Without Raindrops, Twilight soon began to feel lonely again. Somehow, she didn’t want her to go away. Running away, in retrospect, had been a cowardly thing to do. But then again, the poor pegasus almost died because of…
Twilight briskly shook her head. No, she didn’t need to think such horrible things, especially not at a time like this. Everything was going to be just fine. Right?
As it was, the Entrance Hall was now a little too quiet for her tastes. The Old Archives were already explored, and considering that the Winery was still locked up tight, there was now no place else for her to go besides up the staircase. Which was where Raindrops had come down from, bleeding out from a huge wound. Twilight gulped. This would not be pretty.
Keeping the lantern lit, for security’s sake, Twilight started to ascend the steps of the marble staircase, until she reached the first landing where the stairs broke off into left and right directions. Now, which way to go?
Let’s see, if Raindrops had come in from the right side… I think I’d rather take the left side.
And take the left side she did. The stairs led straight up to the second floor, whereupon she ended up in another corridor. It was cleaner and a lot nicer looking than the ones she’d been in… and it was also a lot darker. But that was why she held a lantern, of course. Although, she did note that it didn’t quite seem as bright as it used to…
Twilight walked forward into the hallway, passing many large and ornate doors with royal engravings on them. Many of these were locked, however. What was with all these locked doors? The ones that weren’t locked just led to a random closet, or empty bedroom, or whatever else. She was starting to get annoyed at the sheer emptiness of this place.
Finally, after a lot of walking, she happened upon a directory mounted on the right side of the wall, near a stairwell that led both upwards and downwards.
Floor Two:
Entrance Hall -->
Guest Bedrooms ->
<-- Library
<- Archives
Twilight spent a moment looking at the directory and pondering. There’s another Archive? She hoped that it would be more “full” than the other one... The Library seemed to simply beg for her attention, however. And why was that? She didn’t know. Somehow, she just felt that there would be something there.
So, ignoring the stairwells for now, Twilight continued making her west down the hallway. The hall also branched out into north and south passages, but another directory told her to keep heading west. The Library (or Archives, whichever came first) weren’t too much farther now.
Finally, after a few minutes, she came upon a much larger door than the others. A plate mounted next to the doorway read, clear as day, ‘Archives’. The hallway continued on west, but Twilight decided that whatever was in the Library could wait. There had to be something interesting in here.
With only the slightest hesitation (and feeling of dread) Twilight pushed the doorway open and stepped inside…
Well, if one thing’s for sure… This place is a lot more cluttered that the other one…
Twilight stepped cautiously around the many shelves and bookcases of the room she was in. Unlike the Old Archives, the current ‘new’ Archives weren’t one big running corridor; it was a series of interconnected rooms, chambers, and storage closets… and some of them seemed to go upwards for hundreds of yards. Perhaps it was all an effort to conserve space?
Even then, she feared that the random series of rooms might get her lost. Twilight was sure that she’d already passed the same statue three times… unless there were just three of the same statues, but in different places… Ugh, it was just so confusing.
And… why did she have the feeling that somepony was watching her?
Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. A chill had just run down her spine, and it wasn’t from the colder-than-normal air. Lantern still held firmly in grip, she turned around to look behind her. Nopony was there. She ventured a look in every other direction, but it seemed that she was alone.
Sighing, the unicorn continued onwards. She was starting to get tired of constantly opening and closing doors every ten trots, and Twilight sincerely hoped there was something useful or interesting here.
She got her wish. After nearly eighteen separate rooms and halls, she walked into a room that didn’t appear to lead anywhere else. Nestled in the corner, she could make out a familiar glint on one of the bookcases: Another bottle of Laurenum! Twilight wasted no time in rushing in to grab the precious healing tonic, leaving the door wide open as she did so…
The unicorn was quick to grab the bottle off the bookcase and stuff it into saddlebags. To her amazement, there was yet another prize to be claimed, right where the bottle had been resting: Another note! She swiftly set about reading it, not noticing that her lantern’s flame was slowly diminishing…
To all servants,
As many of you are all aware, the elevator system in the Archives is still under maintenance. Under no circumstances should—
Twilight’s reading light suddenly vanished, rendering her unable to finish making out what was written. And her reading light also happened to be the only light that was available at the moment. With the fizzle of a flame being snuffed out, the entire room became pitch black.
Wh-what the…?! What happened to the light?!
Twilight stuffed the note into the bag—there would be time for it later—and set the now-unlit lantern on the floor. What was wrong with it? She furiously tried turning the igniter key… but it wouldn’t start. All she would get was a slight fizzle, followed by silence… and no light.
She tried to activate the lantern again numerous times, her heart pounding faster and faster with each unsuccessful attempt, but it was the same tired result. Twilight eventually came to the terrifying conclusion that the lantern must have finally run out of fuel.
And it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“Hush now, quiet now…”
Ice ran through Twilight’s veins at the sudden voice. It wasn’t so much what was said, as it was how it was said that scared her. The voice sounded soft and, if she dare say, friendly, but there was a peculiar undertone to the voice. It was as if the voice had a low, demonic echo to it.
“It’s time to lay your sleepy head…”
And with the voice, came the shuffling of hooves on a wooden floor. Twilight darted her eyes toward the door… and remembered that she left it wide open. A dull light from the outside hall made a pony-shaped shadow visible on the floor in front of the doorway.
“Hush now, quiet now…”
Twilight stifled a gasp of fright, and her heart leapt to her throat. Somepony was coming. Somepony had found her. Again. But it didn’t sound like the same one from last time. Rather than make all varieties of guttural growling, this one was… singing a lullaby?
“It’s time to go to bed…”
…And why did it feel so familiar? Like… like she had heard it somewhere before…
The shadow of the pony in the hall outside was getting larger, and the source of the lullaby was getting closer. From what Twilight could tell, the voice sounded female… not to mention it was prodding some very familiar nerves. Where did she hear this voice before?
After the lullaby’s lyrics had run their course, the voice chose to continue the song simply by humming the tune. The shadow of the mare in the hall soon started to shrink, but that was not because it was leaving. No, the source of it was already there, standing in the doorway and looking inside.
Twilight dared not move. She was in pitch darkness after all; maybe she could use that to her advantage to stay hidden. All it would take was her to stay as absolutely still as possible. But standing so still was starting to become uncomfortable. She just had to sit down. And maybe lie down flat while she was at it, to ensure she was as hidden as possible.
That strange mare in the doorway hadn’t budged an inch, which both confused and frightened Twilight. Had it already seen her? If so, why wasn’t it attacking? Wait… why “it”? It was clearly a pony—a female pony—so why refer to her as an object?
Swallowing deeply, she decided to take the gamble. Very slowly, she started lower herself down to sit on her haunches. The mare didn’t move. Twilight then lifted a hoof so that she could lie down…
Clang!
…but she accidentally struck the lantern, knocking it onto its side and ringing out with a noise that almost gave her an aneurysm. Silence reigned for what seemed like forever, until it was at last broken again by a simple question:
“Twilight? Are you there?”
...! How does she know my name? she thought, astonished. Is she…? Against all faculties of logical reason and common sense, Twilight decided to respond. “Y…yes! Is that you…? Um… Rainbow Dash…?”
“…Rainbow Dash? Oh my, no. She’s out playing somewhere else.”
‘Playing’? Somehow, Twilight felt as if that term wasn’t exactly right-minded. And at the same time, she began to regret ever opening her mouth. The mare in the doorway—Twilight still couldn’t quite make out her features—took a hoofstep inside the room, and the unicorn cringed.
“It’s me, Twilight… Fluttershy.”
“Fl-Flutter…shy…?” Twilight slowly stood back up. Fluttershy… That was one of her friends! The ones that she was trying to save! She’d found one of them! (Well, Fluttershy found her, but did it really matter?) “Fluttershy! Oh goodness, I was looking all over for you! I thought you were in huge trouble!”
“I was looking for you too, Twilight…” The mare took a few more hoofsteps forward, and Twilight started to see the mare in better detail (her eyes having adjusted to the dark better).
Fluttershy was a pegasus pony, with a yellow coat that at first reminded her of Raindrops, until she saw the flowing, pink mane and tail. The sight of her friend seemed to trigger several memories in her psyche; at last, she could finally recognize her. She looked unusual for some reason, but perhaps it was just the lack of details seen in the dark.
“How did you get here, Fluttershy?” Twilight inquired, now starting to approach her friend and feeling comforted. “It was so dark and scary in the rooms, and I think there are monsters lurking around here…”
“Oh my, that does sound scary,” Fluttershy said, and Twilight could see the pegasus put on a small smile. “But don’t worry, it will be alright now. Now, um, if you don’t mind… if it’s okay… would you please die?”
…What?
“Oh, um, I mean… Master wants me to bring you to him first… and then you have to die. …I-is that okay?”
What? What is she talking about? She… wants to… see me… die?
Twilight was stunned. She let out a gasp and leaped backwards in fright. “What are you talking about?!” she yelled, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. “Who’s the ‘master’? W-why do you…?!”
“Master wasn’t very happy when he heard that you were still here, even after what he did,” Fluttershy explained, taking another step towards her. “So, Master Zander told me that he wanted to talk to you… and he wanted me to come and get you.”
So it was Zander that was responsible for this. By this point, Twilight had learned to associate the name with the highest of ills. Why would he want to talk to her? And more importantly… what was this about dying?! “The-then why do I have to die?!”
“Oh, no, you don’t understand… You don’t have to die… He just wants you to. Um… that is, if you don’t help with his plans…”
Help?! Like that’ll ever happen! Twilight continued backing away as Fluttershy slowly advanced on her, but she soon felt her flank bump against the back wall. There was nowhere to run now. “B-but… why are you doing this to me? I… I thought we were friends!!”
“…” The pegasus stopped suddenly, as if thinking this through… and then she frowned. An expression of hatred, condescension, sadness, and disappointment… all rolled-up into a simple facial expression. “…Yes, Twilight. We were.”
Fluttershy continued to advance on Twilight, and the unicorn pressed herself against the wall. She had never felt this terrible in her life. Just when Twilight thought she’d catch a break… one of her friends had turned against her. Who’s to say the others had as well?
“No! Please…! Leave me alone!” Twilight cried, but the pegasus ignored her. Fluttershy was barely a foreleg’s distance from her now, and Twilight could see her “friend” fully now. She screamed.
It wasn’t easily seeable in the dark, but at such close distance it was hard to miss such horrible disfigurations. Fluttershy appeared as if she’d been starved for weeks, and her frame looked extremely thin. Her body appeared to have vein-like bands of black run across her legs and body, as if they were strange tattoos. Her pink mane was, though still quite smooth, a bit frayed in some places. Some kind of disc-shaped metal brace was riveted—actually riveted; rivets were attaching the brace—around her neck. Another brace, only it looked more like a too-tight ring, was fitted around her torso (it appeared to be binding her wings, rendering her flightless). But the worst were her eyes. The looked as if there was nothing there; her eyes were literally colored onyx black.
Twilight was aghast at the sight of her appearance. She knew, in her mind and limited memory, that this was not how she normally looked. “Fl-Fluttershy… What has that monster done to you?!”
“Master Zander has done nothing to me…” Fluttershy said, her tone slowly lowering to become a snarl. “You should ask that to yourself, Twilight…”
“What do you mean?” Twilight fearfully squeaked, but Fluttershy stayed silent. The pegasus started to raise a hoof—to do what, Twi was uncertain—but before anything else could happen… Twilight’s instincts of survival kicked in. And did they ever “kick” in. The unicorn shrank back, turned around, and bucked Fluttershy straight in the muzzle.
“Aaaugh!” Fluttershy yelled, holding her nose and groaning with pain. That kick was surprisingly strong. And it also distracted her long enough for Twilight to gallop past the pegasus and into the hall of the Archives. She heard Fluttershy let out a howl of fury from behind her, but she did her best to ignore it and kept running.
Twilight entered the next immediate door she came across, and slammed it shut behind her. In a place like the Archives there were countless places to hide. But would any of them keep her safe for long? The room she was inside contained nothing more than a few small boxes and bookcases, and those were no good. She ran through the door to the next room, and shut it as well.
Panting, she began looking for another hiding place. This room was much larger than the other ones she’d been in prior, and a little brighter as well. It appeared to be some kind of crate storage room; there were stacks and rows of crates much higher than her all around. Maybe somewhere in here would do?
The muffled sound of something crashing open made her jump. It was the door of the previous room she was in, which meant… Fluttershy was already on her tail! Panicking, Twilight bolted deeper into the room, and let herself get lost in the maze of crates and boxes.
Turning the sixth or so corner in the crate maze, she finally happened upon a gap between two crates. Upon closer inspection, she found that the gap lead to a tiny crawlspace behind the crates. It wasn’t very visible at all from the outside, and Twilight reasoned that it would be too ‘small-looking’ of a place to bother checking.
Immediately after deciding to hide here, she heard a distant crashing sound of a door being thrown open. Fluttershy had to have been in the room now. That thought alone made Twilight cringe with fear. She anxiously checked around the maze-like passages for any sign of the pegasus, and hastily crawled behind the crate.
From this hiding place, she could peek around the corner of the box through the gap to see if anypony was coming, and still remain mostly hidden. She was virtually invisible in this spot. Knowing this, Twilight almost smiled. Maybe she would, for a change, finally be safe… for a while, at least.
A few minutes passed with very little actually happening. Twilight snuck a glance out into the maze row every now and again, but everything was unusually quiet. Just when the unicorn was about to venture another peek, she heard the voice.
“Oh where, oh where, can my Twiiiiilight be?”
Twilight gulped, and decided to take a quick look outside. She froze. Fluttershy was in this row of the crate maze now, and slowly approaching her position. The higher lighting situation made it easier for Twilight to see those horrible marks and rings around her body and neck. Easier to see, that is, not easier to accept. It was just repulsive what Zander could do to a pony and expect to get away with it.
“Twiiiiiiiilight…” The voice, with its demonic undertone, was starting to become very singsong and playful. That could not have been a good sign. “I can smell your fear… I know you’re hiding… Just come on out so I can take you to Master… I mean, um… if that’s okay with you…”
The unicorn dared not respond to that, and continued ducking down and hiding in the crawlspace. She had been fooled once by this...thing, and heavens condemn her if she let it happen again. It couldn’t have been her friend. It had to have been a fake, or… maybe Fluttershy was being controlled…?
“Hey Twilight… if you’re nervous, I can sing you a lullaby… Here’s my favorite one: Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head… Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to go to bed…”
What kind of demon sings a lullaby like that? Twilight felt as if she should know the lullaby… but where she knew it from eluded her somewhat. She looked out into the maze row again, and stopped short. Fluttershy had just started to walk past her hiding place.
And, for some reason, the pegasus had stopped and was sniffing the air.
“You’re here, aren’t you…”
Twilight shrank back into her hiding spot, putting as much distance between herself and the gap between the crates. How could she know? Did she see accidentally let herself be seen? Had she made a noise? Or did Fluttershy…
…did she actually smell her, even in the hiding place?
“Why are you hiding, Twilight? If you wanted to play hide-and-seek, you should have told me… I mean, um… if you wanted to…”
There were some more sniffing sounds, followed by a period of silence. Every muscle in Twilight’s body begged to move, but the unicorn wouldn’t let them. If she even so much as twitched, it could be all over. She had never felt so helpless.
Soon there came a sound that she had been dreading: A metallic clang of something colliding with wood, coupled with the sudden shaking of the crates around her. Fluttershy was trying to get in!
“Come out, Twilight! COME OUT!!”
Twilight started to hyperventilate and pressed herself against the walls of her crawlspace as they shook and swayed around her. Her heart pounded in her chest so hard, she thought it would explode from the strain. Please just go away…!
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU WHEN I GET IN THERE!”
The dull, hollow thudding and clanking of metal striking wood continued for nearly a full minute. Twilight was perplexed by this somewhat. Fluttershy seemed ever smaller than she was; how could she not get in?
And that’s when it hit her: the ring that was fastened around the pegasus’s neck.
It must be too wide for her to fit through! I guess when Zander stuck that thing on her he never considered that it would be such an impediment.
Twilight was almost about to laugh at the realization, but the continued smashing and bashing of metal versus wood stymied her. Just because Fluttershy didn’t fit, didn’t mean that she couldn’t just break down the crates altogether! Despite the pegasus appearing physically weak, the amount of force being applied could have made the toughest earth pony envious.
“Please come out! I promise I won’t hurt you! At least not until the Master tells me to rip out your throat!”
Fluttershy’s angry shouts and threats had devolved into pleading and bargaining, but as they were extremely poorly phrased, Twilight wasn’t about to let herself be caught. She could have been lying through her teeth for all the unicorn knew.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the banging and crashing of wood ceased. Twilight could hear the raspy, tired pants of Fluttershy from beyond the crate barrier. Was she getting tired?
“Why are you… being so… scared, Twilight? Master Zander… only wants… to talk to you! …And then kill you… afterwards…”
The unicorn dared not to reply to that.
“Twilight… Please? Come out?” There was a slight pause, and then a strange, hollowed-out sigh. “But, uh… you know, um… whatever you wanna do is fine…”
It was strange. Fluttershy’s voice sounded different now… that is, not quite as demonic. It was still peculiarly distorted, but it wasn’t as “malicious” as before. There was another bout of silence, before Twilight could hear gentle hoofsteps trotting away from her position. Another minute later, they were gone.
Has… has she gone? She just got up and… left?
Twilight was confused more than ever. What was going on? One minute, Fluttershy is trying to break down the crates separating them; the next, she just resigns and walks away? Had the pegasus really given up, at least for the moment?
…Or did she just want to lure her out?
The unicorn soon found the courage to move from the corner she was pressed against, and peeked out of the gap between the crates that had sheltered her. Nopony was out there. As a point of fact, the only things out there were just the walls of wooden crates. In these close confines, an ambush was more than likely.
Twilight, as anxious as she was, slowly drew herself out of her hiding spot. She cast a look down one way, and the other. The current corridor of crates was decidedly vacant… almost suspiciously so. But the nervous mare was in no position to not take advantage of Fluttershy’s absence.
Taking long, slow breaths, the lavender unicorn stepped out into the maze passage. The way was decently lit, but she quickly took notice of how dim it was… If only she had some extra light, or someth—
Twilight suddenly remembered her lantern. She’d left it behind in that room, when the fuel ran out! When Fluttershy came, she had been in such a panic to run away that she forgot it! Ah, cripes! She needed to get it back, and quick! Without light, she’d be traveling blind for the rest of the castle!
But… I’d have to go all the way back there, wouldn’t I?
Sighing miserably, Twilight slowly began to retrace her steps around the maze. It was difficult; every other row or passageway she took in the maze of wooden crates seemed to only get her even more lost. And she had to keep an eye and an ear out for Fluttershy. There weren’t many other places to run to or hide on short notice.
The unicorn spent almost forty minutes lost in the surprisingly large maze of boxes. Twice she had heard a distant sound of shuffling hoofsteps in the direction she was going and “casually” turned around and tried another path. Twilight was scared to death that around the very next corner she might bump muzzle-to-muzzle into Fluttershy, and there would be nowhere to run.
Thankfully, none of that happened. Twilight finally felt a slight fresh breeze to her left, and she took that as a good sign. A few more turns later, she had finally left the crate maze and was standing before the door she had first come in from.
Finally! I can’t believe I got lost in a maze with a murderous “friend” of mine and still got out okay!
She mentally sighed with relief. A slight smile graced her features as she stepped outside the door into the next room. Twilight was careful to tread lightly, and slowly closed the door behind her as she left the crate storage room.
A little while later, she had found her way back to the dark room where she had left her lantern behind. Twilight spent a moment observing the Dragonfire Lantern and chose to give the ignition switch a try. Like before, it fizzled, spit, and went quiet. Oh, but of course. It was out of fuel.
Now that she had some time to herself, Twilight remembered what that flashback that she had in the Old Archives had said:
“All dragonfire is capable of dispelling darkness. And it is most useful in its crystallized form, which is what fuels this lantern.”
Running those words of the ‘princess’ she heard through her mind like a tape recording, she reached into her saddlebags and took a few of those glowing red crystals out with her mouth. They felt quite warm, and tingly. Setting them next to the lantern on the floor, she began questioning exactly where the fuel was supposed to go.
Squinting to see better in the darkness, Twilight could notice, in the center of the lantern’s glass chamber, there appeared to be a claw-like holder of some variety. Perhaps that was where the crystals are set? Twilight reasoned that it must be, and swiftly set off to refill the lantern.
Carefully (and quietly, lest something else possibly hear) the unicorn undid the lock holding the lid and glass portion to the base, and pulled it off. She picked up one of the crystals that she set down, and with cautious precision, set it into to claw-shaped holder. Twilight placed the upper half of the lantern back onto the base, and relocked it.
Now was the moment of truth. Twilight gripped the igniter key as tight as she could… and twisted it. There was a sputter, a spit, and… a tiny red flame started to spring forth from the new crystal. After a few seconds, it reached its maximum size and brightness, before shifting to the same green fire as before. Why was it always green fire? Why not red, like the crystals? Oh well. It didn’t matter.
Stashing the other remaining crystals she’d taken out, Twilight picked up the now-lit Dragonfire Lantern and left the room. For some reason, she felt like there was something she should have remembered to do…
…Ah well. It probably wasn’t very important. Right now, she needed to get out of the Archives before she ran into Fluttershy again. The threat of being killed didn’t seem worth the potential prize of some scraps of paper or… whatever.
Twilight started walking back the way she remembered coming, the light of the lantern comforting her and illuminating the way ahead. The rooms she passed by were still so full of books, boxes, and other junk. Who did they pay to keep it organized—do they even organize at all? The unicorn couldn’t help but sigh at the state of some of the rooms. Somepony could easily trip over something.
At some point, Twilight was sure that she had taken a wrong turn. She had ended up in some kind of small room with other exits, but a desk in the middle. A lit candle was resting atop it, next to a scrap of parchment. She slowly approached it with wonder. Could it be? Another note?
…Or wait, no; it was another one of those journal pages. Still, Twilight was curious. She hunkered down and started reading.
9th of August, 997
It would seem that fate insists on me staying at Canterlot Castle for longer than I anticipated. Three years, it’s been. Despite my high status, the situation in Gerpony hasn’t improved, even with my constant negotiations with the High Council for Equestrian support. Celestia has been supportive of my plight, bless her kind heart, but the bureaucrats are proving to be less cooperative.
I’ve sent and received letters from my colleagues in Braynenmare, and from what can be gathered, things in my home province are getting worse. Equestria is so fortunate to have a perfect food supply, strong economy, and political strength to boot, while Gerpony still only just manages to get by on poor crop soil, struggling commerce, and a governing system so weak an autumn breeze could bowl it over. If worst comes to worst… I may have to advocate allowing the annexation of Gerpony to Equestria. This will cause much outrage back home, I’m sure… and we will lose our independent heritage… but if it will ensure that our ponies do not starve, then I am willing to make sacrifices.
Twilight stuffed the page away in her bag when she was done reading. From the looks of it, it looked like it was written by the same pony from the last journal page. It sounded awful… political. What were these places being talked about? Canterlot? Equestria? Braynenmare? Gerpony? The first two sounded incredibly familiar, and she was sure she heard them before… but the last two escaped her a bit…
Seeing as how there was nothing else here, Twilight trotted out of the small study, and continued on her way in finding the exit.
Gosh, this whole place is like a labyrinth…
The unicorn forged onwards, opening door after door and passing room after room. Just as she was about to exit one room, Twilight heard something that made her blood run cold.
The door of the room behind her, the one that she had before closed, had reopened itself.
Her breath caught in her throat. No… it can’t be… Not again… She slowly turned her neck to look behind her, lantern still in the grip of her mouth, and her eyes grew wide and fearful.
“Oh goody… I finally found you, Twilight…”
Fluttershy had found her. She was standing in the now-open doorway across the room from Twilight, and the light from the lantern reached far enough for the unicorn to see those glossed-over black eyes and neck brace of hers. The sight was almost too horrible to comprehend.
“No…” Twilight began to shake with terror. “No, not you… I thought you were gone…”
"Sorry, but… um… no, I’m not… Master told me to get you, and that’s what I have to do… I mean, um, if that’s okay…”
“I-it’s NOT okay!! Leave me alone, you freak!!” Twilight suddenly screeched, and she quickly threw open the door she was about to exit through and went inside the room. In two winks, the door was slammed shut behind her again.
Knowing full well that Fluttershy could bash open a doorway, Twilight braced her own weight against it while her eyes darted furiously around the room for another hiding place. To her horror… there wasn’t anything to hide in or behind. There wasn’t even another doorway leading out.
She was trapped.
And right upon coming to that conclusion the door she was blocking suddenly lurched and buckled, as if somepony had thrown themselves against it. The impact almost knocked Twilight to the floor, but she held steady. She almost dropped the lantern, and was forced to bite into tighter, making her teeth rather sore.
“Open the door, Twilight! I’ll… I’ll break it down! I will!”
Twilight couldn’t help but snort. “I’d like to see you try!” she challenged, but knew full well that Fluttershy could break it down. A shout of anger was the response, followed up by another collision with the door, making the wood bend inwards. Twilight barely kept herself standing after that.
There has to be some way out of this mess!
Casting her eyes around the room in a last, desperate search for somewhere to hide, Twilight caught sight of… something. It appeared to be a cage of some kind, stuck inside a far wall between a couple of bookcases. She’d earlier passed it off as a fancy storage thing or something, but it wasn’t until she noticed the sign that read ‘Elevator’ next to it, that she got an idea.
Another hard crash at the door made Twilight stumble, and the rebounding wood hit her on the side of her head, briefly dazing her from the pain. Unable to keep herself against the door, Twilight finally stepped away and shook her head to try and ward off the new headache she was experiencing.
Gah, my head… That hurts…
Finally composing herself, Twilight looked to her goal—the elevator cage—and broke into a gallop towards it. At the same time, Fluttershy had collided with the door again, nearly making it fly off the hinges as it swung open with a crash.
“Twilight! Stop running! You’ll only die tired!”
The unicorn tried to ignore the pegasus’s shouts, but she could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage faster and faster now. Being chased by somepony wanting to kill you has that effect.
Twilight reached the fence-like gate of the elevator doors, and hastily drew them open before stepping inside. Turning around, she let out a cry of fright and shut the gate just before Fluttershy could run straight into her. She turned a key that locked the gate, for good measure.
Few places were as safe and terrifying at the same time. A strong metal fence separated her and Fluttershy by barely a half-hoof. Through the fence, Twilight could also see the pegasus’s look of absolute fury up close… and frankly, it was just plain disturbing.
“You can’t hide forever Twilight…” Fluttershy said lowly, a knowing smile creeping onto her mangled features. “I can just wait here until you smarten up and decide to come with me to see Master Zander.”
Twilight glanced to her side. A lever, with the sign, “Elevator Control” and two directional arrows pointing up and down was mounted on the wall of the elevator beside her. Remembering why she had this idea in the first place, Twilight reached up with a hoof and yanked the lever into the ‘Down’ position. “I’m afraid I won’t,” she said simply, and gave an eloquent smirk of her own while Fluttershy’s look of smugness fell away.
From both above and below, Twilight could hear the mechanisms of the elevator sputter and come to life. The cage began to lower as a drone of a motor running filled the air around her…
And then the car suddenly lurched. Twilight’s smile became a look of bewilderment as nothing more happened. And then, a horrible screech of clanking gears became audible, followed by a sound of something giving way.
Just as the unicorn wondered what was wrong, the elevator car lurched again, and began to lower. Only this time, it was lowering rather fast. A little too fast, actually. One more stomach-churning lurch later, and the elevator was in an outright freefall to oblivion.
Twilight’s screams were slowly drowned as the cage fell into the dark abyss of the shaft below…