Ch. 8: By Invitation Only
Chapter 8: By Invitation Only
Back alley, Lower District
The Pony City-state of Roan
26th of Summer, 1491 A.R., 11:00 p.m.
The full glory of Astrolia’s Moon shone brightly over the city of Roan; a far more pleasant evening than that of the storms that had plagued the late hours of the previous night. But to the pair of nervous pegasus guards standing watch in the middle of an unremarkable-looking alleyway, the silvery moonlight was not nearly enough to see by, and a flickering torch set into either of their shoulder mounts served to illuminate the area they had been ordered to keep watch in.
“I don’t get it, Quickus Stride.” One guard tapped a hoof nervously at the stone ground, scanning both sides of the alley. “There’s no point in standing around after dark in the Lower District.”
“What’s the matter, Cloud Burst?” the younger, more eager of the two asked, his slightly taunting tone belying his own concern. “Afraid of the dark?”
“No… but I’m not fond of the idea of being out here in the open for the... Vampire Bat.”
“Vampire… Oh, for the love of-- You’ve been listening to Flame Stoker’s blasted Lost theories again, haven’t you?” Quickus shook his head. “You know we’re not supposed to talk about that sort of thing.”
“I know, but think about it… Ponies vanishing at night... no traces left behind. You know how they say that one nightwatchpony, what was his name…? Silveris Mane… Deserted, they said. But nopony ever found him or saw him leave the city. All they found of him was his lance lying in the street. Why would he do that unless he was attacked by something? Something… big… with fangs…”
“Gossip and Pony Tales, you suspicious old goat,” Quickus dismissed his friend's ridiculousness. “Next, you’ll be saying you actually believe that garbage about the box just vanishing right out from under Kickback’s nose.”
“But I know the guards that were talking about it…”
“Yes, and they all got relieved of duty for head trauma. I mean, it’s obvious what really happened.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“Ol' Tyrant Kickback fell for some sort of conpony’s tricks. So, of course he’s going to be all, ‘Oh, it’s dark magic… I’m not really an incompetent mule.’”
The two guard ponies snickered for a moment.
“Shouldn’t be saying that sort of thing out loud. I heard Kickback has had ponies transferred to the Wild Frontier for less.”
“Ugh… Don’t remind me. I would rather your Vampire Bat show up right now and crunch on both of us than ever go out to that uncivilized, monster-infested…”
*Creeeak-Creeeak*
*Flappa-flappa*
The unexpected noise snapped the two guardsponies to attention as their frayed nerves gave way and a large, dark shadow descended on them.
“AAAAAHH! VAMPIRE BAT!” the two gasped in unison, jumping back to grasp one another as the dark shape fell a bit faster down into the alley with them... and revealing itself to be a very tired-looking olive green pegasus hitched to a sky-cart, panting heavily as sweat ran down his flanks and brow, all armor forsaken save for his helmet.
The two guardsponies deflated as the young pegasus tried frantically to catch his breath, apparently on his last legs, while they looked to one another and quickly broke their "tactical huddle."
“P…Private… F-Fair… Feather… Returning as... ordered… with the requisitioned… supplies!”
“Whoa… Easy, Private.” Cloud Burst shook his head, moving up beside the pegasus. “What requisition?”
“Commander… Kickback… He wanted this... for the…” Private Fair Feather looked around the alley. “Wait... Where’s the box...? I thought that… Oh, no... Don’t tell me I went through all this for nothing...! This cart weighs a ton!”
“What do you have here, Private?” Quickus stepped past the pony and tried to look into the wagon, putting his torch over.
“Whoa! Careful with that!” Fair Feather pulled himself free of the sky-cart's harness and rushed to grab the torch from Quickus’ shoulder with his teeth, tossing it away. “It’s blasting powder!”
“Oh!” Cloud Burst took a step back, eying the cart with worry. “I’ve heard of this stuff. Put a flame to it and it can blow solid stone apart.”
“Yeah…” Fair Feather nodded. “Commander Kickback wanted all of it that the quarry had... Took some doing... They had to dig it out of this mineshaft and out from under a ton of sandbags and such... They seemed glad to be rid of it.”
“Well, the Commander’s not here anymore, colt.” Quickus stepped back, shaking his head. “And if this is supposed to be for the ‘magic box,’ that’s gone too.”
“Awwww… Slag it!” The Private stomped a hoof, still looking quite exhausted. “What am I supposed to do with all of this, then?”
“Dunno…” Quickus shrugged. He felt bad for the colt, but really, this wasn’t his problem.
“You'll want to get it somewhere that they won’t bring so much as a candle near it. That stuff is a disaster waiting to happen,” Cloud said sagely.
“There is no way I’ll make it back to the quarry… I barely managed to get this up over the wall as it is…” Private Fair Feather slumped to the ground, looking drained and defeated by the immensely heavy load.
The two higher-ranked guards could sympathize. Exchanging a sigh, Cloud and Quickus both traded a glance.
“Alright, Private… don’t worry. With all the other dreck in his trough, I bet Kickback forgot he even sent you for this. We just gotta get these sacks out of sight and out of mind.” Cloud Burst moved and set a fatherly hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. “Don’t worry, I usually do security in the Royal District. I know just the place where this will be safe and nopony will ever let even a tiny spark near.”
————————
The TARDIS
-Suspended outside of space-
27th of Summer, 1491 A.R., 2:45 p.m.
The first thing that came to Leonard’s mind as he began to emerge from the sweet embrace of sleep was a defined pounding soreness that ran up along his horn and down his spine. Opening his eyes slowly, he found himself in a strange bed. That made twice in as many days that this had happened.
Unlike the previous morning, however, this mild unpleasantness was accompanied by a tired sort of satisfaction as he pulled himself up, shaking the cobwebs from his head as the covers fell away.
Looking about, a slight rush ran through his chest as he realized he was alone, turning to look around the "guest room" (as the Doctor had called it, though the accommodations were certainly comfortable enough for any noble) and pausing as he looked to the nightstand where his beret sat. A small sheet of paper caught his attention, and his horn illuminated as he lifted the note to his eyes.
Leo,
Didn’t want to disturb you. Went to assist the Doctor in the console room. Could use your help when you wake up.
-Twilight
The blonde pony’s eyes and expression softened as he looked below the flourishing signature to what looked like a quick, but masterfully done sketch of Twilight waving towards him.
Taking a breath as he pulled himself out of bed and properly onto his hooves, Leonard flattened out the front of his outfit and, with a slight glow of his horn, brought his beret up and into place on his head. He waited for it to inevitably shift at an angle against his horn, before striding to the door with a new and bolstered feeling of confidence.
————————
Some time later
“What the hay are y'all doin'?” was all that Applejack could think to ask as she took in the scene that awaited her down at the base of the stairs leading back into the TARDIS' control room.
She had been at a point beyond exhausted the night before, that much she had come to admit. Finding herself drawn to a particular room that she opened and found to be an almost exact replica of her bedroom back home, she had set curiosity and wonder aside in favor of pulling herself onto the firm mattress and falling into the deepest, longest night’s sleep she could ever remember.
Not bothering to keep up appearances, she took off the coarse, itchy shirt as she woke up, favoring only her hat as she moved towards the control room, bright eyed, bushy-tailed -- so to speak, as she didn’t have her comb -- and ready to do her part to put things right.
Although first, she had to process exactly what was going on.
Rainbow Dash had been moved around the side of the console, still frozen and in the same position that Applejack had seen her in the night before, but now had wires and all manner of devices hooked up to her that were as alien to her as the controls of the TARDIS itself. Monitors beeped and lights of some of the panels alternated in bizarre shapes that she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
And a few feet from the petrified pegasus stood something almost as curious. Once and again as tall as a normal pony, the device looked somewhat "thrown together" to Applejack’s untrained eye. A collection of cables, wires, and wheels set into a pole-like frame with an opening at the bottom of it, from which a pair of brown pony hind legs were sticking, turned around into a sitting position inside as the Doctor seemed to tinker away, his tail swishing back and forth all the while.
Atop the pole was a ball that reminded Applejack immediately of the "mirror-ball" that Pinkie Pie sometimes used to add a bit of spice to her larger parties. A simple orb covered with what Applejack thought might be mirrors at first, but upon closer inspection, appeared to be dozens of tiny crystals.
A pale glow of violet and yellow illuminated several more crystals that were lifted into the air, being pushed into grooves around the ball and set carefully in place at odd angles around the orb. This drew the cowpony’s attention to Leonard and Twilight, the two unicorns pacing around and looking up with a determined, focused gaze.
Slightly away from them stood Oreo, his shirt stripped away to leave him just with his trousers around his hindquarters, leaning over an open box. A jeweler’s glass was over one of his eyes as he put a hoof in, drawing out a small crystal and looking it over before tossing it back and to one side.
“Hey, Applejack. Glad you could join us. Not like you to sleep in.” Twilight nodded to her, distracted for only a moment before looking back towards the Doctor’s legs as they wriggled with movement. “Doctor, how about now?”
“Getting better… I think we’re close… Can you and Leonard incline the third median to… let’s see…” the Doctor’s voice came from inside the odd machine as Applejack moved down the stairs, trying to figure out the setup before her. “...another two degrees?”
As Applejack was about to ask again what was going on, Twilight and Leonard looked up, horns aglow as a line of crystals moved shifted position.
*KRSSSS-POP-POW*
A cascade of sparks exploded from inside the pillar, accompanied by a flume of smoke and a slight kicking and spasming of the Time Pony's brown legs and tail. “Ooooww, ow ow ow!”
“Whoa! Y'all okay, Doc!?” Applejack jumped back in surprise.
“I’m fine… Afternoon, Applejack. Ahem... Twilight?”
“Yes, Doctor…?” Twilight winced sheepishly.
“Two degrees in the other direction, please.”
“Well, it’s not as though you specified.” Leonard smirked, his horn aglow as an aura of yellow magic fixed the issue, tilting the crystals ever so slightly into a downward slant as the Doctor squirmed awkwardly to pull himself out.
Blinking a few times in the light, Applejack had to stifle an amused snort in spite of herself as the Doctor’s head emerged, covered in a fine black soot, his hair singed on the ends. He raised a pair of goggles away from his face, revealing two large, clean spots of brown with blue eyes.
“Well, that sure was invigorating.” He shook his head for a moment as he pulled his goggles into their resting place above his ears. “Am I missing an eyebrow?”
Applejack let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t know why, but she had been really worried for a second, there. “Nah, yer mug’s just as ugly as before.”
The Doctor turned to her with a smirk. “Oh, is that a joke? At my expense, of course... I was wondering when you would loosen up a bit, AJ. Looks like you really did need that bit of sleep.”
“Well, maybe…” Applejack nodded in admission of this a moment before looking past the Doctor towards the strange device. “So… what’s all this, then?”
“Well…” The Doctor looked the ball on the pole over, nodding to Leonard. “With any luck, this is what will return Rainbow to the land of the ambulatory.”
“Shouldn’t we try ta get 'er unstoned before we take ‘er anyplace else, Doctor?”
The Doctor huffed in amusement as Twilight lifted a line of new crystals into place, setting them at odd angles while she held her tongue at the corner of her mouth.
“Careful… Careful… Aaaaaand right there!” Leonard watched with a definite sense of pride. “Perfecto! That should do it.”
Applejack was almost stunned when, rather than blushing at this praise, Twilight pulled herself up proudly with a grin.
“I hope so, because that was the last one. The rest of these have striations in them,” Oreo called from the side, pulling the jewelers loop from his face and rubbing his eyes, having obviously been at it for some time.
“An’ this is what Ah get fer sleepin’ in…” Applejack huffed slightly. “Ah don’t got a clue what’s goin’ on. Will somepony please fill this mare in on what y'all are doin’?”
“Photo-prismatic Petrification. Or rather, the cure for it,” the Doctor answered with a slight flourish, moving around the device and looking it over as if trying to discover any remaining flaws.
“What the hay does that mean?” Applejack asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion.
“Well… Photo means an intense flash of light,” Twilight jumped in at the speed of "smart" as the Doctor continued his walk-around. “Prismatic is the description of a color effect caused by the refraction of light through a crystalline or lensed structure, such as a prism. And petrification is the transmutation of any substance into a harder stone-like form either magically or through the introduction of carbon and silicates into--”
“Ah know what the words mean, Twi. Contrary ta rumor, Ah did finish school,” Applejack interrupted her friend, trying not to feel insulted about the unicorn assuming her limited vocabulary. “What Ah mean is, what the hay does it all mean?”
“It’s how gorgons turn their victims to stone,” the Doctor explained as he pulled a small shutter down on the hatch he had been in a moment before. As he backed away, he had a strange device with a single button on the top, balanced in one hoof. “From what Twilight figures, the inner lining of Marr Bell’s hood has a crystalline structure that absorbs light and then directs it into a flash of magical energy. Think of it like a magical sunburn.”
“A sunburn?” the farm pony queried. She was of course very familiar with this hazard of spending too much time under Celestia’s daylight. Part of the reason she started wearing her hat was to save her nose and brow from the burning every summer.
“Right,” the Doctor confirmed quickly, moving over to Rainbow and unhooking the various devices. “But instead of a reddening and slight burning of the skin you get with sunlight, the light from a gorgon’s hood causes things to turn rigid and solidify while remaining completely intact. The effect digs from the outside in. Inanimate objects are converted completely into stone, but living cells resist. So, while the insides are solidified into stone, the pony’s mind is put into a very deep unconscious state to protect itself and keep from being completely petrified.”
“But wood reacts differently to light than ponies and other materials do,” Twilight took over as she and Leonard stepped back along with Applejack. “Trees feed on sunlight and turn it into food, so any wood that is used by ponies has been subjected to so much light in its time that it doesn’t react to the gorgon’s.”
“I still don’t see how this helps your friend,” Oreo chimed in for a moment, moving to join Applejack. “I mean, I helped you build it, but I still don’t know what the hay it is.”
“Leo’s theory…” The Doctor motioned to the beret-wearing artist, who nodded proudly. “...is that if exposure to magic-driven prismatic light of one configuration can cause petrification, then an exposure to an exact polar opposite of that spectrum can undo the effect. Which is how we came up with this. We call it the 'Pris-sphere.'”
There was a moment of silence.
“That’s… a terrible name.” Applejack shook her head, raising a brow.
“Yeah, when did we agree on that?” Twilight huffed. “I think it should be called the ‘Photo-prismatic Polar Optimizer.’”
“Not to criticize, Twilight,” Leonard interjected. “But in my experience, long names explaining function are redundant. What about something simple? ‘The Spectrum Orb.’”
“I don’t know… I rather like Leo’s. What do you think, Twilight?”
“I stand by my choice, Doctor.”
“Well, how ‘bout--”
“What is wrong with you ponies?” a Phrench accent broke the sudden debate, the harsh tone bringing the four back down to reality. “Mon Dieu! Nopony cares what it's called! Call it Lewie, for all it matters! The question is, will it work!?”
After looking to the dappled Phrench pony for a moment, Applejack, Leo, and Twilight all looked to the Doctor, who took a few steps back, pulling his goggles down as he set the device in his hoof to the ground.
“Quite right, Oreo. Well, one way to find out, isn’t there? Now, let’s see if we can’t get Rainbow back on her hooves.”
“Doctor, do… do we need goggles, too?” the farm pony found herself asking suddenly.
“Nahhh,you’ll be fine… Just don’t look directly at the ball. Just in case.”
The Doctor stepped down on the button in the center of the control, a faint hum and tingling filling the air and growing quickly inside the device. At this point, Twilight had a sudden revelation. “Doctor, wait. If this is supposed to be like a gorgon’s hood, couldn’t it turn us into stone?”
“Oh, don’t worry, Twilight…. That probably won’t happen.”
“Probably?”
“Aaaaand smile for the birdy!”
*Vrrrrrmmmmm*
*FLASH*
Four ponies winced as the orb illuminated, sending a shower of colors in all directions. A beautiful pattern of broken rainbow swirls that would rival any kaleidoscope washed over the whole console room, overpowering the ambient light from overhead for just a few seconds. Then, as quickly as it had started, it was over. The light from the device cut off suddenly as the humming faded to nothing.
Opening one eye, Twilight reached a hoof up to make sure that her body was still soft and furry before letting go of her worried breath. Although, as the five of them immediately realized, the statue standing right in front of the device remained a statue.
“What? But, the Illumination Charm went off… There was ample power going to it… The prisms were aligned to channel the charge… What went wrong?” Leonard stomped a hoof in frustration as he approached the device again, while the Doctor raised his goggles from his face.
“From an artificer’s and enchanter’s standpoint, this isn’t that difficult a build. It’s a simple trio-set of spells, all firing at once when a charge is introduced…” Twilight joined the artist, also looking over the device for some sort of flaw. “It should have worked.”
“I was afraid of this.” The Doctor shook his head.
“Afraid a' what?” Applejack asked.
“The principle is still sound, but the crystals have to be precisely… absolutely the opposite of Marr’s hood… apparently with no margin for error.” The Doctor wiped a foreleg over his head. “Anything less is just a light show.”
There was a moment of silent concern as the Doctor looked to Rainbow, his expression solemn.
“It's alright. Science is often like this. So we will reconfigure the crystals and try again. It should only take a few minutes.” Leonard nodded, staring up towards the prisms lining the orb as if one would jump out and reveal itself to be in error if he stared at it hard enough.
“We don’t have time for that,” the Doctor argued.
“But, Doctor…” Twilight started.
“There could be a million billion possible combinations here. A hair off on one crystal could mean the difference between Rainbow being a pegasus or a garden fixture. And we could spend years testing for the variations.” The Doctor shook his head, his amusement gone now as he considered the failed test run. “Years that none of us have. We need to get a better look at the original prism.”
The four ponies looked to the Doctor as he sighed, admitting something that he seemed to have suspected since the beginning.
“We need to talk to Marr Bell again.”
————————
Marr's Lair, Denarius Quarry
Outskirts of Roan
3:12 p.m.
The still quiet of the caverns under the Denarius Quarry was disturbed suddenly as a slight breeze was kicked up, accompanied by the gasping, lyrical music of the TARDIS appearing only a few feet from where it had sat hours ago at the end of the corridor. And with a deep thump, the time machine fully materialized, the breeze dying down as the echo faded from the cavern.
*Creeeeak*
The door of the box opened cautiously.
“Marr…? Hello? It’s the Doctor. Are you alright?” The Time Pony stepped out, looking around cautiously.
“Doctor, I should go with you,” Twilight stated in the doorway, just out of view.
“No. Marr will connect you to Leo. That won’t help us appeal to her better judgment.”
“Well, she ain’t met me yet. Maybe Ah can win ‘er over with mah honest, earthly charm?” Applejack offered, pushing forward from the doors.
The Doctor hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure, Applejack?”
“No, but Ah gotta do sumthin’ ta help Dash.” Applejack pushed slightly past Twilight and out the doors of the TARDIS. “And ‘sides, if y'all get stoned, there goes our ride.”
“Fair enough.” The Doctor nodded, looking back to the three ponies in the TARDIS. “Now, this time -- and I cannot possibly stress this enough -- but please… Stay here.”
“Alright, Doctor. I get it.” Twilight looked away, still obviously concerned after her last encounter with the gorgon. “We’ll wait… I promise.”
The Doctor nodded to Twilight, then to Applejack, before starting forward, taking two steps before stepping on something that felt soft and familiar.
“Oh, my coat! She just left it here… Hmm, battered, but no tears… Should be easily repairable.” The Doctor reached down and grabbed the Harsh Tree fabric in his teeth, flinging it over his back. “Could come in handy.”
“Hope we don’t need ta use it.” Applejack looked around, her eyes quickly adjusting to the soft light of the stone around her as she examined the area, now scarred and pitted as if gauged out by an enormous pair of claws. “Whoa, doggie… she tore this place up.”
“Given her strength and the random fashion of destruction on the stone, I would guess this is the gorgon equivalent of a temper-tantrum. Just stay sharp, AJ,” the Doctor instructed, searching about as he tried to walk without his hooves clopping loudly on the stone. “If we’re lucky, she’s calmed down by now… but Marr could come out of anywhere down here. Any wall, floor, or ceiling.”
Applejack nodded, gulping out of worry as she felt the tense bite of suspense and fear run over her chest. But in spite of this, the brown stallion moved away from the TARDIS, going deeper into a place where no sane pony would dare to tread.
And Applejack followed without hesitation.
————————
“No sign a’ her…” Applejack shook her head after about half an hour in the tunnels, her eyes having long since adjusted to the moon-like light as the pair again came up to the large cavern where the many statues of the Lost were set. “Is that good or bad?”
“If she was home, she would have to know that we are here by now,” the Doctor answered, no longer bothering to keep his voice down.
“Yer thinkin’ she went inta Roan ta… what? Pick up more ponies fer this?”
“I don’t think so… She was very shaken up and confused when we spoke to her last.” The Doctor looked around the room, taking a moment to look over the statues. “The poor thing...”
“Yeah. These ponies got families that are missin’ 'em… and there's no tellin’ how long they've been down here.”
“Not them. I was talking about Marr.”
“Come again?” Applejack reached up a hoof and pushed the hem of her hat back. “All the trouble she’s caused and yer worried ‘bout the gorgon?”
“You’re not?” The Doctor seemed surprised.
“Look, Ah’ve run inta monsters before, Doctor. A manticore in the Everfree Forest, a hydra in Froggy Bottom Bog... Shoot, we once had an Ursa Minor come stormin’ right up the middle a' Ponyville one night. Critters like that… there ain’t no reasonin’ with ‘em. They jus’ cause trouble for the ponyfolk.”
“Do they?” The Doctor sounded less than approving of her words.
“Ah get that Marr here ain’t no animal, but she ain’t no pony neither. Ah get that she can talk, and it sure is sad what happened ta her, Ah admit. But ya gotta agree, all this… The pony statues… takin’ ‘em off the street… Whether she was tricked or not, it points ta the fact that we’re dealin' with a monster, ya know?”
“So, since she’s not a pony… Marr Bell is a monster, then?”
“Not meanin' no offense ta her, but kinda, yeah…”
“What about me?”
Applejack paused, turning to the brown stallion, whose expression was far from his usual jovial self. His eyes were not angry, but sad… as if what she had said had hit a frayed nerve.
“Wha… You? No… No, ‘course not!” Applejack shook her head. “Y'all ain’t done nuthin’ like this. An’ yer with us tryin’ ta stop it.”
“Are you so sure about that?”
The Doctor was quiet for a moment, looking away as Applejack took a slight step back. “Doctor… Ah didn’t mean that…”
“I’ve been there before.”
“Huh?” Applejack drew back in puzzlement. “In the cave, yeah, a few hours ago. When she tried ta smash y'all inta the corridor.”
“No, Applejack. I mean I’ve been where Marr is right now, emotionally. So alone and angry at everything. Trying to make sense of what I’ve done wrong and why I’m still around. I know exactly what it is she wants… what she needs.” The Doctor sighed heavily as Applejack listened. “Her only fault is who is fulfilling that need. She was not as... fortunate in her friends as I turned out to be.”
The Doctor took another breath, shaking his head before looking up to Applejack.
“Y'all wanna save 'er,” Applejack realized. It wasn’t a question. And it seemed enough to jar the Doctor out of his moment of philosophical debate.
“Oh, dear… I’m waxing sentimental, aren’t I? Sorry. Old as I’ve gotten… seems to be happening a lot for me, lately. Must be another quirk this time around. I just mean to say…” The Doctor half-sighed, half-huffed. “...are you sure you know who the monster in this scenario is?”
Applejack opened her mouth for a few seconds, then paused before she closed it again. The Doctor then moved towards the statues as Applejack looked down to the ground, feeling like a filly who had just been scolded for something that seemed fun at the time… and turned out to be not only silly, but quite dangerous.
But as her eyes were downcast, she caught note of something on the floor off in the corner.
“We could wait for her here. She’s bound to come back sooner or later, and I don’t fancy moving the TARDIS around too much to look for her. There’s not enough power,” the Doctor said aloud as Applejack moved towards the side of the wall, finding an overturned wicker basket set atop a leaf of thin parchment.
“I don’t know how happy she’s going to be to see us. We should probably tell Twilight and the others to make themselves comfortable if--”
“Doctor…” Applejack called for the Time Pony’s attention. “Ah think Ah know where she’s gone off to…”
The Doctor turned and moved over to Applejack as the farm pony picked the paper up in her mouth, displaying it to him. After a moment of reading, his eyes went wide.
“Oh, no…”
————————
Studio de Eterna Magnificenza, Royal District
The Pony City-state of Roan
8:25 p.m.
As the final colors of dusk began to fade over the walls of the city of Roan, the sound of music could be heard playing throughout the streets of the Royal District; a jovial and fancy tune that echoed against the stone walls down the back alleys and byways clear into the surrounding Craftspony District.
And at the center of it all, the gilded stones of the Studio de Eterna Magnifizenza were awash in the light of more than a hundred magical lanterns; balls of compressed sunlight that banished the dark from around the studio itself both within and without. At every possible point of access, the Roan Guard stood as sentries to protect perhaps the single largest gathering of the nobility in the history of Roan, while Centuri-pegasi flew drills overhead to ensure that no trouble could befall this auspicious occasion.
But while many of the city’s most affluent citizens were so accustomed to protection that they did not bat an eye at the immense security, few among the Guard themselves understood precisely why such extreme measures had been called for.
Descriptions had been given of course for the possible threat of very specific troublemakers, and judging by the sheer stress that seemed to burden Commander Kickback, the unicorn stallion in charge of security, the host of the event was taking this threat quite seriously. The invitations had been required to be sent out beforehoof for entry, which, thankfully, they had been able to collect upon without incident.
So, as the door guards remained in place, armor meticulously shined and fur perfectly groomed, they took a careful and serious accounting of the two latecomers that moved past the outer guard with a polite nod.
The earth pony stallion, his face a black and white dapple common of the Baguette Province, wore a fine-looking wrap of silks that were tied snugly around his body in a fashion only possible by having multiple attendants. Their purest shade of white caught the guards’ eyes almost as much as the polished stone pendent that hung around the pony’s neck, bearing an insignia of Prance’s House of Earth.
At the stallion’s side, wearing a slightly more worn, but no less elegant toga wrap of deep purple to match her violet coat, a unicorn mare walked with a singular purpose, her nose in the air in a haughty fashion.
Typical of so many noble fillies and gentlecolts, they attempted to move straight past the two pegasus guards without a word.
*Flumph*
Blocked by a set of wings, the two were forced to pause, causing the earth pony to step back as his accompanying mare stood resolute. “Vous êtes sûr que ça va travailler, à droite?” the Phrench pony asked, his accent lilting and precise.
“Bien sûr, juste regarder importante,” the unicorn replied before turning to the pegasus guard with a Phrench accent coloring her otherwise understandable speech. “Excusez-moi, we are expected, kind sirs.”
“Apologies, milady, but all arrivals must present invitations. There has be a recent rash of conponies impersonating ponies of import,” one guard informed them bluntly, causing the purple unicorn to roll her eyes slightly at the news.
“Mercí… Is there no decency on Equis anymore? Oui, oui, I understand, sirs…”
“Cela ne va pas travailler... Il n'existe aucun moyen, c'est aller travailler,” the dappled stallion started again.
“Juste rester calme et regarder s'ennuie,” the unicorn replied before reaching into the top of her toga. “Apologies, sirs. My lord has had a difficult journey and is quite anxious to see what all of the fuss is about.”
Pulling a small black case from the folds of fabric, the unicorn opened it.
Focus on what you want them to see… she told herself, trying to maintain a look of boredom as she concentrated with all of her might on the black case. Focus on what you want them to see…
“I present my lord, Sir Merens Prance, Lord of the Township of Oreo,” she said, doing all she could to steady her heart as she focused on the case, opening it carefully to show the guards. “I am his personal assistant and translator, Crépuscule Pétillent, here at the behest of House Denarius for this monumental occasion.”
The guards looked at the paper for a moment as Twilight Sparkle tried to keep breathing naturally. She had always had doubts about this trick, ever since she had first seen it used by the Doctor, and was still clueless as to how it worked, exactly. But they had few other options available to them now.
“Hmmm…” The pegasus guard tilted his head slightly as he regarded the paper.
“Is there a problem, sir?” the unicorn asked.
This had to work. She focused as hard as she could on the slightly psychic paper, practically screaming the concepts of "Invitation, Merens Prance and Guest," in her head.
“No, Lady Pétillent… there is no problem.” The guard nodded, with Twilight nearly letting out a sigh of relief as the two guards lowered their wings. “We must be on guard at all times, you understand.”
“Of course, kind sirs. Astrolia’s blessing be upon you.” Twilight nodded her head in a dignified manner before starting forward, the white-clad, dappled pony following alongside.
“Je ne peux pas croire que travaillé!” the stallion noted as they moved into the exhibition.
“Vous me dites...” the mare responded in an equally disbelieving tone.
As the two pegasi went back to their duty, the guard that had spoken with them huffed slightly.
“What?” his companion inquired as he looked to his side.
“Sir Prance must have some reputation with the fillies,” the guard replied with a smirk. “The invitation clearly said they weren’t together as a couple.”
“Odd...”
“Aristocrats. Name one that isn’t.”
“True enough.”
And the guards fell silent as they resumed their duties.
————————
Trying to calm her pounding heart, Twilight Sparkle moved to the side of one wall near the door, wedging herself between a set of tables that held two magnificent ice sculptures and large bowls of drinks for the passersby, and looking over the studio with a cautious eye.
The inside was quite well packed with ponies of all sorts, including servers with trays of food set into holsters along their shoulders with various flowers and bits of food, and crowds standing around large framed portraits and beautifully crafted sculptures that dotted the floor with a prestige as great as any museum that Twilight had ever been to. Gold and scarlet streamers ran from the large chandelier that hung from the roof. Brand new by the looks of it, given the Doctor’s tale of what had happened there the day before.
This exhibition had the same feeling as the Grand Galloping Gala: Far too much pomp and circumstance, nowhere near enough substance. Unlike the Gala, however, Twilight and Oreo had a far more important and dangerous task ahead of them than spending time with the Princess.
Bringing a hoof up to one ear, Twilight brushed her mane back and away from what looked like an ear clip. “Doctor, can you hear me? We’re in,” she whispered.
“We heard everything. Good work.” The Time Pony’s voice was in her ear, sent to her by a magic that she was intensely curious about that the Doctor called "Cellular Signal." “I get the feeling I’m being a bad influence on you. But you’re quite the performer on your own.”
“I took a study of acting method at Canterlot Academy. Our instructor was Phrench. And yes, you are. You do realize that if there wasn’t so much at stake, I wouldn’t be doing this.”
“I thought my heart was going to explode, mademoiselle…” Oreo nodded and smiled to a passing pony that looked him up and down approvingly, speaking through his teeth with an accent, denoting to Twilight that he was speaking in his native Phrench. “They run ponies out of cities with torches for what we just did. And we managed that with a white bed-sheet, a broken piece of stone armor, and a piece of magic paper?”
“Careful, Oreo… Some of these ponies are bound to speak Phrench. Don’t rely on it in here. And you volunteered for this, remember?” Twilight said before turning her attention back to the voice in her ear.
“I was feeling much braver in your magic box with your Doctor talking me into it,” the dappled pony huffed. “What are they saying?”
“Shh… If you want to know, you should've gotten one too instead of refusing the ‘magicky stuff.’ Sorry... No, that was Oreo. Can you say that again?”
“I said I would do it myself, Twilight, but they are sure to recognize me in almost any disguise after the stunt I pulled yesterday,” the Doctor’s disembodied voice told the unicorn. “Just avoid Castagno and Commander Kickback and you should be fine. Nobody--”
“NOPONY!” Applejack’s voice shouted over the earpiece. The sudden increase in volume resulted in the device whining sharply in Twilight’s ear, causing her to cringe at the feedback.
“Fine, fine, fine… Nopony else has seen you and nopony even knows about Oreo,” the Doctor advised, causing Twilight to look around worriedly. Thankfully, she could make out neither of said unicorns in sight.
“I don’t see them. I think I see Graphis at the far end of the exhibition hall, though. It looks like he’s entertaining somepony.” Twilight huffed as her eyes scanned over the crowd. “No sign of Marr.”
“Well, she isn’t likely to walk in the front door on her hooves and hope nopony notices the rest of her,” Leonard’s voice spoke in her ear. “Don’t forget, she can swim through any stone there.”
“Yeah, and there are at least a dozen unicorn and pegasus guards in here… If she came out, it wouldn’t go well for anypony.”
“Leonard’s right. She’s not going to come into the open if she can help it,” the Doctor agreed. “And really, that is the last thing we want. She’ll probably wait for Graphis someplace only he would go.”
“His office?”
“That would be my guess.”
“Okay. We’ll head up there.”
“Twilight… be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything you wouldn’t do.” Twilight nodded with a slight smirk, her heart pounding in excitement.
As frightening as it was, Twilight had to admit this also had a thrill to it as she milled around, moving up and into the crowd of ponies as she moved along with the nobles with Oreo in tow. Nodding and turning to a moment’s small talk with another mare that held her up to compliment her dress, Twilight missed the Doctor’s low response over the earpiece.
“That's hardly comforting...”
————————
“A grander turnout there could not have been!” Graphis Denarius beamed proudly, looking out over the scene of his studio at the collection of nobility that had gathered, all in appreciation of his work. “Your compatriots, the Duke of Storm Rush and the Dutchess Sweet Grass. From the Matriarch of House Sky to the... ahem... 'noble' Magistrate of the Downs… Some of the fiercest rivals and closest allies, coming together for a single event.”
The grey stallion turned to his side, a large smile to his face as he looked to his personal guest of honor. The Duke of Roan, Grand Denarius, however, did not share in his offspring’s amusement.
And he was never one to mince words.
“Great… A hundred or so ponies, one half of which despises the other half, crowded in a room with rocks and canvas for the better half of a night,” the Duke replied dully, unaffected by his son's excitement. “If you can be congratulated on nothing else, at the very least they haven’t stampeded one another into the ground yet.”
Graphis’ grin faltered slightly. “Padre… It is in the interest and investment of the arts that they respect.”
“Ah, I see…” Duke Denarius nodded. “In that case, the congratulations go to them… for going along with it.”
Deflated, Graphis shook his head as a pair of assistants moved to the Duke’s side, one of them a pegasus offering him a drink, while another, a smaller white unicorn filly, brought a leaflet to the Duke’s attention.
“Padre… The city will not crumble if you take one night away from the matters of state,” Graphis implored as the elder Denarius looked over the paper. “If you would fancy a tour, I can show you the--”
“Paint on parchment and rocks shaved to look like ponies, Graphis.” The Duke shook his head bluntly. “There’s nothing beyond that. Besides which, this whole affair isn’t about ‘the Arts,’ my colt… It never has been.”
“Padre…” Graphis’ tone turned from imploring to pleading. “I am simply attempting to show that--”
“What you’re attempting is to show off, Graphis. Like you always have, ever since you were a foal.” Grand Denarius sighed heavily, waving the attendants away with one hoof. The unicorn in particular looked quite relieved to get out from between the two of them. “Your brother joined the Guard and worked his way up the ranks from a Private. Never asking for aid, never having to drop my name… and he eventually joined the Rainbow Sentry.”
“Where he fell in battle with a dragon on the Wild Frontier,” Graphis huffed, not at all caring for the turns this night was taking.
“And your sister, Astrolia rest her soul, found a life that made her happy, and a good stallion to share it with.”
“She married a ground-pounder and died of a colic outbreak in Fillyenze!”
Grand snorted harshly, his expression hardening as Graphis winced at the realization of his misstep. “Still your tongue, colt!” Grand held himself in check as the younger Denarius tried to hold his ground. “Victus Bray may have been an earth pony, and he might not have been blue-blooded... but he was a good pony, through and through.”
“And suffice it to say that I am not?”
“Oh, Graphis… We are not doing this tonight, are we?” The Duke rolled his eyes slightly before bringing a hoof to his forehead, already feeling the oncoming migraine approaching.
“As if there is any other time, Padre…” Graphis remarked bitterly. “I do not understand how you cannot appreciate everything I’ve done! This studio has all but supplanted the quarry’s income. It practically saved Roan from financial ruin!”
“A ruin caused by the mishandling of the quarry’s assets by its current administrator,” the Duke countered, putting a hoof to his chin for a moment in mock thought. “Who was that, again? Who was given that responsibility, and completely ignored it in favor of this gilded charade?”
“I built this studio from nothing. You gave me a depleted field of useless rock, Padre. That quarry was a waste of my effort, time, and abilities… I’m simply better than that.”
“From nothing? You don’t appreciate what 'nothing' is, colt. That quarry was what gave our family everything we have, Graphis.” The elder Denarius’ tone grew more severe as he spoke. “And as for your ‘abilities,’ you had the chance to prove that… but I was under the impression that ship had sailed when they kicked you out of the Academia.”
“That was a serious miscarriage of--”
“Oh, don’t give me that, colt. Paying off the Critique to expunge the record and grant a title doesn’t make it any less true… Using funds from the quarry to start and supplement this lavish ‘art’ empire, calling what this place produces ‘art’… does not make you a self-made pony.” The Duke’s voice dropped even lower, and the imposing pony bent his neck to look down and meet his child's eyes with his own. “And using our family name and influence to settle petty qualms with somepony that has enough backbone to stand up for himself in spite of this mockery you’ve made of his profession -- all while you think I’m not looking -- does not make you a Duke.”
Graphis pulled back slightly at that last comment, with the Duke’s face a mask of sternness that had led the city of Roan for more than forty years.
“Nothing happens in this city without me finding out about it eventually, Graphis. But all of that I can forgive… except for one thing. You didn’t earn any of it… and perhaps that is my own fault." Grand paused in his scolding to look up again at the assembled ponies, before going back to the other unicorn. "But in case you have not heard, this city… my city… our city… is facing other crises. So you will forgive me if I have better things to do than to pat my colt on the back for flaunting what everypony else has given to him.”
“GAH!” Graphis exclaimed, stomping both front hooves for a moment and drawing attention from some of his guests as he snorted with a barely contained anger. “No matter how high I rise, you always… always seek to drag me down again. Blast it, Padre! Is there no pleasing you!?”
“And that’s what you never could understand,” the Duke replied calmly, holding the younger Denarius’ gaze without turning away. “You never should have tried in the first place, Graphis.”
Holding the Duke’s gaze for just a moment, Graphis turned suddenly and noted several of the guests watching, only to turn away when they realized he had noticed them.
“I think it is best that I go… mingle…” Graphis Denarius managed to contain himself as he bit his lower lip.
“I believe so, colt,” Duke Denarius agreed. “Go and reap what you’re so proud of sowing.”
The two held a tense stare for a few seconds before the younger Denarius rotated on the spot, his fine purple cape fluttering slightly behind him as he moved perhaps a bit faster than he should have, grinding his teeth with every step.
He paused in his minor tantrum only when something he did not expect reached his ears.
“Maestro, is this one incomplete?” a younger, slim-built pegasus asked, drawing Graphis’ attention towards her.
The white-furred mare was quite attractive, a shimmering golden shawl and gown accenting her nearly flawless coat as Graphis turned to see what had caught her attention: one of the gallery's statues.
The grey pony statue had no base or plaque attached, and for a moment Graphis found himself wondering when this particular piece had been brought in for the show. Standing on two hooves, the odd positioning of her back seemed to suggest she was seated at an awkward angle, before he came to a sobering realization.
It ended against the floor, seeming to blend right into the stone. Looking up at the thick, coarse stone mane and facial features, a filly with her slightly-too-big eyes closed, Graphis’ heart all but stopped.
“Oh… This one… Ahem... What’s this doing out here…? Thank you… so much, Lady… um…”
“Rainy Sky. You know, Maestro… perhaps we could--”
“Some other time, perhaps. If you would… please…” Graphis’ tone was rushed and harsh as he moved between the pegasus and the grey filly statue. “I need to... tend to my work. Excuse me!”
The white-furred pegasus’ expression soured a bit, the abruptness of the "celebrated Maestro" clearly defusing any positive impressions she had about him as she moved away.
And so Graphis turned his attention to the strange statue, just in time for it to open its eyes and take a breath, her slitted green irises glowing eerily in the bright light.
————————
The TARDIS
Across the street from the Studio de Eterna Magnificenza
A short while earlier
“Can she hear us?” Applejack asked, her hooves clopping crisply on the glass floor of the time machine as she passed behind the Doctor.
“No, I turned off our side. We can hear Twilight, but she can’t hear us. That would be very distracting for her, and she needs to keep up appearances.”
“I don’t like this.” Leonard paced around the control panel as the Doctor pulled the scanner display around, the wavy lines on it moving in time with the background noise and sound of Twilight’s voice as she seemed to be pulled into a moment of conversation with everypony between her and the stairs leading up to Denarius’ office. “I should have gone with her.”
“She’s doing fine, Leonard,” the Doctor assured the blonde pony. “Besides, if you had gone, you wouldn’t have made it past the first guard.”
“Ah still don’t see why she had ta go with Oreo,” Applejack complained, pacing in the same direction as Leonard so that they walked behind the Doctor at different times.
“Because she wouldn’t be speaking Phrench or any other language without someone to direct it at, and there’s no way she’d be able to pass herself off as a local noble,” the Doctor answered as she went by, trying to listen to the background noise.
“It’s still dangerous. Are we even sure that Marr Bell will be here? I mean, it seems a long leap to that conclusion from just one piece of paper,” Leonard pointed out as he took his turn.
“Leonard, this exhibition is the best lead we have. If you have any better ideas, I am all ears. And if your plan works out, I promise I’ll take you to a planet were everyone is actually all ears.” The Doctor paused as Applejack walked behind him, her expression puzzled at what she'd heard. “Actually, I wonder if that planet is still around in this universe. I’ll have to go take a look at some point… It would certainly be an interesting trip, and…” The Doctor’s expression fell as Leonard passed behind him again. “Would you two please stop that? Like a pair of buzzards, you are.”
“Ah can’t help it, Doctor.” Applejack broke away from the roundabout pacing and found herself shifting on her hooves as she turned back towards the Time Pony. “She’s out there, and Ah’m in here doin’ nuthin’ ta help... Ah shoulda gone with 'er. Ahm sure Ah coulda done sumthin’.”
“Uh-huh.” The Doctor shook his head, pressing a button and turning one of the panels towards Applejack. “This plan requires deception, Applejack. Something that, from what I understand, you are not very good at.”
“Dunno know why we can’t jus’ tell them ponies what’s happenin’.”
“I understand that you are not from this place or time, Lady Applejack, but the nobility are a panicky lot. If we inform them of Marr Bell’s existence, they are almost certain to send the Guard after her.”
“And that won’t end well for anypony,” the Doctor agreed, pausing as he saw the orange earth pony turn towards him, eyes wide. “...What?”
Applejack merely smirked at him.
“Oh... Ohhh...”
“Maybe we don’t gotta keep correctin’ ya, after all.” Applejack kept smiling approvingly. “Jus’ keep it up, and soon, y'all 're gonna be jus' like any a' the other pony folk.”
“I rather doubt that, AJ.” The Doctor shook his head, amused at her taking his lack of a tongue slip as a significant sign of change.
“Aw, come on, Doc. What’s the matter, afraid ya might like it? Hey, tell ya what! When we get back ta Ponyville, y'all can try a hoof at real, honest earth pony work. Get up ta Sweet Apple Acres and buck some--” Applejack kicked back a leg in a mock bucking motion.
*THUD*
Much to her surprise, she impacted something solid.
“…trees?”
Applejack turned her head just in time to realize that she had carelessly gotten a bit too close to the device that the Doctor and the others had built as she had been moving around, and had hit it with that light kick. And considering her prodigious strength, a light kick was all it took to send it toppling to the ground.
“LEO! CATCH IT!” the Doctor cried out, but only too late as the orb fell over on its side.
*KA-THUMP*
*Vrrrrrmmmmm*
*FLASH*
As the colored light filled the console room in a brilliant flash, Applejack winced and looked back to the Doctor. “Ah’m so sorry! Did ah break it!?” she apologized hurriedly, rushing over to try and push the device back upright.
“No… I don’t think so…” Leonard assured her, rushing over to help as the Doctor moved from the panel to look it over.
“We have to be careful with that thing. If the prisms are broken we won’t be able to use it on Rainbow.”
“Uh... Use what on me? What is that thing, anyway?”
“It is a device we threw together to get you unpetrified so that you wouldn’t spend the rest of your life as a statue, Madonna.”
“Yeah, so are y'all gonna give us a hoof to get it back up or are y'all gonna jus’ stand there, Rain...”
Applejack and Leonard stopped, both looking in unison towards the Doctor, who was looking to his side in amazement. And then next to the astonished-looking stallion to see a drowsy blue mare, rubbing her eyes.
“Unngghhh... My mouth tastes like sand… Does anypony have a glass of wat--”
“Rainbow!”
*POW*
“Whoa!” The cyan pegasus had no warning whatsoever before she was bowled over in a tremendous hug by her earth pony friend, the cowpony going so far as to lose her hat in the sudden rush.
“Yer okay!” Applejack held her winged friend for a long couple of seconds as the now very much awake mare tried to take in her surroundings.
“Well... yeah, of course I'm okay. I’m… always okay.”
“Huh… So that’s what it needed.” Leonard smirked as he watched the reunion, with the pegasus trying to squirm out of the earth pony’s vice grip, but not having much success.
“What’s that, Leonard?” asked the Doctor.
“A little of what my mother used to call 'good old, earth pony luck,'” the blonde artist answered, causing the Doctor to give a huff in amusement, watching as Rainbow finally managed to pry Applejack off.
“Okay, okay! Slow down, AJ! So there's hugging... in the TARDIS… A big whatchamacallit... Leonard’s here… Uh... Did I miss something?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking between the three ponies with a worried expression.
————————
Exhibition Hall
Studio de Eterna Magnificenza
At that exact moment
Graphis Denarius’ blood ran cold as the glowing green pair of eyes turned to him, a soft smile on the face of the ponyesque creature.
This was beyond bad. This was even worse than his father’s blunt and callous denial of his abilities and sacrifices.
This was something straight out of his worst nightmares.
“Marr! What are you doing here!?” the grey unicorn whispered through clenched teeth, as much out of a need to quiet himself as it was the simple fact he just couldn’t relax his jaw enough to move it. His head snapped back and forth frantically, worried how long it would be before somepony else noticed this particular, unremarkable corner of the exhibition.
“Well, that’sss a fine hello, love.” The gorgon tilted her head coyly. “Sssorry if I’m late, I was trying to--”
“This isn’t a game, Marr! I said never to come here!”
The grey-furred filly’s expression faltered a bit, obviously not expecting the urgency or the panic that was in his voice. Much to his horror, the gorgon’s slitted eyes narrowed as her own concern grew.
“You invited me...” Marr said simply, her tone unsure as those green eyes looked Graphis up and down. “Is sssomething the matter, my love? You feel… odd.”
Graphis’ eyes went wide in shock as one hoof moved to his neck, and he swallowed reflexively.
“Your heart is racing… Graphisss, what’sss wrong?”
“A… A matter of some urgency, Marr... Just… I need you to go… Just… go home… I’ll come by tonight, just…” Graphis stammered in spite of himself.
“Is sssomepony threatening you?” the gorgon asked, very confused by the reaction she was feeling through the stone floor. “If I didn’t know better, my love… I would sssay you were ssscared.”
“Just…” Graphis looked over towards a small procession of guests, led by Castagno, who was now going over the various works with the knowledge and grace of a Critique, and moved forward to put his hoof to Marr’s face, closing her eyes. “Stay here. Just stay put… Don’t speak to anypony. Don't look at anypony. Keep your eyes closed and be still... I’ll be right back… and… I’ll explain everything. Just... stay... here.” He backed away quickly, suddenly dashing back into the distracted crowd and away from the gorgon.
For a moment, she remained as she was told. Eyes closed, imitating the statues that stood at each side of her.
The statues... of ponies...
Sleeping ponies she had posed... in order to save the city... That these other ponies lived in… and had parties in...
Statues that were not currently gracing the caves of the Northern Griffin Roosts.
Marr’s eyes opened slowly, though none of the ponies milling around her noticed. Nor did they notice when she silently sank back into the floor, as though she had never been there at all.
————————
Maestro's Office
Studio de Eterna Magnificenza
The office of Graphis Denarius was dim this evening, the magical orbs of light that often illuminated the nights of the Maestro having been pulled out to add to the splendor of the display outside.
So there was no way to miss the purple charge of energy when it ran over the door.
*Fizzzzzz-click*
The large door popped open as Twilight Sparkle and Oreo quickly pulled one another inside.
“I can’t believe that the Guard posted none of their stallions on that catwalk.” Oreo shook his head, absolutely stunned that they had gotten so far with almost no resistance at all.
“Why would they?” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have finally gotten away from the crowd and having slipped unnoticed up the stairs leading to the second floor catwalk, and then up the set leading to the third floor office. “All the guards that are inside are trying to talk to every noblepony they can in order to improve their own stations. After all, with the heavy security outside, how would any troublemakers get in?”
The dappled pony smirked. “With a Phrench accent, a bed-sheet, and magic paper, apparently.”
“Well, we’ve also been lucky,” Twilight admitted as she looked around the room. “But not lucky enough… No gorgon up here.“ As Oreo moved in towards the desk, Twilight brought a hoof up to her ear again, tapping on the alien device clipped to it. “Doctor, are you there? Can you hear me?”
“Hey, Egghead. What’s happening?”
Twilight almost jumped for joy right there at the voice that rang in her ear. “Rainbow! You’re okay!”
“And not made of stone! Time out is over! This mare is back in the game and ready to bring the rain!”
“Well, a little less rain for now and a little more looking around,” the Doctor interrupted the conversation, his voice even and serious. “Did we hear you right? Marr’s not in the office?”
“No, she isn’t… So, how did you get Rainbow out? I thought the device didn’t work.”
“Ah fixed it,” Applejack’s voice, slightly fainter than the other two, came over the line.
“I’ll tell you all about it later, you’ll get a kick out of it,” the Doctor said. “But the important thing is that now we have a sure way to unpetrify those ponies. Now all we need is to get through to Marr Bell. Do you see anything out of place in the office itself?”
“Not much. The place is a real mess, though... There are papers and things everywhere.”
“That doesn’t sound like Graphis at all,” Leonard’s voice came through the earpiece. “He was always one for keeping his workplace clean and efficient. It’s just the way he is.”
“Wow…” Oreo suddenly spoke up, looking over a page on the desk. “Why aren’t these down at the exhibition? This is vastly better than the paintings on display down there.”
Looking up, Twilight moved over to Oreo’s side, inspecting the page in the dim light from outside. On its surface were sketches of a pegasus' wings that the learned unicorn could identify immediately.
“That's... Leo, he’s got your work up here!” Twilight said urgently. “Everything, by the looks of it… Sketches, blueprints, concept drawings, manuscripts… Everything.”
“WHAT!?” Leonard shouted, before several very unkind Roanan expletives followed close by. But even as she tried to tune all that out, something else caught her attention… Something with a glimmer to it.
“That’s… impossible...” Twilight uttered as Oreo pulled up another sheet, looking over Leonard’s work.
“Not really, Twilight. We know that Graphis was stealing other ponies’ ideas. It makes sense that after you ran he would--”
“Quiet, Oreo. Doctor, back in Marr’s cave, when you were looking at Rainbow’s memories...”
“Wait… You were looking at my what?” Rainbow sounded shocked and more than slightly disturbed.
“Okay, never mind, I’ll ask her myself. Rainbow, in Graphis’ office, did you find a crystal pendant?” Twilight asked, carefully reaching out a hoof to slip underneath the chain wrapped around what she had found.
“Oh, yeah… Weird-looking thing. Kinda like a number three with a check-mark,” Rainbow answered.
“Wait, I remember seeing that before,” Oreo spoke up as Twilight lifted the object cautiously with her hoof. “Graphis was wearing it at the quarry when Applejack and I were hiding from him.”
“Doctor… there is something seriously, seriously wrong here.” Twilight held the pendent at forehoof’s reach, as if afraid it was going to bite her.
“What gave it away? The lovesick gorgon, the pony statues, or the crazed wannabe artist?” the Doctor replied sarcastically.
“No, Doctor, you don’t understand. I know how he managed to fool Marr… Graphis Denarius has a Still-Heart Charm!”
“A what?” The Doctor was taken aback. Not surprising, given his lack of expertise in this universe.
“It’s an alchemical charm made for unicorns. Run a magical current through it and it creates a calming effect for the wearer; quiets the heart and nerves, soothes the mind, and relaxes all of the senses. It’s like… tranquility as an accessory. It also allows for intense focus, doubling or even tripling a unicorn's spell power.
“And Marr can feel a pony's heartbeat in order to tell if they are lying… so Graphis got himself something to keep his heart from speeding up,” the Doctor concluded.
“That’s not all, Doctor.” Twilight’s tone was layered with worry. “Still-Heart Charms are illegal in Equestria because they're Dark Magic. Tranquility is addictive, and calming the nerves for the short-term causes all sorts of nasty long-term side-effects.”
“Like what?” Rainbow asked as Oreo suddenly prodded Twilight’s shoulder, but the unicorn waved him off.
“Irritability, paranoia, mood swings, delusions, and impaired judgment, to name a few. But that’s still not the worst of it.”
“Twilight, get to the point, already.”
“Doctor, Still-Heart Charms haven’t even been invented yet!" Twilight said quickly, again brushing Oreo’s prodding to the side as she explained her legitimate concern. “They won’t be invented until late in Celestia’s Reign! Maybe fifty or sixty years before our time! This should not be here!”
“...And neither should you.”
Twilight looked up at the new voice… this one not in her ear, but right in front of her.
The grey-furred stallion stood on trembling legs, his flanks all but heaving with anger as both his horn and the door to the office began to glow, and the latter snapped shut with a resounding slam. As prim and proper as he tried to pass himself off before, the dull light from the outside of the office cast a pallor over him, dulling the flamboyantly bright noble's clothes and giving the angry pony a far more sinister look.
“G-Graphis Denarius…” Twilight uttered aloud, still holding the Still-Heart Charm out at a distance.
“Oh, dear. This isn't good. Twilight, keep him talking!” the Doctor said shortly before a slight "beep" cut out his voice.
“I should have guessed… I should have known old Leo would send a harmless filly…” The artist’s eye twitched slightly as he held an aggressive posture on his hooves. “Just like him. Always putting something new out there… always thinking outside the mainstream… Hiding behind Master Vero, hiding behind the old Critique, hiding behind that wretched pegasus and Doctor…”
To most ponies, the maniac gleam in his eyes, and the aura of power and aggression that he put forward, would have been an intimidating sight. But much to her own surprise, the purple unicorn found that she was not afraid in the slightest.
She was Twilight Sparkle. She was the wielder of the Element of Magic.
She had charged Nightmare Moon herself. She had stood her ground against an Ursa Minor. She had been held in the clutches of a gorgon and outsmarted a full-grown hydra, and in every case, survived to tell about it.
She had changed the fate of all of Equestria for the better, rewriting history itself to prevent her own rise to power and descent into madness.
And what she was now facing couldn’t measure up to any one of those.
“Those are my friends,” Twilight said defiantly before holding up the charm on the chain. “And these are dangerous, Graphis. But you already know that. Look at you; you’re falling apart under the stress. How long have you been using this thing? Where did you get it?”
“It is mine! All of it!” Graphis snarled and snorted, rearing back on his hind legs threateningly. “My charm! My studio! My city! Do you think you can just trot in here and tell me what to do with what is mine!?”
Obviously enraged beyond the point of reason, the horn of the grey unicorn exploded into a frenzy of pale power, lifting a stone bench effortlessly and flinging it at the desk. Twilight and Oreo had half a second to duck as the heavy, slow-moving projectile went crashing against the stone wall behind the desk.
“GIVE IT TO ME! NOW!”
“Oh, you want this? Fine.” Twilight held up the Still-Heart Charm for a moment, catching Denarius’ attention before tossing it with a feeble throw towards the window. “Go fetch!”
The charm had only left her grasp for a second before it was suddenly surrounded in a grey aura of magic.
“You stupid mare. Even if you threw it out, that’s crystal! No physical force is going to even scratch it. Did you really think that was going to work!?” Graphis shook his head with a mixture of annoyance and incredulity.
“No, I just didn’t want to touch it directly with my own magic and let it work its charms on me.” Twilight shrugged before her own horn lit up. “Thanks for insulating it.”
*Vrrrrmmmm*
*KA-ZAP*
*KRISSSSH*
Graphis cringed as the bolt of purple magic impacted his own, overwhelming the Maestro's aura and striking the charm itself with what must have been the equivalent of a dozen spells' worth of raw energy. Overloaded to such a degree, the charm never stood a chance, shattering to a million pieces.
The shock on Graphis Denarius’ face lasted only for a moment. The outrage that replaced it was instantly directed at Twilight as Oreo moved up beside her, emboldened by the unicorn's bravery with a new-found courage in his steps.
“We know about the Lost, Denarius!” the Phrench pony objected as the anger rolled in waves off of the noblecolt. “And we are going to tell everypony.”
“Oh… is that so?” Denarius’ eye twitched slightly as his horn glowed again. “Tell me how you will possibly accomplish that... seeing as you won't be leaving this office... alive.”
*KRISSSSSSSSSSHHHHH*
The three ponies inside the office atop the studio were suddenly showered in a rain of stained glass as the window over the desk burst inward dramatically. In the chaos, a winged figure holding up two others with some difficulty flew through the newly made opening, dropping her cargo to the ground.
Applejack and the Doctor landed on the floor with ease, Rainbow dropped down on the other side of Twilight and Oreo, and Graphis suddenly found himself seriously outnumbered.
“YOU!?” Graphis’ eyes went wide as he recognized the rainbow mane of the pegasus. “No… You were in the cave! You were a statue! I saw it!”
“I got better.” Rainbow smirked, drawing a hoof up defensively as the five ponies stood against the single unicorn.
“It’s over, Graphis!” the Doctor declared victoriously.
The Maestro's eye still twitched madly and his nostrils flared as he sharply exhaled every breath he took during the stand-off with these five ponies.
Then, for a moment, just a moment, his horn flashed a dull grey...
*SLURP*
...and the five ponies felt themselves sink without warning into the stone floor, their hooves caught in what felt like thick mud.
*Crack-crackle-crack*
Very suddenly, the liquid surface of the floor hardened, rendering the intruders utterly trapped as the unicorn who cast the spell breathed a steady sigh of relief.
“Yes... it is over... for you,” Graphis Denarius sneered.
————————
Just outside the studio
“Did you see that!?” The guardspony standing at the front door of the Studio de Eterna Magnificenza was almost blown off his hooves by the sheer speed of whatever had dove over his head and into the window above.
“No, but I heard it!” his compatriot agreed, also looking up. “Whatever it was, it slipped past the Air Patrol. We should check it out.”
“One of us has to guard the door...” The first pegasus guard shook his head as he looked back to the closed entryway.
He had been specifically told that after sunset, they were to close up the door and allow no other admittance. Lord Denarius had been quite specific on that, and he was the one in charge.
“I’ll go, you stay. I’ll shout if there’s a problem.” The second guard nodded, his concern mounting with each passing second as he pushed his wings to get him airborne despite his heavy bronze armor. Moving up as quickly as he could given his heft, the guard was barely ten feet off the ground when he realized something was wrong. His wings were sluggish… and his mind was getting… fuzzy.
Before reaching fifteen feet, the guard’s wings ceased to flap and he unceremoniously fell to the ground.
“What the? Alabaster!” The first guard started to race from the door towards his fallen friend before a sudden weight seemed to pull on his limbs as well as his eyelids. “Are you… are… alright…”
The guard crumpled in mid-stride, collapsing to the ground with only a bit of momentum to get him out of the direct path of the door.
Then, even as they lay in their forced slumber, both guards shivered with a sudden chill.
Slipping from the air, wisps of blue smoke coalesced and gathered, their form intangible, but very much alive as they danced through the air towards the doorway. Pressing up and against the large stone doors, the flowing mass seemed to sink into the structure itself.
*KA-CHUNK*
With its size reduced by half, the smoke moved with the speed of the wind around the building to the far more oft-used backdoor. Once leading to the artists’ area, the doorway now served as a secondary exit.
*KA-CHUNK*
Or rather, it used to.
As events unfolded three stories above, and the unwitting nobleponies milled about for the sake of appearance on the ground level, nopony was any the wiser of the danger they were now in.
The bait had been set…
The prey had been lured…
The trap had been sprung…
And things were about to get very interesting.
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Due to length concerns, the last chapter has been split up into two...so I humbly offer this Chapter, leading up to the climax.
Please comment or Appleboom will cry. *awaits reviews*
fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/063/a/b/apple_bloom_is_sad_by_dancinninjac-d3awp55.png
oooh this is about to get goooooood
ARGH! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO DAMN GOOD AT CLIFFHANGERS?!
I see your Mythbusters reference.
Do i spy a monty python reference?!?! .....Glorious. YOU, MY FRIEND, ARE A CHAMPION!
i do like the way the doctor is written, however, it does drag towards the middle part, but still it kept my attention like good filler should. I can't wait until the finale, as its going to be
312048
Gah, I missed something, in the second time-stamp with the TARDIS in transit it says Spring again instead of Summer. Also, the chapter title as it appears in the story listing should have 'invitation' capitalized.
One other small thing, (Graphis was wearing it at the) at this section there's a break between the lines, probably pressed enter when you meant to press spacebar. Other than that it looks in good shape.
I would love to see what happens next! Please post the second half soon, i think that perhaps Nightmare Moon/Luna is the mist that has come to the ceremony? But other than that I am looking forward to seeing the Gorgan confront the love of her life, it'll be sad to see her in so much pain but it'll do her a world of good in the end hopefully....
YEEEEEEESSSS
GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cliff hangerssssssss I gotta hate 'em anywaysssss good ssssstory sssso far.
GAH! and im sluring my S's oh celestia help me........
I NEED MOARRRR
312975
Well, I accept fan art to 'speed' things along if anypony has some to share. Oh, and share with any fellow bronies and pegasisters you might have and tell them to comment. Make sure that the Doctor and Twi know they're properly appreciated.
312456
What? He's old and sentimental this time around... he does that sometimes
312835
Marr: "I sssee nothing wrong with thisss possst. Although I am curiousss... are you part Gorgon? Maybe? Possssibly?...
...
Pleassse?"
312485
All fixed except for the last one.. I don't see the page break... but then again, slightly distracted, will look again later. Thank's 2d.
I am now imagining Pinkie talking the ears off a species whose body is entirely composed of ears. Darned cliffhangers. Can't wait for more.
So, how long must we wait for this conclusion? Because a cliffhanger like this followed by an extended wait for the next part? THAT would make Apple Bloom cry.
313432
Worry Not... there shall be no extended wait.
I am HOPING to have the concluding chapter up by Sunday the 18th (possibly earlier if I can manage it) to draw Game of Stones to a close.
Future tech I wonder how he got it?
HOORAY rainbow's back
.
aww. isn't Leonard just adorkable (tvtropes really DID ruin my vocabulary).getting all worried about twilight.
but why. WHY. WHY. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO GOOD AT CLIFFHANGERS
it's a shame that the story is closing soon. but all good things must end, which means that all glorious things must end faster. i do hope that you continue this series, it's really good.
so hurry up and continue. continue. CONTINUE. FOR THE LOVE OF LUNA CONTINUE
THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT DEMANDS MOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR
So we meet again Cliffhanger, my eternal foe! This is good, really good job building up the tension and throwing in the twist with the future tech. I am really curious as to who's been orchestrating this entire affair... have to wait, must wait, oh please don't keep us in suspense too long!
312048 Who did your Applebloom art?
"Crépuscule Lueur"
static.fjcdn.com/comments/I+_deb23238c3c1aa3923c1b830e4f9288e.png
313203
Marr, I wasss going to keep it a ssseceret but yesss i happen to be part gorgon. you aren't the lassst, you're not alone. Doesss that make you happy?
317053
*Coils and hugs... with constricting hugging strength capable of pushing the TARDIS around.*
Marr: *HIIIISSSSS*
L2L: Uhhh Marr... Coils off the readers please.
*winces at the sounds of a 'gorgon hug*
Marr could you. Lossseing breath *gasps* can't breathe *gasp* Marr pleassse ssstop sssqueezing me. I know you mossst likely like me but pleassse ssstop ssssqueezing me.
I think Grand Denarius is my new favorite pony. He doesn't take crap from anyone, and he sees right through Graphis' myriad types of bullshit.
So now that your almost finnished with Game of Stones
What does this mean for the future? Any new stories planned? stuff like that
Maybe go on a planet where they encounter the Cybermen (yes cybermen not cyberponies) this is just a suggestion though
323090
She's already stated there are a few more planned episodes. (To get an idea, read the Epilogue from The Pinkie Conundrum).
323364
I realy should have payed more attention to that trailer
I re-read it so now I think I know what might come next
“Don’t worry… I won’t do anything you wouldn’t do.”
“That’s no comfort at all…”
Blast! I was going to do this exact exchange in my story....Well played Loyal Well played
Is there any plan for the publishing of the next chapter?
...
Firing 'Please' cannon in 3...
2...
1...
PLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
*pause for breath*SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
*another pause*EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE????????????????????!
I added the pauses because it was going to go off of the page...
Grrr... Okay, this one is getting away from me again. Sorry all, but it looks like Post date will be pushed back. Will fight to get it up by Thursday at the latest with Epilogue either right on it's coat tails or posted at the same time.
And it tends to spin me around in any number of crazy directions.
Apologies and thanks for waiting to the growing fans.. but unfortunately, Life goes on.
Marr talks like a Creeper, except she isn't green and doesn't explode.
312170
Amen!
Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN
Epicness can only ensue....and DONT CRY A.B! I commented
Now have a 
and 
i smell a python
and not a normal one
a monty python
i got the hidden refference
Taken from the three hooves an Fan Fiction.com:
Hmmm and now Twilight remembers that she is in fact brave... I mean I'm glad that she was brave here (as she should be) but why the fear in the previous chapter? Is Marr supposed to be that scary? Scary enough that she freezes there but isn't fazed here?
A cart filled with what is one of the most destructive forces that currently exist at your time isn't something you're concerned about?
4065918 Marr is a large, powerful creature that can turn ponies to stone (I.E. A fate worse than death). I don't care what you've dealt with that thing will at least make you wary.
jewler's loupe
312048
As requested I shall comment. (No Crying apple Bloom for me.) Highly enjoying the story. I really like Marr Bell (Inventive character, follows Doc Who themes well and Pony themes) I have noticed your Doc seems based mostly off the 10th Doctor. He said "Well, ..." a lot and I find myself expecting it at MANY moments and then just going... I guess I'll just mentally add my own.
All said though, I shall read ALL that has and shall be written in this series. Thank you for hours of entertainment.