“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. Next Chapter: Forging Bonds Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 52 Minutes