

“Good.” Discord vanished from the glass high above him. The “pop” of magic behind the man was indication enough of where the draconequus was now. He didn’t bother to turn with his gun. It would just be another senseless display of force. “Then what’s left for you to do?”

Jack’s eyes looked forwards, looking at the child he cherished more than anything else, still as stone, and white as a cloud. She looked just like an angel.

“Once I turn it all on, it’ll be ready.”

“Well done,” Discord congratulated. “But, I really must be off,” He announced with a sudden spin body and flick of his claw. “Equestria must still be dreadfully confused about this tiny… well not tiny development. And I wouldn’t want to leave them confused for too long, otherwise, they might not appreciate the beauty of watching chaos grow and harmony die.”

Jack watched mutely as Discord laughed to himself.

“So do be sure to fire up that display soon. I would hate to look like a fool to those foolish ponies. Until later, ta ta!”

In another flash of light, Discord was gone, leaving Jack alone in the room of metal, hidden from the outside world. He released a tense sigh from his lips, watching the empty space the draconequus had once occupied. His heterochromatic eyes looked downwards to the gun in his hand.

It was his own model, his own design. A near flawless piece of weaponry that served as his side-arm from the years he had ruled Hyperion, expanded across Pandora, and killed hundreds of bandits.

It was as useless to him now as the mask on his face.

Jack turned back to the raised platform, only steps away from him. He approached without hesitance, walking up the steps until he stood side by side with the monitor he had programmed seconds before Discord’s entrance and the chair laid back with his beautiful daughter across it.

He let his hand brush over her forehead, moving the black strands that clung to her pale skin. He traced the flesh down her cheeks, her neck, ending at her shoulder.

His fingers played with the tubing that was inserted around her, keeping her alive with the same substance that had made him the most powerful man in the galaxy. Thick, purple, and toxic to the touch.

He turned from her, looking towards the lone console. It was well designed, sleek and sharp as everything else he had a hand in developing and making. His fingers danced a pattern across the dead screen, bringing life to the console. It hummed with activity like the room around him, flowing with power.

“Angel.” He whispered the name as his eyes turned to the still form of the young girl behind him. “It’s time to wake up.”

His thumb pressed on the console.

The body behind him jerked with life.

The humming presence of power in the room rose in volume, vibrating the metal platform he stood on, forcing him to grit his teeth. His daughter’s body jerked left and right, arms flailing upwards as her legs curled inwards. The wires whipped with every motion she made.

But he watched on, determined, eyes never shaking.

A scream ripped through her lips, then a groan, then a gurgle. The wires around her sparked, arcing with high enough levels of voltage to send him into a seizure. All it would take was a moment of bad luck, and he would be dead.

But to protect himself would mean leaving her side.

He swore he would never do that again.

Then it was done. She didn’t shake, she didn’t stir, and the wires didn’t spark. It was then a dead, monotone voice rose from his daughter’s pale white lips.

“Power reaching maximum output. All connections confirmed. Monitors coming on screen.”

High above the pair, black hanging glass started to shimmer, reflecting like pools of water before sparking with life.

All at once, images began to dance across them, colors and shapes that were moving so fast, they were impossible to recognize.

“Calibrating satellites with sub orbital rotation. Maximizing magnification of scopes. Enabling low level X-Radiation Video Feeds.”

The man watched the screens mutely as their blurred dirty forms began to change. The explosions of colors slowly stilled, shapes hardening within the clear glass frames. He could see land, trees, homes, but more than anything else he saw what he wanted to see.

The monolith of a castle floating above the dead night sky.

Each of the screens slowly began to zoom into the horrendously large object, focusing on different points of the display. The fine details of the bricks and stones became clearer and clearer the closer the screen approached.

And then blackness took over the screens again.

Individually, one by one, the screens began to change again. Different colors began to bleed into the dark screens, slowly hardening into definite shapes. But each screen showed something different. They were no longer different views of the same castle, multiple visions of the same colossus.

Now they showed different beings.

He looked to the screen hanging over a far wall. It showed a pony of fur dark and black, wings large and powerful hanging from her sides. A boy was by her side, gripping a sword that looked more malicious than the child holding it, edged and carved in purple and black. They both tread the ground in front of them carefully, each moving with a slow and deliberate pace. It was a good move to, because the walls around them were ablaze.

Jack turned his head, looking at another moving frame. This was of an old man wearing robes that looked like they belonged in a bathroom stall. He walked with strong strides despite the size of his beard. His lips moved in silent talk with the stallion at his side, unicorn to be precise. The pony spoke as well, but neither removed their eyes from the path ahead of them, dark and wet as it was.

Jack’s eyes then turned to the screen directly above him, and he had no intention to hide his vicious scowl. He watched a tall woman with blue hair and a painted arm walking up a gloriously decorated set of stairs. It spun ahead of them, turning out of view. But behind her walked a boy more timid than anything Jack had ever seen, gripping his gown tightly. Between the two was a pony far smaller than of the others, a coat as white as snow. She looked ready to cry as well.

“All monitors are online, feeds establish. Do you have any further requests?”

Jack’s eyes left the screens around him, looking instead at the frail form of the girl resting on the chair in front of him. She looked ready to snap, like even the faintest of winds would break her bones and spirit, if they weren’t broken already. He approached her, wearing a smile he had no trouble producing.

“You’ve done a great job, Angel.” He whispered over the body of the young girl. She stared up at him with empty eyes.

“Thank you, Dad”

Leaning down further, he embraced the child beneath him, holding her tightly against her. He felt her arms snake around his own neck.

Jack brushed his hand through his daughter’s hair, savoring every touch and sensation he felt. A slow breath entered his lungs, keeping at bay the tears that threatened to spill over. He gently whispered into her ear.

“My love is vengeance.” He held his daughter closer.

“That’s never free.”

Discord hovered freely in the air, his gaze focused on the monolith of his creation, but another’s design.

Inside that massive temple existed enough horrors to drive any being mad, and just as many monsters inside waiting and willing to finish the job. His mismatched eyes starred beadily, greedily, towards the floating mountain. Without even knowing the creatures within, it was a testament to his chaos enough.

It was enough to make him cry with joy.

But then his joy turned to jubilation.

The once dirty and jagged outside of the mountain began to spark, electricity arcing and spreading across the hard material. It was slow at first, slower than he cared to watch, but as the intensity grew, so too did the sound.

It sounded like nails down a chalkboard, the screams of infants, and the last breath of loved ones all conjoined into one terrible ear grating sound. Discord found it hard not to dance.

The harsh stone smoothed under the rippling power of the electricity that arced and conjoined over it, flattening into smooth metal and simple shapes. But just as quickly as the surface began to flatten out, so too did something else begin to crawl over it.

It was different than the sharp blue of electricity, and far from the same thing as the earth that was still covered far beneath. Instead, they were pictures, moving and mobile.

Every surface had a different picture.

Every surface was telling a different story.

Discord didn’t have to count to know how many there were.

“Fourteen.” He whispered. “Fourteen different tales of chaos and destruction, each one playing out differently than the other, each one more alien than the next.” Laughter wasn’t strong enough a word to describe the euphoric sound that ripped from his longs.

“It’s gorgeous! And the best part is, now it REALLY BEGINS!”

Discord slammed his claw and paw together.

A boom of thunder echoed across the land.

“WELCOME TO THE TEMPLE OF CHAOS!”

Within the Caverns

“I guess the games really have begun.” Azula spoke from the Canterlot balcony, leaning over the railing with her golden eyes trained upwards, her lips turned into a matching smile.

Her fingers slid from her ears as the tremors of Discord’s triumphant shouts echoed through the air before fading into nothingness.

Her eyes were trained on the smoothed screens outside the floating monolith of land, sparking with life across their black surfaces. Slowly, like ripples in water, colors began to dance across them, electric blue flashes dotting the surface.

Azula’s eyes widened with delight as the images of the warriors and creatures started to appear on the screen, split and separated from one another. She saw the old wizard, the dark princess, the small foals, the lizard man, and every other being the monster Discord has banished or sent away in some alien manner.

They really were in that vast temple, separated from one another by who knows how many traps, layers of rock, and horrors yet to be found.

The fire princess snickered to herself.

“Looks like tall, green, and brooding was right. That coward of a man was able to deliver.” She licked her blood red lips as her eyes were drawn to the screen facing nearest to her, containing the image of a dark pony with wings and horn, followed by a boy with long silver hair. They were both walking spikes, bent and prepared for an attack from any side.

To the cunning princess of the fire kingdom, it felt like she was a cat watching mice.

She loved it.

“It’s going to be such fun watching them suffer.” Visions of her brother’s brutal banishment danced through her mind.

She smiled at the fond memories.

“I have little… understanding of where we are.” Princess Luna spoke to her companion. She walked with careful hoof steps, moving forward at a pace even a newborn foal would find agonizing and slow. But, neither she nor her silver-haired ally though of quickening their pace.

“You’ve got more of an idea than I do.” Riku admitted to his royal companion. He held his curved sword at his side, letting it angle up around his chest. A simple twist of his wrist, and it would be the best means of defense he could form, should they be attacked.

With what they saw around them, an ambush would not be difficult and near impossible to anticipate.

The hall they walked down was not of significant size. The princess would wager the back halls of her home castle, meant for the maids and guards, were larger than the path she treaded. It was difficult enough for Riku to walk beside her, an indication by itself that if a terror did appear, she would not be readily able to move or escape it. That did not account, however, for the harm the walls themselves were capable of.

Fire bloomed around them, arcing and swimming through the stone like water. The rocks were warm to approach and near molten to the touch, as Riku had found out the unfortunate way. He was only too glad to be wearing his boots, as Luna was for her crystal-garbed hooves.

The princess’s mane twisted back and forth, matching the pattern in which her head moved. Her crystal blue eyes searched for anything that may differ in the wall, already too unsettled by the single direction they were forced to walk.

“Does it not unsettle you?” Luna asked to Riku. He didn’t need to question to understand what she meant.

“I know,” he responded. “Usually in a hall this long, there’s something to see or some secret to find.” The alicorn princess nodded in agreement.

“From experience, I can attest that the construction of such pathways is meant for the unseen movement of servants or other handlers of the castle’s structure. However,” her eyes turned to meet those of Riku, peaking out from just beneath his white bangs. “The lack of lateral pathways makes that impossible, leaving me with few options to decide from.”

“You think there’s something we’re missing then?” He asked bluntly, a tone Luna found herself neither enjoying nor perturbed by.

“I think we are being guided,” she spoke honestly. “I sense no curve in this path, but neither do I see a beginning or end. I find the construction of such a hallway, without a sinister intent, improbable to impossible.”

“So… illusion then.” Luna nodded at Riku’s words.

“Precisely.” The monarch agreed, “But illusions are difficult things to counter. There is rarely one cure all spell to distinguish them. Though I know a few, it would take time to cast. However, we could test the illusion...” Her lips tightened. “With touch.”

“Quite frankly I’m not exactly of the keenest mindset to rub my hands along the walls searching for any gaps or missing rocks.” Luna turned to face the boy, seeing a goofy smile on his lips, eyes half lidded as he looked at the wall within his arm’s reach.

She could not ignore the idea, the signs that is, that he was oddly calm with the situation. Such lack of concern for himself meant few options again for her to choose from. Either he was used to such predicaments or he cared little for what could happen to him. She hoped for the former, but could not dismiss the later.

Luna found herself studying him more the longer she looked at him. His features were smooth, free of blemishes as far as she could tell. There were neither natural signs of fatigue or age across his skin, nor any violent scars or bruises from battles past. To the naked eye, he appeared just as he was, an untrained boy holding a dangerous weapon. But the closer she looked, the more she saw.

Within his eyes, she saw pain, regret, and a bit of mourning. Luna knew, by instinct alone, that Riku must have seen much in his short life in order to hold such emotions within him. Those were not things a child was meant to hide.

But the longer Luna looked at the boy, the more she realized something. They were both trapped in an endless tunnel, fire sparking around them, and he had not a drop of sweat across his face.

Something was wrong with that.

“Are you hot?” Luna was sure there existed no other words to make his head whip towards her any faster than it did.

“What?” He asked blandly, but his eyes were wide with confusion and, undoubtedly, shock.

“Are you warm?” Luna elaborated. “Feeling the intensity of the heat around us?” She saw him release a breath of air in the form of a sigh. “Did I frighten you?” Riku’s lips curled into a smile before he responded.

“Yeah, a little.” He admitted, but the princess watched his features grow stern as his mind began to work. “And yes again. I am feeling hot in here, but then again it is kind of cramped.”

“My concern is that you have not released a bead of sweat, despite the heat.” Luna raised a hoof to her chin, rubbing down her dark coat delicately, as taught by her sister. “And even I have yet to perspire. Yet we are standing within a mane’s length of the fire around us. Does that not strike you as odd?”

Riku blinked towards the princess before he turned his gaze towards the wall. He watched, focused, on the fire that was swirling just beneath and above the surface of the red rocks, assuring himself that it was very much there.

Luna watched his hand clench and relax, clench again before relaxing again. Riku lifted his hand upwards, slowly letting it drift towards the flames. His fingers hesitated at the surface of the stone, hanging just above it. Then, with a deep breath, he pushed his hand forward.

He felt nothing. No flames, no stone, just heat and empty space.

Luna, just behind him, marveled at his outstretched arm, passing through the flames and stone she saw just in front of him. It hung there as if it was encased, some sort of magical torture to keep him sealed in place. But as his arm retracted, Riku turned to her, wearing a lopsided smile.

“Guess I should have just dragged my hand across it, huh?” Luna smiled politely at the words.

“I do not enjoy taking unnecessary risks.” The alicorn calmly noted, making sure her eyes were in complete contact with the boy.

“Oh, because that totally didn’t count.” Riku playfully argued back as he pressed his arm through the stone and back again, eyes focusing on the alicorn. “I try and make sure my hands can go through fire every once in awhile. Almost daily routine for me.” Luna altered her calm smile in a dry look of amusement.

“But of course,” she spoke on. “I was counting on it.” Without waiting for the Riku to say any more, the alicorn turned with the little room she had, allowing her muzzle to move through the stone first.

She felt the magic seep over her coat, twirling about her horn the deeper her neck reached into the illusionary red rock. It was a vitalizing feeling that she, admittedly, rather enjoyed. It felt little different than being on the opposing end of a levitation spell, giving her a ball of lightness focused upon the tip of her horn, spiraling down the curved protruding bone with an almost delicate touch.

Pleasured as it was, however, Luna knew she had little time to enjoy herself.

A few trots of her hooves forward and Luna found herself greeted with a new image to her eyes.

It was altogether magnificent and terrifying.

Before her stood an open chamber, tall as the grand hall of the Canterlot Castle and as wide as the streets that surrounded the capital city. Red rock, protruded from the ground and hung from the ceiling below, each sharpened into fine points, some connecting from the chamber top to bottom.

Her lavender eyes looked downwards, observing the path she had stepped onto. It was the same as the path she and Riku had treaded before, except now she could clearly follow its destination. It followed an oddly jagged path forwards into the chamber, flanked on both sides by pools of lava. Luna felt her fur clinging to her skin by the sight alone.

It was more than obvious that the heat was not merely a product of their minds. She saw small pillars of the flames dancing around the lava pools, swirling about platforms that led to the far walls. Treacherous wasn’t strong enough a word to describe the danger she saw in trying to maneuver those broken pathways.

But the most revealing, the most clear, part of the room she had stumbled into was the large structure that the jagged path she stood on led to. It was impressive in height and stature alone, though she had seen many stone carvings of greater size. Still though, it was detailed well with artwork and carvings she did not recognize. Reliefs were placed between the supporting stone pillars, each an excellent example of subtle art.

However, while Luna was not able to recognize the structure itself, she was familiar with its purpose. It had only a single entryway that the path she still stood on led to. Despite its height, there were no signs or indications that it was meant to be stood on or even reached. It was a statue one was meant to enter not exit.

It was a small mausoleum.

“Well this is strange.” Luna turned her head to see Riku standing beside her, their eyes on matching heights as he looked forwards to survey the sight she had come across. Her head nodded in agreement.

“Indeed it is,” she spoke. “I had not anticipated this in the slightest.”

“For my friend’s curiosity, what were you thinking of?” Riku asked with a small bit of laughter in his voice. It didn’t take the monarch long to realize what it was that gave him that small spark of happiness.

“Honestly, more traps, more turns, something that would appear delicate, but be deadly. However, there is nothing delicate nor safe about fire, flames, and magma.” Luna watched the boy beside her nod his head in agreement.

“Yeah, fair enough,” he responded lightly. Riku took the time to wipe his hand over his forehead. Only a few moments were spent in the room he already was sweating bullets. “Any chance you gotta way to… you know?” He held up hand to let her see the salty liquid dripping from his open palm.

“Oh, but of course.” Luna offered with a smile as she bowed her head. Her horn glowed an nightly blue, earning a small amount of tension through Riku’s body. He felt more than saw the aura encase him, looking down only to confirm that the color surrounding him matched the glow of the alicorn’s horn.

As it slowly crawled up his form, he felt the heat of the room leaving, the thick humidity of the – what appeared to be – volcanic chamber dissipating. When it reached to his chest, Riku felt the ability to breath immensely easier. He let out a slow breath of relief as the cocoon of magic surrounded his head before vanishing from sight.

“Better?” The alicorn asked as she raised her head to meet his gaze. Riku offered Luna his kindest smile.

“Yeah, tons.” He honestly spoke. “Thanks.”

“You are quite welcome.” Luna supplied before turning again to face the chamber before them. Riku did so with her, letting his eyes wash over all the features she had already seen.

“At least now we know where to go.” He began, pointing towards the straight path ahead of them. “Question is what do we do when we get there?”

The location to which the boy was speaking was more than obvious, as the mausoleum was not a structure easily missed. However, just as the carved stone was inescapable from even the unobservant eye, so to was the obstacle that stood in their path.

Before the mausoleum’s one entrance was a wall of rock. It appeared damaged, worn, maybe even hastily constructed, but even from the distance they stood from it, it appeared to be thick and strong. Luna let out a low sigh.

“We will have to decide once we reach it.” Without another word, the monarch began to trot towards it. Riku followed close behind her, careful not to crowd the jagged path surrounded by lava. Without experience, he knew how dangerous the red rock trail was.

His pace was slow, slower than Princess Luna’s, but that was to give him time to be observant.

The chamber was circular, and fairly large, but appeared that the only clear path was the one they were walking. The platforms on either side of the trail he was on, surrounded by pillars of flames, were impossible to ignore. They formed an easy to follow path to either side of the chamber, but there appeared to be nothing of significance there.

No carvings, no door, no monument, nothing. They were just small edges along the chamber edges, and that was it. There was nothing there to give either Riku or Luna incentive to traverse the dangerous path. That was the mystery. Why create a clearly treacherous path with no visible goal when there already existed an easily maneuverable trail with a destination that could be seen?

Riku pinched the bridge of his nose as he continued to move. There was something he was missing, but he could not fi-

His eyes caught movement. Above him. High above him. It was not a falling stone. It was not dripping magma. It had eyes, it had wings, it had claws, it was on fire, and it was alive.

It was diving straight for the unaware princess.

“Look out!” Riku shouted as he began to move. Luna had just enough time to flare her wings on instinct, twisting her head too look at the swiftly approaching boy before following his eyesight. Her crystal blue eyes landed on the descending creature the same moment that her jaw opened in surprise.

She quickly flared her horn, summoning a thick shield of magic over herself. Luna watched the foreign creature approach her, wings of fire beating through the humid air. Red eyes sharper than the flame that surrounded it were focused upon her. The princess could see nothing but the thirst for blood.

Her horn shined again, ready to prepare an offensive spell to propel the beast

It was unneeded.

Luna watched, mesmerized, as Riku’s curved sword flew through the air. It sailed through the creature without effort.

One section of it, one wing and its head glided through the air as if on course with its descent. The other half, the beasts other wing and small clawed feet fell to the stone just before her shield.

The upper section impacted her shield, creating a resounding thud that echoed around her. Luna watched, wide-eyed, as the creature fell off of her magical bubble, landing next to its missing half on the ground.

“Luna!” The alicorn turned to see Riku by the side of her shield, hand upon the magical force. “Are you alright?” The concern over her was needless, but the worry upon him was obvious.

The dark monarch took a slow breath of air, focusing her mind. Her mind was still processing the events that had occurred. The speed at which it had happened surprised her. A second would have been a generous amount of time to process it.

But it was over. The creature was dead. Her ally was concerned for her.

“I… am fine.” She replied easily, lighting her horn as she did so, the shield around her slowly dissipated into nothingness. She fixed her gaze on the boy, focusing on her breathing to calm herself. “Thank you for the warning. I did not see nor hear the creature’s approach.”

“No problem.” Riku answered instantly. He raised his hand into the air, letting his gaze look towards the mausoleum. Luna watched him focus on a distant target, confused as to what he was doing.

All questions were answered as the sword he threw returned to his grasp.

Luna was impressed.

“You are very well trained.” She admitted.  “Forgive me, for it has been a long time since… I felt my life endangered.”

Pat Pat

Riku’s hand patted Luna’s back.

“No problem your highness, it’s not something you want to get used to.”

Riku was beaming with pride. Luna’s eyes were wide in shock. They peered at the hand along her back as if it were a snake preparing to jump at her, coiling in the foliage with beady eyes on its prey. Her jaw worked uselessly, rotating in place as she worked her muscles to form words.

“Did… you just… pet me?”

Riku’s hand was still as stone on her back. His eyes moved from his palm, to Luna’s wide accusing eyes, then back to his hand.

He wrenched his arm away hard enough to make himself stagger.

Luna continued to stare at him, focusing on him as she would any abnormality around her. Riku was focused on her just the same, hand held  up to his side as if it were punishment to let it relax.

“I am so sorry.” He spoke earnestly to the monarch. “I-It’s an act of… endearment. I do… did it all the time with my friends.” His smile was lopsided, nervous and filled with worry. Luna raised a brow carefully towards his words. Slowly, very slowly, her head nodded towards him.

“I can understand your instincts to fall on the familiar,” she began. “However, please be aware that is not an action I am comfortable with. If you wish for a metaphor referring to you, how joyful would you be if I were to nuzzle you below the neck.”

Riku’s face lit up red. The heat of the chamber had nothing to do with it.

“My case is at rest.” Luna’s eyes turned again to the mausoleum, hardly more than a few trots away from here. “Let us continue on.”

Riku followed close behind her.

Both let their eyes wander the chamber walls as they moved, looking for the mysterious creatures of flight, alight with flames but displaying no pain. Yet neither the dark monarch or silver-haired boy saw another spark alight, disregarding their own. The magma around them continued to churn, the pillars of flames continue to burn, and they continued to walk.

They were before the mausoleum before they knew it.

Luna placed her hoof over the damaged stone that covered the entrance. It was just as she saw at a distance, worn and cracked, but clearly thick and strong. Her horn lit itself, ethereal aura washing over the stone object. Her eyes shut as she felt into the hard stone, searching for points of weakness.

She found just the opposite. At first, Luna believed herself mistaken, confused by the situation she was in. But as she cast the spell again, and then thrice there after, she still received the same result.

The stone was magically threaded with the rest of the structure.

Ley lines, strong and nurtured, were threaded and laced into the cracked granite, connecting it with the mausoleum. She felt the lines travel to each of the reliefs, coiling around them possessively, no differently than a mother’s connection to her child. Simply put, she would need to destroy the structure before she had any chance to break this stone.

With a sigh, Luna removed her hoof from the stone, convinced that her power could not, safely, remove it. Her eyes moved around the rest of the well-carved structure, gaining a better view of the reliefs that filled them.

She saw a serpentine dragon rising from flames, a creature made of rock holding a hammer of steel, a carefully sculpted ruby within a frame of gold, and what appeared to a creature rising from a lake. Luna believed the lake the creature was rising from was not filled water.

Then there was another relief, just above the encased door, above the rest of the stone-etched images. It was unlike the other pictures that appeared to be carefully captured scenes. This was a simple relief, basic in structure.

It was just an emblem, circular in shape. Across it was nothing of greater detail. If anything, it seemed rather simplified. It was flame, that much was obvious, but it lacked the renown sparks and freedom of fire. All ends were connected, the base evenly curved. To Luna’s artistic eye, it would appear to be the work of an amateur.

Yet, it sat above all the other reliefs, above the entrance to the mausoleum itself. Anypony would assume that it would mean some significance then. It was incredibly odd.

“Do you think we can break it?” Riku asked from beside her. Luna’s visions shook slightly before she focused on the boy. His eyes were transfixed on the fragile looking stone, though the alicorn princess knew better at this point.

“It would not be safe to attempt to break it,” she began. “Though it appears physically weak, I can feel it tied to the rest of the structure.” Riku let out a sight at her words before continuing with his own.

“I’ve already checked out the rest of this thing. The blocked path is the only way into it. The rest is embedded deep into the cavern wall. Can you think of any other way into it?” Luna shook her head.

“Not safely at least.”

“Awesome.” Riku dryly finished. He let out a low sigh as she turned in his eyes to the path behind them. It had remained just as unchanged as the stone they stood on. “What’s next then?”

“Next,” Luna questioned. “We find another means to escape this cavern.” Her eyes looked back to the path on which they had walked across, looking at the pillars of flames that rose from either side of the path. Her head nodded towards each one.

“It seems unlikely those exist only for show.” She saw Riku nod out of the corner of her eye.

“Yeah, I was thinking that earlier, but I don’t see where they could go.” His sword rose to point at one wall on the far side of the cavern. “There are no doors, no switches, or levers. Not even a few more portraits made of stone.”

“Reliefs.” Luna spoke earning a sideways glance from the boy. She easily explained. “Those ‘portraits of stone’, as you put it, are called reliefs.” His silver hair rose and fell in tune with his nodding head.

“Right, fact of the day.” He replied easily before sighing again. “Well, should we try and get over there?”

Luna twisted lips in thought, raising a hoof to push at her chin as she did so. Their one true path was cut off, and no other obvious paths existed. Exploring was the only alternative left to them, and those far edges were the only areas they had not yet reached. With a nod of her head, she spoke.

“Yes, though I hesitate to use the platforms surrounded by fire.” Riku chuckled next to her. His eyes looked to the still platforms raised above the boiling magma, surrounded by the most definitely moving fire. He hated jumping puzzles.

“Any ideas then?” He asked. His question was answered not with words, but the something he could only relate closely to unfolding a blanket. A whooshing sound that pushed the air in a very noticeable way. Riku turned his head out of curiosity.

He was met with the outstretched wings of Luna.

The monarch took an unhealthy amount of pride in the look of surprise the boy gave her. She let her lips turn into a smile as she answered his question.

“I believe that I will manage.” Without waiting for a reply, the monarch beat her wings, jumping with her legs to gain the momentum she needed to lift off the ground.

She fell back to the rock with a hard thud.

Riku winced. Luna was splayed out across the jagged red rock as if she were dropped. For all things considered, she actually was. She looked forward blankly with a dumbstruck expression. Riku raised his free hand to thread through his hair, scratching at the skin underneath as he held back the urge to chuckle. His smile, however, was more than happy to make itself known.

“Yeah, sorry princess, that’s not gonna work in here.” His hand fell from his hair to wave itself through the humid hair. “We’re in an enclosed cavern filled with magma. Your magic’s done a good amount of wonder to keep the heat from getting to us, but the density of the air is going to make it almost impossible to fly.”

The monarch’s eyes rolled in place to look up at him, expression as shocked as ever. Carefully then, Luna moved her hooves back onto the ground, pushing herself off of the stone with a bit of force. Her wings were tucked back into her sides. Her face had turned from shocked to sheepish. Riku was finding it increasingly difficult not to laugh.

“Be silent.” She commanded, though expected no honest action from the boy. However, whether by good nature or obedience, Riku raised his open palm and took a calming breath.

“I’m sorry, that was just… well I didn’t have time to warn you.” Luna gave a low sigh.

“I understand. However,” her eyes returned to the fiery platforms. “This creates a problem for how we are going to cross. I do not like the risk of jumping through fire and over flames.”

“I don’t either, so why don’t we do this?” Luna turned to see Riku holding his free hand outward to his side, just over the jagged path but in the direction of the magma pool beside him. His digits flexed and relaxed as his breathing took a slower, but deeper, tempo.

Then his arm pushed forth a curtain of darkness.

Luna watched, mesmerized, as what she could only describe as dark silk began to grow around Riku’s hand. It consumed his appendage, but grew in width and height the longer his arm we held outwards. It swallowed the light in the room, the larger it grew, billowing silently as it flowed with an almost majestic form. When it stood as tall as the silver haired boy, formed into a perfect circle, Riku withdrew his hand from it.

“That should do it.” He noted with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. His hand flexed a few times outside of the darkness as he watched it closely. Turning his head, he looked towards the ledge at the cavern’s far wall. “And it looks like it worked on both ends.”

Luna followed his trail of vision. Her eyes met with another portal of shadows, identical to the one Riku had created. This one, however, was located on the far side of the cavern, past the treacherous path.

Without waiting for ceremony, Riku stepped into the portal and out of sight.

Luna only had time to gasp before he reappeared through the other shadowy device.

The silver haired boy smiled at her from across the pool of lava. His look of satisfaction was as clear as her own features of disbelief. Luna’s eyes shifted from the dark portal just in front of her, to the one on the far side of the chamber, then back to Riku, still standing on the far edge with an almost cocky smile on his lips.

“It’s safe!” He called to her, cupping his free hand around his mouth. “I did just prove it!”  Luna could not suppress the huff of annoyance that puffed from her nostrils.

Still, she hesitated to move through the swirling mass of darkness. It was ominous in appearance, as any eye could tell. Her question for using it relied solely on Riku’s demonstration of its safety.

Her hoof reached forward, tentatively pushing itself into the dark matter. She held back a shiver as she did so. It felt as if cold air were grasping at her coat, pulling at the equally dark fibers. It was not wet or heavy, simply dense, consuming even. It did little to ease her mind.

“If you want, I can walk back through again. Would that help?” Luna turned an annoyed face towards the boy, watching his amused expression gaze back at hers. She sucked in a heavy breath before releasing it.

Twisting her head back towards the dark portal, she ventured through it.

The next thing she was aware of, she was standing next to Riku on the far side of the cavern, dark portal both behind her.

“See, it wasn’t bad.” The silver-haired boy spoke to her as she gave her a cocky smile. Luna did not respond to his baiting words.

Instead, her eyes moved over the cavern wall just beside her. It was made of the same red rock as the path and other surfaces adorning the volcanic chamber, still glowing with a heat the princess did not want directly against her coat. There were no switches, no buttons, no glyphs, and no reliefs that would possibly indicate any special purpose for the ledge they were on.

However, the monarch was not satisfied, and she still had one more card to play.

“Stand back, Riku.” Luna instructed the boy, taking care to make sure her voice was not in the realm of mockery. “Allow me to demonstrate my own magic now.”

Riku remained silent as the alicorn’s horn began to glow. It was the same majestic blue he had seen before, a lighter color than her coat. It hummed with activity as the power doubtlessly began to flood the spiral appendage.

He watched on with growing interest as a projection of light came from the glowing horn. It was more focused than the ambient radiance of Luna’s horn. It was conical in shape, directed at the fiery red rock in front of them. It shined across the wall in a way Riku could easily compare to a flashlight.

“What are… you doing?” The silver haired boy finally managed to speak, hoping that he did not throw off the concentration the monarch may have needed. He knew he was safe as she answered him.

“We proved earlier that there are walls here that are only illusions, well threaded and knit lines of magic designed to confuse those that look at them.” Riku nodded in understanding, though he doubted Luna could see him with her eyes shut. “I am trying to find areas of heavy magic signatures.”

“Because if there’s a cluster of magic, it’s probably a fake wall.” Riku finished for her, grinning at the prospect. He saw a soft smile grow over the alicorn’s lips as well.

“Precisely, and we are in luck.” The boy’s smile fainted for only a moment before he realized what Luna was speaking of. His eyes turned back to the wall, seeing what he hoped to be true.

The red rock the conical light was focused on shined a blinding white, drastically different than the dark to fading red of the rest of the wall, even when under the light of Luna’s horn. In a metaphor, it looked like there was a light being shined from the section of rock the princess was focused on.

“That’s fake, right?” Riku asked in confirmation. If the events of his life had taught him little of anything, it was that caution was never to be thrown to the wind.

“Correct, and I would wager feathers from my wings on it.” The light faded as Luna’s horn ceased its magical powers. The humming died only to welcome the sound of churning magma again. The wall returned to red rock, no different than any other section in the cavern. “Now, we can continue.”

“Hold on,” The boy’s sudden command stilled Luna. “It’s my turn for a question now.” The monarch gave Riku a puzzled look, no idea in her mind as to what he could be asking.

“And that question is?” The boy’s hand motioned towards the fake wall.

“Why don’t you just… get rid of the illusion?” He spoke as if it were an obvious choice. “I mean, you said before you couldn’t because you didn’t know what kind of illusions they were. But, you do know, right?” Riku held up his hand questioningly. Luna smiled gently as she responded to him.

“It is possible for me to cast them aside, yes. However,” she spoke with an air of caution. “Doing so requires far more magic than a simple probe. With the unknowns we face in this place, I thought it best to limit my use of magic until ultimate necessary. Would you disagree?” The monarch made sure her smile was coy.

“Yeah, that does make sense. Sorry, didn’t think that far ahead.” Riku laughed at his defeat.

“No apologies are necessary, Riku.” Luna offered. “Curiosities should be enjoyed and explored. Such is the joy of life. But, we must go.” She motioned with her head towards the false wall. The boy looked towards it briefly before returning his gaze to the monarch. Wearing the same smile as before, he took a low bow towards the alicorn.

“After you, milady.”

Luna was having a difficult time deciding if he was being genuinely polite or mockingly classy. With a small sigh, she dismissed the internal question for another time. There were far more pressing matters than the amount of respect one had for mannerisms. Trotting forward, she began to move through the false wall, no differently than before.

Luna’s ears perked the moment she began to move through the illusionary rock.

It was not out of discomfort or unease. Rather, it was out of a need for attention.

A soft, peaceful noise was flowing into her, gently vibrating her auditory ossicles. She had to stifle a sigh of pleasure as her mind began to wander with the haunting tune, gently asking her to find the source of the wondrous sound.

Luna pushed her head and form through the remaining section of fake rock, eager to find the source of the pleasurable noise.

She let out a silent gasp as her cerulean eyes fell on the sight.

There was a man on the other side of the wall.

He was sitting in the center of the room, cross-legged with shut eyes. His hands were grasped around an object the lunar princess was more than merely familiar with. It was a violin, one of the oldest and most celebrated of instruments in classical times.

The small hollow wooden object was anything but simple. It could produce tunes that entire choirs would be ashamed for attempting to match, capable uplifting the spirit with just as much ease as it could summon weight of the world. With only four taut strings, a violin was capable of doing so much.

Luna’s felt a battle within herself as she watched the man play on the beloved instrument, a war raging of emotions. One part of her, the side she had listened to thus far, demanded an explanation for the man’s presence. Ignore the music, ignore melody, ask instead how he came to be here.

Then the other side of her, the part of her that loved the arts as she loved her sky, was enraptured with the soothing tunes that the strings played, pulling on her own with such ease. She could ignore the terror of this place, the games of Discord, for only a moment. If only so she could enjoy the symphony the man was creating.

But then the beautiful noise stopped, abruptly and without even a warning. Luna felt a tingling of discomfort and annoyance as she longed for melody to continue. As her eyes opened, she saw the reason why the tune had ceased.

The man was staring back at her.

All illusions were shattered as their eyes met.

The princess was frozen, her eyes wide with shock. The man looked back at her with his own wide eyes, though accompanied with jagged smile. The silence between them persisted as time continued to move on, neither moving nor breathing.

Raising his hand from the violin, the man broke the silence first.

“Hello there!”

He spoke happily to her, waving his hand as he did so.

Luna fell to the ground with a cry of surprise.

“Princess!” She heard Riku beside, earning a small glance from her eyes to ensure he was there. He was, beyond the wall just like herself.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry.” The man spoke in a tone she could call nothing else but civilized. It earned the conjoined attention of the human boy and alicorn. Luna could feel the shock emanating from Riku, the same as it did from her.

The man was sitting just in front of them, legs crossed with one arm holding his violin in place, black bird still perched on its end. His eyes were gazing at them with an almost cheerful disposition, as if they were meeting on a corner bakery for a spot of tea.

It was beyond odd.

Luna felt herself tensing, wings flaring, as the man continued to smile. She knew, almost by instinct, that Riku was reacting the same.

“Oh please, don’t think of me as a threat,” The man spoke again, lowering his violin as he held his arms up and palms forward. “I was just tired and decided to sit here for a rest. Nothing relaxes the mind quite like Pachelbels Canon in D. You surprised me as much as I did you.” Luna sucked in a breath before responding to the man. She found herself voicing her concern with a sense of unease that refused to settle.

“You seem... oddly calm for this situation.” The man’s smile didn’t falter. Instead, he gently laughed. It was not unnerving, but it was still no less than his very presence so far.

“Well, I am an odd kind of thing.” He admitted almost happily. “But enough of that, you must excuse me for my rudeness.” The man spoke again. “You see, I’m a bit lost at the moment and… well, let’s just say I haven’t seen friendly faces in a while.” The dark alicorn continued to stare at him, her features calming from tense and prepared to soft and confused.

Before she could offer her own words, Luna felt herself being lifted from the ground.

“Are you alright princess?” Riku’s concerned voice spoke from behind her. His muscled arms helped to lift her from the burning floor. Luna felt herself flush in embarrassment, unaware that she was still lying across the hot rock.

She muttered her thanks to the silver haired boy, who nodded in return.

The man watched them with unwavering interest. She let out a sigh as her wings rustled themselves before returning to her side. Blinking, her dark eyes turned to the man again, still sitting patiently in front of them, though now leaning backwards as he rested on his hands. That was when she started to really notice him.

His mane was blond, golden like the sun, and nearly as long as the boy’s she traveled with. His garb was of plain colors, white, tan, and brown. There was a white undershirt that stretched the length of his arms and a tan sleeveless coat that hung on his shoulders long enough to pillow around his crossed legs.

His pants were brown, a shade lighter than the rocks, but little different other than that. More that though, there was a black bird perched on his shoulder, staring at them with a tilted head and blood red eyes.

What she could not avert her eyes from were the features that were placed over his skin.

The man’s left eye seemed plastered, fake, like dust was thrown over it and commanded to harden. She would have called it that even, if not for the mark of a talon that was scratched over the eye as well. It appeared like the attack of a cockatrice, yet she had never heard of a “partial stoning” before.

Then again, his hand was much the same.

It was a grayed and made of granite, appearing even from the distance she had from him to be heavy and hard. In most other circumstances, she would chalk it off as a joke of decorum, a prank to scare an elder. But she had no such thoughts now. Now, all Luna could see was an appendage that looked designed and crafted for malicious intents.

And still the man kept smiling.

“What is your name?” She asked him, letting her legs tense as she spoke. The monarch did not know the man’s intent, but she could not mark him as ally or friend so easily, not with the situation at hoof. A light hand from Riku behind her was indication enough that her caution was not misplaced, or at least not unshared.

She watched the man’s grin grow a bit wider.

He leaned back onto his hands, just enough for his legs to leave the harsh stone floor. His arms bent at the elbows, then with a mighty push, he lifted himself into the air. His form gracefully flipped him upwards, landing him on his feet just a few hoof lengths in front of where he sat.

With the momentum of his short landing, he reached down and grasped his violin, standing back to his tallest as he did so. Luna had to admit, the action was almost majestic in smoothness.

The man lifted his wooden instrument back to his collar, letting his eyes fall to half mast as his bow settled peacefully on the string. His black bird fluttered and sat on the end of the instrument as it had before.

Lune felt a cold shiver run through her spine as he spoke in a calm dead voice.

“My name is Karl. Who are you two?”

“Oh! What an interesting fellow that is.” Discord noted absently as he beat his talon over his bearded chin. His smile nearly reached his eyes.

“So many possibilities there, enough to make any draconequus weep with joy. But!” He declared to himself, straightening his floating form as if he stood on a podium. “There are many more contestants that need attention!”

The mad god flew around the monolith of a castle, appearing to be nothing more than a fly against a mountain. It was an exhilarating feeling, being so much smaller than an object, an object so large his vision could encompass all of it.

It was so alien, so foreign, so odd, so so beautiful.

“Ah!” Discord declared, stopping mid flight to curl his form, mismatched red eyes focusing on a new screen. “Here’s another set of lively participants.”

A slithering tongue ran over his lips as he absorbed himself with the image in front of him. The two of the most unlikely to be paired, and the two the green wizard of Hyrule had asked to be placed against one another. One who inspired fear, and another who worked for kindness.

It was difficult for Discord to blink, else he miss a moment of the image he watched.

There were many things that could be said for Batman.

He was a man dedicated to what he did. Be it unwanted or even appalling, he always did what was necessary to complete the task at hand. It didn’t matter to him what he had to give up, as long as it saved the lives of others or completed the mission he set for himself. His one rule was his only rule.

He was cleverer than almost any other being in existence. By himself, he had outsmarted many humans, aliens, and even mythical creatures, no matter how much stronger than him they were. There was always a way out. Always.

He was always prepared. No matter the situation, no matter how impossible the chance, he was ready for anything that could ever come his way.

Batman had no idea how to handle the fragile yellow pegasus holding him like a lifeline.

His shielded eyes looked at the shivering mass of yellow, holding onto his chest with four hooves wrapped tightly around his torso. Her flowing pink hair hid her features from his sight, but it was more than obvious she was in a distraught state. The pony was acting no differently than many children he had come across in the moments after some violent crime.

Scared, alone, and usually desperate for answers. They would always cling to him, the person who had either saved them or had come back for them. Convincing them to let go, to move on, was never easy. Fortunately, he was practiced.

Batman raised his hand, gently letting the hard material of his glove rest on the pink mane of the pony. He felt legs grip him tighter, though not nearly enough to hinder him from speaking.

“It’s alright.” He spoke in a calm neutral tone, keeping the pressure of his hand atop the pegasus. “You’re safe now.”

Large blue eyes looked up to him, teary with fear that matched the strength of her grip around him. She hiccupped at him, her lower lip caught between her teeth. Batman did nothing more than keep the pressure of his hand upon her mane.

“W-We are?” The question came from a voice softer than what the Dark Knight had expected, full of sincerity and youth. He had neither information nor knowledge about her or her race, beyond the obvious comparison to equine species. The only judgments he could make about her were based off of the small encounters he had with the elder princess before the monster’s intervention.

That… and the yellow creature’s own words.

“We’re the only two here. There’s nothing else around us.” A partial truth, Batman knew it as he spoke it. They were the only two to arrive in their current location, but he had no knowledge nor idea of any other life forms around them. Not yet at least.

“O-okay.” The soft voice spoke again, her head leaning down as she rested it against his torso again. She didn’t let go. Batman didn’t let his hand fall from her mane.

She was still terrified, clearly, as the grip around him was just as stiff as ever. That was understandable though, as Batman was easy to remind himself. Trust was not an easy thing to make, and it would take more than a few kind words to have her start believing him.

Batman raised his cowl to look around him.

He held no opinions or hopes of being able to recognize the location they were in. The world he had entered was foreign territory in the purest form of the word. No matter how close the structures appeared or ever would appear to be, there would always be subtle yet significant differences between what he saw in one world and what he was used to in his.

Batman had that problem here.

The structure in front of him was by no means modern, not even in the primitive cultures that existed in his world. He was able to recognize, name even, several of the art styles that adorned it. Tall stone pillars, clay walls, arcs of granite. They were all basic yet very sturdy means of support. There was a large gate in the center of the wall, flanked by two of the aforementioned pillars. They were holding up what was clearly the roof of the cavern they were in.

Light danced from small torches around the outer chamber. They lined the walls and were imbedded into the stone. They rose in rows, higher and higher, until they circled around the cavern’s ceiling, giving the stalactites almost ominous shadows. The fire did, however, provide more than an efficient amount of lighting to see the large structure in front of him.

However, what he was allowed to see was severely limited due to the walls that were in place. The large stone building that rose behind the clay was obvious, but there was too little to see to properly judge it. All Batman could be sure of was that it stood on at least the third story and had a window large enough for him to move through.

Seeing anything more would require moving through the gate in the wall, but opportunity would be difficult with the pony around his torso. Her shivering subsided only a small amount, but she had yet to do anything more than let her tear filled eyes look to his side, cheek pressed against his emblem. Batman’s hand was also still set on her mane.

“We’re going to need to move.” He spoke easily, watching the pegasus with his eyes hidden beneath the white frames of his cowl. Batman heard her suck in a tight breath of air as she looked up at him.

“But… wouldn’t it be safer to wait here?” She began, hoping flooding her words faster than a hurricane could a city. “I-I’m sure that the princesses are working to stop Discord right now. And Twilight is probably on her way to finding us with the Elements. Oh, I hope she’s okay though, and the rest of the girls, too. I know Rarity can be terrified when she’s taken out of her normal routine. Applejack’s probably working hard to-”

“Calm down.” Batman spoke as a command. The pegasus’s lips tightened instantly.

He thought quickly of the best way to approach the conversation. Relations wasn’t his strongest area of expertise. Usually the police would gather the information and he would use it, or one of the other members of The League. Here, he had to make sure the pegasus had his trust, or else her life could be in danger.

“What is your name?” He asked. The yellow pony looked up at him carefully, trying to find anything terrifying in his gaze. It wouldn’t be that hard if she really searched.

“Fluttershy.” The pegasus meekly spoke up to him, breath calming in only the faintest of amounts. Any little bit of comfort the pony had the better.

“Fluttershy,” Batman repeated. “We are the only two here. I have no idea what that thing was that sent us here, or where we even are, but waiting here will not help us.” The Dark Knight watched the pony expectantly.

Her lips tightened, pulling her mouth into a straight line. Her eyes averted his gaze, her head pushing into his chest again. She was hiding something.

“Do you know where we are?” Fluttershy looked up to him with a shocked expression.

“Oh, no!” She immediately replied. Batman lowered his hand from her mane as the pegasus’s head began to shake in denial of the question. “I have no idea where we are, or why we’re here, or… who you are.”

With a straight emotionless face, matched with an equally even tone, he spoke to her again.

“I need you let go now.” Fluttershy blinked in response. Batman let the silence continue between them for only a moment. “Please.”

“O-Okay.” She uneasily replied.

Batman felt the pressure of her legs relieve from him. It was difficult to judge, with the pink mane covering her facial features, whether the act was because of unease towards him or growing trust between them.

Regardless, Fluttershy slowly made her way to the stone ground, hooves lightly clopping over the stone as she stood on her own four hooves. Her head looked up to his own, her eyes staring back at his expectantly.

The crackling of flames broke the silence between the two.

“Thank you.” Batman spoke simply. Fluttershy smiled in response, soft and delicate, no different than the manner in which she spoke. “Let’s go then.” Her smile fell instantly.

“Oh, b-but, couldn’t we wait out here?” She asked once again. “I-I mean, it’s much brighter out here and that… that fort, oh, it just looks so dark and scary.”

“And a much more fortified position that out in the open.” Fluttershy couldn’t have hide her fear from Batman.

“You think we’re in… danger?” The pegasus curled on the ground at the thought, her mane cascading across the rough stone like a blanket.

“Not yet,” Batman spoke as his eye looked upwards towards the structure again. His eyes squinted as he judged what little he could see. By eyesight alone, the clay walls appeared to be thick, easily dense enough to withstand most forces. The stone pillars and arches as well appeared too fortified for most methods of attack. “It would be safe to wait inside the structure though. We may be able to find out where we are at least. That can help us find a way out.”

“What… what if there is no way out?”

Batman looked back to the yellow mare, seeing the worry and fear in her eyes clearer than he did the torches along the cavern walls. In a smooth and calm motion, he knelt to one knee, placing himself just above eye level with the pony.

“There is always a way out.” The words came out with practiced ease. He let his armored hand fall on the pegasus’s mane, causing her head to slightly bob under the weight. “Always.”

Batman watched, both perplexed and curious, as Fluttershy’s wings rose upwards.

The pegasus backed away from him with obvious haste, one of her fore hooves rising to push down the feathery appendages. The blush was almost mistakable under the soft light and equally pink mane.

“Um,” she spoke meekly, mane hiding almost all of her features. “W-We can go inside then. That is, since you are so confident, I-I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

Batman stoically watched the pegasus nearly quiver as she folded in on herself, her mane and tail hiding nearly all of her yellow coat. Terrified wasn’t strong enough a word to correctly describe the amount of fear the pony was projecting.

He shut his eyes as he judged the situation. He was in an unknown land in a location that was just as mysterious to the local population. Said population was under attack by what he could accurately judge to be a deity in power that preferred games to destruction, that is if the brief dialogue the monster had spoken of could be trusted.

There was little chance that anything would approach them where they were, as they would doubtlessly have at least heard of another form of life by now. However, it was just as clear that they were meant to enter the enclosed fort just in front of them. There would doubtlessly be traps and many dangerous trials within. Taking someone who was not used to situations such as this would be extremely risky.

However, leaving her alone outside the fort would only invite some kind of misfortune to fall upon her. Worse even, he wouldn’t be there to protect her if that did happen. Looking back down at the pegasus, he spoke to her.

“So long as you follow my orders, I promise you’ll be fine.” He watched her wide blue eyes stare at him, transfixed on what he was saying. “Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes.” Her voice quivered as she spoke, but she rose taller on her hooves regardless. He nodded towards her, satisfied.

“Good.” Without another word, Batman started off for the drawbridge of the fort, the sound of clopping hooves just behind him.

He kept a careful eye on the open section of the clay wall as he approached. The shadows of the walls themselves hid much of the inner courtyard, too tall to allow enough light from the torches to enter, but he also saw nothing moving within. No shadow swirled and no light bent the closer they approached. As far as he could tell, there was no threat, so far.

The outer walls soon stood tall above them. They stood easily above four times his height, and as he had thought, thick enough to endure the blows of battle or time. The stone pillars were, however, cracked with age. There were small sections of intergranular erosion taking place along the rising columns. Batman had no desire to stand beneath the possibly decaying stone they held up.

He walked into the fort unceremoniously, Fluttershy quickly following.

As they entered the open section of ground within the clay walls, they saw little to nothing, a combination of poor lighting and even less to see.

The courtyard was undecorated, save for the pillars that lined the path towards the now apparent castle, small as it was. Unlike their brethren outside, holding up stone arches, these sat in the ground with nothing above then. Support-less pillars. There were no elegant statues, no dried fountains, nothing to indicate the area they stood in was ever anything more than an empty and unused patch of land.

Batman was not convinced.

“Something’s not right.” He spoke as if it were a fact. He turned off the path towards the castle’s entrance, walking instead towards one of the inner clay walls. With only a squeak of surprise, Fluttershy followed close behind him.

“W-What do you mean? Is something wrong?” Batman did not offer her even a turn of his head as he fast approached the wall.

“Aside from location, everything about this structure indicates that it was a fortress of some kind. However, there’s nothing in this courtyard to indicate that. If it were meant for soldiers, then there would be a barracks. For civilians in times of war, then fountains or other aesthetic features. But here, there’s nothing. I don’t buy it.”

He stopped as the wall was just before him, barely visible under the shadow it gave. Fluttershy ran her body close to his, letting her coat hug against his chest through the fabric of his cape. Batman gave only a glance of notice before returning to the wall.

His hand rose to top the edge of his cowl, lighting the displays inside his sockets. The shadows left in place of an ultraviolet light, showing the detailed image of the clay wall. The surface was anything but empty.

“I knew it.”

“Knew what?” Fluttershy asked perplexed, eyes looking up to him before back to the wall. “I-Is there something there?” Batman felt the pressure on his leg grow. Looking down, he saw that her eyes were strained beneath the shallow light, dilated until her blue irises were nearly unseen.

His hand reached beneath his cape, opening a compartment along his belt. With another practiced moved, he pulled out a small stick, shaking it slightly as he did so. Beneath his two fingers, he crushed the object like shell around a nut.

The stick lit up the area around it.

Fluttershy’s wings quickly extended as she pushed herself into the air and away from the sudden and offensive light. Her eyes silently cried in pain, forcing her to shut them. A small cry of pain did leave her lips, a moan of discomfort.

Batman gave her a glance, watching as she hovered briefly in the air before returning to the ground, sitting on her flank with her hooves over her eyes. They rubbed against her closed lids, attempting to dull the throb of pain they were giving her.

“Sorry.” He callously offered. Fluttershy removed her hooves from her eyes, looking back up to him with small pupils surrounded by large blue irises. An obvious side-effect to extreme light change.

“Oh, that’s alright.” She meekly spoke. “I just wasn’t prepared for that. I mean, it really surprised me.” Her eyes blinked a few more times, attempting to readjust with the sudden bloom of light that glowed from the stick Batman was holding. She squint her lids as the light continued to assault her. Slowly though, it began to dim as her eyes attuned to the new source of illumination.

“Thank you, actually,” she spoke to Batman as she began to approach him again. “It’s much easier to see now.” Her eyes turned to the wall, letting the new lamination light up the clay surface.

Her eyes began to widen again.

“W-What are those?” Fluttershy spoke as her hoof pointed towards the wall, shaking like a leaf in the wind. Batman let his vision return to the tall clay wall, a most definitely not smooth surface.

“That, is what I wanted you to see.” He answered as he held the glowing stick up. The shadows were chased away as the illumination of his tool began to consume the ancient structure, chasing away the blackness. As the last of the shadows were pushed from sight, Batman’s discovery came to light.

The wall was adorned with a cryptic ancient language.

Or at least, that is what Batman guessed it was. An innumerable amount of markings were made across the wall, each made with small chiseled dents into the hard clay wall. They were not deep, but they also were shallow. Each and every mark was smooth and straight, giving the impression of prior planning.

The type of tool that made them was impossible to determine. It was just as likely to be a chisel from a master craftsmen as it was a metal sword from a warrior’s harness. Erosion and age had left nothing but the indentation itself in the clay.

“If I had to guess, they are some kind of ancient markings, a permanent method of recording the history of this place.” His hand made a soft grinding noise as it ran across the surface, his digits falling and rising as they moved over the divots of space.

“Wow, how can you tell that?” Fluttershy asked with clear interest. Before he answered, Batman’s hand rose to just beneath one of the markings, crossed over with two others above it. His hand then slowly glided across the stone, parallel to the ground. As it traveled, it ran across the clay without running over a single divot.

“The markings follow a clear line.” He clarified. “It eliminates or at least limits the possibility of them being caused by any form of battle or truly random pattern.” His hand fell back to his side, hiding beneath his cloak. “It isn’t unusual to find these kind of markings in ancient structures.” That earned a curious twist of Fluttershy’s head.

“What do you mean?”

“Many cultures would build large or immense structures to tell of their history, usually by way of images or pictures.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked him, her eyes perked and attentive.

“Despite the preconceived notion that ancient races are inferior to modern technology, they were by no means ignorant of time. Usually, they try and leave their history in such ways so that future generations, those who speak a different language than they do, will be able to understand what happened.” Batman’s hand twisted until his thumb was aligned with one of the vertical markings, letting it run up and down the crevice. He saw no visible strain in the clay or obvious signs of decay.

“No, no that,” Fluttershy clarified. It earned a twist of his head. “I mean, um, why would they leave their history behind here? Oh, I can’t be certain, but wouldn’t it serve more good in a museum? Or maybe a library, Twilight does say that books teach us about the past.”

“They don’t do it to teach themselves.” Batman spoke back. “They do it to be remembered by others, once they are dead and gone.” He didn’t need sensitive ears or years of training to hear the pegasus’s gasp of surprise.

“That’s horrible!” She declared in what he could easily call the loudest she had spoken thus far. “What kind of pony would plan for death?” Batman didn’t miss a beat.

“A wise one.” He didn’t need to look to know she was staring surprised at him. His eyes were far more transfixed on the still seemingly random markings. He spoke on regardless.

“Death comes to all of us, no matter how powerful or old we may live to be. When it happens, we leave behind only our memories and the actions we have done. Sometimes, those are forgotten, drowned beneath the passage of time. It’s an innate fear for people, being forgotten. If they can be remembered by civilizations in the future, then they’ll be less afraid to live.”

Fluttershy looked up at him, caught between awe and dumbstruck.

“You’re pretty smart.” She spoke honestly to him. “You remind me a lot of Twilight.”

Batman looked towards her with a flat line over his lips.

“Do you know what these mean?” He asked Fluttershy, eyes looking to the pegasus. Fluttershy gave a small start of surprise, but quickly composed herself. Her eyes looked along the wall, still well lit by the glowing stick Batman had produced.

“I-I don’t know,” she honestly spoke, “But I’ll try.” She began to observe the markings along the wall, licking her lips as she concentrated. Her hoof ran over the stone, brushing away the dust that covered them.

Her head tilted back and forth, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she did so. In her honest opinion, unspoken as it was, the writing looked little more elegant chicken scratch. The lines were straight and well carved, but they met in odd angles, had no curves or shapes, and each appeared to be more like claw marks than an ancient language or tongue.

“No,” Fluttershy answered honestly. “I’ve never seen anything like this, not even in Twilight’s old novels. I’m sorry, but I think she would be more helpful here.”

Batman did not respond. Instead he focused his eyes back upon the wall, letting the ends of his glove run over the carefully etched markings. There were no jagged ends, or cracked chunks of clay. They did appear random, or at least in some form of disarray, but the smoothness and cleanliness of each marking was too well done for them to be anything else other than intentional.

“Hold on a second,” Batman gently spoke as he raised his covered arm to the stone. Fluttershy watched, enraptured, as a soft track of light began to glow from his black arm. It shined across the stone, illuminating it like the candles along the cavern walls.

“Oh,” Fluttershy let out without command. “What is that?” Batman offered her a sideways glance before letting his eyes return to the stone and his extended arm.

“A three-dimensional scanner and interface decoder.” He spoke simply. The prolonged silence from the pegasus was the only clue he needed to know she didn’t understand him. “It scans a select part of the environment and analyzes it for abnormalities, or it can decode specific languages using processes of elimination. That will take time though.”

“Oh, wow.” The yellow pony spoke in astonishment as she walked closer to the black garbed man. Her wing ran against his cape, earning a small motion of his eyes to observe her. Fluttershy’s blue eyes were transfixed on the scanner as it continued to work, reflecting the light it gave off with a luminescent shine. “How can it translate something like this? That is, if you don’t mind telling me.”

“All sentences of every language has a structure that it has to follow,” he began. “These forms can change from culture to culture, but they are always there. If I scan enough of these markings, I’ll be able to identify the sentence forms by which this language follows. After that, it will be a matter of time before I’m able to match up markings with understandable words or phrases.”

Batman pressed a button on his gauntlet, and the light vanished just as fast as it appeared.

The pegasus backpedaled slightly in surprise, a light gasp coming from her lips. He paid her little mind, eyes transfixed on another glowing panel on his gauntlet. Fluttershy timidly walked up next to him again, letting her eyes look at the display Batman was paying such dedicated attention to.

Pictures danced across his black arm, little colors of blue, white, and red moving with unabashed speed along his gauntlet. Her eyes could barely keep pace with the short amount time one light would appear, glide across the small panel, only to disappear again.

That when a small beep came from the panel, followed by all lights on the display turning a dark red. Fluttershy gasped in response, but held her ground with an almost foreign sense of determination. Her eyes looked over the panel as Batman did as well, seeing words written in white being laid over the red display.

“Interesting.” Batman noted almost dryly.

“What is? Did you find something?” Something snapped back into place as Fluttershy asked those words. “But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. That is, if it’s private, I’m alright.” Batman answered her without a moment of hesitation.

“I haven’t found anything on the glyphs yet. However,” he dropped off as his other arm rose to the glass display. His fingers began to run over the lights. Fluttershy watched with just as much interest as before as the small pictures started to change with his touch and command. It was nothing short of magical to watch.

“However, what?” she asked as he failed to continue.

“I’m detecting signs of low level radiation, specifically of x-ray wavelength. It’s nothing immediately harmful, but it is strong enough to barely pass through the dense and likely thick structure of the stone and clay.” Fluttershy looked up at him with a tilted head, one eye hidden behind her mane. The visible blue orb was squinting in confusion.

“I’m… not sure what that means. I’m sorry, but I don’t know.” Batman looked down at the pegasus before responding.

“We’re being watched.”

“This guy is good.” Jack noted as he tapped his chin with the hard metal of his controller. He watched the dark suited man play with controls on his arm, occasionally glancing around them. “Almost makes up for dressing like an idiot. Ah, but let’s see if there’s anything better on.”

Jack tilted the controller to the screen in front of him, pressing the plastic buttons protruding from the metal. Instantly, the small yellow pegasus and tall dark man were gone from sight. The screen dulled into a screen of dancing static before refocusing on an entirely new image. Jack reached for a ball of popcorn as he watched the image.

His head tilted to the side as he chewed on the vaporized corn in his mouth. The image was clear with no static or lighting issues. The figures that were portrayed on the screen were clear as well. A cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane caught looking forward with some kind of panic. A hedgehog right beside it with it’s hand raised in defense.

Jack laughed at the sight before pressing the buttons on his controller again. Nothing happened. Swallowing the kernels in his mouth, he muttered to himself.

“The heck?” He asked aloud, aiming the metal contraption at the screen, pressing the button again and again. The screen remained still as rock. A scowl ran over his face.

“Hey Angel!” He called backward, looking towards the pale feminine figure wired to the chair behind him.

“Yes father?” The robotic voice answered from the dry red lips.

“What’s going on with the video readings? It’s frozen solid! Some kind of… magical interference or is there just too much lag?” There was a slow buzz of activity from behind him, and Jack knew it was his daughter working through the circuitry to find the problem.

“All satellite feeds are working to optimal performance with no discernable interference or noticeable rebound times.” Jack pinched the end of his nose.

“Then what happened to the petting zoo?” He asked absently with eyes trained on the television screen. Jack tried to recall any memory that could help him sort out the problem, a hint or some clue he may have forgotten.

He found one.

“Oh yeah,” he spoke with a snap of his fingers. “Dat-cord was tellin’ about this.” He pointed his finger into the air. “He didn’t want any of the bandits watching ta miss out on anything. So just a few groups at a time.” Jack blew puff of air through his mouth. “He had a reason for that though… What was it again?”

“It is difficult for the organic mind to process more than three forms of mobile action at a time. The optical nerves are not able to deconstruct the information at a speed readily available for the Temporal lobe. This is due to-” She was cut off with Jack waving his hand through the air.

“Yeah, yeah, I get.” He noted dryly. “Us inferior flesh bags, superior robot kind, blah blah blah. Seriously, I’ve heard all about it before. At least the Eldritch Abomination had visual cues.” Jack looked back at the screen, silently reading the frozen expressions across the pegasus and hedgehog.

“I thought he hated turnin’ things in ta stone, er whatever?” Jack noted lowly.

“The subjects shown are not encased in any form of densely packed carbon or other sedimentary materials. Thermal scans indicate a lack of cellular movement along all levels of readable detection. It is believed they are being kept in an Absolute Zero Environment. No data to compare or confirm with..”Angel finished as the light hum of activity around her died down.

“Well, dang.” Jack noted honestly, nodding his head in appreciation. “Wonder how easy it is to do that. Ah, there’s no point. A real hero gives his enemy a chance to defend himself. That’s what separates the heroes from the monsters.” He smiled at the thoughts passing through his mind. “Besides, there’s gotta be a few more of these bandits goin’ through the rounds, right? Let’s see what we can find.” Without waiting for the automatic response, his hand started to click on the buttons of his controller again.

The screen faded out of the pair of blue creatures, fading back in a reflected image of a blonde woman holding another pegasus, this one much smaller and coated orange. Another young girl was by her side, long blonde pigtails hanging off her head.

“Lag.”

Jack noted as he hit the controller again. The image shifted to static before fading back into a new image imbedded onto the screen. Through his homochromatic eyes, Jack was able to see a man garbed in black with a bright white unicorn by his side. Man was a generous term though, given the scales that covered his skin.

“Stone.”

The handsome maniac noted dryly as he pressed another button on the controller. New colors lit up the screen to show another man dressed in white holding a sword in front of him. Another pony was by his side, wearing a Stetson hat atop her head.

“More Lag.”

The screen blanked and refocused again, the same as it had three times before. Now the heterochromatic eyes were looking at another pair of victims. One was a man garbed in an almost blinding amount if white, but offset only by the red and gold trimmings that ran along his suit. By his side was a pink pony with both a set of wings and a horn on her head. They were staring in opposite directions, unmoving.

“C’mon!” Jack shouted in annoyance. “Give me something ta work with here!”

Another dismissal before another press of the controller. The screen faded into the static and back into colors. The new projection along the screen showed three more figures. A boy garbed in black with shockingly pink hair, huddled over a small white unicorn that barely stood past his knees.

But the third figure, Jack was more than familiar with. Her electric blue hair and color schemed matching tattoos were something he felt equal amounts joy and hatred in seeing. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight, despite the boiling pit of rage rising in him. If the person he saw wasn’t enough, then watching them move sealed the deal.

“A’ha, jackpot!” Jack shouted triumphantly. “We got some live ones over here, and I couldn’t have asked for a better show to watch!”

Popping another handful of popcorn into his mouth, he watched on in amusement.

Forging Bonds

“W-Where am I?” Sweetie Belle chirped miserably. It really was the million bit question.

She had been dragged from the forest, taken to a castle, now dropped in a place she could hardly recognize. The stone around her was dark and gray, looking more like the ruined remains of the castle from the Everfree than Canterlot Castle. But everything still looked so clean, she knew she wasn’t in any ruins.

Her eyes looked up a spiraling staircase like she would a monster in her closet. It didn’t matter that the glass windows around the winding steps were stained, that the stairs were carpeted red, or that the ceiling above them shined of gold. Everything, by appearance alone, looked majestic, large, powerful, and most importantly royal. However, that didn’t change how she felt.

It looked like a castle, but it felt like a dungeon.

She had no idea where she was, and she had no idea what was going on.

“H-Hey,” Sweetie let her blurry vision look up, seeing a pale hand reach towards her. With a squeak of fright, she backpedaled away, forcing herself down the stairs she was on.

Her despondent green eyes looked at the two taller… things next to her. She knew who they were, if she could trust what Discord had said, but that didn’t mean she could trust them.

One of them was looking down at her, a short pink mane hanging off of its head. It looked worried, with its lips pulled back and dull claws retracting towards itself. The other figure was looking up the stairs, its forelegs crossed over its chest. It wasn’t looking at either Sweetie Belle or the other creature.

Sweetie Belle felt the tears roll down her face.

“H-hey,” the pink maned one spoke again. “I-It’s okay. There’s nothing here to hurt you. I-I promise.” She watched the thing for a moment, debating in her mind whether it would be safer to run down the stairs and away from them, or to trust what it was saying. A small twist of her head showed the disappearing staircase behind her, just as dark and intimidating as the rising twist in front of her.

“Um,” the thin thing spoke again, its forelegs rubbing against one another as it spoke. Its lips twisted and bent in many directions, but Sweetie Belle didn’t hear a word coming from them. She didn’t know whether she should be confused or terrified. Both still seemed like a purely logical option.

“M-My name is… is Chrona.” Sweetie Belle bit her lip as he spoke. He sounded just as scared as she felt. “What’s yours? I-I mean, um, what’s… w-what’s your name?” The small unicorns’ legs pulled themselves closer to her body, curling her already petite form into a small fragile ball.

“S-,” her lips clamed up before another syllable could be spoken. The pink maned thing twisted its head at her in confusion, but instead of annoyance, Sweetie Belle only saw patience in its eyes. It was a truly comforting sight.

“S-Sweetie Belle…” she spoke her name like it was her darkest secret, whispering it on a hushed breath. “M-My name is Sweetie Belle. What… are you?”

For a moment, Chrona looked at her with another curious expression, its eyes blinking and mouth slightly open. It wasn’t gripping its foreleg anymore, but it didn’t look any more relaxed either. If anything, it just looked a little more lost. But for what it was worth, it didn’t look frightening, just scared.

“I’m… I’m human,” Sweetie Belle heard the word, but the meaning of it escaped her. Her green eyes looked at the other figure behind the human, a blue maned figure that also looked like the boy. But the figure was taller, less clothed, and didn’t appear to be uncomfortable in the slightest.

“And… it?” the unicorn asked with a shaking hoof towards the blue maned human, earning a glance from the creature. Sweetie Belle cringed under the glare it gave, and oddly enough, so did Chrona.

“Do not refer to me as an ‘it’.” The figure spoke with a tone the unicorn had heard from her sister several times before. “My name is Maya, and I’m human, too. But if my name is too hard for you to remember, just call me a woman, ‘cause that is what I am.” Her cold golden eyes turned from the unicorn, looking to the pink haired human instead. Sweetie Belle could see it shaking. “But I can’t tell what you are.”

It was impossible to miss the look of silent shock that passed over Chrona’s eyes.

“I-I’m a boy!” He spoke in what could better be described as an exclamation. It caused the woman’s brow to raise and for Sweetie Belle to shirk away from him. However, the sudden display died down, and he was left to shivering again. Maya’s gaze grew even colder than before.

“Very well, boy,” Her commanding tone echoed again. Her eyes looked at Sweetie Belle, and the only reason the mare did not turn tail and run was the fear keeping her hooves grounded into the carpet. “And what are you anyways, Sweetie Belle? A horse capable of speech?”

A small seed of rage planted itself in the unicorn foal’s chest, burning like a kindling flame beneath a cold wind. But with her lips caught between her teeth, and legs still shaking, no words were able to come from her throat.

“It doesn’t matter,” Maya continued, ignorant to any signs she may have seen in the foal. “All that matters to me right now is trying to understand just what the hell happened. One minute I’m on a train, then I’m in a castle, being attacked by something, then I end up… well who knows where this is?” A curt sigh passed the woman’s lips. Her golden gaze fixed itself on Sweetie Belle and Chrona again

“It’s bad enough that I’m being toyed with, but I have no idea how I ended up with you two.” Her eyes gave a glimmer of some emotion Sweetie couldn’t name. “A boy thinner than a twig and as stern as leaves,” that same gaze turned to the unicorn foal. “And a talking baby horse with a horn on its head.”

And just like that, Sweetie Belle found her fear being replaced with anger.

“Sh-Shut up!” She exclaimed much like Chrona before, jumping to her hooves and screeching like a threatened banshee. However, whereas the spark of fire from the boy died almost instantly, Sweetie Belle kept hers ablaze. “I-I’m not a horse! I’m a pony! A unicorn! So’s my sister! I don’t need you talking bad about me, or Chrona, or… or any pony!”

“S-Sweetie…” Chrona softly spoke her name beside her, but it was as paid as much attention to a pebble on a gravel road.

“I don’t know where I am either!” The foal continued to scream. “I was with my friends! I was having fun! But then Discord made me help him and I didn’t want to! Now I’m lost! And, scared! And… And…” Her voice shook like a weight on an uneven pillar, bending one way then the other.

And like all things without balance, her voice eventually fell.

Miserable sobs ripped and tore their way through Sweetie Bell’s throat, wracking her small vulnerable form in violent waves. Her legs gave out from beneath her as she fell to the carpeted stairs, tears staining the thick material as they fell from her eyes. Her voice echoed off the stone walls, coming close to shaking the foundation they stood on.

Chrona, frozen like a statue by the sudden display, had a face caught in an expression of horror, watching the sobbing foal. Her hooves pushing on her lids in a vain attempt to stop her tears, throat shaking with the force of her cries. He felt his own fragile heart cracking at the sight.

But what terrified him the most, what about the sobbing foal truly made him freeze, was that he saw more than just what his eyes were showing him.

He saw himself.

Chrona saw a ring around the foal, a soft scribbled line that was supposed to keep the world out. Sweetie Belle was stuck in the center, alone and confused, looking for help. He saw himself just outside that fragile circle of protection, looking at the child stuck in side.

He knew what he had to do. He would not let her misery be endured alone. Not after someone had risked so much to help him with his own tears and fears, in the same way Sweetie Belle was.

Chrona’s hands reached out for the foal, slow as a tortoise and twice as careful. Sweetie continued to release wracking sobs, shaking her small form with every fearful cry. His hands began to shake as much as her the closer he drew. Softly then, like a leaf falling from an autumn tree, his hand touched the foal’s coat.

Sweetie Belle froze with a sharp gasp.

Her wet red eyes looked at the hand touching her, following it upwards until she saw Chrona’s pink eyes. His lip was quivering, pulled downwards in a frown. Water was hanging at the edges of his eyes.

They stared at one another for a short amount of time, the only sound between them Sweetie’s Belle’s sniffling to control her still flowing tears.

More cautiously than ever before, Chrona began to move his other hand towards the foal, making sure it was running against the carpet of the stairs, not looming over her like a dark, terrible shadow. Experience had taught him how frightening such things were.

Sweetie watched his hand move slowly towards her, crawling almost. Her coat bristled, afraid of what he was going to do. Her eyes looked up at him again, her lips shaking as the wails threatened to return.

She only saw him looking down with that same sympathetic gaze.

She felt his other hand touch her just as softly as before. It was… warm, comforting and gentle. Before Sweetie could think otherwise, she felt herself leaning into the touch, savoring the warmth. Her voice was starting to shake again.

The soft sounds coming from her throat stopped as she was lifted from the carpet. Terror overtook her for the slightest of moments, eyes looking up at the boy that was holding. But all she saw were the same sad eyes and frown, eyes glistening only slightest less so than her own.

She watched his lips tremble as they parted.

“You…” He began to speak, voice breaking as he spoke. Sweetie sniffled and wiped her hoof against her eyes. She whimpered as he tried to speak again.

“You’re not alone. I… I’ll help you.”

Chrona pulled the foal into a hug, wrapping the pony in his arms. Sweetie belt was beyond shocked, frozen by the sudden protective nature. She hiccupped, whimpered and groaned.

Then Sweetie began to cry again.

“Shh… it’s okay… it’s okay…” Chrona continued to whisper to the foal, wrapped in his arms and crying. Every wail the filly let out drowned out the soft kind words the boy was speaking to her, lost beneath her misery and fear. Yet, he continued to speak to her.

He continued to softly shush her, rubbing his hands over her coat as she continued to cry and sob and wail and scream. She was just a child, hardly an adult by any measure. Yet she was just as lost and confused as they were, taken from her friends and likely her family. Chrona could relate too well.

Sitting on the stairs, mortified by herself, Maya watched the boy comfort the small foal. Her lips were parted just enough to breath, but her eyes were wide enough to nearly let them roll of out of her skull.

As the cries and miserable sobs continued to echo up and down the stairs, she fed her fingers through her hair, letting her palms rest on her forehead. Slow controlled breaths entered and left her, calming her frantic and jumbled thoughts.

Of all the many ways she wanted others to see her, after she had left the monastery she now could call a prison, a monster was the last thing on her list. It’s what the villagers thought of her as she was kept behind locked doors, feared like a rabid beast on a chain.

With just a few words she had proven herself more than capable of being that kind of monster, making a child cry with cruel words and taunts.

Slowly the ringing in her ears faded and the cries of the child were reduced to whimpers. Her head rose from her hands, seeing the foal in the boy’s arms, gripping at the black gown he wore. Her eyes were red and puffy, limbs shaking as the terror of the breakdown slowly began to subside.  Seeing her chance to speak, Maya rose from the steps she was sitting on.

Chrona looked up at her, and she saw daggers in his eyes.

“D-Don’t come… any closer.” He spoke simply, arms shrugging to hold the pony in his arms just a bit closer. The action alone hurt Maya more than the Sweetie’s cries ever came close to.

She stopped walking towards them, standing still above them. Her golden eyes watched the two, swimming with what was close to tears, but held by years of training. Instead, Maya opted keep her vision locked on the boy who was so much smaller than her, in every dimension that could be measured. It was nothing short of heartwarming that he stood up to her to protect Sweetie.

It was only too bad she was the source of the filly’s pain.

However, there was one way to fix it.

“I… I’m sorry.” Maya replied in a shaking voice. Chrona wasn’t sure she meant the words.

“Why?” For a moment, Maya thought he was intentionally mocking her, asking such an obvious question after such a horrific display from the white unicorn. But after another second, she realized he could be asking about any number of things.

Why did she snap? Why was she sorry? Why did she say what she did? Why was she apologizing? Why was she even talking to them? So many whys, all of them worth answering.

“I’m sorry… for snapping at you, both of you.” Her eyes looked down from the boy’s pink gaze to look at the white filly still curled in his arms. “What I said… you didn’t deserve that, neither of you did. It’s completely my fault, and I am sorry for it.”

Maya licked her lips, wetting the cracked skin. She didn’t hear a sound from the boy, either confirmation that he understood or denial towards her words. Either way, that meant she had to keep going.

“I’m honestly just as confused as you are. I’m just… I have a hard time trusting others.” Her gloved hand pinched the bridge of her nose before sliding down her face, hanging off the edge of her chin before falling back to her side. Her eyes looked towards the two, and they boy finally saw some small amount of pain in them, a crack in the golden irises.

“Okay, I’m a little more than confused, and I’ll admit I’m even a little scared.” She let out a humorless chuckle. “But I’m honestly mortified by the way I reacted. So I’m sorry. I’m very, very sorry.”

A tense silence was caught between the woman and the other two beings in the hallway. As the dead air continued to persist, Maya almost wished for the cries to start again. They were easier to deal with.

“So… y-you’re sorry?” Sweetie Belle asked, still curled tight in Chrona’s arms.

Maya let out as silent gasp as the filly spoke large green eyes looking up at her. There was still a ring of red around her whites, dry from the salty tears, but she wasn’t shaking even a quarter as bad as when she was sobbing. Chrona held her a bit closer as she spoke, protectively covering the filly. The action did not go unnoticed by the woman.

“Yes, I am. You didn’t deserve me lashing out at you. I apologize.” The woman bowed her head towards the two, blue bangs covering her features as she did so.

Another tense moment settled between the trio, hanging on the silence of the castle stairwell. Not a single strand of hair shook on the woman’s head as she kept her bowed state, just as Chrona didn’t dare blink as he watched her, caught between caution and confusion. Sweetie Belle, however, sniffled her nose and matted her fur as the time continued to pass. Slowly, reasonably, the filly began to control herself.

“O-Okay,” the word was spoken like a judge’s verdict. Maya raised her head to see the filly gazing at her, green eyes still moist with tears, but no longer releasing heaving sobs. The most notable feature, however, was small subtle smile across Sweetie’s lips. It brought a small turn of the woman’s own mouth as she saw it.

“I… I forgive you.” Maya’s golden eyes twisted upwards to see Chrona, whose own gaze was focused on the floor. His feet played with one another as his mouth twisted and bent, trying to form more words to speak. The woman was patient for him to finish. “I-I’m scared, too.”

“We all are.” Maya confessed as she began to rise. “I don’t think any of us knows where we are, and I’ll admit that I have only a faint idea of who you two are.” Sweetie and Chrona exchanged gazes at one another before looking towards the woman again. “But I can at least assume that none of us wants to be here, right?”

The duo shook their heads up and down with vigor.

“Then we only have to decide where to go. There are only two options.” Maya cupped the bottom of her chin in thought, already deciding on where to go.

“Wouldn’t going up be the best option? That’s where most people go when they use stairs.” Chrona answered simply as he held the shivering unicorn to his chest. “And there are windows, so we aren’t in a basement. So… there’s nothing down… right?”

The blue haired siren gave the boy a hard gaze, looking him over like she would a new model of weapon. He shut his own eyes as he shivered under her golden gaze. They reminded him too much of too painful memories. The way Sweetie Belle shook in his arms did not help at all.

“You’re wiser than you look.” The compliment caught the boy off guard, and he hid no surprise with his widening gaze. The first thing he saw was Maya smiling down at him from the higher steps she stood on. It was an odd sight. Welcome, but odd.

“But… if we are above ground, then going down would bring us to… ground level. That’s where the door usually is, right?” Chrona watched Maya’s gaze fall to his arms before his own purple eyes followed suit. The alabaster unicorn looked up at them, her eyes swimming with confusion. Yet, somehow, she was still able to speak sense.

Maya smiled at them both.

“You are wise as well.” Maya’s words carried the same comforting tone towards Sweetie Belle as they had towards Chrona. The boy could feel the unicorn calm in his arms. It helped ease him as well. “But the problem I’m afraid of is that we must go up to find… whatever it is that brought us here.”

“I-Is that why we’re here?” The pale boy asked with genuine curiosity, walking closer to the blue haired woman. She sighed with a shrug before responding.

“I haven’t an idea. I’m sure you know as much as I do, either of you.” Chrona stopped his approach as he saw her arm glow blue. “What I do know is that I am going to find and brutally maim that… monster.” Maya’s left hand flexed, balling into a muscled fist that shook by her size. Though she was facing towards them, showing her brow furrowed in anger and golden eyes gleaming with a hidden sort of rage, Sweetie Belle and Chrona could only continue to stare at her arm.

It wasn’t just glowing blue, it was sparking.

“Y-Your leg!” Sweetie Bell shouted in alarm, earning a quick gasp from the woman as well.

“What? What is it?” She asked quickly, eyes scanning up and down her black clothed legs, seeing nothing living, dead, or foreign upon them. The filly only shook her head with wide eyes as she pointed her hoof higher.

“No! You’re foreleg!” Confusion washed over Maya’s face before she lifted her arm, the meaning of Sweetie Belle’s words reaching her own golden eyes settled on her shining tattooed arm.

She smiled peacefully, almost apologetically, as she twisted the appendage in front of her.

“This is not my leg.” She explained to the foal, “It’s my arm.” Her words did nothing to calm the frantic unicorn and the boy holder her.

“W-W-Why’s it glowing?” Chrona spoke in a rushed voice, one of his legs taking an impulsive step back, down the stairs they stood on. Maya’s eyes widened as she noticed the gesture. Her smile fell in the same instant, her arm returning to her side and glow slowly fading away.

She stood above the boy and unicorn, a few steps higher; a good foot or two taller for it. Unlike the confrontation before, there was no anger or hatred in her eyes, no reason for them to be afraid of her. But Chrona didn’t make a move to go closer to her, and Sweetie Belle only curled deeper into the robed boy’s arms.

Maya just looked… disappointed.

“I’m… sorry, again.” She spoke in a tone that held no life. The sigh that followed her words was just as emotionless.

“What… What was that?”Chrona spoke carefully, hand instinctively rubbing over Sweetie’s coat as the foal continued to shiver in his arms. Neither of them were of the highest opinion of magic at the moment, let alone from creatures they weren’t familiar with.

Maya lifted her arm again, looking it over herself as if expecting there to be something different about it. But her disappointed frown was evidence that it was the same appendage now as she had had all her life.

“I am not completely human,” she began to explain to the two, twisting her arm as she did so. Chrona was more than familiar with that action. It’s what he did whenever he was asked to talk about himself, too.

“Then what are you?” Sweetie Belle asked from Chrona’s arms. The foal, however, wasn’t shivering or hiding in the boy’s embrace. If anything, it appeared that she was trying to find a better view.

“Where I’m from,” Maya began individually flexing the digits of her tattooed arm. “There are six women born throughout the galaxy that have strange mystical powers. I’m one of them.” Her hand fell to her side as she focused her gaze on the boy and foal.

“I’m called a Siren, able to channel and control energy like magic. And these tattoos, the lines you see growing on me,” her gloved hand ran the length of her uncovered arm, tracing the blue lines that decorated her skin. “I was born with these markings. They’re proof of who I am.”

“Wait!”

The sudden shout from Sweetie Belle caused the boy to holder to jump in shock. Maya stiffened her muscles as if a gunshot had rang through the stair well. The filly, however, pushed and jumped her from Chrona, landing with grace on the red carpeted stairs. Before the woman knew any better, the foal was at her feet, pressing her fore hooves against her legs, larger green eyes looking up at her.

“You were born with your Cutie Mark?” The question caused nothing but confusion for Chrona and Maya.

“A… Cutie Mark? Maya parroted with confusion, raising an eyebrow as she bet at her knees. As soon as her arm was close enough to the ground, Sweetie Belle grabbed at it, pulling it in front of her as she stared at the painted appendage.

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle spoke as she continued to examine the Sirens arm. “You know, the mark that supposed to tell you your special talent. Every pony gets one once they find out what they’re special talent is.” Her bright green eyes looked up at the woman, full of adoration.

“But you were born with yours! And it’s not just on your flank, but your entire leg, I mean arm!” The smile across Sweetie’s face was dangerously close to splitting her in two. “That must make you extra special!”

How odd, Maya thought, that this filly changed from anger, to fear, to idolization in in the span of a few moments. It was difficult to call such a thing admirable or pitiful.

But the words were doubtlessly kind. Kind, thoughtful, and as sweet as the pony’s name.

Maya gave her own kind smile in return.

“Thank you for calling me special, but I’m sorry to say that humans don’t have Cutie Marks, at least, not the way you’re describing them.” For a moment, a flash of horror cascaded over Sweetie’s features, and Maya was fearful she was about to be the cause of more tears from the foal.

“Y-You don’t?” The Siren bit her lip before she spoke again, her arm still held in the tiny hooves of the filly. Her eyes looked up towards Chrona, offering a silent plea for help. The boy crossed and held his arms, shifting left and right uncomfortably, just as unsure of the situation as she was. She doubted he knew how to deal with this.

“Well… no,” Mayas free hand found its way to the back of her neck, scratching at the hairs there. “Humans… don’t have Cutie Marks. I have these because I’m a Siren.” Slowly, Sweetie Belle let her hooves fall off the arm, sliding down their length before she touched down on the carpet again. Maya didn’t dare breathe else she give another reason for the foal to cry.

“Is this why it’s hard for you to trust other ponies?” The foal asked in a miserable tone, eyes wet with unshed tears. “They keep judging you because you’re different.”

The breath Maya was holding was let out a harsh chuckle. This little foal wasn’t just wise, she was clever.

“Not completely, but you’re very close.” The Siren admitted to the filly. Sweetie Belle, however, looked no more convinced than before. Fortunately for Maya, she knew where to start from. “But I’m not there anymore. I may not have had the perfect time growing up, but I’m stronger for it.” The woman’s other hand let itself fall on the filly’s back, working to pat Sweetie like she would a dog. The foal shook it off quickly with an angry huff. The Siren pulled her hand back, but the action combined with the tight lip pout from the filly earned another smile from her.

“If it means anything though, it does feel nice to know you’re worried about me. Thank you for that.” Sweetie’s eyes had an odd mixture of happiness and pity, shimmering with unshed tears as a smile hung beneath her overly sized eyes. Maya had the slight thought that if she were a few decades older, her heart would not be able to handle the sight.

“I understand.” Sweetie spoke lightly as she nuzzled herself against Maya’s legs, wiping away the remnants of her tears as she did so. “And thank you.”

The pony turned from Maya, trotting the short distance down the stairs until she was standing at Chrona’s feet, barely past his knees in height. Her neck craned backwards looking up at the boy who towered over her. A sudden, but rather embarrassing, thought crossed her mind.

“Um…” Sweetie Belle began uncertainly, look scrapping her hooves against one another as she bent her head down. Chrona gave her a curious look before bending his own knees, shrinking to the ground until his head was just above the Sweetie.

“Can… can you pick me up again?” She bit her lip as the question left her mouth, as if it was a rude thing to ask for. Chrona blinked twice before the unicorn went on. “I don’t like having to look up so much, it’s hurting my neck.”

The boy only smiled brightly as he heard the request.

“S-Sure, if you want to.” Without waiting for another word, Sweetie Belle jumped into the chest of the boy, earning a small oomph of surprise. Maya watched the small display with a smile almost too small to see.

Hesitantly, Chrona began to stretch his legs, rising with the unicorn foal in his folded arms. Her legs and underbelly pushed and prodded his arms and hands for comfort, adjusting them as if they were pillows on a bed. The boy didn’t speak a word of discomfort as she did so. What he did say was quite the opposite.

“Your… Your coat’s very soft.” He spoke the compliment like it was an insult he was taunted into saying, his face flushing red as the words slipped away. Sweetie, however, only seemed to happy to hear the words.

“Thank you!” She jubilee squealed as she continued to adjust herself in the boy’s arms. “My sister keeps saying that it’s a mare’s duty to keep herself looking fresh and clean.”

“Then you are doing her proud.” Maya spoke as she approached the two again, walking down the few stairs that separated them. The foal beamed up at the woman with the kind words, who returned the smile with still subtle grin.

“I’m glad that we’re all on good terms now. Really, I am. But, we do have something important to discuss.” The sudden change in tone from Maya put Chrona and Sweetie Belle on a curious edge. Not frightened, not worried, but definitely unsure of where the woman was going.

“What’s that?” Chrona asked curiously, flexing and slightly extending his arms as Sweetie Belle continued to adjust herself against his chest. The Siren’s answer was not immediate.

Instead she raised her hand to eye level, holding it partially closed beside her head. Her thumb stuck outwards, jabbing towards the ascending stairwell behind her. Before Chrona or Sweetie could speak, her hand fell forwards. Maya’s thumb curled back into her hand as her index finger extended, pointing past the pair and down towards the twisting stairs.

The meaning became clear in an instant. Maya still spoke the meaning all the same.

“Should we go up or down?”

Silence momentarily reigned between the three of them, each wearing a different mask of thought as the question swam and spun in their minds. Maya let her hand slowly rub up and down her face, reaching the bottom of her lip before sliding back down to the edge of her chin. Chrona hummed in thought, head bending left and right as each thought came and went. Sweetie Belle mirrored his movements from the safety of his arms, bending her body left as his head moved right, then leaning right as his head swung left.

“Why don’t we vote?” Sweetie Belle chirped between the two humans, causing their collective gaze to look down at the foal. Her large green eyes looked up at both of them, her own curiosity still written across her face.

“A vote?” Chrona spoke again, earning a nod from the foal.

“Yeah, it’s what me and the girls do when we can’t decide on something. It usually works, unless we got too many ideas, but it works most of the time!” She explained and defended herself simultaneously, earning an amused smile from Maya. The woman set her glove hand over the foal’s mane, causing said pony to shake her hand madly in an attempt to remove the foreign object.

When Maya lifted her hand from Sweeties head, the young unicorn gave the woman a scowl of disapproval. It was one of the most adorable things the Siren had ever seen.

“You’re as wise as you’re cute.” Maya spoke with a smile on her lips, grinning down at the foal that continued to scowl up at her. Her golden eyes looked up to the boy, still beneath her in terms of height.

He was smiling a soft gentle smile, eyes shut as he was enjoying himself as well.

“You’re right though,” Maya spoke again after she had let the foal stew enough her childish anger. Her words instantly cooled Sweetie’s temper. “A vote would be the best way to settle it, and in a group of three, with only two ways to go, we have to reach a majority.” The boy and foal nodded, the latter beginning to grow a grin that appeared wider than her face would allow.

“Then I vote we go up!” The foal cheered a she lifted a hoof from the boy’s arms. Her eyes were confident and strong, reminding the Siren very much of another child she had met not long ago.

“Alright, that’s one,” Maya’s eyes looked up again. “You, Chrona?”

The boy’s smile left in a hurry as he was left looking down the dark stairway before averting his gaze up towards the winding path. No one direction looked any different from the other. In the end, there only two facts to consider. One went up, and one went down.

“I-I want to go down.” There wasn’t half as much confidence in his voice as there was from the foal in his arms, but his answer was clear all the same.

“Good,” Maya spoke again, looking at the two as she let a tight lipped smile grow across her face. “Then with my vote, I say we go up.”

Sweetie Belle gave a small cheer in the boy’s arms, hooves hanging over the clothed appendages like she would the railing of a window. Chrona, however, let out a sigh of disappointment as he let his head fall, hiding his face beneath his bangs.

“Hey,” Maya spoke with a strong tone, earning the attention of the boy instantly. “Don’t go moping on us. We still have no idea where we are, and the last thing any of us need is thinking about something that doesn’t matter.” The Siren raised and rested her arm on the boy’s shoulder, earning a small gasp of surprise from him, but he didn’t make a motion to fight it off.

Confident, Maya performed the same action on the unicorn foal with her opposite hand, grabbing onto Sweetie’s free hanging hoof with her hand. The pony was more curious than surprised, but she too didn’t fight off the touch. With their full attention, Maya spoke on.

“Right now, we can’t kid ourselves.” Her voice didn’t have the same cheer it had just a few moments ago. “We are, for all intents and purposes, being played with by Discord. We have to remain, alert, vigilant, and above all else, honest with one another.” If Maya had their attention before, now she had their devotion.

“W-What do you mean?” Chrona’s voice trembled on a fragile wire as he asked his thought aloud. Maya answered him all the same.

“I mean we can’t hide anything that might endanger us. If any of us knows anything, if any of us sees anything, we have to tell the others. We cannot, under any circumstances, let ourselves being tricked or cheated by that monster. Understand?” The boy and foal both slowly nodded their heads, eyes wider than saucers. Maya’s smile relaxed as she saw them do so.

“Have you done this before?” Sweetie naively asked the Siren. “Because you sound like my sister when she’s talking about designs, or fashion, or some dumb fancy fabric.” Maya gave out a small chuckle before she responded.

“Experience? No, but I have been trained.” Her tattooed arm rose and flexed itself as she spoke those words. The boy and pony both wisely left their questions unspoken. When the woman’s arm fell, and her gaze returned to the two, she smiled the same way as before.

“Anyways, let’s go. We won’t go anywhere staying still.”

And with those words three began to ascend the twisting stairs of the castle.

“Two crybabies and a girl with control issues. Nothing can possibly go wrong!” Discord cheered jubilee as he watched the trio from a screen, hanging on the outside of the monolith his victims were trapped within. “It does my heart good to know those ponies did their part in making these games just that much better.”

His claw lifted to his elongated face, wiping away a crocodile tear as it fell from his eyes. He was careful not to knick the muscles of his, pushed upwards due to his monstrous smile.

“Ah, but as much fun as it is watching those three banter, it would just be a poor show of sportsmanship to ignore the rest of the players.” The draconequus spoke to himself as he snapped his lion paw. In a flash and bang of white, he was gone from the air. In another moment, he reappeared on another side of the cliff face, facing a new screen bearing a still familiar image.

“It’s not like I can pick favorites with these groups,” he spoke to himself as he carefully eyed the three creatures on screen. “But I have to admit, these three are by far the most entertaining yet.”

“Karl?” Luna parroted the man, brow furrowed as she spoke his name. The man kept the same crooked smile as he nodded towards the dark alicorn. His stone fingers drummed across the strings of his violin.

“Yes, Karl,” he spoke again. “I know it can be a difficult name to remember, so I always try and spell it out with words that could never be used to describe me.” His undamaged hand rose forwards, holding the bow straight up as his fingers slowly extended as he spoke.

“K is for Killing, A is for Arson, R is for Robbery, and L is for Lunacy. Four things I would never do.” His smile only appeared to grow as he spoke. Luna, however, felt her own lips twisting in disgust and confusion. A very quick glance told her Riku was differing little from her in terms of a response.

“That is simply abhorred.” Luna spoke her thoughts, not bothering to hide her sickened state from her words. Her hooves were already preparing to trot backwards in avoidance to the man. Karl, however, only appeared confused by her words.

“Really, why?” His tone carried genuine curiosity. “I find spelling to be a rather easy way to remember things, and as long as you think of things I would never do, then you should easily be able to spell my name.”

“That’s some pretty messed up logic.” Riku’s words carried a tone just as cautious as the monarch’s, carried on a far more hushed tone as well. Luna was preparing to flee, but it appeared that Riku was already preparing to fight.

“Oh come now, do you really think I’m some sort of threat?” The question momentarily caught the princess and boy off guard, but the stern return of their gazes would have been answer enough to anyone. Karl appeared to give an exasperated sigh.

“Really, do I look that frightening?” In truth, he did not look frightening, but he was the farthest cry away from looking trustworthy. Luna was keen on speaking her mind.

“It is not out of fear that I… am hesitant to approach you,” she phrased her words carefully, “You are just a stranger we have come across in a place both my companion and I are unfamiliar with.” Luna knit her brows as she thought of a new question to ask the man. “How have you come to be here?”

“Me?” Karl asked as he placed his hand over his chest, violin still held strong in his grasp. “Why I honestly have no idea. One moment I’m fighting for my very life, then the next, I wake up in here with nothing by my trusty violin in my hand and Arma on my shoulder.”

“Arma?” Riku asked as the name was spoken. The bird on the man’s violin jumped into the air, fluttering briefly before settling next on the same man’s shoulder. Its red eyes opened and closed soundlessly.

“Oh that would be my friend here.” Karl lifted the hand holding his bow, letting on of his gray digits scratch beneath the bird’s beak. “She can be a bit naughty at times, but I’ve never met a truer friend than her. That reminds me though,” He spoke as he twisted his eyes towards the pair again, smile as curvy and uneven as before. “You have yet to tell me your names. I think I’ve earned that much at least.”

Hesitantly, Luna bit her lip, shifting her eyes towards her silver haired companion. Riku’s gaze was stern and focused, his lips tight and held in a straight line. It was hard to judge what he was thinking, too little light and even less being allowed beneath his silver bangs. She could assume, however, that he was not going to be the first to be forthcoming with much information. That was the wise decision for a cautious mind.

However, they could not risk another enemy, not with Discord somewhere beyond where they could see, most likely toying with them for his own sick and twisted enjoyment. If they continued to withhold who they were from Karl, it would only be a matter of time before they would be forced to part ways. In the worst case, by battle.

As a princess, it was Luna’s duty to not only address the problems at hoof, but prevent them as well.

“I am Princess Luna, Guardian of the Night. You may address me as such.” Her wings spread to their fullest as she spoke, widening her form and raising her head until she was an intimidating figure for those who saw her. Karl, however, only continued to watch and smile, no different than before.

Then slowly, almost calculatingly so, he lowered his torso until he was parallel with the ground, arms spread out far from his sides. One hand held the neck of his violin, the other on end of his bow. The raven on his shoulder lightly jumped and bobbed to keep its balance, but it didn’t make so much as a chirp of noise. When Karl’s figure settled itself, his neck bent upwards, revealing a closed eyed smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you your majesty.” Of all the responses Luna was expecting from the man, this was not one of them. Her wings visibly shook with unease, unprepared for what she saw as genuine grace. Her frame gave a light shake as she composed herself, coughing into her hoof as she did so.

“Yes, it is… my pleasure to meet you as well.” Her cerulean eyes looked up to Riku, seeing the same cautious stare from the boy as he had given before. She watched his mouth give a slight rise as his lower lip pushed on it, a doubtful thought being worked through his mind no doubt. The boy’s shoulders gave a roll, then he spoke.

“My name is Riku,” he spoke simply towards the man, face kept stern and neutral. “And that’s all I’m giving you until I know you’re not a threat to us.”

‘Well, if one of us must be blunt…’ Luna quipped in her own mind.

“Life favors the cautious and strong.” The words came from Karl in a tone the dark alicorn did not recognize. It didn’t have the sing-song beat to it, nor any manner of joy or elation. It was calm like her night and neutral like Riku’s own voice. It brought back every amount of caution Luna had done away with.

Before Luna could remark on the sudden turn in the man’s demeanor, however, Karl rose from his bow, standing to his tallest. As he did so, his arms disappeared behind his back, vanishing beneath the tan coat that hung from his shoulders. Then in a flash, his hands extended outwards again, free of any violin or bow. His smile was open and bright.

Neither Riku nor Luna enjoyed the sudden movements he made, even less so with his open smile.

“Oh please don’t be threatened by me, I honestly mean no harm.” He spoke with both of his palms in front of him, open and facing towards the duo. “I was just finding it a hassle to hold a conversation with my violin in hand. Besides, take this as proof that I’m completely unarmed.” That much was true, at least as far as Luna or Riku could tell.

Aside from the bird on his shoulder, and the violin now presumably behind his back, there wasn’t another thing on his person that could possibly inflict harm.

“It’s good to know, Riku, that you have a healthy level of caution about you. You can never be too sure of who you’re meeting, so it’s a good idea to keep your guard up. For example,” His hands fell forwards until his palms were facing upwards, eyes still gazing at the alicorn and boy with a jagged smile across his face.

“I have no idea what you two are capable of, or even where you are from, so the best course of action is get to know you first. After all, only a fool or a madman randomly attacks people.” His words sounded honeyed to Luna’s ears, but she could see no fault in his logic or thoughts.

“Then what are you planning?” Luna spoke her words in her careful tone once more. She could not be threatening, not to a man she knew nothing about. She wished the smile he gave could be taken as a sign she spoke her words correctly. However, she had never seen Karl lose his smile yet.

“Why nothing at all, to be quite honest.” It appeared that he would not be satisfied until he was a complete enigma to the alicorn and boy. “Didn’t I tell you I’ve been waiting here for some time? It actually benefits me for you two to have found me. If anything, I would be hoping you would help guide me out of here. You can never have too many friends when you’re stuck in strange places.”

And now twice in a row, Luna found herself unable to find any fallacy in his mindset. This time, when she turned to Riku, she made sure the boy was looking back at her. His head twisted to meet her gaze, their eyes meeting. His eyes were strong and focused, churning with an innumerable amount of doubts; she could see it clear as the stars on a cloudless night.

In her own mind, however, the princess found much in the name of reason to at least tolerate Karl. Trust, she knew better than most, was a thing hard earned and precious to have. They did not have to trust him, but in the very least, they could tolerate him. Caution however, would still be necessary.

Riku gave a slow nod of understanding as he looked into her eyes, and Luna gave tilt of her head in agreement.

“Karl,” the dark alicorn began with her royal voice, strong in pitch and tone. “Though we know little about you, we would be safer to let you follow us for now. However, should you do anything to give us reason to doubt you, we will not hesitate to deal with you as is necessary.”

The man’s face lit up like the sky with a morning’s first sun.

“That’s wonderful!” He cheered, giving a small twirl of his form as he did so. The bird on his shoulder took flight as he did so, keeping itself from the centrifugal force the man was generating as he spun. As he finished his twirl, both feet firmly on the red rock floor, the bird took its place once more. Karl’s smile did not change.

“So,” Riku spoke up, the fingers of his free hand drumming against his palm in tense thought. “You said you were fighting someone before. Who was it?”

“It wasn’t just one person, it was several. And let me tell you, they were simply the worst.” He spoke in the same tone in which he had spelled out his name, arms wide to his sides with his smile twisted and neutral. It was impossible for either the alicorn or swordsman to figure him out.

“I was fighting for the chance to use a wishing machine, but so many of them fought me tooth, nail, hammer, and steel against it. And I was close to it, too. So very close to getting my wish answered.” Karl held his stone hand in front of him, flexing the digits individually, letting the harsh material grind against itself with the movements. Luna and Riku watched on in with cautious curiosity.

“… same mistake.” The words came so quietly and so suddenly, the dark alicorn missed what they were.

“I beg your pardon?” Karl lifted his head at the question, hand dropping back to his side as he did so. He blinked twice before responding.

“Oh, nothing, just thinking on something from a long time ago. We’ll call it an unpleasant memory and move on. Sound fair?” Neither the alicorn nor the boy found confidence in pushing a conversation the man was so joyous to avoid. “Excellent. Now then, where should we be off to?”

“Off to?” Luna repeated the question herself, unsure of what they meant.

“He’s asking where we go now, and it’s a pretty good question. Nowhere to go from where we came from, but no where to go in here.” Riku’s eyes scanned the walls in the room, all the same red rock as the fiery pit outside. “Maybe it would be a good idea to-”

He cut himself off as he saw Luna’s horn glowing as it had before, a flashlight aiming along the walls. With a grin, Riku turned silently as he followed the probing light.

“Now that really is something!” Karl cheered as he watched the alicorn worked. The grin along Riku’s face fell in a moment. He gripped the Path to Dawn a bit tighter than he had before.

“Keep your distance,” he warned the man carefully. “The princess has to keep her concentration as she’s doing this. Distracting her isn’t an option.” It was a lie, a quick and sloppy one at that, but an enemy wouldn’t risk it. It would only be too obvious if he tried to break the alicorn’s concentration, something an ally would not do. With a practiced grin, and a retreating step, Karl responded.

“I’ll stay few yards back then. I couldn’t risking ruining her majesty’s work.” His grey eyes followed the light along the walls the same as Riku, watching the faint lines of magic glow beneath the light. “Can I assume she is looking for a false wall?” The question earned a rogue thought from the boy.

“Actually yeah, she is.” He twisted himself until his side faced the man, his gaze partially hidden beneath his bangs. “How would you know about that?” For his credit, Karl didn’t give a single sign of surprise or shock. Instead, he turned to face Riku, head lolled to his side and with the same ever-present smile.

“Well it’s awfully hard not to guess what I’ve already seen. Or have you already forgotten how you got into this room?” The silver haired boy found his confidence quickly eroding away as the man spoke. “My head’s as thick as stone and even I remember that you walked through a wall. It’s a pretty hard thing to forget. Oh, it’s alright though, we all lose our minds from time to time.” Nothing about that sentence brought Riku any peace of mind.

“But, while we wait for the pretty whittle pony to work her magic, maybe you can answer a question for me now?” Karl twisted on his heel, taking a slight spin on the ground as he did so. Riku watched him as carefully as he would an enemy in battle. There was no part of him that wanted to answer the questions the man might have. The possibility of them being harmless were less than nothing. However, there was a way to turn into a risk with reward.

“Sure, I can do that.” Karl stopped as Riku spoke in compliance, clearly giving some level of shock to the violinist. His smile was no less crooked, but his large grey eyes blinked before continuing.

“That was quite the change of pace. What’s the catch?” Riku’s face was no less stern or focused than before.

“I don’t trust you.” Karl smiled brighter at the comment. “And you don’t trust me.”

“Hey now, it’s rude to say what someone else is thinking.” Riku continued on regardless.

“So for every question I answer, you have to answer one of mine. That fair?” Karl’s stone grey hand rose to his mouth as Riku finished, curling itself over the curvy smile on his face.

“Clever and cautious.” Again, just like before, the jarring change in the man’s speech give Riku a chill, his hand tightening on the hilt of his blade as he heard it. The action drew an amused chuckle from Karl.

“Now calm down, I was giving a compliment.” The man’s hands lightly waved in front of him, Arma on his shoulder lightly jumping up and down to adjust itself. “I think it’s a fine idea. Why don’t you lead?”

For a moment, Riku played with his tongue, biting and twisting the unseen object in his mouth. His eyes tilted towards Princess Luna, still working her magic along the walls. He didn’t seen any anomalies like the one she had found on the wall before this room, and as she had yet to stop, it was likely she had not either. This was a larger room, with much more area to search.

“Alright,” he spoke carefully, watching Karl’s eyes twist into a smile similar to the ever present beam he had on his lips. Lifting his hand, Riku motioned towards his eye, clawed over and marred. “Why’s your eye all grey like that? Your hand too?”

Karl lifted the hand in question, twisting it like he was attempting to put a price on the object. He straightened a single digit on it, rubbing it down the claw marks on his face as he did so. It wasn’t a sight Riku found all that pleasing to watch.

“Just an old mark from a long time ago. The paint wore off here,” Karl spoke as he waved his hand in the air. “And Arma and I had a fight for her to give me these scratches.” He flicked at the grey wounds on his face with shut eyes and a wide smile.

“Then… why are they g-”

“Ah!” Karl interrupted, raising his hand with single finger in the air. “I answered your question, now you have to answer mine.” He twisted his head as his eyes looked the silver haired boy up and down, Riku giving him glare all the while. One of Karl’s hands played with the bottom lip of his smile.

“I know,” he declared with a snap of his fingers. “Where did you get that sword of yours? That isn’t anything a normal human can make.” Slowly, Riku lifted the path of dawn between them, the blade still held with a tight grip in his hand. It’s curved edge bent towards him, the purple guard and blade shining like the last light of a fading sun.

For a moment, Riku thought of lying. There was no way the man would know any better. He could say he found it in some chest and there would be no way to prove him right or wrong. Then again, telling Karl exactly how he came across the blade would very well put the man on more guard, that is, if he were here to harm them. It was a gamble, but then, every action he and Luna had taken so far was.

“I was chosen to wield this blade because of the strength of my heart. It is one of only a few, reserved for warriors spread out across the many worlds.” Riku watched, with an undeniable sense of satisfaction, as Karl’s mouth opened into wide expression of shock. The edge his lips, however, seemed just able to maintain his smile.

“That is impressive!” He congratulated, hands clapping together as he did so. “I would have never guessed you humans had so much power to have weapons flock to you. And here I thought I was lucky when Arma flew by my way. Isn’t that right?” His hand tickled the underside of the bird again, causing the raven to bend its neck towards the appendage.

“My turn now,” Riku knew his question before before Karl ever asked his. “Why are parts of you grey?”

“For such a clever boy, you keep asking such obvious questions.” Karl chuckled at the flat look of annoyance Riku gave him in return.

“The answer is obvious though.” Karl raised his grey hand, balling it into a fist. He placed the wrist of the appendage against his torso, holding it in place for a moment. Then his fist flexed twice, knocking against his chest.

It sounded hollow. Hollow like carved stone.

Little else could have caused Riku’s eyes to widen so fast.

“Wait, you’re a statue?” It was doubtful to the boy that even Sora could have smiled as brightly as the stone man was now.

“But of course, why else would I have paint on me?” For a moment, it looked as if he was going to speak again, doubtlessly another quip to give Riku a reason to groan. But then, Karl’s head cocked towards the bird on his shoulder, the raven facing his ear. Not a sound was produced between them for a few moments.

“You’re as clever as ever, Arma.” Karl spoke suddenly, hand rising again to play with the black bird on his shoulder. “Such a devious little bird.”

“There.”

Neither Riku nor Karl spoke those words.

Their eyes simultaneously turned to see Princess Luna looking upwards, horn alight and glowing towards the ceiling. High above them, on the curved edge of the stone where the wall became the ceiling, there was a bright white glowing spot. Both Riku and the princess knew well what that meant.

“Very impressive, your majesty,” Karl spoke with a chipper tone, walking beneath the glowing section of wall with a hand perpendicular to his eyes. “I must confess, that magic of yours is really something to see! I would be hard pressed to find anything else like it, and then be challenged further to be told to leave it.” Luna wasn’t aware of a proper response to give.

“Yes… well…” she spoke her words with large breaks, mind shifting for a proper answer. “I am glad you appreciate my efforts.” Karl gave a bow to her words.

The princess was finding it more and more difficult to be cautious around such a formal and polite man. Statue, she silently reminded herself. A statue.

“Hold on a second.” Riku’s words were the only warning he gave before his blade left his hand.

The steel sailed upwards, cutting through the humid air with metallic song. It made contact with the red rock of the ceiling, lodging itself partially into the material. The other portion of it was reaching into false wall Luna had found.

“There,” the boy spoke with a finished tone. “You can relax now.” It took a moment for Luna to understand the meaning of his words. But with a nod of understanding, she let her horn stop humming, her magic fading away. High up above, Riku’s sword was still stuck in the material.

He raised his hand upwards, palm facing his caught sword. Luna and Karl watched on as they stood still for a moment, not doing so little as even flinching or breathing. Then, from up above, they heard the harsh grind of stone on steel. It came once, twice, then they heard metal singing again.

It took only a moment before the Path to Dawn was returned to Riku’s grasp. He caught it with hardly any effort. The next sound to pierce the air was Karl clapping in amusement.

“You two are as clever as you are interesting.” He spoke with a tone Luna could only guess was complimentary. “All I can show off is my chiseled form.” And again, the princess had little idea of how to take his words. Riku, however, had no hesitation to place his forehead against his open palm.

“Once more I am complimented by your words, Karl.” Luna spoke to the statue man, offering a small nod of her as well. “However, I do not enjoy being trapped in this place, and I would enjoy more than little else to be able to leave. Now that we know the way, I suggest we go.”

“Wait,” Riku held up his hand. His eyes looked towards Karl as an unsettling grin fell across his lips. “Why don’t you go first?”

Karl cocked his head to the side as the question was proposed to him.

“Eh?”

Luna gave a perplexed look as well.

“We can’t leave the princess alone in this place, as dangerous as it is, and I’m sure she trusts me to stay by her side more than you.” Riku looked towards the alicorn as he spoke. When her gaze met his, he gave a wink of his eyes, facing away from Karl’s vision. Luna caught onto his scheme swift as a night’s wind.

“He speaks the truth, Karl.” The monarch spoke. “It would be improper and foolish to leave royalty unattended.” Her head motioned towards the false wall, marked above and below by Riku’s sword. “We will be close behind. Think of this as a final test of our trust with you.”

With those words, Karl’s smile grew a bit wider.

“It would be an honor to do a service to the crown.” He spoke to them both, leaning back on his heels as he body skillfully bent forward, precariously balancing itself.

Then, before either Riku or Luna could prepare themselves, the stone man bent at his knees, hands flat on the ground in a crouch. His gaze looked up at the wall confirmed to be fake, his eyes lining with illusion.

With a single powerful extension of his legs, he flew from the red rock floor and through the empty space, vanishing from view.

Luna and Riku watched on in silent astonishment.

“His body is far stronger than I previously thought.” Luna admitted, eyes still focused on the wall high above them. Riku gave a single slow nod of agreement.

“Yeah, doesn’t mean he’s any less dangerous.” His eyes gave a glance towards the monarch as he spoke on. “I’m not the only one who doesn’t buy his story, right?”

“Of course not,” Luna agreed. “Discord would not give us aid without a poison to take it with. I am doubtless this Karl will turn into either a foe or a crutch, neither beneficial to us. However,” Her eyes hardened, lids falling into a determined stare. “It is wiser to keep an enemy close and observed than to be guessing where he could be.”

“You got that one right.” Riku agreed. A slow sigh escaped his lips as his body slowly started to relax. “Well, guess it’s time we go now. That is the only way we have left.” Luna gave a humorless laugh in agreement, shaking her wings as she relaxed her stiff form.

“Indeed.” The monarch eyed the wall for a moment before a sudden realization hit her. With a small swallow, she turned to Riku again. “Would you please… prepare another… portal?”

The uneasy question earned an amused smile from the boy, which only flushed Luna’s coat with heated embarrassment. The words Riku spoke only made it far worse.

“Of course, m’lady.” He spoke with a low bow, arms appropriately bent to his sides. “It would be my honor to help a woman in need.”

“S-Silence…”

“Hmm…” Azula hummed as her hands ran across her lips, light delicate fingers tracing the bones beneath her porcelain skin. Her lips slowly curved upwards as her thoughts continued to spin.

“Nothing is ever as it appears to be.” She spoke lightly to herself, fingers drumming against the tip of her chin. “Burning stone, sealed stone, false stone, and now living stone. At least there’s a theme I can see.”

Azula straightened herself as her eyes slowly scanned the screens over the monolith of the floating castle, looking for another show to watch. It was boring, playing with the same toys all the time. Variety was the spice of life, and a little bit of misery within mystery sounded perfect to her.

Her sharp golden eyes settled on another screen, bearing the image of a canary colored horse and a man dressed in black. She was more than curious who those two would interact.

She was even more curious how they would deal with the beast she chose for them.

“Songbird, Songbird, see him fly,” her lips sweetly sang, one of her fingers dancing to the tune she made. “Drop the children from the sky. When the young ones misbehave, escorts children to their grave. Never back-talk, never lie, or he'll drop you from the sky.”

Azula’s smile was sharp enough to cut steel.

Untold Mysteries

“Being… watched?” Fluttershy whimpered the phrase, already curling to the ground as her mind began to process the idea. Unseen eyes staring at her, judging her, mocking her. It brought a cold shiver down her coat.

“It’s the most likely possibility.” Batman answered easily, closing the display on his forearm as he said so. “But it doesn’t change much. It would have been a safe assumption before that we were being monitored in same way. Now, we just have confirmation.”

“Then what… what do we do now?” The large eyes of the pegasus looked up at the darkly dressed man, waiting with bated breath for what he would say. However, instead of answering, he let his gaze turn to the large building sitting within the clay walls, dark and foreboding. Fluttershy followed his gaze, already hating the answer he didn’t speak “Oh, oh no. We don’t have to go in there, do we? I-It’s so dark a-a-and scary.”

“It’s the only place we can go.” He answered back calmly, gaze focused. “If we were going to be trapped or held captive, we wouldn’t have anywhere to go. Whoever is watching us wants us to go in.”

He took a step forward, moving towards the entrance. Fluttershy was quick to nip the end of his cape, holding onto it until it was taunt in her grip. It stopped his movements, letting him turn to look down at the timid pony.

“But that means it will be dangerous, right?” Her question may have been clear to his ears, but so too was the terror weaved into each syllable she made. Batman held his gaze with her eyes, nodding his head as he did so. The pegasus’s eyes grew wide the moment he finished the movement. “Can… Maybe I’ll just wait out here. Oh, yes, it’ll be much safer out here, and I can wait for you or one of my friends to come get me. That is, if you want to come back for me. I mean-”

Fluttershy let out a small gasp as she felt his hand place itself on her shoulder. It was hard and coarse, like the chest she had gripped before when they had first arrived here. She couldn’t feel any warmth coming from it, the sensation little different than if she had pushed herself against the clay wall they were so near. But with the gaze Batman was giving her, she felt confidence flooding into her.

“I am not going to leave you here alone.” He began to speak, voice deep and confident, like he was a prince speaking to her. “You’re scared, and I can understand that. But even if we’re in an extraordinary position, we can’t act as if everything will be okay without doing anything.” Fluttershy’s lip quivered as he spoke.

“But, my friends… I’m not strong enough for this. I just take care of animals. Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack… my friends are much better at this than I am.” She felt her the fingers of his hand hold her harder.

“And they aren’t here. I don’t know where they are.” The words didn’t bring the same level of calm confidence to Fluttershy as the ones he had spoken before. “But if we wait here forever, we’ll never find them.” His gaze flicked towards the still dark passageway before looking back at the pegasus. “There are going to be traps in there, dangers that we’re supposed to fall victim to, but we won’t. Do you know why?”

“N-No.” The word was spoken on shaking breath. “Why?”

“Because there is always a way out.” Batman stood to his tallest, cape draping over his form, hiding all of him except the cowl adorned over his head. Fluttershy had never seen a sight so terrifying and so brave at the same time. The nervous jitter still playing with her lip, she asked a single word question.

“Always?”

“Always.”

Fluttershy felt her lips pull upwards. He wasn’t bubbly or fun like Pinkie Pie, not nearly as energetic. But, this man, Batman, did a great job at making her smile.

“Oookay,” she answered simply, letting out a long breath of air as she spoke the word. She did her best to smile up at the man who appeared so worried about her. His lips did not even twitch.

“Good,” he spoke simply, eyes turning back to the dark structure. “We’re going to have to be careful.” In a smooth motion, he kneeled down before standing back up. It took Fluttershy a moment to realize he was holding the light stick in his hand again. It was outstretched towards her, the arm pushing through the cloak of his cape.

With a gentle blush, she stretched her neck outwards, grabbing the object with her teeth. It had the taste of dirt and plastic, but nothing the pony was unused to. Her eyes looked back up to him, watching as the glowing stick gently illuminated his dark form.

“Stay close to me and do as I say. I’ll do everything I can to make sure we both get out of here.” Fluttershy nodded in understanding, immediately huddling closer to towards him. She could feel the fabric of his cape conforming against her side, draping over her closed wing. It felt odd to her, not like the silk Rarity would use for her dresses, but also different than any bedsheets she had slept on. It felt stiffer, heavier. But in the end, it didn’t really matter.

Batman promised he would keep her safe, and she trusted that he would.

Without waiting for ceremony, he began to walk forward, slowly entering the dark structure within the cavern. Fluttershy followed close behind, making sure she was in constant contact with him. As the torches of the cavern outside began to disappear, and the walls of the structure started to surround them, the pegasus never let herself walk even a hoof out of place from Batman’s side.

The darkness of the halls were chased away by the small stick she carried, the soft glowing light illuminating the clay structure they began to venture into. She gave a quick glance upwards, looking at Batman’s eyes, focused forwards into the still thick shadows. She could tell, at least by how sure he stepped, he was confident in where he was going.

However ironic it may have been, intentional or not, he moved blindly with the same level of confidence a regular bat did in flight. Both seeing with something other than their eyes alone. Fluttershy smiled at the idea. A batman indeed.

Her eyes looked at the walls that they passed, slowly revealed from the light she was guiding. They didn’t have the markings like the ones outside. No art decorating them or even small marks of age. They all looked perfectly new, freshly set and undisturbed. It was almost more unnerving than walking in an old ruin.

A small breath left her as she noticed a wall rising in front of them, a dead end to the short hallway already. Her eyes looked left and right, seeing new paths as she did. They both looked the same to her, dark and endless even with the small light she carried.

Batman looked down them as well, eyes focusing as his head aimed sideways. The scanners and light within his cowl focused and magnified the images hidden by the shadows, softly showing faint outlines. The walls and ceiling were easy for his computer to distinguish, unseen waves bouncing and reflecting off their surfaces with ease.

At the end, however, his sonar was able to capture another shape, faintly different from a wall. Faintly in that it wasn’t a complete wall. The shape itself wasn’t too odd; flat and tall, stretching as wide as the walls and from the floor to ceiling top. What made it less of a wall and more of an obstacle, was the odd shape that was carved into it.

Even with his cowl on, eyes trained through the seemingly dark shadows, Batman could see the almost altar like shape placed in front of the wall. It was outlined over his eyes with small grids, denoting the sharp and well carved edges. It rose from the ground, slightly outwards from the wall itself, and rose to just over his height. The definite details about it he couldn’t see, but at the altar’s top was a shape large enough for his sonar to distinguish.

A hole.

A large empty hole was surrounded by small spikes, each protruding from the dark void as if fleeing from endless pit. Batman didn’t need a cautious mind to know how dangerous such an object could be. His eyes glanced down momentarily to see the pegasus at his still, form still leaning heavily against him. Alone, it would be a risk he could talk. With her, it wasn’t worth it.

“This way,” he spoke as he began to walk to his left, eyes already looking forward and tracing the hall. Already there was a wall at the end of the hall, but it wasn’t a dead end. Instead, it turned right and right alone. No other path to take, but no ominous devices either. Fluttershy followed by his side, not questioning his judgment for even a moment.

The further he walked, the more Batman thought of where they were. It was highly likely that the darkness was supposed to hide something from them. What exactly, he couldn’t say. It would be impossible for him to properly see paintings set directly on the walls, but the pegasus by his side, eyes shifting in every direction with every step her hoofs took, would doubtlessly see something. Combined with his sonar, heat, and tri-dimensional optical display, all kept protected and functioning within his cowl, it was highly unlikely they would miss anything.

He could see every object and passageway. Fluttershy could see every detail the walls could possibly have, if they decided to gain one. The only logical conclusion was that they were being led somewhere, indirectly forced to move in a certain direction. Like a push from a magician, it was supposed to give them the illusion of being in control.

Batman knew the moment he was thrown through reality, time, and space that control was the last thing he had. All he had now were his wits and tools. He would have to gain the upper hand against whatever it was they were facing before he could say they had control again.

He stopped moving. Fluttershy stopped just beside him.

“What is it?” She asked cautiously, voice barely above a whisper and muffled with the glow rod in her mouth. Batman didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he focused his eyes, looking forward into the shadows.

His scanner was having trouble focusing on an object. It moved randomly, unable to gain focus. It couldn’t map the surface and was having an even more difficult time giving him proper readings of its basic composition. Fortunately, he didn’t need to examine it to know what it was.

“Water,” he answered simply. “There’s water up ahead.”

“O-Oh,” the pegasus acknowledged, but didn’t say a word otherwise. One of Batman’s hands rose to lightly cover his exposed mouth, thinking of what the water could mean.

The depth of the water couldn’t be determined until he set foot in it, but he found it highly unlikely there would be pits of water in the hallway, not without a trap of some sort to accompany it. No, the far more likely option was to be a method of tracing movements.

A law he had proven and realized several times before was the impossibility of moving through water without making noise. While air was spread out enough to limit the vibrations of movement, water density was far too high to allow such movement. Any creature with even the dullest level of physical sensations would be able to feel them coming. That’s if the noise they produced didn’t grow high enough first. But that contradicted the already watching eye on them.

A small flip of his wrist to reveal his computer screen gave quick enough indication to show that the X-Ray levels were still present, permeating even into the deep the clay structure. There was no need for there to be a method of passively monitoring them if there was already an eye on their movements.

Unless…

“Stay close Fluttershy,” Batman gently ordered as he started to walk forward. He could feel the pony push further against his cloak and leg.

“Is… is there… something up ahead?” The words were laced with as much fear as Batman could expect from any life suddenly thrown into the dangerous and unknown.

“I don’t see anything yet.” He spoke honestly. “But water has traditionally been used as a cheap and effective method for detecting intruders or assassins. Unless we find a way to climb on the walls, then anything else in the water is going to be able to tell where we are.” He felt Fluttershy give a shiver against him, her leg hooking over his.

“That’s… that’s horrible.” She whimpered outwards. Batman was inclined to agree. However, he looked down just in time to see her face spark with an idea. The stick dropped from her mouth as she looked up to him.

“Could… could I fly over the water?” Her wings extended outwards to prove her point.

Silently, Batman gave them a once over. She doubtlessly had control over them, strong enough to lift herself from the ground. Their full span wasn’t great enough to match the width of the hall, limiting the likelihood of grazing against it. It would limit and reduce any the chance of her falling victims to any traps in the water, which was a beneficial.

But the sound of anything flying, short of gliding through air, would produce just as much sound as cautious steps through water. Worse, she wouldn’t be able to silence her wings without falling into the water, defeating the purpose of flying in the first place. Flying was just as risky as walking, except any traps in the water would doubtlessly be too fast for her.

There was a middle road. It just wasn’t one Batman was keen on taking.

“Hold on,” was all the indication Batman gave before he began to take action.

Fluttershy felt his hand wrap around her midsection, lightly lifting her off the ground. She gave a gasp of surprise, leg curling under her until they hugged against his covered arm. She was still as stone as she was lifted off the ground, eyes wide and terrified as she watched the floor leave her. It was only too fast that she matched Batman’s height.

Slowly, she felt herself begin to descend again, but the trip down was much faster than the trip up. Her underbelly felt the cool material of his cape, followed closely by the rough and hard edged clothing he wore beneath. For a moment, Fluttershy realized that armor would probably be a better way to describe the gear, tough and thick as it was.

A quiet eep left her lips as his hand slid out from under her, leaving her legs to cling to his shoulder instead. It wasn’t terribly comfortable to her, but his broad shoulders made it rather easy to keep her balance. Her head twisted, easily making eye contact with him. The same neutral expression across his features was all she saw.

“Less risk.” He spoke simply to her. Fluttershy nodded in return.

“Oh, okay.” Her voice weakly spoke, head curling downwards as she pulled her legs into her body. Her eyes fell on the small glowing stick on the ground.

In a moment slightly faster than she could follow, Batman knelt down again, grabbing the stick from the floor and lifting it to his shoulders. The pegasus looked at it for a moment, surprised at his kindness again. Gratefully though, her head reached out and grasped the stick between her teeth. She gave him a smile of thanks. Batman just nodded.

“Hold tight,” he spoke again as he began to walk forward. Fluttershy did just that, holding him like she would her pillow during a thunderstorm.

It only took a few steps forward before the pegasus began to feel uneasy about the method of travel. She was not unused to heights, or even moving at the pace that he was. It was just odd to her, holding onto something while it moved. She wasn’t used to riding on other animals. It felt wrong to her.

A moment later, she heard a splash, and her thoughts of discomfort were dashed. Just like Batman had told her, they walked right into a pool of water. She watched as the water rose to just beneath his knees, the cape around him floating over the dark reflective surface.

The light emanating from the glow stick revealed nothing about the water except for the surface itself. She could see herself looking down at the water, her reflection broken by the rippling water, her yellow feathers clear as day against Batman’s dark as night cape.

“Try to keep an eye out for anything I miss.” She nodded at his words, watching his lips move in the water as he spoke. Her eyes looked upwards as he continued to walk, seeing the water reflecting the light from the stick further down the dark hall. It brought a small amount of comfort to her, knowing that she was that much further away from the darkness.

Batman, however, was also unused to offering such support to others. Solitude was far preferred when he was alone on such work, or at least in the company of others who could easily handle themselves. This pony, a pegasus with the ability to speak, was unused to being in the dark, let alone being forced to venture into what was very likely a crypt.

It was to his benefit she was so light. Slightly larger than the size of his torso, but easily half the weight. It felt similar to his training before the years of reign began. Crawling through the dark, searching for answers he wouldn’t recognize, and saving lives he didn’t know rested on his shoulders. Only now, it was a bit more literal.

His eyes scanned the readings of his displays as he continued to let his mind work. The lack of any proper display of artwork thus far was clear it wasn’t meant to be entered often. If it were a mausoleum, or a tomb for the great, it would be decorated along every wall, ceiling, and floor. A fort or home, and just as much art would have been carved as reliefs in the least.

But in a crypt, an empty place for the unnamed dead, there needed to be nothing but a hole in the ground and walls surrounding the bodies. No art, no grace, nothing but simple words of passing. He already suspected the carved markings outside were just that, but telling the skittish pony such words would do nothing but create more fear and unease. That was something he couldn’t have. He needed focus, and focus needed a sound mind. Fears or emotions of unease would disrupt those completely.

He saw the paths diverge ahead, one splitting right again and the other continuing forward. Simple like before, and a little different, but he could see no other indication that it might be a trap. Batman stopped at the small spot between the three paths; the path forward, the path behind, and the path to his right.

It only took a glance to his right to know that it wasn’t a path he could take. He heard Fluttershy give a small whimper of fright on his shoulder. That was all the indication he needed to know that she had seen it as well.

It was another decorated altar.

“W-what.. i-i-is-”

“Nothing.” Batman spoke quickly in return, already moving forward through the water. He could tell the increase in his speed was causing more than simply waving in the water. The splashing of the water created much more sound, but it was of little consequence now.

“That was… That… o-o-oh dear.” Batman could feel the pegasus shivering against her, holding against him with a strength he didn’t think she had.

“Forget about it. It’s gone.” He told her, still walking a fast pace through the water. Small whimpers continued to come from Fluttershy, regardless of his words.

His pace began to slow, however; quickly so. They were already past the hallway with the dark altar. Moving fast now would be beneficial to no one.

“It’s alright.” He spoke again, slowing his pace until he came to a stand still. She was still shivering on him, soft subtle whimpers coming from her muzzle, pressed against her chest. She was far more sensitive than he had initially realized. Just the sight of something ominous made her curl like a startled foal.

This was going to be a difficult night.

His pace began again, slower than before. The sight of the altar had done much to his mindset, in both thoughts of the crypt’s design and assurance he had made the right decision in carrying the pony. She was a skittish thing, and seeing such a sight could have very likely sent her running from him, something they could not risk. Upon his shoulder, large as she was beside him, Fluttershy was not going anywhere.

But why was there another altar? Was one not enough? Would they find more the further they traveled down this water-logged hall? It wasn’t impossible, already having found two before, but without knowing their purpose, it was impossible to predict the likelihood of more or else the further they traveled.

This hall had to end at some point, and Batman’s mind began to theorize the likelihood of finding another altar. As far forward as his cowl could scan, he saw no other protrusion of metal and spikes, no sadistic template for what he could only assume was a sacrifice. But there was another turn ahead, not too far away either. And, much like the turn after fork they found at the start of the crypt, this turn only twisted right with no other path to take.

If they were headed off by another metal altar, Batman would have to think of a way to investigate the items without Fluttershy running off or causing too much noise. His own sound was reduced to a minimum even in the water, years of training showing their worth. It was beyond unlikely the yellow pegasus could produce the same effect.

The turn was upon him before he realized it, causing the dark knight to momentarily degrade himself for slipping into thought and forgoing reality. Regardless, he had to focus. He felt Fluttershy stiffen beside him, a clear sign that the light from the stick in her mouth had just illuminated the turn.

Batman approached it cautiously, body curling slightly in preparation for what could come. Coming to a still, he leaned outwards, letting his cowl mark and scan the new hall. It was the same as all the other, thankfully without an altar, but also without a visible end. He heard Fluttershy give a small squeak as he continued into the hall, followed closely behind with a sigh, probably of relief. He couldn’t blame her.

“Um, Mr. Batman?” The voice was lower than a whisper, a volume he could appreciate. He twisted his head to let his eyes meet the look from Fluttershy, staring at him with a curious gaze. “What… What do you think those… th-those things we-”

“Nothing.” He answered simply, cutting her off before she could finish. His gaze returned forwards, looking down the ever-growing hall for a sign of something different.

That was when Batman’s display began to change.

His hand rose to the side of his cowl, pushing the material closer to his head. Small heat sensors began to vibrate, shades of red and orange appearing over the familiar cold blue from before. His motion tracker began to lightly hum, directing his head forwards towards the same object his heat source was detecting. His body came to a stop as he realized what it meant.

There was something alive ahead of them.

“Wait.”

The sudden cold tone froze the pegasus. The same rough hand that had guided her to his shoulder was now over the top of her mane, holding her head still as her body became rigid as stone. Even the breath in her ceased to move.

Fluttershy’s eyes looked towards him, following Batman’s gaze as he looked forwards down the waterlogged hallways. The faint glow from the stick in her mouth didn’t shine far enough to give her gaze even the faintest of hopes of seeing what lay down the path.

But her sharp perked ears could.

A low groan, deep and rumbling, came from the darkness. It echoed off the walls, making the timid pony’s fur stand on its highest end. The air in her throat slowly began inhale, her eyes widening in slow matching terror. The muscles in her legs began to shake, fearful of the sound that was being made.

For a moment, it subsided, fading out of tone and leaving the pony and human again with only silence. But, Fluttershy didn’t relax, her body still creaming to turn mane and tail and run. The urge only became a demand once the noise began again, far loud and far deeper than before, shaking the pony from the tips of her hooves to the edges of her coat.

She leaned against Batman’s head desperately, clinging to him through his cloak and clothing with fearful need. He didn’t speak or make motion for her to let go. Instead, with the same level of care he had given her since they had met, he reached up and cupped her face, holding her gently against him. Fluttershy felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks as the noise only grew closer.

“W-Wha-” the hand holding her head quickly covered her mouth, silencing the words. Her wide blue eyes looked up to see his expression still focused forwards, staring at something she couldn’t see. She was glad for that. Not seeing it was probably the only thing keeping her from screaming.

In a quick silent motion, Batman’s hand slipped over the light of his glow-stick, covering the luminescent material and bathing the hall in darkness. He felt the pegasus curl against him nearly hard enough to crack his bones, but she wouldn’t, or at best, couldn’t.

The sound began to change. The deep low rumbling that shook the halls began to not only grow in volume, but was soon accompanied by another sound, one less ominous, but no less terrifying.

Deep and heavy booms echoed over the clay walls like thunder, dulled only slightly by the water-logged floor. To the man who had fought enemies thrice his size, he recognized the sounds for what they were.

Footsteps.

He pushed the side of his cowl closer, attempting to read the heat signatures that were being shown to him. All it did was tell him something was there, far in front of them, and approaching with a pace he couldn’t name. The vibrating walls and continues booms of noise made it too difficult to place the rate. He needed more.

His fingers slipped over the side of his hood, flicking through the multiple displays. He saw nothing on the magnetic scale, optical scale, x-ray penetration, or any other views he had designed for the purpose of finding and tracking evidence.

Nothing, at least, until he turned his display off all together.

Then the figure became more than clear.

BEGIN

A slow steady breath of air drew itself into Batman’s lungs. His muscles tightened as he stared down at the creature that continued to approach them. The lights from its display lit up the hall without effort, reflecting off the water that waved with its thundering steps. It moved with labor, swinging its arms with each step its legs took, one arm with one leg, and then the other, body twisting with each moment.

It was a hulking thing, framed in metal and doused in a thick material he couldn’t place from sight alone, dark as it was to boot. The helmet it bore, assumingly at least, reflected the same head plate as those of diving suits, but it was far out of proportioned. Batman, however, had his vision focused on one detail of the beast.

The monstrous drill attached to its arm.

It was thicker than Batman’s own torso, doubtlessly the same size as Fluttershy, and twisted with sharp edges from bottom to top, ending at a point that would doubtlessly rip through steel with ease. Aside from the swinging of the creature’s arm, the drill didn’t move, but Batman had no ideas or thoughts to see if it could spin.

The creature let out another high groan, shaking off the walls as its large metal boots splashed at the water and hammered the ground. It didn’t move any faster the closer it approached, but Batman had no intentions of waiting for it to pass near him.

He turned smoothly, already pushing at the water as he moved. He couldn’t run, not with his legs submerged. It would require too much force to lift and operate his legs with the weight of the water. Too much energy with too little movement. Instead, he was forced to drag his legs through the water, not changing the pressure on them, but not moving nearly as fast as he desired.

The growl Batman wished to make was washed away by the another deep groan from the beast behind him. The man didn’t entertain the thought of turning to see it. He lowered his arms, intending to use the momentum of their swing to retreat from the beast.

In doing so, he released Fluttershy’s mouth. The pegasus didn’t hesitate to scream.

“No!” The shout echoed off the walls with a near deafening force, forcing Batman to whip his head towards the terrified pegasus. He had a moment, and only a moment, to memorize the horrible fear wracked face the small pegasus had.

A moment later, he felt himself flying through the dark air, pain blooming from his back.

Batman hit the water with a splash, the pain racing through his form without patience. He ignored it, as he always did, too many other things far more important than his own well being. He twisted in the water, pushing himself to a low crouch with his cowl aimed backwards, hands already along his belt.

That was when he realized what was missing.

There wasn’t any weight on his shoulder.

His eyes widened as he saw Fluttershy lying in the water, head barely above the surface as she doubtlessly was on her side. Her pink mane was just visible under the light of the beast, wet and clinging to her neck with the water that now dripped from her. But, now it looked ten shades darker, as did everything else in the hall. The reason was just as obvious, and just the same, as the reason Batman and Fluttershy were now separated.

The monstrous creature stood just in front of Fluttershy, it’s lights no longer a neutral yellow, but glowing a dark and ominous red. Red was a color for many things, but in battle, it meant the same thing across every world and culture Batman had ever seen. Danger.

“Fluttershy!” Batman yelled, straightening himself out of the water, already in misprint towards the pegasus as did so. The light of the creature continued to bounce and shake off the walls, forcing his vision to come and go. He never lost sight of the pegasus though, curling in the water that reached past her neck, whimpering beneath the hulking creature that stood over her.

Batman ran faster towards her, arm already stretched outwards to swipe her from the stream. But, but fortune favoring his instincts again, he saw the light around him grow brighter. There was only one reason for that.

His legs pushed against the ground beneath the water, giving him the force he needed to jump backwards. The drill of the beast spun into the spot where he just stood, swirling the water like a beater, but tearing up the clay beneath it like putty. Deadly, indeed.

The red eyes continued to stare at him, Fluttershy now behind the beast, the monster between Batman and the pegasus. To the dark knight, it was the ultimate worst case scenario. But even the worst cases had ways out.

With a deft flick of his wrist, he threw a batarang at the monster, aiming for one of the lights on its hood. The metal object made connection with a small chink. It made as much impact on the beast as water did on glass.

Another thunderous cry came from the monster, and it began to run towards Batman, boots pounding forwards, unhindered by the weight of the water. It leaned down quickly, rising just as fast with its arm stretching outwards, aiming to slam its foe against the wall.

Batman gave a low crouch and small stride to the side, avoiding the massive arm as he did so. He heard the creature make contact with the wall, watching as shards of clay fell from it under the dark red light of the monster. It was difficult to see with the sporadic illumination, but Batman’s disadvantage was not shared alone. At least he was not glowing.

He squeezed his hand into a tight fist, activating the force conductors in his gloves. He swung his arm forward, aiming again for one of the lights of the beast. This time, when it made contact, Batman was rewarded with the sound of cracking glass, followed by the creature taking a step backwards.

It righted itself far too quickly. Its drill began to spin again, pointing towards the dark cloaked man with clear intent. Crouching, Batman readied himself.

END

“Stop!”

The call came from Fluttershy, Batman didn’t need to entertain any fantasies to know that. The desperation, the pleading, the helplessness. He had heard the same hopeless command a thousand times before, and he doubtlessly would a thousand times still. It never did any good though. Criminals didn’t care for what their victims thought, and monsters didn’t listen to their prey.

Imagine Batman’s surprise when the monster did as the pegasus commanded.

Without wasting a moment, or even offering caution towards Batman, the metal monster turned around, facing the pegasus as it stood as tall as it could, no longer lumbering under its own weight. The lights of its helm brightened, now the same neutral yellow as when Batman had first seen it.

His hand tightened on a Batarang, ready to throw it at the creature, but he hesitated. There were too many variables to consider throwing it. Not to mention the fact that Fluttershy had successfully given it an order.

Batman hated it, but he couldn’t solve this quickly. Instead, he slowly approached the monster from behind, keeping his cloak close and movements minimum. As long as the creature didn’t mind him, it wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“P-Please… stop…” the same whimpering tone came from Fluttershy again, muffled over the water. Batman still heard it clear as day. But so did the creature between them. He could tell, because it made an action that forced the dark knight to stop his slow approach.

It bent into the water, and came as close as it could to matching the pegasus’s height. Fluttershy looked up at it, wide eyes full of wonder and shock. Batman watched on with just as much surprise, but tempered with caution. Hand still clung to the tools in his belt, ready to act if need be.

Shaking, Fluttershy stood in the water, raising herself to her tallest height, the pool rippling just beneath her chest. Her mane fell from her like drapes, hiding her fur and giving her a look of desperation Batman had seen too many times on the streets of Gotham. This was the one of the first times he had seen the look work.

“Please… Don’t… Don’t attack us…” The words carried as much strength as a child’s wish. Batman was watching the wish be granted.

The metallic beast stretched its arm outwards, free of any drill or malicious intent. Fluttershy gave a small gasp of shock as it drifted into her vision, but quickly calmed as it sat in front of her, still in the air, and only occasionally making contact with the ripples of the water.

The air was still for a moment, the action clear and unreasonable, but present all the same. Batman heard Fluttershy take in a breath of swallowing slowly on what he hoped to be her nervousness. Then, carefully, delicately, she raised a hoof from the water, the liquid rushing back into the vacuum of space she had left. Her fur dripped from the ends of her hooves as it hung in the air, just a little bit beyond the creature’s own outstretched limb.

With another tentative move, she let her hand fall on the large hand. A slow groan came from the creature, more… kind than those that had come before. It was hard for either of them to place. Batman kept his hand tight on the tools at his side. Fluttershy, however, was finding the tension and unease in her body slowly leaving, a smile washing over her lips.

“Thank you.” She spoke again, louder than anything so far, screams aside.

Batman watched on, hiding his amazement, as the creature’s lights softened into a peaceful and inviting green. Another low groan came from the monster, its hand pushing forwards as it did so. Fluttershy’s eyes blinked in mild surprise, her free hoof lifting to push away wet strands of her mane from her vision. Looking back up into the light of the creature’s helm, she placed her other hoof on its large hand, offering a small smile as she did so.

Fluttershy gave a small eep of fright as she felt its hand rise, lightly guiding her to stand on her rear hooves. Before she could easily adjust to her new posture, the creature’s hand slid lower, forcing the pony forward.

The pegasus landed on the creature’s hand with wet slap, her fur releasing the water it had absorbed on impact. Her wide and confused eyes blinked upwards, staring at the creature. She adjusted herself as best she could on its appendage, curling to make sure her entire form could fit on it.

Another gasp left her as she was lifted into the air. Its hand rose to its shoulder, beside the mesh and lights of his helm, onto its broad and large shoulder. Fluttershy slipped from his palm as it turned perpendicular to the ground, sliding her onto the thick material.

She blinked twice, sitting on her haunches as she looked behind the beast. Batman stared back at her without emotion. His mind was swimming with the possibilities of what he could do, should do, and wouldn’t do.

Her head quickly began to spin as the creature moved, heavy boots lifting and turning in the water. As far as Batman could tell, it did so with little to no effort. It continued to adjust itself until it faced Batman once again, but this time, without any clear sign it wished to harm him.

Fluttershy readjusted herself on its shoulder hoof pressing against the metal grate that was its helm until she was facing forward as well. Then, as slowly as all her movements thus far, she slid herself until her rear hooves hung over the creature’s back, allowing her to have a great sense of security on it.

She stared at Batman with a gaze that lingered in confusion, but was also laced with small joy.

“He’s… He’s actually very nice.” Fluttershy spoke easily, giving a small smile as she did so. Her compatriot simply stared on.

“Wow.”

Batman spoke simply, staring at the two with a sense of disbelief. It was a good thing he only trusted his eyes, because if he had heard of the encounter, he never would have considered it possible. But here it was, Fluttershy sitting on the shoulder of the creature, as she had done to him prior. The creature staring at him, assumingly, with its green gaze lighting the hall as it reflected off the water. One of its lenses was still cracked from the blow Batman had given it.

“Translation Complete”

His eyes fell to his wrist, popping open the small compartment to watch the display on his wrist. The small lights along the screen rearranged themselves quickly, organizing the runes he had scanned before.

Slowly, he watched English characters appear beneath the chiseled markings, letters forming before words, and then finally sentences. When a small beep echoed from his wrist, he knew the lines were completely translated. He read over the translated message quickly before deducing he should have scanned more of the marking, preferably all of them.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked him from the shoulder of the massive thing. Batman’s eyes looked at her, watching the interaction between her and the soft glowing yellow bulbs of the monster she sat on. No matter how long he stared, he couldn’t think of a reason why it was so easy for her to earn its trust. But without a reason to research, there wasn’t a question to ask.

“The markings are translated, but the meaning is still useless.” The words he spoke earned a twisted head from the mare.

“How can the words be useless? Twilight always told us that words were knowledge.” Batman’s eyes had since returned to the screen, reading it over again as he mind began to search for any possible connections. He couldn’t think of any.

“They make sense, but what they mean doesn’t. At least not yet.” His hand snapped the display closed again, shutting off one more source of light in the already dark hall. It was left to be illuminated by the glowing helm of the monster that Fluttershy sat on. Batman still couldn’t believe it was threatening them.

“Oh, so it’s a riddle then.” The deduction of the pegasus was impressive, but nothing he hadn’t already concluded.

“Highly likely, but without an idea of what its referencing, it doesn’t mean anything yet. We’ll just have to keep going and see where this leads.” Without waiting for a response, he turned, walking down the path the monster had come from. He took all but three steps before the pounding of metal boots echoed behind him, followed by the walls shaking with the creature’s presence.

Already, Batman was aware that stealth for him was nearly out of the realm of possible should the creature continue to follow them. If it was, by some minute chance, something to be trusted, then its massive body and thunderous sounds it was producing would warn any enemy nearby. If it was playing the part of a spy, then it would already know what to look for.

He had to limit himself, in his actions and words. The less the creature knew, the better chance he and the pegasus would have.

“What did the words say?” Flutteshy asked above the pounding of boots. “Maybe I know what they mean.”

“Doubtful,” Batman responded simply, eyes still tracing the walls for any alternate route to the straight path they were walking. “You couldn’t understand the glyphics, so it’s unlikely you know what they were referencing.”

“But I… I can try.” Batman shook his head, doubting Fluttershy could see him.

“It’s nothing to worry about.” He responded. “Even if you knew what they meant, it probably wouldn’t serve any purpose until we reach a spot that requires a riddle or understanding of a hidden meaning.”

Silence followed his words, aside from the larger creature’s continued pass. It left time for Batman to think, wondering about the words. His hand reached out and traced the wall beside him, feeling the condensation of water over the clay walls, a clear sign that water was present, and in a significant amount as well.

He couldn’t place any location that would need such a phrase, not one that was without another hidden wall of messages or dials to turn. By themselves, the words were useless. And they would stay that way until he found a purpose for them.

Batman just had to think of when the phrase would ever be worth saying.

‘Would You Kindly.’

“Kindly this, kindly that, what the hell kind of secret it is ‘would you kindly’?” Handsome Jack popped another handful of popcorn into his mouth as he watched the dark suited man walk, his screen adjusting to get the best view of him and the monster behind him. He lips kept sneering at the thing.

“God, it would have been so much better if that drill had just done one of them in.” He let out a chuckle at the thought. Twisting in his chair, he looked towards the body of his daughter, still wired into her chair with vacant eyes. “Can you imagine that Angel? I mean, think about it. He’d be like ‘Gaaaaahh!’ and screaming and stuff, and then that pony would be like ‘oh no, oh no, oh no,’ whimpering in the corner. It’d be hilarious!”

“Of course, father” Angel replied in a monotone voice, auto-tuned with the electricity lacing her body. “It would be enjoyable to see others being slowly killed.”

“See!” Jack shouted with joy. His hand pointed towards her, remote in hand. “Now you’re getting it! That’s why it’s so great being the hero!”

“I do not follow what you said.” That earned a double-take from the masked man.

“Don’t what now?” Jack asked with a raised brow. “You don’t get why it’s funny? But you were so close!”

“I do not understand how torture equates to being a hero. Please explain.” The grin across Jack’s face was constrained only by the mask he wore.

“Oh, I’m so glad you asked!” Twisting his chair until he faced his daughter, Jack leaned forward, putting one hand on his knee and the other in the air. “Do you remember Aegis Seven? A couple dozen light years away from Pandora. You know, that borderline paradise planet with all the little geniuses and stuff.”

“I do father.” Jack’s head nodded up and down at the affirmation.

“Good! Then you must remember how they loved me there!” His hands spread to his sides as he leaned back. The popcorn bowl in his lap fell to the ground, hitting the metal with resounding dull thuds. Neither of them paid it any mind. “They loved hearing about how I liberated planets, established an entire new weapon line for Hyperion, and how I did it all with just my dreams, ambitions, and a few billion dollars worth of weaponry. They didn’t care about how the bandits died, just that they were dead!”

His arms fell, his hands slapping against his inner thighs. A dreamy sigh left his lips. Angel listened on with the same amount of apathy as before.

“Being the hero is so great. Ya get respect every time you walk out the door, more rewards and honors than you can count, even at base 100, not to mention the people willing to bow down and work for you with just a drop of an offer. Oh god, it’s so great!” His eyes fell forwards, looking at his daughter, still hard-wired into the computer they existed in.

“Not for you though, Angel,” he spoke darkly. “You helped those bandits.” Jack stood from his chair, walking towards his near comatose daughter without an ounce of sympathy in his movements. He stopped only when he stood just above her, leaning over so one hand held the armrest of her chair, the other ghosting over her empty gaze.

“You ruined what took me years to develop, all for some worthless sympathy towards those barbaric bandits.” The hand above her gently fell, cupping her face with a father’s gentleness, but behind it was a monster’s strength. “But I forgive you, because I love you. You were tricked, that’s all. I didn’t spend enough time with you. That’s my mistake. We both screwed up, Angel. Both of us.”

“I am sorry, father.” Jack smiled at his daughter.

“But don’t worry, we’ve got a second chance now. All we have to do is make sure we play our cards right and wipe out all these filthy bandits and prehistoric natives. Then… then we can be the heroes again.” He rose away from her, turning back to the monitors that lined the walls of the room. The remote lifted in his hand, pressing the command to switch the displays. It landed on a pair he hadn’t seen before.

Unlike the previous group he had ghosted past, all of them still as stone by Discord’s will, Jack stayed on this pair.

They were moving, but they were trapped.

“Well, this just got a little more interesting.” Taking the few steps necessary, turning at the end of his brief walk, he fell into his chair, spinning it until he had the perfect view of the televisions again. Heterochromatic eyes focused on the pair, he leaned down, gripping the bowl on the ground as he did so.

“Oh, and Angel,” He spoke with the air of a command, waving the bowl as he did so. “Would yo kindly get me some more popcorn, would ya? I wanna keep an eye on the knight and his pretty pony princess.”

“Of course, father.”

Celestia was a monarch that prided herself in being prepared. For almost any action taken against her, she had a course or plan to retake what was stolen from her, or repair what was damaged. It held true for almost any assault on her kingdom, from minor to grand.

So she cursed herself for still falling for Discord’s own twisted plans once more.

Her prison was nothing like what she expected, which meant it matched the mad draconequss’s art perfectly. Crystal harder than any stone, enchanted to repel her magic, yet still allowing her to see beyond the walls.

There was nothing she could do for now but watch the monolith of an island floating in the sky, hovering over her kingdom like the great ominous object it was. She could see her little ponies, cowering and crying in confusion, wondering what was happening. Her hall still in ruin, her trusted court scrambling for action. And all the while, the most precious ponies to her long and endless life were stuck inside the structure, fighting for what very well was their lives.

She snorted harshly to her side, the only action she could do to control her rage. The turn of her head brought her vision to land on her fellow captured life, a knight from another land that had fought for her like a servant to her crown.

Link sat in one of the corners of their prison, one leg stretched outwards on the ground as the other was brought upwards, arm resting on it’s knee. His head was lolled backwards, resting on the pink crystal with a look Celestia couldn’t place. It was caught somewhere between empty, perhaps in the knowledge he had only just recently learned, and contemplative, no doubt from planning his next move. At least, the monarch hoped for the latter.

Celestia, however, could not plan unless she knew what she was planning for. She needed to know what he did, and there was no better way to learn than to ask.

“Link,” she spoke evenly, earning his immediate attention. “What can you tell me of this… Ganondorf?” The look across his face hardened, brows creasing downwards as his jaw visibly tightened. But, she already knew their relationship was one born of hate.

His free hand rose to rub at the bridge of his nose, no doubt to calm his likely angered thoughts. His breathing softened the longer the action progressed, either as a force of his muscles or a result of his action. Still, regardless of what he did to calm himself, Link had yet to tell the Monarch of what she needed to know.

“Link,” she spoke again, turning to face him completely. “That man is likely responsible for all of the trials I see my ponies enduring on those… moving pictures. He is as much my enemy as he is yours.” The shake of the green clothed Hylian’s head made the princess stop with a start.

Before she could speak again, Link made for motions of his arm. He pointed to the ground, aiming towards some targets she couldn’t see. It cut the air back and forth parallel to the ground they stood on. It made a jagged and vicious cut across his throat with his oddly jointed finger. Then his hand gave a rough stab towards Celestia herself.

The movements were only too obvious to the monarch.

“He has done harm to you, in a way that only time may allow the wound to heal.” Link scoffed at the remark. Celestia knew not what words she spoke to earn such a gesture. She continued regardless. “But my ponies, my charges, are being tortured by both my enemy and yours. Now is not the time to be idle and patient. Now is the time for action.”

Link once again shook his head. This time, however, when he raised his arms, they appeared, weaker. Not thinner or more gaunt, but moving as if there was little energy in them. It was Link gave them commands, but they performed the actions in a sluggish state.

His hand pointed down again, finger tapping on the clear crystal floor he sat on before rising to his throat again. He gave a small flick of his wrist over the small support for his head before letting his hand fall again. This time, it cupped his chest, over the most important muscle in his body. As before, Celestia understood. She understood all too well.

“I know, Link. I believe my words when I say that I can sympathize and do such as well.” The warrior’s features softened, but did not settle. “Though I have lost no pony yet this day or last, I have lost ponies in the past. My own sister, the one you have met only briefly, was taken from me for a thousand years. It felt no different than losing her the same way you have lost your own significant other.”

Link’s hand fell, his features matching the action. For a moment, just long enough for the monarch to memorize, his features twisted into the expression of agony. Eyes clenching, lips tightening, and head rolling forwards. He wanted to mourn, he wanted to cry, but he would not allow himself the release.

Celestia understood that pain as well. It was a pain that every immortal soul would be forced to endure.

Now, however, she could do something to help.

It took fewer than a moment’s worth of trots to approach the knight, standing tall above him. Before he could give her presence his notice, she settled by his side, legs curling beneath her. Celestia watched Link’s blue eyes look at her, still tightened with pain, but now cross in confusion. His mouth opened, perhaps simply to breath, but Celestia wasn’t wasting time. There was no time to waste.

Her wing extended outwards, wrapping over the knight before he could react. She felt his body tense beneath her feathery appendage before it fell against her side, hands pushing on her to support himself. It felt awkward, a position their bodies clearly weren’t designed to allow, but still the monarch didn’t move. Instead, she spoke a command she knew Link’s sharp ears would hear.

“Mourn.”

She gently commanded, wing tight against him. Her wing extended under what she presumed to be him trying to leave her grasp. A single flexion of her muscles pulled him back in.

“No others can see, and no pony will judge. Mourn.”

There was a moment of silence between them, no air being moved and no limbs making motion. But then, as sure as her sun’s rising, Link’s breaths became clearer to her ears, rising in volume as he began to suck in and release his breaths in heaves. His fingers clenched at her fur, pulling at her alabaster fibers.

Then, finally, like the last plucked string of a grand symphony, she felt his tears begin to stain her coat. Soft whimpers soon followed.

Celestia was silent as Link mourned the loss of his princess.

As far Chrona was concerned, the hall of the stairwell changed little the further they walked. The air felt the same the higher they went, the carpet the same color, the walls the same stone, and the company the same people. Well, person and pony.

His arms continued to hold the small unicorn in his grasp, content and oddly happy to know there was another life aside from one other that trust him to perform such an action. It was endearing, and heart-warming, to his used and betrayed body.

“Hey,” Sweetie Belle lightly spoke, earning the attention of the boy carrying her. He looked down at her with a curious expression, waiting for her to continue. “What do you think is at the top of the tower?”

For a small amount of time, Chrona said nothing in return, eyes looking upwards blankly as his feet continued to follow the blue haired woman in front of them. Sweetie twisted her head to look at Maya briefly, noticing how her golden eyes flashed backwards at them as well, maybe to just make sure they were still there.

“I’m not sure.” The pink-haired boy admitted, almost depressingly. “I don’t think it’s the way out… but… but we might find someone who does know the way. Or who is at least trapped, too. Maybe we’ll find nothing.”

“It’s highly unlikely we’ll find nothing.” Maya spoke this time, head still trained forward as she continued to walk, leaving Chrona and Sweetie to stare at her back. “Every fool who has ever built a spire leaves his grandest treasure or the greatest throne atop of it. It’s a clique act that no man has ever diverted from.”

“You sound awfully sure of yourself.” Sweetie Belle noted, almost accusingly. The dry laughter from the siren killed any suspicion, however.

“I’ve read a lot of books and been around too many castles myself.” She admitted easily. “Plus, I can tell you that this place was built for something, or someone, of great importance. Rather than, say, for defending any group of people.”

“What makes you say that?” Chrona asked next, letting the words slip before Sweetie could voice them herself. Instead of answering immediately, Maya stopped, causing Chrona to cease walking as well.

BEGIN

The woman’s head turned to look at the wall just beside them, holding a frame of ornate glass. It was something they had all seen before, though in different locations at different times. The size of the window wasn’t anything surprising or magnificent either. It was just a little over Maya’s height, and only a third as wide as it was tall.

The majority of the stained glass was a sickly dark red, letting the light shining through it match the carpet they walked across. Aside from that, an odd pattern of black was placed in the center of the image. It was a symbol none of them recognized. But they could tell, by its size alone, it was nothing that was to be ignored.

“I have no idea what that means.” Maya admitted after a moment of silence. “But if this tower was meant for anyone belonging to some high class to venture through, that glass would be clear as air and easy to see through. Instead, it’s painted and stained to be one way, and with a sign you’re supposed to never miss.”

Her hand waved forwards, motioning along the wall at all the other windows that continued upwards, curling with the stairs. Their numbers were like the steps, seemingly never ending. It was only now Chrona realized the lack of light that came from them. Whether that be from darkness outside or some other event, he couldn’t be sure.

“So… are we going to find someone at the top then?” Chrona’s question was met with silence, broken only by the soft thuds of their feet connecting with the carpet the higher they walked. The silence continued without any sign that it would end.

That was, until Maya stopped ahead of Chrona and Sweetie Belle.

“We’ll soon find out.” Her words earned a curious feeling from the pink haired boy and alabaster filly, but their curiosity was quickly satiated.

In front of the blue haired woman, standing in a grand stature that befitted the large and near endless staircase, was a door. Rooted with gold and black designs, painted a deep blood red across the open wood, and bearing the same intimidating symbol as the windows from before.

Chrona swallowed on a ball of saliva. He heard Sweetie Belle do the same.

“Stay close,” Maya commanded the two, giving them a brief look backwards as she did so. “We have no idea what we are going to find. But until we do, we are only going to assume the worst.” Neither the pony nor boy spoke against her.

With what was clearly well trained strength, Maya put her hand over the large wooden doors, giving them a heavy push forward. They groaned as they opened inwards, fighting the force the woman gave, but in the end, that bowed to her might.

A gust of wind rushed past the trio, earning a squeak of fright from the pony cowering in Chrona’s arms. The boy covered her further, leaning over to shield her. Maya shut her eyes only briefly, enduring the chill the wind brought. She was used to it, from the winters of her old home.

When she opened her eyes and gazed inside, she saw what she both did and didn’t expect.

It was a grand room. Colored, detailed, and designed with all the grace and perfectionism befitting of a high king. The ceiling stood high above them, and the walls from their entrance even further away. They were decorated with pictures and memorials the woman couldn’t recognize, and doubted her two companions could either. But she could at least recognize the time they must have taken to make, and the skill they needed to be brought to reality.

The same mark from the windows and the door also laid across the walls, painted, carved, or set. There were reliefs of figures bowing before the crossed symbol, submissive to it as it hung high in the air. Then there were others who were holding it close, eagerly guarding it from other foreign figures approaching. Nearly every scenario Maya could name, she could see a relief, statue, or painting of it.

This room was made to hold that mark holy. But, there was no gold, no grand prize, and no throne as far as her eyes could see. There was nothing up her that she could see was worth putting in such a high tower.

However, far ahead of Maya, Chrona, and Sweetie Belle, on the far side of the room, there was something far different than the rest of the walls. Different, not by what it had, but by what it lacked. There were no stones, no art, and no displays of great beauty. Instead, there was nothing, nothing but a few carefully constructed supports for the ceiling that hung above them.

The open section, however, showed them only what they windows in the stairwell did. An empty blackness, a canvas with no stars, moon, or any lights to brighten the sky, and it was the sky, or so Maya would swear it was. It was clear it was the sky by the clouds that slowly drifted past the opening, but nothing else.

There was nothing, except for the figure standing in front of the open section of wall.

Maya tensed the moment her golden eyes fell on it, too far away for her to give any kind of judgment of the figure, but clear enough to recognize it wasn’t any work of art. She heard Sweetie Belle gasp behind her, and Chrona doubtlessly doing the same. It didn’t matter, their presence was already known the moment the door opened.

Carefully, she began to walk forward, being wary of where she stepped. She traveled slowly, carefully, at a pace that would take minutes to reach the thing at the far end of the room. The duo behind her soon followed.

WHAM!

No more than a few steps in did the doors slam shut behind them.

Maya whirled on a heel to see the grand doors firmly locked in place. Her eyes were first met with the shocked and terrified expressions of Sweetie and Chrona, looking forward, as the sudden sound had given them a start. She was sure she had a similar expression on her features.

The door was, indeed, locked in place. The same mighty symbol as they had seen before looked down at her as she looked up at it. The difference now was what the door was made of. The outside was hard wood with metal trimmings. This was nothing but painted metal. No grips to hold onto and surface to generate tension.

There was no method Maya knew of to open the doors. She swallowed on the pool of saliva that had collected in her mouth. This was bad.

“It’s a wonderful sight.”

The voice shook Maya’s concentration, sending a chill through her body. She didn’t need ears or eyes to know that her companions were doubtlessly shivering with fear. The figure, however, didn’t turn to see them. It kept its gaze and body turned from them, looking out the window at a sight the three couldn’t see. The woman was starting to doubt she wanted to see it at all.

“Looking down on the world from a place higher than they could ever hope to reach.” He spoke as in the companion of old company. Fear kept Maya’s friends from speaking, intuition told her to remain silent. “I traveled the world once looking for a place I could call my home, once I had left the tortures of my own. When I did, I saw more evil and spite than I had ever witnessed before.”

Maya flexed and extended her fingers, wishing not for the first time she had a gun on hand. As she did not, she chose to slowly approach the man, sure that if he had a weapon on him, the closer she was, the better.

“I saw rulers and those with powers demeaning and harming others, for the sake of their own gain. It didn’t matter to those with strength who was crushed beneath them, only that they still stood tall at the end.” The figure’s arms spread, and Maya stilled as they did. They bore no weapons.

“It took me years, but once, I was so, so very close, to finally being above them, close to being able to damn the same people who so willingly damned others they didn’t now. But in a single decisive instant, it was taken from me.” His arms fell back to his sides, briefly hanging from his shoulders, before folding behind his back, gripping one another as he continued to stare out and down the window.

“But now, after I had failed, I now find myself in a tower of my own, bearing my symbol, and showing those who exist far beneath the power I have.”

The figure then turned to race them.

END

“Welcome,” the man spoke. “Welcome to my tower.”

Bounties and Rewards

Ganondorf was a careful man

There was never a move he made without considering the consequences, playing the fields of war and minds of his enemies as he would a game of chess. Every move had a consequence, a risk, a small opening that could be exploited. There was never such thing as a riskless move.

However, for every move he was not punished for, he always came a step closer to his goal. It was always a noticeable step, often a leap, never a margin to be ignored. He gained much power from such a path, and lost nothing he could not reclaim. Even his life was a item to be obtained again.

In a dark room of Canterlot Castle, he worked across a grand table, spanning the length of the room, and more than matching his already monstrous figure. Papers and scrolls were laid across it, scrawled with markings in more tongues than there were years in a pony’s life. His eyes looked over each one, switching from one parchment to the next in a pattern and wave only he knew.

All the while his eyes moved, so too did his lips, chanting in a whisper a tongue no other being in Equestria could understand, filled with a power only one other being could comprehend. His breaths were taken in hisses, never a moment spared left to waste. His eyes, lips, and mind worked with a speed that would leave most in pain, but to him brought only pleasure. His body, however, was still as stone.

Ganondorf’s hands were placed upon wooden table, heavy and armored palms flat against its surface. His fingers were flexed hard against the surface of the wood, nearly crushing it beneath his monstrous strength. But he held himself back, protecting the fragile furniture. He had to, afterall.

It was channeling the power he was forcing into it.

Not all of his power, not even enough to be generously called a fraction. But it was his power, and it was immeasurable in strength. It flowed in dark green wisps, ghosting over etches in the table, intricate in detail and design. Every mark across the wooden surface served an important purpose, and every ounce of energy that flowed through him was needed.

But all it did was channel his strength, holding his power like a river held water. It all flowed somewhere else, to an object that could house his strength, and hold his might. Across from the Evil King, embedded in the table across from him, stood that object in all of its dark and ominous glory. For every moment that passed, and word whispered, the grand object became ever darker.

With a sudden gasp, Ganondorf stopped.

The magic died away as he let his lips take in gulps of air, tired from the ordeal. His muscles burned despite their static nature,his lungs burned in spite of his quiet whispering and his mind pounded like the gorons were upon him.  But it did not matter, not in a great measure. This was a part of his plan, a great and terrible maze of turns he had orchestrated from the moment when he would ac, for when his prize was his to grasp. Without fail, and without consequence.

His head turned away from his work, letting his mind relax and body calm. Limits were meant to be pushed, but not without a clear gain. Here, he had time, he had patience, and he had no need to put himself in a position of absolute vulnerability.

Ganondorf looked into the shadows of a far corner, scowling at it as if he had seen a mouse scurry by. He raised his hand, waving it in front of him in a dismissive gesture. Sickly green smoke poured from his hand, collecting and pillowing in the air like a cloud.

His copper red eyes stared at the green smoke as it began to swirl, folding on top of itself with an increasing speed. Quickly, it began to expand, forming a ring in the air. Around was the room Ganondorf stood. Within it… was a vision of something else entirely.

The Evil King stared into the image, his scowl deepening as the pictures continued to move. The figure he glared at could pay him no mind, offered him no attention, and was completely unaware of his existence. It was the perfect way to observe a potential enemy.

Ganondorf was unconvinced the fool he was watching was anything close to a threat.

“He prances like a babe in her youth.” Her deep voice rumbled, scowl deepening as he watched the figure through his glass of smoke. “And he is the first of the champions for the Princess of Flames?” Ganondorf’s hair waved as he shook his head, disgraced with the thought alone.

“I make for the mad god a temple grander than any Hyrule has ever seen, one the gods would have given a mortal immortality to have dedicated in their name. Then she uses jesters to play the part of executioners.”

Ganondorf leaned back from his table of work, eyes looking upon the object of his work.

It was bathed in his power now, glowing darkly as it hummed. By sights alone, it was his greatest work, and near literally, the key to his plans. Beautiful in craft, in art, in metal, and most importantly, in strength.

His dark copper eyes looked again to the portal of mist, looking at man he knew only as a jester. His lips curled in a snarl before his hand roughly waved away the image, letting it drift into nothingness once more.

“It will not matter,” he spoke clearly, to himself, lips pulling into a high grin. “You have your plans princess, and I have mine.”

Ganondorf crossed his arms staring at his work with satisfaction.

“And no matter how long it takes. I always win.”

His laughter rang through the empty room.

“Left and right. Right and left.” Karl spoke to himself as he waited in the fiery hall he had entered. He would take a step, then another, then spin on the foot he came to rest on. Facing the other direction, he took his two extra steps and performed another solo pirouette. His arms swung at his sides, moving in a motion that matched the cheery smile on his face.

His eyes, no matter how he spun, almost never left the wall he had entered from. A lot of time had passed, too much for him.

Karl was not to be easily fooled, or one to be caught unprepared. The long absence of the pony and boy was a clear sign of planning without his presence. His very appearance was an oddity, and his continuing role with them a concern for the pair. They would either be planning a cautionary defense or a surprise attack. Both ideas brought grins to the living statue’s face.

“Deary me Arma,” Karl spoke to the black bird perched patiently on his shoulder. “Those two certainly are taking their time. What do you think could be keeping them?” His eyes watched with an amused grin as the raven’s head twitched left and right, red eyes following the gaze of its master.

Karl laughed.

“Ha ha! Yes, that is possible, but I doubt they will be so easily killed like that.” His footsteps ceased, head twisting until only his shoulders held it. His arms hung at his sides, smile unflinching or wavering. “Magic swords and magic horns, it makes sense why I feel so alive here, hm?”

“There is another reason for that.”

Karl’s body was still as stone. The voice came from behind him, and spoke without an air of fear, curiosity, or fatigue. If anything, it sounded pleased, maybe even a bit amused. Feminine, to be sure, but not a pitch or tone he was familiar with. His smile grew deep as his eyes narrowed, still staring at the fake rock wall.

“Are you not going to greet me?” The voice spoke again, speaking highly of itself in tone and words. “And here I thought you were the only respectable piece of rock I’d ever find. Or are you supposed to be walked on like every other pebble?” The deep smile across Karl’s lips twisted into a menacing grin.

His body twisted around, leaning on one foot as he looked down the hallway behind him. It was the same as when he had jumped through the fake wall. A fiery red, flames licking between the stones, and curved ahead just enough that it would make the perfect ambush for an unassuming traveler. It was his luck that the only two companions he had met were anything but unprepared.

There was something new however. A woman. Donned in light clothing, black hair twisted into a ponytail with a golden ornament keeping it locked in place. Her robes matched the décor of the hall they were in. It was a dark and burning red, trimmed with gold linings that Karl was sure would shine no less brilliant than the sun, given there was more light than the flames to fall upon them.

But the woman herself was far harder to read. She held a neutral smile, staring at Karl with her arms crossed behind her back. Her legs were placed one in front of the other, as if preparing to deliver a vicious kick, or make a deft flip. Her eyes were as hard and sharp as the bit of cloth she wore, golden like the edges of the flames around them.

“Hm hm,” Karl laughed with closed lips. “You’re quite the looker and the talker, a lip as sharp as your armor.”

“I can take that as a compliment,” the woman passively noted. She drew an arm out from her back, analyzing her nails with a critical eye. Karl’s eyes narrowed as she performed the action.

His hand swayed at his side, just a small amount, hardly noticeable if you weren’t looking for it. The bird on his shoulder gave a small look towards him, seeing only sharp eyes focused elsewhere. Arma then fell backwards behind the stone man, landing easily in his hand. Karl gripped the bird with a strong grasp.

“So tell me, who are you then?” The woman looked up at him, a subtle but deadly smile settled neatly on her lips, practiced and poised as her posture. Karl settled to both legs, pulling his cloak until it hid his hand, concealing his trump card.

“I’m a lot of things to you, Karl.” As soon as the name left her lips, the stone man’s brow rose.

“Really?” He questioned, raising his free hand to scratch the hard resin of his head. “You seem to have me at a disadvantage. I don’t know who you are, but you seem to know me. Now that’s not nice, especially during first meetings.”

“And you are a polite one, aren’t you?” One of the woman’s cheeks pulled on her lips, directing the smile to rise to one side of her face. Her golden eyes never faltered from him. “But I suppose introductions are in order.”

The woman’s posture changed, the arm behind her back sliding until it settled on her hip. The hand she was analyzing twisted and pushed away from her, facing palm up as she gave the living statue an amused grin.

“My name is Azula.”

“Azula,” Karl spoke back, letting his mouth hang open as he spoke the last letter of her name. His smile grew with the word. “Such a pretty name to make a pretty face. It suits you.” His words earned no reaction, positive or beneficial, to Karl.

“Thank you,” she returned to the stone man with a small bow of her head. Slowly, her feet began to move, one moving in front of the other as she walked towards him. Karl’s smile couldn’t grow any brighter.

“You’re shorter than I pictured you to be.” Azula spoke her thought aloud, golden eyes roaming over the living statue. “Menacing nonetheless.”

“Well I must admit, it does take a fair amount of hard work to keep myself looking this dashing.” Karl let his free hand roam over his face, carefully letting his hand fall over his eyes. If she was what he thought she was, she would strike then. But after a moment of stillness, he let his hand drop. Azula was closer to him, but with no more armed or dangerous than she was before.

“Yes, positively… striking.” She commented dryly. She was within an arm’s length when she stopped in front of Karl, hands folded behind her back. The smile on her lips pulled upwards as she looked at him with the ever scrutinizing eye.

“Just like that sword you are planning on using.”

Karl gripped the bird in his hand, forcing the raven to squirm only slightly. The next moment, it began to morph, changing shape as it had countless times before. Within a second, a well practiced and versed second, the lively raven was a dark cutlass, hidden behind the stone man’s back. Karl didn’t’ hesitate for even a moment.

His arm extended outwards from behind him, black sword stabbing forward into the human that mocked him so openly.

It met only air.

Karl remained frozen as still as the statue he was, trying to feel or hear for the woman that had vanished from his gaze and senses. He was fast, always had been, sneaky to boot. But Azula, wherever she was now, had not only avoided him, but did so while simultaneously hiding herself. She was not to be underestimated, just as he had thought.

“Think better about who you are pointing that at.” The demeaning voice spoke from behind him. Karl didn’t hesitate to twist on his footing. His body spun with his feet, arms swinging in a wide arc as the sword was brought over his head and down behind him, doubtlessly cutting into the still confident human.

The sword clattered harshly against the rocks. Karl’s eyes furrowed in annoyance. Again, he saw, felt, and heard nothing around him. Only the licking flames beneath the rocks reached his senses.

“Tired of that yet? Because my patience is wearing thin.” His hands gripped the sword tightly, fighting the urge to thrust backwards again. But he controlled himself. Instead, Karl rose to his feet, remaining still. In the same motion he let Arma transform from the sword in his hand back into a raven, flying and landing on his shoulder deftly. Putting a smile over his lips, he turned to face the woman. She stood where she did when she first addressed him, unchanged in even the smallest of ways.

“You are quite nimble aren’t you?” He teased lightly, hand pointing towards her as he swayed on his feet. He couldn’t remain still. Azula, however, had her lips in a thin line.

“Nimble as I am, I didn’t need to wave a finger to avoid those unpracticed swings from you.” Her hand waved at him in dismissal. Karl’s smile remained etched on his face, hard as stone. “I wouldn’t doubt if you depend solely on your cunning in battle, because you lack any proper form of swordplay I’ve seen.”

“Oh, I assure you it gets the job done. Just hold still for a second and I can show you.” Karl held his palms outwards, as if he was seriously awaiting Azula’s response. The woman smiled coyly at him, tilting her head backwards till her gaze looked down on him.

Her gaze was the very image Karl had seen in too many moments before. The look a human would give when they thought themselves above something, the snide twisted grin of confidence and lifted eyes of loftiness. It made his mask feel heavy.

“You honestly think me to be just another typical human, don’t you?” The words dripped from her like poison, a substance Karl fantasized destroying. “Just another pile of blood and bones to be spilt by your formless weapon.” Her hand dismissed the bird on his shoulder, waving Arma off like a fly. The stone bird cocked its head in reaction.

“Aw, now that was just uncalled for,” Karl responded in kind, voice high and cheery. “He didn’t do any harm to you, or against you. After all, I did miss, so there was no harm. And like you humans are so proud to say, there isn’t any foul for it.”

“What makes you think I’m human Karl?” Her voice whispered behind his ear.

The stone man swung arm backwards, intending to smash the head of the soul that had attempted to sneak upon him. But as he had tried before, he met only empty air. That is, until it collided with the fiery wall of the small cavern hall. Red rock crumbled beneath his arm.

Karl’s eyes were wide, but vacant, staring at the ground as if it were a wondrous site. He still could not sense Azula, let alone any other life around him. Could not hear, see, or even feel the vibrations of their movement. Without a conversation, he would have sworn he was alone, save for his faithful partner on his shoulder. But his eyes did not betray, and his ears offer no false whispers of wind. He was being toyed with. And, he hated it.

“While it is amusing to watch you grasp at flames, time is short and I am not one to make special considerations for others.” Karl turned his ear to Azula’s voice, still holding a mocking tone as it twistedly ordered him. The smile on his mask was gone, but he couldn’t face her without it.

His hand fell from the wall, leaving him silent and still. He didn’t speak, move, or speak for sometime. Only the small crackles of flames from the rocks around them kept silence from the air. Slowly, Karl’s head lift and he spun on a heel to see the red clothed woman standing where she had always been, haughty smile still across her lips.

“Does that mean you have something for me?” He asked, letting his smile swim across his face as naturally as a fish did through water. “It has been a long time since I was given a gift, at least one that I didn’t have to chop a few arms and legs for.” His eyes fell to half mast as his lips continued to pull themselves in a grin. Azula watched on, amusement never falling.

“I do have something for you, and it has to do with what I am.” She took a step towards him, testing the ground between them. Karl did not react, and the bird remained perched on his shoulder. “But first, prove to me that you are worth the knowledge I’m about to give you. I would no sooner hand a sword to a babe, and what I have to give is little different than a weapon, in the hands of the capable.”

“Deary me, does this mean you’re going to test me?” Karl voiced the question as if he had never heard of such an idea before.  Azula smiled devilishly.

“It’s the manner of test that you will be unprepared for, of that I can assure you.” Her words placed a noticeable weight on the living statue, but his smile did not teeter, and his gaze was never anything less than confidant. Leaning in, she placed her head just beside his own black hair from her tied tail drifting over his placid features.

“Tell me Karl, what am I?”

The living statue’s mind began to work.

She wasn’t human, of that he could be sure. No human could react or move like she did, not only avoiding his attacks, but forcing him to lose track of her as well. Besides most humans were prideful of their nature, happy to be; greedy monsters. No, she was something else entirely.

But, if not a human, then what? He had met monsters and others in the past, beast and phantom alike. She did not carry the familiar traits of anything tangible, and was therefore no creature of natural beginnings. She did, however, have the air and confidence of an elder being, or at least one who thought of themselves as such.

Disregarding what he had seen in individuals, it was likely that this Azula’s confidence was backed with honest talent and not false feats from her past. She carried herself with grace, yet stood close enough to him without trace or thought of fear. There were those in the past who had done such an act before, but they were few and very far between.

Like a flame bursting to life, the knowledge came to him. Karl opened his arms as if to embrace the woman. Neither made motion to actually make contact.

“Oh goody, another source of energy come to mock me.” Azula smiled darkly at his words.

“You were crafted masterfully, that much I can be sure of.” She spoke as if sizing him up, careless of his presence in front of her. “Strength in body and cleverness in mind. I do believe you are-”

“So,” Karl interrupted her on a dime, holding up his colored and stone hand in front of the dark haired woman, the ever-present smile still on his lips. “Do you energy sources know one another? I’m looking for the last one to lead me down a blind trail and drop me at the first sign of failure.” Karl’s smile was harder than the stone he was made of. The red clothed woman, however, took a few steps back as she recovered from being interrupted. It was clearly not a common act to occur to her.

“You are referring to that spirit who followed you through Talos.” Azula spoke easily. It earned a clapping of hands from the statue man.

“Yes! Her! I still owe her a few debts. It’s only fair I pay her back for teaching me so many valuable lessons.” Karl’s arms fell to his side, head leaning back till his gaze looked towards the red rock ceiling not high above him. “And a reminder for myself I nearly had forgotten.”

“Really? And, what were these… lessons she taught you?” Azula ventured towards the statue man, but did not take a step towards or away from him. Karl’s head fell and let their eyes meet.

“That no one is to be trusted. Human, machine, or even spirit.”

Azula’s smile was just as coy and dark as Karl’s.

“No one.” She spoke in return, either in agreement or mockery. “Trust no one but yourself, because in the end the only thing that matters is yourself.” Karl’s smile grew wider as his eyes became darker.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” The living statue cheered, backing away with each word. “Oh, you are much more fun than that devil of Talos. At least you know how I think.” His arms fell to his sides as his eyes shut, smile still omnipresent. “I’m still not going to trust you.”

“Trust is a commodity that little value exists in.” Azula dismissed with a wave of her hand. “It is inferior to a great many of other emotions. Fear, for example, is much easier, and much more reliable, than the flippant values that trust depends on.”

Were either of them the kind of people, they doubtlessly would have embraced.

“Not only do you understand me, you complete me!” Karl gave a muffled laughter as his hand covered his mouth, joy emanating from his every core.

“So you know what I am then.” Azula began again, putting their conversation back on track with a single phrase. “And you agree so earnestly that we are alike.” Her arms crossed behind her back, returning his stance into a position of power.

“Will you then accept what I have to offer?”

With a spring in his step and a smile on his face, Karl walked in front of the fire colored woman, stopping when he was a breath’s length away from her. Leaning down he, looked deeply into her eyes, letting her hard golden irises stare into his gray lifeless orbs.

“No.”

Azula’s smile fell. Karl’s didn’t.

“No?”

“Nope!” Karl spoke the synonym with a raise of hand, smile seemingly glowing with the flames around him. “Nope. No. Rejection. Refusal. Veto. Denial. And, Dismissed.” The living statue joyfully listed, nearly dancing with every word that he spoke. Arma flapped her wings to keep her balance on her shoulder.

The Flame Princess, however, watched with sharp golden eyes. Her smile was gone, replaced with a straight mute line, contemplating thoughts that couldn’t be read. A slow breath of air entered her before she spoke.

“Dismiss me if you must, but you will regret your ignorance later Karl.” Azula calmly warned as she walked towards him. The statue didn’t even flinch towards grabbing Arma from his shoulder. “Hear my words and remember them if you so choose. I can only promise you will regret not doing so.”

“Then by all means,” Karl invited, taking a step back with a small bow. “Waste your breath on me.” His smiled twisted in amusement as he heard the spectral thing click its tongue.

“I am the spirit that brought you back to life, Karl of the Castle of Nations.”

The name and declaration earned an immediate head raise from the statue man. But Azula did not stop.

“Be aware that there is more to look for in these fiery caverns than just a way out. There lies a great power that you must find. A power you are not familiar with, but that you will doubtlessly enjoy.” Her hand rose into the air, and her fingers snapped.

Karl was met with a dazzling display of fire.

“I fear we may have left him to his own devices for too long.” Luna muttered as she stared up at the ceiling, peering at the wall she knew to be false, marked clearly by the sword marking Riku had made. “If he truly does conspire against us, time alone in a location unseen is all he needs to plot.”

“Honestly, he could do that while walking with us.” Riku spoke bluntly besides the princess, his hand extended to his side. “The only thing I’m worried about is getting ‘surprised’ by him once we get up there. Speaking of which.” Just as he had done before in the chamber now behind them, Riku focused his magic through his arm. Swirling darkness began to form by his side, the same thick silk growing from his appendage until it matched him in height and width. It churned with the same ominous power as before. It took only a glance to see the same device hovering above them.

“That oughta do it.” He spoke with affirmation, pulling his arm out of the portal and letting it fall back to his side. The alicorn at his side twisted her head as she examined the device for the second time.

“Remind me to inquire with you how your magic works.” Luna noted as her gaze slowly fell to the white haired boy. “My curiosity is great for how it works, as I can tell by sight alone how different it is from mine.”

“Same here,” Riku responded, a small smirk pulling at his lips as he spoke. “But let’s do it later, when we’re not trying to escape from some lava cavern full of secret walls and talking rocks, huh?” His words were answered with a soft smile and chuckling from his winged companion.

“Indeed,” Luna agreed, stepping towards the portal. Riku only had to turn to join her side, his free hand on his hip, the other still gripping his curved colored blade. “Let us see what Karl has done in our brief absence.”

The two entered the dark portal, washed over with the same sensations of cold chills and absence of warmth. However, Luna didn’t even have the moment to breathe before she felt the warmth and humidity of the chamber return to her, held back only by her still magical shield.

It took only a small glance of her eyes to see the wall of rock behind them, specks of dark shadows reaching up and through the imaginary boundary. Riku however, had his eyes trained forward, looking down the corridor they had entered.

It mirrored closely the first continuous chamber they had found themselves trapped within. It was small and thin, but large enough for both of them to move beside one another. Ahead, the silver haired boy could see the corridor turn, much sharper than the curvy tunnel from before.

There was, however, a figure standing in front of them and that small turn, facing away from them and still as stone.

“Karl,” Luna called the stone man’s name, earning a small twist of his head.

His smile was unchanged, body unmarred, and black bird still perched carelessly on his shoulder. Nothing was different at all. He turned to them as they approached, stone grey hand waving at them.

“Why hello there,” he greeted as if they had not met before. “I was wondering when you’d get here. Don’t suppose that height was too much trouble for you?” The alicorn scoffed at his words.

“We were momentarily inconvenienced, that is all.” Luna responded coolly to the stone man’s spirited tone. “Did our absence bore you so quickly?”

“Not at all, I actually found it quite enjoyable.” The statue man spun on his heel, twisting away from them and down the small corridor ahead. “It’s amazing what you can learn when you can learn in just a few minutes.”

“Wait, learn?” Riku questioned, walking in front of Luna as he questioned Karl. The Path to Dawn was gripped just a bit tighter in his hand. Karl’s head twisted at the obvious gesture. “What did you learn in an empty hallway?”

Luna’s vision was focused carefully on the statue as Riku phrased his question, watching the features of the painted resin with as scrutinizing an eye as she gave her night sky. But no matter how deeply her eyes stared at Karl’s features, all she could see were empty eyes and a haughty grin.

“Why yes, learn.” He spoke the word with an undeniably chipper attitude. “They’re only small mysteries mind you, but still riddles that I do so enjoy to crack. You didn’t expect me to solve the mysteries of life in a couple seconds alone, did you? Though if you did, I do appreciate the confidence in my abilities.” Karl’s eyes shut with a twist of his head, lips parted in an open mouth smile.

“You avoid the point,” Luna spoke with her commanding tone. “We wish to know of what you have learned. How you learned what you have will naturally follow.” The dark alicorn watched cautiously as the living statue’s features focused on her, lips shutting and eyes peering at her, judging her. It gave her coat an uncomfortable bristle.

“As wise as you look your highness.” He spoke easily, swaying on his feet before performing a small spin. “Well, secrets are meant to be kept from friends, hm?” His spinning stopped as his hand was placed on one of the rock walls.

Riku gave a small wince of pain before realizing it was not a hand of flesh that touched the likely molten temperature rock. It was rock on rock, poor conductors of heat, and just as likely, free of any nerve endings. Karl’s twisted head looked towards them, Arma on his shoulders peaking at them with its own cocked face.

“Were you not curious why there are illusions in this place?” The question hung between the three, sitting with a pregnant pause. “I had to wonder it myself when I watched you two walk through a wall, and then asked me to jump through a roof.” Karl’s hand drew back, letting him stare at the gray and colorless hand. Riku and Luna watched on in caution.

“Magic is like any other source of energy. Versatile, doubtlessly, but also limited. It has to come from somewhere in order to be used, and once used, it’s gone forever.” He flexed his digits individually, testing the mobility of each small appendage. It balled into a fist before dropped back to his side. His small dotted eyes looked back to the swordsman and princess, smile much smaller than before, but still ever present.

“Even if these illusions are just… enchantments. There must be something here to give them power. Now, if we remove that power, the illusions will fall” Riku snapped his fingers

“Then we’ll be able to find our way out!” Luna’s eyes widened at the realization herself.

“That’s ingenious,” she complimented honestly to the statue man. “Never mind a search through walls for an exit that is likely concealed by even stronger illusions, we merely remove the core of the structure and walk out without incident.”

“My thoughts as well, down to the letter,” Karl agreed, cheerful as ever. “So, all we have to do is search the flaming caverns for an object that has enough power to create illusions throughout the entire chamber and do so without courting death. Doesn’t sound too difficult.”

Luna and Riku were momentarily frozen by the almost excited manner he described their situation with. If his friend from years past hadn’t proven it before, Riku was now completely sure that an optimist was far more annoying than any pessimist he had ever met. Luna was not far from him in judgement, seeing much of her sister’s charismatic and hopeful nature in the attitude of the living statue.

Nevertheless, they had a plan now, and they owed it to the living rock for it. As Karl began to set a pace, the two followed behind him. Luna kept a small portion of her magic channeled through her horn just as Riku kept the Path to Dawn secure in his hand.

“Oh, I almost forgot!”

The sudden declaration from Karl caused the pair to still instantly, watching him cautiously, as his hand met with the flat of his forehead. He turned easily, looking at both of them with his hand raised just above his head.

“Have either of you seen a girl around here?”

Both Riku and Luna’s careful gazes fell into twisted looks of complete confusion.

“What?” The single worded question was flatly asked from the white haired teen, brows screwed in confusion. Luna gazed at the stone man with a similar expression.

“A girl,” Karl spoke again, “About your age I’d guess? Black hair knotted on her head? Red clothes?” His hand waved over his head as he spoke, smile never falling.

The dark alicorn turned her gaze to look at her human partner, Riku doing the same. The shared a silent conversation, both looking at the other for any hint that there may have been an unshared jest or joke they did not understand. When only confusion was mirrored in their eyes, Luna turned back to the stone man.

“Karl,” she began carefully, head slowly shaking left and right. “You are the only other living thing we have found in this place, aside from a small creature barren of intelligence. We have seen no women, let alone one befitting your description.”

“That’s a shame.” The living statue’s hand fell to his side, body rocking in the same direction as he spun in place. “Well, we can’t waste any more time. Who knows what we’ll find in this place, hm?” Without waiting for a response, the statue began to walk down the heated passage, a spring in his step with arms swinging at his sides.

Luna and Riku watched him for a moment, more perplexed and confused than they were the moment they first met him. Once more their eyes met, and another silent message was passed between them. A nod from the boy, followed by an affirmative return from the alicorn.

They followed close behind the statue, neither one dropping their guard or caution as they moved.

“Oh, playing a dangerous game.” The draconequus mused to himself as he watched the stone man walk off with his pair of pawns. Discord held a proud smile over his lips, one that had been there the very moment Azula had appeared and refused to depart even after she had. “But that’s the fun of watching children play I suppose. Especially when you give them new toys to play with.”

His claw and paw knitted together, sharp talons weaving between his thick fingers as he laid back in the sky, watching the dark alicorn trade cautionary looks towards the enthusiastic statue and offering comforting nods to the white haired boy by her side. Discord sneered as he watched them.

“This is just so great!” He cheered as she flipped himself, tail pointing up and head aimed towards the ground. “So close to the end for each of these puppets, and I can’t wait to see what strings are cut.”

A pair of scissors appeared in front of Discord. He snatched them in his talon and held them in front of his equine head. He aligned the scissors along his gaze, keeping them close to his eyes, but pointing towards the screen he watched.

Luna’s head sat between the blades.

“Snip, snip.”

A Puzzle Solved

Batman’s hand ran down the wall in front of him.

It wasn’t anything spectacular, majestic, or even unique by even crude fashions. It was a wall no different than almost every other one he, Fluttershy, and the metallic beast had passed. With his optical enhancers on, he saw no change in elevation or any markings across the stone. With them off, and aided by the ominous lights of the drill-arm monster, he saw no paintings or messages written in any ink.

The wall was one thing to Batman, and it was a thing he was not fond of calling any subject or matter, physical or metaphorical.

It was a dead end.

“What does this mean?” Fluttershy asked quietly behind him, earning a small glance from the dark garbed man. He turned his head back to the blank wall after he had offered the canary pegasus the whites of his eyes.

“It means we missed something.” The sentence was spoken as flatly as every word he had uttered yet. It was met with another groan from the beast Fluttershy rested on. It made his muscles flex on instinct, prepared for whatever could come. But no blow or threatening boom followed the low pitched moan.

“Oh dear, that’s horrible!” It was bad, no denying the obvious, but to the Dark Knight it was far from horrible. Horrible would be a false assumption that caused harm, or a trap he was unprepared for. This was just a mistake that cost them nothing but time.

“We know where to look.” Batman spoke as he turned, already pacing through the water. He cautiously moved by the metallic brute, pegasus still sitting on its shoulder. He saw her curious look as he passed by. It was impossible to read any emotion from the hulk.

“Really? What was that, that is if… you don’t mind telling me.” The meekness in Fluttershy’s voice would have been audible to him even without the sensors in his cowl or years of training.

He knew because the monster’s lights shifted from peaceful green to a warning yellow.

Batman stilled in the water, his every sense prepared for another strike at his turned back. When none came, he turned to face the creature. Fluttershy was looking at it with her expression of shock while he gave a careful and inquisitive gaze.

Aside from the darkening of its lights, the metal beast didn’t make a single action against either him or the pegasus still sitting on its shoulder. Instead, it seemed to have its gaze focused on the pegasus, or so the tilt helmet told the Dark Knight. It raised an interesting question.

“Fluttershy,” Batman spoke the pegasus’s name, earning her attention instantly. “Smile at me.” The canary coated pony’s eyes widened further than they already were, her own head tilting to the side in minor confusion. However, the man she stared at didn’t make a move or speak a word.

Her head turned from the metal beast she sat on, staring at her with large yellow bulbs, then to the man dressed in black, his blank stare unchanging as walls around them. Fluttershy swallowed on a ball in her throat. Slowly, her lips turned upwards, ascending into a small shy smile.

The lights on the beast’s helm turned green.

“Oh… wow…” The pegasus’s words confirmed the hypothesis in the Dark Knight’s mind.

“It’s sensitive to your state.” His words once again earned the full focus of the pegasus. This time, he spoke on. “Depending on how you are displaying yourself, it will naturally react in a way that acts in your best interest.”

“W-What?” Fluttershy’s trembling lip and confused stare were sign enough that she understood little to nothing of what Batman had said. It was only made worse when the beast’s lights changed once again to an ominous yellow. Batman’s gaze hardened on the pegasus again.

“Relax.” He spoke as a command, causing the pegasus to curl into the shoulder she sat on. The lights on the beast did not change. “Listen, anything you think is threatening, it thinks is threatening. The more scared you are of something, the more likely it is it will attack it.”

“But… But I’m not scared of…” her voice trailed off as her focused on the dark suited man in front of her. His gaze was flat and hard. “Maybe a little…” The monster groaned beside her, head slowly turning to face Batman as well. The Dark Knight was unperturbed.

“Just relax, and it will be alright.” A quiet sigh left his lips. “As long as you remain calm, there isn’t anything to be afraid of.” Her eyes continued to gaze at him uncertainly. The yellow lights of the monster had yet to change. “I promise.”

The words sealed the deal.

“O-Okay.”

Fluttershy jumped from the shoulder of the metal brute.

It groaned in disapproval as her hooves splashed into the water, water rippling beneath her. Batman watched her shiver and shake herself before standing to her tallest height. The edges of her tail and mane floated over the water. Looking up at him, covered in water and illuminated by the yellow lights of the beast behind her, she smiled openly and fondly at him.

The lights instantly changed back to a peaceful green.

Fluttershy thought she would have needed to force her lips up, fake a smile in order to keep a conflict from occurring. If she needed to act a little bit to keep her two new friends from fighting, then she could do it easily. But, when she landed in the water, and looked up at Batman, she saw nothing but kindness beneath his dark mask and focused gaze.

The smile naturally grew on her lips. When the green light began to glow behind her, she felt it only naturally to let out a small giggle of appreciation. She was right before, this Batman was much kinder than he looked.

Her eyes looked back to the thing she had sat on, green lights focused down on her. It’s groan echoed off the walls, rippling the surface of the water. Fluttershy felt her hooves even clatter beneath the water at the sound. Her smile never faltered though. Instead, she felt… safe.

“Mr. Bubbles.”

The Dark Knight looked down on the pegasus with a look he rarely displayed. Confusion.

“What?”

Fluttershy turned to look at Batman, her smile unchanged and demeanor positively shining, even in the cold damp halls of the waterlogged structure. The Dark Knight had a look of bewilderment on him, an expression that brought another small giggle to the pegasus’s lips.

“That’s his name,” Fluttershy spoke. “He seems to like water, but his face is full of large circles, just like bubbles in water. Mr. Bubbles sounds perfect for him.” Pride seeped into her timid voice, regardless of the situation they were in.

Batman’s eyes focused on the brute standing behind the pegasus, a metal drill attached to one of its arms. The eight different windows of light connected to its helmet all seemed to be focused on him, staring at him with as many eyes as a spider. It’s size was massive, weight undoubtedly the same, and with a voice that sounded like metal giving way to age.

And the pegasus had named it after small water bubbles.

“Right.” Batman droned the word, letting it hang in the air as she continued to stare at the beast that reminded him of everything but bubbles. He couldn’t identify what the low groan from the creature meant. Given that it’s lights were green, and demeanor calm, batman had the odd suspicion it enjoyed the name the pegasus had given it. That, or it wasn’t aware what they were even saying. In the end, it didn’t matter.

Batman turned again from the two, traveling down the waterlogged path they had come from. His cape dragged over the surface of the water, rising and falling with every ripple he made. It didn’t take too long until the churning of water echoed from behind him, followed swiftly by the heavy pounding of the beast’s boots.

“Um, where are we going?” Fluttershy asked from behind him. “I, um, I don’t mind if you don’t want to tell me, but… but I would feel better if I knew.” Her feeling worse than good meant that the metal beast that seemed to think of itself as her vassal would mostly likely react. Avoiding conflict was the best option for all of them.

“We passed two passageways on our way here, and I can now assume that they lead somewhere else.” His gaze never even turned to look at the pegasus. Batman could sense the tension by the shock in her gaze alone, directed at the back of his cowl. The lights around him continued to glow green.

“R-Really?” The voice didn’t sound worried, yet. Whatever her next question was, Batman would have to be careful with his wording. “How do you know there’s more?” That he could answer.

“All we have seen so far is a long hallway that, at some point in time, became flooded.” His hand drew itself from beneath his cape, motioning half-handedly to the walls around them. “There has so far been no other rooms that would be necessary in a structure this size. Nothing for food storage, bunking, or planning.”

“So… So you think there’s something beyond that… thing.” Here was where it would be difficult.

“Yes,” his voice spoke with no more emotion than before. “I’ve laid out the design of the structure, and it heavily suggests that there are rooms behind those two objects. What they do, or how to get behind them, is nothing I’m sure of yet.” He turned down the corner at the end of the hall, a bright green light still illuminating the path over the water.

Up ahead was one of the metal structures, the second they had passed before, but the first Fluttershy had seen. She would doubtlessly assume that they would stop at it, investigate it first. Batman, however, had no intention of analyzing this one of the two.

And as the passageway opened up to their left, Fluttershy gave a squeak of fright, doubtlessly shivering into the armor of beast. Batman watched as the green lights of the hall turned yellow. His muscles stiffened, but he didn’t stop. The creature continued to follow him.

The water continued to ripple beneath them, and the metal beast’s eyes continued to glow yellow, groaning with the low rumble that shook the walls. Batman walked on regardless of it. It was to his silent thanks that the light’s turned green, all the indication he needed that Fluttershy was calm again.

“Um,” she began, voice weak and unsure. “Did we just pass it?” That’s right, she didn’t know about the first one.

“There was another altar,” Batman spoke. “It was to the opposite path from when we entered.” He didn’t need to look to know the words did anything but comfort the pony.

“Well, um…” the pegasus dribbled of, words still forming in her head. Batman walked on silently, the creature’s heavy footsteps echoing through the chamber, keeping silence far away. “Why are we going to the first one? I mean, if you don’t mind telling me that is. Either one seem nice to me. Or… or they’re both the same, I’m sure.”

“Because the one we just passed likely leads to a larger chamber.” Batman spoke as easily as before. “Or into a series of smaller rooms. The first one, however, would likely be used as a storage facility. By itself, it might not mean much, but there is at least a chance that it will give us an idea of what this place is. And, what it is.” Batman didn’t need to move his hands from his cloak to gesture to the metal beast behind him. Fluttershy already understood.

“Oh!” The pegasus spoke with the tone of realization. “You think we can find out where Mr. Bubbles came from?”

“Or who created him, possibly.” With the light behind him, Batman looked to the ceiling. “Given the age of this structure, seeing as it’s made from clay and stone, its difficult to be sure of anything without seeing it.” They turned another corner walking down the first hallway they entered. It was too far ahead to see, but Batman knew the metal altar was ahead of them. He only hoped the mystery of it would not be a difficult one.

Fluttershy must have sensed the same thing, as she didn’t speak again. With the waterlogged path behind them, only the pounding of the beast’s metal boots echoed through the hall. Compared to before, it was a short walk before they reached the entrance. The distance to the other end of the hall seemed much longer.

“Wait.” Batman instructed, turning towards Fluttershy and the beast with a flat open palm. When the two stopped, he lowered his hand. The pegasus blinked at him in confusion. He, however, didn’t explain himself. She would figure it out shortly.

He walked forward down the hallways, flicking on the scanner of his cowl as the light of the beast dissipated into the shadows. The altar came into view quickly.

Batman was quick to disregard the metal spikes around the central hole. They were too small in size and too large in number to hold any significance aside from design. The hole was the center of his focus. His gloved hands ran around the rim of it, feeling for any resistance or traps. None were found.

His looked down the center of it with his scanner, seeing nothing but a small hole and a wall. It appeared to be no more significant that the spikes around it. Batman trailed his vision and fingers down the metal design, noting briefly in the back of his mind how unstained and almost new they appeared. It contrasted harshly with the clay and stone of the structure. It did, however, hold significance that neither were as aged as the structure appeared to be.

Batman leaned back with a dissatisfied squint in his eyes. There were no buttons, levers, or even slots along the structure. The idea entered briefly into his mind that this design would require a sacrifice, but was disregarded easily. The hole was too small for anything larger than a child to fit through, and it had no contraptions or false walls to indicate so.

He looked into the hole again, dissatisfied with the little he had learned of the object. Everything about it suggested it was an altar of some religious sorts, but it had no more significance other than that. He reached inside, letting his arm feel around the cavity of the metal hole. It was smooth, just as the walls of the hall were. His hand continued to extend down it, searching for any small shape or hole that would reveal the secret of the device.

Instead, he found an edge. The hole opened up into something.

Batman’s vision looked down the hole again, arm removed from it. The wall was still there, just at the end of his scanner’s vision. Yet, he was still able to reach past it. His eyes narrowed in annoyance. The solution was obvious, but not one he was fond of performing. He had done worst acts, however.

Turning around, he walked the short distance to the beast and Fluttershy, the bright light shining down the hallway more than obviously marking where they were. The pegasus was quick to spot him as he stepped in the light of the creature’s helm.

“What did you find? Is it safe?” Batman looked at her carefully, gauging what words to say next.

“I need your help.” It seemed appropriate, and hopefully wouldn’t frighten her. The shock she displayed was easy to predict, the shuffling and nervous clicking of her hooves over the creature’s large shoulder was just as easily foreseen.

“W-With what?” Honestly would work best here.

“There is something beyond the object, a room as best as I can predict, but I can not reach it or see into it.” He kept his gaze focused on the pegasus. With any luck, she would conclude herself what was necessary. It was always easier to talk someone into an act when they realized what was needed. Asking someone a task they weren’t aware of usually was met with dismissal.

Fluttershy’s eyes fluttered, her mind working silently. Only the groans of the beast echoing off the walls kept the silence at bay. When her blue eyes locked onto Batman’s again, her wide and filled with shock, he knew what she was thinking.

“Y-You need me to…” she audibly gulped. “To g-go inside?” It was a miracle by itself the creature’s did not attack Batman, given the sheer amount of fear the pegasus was displaying.

“Yes,” Batman was quick to follow with his confirmation. “Given the size and location of the passageway, it’s safe to assume that it is designed for others to pass through easily. “

“How can you be… um, sure?” That was an easy question.

“Like I said, we haven’t seen anything to indicate the purpose of this place, not even a barracks or storage room.” It was easy to see she would need more than simply his word. “The metal object is like a lock, keeping others out. Someone who is small enough, such as yourself, acts as the key, opening the door for others.”

“Why?” Another question Batman couldn’t answer.

“I won’t know until I learn more, but I need your help to do so.” It was clear by her bit lip just how much the pony was against the idea. But her continued silence was indication enough that she was fighting with herself for a decision. She wanted to help, but fear was stopping her.

That changed when the beast began to move.

“Mr. Bubbles?” Fluttershy spoke the creature’s supposed name in confusion, his lumbering steps moving him down the hallway. He moved past Batman without motion or threat of assault. The Dark Knight watched them, cautiously.

He followed behind the pair as they neared the end of the hallway, the creature’s green lights illuminating the end. Batman heard Fluttershy give a gasp of shock, but she did nothing more.

The creature’s massive hand reached upwards.

Batman had a hand on a batarang in an instant, holding it back to throw. But, the creature didn’t attack him or Fluttershy. Instead, held its palm facing upwards upwards, low enough to the ground for the pegasus to get on. The pony looked at the massive appendage, appraising it before touching it. When she did, she set her hooves on the gloved hand. Her weight didn’t even cause it to flinch.

The pegasus let out another squeak of fright as she the hand she was on moved forward. She soon found herself just in front of the altar’s hole. Batman’s grip on his weapon grew tighter.

“Mr. Bubbles?” Fluttershy spoke the creature’s name as a question. It groaned in response, but didn’t stop lifting the pegasus towards the hole. The pony looked towards the beast, lifting her easily with its massive hand, then to the hole she was being directed towards. The only thing keeping Batman from acting was the fear of Fluttershy’s safety.

But then the pegasus surprised him.

“Okay,” she spoke easily, smiling at the large beast. “I trust you.” Then, without another word, Fluttershy turned tail and walked into the hole, just fitting into its circular shape.

Batman and Mr. Bubbles were left outside the structure. Neither moved and only one made any sounds. The groans continued to shake the halls. The smaller of the two turned his gaze towards the larger, judging the metal man intensely. It seemed to know what was beyond the altar, if only that there was something beyond it. Given the level of caution it had in Fluttershy’s safety, and then the openness to let her travel into the hole, it also seemed rather sure she was safe. The question as to how, or why, he couldn’t answer.

Before he could speculate further, the wall began to move.

Not merely the gate, or a section of it, the entire wall. It screeched in protest as it moved, as if it had not been for sometime. It was pulled into the ceiling above, crawling into an alcove. The ascent was slow, but the progress was visible.

With a loud boom, it stopped.

The next action from Batman was only too easy to figure out.

“Fluttershy?” He called the pegasus’s name. The answer came swiftly.

“I’m here.” The timid voice returned. “I… I stepped on a switch.”

Batman walked into the room, the hulking suited monster following behind him. He could just make out the skittish pegasus in the dark, wings and mane shivering in fright, softly illuminated by the lights of the drill-armed beast behind him. The pony quickly galloped over to him, brushing past his cape in silent thanks for his presence. He let her do so.

His three-dimensional scanners showed the room to be little more than a storage site, as he had thought it would be. Desks lined some walls, papers hanging above them. Books figures, and other miscellaneous items were on top of the tables. It was impossible, however, for him to see what was on them, not without lighting. His vision looked to the wall he had passed upon entering, and he saw what he needed, but not what he expected

A light switch.

The simple device looked as foreign as he did next to Fluttershy, two things that seemingly didn’t belong. The structure, its shape, its material, it all indicated such age in the building, but here was proof that it was anything but ancient. Rather, it could very well have been built only days ago.

The lack of decay around the crypt made sense.

Regardless, it was easy to see what had to be done. Taking the two steps necessary, Batman raised his hand and flipped the switch.

As light filled the room, the cries of shock shook it.

The beast roared like it had before, when it had tackled Batman in the passageway. Batman swung to look at it, hands raised and prepared for another strike. The metal behemoth stood in the doorway, drill spinning with a frightening speed. It’s eyes glowed red, staring forward into the now lit room.

But it didn’t charge at Batman, or make motion to attack him. The Dark Knight looked down at Fluttershy, the pony currently shivering in absolute terror. It was hard to judge if it was because of the lights or the beast’s roar. Either would have done it. He placed a hand on her back, to which the pony instantly knelt into. The contact seemed to help.

Then Batman directed his gaze toward the now well-lit room. The papers, both laying on the table and hanging from the wall, gained a whole new perspective to him.

Even from the distance that he was, it was easy to tell they were research notes.

“W-What is… is all of…”

Batman didn’t answer her. He couldn’t. Anything he would have said would have been a lie. The only thing he could say would be a denial of knowledge. But experience in the past, among colleagues and civilians alike, had taught him an untold lesson in remaining silent. If he didn’t speak, they would assume he knew.

The silence that he prolonged gave him time to think in the streets of Gotham or the Justice League watchtower. Here, in a crypt far buried beneath caverns he had never explored, it was no different.

He tapped the edge of his cowl, lighting the display with holographic imaging. The three-dimensional mapping program burned into life, the last of the sensors he had used. His fingers ran over the side of his head, pushing through the multiple visions available to him.

The scanners passed into a highly technical grid, shining a light blue. The familiar reduction in his sight occurred instantly, dropping off everything that was beyond five feet in front of him. Everything that they could see, however, was given more detail and vividness than the average human could believe.

The pages and pictures across the tables and walls changed in ways he was familiar with. The melding colors became distinguished, the small bleeding in the ink reversed. All at once, the many sources of information became readable again.

Batman’s hands worked over the documents, holding each one up for his eyes to read over. The computer lenses over his eyes scanned the data much faster than he could read, storing them into his database, working connections he needed more than just his mind to see.

The more his eyes began to see, the more lines his on-board computer drew. Along the peripheral sides of his vision, the images of the pictures he had scanned popped into view, lining and highlighting select parts of the broken or dried stills. They connected to words and phrases scribbled across the pages of other documents, linking them together.

It didn’t take long for the pattern to emerge.

Walking into the room initially, Batman expected these to be logs of an exploration, perhaps even notes on the construction of the structure they stood within. Instead, what he and his computer found was far more haunting. All of the evidence, all of the images, and all of the text pointed to a single name he had never heard of before, in myths or legends.

Lifting his head and focusing his vision towards the yellow pegasus, Batman tapped the edge of his cowl, returning his vision to a less detailed, but broader vision of the room he was in. Fluttershy sat on the ground, looking up at the monstrous creature that had followed and aided them so far. It too sat on the ground, legs outwards with the pegasus between them.

“Fluttershy,” Batman spoke, earning the immediate attention of the pink maned pony. “Have you ever heard of a creature called… the Songbird?”

“This is always the best part.” The words slithered from the Azula’s lips, dripping from her like the venom of a snake. She had the thin-lipped smile to match.

“The cold realization that all their prior ideas and assumptions were wrong. The sudden and horrifying epiphany that there is no escape, no way out, and no hope to spare.” Her fingers knit themselves together as she leant against the stone railing of the castle, gazing up at the screen with her cold golden eyes.

A slow hum left her lips as her eyes focused on the dark-gowned man, looking over the files and papers with familiar eyes. She had never met the man before, in her last life or the one she was living now. But she knew those eyes. They were eyes that she had seen on only so few before, but those few that she both admired and avoided.

They were the eyes of a being that saw beyond what was there. Able to see what was in front of them, but then being able to finish a puzzle that was missing one too many pieces. Worse than that, they were eyes that had been trained to do so, with nothing but unconscious thought.

“He is far from the strongest.” Azula noted carefully, if only to herself. “Not a thing about him extraordinary from any other pest. But,” she felt her lips sharpen with her words. “He may very well be the wisest of them.”

To the princess of the Fire Kingdom, wisdom of the mind was a more dangerous trait than any strength of the body.

Her smile, however, did not falter with the knowledge.

“It is unfortunate that we are enemies.” Almost majestically, Azula rose from the railing, hands gliding down her arms until they were set on the cold stone beneath her.

“Together, I doubt there would be any creature or plan the king or god could design to stop us.” She watched with fascination as the self-proclaimed Batman worked through the documents lain across the table, tapping on his forearm as he read the dried ink. Even with a shivering pegasus and hulking monster, his concentration did not falter.

Doubtlessly, one to be admired.

“Enough of that for now,” the fire princess dismissed easily as her attention turned from the screen. “What of the others?”

Azula’s golden eyes focused on another screen of moving pictures. This one held no more familiar faces than the last. Yet, to her, she had a far deeper connection to it than any of the charades being shown across the screen.

She could only smile in coy joy as the image of a white mask shown across the side of the mountain.

The Next To Awaken

BEGIN

“Amon”

Maya spoke the man’s name, testing it as it passed through her lips. She had never heard nor spoken it before. It brought a cold chill down her back, a warning she knew she would be wise to heed. The mask across his face made reading his reactions impossible.

It was completely the opposite of her two companions. Their shivering limbs and bitten lips were all the indications she needed to see their fright and unease with the situation at hand. It was hard for her to tell if she displayed any obvious signs of her own discomfort. She only hoped her time at the abbey would pay off now. Taking in a slow breath, Maya began to speak again.

“That isn’t a name I know. Who are you behind that name?” She couldn’t see it, but the Siren felt a smile curl beneath the cold white mask.

“For what may be the first time, I am glad you do not recognize my name.” The man began to take slow steps towards the trio. Despite his average stature and size, Maya could not shake the feeling that they had a power behind them even she, one of the few mystical Sirens of the Universe, was at a loss to imagine.

“Why is that?” She asked just as carefully as before. “I hope it isn’t because you have committed acts you know we would… dislike.” The man’s steps did not cease. Fortunately, neither did his words.

“In my past, I have manipulated thousands and harmed hundreds. I used a power I was born with to make people bow to me in my presence and fear me from my shadow.” Maya felt the power of her abilities flow into her arm before he finished his sentence. She kept it carefully hidden behind her back, holding her posture as neutral and contained.

“Those aren’t inspiring words,” Maya said carefully. Amon’s pacing towards her did not cease with her remark. Maya could hear a whimper come from behind it. She couldn’t tell if it was the boy or the pony who made it.

“Those were my actions in a life now past me.” Maya fought valiantly, but vainly, against the ball in her throat.

“And how is that life past you?” Amon’s walking finally ceased.

“I died.”

END

Maya blinked, the power contained in her left arm doing the same before vanishing from existence. Her arm rolled back to her side, hanging from her limply. The silence around her was deafening. The sight of Amon… frightening.

“What?” The word was spoken in a broken whisper, spat out in haste. Maya turned to see Chrona’s lip quivering.

“I died.” Amon spoke again. “I witnessed all my plans fall beneath me, my ploys and deceptions revealed and then turned against me. I was forced from the city I had claimed in disgrace, taking with me a brother I had treated like a friend.” Maya could hear the regretful sigh from beneath his mask. Before she could speak however, he turned.

Amon walked towards the window he faced before, hands held behind his back. His posture was straight and proud, but his step smooth and calm. He was the very image of both confidence and peace. It irked Maya in a way she couldn’t describe.

She looked back towards the boy and filly, both watching her. There was only a request for direction in their eyes, looking to her for answers. She had none, but she knew where to begin. A sigh left her lips as she turned back to the masked man. He was already at the far side of the room.

Maya walked towards him, cautious in her every step. Her clicking shoes echoed through the hall, bouncing off the elegant art and making her approach more than obvious. Amon didn’t make move or speak a word against it. The silence, however, was discomforting.

“Forgive me if I’m rude,” she started, “but I have seen men die before, and even in the moment of their death, it’s rather hard to say they regretted their past enough to change so drastically. If anything, they feel more hatred than remorse.” The golden eyes of the siren were trained on the man’s hands, watching them carefully. They didn’t flex in discomfort or freeze in fear. Her words did nothing to him. That was good.

“Most men were not killed by their own brother.”

His words, however, did make an impact. Maya’s head whipped as she looked at him, staring in silent shock at the back of his hood. He didn’t turn to see her.

“After my plan failed, I sought him out, hoping to start over a new life with him. It was there and then I hoped to redeem myself.” The siren watched as he drew one of his hands from his back, holding up to his mask. He clenched it.

“But he took it from me, at the cost of his life, and mine.” Another deep breath was drawn and released. “If my own brother thought my life so worthless, the only action I can take is redemption. Vengeance would only make me sink deeper than I already have.”

“I understand.”

Maya glanced backwards to see Chrona approaching them. She didn’t even hear him walking. Sweetie Belle was looking up at him with confusion, but she didn’t make a move to jump from his arms. Amon, however, also turned to look at him, his blank mask staring at the pink-haired boy. Chrona’s eyes met with the mask before he spoke again.

“My mother tried to kill me.”

Maya wasn’t sure if she should be shocked, scared, or sympathetic to the boy. Sweetie Belle, still curled into his arms, reached up to his neck with her fore hooves, giving the slender Chrona a very weak, but appreciated, hug. The boy gave small gasp, as if unsure the pony had just done what she had. It was soon followed with his own grateful embrace, arms holding the filly closer.

With sympathy covered, Maya settled for shocked. Amon, silent and stiff, stared at the boy as well. Chrona could only guess what he looked like under the mask. It was easier to imagine that there was nothing there at all.

“Your mother,” Amon repeated, as if trying to push the idea through his mind. “Why?” The pink haired boy shifted uncomfortably.

“I… I don’t want to talk about it.” His knees began to bend, forcing his body to curl into himself. Maya watched silently as the filly in his arms wrapped her forelegs just a little tighter around his neck. The siren hoped it would do some good.

“I understand,” Amon spoke again. “The sins of the past are not an easy thing to confess, even more so if we truly regret them.” His footsteps echoed through the large room, his march towards the boy a short one. When he was within distance, the white masked man raised his hand to the boy’s shoulder, brushing against the white fur of the pony’s leg. Both Chrona and Sweetie Belle looked up to him.

Amon spoke, “Your regret for your actions is evidence enough for me you will not commit them again.” The boy’s lip trembled.

“It’s okay Chrona,” Sweetie said, earning his immediate attention. “You’re just sad. And my sister always says that when we’re sad, we just need to have somepony give us a hug.” Sweetie nuzzled her head and mane into the crook of the boy’s neck. “I promise to hug you for as long as it takes.”

A chorus of hiccups and sniffles came from the boy, but not a word of protest.

Amon removed his hand from the boy’s shoulder, returning it to behind his back. Maya watched on mutely, astounded by the display and words she had witnessed. Such a display on Athenas would have been publicly mocked. Here, it was embraced. There wasn’t anything she could see being wrong with that.

The Siren let out a soft sigh, finally relaxing for the first time in Amon’s presence. He reminded  her too much of the monks from the Abbey, but he didn’t seem to have any desire to harm them. He would have had more than a chance earlier with Chrona.

Maya turned from the trio, looking out the window the masked man had. Window was a generous term. There was no glass to keep the breeze from tickling her skin, and hardly a rail to keep her from falling from the room.

It didn’t make the view any less spectacular.

Maya’s golden eyes looked over a landscape she could only describe as forbidden. The land was large and expansive, stretching from under the tower. Like patches of cloth sewn together, the land was dotted with terrain she was taught as a child couldn’t exist with one another.

She saw a mountain to her right, rising higher than the tower itself, dotted with buildings of purple and gold, all tied together with a grand castle in the center. Then she saw another mountain to her far left, its summit barely rising above her eye-line. But between the two, she saw a collection of towering trees too small to be called a forest, sand piled in over an expanse of land too small to be called even a beach, pools of water dotting the landscape too small to be called anything larger than ponds, and finally, temples.

Growing in the Abbey, taught to pray and worship all her life, temples were things Maya was made to learn nearly every day of her life. She knew a temple when she saw one. She had just never seen so many so close together, and with such different designs.

One was built atop the mountain to her right, another into the foot of the mountain to her left. One rose from the sand like a pillar, another was covered by the trees of the tiny woods, and, just barely enough for her eyes to see, some peaked from the ponds of water, sunk into the depths of the liquid.

That was not to mention the other towers and monuments scattered throughout the land. Some looked like pillars, thin and jagged, jutting from the ground. Others looked like small hills, built up to a large plateau roof. There was even one that appeared to be a mountain itself, far past the remnants of the forest, desert, and lake.

But even with the copious number of temples, landscapes, and terrain aside, there was one sight that the Siren could not release. All around her, beyond the mountains and terrains, a cliff hung before the horizon.

There was only one word that came to Maya’s mind.

“Wow.”

Her word gained the focus of those behind her.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Amon’s deep voice earned Maya’s attention, though she only offered a glance from her golden eyes before returning to the landscape. “Traveling across all the lands of my old world I had never seen a sight like this before. Then again, I also never had a tower that bore my name.” The Siren snorted at the words, debating if he was entertaining his ego, or truly explaining the uniqueness of the land. Both seemed plausible.

“What is- WHOA!” The sudden exclamation from the filly earned a small jump from Maya, followed closely by a discontented sigh. Chrona soon joined by her side, Sweetie Belle still sitting comfortably in his arms, no longer hanging from his neck. Their lavender and green eyes were staring at the expanse of terrain with the same look of awe as Maya had.

“For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen anything like… this... before either.” Maya waved her hand out towards the land as she spoke, a word to describe what she was seeing not coming to her. “Maybe over the entire planet, but not just a piece of land on a cliff’s edge.”

“Cliff’s edge?” Amon spoke questioningly. “What makes you think we are on the edge of a cliff?” Maya’s brow rose at the masked man.

“Because of the large shear drops that are literally circling this tower, at least as far as I can see.” Maya’s finger traced the horizon, the eyes of Chrona and Sweetie Belle following the older woman’s line. “Where I’m from, that’s called a cliff.”

“And yet, when that same drop encircles us, we are no longer on a cliff, but an island.” The wind blew through the window, its whistling the only sound that echoed through the chamber. Maya stared at him blankly.

“An island.” She repeated, as if letting the idea roll through her mind. “Like what, an island at sea?”

“I do not know.” The masked man spoke again. “But I would assume not. I cannot see any water aside from those pools on the ground. Also, look closely off the edge.” His gloved hand rose from his back, pointing out the window as he did so. “What do you see?”

Maya’s eyes followed his direction looking far out and beyond the drop. Her vision squinted to narrow her vision, too distracted by the multiple collections of terrain. At first, all she could see was the edge of the land, dropping off into the horizon.

Then something floated by.

“It’s a cloud.” Chrona noted calmly, as if it wasn’t meant to be a surprising sight. “It’s a cloud floating around the island.” His vision turned to the masked man and siren. “What does that mean?”

“It means we are at an extreme altitude, in other words, far above sea level.” Amon’s hand returned to his back, gaze set outwards again. Maya however, let her hand run over her bare forehead.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” She mumbled to herself. “I was killed with Gaige, then I woke up in castle, then I was attacked by some… thing, and now I’m on top of the world with an androgynous boy, talking pony, and a masked man.” Her fingers ran over her eyelids, trying to calm her mind. “Maybe I should have stayed at the Abbey, and I hated the Abbey.” A sigh followed her words.

“Um, Mr. Amon?” The timid voice earned the man’s attention. “If I can ask, um, who were you looking at before?” The question caught the attention of the siren.

“Who?” Amon spoke in question. “Do you not mean what?” Chrona shook his head.

“No, because you were talking about being above others earlier and, um, I-I think you were looking at someone, right?”

Sweetie Belle’s vision changed from the pink haired boy to the white masked man, keeping her lips tight and sealed. Maya did much the same. A deep breath was drawn through Amon’s mask, and it caused a shiver to run down the boy’s back. The chuckle that followed, however, broke the tension.

“You are a clever child.” The compliment caught Chrona by surprise, as his gasp was indication of. He looked down at Sweetie Belle, still curled in his arms. She was looking up at him, a spark of confusion in her eyes. Chrona suspected he had the same look in his.

Amon’s boots clicked the short distance to the window’s edge, facing outwards once more. The whistling of the wind held claim over the room again, but only for a short while.

“I do not know how, nor even why, but in my rebirth into this world, I was given more than merely a chance for redemption.” Both of his hands rose from his back as he spoke, unfolding and reaching outwards. His palms were held upwards, as if holding an object none of them could see.

“When I ruled in my world, I did so through deception, pretending I had an awesome power that made the masses both fear and worship me.” Chrona, his attention solely focused on the man speaking, swallowed on a ball of saliva.

“Now, I have a fraction of that power.” Maya’s curiosity was as deep as the boy’s and filly’s.

“And what power is that?” Her words were spoken carefully, her left arm clenching into a fist. Amon, however, didn’t turn to face her or move to threaten her. His words chilled her enough.

“To see the souls of others.”

Recognition dawned in the eyes of the dark robed boy.

“Soul-Sight,” Chrona spoke easily, almost as if he was reading from a book. “I-It’s an ability some of m-my old friends could do.” Intentionally or not, he drew Sweetie Belle closer into his chest as he spoke. “It’s very rare.”

“Wait, hold on.” Maya spoke up, holding up her palms as she did so. One of them curled until her finger pointed at the boy. “Can you see souls? No, better question.” Her vision turned to Amon again, finger following her gaze. “You can see our souls?”

“Yes,” Amon answered easily, but his deep voice and cold tone did little to ease Maya. The sudden thought of having her soul being peered at irked the woman. “And I apologize if you think it rude of me. I have no control over your soul, I can only look at it, as you might a piece of paper.” The siren nodded slowly.

“Um, Mr. Amon,” Sweetie Belle spoke up, raising her hoof into the air as she did so. Chrona bent his head to see past its obstructive view. “What does my soul look like?” For some reason, the boy thought the man behind the mask was smiling. He didn’t want to imagine it though; it would be difficult to deal with.

“It is small and fragile, only slightly larger than yourself,” the pony flushed at the words. “But it’s bright, illuminating the room. I have not had this power for long, but I can assume with assurance that you have a kind and generous heart.” Chrona felt his arms heating up. He wondered if it was because of Sweetie Belle.

“Okay, that’s adorable,” Maya spoke up again, desperately trying to revert the attention to the topic at hand, “but can you tell us who you were looking at now?” Amon’s mask focused on the blue-haired woman, not speaking a word as he did so. The siren, however, too used to the monks at the Abbey, stood her ground with ease. When the man turned from her to look out the large glassless window, Maya counted it as a victory.

“There are two figures in the woods.” Amon began to speak. “They are both completely still, as if they were frozen in ice. They are, however, alive.” Silence followed his words for a short time, analyzing what his vision saw. “One of them is a horse, much like you.” His hand waved towards Sweetie Belle as he spoke. If he didn’t before, he had the filly’s attention now.

“Really?” She asked with enthusiasm. “What does she look like?”

“She has an orange coat and a long blond mane and tail. I am more familiar with the human body than the physique of a horse, but she appears to be strong, very strong. There is also a hat on her head.”

“That’s Applejack!”

The sudden shout from the filly earned a jump from Chrona, his grip around her becoming a little tighter. He looked down to see Sweetie Belle, who was staring at Amon. Her eyes were wide with what the boy could only peg as amazement, which her joyful smile helped to emphasize.

“Applejack?” Amon mimicked the filly, looking at her with a neutral posture. The filly didn’t flinch.

“Yeah, she’s the big sister of one of my best friends!” When the smile grew across the pony’s white muzzle, it became clear she was more joyful than fearful. When Chrona’s eyes looked up to Amon’s mask, he wished for not the first time to be able to see the face beneath it. He didn’t know how to deal with a talking mask.

Well… that wasn’t entirely true.

“I see.” The deep voice of Amon spoke, his head turning towards the far off woods again. Silence made itself home in the grand room, the four creatures present still with patience. “There is man with her as well.” A deep breath left his mask as his vision focused on the far off forest. “He is in a white robe, a sword carried by his side, held in a black scabbard. His hair is equally dark, and tied in a bun, with geta on his feet.”

“I… I think his name is… Jack.” Chrona softly spoke, earning the attention of the other three. He blushed immediately at the focus of their attention. “I-I only heard it once… while, a-and briefly, too. I don’t know.”

“You know something we do not. Don’t doubt yourself so easily.” It was odd to Chrona, hearing such comforting words coming from such a deep and chilling voice. It reminded him of someone he didn’t want to remember.

“So… Applejack and Jack… why do I get the feeling that was planned out?” Maya scratched her head as she asked the question, half serious and half rhetorically.

“Then you know them both?” Amon questioned the siren. She was quick to dismiss the claim.

“Know them? No, I don’t.” She spoke with a shaking head, causing her bangs to whip. “I saw them for all of a few seconds before I ended up here. It’s probably the same story for Chrona and Sweetie Belle here.” When the attention was turned to the boy, his face flushed in embarrassment. When Sweetie Belle heard Maya speak, she blinked in confusion.

“Interesting.” Amon noted before turning away from the boy. Chrona felt a bit of relief work its way into his body, glad to have the attention drawn off of him. He felt a pressure on his forearm, and he looked down to see it. Sweetie Belle was gripping it in her forelegs, smiling up at him as she did so. He gratefully returned the gesture.

“Wait.” Amon’s word earned the attention of the trio. “They are moving.”

The four beings in the room turned their attention to the forest, as if hoping to see what would happen. Only one could, however. It was a fact that quickly became clear to Maya.

“Amon,” she spoke his name kindly. “Can you tell us what is happening?” The masked man nodded towards her, mask as empty as ever before.

“Of course,” he agreed, turning his vision back to the woods. “The man is moving right now. He appears to be heavily disoriented. But he is faring better than the horse. She appears to be very weak…”

The world returned to her in a slow haze. Everything around her felt disproportioned and heavy, moved and out of place. Only vaguely was she aware that she was lying on her side, and even then she couldn’t tell which was up or down. Her hooves were heavy, vision dark, and fur wetter than her dog’s nose. But more than anything else, her head throbbed, like an angry bull was stomping around on the inside.

Applejack was sure of one thing though; the pain meant she was alive.

A slow groan left her lips as she tried to turn herself over. She felt the wetness beneath her cling to her fur, holding it almost possessively as she turned. It gave a slow lick over her skin, complete with a wet flop as her limbs swung over her body, only to land again on the moist surface.

She dragged her legs inward, feeling the ground beneath her. It was ground, that she could tell. Applejack and her family entire had tilled enough earth and care for enough trees to be able to tell a bit of soil and vegetation apart. Right now, she was on grass. No doubt wet from some form of early morning or deep forest dew.

“Ms. Apple”

Something hummed outside of her hearing, only faintly permeating the thick barrier that was her mind. It sounded like somepony was trying to speak to her, but for all Applejack could tell, it might as well have been Winona barking at her.

Another groan left her lips as she tried to push herself to her hooves, putting her full weight on her unresponsive limbs. Her legs only quivered as she tried to stand.

“Do not worry, I am here. I can help.”

Applejack felt limbs wrapping around her, pushing themselves beneath her weighty frame and the slick ground she still lay on. It was an uncomfortable feeling, her fur clinging to the invading bodies, pulling at her skin as they did so. But she felt herself slowly rise because of it, the objects wrapped around her slowly pulling her up.

Her breathing quickened in slight panic, strength returning to her limbs, even if temporarily. Instantly, she felt the strength in the objects curled around her weaken, dropping her closer to the ground. Her legs still didn’t have the strength to hold her upright.

“I apologize.” The sound came again, far off and dull, like she was hearing it through a thick membrane, or water. It was probably water. Her mind felt like it was swimming in water.

She couldn’t keep her jaw straight, leaving it to hang uselessly beneath her head. Every part of her felt just as heavy and useless. Even her mind seemed to have a weight upon it, fogging it with haze.

Applejack could feel parts of her yearning for different things. One part of her wanted to lie back down on the ground and wait for these dreary symptoms to pass. Another wished she had the strength to stand on her own hooves, instead of depending on the thing that was supporting her now. But then another wanted, more than the other two parts combined, to be able to tell where she was.

That was when she started to hear ringing.

It was faint, far off like the muffled sounds she had been hearing so far. And yet, it was soothing like water, a peaceful sound that seemed to make her heavy limbs lighter and hazy mind clearer.

With a begrudging effort from her body, she forced her eyes to open, making the heavy lids move. Her vision was just as blurry and formless as her mind. Colors merged, shapes melted, and she was left with a sight that she could only think of to describe as smashed Zap Apples.

But, somehow, through her bleary and awful gaze, there was a single object she could define.

“What is that?”

Only faintly could Applejack make out the question, formed by what she could tell was a voice for the first time. But, fortunately or not, she could more than easily see the thing the voice was questioning. Even through Applejack’s darkened gaze, it was easy to see.

It was hard to miss a glowing object, after all.

BEGIN

“Mighty… peaceful… like…” The words rolled from her lips, pushing past her tongue. It felt like speaking with leaves in her mouth, talking through things that weren’t there. Her words, however, seemed to attract the small flying object.

Slowly, most likely delicately, it hovered over to her, lightly flying just out of the boundaries of her vision. Its light pink glow shined over her though, warming her frigid hooves and drying her wet fur. For the first time since she groggily awoke, a more peaceful sigh left her lips in place of a pained groan.

In truth, she felt better. Or, more specifically, she was starting to feel better.

Her legs started to gain strength, the weight of her limbs becoming more manageable and familiar to her. Breathing was easier as well, her breaths quickly becoming less and less labored to her. Even the clouds in her mind began to dissipate. Thoughts came more easily to her and, more importantly, she was able to gain more of a breathing of where she was.

The first thing she noticed, however, were the arms wrapped around her torso, clothed in a white material.

“Can you stand?” The question was much clearer than any of the words she had heard before. Just one more thing to be thankful for in her book.

“Yep, Ah’m as set as a new fence post.” She could feel the life in her voice. It felt just as good as being able to stand again. The man next to her, however, didn’t move. “Ya’ll can let go of me now, Jack.”

“Oh,” the samurai spoke simply, releasing her as he took a step back as he did so. “My apologies Ms. Apple.” The farm pony pushed away the small annoyance at the title. She felt too good to let a name put her down.

“Ain’t no harm done.” Her green eyes looked to the small object floating in the air, hovering above her still, circling in the air with its light pink glow. The longer she looked at it, the better she felt. “Ah reckin Ah owe ya somethin’ mighty nice,” she spoke to the flying light, unaware if it could make sense of her words or not. “Couldn’t be no coincidence that Ah get a life in the spirits soon as ya started flyin’ near me.”

The small ball of light danced in the air, buzzing almost. It drifted closer to Applejack’s snout, holding place just in front of her eyes. The light coming off of the small object was far too bright for Applejack to grab any kind of detail. No detail except for the light. The light, and the two sets of near insect-like wings coming from the ball.

“I believe this to be… a fairy.” The words of the samurai drew Applejack’s attention, if only momentarily. “Though it is far different than the ones I have seen before.”

The pink fairy flew away from Applejack, hovering now in front of Jack’s nose. The man crossed his eyes and leaned his head back, keeping himself from being blinded by the light. It was shaking in what Applejack couldn’t help but think of as delight.

“Ah’ll take that as a sign yer right.” The farm pony spoke with a smirk across her muzzle, keeping a scoff from passing her lips.

Her eyes looked downwards, away from the man that accompanied her and the fairy that had helped her. As she had thought even through her pain-filled haze, the ground was covered with a neat layer of grass, coated in turn with dew. Her hooves drew lightly over the grass, feeling the life in the roots as she did so.

An earth pony born and raised, and in turn used in her profession, Applejack could tell a healthy shrub from touch and feel alone. When she touched the grass beneath her hooves, she felt anything but strength. Rather the opposite, she felt as if the green grass beneath her was weak.

Frowning, she dug her hoof into the soil, pulling at it. She bit her lips as she found the roots of the grass easily. Unfortunately, they were what she thought they would be, sickly and unhealthy. Too thin and too shallow to properly absorb the water that coated them, and no doubt diseased in some way to keep their already small and thin roots reduced in number. It didn’t sit right with her.  A sight left her lips as she looked upwards.

If she hadn’t sighed, she would have gasped in shock.

High above her stood a canopy of trees, far higher than any shrubbery she had ever grown before, it loomed over her, towering like a mountain before her small and vulnerable form. The sight forced her ears to perk, and the perking of her ears brought the sound of the mighty monoliths to her ears.

They groaned with the stature, swaying in ways that forced their immensely thick wood and bark to cry in protest. When one ended its painful call, another responded in kind, its trunk swaying in a direction opposite to the one before. It was a conversation of giants, and one Applejack had only the knowledge of a toddler to appreciate.

“Whoa nelly…” she breathlessly spoke, spinning on her hooves as she tried to right herself. Vertigo was a sensation she had experienced before, but never when she was on the ground looking up. It was a whole new kind of weird.

“Are you alright Ms. Apple?” Jack asked next to her, his digitized hand laying over her coat, steadying her. She leaned into it graciously. Her vision, however, was brightened immensely with the presence of the fairy floating in front of her.

It weaved through the air in a frantic pattern, painting the pattern of a sideways eight. Applejack stared at the display for a moment, unsure if it was trying to help her or figuring out a way to ask if she was alright. It made a ringing noise with every pass.

“Ah’m good, Ah’m all set.” The form pony assured the two, leaning off Jack’s hand and standing to her tallest again. She picked her hat off her head, lightly waving it over her face to generate a cool, but soft breeze. It helped to ease her mind. A few breaths of relief and she returned the Stetson hat to the top of her mane.

“If you are ill, please tell me.” Applejack dismissed the Samurai with her hoof, keeping a grateful smile on her lips.

“Ah ain’t sick or nothin’,” she answered easily. “Just didn’t expect Discord ta drop us in a forest that makes mah home grown trees look like regular shrubs.” The farm pony let her vision darken for a second, shutting her eyes as she readjusted her bearings. Breaths became easier after a small amount of time.

“These woods are grand, but I have seen structures taller than these.” Applejack let the words process through her mind before she opened her mouth to question the man. However, by the time her question was ready, he was already speaking again. “But the uniqueness of the woods is not for their height, but for their liveliness.” The question in Applejack’s mind withered and died at his words.

“What ‘re ya’ll talkin’ about?” Rather than answer her with words, Jack instead began to walk forward, easily earning the attentive gaze of the farm pony. He walked to the nearest tree, and placed his hand on it, rubbing his palm over the bark like an artist would their finest work.

In a flash his sword swung at the tree.

“Whoa there!” Applejack shouted as she backpedaled from the display. The flash of light and singing of metal more that startling her. The high ring and frantic flight of the fairy near her was all the proof she needed to know the man’s action was not one commonly taken.

Her eyes focused on Jack just in time to see his blade return to his dark sheath. His form remained still as the ground as he continued to face the tree. For a moment, the only sound Applejack heard was her breathing, the fairy’s flying, and the trees high above still groaning under their own weight.

“Nothing.” The word was spoken so simply and so suddenly, Applejack was almost unaware the samurai had said it. Her green eyes flashed to the pink fairy hovering beside her. She could image the little tuft of light was looking at her as well.

“What in tarnation are ya doin’ over there Jack?” Her question held more bite than she intended. Before he answered, however, the samurai stepped away from the tree, letting the farm pony see what his sword work had done.

“My sword could barely scratch the surface of these trees.” If Applejack’s gaze had become any flatter, she would have fallen onto the forest’s floor.

“Yeah, so? No offense partner, but I don’t think ya got the brawn ta do much more to a tree with just that there knife.” Despite her words, Jack continued to look at her with an unflinching gaze.

“Then you underestimate this blade.” His hand gripped the guard of the tool, thumb running down its length with care. “It was designed by the gods as a tool to slay the wicked, and protect the innocent. There is very little, if not nothing, this blade cannot cut.” Mutely, Applejack listened to him speak. He words were far too honest for her to think he was lying or exaggerating in any way.

“The only thing I know it can do no harm to are innocent lives.” Those words hit a bell in Applejack’s head.

“Yer sayin’ these trees are alive?” Her question was dry, spoken with a light smile. Jack gave her a nod of affirmation. In return, the pony chuckled lightly. “Aw Jack, Ah coulda told ya there was life in plants an’ trees. I work mah fields long enough every day ta get a sense of that at least.”

“Truly?” The samurai questioned her. “I was honestly unaware that such forms of life could carry honest thoughts.”

“Beg yer pardon there Jack,” the farm pony spoke with a dismissing hoof. “But this ain’t exactly yer hometown now.” The samurai blinked. “Ah ain’t the most cultured of ponies, but Ah can at least tell ya that around Equestria’s parts, trees an’ ponies tend have a tight relationship.”

“Oh, my apologies.” The human quickly bowed as he spoke, eyes shut in submission. Applejack felt a flush run through her cheeks. Her teeth grit each other as the fairy that had helped her flew between them. The pony couldn’t shake the thought that it was teasing her somehow.

“Ain’t nothin’ ta be sorry for Jack,” the pony waved off again, just before she pulled her hat over face. She almost felt a tooth crack under the strength her jaw was clamped on itself with.

“Very well, but now I have a question to ask.” Applejack felt the blood leave her enough to warrant her hat being moved. Flushed features no longer stained her cheeks.

“Have you not yet noticed our trapped state?” Honestly, the pony had not.

Applejack looked around herself, truly looking at the trees that surrounded them now for the first time. In every direction her green eyes looked, she saw the trunk of a mighty forest giant. Between the trunks there was no more than a hoof’s length of room. The gigantic structures were all rooted to the dead ground beneath her, crowded in a manner so tight and so constricting she would have shed a tear to see it on her farm.

No wonder the ground beneath her felt so dead. The trees were kept so tightly packed there weren’t enough nutrients in the ground to keep even the grass alive anymore. The very fact that the trees were as tall as they were was nothing short of a miracle.

That didn’t temper Applejack’s patience or their pink fairy friend’s annoyed flight.

“Ya mean ta tell me that Discord dropped us in the middle of ‘er bunch of trees, trunk to trunk so tight that we can’t shimmy ‘tween them and so thick ya can’t cut them?” Her voice carried a sarcastic whine, as if there was answer she couldn’t see. The ball of light above her buzzed with its wings. The pony could only imagine it was holding back some kind of fit of annoyance.

“Oddly specific, but yes.” The simplicity of his answer earned a scoff from Applejack.

“Well dang nabbit, what’re we gonna do now?” The farm pony slowly strode in front of the wall of trees, both appreciating and loathing their strength and size. It was one of the first few times nature had fought against her. “Should we wait fer the trees ta wither and die?”

“I would think that would take far more time than we have available to us.” The samurai answered almost immediately. It took a moment for the orange earth pony to realize just how serious he thought her question to be. It was hard to tell if he was either too honest or too thick to see the rhetorical sense of her words. She felt like Twilight as she decided to test the idea.

“Ah don’t suppose ya know a way out of here?” The pony asked. “Between the trees that ‘er higher than a mountain and the wall they practically make, Ah ain’t seein’ an easy way out of here, do you?”

“I do actually have an idea of where to go.”

That earned Applejack’s attention.

“Really? Where might that be?” Her green eyes looked up to the man’s dark orbs, which were focused forward and into the growth of the trees, shadowed and hidden by the canopy of them. The pink fairy that flew around his head broke orbit, slowly drifting down his trail of vision.

Applejack followed the sprite with curious eyes, watching as it slowly illuminated the shadows between the trees. As a farmer from a field of trees, she expected nothing between the mighty wooden pillars but new growth or saplings.

Instead, the pink fairy illuminated a path she never expected to see, not in a forest at least.

Dark gray stones layered on top of one another, disturbed and pushed by the roots of the trees around them. Arches and door frames, pushed into shambles by tree branches and twigs, and a dark empty hall, only given home to shadows as the tall canopy of trees hid above them.

“What in the name of Celestia is that?” The earth pony swore in question, tilting back the brim of her hat for a better view. Jack spoke simply and easily next to her.

“A trap, doubtlessly.” The words earned him critical eyes from the farm pony. “But, it’s also the only path we have to walk. Waiting here is not an option.”

“Whoa now, why ain’t it an option?” Applejack asked with a tone that matched her eyes, critical and challenging. “We ain’t got no reason to venture into some ruin like that.” Her hoof jabbed at the dark passageway as she spoke, their fairy friend hovering around the passage.

“There is nowhere for us to go, and if this monster of yours returns here, we will have no chance against him.” Applejack heard the swish of metal before she saw the shine of his blade. The pony took a step or two back as the human handled the sword in front of him expertly.

“I have more experience in dealing with the ruins of old worlds than I do gods that toy with men. And I have experience in both.” His words were like the tree trunks around them. Impossible to ignore and hard as stone.

“Ah, don’t like this.” The farm pony muttered. Jack nodded before he spoke in turn.

“Neither do I Ms. Apple, but if we are to leave this odd realm of your monster’s creation, we must do as he has requested of us.” Applejack scoffed, knowing full well what the samurai meant in his words.

“I hate these kind of games.”

END

A Flamboyant Battle

Jack sprayed water from his mouth like a fountain.

“What the heck was that?!” the Hyperion head shouted aloud, hand waving at the screen in front of him. His heterochromatic eyes were wide in clear shock, lips scowling in displeasure. He hated not knowing something.

“It appears two more subjects were awoken out of their absolute zero stasis.” His daughter’s robotic voice droned behind him, stating what she saw without a trace of emotion. Her father, however, had enough of a reaction for the two of them.

“Really?! No freaking kidding!” He shouted at his daughter as he spun his chair. “And here I thought they were just woke up from their snooze like a damn alarm clock went off! Wakey wakey, time for bakey!” He raised his voice as he humorlessly mocked a child’s rhyme. Angel sensed none of her father’s sarcasm.

“That would be an incorrect assumption then, father. It is impossible for any lifeform to generate heat out of an absolute zero state. Their ability to move again is doubtlessly by the force an energy signature I am not equipped to analyze.” Both of Jack’s hands slammed into his mask, running down the hard material.

“Angel, I swear to God, if you weren’t my daughter I’d wire you up to a generator and let you fry for days.” His cold eyes looked at his daughter’s body. “Oh wait! I already did that!” He flung his finger at her then. “And if I’m willing to do that, you’d better stop mocking me and start figuring out how in the hell those two started moving!”

“Running hypothesis algorithms.” Angel’s voice spoke in the same robotic tone. After her words ended, the room began to hum at a higher pitch, energy flowing through the numerous circuits hidden beneath the metal panels of the walls. The lights grew brighter as she did so, and the few orifices on her body began to glow as well. A small trail of smoke began to rise from her lips. Jack watched on, scowling with impatience.

“Well, hurry it up!” He shouted at his daughter. The command caused the energy around him to drop. It did not go unnoticed. “What the hell was that? I said pick it up, not drop it off.”

“Diagnostic scanners complete. Hypothesis generators complete. Now listing possible reasons.” The console next to Jack lit up with life, a small list full of text shining off of the holographic display. His eyes scanned the reasons quickly, but carefully.

“It’s not ‘cause of their spirit.” His hand crossed off the bullet. “Or their willpower.” Another swipe of his hand removed the option. “And it seriously isn’t their dedication to win. I mean, c’mon, people who have that just die faster!” He smacked the holodisplay, causing the text to shatter and fade. “But… it could be this.”

His hand double-tapped on the one option on the list that seemed plausible to his analytical mind. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an option he was fond of looking at.

Discord awoke them to progress the game faster.

“Really wishing it was just dumb luck,” Jack dryly let out, a curt sigh following his words. “At least I can work around luck. I’m gonna have a hell of a time trying to outmaneuver That Cord.” He flicked his hand, shutting off the monitor. Jack’s chair spun back to the large screen at the end of the room, the white dressed man and orange coated pony still walking through the stone ruins. The pink fairy floating above their head was a nice touch.

“But, if he’s trying to get the game moving, guess the least I can do is lend a hand, right?” He smiled wryly to his wired daughter. “I mean, he’s got enough hoofs, claws, and paws, I’m pretty sure he could use something that has more than four digits on it.” His chuckle was dry and humorless, echoing through the empty room.

His hand rubbed over the controller to the T.V.’s, his heterochromatic eyes reading all the buttons carefully. It was always easy to tell where some of the buttons were, but the moment you had to find one you don’t use everyday would be like finding a needle in a hay stack. Then again, it was his creation, so he could definitely find the switch on a device he designed.

“Ha!” he cried triumphantly as he found it. “Now this oughta make things a bit more interesting.”

He aimed the controller at the screen, scrolling through the static images of moving parties and frozen statues until he landed on the trio he was looking for.

Luna watched Karl carefully. She was several hoofsteps back from him, a significant enough space between them. If he attempted to assault them, she and Riku would be ready. Another side of her, however, found that possibility less and less likely. He was simply too cheery for her to constantly assume the worst.

Even now, as he walked ahead of the silver haired boy and herself, he did so while swaying his head, lightly crouching and rising with every step he took. It was as if he was listening to a tune she couldn’t hear, and enjoying it with every passing second. She didn’t need to see his face to know that there was a smile across his stone lips.

He was an enigma of a character; a mystery the lunar princess simply couldn’t solve. It was nagging her to no end.

“Looks like another dead end ahead.” The cheerful call of Karl came. And indeed, as Luna looked past the living statue, she saw another familiar red wall at the end of the hall, appearing just as deadly and molten as the rest of the rock surrounding them.

“Yes it does,” Luna agreed to the enigma of a creature. “But I dare to assume it is another false wall, as we have already seen twice before.” She heard Riku snort beside her. The diarch did not see the humor in the situation.

“You never seem to stop impressing me your highness,” Karl spoke again, spinning on his heel until he faced the pair. “Hey, why don’t I test that theory right now?” Without another word, the stone man took a few bounding leaps towards the wall. With a great kick, he launched himself at the illusionary wall.

The crack of the impact was viciously audible. Riku and Luna winced.

Karl hung from the wall, slightly embedded into its rocky texture. The hot surface seemed to lick at his clothes, but no mind was paid by the living statue. He was, however, still as the stone he was made of.

“Karl…” Riku spoke tentatively, taking a few slow steps towards him. “You alright?” The stone man’s head twisted out of the wall, red rock falling in small chunks.

“Me?” He spoke gleefully again, as if being called upon in the midst of a game. “Why, I’m just great. I just wanted to give this wall a big old hug is all. Uh oh.” The statue’s form began to fall backwards, loosened from the small divot he had made. He began to fall to the floor. “Welp, the wall isn’t fake at le-“

Karl fell straight through the floor. Once more, Riku and Luna were left stunned.

Both watched the now empty end of the hall, expecting something else to occur. A flash entrance, a trick of the light, anything else. But nothing did happen, and the two continued to watch the supposed dead end with wide curious eyes.

“I… did not expect such a thing.” Luna admitted slowly. She began to take careful hoof steps towards the end of the hall, small and light, testing the ground before moving forward. Riku followed beside her, mimicking her actions.

“Yeah,” the boy agreed weakly. “Kind of makes me glad Karl is here now. Would have hated to fall like that.” He let out soft chuckle, and, against her better judgment, Luna joined him.

“It is both a fair assumption and a stroke of luck that the statue feels no pain.” She noted, another hoof step being taken forward.

“You can say that agai- Whoa!” Riku cut himself off as his foot drifted through the floor. He fell backwards to avoid falling. Luna stopped just beside him.

The two looked at the floor, carefully analyzing it as they had the two walls prior. It appeared little different than the rocky surface behind them, but between Karl’s fall and Riku’s almost descent, it was more than clear it was not. The boy twisted on the ground until he was on his hands and knees, face doubtlessly hanging over the false floor. Tentatively, he let one of his hands reach forward, ready to paw at the ground.

Just as he and the dark alicorn silently suspected, his hand drifted through the ground. Riku gave Luna a look, nodding towards her as he did so. The message was clear to her, and she nodded in return. Riku then knelt through the hole.

It wasn’t long until he emerged on the other side, one part of his body resting on the hot rock, the other looking through the illusionary floor. It was his midsection, caught in the midst of the magical wall, that felt odd and out of place. But he could worry about that later.

The room he looked into was large, caught between the size of the cavern he and the princess had first appeared and the smaller chasm they had found Karl in. It was square in shape, with the same fiery red rock lining the walls as there were in every hall and room thus far. It appeared no cooler in the room than it did in any other room or hall before it. What caught Riku’s eyes, however, were not the walls of the room or it size, but what was in it.

Much like the mausoleum from before, there were carved rocks all around the room. Square shapes carved from a material that appeared much denser, and much cooler, than the surrounding rock. Marble came to mind. There were engravings and images across them that he could not see from his high angle. However, what he could see where the flames that were billowing from them. Like torches of stone, there were five across the room, one in every corner and then another in the center.

Oh, and there was Karl far beneath Riku, looking upwards at him with the same smile as he always had. At least his eyes had a bit of surprise in them.

“You alright Karl?” Riku called to the stone man, unsure of just what kind of answer he wanted to hear. Neglect, however, was not an option he could indulge in, even within his imagination.

Karl’s unscarred eye twitched almost violently at the question. Riku couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his features.

“Why I’m right as rain!” he called back up to the silver haired boy. “I just thought it was time to gain a new perspective on things, right Arma?” Riku saw the black bird fly onto the man’s chest, neck twisting left and right as it looked at the living statue. Karl laughed without reason. “Why yes, you do raise a good point.”

The living statue then pushed himself upright, standing next to the stone flame in the center of the room. His hands brushed down his body, beating off the dirt and rocks that littered it. Then, aiming his head high, he spoke to Riku again.

“I assure you it’s quite safe here.” He spoke gleefully as ever. “Just make sure you watch your step on the way down. I’d hate to see the quick drop and sudden stop.” The laughter that followed his words was anything but comforting.

Riku pulled back from the hole, blinking as his vision was returned to the hallway, his orientation askew. A quick clench of his eyes, however, and he was better.

“How is Karl?” As Luna’s question reached his ears, he flashed her a smile.

“He’s fine. His own words, too.” The grin dropped as he spoke on. “It’s a far fall downwards though. I’ll be good for a short fall, but will you?” The princess scoffed at Riku, earning a raised brow from the boy. Instead of answering him with words she did so with action.

Her wings flared, encompassing the hallway entire.

“I may not be fit to fly in this heat,” she began to speak, cool gaze unchanging. “But my wings are not damaged and my feathers unharmed. A glide is but a jest of a move for me to perform.” Riku chuckled at her words.

“Right, got it. I’ll remember that for next time.” He turned back towards the hole, positioning himself for the quick fall that was coming. But before he did, he snuck a few words to the alicorn beside him. “Oh, and stay away from the fire.”

He got a great view of her perplexed features before letting his body fall through the illusionary floor.

The descent was quick, as Riku knew it would be. Thankfully, he had fallen from higher heights at faster rates and with less time to prepare. This was a fall, but it was hardly dangerous.

His body flipped through the air, descending at a speed he desired. The blade in his hands made his will so. His feet tapped lightly on the hard rock beneath him, as if being set down by the wind. He looked up Karl with smile on his face. The stone man wore an expression of pleasant surprise, though with the smile permanently etched across his long lips, it was unlikely he would show any emotion that wasn’t cheery.

“I didn’t know you could fly.” He noted with a hint of curiosity. “And without wings, too. Call me silly, but I would have thought I’d see that princess flutter down here before you.” As if speaking the magic word, the sound of rustling feathers came from above.

The two looked up, seeing Princess Luna descending down to them, wings outstretched to their fullest. Far beneath her, looking up at her majestic form, Riku truly saw her as a beautiful creature for the first time. The swaying of her spectral mane, the dark mystique of her coat and feathers, not to mention the circular descent to the ground, complete with a the slow clopping of hooves as she landed. Her head flicked towards the two as she was done, a subtle smile across her muzzle.

“Check that, you both can fly.” Karl spoke up, breaking Riku from his thoughts. “Guess that means you two can float like butterflies while I’m stuck sinking like a rock.” A soft chuckle came from his closed lips. “That makes it three to one, huh Arma?” His gray colored hand scratched underneath the black beak of the bird. It turned its head with appreciation. While the stone man entertained his bird, Luna took the time to observe the new room.

“Such detail in this pillars of stone and fire,” she noted aloud, eyes scanning over the square structures. “Riku, do these not remind you of the structure from before?” It was as if the alicorn had read the boy’s mind.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” he spoke in agreement as he walked to the princess’s side. Next to one another, they both approached one of the pillars in the corner of the room, its flames crackling above them. Silent for a moment, they both marveled at the structure.

“What do you suppose makes it burn?” The alicorn began to think aloud from beside the boy. “I neither see nor saw kindling upon them.”

“Neither did I, which makes me think it’s something… magical I guess.” Karl twisted his head to Riku as the boy spoke.

“Magical?” He spoke the word in question, earning a gaze from the two.

“Yeah,” the silver-haired teen spoke. “If there’s nothing there to burn, but there’s a fire burning, then it has to be working off of some spell. You know, like lightning without a cloud, wind without pressure, gravity without mass. Making the impossible a reality.”

“You speak in such simple terms regarding the power of magic.” Luna was quick to pick up where Riku had left off. The boy crossed his arms as the alicorn continued. “It can do much more than that, and I dare say your very existence, Karl, is in part of the magic of some creator.” The living statue put his gray hand to his chest, mouth open with a surprised smile.

“Really?” He questioned rhetorically. “I’m living because of magic. Did a boy wish upon a star for me to be real?” The princess scoffed at his question, turning from him as she did so. Riku shook his head, looking away from the statue man as well. “What? Too sarcastic? You both need to lighten up a little, and that’s saying something when it’s coming from a man made of stone.” He chuckled behind the two, but otherwise did nothing more.

“Ignore him for a bit,” the teen suggested, doing his best to avert his gaze. “There are other matters to worry about.”

“Is that wise?” She whispered quickly and quietly, far too softly for any creature to hear.

“If he is still planning on attacking us, he won’t do it here.” He looked around, as if to confirm his theory before speaking it. “He needs us to get out. We’re not there yet.” The alicorn beside him gave a nod of affirmation.

“So,” Luna spoke. “What do you believe is sustaining these flames?”

“Like I just said, magic.” The boy waved his hand in the air as he spoke. “There isn’t really a whole lot more to say other than that.” The alicorn returned Riku’s comments with a look of surprise.

“Are thou’ not familiar with the Ley Lines or properties of magic?” Obviously not, because to the silver haired teen she spoke to, half the words went straight over his head. Her accent was not a reason for the miscommunication either. “Riku?” she questioned.

“No, I don’t know what any of that stuff means.” Riku responded to the princess, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. “It’s not like there’s a class for this kind of stuff. A practical one at least.”

“Over here!”

“You truly do not?” Luna turned to the boy as she questioned him, flames momentarily disregarded. “Yet we.... I have witnessed you conjure portals with ease, and if I can assume, manipulate the path of your blade. W-I have seen you perform both acts, one more than once.”

“See, that’s the trick.” As if to demonstrate, Riku held his sword up between the two. The Path to Dawn glowed beneath the light of the flames. The silver teen’s free hand ran across the sleek metal as he spoke.

“I thought it would have been best to save for later, but this blade is the only reason why I can do magic at all. Its strength, size, and even shape depend upon the strength of my heart, and whether I exist in the light or dark. This blade, however, is called the Path to Dawn. I’m sure you can figure out what that means about my heart.” Luna, for not the first time, marveled at the blade. She was seeing it under a new light, and the flames above them had little to do with it.

Such power in a single blade, and given to the hands of a single life to wield. Such a tool existed to bother Luna and Celestia not long ago. But if there was anything the past had reminded her, no one soul should have all that power.

“Yoohoo! I have a question for you two!” Both the alicorn princess and silver haired teen sighed in annoyance.

“What is it Karl?” Riku spoke carefully, the Path to Dawn being gripped just a bit harder in his hand.

“I know I’m new here, but is that normal?”

Luna turned her eyes to the stone man, fully expecting him to be pointing at some odd carving or inanimate statue. Instead, she saw him pointing one of the flames still burning atop its square altar; the pillar in the center of the room. As Luna looked at it, she too started to see it acting oddly. Riku was quick to join the pair.

Atop the stone altar, slightly above their collective heights, the flames were growing higher, beginning to lick the ceiling above them. Luna squinted her eyes more the brighter it became. For not the first time, she was glad her magic was keeping her cool. The thought occurred to her that Riku was probably thinking the same.

“It’s growing, right?” The boy spoke passively, unimpressed by the flame. “What’s the big deal? Fire kinda does that.” Luna gave the silver-haired boy a flat look before turning her eyes back to the growing pillar of flames. She was wrong about his thoughts.

“Fire grows larger when it has more to burn.” The diarch took steps backwards as her mind began to work. “Yet this burns brighter in a cavern of rock with barely even air to burn.” Riku’s eyes began to narrow as the implications became clearer. “That only leaves one possibility for us to assume.”

The flames now surrounded the rock, roaring with heat. Karl stood by it with a chipper smile on his face. Riku and Luna backed away from it warily. The boy finished the thoughts of the alicorn.

“Something is making it burn brighter.”

“Well I think it’s doing a marvelous job!” Karl cheered as he outstretched his arms, as if embracing the now roaring flame. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a fire as big as this, and I wasn’t allowed to move back then.” The statue man spun on his heel, taking calm steps away from the dangerous inferno. “But it makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

“Wonder about what?” Riku asked, voice constrained by his focus being diverted elsewhere. Karl smiled darkly before he responded.

“Is this little bonfire a show,” he stuck up one of his grey fingers as he spoke. “A trap,” another finger rose from his palm. “Or… an entrance?” He clenched his fingers into a fist, his attention turning back towards the fire. Before the alicorn or boy could answer him, their attention was returned to the fire as well.

More specifically, the dancing flames.

The fire was no longer growing, but it was far from still. The red flames had begun to spin, snaking as if caught in some twister the three could not see. Like a churning cauldron they spun, moving at a pace that became blinding to watch.

Riku raised his hand to his eyes, shielding them from the heat. Luna mimicked the action with her hoof. Karl bent low to the ground as he stared up at the fire, Arma slowly hopping down his shoulder as he did so. Then, laughter came.

It belonged to none of the three. It grew from the fire.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha…”

A figure rose from the fire.

BEGIN

Try as she might, Luna could not describe the thing aside from what was obvious. A body of flames held together by nothing she could see. Arms and legs without flesh and blood. Dark vicious spikes at the end of its appendages.

And a sickly sweet smile painted over its black rock face.

“A friend of yours, Karl?” Riku asked tensely, blade already raised to the side of his head. Luna flicked her eyes to the boy momentarily to see his posture. Strong, balanced, and with his outstretched arm, the very visage of a warrior.

“I’m impressed, but not flattered.” The stone man responded to Riku. Luna’s eyes looked to him now and, for not the first time, she suspected his innocent nature.

A blade as black as a starless night was held in his hand, crossed over his chest. His body was low the ground, legs crouched deep enough to allow his undamaged hand to lightly rub across it. The look in the stone man’s eyes was nothing short of voracious. Luna needed no imagination to know what he hungered for.

“Here he comes!” Riku’s call ripped Luna’s attention back to the monster before her.

The creature of flames dropped from the center pillar and landed beside Karl, rising until it stood easily double the stone man’s height. He only smiled at the creature, lowering Arma until the blade was scraping the floor. It made a vicious grinding sound as it did so. Riku and Luna took steps back from the creature, both preparing in their own way for an attack. The diarch’s horn flared to life, preparing the first spell that would come to her mind.

The monster began to spin. It did so with a speed that resembled a tornado.

“Get ready for anything!” Riku yelled aloud. He gripped the hilt of his keyblade with both hands, twisting it until the flat was aligned with his face. Without a shield, it was the only guard he had. However, it was unneeded.

Luna, preparing for an attack, flashed her horn with a twist of her head. Instantly, a shield of aura surrounded the two. It was dark like the shadows, but dotted with lights like stars the alicorn so sorely missed. Riku momentarily gaped at it. His attention, however, was rightfully focused on a different matter.

“Oh look! He’s dancing!” Karl jeered at the taller creature. His stone form seemed to slither across the ground, keeping his body to the floor and blade tight in his hands. “I wonder if he can do that without his legs.”

In a jump befitting a beast, Karl lunged at the flaming man, his dark blade swinging through the air. It ran through the fiery legs of the dancing creature, passing through it without resistance. The statue man slid across the ground opposite the creature, stopping only when he faced the living flames again, smiling up at the beast.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha…” The laughter came again from the creature. Karl chuckled with it.

“Karl!” Riku called from behind Luna’s dome. The stone man offered the protected boy a quick gaze of his eyes. It was all the teen needed to see to know he was listening. “He’s made of fire, cutting him isn’t going to do much!”

“Thank you for the advice!” He called back, lifting his cutlass into the air. “I never would have thought of that without you!” Despite himself, Karl scowled at the animated statue.

There wasn’t time for him to do much else.

“Gah!” The strangled cry of Luna came from behind him, earning the immediate concern of Riku. The question was on the edge of his lips, asking what was wrong. But the answer was only too obvious.

The dancing creature had leaped through the air, doing so with an almost majestic form. It landed atop the diarch’s dark shield, sharp legs scraping against the tangible aura. It would have meant little if it was holding still. But this flame monster did not simply stand atop the shield.

It spun. And as it spun, it drilled.

Riku looked up to the top of the dome, seeing the sparks flying from the point of the creature’s impact. The sharp talons that appeared at the ends of its flaming limbs were spinning through the dome, slowly opening a hole in the aura. Riku gripped the Path to Dawn tightly in his hands.

“Riku!” The princess cried his voice. “Prepare yourself!”

“For what?!” Just like before, the answer quickly became obvious to him.

Luna shut her eyes and grit her teeth, head lowering to the ground in concentration. The dark alicorn’s horn began to grow brighter with its dark aura. The ethereal glow began to expand, and, per the princess’s orders, Riku prepared himself.

Then, with a flash of magic, the dome reversed itself.

Riku felt a jolt ride through his body. His eyes were only barely able to keep up with what they saw. Karl watched on behind them both, still as the rock he was made of.

The dome that had surrounded the Keyblade Master and alicorn princess had flipped in the complete opposite direction, trapping the flaming monster inside. Instead of a dome holding strong against the rocks they stood on, it was now a sphere, colored and shaped like the night’s sky. The fiery creature within glowed like a rising sun. Luna, beneath the floating orb, groaned in discomfort.

Her head moved left and right, waving her horn with it. The sphere above her began to move with her, floating through the air. Sparks continued to fly within it. The creature had yet to stop drilling, but by now the sphere was swaying rather violently.

“She’s gonna throw it.” Riku whispered to himself. The realization hit him quickly. “Karl!” He yelled, earning the statue’s immediate attention. “The princess is gonna throw the sphere! When she does, we attack.” A wider smile and deep chuckle was his answer.

“Sounds like fun.” Riku wasn’t sure he enjoyed the compliment.

“Get… ready…” Luna’s strained voice came. Her legs began to rock from the floor, body raising to increase her head’s thrashing. Riku felt drops of water fly from her coat and land on him.

“Now!”

The sphere flew through the air. Riku was already running after it. Karl was not far behind.

It sailed for a second, and not a moment more. Drifting through the air like a falling star without direction, it hit the wall, all the white dots that decorated the dark surface exploding through the air. It was beautiful, bright, and deadly. It blinded the silver haired teen, but he did not stop running. The heat of the flames told him where to go.

Vision returned to him not a moment too soon.

The Path to Dawn was already raised in front of him, as he had commanded, and the creature of flames was falling gracefully through the air. For all of its flips and spins, the boy could track and understand one important fact. The spikes on its body were not aiming for the ground.

“Ah!” He yelled fiercely, swinging his keyblade as he did so. It deflected one of the monster’s sharp talons with a twang of metal. He could sense the creature already preparing to swing at him with the opposite claw. In a practiced move, Riku bent his head close to his shoulder. The flaming arm passed over him, singeing the ends of his hair.

By now they were passing each other in the air, Riku rising and the flame monster still falling. It wasn’t ideal for an attack, but against an enemy you didn’t know, second chances came scarcely.

Riku pivoted his blade in his hand, bringing down the edge along the black face of the monster that smiled up at him devilishly. It slid across the surface like stone.

The monster landed majestically on the ground, not soon after jumping through the air again. Riku reached the apex of his jump as the monster did so. The teen gripped a free edge of the hard wall. He was only too grateful that the spell Luna had cast on him guarded him from the heat of contact as well.

The Riku watched, mouth agape, as the monster began to shoot fire across the room.

For every pirouette the monster did through the air, a ball of fire emerged from it. They flew as if they were solid, arching with a clear path and destination. However, with their number, accuracy was unimportant. It wouldn’t be difficult to cover the entire room.

“Guard yourself!”

Riku yelled aloud, thrusting up his free hand as he did so. Instantly, a shield materialized in front of him, sparking like a machine powered it. However, the dark aura that appeared like mist around the hexagonal barrier was evidence enough of its true origin.

The silver haired teen grunted as the flames ran across his shield. It sparked as the shield killed the flames, the fire burning briefly before disappearing into nothingness. His cerulean eyes looked to his comrades, hoping they were still alright.

The princess had summoned another shield around herself, no less impressive than her first. The flames moved over it like a boulder in a river. There was a clear difficulty seeing Luna through the dark aura that surrounded her, but the teen could see no signs of worry across her. Only the common notion of rage.

“Did it just get a hotter in here?” Almost with a scowl across his features, the teen heard their mad companion speak. His eyes caught him, standing as if not a thing was wrong in the world. The flames danced around him, but he walked through them easily. “I hope it isn’t just me. That would make this awkward.”

The teen wished he could feel relief for seeing his comrade alright, but he couldn’t. The stone man was a comrade for now, but he could not be seen as a friend. However, Riku saw something that did cause a spark of worry.

“Karl!” He yelled the stone man’s name. The statue looked up at him, a lopsided smile over his face. “Your coat!” Blinking in confusion, Karl looked behind himself.

The yellow coat that hung from his body was ablaze.

“Oh, deary me!” He yelled with an undeniable tinge of excitement. He jumped into the air, with the same strength that impressed Riku from before. He hit a far wall with a thunderous force, freeing rock and marble as they fell to the ground. When the thin layer of dust settled, the silver haired teen saw the living statue hanging from the wall, his black blade dug into the stone.

“I rather enjoyed this cloak too. It made cleaning Arma easier.” His free hand pulled the material to meet his eye line, looking at the now charred cloth. His smile was, as Riku could only describe, empty.

His eyes, however, were not.

“I really enjoyed this cloak.” Riku saw only a lust for blood in Karl’s carved eyes. It was a look he would never forget, no matter how much desired to.

“HA HA HA HA HA!” The creature bellowed thunderously. It was among the sea of flames, still spinning in a circle.

The fire around began to dwindle, their source of fuel dissipating or disappearing. Riku didn’t mind whichever it was. If it was going away, that meant they could reach the ground again.

As a clear path opened beneath him, he released the stone he was holding, letting gravity take its course. It didn’t take long to reach the ground, but he did so carefully regardless, with the flat of his blade positioned towards the closest of the flames.

He landed gently, but Karl’s return to the floor shook the room.

“Through the fire and flames, swords have little gain.” Riku heard him speak. “But there is always one sure way to put out a fire.” The teen watched from the corner of his eye as a charred yellow cloak dashed across the ground, almost flying across it.  It deftly dodged the flames that now littered the ground, jumping off the walls and sidestepping the fiery traps as if it belonged to a long practiced routine.

Then it stopped beneath the monster of fire, crouching to a height that barely passed the monster’s supposed knees. Riku didn’t have to see to know the statue that wore the cloak was also wearing a sharp smile. His blade, however, was not nearly as sharp.

Where his hand once gripped a black-as-knight cutlass, it now held a heavy hammer.

“You have to beat them out.”

In a fluid motion, Karl leapt from the floor, jumping towards the fiery monster. His hammer was raised above his head, moving in perfect tandem with his body’s momentum. He began to flip, spinning forward with the hammer held outwards. One of the monster’s arms swung low, then it contacted him. Instead of being brushed aside, Karl did what Riku thought impossible.

He stood on the edge of the creature’s arm. His hammer continued to swing.

It connected with the black center of the flame monster with a vicious crack, overpowering the snapping of the flames around them. Riku felt himself wince.

However, his eyes snapped open as he saw the black center of the creature fly across the room. All the flames in the room died completely. The black carved rock hit one of the far walls, falling with a heavy thud to the ground. Its Cheshire smile was aimed at the silver haired teen.

For a moment, the teen believed the fight to be over. The rock was clearly the source of its energy, and with it removed, there was nothing left to fear. A grateful sigh left his lips.

It was sucked back in as the rock grew legs and began to run.

Riku’s surprise was diminished quickly, however, as he noticed it running towards the center flaming pillar. Instincts reacted.

“Sto-” He never got any further.

A blast of magic hit the creature, sending it flying through the air once more. This time, however, as it hit the far wall, another magical attack assaulted it. This time it kept it pinned against the red rock surface.

Riku and Karl both turned to see Luna aiming her horn at the monster, scowling deeply as she projected her power at it.

“You have crossed your weapons with royalty, monster!” She screamed loudly, digging her hooves into the ground as she did so. “For such a crime, the punishment is severe!”

Riku shielded his eyes as the intensity of the beam grew. His eye lids weren’t strong enough to keep the light from blinding him. Neither were both of the arms wrapped around his head. It was impossible to describe the magic by sight, but by feeling, it felt like the Princess of the Night was commanding the power of the sun.

Then, with a small blip, it was over.

The heat and blinding power of the beam vanished. Riku moved his arms as quickly as he could, looking towards what remained of the monster.

He saw nothing. Nothing at all.

Not even ashes remained.

END

“Wow,” Karl spoke cheerfully as ever. “That was some lightshow. I’m still seeing spots.” As if to emphasize his point, his hand waved in front of his unblinking eyes. “A pity too, I only had one good eye to begin with.” Riku dismissed the stone man for the more important of his two companions.

“Princess,” he spoke to Luna, earning the diarch’s attention. “What did you do?” Before she answered, the alicorn took a calming breath. She moved her legs together, returning herself to the proud and tall stature she had had before. She released the breath with a slow dissipation, gradually opening her eyes as she did so.

“A banishment spell,” she spoke easily enough, looking at the far end of the room. “It is not simple to learn, nor to perform, but the centuries have given me the knowledge to perform it… and the knowledge of the consequences for being under it.”

“Banished…” Riku whispered to himself, looking at the red wall at the far end of the room before looking back to the dark alicorn. “Banished to where?”

“Tartarus,” the diarch answered just as simply as before. “A realm of monsters and dark creatures unbefitting the land of Equestria. For a demon of such flames, it will be the closest it will ever come to calling a place home.”

“Looks like he took his belongings with him, too.” The alicorn and silver haired teen turned to look at the statue man. His charred yellow jacket was facing away from them as he looked up at the pillar in the center of the room. “There’s one less flame burning in the room.”

And he was right. The large torch that had previously sat upon the square pillar was gone. Now it appeared to be just a block. A well-carved and decorated column of stone sitting in the front of the room. Luna sighed in relief.

“Karl,” Luna spoke to the stone man. “I... I thank you for your aid in battle. It was unjust of me to not have more faith in you.” She expected him to smile, as he always did. She did not expect him to wave his hand towards her, like he was calling her.

“Oh don’t worry too much. Worry some, sure, but not too much.” He chuckled at his own words. Just as before, he did so alone. Without another word, he spun on his heel, looking around the room once more. Riku shook his head before he turned to Princess Luna.

“So,” he began, scratching the back of his head with his hand. “Those things aren’t common around here, right?” The look the alicorn gave him was nothing short of shocked.

“Of course not!” She nearly spat back. “I would not tolerate the presence of any destructive creature such as that. Its first instinct is to attack us, and to do so with merry laughter.” A scoff left her lips. “It reminds me too much of the beast that sent us here.” Riku found himself nodding in agreement. There were few worlds where  monsters that sought destruction were tolerated, let alone enjoyed.

“So, what now?” Riku asked with a shrug of his shoulders. The princess opened her mouth to answer, but another voice spoke up before she could speak.

“I have a question,” Karl spoke to them. “It would be magnificent if you could answer it for me.” Both the silver haired boy and alicorn let out a sigh before turning to the stone man.

“Yes Karl, what is it?” In Luna’s mind, she owed the living statue a greater amount of respect than she had given him before. He did fight with them, opening up a weakness in the flaming beast’s armor, and losing a good portion of his cloak for it. Even if he never stopped smiling.

“My eye are still a little spotty,” he spoke with a small chuckle. “But I’m curious, what are those flames doing?”

Without hesitation, Riku raised his blade to his side. He heard the monarch ready her magic, humming with the power she had wielded just before. Their quick preparation was not unwarranted.

The remaining four flames were spinning like the first, climbing higher into the air. They crackled and churned like the burning infernos they were.

“Prepare yourselves.” Luna spoke with a tone of authority. Her wings expanded to their fullest as she did so. “And leave no mercy for the monster that may come.”

A soft chuckle came from across the room.

“But of course,” Karl spoke as he held out his arm. Arma landed on his hand, pecking at the stone for just a moment. Then, with a clench of his fist, the bird became his midnight black cutlass. His smile was as sharp as the blade.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha…”

Monsters and Riddles

“Wow!” Discord cheered with a thrust of his clenched paw. “Those three really can give a good show! And here I was worried they’d die quickly and painlessly.” He shook his head in mild disappointment, banishing the idea to an unused portion of his mind.

“Oh, but we can’t watch the same thing twice now, and more of the same means there’s never anything different.” The draconequus’s claw shook at the screen, pointing out the four flaming demons that danced around the room. “Seen one, seen them all, and four to one odds all go the same way.” A mocking sigh came from behind his lopsided, mischievous grin.

“But now the question is, where should the show go now?” He twisted in the air, his back facing the screen as he looked down upon the earth far below. His sneer was unseen from his height, but his glowering eyes would have pierced the soul of any pony unfortunate enough to gaze upon them.

“No say I to the two in the woods!” He yelled into the air, bellowing with the strength of a hurricane. “Nah do I decree will it be the four in the tower!” Discord could not help but lick his lips as the trees far beneath him shook with the volume of his scream. His head twisted thrice around his neck, body whipping as the tension was released. He stopped only when he faced the screens upon the monolith, his claw pointing viciously towards it.

“It shall be the three in the caves, burdened with shadows they cannot see!” His claw snapped.

Instantly, the screen fazed out again, harsh static taking over the image of the dueling princess and her compatriots. As the image began to return, it showed a trio that had appeared on the massive black screens before. The figure in the center was holding papers in his hands, his two allies standing in the back of the well-lit room. Discord coughed into his paw.

“Gah. It’s always such a pain trying to be a dramatic.” He spoke condescendingly, flicking what he thought to be pieces of his discomfort from his chest. “But I can’t be myself all the time, that wouldn’t keep the ponies on edge. Besides…” His miss-sized eyes stared hungrily at the screen.

“There’s nothing better to see than a pony slipping off the edge.”

His hollow laughter echoed through the empty sky.

Fluttershy wasn’t sure what to say.

She had heard of many kinds of birds before-- seen them, too. Birds able to dance in the air, sing in different chords, fly for hours, rest for days, and even share nests. She had seen birds do things that birds shouldn’t have been capable of doing, and they had been named for those things.

Fluttershy had seen hummingbirds hum, some cardinals play poker, and doves make magnificent dives. But in all of her years, venues, and times helping ponies she had never heard of a creature called the songbird.

“Oh, no,” the pegasus answered Batman with a shake of her head and mane. “I-I’ve never heard of anything like that. I’ve heard of birds that sing songs, but, never a bird called a songbird. Oh, I’m terribly sorry. Maybe if I had done a bit more research on foreign animals I’d-” she stopped as a hand was held up, wrapped in a dark glove and holding sheets of white paper.

“I doubt you’d ever have heard anything about this kind of creature.” Batman spoke in the same deep voice, his highly-detailed scans looking over images and text once more. Nothing new was gained or catalogued. “From what I am seeing, it’s an artificial creation, most likely made off the designs from something that I haven’t yet identified. I was only hoping it might have been named after a song or fairy tale you might know.”

“O-Oh,” the meek return came, shortly before a low groan rumbled from behind her. Batman paid it little mind. The metal beast was near mindless, but it was at least anchored to Fluttershy’s well being. So long as she was safe, and happy, so too was he, at least the former.

What was important now was the little information Batman could speculate. It was heavily unlikely that any form of experimentation took place in this room, even with the copious amount of notes strewn and placed around it. No, it was far more likely that the remaining altar was another passageway to the true area of machinations.

That left more than one question for what the purpose of this room was. Storing notes and documentations of one’s work, in science, engineering, or even art away from the actual work was not unfounded. It was often times encouraged, developing back-up for crucial pieces of data.

But the notes that Batman observed were not organized, were not collected, and most definitely were not kept in any observable order. That meant one of two things. Either there was another purpose for this room, one he didn’t have the evidence yet to discern, or, far more likely, something happened in the room to cause the once collected pieces of data to be strewn and partially destroyed. That would likely mean a struggle of some kind, and where there was a struggle, there was likely a panic.

“Is something wrong?” Fluttershy’s voice spoke up, breaking the Dark Knight from his thoughts. “You haven’t moved in… well some time.” Her yellow forehoof nervously rubbed against her other, gaze avoiding direct contact with tall man she spoke to.

“No,” Batman answered, placing the papers down and swiping across the side of his cowl. His vision returned to normal before he focused on the mare. His cape hung around his form entire. “I was only thinking of what we should do next. As of right now, the obvious choice is to try the other altar now.”

“You mean, um, the one we passed before. The… first one I saw?” The nervous swallow Fluttershy made when she was done was louder than the words she spoke.

“Yes,” He spoke deeply, eyes never moving from the mare. “It’s highly likely that the mechanism for opening it would be the same as this room. Hopefully there will be more there, maybe even a way out.” His final words created a noticeable lift in the pegasus. Specifically, her raised wings.

“Y-You mean it?” Just as her raised wings were impossible to not notice, so to was her pink tail swaying left and right. Beneath his dark cowl, Batman raised a brow. “We… We’ll be able to leave?”

“Yes.” Another half-truth, another partial lie. They would get out, one way or another, but too many times before had Batman seen the obvious path lead to dead ends or deadly traps.

“Oh my, that’s just great.” The mare cheered with what Batman could only assume was her loudest voice. “Did you hear that Mr. Bubbles? We’re going to be able to leave.”

Batman could only watch placidly as the metal beast rumbled in what he could guess was satisfaction. The green lights washing over the room made that clear. The dark knight was a clever man, sure of many things. And one of the things he was sure of was that Fluttershy could control the beast, Mr. Bubbles, in a way that he never could.

Turning a potential enemy into a powerful ally. It was gift more rare than any superpower he had ever seen. It was only to his great benefit that his own ally possessed said ability.

“We should go then,” Batman spoke, earning the attention of the two. “There’s nothing more of importance here.”

“There isn’t?” The pegasus tilted her head as she asked her question, mane twisting with it. “But… there are so many papers? Shouldn’t we take some, that is, I mean, if you think we should. I-If your sure, that’s okay too.”

“I already have all that I need.” Batman spoke determinedly. “All the data I need has already been copied and saved to the system in my cowl. It’s the same one you saw before, when I analyzed the cave markings.” The pegasus lightly moved up and down as her jaw lax. Silent stunned acceptance. He was used to that.

“O-Okay,” Fluttershy mumbled, turning away from the dark dressed man to the metal adorned beast. “Mr. Bubbles?” The creature let out a long groan as its green lights looked down at her. “Can you please move for us? It only has to be a little bit, I promise.”

If Batman had any doubts with the creature’s understanding of their language, they were dashed as the beast took a step backwards, opening up the doorway for the mare and man to move out of the room. It groaned loudly once it was done, shaking as if to adjust the metal hanging from its body. The idea didn’t seem implausible.

“Thank you Mr. B.” The pegasus spoke cheerfully, bowing and raising her head towards the metal beast. It did the same in return before holding out its large open hand. Fluttershy looked at it for a moment before catching its meaning. Then, with a small flutter of her wings, Fluttershy jumped onto the large hand. The covered appendage rose to the creature’s shoulder, light scratching the thick material that covered its hide.

Fluttershy either paid little mind or had little care for the coarse material and dark appearance of the beast. She light stepped onto the creature’s shoulder, lightly shaking her coat as she did so. Then, patting over the material like a cat, she curled around its shoulder, forelegs hanging over the metal adorned on the creature’s chest.

A moment of silence passed between the odd pair and Batman. It did not help the dark knight to think that he was the only one standing in the light, his two companions, reluctant and oblivious, standing in the shadows outside the room.

“Let’s go Mr. Bubbles,” Fluttershy spoke, the same odd tone that hid all of her fear. “There’s no time to lose.” With another resounding groan, the creature turned in the hallway, arms swaying at its side as it did so. The ground shook with every fall its footsteps made.

Batman watched passively as the creature lumbered down the hall, the lights from the room fading from its back. Soon only the green lights of its helm were visible against the bare walls of the dark tomb. His gaze turned towards the light switch in the room, staring at it as he would a misplaced batarang.

“And to think,” he spoke to himself. “You aren’t the oddest thing I’ve seen here.”

Taking the few steps necessary, his hand moved over the switch, darkening the room and sending him back into the shadows, back into the comfort of the blackness. He walked a slow pace behind the pair ahead of him, matching their speed, but giving not a sound towards his position.

“Oh, we’re here,” the words were only barely audible to Batman, the booms of the creature’s steps still echoing off the halls, sloshing water moving beneath his boots. Regardless, the mare was right.

In front of the metal beast and timid pegasus stood another metallic altar, shaped with spikes and an open hole high off the ground. Unlike the first object, however, this one had water collecting in front of it. Yet, it barely rose past the small part of the structure jutting outwards.

Though it was the fourth time he gazed upon it, it was the first time Batman truly began to wonder about the object. Now that its purpose was clear, as well as method of use, that only left the obvious question.

Who used it, how, and why?

The shape means only small objects, similar to Fluttershy’s size could maneuver through it, but its high position off the ground would have made most it difficult for most beings the size of the pegasus to reach. Children were an example.

The small pedestal in front of the altar-like object could have been used to minimize the height required, but why? Why not a hole closer to the ground? Why not something more secure?

Batman couldn’t figure the altar out, and like all things he couldn’t figure out, he didn’t like it.

“Well, here goes.” Batman turned his head in time to see Fluttershy’s wings begin to flutter.

It only just occurred to him it was the first time he had actually seen her fly, seen those wings be used for more than an arbitrary sign of her emotions. The sight momentarily distracted Batman, a hero with more friends with the ability to fly than the number of fingers on his hands. Seeing a creature fly without the manipulation of the environment around them or magical influence to lift them. Just the simple beating of wings.

It helped, he had to admit, that he was watching a timid pegasus attempting to be brave.

Without the aid of either the metal beast or the dark knight, Fluttershy was able to squeeze into the hole, disappearing into the darkness once more. Batman moved closer to the hole, wary of the hulking creature he passed as he did so. The only indication it gave towards his presence was another low groan.

The silence was occasionally broken by the sound of the pegasus moving behind the walls, doubtlessly looking for a switch. Last time, it was supposedly easy for her to find. To Batman, it sounded like she was having a slightly harder time.

But he wouldn’t speak, not until she did. She was timid enough while looking at him. If he spooked her beyond the walls and in the total darkness, it wouldn’t be unlikely for her to lose track of herself. Batman did after all have a long track record for scaring things in the dark.

“Got it.” The meek voice barely made it to Batman’s ears. He didn’t need to question what she meant.

The same loud thump and heavy groan of steel began to echo through the hall, shaking the water that pooled at their feet. The scanners within his cowl watched as the stone began to rise, disappearing into the ceiling above them. The same water that rumbled with the wall began to move, drifting forwards as the wall slid.

Then, with a loud bang that shook the walls, the sound was gone. The beast next to Batman groaned loudly when it was complete. It took only a glance inside for the dark knight to see Fluttershy, huddling close to the wall with her hoof over a switch. It took Batman only three strides to reach her side, stepping over the small edge outlining the wall in the floor. The water ended there.

The lights of the metal beast illuminated the room, giving the crucial amount of luminance necessary for Fluttershy to see. When she did, she eagerly rubbed her side against the outside of Batman’s cape.

“Good job,” he spoke simply, nodding towards her as he said so. His scanner caught her looking up at him with joyful eyes.

“Th-Thank you,” she spoke a timid smile working over her lips. “I was nervous when it didn’t work at first, but… b-but you said you there was a way out, a-and I trusted you.” He saw her eyes moving away from him, towards the beast still standing behind him. “And Mr. Bubbles, too.” The creature behind Batman stepped into the room, his heavy foot falls shaking the large room they now stood in. Fluttershy trotted to him, leaving the dark knight to himself.

The first thing he noted was the size. The room was massive. Far larger than the halls or small room from before, doubtlessly as large as the courtyard with clay walls. A ceiling was high above them, but it was hidden well in the shadows of the room. Though his scanner was turned off, in loo of the creature’s lights, it was more than evident that not a single bulb hung from the ceilings or the walls.

It only took one look, but it was all Batman needed.

“Something’s not right.”

It wasn’t a question, even a warning. It was a statement that Batman was sure of, as sure of the cape on his back. There was something wrong with the room, something he couldn’t see. But enough nights under the guise of shadows had given Batman a sense that went beyond sight, beyond hearing, and far beyond any other sense. It was a feeling.

“It… It’s very dark in here.” Fluttershy spoke meekly near him. “Is there another light switch? I-I don’t see one.” The dark knight heard the metallic beast rumble in response. He took it as agreement with the small yellow Fluttershy. The normally green eyes of the monster were glowing yellow, giving the room a tinted color Batman would expect from a flashlight. It wasn’t unwelcome. Unwanted for him, but not welcome. It was keeping Fluttershy calm.

But more importantly to Batman, it was keeping her distracted.

His hand brushed against the side of his cowl, shifting his vision again as his lenses altered what he saw. The dark interior of the unlit room changed to another more defined display, a room filled with grids and three-dimensional scanners.

As Batman took note of the room, three things became immediately obvious. Number one, it was large. Large enough to easily match the size of the fort’s exterior. By rough numbers and guessing measurements. The entire fort was made of only the one long hallway, the side room filled with notes, and this expanse of space.

Number two, its size was a convenience. He could already see many tables and documents lining the far walls, others flipped and laying on their sides in the middle of the room, hiding from the creature’s light in the densest of shadows. Batman could not make out from this distance, or the current display, what any of the notes said. But it didn’t matter.

Because number three was a corpse in the room.

It wasn’t a body, not in the strictest of meanings, but it very well was the shell of something that once held life.

At the far end of the room, doubtlessly no less than thirty meters, sat the metal wreckage of a device Batman did not recognize. Bent and shaped metal, torn and worn leather, tubes of immaculate designs, and shards of glass; they were all strewn beneath the remains of the corpse, sitting undisturbed for he couldn’t tell how long.

It would have been, quite literally, like a walk in the park to reach the wreckage, to leave Fluttershy under the protective gaze of the metal beast. He would have been able to analyze it in the dark, to look over the details they couldn’t see.

But he didn’t. He wouldn’t. His feeling had yet to die down, even with the sight of the metal corpse at the ends of his vision.

“Oh dear, is something wrong?” the soft voice of Fluttershy broke Batman from his thoughts, earning his careful gaze down at the pegasus. “You looked very deep in thought.”

He felt the lights of the metallic beast wash over him, their soft heat soaking into his dark attire. They were wary of one another, the pegasus between them their only link.

“Do you feel anything?” It was an open question, a broad one at that, but the widest nets caught the most fish. It earned a curious look from Fluttershy. “Is there anything that feels… wrong to you?”

“Well, now that you say that, um,” The pegasus timidly held up one of her forehooves, barely visible under the green light of the hulking beast. “My hooves do feel a bit chilly. Is that bad?”

Batman had no response. There wasn’t any need. Fluttershy, by choice or ignorance, didn’t have the sense for danger like he had. He turned from her, deciding it would be best to investigate the papers strewn across the floor. One of them must have more detail to the metal corpse or the structure entire.

He heard, and felt, the beast walk across the floor, doubtlessly to move closer to the pegasus. It mattered only minutely to him. The beast, no matter how wary Batman was of it, was protective of Fluttershy.

The dark knight knelt down, grabbing at a few odd pieces of paper on the ground. Dust fell from the sheets, billowing through the air before they landed back on the dark ground. Once more he let his glove run by the side of his cowl, enhancing his sight as he observed the pages.

Disappointment was quick to wash over him. The ink on the pages was runny and ruined, doubtlessly distorted by some kind of liquid. Furthermore, it was aged far too much for his restoration programs to make sense of it. A line there, a letter here, but never words, let alone phrases. Worthless.

He dropped the pages to the floor, turning his attention to the desks. At a glance, that’s all they were, wooden desks with metal supports turned on their sides. Destructive, but unimpressive.

That was until he saw the broken bolts along the metal supports.

Batman knelt down by one of the broken desks, looking over the twisted metal beneath it. The bolts, as his detailed vision noted were not cut or twisted, as age and wear would allow. They were snapped, pulled apart by a monstrous force. The bolts themselves were thick, easily half an inch in diameter, most likely shaped from a low grade source of steel.

Still, even low grade, it took forces in the quadruple digits to rip it apart in tension. That only left one question.

What was capable of such strength?

CRASH!

The dark knight whirled at the sound, crouching with a hand over his belt as he pushed his cowl back to normal.

He was greeted with the sight of Fluttershy scolding the beast that followed her.

“No,” the pegasus spoke sternly to the large diving suit. “That’s not okay, Mr. Bubbles.  You must be more careful.”

Her hoof came down on the stone as she spoke. It had as much impact as a twig falling from a forest giant. Regardless of the small sound her hoof made, it caused a visible drop in the armored beast.

“Now, say you’re sorry.” Its drill and arm fell slack at its sides, head falling in tune with a large metallic groan. A softer groan came from it as it lifted its empty hand, offering it to the pegasus. Fluttershy, however, puckered her lips and shook her head, mane shaking with it. Another disappointing noise came from the beast.

The noise that came next was much higher, continued with the creature pushing its hand closer to the pegasus. Fluttershy’s lips softened as a smile took up residence over her muzzle. Her eyes half shut as her forehooves lightly touched on the creature’s hulking hand.

“It’s okay. I forgive you,” she spoke cheerily, never letting her vision waiver from the creature’s helm. “You just made a mistake. We all make those. It’s alright.”

Batman could only watch passively as the hulking creature quickly submitted to the much smaller pony’s gaze, nodding in tune with the pegasus’s words. And here the dark knight thought the oddest thing he would ever see was a creature capable of anything. Obviously, as proven to him once more, the little things were always the most noticeable.

His eyes drifted slightly to see a glass vase broken, some form of liquid spilling from the broken container. It was far more than likely that the lumbering creature had broken it while walking by, releasing whatever the clear liquid was. With the poor lighting of the room, Batman was ashamed to admit he didn’t even notice it until it was broken. Nevertheless, it meant little now.

That was until something caught his eye.

It was fast, moving in the shadows of the room. He might have missed it were his cowl not tracking for foreign movements. His cape spun lightly with his torso, following the path of the unknown object. It ducked behind an overturned desk, dashed to a pile of boxes, then straight out the doorway behind them, all on the edges of Batman’s vision.

He would have been impressed if he weren’t on guard. The trouble was, he was always on guard.

“Fluttershy,” he spoke the pegasus’s name quietly, hoping he heard her. The silence that followed was the only sign that he needed. “We aren’t alone.” The air may have been cold, but he could tell the words were more frigid to the mare than the condition of the air.

“W-We aren’t?” Batman saw the lights of the beast turn colors, changing from the peaceful and obedient green to a cautious and prepared yellow. For the first time, he was glad to see such a change.

“No,” he spoke again, turning to face the outer doorway once more. “Something just-” He cut himself off.

Batman knew what the noise was the moment he heard it, trickling beneath his feet. Regardless, his cowl moved to look downwards, observing the ground beneath him. What he hoped to see, vainly and hopelessly hoped to see, was the solid dust covered ground.

Instead he saw water, trickling over the edge in the ground. It was flowing faster and faster the longer he watched it. He didn’t need to watch it for long.

He heard something large coming.

“Fluttershy, move!” Batman shouted, already running from the doorway. He didn’t watch the door as he ran. He had to get out of the way of whatever was coming.

Four steps away from a far wall and the rumbling began. It was much longer than the ones caused by the metal beast, continuing and rolling through the room. The desks lying on the floor rattled, being lifted and dropped repeatedly. The papers fluttered under the force. But far more ominously, the wreckage of metal in the back of the room groaned.

Any one would have been enough to prepare Batman. All at once, it was more than enough to turn the helm of the metal monster red. Fluttershy whimpered into its side.

Then, it happened.

An explosion of water erupted from the door, pushing into the empty room with a monstrous force. It would have rocked Batman from his footing if he wasn’t ready for it. The beast groaned loudly, just barely audible above the sound of the rushing water. The dark knight was only sure Fluttershy was safe when he saw the timid pegasus curled on the hulking creature’s shoulder. She was doubtlessly sobbing.

Water swiftly pooled at their feet. Like a riptide in the ocean, the water that flowed inward quickly started to be drawn back. Batman felt the footing beneath him being ripped out, nearly forcing him to the ground.

It roared like an awoken beast, echoing off the halls and deafening the trio. The water was not gentle in the slightest.

A quick shot of Batman’s grappling hook to the wall secured his position. It would have made more of a show for the pegasus and beast if they were not occupied by the sight of the rushing water.

Batman had to correct himself on that. Rushing water implied that it was unidirectional, forced by a change in elevation or pressure.

This water… it was being controlled.

It all piled into the center of the room, forming and billowing upwards like the currents of a wind, but into a solid amorphous shape. Batman watched, enraptured and focused, as the discarded papers and shambles of desks were drawn up into it.

He watched as the hard wooden shapes were broken into splinters, as the papers were simply dissolved, and the red lights of the beast reflected through the churning water.

He saw the creature stare with its red-lit gaze at the forming water, its drill beginning to spin and position crouched in defense. The pegasus on his shoulder was put behind him.

Then the noise stopped.

The rushing water ceased to penetrate Batman’s ears. It stilled as it was, curled and pushed up from the floor into a tentacle like shape.

That was when Batman really saw it.

It wasn’t the water itself, it wasn’t any object in the room. It was the thing that doubtlessly caused the water to move, and quite possibly, what would soon begin to attack them.

“Oh.” It was the only word Batman could say.

“The creature of endless shapes,” a deep voice spoke in an empty hall. Its bearer walked with heavy steps, marching down the well-decorated and maintained structure with an image floating by his side. The malicious green smoke surrounding it reformed as fast as it dissipated.

His hand, armored with a thick gauntlet, washed over the image, focusing the dark pictures until are members of the party were visible to his eyes. His red eyes gleamed with a cold joy.

“Morpha,” he spoke again, grinning maliciously as he did so. “A warrior from the waves against a warrior of the shadows.” His chuckle shook the chandeliers above him. It did not hinder his strides in the least bit. “It will be fun to see those cavernous halls painted red.”

His other hand gripped the sword at his side a bit tighter before his free arm beat the image away. He walked on down the darkened halls, his destination far more important to him than the inevitable events of others at present. For a man of plans and deception, he was far more concerned with events that drove a path more than the battle that lay at its end.

As he turned another corner, he flicked his open hand, conjuring another portal of mist. It churned and spun, dissipating in its center until only a circle of the hazy material followed him.

Image started to form again, like a liquid pool reflecting water. The ripples began to subside as shapes took form, colors soon following. Even in the dark and gloomy halls in which he marched, the picture was as visible to him as the sun was in an open sky.

The bright colors of a man’s white robe and the mare’s orange coat were the first visible forms to appear in the swirl of mist, but the rest soon followed. Stone walls and halls, roots breaking through the cracks, dirt littering the ground, and the pink source of light that continued to flutter and fly around them.

“Now those two walk in another temple of mine.” His dark voice mused as he watched the pair move within his conjured image, scribing their movement with detail. “A temple once home within the forest of the wandering, cursing the souls to venture forever without purpose or gain. A home the lost, a haven for the forgotten.”

The smile Ganondorf made would have brought a chill to even the most battle hardened of warriors.

“They will be right at home.”

BEGIN

“Ah don’t like this.” Applejack spoke for the pair, her eyes moving no less than they had for the past few minutes, looking every which way. “There ain’t been nothing yet but stone halls and dead roots, maybe a hole here or there.” She snorted, adjusting her hat mid-trot. “Reminds me too much of the Everfree.”

“Do not worry Mrs. Apple,” The samurai at the cowpony’s side spoke, a pleasant smile over his face. “Much can be gained in the ruins of old. Many stories that may hold many lessons.”

“Lessons Ah ain’t concerned with,” Applejack turned her green eyes to the small creature hovering above her. “Ah just wanna know where we were dropped off at? It feels like the Everfree, but there ain’t a tree, root, or ounce o’ soil Ah can recognize.” Something in her words gave Jack pause.

“You can tell the difference in the trees?” A flash of a smile was seen across her lips, just barely visible with the help of the fairy still circling the pair.

“Coure Ah can, Ah’m an apple after all. Readin’ the trees and the soil is how we grow our crops. If Ah can’t tell what they need, Ah ain’t fit ta call myself a farmer.” She nodded her head determinedly, an action the creature flying over her mimicked. The bobbing of their light source was not an action that went unnoticed.

“And what of our companion here?” The samurai questioned, coming to a stop. Applejack followed suit, her green eyes looking to Jack before looking at the feather-pink creature that accompanied them. It’s insect-like wings visible only by the reflection they cast off the luminescence of the creature.

“What about it, ya think I recognize it.” Applejack scoffed again, turning her head before looking back at the creature. “Sorry Jack, but Ah know this critter ‘bout as well as Ah know you. That meanin’ not at all.”

“Hmm,” the samurai hummed simply, his attention focused on the ball of light.

His free hand slowly extended outwards, his digits lax and calm. The ball of light ghosted over to them, flying around the hand as if in orbit, sampling what it saw. Jack enjoyed the soft glow it gave, warming his bare hand within the cool confines of the cave. His robe did little, but the creature’s light did more, despite the difference in their size.

Then, softly as its glow, it landed on his hand, perching on it peacefully.

Instantly, Jack felt an aura of relief wash through him, calming his mind to a level he thought only possible through deep meditation. His muscles calmed, energy rejuvenate, and peace return to him. The air that filled his lungs felt fresher than the forest’s own breath.

He closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the sensation of peace and jubilation. Such times were rare for a warrior meant for battle, even less for one caught across dimensions. The smile that graced his lips was evidence of his peace.

“Pardon me, but are ya feelin’ alright?” Applejack’s words broke the samurai from his reverie, letting his gaze fall to the pony looking up at him curiously. “Ya look like yer thinkin’ of somethin’ mighty fine.”

“Oh, my apologies,” He spoke kindly, lightly bowing his head towards the mare. He took extra care to make sure his hand was still as he did so. “I simply felt… relieved by this creature.”

He lifted his hand a small amount, letting the creature slowly crawl down his appendage. The pink ball of light tingled his skin as it moved downwards. It caused a slight grin to pull at the Samurai’s face.

“Yeah, Ah know what ya mean,” Applejack took the few trots necessary for her eyes to be next to the pink-winged ball on Jack’s arm, still slowly descending down the appendage. “That critter helped me out in a big way back there. Bet it would’a made Twi’s head spin clockwise if she heard about it.”

“Twi. Who is this… Twi?” The samurai asked seriously looking at the farm pony with an expression of confusion. Applejack looked up at him, wearing an expression Jack was more than familiar with. It was the expression he was often given when he posed a question that was common knowledge to others. He was rather used to that look, though not fond of it.

“Oh, Ah’m sorry about that,” The farm pony spoke a bit sheepishly, rubbing one of her forehooves over the back of her neck. “Figures you’d have a bit of trouble with short names. Twi is Twilight, ya know, that purple unicorn that greeted ya before?” Jack’s lips opened slightly understanding, nodding slightly as he did so.

Before he could respond, however, the ball of light on his hand took off.

Both the pony and man watched as the small tuft of light lifted into the air, its thin transparent wings fluttering to keep it afloat. It circled above them, it’s speed steadily increasing as it did so. Then, with a small ring from its wings, it took off down the hall. With its quick departure, their light source also began to fade.

“H-Hey now!” Applejack was already in mid-trot as she spoke up. “Where are ya gettin’ off to?” Her pace quickened to follow the fleeing ball of light. Jack was right behind her, his geta echoing off the walls as his pace quickened.

The two ran next together, following the ball of light as it flew down the halls at an impressive speed. No time was given for the pair to observe the stone walls they rushed past or the roots that struggled through the heavy material. Their only concern was the fading glow of pink light, flying far ahead of them.

Momentarily, it vanished, suddenly popping out of existence. Thankfully for the pair, its trail was quickly regained. It had only turned a corner, an action they repeated when they reached it.

But when they turned the corner, they saw something else farther ahead.

Their collective pace slowed, Applejack’s gallop morphing into a trot and Jack’s sprint to a slow jog. Up ahead, like a light at the end of the tunnel, a shimmering glow appeared. The pink ball of light flew towards it, unwavering unlike the pony and man.

“Do ya think that’s the way out?” The farm pony posed the question, leaning towards the samurai as she spoke. “Ah mean, other than the way we came in?”

“Perhaps,” Jack responded simply. “But there is only one way to tell, and only one path we can take.” Without another word, the samurai started to move forward again, his geta clacking against the stone. Applejack’s hooves beating against the building blocks soon joined the sound.

When they reached the end of the hall, they emerged into a space neither had ever seen before.

The room was tinted green, bathed in an emerald light. The grey stones that were meant to match the halls the pair emerged from were a dark jade, but still far brighter than being kept in the shadows. The ceiling, high above them, let the light pour in from a source neither knew of. But what captivated the pony and man was not the size of the room, though it was immense. It was what was present within it.

Trees, grass, and vegetation.

Jack felt his geta fall on the soft green plants, small blades of grass that felt familiar and welcomed beneath his feet. Applejack felt roots beneath the soil, thriving sources of life that filled her with an energy she thought only possible in the fields of her farm. Weeds and small bushes grew from the grass, none of them growing taller than the pony’s carriage.

However, there were giants among the flock.

Eight trees, lined perfectly in two rows, flanked the pair from the entrance, going down the room. Their sizes varied, their bark just the same, but they were all alive, all flourishing, and all very much real.

“Huh,” Applejack let out as she trotted towards the tree closest to her. It was short for a pine, though well groomed. “Never figures Ah’d be seein’ trees like these under soil. The most Ah see when Ah capsize the earth is a few hundred roots. Ain’t never seen somethin’ like this before.”

Jack, however, was silent. He walked slowly over the green floor beneath him, marveling at the well-designed ceiling high above them. Light shined down from cut crystals, bathing the room in a green glow. His eyes briefly looked down at his white robe, seeing it tinted with the color of the precious gems.

The grass beneath his feet crunched lightly with his steps, dampening the sound of his geta from clacking. Jack was careful with his movements, keeping one hand on the hilt of his blade. There was no wind to rustle the trees, no birds to sing as he walked. A low sigh left his lips.

It looked like a forest, but that was all it was. An appearance, an illusion, no different than any other veil cast in front of him before.

The door at the end of the room was further proof of that. It was not the entrance to a hall or castle, but to another room. They were already inside the confines of stone, and and a forest, a truly grand forest, would never belong to the trappings of man. Jack ran his hand down the hard rock, sighing as he did so.

That as when he felt it.

Grooves and markings on the doorway. He looked closer at the brick, analyzing what he felt. Just like his hands told him, there were grooved edges on the door, shaped in a way he was most familiar with.

The designs became clearer when his pink flying friend floated over to him, illuminating the wall with its pink glow. Only now did Jack recognize the pink light to now be a darker shade of pink under the green emeralds from high above.

It was not an art or pattern. It was a language. Words carefully carved into the hard surface, chiseled and beat until a message was placed into the brick. They were easy to read, simple to see, but what they meant, the samurai had little idea.

“Mrs. Apple,” he called to the farm pony, earning the orange mare’s attention. “Do you understand what this means?”

“What what means?” Applejack asked as she started to trot over to the cloaked man, eyes already screwed in confusion. “Did ya find somethin’ useful?”

“I do not know. I only know that the purpose of this message… evades me.” Applejack let her green eyes glance to the taller figure before looking at the stone door.

“Well alright then, step back and let me take a gander.” Submitting to her wishes, Jack took several steps to the side, giving the farm pony the room necessary to read the words.

Applejack may have never been the wisest or most intelligent of her friends, but she was far from uneducated. As such, she understood the words almost immediately. But, just like Jack, what they actually meant went right over her mane, hat and all.

“Only an offering of the wise may open my eyes.” The cow pony’s hoof scratched at her head, pushing her Stetson hat up and down as she did so. “Now that don’t make any kind of sense.”

“Agreed, which means it must be a riddle.” The sigh that Applejack let out was more of a strained breath than a release of stress.

“Ya, Ah got that, but what Ah don’t get is what it means. We gotta offer somethin’ wise up? Like what, prayin’ or something?” Jack’s fingers ran over his lips, unsure if the pony was right or wrong. Prayers could be offered, but what could be wise in a prayer?

His eyes looked over the room, hoping to see a sign of something he might better recognize. Perhaps more markings, perhaps more text. Instead, all he saw were the same stone walls, ceiling and tree growing in line. His eyes widened slightly.

“Mrs. Apple,” he began again, “Did you say earlier you could tell the ages of trees?”

“Ah said I could read them, didn’t say nothin’ but their ages.” A low sigh followed her words, complete with a slow nodding of her head. “But yeah, if somepony asked, Ah reckon I could tell the age of a tree, down to the season it was planted in.”

“Then perhaps,” his hands ghosted over the evergreens flourishing in the large room. “Perhaps these are the wise the door asks about.”

Something in the words made their pink friend react.

The emerald pink form of the winged creature buzzed, moving in quick motions as its wings remained lock in outward positions. It rang between the two, like a bell for supper time.

“Ah think ya spooked it, Jack.” Applejack loosely commented, though her mind was elsewhere. Specifically, on what the samurai had suggested. “And… ya might be on ta something with these trees.” The man was silent as she trotted to the closest one. It was green, no different than any other vegetation in the room. But it was smaller, only just reaching past the height of the samurai.

“Mah granny told me in more than one bedtime story about the wisdom trees. How they know where to grow their roots and survive without food or rain for days on end. Durable buggers, but wise for it.” Her hoof ran over the pines of the tree, either careless or unknowing of their rigidity. “But to be wise, like wise as the dirt, ya have to be nearly as old as it.”

“I… am not sure I follow.” The samurai supplied as he walked closer to the pony, his brows creasing in thought.

“It means that we’re probably gonna have to find the oldest of the trees here.” Her orange hoof motioned over the two rows before them, the eight trees surrounding them. “Ah but if get a good bit of sap from each one, spread over that door like butter, it’ll open right up.”

“Isn’t sap not like… what is the term, glue?” Jack tried, his palm facing up and outwards in motion. “I would not think it to help a door open.”

“’Bout the only way to offer up a tree in here.” Applejack’s hoof then pushed roughly through the evergreen she stood next to, grinning with a confident smile as her hoof moved past the branches that doubtlessly scrapped at her fur.

“See, the thing about tree, even if ya cut them down, they can grow right back. Thankfully, cuttin’ down a tree ain’t nothing like a pony. The trunk, roots, and heck, even the pines will think it’s alive and well for day after they’ve been moved. Like Ah said, they’re stubborn and wise.”

“Would burning them not count?” Jack felt a chill run down his back at the offended gaze Applejack gave him in return for his question.

“Now listen here partner,” the pony spoke with a jab of her hoof, removing it from the tree. “There ain’t no reason for us to go and be burnin’ down perfectly good trees. ‘Sides, it’s not like ya could anyway.” With a swing, her leg hit one of the trees, watching as its branches swayed under the impact.

“Here’s the thing ‘bout trees, they don’t burn unless they’re dry, and let me tell ya that a tree that’s alive is gonna stay that way fer far longer than you ever could.” Her head motioned towards the door behind them, their flying friend still floating in front of it. “I’m willin ta bet apples and oranges that there’s some kind of magical seal on that door. It must need some kind of properly aged sap ta work, far as Ah can figure. If Twi was here, it’d be easier to tell.”

“I see,” Jack spoke with a nod of his head. “Then which trees are the wisest among these?”

“Now see, that’s the easy part, least for me.” As if to prove her point, Applejack beat the ground with her hoof, digging up some dirt and grass as she did so. “See, the thing that most ponies don’t realize is that size ain’t the only sign for how old a tree is. There are some that don’t grow any bigger than a brushel. What really makes a tree old is its roots.”

“The roots?” the samurai questioned, earning an eager nod from the farm pony.

“Yes siree. Ya see, the older a tree is, the thicker or longer its roots get, keeps in in the ground longer. And let me tell ya, Ah’ve got a natural talent for feelin’ the roots of the green gals.” Adjusting the hat on her head, Applejack began to point her hoof at the rows of trees.

“Second from the right,” she began, moving her hoof as she spoke. “Last from the right, first on the left, and finally, this critter.” She finished with a satisfied smile. Jack smiled down at her, letting out a breath of air through his nostrils.

“I am most impressed,” he spoke honestly, nodding as he did so. “You have much confidence in your craft.”

“That I do partner,” Applejack agreed with a pull of her hat. “Now, how’s about you put that bit of steel to use and grapple us up some good old aged sap.”

“It would be my pleasure, Ms. Apple.”

Applejack held back her sigh till the samurai was out of earshot.

END

“Oh, I wonder what’s behind door number one for those crazy critters.” The Mad God spoke with a gleam of his teeth, his paw lightly tapping across the crooked and misshapen bones in his mouth. “The densest of the pack and eye they are the quickest for solving their riddle.” He chuckled deeply at the thought. “Oh, how I love surprises. They truly do make life worth living.”

His slytherin form curled in the air, rising next to the monolith of a structure in a helix shape. Bending his bones was a simple order from his chaotic wishes.

“Now where to go and what to watch?” His raised his claw, detaching it from his forelimb. It rose next to him and he continued to ascend. His head rolled in a continuous circle to follow it.

“We have the princess, spellsword, and statue fighting creatures of flames.” A single talon rose from his claw. “The knight, the coward, and the monster fighting an abomination. Nice touch there.” A second tail pointed to the sky. “Two is good, but it isn’t odd. We need an odd number. Oh but the rule of three is far too predictable for me.”

Discord’s head spun in reverse, twisting until it snapped back into position. His draconic claw popped and repopped into existence, back onto his forelimb. He stared into the blue expanse of sky as he thought, afraid he would become too distracted if he watched a samurai and farm pony cut sap from trees.

Then his lion paw snapped.

“That’s it!” He declared, a crooked grin cracking his long face. “Two fighting for their lives, one set searching for answers, another admiring the scenery, now I just need to send one more group into this Temple of Chaos.” His chuckle was far more genuine than he had thought it would need to be.

“And,” he spoke one, letting his snake like tongue lick his lips. “I know just the trio to wake up next.” Before he could clap his paw and claw, realization dawned in his miss-sized red eyes.

“Oh, wait, it would be four, wouldn’t it?” Discord was well aware of the answer to his own question.

“Dragons are people, too.”

Without even a moment of thought, he snapped his claws.

A Boy And His Dragon

“Uh…” The moan droned out of him painfully, scratching at his dry mouth and parched throat. The numb sensation of feeling returned to him slowly, some patches of his skin feeling a dull throb while others tingled with renewed blood flow.

His muscles ached as he slowly worked them, twisting his neck and checking his arms and legs with small flexes. He could feel them scratching across some hard surface; a painful sensation that ungratefully quickened his awakening.

“Ugh, what?” The groan and question came from his lips, eyes still heavy with sleep and fatigue. There wasn’t a memory in his mind regarding when he used the energy. He was in a castle, he was surrounded by horses, then he was… was…

Slurp

The sudden sensation of a wet tongue licking over his face slapped the boy awake. His eyes fluttered open, only to have their vision stained with slobber and wet drool. It only made him smile a bit more.

“Hey, cut it out Toothless,” Hiccup automatically spoke, raising one of his still stirring hands to push the dragon off of him. It fell over the familiar sensation of scales, hard and enduring with a faint trace of heat, much unlike the lizards of his island.

Slurp, Slurp

“C’mon, seriously Toothless. Your breath stinks.” Despite his words, a playful laugh came from his lips, pulling a smile with it. “Seriously, your breath reeks like sulfur… sulfur…”

Something wasn’t right.

Hiccup may not have known Toothless for the better part of his life, but he knew the Night Fury extremely well. From the dimensions of his wings, to the small habits during his day, and even the smell of his breath.

Toothless’s breath stank of rotten fish and undigested gas. There wasn’t any sulfur in his breath.

Slowly, as carefully as he had awoken, Hiccup reached up to his face with his opposite hand, pulling the slime and drool away from his eyes. Blinking away the remaining saliva, his vision became clear to where he was.

A dark brown rock ceiling hung above him, complete with stalagmites and a wet surface of condensation. He could make out the sharp shadows made from the rocks, doubtlessly created by fire that hung on the walls. Leaning upwards, Hiccup saw just that. A torch was imbedded into the wall, sticking out of the stone as if it had grown from it. It was odd, but it wasn’t what he was focused on.

Twisting his head a bit to the side, he saw what he once thought was his best friend.

It wasn’t Toothless.

“Happy thoughts gone.”

Hiccup spoke in a deadpan voice, staring at the creature with still eyes.

The moment of silence that passed between him and the creature was tense, harder than the stone he was sitting on. His green eyes stared in the monster’s yellow buds, pupilless and seemingly blind.

That assumption was quickly proven wrong.

SCREEEEE

“AGH!” Hiccup yelped as the creature screeched at him, forcing him to back away quickly. The hard rocks beneath him dragged and scratched at his skin, his clothes useless between them.

The cry only encouraged the lizard-like creature to twist its head, focusing one of its eyes on the boy. Then, in another quick movement, the creature opened its mouth again.

SCREEEE-

The creature’s voice was cut off in mid-cry.

A ball of fire had flown into its mouth.

Hiccup watched, mouth agape, as the creature apparently swallowed on the fire. Then, like it was caught beneath water, its body began to sway, as if having extremely difficulty keeping its weight on its feet. Its head twisted left and right, jaw opening and closing with gasps of air.

Then, unceremoniously, it fell over.

“Oh good,” Hiccup breathed, raising a hand to his chest in relief. “I thought for sure I was-”

Then the creature exploded.

The dull boom and force of the creature’s detonation instantly made Hiccup raise his arms in defense, shielding himself from the force. He felt wet blotches of scales and guts hit him, much to his disgust. The sick stench of sulfur and rot was upon him in a moment, filling his nostrils and churning his gut. It was almost as bad as the sound of the organs making wet slaps across the stone.

“O-Okay,” Hiccup spoke with dry heave, doing his best to not let one of his fluid-covered hands reach for his face. The stench was bad enough without drowning his nose in it. “That… that was gross. That was really gross. Ugh.” He flung his hands at his sides, making some of the liquid sticking to his clothes fly off.

It was just after that a wet tongue ran over Hiccup’s face again.

“Toothless…” he spoke far more cautiously, fully aware of how this situation had just turned out last time. “Please tell me that’s you and not another exploding lizard monster.”

The familiar bark of the Night Fury filled Hiccup’s ears, easing his still heart.

“Oh thank the gods,” He spoke with a slump, turning his head to look at his dragon. It was done in perfect tandem to allow the dual-pronged tongue of Toothless to wipe up Hiccup’s face, replacing the reek of blood, guts, and sulfur with the familiar, and welcomed, stench of fish.

With a small bit of laughter, Hiccup reached up with his arms, wrapping them around the Night Fury’s scales. The smooth black exterior of the dragon was easy on his hands, far less callous than the ground he sat on. Toothless, in turn, pushed his head into Hiccup’s chest, his tongue rolling up the blood-stained shirt.

“Not the best way to clean myself, but this seems like a good compromise. Good thing Astrid isn’t here, at least.” The sardonic words left Hiccup’s mouth with a sigh. He began examining his dirty and worn clothes, now mixed with the blood of a creature. That reminded him of something.

“You blew that thing up, didn’t you?” The boy lightly accused his dragon, a smirk pulling at his lips as he spoke. Toothless pulled his head back just far enough to eye Hiccup with his large green irises, round and open with innocence. It would almost have been a convincing display, if the pull of a smile at the dragon’s lips wasn’t so obvious.

“Thanks buddy, I owe ya one.” Hiccup wrapped his arms around the Night Fury a bit tighter. “Well, more like ten now, but I’m pretty sure you can’t keep track.” Toothless barked at the comment, earning a snicker from the boy. “Yeah, of course you can. What was I thinking?”

Hiccup’s hand began to run over the black scales of the dragon, comforted by the heat that emanated from the thick hide of the fearsome beast. For a moment, and only a fleeting one at that, Toothless leaned into the action, enjoying the embrace. But then, quick as the wind, he turned away from Hiccup. The boy watched with a quick jump in his chest as the peaceful round eyes of his best friend narrowed into the familiar vicious slits he had seen when they first met.

“Whoa, Toothless, what’s wrong?” Hiccup quickly questioned, rising up from his seated posture. As he did so, he turned his body, moving to face the direction the dragon was glaring at.

As he turned, the boy was able to see where they were for the first time. It was a cave of sorts, little different than the many had been in while he was a child. Torches lined the walls, no differently than any miner worth his skill would have done. But aside from the stone walls, floor, and ceiling, there was little much else to see.

But when his vision matched with his dragon’s, Hiccup was reminded of a question he had forgotten. Why was he here?

The unconscious girl and small orange pony were quick to shake the dust from his mind.

“Whoa! Hey!” He called out, rising to his feet before jogging over to the two figures. The sleek body of Toothless was just beside him, puffing on the air as he did so. Hiccup reached the girl first, kneeling down by her side as he pressed his hand to her red hair.

She was facing downwards, splayed over the ground ungraciously, and facing away from him at that. Her torso was lightly rising, doubtlessly from the force her chest was making against the ground she slept on. Hiccup was quick to correct himself. She wasn’t asleep, she was knocked out. Big difference-- in the long run, at least. One usually meant you had an enemy.

“Okay, I got this,” he spoke carefully, reaching one of his arms over her body and grabbing her side lightly to flip her. With only a small amount of force, he rolled the girl over, having her back take the place of chest on the ground.

If he had a moment, even a second, Hiccup would have been able to look the girl over to check for anything that would clearly show trauma or damage to the body. Infections, bruises, maybe even open wounds. It usually only took a passing glance to find those. However, he didn’t have a moment.

It took less than a blink of an eye for the girl’s metal arm to slam into his head.

“Ow!” Hiccup yelped as the steel impacted his skull, forcing him onto his rump. It made his ears ring and head spin from the force. He wasn’t a stranger to a bit of trauma, growing up on an island of warriors attacked by flying beasts, but it was hard to get used to the force of metal hitting you anywhere. Hiccup didn’t have the muscle to absorb the blow.

“Oh, geez,” He groaned, grabbing at his head with both hands, letting it rest on his folded knees. Toothless licked at him, his slobber slipping beneath Hiccup’s fingers. “Odin’s beard, that hurt! Agh!” He seethed through his teeth, hissing as the sting refused to die down. The boy squinted at the girl, watching her with grit teeth and a throbbing head.

Her clothes were like nothing he had ever seen before, overly complicated in their colors, stitchings and designs. That was failing to mention the distinct lack of any protective material over her body. There wasn’t any metal, leather, or even thick cloth over her, just frilly designs Hiccup couldn’t see the practical point of.

All of that was clear to him. That, and the fact that she was still almost snoring as she continued to lay back on her behind.

“Ah great,” he let out in a huff, his fingers clenching against his head a bit tighter. “One other person here and she’s out cold. That’s awesome, really.”

“Too darn loud…”

The voice, somehow, made Hiccup forget his pain, albeit momentarily. He twisted his head up from his knees, still gripping them with his dragon-drool-coated fingers. What he expected to see was the girl getting up, gripping her head with her hand like he had done.

What he saw instead was the pony just past the girl stirring on the ground, moving her legs like she was fighting the action of waking up. As familiar of a reaction as that was, it wasn’t one Hiccup could afford to wait for.

“Hey,” he called, earning only a low groan from the small pony. “Hey!” His voice raised in volume, matched by Toothless, who growled by the human’s side. The combination of the two successfully got the pony moving.

The foal turned over on her back, facing the two with squinting eyes and a tangled mane. One of her forelegs rose up, wiping away the sleep from her vision, just as if she had woken up from a nap. The familiar ritual was completed with wide yawn, the cuteness of the act almost relieving HIccup of his concussion.

“Hey there,” the boy spoke, raising one of his hands as she blinked her half-lidded eyes at him. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Big Mac?” The filly spoke the name like a question, her eyes almost shut and barely able to see. “What’s wrong? Ya sound funny.” Hiccup felt a ball slowly move down his throat.

“Um, yeah, I’m not… Big Mac?” His hand scratched at the back of his head. There wasn’t much else he could do until the foal was awake enough to process who he really was. Fortunately, or not, he didn’t have to wait long.

The yellow-coated filly blinked away the remainders of her slumber, taking deep, yawning breaths. Like in a slow dream, her orange eyes fell onto the boy, ghosting over the red-haired girl between them.

When their gazes met, the filly’s eyes grew to the size of shields.

“Hey hey hey,” Hiccup quickly began to speak, holding his hands up for the pony to see. “It’s alright, it’s okay.” The foal had yet to say anything, but the boy was already well-aware of what people did in states of shock. He had seen more than his fair share when the town found out about Toothless. He could only assume this pony would act much the same way.

“I-Is that… a dragon?” The words slipped and sputtered from the filly’s mouth, one of her forehooves shaking as it motioned behind the boy. Hiccup bit his lip.

“Okay, alright, aw crap.” His words fell as he spoke. “Um, look, hear me out. He’s alright, Toothless is a nice dragon. Right buddy?” The boy spun lightly as he spoke, putting on a smile for the scaled beast behind him. Toothless mimicked the expression, his fangless grin meeting Hiccup’s gaze.

“See, nothing to worry about.” The boy spun back to the pony, only to see her eyeing them. There wasn’t any fear or trepidation in her gaze, just a familiar look. A look that Hiccup had borne on more than one occasion. It was full of curiosity.

“Wait… Ah think Ah know you,” the filly began. “Ah saw you before somewhere…”

“Um, yeah, we have met. It was brief, though, even for me.” Hiccup began to move his hands in circles, searching for a good word or phrase to say. The foal didn’t look scared or agitated, but again, he was used to people changing on the tip of a sword. It didn’t take much, especially with a dragon as black as night.

“Huh?” She asked with a huff of breath. “Ah thought I saw ya in mah dream, but…” her eyes began to move around the cavern, taking note of where she was. That was when Hiccup saw the familiar signs of panic taking over the foal again. That couldn’t happen, for now at least.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he spoke up again, raising his voice to grab the filly’s attention. “We’re alone here, at least now. Just you, me, Toothless,” Hiccup’s eyes looked down, spying the woman between them. “And her.” The filly followed his eyes. It didn’t do much to calm her down.

“Wait, w-who’s she?” she questioned intensely, stumbling over her words. “A-And why ain’t she movin’? I-Is she… she...”

“No! No,” Hiccup yelled and then whispered, unable to decide which was better. He was not used to calming people down. Usually it was someone else who was tasked with straightening him out. ‘Out of his element’ wasn’t nearly strong enough a phrase to describe how foreign this sensation felt to him. He would have felt more at home talking about killing dragons.

“Then… why,” Hiccup didn’t give her the chance to continue.

“She’s just unconscious, asleep. You know, your body just kinda stops on you?” He made a fruitless motion with his hand, one the pony didn’t understand. “Look, I just woke up here, you just woke up here, Toothless,” Hiccup looked to his friend, who in turn looked back at him. The dragon was staring at him expectantly. “Toothless was probably already awake. Look, I’m just trying to show you we aren’t here to hurt you. Honestly, we’re kinda in the same boat.”

“Wait. Then…” the filly began, doubtlessly searching for the right words to say. At least she and Hiccup were having similar problems. “Then do ya know where we are, ‘er what happened?”

“Uh, no and no, so double no.” The words fell from Hiccup’s lips, dropping like his optimism. The only good thing he could see so far was that the filly wasn’t acting nearly as scared as she was before. “Last thing I remember is trying to help you get away from that… uh… thing I guess.”

“You did?” The filly asked again, her ears falling to one side as her head twisted itself. The same ears perked up as she eyes widened. “Oh yeah, that’s where Ah saw ya before! You were tryin’ ta fly me outta the castle after Discord tricked us, right?”

“Yeah! Yeah, that’s it.” Hiccup pointed at the filly, a smile pulling at his lips. It wasn’t much, but it was something. “Yeah, not really sure how we got here, but, um… we’re here now.”  His hand scratched behind his head, an absence of knowledge of what to say coming over him again. “So, um… what’s your name? I didn’t catch it before when… yeah.”

“Oh, um, mah name’s Apple Bloom,” The filly spoke proudly, standing to her four hooves as she did so. “What’s yours?”

“I’m Hiccup, and this is Toothless.” He wrapped one of his arms around the dragon’s neck, making a futile attempt to pull the muscled beast down to his level. The action actually lifted him off the ground. It made the filly laugh, something the boy was grateful to hear. After all, it was hard to laugh genuinely when you were afraid.

“Toothless, huh?” Apple Bloom questioned as her orange eyes peered at the large beast. “He looks pretty strong. He’s got wings, too!”

“Well, uh, yeah, course he does.” Hiccup patted his dragon’s side, letting himself fall back to the ground as he did so. Toothless hummed deeply at the affection. “All dragons have wings. Toothless here is one of the fastest dragons, though.” What Hiccup wanted the filly to be impressed by was the speed at which the Night Fury could fly. What he got instead was a discrediting fact from the foal.

“No way. There are dragons that can’t fly. Ah even know one.” The filly argued back. “His name’s Spike, and he works at the library around town. There aren’t any wings on his back, but he’s plenty smart enough to not need them. Ah mean, he talks up a storm about what Twilight’s doing ‘round town and-”

“Wait, wait, stop, back up,” Hiccup waved his palm in between the pair. “Did you say the dragon talked?” The boy scrutinized the foal with a look of perplexing wonder. “Ye-no, sorry, but dragon’s can’t talk. Trust me, I’d know by now.”

“Well sure dragons talk,” Apple Bloom spoke, as if it were a subject of common knowledge. “We don’t see a lot of ‘em around Ponyville, but Spike talks all the time. Ah mean, he’s helpin’ me and the girls with-AGH!”

Without even a hint of warning, the filly found herself wrapped in the embrace of a pair of arms.

Hiccup jumped at the sudden action, falling back onto his hands. Toothless growled lowly, hunching over with peeled eyes. His wing encircled Hiccup almost immediately, draping over the boy like a shield. Apple Bloom couldn’t make a sound, her muzzle smothered by the body that was holding her tightly.

All the while, the redhead merely yawned deeply as she pulled the pony closer to her.

“Not now DT,” she spoke in the midst of her own dream. “Dad said we have to wait till morning…” Her body turned over, the pony becoming cocooned by it.

It took a moment for Hiccup to realize just how viciously Apple Bloom was fighting the embrace was in. She was pushing against a metal arm.

“Oh, hey. Hey!” Hiccup spoke louder and louder, grabbing the girl’s shoulder. He began to shake her back and forth as he yelled louder still. “Hey! C’mon! You gotta wake up! Hey!” Yet for all his yelling, the girl snoozed almost peacefully. A flashback of his father following a raid came to Hiccup’s mind. It took a monsoon to wake the sleeping chief.

That, however, brought an idea to the boy’s mind.

“Toothless,” he spoke the dragon’s name with authority, earning the black beast’s attention. “How loud can you yell?”

The dragon bared his teeth at the boy, something Hiccup would have feared should it have come from anyone or anything else. The Night Fury moved around Hiccup, positioning itself over the sleeping girl. Her red hair swayed lightly underneath the dragon’s heavy breaths, but it did nothing to disturb her heavy slumber. Apple Bloom was only becoming more and more restless.

The dragon leaned back onto his rear legs, chest puffing out as a large breath was taken into its lungs. Hiccup recognized the action, as he had been the victim of it the first time he and his friend had met. His hands roughly covered his ears, pushing them against his head as hard as he could. He did it just in time.

RAAAGH!!

“GAAAGH!” The scream from the girl followed the roar from the dragon. The echoes of the beast’s bellow shook the walls, flickering the flames that hung on the wall. It more than drowned out the girl’s shriek.

Thankfully, the yell did what it was intended to do.

The flame-haired teen woke up with a shot, freeing Apple Bloom from her captivity. The foal took in a deep breath of air as she did so.

“What the hell!? What the hell!? What the ever living and breathing hell?!” The girl began to scream left and right, jumping to her feet faster than Hiccup would have given her credit for. Her eyes moved with her head, looking around herself defensively.

It was probably one of the worst times Hiccup had had attention focused on him.

“You!” The girl shouted with a thrust of her hand. “What’s going on?!” She managed to take two steps before Toothless placed himself between the still shocked Hiccup and the angered teen. It did nothing to calm her down.

“Whoa!” She nearly shrieked again. “And what is that?!” Her metal arm swung towards the beast, most likely out of some misplaced belief it would protect her. Realistically, it was probably a better guard than her other arm. The silence that followed her words only encouraged her to continue on.

“No, wait, screw that! Where am I?! Who are you… things!?!” Oddly enough, it wasn’t the girl’s threatening screams that caused Hiccup to relax. It was the several-hundred pound dragon behind him.

Hiccup felt the wind rush past his hair, at the same time as a deep rumble shook his bones. He didn’t have to look to know that the Night Fury was crouched to the cavern’s floor, preparing to pounce like the girl was his next meal. That was something the boy had to stop.

“Toothless! Stop!” He cried as he whirled from the ground, grabbing at the dragon’s neck as he did so. Not even a blink of an eye later did the dragon start snapping at the fiery redhead, shocking the horrified woman silent. Apple Bloom appeared to be faring no better. “Calm down buddy! It’s alright, it’s all okay,” Toothless, if he wanted to, could have broken through Hiccup’s weak hold like wet cloth. But that would risk hurting his partner, something neither of them would ever intentionally do.

The dragon stopped its jaw, but kept his teeth bared and mouth clenched. The sight wasn’t any less terrifying than before. It also didn’t help that the vicious barking was replaced with low growling deep enough to shake the stones they stood on.

“It’s okay buddy, it’s alright, they’re friends.” Apparently, to the girl, Hiccup had just insulted her.

“Friends?” she asked incredulously, somewhat over her shocked stupor. “I don’t even know! I don’t even know what that is!” Toothless growled once more at the words, smoke billowing from his nostrils at the clear insult. Hiccup tightened his grip just a bit harder.

“His name is Toothless,” he spoke back with some bite, hoping it would either calm the dragon or the girl. It did neither. “Mine is Hiccup, alright?” He tentatively held out his hand, loosening his hold on the Night Fury.

“And mine’s Apple Bloom!” The high voice of the filly earned the immediate attention of the girl, her red locks whipping at the speed her head spun. When her green eyes met the wide and excited gaze of the foal, she froze.

For a moment, a brief moment at that, Hiccup was afraid she’d start screaming again. It wouldn’t be too odd, after all. A pony had just talked to her. That’s wasn’t normal in most places. Then, slowly raising her metallic hand, the girl pointed at Apple Bloom.

“You… spoke…” the girl muttered matter-of-factly. “You spoke… words…” The filly either didn’t perceive or didn’t care about the girl’s shock. She was most likely just too happy to hear the girl not screaming or smothering her.

“Yup, sure did,” Apple Bloom spoke back once again. “Ah can also count, sing, and work some fancy mathematics, too!” The filly made a small jump in the air, doubtlessly happy that she could openly brag about herself.

That was until the redhead promptly picked Apple Bloom up off the ground. The smile across her once-screaming face was unmistakable.

“Oh my god!” The girl spoke cheerfully. “You’re a pony! A talking pony! Oh my gosh, you’re so adorable!” Apple Bloom had all of a breath’s length of time to prepare herself. In that time, the girl pulled the filly close to her, pushing her cheeks against the coat of the foal. “Wow! You feel just like one of my dolls back home!”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom cried back indignantly. “Let go of me!”

“Aw, why?” The girl countered with a voice that sounded to be everything but serious. “You’re just so cuddly and soft. How can I not hold you cl-”

Her words were roughly cut off by a swipe of a tail.

The lurching sound of breath leaving lungs dragged itself through the air. Hiccup, always the strategist, followed the source of the sudden assault on the girl as opposed to the victim herself. It didn’t take much thought or even evidence to see that it was Toothless who had whipped the fiery redhead with his tail.

Apple Bloom landed on the ground with a light plop, jumping to her hooves and backing away from the girl at an impressive speed. Again, Hiccup couldn’t help but notice how quickly the filly was able to retreat. She was either used to heights or used to pain. He really hoped for the former.

Hiccup turned his gaze back to the redhead, who had both her real and metallic hand clenched around the area Toothless had hit her, her gut. He didn’t need to ask to know that it was with a significant force. She wouldn’t be doubled over otherwise.

That only made the fierce gaze she gave him both justifiable and terrifying.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Hiccup hastily spoke, holding up his hands defensively. He backed away as he did so, well aware that words alone wouldn’t be much if she didn’t respond to them. Of all the times he wished he were a bit stronger, now was one of them. Maybe then he wouldn’t be afraid of every girl who was a bit taller than himself. “Look, let’s all just stop for a second.”

“You’re… telling me… to… stop?” The girl wheezed the words, her breath still working to expand her chest. Wisely as ever, Hiccup waited the girl out. It was odd, treating her like prey in the woods, but if there was any lesson he had learned from hunting, it was that a beast was at its most fierce when it was wounded.

“I… just want to talk.” He spoke simply, using straight and unmistakable words. They were all he would say until she spoke again.

The girl took a few more tentative breaths, testing out the strength of her muscles before standing to her tallest again. Hiccup hated being shorter than girls. His inferiority complex was already severe enough as it was. It didn’t help that she was staring at him like Astrid would after someone had called her weak.

“Okay, let’s all just… stop for a second, alright?” Hiccup begged the human and pony in front of him, Toothless standing on his rear legs behind him. The boy held no illusion that it was the dragon’s presence that gave him authority. He let out a small sigh, probably to calm his own mind.

“Look, we’re all lost right now, aaaand we hardly know one another. I can’t really pretend that I’ve done this before, but I can at least guess that if we want to figure out what’s happening, we should probably do a bit more thinking and a bit less reacting.” His gaze was focused hard on the girl to his left. “We all sort of just… reacted... a bit ago. None of it was intentional, I’m sure, but right now, wherever we are, we have to stick together. Make sense?”

The girl didn’t answer immediately, and neither did Apple Bloom. The filly, however, was clearly waiting for the redhead to speak first. Said girl was twisting her eyes in thought, her tongue clearly pushing against the inside of her cheeks as her mind continued to work. Thinking was a good thing. It meant her actions would be less… primitive.

“Okay, yeah,” the girl agreed, sighing as she did so. “I’m calm, you’re calm, she’s calm, it’s calm, we’re all calm.” She threw her hands up in the air, calm clearly still outside of her reach. Her moping was still better than screaming or cheering, though.

She began to take deep breaths, inhaling quickly and intensely enough to be heard over the crackling flames from the torches that lined the walls. Her head swayed forwards and backwards, her hands placed squarely on her hips, just over the hem of her skirt.

Hiccup and Toothless exchanged a look of confusion as the breathing continued. The boy turned his gaze to the filly, who gave him a similar, expression complete with lopped ears. He watched her orange gaze look up to his dragon. He could only guess that she and Toothless were giving each other the same look.

“Alright,” the girl’s voice finally spoke again, calm for perhaps the first time. “I got a clear head, for now at least.” She turned back towards the trio, looking first to Apple Bloom.

“You,” she spoke with a soft tone, something neither Hiccup nor Apple Bloom expected. “I’m sorry for scaring the crap out you. Ponies are… well, I grew up playing with dolls and stuff. Seeing you just felt like, well, a dream. You know, kinda like what all of this feels like.” Her hands waved into the air, motioning at nothing but indicating everything. Apple Bloom giggled at the words and action.

“It’s alright,” the filly easily accepted the apology. “Ah’ve seen mah sis wake up from nightmare before. All that matters is yer calm now.”

“Yeah, thanks for understanding.” Another sigh left the girl’s mouth, her eyes closing lightly as she did so. But in the next moment, she turned her attention to Hiccup.

“And you,” she spoke, pointing her metallic hand at the boy. Hiccup felt his legs tense at the word and action. “I’m sorry for… whatever I did.”

“Uh, sure,” Hiccup took the apology for what it was worth, which was probably as much as the stone he was standing on. Funny, too, because the smack she gave him in her sleep still throbbed atop his head. Not to mention the insults she threw at Toothless stung. But to Hiccup right now, any ground gained wasn’t worth losing. Not over petty matters like name-calling, at least.

“So, um, what’s your name?” The redhead gave a confident grin before answering the question. Apple Bloom would later swear she had seen the same smile before, only somewhere else.

“Gaige,” she spoke easily-- proudly, at that. “Gaige the Mechromancer.”

“‘Kay, Gaige,” Hiccup spoke, testing the name and the reaction it brought forth. He could feel the pride emanating from the girl as he said it. Vanity was clearly not beyond her. “Alright, that’s good. We all know each other. That’s something, right?”

“It is,” Apple Bloom spoke up, grabbing the attention of both teens. “But Ah gotta question.”

“What’s up?” Gaige responded before Hiccup. “Something you think I can answer? ‘Cause I’ll warn you right now, I have no idea what we’re doing here.”

“Nah, I already figured that,” the filly dismissed. Before she spoke again, however, she pointed one of her fore hooves at the girl. Specifically, at the false limb attached to her left side. “I wanna know what happened to yer arm.”

“Oh, this?” Gaige responded innocently, as if it were the first time she had ever been asked that question. Hiccup doubted that as much as he doubted his ability to hurt a dragon. “It’s no big deal. I just cut into it with my plasma saw and decided in the moment to replace it with a digi-struct module of Ti-84 component steel. No sweat.” Hiccup only understood half the words she said. Apple Bloom understood even fewer.

“But you should see what I can do with it.” He wasn’t sure if it was the glint in her eyes or the excitement in her voice, but Hiccup felt, perhaps by instinct, that doing that was a bad idea.

“Yeah, how about we wait until we get somewhere safe, alright?” Hiccup spoke, grateful that the word was finally being used properly. Everything was, for the moment, all right. “Just a guess, but it looks like we were dumped at the bottom of some cave, maybe an old mining shaft. I have no idea where we are, Apple Bloom has no idea, Toothless doesn’t either, and I’m sure you don’t.” Hiccup’s hand motioned towards Gaige as he spoke, who nodded with raised brows and closed eyes.

“So, do we head down the ominous cave to who-knows-where, or just sit and wait for something to happen?”

“Uh, is that a serious question?” Gaige asked while leaning towards her younger peer. “We’re heading down the cave, duh.”

“Actually, it isn’t that obvious,” Hiccup countered with a raise of his hand. “Most caves are like mazes: you don’t know where which direction will take you. If we go one way,” his hand motioned down one end of the hall, Toothless following his hand out of instinct, “We could end up going even deeper into the mine, probably finding monsters, a few trolls, maybe even the entrance to Hell if we’re lucky.”

“Sounds like fun,” Gaige spoke in response. Hiccup couldn’t tell if she was being honest or sarcastic. He prayed for the latter. “Tougher enemies means better loot. I bet we could find some pretty killer stuff down there then.” And, just like all of his prior prayers, they fell on deaf ears.

“Uh, no. How about no?” Hiccup shot back. “I’d rather go towards the way out. You know, where there’s a sky and no walls and maybe even some peop… ponies looking for us?” His gaze fell on Apple Bloom as he spoke. She took it as a queue.

“Well, Ah’m sure mah sis and her friends are gonna be looking for us.” Hiccup held up a crooked smile at the words. “But she wouldn’t want me ta be cowerin’ in a cave waitin’ for her, either.” And then he felt a frown take over in a second. His confidence took residence on Gaige’s features, as her spunky smile only became determined from the filly’s words.

“And now the vote’s two to one,” the girl counted with no lack of joy in her voice. “Do you wanna ask your pet dragon what he thinks?”

Hiccup grumbled indignantly. Said dragon pushed against him, cooing curiously about what was going on. He gave the Night Fury clear eye contact, finding himself relaxing under the strong gaze of his draconic friend.

Toothless wouldn’t have been able to give him an answer, since there was no way to ask the question. But if he could, if Hiccup were able to phrase the question to the Night Fury in a way the son of lightning and death could understand, he knew the answer he would receive.

Dragons didn’t wait for anything, and Toothless certainly wouldn’t depend on the strength of others.

“Alright, fine,” Hiccup conceded, his hand grabbing at his forehead as he did so. He was going to get a bad headache soon; he just felt it. “All aboard the terror cart to spooky tunnel. Next stop, nightmare town.”

“Aw, quit whining.” Gaige gave him a rough push as she spoke to him, nearly knocking him from his feet. He was only too thankful she didn’t hit him with her metallic arm again. “I bet we’ll be out of here in no time. It’s not like the heroes ever die, right?”

“Oh don’t say that. Please don’t say that.” Hiccup couldn’t wipe away the dread from his face no matter how hard his hands scraped against it. “There isn’t a faster way to prove yourself wrong than doing that. Ah, gods…” He left himself mumbling, ignoring the snort of laughter that the redhead gave in return. She was going to be the death of him, he figured, he just didn’t know how yet.

“Um, Hiccup?” The call of his name called the boy’s attention, specifically to the small filly looking up at him with another curious gaze. “Do you mind if I ride on Toothless?” Her hoof motioned towards the black dragon, who looked from one to the other silently.

“Ride him?” Hiccup repeated, looking at the small pony compared to the massive dragon. Honestly, to Toothless, it probably would have felt like carrying air. It made the boy shrug. “Sure, why not? He’ll probably enjoy it. Isn’t that right buddy?” The dragon gave an open tooth grin, letting his serpentine tongue roll of his mouth as he did so. It was as good a sign as any.

“Awesome!” The filly cheered as she trotted and jumped onto the dragon’s back. Hiccup couldn’t help the small smile that pulled at his face, watching the pony paw her way over the dragon’s black scales. Toothless was patient with her, watching Apple Bloom kick her way onto him.

For another flash of a moment, Hiccup wondered if it was any different from how dragons would take care of their young, letting them ride on their backs while they had to move. But again, it was just a thought, and one he didn’t have time to ponder over.

“Alright!” Apple Bloom cheered again, standing at her tallest between the Night Fury’s wings. “It feels like Ah’m ridin’ the princess’s cart ta Canterlot!” The beaming filly appeared to be fighting herself, one part eagerly awaiting the dragon to move, the other part wanting to jump up and down with her abundance of energy.

It was while Toothless was entertaining the ecstatic filly that the girl came up behind the boy. She didn’t do anything malicious, dark or unwanted, but the action she did was surprising nonetheless.

Gaige merely wrapped her right arm, her real arm, around Hiccup’s neck, leaning on his shoulders as she watched Apple Bloom swaying left and right on the Night Fury’s back. Hiccup felt her hair mingling with his own, tickling his scalp. He scratched at it out of instinct.

“So,” she began, her voice containing nothing teasing or mocking. “Which way are we heading?” Gaige asked, giving the boy time to respond. Hiccup dismissed it.

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll know if we were right or wrong eventually.” The answer seemed to sit well with the girl, at least for the moment.

“Oh yeah, there was something else I wanted to ask.” Hiccup turned to face the redhead, ready to ask her just what this eluding question was. But as he did, he felt the touch of cool metal over his vest. He didn’t even need to glance to see that it was Gaige’s fake arm pushing on him.

“Where did that blood come from?”

Oddly enough, Hiccup felt the blood drain from his face as he processed the question.

“Yeah, funny story about that…”

“Hmm…  three more to wander through the caves, another party for the lost.” Azula mused to herself, lightly wrapping her fingers over check as she did so. The manicured nails tapped on her porcelain skin. “That makes five groups of toys on the move with another seven still left in a cold slumber.”

A sly grin drew itself over the flame princess’s sharp features. Her back straightened from the alcove, allowing her to stand to her tallest. The railings of the balcony barely reached to her hips. The giggle she gave at the thought was dark and treacherous.

“Such small things; weak in their bodies and doubtlessly in their spirit.” Azula continued to speak to herself. She let one of her hands slowly move over the cool marble that was the railing, appreciating the smooth texture and expert craftsmanship. “Their minds are strong, though. At least more intelligent than the average mutt.”

“There’s one!!”

The sudden shout did not startle Azula, but it did earn her attention.

Her sharp golden eyes looked down the dark hallway, the one her large green ally had ventured down some hours ago. Now, instead of his monstrous form, a trio of ponies were galloping towards her, all layered with golden armor and coats as white as snow. Their rush towards her was softened by the carpet beneath them, but their gazes were no less vicious-- perhaps more so under the shadows of the hall.

They, however, only made the dark-haired firebender grin. Her smile was sharp enough to cut ice.

The trio of ponies stopped just in front of her, blocking her entrance back into the castle. This left only Azula on the balcony. Strategically, it was a sound decision, limiting her movement. Without proper information, however, it was a rushed and poor formation. It was only to the ponies’ further lack of luck that they were dealing with a woman who made leaps and bounds upon the weaknesses of others.

“Speak your name!” One of the ponies yelled, a unicorn by the looks of it. He had small scar beneath one of his eyes, a sign of either poorly monitored practice or survival of a close encounter on the field of battle. Given the peaceful nature of the land, Azula wagered on the former. “And while you’re at it, tell us what you are!” He didn’t lack in authority, at least. A bit short in brains, though.

“Please, there’s no reason to yell,” Azula smoothly spoke, waving her hand as she did so. It quickly took its place behind her back, folded neatly and in a dignified style. “I’ll cooperate so long as you treat me with respect.”

“Shut up!” The same pony roughly yelled at her. It earned a narrowing of the flame princess’s eyes. “I gave you an order! Speak up or face the consequences!”

“You are very loud,” she spoke smoothly yet again, undeterred by the guard’s rough nature. “Could you lower your voice for a while? I want to enjoy the rest of the show.”

“There’s your answer, commander,” one of the other golden armored ponies spoke, a pegasi this time. “She has to be one of the conspirators. She’s cheering on the violence against her highness!”

Azula watched the pony carefully. It was hard to judge age among them, but he seemed to be the youngest out of the trio. None of the familiar signs of age wore down on his skin, or what little she could see beyond his armor. That only made him more likely to be full of energy. But the trouble with untamed energy, as the princess was keen to remember, was the brashness that often came with it.

“It’s good enough for me,” the now labeled commander spoke in return. It made a wry smile grow over the flame princess’s lips. The youngest was quick to judge, but it appeared that the commander was little different. It would have been amusing if it were not so easy.

“Well, am I to expect you three to attempt something on me?” Azula chose her words carefully. The less she touched on, the more the enemy would clarify. It meant little now, but it was never a good idea to fall out of practice.

“We’re going to take you into custody until we can rescue the royal princesses. Until that time, you will be staying in the dungeons.” The smile that curled over the pony’s lips was confident. “Chances are, though, it’ll be an indefinite stay.”

“Ah,” Azula spoke simply, taking in a small breath of air as she was done. “I’m sorry to say I don’t have time for that. There is still much I’m expecting to happen, and it would be awfully difficult to watch the show from behind bricks and stone.”

“So you’re going to resist?” The commander clarified, doubtlessly enjoying the chance to fight the creature in front of him. If only he knew what he was dealing with. Azula, however, knew fully well what pegasi and unicorns were capable of.

“But,” she began to speak on, ignoring the unicorn’s question. “I am becoming quite chilly up here. The altitude and the wind aren’t good for keeping in the heat.”

A flash of her smile was all it took to make the ponies feel colder than ice.

“But you three will make excellent kindling.”

With a snap of her fingers, the three burst into flames. There wasn’t even time to cry.

Blue flames blazed from beneath the golden armor, completely engulfing the ponies. Their protective metal fell to the stone with harsh clanks, rocking over the heavy flames. It only took a few more seconds before the metal began to bend, softened by the intense heat. A moment longer and puddles of gold began to form beneath the still-blazing blue.

Azula’s golden eyes watched the entire display, lifting her hand to feel the heat emanating from the ashes.

“Adequate at best.” The princess judged her own work, only partially satisfied with the result. “But for only three small ponies, it is a decent fire.” She clenched her hand, gripping her fingers until they shook. “And it only required less than a thought to make.”

The princess’s teeth shined from between her lips, her smile more dangerous than the flames she had conjured.

“But that’s to be expected,” Azula spoke. Her hand raised itself to her head, adjusting her black bangs around her ears. They had fallen out of place sometime during the ponies’ entrance. “Now, where was I?”

She turned back to the monolith in the sky, its black screens twisting slowly to show more and more of the dangerous dances the ponies inside were enduring. Azula felt her eyes drawn to a familiar trio, all the closer to her given one of its members.

“And how will you play your part?” She questioned aloud, voicing her words to the wind. “Will you claim the power you swore to hold, or crumble like the stone you’re made from?”

Her hands folded together, hiding her sharp-edged smile.

“Either way, it will be interesting to watch.”

And So It Goes

When silence finally descended on the room in which the trio stood, it was hardly worth calling comfortable. Heat continued to dance around their forms, clinging to their clothes and coat with almost selfish greed, robbing them of energy even as their bodies were still. The red rock room was no different than a sauna now.

However, in place of what was in it just moments before, Riku could safely state he preferred the almost choking heat around him to the flaming monsters that were battling them just moments before.

But now they were gone, and he was alone with the princess of the night and man of stone once more. When he started to speak, it still wasn’t easy to do so.

“Okay… alright,” the silver-haired boy spoke between heavy breaths. His arms felt like weights and his legs like his arms did. It was a wonder his eyes even stayed open. “That’s… that’s good, we’re good.”

The room he stood, barely keeping his balance on his feet, felt like the equivalent of a sauna. Steam rose from the red rocks and carved blocks like billows of clouds, only emphasizing the intense humidity he was keeping himself in. The sweat of his body made his clothes stick to him like glue. It was a familiar feeling, but disgusting without the ability to relieve himself of the discomfort.

“That was a lot fun!” Riku recognized the voice of the stone man even with his eyes shut. The joy of his tone was the farthest thing from comforting. “And you did very well yourself, Arma. Why my dear, I do believe we cracked on like a melon!”

“That you did… that… you did.” The panting voice of the alicorn princess was heard just as well by Riku. She seemed to be faring no better than he was. “Truly it was a… grand battle. And we are not… harmed…” To the boy, it sounded as if she was testing the word, unsure of its merit. Given his physical state, it was a fair question.

“Well,” Karl spoke up before the boy could. “I have all my fingers and Arma has all her feathers, don’t you girl?” A small silence draped itself over the group, only to be lifted off by the stone man’s snickering. Neither Riku nor Luna knew why he was laughing. “Oh, you raise a fine point. I’ll be sure to check.”

“Check what?” Riku asked aloud. He dropped his Path to Dawn, feeling the blade dissipate into the air and out of reality. It was less to carry, and therefore, less to worry about.

“Oh Riku, you haven’t thought of it yet?” The boy didn’t need to face the stone man to know that he was smiling with his words. “We just took out no less than half a dozen of those flaming monsters, with some style if I may add.” He didn’t need to add it, at least in Riku’s opinion. “I find it odd that we would venture down this lonely path only to meet a group of agile dancers caught on fire, but then not even a prize for our victory.”

“A prize?” Luna questioned the word. “Why would… a path would… oh, in the name of the moon, please, hold a moment.”

“For wha-” The boy was never given time to finish his thought.

A chilled wind washed over him, rushing over his clothes, through his hair, and across his exposed skin. It shocked his system, paralyzing his mind. Breath became an impossible object to hold as the cold consumed him. It reminded Riku of being in the darkness, of being trapped in the world of shadows.

It was a euphoric feeling that he loathed to love.

“Done.” The word was spoken like a command.

All at once, the explosion of cold ceased, the frigid air stilled, but the heat did not return. Riku whipped around to face the alicorn, prepared for any sight he saw. It was that preparation alone that kept his jaw from dropping in shock, though it didn’t stop his eyes from widening.

The alicorn no longer had the air of fatigue or stress, not even of using any effort. Instead, she appeared to be freshly groomed, well cared for and treated. Her eyes were strong, her posture tall, and before anything else, her wings extended to show the flawless arrangement of her feathers. She was a sight to behold and Riku was proud to witness it.

Still, there was a question he had to ask.

“How… what did you just do?” Riku was careful with his question, but it was hard to keep a façade of calm indifference after such a display of what was doubtlessly powerful magic. Luna, however, had no difficulty at all.

“I am the ruler of the night, a reflection of what sits in the skies,” she began simply, enjoying the feeling of moving her coat in the now cool air. “To me, it is a daily task to reflect the heat and warmth from one object to another. However, it also my task to let the sleeping lives prepare for the new day. To do so, I help them whilst they sleep.”

“Oh, I do love riddles,” Karl spoke up, jumping in front of the princess with his devilish grin. “Do tell what the answer is.”

“There are no riddles in my words, only what I have said.”

“Oh you are good at this.” Karl’s painted finger wagged as he spoke. “I’ll have to guess then, won’t I?”

“She means that she took the heat from the room, converted it into energy, and then gave it to us.” Riku spoke the words simply, his arms crossed over his chest. He too had a grin over his lips. It was far less malicious than the stone man’s. “Gotta admit though, I’ve seen people do a lot of things with magic, but never something like that.”

“When you live for centuries and guide the lives of thousands, the capabilities of magic begin to unfold before you.” Luna’s own lips twisted at her words. “So of course, there is much more that I can do.”

“Ah, well I suppose the riddle is solved. Does that mean it’s my turn?” The question did not sit well with either the boy or the alicorn.

“Your turn?” Riku asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Aw, have you forgotten already?” Karl mockingly asked, grating on Riku’s nerves once more. He was glad he had his energy back. It meant he could exercise his patience a little bit longer. “I’m the one with a thick noggin’.” His hand wrapped on the top of his hat, letting the hollow sound echo in the cooled chamber.

“Enough Karl,” Luna spoke again, her authority far stronger than it was before. “Tell us what you have found, or more appropriately, what you hope to find.”

“There’s the question,” Karl spoke, pointing at the diarch with his grey hand. “Every riddle has a single question that can break it, a key that shows you the answer. I’m so glad you were able to solve such a simple riddle. It truly befits your age.”

“Do not mistake my patience with your words as enjoyment.” The dark alicorn spoke again. “You know well of my strength now, as I know yours. Should I deem it right, I will banish you to the same realm I sent so many of those monster.”

“Ha ha,” Karl laughed bitterly, his smile anything but warm or joyful. Riku had never seen a more obvious mask before. “It is hard to have fun with that kind of card in your hand.”

A tense moment passed in the cool room, barren of the flames that once consumed it. For all the camaraderie the three displayed in the battle against the dancing monsters, none of it could be seen now.

The tension, however, turned to smoke as the stone man let out a sigh.

“I suppose there is no point in fooling around if neither of you will play along.” His smile turned into a smirk, present but only faintly so. “Very well, I suppose I’ll simply show Arma’s idea.”

And, as per his words, the stone man walked backwards, his orange coat following behind him, marred black with the touches of fire. Riku could recall every one of the flaming beasts that had struck at the statue man, just as he could recall the ferocity with which Karl beat them back.

“Ah, here were are.” The boy and alicorn watched as the statue man leant down, grabbing at something off the floor. He spun nimbly on his heel, a practiced motion to be sure. When it was done, he produced an object they had all seen before, though lacking the licking flames that used to surround it.

“Here, you can see one of the remainders of our hot headed enemy.” As before, his laughter was unshared. “A bit like me, but obviously lacking my charming personality.”

Riku peered at the dark remains in the living statue’s hand. It was the dark sphere of one of the dancers, the only part of the monsters that wasn’t made of fire and flames. The shell of rock Karl held was shattered, missing a large portion of the ominously colored material. Regardless, however, the red outlines of a Cheshire smile were still easy to see. It did nothing to calm Riku’s spiteful mind. Thankfully, Karl was not the only one among them who could wear a mask.

“What about this… fallen foe is of interest to us?” Luna asked, trotting across the red rock towards the stone man. Riku was close by her side. “And I might add, I am impressed you were able to cause such… damage to it.”

That was true. Riku wasn’t able to defeat a single one of them, not that they had much of a chance against him either. Not a single strand of fiber from his clothes was charred, and aside from the heat, they never set a lick of fire on his body. Luna however was more than capable of using her magic, banishing many of the monster as she had the first, using the same blast of magic that had impressed the boy and the living statue.

Karl, however, had no qualms nor limits when it came to fighting these beasts.

Arma, currently sitting on his shoulder, was nimble as a sword and had the strength of a war hammer. It did more than simply stun or distract the dancing flames. It demolished them, no different than crushing a bug. And during the entire experience, Karl never stopped smiling.

No, it wasn’t that he stopped smiling, it was that he smiled brighter during it.

“Well, and keep in mind that this is just an idea of Arma’s, but let’s say these guys were hollow for a reason.” Without waiting for a question or comment, he reached into the black sphere, his colored hand sifting through the dark, hollow, and cracked orb. When it withdrew it was holding something.

A medallion.

Riku and Luna blinked.

Both of their eyes peered at the thin disk in the stone hand, produced with hardly any ceremony and shown without any warning. It was red as the rock around them, but far smoother and more refined. Like a frozen image of a calm lake, it was perfectly circular and smooth.

There was, however, a design across it. It was something that Riku and Luna had seen before.

“Hey,” the boy spoke first, pointing at the disk. “That looks like the stone portrait from the mausoleum.”

“Relief, Riku, it is called a relief,” Luna corrected the teen before she spoke on. “But you are correct. Those well-etched curves, multiple points, smooth bottom, and hollow center. They all mimic the one we saw before.”

“Now you two have me at a disadvantage.” Karl teased the two, dropping the black sphere from his grey hand. It shattered further across the stone floor. Riku and Luna gave it a glance, uneasy by the method of which the remains were disposed.

It mattered little, however, at least in the end. The living statue was still holding the prize they needed.

“In the room Riku and I first appeared in, there was a stone mausoleum across a pool of magma.” Luna spoke the words carefully. Riku could only assume she was choosing them wisely. “When we investigated the structure, we found it to be adorned with many reliefs, detailing images that I cannot recall occurring in the history of my country. What’s more, the entrance to it was sealed with tying magic.”

“Tying magic?” Karl questioned. “For a pony that was able to blast dancing monsters into oblivion, that doesn’t sound like something too hard to undo.”

“Then your perception of magic is not as refined as you pretend for it to be.” The jibe was clear and intentional, though Riku could not see the purpose of it.

Not until he saw the smile across Karl’s lips drop.

It was a flash of a moment, faster than he would have been able to blink, but he was sure it happened, sure as he could make the Path to Dawn appear in his hand. The sight was too odd, too foreign, for him to make up such a thing.

“Hmm, then could you explain to me what it means?” When the statue man spoke again, all was normal, or as normal the living rock was. His smile was back in place, his cheery tone unchanged, and the black bird perched on his shoulder vacant in sight.

Riku and Luna, however, were not fooled. They did not, however, desire another enemy.

“Look, I don’t quite get how the magic works here either,” Riku began, attempting to defuse the situation. “But from what I understand, if we tried to force open the entrance, the whole thing would have come down.”

“That would be a problem, wouldn’t it?” Karl began to flip the medallion through his fingers, showing of his dexterity. It twisted between each of his fingers without pause or patience, his eyes focused on the pair with the same lucid smile. “And you say this was on the entrance as well?”

“Yes,” Luna spoke again. “If I were to propose an idea, I’d wager that the medallion you hold could very well be a key to opening the stone hall.”

“A magic key for a magic lock, I take it?” The stone man questioned, earning a short nod from the alicorn. That, in turn, earned a chuckle from the statue. “Of course it would. Why use a regular lock and key when you can just cast a spell?”

“Alright, look,” Riku began again, moving to stand between the two. “We found something that we can use, and we have a pretty good idea for where it goes. We should probably back trace our steps and see if that medallion does anything.”

“I concur,” the dark alicorn spoke up. “It would be best to at least attempt to enter the mausoleum again. If nothing else, we may be able to discern other objects to look for.”

“Well I always did hate to go against the flow,” Karl spoke. “But, if I may make another suggestion, I believe I know a faster way than walking through more halls.” His words earned raised brows from the pair.

“I’ll bite,” Riku ventured. “What is it?

“Another way out of here of course!” The statue practically cheered as she said the words. Twisting on his heel as a small laugh left his stone lips. “Silly boy, did you really believe that this long hall came to such a dead end?”

“It did appear to be a trap for the monsters that dwelled in this room. Leaving only one entrance would make it no different than a cell, something even I’m sure you are familiar with.” Luna’s tone had bite in it again, but Karl either was apathetic or ignorant of it. Riku was forced to believe the former, given the statue’s perceptive nature.

“Ah, that would be true, if this place was designed for them.” He pointed out, the medallion waving with his hand towards the princess. “But if this place has locks and keys, why give the key to the things it was meant to hold?” The questioning statement struck more than a chord with both the boy and alicorn. “And, if I may go on, I believe Arma already found the way out.”

The statue jumped into the air, before the two could even begin to comment on his assumptions. He landed with a dull thud on the center block, standing at his tallest with the same confident smile.

Karl’s hand extended outwards, palm open and outwards. Arma flew from his shoulder twisting around the colored appendage before landing in his grasp. The moment it did, the bird transformed as it had before, elongating into a sinister shape. Riku watched, cautiously as ever, as the mass of the silent raven extended to its end, leaving only a handle in Karl’s grasp. The swift transformation ended with the statue holding a black hammer in his free hand.

“The best way to conceal something is to fill it, usually with what you took out of it.” Luna only had time to open her mouth before Karl swung the hammer back. His smile was as wide and malicious as it was during the heat of the battle just moments before.

Then, with a powerful force, he swung the hammer down.

The platform he stood on shook.

A cloud of dust shot from beneath the stone, covering the room with its red color. Both the boy and alicorn stepped away from the block, reflexively raising their hands and wings in defense. They coughed away the particles that invaded their lungs, dry as fire and nearly as hot.

Riku waved his hand, hoping to push away the dense fog of red, only to stop as a familiar aura of blue seeped through the cloud. In the next instant, all of the dust was forced away by a flick of the alicorn’s horn. What the boy would normally do then was thank the princess. Instead, however, too focused on what he saw.

The etched stone block Karl now crouched on had sunken into the ground, visibly far deeper than before.

“And who says using force doesn’t get the job done?” The stone man nearly gleefully spoke as he stood to his tallest, letting the center of his dark hammer lean on his shoulder. “I’d wager it did quite a lot. Welp, time is wasting.” He drew the hammer back again.

“Wait!” The dark alicorn yelled. The Karl paused mid-swing, his smile unsure as he gazed at the dark alicorn. “Let us… join you first.” The statue’s smile turned as he stood to his tallest again.

“Oh, I’m touched,” Karl spoke as he let his hand fall over his chest, the red medallion caught between his thumb and palm. “I had no idea I mean so much to you.”

“I think she meant on the platform.” Riku clarified, already walking forwards as he spoke. He gracefully jumped up onto the rock, requiring little more than a small flexion of his knees as he landed.

Luna was not far behind him, trotting forwards with the grace that befit a ruler. Her wings extended outwards when she was close to the platform, beating them lightly as she jumped forwards. The ability to fly may have been restricted from her with the dense air in the caves, but she had more than enough strength in her feathers to increase her height. She landed just as majestically on the stone platform as she had taking off.

“All aboard then?” Karl questioned with a small twist of his head. A small sigh passed through Riku’s lips as he nodded. “Good, then hold on tight now.” Just as sudden as the first time, Karl slammed the hammer down.

The platform lurched as the force was delivered, nearly knocking the boy and alicorn off their hooves and feet. Another cloud of red dust gusted from beneath the stone.

“That’s two,” Karl spoke an almost musical tune to his voice. “Let’s see if three is the charm.” With a quick rise of his hand, he forced the black hammer to fall again. The platform shook for a third time.

Then it began to fall.

“Whoa!” Riku shouted as the sensation of weightlessness began to overtake him.

The floor around them vanished. To their perspective, ominously large walls rose in their place, quickly surrounding the three in a pitch-black darkness. Air rushed past them as their feet left the platform they stood on.

Luna felt her hooves kicking at nothing, trying desperately to grab at something as she continued to tumble in darkness. Riku was faring little better, his arms thrashing at his side as he attempted right himself with the ground. If he landed anywhere but on his feet, heat and exhaustion would be the least of his worries.

Then all too quickly, light returned to them.

The walls stopped their rising as a cave opened up beneath them. It gave Luna enough light to see the platform far beneath her now. Her wings had extended at some point, by instinct alone as she could not recall every commanding them to do so. Her descent was far slower, and by extension far safer.

Riku’s was not.

As the cavern’s light showed his position relative to the falling platform, he was upside down and ready to crack his neck. A guttery sound of shock came from his lips as he righted himself, forcing his head forward to spin his body. The twisting motion distorted his perception of space, but only for long enough for him to guarantee his safety.

He heard a thunderous boom, and just after, his feet touch down on the platform again, righting the world around him. The first thing felt was relief as his feet absorbed his fall, only forcing the air from his lungs.

The first thing he saw was columns of fire and magma rising around him.

The teen took heaving breaths of dry air as he looked around himself, trying to find where they had landed. The rocks were familiar, the pool of magma was familiar, and most certainly the spinning columns of flame were something he could not forget.

But before anything else, he recognized the carved stone and shaped rock at end of the cavern they had fallen into. The reliefs sketched and etched on its outside, the crumbling wall sitting as it’s gate, it was only too obvious to Riku where they were.

Right back where they started, right where they wanted to be.

“That is an impressive piece of art.” The silver-haired teen turned towards the voice he already knew. What Riku expected to see was the stone man splayed over the platform, little differently than when he had fallen through the fake floor before.

Instead, he saw the living statue standing perfectly straight, smiling as he gaze across the magma filled chamber towards the mausoleum at the far wall.

It was almost as if he hadn’t fallen at all.

“Wait,” Riku spoke up, pointing his hand accusingly at the statue. “How… why didn’t you fall like me?”

“Why not?” Karl clarified with a question and twist of his head. “Heavier body I suppose. That, or Arma just seemed to know what I need.” To clarify his words, the yellow-coated figure lifted one of his feet upwards, pointing the sole towards the silver haired teen.

Black spikes were lain beneath it, red rock crumbling from them. It was like an epiphany Riku had to say.

“Your bird nailed you into the rock?” He would have given a bark of laughter were he friends with the smiling figurine. As they were not, however, Riku could only find himself asking another question, one Luna shared without words. “You knew the platform was going to fall, didn’t you?”

“Well of course I did little boy,” Karl spoke with a high giggle. “I hardly expected the platform to fly up.”

“Enough of the games.”

Both turned to see Luna finally landing beside them, her wings folding back into her sides as she trotted to a stop. Her cold gaze towards the statue was almost enough to freeze the magma around them. It was only too bad that Karl could feel neither.

“You knew of the medallion you know hold in your hand as well as the method to leave the room before.” Luna left no room to question. To her, they were indisputable facts. “You appear to know of the method to which this twisted cavern works, and I am only left to assume it is because you do know.”

Where most other accused of treachery, they would harshly deny the accusations, perhaps even feign ignorance towards the words. They would lie, they would gamble, or they would reason away what was said. Karl didn’t do any of these things, not at first.

First, Karl laughed.

His high laughter was muffled only by hunched position, as if trying to hide his gaze from the two. It was needless however, as his eyes were shut as the laughter spilled from his lips. It only took a small breath of air following his laughter when he began to speak again.

“I’m touched you think I’m clever enough to plan killing you two, but if I really wanted you both gone, I would have just watched the flames from before do their work. I do love fire, too. Such a unique way to go.”

The words did less than nothing to calm Riku or Luna’s suspicious minds.

“Oh, but let’s not worry about what isn’t real, but with what is real. Or more to the point, what is currently right in front of us.” He raised his now free hand, thumbing the familiar structure to his side. As he did so, he raised his other hand, twisting the red medallion it held. “According to what you two have said, this is the key to opening a door. I’d hate to postpone solving the mystery, finding answers is just too fun a task to ignore.”

Without another word, the stone man jumped. Like before, it was impressive in regards to the height he reached, easily bounding over his own height thrice over. A deft spin was done in the air, ending with him landing on the same precarious path Riku and Luna had walked before, facing the mausoleum.

“Can we still trust him?” Riku heard the words before he looked towards the dark diarch. “He has helped us more than once, yet he continues to play with his words and actions, leaving little room for faith to take root.”

“I don’t trust him.” It was the easiest confession the boy had ever made. “Despite what people commonly say, words can speak just as loud as actions. The more he tries to sidestep our questions or toy with our own word, the thicker the line between us gets. No, no I don’t trust him.” Luna took a slow breath of air before responding.

“Neither do I.” Riku felt a comforting smile pull at his lips. “But though I do not trust him, I am loathed to admit we still have need of him, as he also does of us.”

“So, the charade continues, huh?” He felt the princess nod.

“For now, at least until he has proven his loyalty towards us or his betrayal. I hope for the former, but I suspect the latter.”

“Got it.” Riku walked to the edge of the platform, hopping down and onto the same hazardous path as before. “Gotta catch up with him then.”

The boy didn’t bother to turn to see if the princess was behind before he began to jog. Karl was already far ahead of him, and he suspected it would take little effort for the diarch to reach them as well.

“Hold on,” Riku called towards Karl, holding up his hand to stop the stone man. “We don’t know what’s going to be inside that thing. For all we know, it could just be a trap. Get ready for anything.” He came to a stop by the statue’s side, earning the uncomfortably cheerful gaze of the living stone.

When he did stop, Karl extended his other hand as he spoke, snapping his fingers in the air as he did so.

Just like the first time, The Path To Dawn materialized in his grasp, flashing with light as Riku grasp the hilt of the blade. Karl’s grin churned as he watched the display.

“Am I third wheel when it comes to magic?” As with the rest of his mocking words, the boy and alicorn wisely ignored them. Luna was only just behind the two, her trotting slowed as she was unsure of the stability of the ground around her.

“Very well, I shall trust your judgment.” Luna spoke. Her wings lightly ruffled themselves at her side, doubtlessly adjusting herself. Karl, however, did little more than twist his head to the side. His smile was unchanged and eyes just as empty.

“Karl, can you give me the medallion?” He held out his hand towards the statue, hoping that he would comply. Riku did his absolute best to not show surprise when Karl did just that.

“But of course,” he spoke with the same cheer. “Hard to open a door without a handle.” The living statue twisted the medallion in his hand, adjusting it until it sat precariously over his thumb. Then, with a quick extension, he flicked the red coin into the air.

The familiar sound of ringing metal met filled the air for a moment, perking Luna’s ears as she watched the coin sail through it. Riku followed the object as well, holding out his hand for where the metal disk would land.

His jaw fell as the disk stopped mid-air.

Like had time had frozen around the medallion, it hung in the air above the trio, parallel to the mausoleum in front of it. It did not spin, twirl, or even falter above them. It was still as stone, but touching nothing that would allow it to do so.

“Well, didn’t expect that.” Karl noted in a joyfully surprised tone. Once more, no time was given to the silver haired teen or dark alicorn to respond.

A faint hum began to buzz through the air, slowly overtaking the sound of the churning magma or roaring flames. It sounded no different than a bee by the ear, an annoyance that was there to ignore. But, as the sound became louder and louder, the ability to dismiss it became harder and harder.

Soon it was not the only noise hovering through the air.

An indistinct rumbling began to shake the ground, forcing Riku to his hands for fear of being thrown from the already thin pathway. Luna lowered herself to the ground in much the same manner. Karl stood as if nothing was wrong.

It was not long before the rumbling began to show across the room as well. Red dust and small chunks of rock fell from the high ceiling, falling to the magma with hardly a splash. The columns of fire that once seemed so mighty began to waver, shaking as their base did. Even the magma began to ripple, an effect neither of the two beings made of flesh and blood enjoyed.

But, just like the humming before, an effect followed the rumbling.

The mausoleum began to change.

The three watched, two awed and one amused, as the reliefs along the walls began to turn, twisting along their fixed frames as the boulders around them began to move. A loud bang resounded through the chamber. It was only too obvious that it came from the mausoleum. What’s more, to the three, it was just as obvious it was from its growth.

The carved stone had grown taller, or more accurately, more stone had wedged and made it taller. Another bang, and another spasm of growth. The foundations continued to shake as the booming grew louder and louder.

Then, it began to change again.

The shaking reliefs began to really move, crawling up the stone as smooth sections of the carved rock began to fall away. They aligned themselves the higher they went, stone appearing from beneath them as they base took up more of the chamber. The magma’s level rose in time with it.

BANG!

A much louder boom resounded through the chamber, jolting the three as they watched the display. The sound, however, did nothing. Or more clearly, it finished everything.

The chamber stilled and the humming died, the mausoleum still again as the silence began to return to the chamber, only to be slowly cloaked with the familiar sound of stirring magma.

Then, without a sound, and perhaps more spectacularly than all of the changes before, the old stone blockade in front of the building began to crumble away, as if it was ageing, eroding into blocks, then crumbs, then dust. The dust flew away, and the entrance was clear to them.

The medallion fell from its place in the air, back into Karl’s awaiting hand. His smile was far more energetic than before.

“Or that.”

Silence never fell between them as the roaring fire and churning magma around them continued to work. Yet, breath refused to enter or leave the chests of the two who needed it, too mesmerized and shocked by the display of power they had witnessed.

“Truly remarkable,” Luna finally spoke, the first to do so since Karl. “Usually items that are able to emit such strong properties are larger, or needing of additional power to do so.” Riku was too occupied with studying the new structure to care to ask for more information. He had a feeling he’d find out later regardless.

“Well,” Karl spoke again with a clap, shaking the enraptured attention of the two. “I think we should take a look inside. Nothing ventured nothing gained after all.” With that said, Karl quickly, eagerly even, made his way into the structure.

From outside however, before the statue could block off the sight of the entrance, Luna noted one important detail about the inside of the room.

It was empty.

“Oh yes, this room is perfect!” Luna and Riku cautiously watched Karl nearly prance into the room, jumping into the air as he spread his arms outwards. The smile written across his face was as unseen as the heat that burned her coat. “It has no doors, no windows, solid walls that aren’t coated with fire, and I’d swear I’d feel 10 degrees cooler in here, if I could feel that at all.”

Karl ended his semi-sane dance at the far end of the room. By Luna’s eyes alone, she put it at one hundred hoof lengths away. Fairly large, but nothing like what she had seen in other rooms before. She watched the black raven fly into the room above her, landing on the yellow-garbed shoulder of the stone man. Karl’s head neither turned nor fidgeted as the bird nestled into him.

“Yeah, it’s colder, I get it.” Riku bluntly replied as he walked into the room, his eyes scanning the empty walls and ceiling as he did so. “And yeah, you’re right, it feels nice, but the lack of ventilation is… weird, it’s really weird actually.” Luna turned a curious gaze to the boy.

“What is odd about such a thing?” The boy turned to the princess, who was giving him a quizzical gaze of her own. His lips twisted, as if he was searching for the best way to phrase it in his mind. Then, his hand flicked back and forth in front of him, motioning about the room.

“We’re in a rock-solid contained room, surrounded by who knows how much fire and magma outside. There isn’t a hole, vent, or even a fan in here to cool us down.” Luna was catching on to his train of thought swiftly.

“So what is keeping the room cold?” Riku nodded in agreement. That raised another question in the monarch’s mind. “Karl,” Luna spoke as she looked beyond the boy holding the Path to Dawn, towards the stone man walking towards them, smile as broad as ever. “Why is this room… perfect?” She suppressed a shiver of her wings as his smile turned broad.

“Why, can’t you feel it your majesty?” The stone man asked with a small tilt of his head. Riku turned to face him, just as wary of the man as the moment they had met.

“Feel what?” The stone man’s face had yet to drop.

“That feeling in the air,” he replied, individually waving his fingers through the air, like he was slowly pulling some unseen object in the air towards himself. “It’s thick and tantalizing, laced with that special kind of energy so few know how to use, but those who do, can’t get enough of.”

Karl’s smile never faltered, but his eyelids dropped till he was watching the alicorn and boy with half-masted eyes, looking at them almost dreamily. It was unnerving.

“It’s magic.” Luna’s voice interjected through the chamber, earning a gaze from both boy and stone man. The man, however, seemed to only grow more jubilant with the words she spoke.

“Yes!” Karl cheered as he stood to his tallest again. “It’s full of magic! It’s thick as water and flowing all around us.” He pirouetted on the ground, twisting as to allow himself to spin on the ball of his foot, arms and legs extend to their fullest around him.

“I thought you didn’t know much about magic?” Riku asked carefully, his sword slowly rising until it hung parallel with his waist. The stone man paid him no mind at all, aside from the question he spoke.

“Why little human,” Karl spoke darkly. “Do you really think any kind of spell casted on me would work for all eternity?” The question hung between the Keyblade master and Princess of the Night for a moment. Then Karl spoke on.

“No magic lasts forever. Nothing ever does. That’s what humans, and ponies too apparently, are so blind to understand. Everything changes, no matter how hard or secure it might be. Even stone is doomed to erode into dust, to be chased away by the wind.”

Karl stood just before Riku, standing but a few inches taller than the boy, smiling maniacally at the silver-haired human. All pretenses of sanity were slipping away, and they were barely visible to begin with. Luna’s wings extended outwards as he did so.

“I need magic to keep this spell, me, alive. I need magic to keep me alive. If there’s no magic, no energy, then I’m just a statue again.” His eyes twisted in their sockets, head still as the stone he was made of. “Do you know what that is like? Knowing that if you stray too far from some intangible object, you’ll be nothing more than decoration? At any moment, the thing giving you life could suddenly go away, with barely any sign of leaving? I’d call it rude for doing so, but I don’t think it would understand me if I did.”

Luna’s sapphire eyes watched the stone man carefully, very carefully. Her crystal hooves stepped slowly into the dark room. Her cerulean eyes were trained on the pair, stepping with caution and moving with precise movements. She was sure something was going to happen.

“But there is another reason why this room is so perfect.”

The sudden announcement gave the princess pause, Riku as well. They watched the stone man for a silent moment, observing his ever-present smile remain fixed in place, gaze switching from the armed boy to the dark alicorn.

“And what is that?” the silver hair boy asked cautiously. Karl’s smile couldn’t have grown wider.

“There’s no better place for an ambush.”

Without hesitating for a moment, Riku jumped backwards, pushing with all his strength to put distance between him and the living statue. His Path to Dawn was raised in front of him, ready and willing to deflect any blows that would come his way.

His movement ceased without warning.

Pain bloomed from Riku’s chest, spreading through his body like no way could describe. His breath caught in his throat, eyes wide with sock, and muscles weak all over. Coldness started to travel through him, spreading from his chest. It felt like ice water was traveling through his body, slowly claiming more and more of him with every passing moment.

Riku’s vision was caught was forward, staring at the stone man still watching him with a manic smile, the dark alicorn just by her side. She looked anything but pleased. Horrified, terrified, maybe even a little angry. But there was something else missing. It took Riku a moment to realize it, vision slowly clouding the longer he looked ahead.

The bird, Arma, the black raven that usually sat on Karl’s shoulder, was no where in his vision.

With barely present breath, Riku let his head look downwards, directing his eyes to the source of the pain that was slowly consuming him.

A dark black blade extended from his chest.

“Ouch!” Discord winced outside the monolith of the castle, watching the screen with unnatural joy. Though his features were pulled back in mock pain, his lips continued to twist with sadistic happiness. “I know he felt that one!”

His laughter ran through the open sky like a funeral’s bell.

“RIKU!” Luna cried from the other end of the hall. He heard her through a misty screen, slowly growing fainter the colder he became.

A wet gasp of pain spewed from his lips as he felt the pain escalate again. Blood fell from his mouth. Gravity began to claim him, his legs no longer willing to support him, the blade no longer there to hold him.

He fell into a mass of dark wings. Riku noted silently just how soft and gentle they were. It was nice.

“RIKU! RIKU?!” Luna screamed again next to him. He knew it was here. It was impossible to not hear her, even through the wet membrane he felt he was stuck in.

“Well done Arma.” Riku heard another voice, that… thing’s voice, speaking. “You really do know what I’m thinking don’t you. But you must be more careful next time. Remember, it’s my job to kill the humans. You just help.”

“Hold on Riku! Hold! ON!” He heard the princess shouting again, then he saw himself being turned over. No… he didn’t see himself, he saw everything else turn. But he knew he was spinning, because you couldn’t force an entire room to move around you. He saw it, that he knew, but he didn’t feel any of it. The cold was consuming him.

“This…” He spoke breathlessly. “Sucks.”

“Silence!” Luna cried again. “I will aid you! Just remain still… still as-”

“Stone?” Karl finished for the monarch, and Riku would swear on his soon-to-be grave he heard the dark alicorn growl. “I think I’m proof enough that stone doesn’t remain still forever.”

“Begone!”

Riku was able to feel the change in the air, even with his body surrounded by a cold pressure. In fact, he felt it because the cold left. Retreating off of him as something else surrounded him.

Through his pained mind, it took him a moment to realize the alicorn princess was covering him in a curtain of magic. It surrounded him, dampening his already blurry vision, blinding him from the little light that was available to him.

Even with the blood rushing from him and pain increasing, Riku had an idea.

“Darkness…” It was painful to speak, so very painful. In a metaphor, it felt like the black sword was entering him again. By words alone, it was impossible.

“What?” Luna asked, staring at him with sapphire eyes only moments away from tearing. Her magic dropped as she spoke. She didn’t understand. How could she, Riku realized. But he had to make her. Fast. There wasn’t a lot of time left.

“Me… to… dark…” His jaw clenched painfully as the pain throve forth once more, threatening to rip through his chest like a vice was attached to his lungs. She had to understand, he had to make her understand.

He demanded, ordered, his arm to move, to do something, to make some kind of motion, a gesture, anything for her to understand. But it didn’t budge. He wanted to scream, but the pain said otherwise.

Luna looked about herself quickly, drastically fast. There had to be something she could do, something that would aid Riku in these dire moments. The blood was leaving him quickly, flowing out of him like the tears were her eyes. Doing nothing would be his death, doing the wrong thing would end the same.

“Tick tock goes the clock, counting down the days.” Karl sang behind her, and Luna felt the urge to bring down the room upon him. The rock shook with her anger. The statue man laughed.

“Darkness.” Luna seethed, shutting her eyes as she focused her thoughts. “You want… darkness.” Her eyes focused on Riku once more, doing her absolute best to ignore the deathly pale skin that clung to his face, making the red blood across him all the more visible.

He nodded his head towards her. Luna didn’t hesitate.

“Then I’ll send you to darkness.”

As soon as the boy smiled up at her, through bloody teeth and lips, Luna lost all reason to hesitate.

Her horn glowed an ethereal blue, shimmering with the lost power of the stars. It hummed in the air until it began to sing, ringing through the enclosed space of the rocky room.

To Riku, just below it, the sound began to drip through the cold membrane he was caught within. The icy cold that had claimed his limbs began to seep away under the soothing chill of the sound.

It was impossible to describe why, preferring one cold to another. All the wounded Keyblade master knew was he preferred the creeping the chill that resonated from the alicorn’s horn to the painful ice that was encasing his center. One was familiar, one was alien. One was peaceful, one was painful.

The choice of which to surrender to was more than obvious.

“What is she doing?” The Princess of the Fire Kingdom asked herself as she drummed her fingers under her chin. Her golden eyes watched the screen high above her, reflecting silently the battle between the boy of silver hair and alicorn of darkness.

Riku, as she knew his name was, was slowly being dragged into darkness, assumingly by the powers of the alicorn beside him. The more her horn glowed, the further the shadows crawled over him. Azula watched, fascinated, as the darkness seemed to climb him like rising water, claiming him slowly, but assuredly.

“Perhaps a mean to ease his death,” she mused lightly to herself. A wicked smile split her lips. “Or maybe something more.”

Regardless of her thoughts, she watched on from Canterlot Castle’s balcony.

Luna was always careful with her spells, weaving them and fastening them as a master artisan would his magnum opus. Every part and every silent chant held meaning, for a flaw in a spell would mean a flaw in the execution. And in times like these, the outcome was everything.

So as she cast her spell over Riku, she made sure to ignore every quip and taunt from the treacherous stone man.

The diarch summoned the shadows to her, the darkness that fled from her sister’s day and ventured out only during her nights. She felt the chill surround her, pooling over the body of the silver-haired teen. The creeping darkness greedily reached for the fallen boy, hiding him from the world.

When he was cocooned in the darkness, she stopped, not knowing what else do to. He asked for the darkness, and she had surrounded him in it. She could not send him away, not without knowing where she was, and banishing him to escape the threat here would only place him in harm’s way within the realm of Tartarus.

Her options were limited.

Perhaps… perhaps if she was able to send him away, drape him shadows long enough for her magic to heal him, then she could bring him back around. It was a gamble in itself, combining spells of such nature in such a desperate time, but the alicorn could see few to no other options.

Taking a breath, she pushed the memory of the spell into her mind, preparing herself to force her magic into the churning shadows. It would only take a moment to-

A black sword fell in front of her vision.

It was as if time had stopped, her concentration shattered for the sole focus of the blade that fell.

But she was not looking at the sword, she was watching the blood that spilled from the shadows.

As her concentration was broken and her spell dissipated, the darkness fled once more from the light, vanishing into the ether from whence it came. And as it left, there was nothing left in its wake.

No Riku, no body, nothing. Nothing but the blood the blade had drawn twice now, pooled over the red rock. Her breath was cold in her lungs, freezing even compared to the vacuum of space.

There was so much blood, too much blood. And what’s worse, as she did not command the shadows to leave, she knew only one reason why the body would be gone.

The shadows only claimed the dead.

“Really Arma?” The malicious voice spoke from behind her. “You killed the boy? I told you that it was my job to do that.” The black sword in front of Luna changed shape, becoming a bird once again. It flew over the dark alicorn, doubtlessly landing near on the stone man’s hand. “Oh, you devious bird! Just the way I like you.” He giggled at his own words, something that the diarch could not tolerate.

“Why?” The word was spoken on a dying breath, passing her lips before she even knew it left. “Why has thou attacked us?” Her voice fell back to old ways, no longer carrying of the stature she held. All she could see were Riku’s cold eyes, hear his quiet words, think of his last request.

“Hmm, well that’s an easy question to answer.” Karl taunted from behind the alicorn. “But I promised not to tell.” That struck a chord, and a rather deep one at that.

“Who?” The lunar princess whispered darkly, turning to face the living statue. Her blue eyes were cold, her gaze sharp. There was no sympathy or mercy in her mind. “Tell us who thou follows and we shall make your execution swift.”

That earned a high laugh from the yellow garbed stone.

“Make it quick?” He mockingly returned. “Oh my dear princess, I do believe you have our roles reversed. I’m the one who’s going to kill you and you’re the one who’s going to beg for a few more minutes in your life. I won’t listen of course, but I am a traditionalist, so I’ll give you the chance to try.” The words did nothing more to Luna. Nothing Karl spoke could possibly match the horror of her young friend’s demise.

Instead, she cast another spell.

Karl’s response was instantaneous. Arma quickly transformed into a sword again, gripped in the grey hand of the statue, who knelt down into a low position for battle. His eyes watched the alicorn carefully, his free hand over the ground, doubtlessly to sense for vibrations. Luna didn’t care. He wouldn’t find any.

Instead, her magic began to summon corporeal forms, misted and hollow figures in the air above her. Her aura swirled like her mane. Karl watched, entertained, as the mist of her magic began to solidify, the shapes becoming clearer and the edges sharper.

It was when the edges became more defined that Karl realized what they were.

“Really now, swords?” Karl mockingly asked from across the room. The diarch growled in response, teeth sharpening in their grit state. His free hand lightly counted them in the air, dotting each of them with a number. “And six of them even. I only have one to give me a hand, even if she’s flexible maiden. That’s a bit unfair.”

“We deem it fair in balance for thou treachery.” Luna whispered. The blades gleamed with power as the stone eyes of Karl looked them over.

“Hmm, yes, that would make sense. But, you were supposed to be dead by now.” He had yet to stop smiling. “If only I had moved a bit quicker, ah well.”

“There exists another question we must ask before the sentence is delivered.” Luna spoke with the authority of ages behind her. Karl didn’t falter in the slightest. With his hands held outwards, Arma bladed in his right, he answered her.

“And that question is?” The dark monarch took a slow breath to calm her nerves.

“Why did you wait to strike at us?” The stone man laughed jubilee at the words. Luna scowled towards him.

“Hey, I thought that would be obvious, at least to someone like you.” His free hand pointed towards her. Luna had to convince herself it was not another reason to flay him.

“Amuse us before we abuse you.”

“Oh, I suppose I can spare a few words.” Karl drummed his stone gray fingers against his open palm. He was as carefree now as the moment Luna met him. “Do you know what one of the most important rules is for fighting? Not many do. It’s not to stay alive or even to remain calm, it’s actually something you should do before the fight begins.”

“And what… pray tell… is that?” Luna’s teeth were grit with rage.

“You have to know the enemy.” He spun on his heel, arms spread wide as he motioned towards the large chamber around them. “What they can do, what they want, and most importantly, what about them is a threat. If you know nothing, then they could be anything. But if I know everything you’re capable of, and you don’t know a thing about me, then this fight will be easy to finish.”

“And the coincidence that you wait until we are in a chamber full of magic was not schemed?” Luna asked with as much bite as her words could carry. “You did not plot with Discord to lure us into this trap? To make us the prey for your twisted hunt?”

Karl smiled at Luna’s furrowed brow. Shrugging his shoulders, he spoke.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

One of Luna’s spectral swords collided with the bladed form of Arma. She was shouting, Karl was smiling, and Riku was gone.

Boss 1: Karl

“Things just got a lot more interesting,” Jack mused as he twisted a bottle cap in his hand. The sounds of a popping release quickly followed his words. “Bandits backstabbing one another for the fun of it? I’d say that’s about as great as any situation can get.”

He reached over his chair, grabbing the remote next to him. He greedily drank the soda in his other hand. He licked his lips as he lowered the bottle, enjoying the sweet taste of the carbonated beverage running down his throat.

“This is the kind of entertainment surround sound was invented for!” His thumb pressed a button on the remote, causing unseen gears to churn behind the metallic wall.

Around the massive television set, the walls began to retract. The painted metal slid into itself, folding to reveal what was hidden beyond the steel walls. But not just the wall siding moved; the metal flooring surrounding the masked man began to retract, large sections of the floor sliding away to reveal an open space beneath. It was open only momentarily.

Quickly and effectively, speakers began to emerge from the new openings. They slid out from the walls on grates, hung by wires and hooks. They ascended from the floor, attached to thick metal poles. By no measure of size were any of speakers to be considered small. Each one was the size of the man that sat in the chair, surrounded now by the no less than a dozen heavy instruments.

Jack’s mask smirked proudly as his heterochromatic eyes stared the screen ahead of him. The dueling alicorn and statue were still going at it, their ferocity a thing he could never shy away from watching. Aiming his remote again, he held the volume control until the sound threatened to rupture his hearing.

Every clang of their blades shook the chair he sat in. Every cry the dark princess gave made his seat rumble. And every cheer the statue spoke made Jack smile with joy.

“Can’t say the lizard man holds back on quality.” Jack gripped his chair as he mused the words, drowned out by the blaring cacophony of battle. His smile grew twisted as an idea popped into his mind, likely jostled by the vibration the speakers were creating.

“Let’s get some fighting music in here!”

The shout of excitement was muffled under the battle noises that roared from the speakers. The scuffle shown on the screen nearly encompassed his vision. His hand pressed another button on the remote, aimed this time at a speaker off to his side.

BEGIN

Instantly, music began to blare from the mighty speakers. His hand roughly adjusted the volume setting, eyes glued to the television as he did so. Then, with a satisfied smirk, he tossed the control behind him, leaving it to bang and clatter to a stop.

“Now this is what a real fight is like!” His cheers were drowned out by the dark alicorn’s shouting and the stone man’s laughing.

“Is this the best you can do?” Karl asked as he batted away a spectral sword, nimbly twisting as he did so as to dodge another. “I’ve had harder fights against statues that couldn’t move!”

Luna gave another shout of rage as she swung her head harshly from side to the other, batting her wings to keep her balance steady. Three of her astral swords flew through the air, diving at the stone man with murderous intent. Karl smiled with delight.

Without losing a step, and with an agility the alicorn could hardly follow, the stone man beat the tip of one of the swords, diverting its path away from him. His free hand deftly reached upwards quickly enough to land on the flat of the next blade approaching him. With a quick jump, he spun over the blade, letting it pass through where he once stood. The third blade flew through his spinning form, impacting only air.

As Karl landed, his eyes locked onto Luna, his sharp grin almost glowing.

His feet pushed off the ground once again, pushing him forward at an impressive speed. Luna, however, was not foreign to creatures of speed, and her keen eyes were able to follow his movements across the red stone. Her horn buzzed as she brought another blade up to her, holding the flat towards the charging statue.

Karl gave one last great push with his feet as he swung his dark blade forward, fully intending to cut the mare in two. Luna leaned her head away from the approaching weapon as she simultaneously directed her spectral blade to meet the statue’s dark one.

The resounding crack they made shook her ear drums, forcing the alicorn to grimace as her ears folded. Her stance, however, remained bent-- focused and determined. Karl was little different.

He had a mad king’s smile. Luna had a warrior’s glare.

“How disappointing,” Karl spoke as he continued to push his blade against the ethereal sword of the alicorn, gaining ground bit by bit. “I expected something with the power of magic to be more of a challenge. But in the end, you’re just as predictable and easy to read as any other sorry excuse for a life.”

With a harsh push, Karl slid his sword off of the alicorn’s, forcing Luna to retreat a few steps backwards. However, instead of charging to gain his ground, Karl leapt into the air, performing a deft flip backwards as he did so.

Five of Luna’s six blades met with a harsh clang where he had only just stood. The princess snarled in anger.

“Diversions only work if you can keep me in place.” The statue landed with a hard pound, his weight cracking portions of the red rock beneath him. His gaze focused on the alicorn, he held his arm outwards, the black blade in his hand pointing in the same direction. His hand twisted, giving an unknown direction to the morphing bird.

Luna watched as she summoned her six blades back to her, focusing the magic in her horn. As the blade in Karl’s hand shortened, its edge dulling into a large mass on a handle, Luna prepared her banishing spell.

When Karl’s sword finished its transformation into a hammer, Luna’s spell was ready to be cast.

She did not hesitate.

The dark princess jutted her head forward as she sent the spectral spell outwards, having every intention of sending the statue to Tartarus for all eternity. Karl, however, never dropped his smile.

He swung his hammer downwards, shaking the ground and shattering the stone far more than before. In another quick motion he raised his arm upwards, bringing with it a greater section of the room’s floor. It completely concealed him from the alicorn’s vision. Luna’s spell impacted the red rock, encompassing the hard material in an instant.

In the next second, it was gone in a flash of white.

As the flash died away, Karl was charging her once again.

Luna beat her wings as she backed away from the menace, swinging her head as her horn hummed under her command.

The blades spun in her grasp, three of them breaking apart from the group. Their hilts joined together, making a chakram of blue spectral swords. The more energy that flowed from the alicorn’s long horn, the faster it spun. It took little time for it to turn into a saw of deadly intent. Karl giggled at the display.

“You’re original, I’ll give you that.” He raised his hammer as he spoke, giving his hand a light twist. The hammer quickly thinned, its mass extending into a long rod. Karl quickly let it drop in an arc, holding both ends in his hands. Easily matching his height, he held the dark staff with expert form.

“But originality without precision is no different than a fool playing hero.” Karl’s lips sharpened as he spoke on. “Just like Riku, am I right princess?”

Luna’s blue eyes sparked in rage.

Her head lifted and fell with a harsh swing, sending the spinning vortex towards the statue man. Karl bent low against its approach, lowering the staff until one of its ends was sitting against the ground. The whirling blades were quickly upon the living stone, but his smile never fell. However, instead of falling to the ground, as Luna suspected he would do, he did what he had shown himself to be adept at.

Karl jumped.

His staff pushed against the ground as he gave a mighty leap from the red rock, causing another web of fissures to form over the bedrock. The chakram spun straight past him, turning onto its side as the dark alicorn had directed it to do. She had hoped Karl would have ducked low, allowing her blades to cut into him. Instead, he sailed into the air, where he now hung with his momentum at zero.

Luna’s eyes flicked upwards as her wings extended, her legs bent and prepared to jump. The statue’s form started to descend, and his spinning body made tracking his weapon near impossible. The bow staff he had just created was gone already, the black bird Arma clearly having changed sometime in his flight.

As the statue man began to descend towards Luna’s current position, spinning like a cog as he did so, the alicorn jumped forwards with all the force her legs could summon, beating her wings for extra effort. It flung her forwards with great speed, easily escaping the deadly path of Karl.

She extended her wings outwards just as quickly as she had flexed them, slowing her momentum as best she could. Her horn summoned the six swords back to her side as her velocity decreased, one of her hooves grabbing at the ground to allow her to spin and face the foe.

One of her wings rose upwards, catching the air that flowed past her like a sail, stopping her movement harshly. It was her intention to fling all the swords forwards once more, to attempt to impale the statue the moment he landed, robbing him of the chance to defend himself.

But a searing pain erupted from her wing.

“Agh!” Her voice cried out against her will, her magic dying on the tip of her horn.

The blades that were poised to attack vanished from existence, dissipating into the same air they had come from. The alicorn felt her stance shake and fall, landing on the harsh rock against her side. Breath left and entered her in hisses, pain alternating from sharp stabs to throbbing agony.

Her eyes turned to her wing, hoping to see what had caused her such pain, what had managed to harm her so severely.

She saw the black sword of Karl imbedded into the appendage, the hilt sitting on one side and the blade jutting from the other.

Luna fought the urge to vomit.

PAUSE

“He fights with the apathy of a demon, but the grace of an angel.” Azula lightly mused as she watched the alicorn stumble under the clipping of her wing, legs swaying under the pain. It was impossible to miss, even with the display focused on the injured princess, the gleeful smile on Karl’s lips.

Azula had one of her own, though far more tame than the manic grin of the living statue.

“He is every bit the warrior I imagined him to be. Intelligent, cunning, careful, but most importantly, merciless.” Her fingers drummed together as she watched him extended his hand, summoning the black bird to his side.

Arma rose from the red rock she was imbedded into, flying swiftly through the air and back onto the pale stone hand of the statue. As he flexed his fingers around the raven, it turned back into the dark cutlass he so proficiently wielded.

Luna screamed through the whole ordeal, having the weapon that had harmed her changing form within her own appendage.

Azula licked her lips at the sound. However, just by glance alone, she could see the ideas forming in Karl’s mind, his emotionless eyes conjuring an idea from beyond the large screen of the monolith structure.

“What will you do now?” Karl slowly stalked towards the princess on the screen as the fire princess mused the question.

“Continue to impress, messenger of fate.”

“My, that wound does look deep.” Karl spoke with a giggle as he observed the blood pooling at the alicorn’s hooves, her wing instinctively extended outwards in agony. It dragged on the floor as the princess attempted to straighten her balance. “You know, humans have about as many ways to heal a wound as they do to create one. Some of them are actually just as fun to use as making the wound itself.”

Luna’s horn flashed with a blinding light, summoning the blades back to her side.

Karl didn’t even flinch as they formed a wall between her and the statue, their blade flats all aimed towards the deadly warrior. He spoke on as if nothing had changed.

“They can burn the wound shut, searing the flesh until the melted skin and muscle seal the blood.” Luna did all that she could to ignore him as she focused her magic on a quick and dirty spell. “Other times they sew it shut, pulling the skin tight against itself, and often tying a piece of cloth over the exposed flesh as well.” The chuckle that accompanied the comment was matched in perversion only by the comment that followed.

“But my favorite method for helping a wound is by making another. How, you may ask?” Luna did not care. She did her best to block the poisoned words of the statue as she focused her magic into the wing, hoping the wall of blades she had set between her and the foe would disguise the healing she was performing.

“Why, they cut off the injured limb. Please, allow me to demonstrate.” Luna didn’t hesitate.

The princess bit her tongue to hide a scream of pain as she summoned the magic to her horn. Three things happened at once.

The blades that had blocked Karl’s view of her began to dance randomly, scattering in various directions towards the living statue. Her wing began to mend harshly under her command, the hole the living rock’s sword had formed closing with an almost barbaric force. And, finally, she jumped back as far as she could manage, one wing immobile, the other gripping her side.

The sound of metal impacting metal echoed across the stone as Karl beat off her blades, battling them with his Cheshire grin remaining present all the while. Luna bade it as minimal attention as she could manage, keeping her focus on the wound she so desperately fought to close.

Every reach and pull the magic forced of her exposed muscle and skin was no different than having her flesh wounded again and again. It took all of her willpower to not scream at the agony she was forcing on herself, an effort required for the deeds of that… monster...that fought to kill her… that had already killed.

Her teeth grit with rage as her wound finished sewing itself shut, her blue aura vanishing from the spot.

Just in time, too, as Karl was already charging at her once more.

PLAY

Luna raised her head with a hum of her magic, pulling back the blades he had so easily fought off. Just as before, they formed a wall in front of her, one that Karl hit for the first time.

“Healed yourself already?” The stone man mockingly asked from behind the wall of blades. “A pity. Guess that just means I’ll have to strike twice as hard.”

His words were not a jest.

The alicorn held her spectral weapons strong as she felt his blade hitting the wall again and again, doubtlessly trying to weaken her hold on them. Each blow felt stronger than the last. She felt the weight of her magic pushing on her mind, taking its toll on her already tired form.

However, she saw a way to turn the tables on the statue man.

It would not be easy, as she very much doubted any part of his mortal combat would be. Her mind was already growing hazy.

The magic, the pain and the effort she was putting forth, it was all beginning to wear on her quickly, and not just from this duel. The encounter with the flame demons was not so far behind her that she had recovered, and the journey through the caverns was not without its need for magic as well.

In the end, that left her starting this fight with less than her best, and she was quickly using what remained. She was fighting a foe of tactical knowledge. She had to do the same. That meant taking some risks.

Luna took a step forward with both of her hooves, pushing with her rear limbs to spin herself. At the same moment, she spread out the wall of blades she had made, just at the same moment Karl hit the wall with his own blade.

It left him pulling his arm back as Luna bucked her legs forwards.

Never before had the alicorn been so satisfied with the feeling of hitting something.

Karl sailed across the room, his body skidding and flailing over the stone with all the grace of a thrown doll. Red dust rose and billowed over each area his impacted; small fissures forming as he did so. Luna couldn’t hide her grin of satisfaction, not that she wanted to.

The statue finally settled some distance away, his body stopping only by gripping the open patch of rock he had been freed from before.

Luna was even more satisfied to see his face free of any grin.

However, she bit back the desire to throw a quip at her enemy. This was still very much a battle, no matter how minor or major an advantage she had gained. There wasn’t even a guarantee that she had achieved one at all.

Karl recovered quickly, much to the alicorn’s dismay. His hand pulling over the hole he had created earlier, allowing his form to straighten as he grabbed at the loose rock. It fell beneath his clearly strong grasp, the red rock little more than paper beneath the force the living statue summoned.

But in the midst of his rise, he stopped, hunched over the hole. His vision was hidden from Luna as he did so, appearing for all her gaze could tell to be turned back into a lifeless shell of stone. Such hopes were dashed as his head lightly twisted over the hole.

It was as if… he was examining something. Whether he was or not, it was a foreign action, and, from a man who played more alien traits than the alicorn cared to remember, it was not pleasing to her.

Even less so when he began to laugh again.

It was not the usual quick chuckle or high giggle. It was continuous, constant, like the laughter of fillies in the midst of a game. It was hard for the alicorn to imagine the statute thought of this as anything but just that.

The giggling also did little to help Luna’s growing confidence, but it did much to solidify her resolve against the monster.

“Are you still amused with your antics?” Luna asked harshly as Karl stood to his tallest again, head lobbed to his side as Arma became the infamously-familiar bladed shape in his palm. “Or dost thee enjoy thine own pain?” The words only split Karl’s already wide grin.

“Oh dear princess,” he began waving his free hand dismissively. “You must remember that I can’t feel pain. I’m as hard as a rock.” The knuckles of his free hand lightly beat at the top of his head, letting the hollow knock echo through the chamber. Luna snorted at the action. “But you’ve been a good sport so far, so I’ll let you know that I’m just so cheery about being able to fight for this long.”

The words caused a very obvious, and important, question to form in the alicorn’s mind.

“And what had forbidden thee from these duels before?” Her voice snarled as she spoke, which only made Karl chuckle all the more.

“Oh, have you already forgotten? I run on magic!” He spread his arms as he declared the fact for the second time, spinning on his heel as he did so. “So naturally, when I run out of magic, I run out of steam. It’s a rather troubling state to be quite honest. But here, in the room…” His fingers flexed one by one, as if grabbing at threads in the air. “Here the air is soaked in magic, no different than the Castle of Nations. I very well think I could live here without a single problem! But!”

His blade pointed at Luna, singing in the air as it did so.

“I hate to leave jobs unfinished, and I’m going to need to clip more than just your wing.” The calmness and serene joy he had in his voice as he spoke only continued to irk Luna’s conscious. “And this is fight is only getting better with every passing second!”

Karl jumped at the alicorn, Arma brandished in both of his hands as he did so. Luna summoned one of her blades, knocking the tip of the statue’s sword away from her, making the living rock spin in mid air.

Luna realized too late, however that it was exactly what he had planned.

The momentum of the hit gave Karl the force he needed to spin in a half circle, his leg extended outwards as he did so.

It connected with Luna’s side with a sickening crack.

PAUSE

“A jester he may be, but an agile one at that.” The words were spoken darkly from a deep voice. “To think of such tactics in the midst of a fight is not simple feat, but to do it with such accuracy and effect is even more impressive.”

Ganondorf smiled darkly at that.

“I may have underestimated the princess’s choice in warrior.” He admitted to himself, watching as the dark alicorn rolled over the ground following the statue man’s blow as he did so. He could not hear the laughter, but he could feel the joy. “They are so far as capable as they are odd.”

Luna fought for breath to return to her lungs, the air having being beaten from her by a single kick from Karl.

Her eyes watered painfully, forcing her to blink them away to clear her vision. Her legs scrambled at the rock, trying to find a solid piece of the floor to push against. The actions forced cuts, harsh scratches and painful bruises, to form beneath her coat. It also drew laughter from the madman.

“Dearie me, did I really hit you that hard?” Luna finally pushed herself to her hooves, chest throbbing as she fought to draw breath. Her gaze burned, much like her lungs. “Maybe you should relax for a bit. It’ll make both of our jobs easier.”

PLAY

Luna responded with a harsh grunt, pulling her blades back to her side. They adjusted around her, shifting until all the tips faced the living statute, who only continued to smile at the dark alicorn.  With no hesitation, Luna swung her head forward, throwing three of the blades at Karl. The rest continued to swirl around her.

“Tell me,” Karl spoke blissfully as he nimbly dodged a sword from the angered alicorn. “Are you a pianist?” His arm deftly knocked another spectral blade away from him, his body flipping over another before crouching beneath the swipe of a third.

Luna’s lips snarled as she flared her horn again, drawing the six blades back to her person and slowly circling around as she let her hooves move slowly across the stone floor. She was sure of very little concerning the stone man, but what little she did know she was willing to risk her life on.

He would try and distract her, so she had to stay focused. He was nimble and agile, so she had to stay moving. His offense could shatter her defense, so she couldn’t give him even a moment to strike.

Her head flicked sideways, sending one of the blades towards Karl. The man smiled crookedly as he lifted his black sword to eye level. With a well-timed flick of his wrist, the blade’s path diverged and was sent into a far wall, settling into the stone with a dull screech of metal.

“You know, it’s very rude to ignore someone who’s trying to talk to you.” Karl continued to speak, his smile ever present and tone still calm. “I’m the one trying to be civilized here, the least you could do is answer my question.”

“We do not converse with mad beings or murderers!” Luna gave a yell of defiance as she raised her head. As her neck flexed, sending her head towards the floor, the five remaining swords around her flew forwards simultaneously.

Karl grinned nervously at the approaching blades.

“Oh dearie me.”

With a crouch, Karl jumped higher than the lunar princess would have initially given him credit for without the aid of his bird. His stone form easily escaped the path of the blades, continuing to rise until he reached the ceiling high above. Luna heard him make contact with the stone, the dull thud of rock against rock reaching her ears.

Her horn buzzed once more, taking reign of the six swords. A sideways flick of her head yanked the first blade from the wall. She drew the blade back to herself as the other five hung dangerously in the air beneath where Karl resided, ever-present grin plastered on his face. When the first spectral blade had settled beside her, the alicorn princess lowered her head again. The blades followed suit, their hilts aiming towards the ground as their ethereal steel aimed upwards.

With another lift of her head, the blades flew like arrows to the ceiling above.

Luna watched with a meticulous eye as a shadow form fell from the stone ceiling high above. There was no doubt in her mind who it was. Her horn flared in sparks, buzzing and humming with power as the swords she had sent upwards began to sail and spin towards the target.

She did not hide the smile of satisfaction as she saw her blades pierce the falling object, the cloth of Karl’s garb swaying under the force of her swords. Its descent continued, but with much less terror than moments before.

That was until the object left the shadows and became clear to her.

Her form backpedaled as the boulder smashed into the ground, the yellow cloak of the living statue hung around it. Her spectral blades were imbedded into the hard material, cutting the cloth and piercing the rock. All six of her blades were before her, but Karl was nowhere in her sight.

Luna reacted instantaneously.

She had no idea where he was, but he was not a being that would casually wait for her to be prepared. He struck without warning and distracted before attacking. If she was not prepared, he would surely cut her down.

With a buzz from her horn, she drew into the pools of her magic, summoning up a shield around her form. The result was dotted with the stars as it had been when she had battled the fiery dancers.

Not a moment after she had done so did Karl land atop the shield, earning a harsh cry from the alicorn within.

“Hiding from a fight in plain sight,” the statue mused above her, his sharp smile the only thing the alicorn could see from within the safety of her magical dome. “Does this make you a coward?”

Instead of jumping off the dome, as the alicorn had expected him to do, he instead raised his dark blade, twisting his arm as he did so. Luna’s eyes constricted as she saw the sharp dark bird flatten into the heavy shape of a hammer.

“Or does this make you a fool?”

He swung his hammer down against the spectral dome, shaking the ground and air within it. Luna grunted at the force, barely able to keep up the shield under the blow.

Karl only laughed as he raised the dark hammer again.

PAUSE

“Huh, where am I?”

The words echoed around him, reflecting off nothing and vanishing into the void that encompassed him.

He tried to open his eyes, but he saw nothing. He tried to move his hands, but he felt nothing. He tried to listen with his ears, but her heard nothing, nothing but the sound of his own breath.

Those were all the clues he needed to know where he was.

“So I’m back here,” he breathed to himself, sighing as the words left his lips. “Back in the darkness. Gone again.” Gone like he had been the day his island vanished, like the day he sealed the door to Kingdom Hearts, like so many other times in his life where he had given up.

But now, he had come here while he had the will to fight.

“Guess this is it then.” It was a depressing conclusion, even by his own standards, but he was never one to dismiss facts-- only intuition and blind optimism. Here, he was without warmth, without light, without sight, and without a friend.

“You’re really thinking like that again, huh?”

That wasn’t his voice.

“Wha?” He whirled in the darkness, twisting what he thought was his body with all the force he could muster. He continued to see nothing, to feel nothing. Nothing was different. “Was that…”

“C’mon, you used to brag about how strong you were.”

He knew that voice as well as he knew his own.

“Where are you?” The words and their echo were all he heard. He would have begged for even an empty ocean. At least then he would know he wasn’t staring into nothing. He wasn’t even sure if he was blinking or not.

“You can’t give up now. You wouldn’t let me.”

He felt something.

It wasn’t wind through his hair, grass on his feet, or the tingling in his hands. It was the one feeling he never thought he would have. Hope.

It felt warm and inviting, beautiful and alluring. Suddenly, there was spot in his chest that he wanted to curl around. It was when he began to curl that he noticed there was a sight that came with the feeling.

Light.

“You’re not lost, not as long as you know where you have to go.”

Did he know where he had to go? He was nowhere, in a void that was barren of sight. Still, he could follow the small dot of life among the endless valley of shadows coming from his chest. That meant something.

There was somewhere he had to be. There was someone who needed his help. He remembered.

He asked to be sent here, to allow the abyss to swallow him. It was when he was here the first time that he was able to find his power, and now he was able to find his path. He just needed a nudge.

He just had to find his light in the darkness.

“C’mon Riku, you know what to do.”

And just like that, he did.

Riku knew exactly what he had to do.

PLAY

“If you were a pianist, I might never have had a chance.” Karl spoke with a bit of joy as he swung down the large hammer again. Luna grunted with pain even as the shield around her absorbed the blow.

Her eyes searched the far walls desperately, casting out for her blades to summon back to her side. But every time she began to search, her concentration was shattered by another hammering blow from the marble man.

“A pianist, like a violinist, can control their fingers individually, working them across a board to create music like no other.” Another blow from the black hammer earned a cry of anguish from the alicorn. The man seemed to appreciate the noise.

“But you’re no pianist, or even a violinist, so you have no idea how to use six swords the right way. I’d wager you’d be confused on how to even use one.” The princess fell to her knees as another blow rocked her shield. It wouldn’t hold for much longer. Her mind was scattered and her magic waning.

“But I am a violinist, and quite good at it, too.” Another blow, another cry of pain. But now, there was something else to show for the stone man’s efforts. A line, a crack, a small portion of empty space, began to show along the dome’s outer layer.

Karl didn’t hesitate for even a moment.

“And I know the most important part to any song!”

His hammer raised above his one more time, vibrating under the strength he held it with. Luna felt her eyes widen as the stone man grinned manichically.

“And that is the finale!”

WHAM!

The magical dome around Luna shattered.

She cried in pain as if a sword was sent into her skull, ripping through her without even the smallest amount of mercy. She fell to her side, hissing and moaning and screaming in agony, back writhing and neck twisting.

Karl stood over her, motionless as stone, smiling like a jester who had just given his final joke. He felt equally as pleased watching the alicorn cry in pain.

He raised his hammer above his head, twisting it until the black thing straightened itself out into a sharp and deadly sword. Luna was motionless and weak beneath him, helpless even as he continued to gaze down at her with a sadistic kind of joy.

The sword thinned itself out as if given a command, stopping only when the black material was thin as paper and, doubtlessly, harder than steel. Luna, panting with exhaustion and pain, stared up at it.

“Care to say any last words?” The words didn’t need to come from his mouth for the diarch to know they were mocking. “I’ll be sure to deliver them to your next of kin, before I kill them as well.”

Luna stared at the dark blade carefully, breath shaking as it entered and left her form. Her wing was still sore from her injury, her body weak from magical exhaustion, and her mind nearly spent on focus.

But she still had one more card.

“Yes,” Luna spoke quickly, swallowing on a pool of blood collecting in her mouth. She watched as one of the stone man’s eyebrows lifted in curiosity. “A princess does not fall so easily.”

Luna forced the magic to return to her horn. It made her horn shine like a star, blinding even her well-adjusted eyes to its light. But she could not waste time. Her mind focused the power gathered in her horn, pushing it forward as she would command her legs to kick.

A laser of light flew from her.

Karl took the brunt of the force.

The statue man flew over the ground, slamming into the far wall with a sickening crack. Dust fell and billowed around him, stone falling from the wall as well. Silence followed soon afterwards. Were Karl made of flesh, Luna may have winced. Were he an ally, she might have cried. But he was neither, so Luna only breathed in relief.

END

Her breaths were labored, taking a toll on her magically-exhausted mind and body. She bit her lip as she forced herself to rise from the ground, one hoof before the other. Her weight slowly began to lift, a groan unintentionally falling from her lips as she did so. It was painful to stand, but she could not rest. She could not relax until she knew it was safe.

Luna tested her wings, unfurrowing and curling them against her sides. She felt the water fly off of her feathers; no doubt sweat that had collected during the hectic battle. Her vision turned towards the door of the mausoleum, still faintly outlined to her eyes. She trotted towards it, determined to exit this room that death had so freely entered. There was nothing left for her here.

“That was a bit foolish, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Luna’s eyes darted towards the voice, seeing a figure standing through the slowly settling dust. The pit in her stomach deepened the longer she looked.

Karl stood proudly before her, one arm missing and a fine crack down his face.

The smile he wore was more horrific than any single sight Luna had witnessed. Breath hardly entered her as the statue man stood still, empty eyes staring at her with a lust the princess never wished to feel. What she did feel was what she hoped to never experience again.

Being trapped.

“I must admit, you did a real bang up job on me.” The maniac joyfully spoke, much to the princess’s growing terror. “I really thought I had you there when I was standing over, but I guess you were just planning to make yourself look vulnerable. We are all weakest in the moment just before victory is claimed after all.” He raised his single arm in a shrug, as if he was unaware of his missing limb.

Luna, however, stared at the empty space at his side, a hole where his shoulder used to be. It was both mesmerizing and frightening to look at. But as the statue man began to speak again, her focus was returned.

“Course, that just leaves me with two options now, doesn’t it?” With a closed eyes smile, he lifted the arm holding his dark blade. “On one hand, I can quickly jump over there and rip off your head. Maybe laugh a little, or a lot.” Luna couldn’t shut her wide eyes. “But, on the other hand…”

His head turned to look at his empty side, barren of even an arm.

“Oh, I guess there is no other hand, is there?”

Karl’s broken form jumped across the distance between the two in a single bound, his arm raised with his blade poised to strike. The smile over his shattered features was sharper than ever, the gaze in his eyes thirsty for gore.

And Luna had not even a string of magic left to spin. She only stared, mind slowly leaving, as the dark blade began to descend upon her. Time seemed to slow, the moments passing in a haze. All but one thought leaving her mind. The one thought that remained was one she never thought she’d be force to think.

‘This is my end.’

Determined to rob the madman of at least one thing, Luna let her last breath leave her lungs as she shut her eyes for the final time. Karl would not get to see the fear in her eyes. Nor would he hear any final cry.

Her end would be swift, just as his joy would.

KLANG!

Luna’s eyes remained shut, sure that the statue was waiting for her resolve to shake, for her eyes to open long enough for him to gaze into them during her final moments. That would be a satisfaction she would not give.

That was until she heard another voice.

“There may not be another hand,”

The familiar tone spoke above the princess. Luna never imagined she’d hear the voice again.

Her eyes shot open as she stared at the figure standing above her, tall and powerful in his stance. He had a mane of white and no coat on his skin, but a dark suit that covered his entire form, clinging to him tighter than any garment Luna had dared to even think of before.

But as she saw the face over the figure, the determined gaze he gave, Luna’s eyes lit up with hope. A light sensation took hold in her chest.

“But there is still my blade.”

From Water To Dust

“So he’s back in black!” Discord called out as he looked over the large screen in front of him. “And a new sword to boot. Oh the joys of magic, you’ll never know what they’ll do next!” The draconequus cackled into the air, rolling over himself in his suspended state.

“But I think this trio has had their fifteen minutes. Time to shine the spotlight on the next fated three.” The Mad God raised his claw towards the screen, snapping his talons with delight.

Instantly, the screen blurred into the familiar static, the lack of images between the different groups. It took just as long for a new image to appear over the colossal black face. When it did show, Discord’s grin didn’t sink in the slightest.

“From a battle amongst flames to a duel with water. I’d call it poetic if I was trying to be cute.” On his own queue, he latched onto the muscles of his face, pulling them apart and twisting them in an inane manner. He pushed his chin in, evened the sockets of his eyes, wrapped his coat tight enough to make it sparkle.

Then, looking up at the screen with a foalish glee, he spoke in a voice two octaves higher than his own.

“It’s so poetic!”

Discord roared with laughter as his face snapped into place, like releasing stretched plastic. On the screen before and above him, he watched living water strike at a group already trapped in a tomb.

BEGIN

“Fluttershy, hide!” Batman yelled as loud as he could, swinging his arm at the pegasus as he did so. She looked at him with shaking eyes, unable to focus between the man clothed in darkness and the massive tentacles floating above her.

Fortunately, her hesitance was not punished.

The booming of steel against stone echoed above the moving water, shaking the ground the man and pegasus stood on. Batman was quick to look towards the metal beast, watching with an adrenaline filled gaze as the creature charged the liquid monster.

With what the man could only assume was a tremendous force, the water the creature slammed into was propelled around the room. Batman raised his cape over his eyes, guarding against the strands of water. He felt them impact his cape. But just as noticeably, he felt them congregating on it.

They weren’t simply running down together, they were running up, sideways, and down over the cape. The stray droplets of the living water was collecting on him. It was safe to assume that whatever reason it was doing, it wasn’t good.

Instinctively, he whipped his cape with a crack, forcing the water off of him. His cowl turned back down to the water logged floor, watching the hulking beast standing amidst the living liquid.

His eyes flashed to Fluttershy as his free hand reached to his belt, preparing a grappling hook. The water was up to her chest in height and, if the water reacted on her as it did on Batman, it was likely trying to swallow her. He aimed his free hook just beneath the mare, hoping to wrap her in the coil.

But before he could, a large hand scooped her out of the water.

The Dark Knight watched as the pegasus was placed on top of the metal beast, her form instantly curling around the metal brace that encircled the creature’s helm. Harsh shivers permeated Fluttershy’s Form, the water lightly being brushed off by her movements. It was something, but it wasn’t enough.

Batman looked down to see that the water the beast stood in continued to crawl up his body, slowly gaining ground over the thick diving suit. The creature, despite its threatening posture and spinning arm, did little more than walk in place, turning with heavy footfalls. It didn’t know.

“Fluttershy!” Batman yelled from his higher position, earning the terrified gaze of the mare. “Get out of the water! Now!” The sudden demand caused the pony’s eyes to wet, gripping the metal of the beast harder.

“H-How?” Her question weakly came, nearly overpowered by the growling of the beast she sat on and the water churning around her. “Mr. Bubbles is too heavy…” Fluttershy broke her gaze by hanging her head on the beast.

Said beast’s red gaze illuminated the room over the water, reflecting off the still mixing surface. Batman scowled as he watched the water continue to climb up the monster’s suit, no matter how much his legs rose and fell.

Thinking quickly, the Dark Knight tapped his hood, switching the view of his cowl, looking for sources of heat. He saw the harsh red of the beast, with a particularly hot spot over its drill. He saw the orangish blob of Fluttershy on its shoulders, no doubt chilled by the water and cold air.

Then he saw something else.

Moving through the hues of blue that made up the water beneath him, he saw a blur of yellow moving swiftly through the liquid. It swam around the room, moving in divergent and constantly changing paths that made little sense in thermal vision. Batman assumed quickly it was to avoid obstacles in the water, maybe simply to avoid enemy sight.

But he could not shake the feeling that it was how the water was being controlled.

Instincts mattered more in combat than anything else. Batman lined his second Batclaw to the moving creature, carefully tracking its movements. One turn, a twist, a zigzag, then a straight line. That was when he took the shot.

Batman may have felt his claw impact the moving blob, but the high cry of pain was a much better sign.

He thumbed the retraction on his claw, instantly earning a combatting force. The lurching movement nearly pulled him from his vantage point, loosening his first claw in the wall. But, it took only an instant before his claw was pulled from water. His vision returned to normal, with the beast’s red light illuminating the room. That was when Batman saw the blob not as a mass of yellow, but a far more disturbing image.

Caught in his batclaw like a trapped clam, the object was nothing but a mass of muscle, veins and arteries lining its form in a disgusting image of gore. It writhed against Batman’s line, crashing into the wall as he continued to draw his claw back. When it clicked into place, he fought to keep his arm still.

Looking down quickly, Batman drew a breath to call down to the pegasus and beast, telling them whatever he could about what he did. But when he did, he saw something else as well.

A tentacle of water rising to meet him.

Acting swiftly as ever, he released his claw in the wall, dropping him from his high height. The smashing of water against the concrete wall echoed through the room, causing the beast to turn towards the descending man. Batman did not take kindly to the drill being aimed at him.

He twisted in his descent, rolling across the shallower water. He ended in a sprint, the blob of a creature still writhing in his grasp. A roar erupted behind him, but he kept the good conscious to not check whether it be the water returning to the ground or the beast yelling once more.

Batman aimed, his claw again, aiming for the next high wall. The bang of its release echoed through the room, followed by his ascension into the air.

Not before he felt tendrils of water wrap around his arm.

“Gah!” A grunt of pain burst from his lips, his rise stopped as he was being pulled two ways. Down by the water the creature controlled and up by the line he held in his grasp. Batman twisted his gaze to his trapped arm, seeing the creature continuing to writhe violently in his claw. He felt his grip loosening, either by the force of the water or its lack of viscosity.

BOOM

Batman felt himself lurch forwards into the wall as the water’s hold was instantly released. The manipulated liquid flew through the air in a deluge, like a dam being released.

He felt his perception being thrown as he hit the hard concrete, his muscles aching under the stretching they had just endured. But from his cowl he saw the metal beast still charging forwards, its arm upwards as if it had just swung its drill like a club. Fluttershy was holding onto it still, gripping the metal cage over the beast’s mask.

That was when Batman noticed he had lost the grip on his second claw.

He looked through the water quickly, searching for the mass of red under a red light. He cursed his luck silently, as he brushed his cowl for a better view. As the colors bled into hues of red and blue, he instantly saw the creature again.

It was at the other end of the room, swimming in a large continuous circle.

Hurriedly, Batman analyzed what advantages each party had. He had the ability to track the monster, as well as superior height that forced the water manipulator to dry up its limited supply of water. The hulking beast Fluttershy hung to had mass, speed, and durability. Even when coated in the water, it did little more than congregate over him. It was doubtless that if it was covered in the water it would be crushed, but such a situation had yet to happen.

The water beast had superior speed, moving through the liquid with great agility and maneuverability. With the water surrounding it, it doubtlessly had the advantage of weight and size. Fluttershy, however, could talk to the beast she clung to, control it almost. Whether it be a fluke of the creature’s simplicity or a natural gift, the Dark Knight had no time to analyze.

He had a plan.

“Fluttershy!” Batman yelled again. This time, he did not wait for the pegasus’s gaze. “There’s a creature controlling the water! I can see it but I can’t reach it! It’s in the water behind you! ”

Batman saw the yellow mare’s head raise just enough to allow her to look behind the creature she clung to. From the thermal vision of his cowl, the Dark Knight was able to see the clear rise of temperature around the creature, no doubt the consequence to whatever act it was trying to commit. Time was running short.

Then the pegasus looked up to him, looking at his unseen eyes for a moment. Batman couldn’t tell if it was the lack of red light shining on her or the situation finally making sense to her, but the mare held as much confidence in her gaze as she did fear. He was glad to see it.

“Mr. Bubbles!” The pegasus yelled, earning a guttural grunt from the beast. “Stop the bad thing! Stop it from hurting us!”

The beast roared in reply.

Batman watched as the beast turned before running forward with terrifying speed. It’s weighty footfalls shook the room and splashed clear the water it impacted. It quickly closed in on the blob of a creature, or so Batman’s thermal vision could tell.

When the behemoth was only one of it’s massive steps away, a tentacle formed from the water. Batman felt himself scowl, sure that the water would whip the creature away, batting it like a fly. And indeed, as the thermal vision saw the water bend backwards, it’s lighter hued mass moving, he prepared himself the crack.

There was a crack, but just not what he expected.

The beast of a creature that the water twisted to hit was fully prepared for the move. It’s own arm, bent lowly in its charge, was brought upwards with an immense force. It slammed into the whipping water with what Batman could safely deduce was the force of a tank shell.

Water erupted through the room once again, sending droplets in every direction at almost dangerous speeds. The Dark Knight shielded himself once more with his cape, feeling the water hit him like falling rain. A slick snap of the fabric rid him of the liquid once more.

His eyes looked downwards again, searching for the liquid creature. It didn’t take long for him to see it. The mess of red was bouncing over the water, for a reason Batman could not determine. All he cared about, however, was how vulnerable it was.

An overly practiced maneuver with his free hand sent an electrically charged batarang towards the blob, singing through the air as it flew. He was rewarded with a cry of pain from the beast. Fortunately or not, it was the sound Fluttershy’s metal friend was waiting for.

Batman watched as the mass of red ran over the water once more, his lumbering steps slamming against the water-logged floor. He watched as the creature made swift ground on the stunned beast, but he was also sure it would be too late. Batman readied another batarang, prepared to keep the water monster submissive for the metal beasts approach.

It was entirely unnecessary.

Like a cannonball, the diving suit adorned monster charged forwards. Batman was only barely able to keep up with the speed at which the suited figure dove through the air, its shoulder brought up like a wall of pain.

When the barreling metal creature hit the stunned blob, Batman could only describe the sound as bone shattering.

The mess of red flew across the room, sending pieces of heated flesh in different directions, as the Dark Knight’s thermal vision showed. Different parts of the monster hit different far walls, slapping against the concrete with wet impacts. When they fell, they moved no more.

END

Double tapping his cowl, Batman’s vision returned to normal, the room no longer aglow with a dark red light. It had been replaced once more with the peaceful green of the beast’s mask, doubtlessly a sign that it saw the fight was over as well.

Releasing his grip from the wall, Batman let himself drift back towards the ground, his cape extending under the power of memory cloth. The descent was slow and easy, with only the wet plops of water indicating his entire journey. He came to a stop next to Fluttershy and her pet in a crouch.

“Done.” Batman noted as he stood to his tallest once more, cape draped around his form. He watched as the beast of metal gently offered Fluttershy his hand. The pegasus stood on it, walking off of the safety that was his back.

With the same level of surprising care, the beast lowered Fluttershy back to the ground, where she lightly trotted off before turning towards him. She gave the metal creature a shy smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“Thank you Mr. Bubbles,” Fluttershy spoke in her light voice. “You did a lot to protect me from that nasty monster. You really are kind.” Batman was hard fought to disagree.

The beast was anything but peaceful, clearly a fighter before a negotiator in any form. It took little more than the wrong choice of words to set it off. Yet, when the liquid beast did charge, it went to the defense of Fluttershy without any hesitation. That was something that could be admired.

Batman began to walk towards the two. The monster was dealt with, but they were still trapped in this cavern. They still had to find a way out, but the release and subsequent defeat of the water manipulator may have revealed an unseen passage way, or markings the water previously hid from his scans and Fluttershy’s vision. Regardless, they still to go look.

But then he stopped.

Batman’s gaze twisted as his cowl focused on an object just within his peripheral sight. His magnification view automatically activated, zooming on the object just as it fled his field of vision. Twisting his head, he was able to get a better image.

It was the living mass of red, or, more accurately, a part of it. A severe amount of the pink sphere was missing; leading it to release what Batman could easily speculate was vital liquids with every bounce it made. He stared at it momentarily, somewhat sure that it would bleed out within seconds.

That was until he looked up and saw where it was moving.

There wasn’t any time, however, not for where the mess of a blob was and what was available to him. His batclaw wouldn’t reach it in time, his batarangs were too slow, and the water sphere was already crawling into the mess of metal at the other end of the room. Batman turned back to the beast and pegasus, an electric batarang already in his hand.

“Fluttershy!” He yelled as he picked up his pace, putting as much distance between the metal object and himself. The timid pegasus jumped at the shout, and the beast in front of her turned his helm red. Batman didn’t have time, however. As soon as he reached them, he turned back around, facing the metal corpse along the far wall.

As if waiting for him to flee, a rumbling began once he stopped.

It shook the walls around them, vibrating the upturned tables and chairs with an incredible force. Batman lowered himself to keep his balance, Fluttershy did the same until she was hugging the ground. The beast however, merely growled loudly as his drill began to spin.

“Fluttershy,” Batman spoke again, hoping it earned the timid pegasus’s attention. He did not look to check, his eyes focused on the corpse at the end of the room. “Be ready to run.”

Lights lit up from the metal monster.

The shaking became extreme, sections of the walls collapsing under the vibrations. Portions of the ceiling did the same, earning fearful cries from the canary coated pegasus as they crashed into the ground with vicious force.

Batman felt Fluttershy push up against his leg, shaking with as much intensity as the room around them. He did not blame her. Few wouldn’t be scared at the sight they were witnessing.

Large sections of metal began to move, parts of the metal corpse pulling over the concrete ground. Pieces of scrap metal and decay fell from the limbs as they moved, losing balance and falling to the floor before shattering in brilliant displays of splintered wood and metal.

Then its wings expanded, reaching from one end of the room to the other.

Batman gritted his teeth as the metal beast only feet away from him let out loud battle cry, drill spinning quickly as it did so. Then, without any direction, it began to charge towards the rising monster, great lumbering steps being taken at a still swift pace.

“I knew it was too easy.”

“Interesting…” Azula mused lightly, rubbing one of her fingers beneath her lower lip. Her skin slowly drew itself until she wore a sharp grin. “A man without any bending to aid him and he is able to defeat such a monstrosity. It’s rather impressive. But,” her hand fell away, though her smile did not. “I doubt he will fair well against that wicked Songbird.”

She watched with no concealment of amusement as the great hulking beast moved on the screen high above her, appearing positively monstrous on the monolith in the sky. The man in black backed away, the frightened pegasus leaning against his leg as he did so. The fire princess easily saw the defense stance the dark garbed man had, prepared to shield the smaller creature in a moment’s notice. Azula clicked her tongue at it.

“They had their fun, but now I wonder how the man clothed in white is performing.”  Her gaze turned away from the screen she gazed at to another, no smaller in size and certainly no less vibrant with the image it shown.

On it, the Fire Princess watched a robed man standing before a tree, one of his hands on the blade at his side. The orange pony that accompanied him stood just behind him, adjusting the hat that sat on her head. Unconsciously perhaps, Azula touched the crown that sat on her head, playing with the trio of spikes that stood tall on it. She lowered her hand as she saw the samurai’s posture change.

His knees bent, lowering to the ground, and his waist twisted until his side was facing the tree. For a moment, he held that stance, doing nothing spare breathing.

Then something flashed on the screen.

Azula nearly missed it, and what she did see, she could only assume. A flash of silver moving faster than she had ever seen before came from the white robed man, slicing the air in front of him with deadly precision and unfathomable speed.

Carefully as before, he stood tall again, his stance relaxing as his move was finished. Nothing appeared different then. Not a thing was out of place or changed.

That was until Azula saw the thick sap of the tree running from its bark.

Her grin was as sharp as the blade the man held.

“It appears there’s something fun about each one of these peasants,” The Fire Princess mused as her finger touched on her chin, thoughts brewing with effective speed. “I wonder how they’ll use their talents now.”

“Wait,” Applejack spoke up, her eyes skewed in misperception. “How did ya do that?” Her hoof pointed at ‘that.’ ‘That’ was the thin line of sap running from the tree in front of the pair. Her partner looked from her to the tree, his expression one of neutral confusion. The fairy above them hung itself in the air, its ball of light simply bobbing up and down.

“I cut it,” Jack answered the farm pony, no hesitation to his words. “As we said I would.”

“Well, ya, Ah got the part where ya used yer sword, but what I don’t get is when ya swung that stick of metal. Ah didn’t catch a thing.” Jack looked over at her as she finished. The first thing the cowpony noticed about him now wasn’t what was there, but what was absent. He didn’t have his now usual expression of confusion.

Instead, the samurai was smiling down at her.

“I apologize,” Jack offered the earth pony with a low bow, setting their heights momentarily equal to one another. The pink fairy lightly lowered itself to match their elevations. “I thought it best to be quick with my cut, as a faster blade cuts thicker hides.”

“So, what yer sayin’ is that ya swung yer sword so fast that Ah couldn’t even keep up with it?” The samurai raised his head just enough to nod towards her. Applejack pulled her hat over her eyes as she shook her own head back and forth. “If it ain’t one thing it’s another.”

“Pardon?” Jack questioned, rising as she spoke. The pony, however, dismissed his question with her hoof.

“Never ya mind,” She lightly instructed, tilting her head back over her head. “We best be gettin’ what we need then headin’ out. Do ya remember the other trees Ah told ya about?” The samurai nodded at her question. “Good, then do your fancy sword work on em. Ah’ll be gettin’ the sap fer that door.”

The white robed man gave a soft smile and bow toward the pony before he departed, a move that Applejack vaguely connected with the motion of Celestia’s guards when they came into town. She snorted a small amount in laughter, shaking her head as she removed her Stetson hat from herself.

“That man’s as naïve as a freshly planted seed, but he might just have the age of a well-grown apple in him, too.” The farm pony mused as a bit of the sap collected on the brim over hat, the sticky solution clinging to the fabric greedily. “This better clean off as easy as it does on the farm, else Ah’m gonna have ta get Rarity ta clean this hat twice.”

Applejack maneuvered the hat to her back as she turned to walk towards the next tree she had motioned to the samurai. Sure enough, a fine line was cut through it, sap lightly pouring from its edge. She turned just in time to see Jack give another lightning fast cut to the next “wise” tree.

“He’s gettin’ ahead of me, ain’t he?” As if in answer to her question, the light of the pink fairy following them hovered in front of her, instantly grabbing her attention. She grinned at the little ball of light, seemingly dancing in the air.

“And Ah owe ya a bit of gratitude, don’t Ah little fella?” The creature ringed lightly in response, a soft but joyful sound that had a grin pulling at the orange mare’s lips. “Well Ah’ve never kept from a pony somethin’ they weren’t due, and if there’s one thing an Apple will always do, it’s pay back those that help us out.”

Reaching the next tree, Applejack twisted her hat from her back, letting the brim once again collect the sap from the wound. It took no longer than before, and she was soon taking the few steps necessary to reach the third tree. She hopped on one foreleg, not bothering to move her hat.

“But Ah’ll tell ya what. When we get out of this maze and find our way back ta Equestria, Ah’ll give ya a grand bowl of Apple Stew and some Apple Cider so sweet, it’ll make yer body fall in satisfaction.” Instead of another light ring of joy, however, the pink ball’s wings instead fell downwards, almost depressingly. Applejack caught it immediately. “Hey now, that’s a good thing! Ain’t ya ever experienced somethin’ so grand it knocked ya off her hooves, er, wings? That’s all Ah ment.”

“You wish to knock her wings off?” The curious of Jack spoke from behind Applejack. “That sounds most… troubling.” The statement was met with quick rebuking from the pony.

“Nah! That’s not what I meant at all! Ah mean, mah family can make a cider so sweet it’ll have ponies eatin’ the dirt it’s soaked in!” Few words that Applejack spoke eased the samurai.

“Then you force others to eat dirt to enjoy the food you grow?” An angry growl slowly rolled from the mare’s throat. She shut her eyes tightly to control herself.

“Yah know what? No. Ah don’t do that and we ain’t got the time fer me ta straighten yer clearly twisted skull.” The samurai patted his head as she spoke, clearly unsure of what she meant. But the mare was having none of it. She held the hat towards the tall man, indicating with a nod of her head for him to take.

“Get the sap from the last tree and met me at that big ol’ gate. Ah got a sister out there that needs me and Ah’m not gonna waste the time I got explain the fine food we Apples grow, stew, and brew.” With a small whip of her bundled tail, the earth pony walked away from the man and fairy.

With a confused blink, Jack turned towards the pink fairy floating at his side, her wings turned to face him.

“I did not mean to offend her.” The ball of light gave a soft whine in agreement, its wings lowering in sympathy. Looking down at the hat in his hands, he spoke on. “I’ll speak with her once we complete this task. She is right, we must leave.” In response to his words, the fairy rang like a bell, its wings vibrating. Jack smiled at the ball of light.

“And I thank you for aiding her as well.” He gave a short bow of his head as he spoke. “Aiding another will always be seen as an act of honor.” Jack gave the fairy a small smile as he rose.

The fairy hung in place for a moment before following him.

It did not take Jack long to retrieve the last of the sap and walk back to Applejack. The mare was still looking at the doorway, her head crooked to the left as she gazed at the inscriptions along the wall. Jack’s geta clacked as he approached, causing the pony’s ears to twitch.

“Yer shoes are ‘bout as loud as a rooster’s mornin’ crow. Got a good reason fer that?” Blinking in confusion once more, Jack looked down at his feet, staring at the wooden sandals that were wrapped around them. His answer was as simple as everything else he had said thus far.

“They’re comfortable.” A sigh came out of Applejack’s lips.

“Yeah, whatever.” The mare quickly relented, as if unsure why she even said what she had. “Let’s just see what we gotta do with that sap. Ya do got it, right?” Jack held the mare’s had in his hands, the sticky sap of the wise trees clinging to its brim. The mare nodded.

“Good,” her voice trailed off as she stared at the door. “Ah guess we just… lather it on?” Jack shrugged lightly at her question, clearly unsure himself. She nodded, clearly expecting the response. “Well, can’t say we know what ta do until we try, huh?”

“Agreed,” Jack spoke as he walked besides the mare, holding the hat waist height.

He twisted the article of clothing until the sappy brim was facing over the moss-covered stone. It tilted forwards slightly, stopping only when the brim made contact with the rock. Slowly, then calculating, Jack drew the hat downwards, letting the sap be pulled from the hat’s fabric.

The gate began to shake.

Jack and Applejack jumped back in surprise, the former dropping the hat as he did so, the latter quick to pick it back up. They watched tensely as the stone rumbled under an unseen force, moving against its supports as if it were unsteady.

“Ah guess our guess was right then?” Jack only nodded in reply as he watched the gate continue to move.

Like the great and heavy structure it was, the door slowly rose upwards, inch by inch vanishing into the stone chasm above it. As it continued to ascent, more of the room beyond it became clearer to their gaze.

More grass was held beyond the stone gate, illuminated by windows above and around the walls. They gave an ethereal glow the area, a sort of life Applejack could only appreciate within the Everfree Forest, something regular ponies had yet to master creating.

BOOM

The dull sound was significant enough to conclude the gate was done moving, as the rumbling had finished. With little more than moment to spare, Applejack walked further inwards, truly letting herself appreciate the work around the room.

Much like the area outside, it was richly decorated with floral life, some of it unlike anything she had seen before. Purple fruits as large as her body hanging from the air, flowers glowing with the light of the sun, and even some small trees fighting to grow in the small room.

But there was one object that was clearly of far more significance.

“What is that?” Applejack asked with a point of her hoof. The motion was unneeded. It was impossible to focus on anything else once the samurai had laid his eyes on it.

In the center of the now open chamber sat a small pedestal upon a stone monument. Any shapes or edges the stone was meant to have were worn away, moss and grass reclaiming the hard surfaces. It stood to Jack’s height and doubtlessly would weigh more than himself five times over. But it was the pedestal that was truly deserving of attention.

Or more specifically, hanging over it.

There was a cloud of mist floating over the pedestal, an intangible fog that hovered in place. It did not dissipate as would a morning mist or fade like a low-leveled cloud. It was churning, mixing, endlessly.

“It looks… it looks like dust…” Applejack spoke noted again, walking closer to it. “But what’s it doin’? There ain’t nothin’ natural ‘bout this.” Her trot stopped, however, as the pink fairy flew in front of her. The mare’s ears perked as the pink ball hung between her eyes, forcing her head to move back in discomfort. “Somethin’ wrong?”

The ball of light only shook lightly in response, moving back and forth soundlessly. Applejack felt her eyes screw in confusion. But before she could speak further, the fairy turned her wings on her.

Slowly, it drifted towards the mist over the pedestal.

The closer the ball of light grew towards the mist, the more agitated it became. The collective fog began to make light whips, reaching towards the winged creature before suddenly pulling back emptily. The fairy did not stop its approach.

“What’s it doin?” It was all Applejack could say. Jack had no answer himself. Instead, they watched as the fairy circled the mist, outside of the reaches it continued to make, forever unable to grasp at the winged creature.

That was until the fairy flew into it.

Applejack gasped, eyes shooting upwards. Her hooves immediately dug into the dirt, ready to jump forward, but a strong arm stopped the mare, holding her back. She didn’t need to look to see it was the samurai.

The mist began to move down from its alter, falling off the stone that held it up and wisping towards the ground. Yet it still remained connected, never separating from itself, holding itself together with the light of the fairy being surrounded by it.

It was when it stilled that Applejack lowered her head and Jack grabbed his blade.

Over the green grass of the ground, the dust slowly stopped moving, its small elements growing closer together, all moving towards the light that continued to glow from its center.

Air left the mare and human as it began to solidify.

BEGIN

From the dust, a shape began to form, a mass far denser than the fog itself. Like nothing else Applejack had seen before, clothes began to take shape, furred paws growing from the cloth, a green coat covering the still materializing shape. Jack had his hand tightened on his blade, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

The longer and further the form took shape, the less and less of the mist remained. It didn’t take long for the fog and light of the fairy to vanish, leaving in its wake the creature that it had made.

It hung in the air peacefully, still as a log, and unmoving. The air was tense with inaction, too fearful of what effects their movements would make. All they could do was stare. They could see the figure’s wispy clothing, colored of light green and white. They could clearly make out its green fur, paws, tail, and ears. But most obvious of all was the oddly circular hat that sat on its head.

All they could do was stare, that is, until the gasping breath of the figure quickly fixed that.

Like being woken from a dream, the green-coated figure lurched backwards, sucking in a desperate amount of oxygen. It came with a silent cry that Applejack was quick to respond to.  The mare jumped towards the shape, Jack not far behind her, as it fell forwards.

“Whoa there partner. Take it easy,” Applejack spoke calmingly, catching the odd creature with her fore hoof.

The green clothed animal leaned on her form, one of its paws, lightly pushing at her back. It had covered its eyes, but it was clear from its heavy breathing it was in anything but a threatening state.

“Just keep breathin’, straighten yerself out.” The creature took the words to heart, adjusting his legs until he stood on his own weight. Slowly, Applejack released the creature from her light grasp, letting him lean on his knees as he continued to take deep breaths of air. Jack stared at the creature, more than used to the odd shape and form, but still very much curious of the garb it wore.

It had the kasa of a samurai, though clothed in silk he had not seen before. It wore the garments of a monk, unarmored but fully clothed. But further than that, it had fur of green, and paws to match. An anthropomorphic figure to be sure, but of what he had little idea.

“Can ya speak?” Applejack asked the creature, it’s breathing quieting as time went on. His hat rose and dipped in response. “Then can ya tell us yer name?”

He swallowed on something, most likely a pool of saliva collecting in his open jaw. A few more breaths were taken from his nose, a longer extension closer to the mare’s than the man’s.

But then the furred figure let its hand wash over its face, wiping away debris the pony and human could not see. As it did, it revealed its hidden face to the pair.

And as he did, he spoke.

“I… I am Dust.”

END

Red Eyes; Take Warning

“Another swordsman approaches, then.” The dark voice of Ganondorf echoed through the halls he walked. The only light available to him was the source made of smoke and fog he held in his hands. In it danced the image of the warrior donned in a kasa with the samurai and pony just beside him.

“His garb reminds me too much of the Hero,” the Dark King spoke lowly to the image, his thoughts being produced aloud. “But if that is all they share in common, it is all I must endure.”

He cupped his hand as he finished, extinguishing the light source. Darkness quickly surrounded his heavily armored form, trapping him a sea of sightlessness. His pace never slowed.

Instead of producing another source of illumination, Ganondorf drew his blade, raising it until it was above his head. For a moment he could not see his own actions, sure of them only by the sound of singing steel and heavy footfalls.

But then, just as he had silently commanded it to, his sword began to glow.

It was a soft light, hardly anything more than the light of a firefly in mid-summer’s night. So shallow was its luster that Ganondorf could not even make out his own arm with it. He pulled his lips into a grin.

His grip on the hilt of the sword strengthened, clenching at the bound leather till it squealed in protest. It began to shake lightly in his hands, the soft light it produced waving under his influence. But the stronger and longer the Dark King held the blade, the brighter the light became.

The soft glow became a satisfactory brightness, but then continued into a harsh hard light that threatened to blind the Gerudo. He did not let go of the blade. Instead, with just a small flick of his wrist, requiring only a miniscule amount of his gargantuan strength, the light changed.

It instantly lightened the room without harming the Dark King’s eyes or leaving corners hidden. Looking around, Ganondorf found himself exactly where he wanted to be. He showed his teeth in a cruel smile as his surveyed the purple crystals around him.

“Now,” he spoke in a rumbling tone, raising his free hand as he spoke. It vibrated slightly as he held it outwards, shaking it with great control. Smoke rose from the ends of his digits twisting and forming above his palm. When it stopped growing, it continued to spin, but with a moving image held within the circling smog.

Ganondorf stared at the image of a girl, a boy, and their pets behind them.

“How will these children fare in the Dodongo’s Realm?”

“This is excitin’!” Apple Bloom cheered from the back of the dragon, smiling broadly as the group continued to walk down the tunnel. “Ah’ve never rode a dragon into a cave with two humans before!”

“Yeah, I bet not many have,” Hiccup spoke in a subdued tone next to her. He rubbed his hand over Toothless’s black scales, feeling the rumble of the creature as he did so, “Probably a short list.”

“Kinda the exact opposite of this cave,” The girl leading them spoke. Their eyes turned to her just in time to scoff at the empty air, “I mean seriously, how much longer do we gotta walk until at least see a grub pod, maybe a skag or two?”

“Never, never sounds good,” Hiccup interjected with a raised hand. It earned him a snake eye from the pig-tailed red-head. Either through experience or pure apathy, it didn’t faze the boy, “I’d much rather find the way out, maybe a shaft up. Heck, I’d settle for a landmark at least.”

“Landmark?” Gaige restated from in front of him, twirling just long enough smirk at him. From experience this time, Hiccup knew what was coming next. “Oh, there are plenty of landmarks. There’s rock, more rock, more jagged rock, and look!” Her mechanical hand pointed towards the wall, nothing spectacular or obvious about it. “I think that rock is even browner than the last one!”

“Really?” The filly questioned sincerely. “It looks the same ta me.” Hiccup chuckled, more at the growl that came from Gaige than the oblivious words of Apple Bloom. “What? Did I say somethin’ wrong?”

“No, you’re fine, honest.” The boy assured her waving his hand as he did so.

The group returned to an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the light footfalls of the boy and girl, and the heavy stomping of the dragon with them. The cave stretched endlessly forward, and endlessly back as well. And, just like Gaige had said, every rock wall and ceiling they passed looked exactly the same.

“Starting to think we went the wrong way.” Gaige mumbled ahead of them, her normal hand scratching at the back of her head. “Wish I had my ECHO display with me. At least then I’d be able to make a relatively accurate map of these damn caverns.”

“Whoa!” Hiccup let out raising his hands. He quickened his pace to reach next to the girl. He grabbed Gaige’s human arm, turning her towards him as they stopped moving. “Hold on, you can’t talk like that in front of her.” Hiccup’s free hand motioned towards the filly on his dragon’s back, earning the green gaze. Her eyes Apple Bloom, who subsequently crooked her own head in confusion.

“Oh,” the word slipped quietly from the teen’s lips.  “Yeah, my bad.” She let out a small sigh. Her mechanical arm rose to her face, two of the steel digits pinching the bridge of her nose before slipping downwards.

Gaige put a small grin on her face as she walked back to Toothless, wryly avoiding the dragon’s narrowed eyes. Apple Bloom followed her curiously, walking over the broad back of the dragon as the teen rounded the beast.

“Uh,” Gaige began, her mechanical hand holding her hip as her regular one wiped at her forehead, just beneath her goggles. “Sorry about my language back there. I’m not used to being around kids.” Apple Bloom only had confusion about her features.

“Yer language?” The filly asked, “What did ya say? You were just mad, right? I mean, mah sister gets the same way with a stubborn apple. Mah brother’s a bit more calm about it, but then again, there ain’t an apple in the orchard he can’t pick.”

What Apple Bloom said and what the engineer heard were two very different things.

“U-Uh yeah, right,” Gaige let out getting over her shock as quick as she could. She put on her best smile before she spoke again. “You seem pretty alright with… this.” Her hand waved at the cavern as she spoke.

“This? This is cool! It’s just like Ah’m crusadin’ for my Cutie Mark!” The filly cheered happily, lightly bouncing on her hooves. Toothless shot an angry look towards Hiccup. The boy could only raise his hands and shake his head, ridding himself of fault.

Gaige, however, seemed to reciprocate the filly’s excitement.

“Cutie Mark? That’s awesome!” she genuinely answered. “You’re trying to find your special talent, right?” Gaige may as well have predicted the future, what with the way the farm filly’s eyes brightened and her smile widened.

“That’s right!” Apple Bloom all but yelled with a jump, earning a disgruntled snarl from the dragon she was on. “Me and mah friends try just ‘bout every day ta get our Cutie Marks. We’ve done everything from flower planting ta sky diving.” Hiccup already felt this conversation slipping from his interest. Gaige, however, couldn’t get enough.

“You’ve got friends helping you?” The engineer questioned with no indication of letting up her excitement. “This is too cool! It’s just like the show I used to watch as a kid!”

Gaige leaned over the dragon, placing both of her hands on Toothless as she moved herself closer to the filly. The dragon was not amused. Hiccup, thankfully, was quick to notice.

“I’m sorry buddy.” He whispered to Toothless, putting his head over the dragon’s head. “I’ll get you a whole basket of fish when we get out of here, eel free.” The massive green eyes of the dragon rolled at the words before narrowing at the teen. “I promise, really. I’m gonna need my own pile of comfort food after this is over.”

“So you haven’t tried autonomics yet?” Gaige spoke up, earning the attention of Hiccup again. “I could totally help you and your friends with that! It’s easy once you understand the proper electrical conductivity of certain materials and the proper method for wiring regulators and insulators to reduce the likelihood of false-tripping or over-heating the board.”

Hiccup concluded that he didn’t miss anything, even when she was speaking.

“Well, Sweetie Belle might be able ta handle some of that. She’s a walkin’ dictionary.” Apple Bloom smiled broadly at her friends name. “Scoots might have a hard time, but she’ll put her best hoof forward ta try. It’s just what she does.”

“Oh my god my heart is going to explode soon,” Gaige whispered under her own breath, beaming as she set her head against the dragon. She lifted herself up quickly, “I really gotta meet your friends, hell, your whole family! So we gotta get out here as fast we can.”

Gaige finally started speaking Hiccup’s language.

“Yes! Finally!” The exasperated viking agreed, throwing up his arms as he did so. “Let’s get out of here as fast as we can! Good!”

“Is somethin’ wrong?” Apple Bloom asked the boy, walking over the dragon again until her hoof was between his scaled ears. Hiccup could feel the fire in the dragon’s eyes.

“No, no, nothing’s wrong. Just thrown across worlds and into different dimensions. Happens all the time, I’m sure.” He let out a sigh, wiping his face down with his hand. “And all I wanted to do this morning was just get out of that dragon pen…”

Toothless took notice of his human’s annoyance, pushing at the thin body of the teen with his nose. As expected, the force, no matter how little it was for the dragon, was easily enough to nearly push Hiccup down. Instead of annoyance, however, he was only smiling.

“Nothing’s wrong bud, not between us.” He put both of his hands beneath the Night Fury’s jaw, watching as his sharp eyes relaxed into near perfect squares. “Just… a heck of a day, right?”

The dragon gave a low roar and lolled his tongue out, smiling toothlessly up at Hiccup. It made the teen chuckle.

“Ah still can’t believe he can’t talk.” Apple Bloom spoke up from atop the Fury. “Spike talks all the time, and he even reads too!” Hiccup gave the filly placid nod of his head.

“Yeah well, I’ll have to ask him how he does it. Cause Toothless here just knows what I’m telling him. I’m lucky to be able to understand him.” The dragon twisted his head at the human’s words, once more overpowering the human with minimal effort. It didn’t hurt Hiccup in the least.

“Seems like ya understand him already.” The comment caught Hiccup by surprise.

The teen’s green eyes looked up at the filly, who was looking down at him with a neutral face, like nothing was wrong or surprising. When his gaze fell down to Toothless, he saw the same thing, then even more.

In Toothless’s massive green orbs, Hiccup saw more than just what he was feeling, he saw a connection, he saw a friend. He saw someone that was willing to die for him, and Hiccup knew he was willing to do the same.

“Yeah,” Hiccup let out lightly. “I guess we do.” He scratched at the top of the dragon’s head, feeling the force of the Night Fury leaning into his palm.

“Guys?” Gaige raised her hand, silencing the conversation. Pony, human, and dragon turned towards her, her own gaze focused on the path ahead of them. “I think I see something.”

The rest of their eyes followed her, looking down the cavern’s path. And indeed, just like the redhead said, there was something up ahead, something that was a loose rock or chunk of dirt; distinguished this time by having more than just two shades of color.

“Wonder what that is.” Hiccup spoke up, his legs already moving him towards the object. Toothless was right behind him, his large black form walking in tune with the Viking, Apple Bloom subsequently following on top. Gaige wasn’t any more than a few feet behind them.

The closer the group drew to the object, the more confused they were. It became clear what it was, but why it was here, they had not even a guess. It was a figurine, sitting on the ground like a misplaced ornament. A pair of golden symbols were held between its front two appendages, and a red fez on top of its head.

It also had fur all across its body with a small red vest tugging at its chest.

“Is that…” Apple Bloom began, leaning over the dragon with her forehooves. “A monkey?”

“Yeah,” Gaige admitted as she reached the doll. She leaned down towards it, grabbing the small toy in her mechanical hand. She couldn’t help but grimace at the open lipped grin it was giving her.

“That’s just creepy.” Hiccup let out. Toothless rumbled lightly as he finished, likely agreeing with the teen. “But… who put it there? I don’t bet on much, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t belong here.”

“No kidding?” Gaige spoke sarcastically, giving a lopsided grin to the teen. Hiccup just rolled his eyes, all too familiar with the treatment. “Well it’s not loot, but I bet someone wants this.”

“Maybe it’s her.”

For some reason, Hiccup hated the way that sounded, especially since it came from the youngest member of their group. He looked towards Apple Bloom, with a slight grimace, attempting to prepare himself for whatever he saw.

The filly had her hoof extended towards one of the walls, pointing at what appeared to be another outcropping of rocks. But when Hiccup and Gaige turned their gaze towards said rocks, they saw something else sticking against the hard surface. Truth be told, both teens wished they hadn’t seen it.

It was a piece of parchment stuck to the wall, wedged between small groups of rocks. It had the same color as the stone, differentiable only by the black ink written across it. The size of the letters varied, one taking up a quarter of the page and the rest barely making a paragraph in size. But what they meant was obvious. The word “Wanted” helped.

But none of that was what irked the teens. Instead, it was the picture that was drawn across the paper, printed in oddly vivid colors and more than inappropriate amounts of detail.

Even with seeing grins from Vikings after slaying a dragon, Hiccup was sure he didn’t want to be anywhere near the girl on the paper. Gaige, who was just in the company of some of the most daring and adventurous people across the entire universe, was sure the girl would irk more than just a sense of dread in them.

“She’s creepy.” Apple Bloom spoke from behind the boy and girl. The two shared a look before chuckling at one another.

“Aw, that little filly is kinda cute.” Jack mused before he took a long sip of from his soda. He let out a breath of satisfaction when he was finished. “Kinda reminds me of butt stallion. Maybe I’ll decorate her with diamonds when she’s burned to hell. Nah, probably have to stitch her up with diamonds. Those beasts down there like to blow themselves up a lot afterall.”

“An astute observation father,” The electric voice of Angel spoke from behind the man. “Chances predict a 64% likelihood of death by traumatic force before hemorrhaging.” The facts made the masked man giggle.

“Yeah, that sounds about right. Too bad we can’t record this stuff. Might make me another billion dollars. Nah, more like two billion, definitely.” Jack took another mouthful of popcorn after he finished, his heterochromatic eyes looking over the display.

He spat it all out as an alarm blared through the chamber.

The screeching of the alarm echoed off the metal walls, shaking the sheets of steel. The steel-gold colorings of the wall were drowned beneath the flashing of a red light. Jack’s own pop and popcorn went flying into the air as he jumped from his chair.

“Warning” Angel’s voice spoke through speakers strewn across the room. “Unidentified specimen on trajectory course for Hyperion Island. Estimated number: Six. Size: Immature Skag. Weapon Capabilities: -”

“Enough of the numbers! Bring them up on screen!” Jack yelled his order to his daughter. “And turn off that damn alarm!”

“Processing orders.” Not but a blink of an eye after Angel spoke did the alarms stop, turning the chamber back into its cold colors of steel and gold. Another breath of time later, the screen in front of Handsome Jack turned away from the musings of the tunnel group.

Instead, the screen turned to an image of the skyline, detailing what could be called a brilliant day. Jack didn’t give the sight more than a passing thought. Instead, his heterochromatic eyes scanned the screen carefully, looking over the thatched roofs houses on the ground, the tree line around them, the mountains in the distance, seeing everything but what he wanted.

Then, they appeared.

Tiny dots against the mountain that was his floating island, shimmering across the sky. Their pattern was well practiced, like the detailed programming in his own code. Their formation was a twisted V pattern, perfectly working with one another against the drag of pushing the air.

Jack would have marveled at the sight, if he weren’t laughing to tears instead.

“Oh my god!” He wheezed between his laughter. “Look at that! They’re literally leaving a trail of pixie dust behind them! HA HA! They’re farting pixie dust!”

His hand clutched around his sides as he rolled in his chair, pushing against the steel arm rests to keep himself from falling to the ground. His laughter was forced, coming off in large heaves followed by gulps of air. His was the only voice to echo through his massive chamber.

“Analyzing potential threat. Analysis complete.” Despite his daughter’s words, Jack was still getting over his own laughter. “Enemy hostiles likely group designated ‘Wonder Bolts:’ Pegasus specialized and trained in military-like conditions for airborne or agile hostiles.”

“Oh they’re airborne alright!” Jack let out with a yelp of laugher. “Their high enough to be crapping out crystals!” His laughter returned with vigor, echoing through the hollow hall. His daughter spoke on, unphased.

“At current projections, the enemy units should reach Hyperion Island within 46.7 seconds. Should the hostiles be eliminated father?” Handsome Jack was waving his hand in the air, fighting against himself to be able to speak. He took in a few deep breaths, trying to still his still trembling gut. It didn’t stop the near maniacal grin across his features.

When he did stop, he settled with looking at the screen.  Watching as the faint dots trailed by multi-colored dust began to grow across the screen. He nodded his head as his eyes narrowed, imaging something he only wished he had the company to share it to.

“Angel,” he spoke his daughter’s name. “Turn their mist red.”

“Processing orders.”

Celestia released another sigh.

She was not tired or weary. If anything, she had more energy inside of her now than she knew what to do with. Not even was she overwhelmed, what with so little happening about her now. All she could do from her forced perch was stare down at her kingdom, unable to help it.

Another sigh was released, but this time, it was from Link.

Her gaze turned to the Hylian, currently leaning against their prism prison. His head was bowed, arms balancing on his drawn legs. Only recently did he stain the diarch’s coat with his tears and now he was sitting in his silence.

Celestia had no words for him, because there were no words that could right the wrong that was done to him. Centuries of loss and patience had taught her that much. All she could do now was wait. Wait for him, but near him. The company of others made the passing of one easier to bare.

The diarch could only hope her presence alone was enough for him.

She turned her attention to the monolith beneath them, staring down at it with no less disdain than before. For every sight Celestia had witnessed across the sides of the floating mountain, she felt a twinge of hatred and disgust.

The hatred was for her enemies, the beings that had so easily and so joyously trapped her and her ponies, playing with them like dolls in a house. Her disgust was for herself, for allowing it to happen.

A rustle near her perked her ears, causing Celestia to turn her head towards Link. The Hero of Time was moving, his head raised and one hand falling to the floor. He was still for a moment, a look far from sorrow across his features. One of his blue eyes was squinted, the other open a touch wider. His lips were flat, caught in neither a frown nor grin.

His ears, however, were moving.

There were twitching, as Celestia’s own ears would at a sensitive sound. The diarch watched as he gave a push with his hand, lifting him from the floor and back to his feet. The look of confusion across his face did not change.

“Link?” She questioned him. “What is it?” Instead of with words, as Celestia knew he would not speak, he turned from her. His back faced the diarch as he placed the flat of his hands on the purple crystal surrounding them. Celestia heard the soft thump as his head was pushed against its walls.

He was still for a moment, but only a moment. When Link turned back to her, he no longer a look of confusion on his features, but surprise. Celestia was interested before, but now she was worried.

“What do you see?” She asked as she trotted the two steps necessary to reach his side. Link’s hand motioned towards the wall he was leaning on, lightly tapping on its sturdy yet transparent walls. Taking the message, the diarch leaned as far as her horn would allow.

It was enough to see the trails of dust forming in the sky. She recognized them instantly.

“The Wonderbolts!” Celestia spoke with no concealment for her joy. “They’re heavily trained members of my guard, specializing in aerial assaults or large anomalies. I knew they would come eventually.” The diarch tapped her hoof as they flew towards the monolith, their flight pattern alternating as they deemed necessary.

“I can see Captain Spitfire at the head, and Lieutenant Soarin and Fleetfoot flanking her.” She spied a glance towards Link, watching with relief as a smile found its way to his silent lips. “If they are patrolling the monolith, it’s only a matter of time before they discover a method to free either us or our friends inside.” The Hylian nodded towards her before returning his gaze towards the flying ponies.

That was when Celestia saw his face fall. She took note of it instantly.

“What?” She questioned again, looking towards the Wonderbolts, searching for anything that could possibly give the knight reason for dread. Celestia saw nothing. “Link, what do you see?”

Link pulled his fingers back until only his index finger was extended, leaning on the purple prism. It traced downwards, stopping only when its edge was no longer aimed at the pegasi, but at the monolith they were flying towards.

It took only a glance for Celestia to see it.

One of the massive screens across the floating island was changing. It wasn’t falling to the ground, as would cause unending alarm and fear in the currently trapped diarch, but instead was folding. Like curtains to a window, the black surface was being pulled away, revealing mechanisms within that Celestia did not recognize.

They were large, though not as massive as the island that contained it, but each was easily a match for the size of a full-grown dragon, if not more. They were sleek and colored gold, detailed only by their sharp edges and flat surfaces. Each one extended from wall face, reaching out like a claw, but far straighter, and at their ends was not a point, but a hole.

They were hollow and deep as Celestia could see into them, like perfectly circular caverns gauged into large pillars of steel. She would have marveled at the amount of metal, as she had never seen such a use for them before. She would have wished to examine them, as they were as alien to her as the new creatures currently playing with her ponies.

But that was before they started to glow, and thus, creating a pit of unease within her stomach.

“What are they doing?” She whispered, turning to Link with the hopes that he knew. “Link, what are they doing?” The Hylian was only able to shake his head, without thoughts or words for what they were.

Celestia turned her eyes back to the hollow pillars, watching as they empty centers emitted a light that only grew brighter with time. For every moment the light grew, the weight inside her chest grew a bit heavier. Her pink eyes turned back to the Wonderbolts.

They must have noticed the objects, as their formation changed. It had broken into a scattered form, each putting much distance between the other. It was either a diversionary technique or preparing for avoidance maneuvers, either way, it was tactically sound.

That was what Celestia thought up until beams of light began to shoot at the pegasi.

A horrified gasp echoed in her crystal prison as red lasers shot forward from the cannons, piercing the air with deadly accuracy. They screamed past the spread-out pegasi, just barely missing them. Instantly, the trails behind the Wonderbolts began to twist.

The shots of red light were fired sporadically, the hollow pillars shooting at alternating intervals that kept the pegasi from advancing. Celestia watched in terrified fascination as the her expert guard flew in agile patterns, avoiding the light with all of their training at their disposal.

But it wasn’t enough.

Celestia felt her eyes widen in abject horror as one of the beams slammed into one of the Wonderbolts, exploding in a sparkling display of red. The pegasus’s trail ended where the light hit. Not even cloth remained in the air.

Link slammed his fist against the crystal prison, his teeth pulled back in a snarl. Celestia felt her limbs freeze, appalled by what she had witnessed. Her eye shook as she continued to watch the deathly lasers fly.

Another Wonderbolt was hit, an explosion of red once more shimmering in the sky as it made impact. Then another, and another. For everyone that fell, Celestia felt her mouth dry, felt her chest heave. She had not eaten in some hours, possibly a day, and here she was ready to relieve the contents of her stomach.

The bright red beams continued to fire from the monolith, shooting at the two pegasi left in the air. Like the masters of the sky that they were, Spitfire and Soarin continued to dodge and weave through the fire, manipulating the currents of the air to their advantage.

They flapped their wings until they flew high, attempting to rise higher than the lasers could allow, only to turn tail and dive towards the ground, attempting to force gravity to accelerate them. But they weren’t fast enough. None of them were.

Spitfire was hit first, her wing nicked by one of the lasers. The trail of embers that was known to follow her flight path suddenly ended. Her controlled dive became a free fall. Soarin joined unwillingly, his tail burned to crisps by another stray beam of light. The clouds that followed his path stopped.

Then, and only then, did the lasers stop firing, forcing Celestia and Link to watch as the two pegasi fell to the ground below, not even able to cushion their fall.

With all the ceremony as before, the hollow tubes of death retracted into the monolith, the screen folding back over them. In just a moment, it appeared that nothing had changed, that the sky was still empty save for the island floating within it. There were no pegasi in the air, and no remains to say that there ever were.

Celestia released the bile from her stomach, Link leaning his head against their prison.

“Oh! That was quite a show.” Discord had his claw above his eyes, shielding his mismatched gaze from the sun’s rays. “I bet that gave those ponies quite a scare, all the way down to the ground.” The draconequus snickered at his own statement.

“But as fun as half-time was, the show must go on!” He lowered his claw long enough to twist in the air, where he extended both of his forelimbs to great length at his side. Discord’s grin was as sharp as ever.

“And I can’t wait to see the end of a princess.”

He watched as the dark screen showed the image of Princess Luna, curled over the ground with a dark guardian above her and broken assailant beyond her. Despite the seemingly clear turn for the diarch’s better, Discord did not let his joy falter.

“Spies,” he mused. “They always have a trick up their sleeves.”

Darkness In Light

“Sooooo… You’re back in black.” It was odd even now, how easily Karl spoke, despite the unexpected turn of events. One of his stone arms was shattered and gone, his only weapon being held back effortlessly by a boy he thought he had killed, and said boy was staring at him with a gaze that thirsted for blood. He laughed at the sight.

As dark as the thought was, the boy couldn’t help but wish the stone man that the stone man would beg or at least tremble before him.

“You’re already defeated Karl,” Riku wasted no time in playing word games with the statue. “I can’t think of a reason why I shouldn’t break you into pieces right now.” The words only amused the living statue further, his cracked smile stretching to his cracked face. Riku scowled at the sound.

“Break me?” He questioned the boy. His smile fell until it was as sharp as the black blade in his hand. “You mean like the petty princess behind you? Bloody and broken?” Riku’s scowl grew into snarl, baring his teeth at the statue. Karl spoke on regardless.

“I may be one, but you can never make me the other.” That was enough for Riku.

The silver haired boy let out a sharp cry, lifting his free hand into the air. Dark energy began to swirl around it, far faster than Karl had seen him use it before. In a flash, a ball of darkness was held Riku’s hand. It began a quick descent towards the stone man.

Knowing better than to battle magic, Karl pushed off with Arma, bending his legs to jump away from the attack. As agile as ever, even with shattered parts over his body, the living statue was already in the air, his only good eye trained on the boy.

He watched as Riku’s hand continued the fall, the ball of darkness leaving his hand and sailing towards the red rock floor. That eye widened in shock as the ball curved in mid-air.

Like a boomerang thrown by a warrior, it sailed at him with an unforgiving speed, far faster than Karl knew he could move, let alone dodge in the air. Thinking quickly, the statue pulled Arma to his side, gripping her until she became the black hammer Karl so enjoyed to use. Swinging it again, he aimed the flat of the heavy object against the ball.

The explosion that followed the impact blinded him.

Riku watched with an immoral sense of satisfaction as the demon statue was blown out of the air, a trail of dust falling quickly to the ground, hitting the rock with a mighty crack. He stared at the crater formed for a moment, watching as the red dust that was thrown up began to settle. There was no Karl standing at attention, preparing a quote to mock him. Instead, the orange cloak of the living rock was lying over the ground, the broken statue still adorned in it.

“Stay there,” the silver-haired boy whispered at the still statue, uncaring if his words were heard or not. With a turn on his heel, he looked towards the other living being in the room.

Luna looked up at him, her shock not fading since the moment Riku reappeared. He couldn’t help but smile at the expression. It was a relaxed grin, framed by his long silver hair hanging beside his features, blue eyes as sharp as the steel of his blade. The princess couldn’t look past how odd it was, seeing an expression of such calmness on the body of such a warrior.

Then again, she wasn’t aware she’d she see Riku again.

“Riku… are… is that you?” The alicorn asked from the ground, her legs bent inwards and magic reserves drained. “Are you the same Riku whom I fought through this cavern with?” The boy’s smile did not change.

“Trust me, it takes a lot more than a stab in the back to put me down.” The boy gave a soft chuckle as he kneeled down to the princess’s side. “If there’s one thing my friend taught me before, it’s that perseverance pays off.” The princess found herself wasting her shallow breaths to laugh at the statement.

“Your friend sounds… very wise.” Luna lifted one of her legs as she spoke, attempting to push herself back to her hooves. Riku placed his free hand under her carriage, ready to offer the princess his strength. The alicorn stilled as she touched him, but only for a moment. She smiled softly as she let him bare some of her weight.

“He’s not that smart.” Riku countered the princess’s compliment. “I called him stupid more than once.” He heard the princess sigh at his words. It took Luna’s words to clarify her action.

“I forget you are still a child,” she spoke softly as all her hooves settled on the rocky floor, albeit uneasily. Riku had his palm towards the alicorn, slowly letting his hand drift away as the princess steadied herself.

“You’re not about to say I should respect my elders are you?” Riku spoke let his voice take on a sarcastic tone as he spoke, momentarily lapsing that he was speaking to a princess and not just a friend. The kind smile Luna gave him, however, eased his momentary jump in heart rate.

“No,” she began. “I am to say that the young can be as silly and reckless as they are creative and wise.”

“And such a silly boy he is.”

Riku whirled at the voice, his Path to Dawn raised to his height, tip aimed towards the source of the words.

He was unsurprised to see Karl standing up again, still in the crater Riku had knocked him into. His parts were still missing, Arma perched on his shoulder, and colors fading under the dust that had collected over him.

And still he was smiling as if not a thing was wrong in the world.

“I must admit, I didn’t expect you to come back from the dead.” The statue began to speak, his head nodding towards Riku as he spoke. “Most plans don’t have to account for that. If you die you’re supposed to stay dead. It’s only fair.” The cheeriness to his words only made Riku’s scowl deepen. He did not need to look to know Luna was little different.

“It’s a rule for any thing you do to always know the competition. After all, only a fool or a madman attacks people recklessly.” He laughed at his words, eyes closing slightly as he did so. Arma adjusted herself on his shoulder, earning a tighter grip on Riku’s blade. He trusted the bird as much as he trusted the rock.

“But you should always expect the unexpected. Even you two played by that rule.” His only good eye turned to the dark alicorn. Her breathing deepened as her anger seethed. Should any of her magic still remain, she doubtlessly would have made the room shake with her rage once more.

“Are you gonna stop talking?” Riku asked the man as his free hand began to glow once more. “Or am I gonna have to shut you up? Trust me, I won’t mind.” Karl only genuinely laughed at the words.

“Oh I do intend to start another fight,” Karl spoke easily for a thing missing half his body. “But not before I tell a little secret. I can tell how much both of you enjoy those.” Riku felt his snarl stretch his features.

“You see, magic has to come from something. It can be anything, large, small, living, dead, whatever works.” His one should shrugged, passing easily over his own words. “I can’t survive long without magic, because I can’t create what I need. But,” His hand raised with a single finger extended upwards, smiling warily at the two.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t take what I need.”

His arm reached into the hole he fell into, grabbing something neither the boy or alicorn could see. Riku reacted as he saw fit, throwing another ball of darkness at the statue, hoping to shatter him into dust. It sailed through the air, tracking the stationary statue.

It was when Karl raised his hand from the pit that he realized he was too late.

Riku’s orb of darkness exploded as it did before, covering its impact with dark mist. He squinted through the debris of his own weapon, searching for any sign of the living statue. As the mist dissipated, it was only too easy to find him.

Karl stood tall still in the area of his impact, Arma perched on his shoulder and smile gleaming across his shattered face. His orange cloak billowed lightly, moving under the still spreading darkness. But what both the boy and alicorn focused on was his one good arm.

It was extended outwards towards the pair, gripping something they had not seen before. It was red like the rocks, but enclosed in a frame of gold. It was small too, no bigger than the statue’s own hand, but it glowed like a dragon’s fire.

“What… is that?” Riku asked through seething teeth, his hand clenching at the hilt of his sword. Karl’s head leaned to the sigh, looking past his own still extended arm.

“Haven’t a clue,” he spoke in a sing-song voice, smile only growing as the fury increased in the eyes of the silver haired teen. “Oh deary me, I promise you I’m being quite honest. I was only told of this artifact not but a few hours ago.”

“By who?” Luna seethed as she questioned. “For a creature that proclaimed to be trapped as we are, you found no difficulty in conversing beyond the walls. How?”

“He is a clever one.” Azula lightly stroked her chin as she watched the man made of stone grin at the princess and warrior. “Playing others like puppets and dancing among them.”

Her golden eyes moved from the injured alicorn to the dark suited boy standing in front of her. Azula noted every detail about him, and sized up quickly his thoughts and emotions.

“His blade is shaking.” She spoke to herself, eyes smiling with her lips. “Not out of terror, but rage. He has been in situations like this before. Good. It will make it more interesting to watch.”

“I did ask you about her, but you didn’t know her.” Karl easily spoke back, turning the gem around in his hands. “But she did promise that this would be here, and I can only thank you your highness for helping me find it.” The statue gave a mock bow as she spoke, causing the alicorn to only seethe further.

She dug her hooves into the ground, willing herself the strength to command a boulder to fall on the statue. But it only brought upon a spell of dizziness, making the princess sway on her hooves. Luna caught herself before she toppled over, but it did not go beyond the attentive eye of Karl.

“I promise you, I never would have found this had you not sent me into the ground earlier.” The stone man flipped the gem in his hand, turning it until his undamaged eye stared at the red ruby. “It was quite a thrill, wanting to kill you one moment then gleefulness from finding what I was looking for. But I still want to kill you, can’t forget that.”

Riku heard enough. With another sharp cry he sent another dark ball of matter towards his opponent. Karl’s grin never faltered as he positioned the jewel in front of the incoming magic, waiting for impact. However, the silver-haired teen knew better.

He swung his arm upwards, directing the ball. Its flight path mimicked his action, ascending into the air above the stone man. Karl’s good eye widened as he watched it rise above him, though his grin remained plastered over his painted face. With a grunt of force, Riku slammed his hand down again. Already reading the signs, Karl raised his arm upwards, waiting for the ball to collide with the red gem in his hand.

Just as before, the dark mist of Riku’s magic exploded over the living statue. This time, however, both he and Luna were able to see more through the dark magic.

They were sure what their eyes saw, but it was still hard to believe.

The moment Riku’s magic impacted Karl’s gem, it began to glow. Even through the dark magic of the teen’s sphere, the red aura of the gem was clear as the sun. For every speck of black mist that came from the ball, at least a shred of the red light fought it off. It began to cocoon around the living statue, completely surrounding him.

A moment after the mist surrounded him, it began to dissipate into the air once more, slowly revealing the statue once again. This time, however, Karl saw fit to show what the gem had truly done. There was no sphere of red light anymore, no dome of transparent magic.

Instead there was a dome of rock. The gem did not create a sphere of magic to protect the stone man; it made stone itself.

The stone formed earth.

A stunned second later and the hard rock began to fall away, starting in clumps and then crumbling to dust. It fell away almost silently, no piece remaining large enough to impact the floor. Indeed, the moment it fell away form the dome, it changed so swiftly in size that dust was all that remained.

Soon, nothing remained of the earthy dome but traces of brown powder over the red rock of the floor. That, and the vicious smile of Karl, still standing with his arm extended upwards.

“Exciting, isn’t it?” He mused to stunned party across from him. “Finding something completely new, being able to use something no one else can?” He giggled at the thought, arm descending until the jewel hovered just in front of him.

“If I were human, I might brag, declare some silly rule that I’m unstoppable. Isn’t that what you would do silly boy?” Karl’s eye turned towards the silver teen, whose shocked face slowly returned to one of angry indifference, scowling with barely contained rage. “Oh I must be right. In fact, I might hazard to say you have done that in past. Perhaps even more than once.”

“It won’t be enough.” Both the teen and statue turned their eyes to the still-weakened alicorn, her gaze and words the only strong part about her at the moment. “It matters not what tool you have collected, fiend. You know hardly at all how it works, and you are already half gone.” In only the smallest of ways, Karl’s smile dropped. Luna did not stop.

“Surrender to us now, entomb yourself as we leave, never show your self again, and your assault will not be addressed again.” Neither Luna nor Riku knew what it was, but in the middle of her declaration, Karl began to laugh.

It was not a deep bellow, nor was it a mad cackle. If anything, it was the same laughter the teen would expect from his friend or the alicorn fro her sister. Genuine, kind, and perhaps even innocent. It was far more than merely disconcerting to hear it come from a thing that was so far away from those three qualities.

“Deary me, you nearly convinced me your highness.” Karl spoke once more, raising the back of his hand to scratch at Arma, still perched on his shoulder. The black bird rubbed its head against his painted arm. “However, I have been around humans long enough to know that you never truly forget something you hate.”

With caution words could not equate to, Riku watched as Karl’s devious grin turned into a sharp and deadly leer.

“They do not forget, they wait. They let their anger churn until it becomes too much, until it consumes their every thought, their every idea, their every being. Like water over rocks, it wears away at them until nothing is left. Nothing but that hatred that has now consumed them.” Karl’s brows furrowed as his smile grew.

“But there’s nothing wrong with hatred. Only with how it’s used.” Luna lightly took her lower lip into her mouth, nibbling on it as the stone man directed his eye to her. He lowered his hand from Arma, flipping the jewel between his fingers. “As long as the hatred is used properly, then it doesn’t matter at all.”

“Why’s that?” Riku felt himself asking before he could stop himself. He flared his nose in disgust when he realized what he had said, even more so when Karl flashed his smiling façade towards him.

“Because, you silly boy...” Karl held up the red ruby to his eye level, pointing it at Riku between his stone fingers.

“The only thing that ever matters is the end.”

Karl crushed the gem in his hand.

“Oh wow I did not see that coming!” Jack cheered as he thrusted his hand towards the screen. “I mean did you see that! He gets a magic rock and the third thing he does with it is crush it! Who does that!”

“The one labeled Karl has stated to have had extensive conversation with the woman named Azul-” The monotonous speech of Angel was cut off by her father raising his hand, waving it for attention.

“Hey hey! That girl ain’t a woman. She’s a stupid spoiled teenager and we’re going to address her as such. Clear?” Angel made no more emotional response than she had anytime before.

“Understood. The spoiled teenager has told Karl of the magic on Hyperion Island. As such, he likely has superior knowledge for using the artifacts that power it.” Surprisingly enough, Jack didn’t criticize her.

“Eh you got a good point.” The masked man admitted as he stroked his bare chin, giving a critical eye to the odd trio on the screen. He gave a wicked grin before he spoke again.

“Should make for a fun fight.”

As Riku and Luna watched the red dust of the ruby fall to the floor, they had little idea of what to feel. Shock was prominent, as much as Karl’s sudden presentation of the object. To destroy the thing that had protected him completely flabbergasted the two.

A moment of hoped flashed through Luna’s mind, believing that the living statue had misjudged his own strength, breaking the stone unintentionally. But both she and Riku knew that emotion to be false when Karl kept his malicious grin painted over his crack face.

The reason why became only too clear.

From the dust crushed in the statue’s hand, red light began to glow. It gleamed from the cracks between his fingers, shining like a covered candle. Karl’s already malicious grin became sadistic under the glow of the light. It blinded the occupants of the room, forcing Riku to abandon his protective stance to cover his eyes. Luna fared only marginally better, shielding her own eyes with her unfolded wing.

The act was silent, known to occur only by the immense red light emanating over the now dull red rocks. There were no words from the stone man, no jeers or brags. Only silence.

Then the light began to fade, allowing Riku and Luna the privilege to see just what Karl had accomplished. Eyes still adjusting to the change in light, they simultaneously squinted, hoping to force their eyes to clear the dark view of the mad thing. What they saw, they didn’t like.

Karl was still present, no closer or further away from them than before. He still had the orange cloak about his shoulders, Arma perched on top of one, and his grin between the two. But now… there was more. Specifically, recovered parts of him.

There was no longer a crack down the his face, no longer a missing limb at his side. There wasn’t even a patch of a reminder that they were ever gone.

Karl was whole again, and he liked it.

“Deary me!” He shouted with a deep laughter, admiring his freshly formed arm. “I hardly expected it to work so well!” He flipped his arm over and back, his two good eyes admiring the work the magic had done. Giggling left his false lips as he swung the stone limb left and right.

“I’d dare to say I feel twice as young as before. Perhaps even twice as murderous.” Luna could only shake her head in silent disbelief. Riku, however, was far more vocal with his words.

“How did you do that?” The boy’s shock made the grip on his sword all the tighter, yet all the stiffer. He had to force a swallow to control himself, too many imaginations of what this cold stone man wanted to do.

“Why I couldn’t dare tell you how. A good magician never reveals his secrets, don’t you know you silly boy?” Riku pulled his sword arm back, his focus and mind clear once more. Karl was quick to see the change in his stance as well. Luna, however, took the time to intervene, letting nothing as simple as fatigue stop her.

“Riku,” the alicorn whispered. “Do not let his barbs reach you. He intends to sway your focus, alter your mind. Should he succeed, his victory will be assured.”

“You are a quick learner your highness.” Karl spoke to the whispering mare. He jumped lightly on his feet, perhaps to the strength of his newly reformed limbs, perhaps to remind the princess that while she was weak and weary, he was only too ready to strike.

“Actually, I’m willing to make a wager. If you can tell me just what I did, I’ll swear to not lay sword or hand against you when Riku and I have our little spat.” Karl only had teeth to show the snarling bow. “It’s not like I can ignore a coming fight. Besides, what’s the fun in a bet unless-”

“You absorbed its power.” Karl stared at Luna. His smile was empty of joy, rage, or any other emotion. What it showed now was what it always was, a mask.

“I beg your pardon?” He asked, cupping his hand around the side of his head, a mocking expression of his nonexistent ear. It did little to affect the weary alicorn.

“You absorbed the magical potential of the gem.” She spoke clearly. “It has been a long standing practice in the art of magical transfer, moving the innate power of one to another. When a container of magic is destroyed, its power flees, but so long as there is something it can enter, it shall enter it. You,” Luna spoke with a jab of her hoof. “You live off of magic. It would only be too easy for you to use what the red ruby had.”

“My my,” Karl spoke twice, letting his gray hand roll over his chin, posture tall and gaze high. “You caught on even quicker than I did, and I had the words being spoken to me. It’s almost as if-”

“I’m not done,” Luna interrupted once more with a sharp grin, daring to challenge the smirk of the stone man. Said smile, however, faltered into a jaded line at the break to his speech. “You have only just found this magic, and you have clearly not heard of it before. It matters not what you have been told, you have no more control over it than a boat in a river’s current. Presently, you are no more a threat than you were before.” The princess risked her neck by going a step further. “Maybe even less so.”

Riku let his gaze linger on the alicorn longer than he should of, knowing full well that it was risky letting his gaze turn from the mischievous statue. But it was hard to look away from the dark alicorn, using the likely years of wisdom in her conjecture of Karl, unfaltering in his speech despite her lack of energy. It reminded him only too much of another ruler.

Clapping, however, broke that concentration.

“Well done your majesty,” Karl offered with another low bow, arm rolling over his chest as his form bent forwards. “I can see why you are a princess of darkness. I wouldn’t expect such wisdom from anyone else but one who spends her hours in the shadows.” The barb was thick, but Luna had little to bat it off with. Nothing but her twisted eyes of disgust and snarled lips of hate. It was like offering flowers to the stone man.

“So then,” Karl began. He quickly lifted his hand to his shoulder as he straightened out, letting his gray hand sit in front of the black bird Arma. In a quick whip downwards, the same black sword that had done much damage before was his again. However, Karl’s grin was as sharp as the blade he held.

“Shall we begin?”

BEGIN

“Be wary, Riku,” Luna warned the boy, currently already crouching with his blade raised. “We do not know what he is capable of.”

Instead of a nod of appreciation or grin of understanding, Riku had words to offer the alicorn. They were short, blunt, but they had more meaning in them than any other phrase he could have spoken.

“Neither does he.”

Then he was gone.

A light boom erupted in the room, like the dull thud of a falling rock. The floor beneath the alicorn vibrated under the sound. Normally, it would have been a question of observation to see what had caused such a force.

However, the pair of figures standing in the center of the dome, blades locked against one another, made it only too obvious what the source of the noise was. Silently, Luna watched.

Riku made a hard push with his arms, unintentionally pushing himself back. Karl held his ground too strongly for the boy to gain in a show of force. It took only their first trade of blows to realize it.

Karl was quick to join the boy’s retreat, jumping forward with another impressive display of his inhuman strength. His blade descended on the boy, falling with a strength Luna knew only too well. Riku wisely judged it. He flipped backwards, avoiding the falling black sword deftly.

As Arma hit the ground, the red rock floor cascaded with cracks, spewing crimson dust upwards. Riku continued his retreat, stopping only when his feet were secure on the floor and his Path to Dawn was held upwards once more. Karl, however, remained crouched over the floor, watching the silver-haired teen through the floating particles.

“Dust, hm?” He noted as his free hand lightly swayed through the rust-colored particles in the air. “I guess if I squint my eyes and think happy thoughts I can imagine its blood, but it just isn’t the same.” His hand wiped off the red soot that had collected on his rocky form.

Riku let the comment slide off of him, choosing instead to confront the statue with action over words. He ran forward, aiming his sword at Karl. The living rock smiled at the display, twisting his own black sword to mimic the charging boy’s stance.

A sharp cry came from the teen as he swung upwards. Karl met it easily, parrying the blow with small twist and flick of his own blade. Riku felt his arm swing into nothing as the statue thrusted Arma forwards. His instincts reacted.

He pushed his open hand against the transforming bird, pushing his own weight off of the monstrous strength of Karl’s grip. Riku, however, used that. He spun with his momentum, bringing the Path to Dawn in full circle around him, aiming for the nape of Karl’s neck.

It was blocked with the statue’s bare hand. Riku stared shocked into Karl’s menacing smile.

“Oh don’t act too surprised,” he jeered. “It’s hard for anything to shatter stone.”

“Then how about this!” Riku didn’t give time for Karl to respond as he pulled his free hand back, summoning his dark magic into it once more. He shoved his hand forwards, slamming his black sphere into the statue’s arm.

Another explosion of magic blinded the two, giving Riku ample time to retreat away. Unfortunately, it gave just as much time for Karl to continue his taunts.

“That is a great magic trick.” He mockingly congratulated, speaking through the black mist that separated the duelists. Riku snarled as Karl continued. “Would it happen to be a trump card of yours? A last ditch effort for the most crucial of times? If so, I’m flattered to have brought you so close to your end. Would you like me to take you all the way?” His laughter was the only thing sicker than his words.

Riku opted, once more, for action over words. He jumped over the mist, the powers of the darkness flowing through him as he ascended into the air. It took only a short amount of time before he saw the stone man on the other side of his own fading magic. The living rock looked up with his scarred eye, widening at the floating boy.

Another battle cry came from silver haired teen as he fell downwards, aiming for another powerful strike against the statue. However, instead of matching blows, Karl crouched closer to the floor, leaning back only a hair.

When Riku was within striking distance, he swung upwards with Arma, once more parrying the Path to Dawn. As expected, it missed the statue, slamming into the floor with great strength. From the actions that followed, it was exactly what Karl wanted.

The force cracked the ground, sending sections upwards with its might. One such piece was enough to launch the statue in the air, no doubt in combination with his own immense jumping capabilities. This time, however, Riku reacted instantly.

The teen jumped into the air once more, giving chase to the ascending statue. Karl hit one of the upper parts of the dome, imbedding Arma into its surface. It kept him still against the high wall. Looking down, he smiled to see Riku chasing up at him.

“Can’t help but chase after me?” He asked with his façade smile. “Oh, but we’ve only just met.” Karl pulled Arma from the wall, beginning his short descent to Riku. “But it’s okay, I already know so much about you.”

Their blades hit with another small boom, putting their collective forces into a stand-still mid-air. It did little to slow their duel.

Floating in the air, the two drew and threw their blades at one another, each cross of their swords sparking the air. When Karl brought Arma down in a vicious slash, Riku would bring up his Path to Dawn to counter. As the teen would swing his arm with the intention to sever the statue’s neck, Karl would parry in kind, letting their blades sing in the air.

“You are stronger than before,” Karl spoke over the clash of their blades. “Why is that?”

The statue hit the ground with his feet, shaking the dome with an audible boom. He was grinning still when he looked back up at the dark dressed teen.

“I wonder if it is because you were able to admit what you are.”

Riku let out a yell of irritation as he brought his blade down, attempting to smash the stone man’s head. Karl let out a giggle as he raised his newly formed arm, batting away the flat of the blade before swinging with his own. The dark suited teen deftly flipped around it, spinning with the force Karl had hit him with to avoid the sharp blade.

He landed mid spin, feet sliding over the red rock, but Karl gave him little time to recover. Knowing his enemy, Riku lifted his blade, preparing himself for an assault. No sooner did his Path to Dawn rise above his head than did the black blade of Karl slam against it, forcing the teen to this knees.

“All humans are alike,” Karl continued to jeer, leaning over their crossed swords with a sharp grin. Riku could only snarl in return. “You make promises, oaths, and swears of loyalty, but you’ll drop them all, so long as you see something better on the horizon. Is that why you’re dressed like that? Dressed in black to hide your own lies?”

Riku yelled through his clenched teeth, pushing the stone man back with all his might. Luna could not judge if the teen truly did over power Karl, or if the living statue merely backed off, allowing the boy to regain his footing. The smile never changed, and she feared that it never would.

The teen was not done however. No sooner did he step back to his feet then did he raise his blade again, aiming to slash across Karl’s chest. It was only too simple for the statue to lean back, letting the shape of Riku’s sword swing harmlessly in front of him. However, the boy’s attack was not done.

His free hand followed his free arm, harnessing the power he had only just recently began to use offensively. It was another ball of darkness swirling in the keyblade master’s hand. For Karl, however, once was more than enough.

Instead of dodging harshly to the side or attacking Riku before the ball was released, he swung Arma from his side, gripping the transformed black bird with a twisted hand. In mid-swing, the bird began to morph into another malicious shape, the long but dull end of a hammer taking the mass of the blade.

The black mallet slammed into the dark ball the moment it left Riku’s hand, exploding with no less force than it had twice before.  Luna watched as the dark mist that inevitably erupted from the collection of Riku’s magic flew to the side, not even a single dark shred of the mist falling over the statue or teen.

All she saw clearly was the sharp smile Karl had as he stood tall over the teen, hammer still held ready for a second swing.

“Oh I see it now!” The statue spoke as he brought his mallet back towards the teen. Riku whipped his hand downwards, the flat of his blade stopping the incoming attack. Instead of retreated though, Karl placed both of his hands over the grip of Arma, pushing his full weight on to the teen.

Riku had to mimic in kind, gripping the Path to Dawn as he crouched on the ground, doing all that he could to prevent being crushed. Karl took the time to lean down to the vulnerable Riku.

“You really are stronger for admitting what you are, but you are so much more than just a liar.” The metal of the Path to Dawn groaned as Karl put more of his monstrous strength onto it. “You’re everything humans believe the darkness is. Mysterious, unknown, evil, vile, maybe even a dash of undesirable.”

Riku could only growl through his teeth, seething at the barbed words Karl wrapped around his vulnerable form. The chuckling of the living rock made it only worse.

“I’d even hazard to say that it even makes you a traitor.” Karl only laughed cheerily as Riku’s eyes lit with rage. “Right again.”

The words summoned strength in the teen’s legs, allowing him to push away from the living statue. Karl let him retreat, letting Arma transform from hammer to blade before rising to point at the teen again. Once more, his smile was nothing short of mocking.

“I do use the darkness!” Riku yelled aloud, but that was not what earned Karl’s attention.

The teen was starting to float, ascending into the air like a cloud. No wings were beating nor engine roaring. There was only him, and the darkness surrounding him.

Indeed, even Luna felt the creeping tendrils of the shadows begin to stretch over their dueling room, the faint light and glow of the dome fading beneath the coming darkness. She did not know if she should be grateful or concerned. Karl, however, had no fear about him.

“But,” Riku began to yell once more, raising his blade above his head, holding the hilt with both hands. “I fight for the light!”

Then, in a dash of smoke, he was gone.

Luna stared in mute horror as the teen vanished, seemingly gone into the shadows has he had before, when he was nearly killed by the stone man. Karl looked no more aware than she was, his old and new eyes looking left and right about the room for the teen, but having no more luck than the alicorn.

Then Riku was back.

Another light boom shocked the dome as the boy reappeared, only inches away from the unprepared statue. His sword was already in mid-swing, descending on Karl without thought of stopping. Luna watched, unintentionally satisfied, as living stone gave a look surprise.

Riku’s blade swung across the Karl’s torso, pushing the statue back across the floor. Karl responded in kind, swinging Arma downwards on the dark clothed boy. But just as his blade was close, Riku was gone again. Arma descended through open air.

Again, Riku boomed into reality, this time at Karl’s back. His blade swung once more and connected once more, scraping against the hard exterior of the statue. And once more, Luna felt satisfaction at the scowl, not smile, that was pasted over Karl’s features.

Then again, and again, and again. Every time Riku appeared to strike a blow against the statue, he vanished before Karl could so much as turn towards him. It was a vicious and brutal onslaught, one the alicorn could hardly see let alone follow. It was only with her imagination that she saw Karl being beaten like a toy. It was not an unpleasant thought.

A final boom crescendoed through the dome. It resounded in perfect in congruence with Riku’s final blow to the living statue. His hand, ball of darkness still swirling within it, hammering into Karl’s chest.

The explosion rocketed the stone man across the room, flying with a speed most pegasi would shy away from attempting. It only made Luna wince when the crack of his false body hitting the far wall filled the chamber. There was little surprise in seeing Karl imbedded into the far wall, doing everything but moving.

“Right back home, huh?” She heard Riku ask with a small chuckle. She, however, was far more focused on the deepness of his breath.

It was labored, clearly, a sign of his fatigue, and doubtlessly from his use of such an intricate spell. Her observations only became all the clearer when the boy fell to one of his knees, his free hand pressed to the floor.

“Riku!” She called the boy’s name, moving as swiftly as she could to the boy’s side. Her wings beat with her hooves, more to steady her still-woozy legs than to increase her pace. Luna had taken only a few steps towards the boy before she felt as if the blood had left her head.

It was just a moment after that the ground behind her erupted into rubble.

A gasp of shock came from her, drowned out by the rumble of falling debris. Riku whipped to the sound, sucking in his own breath of air when he saw the red rocks falling behind the alicorn. But more than that, he saw the creature behind the princess.

“Deary me,” Karl spoke from behind Luna. The dark alicorn’s eyes were wide in terror. It made the statue grin all the brighter. “I really didn’t expect you to move so suddenly. Tell me, did you know I was coming?”

Riku snarled as he rose to his feet, running to Luna as fast as he could. Karl’s unmarred eye watched him, his smile not faltering for even a moment. Luna lowered her horn, summoning what energy she could about it. Even if it was only a bluff, she hoped the cautious rock they fought would hold from assaulting her.

Then the room began to shake.

STOP

Riku extended his arms, balancing himself as he footing became uneven. Luna was little different, widening her stance to ensure she did not unceremoniously fall to the ground. Karl, however, watched them with amusement, his good and false eye grinning with his lips.

“Feeling a bit topsy turvy?” The living statue spoke, raising Arma until the black sword rested on his newly formed shoulder. “Maybe a bit gray under the collar? Has to be gray; green would clash for either of you.”

“What did you do?” Riku harshly whispered, gripping his sword with no lack of strength. Once more, the Karl only chuckled at the words, no more swayed by the viciousness behind the teen’s tone than any other moment before.

“I summoned a mighty dragon to eat us all!” Karl threw his arms into the air as if to cheer his own declaration.

Luna, however, thought of the true reason for the chamber’s shaking, one that accounted for the actions of the wicked statue and not for his false testimony.

“The ruby,” she spoke quietly. When she spoke again, the alicorn had charge in her voice. “What was the purpose of the crimson stone?”

“You are a quick one, as I’m sure you ever will be,” Karl admitted to the princess. “It’s no wonder you’re royalty.” He let out another line of laughter as another rumble shook the dome, but far worse.

A chunk of the ceiling fell away, landing with a loud crack on the ground. Riku wisely jumped away from it, letting his eyes glance upwards only long enough to judge where it had fallen from. Luna’s horn began to softly glow, enough to keep the rocks from harming her, but not so much to harm herself. As before, Karl did nothing but glance at the fallen piece of the ceiling with a lazy grin.

“It is rather hard for things to stay still when there is nothing holding them together. Why I’d dare to guess that when I took the magic from the chamber, it was only a matter of time before it came tumbling down. I doubt our little duel did much to help it.” He extended his arm, the flat of his hand facing the ceiling. Riku did not appreciate the gesture.

“But, I think the timing is perfect. After all, who fights on equal terms when they can help it?” The silver-haired teen did not know the meaning behind the statue’s words, but he readied himself regardless. His body shrank closer to the floor, securing his stance and reducing his movement. He could not risk Karl surprising him any more.

Instead of charging the teen however, the stone man did something else entirely. In fact, exactly the opposite.

With a mighty leap of his extraordinary strength, Karl flew towards the fall wall opposite of Riku. The boy and alicorn gave cautionary looks of bewilderment as the statue landed against the wall. Their confusion turned to terror as he raised Arma above his head.

The bird was no longer a sword, but instead the mighty hammer again. Karl slammed the black mallet against the dome without even a moment’s of hesitation. The result was instantaneous.

Boulders and stones began to fall around them, each one landing with a threatening boom on the red rock floor. They crumbled and shot up dust with their weight, the floor breaking into pebbles under their force.

Like thunder inside, the booms of the crossing blades from before was incomparable to the tons of rock falling inside the dome. It was more than merely hazardous, it was truly a last ditch effort. Both Riku and Luna recognized it.

The teen jumped from his unsteady ground, making his way to the dark alicorn. His eyes shifted from the falling ceiling to the equally unprepared princess, jumping where he could and running everywhere else.

Then, with one last leap towards Luna, Riku threw his free hand into the air, giving a shout as he summoned whatever dark magic that he could.

The boulders fell upon them a second later.

“An unceremonious way to end any duel,” Azula lightly noted as she saw the red rock collect over the screen, a low sigh of disappointment rushing past her nose. “I was hoping for that statue to be a bit more useful.” The Princess of the Fire Kingdom shrugged, leaning back from the balcony to stretch herself.

“Still, I can’t complain too much. He did put both pony and boy into a difficult place, even without his own magic. That’s not an easy feat.” Her golden eyes squinted at the screen as the dust began to collect, the red rocks of the dome becoming clearer and clearer across its surface.

“I don’t suppose it would be too much to hope they all died together. It would certainly make things easier in the long run.”

To Azula’s immense dissatisfaction, a small wisp of darkness snaked through the boulders. She scoffed to her side, knowing full well what it meant.

“Didn’t think so.” She crossed her arms as she watched the rest of the scene unfold.

Riku was at his limit.

The strain of his near death experience, his duel with the monstrous statue, and now the protection of Luna all within the span of a mere few moments. He felt his mind shaking with his body. It was a miracle that he hadn’t already collapsed.

It wouldn’t be long though, he could tell that much. Even with his shield projected above the pair, holding back the tons of rock weighing down on him, he knew that his body would give at any moment.

“Prin…cess…” he managed to squeeze out through grit teeth. It was quiet, but it was enough.

“Riku,” the alicorn returned with more ease that he spoke. “This is your doing, correct?” He nodded, hoping she could see enough of his movement in the capsule of darkness they were in. “I thank you, now let me aid you.”

There was no time for discussion, and few words were there to be said. Luna lowered her horn until it touched on the teen’s shoulder, glowing lightly within their dark shell. Riku was only moments away from asking her intentions, but that was when he felt his strength returning.

It was not an immense effect, nothing that could be called impossible, but the return of his magic, the strength of his limbs, it was all that he needed. A slow groan of force came from his lips as he forced his arm further upwards, pushing with the force of his body and magic.

The black magic barrier around them grew upwards with his effort, pushing away the boulders and rocks that had collected over them. The sound of their tumbling off of the pair was thunderous, though incomparable to the sound of their initial fall.

It took only a moment with their joint effort, but Riku’s shield reached a point where no more sound was made and he knew they were safe. Releasing his hand, the shield fell. It was only too obvious when the darkness fell just how much had changed.

The red dome around them had fallen completely, no sign of if its shape left to be seen. Instead they were in a new room, one with gray walls and roof around and above them. It appeared almost unnatural, the smoothness to them that did not match the rough and almost alive rocks from before. It was beyond odd, and forced forth many more questions than the pair believed they would have.

But there was one question both were currently seeking the answer to.

“Where is Karl?” Luna asked as she stepped from the rubble, keeping her legs spread far apart and her form improperly close to the ground. It was the only way to keep her tired form stable over the uneven terrain.

“Gone, I’m hoping,” Riku responded, eyes scanning over the red rocks and debris. Truthfully, he saw no sign of the statue, alive or dead. More than that though, he saw little sign of the dungeon they were just within.

The mausoleum had clearly fallen upon them, he saw no signs of the lava from before, no twists of fire or great cavern either. It was simply a hollow room they were in now, surrounded only by the red rubble beneath them and the gray stone around them.

Then, when he looked up, he saw something else.

“Hey,” he spoke, earning the alicorn’s attention. “Look up.” It was hardly a command, but it was definitely beyond a suggestion. Regardless the dark alicorn turned her vision high, looking to the ceiling above them.

Though majority of the ceiling high above them mimicked the gray stone around them, there was one drastically different part to it. That was the hole in the center of it. That… the object they saw beyond it.

“It is the moon,” Luna spoke, looking up into the sky through the small portal that existed.

She extended her wings, taking in a slow breath of air. She felt the soft gray rays of her celestial orb shine down upon her, draping her fatigued form with renewed energy, with life, with magic and all else.

“Princess, what are you-” Riku never had time to finish.

The alicorn’s horn flashed faster than the teen had seen before, completely blinding his unprepared eyes. His arms flew up, holding his head to keep out the almost intrusive glare.

Riku was, however, still able to hear, and was not able to guess what was happening. It sounded like the cave in was happening again, the sound of rock being pushed and pulled, being lifted and dropped with little delicacy or care. He kept his form stiff, ready for any blow that may be dealt to him, but none ever came.

Then, just as quickly as both began, both the light and sound stopped. Tentatively, Riku lowered his arms, looking to see exactly what had happened. It was only too obvious when he saw it.

The once almost unnoticeable hole in the ceiling had become nothing less than an open doorway. The moon, stars, and constellations above all easier to see than even the rocks beneath their feet. Riku found himself giving a low whistle.

“Come,” Luna spoke in a commanding voice to the boy. “Let us leave before Karl may show himself again. I have little desire to remain here.” When he nodded towards her, the princess flexed her wings, sending her into the air with ease.

She flew upwards with no difficulty, a far cry from her gliding within the lava rooms before. Now, she looked every bit as majestic with the moon shining upon her and the stars around her. But that was not was Riku saw.

He saw not a queen with spread wings, but a king with a drawn blade. It made his smile return with genuine intentions.

“Right behind you, your highness.”

Dreams

“They’ve escaped.” It was a wave of relief for the three around Amon.

“They did?” Sweetie Belle reaffirmed hopefully, her grin nearly splitting her face. Her little hooves gripped Chrona’s arm in anticipation. The boy hugged her back as well, keeping the small filly against him.

“Yes,” the masked man replied, his tone deep. “The silver-haired boy and the alicorn have made their way from the cavern. It is strange, however.” Amon raised his hand to the chin of his mask, holding the chin-point in thought.

“What’s off?” Maya asked from beside him. She leaned her weight to one side, hoping to get a better view of the man. She felt like a fool when she realized that even the best view was still a placid mask.

“They were fighting against… something; of what I do not know.” Amon answered as he folded his hands behind his back. “The sudden disappearance of the boy, the pained state of the princess, not even considering the force that must have been required to collapse a cave.”

“So um…” Chrona spoke carefully, adjusting his shoulders before he spoke. Sweetie Belle gazed up at him confused. “You didn’t… see anyone?”

“I saw no soul, of that I am sure. But, it doesn’t mean they fought nothing.” He let the sentence hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “It is a common saying that the only true monsters are the ones that forsake their soul. I find it unlikely that they fought each other, as they clearly have no trouble with their nearness now.”

“So they were fighting a monster.” Maya didn’t have to think long on the conclusion. “Hate to give you a hard time,” a few unheard words were muttered before the Siren continued. “But given what I’ve seen in the last... hour here, let alone being here, I don’t exactly find that too impossible.”

“Yeah, monsters are real.” Sweetie Belle agreed with the older woman. “My sister and her friends stop them all the time.” Chrona looked down at the foal, blinking at the words. It was hard for him to believe, but then again, it was just as hard to say she was wrong.

“I buy it,” Maya let out simply, nodding towards the filly nonchalantly. “Same reason as before. But you gotta explain why them fighting a monster is interesting. Hell, given that they were in a cave full of lava, I think a monster is pretty damn average compared to that.”

Amon turned his head slightly towards the woman, the holes of his mask eyeing the blue-haired siren. Chrona and Sweetie Belle felt a cold shiver run through them in unison, the silence unnerving. Maya, however, paid as much mind to the cold shoulder the masked man was giving her as she did her own language.

“You speak fast and loose for being in front of a child,” Amon criticized the woman, making a blue brow rise from Maya. “That is a trait few would see as… desirable.” The woman’s golden eyes smoldered.

“Yeah, cause that mask of yours is doin’ wonders for the PR campaign.” As if to spite the clearly sarcastic words of the Siren, Amon merely chuckled in return. It did little to simmer Maya’s growing annoyance.

“My mask, as you are ignorant to understand, was the symbol of my… campaign.” His hand unfolded from his back, opening slowly towards the woman, acting as if he was showing her some grand treasure. The golden eyes of Maya only saw the parceling mask, and eyes of a satisfied ego.

“You’re not the first person to march around wearing some cheap piece of plastic for a face, acting all high and mighty.” Maya waved her hand in front of her own gaze, mocking the shorter man. She leaned towards him, glowering as she did so. “Most people wear those things to hide their own shame.”

Sweetie Belle and Chrona exchanged glances between one another, each entirely unsure of what to do. The boy slowly curled closer to the floor, the pony in his arms hugging the appendages that held her. Both gave teary expressions to the bickering adults, wishing silently that they would stop before something bad happened.

As a matter of fact, they did stop, because something bad did happen.

Specifically, the tower began to shake.

It began as a slow rumble, like the dull call of thunder through stone. But unlike the cracks of a storm, the vibrations of the sound did not cease. They became stronger.

“W-Whoa,” Chrona uttered automatically, feeling his center of gravity being rocked. He released one of his arms from Sweetie, trying to maintain his balance. It made the foal hug him all the closer, desperate not to fall herself.

The strong gazes between Amon and Maya vanished as they felt the sensation, the floor moving from beneath them. Each took a few involuntary steps, attempting to right themselves before they hit the stone slab floor.

Rock dust fell from the walls and ceiling and the rumbling of stone became louder. It boomed against the eardrums of the four present, swaying the tower as if it were the tip of a blade of grass.

“W-What’s happening?!” Chrona fell to his knees as he whimpered in terror. His grip on Sweetie Belle only became stronger. Her grip on him did not dwindle either. The foal muffled her cries of terror into the boy’s robe.

Neither Amon nor Maya had an answer. Both hated to speak without knowledge. Maya fell to one knee, bracing her hands against the floor as dust continued to fall around her. Her eyes squinted to avoid the particulate from entering her golden eyes.

Amon, however, found it far easier to maintain his balance, only going so far as to widen his gait. His eyes continued to stare out the window as the tower leaned to and fro. The other occupants of the room were too focused on keeping themselves safe to see the activity across the landscape.

“Fascinating.”

The word came out in the deep tone that as barely heard over the rumbling of the stone. It was ignored as Chrona and Sweetie squeaked at the ongoing shaking, too frightened to pay attention to anything. Maya was far too focused on keeping herself alive to worry about words.

Then, just as quickly as it began, it stopped.

For a moment, a sparse and thick fraction of time, only heavy breathing echoed in the room. The remainders of Chrona’s and Sweetie’s frayed nerves trying to make sense of the threat’s sudden absence. Maya even remained stiff on the ground, eyes looking around her in a desperate attempt to see what had changed. All that she could see was the remaining dust from above cascading across the ground.

Amon, however, continued to stare out of the tower top’s large window, his stance as stiff and unchanging as the mask he donned. He was the first to return to a normal stance, bringing his legs closer together, arms remaining folded behind his back. He never even glanced at his guests.

The Siren was the next to stand up, rising from her knee with ease. Her breath was not heavy, but it was deep, training her heart to slow from the adrenaline that had momentarily overtaken her veins. Sweetie and Chrona joined her, albeit far slower and with less grace. The boy pawed his way to stand up, the whole time gripping the filly in his arms with a nearly deathly tightness. The foal did not mind, if she did, she made no motion or complaint otherwise.

“What… what was that?” Sweetie Belle questioned miserably. She clung to Chrona’s arm tightly, the boy holding her with no less force.

“I-I-It felt like the tower was… was f-falling.” Though the foal may have tripped over her words, the boy spoke as though there was ice at his feet. “I-I wouldn’t know how to deal with the tower falling!”

“This tower is not falling; it is not doing any more than leaning.” Amon’s voice had no more emotion than before. “Rather, it is to say… there is a new tower.”

“Whoa, what?” Maya questioned as she quickly approached Amon. Her eyes only glanced at him briefly as she looked out the window. It took little time before her golden eyes were wider than the sockets in Amon’s mask. “I… I don’t believe it.”

“What? What is it?” Sweetie Belle questioned the pair, doing her best to encourage Chrona to move. He did so, only after taking a large gulp. “What happened?”

Neither of the adults spoke as the boy and pony approached, both of their eyes gazing outwards; one out of fear, the other from pure curiosity. When they both saw the new sight, however, their collective gaze became awe.

Standing tall in the center island, like pillar surrounded by ruins, was another tower. They could not judge the similarities between the two, as they had only seen inside one tower and the outside of the other, but what their eyes could judge for fact alone was the opposite tower’s size.

Even with their high vantage point, all members of the party were forced to look up through the window, seeing more of the middle of the new steeple than the top. But for the moment, that was for the best.

While largely made of stone, of similar color to the quartet’s own tower, there hung a mighty ornament from its mid-section. Like a dial, it was notched around its perimeter, evenly spaced ticks of matching sizes.

And in the center of this circle were two lines, one large and one small. They pointed towards a sun and moon.

“Is that… a clock tower?” Maya whispered the question, raising her hand above her brow, squinting out over the landscape. “I swear that what it looks like, just like when I was at the abbey.”

“Y-Yeah,” Chrona agreed tentatively. “But, w-what’s it doing here?” I-I mean… that’s not normal, right? I-I couldn’t deal with it if it was.”

“No,” Amon agreed with the boy. “The sudden appearance of towers is as rare an event as… well, being reborn after death.” This dark chuckle did not ease any of Chrona’s nerves.

“Question is though, what does it mean?” Maya leaned on the stone edge of the window, letting the cold wind of the high altitude whip her blue hair about her face. Her eyes were too focused on the new structure to care. “I’m not expecting a straight answer, but damn do I ever want one.”

The Siren focused the corner of her gaze on the masked man, watching him intently. She did not trust him, not entirely. He had yet to give her substantial reason, but there were too many subtle signs, too many small reminders, comparisons between him and the men of the Abbey.

She hated the Abbey.

“It may be connected with the state of the other… prisoners.” Amon chose the word as carefully as he spoke.

“Why do ya think that?” Sweeite croaked. A moment of silence passed between, eyes alternating from the tower far outside the window to the masked man who had seen it first.

When Amon spoke again, all attention was immediately on him.

“Two more are awakening.”

“Such a peaceful day.”

The words rolled from his tongue with the greatest of ease. Breathing was a close second. His lungs took in a deep breath of the air around him, greedily taking into the fresh air of the trees and scent of the near immaculate flowers around him.

The small calls of wildlife echoed around him. A few birds chirped in the high tree branches, dancing on the limbs before flying away. Insects buzzed across the flowers, landing on the buds to rest before dancing away again.

He smiled easily, letting the atmosphere of the garden enrapture him. His wrinkled hands gripped his staff tightly; leaning on it as his eyes slowly fell close. The sounds and sensations of the garden gave him more ease than any other moment in his life.

“I’m glad you enjoy it.”

A voice spoke from behind him. The man turned to face the figure, leaning on his gnarled cane as he did so. His old eyes saw the tall and proud form of an alabaster alicorn walking to his side. A coy smile was painted across her lips.

“You are to be thanked for it, your majesty,” he replied to the monarch, tilting his head as he spoke. “But I do give credit to your workers as well. I saw the pegasi in the air before, pushing the clouds for a clear sky, just after they watered your garden’s growth.”

His hand lightly, but slowly, swept around him, motioning towards the near enormous amount of flowers, plants, trees, and bushes about them. The alicorn let her gaze roam across the flora, already fully aware of what they were, where they were, and even how they came to be there.

“They work hard to keep my garden vibrant, but Gandalf, surely you have seen more impressive grounds than this.” The mare lightly accused the aged man, noting his name without any hesitance. “You who’ve seen many kingdom across many lands. Are you so easily impressed with this modest garden?”

“Modest is not a word for this place,” Gandalf returned, his beard pulling upwards as a hidden grin pulled at it. “Princess Celestia, very little of your kingdom is left to be called… modest.” The tease was intentional and genuine. And, much like the ways of a wizard, it did not come early nor late. It arrived exactly when it needed to.

Celestia raised a brow at the wizard’s words, fluttering her wings as she trotted across the grass. The two shared a silent exchange with their gazes, each dancing with the other in a way only the old and wise could.

“I accept your compliments with grace,” the diarch spoke with a coquettish smile. “Though I must confess, anything in my kingdom that is grand is so by the hooves of my ponies, not by own.”

“Ah,” the wizard let out simply. “Giving grace to those who act, not to those who speak.” His head nodded, shaking the pointed hat on his head. “Such a quality is rare in kings and queens of the past; more so content to allow the accomplishment of their people to be done in their name.” The comment made Celestia ruffle her wings.

“I do not envy your Middle Earth,” she spoke without hesitation, though offering only disdain in her words, none towards to the figure whom she spoke with. “My lands may not be a paradise, but neither are they so corrupt with greed.” Gandalf only grinned at her words.

“It is true that there exists darkness in my world,” the Gray Wizard easily confessed. “But you have seen yourself the goodness that still come from men, no matter their origins.” Celestia’s sharp smile softened, perhaps for looking upon her recent memories.

“And you are correct.” The alicorn turned from the wizard slowly, motioning carefully with her hoof towards him. Gandalf joined her side, walking with her through the gardens.

For a time, they did not speak, merely letting one another drift into the own memories, recalling their past. It was how the wise became wiser. The wizard’s stick lightly tapped the grass in tandem with his feet, brushing against the light vegetation. His gray robe dragged behind him, collecting particulate that neither irked nor annoyed him.

Celestia, however, trotted over the grass of her garden with poise. Her near immaculate golden hooves kept no trace of dirt nor grass upon them, no matter how hard she pushed upon the ground. Despite their difference, however, the alicorn generated far more noise than the humble wizard.

BEGIN

“I do not lie where it is unneeded to,” Celestia began as their pace continued, untethered by her voice. Gandalf listened as she continued. “I have kept peace in my land through many methods, never just one. Of the many acts I have committed to, the list includes manipulation, force, and even betrayal of my own blood.” The wizard could hear the weight of memories past upon the diarch’s voice.

“There are limits to what I will do, and those are boundaries I have never broken, no matter how great the temptation.” They turned around a tree, sitting at the end of two grass hedges. It’s long curved branches arching high above them. It seemed to draw out the sorrow in the mare.

Celestia did not finish her thought, even as time stretched itself. The longer Gandalf followed her, the tenser the air became.

The just once jubilant garden began to feel cold, the colorful oration that silently came from the flower beds became dull, the gentle giants that hung with vibrant greens became stiff and old, and even the noted endless blue high above become constricted, becoming a taciturn ceiling in a dead castle.

“I have lived for many years, Gandalf,” the alicorn finally continued, her voice becoming as cold as the air around them. The Gray Wizard brought his cloak around his body tighter, fighting away the frigid breeze. “I have spent my time neither mourning my losses nor wishing for better times.”

“You learned young to bear the burdens you have.” It was not a question, nor an accusation, simply a note from one elder to another. Celestia nodded slowly, but her pace did not dwindle.

“That does sound right, yes,” the alicorn admitted. “But I will confess to you, and very likely you alone, that there are things I regret.” The words did not surprise the wizard for even a moment.

Nor was he shocked by what they finally stumbled upon.

Stumbled may not have been the greatest or most accurate turn of phrase. Though the Gray Wizard certainly had no intention of finding this place, it was more than clear that the diarch did. It was a cold a dreary plot of land, hidden in the garden.

Its presence alone is what chilled allotment's normally warm air. It is what made the colors fade, the warmth flee, and the openness enclose. It was a place of little peace, though made intended to be so. It was a land in which rest was ever evading, yet here lay those that intended to rest forever.

In this small plot of land were five tombstones. Five grand and ornate monuments to the lost.

They were set up next to one another, a line that no pony or man enjoyed to follow. One by one, stone by stone, each marked the final resting place of a great hero.

Celestia trotted to them, staring at them with misty eyes. Gandalf was silent behind her. Only the calls of birds and small rushes of wind gave sound to the garden. It was the only sound that was appropriate in such a place.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.” The words were so sudden Gandalf nearly missed them. “They… They did not deserve this.”

“Few do,” the wizard returned, walking to the diarch’s side. His staff poked at the ground as he did so. He stopped when he stood before the graves as well. Though sightless, soundless, and still, each of the carved stones emanated a presence he loathed to feel.

Five graves, five tombstones, five heroes from distant lands and different worlds. Five great sacrifices, five great tragedies, and five names to be remembered.

“Gandalf,” Celestia spoke the wizard’s name, the authority of her crown behind her voice. The Gray Wizard turned to gaze at her. It was then he saw the wetness in her eyes. “You have claimed to be the aide of many rules of the past. You say you counseled kings and warriors alike.”

“I tell many stories, your majesty, but that is not one of them.” He assured. Celestia nodded slowly before speaking again.

“Am I a good ruler?” The question earned no immediate response from the aged figure. “Am I deserving of this burden?”

He stared at her, eyes barren of the sorrow that so clearly tore at Celestia’s soul. She did not shy from his gaze, nor turn her attention to something far off and unimportant. Even with impending judgment approaching her, the failures of her past before her, the diarch of Canterlot stood tall and strong.

“Princess Celestia,” Gandalf spoke calmly, deeply. “I dare to say you may be the honest and kindest ruler I have ever been graced to meet.”

The saddest and most telling of smiles worked over her face. The tears that began to fall made it only brighter.

Quick breaths were taken and released by the diarch, futile attempts to still her tears. Only now did she divert her attention from the Gray Wizard, looking down now on the tombstone in her garden.

They were only reminders of death in a garden full of life. She would never have them removed.

Gandalf placed on of his hands on the alicorn’s back, gently stroking the alabaster coat of the mare. Celestia did little to acknowledge the contact. She had delved too far into her memories of those lost. Now she had to exercise the pain that came with them. The wizard could only comfort her with words.

“You need not worry for them, not anymore.” He spoke with the voice of wisdom, a voice he had used many times before. “They were as strong in spirit as they were body and mind. They will find peace now. You have given them that chance.”

Whether in spite or despite Gandalf’s words, Celestia continued to cry, never once turning her tear stained eyes from the graves before her. To turn away would be denying they were there. She could not, and would not, do such a thing.

Each of the stones had their own image, their own masterfully graphed and charted image to honor the passed hero. Each a symbol to a life that should never be forgotten.

A tall figure with a long robe. A beast with a mighty gait. A knight with boundless loyalty. An assassin with a heart of gold. A swordsman with a sacred blade.

The last stone held her gaze for longer than the others. Gandalf did not need to question why.

It was impossible to forget a hero of time.

END

Gandalf awoke in a cold sweat.

“Whoa! Hey, relax. Re-lax.” A voice spoke above him, strong and used to authority. The wizard felt a grip on his shoulder, holding his body against the ground.

Deep breaths slowly passed through his lips, eyes wide but unfocused. No forces bit at his body, no cold nipping at his skin. His shivers were his own, reacting to the terror of his own dream. And it was a dream.

The world slowly focused with his wide gaze, clearing the haze that settled over his eyes. He recognized little of where he was, recalling not even how he had come here. There was a ceiling above him made of stone, wet with condensation common for deep caves. The familiar echoing of falling water pattered about his ears.

He turned his gaze towards his left, looking for the force that held his shoulder with a tight grip. He felt no fingers upon him, only a strong and sure grip. It felt as if a dwarf was holding him still with one of their muscled hands.

Instead he saw a stallion, adorned in armor of bright purple. It gazed at him with concern, but with a tight muzzle and muscled physique. Gandalf recognized the look the pony was giving him. It was the look of a warrior, a soldier, looking down on his injured ally. He had seen it many times before, but very rarely being given to himself.

“I am alright,” the Gray wizard spoke carefully, calming his breath with a practiced pace.

He pulled his hand towards his chest, thankfully feeling the gnarled staff still tight in his grip. The hammering of his heart slowed with the calmness of his air, controlling the instincts of his body with the wisdom of his mind.

“Good, good,” the stallion muttered above him. His hoof raised from the wizard, releasing the pressure that held him down. Gandalf took the new opportunity to start getting up.

Old as he was, he still had much spry in his step, and he showed it well with his ascent. The stallion raised his brows in nondescript surprise. Though he was not in the least bit familiar with the biped, Shining was kind to believe the lengthy beard on the man was indicative of his age. At least, that was how it was seen in most pony communities. Operative word being most.

When Gandalf stood at his tallest, he leaned back, stretching the sore muscles that run up behind him. His back groaned in discomfort, a few pops echoing through the chamber. The wizard looked around him before he posed the obvious question.

“Where are we?” Shining shrugged in response, shaking his head in tandem.

“I haven’t the faintest idea.” The stallion admitted. “We’re nowhere in Canterlot Castle, that much I’m sure of. The stone is the wrong color, the walls are too damp, and those pipes are far too old.”

“Pipes?” Gandalf repeated the word, looking for the choice item. He did not have ground roots, but he would not mind having the tool to smoke with. He saw nothing of the sort around him. “I see no pipes.” Shining raised a brow at him.

“What are you talking about? You can see, right?” At the narrowed gaze of the wizard, the stallion spoke on. “I’m talking about those thick metal tubes over there.” His hoof pointed towards the far wall, and Gandalf followed him, more than surprised by what he saw.

As Shining had said, large metal pillars were lain over the far wall, emerging from the stone in the ground and disappearing into the ceiling above. Their girth was easily as wide as Gandalf’s arms spread outwards. In their climb on the wall, they changed direction, the clearest sign to the wizard that they were not placed for support.

One of them, red like the dying sun, arced like an awning to the castle’s entrance, curving in a quarter circle before turning upwards again, vanishing into the wet stone above. Another green, like a forest’s leaves, was shaped like a frozen bolt of lightening. From the floor, it had no less than four points before finally vanishing into the ceiling the same as the red metal.

“Pipes…” Gandalf spoke the once familiar word with a tone of concomitance. “I am used to them being much smaller, and preferably ready to light.”

“I don’t even want to know,” Shining dismissed the end of the wizard’s words. “Look, all I’m saying is that the sewer system in Canterlot hasn’t been in place for anymore than a century, being generous. These pipes look, well, older than that.” The Gray Wizard sought to cure himself of his ignorance.

“How can you tell they are old?” He questioned. “I see no moss upon them, nor the cracks of time wearing them down.”

“You really don’t know what they are, do you?” Though he was wearing a helm the same purple as his armor, Gandalf could imagine the stallion was raising a brow beneath the thin sheet of metal. “Sorry, I… I guess I never really prepared myself for having to explain history to some pony from another… universe? Dimension? I don’t even know.”

“And neither do I,” Gandalf spoke with a sigh. He greatly disliked lamenting on things he did not know. As time had taught him, the precious moments of his life were better spent on matters he could change, and hopefully for the better. “Perhaps we should seek a way out of here. Then you may be able to tell where we are.”

“Uh, yeah,” the captain replied after a moment, perhaps unprepared for the old man’s wise words, perhaps caught in though himself. It truly did not matter. “If were lucky, we’re just Manehatten or somewhere within Equestrian borders. But honestly I haven’t a clue where Discord would try and send us.”

“Ah, that creature,” Gandalf ran a weathered hand through his long beard, remembering the copiously compiled monster, speaking like a noble as he danced like a jester. “He is more… random than I imagined him to be.”

“Trust me, he always will be.” Shining let out a chuckle as he spoke. His hoofs clopped lightly on the stone as he began to walk in their room, approaching the pipe laden walls as he glanced about him. Gandalf watched the stallion as much as he did their surroundings. “Discord, being simple, always does what you don’t expect, even if it benefits you over himself.”

“That does not seem like a wise strategy to keep.” It wasn’t that it didn’t seem like one, it just wasn’t one at all. Still, Gandalf was a stranger to these lands, and he knew nothing of their norms.

“Normally it wouldn’t be,” Shining agreed. He hoof splashed a puddle of water, leading him to lift and shake the appendage. “But when you’re immortal, omnipotent, and omniscient, you tend to act more out what entertains you than what benefits you.” Those words appeared to hold more wisdom than fruits that were born from idle conversation.

“You have spoken of this before,” the wizard noted, or at least guessed. “Perhaps even told.”

“The last one,” the stallion corrected. “Princess Celestia instructed the guards about Discord after his first release, in case he ever came back again.”

“And now he has.” The words were not needless, but neither were they helpful.

“Yeah, for the third time now.” Gandalf, despite the clear question he could pose, chose not to press.

The stallion’s pace slowed when he spoke, his shoulders slumping beneath his armor. He could not see his eyes well with the purple helm laden over his head, but Shining’s eyes were doubtlessly downturn. There was a painful memory buried in the captain’s words, and now was not the time to dig up graves.

“There’s a door there.” Gandalf focused his gaze on the stallion as soon as the words were spoken. Across from the alabaster pony was the wall covered with pipes, its stones no different than any other wall, the floor, or the ceiling above. There was no handle, nor inscription to speak. It was a wall of bricks, and that was all the wizard saw.

Fortunately, that same wizard knew better than to see with only what his eyes perceived.

“How can you tell?” He asked, using his staff to walk the small distance over the stone. He felt the water cling and soak into his gray robe. Shining’s hoof waved as he spoke.

“After the invasion of Canterlot by the Changelings, the guards were instructed in how to sense and monitor subtle levels of magic.” His head nodded forwards, likely motioning towards the wall with his horn. “I can sense constant vibrations of magic, likely a false wall or hidden panel way. Either way, it is the way out.”

“Excellent,” Gandalf spoke, a bit of cheer creeping into his voice. “Then let us be on our way.”

“Hey,” Shining lightly held out his hoof, stopping the wizard mid step. Were he not miffed by being forced, he would have been impressed by the strength behind the pony’s grasp. “Before we go walking off into this dungeon, are you going to tell me about your dream?”

Gandalf feigned ignorance as best he could. He was the best in Middle Earth.

“I don’t know what you’re speaking of.” He let out the words simply, being sure his lips were soft and eyes widened ever so slightly. It would give the aura of being accused falsely. Shining, however was not easily convinced.

“I’m not going to say I’m an expert on dreams, but I recognize the look on some pony’s face when they see something they don’t like.” He let a moment of silence hang between them. “You’re eyes were shut tight, but your mouth was grimacing hard enough.”

He was not wise, Gandalf noted internally, but he was quick, catching small things others would forgo. The wizard had to change his tactics.

“Do you not trust me?” He posed instead. “We are in the same misfortunate state, threatened by a dark creature and banished to the sewers of a castle’s keep. If I held any information to guide us from here, I would not hesitate to speak it.”

“And I don’t doubt that.” Shining returned just as fast. “The princess, both princesses, trust you. They made that clear when I first saw you in the Grand Hall.” The stallion took a slow breath. “Look, I’m a soldier, trained since a young age. One of the first things we’re taught is the chain of command. If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both tell me you’re to be trusted, then I trust you.” The wizard nodded towards him.

“You are loyal to your liege, that is good.” Shining, however, wasn’t finished.

“But the second thing we learn is to never be reckless. If there is information you can have before making a decision, you find it. If there’s something you know, anything you know, be it about this place or Discord himself, I have to know about it.”

Gandalf exchanged his staff between his hands, leaning on the gnarled wood. He gazed down at the stallion as he would a proud king, defending his ways with a foot firmly set in the past and present, but no thought to the future.

“I have met many knights such as yourself.” The wizard began carefully. “Loyal to their lord and careful with their actions. They are the most heralded members of the kingdom. But if there is a fault, one that they all share, it is this.” He leaned over the white stallion as he finished.

“Some secrets are kept to protect, not harm.”

The armored pony stared up at the robed wizard, eyes sharp as blades and will strong as steel. Gandalf bore it with all seriousness and care he had before, that being a slightly amused grin and eyelids at half mast.

“Fine,” Shining spoke dismissively, he snorted on a breath of air. “I don’t like keeping secrets, but…” He let out a sigh, perhaps to make up for his snort.

Gandalf couldn’t tell the Captain of the Castle’s Guard about his dream. It was a message of the coming trials, a whisper from a future that spoke only to him. It was not a tale meant to be shared easily nor loosely. He knew the few who should be told, and Shining was not one of him.

He couldn’t tell the future to someone that wouldn’t live to see it.

“Hmm…” Discord slowly hummed watching the wizard and guard converse. “I was hoping for more denial, maybe a bit of self loathing. The old guy just seems so… content.” The draconequus shivered in mid-air loathing the word he had allowed himself to speak.

“What to do, what to do,” he questioned as he tapped his claws against the end of his long chin, staring at the multitude of screens that encapsulated the monolith of a floating island.

“On one claw, I wanna see the big bad Batman and his posse of creatures being eaten alive by a giant mechanical bird.” As he spoke the image of the scenario appeared over the screen. He couldn’t help but focus his mismatched eyes at the dark gowned human, crouching next to the timid pegasus, cape draped protectively over her. He could imagine so many ways they could die.

“But then on this paw, I kind of want to see what happens when three different levels of genius meet up with the epitome of madness.” And again, the enormous screen before him changed, blurring out into static before refocusing on a new image. It showed now not the wizard and the stallion, but a dragon, a filly, a boy, and a girl, all walking within a wide cavern, the robotic armed teen holding a flyer in her hand.

“Yet on this hoof, I really wanna see more of Jack’s and Jack’s antics, especially now that they have Dust from Dust.” A final time the screen changed, transitioning from an underground terrain to a forest glade. The bright white of a man’s robes was as clear as the orange coat of the mare next to him. But across from them, however, was a figure that seemed caught in between them both. It stood on two legs, but had the coat of an animal. He wore the clothes of a man, but complete with a tail and tall ears. Unlike the two, however, his clothes seemed to belong to the forest, shades of green blended with blue.

“Aw heck, I’m gonna have to watch those three now.” Discord clapped his paw, claw, and lower hoof together as if to solidify his own commitment. “There are just too many word plays that good old Jack is going to mystify himself with. It’ll be like watching a rabbit with its foot cut off trying to jump.” He snickered at his own statement, gleefully imagining the scenario.

“Maybe after Fluttershy turns topside, I’ll see just how fast little Angel can jump away.”

NeverDawn Cavern

BEGIN

“Dust,” Applejack spoke the name testingly, licking her lips as it rolled off the tongue; tipping her hat upwards to get a better view. It felt odd calling someone after the sign of a neglected tool, but she wasn’t a pony that would fault someone for their name. Apparently that was Jack’s job. That was when the farm pony noticed the robed figure swaying. “Are ya alright there? Yer lookin’ like ya just had one too many mugs of Cider.”

“Wha?” The furred creature responded with before a shake of his head. His hat waved with the motion, but it did not even come close to falling off. “No I’m fine just… everything’s a bit hazy.”

“Please, sit.” It was an almost commanding tone the samurai used, one Applejack had yet to hear. It almost felt odd hearing his voice being used for anything other than word games. Dust, however, fell into the warrior’s words easily, sitting himself on the green grass. His tail curled about as he did so.

“Oh, that’s a little better,” he admitted as he moved his hand from his forehead, leaning back on his palms.

He took deep breaths, pushing his chest out with each slow intake of air. He acted every bit of exhausted he looked. What Applejack wanted to do was tell Dust to take it easy, not to rush things and end up hurting himself. What she needed to do, however, was get out of this forest cavern as fast as possible.

“Dust?” She spoke his name as a question, earning his attention with a tip of his hat. “Do ya know where ya are?” It was the only question she could think to ask that wouldn’t outright confuse him. Regardless of intention, however, Dust looked every bit as confused as Jack did when he first arrived.

“I… I don’t.” His furry head twisted to and fro as he spoke, hoping to catch sight of some familiar shape or landmark. He found none. “This place… I’ve never been here before.”

“Do you know how you traveled here?” Jack asked the furry creature. Applejack briefly noted that the samurai was bent onto both of his knees, hands placed atop of his legs. It looked very… uncomfortable.

The green-furred creature did not speak for a moment. His tail stilled as he doubtlessly recalled a memory the pony and man were not aware of. His hat bowed, covering even more of his face. Applejack impatiently waited for an answer.

“It… I was… There was a battle, then…” His words began and fell, one after the other, each of his failed sentences being left behind as he started another. Applejack looked to his paws, seeing as they clenched into the grass behind him.

Judging from what she had heard the other creatures say before, Applejack could guess how Dust’s battle went.

“Ya didn’t win, did ya?” There was likely a more appropriate way of phrasing the question, but at least there were worse words she could have used. Besides, he would have to admit it sometime soon.

She was only too surprised when he spoke again.

“No, I… I did win.” Dust’s head nodded, remembering the finer details of an event Applejack and Jack knew nothing of. “We battled from the crest of a mountain, into its center, then… then into the magma.” Applejack’s eyes were wide at the statement. She might not have been the brightest pony amongst her friends, but she could venture a guess as to what happened to Dust from there. She fidgeted, uncomfortable at the thought of it.

“That was when the lifestream called me.”

“And you answered its call.” Applejack turned to see Jack wearing a solemn expression. His eyes were closed, head tilted up as if he were remembering an event from his own world. For all the farm pony could guess, he likely was. Dust chuckled at the words.

“Yeah, I did. I did what I was made to do.” Those words caught the farm pony.

“Wait, what you were made ta do?” She squinted her eyes at the fox-like warrior. “What’s that supposed ta mean? Yer not just talkin’ about destiny and fate, are ya?” Applejack wasn’t sure if she should have been relieved or unsettled by Dust’s smile. It wasn’t malicious, far from it, but the words he spoke with it made it seem… false.

“I was made by magic, crafted as a weapon to end a war.” The furred warrior brought one of his paws out from behind himself, releasing his hold on the ground. He held the appendage just beneath his hat, doubtlessly staring at it. “And I ended the war. My task was done. So when the lifestream called, I had to answer.”

“You are a brave warrior.” Again with that voice, Applejack was beginning to think he spoke a confused tone only to her. Jack was talking to Dust like he was right at home, despite them clearing being from different worlds, if not dimensions.

“Yeah, well, I got a brave soul. The other one… less so.” The farm pony didn’t lose her quizzical eye. It seemed Dust liked talking in riddles just as much as Jack did.

“Wait… what do ya mean yer other one?” Dust kept his smile at the question. Applejack was sure it was a sad one. Being friends with Pinkie Pie gave her the advantage of recognizing the differences between smiles. By the way Jack leaned forward, she figured he saw it, too.

“Like I said, I was made,” the vague response was given again. Thankfully, this Dust now had more to say. “I was made using two souls. A warrior of immeasurable talent, capable of slaying armies, and a boy of innocence, who never feared doing what was right.”

Applejack wasn’t sure if she was more offended by the thought of two foals dying or two ponies dying at all. She swallowed the pill the fox-like creature had said, albeit stubbornly. She was known amongst her friends for being about as easy to sway as a mountain, but she knew this wasn’t the time to be discussing morals.

“And you’re sayin’ that ya got both of their souls in ya?” Applejack felt her hoof rise to her forehead, scratching it as her mind worked. “That sounds mighty troublin’ for ya. Like trying ta raise a barn wall as yer takin’ it apart.” Dust simply wore the same docile smile as before.

“It is… not easy, at least it hasn’t been.” His paw fell down his chest, perhaps feeling his dual nature. Applejack hoped it was only a symbolic gesture. “After I met Ginger… the sister of one of my souls, I began to… remember so much. The night Jin died, the night night Cassius died, what their lives were like, and then, how I was made.”

Jack was silent at the furred creature’s words, his head bowing. It may have been out of respect, it may have been to safeguard his own thoughts. Whatever the reason, Applejack only knew she couldn’t count on him to say anything. She wished he would, because she was getting tired of asking all the questions. Worse, she didn’t know what were the right ones to ask.

“Ah’m… Ah’m sorry ta hear ‘bout that.” Applejack solemnly responded. “Fer what it’s worth, ya sound like a one heck of stubborn fellow fer bein’ able ta deal with that.” Dust’s lips parted lightly, perhaps holding back a word or phrase he wished to speak, but thought better of it.

“That’s… kind of you to say.” He didn’t sound sure of himself. If anything, Applejack would guess he sounded like Apple Bloom when answering a question in class about some high-browed mathematics.

“Well, now,” Applejack began again, scratching the back of her head. “I can’t say Ah know a lot ‘bout cha, but ya seem like a pretty trustworthy guy. Ya haven’t given me a reason ta think otherwise.”

“I apologize, I was not aware I was being tested.” The statement made the farmpony’s eyes widen momentarily.

“Oh no no!” She quickly spoke back. “Ah don’t mean Ah thought the worse of ya, it’s just… today hasn’t exactly been a regular trip through the orchard, if ya know what Ah mean.” Thankfully, he did.

“Your world is being thrown upside down.” He clarified. “So it’s hard to look at anything for face value.” It was a little too convoluted for the mare’s taste, but she at least understood his meaning.

“Ya, Ah guess that’s one way ta put it.” She took in a deep breath, letting it all out with a heave through her nostrils. “Is there anything y’all be wantin’ ta ask me? Can’t imagine yer right as rain at the moment.”

“Actually, I-I’m a little confused as well.” Dust’s raised paw turned until his open palm faced the pair. “I… I have no idea where I am, what’s happening, or even… who you two are. Who are you?” Applejack felt her face heat. Leave it to her curiosity to forgo proper manners. If Granny Smith were here, she would have had her mane in a bundle with a good scolding.

“Beg yer pardon, didn’t mean ta make ya answer twenty questions while yer still in the dark.” The farm pony adjusted her hat before giving the fox-like creature her brightest grin. “Mah name’s Applejack, apple bucker extraordinaire.”

“I am Jack,” the samurai beside her responded simply. He bowed lowly, his balance easily maintained in his kneeling state. “It is an honor to meet you.”

“Well, uh, that’s… great?” Dust uneasily spoke, his smile as telling as his words. Applejack was honestly a little grateful she was not the only one put off by the robed man’s over-politeness. His head turned from Jack, looking instead upwards again. Even with his hat angled, it was difficult for Applejack to see the furred creature’s eyes. “So… where am I?”

“Well, ta tell ya the truth, we ain’t got that much better of an idea.” She didn’t need to see his hat turn towards her to know he was confused. “Jack and I were basically thrown here by that no-good-varmint Discord.” Applejack didn’t even attempt to suppress the scowl that crossed her muzzle.

“Discord?” Dust repeated the name. Jack was the one to clarify the unspoken question.

“He is a beast that is threatening this world. I do not know where he hails from, but he has proven his desires for darkness by attacking our comrades and us. As of now, we are searching for a way out so that we may find our allies again. Only then will we have a chance of slaying this beast of many forms.” Dust listened to Jack’s words in silence, drinking in every detail that he could.

“Sounds like big deal, but why’s he… attacking you?” Applejack responded this time.

“Cause he wants ta.” The farm pony spat the words. “Like his name implies, the show-horse can’t stand anything that’s been the same for longer than half a minute. He’s tryin’ ta change everything that he can, from gravity ta the way a tree grows. That’s not even ta mention how he tries ta trick ya. The fool’s chaos through and through.”

“So then… why am I here?” Dust’s paw fell rose to his chest as he posed the question. Applejack opened her muzzle to speak, but the furry creature was not done. “I am the Sen-Mithrarin, the being of two souls that ended an evil campaign. Why am I here now?”

“You were called once more.” Jack answered, his head risen from its once-bowed posture, though still kneeling on the ground. “You are not the first to be brought into this world. I too was summoned when I believed I had finished walking my path. But I am here now, and I will not abandon a people being threatened by a force of darkness.”

“Yeah, uh, Jack’s basically tellin’ the truth.” Applejack began to speak, hoping to simplify the samurai’s cryptic words. She at least knew what he was talking about now. “Me and the gals have beaten Discord before, turned him into nothin’ but carved stone, twice, but now, he’s playin’ a dangerous game with us. Ah couldn’t tell ya how exactly, but I know that he’s draggin’ folks from different worlds ta help him.”

“Wait, slow down.” Dust kindly but firmly instructed. “Are you saying, I was brought back to life to… fight for him?”

“No, no, no, nothin’ like that!” Applejack couldn’t dismiss the thought fast enough. “Its just that after Discord showed us his new magic trick, we figured the only way ta beat him was to fight magic with magic.”

“Then… you brought me back to help you.” The farm pony bit her lip at the comment.

“Well, Ah honestly hope yer gonna help us out here, but Ah swear we didn’t do a thing ta actually bring ya here.” Dust’s hat tilted sideways with his head.

“She speaks honestly.” Jack agreed. “Us finding you was by fate alone. We conjured no magic and conversed with no demons before entering here. You simply… appeared.”

A moment of silence passed between the trio, the soft breezes through the underground glade keeping the silence away. It was not a tense air, but Applejack would be caught eating a pear before she called it relaxing. Dust seemed heavy in though, his hat falling again to hide all of his features, not even his muzzle left for the mare to see.

After another moment of whispering winds passed them by, the furred creature began to move. He pushed off the ground with the hand behind him, letting his weight roll up to his legs. It took hardly a second before he was standing above the pony and man. That was when he spoke.

“It’s just like before then.” It was both a simple and cryptic response to give. Applejack had no qualms of calling it out.

“Come again?” She asked, offering Dust one of her squinted eyes. “Yer sayin’ this has happened to ya before?” The standing figure shook his head lightly.

“Not… exactly like this. A big difference is I know who I am. Last time, I didn’t know anything except how to swing a sword. It made the first few days an adventure.” Applejack nodded her head, but kept the confused gaze in her eyes. Sometimes the only thing a pony could do was smile and nod.

“But yer… right in the head now?” Dust nodded at her, not insulted by the bluntness of her tone and insinuation.

“I remember who I am, I remember what I did, but most importantly, I remember why I did it.” His paw rose upwards, clenching it in mid-air. Applejack could see a bad memory floating in front of him. “I can’t simply do nothing while people are being threatened. It’s not right.”

Jack did not speak. Instead, he nodded up at the creature, a faint smile pulling at his lips. It took him only a second to rise from his knelt position, leaning back before pushing off the ground. And just like that Applejack was once again the shortest pony in the group. It was a weird sensation having to look up at her companions.

“Then are ya gonna help us?” Applejack didn’t leave anything to chance.

“Of course,” He spoke to her with a smile, eyes still hidden by his low-rimmed hat. “I will not stand for a people to be prosecuted. So yes, I will help, as I was made to do.” Applejack let her cheeks pull her smile wider.

“Well alrighty then,” the farmpony let out with a near cheer. “It’s gonna be great ta have ya.” The mare extended her hoof outwards.

“Likewise, I’m sure.” Dust gripped the blunt appendage with his paw, shaking her leg up and down. He noted how difficult it was. Either he was weaker or the pony was stronger than she appeared to be. “But… we should be going now. I get the feeling we’re pressed for time.”

The question caught the pair off guard.

“Ah, ya, about that…” Applejack’s hoof returned to the ground as she looked about the chamber they were in. As far as the mare could see, there wasn’t a single passageway in it. “We only managed ta open this room cause there was no other way to go.”

“So… what? We’re trapped?” It wasn’t a word anyone liked to hear, but denying what was in front of them was a bad idea.

“It seems that way, don’t it?” Applejack annoyedly blew a blond strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes. She regretted having Rarity straighten it earlier, for more than one reason now. “But I reckin there’s something we’re missin’. It ain’t like Discord ta just say he won and pop away. Wicked fella loves his games.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Dust acquainted. “But I think I already see a way out of here.”

Both Jack and Applejack gave him a look of controlled surprise. He didn’t wait for the question to be asked.

“Here,” Dust replied simply, his paw pointing towards the podium his prior form had floated over. It was not glowing as it was before, but still had the golden chalice and stone stairwell; those hadn’t changed. “I’ve seen a lot of secret passageways. I know one when I see one.”

“Well I hate ta call ya a liar, but Ah don’t really see anythin’ fancy or special ‘bout it.” Applejack had no reason to sweeten the words. “Ah mean, it looks nice, Ah’ll grant ya that, but what about makes ya think there’s a door er cave around it?”

“It’s not around it,” Dust replied, a knowing smile over the little that could be seen of his face. “It’s below it.”

Before the either of the two could respond, the fox grabbed the chalice atop the podium, pressing his full weight onto it. At first, it seemed pointless, but that quickly changed.

Slowly, gradually, the golden object began to seep into the stone, falling into a space the trio couldn’t discern. Dust’s form slumped lower and lower the deeper the object went until finally, he was laying chest down on the podium.

Then the entire stone began to shake.

Applejack felt her hooves quiver as the ground rumbled, forcing the mare to bend her knees for support. Jack did much the same, extending his arms outwards as he approached the ground. Dust, thankfully or not, was lying down on the moving rock.

The farm pony watched with captivation as the stairwell split, the stones leading to Dust slowly pulling apart. The grinding noise grated the Applejack’s sensitive ears, forcing them to fall flat to her head, but she did not shy away from the sight. She watched as little by little, a door began to open, one that she didn’t even recognize was there.

Then finally, with a loud boom, the rumbling stopped with the stairs. Instead of slow incline up towards the green fox, there was now a dark decline into a new hall. Applejack let out a low whisper as she straightened herself out.

“Well, I gotta say that threw me for loop.” She left off an uneasy chuckle as she stared into what amounted to be a dark abyss. “Never woulda thought this kinda stairwell was here.”

“You’d be surprised the lengths some people will go to hide what they want to keep.” Dust couldn’t keep the grin off his lips, much less the pride in his voice. Applejack and Jack looked up to see the green-coated creature brushing off his robe. It had a fine layer of rock dust over it. “But if it’s the only way we can go, we should probably take it.”

“Hey, you’ll hear no complaints from me,” Applejack brushed aside. “Ah want outta here like a rockodile wants a sun-cooked rock.” Silence followed her words, from both Jack and Dust. The mare paid them no mind.

Instead, she trotted forwards, getting a better look into the stairwell, at least as far as better could be considered.

It was dark, far darker than any of the halls they had ventured into thus far, but not unsightly. She could make out the planks of stairs, leading down into the abyss, curiously coated with layers of grass no different than the floor they were already standing on. Small flickers of light bloomed and died, like small fireflies in the air.

It was chilling, but, honestly, Applejack didn’t feel afraid. If anything, she felt daring.

“Well, there ain’t no time like the present.” Without another word, she began to trot down the staircase, full well knowing her companions would be quick to join her. The sound of footfalls behind was all the mare needed to know she was right.

There were moving again, and hopefully, towards the way out of this basin.  

“Thank God they’re finally moving again.” Handsome Jack groaned at the TV, slumping into his chair as let out the exasperated statement. “Je-sus, I thought they were going to talk all damn day. Agh, it feels like months since I’ve seen a good fight.”

“Their conversation has only progressed for fifteen to twenty minutes at most father, it is unlikely that they would continue their exchange for an additional,” The robotic voice of Angel was cut of by Jack spinning in his chair, pointing his finger threateningly at his wired up daughter.

“Hey, Angel, I know you enjoy seeing numbers as much as I enjoy seeing dead bandits, but you gotta understand or at least relearn what it means to exaggerate. I don’t have the time to sit down and talk with you about all the ways to interpret something, so you’re gonna have build a code or figure it for yourself.” The sound of humming electronics kept the room the room from silence before Angel responded to her father.

“Of course father,” The robotic maiden agreed without question. “I will begin to construct verbal and tonal queues for conversation analysis. Is there anything else that you would like me to do at this time?” Jack’s mask got a wicked grin.

He leaned back into his chair, twisting towards the large and imposing television screens. The oddly compiled trio was still walking down the grassy staircase. Jack didn’t know what awaited them at the bottom of their trek, only that he was looking forward to how messy their end would likely be.

His hand grabbed the remote from the floor, pushed to it after his exacerbated performance from before. He thumbed the controls for a moment, waiting as the screen turned from green with patches of white to static. It quickly cleared again, showcasing a new image he found far more delightful to his well-developed palate.

“Angel,” he spoke his daughter’s name with the tone of command. “Get me some good music, cause I’m gonna be watching a bird rip a bat and pony in two.”

“Yes, father.”

Boss 2: Songbird

Batman never acted without a plan. He never acted out of instinct and never allowed himself reckless abandon in place of logic. Every action had a reaction, and as a man without super strength, speed, or stamina, he had to ensure the consequence was always in his favor.

He had tools for every scenario he could possibly imagine. A grappling hook to escape and reach large heights, batarangs to stun foes or cause distractions, a signal jammer for overwriting alarms, super coolant to slow accelerated opponents or scenarios, and a few dozen more objects were around his belt or in his suit.

So when the Dark Knight saw the liquid monster jump into the metal husk at the far end of the room, turn the lights on like a switch in a machine, and forcing it to rise from the ground, Batman knew that he needed a plan.

“Fluttershy,” Batman spoke in a low voice, filled with no less authority than any other time he was preparing to issue an order. He assumed the pegasus was at least bending her ears towards him. “We stand little chance against this thing inside here. If it were to swing wildly, we’d be nothing but ragdolls.” The spinning of their mechanical monster’s drill-arm was the only thing breaking the silence.

“When I say now, we are going to both run for the exit as quickly as we can. Outside, we have a chance. In here, we’re as good as dead.” He could feel the mare shiver at the word, terrified beyond her wits. It was fortunate, in a morbid sort of way, that Batman was used to these scenarios.

“On one….” He clenched his fists tightly, twisting his heels against the ground beneath the water. “Two…” He heard the pegasus’s feathers ruffle, either from shaking or preparation- both were good. “Three…” He heard whimpering from the mare now. Not unexpected, but still worrisome. He would console her later.

“Now!”

That was when Bubbles charged.

Batman wasted no time in grabbing an electrified batarang, holding it in the palm of his wrist, swiping his cape over Fluttershy next to him. The pegasus let out a gasp and froze, but did nothing more. A long crash resounded through the room, shaking the brick walls and forcing the water to ripple through vibration alone.  He glanced over the edge of his cape to see the results of the attack.

The first thing to meet his eyes was the surnamed Mr. Bubbles holding its drill outwards, arm at maximum extension. The next thing he noticed was the oversized mechanical bird holding the beast against the ground effortlessly. Batman immediately realized three things from that sight.

First, the bird was strong. Second, the bird was fast. Thirdly, he had very little to combat either of their problems.

“Mr. Bubbles!” Fluttershy found her voice with a terrified cry. It earned the immediate attention of the bird, now so obviously the Songbird. Its yellow sockets shone towards them, leaving only the red aura of the monstrous pinned diving suit to reflect against it. Batman was quick to throw an arm around the shaking pegasus.

A moment later, a high shriek devoured the air.

It was enough to force Batman to cover his ears. Fluttershy did much the same beneath him, her ears folding against her head as her shoulders hunched.

“The beast has a cry that renders a knight to his knees.” Ganondorf made the observation with a coy grin. The vision came to him from another circle of purple mist, swirling upon a podium fashioned from gleaming crystals. The light that came from it made his already red hair look downright bloody.

“And it appears that even their Goron of metal is no match for it.” His golden eyes focused on the pinned behemoth, insignificant next to the monolith that held it down. A dark chuckle rose from his lips.

His eyes turned away from his apparition, looking at the work he had done thus far in the room of crystals and rock. The sword of magic and alchemy he had made stood in the ground, hilt above tip. It glowed with an ethereal light, a haunting glow that would make an adult shiver and a child whimper. It was like staring at the Triforce for the Demon Thief.

“Still, it will be a pleasing sight to watch a man of good be trumped by the unstoppable.” Even though he was gowned in black, Ganondorf could not help but see green drawn across the Batman.

It didn’t take a genius to know what the bird’s cry meant. It was the same sound, the same shrill shriek, any predator gave before it jumped at its prey.

It was a war cry, and Batman was not prepared for battle. Not with this Songbird, at least.

With trained agility and dexterity, Batman threw his arm around the Pegasus, lifting the shivering creature from the water and holding her against his chest. In the same motion, he arched his arm outwards, pushing away the curtain of his cape and letting his electric batarang fly.

There wasn’t much on the metal beast to aim for -- at least not for any lasting damage -- but there was more than one open crevice that could easily stun it. Batman aimed for just that. Specifically, he sought out a node seated just between the Songbird’s helmet and shoulder guard. It was just above the arm that wasn’t holding down their drill-wielding ally.

When it hit home, the result was instantaneous.

Another high scream split the air apart, this one far less menacing and far more pained. The creature lurched backwards, letting go of Mr. Bubbles to reach for the annoying object. It was a move Batman calculated it would make, and he was only too glad to see he was right.

The low, loud groan that came from the once-pinned suit was matched with the grinding noise of a spinning drill. Its red lights reflected heavily on the mechanical bird, pointing the large, rotating tool at the creature. The Songbird paid it no mind, still trying to free itself of the electrified batarang sending painful jolts through it’s armor.

A normal combatant or novice thief would have waited to watch what occurred next, curiosity overwhelming them. Batman was neither normal nor a novice in any respect. The moment he saw his decoy working, he turned towards the door. A terrified Fluttershy now clinging to his body.

He activated his sonar vision with a swipe of his cowl, again shifting the halls into a grid of lined blue. Unlike before, where he had walked with trepidation, now he stormed down the corridors.

They had to leave as soon as possible.

No sooner had he turned the corner from the room than a resounding crash echoed down the halls. It was a deafening boom, and one that made Fluttershy squeak in his grasp. He didn’t falter. however, and he didn’t stop. Not until they were safe could he even think of doing that.

The sounds of battle continued behind them as he turned another corner, the last before a door to the outside presented itself to him. The halls around them were shaking violently, light particles of dust falling from the heavy crashes. Batman raised his gloves to his lids more than once, wiping away the particles disturbing his vision.

The Dark Knight practically slid as he made the final turn, door to the outside finally reaching his vision. Another crash echoed from behind him, but this one had consequence. Large sections of the hall began to fall down, splashing the water and grinding against one another.

The tomb was caving in.

With a marathon-like sprint, Batman took off down the hall, holding the frightened Pegasus as close to himself as he could. A section of the ceiling fell in front of him, causing him to jump over it, only for a part of the wall to fall away. His free hand pushed it aside as he continued to barrel forwards.

With every crash and boom that echoed from behind, another piece of the concrete wall gave way, creating another loud crack. There was literally destruction all around him, so Batman couldn’t, and wouldn’t, stop. Not until he and Fluttershy were out.

The exit was only paces in front of him- only a few more strides. Tucking his head downwards and pulling his arm around the Pegasus, he sprinted with what little of his stamina he had left. He all but jumped out of the crumbling hall.

His body rolled across the sand, the first clear sign he had that he was out of the water-logged and now collapsing structure. He was quick to turn and stare at the building, his sonar-vision returning to normal once more. The torches that lined the high ceilings and walls of the greater cavern gave all the illumination he needed.

It gave the collapsing tomb a haunting glow.

Mutely, Batman watched as the tall structure began to cave in on itself. The high top crumbling away as the walls beneath it gave in. The thundering cracks and booms of shattering clay and concrete echoed around the chamber entire, each accompanied with a spray of dust from the ruins.

Batman wisely walked backwards as the destruction continued, unsure as to how far it would spread. He raised his cape upwards, Fluttershy still clinging to him. It guarded his breath from any dust the destruction caused, but more importantly, any light debris that would be shot outwards.

The likelihood of such destruction became more and more likely as the tomb continued to tumble, the grand cavern they were in shaking at the destruction as well. The torches flickered from their holds in the wall, a few dousing themselves.

But Batman kept his eyes focused on the falling structure.

He watched as each wall gave way, in turn allowing a larger and larger section of the ceiling to topple downward. They resounded like a thunderstorm, echoing across the cavern with a noise that would put armies to shame.

He couldn’t hear the sounds of battle, not over the structure’s collapse. He could not hear the spin of a drill nor the high shriek of the bird. He couldn’t even tell if the two combatants in there were still alive. And he would not know until rubble and dust had settled.

Thankfully, the rubble did slow to a stop, the absence of thunderous booms growing longer in length, their sounds dulled, their echoes quiet. It shrank from overwhelming to hardly noticeable. Batman lowered his cape, releasing a tense Fluttershy to the ground at his side, content that there was no longer any threat of debris. Only the dust remained in the air.

It clouded around the fallen tomb, leaving only a dark outline of its remains. The torches above shined a low light through the brown fog, one that made the sight no less ominous than the first time they had entered.

Dark shadows hung over the rubble, silhouetted by the torches around the cavern. Batman didn’t fear any sight of man, but he was cautious. Such a thing put him aside from reckless. However, while he was focused on the sights of the now fallen structure, he heard something else now too. Once it reached his magnified hearing, he was only too sure it began when the tomb started to fall, but the clattering rocks deafened it.

Fluttershy was beside him, crying.

Her cheeks were wet and eyes red, her hooves raised pitifully to cover herself. Her pink mane had since fallen further over her features, hiding nearly everything from sight.

Batman was not one for condolences or chatter, but he knew better than to let a wounded heart lay. Casting one more look towards the ruin, he turned and knelt towards the small pegasus. There was no question as to why she was crying.

“M-Mister B….” She whimpered out, lips puffing as her eyelids flickered. Her wings drooped with her head, lamely attempting to hide her sorrow-filled gaze. Her entire body shook with restrained sobs.

There was little he could say. There was rarely anything that could be said. Now was no different. It was highly unlikely the beast that had warmed the pony so quickly was still alive. If not the metallic bird, then the tons of stone dropping on it would have been enough. An unpleasant reality, but one that Batman never shied away from.

Instead of words then, he placed his gloved hand on the pony’s head.

Fluttershy let out a small gasp, nearly a whimper with how small her voice was. Her tear stained gaze looked up at him, through the white of his lens and the black of his cowl. Despite the fear the sight brought to so many men back in his home, the yellow mare saw only sincerity in the gaze.

For a bit longer than a moment, Batman held that gaze with Fluttershy, doing all that he could to show the mare that he cared. Words meant nothing where action could suffice.

“Is… I-Is he… he?” She didn’t finish her question through her broken speech and half spoken words. As he would in almost any other situation, Batman chose silence. Consequences came through action and inaction. Inaction was proper now. Fluttershy had no doubt as to what that meant.

Her sobs turned into low whines, her shoulders hunching to shield her broken heart. It was not rare for Batman to see such a sight, it was only rare for him to see the relationship from beginning to end.

The cavern was silent as Fluttershy mourned, and Batman was as still as the ruined stone. There was nothing to be said, nothing to be uttered, only the small motion of understanding that he had already done. For now, there was only time. And in the time of absence, one needed to listen for what to do next.

It was that focus on the silence that allowed Batman to hear a guttery groan.

No sooner did the faint echo of the sound reach his hearing then did the sound of rushing air follow. The two together only meant one thing.

Batman grabbed the mourning pegasus in a quick grasp, jumping to his side as the mare squeaked in surprise. He was flipping sideways, forcing his cape backwards to give him sight of the ruins. While they were still clear, covered in dark dust and shadows, there was something else far more important that he could see.

A large object flying towards them.

It landed with a deafening boom, cracking the ground where they were only milliseconds before. Batman gave the air a hard stare before looking at the fallen object. It took him only a fraction of the time to dodge for him to register what the thing was.

The drill on its arm was gone, the lights of its helm off, the metal of its suit splintered, and the rumble of its voice vacant.

The corpse of Mr. Bubbles was laid out in front of them.

“It’s not a bad way to get a reaction,” Azula mused as she watched an expression of horror wash over the small pegasus. It gave her a warm feeling through her. “It’s just… too easy, juvenile even.” Her golden eyes focused on the dark suited man holding the mare, his eyes covered behind a film of white, his lips in a tight line.

“He’s seen this before.” The Flame Princess mused as she rocked her fingers on the granite balcony. “Given his expertise thus far, it isn’t surprising. Still, it is also interesting to see someone who is… unaffected by death.”

The man turned away from the corpse, glaring with unseen eyes towards the ruins, towards the dust cloud that now billowed upwards. The pony by his side, however, couldn’t avert her terrified gaze from the metal corpse. The flow of tears from the mare only seemed to increase with every passing second.

Azula could only watch the pegasus mutely cry on the screen, only able to imagine the pained wails she was making. The fire princess’s golden gaze found the sight nothing less than warming. Entertaining. However, the Batman next to her was everything that she wasn’t.

He was still as stone, gaze unwavering and focus sure. It was a look Azula recognized almost immediately. It was the gaze of a warrior who had seen the abyss.

It was her own gaze.

“Though that may be the wrong word.” Her smile sharpened as her brows knit, a darkened mirth running through her mind. “He just knows how to channel what he feels.”

As soon as he recognized the corpse, there was only possibility of where it came from. And the possibility only had one conclusion. That conclusion meant there was about to be something coming from the rubble.

And with a small focus of his gaze across the shadow-strewn destruction, he saw it. Like an Angel of Death over a blood-soaked battlefield, it stood above the fallen stone, silhouetted by the brown dust and red flames.

Its wings were extended, but ripped and broken. Its arms were outstretched, but shaking with fatigue. Its lights were focused directly upon them, very likely the only undamaged component of the beast.

Like lights at the end of the tunnel, they bore through the dust and shadows, gleaming an ominous red that bathed the room. It was doubtlessly an image many a man would have seen in their nightmares, probably even more on their last hour. Such a sight would have made more common men shake in fear.

It’s a good thing he was no common man.

“Mr. Bubbles!” The shriek from the pegasus in his grasp nearly sucked his attention away, but he knew such a shout was inevitable. He could not avoid looking away from the creature that so clearly wished to harm them. “Mr. Bubbles! Get up! Ple-“ Batman grabbed her muzzle quickly yet lightly.

“Fluttershy,” he spoke in the same commanding voice as before. “I need you to listen to me carefully. The Songbird is preparing to attack us, the same way that it attacked Mr. B.” He could feel the mare shaking against him. She was not struggling to be free; rather, she was trying to huddle closer to him. Her instincts were good, desiring contact over isolation. But as cruel as it may be, the fact of the matter is that now was not the time.

“I want you stay close your friend.” Fluttershy froze in his grasp, as he knew she would. It was not a request someone would often make. “If you do that, you’ll be safer than with me.”

Batman couldn’t see it, but he felt it. The pegasus was staring up at him, either out of confusion or fear. He hoped for the former, but he knew it was the latter. She had too kind of a heart to not be afraid for someone else’s life, be it man, pony, or beast. He’s already seen that.

“I’ll be fine.” His tone was one of fact. There was no need for promise, not from him. He would never say something unless he meant it. But Fluttershy didn’t know that.

It was a risk, a very large and unneeded risk, but Fluttershy was not his partner and this was not his city. There were risks here he could take, and precautions he had to heed.

He knelt to one knee, letting the pegasus tentatively step onto the ground. He removed his hand from the mare’s muzzle, and a low whine followed. It was soft and quiet, much like the pegasus herself, but it had no less emotion than a child’s broken wail. Batman fixed his gaze on Fluttershy’s wet gaze, keeping his hearing focused elsewhere.

He moved his hand to her shoulder. “I promise I’ll be back. I will keep you safe.”

Whether it be by his voice, his words, or just being who he was, Batman saw the resolve click behind the wet gaze of the pegasus. Her head trembled as she nodded, sniffling as she did so. She was shameless about her emotions, a trait most kind souls shared.

A kind soul in a dark place. It was for reasons like this that he wore his cape and cowl. He needed no motivation to fight the beast, but seeing the canary coated mare gaze at him, believe in him, it did something, something most heroes wished they could experience every day or night.

It made Batman proud.

The pegasus hurried away from him, towards the fallen beast. She was the most audible thing in the room, a case that he was not only sure was rare, but one that would not last for much longer.

The Songbird had since hunched over, its lights dipping as its back rose. The wings at its sides were next to useless, torn the way they were. But it did give it a perceived sense of size, one making its already gigantic form larger. It was a tactic many of large stature knew, by either instinct or observation. Unfolded arms, extended wings, or a cape pulled outwards. They all had the same effect.

But even Batman had to admit. The screech the creature made was more than show.

It blared forth with a horrible cry, bouncing off the cavern walls and making the loose stone rumble. What dust and debris that did not fall from the structure’s collapse decided then to descend.

It was the same time Batman chose to strike

BEGIN

The moment Batman began to run forwards, his hand swept over his cowl, bringing up the schematics he had scanned some hours before in the plan room. They were old, decayed, and had hardly enough information on them to be called anything more than drawings.

But they did have details about this beast, this rampaging monster. And any details the Dark Knight knew were potential weapons. There was no one on his Earth or any other that could compete with him for using information as a tool.

By his second stride, he had already thrown two electrified batarangs forwards, aiming for opposite shoulders on the beast. With its form hunched forwards, they were clear targets. Just another clue that this Songbird fought more with brawn than brains. He was fine with that.

It was in the third bound forwards that he tapped the commands to gauntlets, electrifying the hard surface of the pads, the rubber beneath them keeping himself protected and cushioned.

By his fifth stride he was already at the base of the rubble, and his batarangs had since connected with their respective targets. Just like before, more pained cries erupted from the Songbird, sending downward, twisting in agony. The large claws at the ends of its hands reached for its shoulders, attempting to pry away the electrified metal.

However, just as the Dark Knight had anticipated, every flexion of one arm only dug the metal in deeper. Its cries became more annoyed than pained. It was fine for him, as long as the beast was distracted.

He jumped across the fallen stone, deftly moving from one broken chunk to the next. His footing was sure on each landing, each pounce as strong as the last. Electricity arched through his gloves, oversaturating the material with valence electrons.

With one last powerful leap, Batman launched himself straight for the screeching Songbird. The lights of its widened eyes followed him, bathing his dark form in an angry red glow. He raised his arm back, reaching forwards with the other. The massive bird attempted once more to reach for him, but was rewarded with only more stinging pain through its arms.

The Dark Knight grabbed hold of one of the creature’s disk-like eyes, watching as electricity from his gloves flowed off. They did little to affect, however, the leather mask around the monster’s beak-like face refusing his electricity. That didn’t matter to Batman.

The Songbird’s eyes were definitely good enough targets.

Without wasting a moment, Batman began to hammer at one of the creature’s eyes, watching as the glass around the lens started to crack under his onslaught. Blue sparks flew with every hit, flashing with every blow he dealt.

The bird wailed in protest as the onslaught continued. Batman had no mind to let up. The light began to flicker, the red flood lamp dimming with each crack that webbed outwards upon the glass.

Then finally, with one more great blow, the eye caved inwards.

The pain was enough to the Songbird.

It wrenched its arms upwards, splintering the metal that had dug into its shoulders. Its massive claws grabbed at the Batman, hoping to crush the much smaller man without hesitation. The Dark Knight, however, was faster.

No sooner did he shatter the lens of the Songbird then did Batman pull himself up and over the creature’s head. He scrambled down its back, rolling between the space in its wings and jumping off with practiced precision.

In mid-fall, he reached into his belt with his now discharged gloves, pulling forth his more than familiar batclaw. With only a single glance, he shot the grappling projection to the ceiling, rewarded quickly with a taut line.

He was pulled into the air an instant later, the cavernous ceiling rushing towards him. The shrieking of the Songbird nearly roared beneath him, shaking the torches that he was swiftly approaching. Only a few meters away, he performed a deft flip, letting the soles of his armored boots land on the sharp stalactites.

Batman looked down from his perched position, watching the Songbird crying in either pain or rage. Either were fine for the Dark Knight.

‘Its wings are too heavily damaged from before.’ His mind’s eye concluded as he watched the useless appendages flop around. ‘That takes away was likely supposed to be its aerial advantage. However, it still is far superior in strength and size. If I’m caught even once by those claws, it’ll be difficult to get back out.’

Batman’s attention turned briefly to the corpse that was the brief guardian of Fluttershy, said pegasus leaning against the metal husk. Though the lights of the Songbird swam over them many times, it never made move for them. Its gaze always returned to him, high up on the ceiling.

‘It either does not recognize them as a threat, or does not care for the dead. Either way, it is alright so long as Fluttershy stays close to the diving suit.’ The bird screeched up at him again, surely out of anger this time. As good as it was to know he had a platform of escape, he would solve little without action.

Striking the eyes was his best option for now. If the creature was blinded, it would make it far easier to deal with. For now, his tactic had removed half the monster’s vision, leaving his right side exposed. If he were to stay out of the monsters vision, it would be able to stop his attacks. However, none of that mattered once he made contact. You didn’t need to see something on you to swat it.

Batman released the grapple of his claw, letting his body begin to fall towards the cavern floor. The quickly began to whip past him, a sensation he was more than familiar with. He couldn’t hope to avoid the creature forever in the air. He had to make due on the ground, where shadows liked to lay.

His cape extended outwards only meters from the floor, ceasing his fall almost instantaneously. The red light was over him in a moment.

The Songbird let out another ear-splitting screech as it charged at him, the tons of stone of the fallen tomb nearly nothing to the behemoth. The creature wasted no time, so neither would he.

With practiced reach and a flick of his wrist, several smoke bombs exploded around him, filling a good portion of the ruins and air with light-impenetrable clouds. The Songbird paid it little mind, continuing to charge forwards.

Like dull booms of thunder, its feet shattered the stone as it moved into the smoke. Its claws struck out blindly, hoping to graze the now-invisible foe. The smoke billowed and moved with its heavy swings, but never did anything solid meet the creature’s grasp.

Batman was no longer there.

The creature let out a high growl, head twisting forwards and back, left and right, as it searched for the man in black. It saw nothing. Nothing but shadows and shades of red, all over concrete rubble and decay.

It turned back again, stomping into the ruins as it searched. The Songbird’s eyes looked almost sporadically through the rubble, from empty gaps of space to larger sections of fallen walls. It swung at a high pillar, claw connecting with the solid concrete.

The stone fell away with a cascade of booming collisions, sending debris and clouds of dust into the air. The bird screeched again in protest, but to any who could listen, it was more clearly a cry of annoyance than pain.

It had lost its target- lost sight of the sight-taker.

Yet Batman had not lost sight of Songbird.

He hunched low within the rubble, watching the bird with a silence that only came from years of training and decades of practice. His breathing was hardly a whisper, his footfalls making less noise than that. His gaze was a sword, sharp and focused. His mind was his tool, measuring every angle the Songbird looked at.

It would gaze at one area for longer than a moment, for an amount of time that would appear to be an opening, but then it would whirl again, spinning as if on a top until it was focused on something else. Batman was familiar with the tactic, though recognized its amateur performance.

A partial opening, a façade. Most would strike in that moment, leave whatever cover they had hidden in, but the time would not be enough. The creature would whirl, it would see the prey, and it would strike. If Batman had his timing off, he would be as dead as the rubble around him.

His gaze followed the creature, but saw only air moving through its tubing. Steam, judging by its apparent high pressure. A power source, maybe, but unlikely for its head, more likely for its now useless wings, perhaps to increase its once-capable flight.

No, this creature was not like Bane. It was more akin to Killer Croc, a feral animal with little more than instincts as a guide. Batman only wished he knew what those instincts were. Without data or time to observe, he could only guess. He hated guessing.

He twisted himself over more rubble, maneuvering his hunched form to a small section of rock, kneeling behind it. He saw the red light sweep over where he once was; stopping when it was focused on the boulder he took for cover. For a breath longer than a moment, it hovered there, judging it. Then it twisted away. Batman moved again.

He had taken his second step toward his next cover, a fallen, slanted pillar about twenty feet ahead. The red light immediately washed over him.

He stilled, not out of fear, but instinct. His cape was black, lain upon rocks covered in dust. Even with the flood light focused on him, he appeared little more than a shadow. It was a guise that had worked on many a foe, and this beast of instinct would be little different, so long as he stayed still.

As expected, there were no loud cries of battle nor hisses of rage. Only the same cyclic breathing that came from the massive bird, searching for its prey. Its light over the Batman did not move, but neither did it grow in intensity. It was not approaching, but neither was it moving away.

Batman kept his breath still, his every muscle like stone. Even the most minute of twitches would set off the Songbird. It was something he was certain of. Fortunately, it was the same situation with a frightened thug. A misplaced whisper would cause them to empty their weapons at whatever they saw.

As he had hoped, the red of the light slowly flowed off of him, searching for him in a vacant corner. He moved quickly and immediately, not risking exposure. His every footstep was placed on solid ground, not even the pebbles in the ruins shifting beneath his boots.

Batman stilled again only when he was against the slanted pillar. He reached into his belt, grabbing at some unused plastic explosives.

It was a highly volatile substance, one of the few tools in his arsenal that was potentially lethal. Thankfully, he was confident few others were better-trained in its handling.

His fingers pulled at the material, stretching it against his palm. Blocks made high force but low area explosives. Spread out, it covered more ground. Perfect for a distraction, just right for possibly dislodging one of the Songbird’s claws. He would need to have a block of it as well.

The best chance he had was to distract the Songbird, have it focus on something to reduce its sporadic searching. He needed it to hold still. Then Batman could plant the distraction charge before the heavy one. Should he be caught, he needed an escape that did not endanger his own ability to fight.

With the tips of his fingers, plastic remaining carefully tucked in his palm, he slipped and threw one of his regular batarangs, hearing as it whistled through the air. The Songbird clearly heard it as well, screeching as its red eye searched for the sound. When the thin metal clattered upon the stone, the next reaction was an instantaneous as it was expected.

The beast let out another primal screech, pounding across the rubble towards the object. Batman watched as silently as the shadows he imitated as the creature pounced with a surprising gait. Were his eyes closed, the Dark Knight would have sworn the tomb was collapsing again.

Rubble and dust blew from where the Songbird landed, much akin to a bomb going off. Batman moved quickly, jumping and leaping over the fallen rubble without a sound. It took only a few leaps until he was beside the Songbird, so close to a creature that could overpower him in a moment’s notice. It was for that reason that he couldn’t hesitate a second longer.

He quickly jabbed the block of material into the creature’s lower leg, wedging it between two thick chords. The action caused both of the consequences Batman was counting on.

The block stuck, wedged tightly against the joint of the Songbird. Also, the Songbird felt the attack, swinging while he turned.

Batman rolled low as the back of the massive bird’s claw flew over his head, pulling the air like a current. As soon as his feet came back to the rubble, he jumped high, reaching up for an object he only predicted would appear. His prediction was right.

The gauntlets of the Dark Knight latched onto the large beak of the Songbird once more. This time, however, there were batarangs to keep the creature’s claws away. Batman counted on them.

With another great tug, he pulled himself up and over the dead eye of the Songbird, extending out his opposite hand. The bird screeched in protest of the Batman’s presence, pulling its head up as if to throw the man off. Just another action the Dark Knight predicted.

With the extra momentum of the swing, he was able to raise his free hand, the one he had lain with thin plastic. As his body swung up and over, he deftly slammed the hand down on the bird’s opposite eye, further blinding the monolith’s already-limited vision. Batman was forgotten as its blindness took precedence.

Its claws grabbed at its helm, scratching at the floodlights that were its eyes. Every scrape and scratch along the thick glass was accompanied by an annoyed wail, its broken wings whipping through the air as it twisted and turned. It took only a well-timed jump from the Dark Knight to escape the flailing creature, landing with a roll away from the rubble. He turned back towards the Songbird, raising the detonator as he did so.

It was hard to say if the explosion would kill the creature, but it would certainly blind it. More than likely, the glass flying into the center of the creature’s cranium would easily result in enough mental trauma to render the fight over.

He thumbed the switch ready to end this.

“Don’t…”

Batman felt a cold fury rush through him.

His cowl whipped, looking towards the voice to see just what he expected. Fluttershy was staring up at him, tear-filled eyes beneath her matted pink mane. Her lips were pouted upwards, holding back unvoiced sobs, wings outwards at her side.

“Don’t hurt him… please.”

“You do realize it has only tried to kill us since it woke up. More than likely, it’s the same creature that controlled the water before.” Batman turned his gaze back at the struggling behemoth. It wouldn’t be long until it had torn the plastic from its eye. It would only be a short check until it rid the block from beneath its leg then.

“But he’s in pain!” Batman was sure the retort was meant to be a shout, but with the meek pegasus’s nature, it was more of a high whine. He had seen school children sound more threatening.

“Having a tomb of concrete fall on you can do that.” The comment, however, only made the pegasus shake her head, sending her hair into a wild twist.

“No!” She spoke again forcefully. “He… This whole time… he’s been crying for her.” That got Batman’s attention.

Making one last note of the still struggling bird, now slamming through pillars of concrete like wads of paper, he looked at Fluttershy, his gaze far from the once understanding one he offered her earlier.

“Who do you mean by, ‘her’?”

“I… I-I don’t know.” The timid response came. But it was followed swiftly by the pegasus’s more reaffirming words. “But I understand him! He’s… He’s been crying for her the whole time. He wasn’t looking for, um… you or me. He was… oh my, um, looking for someone else.”

“How can you understand it?” Batman was quick to ask. Time was of the essence. “My decryption software has been able to understand nothing but angry screeches.”

That was when Fluttershy surprised the Dark Knight for a third time.

“Let me talk to him.” Her tone held no room for discussion.

“No.” The Dark Knight was adamant. Fluttershy, however, was equally determined.

“You have to!” She pleaded. “He’s not bad, he’s… he’s just lost and confused! That’s how we were!”

“He killed your friend and is likely trying to kill whomever he’s looking for.” Batman turned his cowl back towards the bird, sure that the creature was only moments away from peeling the plastic from his gaze. He was right. There were few moments left to spare.

The Songbird was already staring him down, enough of the rubber explosive removed to give it an idea of what it was seeing. Batman was only fortunate it was still attempting to remove the rest of his tool. When it was done, however, he would have to act.

“Th-That doesn’t matter!” Fluttershy still argued against him. “He doesn’t know any better. We can’t hurt him for that, it’s not right.”

“I am not going to risk your safety for the sake of talking to it.” Batman voice was as cold as the ground beneath them. “We’ll debate later.”

He raised the detonator again, flipping over the safety lever and exposing the red trigger beneath. His thumb hovered over it, waiting for the right moment to press it. The creature’s claw needed to be over his eye; it was the only way to have the thin explosive blow the glass inward.

“Please… don’t…” This time, Batman ignored the pegasus’s words.

The Songbird reached for its eye once more, grabbing the entire lid with its massive appendage. For a moment, it appeared that it was going to shed the flood lamp, removing the glass and all that was between the open air and what lay beneath. That would have meant removing the plastic as well.

Fortunately, in order for the Songbird to do so, it had to put the flat of its claw against the glass. While only torches lighted the room, the red of the eye completely blacked out, Batman knew now it was his chance.

“Don’t!”

Batman pressed the detonator.

END

A dull boom echoed across the room.

“Whoa-ho-ho-ho-ho-HO!”

Handsome Jack raised his free hand to his mouth as he stared at the screen, grinning like a madman and pointing like a child. His hand wrenched away to reveal an open-lipped and wide-jawed grin. His feet stomped on the ground in sheer excitement.

“Is something wrong father?” The mechanical voice of Angel droned behind the masked man. Jack didn’t respond for a full moment, still trying to get the air into his lungs.

It returned with a giant breath, only to be let out moments later in a string of laughter.

He bent forwards gripping his sides as he fought to keep his gaze on the television. It was too much for him, his sides nearly doubled in pain but gaze glued to one of the best things he seen on TV yet.

“Oh my GOD.” He finally let out, whipping his hand over his forehead. “I knew the dude was supposed to be a dark knight and whatever but jeez! Can you think of a more brutal way to kill someone then having glass shoot into their brain? Didn’t think so!”

Jack flopped back into his chair, letting the euphoria of the sight continue to flow over him. He stared at the screen, wide eyes watching as the broken Songbird stood atop the rubble, unmoving and unlit.

Then, as if a breath of wind flew threw, the creature fell over.

Handsome Jack did as well, laughing all the while.

“I must say, that is more… vicious than I imagined him capable of,” Azula noted with her chin pinched lightly. “No weapons of lethal capabilities, a vast majority of the tools designed for distractions alone, and nay but his wit being superior.”

The princess of flames watched with eyes of gold as Batman folded his cape about his form, hiding all but eyes to be seen. Mystery was another characteristic the knight enjoyed to adorn himself with, or so Azula’s detailed eyes could see. She found it nothing but pleasing to her pallet.

“If only he was easy to convince of obvious matters,” the princess noted with a soft sigh. “He would be a man I could call equal to some of the strongest of benders, a true symbol of strength.”

Her sharp grin honed itself as she spoke her next words.

“I’ll have to settle for killing that symbol instead.”

Batman was not pleased with himself.

He did what was necessary, he always did, he always had to. He had stopped madmen, repressed armored thugs, and thwarted some of the cruelest of plans lain out by humanity. Whatever he did, he always did what was necessary, no matter how he felt in the end. He only had one rule, and so long as that rule was followed, he cared little for all else.

He may not have killed a human, but he did kill, even if it was a beast. But he did so at the protest of the pegasus he was protecting. No, he didn’t feel proud of himself.

Fluttershy crying did not help.

“W-Why…”

Her tearful words did not help either.

In the end, there was little he could say. Batman’s cowl drifted from the pegasus to the fallen beast. It was already half-buried among the rubble, its wings laid out and claws fallen to its sides. It could not easily be seen, but Batman, for once, had no intention of investigating it.

There was little he could learn by doing so, and even less he wanted the pegasus to see. At the moment, his goal was not to arm himself, but to shield Fluttershy. To do so, they had to leave.

He approached the sobbing pegasus carefully, already fully aware how threatening he was to the timid mare. He was by no means a threat, in fact the opposite, but Fluttershy could see him as little else but a monster, after seeing what he had done. What he was capable of.

“Are you ready?” His voice was not as cold as before, but it would be a far cry to be called warm.

Fluttershy sniffled up at him, lowering herself to the ground as he towered over him. It was fear, one of the easiest emotions for him to trace. He had seen it many times in many different people. He didn’t mind seeing it in the eyes or bodies of those he protected. But neither did he like it.

The pegasus didn’t speak. Instead, she slowly raised herself upwards, standing at about as much attention as a sleep deprived child. Her mane dragged across the ground with her head lowered, wings not bothering to hug her sides. She only offered a stray wet eye to the Dark Knight, only enough to know where he was.

Batman was wrong before. She didn’t fear him, not fully. She feared a lot of things, as her timid nature easily revealed. She likely feared him even before they had ventured into the tomb.

Batman turned away from Fluttershy, walking a wide arc around the rubble as he searched the walls for an escape. The further they were from the remains of the Songbird, the better. The pegasus followed him without hesitation.

No, Fluttershy wasn’t afraid of Batman. She disliked him.

For some reason, that seemed even worse.

Fortune, Folly, and Consequences

“It’s gettin’ darker than the farm basement in the middle of the night,” Applejack muttered as she continued her trek through the narrow hallway. The stairs were far behind them now, leaving only a long path with a floor concealed in shadows. The mare trucked on despite the low visibility, used to more than one night of applebucking.

A small hum of agreement came from behind her, passing through the samurai’s shut lips. He followed behind, relying more on his ears than his eyes. The furred creature behind him answered with words, however.

“This far under ground, we’ll have more luck with glowing plants than sunlight.” Dust found himself slightly grinning.

“Glowing plants, huh?” Applejack echoed. “Sounds mighty handy ta have on hoof. Make a lot of late nights easier ta manage, though.” The pony had to admit, they would have also made the currently dark hall much easier to manage.

Thankfully they were not blind;  it wasn’t nearly so dark. She was sure there would was ground beneath her hooves and she could see the moss covered walls around them, but Applejack would have wished to see more than just the faint outline.

“Is it… normal for hallways to be this long here?” Dust ventured, knowing full well how odd it sounded. Then again, there were more than a few odd things going on already. Applejack shook her head at the comment, a gesture missed in the darkness.

“Nah, there ain’t no point in buildin’ something like this unless ya got the rooms ta add to them.” The farm pony thought of the multitude of castles she had been in since Twilight’s arrival in Ponyville. From the oldest castle to the newest one, they never had hallways like this. “If we were goin’ up, Ah might say yer on ta somethin’, but there ain’t a hole like this in any of our architecture. Not Unicorn, Pegasi, or Earth Pony.”

“Uni, Pega, and what now?” Dust found his paw scratching the side of his head, forcing his large hat upwards. “I thought you said this place was home to ponies?”

“We’re all ponies,” Applejack answered easily, never losing pace of her trot down the dark hall. She brushed off a low hanging vine that grabbed onto her shoulder. “Just cause we look different enough ta be called something else don’t mean we aren’t all the same.” She heard a chuckling from behind her. It was deep enough to know that it wasn’t Dust who enjoyed her words.

The silence stretched on for a small length of time following the exchange, broken only by the soft clapping of geta, paws, and hooves across the floor. The dark hallway didn’t become any lighter, but neither did it dim any further.

“Long paths are often the sign of great importance.” Jack finally spoke, much to the surprise of the mare in front. “Temples to spirits or rooms of treasure often were set at the end of halls such as these.”

“Wait, you mean you have paths like this where you’re from?” Dust questioned the samurai. It was too dark still to see if the white-robed man made a motion as he answered.

“Similar, but not the same.” He said simply. Applejack rolled her eyes, more than used to his under-detailed responses. “They were often through forests or within a shogun’s home. Not beneath the ground and not made of stone.”

“It ain’t exactly the same, but Ah reckin there is somethin’ to be seen at the end.” Applejack spoke in agreement with Jack. “Cause Ah seriously doubt we’re gonna just walk on outta here.”

“Maybe not, but I wouldn’t mind that.” Dust joked, chuckling lightly at his own joke. Applejack felt a small grin pull at her muzzle, but he spoke no more, neither did Samurai Jack.

Again the silence came, the same as it was before. That was, until, Applejack finally saw something. It was faint, but with the the best of her vision, through the outline of the vines and moss covering the walls, the mare knew she saw something at the far end of the hall, peaking just out of the vegetation.

“Ah think Ah see light just up ahead.” She found her pace increasing as she spoke, already itching to get to some place brighter than the hallway.

“Yeah, I see it too,” Dust agreed. Jack said nothing, but raised his pace to match the speed of the two on either side of him.

The farm pony found herself lightly beating a few more hanging vines and strands of moss out of the way, each one exposing more and more of the glow. It only took a few strides further until the light became much clearer. It was an outline, as most things in the shadows were, but the outline was only too easy to see.

“It’s a door.” Jack spoke from the middle of the group, noting what the light shined around. “Perhaps it is the exit.”

“I sure hope so,” Applejack quickly answered, not slowing her ever-increasing pace. “But Ah’ll believe when Ah see it.”

At the front of the group, Applejack was the first to reach the door, setting her hoof on the barrier. She immediately recognized it to be made of wood, kept up by two hinges and weighing something impressive. She estimated it weighed the same as her barn door back at the farm. She leaned into the sturdy material, pushing with her hind legs and offering a forceful shove.

It didn’t budge.

Giving a short scowl, the mare put both of her hooves on the wood, pushing forward with no small amount of her strength. The door creaked in protest, but it still refused to move.

“Doggone it.” The mare muttered, annoyed. “Wouldn’t ya know it? Locked like a filly’s presents for her birthday.”

“Wait, maybe it’s just stuck.” Dust lightly offered, moving around the samurai in front of him. “Here, let me have a look.” Without waiting for a reply, the furred creature began to rub his paws down the side of the door, blocking the light that slipped through the cracks. The sound of light scratching and scraping echoed down the halls.

Dust played with the wood, rubbing across it, knocking on it, even putting his large ears against it a few times. By the time he was done, he knew only one thing more since he began.

“Well… I don’t think it’s stuck.” He spoke simply, letting the sentence hang in the dark hall before he continued. “I think it’s more likely its actually locked.”

“Locked.” Applejack repeated frustratedly. “Then how do we open the darn thing? Gotta find a key for it?”

“Probably, or something close to one.” Dust stood up as he spoke. “Which means… we gotta go back and look for it.” When the mare groaned, Dust was only too ready to sigh besides her.

“Ya gotta be kiddin’ me.” She complained, frowning. “Ah don’t mind a bit of hard work, but Ah hate wastin’ trips.” Even though there was only the faintest of light from the door to see, the earth pony could make out the large hat of Dust swinging up and down in agreement.

“Yeah, but that looks like we’re going to have to-”

BANG!

The pair jumped in place as the loud sound echoed down the hall. Applejack felt shivers beneath her coat, barely any breath in her lungs. Dust found his arms raised in defence, too used to ambushes happening with about as much warning. Instead of an attack, however, the pair found something far more appealing.

The door was open.

It wasn’t wide, hardly any more than before, but it was clear to all three occupants of the dark hall just how much larger the crack between the door and the wall had become. Swung inwards only by a hair, it still allowed far more light to seep into the mossy dark hallway.

“Done.” Samurai Jack spoke from behind the pair, his tone confident. Applejack couldn’t have hidden her surprise if she wanted to.

“Wait, Jack?” Applejack spoke the samurai’s name as a question. She followed with a proper one. “You opened it? How’d ya do that?”

“There was a lever.” Jack pointed backward.

Both the mare and swordsman beside her stared at the man, looking at his arm pointing towards the moss covered wall. Indeed, true to his words, there was a small lever placed against the wall. Applejack felt her face heat. Dust pulled his hat over his features, further hiding himself.

“Well… ya were right at least.” Applejack offered to her furred companion. “The door was locked.” Dust chuckled lightly besides her, keeping the brim of his hat pulled over. The mare kicked the dirty ground with her hoof idly. She felt much the same as the fox besides her. The samurai ended the display of embarrassment once more, now by a cough rather than a performance.

“Shall we enter?” He posed with his hand, waiting for the two to proceed. Applejack nodded, turning to face the door again. She put her hoof against the wood, pushing once more. This time, it swung with ease, as if it were freshly oiled and perfectly balanced.

The room they entered next couldn’t have been further from what they expected.

It was not another dark room, covered by growth or filled with a garden. It was not a large hall much like the first room they had entered. It was hard to call what they had stumbled into a room at all. To the mare, it felt more like void. To the samurai, it reminded him of nothing. For Dust, it felt like hatred incarnate.

All around them was darkness. No walls to be felt, no ceiling to see, only a floor to walk on, and so little of it at all. A void did surround them, an endless nothingness that was swallowed by the dark, like a starless night sky.

However, they could thankfully see. A lone trail of light descended upon them, lighting the floor with a brilliance Applejack thought only Celestia was capable of making. It showed them how truly endless the darkness was, but also the floor on which they stood.

Floor was a very generous term. They stood upon stained glass.

BEGIN

“What… is this…” Samurai Jack spoke the question slowly, thinking of the impossibilities that surrounded him. He gripped his blade with his opposite hand, preparing himself for what he thought would be an inevitable fight.

“Ah… Ah dunno.” It was one of the most honest things Applejack ever said. She trotted to the edge of the platform, stopping to stare into the darkness below. Even with the generous light illuminating them and the glass, she could not see a bottom to the pit and abyss around them.

She backed away from the edge, uncomfortable with the prospect of falling headfirst into nothing. She had enough of a fear of just being too high off the ground. This was beyond that to a degree she couldn’t fathom.

“Whoa… hey, hey!” The sudden urgency from Dust drew the pair’s attention. When they turned to face it, it took a moment to realize what was wrong.

The door they had entered was gone. Left instead was only a pillar of stone.

“You have got to be kidding me!” The aggravation in the fox’s tone was clear, though the mare and samurai could little blame him. They walked over to him, stepping carefully across the glass. Though no one said it, they both knew that whatever was beneath the stained material was as endless as the pit around them.

Dust was pawing and searching over the pillar, perhaps trying to find a lever as Jack had before, or maybe just hoping to find anything at all.

“Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on,” Applejack began. “But Ah’m startin’ ta lose track of what’s what. Goin’ from a forest under the ground ta glass in… wherever we are.” A slow sigh left the mare’s lips, her eyes shut. She felt like screaming, but she was sure that there would be plenty of that to come.

“Perhaps your monster is playing more of his tricks.” Jack posed the question, staring now at the same pillar Dust was searching. His eyes saw nothing that he could take note of.

It was plain, almost incredibly so. No age marred the material and no etchings were carved into it in an artful way. It was a pillar of stone standing tall atop a platform of glass. It made as much sense as the abyss they were hanging in.

Dust, however, wouldn’t give up so easily.

The fox, lithe as he appeared to be, crouched down to the glass before jumping upwards. Applejack found her eyes widen a bit at the height he attained, easily jumping well over twice his height. She knew foxes in the woods to be spry critters, but it was something else to see one larger than she was. Jack, however, was unimpressed, watching with a stern face as Dust reached the top of the column.

The green-furred creature was atop of the pillar in no time at all, standing at the impressive height without a trace of fear or hesitation. Without wings, Applejack didn’t know how he could do it. He stared down at them, looking over the pair and floor for a moment. Then, he spoke.

“Hey,” he called to needlessly get their attention. “There’s… theres a pattern on the floor.” The statement itself wasn’t too surprising. Applejack figured with the different colors there was something to be seen. She just didn’t know what it would be from her angle.

“Well… What’s it look like?” Applejack called back. Dust was silent for a moment, shaking his head as he had in the dark hall before.

“I… I don’t know how to describe it.” He began hesitantly, raising a hand to the forehead hidden beneath the large brim of his hat. “I… I think it’s a picture of someone, holding a… dull sword, I guess.”

“Hmm…” Jack hummed thoughtfully as he looked down at his feet, unable to see the pattern that was now so clear to Dust. “And there is nothing else?”

“Well, yes and no.” Dust responded cryptically, but he soon clarified his meaning. “There are many other designs around him, but they all seem so… unneeded. Like jewelry on a sword.” Jack nodded at the words. Applejack, however, found her eyes squinting at the metaphor. She dismissed it as unimportant. “But there is something else.”

“What, a way out?” Applejack asked, not getting her hopes up. Her suspicions were confirmed when Dust shook his head.

“No, it’s actually… words.” He was kneeling on top of the pillar now, his paw running across the top of it.

And indeed, though it was beyond the sight of either Applejack or Samurai Jack, words were inscribed atop of the stone column. Small perfectly etched words aligned to one another. There were no gold trimmings or glowing symbols, but the words themselves were doubtlessly important enough. Clearing his throat, Dust began to read.

“The memories of ourselves are our lives. The memories of others prove our lives. Without memories of your own, there is no life. Without others to remember you, your life is a lie.” Dust’s paw slowly followed the words, reading them with a careful tongue.

The farm pony felt her stomach tightening at the poem, if it could be called that. It sounded mighty dark to her, like a riddle Discord would give before turning the tables on them. She didn’t like it for a moment.

“Wise words,” Jack spoke from beside her. The mare caught him nodding in agreement. She couldn’t fathom why.

“There’s more.” Dust spoke down to them. “And I think it’s important.” Without waiting for a queue, he continued on.

“To give one’s life is simple. Your life is remembered. To give one’s memories is torture. You are forgotten forever. Can you remember all that you have lost? Can you remember how to leave?” Dust stood up from the pillar as he finished, his confused features showing.

“Remember the way out?” Applejack repeated. “Didn’t this thing just take that from us? Pretty sure Ah haven’t forgotten that.”

“No,” Jack spoke next to her. He continued before the farm pony could argue. “It is a riddle, one that my father often told me. A training rite.” The samurai raised his hand to his chin, thinking on the words from past and present. Dust was far less patient.

“If you’ve heard it before, don’t you know the answer then?” Jack shook his head before answering the fox.

“You never leave two times the same way. Those were my father’s words.” Jack took a deep breath of air, closing his eyes in thought. “You leave a home through a door, a village through a gate, a mountain by foot, and a battle through steel. For every place you may be, there is a different way to leave.” He nodded at his words, sure that he was speaking the old tale properly.

“Gotta admit that sounds as wise as my grandma’s words, but Ah ain’t never been in a place like this.” Applejack motioned towards the abyss around her. “So Ah’m not sure if mah memories are gonna be gettin’ us out.”

“Same here.” Dust spoke from his spot high on the column. He had sat down on the edge of the stone, letting his feet hang down. “Like I said before, I usually just follow the glowing plants. I’ve never been in… this before.”

“That is the riddle.” Jack spoke to the pair. “You must always find your own way out, even when no one will show you. It is taught to all warriors at a young age, a reminder that no battles are the same as training, just as no mountains you may climb are the same as hills you may walk.”

Silence fell over the three, as empty as the darkness that encompassed the glass platform they stood on. Jack covered his mouth with his hand, shutting his eyes in a deep trail of thought. He lowered himself to a crouched position, stopping only when his knees were against the glass of the platform. He stilled himself in thought.

Dust folded his hands and placed them beneath his chin, letting his elbows rest against his knees. It was impossible to see with his large hat, but he doubtlessly had his eyes closed as well. It was always easier to think when there were fewer things to distract you.

Applejack was the only one in the trio who walked in thought. She paced the stained material beneath her hooves as her mind thought of a million different ways to solve the riddle. She twisted her head to and fro, jostling the Stetson upon her mane.

Riddles were usually Twilight’s department. They weren’t Applejack’s strong suit, she was sure of that. But if the going was tough, she couldn’t just wait for something to happen. She had to be like her friends and get up and start doing someth…

“Wait…” Applejack spoke aloud, her mind forming an idea she was vexed by. “We’re surrounded by darkness, right?” The fox and samurai exchanged a quick glance before nodding at the mare. Applejack continued. “And we got here by goin’ down a lot of stairs and a long hall, kinda like a really big basement ‘er cellar.” The pony slowed her trot over the glass.

“Whenever ya go down too far, you leave by going one way.” A smile pulled at the mare’s lips. She looked right to Jack when she spoke again.

“We gotta go up.”

Intentional or otherwise, Applejack spoke the magic words.

A slow shimmer began to form at the edge of the platform, sparkling above the void with a light separate from the one that illuminated them. It rang like small bells, easily grabbing their attention. The sparkles was followed by another just above the last, and another, then another.

Quickly, a trail of dazzling light, ringing through the dark void, formed beyond the glass platform. Each light was as brilliant as a shooting star, now hovering within the vast dark emptiness.

Dust leaned forward atop the column, watching the path grow out and beyond his path of vision, vanishing into the darkness beyond. Jack and Applejack did much the same, though with a much smaller range of vision than the green fox. When the ringing was beyond their hearing, and the stairs beyond their sights, only then did one of them speak.

“Well, guess we found the way out, huh?” Applejack chuckled at her words, unsure if she really trusted herself with walking on light. By the silence that came from her two companions, she suspected they thought the same.

That was until Samurai Jack started to stride forwards, walking to the edge of the platform and towards the stairway of light. Before Dust or Applejack could voice much else, the white-robed man extended one of his feet beyond the platform, preparing to let it set on the unfamiliar, yet warm light.

His foot rested easily on the light, holding him with only a slight ring to show his presence. He turned back towards the pair, looking at them both and offering a nod before turning back and ascending the path.

Dust jumped down from the pillar, landing easily on his feet and walking the short distance to Applejack. Both had their vision fixated on the man now leaving their sight, walking so easily and calmly above an endless void of darkness.

“Doesn’t lack in bravery, does he?” Dust questioned, eyebrows raised. Applejack shook her head in agreement.

“Can’t reckon if it’s proper courage ‘er just hard foolishness.” The mare sighed as she began to trot forwards, albeit with far more trepidation than the samurai showed. When she was just at the platforms edge, she extended her hoof out carefully, leaning back for fear it would simply pass through.

As she placed her weight down, she found the first step as sure as the glass she trusted her weight to. Leaning forwards a bit more, she placed more and more of her weight upon the light until finally she was standing on it. She risked a look down, regretting it immediately.

Unlike stairs in any home or castle, there was nothing beneath her to stop a long fall. Just an endless abyss with an up as clear as down. She swallowed hard on a ball in throat, unsuccessfully dismissing her discomfort.

“Do you want me to go first?” Dust asked from behind her, thankfully with a calm tone. Applejack wasn’t sure she could handle much more right now.

“No, nah.” The farm pony shook her head in dismissal with her words. “J-Just give me a sec. Ah just gotta get used to it.” She flexed her legs as she spoke, trying to push some of her confident words into action.

She had already lost sight of Samurai Jack up ahead, vanishing into the void the light path trailed into. It was every bit as nerve-racking as she thought it would be. Still, going up and out was better than sitting and waiting.

Applejack took another slow step forwards, just as deliberate and careful as her first. The path held her just as well as before, and she strode forwards with as much haste as a tortoise. Step by step, hoof by hoof, she ventured forward. All she had to do was remind herself to keep her eyes up. With her gaze up high, it didn’t matter what was below.

Dust was just behind her, following the mare with no question for her to speed up. Heights were nothing he was afraid of, able to jump and leap impressive bounds himself. But even he disliked the idea of simply falling forever. If avoiding that meant walking at half the speed he was used to, it was a trade he was willing to make.

The pair, walking at a third of the speed of the now distant samurai, slowly ascended the path of light into the void of darkness.

STOP

“What do you mean they’re gone?” The worried voice of Sweetie Belle questioned. No small amount of terror shook her words. “You said they were just walking. What happened?” Chrona held the young filly tighter to his chest, fearing for the lives he did not know as well as Sweetie Belle did for her friends.

“I mean what I said,” Amon’s deep voice spoke. “They have simply disappeared. To where I cannot imagine, though if it offers you comfort, I doubt it was by any heinous manner.”

“So like what? They digistructed themselves at a waypoint?” Maya posed the question. When she saw the white mask turn to her, she knew instantly it was out of either confusion or annoyance. “Did they basically teleport or not?”

“I cannot say, for I do not know.” Amon’s answer told everything. “I see only their souls, not the rooms around them.”

A tense moment of silence passed through the group, leaving them staring at one another with hard and challenging gazes. Sweetie Belle whimpered as she tucked closer in to herself, hating the idea of any of her friends being in trouble. Chrona recognized the action immediately.

“H-Hey, it’s alright,” the pink-haired boy offered as best as he could to the filly. “They’re okay. I’m sure.” Sweetie sniffled at the words, looking up at the boy with wet eyes.

“You promise?” It was a promise no one could make, but it was one that nearly everyone easily accepted, especially those with a kind heart.

“Yes, y-yeah.” Chrona smiled uncomfortably as he nodded, pulling his arms closer. “They are all strong. The princess escaped with the boy, the pegasus and the Batman got out. They are all strong, so they’ll be okay. The strong are always okay.”

“Speaking of which,” Maya began. “Where are they now? Are they just walking around out there?” The siren’s hand waved out the large window, down at the impossibly large landscape. It was dotted with terrain that never belonged together and temples assembled in the most impossible of ways. It made it easy to point out parts, like a well defined map.

“Yes,” Amon answered easily. “Princess Luna and the white-haired boy are there.” His finger pointed towards the foot of a mountain. Though the landscape was clear, it was impossible for almost any set of normal eyes to see shapes aside from the largest of structures.

“Fluttershy and the Batman are over there.” Amon’s hand trailed across the landscape, past the large lake and small forest, stopping at a small canyon sitting between a desert and snowy mountain. “Both of them are making their way towards the new tower.”

“Yeah, that thing.” Maya didn’t need him to explain what tower it was. It was, after all, the only tower aside from the one they were standing in. Her golden eyes fixated on it, the large column towering over the already massive landscape. Its dial was notched, pointing just past the moon at the top of the circle.

It was only after Amon had spoken of the pegasus’s escape that the dial moved, notching itself a quarter of a complete circle to the right. But it was frozen again now, holding still as if it had never moved before. It was unsettling to the Siren, watching something she couldn’t predict. Oddly enough, she felt Amon had a similar feeling.

“It is a wonder what it is counting to.” Amon spoke the question as a statement. “One can only guess what will be shown when it reaches its pinnacle.”

“Nothing good,” Maya answered back. “Wouldn’t take a detective to know that.” The masked man chuckled at her statement, either amused or impressed by her sincerity.

“Doubtlessly, you are correct.” The two shared a look at one another, Maya offering a cheeky grin through her electric blue hair, golden eyes shimmering with a controlled power. Amon’s mask betrayed none of his features, as a mask was meant to do. However, the Siren could see him doing little else but smirking beneath the white face.

“Are the rest of the girls okay?” Sweetie Belle asked Amon in a worried tone, breaking the moment the Siren and he shared. “What about Apple Bloom, or Shining, or anyone else?” Amon’s mask turned back towards the window, staring out to the faux horizon before answering.

“I see no others aside from the two groups your friends belong to.” He spoke with as much emotion as he had any time before. That is to say, basically none. “Though the group of four your younger friend belongs to are conversing far more than the stallion and the wizard. I cannot hear their words, but I can tell they are speaking to great length. There may be an obstacle for them of great size or magnitude.”

“For the last time you scrawny, half-sized, fish-bone of a Viking, we are going left and that’s final!” Gaige stared down the boy in front of her with a growl, furrowing her brow with her arms straight and tense by her side. Though light was limited in the cave, her ferocity was as clear as a lantern. Hiccup, however, didn’t back down.

“And I’m trying to convince you that right is the right way to go. Next to having the direction in the name, I can tell its much cooler that way, temperature wise, and I’ve had enough near death experiences to know you don’t run into a fire.” Hiccup Haddock the Third extended his arms to his sides, exasperated by the debate he was having. The girl may have been his size and had a few years on him, but she knew about as much with exploring as he did with fighting. Almost nothing.

“Didn’t you study thermodynamics of planetary crust in school?!” Gaige shot back with pure exasperation. “It gets cooler the further down you go. We want to go where its warm, you know, where the sun is!” Her metallic hand swung upwards toward the cave ceiling, motioning towards the glowing ball they knew was somewhere in the sky.

“It also gets a lot warmer near dragon nests or Hel Pits!” Hiccup effortlessly argued, his arms pointing the much warmer of the two tunnels. “You think Toothless is a big dragon? The one that killed me was, like, I don’t know, big enough to use Toothless as a toothpick! Do you have any idea how big a dragon has to be to generate heat to travel down a tunnel this long?”

“You moron, that assumes there is another dragon at all!”

“The ponies here seemed pretty darn sure Toothless was a dragon without my say so. Besides, you’re assuming the heat difference is great enough for us to be able to feel it!”

“You’re an idiot!” Gaige scrunched her face frustratedly.

“Oh, wow, good point, guess that means I’m wrong then, huh?”

Apple Bloom watched the pair yell at one another, back and forth. What had worried her some time ago was now starting to tire her, punctuated by a large yawn coming from her small face. The dragon beneath her copied the motion, opening his large maw and showcasing his teeth-retracted gums.

The Night Fury licked his scaly lips as he smacked jaw together, eyes drooping with his head. Apple Bloom wasn’t far behind, already lying on her belly atop the dragon’s massive head. The filly, dwarfed in size, felt like a mouse compared to the great black beast.

It was some time ago they had come across the fork in the cave, so to speak, long past finding the posture of the strange girl. The cavern had remained as unchanged as it had before, the same red rock with the same long path, unchanging and unwinding. The fork had only shown up seemingly out of nowhere, materializing where the quartet had once thought the path continued on unobstructed.

The debate had begun as to what had made the pathways at all, Hiccup accusing it of being some new form of dragon fire or God’s magic and Gaige arguing it was obviously some form of digistruct barrier they passed through. Apple Bloom simply thought it was kind of cool.

It was around then Gaige used her metal arm to measure some stuff the filly couldn’t see. Apple Bloom didn’t understand it, but with friends like Twilight and the princesses coming to her town so often, she was used to being either left out of the loop or just generally in over her head.

When the redhead told them they should head down one path because it was warmer than the other, Hiccup raised a finger, quick to disagree. Queue a few minutes of light banter and scolding, wait through some general insults, then they were right where they were now, the two humans yelling at one another like a couple.

Like a couple… Apple Bloom found herself giggling at the idea, imaging the two sitting next to one another and talking about how nice the weather was, or something romantic like that. The small muffled laughter gave way to a grin.

The dragon beneath her twisted, his long reptilian ears twisting at the sound above him. Apple Bloom noticed almost immediately.

“Sorry,” she apologized to Toothless, hanging over the bridge of his scales to look the dragon in the eyes. “Ah just thought of somethin’ silly.” Toothless lolled his tongue out as his large green eyes stared at the filly.  The filly giggled again as she rested her head on the black beast.

“Yer just like Winona back on the farm. Except, ya know, yer ‘bout as large as mah whole family put together, and Ah got a big family, too.” Toothless let out a few excited pants like a dog. It made the her giggle even more.

“Yup, yer just like her alright.” The filly confirmed with a nod of her head. “Alls Ah need ta do is start throwin a ball with ya and it’d be like Ah was right outside the barn.” Those words were all that was necessary for the filly’s grin to fall away.

She slumped herself against the dragon as her eyes surveyed the large hall for the umpteenth time. Toothless noticed almost immediately, letting out a deep but curious gurgle from his throat.

“It’s nothing,” Apple Bloom spoke to the dragon, sure that he was curious if she was alright. It was what Winona did when she was feeling blue. “Just wonderin’ if we’re ever gonna find our way outta here.” She let out a small sigh. Turning herself over, she twisted her hooves until her back was lying atop the large black dragon. She stared up at the ceiling, stretching her rear legs across Toothless’s scaly hide.

Her hoof absently kicked something resting on the dragon’s back.

The filly lifted her head at the sound of the small clanging, watching as the monkey they had found from before had fallen away from its resting place between Toothless’s spines. The filly let out a small sigh as she twisted over again, walking over the great dragon’s back like the floor of her room to pick up her toys.

She slid down the scaly hide, plopping on the ground with a dull thud, the monkey right beside her. The bickering teens continued on just behind her as if nothing had happened, reduced now to insults more than logic. It sounded like the clubhouse when Sweetie and Scootaloo were at odds with what to do.

Her hooves reached around and grasped the small monkey, looking it over again. Gaige had already analyzed it now too long ago, failing to twist the metallic screw on the back no matter how hard she tried. Hiccup didn’t even bother to give it an attempt.

Apple Bloom grasped the metal prong between her forehooves, securing the monkey between her hind legs as she sat on the rocky surface. She pouted her lips, sure as dirt that nothing was going to happen.

That was wide her lips widened in surprise when the metal prong twisted with the greatest of ease.

“Huh…” the filly let out, still from the sudden movement she didn’t expect she could make. “Maybe Gaige was just playin’ ‘round. Wouldn’t be the first time somepony fibbed ta keep me from tryin’ somethin’,” Apple Bloom spoke to herself as she started to wind up the mechanical monkey.

She had seen a lot of toys similar to it at Sweetie Belle’s home, a lot of mechanical gears and gadgets that all fit together to do some small action. There were little chariots that would fly for a small period of time, little doll houses that would imitate pouring tea, and even small unicorn that would have its horn glow. Sweetie didn’t like to play with that one.

Apple Bloom, however, loved playing with them. She enjoyed trying to find out how twisting a few gears could make a propeller spin or wheels go round. They were always so tiny when she held them, it was hard keeping them in the center of her hoof. They were always different, though. Different size gears, different numbers of components, different parts, different frames, they were all so different that she couldn’t stop liking them. But she saw something else about them. They were all similar, but only in one slightly obvious regard.

No matter what the toys did, it was never random. It made her curious for what the little monkey would do when she wound it up. As her hooves left the wind-up gear, she knew she’d have her answer.

Almost immediately, the monkey started to bang its cymbals.

The noise immediately stopped the bickering Hiccup and Gaige, both of their gazes falling to the foal and the small monkey. It small paws swung back and forth, creating a small clang with each hit of its golden cymbals. For no short amount of time, it did little more than that.

Then it started to spin. Like it was on a dial, it started to twist in an endless circle. Apple Bloom backed away from the device, now far more wary than curious of its workings. That didn’t stop it from continuing to spin.

“What the heck?” Gaige asked in more of a whisper than anything else, twisting her head in curiosity. “That thing wouldn’t budge when I tried to spin it.” Her tone was disbelieving.

“It didn’t?” Apple Bloom turned her cautious look back into a curious one as she looked at the red-haired girl. “It didn’t take me much force at all. Easy as corin’ an apple.”

The implications of what that meant was left aside as the monkey came to a swift, sudden stop. It was so sudden, so swift, that it took a full moment for the quartet to realize that it really wasn’t moving anymore. No sound, no twist, nothing at all.

Nothing but its cymbals pointing down the right hand hall.

“Huh…” Hiccup let the noise leave his throat much like a sigh. He wanted to sound smug, though with the girl he was dealing with he thought better of it. “Does… Does that mean we should go right or…” He turned his gaze towards Gaige, waiting for the girl to shoot another argument his way. He found himself blinking when she did little more than shrug.

“I…. Yeah, I guess. Damn,” she cursed as she scratched the back of her head with her metallic hand. “I guess it was magnetically locked or something. Makes sense that it should act like a ‘key’. I’ve only seen something like this a dozen times before.”

“Wait, where have you seen this before?” Apple Bloom asked. Gaige was able to answer easily.

“Video games, movies, mostly comics and fanfiction though.” She shrugged her shoulders in dismissal. “Doesn’t really matter now though. Guess we’re heading down into the cold dark cavern. Heck, maybe we’ll score some sweet loot in the least.”

“Not what I’m looking for, but fine, yeah, that works.” Hiccup nodded his head as he turned around. “Are you ready to go now too bud?” He gave Toothless a confident grin as he spoke.

The dragon ran his tongue up the boy in response. Gaige couldn’t have stopped the laughter that bursted out even if she had tried. Then again, after how much trouble he had just been for her, she didn’t even bother holding back. Apple Bloom responded much the same, giggling with her snout in her hooves.

“Augh, Toothless…” Hiccup groaned as he tried fruitlessly to push the black dragon away. “C’mon, you know how bad this smells.” Those words only spurred the dragon on.

“Hmm… that’s two now.” Discord mused as he took a sip of his glass. The sparkling water remained perfectly untouched. “Two roaming free, two searching for the end, and probably two more still putzing around in nowhere.” He twisted in lips in thought. They circled his head three-hundred and sixty degrees before stopping on his jawline again.

“Nah, that’s too dull… too eeeeven for any real entertainment.” He threw his half-glass and water away. They dissolved into the air. “We’re gonna have to fix that, and there’s only one real way to change the numbers.”

With small crack, he dislodged his paw, holding in his claw as if it were a bouquet of flowers. Discord adjusted the digits in his severed paw, watching as they flexed.

“Enie Haily Mini Mail…” He began to sing, flicked the digits as he went. “Catch a pony by the tail. If she hollers let her wail. Then we’ll know she really failed!”

His claw gripped his middle digit. Discord’s normally mischievous grin sharpened like a sword.

“Oh goody! That’s gonna be a fun pair to watch!” Discord dropped his paw, letting it fall through the air and out of sight. His claw absently scratched at the open end of his forelimb, drawing out a new paw to replace his old one. “Darn thing was starting to cramp up anyhow, but enough of that.”

The mad draconequus turned his attention to the monitor showcasing the quartet of heroes already awake, but unmoving all the same, a band of misfits that had taken more time to enjoy the scenery than to explore the land. Doing nothing but watching wasn’t a favorite past time of the mad god, not while nothing changed.

“I guess we’ll have to give them a little… incentive.” He chuckled to himself, enjoying every idea that flittered and paced through his mind.

Each step that Jack took on the path of light was as sure as his last, never faltering no matter how deep into the darkness he ventured.

So many trails in his life have been in the dark, whether they be in his mind, his heart, or body of another. It was nothing he feared now. It was nothing he ever truly feared. The darkness could be cruel, taunting the foolish and whisking them away. But he was not a foolish man, only curious.

After walking for what seemed to be minutes up the endless staircase, he could only wonder what was at the top. Would it be the way out? Would there be another riddle? Would they find and end to the abyss? Would he find his own way home? So many questions, too many questions. But he never could stop thinking about them.

“That’s a good look you have.”

Jack drew his blade in a flash.

He twisted on the golden steps with ease, undaunted by prospect of falling. He pointed the sacred blade at the sound of the voice, hearing clearly where it came from, despite the nothingness all around. Still though, he kept his opposite hand on the sheath of his sword, should he have need to create a guard. Though he expected to see a figure where the voice was, it was still odd to see what he saw.

It was a figure indeed, sitting on a platform little different than his own, but it was one he did not see any moment prior in his walk. Much like the staircase he was on, the figure simply appeared with the platform he sat on. Another small square of light, strong enough for the man to stand on, but apart from the path Jack currently ventured. The man himself, however, simply smiled down at Jack, unperturbed by the blade being pointed at him or the abyss he was sitting above.

“It seems I’m making a habit of finding odd people in odd places. I wonder if it’s a vice.” He giggled at his own words, twisting his leg as he spoke. His hands leaned down on the light, his body leaning back and away from the abyss. A long coat of orange was donned over his shoulders, long enough for it to create a small barrier between him and the platform of light. That was where the simplicity of the man ended.

He had a face marred by gray scars.

He had a bird sitting on his head, a raven with eyes of red.

He had a hand colored gray, a color that blended into his shirt.

He had a grin so cold it belonged to the abyss Jack found him in.

“Do tell me, what are you looking for? Maybe we’re looking for the same thing.”

Jack was already wary of the man.

Above and Below

Applejack panted as she continued to walk up the seemingly-endless staircase. Yet, it was hard to say she was tired, let alone fatigued. She had trotted far further before, and bucked enough trees to make a marathon seem like a stroll, but those were always on the comfortable feeling of the hard earth beneath her hooves.

Right now, she was walking above an endless abyss that she could swear was beckoning to her.

Each step she made she did with a slam of her hoof, mechanically thrusting each of her hooves down on the next step. It was the only way she had of knowing the next step she took was going to take her upward, and hopefully not downward into nothing.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” The curious tone of Dust came from behind her. There was a seedling of worry in his voice, but hardly out of great concern. She was, after all, still walking and talking.

“Ah’m just dandy,” Applejack muttered more than spoke. “Walkin’ inta the darkness up a flight of stairs that never ends, yup, Ah’m right as an April’s shower.”

“Uh huh.” The fox-like creature spoke from behind her, “You know, for what it’s worth, I’m sure this leads somewhere. I mean, it wouldn’t make any sense for us-you, you to get a set of stairs to appear, only for them to go nowhere.” Applejack chuckled at his words, keeping her eyes on the path of light.

“Yeah, I reckon’ ya got a point there, but Ah’ve just seen too many things go top-side when Discord sticks his mangy muzzle inta things.” The loathing accompanying her words was thicker the darkness surrounding around them.

“Is he truly as… evil as you say? I mean, is he all bad?” Dust was tentative with his question, second guessing his words as he articulated them. His paws even hovered in the air, trying to feel fruitlessly for the right way to verbalize his thought.

Applejack had to stop before she turned towards the fox-creature, not confident enough with her footing to trot up the stairs while she talked. Her glare was more menacing than the endless abyss.

“Ah’ll let that slide ‘cause yer new to these parts, just as new as Jack is, but let me tell you this for darn certain...” The pony tilted her hat back before she went on.

“Discord is nothin’ but a trickster with too much power for any one pony ta have. If he wanted, he could help every pony clear cross the world with just a few snaps of his claw. ‘Stead though, he tries to make us plays games that twist everything we know. He’ll make my apple trees grow oranges, he’ll turn the land into the sky, twist houses till they’re sitting on their roofs, but worst of all, he’ll twist your mind till you’re nothing but your opposite- your absolute worst.” The following silence did little to ease the tension those words had created.

“Your… opposite?” Dust echoed hesitantly, unsure of how to take that. Applejack appeared to be anything but pleased with explaining it. Her lips snarled as she prepared to speak, doubtlessly at the memory, not at the fox creature. Twilight taught her curiosity wasn’t something to blame a pony for. Action was.

“The first time mah friends and Ah had ta stop Discord, he twisted us until we were the complete opposite of who we were. Now Ah’m an honest mare, a trait Ah’m proud of. Couldn’t tell a lie and can hardly keep a secret, always livin’ the honest way of life.. Discord, he made me lie about every little detail in my life, didn’t matter how small; turned me crooked. He took everything that I was and made it just… wrong.”

Applejack’s hoof settled back down onto the path of light. She wasn’t sure when she raised it, only realizing it was prodding Dust’s robes as she spoke. The fox said nothing as the mare went silent, for no short amount of time.

“I apologize.” His first words were rich in sincerity. “I didn’t mean to have you bring back something so awful. I just… I didn’t want to make the same mistake I did before.” That earned a bit of the mare’s curiosity.

“What mistake was that?” Her eyes widened as an unlikely, but still plausible, idea popped into her mind. “Don’t tell me ya’ve been through this before?” Dust, bless his twin souls, only chuckled lightly as he shook his head.

“No, I’ve never jumped between worlds before.” His paw rested on his chest, settling the light fabric of his robes. “But I have been a stranger before, lost without any knowledge. At the time, I took what others said to be facts, listening and hearing them with few questions aside from asking to know more.”

He extended his paw outwards, staring at it lightly. Applejack raised a brow at the action, wondering what it was he was starting at. Or, more than likely, what he was remembering he had. She couldn’t honestly guess.

“There was a general in my land, a leader of an army.” His words sounded as if he were telling as story, lacking malice or joy. “I was told he was an evil creature, wanting only of death and having none to be close to. So many said he would sooner slay his closest comrade than let himself even lose a battle. But… it wasn’t true, not entirely.”

“Ah don’t know if Ah want to know what’s halfway between that and being a good pony.” Applejack’s words held the same honesty she advertised earlier. Dust continued regardless.

“When I finally met him, he was not so evil as to be seen as a tyrant. He did seek death, and he did kill, but he did not enjoy it. Rather, it was his honor, the honor so many said he lacked, that made him perform his duty. And… he saw me not as an enemy, but as a friend.” Applejack’s brows rose in unison now.

“Gotta be an odd kinda thing to see someone challenging ya as a good friend, at least in those circumstances.” Dust nodded lightly.

“Actually, it was because in another life, my first life, I was his friend. I was one of his best soldiers, a friend that sparred and played with him. When I was reborn, that changed.” Applejack’s brows rose even higher, but she let him continue. “I… I was able to realize what we did was wrong, and I acted to change it. He never stopped calling my name as we fought, determined to bring me back.” Dust clenched his fist as he finished. “It didn’t work.”

The silence was upon them again. Applejack beat it off quickly.

“Well, ‘least now Ah can see why ya wanted ta know more about Discord. Don’t wanna be makin’ the same mistake twice. That just be foolish.” Dust let out a breath of air from his nose at the comment.

“Yeah, foolish.” His hat turned up the stairs once more. “We should probably get going. We don’t want Jack to get too far ahead of us.”

“Right on there, but Ah’m sure he’ll wait up. He’s a nice kinda guy.” Applejack started trotting up the stairs once again, a bit more assurance in each step she planted. Dust followed just behind, letting a melancholy smile hang on his lips.

Though the silence upon them was dense, the memories of their conversation only seconds prior made it a comfortable silence. That, and the sound of their feet and hooves lightly tapping on the light floor was at least something.

Neither made a move for a new topic. Having already spoken of such personal things, any simple conversation would feel hollow. They both knew it. So instead of forcing words to fly, they let them sit, and huddle until the time was right.

Thankfully or not, it didn’t take much time at all.

It was from the darkness, like something surfacing from water, that the shape and color of Samurai Jack formed. It wasn’t as if he materialized from nothing, jumping out from nowhere, but the difference of only a few steps turned the figure from being a silhouette in the darkness to the now familiar shape Applejack and Dust were venturing with.

The mare grinned as she increased the speed of her trot, slightly as it may be. Dust did as well, only by increasing his gait. Neither the fox nor pony felt inclined to run on stairs of light just yet, not while it still hung above a seemingly endless chasm.

Their paces slowed as they saw their friend was not alone.

Just beside the samurai, on a platform made of light no different than the stairs, stood a man neither Applejack nor Dust recognized. The farm pony twisted her eyes as she approached, walking slowly as to prevent falling into the abyss.

To Applejack, who had only seen so many men before, he appeared very plain. His face was smooth and his clothing was undecorated, very little about him distinguishing. She could only tell that he was someone new by the coat he wore and hat upon his head. There were no other members of the group before that wore hats like this man, nor coats quite as long.

Dust saw different attributes than the mare, however. He did not observe the clothing the man wore, but rather how he acted. The man was sitting upon the stairs, letting his legs swing above the darkness in the care-free state of a child. The grin on his face seemed to match, but against the cold abyss, it seemed positively menacing. That was not to mention the crow sitting upon his shoulder, red beady eyes staring at him; at least it seemed to dust Dust, though it was hard to tell.

“Uh, howdy?” Applejack spoke as the two came closer to Jack and the new man. Both turned to look at her, one with a serious frown and the other grinning blissfully. When her words were followed only by silence, the mare didn’t know what else to say. Dust, thankfully, spoke on.

“Is there a problem?” His voice was serious, though not threatening. He pawed his own digits, imaging Ahrah in his grasp. He wasn’t there.

“A problem?” The new man asked, tilting his head in question. “Why no, not at all. I’ve only been waiting patiently for this fine young human to answer my question, but I suppose he needs a lot of thought before he can speak up.” The man curled his digits around his mouth towards the pair, raising his eyebrows in an entertained sort of way, before he spoke on. It was only then Applejack realized his hand was gray. “I think he’s shy.”

“Ja-a-ack?” Applejack drew out the samurai’s name as she spoke. “Can ya fill us in on any of this?” The samurai took in a slow breath of air before speaking. His hand was gripped tightly upon his sacred sword.

“I know not who this is, only that he appeared from nowhere.” The warrior’s words were straight and to the point. “I have been in many dark corners of the world. The only beings to smile in such ways are those that enjoy suffering.” The man caught onto the samurai’s words quickly.

“Oh, Dearie me,” he spoke in a pleading tone, holding up his hands in defense. “I certainly didn’t mean to make you feel off. I do apologize for that.” The creature rolled backwards on the platform, an action that made Applejack freeze in fear. The man was never far from rolling right off the platform and down below. He stood to his tallest when his feet landed on the golden light again. He was still smiling.

“I only smile because there is no reason not to smile. I have found good company, and it was getting rather boring in this darkness.” His hands waved outwards as he spoke, motioning towards what couldn’t be ignored. “So I do beg your pardon if I was merely a little joyful to finally see another person.”

“Well, can’t blame ya fer gettin’ sick of this place.” Applejack admitted. “We haven’t been here long ourselves, but Ah’m ready ta hightail it outta here.”

“And I too would so enjoy leaving here as well. Would you happen to know the way out?” The man never lost his grin as he asked the question.

“We were thinking up, at least, up seems like the only way to go.” Dust’s paw pointed up the staircase, the very one that disappeared into the darkness above them. “Usually if there’s only one way to go, that’s the right way.”

“Oh yes, because the answer is always so simple.” It took only those words for Applejack’s opinion of the man to sour somewhat. Instead of speaking on, however, the man bent his head to the side, leaning it against the crow.

His look changed, adopting the gay expression with one of amused contemplation. His lips puckered, eyes looking vacantly upwards as the crow twisted its own head, all in silence. Then, with as much warning as his cold words, he started to laugh.

“Oh Arma, you are such a devious little bird.” The man lifted his hand to scratch at the bird, nuzzling it beneath its dark beak. “You always know just what to say.” Applejack looked back to her samurai friend, suddenly understanding the serious look he had.

“Right then,” the farm pony spoke with a tone of finality. “Ah think its ‘bout time we headed outta here. It was… we’ll be seein’ ya later.” Applejack waved her hoof at the man, whom had since focused his wide-eyed gaze on her.

“Leaving?” The man questioned her. “Do you even know where to go?” His hand continued to idly scratch the bird on his shoulder. Applejack furrowed her brows at him.

“There is only one path to take.” Jack answered for the mare. “Even if it leads to only more paths, it is the road we must take now.” The man’s eyes lowered as he stared at the samurai.

“Oh but let me guess, you asked for a way up and the stairs appeared, correct?” The teasing tone in the man’s voice was unmistakable. So was the silence that came from the trio on the steps of light. “Isn’t it wonderful? How easy it is to imagine something from nothing? Rather than hope for stairs, wouldn’t you rather wish for a way out, hmm?” The lips on the man parted as his grin became mischievous. Dust tightened his paws again.

“If you know so much about this place, why don’t you just ‘imagine’ your way out of here?” The question was an obvious one, but Dust could already tell this man was anything but helpful. The giggling he made at the question only confirmed what the fox creature already knew.

“Oh I am a creative one, that I’ll admit, but I guess you could say this place is rather… peculiar to humans.” Applejack adjusted her hat before she spoke on. It was getting tight on her head.

“That makes ‘bout as much sense as a five-legged pony.” She dismissed his words easily enough. “Why don’t cha stop beatin’ ‘round the apple tree and tell us just who you are? It’ll save us all the time.”

“Oh, only because you asked so politely.” The man bowed towards the mare, rising with the same grin. “I’ve been partial to being called ‘that statue’, but I supposse if you must call me by a name, I’d prefer ‘Karl’.” Dust wasn’t fond of the way he rolled his name. It reeked of pleasure.

“Karl, what do you mean by… that statue?” Applejack wasn’t one for details, but she could tell an insult when she heard one, even if it wasn’t directed at her. The way he grinned, she knew she asked the right question.

“Why, is it not obvious? I am one!” His hands flew to his sides, causing the raven on his shoulder to flutter slightly, adjusting itself on his side. “No skin or bones on me, just good old fashioned dirt and stone.” His laugh was nothing short of jovial.

“A golem.” Jack spoke nothing more than that. The stone-likeness of his face rivaled that of Karl’s.

“Oh, so you're the quiet and quick type, hmm?” Karl leaned forward on his lone platform of light. “Then perhaps you would know of the real way out of here. I hate to admit it, but I’m rather stuck here without your help.” He laughed at his words. Applejack and Dust missed the joke.

“We already found the way out.” Dust answered back. “If we walk up these steps, we’ll-”

“Find yourself climbing an endless staircase,” Karl finished for him. “Though I admit that does sound quite fun, I’m sure you were rather serious when you said you had little time to waste.” His head twisted slightly. The raven on Karl’s shoulder mimicked his actions. “It can’t be that hard to imagine, can it? I don’t have what I need, but even I can hear it.”

Those words confused the three more than they should have. It was only made worse when Karl cupped his hand to his head, leaning towards his arm. His eyes were shut as a near serene look overtook him. It took the mare amount to realize what he was doing.

Curious, Applejack perked her own ears, listening for something in the void. But she heard nothing. All that reached her pointed ears was the same vacuum of sound that had existed since they had stepped into the dreaded darkness.

The mare scrunched her face, twisting her head left and right as she attempted to search for any sound at all. All that she was able to grasp was the light breathing of Jack and Dust as well as her own hooves lightly adjusting on the steps of light. Despite her inability to hear anything, Karl began to lightly wave his head, doubtlessly in tune with whatever he was listening to.

“What are you doing?” Dust asked the stone man uneasily. Karl blissfully ignored him.

The statue’s free hand began to wave in the empty air, dancing in a rhythmic pattern. Jack could only shake his head at the display, needing to see no more to be certain that the thing was insane. Applejack, however, only focused her ears harder. But for all her efforts, all the mare could hear at best was the soft ringing of the stairs.

“Shh… listen closely,” Karl spoke again. His eyes were shut now, his form all but falling off the golden platform his stood on. Dust wondered momentarily how he was accomplishing such a feat. “I’m partial to the violin, but I can enjoy a good piano piece.”

“Piano?” Applejack questioned aloud. “Ah can’t here nuthin’ but us breathing and you chuckling.” As if on queue, the stone man giggled at her words.

“Really? I can hear it just fine.” He straightened himself as he spoke, letting his cupped hand fall to his side. “All I have to do is remember what a piano sounds like. Such a pity you can’t hear. It sounds peaceful, maybe a mirror to who I am.” Jack could think of many words to describe the stone man’s smile. Peaceful was not among them.

Applejack scoffed as she focused her ears one more time. She didn’t think Karl was telling even a lick of truth, but if humoring got him on his good side, that was one more party in her ever-growing group. Twilight taught her many things, and one of the greatest lessons was that you could never have too many friends. Or was that Pinkie Pie…

Regardless, the apple farmer perked her ears until they were taught above her head, twisting like a leaf in the wind. She heard nothing still. Nothing beyond where they stood. Just a vast emptiness that stretched on endlessly. No wind, no sound, nothing but empty space more vacant than a night sky.

Nothing but a piano in the air…

“Wait…”

Applejack focused on the sound, her eyes peering to where it echoed. She saw nothing in the abyss but more darkness, but her ears did hear the sound. A gentle piece, just as Karl had said, was drifting through the void. Applejack’s draw dropped as it became clearer and clearer to her ears.

Her eyes turned, still wide with shock and awe to her two companions. By their expressions alone, she knew she was not the only one to hear the song. Jack had unsheathed his blade at some point, when the mare did not know. It hung horizontally in front of him, like a thin shield. Dust was crouched low the stairs, as if preparing to jump. Both had their heads looking rapidly into the voice. Karl only widened his grin.

“It’s not bad, but it could do with some singing, don’t you agree little pony?” Applejack felt her slack muscles tightening until a scowl was back on her features. The expression only made the statue chuckle a little more. “Come now, can you not hear her voice? She’s singing of human concerns.”

Applejack tightened her hearing again, straining to hear a voice singing alongside the piano piece. None came to her, not at first. All she could hear was the slow tempo of notes, the gentle depression of the keys. But then, just like the music itself, the voice began to drift into music.

BEGIN

It was not the most beautiful voice Applejack had ever heard, that title would likely belong to the princesses for some time. But that did not mean the voice was any less alluring to the ear. It washed over the mare, filling her with a feeling that she could only place as ethereal. It left her asking only a single question.

“What’s wrong with her?” Applejack didn’t know when she said the words, but even she could hear the concern in her voice. “She… She sounds like she’s about ready ta cry.” Jack, however, had a different question.

“Where is she?” Jack asked instead. “She sounds lost, not unlike ourselves.” Dust then spoke up, his mind drifting down a path different than his two companions.

“How come we didn’t hear her before?” His hat turned towards the statue man, still grinning on the platform beside the stairs. Karl’s head cocked at the fox’s attention. “What did you do?”

“Me?” Karl asked in turn, placing a hand against his chest. “I didn’t do a thing. I merely appreciate music, and it is a lovely piece. Shouldn’t you instead be wondering on how to find her?”

“Ah think I know how.” The three turned their attention to Applejack.

The mare had since lowered her head, staring at the light beneath her feet with nothing less than wide eyes. She took in a slow breath of air, swallowing on nothing. She raised her hoof only to push her hat back, afraid it would tip forwards too far and fall into the abyss beneath her.

“Ah do know how.” She repeated her words with a more confident tone, her head slowly bobbing up and down as she spoke. With just as much speed, her eyes lifted to Karl, who was staring at her with a perplexed expression. His grin was still present, though not nearly as sharp as before. “Ah, Ah wanted to go up before… so these stairs just appeared for us. So… So now Ah want to find the girl singin’. So…” Applejack’s voice trailed off as her eyes drifted up the stairs.

Dust and Jack followed her gaze, looking up the stairs that extended into the void and beyond sight. Only Karl kept his gaze on the mare. None saw his grin sharpen. None heard his whispered words.

“Clever as the last two.”

The sound of the song was diminished as the ringing of lights overtook the abyss.

Applejack felt her legs bend quickly as the sound overtook her. Her perked ears bent beneath her hat. The mare’s eyes focused at the top of the stairs, straining to see through the blackness. She didn’t need so much effort.

As the ringing became louder, a new shape shimmered in the void.

Aside from its circular figure, it was hard to see any details of the new shape. It appeared to be no different than the stairs they stood on, only larger, brighter, and somehow louder. ‘Larger’ didn’t seem to justify its monstrosity.

It was like a column was carved straight from a mountain, leaving as much of the great stone structure as it could. The light that illuminated it was not blinding, but it could be called little else other than glorious. It was warm, but soft, gentle, though still  bright. It was enough to make Applejack forget this entire ordeal.

Then the light started to fade.

It didn’t dimmer like a withering candle, a normal expectation for any pony. Rather, it began to fly away. Pieces of the light literally began to fall from the structure, taking the shape of wings and flying into the void.

Jack watched, mesmerized and defensive, as the light fragments took on the shape of small birds. They were silent in the void, no sound of their flapping wings nor caws or crows to one another. They merely fell absently, catching themselves on a breeze the samurai couldn’t feel. Then, they flew away.

The birds vanished into the void no differently than the stairs before. At one moment, they were in their sight. The next, they were lost into the emptiness. What they left behind, however, was far more captivating.

Dust stared up at the new structure, titling his hat back with a digit from his paw. It was monstrous in size, and it only appeared to be larger without the light shining from it any longer. What was most captivating, however, wasn’t the size. It was the simple fact of what it was.

It wasn’t a large pillar of stone, nor another column of empty light. It was carved in stone, but it had glass. It was large and expansive, yet looked carefully, precisely constructed. The glass that hung across it was stained no differently than the floor they had come from before, each elaborately colored and assembled.

With the dark of the void around it, only the windows shone with brilliance, but it made the structure only that much more terrifying to gaze upon.

And the music continued to echo through the void.

“That’s… something else.” Dust mumbled absently from the back of the group, his hat tilted only enough to allow him to see the top of the structure.

“Took the words right outta my mouth,” Applejack agreed. She readjusted her own hat, the accessory nearly slipping off the back of her head with how high up she was looking. “But… that’s where the music is coming from, right?”

Jack did not answer. Instead, he started to walk again, far slower than earlier. His sword was still free from its sheath, hanging from his side with a tight grasp. His getta clacked lightly on the steps as he ascended. Applejack had to blink before she started to move.

“Hey, hold the wagon partner!” The farm pony called as she trotted lightly to catch up to the white robed man.

Beyond the earshot of the others, Karl chuckled. He stroked Arma as he followed the group with his eyes, leaning in close to his beloved bird.

“Perhaps the new girl in red was telling the truth, Arma,” He mused the bird quietly. “I wonder what other truths were in her lies.” The bird perked its head towards him, its red eyes staring blankly into his own scarred ones. Karl stifled a giggle at the bird.

“Right again, Arma. You devious bird you.” The statue took step forward on his lone platform, walking towards the abyss fearlessly. When his foot touched down, he bent on it, putting all of his weight on the leg. A moment later, he pushed off of it.

Karl sailed soundlessly through the empty space, smiling and grinning no differently than when he was standing and speaking. He landed with a dull boom on the stairs, muffled beneath the sound of the serenading piece drifting in the void. His eyes saw Dust give a momentary look backwards, but otherwise didn’t pay any mind. It made sense in all honesty. Who wouldn’t suspect him of following the trio?

Humming along with the piece, walking up the steps of light, Karl wondered what the girl in red had in store for him.

END

“Looking good, looking good,” Handsome Jack nodded in affirmation with his words, scratching the underside of his goatee as he spoke. “I think I’m starting to like this Karl guy. He knows to get the job done.” He popped a pretzel into his mouth, sucking the salt off of it before chewing it open-mouthed.

His heterochromatic eyes skewed as he watched the screen. At the same time, Jack’s lips puckered, a sour expression overtaking his features. He stuck out his tongue, the pretzel crumbled, damp, and broken on it. He let out a sound of distaste at the same time. His hand grabbed the salty snack and threw it to the floor.

“Agh, that one sucked.” Jack took a long sip of his soda to wash away the taste. “I thought I was getting premium stuff here. I can’t enjoy a good bandit slaughter without the right concessions. That’d be like flying first class without any seats! Angel!” The masked man waved his hand the air, calling to his wired daughter. “Can you get me good snacks in here, like, I don’t know, something chewy and sweet?”

“Processing,” Angel’s robotic voice spoke in recognition of her father’s words. “Possible matches include Happy Taffy, Sunbursts, Ocean Breezes, Diamonds Chews, Captaio-”

“The Diamonds! Yes! Those!” Jack spoke loudly as he pointed at his daughter. His head bobbed quickly with his motions. “Yeah, those are perfect. Cost half a million an ounce, but wow! I can almost taste the blood, sweat, and tears of the workers making ‘em.” He giggled as he salivated, already enjoying the idea.

“I will prepare them at once father,” Angel returned without any effort. “Is there anything else you require?” Jack’s response was not immediate.

Instead, he swallowed on his pooling saliva, running his hand over his lips. He puckered them, staring at the screen as the now-quartet of individuals walked up the flight of stairs. He could only imagine what the devil Azula was planning with them, or what new monster they were going to fight would be. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the idea of bandits and Neanderthal beings killed like the monsters they were.

But they still had to walk up the stairs, doubtlessly had another puzzle to solve, and who knows what else that green skinned ginger had in store for them in this little temple. It already took him a wild amount of recalibrations to find them in a void state, super condensed in a single spot in the temple. He had to hand to magic again, giving state-of-the-art technology a run for its money.

The giant mage made the puzzles and paths. The bratty teen was sending the bandits and demons. He was the one watching and broadcasting the show. But it was the super lizard that was the mastermind this time. It was the one waking up the different groups, pushing their buttons just right, and most importantly, making sure they always ended in a fight. There were more contestants to watch, more parties to see, not just a pony, a human, a fox, and a golem deceiving. And, the handsome Hyperion CEO thought as a mischievous grin overtook his features, another battle was just around the corner.

“Angel,” Jack commanded his daughter. “Put the blue haired siren’s group back on the big screen. I gotta feeling something good is about to happen.” He giggled at the ideas that flew through his mind.

“Right away father.”

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