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.

Next Chapter: Boss 1: Karl Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 53 Minutes