“Wooooooow,” exclaimed the colt as he took another bite from his apple.
Button had never been to the big city before. To be fair, he had also never been outside of Ponyville’s limits beyond the countryside. His mom wasn’t exactly on the rich or well-off end, nor did she have much time or energy to spare for city excursions. Considering that normal train rides took a fair amount of time to actually reach a distant destination such as Canterlot, it was quite understandable in regards to how taxing it could be to a single mother and her child. However, any of those semantics that would normally cloud the mind were promptly shoved into a corner as the childlike wonder and awe took over in the appreciation of the metropolitan majesty.
The city on its own had a very different atmosphere to it than Ponyville ever had. From towering buildings, looming spires, and lengthy streets, to the packed nature of every walkway and the strange indifference of some of the richer-seeming pony folk, it made for a slightly colder, albeit mesmerizing experience for the young lad. Eyes darted about from street corner to building face, right to the various visages of many of the citizens going about their lives. He was quite surprised to learn that there were more welcoming faces out and about compared to the obvious upper-crust of the city’s society. Then again, if there was one thing he learned in school, its that the “rich” made up a very small portion of the total Equestrian populous.
As he finished off the last bit of his snack, he thought back to his classmates Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, both of whom that came from wealth and glamour, kinda realizing the statistic stayed true even at home. Sure, Twilight was considered Royalty, but even she had went on record to emphasize her title and position did not reflect her financial or social standing, which was probably one of the reasons why she was very, VERY rarely visited by nobility, the rich, or the famous, save for few exceptions. Considering that, it was interesting for the young boy to see a much denser concentration of these types. Though, said interest didn’t last, as it was more engaging to see the sites of the big city rather than pony-watch.
Oh, oh, oh oh oh. Button, look over there!
Button turned his head to the right, trying to see what the phantom voice was referring too, before he scowled a little.
No no. Over THERE! Right there, on the street lamp!
“Which one?” he asked in annoyance.
The one I’m pointing at!
“Can you even see why what you said makes no sense?”
Atem remained silent for a moment, before he gave a cough.
Fair enough, boy. On the street lamp across the street, there’s a poster advertising the city museum.
Button squinted, and sure enough, he could see a poster with images advertising what seemed to be a historical museum. “Oh, wow, you can see that far away?” Button asked, genuinely impressed.
I am, in all practicality, a giant eyeball. I will notice just about anything long before you do.
“Right.” Button, careful while crossing the street, cantered on up to the street lamp in question, and took a closer look at the poster’s contents. Indeed, it was an ad showing off a recent exhibit being presented at the museum. It was an ancient Neighgyptian presentation, donated with courtesy from the southern lands of Equestria. “Why are you so excited about this?”
Look at the bottom half.
Button obeyed, and to his surprise, the exhibit was featuring artifacts once thought lost, including:
“The Lost Pharaoh, Atem Gah’mes. Wait, that’s-”
They found me! What a joyous day! I hope my remains look as young and vibrant as they once were when I left them.
“’Come and discover the archeological find of the century, as a tomb and its contents were unearthed after being lost for a century due to an... unforeseen accident’?”
Oh, what happened that day was no accident, I assure you, but that doesn’t matter! Make haste, my boy! We have an exhibit to see. My lovely face waits.
“Uhm, if it’s been a century-”
Millennium, actually.
Button grunted in irritation from being interrupted. “Right, if it’s been that long, I doubt-”
You better dare NOT ruin this exuberance for me, lest I inflict a TERRIBLE curse on you.
“And I’ll just trade you in at a comic shop for the new issue of Power Ponies.”
You wouldn’t.
Button knew he wouldn’t do something like that. Apart from the obvious reason of common decency, he also needed Atem to help get his mother back. Furthermore, Button wasn’t a fool, and had a strong feeling that Atem was protecting him when he needed it most. Getting rid of the puzzle with the spirit inside would only invite far more trouble to him than he can handle. That said, he wasn’t above leaving the empty threat before the spirit out of spite. After all, his most unwelcome protector had been nothing but annoying since they started this quest. Thus, the young lad remained silent from that conversation, and instead continued with the prior discussion.
“Will you tell me what we need to do next once I bring you to the museum?”
Well, once we are done site seeing, we need to head to the Canterlot Library of Magic.
“What for?”
To help us find what we need. What else is a library good for?... Not much, else, actually.
“I’m sure Princess Twilight would flip if she heard you say that.”
First, TO THE MUSEUM!
Button rolled his eyes, tossed his apple core into the garbage, and headed down the street, following the directions Atem recited to him.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Button sighed in exasperation as he listened to the spirit of the puzzle wail in lament. The phantom waterworks had been going on for nearly twenty minutes, with lots of “Nos”, “Whys” and “It’s not fairs” peppered in between the rather pathetic blubbering. The whole scene made Button wonder if his mom ever felt the same way when he cried in public. It did, however, clue the boy in on a few stipulations in regards to their conversations. For whatever reason, only he could actually hear the spirit inside the puzzle, so arguing with it loudly among folk would get curious and concerned glances his way, which is something he really didn’t need. Furthermore, Atem cannot read his mind, thus he can’t just think about what he wants to say to get his point across, and has to actually converse with him like he’s actually present in the room. His years of gaming told him this could be both very useful and very annoying at the exact same time. The former was being demonstrated in spades.
MY BEAUTIFUL FACE! What has happened to my face! And my physique! Where’s my sculpted barrel?! Ijustdonnowhatwentwrongtheyshouldhavepreservedmebetterthanthi-HIH-HIH-HIIIIIISSSSSS!
Button glanced over to the plaque that the contents of the display, which was an open sarcophagus with a very withered, mummified body laying in the tarnished gold and marble.
“’Atem Gah’mes, Lost Pharaoh of an ancient Neighyptian dynasty in the southern lands lays in a sarcophagus typical of most pharaoh ponies and other royalty, though studies have found that, unlike other specimens, Pharaoh Atem’s mummification process was done hastily. Further study is required before researchers will ever conclude why.’” Button sat for a moment as he finished reading the words inscribed, thinking about it. “That is a little weird, isn’t it?”
Button could hear sniffles as the wailing finally seemed to die out, eventually replaced with a moment of silence. Said moment ended rather swiftly, however.
Those ingrates! For all I had done for them *sniffle*, THIS is how they treat me?! If I could, I would whip the lot of them.
“Ok, whoa, don’t need to say that. Besides. it’s been over a thousand years. They’re all long gone by now. Holding a grudge over it isn’t gonna do anything.”
Atem sighed deeply, still angry, but obviously starting to calm down. Button then decided to check out the other major attraction to the exhibit. A giant tablet with several indentations where various objects obviously were supposed to reside. “Wait, isn’t this-?”
The Tablet of Osiris. It’s still intact.
“From dad’s story. I never thought I’d get to actually see it.” Button scanned the massive, ancient stone sheet. Embedded in the rock were seven different shaped indentations. Without even thinking, Button grabbed the puzzle, and held it up toward the tablet, gazing at the sphere and the stone back and forth. He then noticed that it seemingly matched one of the indentations. “This is insane.”
And all six of the other Millennium Items are gone. I was afraid of that.
“Millennium Items?” he asked, before recalling further details of the story, “You mean those other golden treasures that were part of this stone slab, right?”
The very same: The Scales. The Rod. The Eye. The Necklace. The Key. The Ring.
“And this would be the Puzzle, correct?”
Correct.
“If I remember right, Dad said in the story that five of them were on the slab, while your puzzle was on the ground, and one was missing. What happened?”
There was silence for a moment, before Atem spoke once again.
I can’t remember. Not much, at least.
“You can’t remember?” Button parroted.
Something happened years ago. Something utterly dreadful. It was as if... your grandfather wasn’t the first one to find my tomb.
“What?” Button blurted in a hushed tone.
I cannot recall who or what showed up. I don’t even remember when. All I can surmise is there was another intruder that resulted in the Puzzle’s displacement, and the Ring going missing. That, and the incident allowed... HIM to get free.
“You’ve mentioned ‘him’ before,” Button stated, “But you never told me who he was. Can I get a name for the villain that took my mother?”
Atem became silent again, and Button suddenly felt a chill down his back, as if he could feel the spirit’s mood shift.
I dare not speak his name again. He is the very reason for my sorry state, and the state of countless poor souls. The lengths we had gone through to contain him were unimaginable in my time, and the fact he’s free but remains in hiding is nothing short of maddening. He takes on many forms in many ways, but one thing is most certain: when the Black Pharaoh walks, misfortune and death follows in his wake.
“That’s... comforting,” Button responded with a hint of sarcasm.
Comfort is not the intention of a warning, foal.
“Hey, you don’t need to call me that just because you’re in a bad mood.”
I wouldn’t be if I wasn’t greeted by a conga line of bad news.
Button rolled his eyes and shook his head. Honestly, he couldn’t really dispute what Atem was feeling. Whatever was going on most certainly was bad news. While he had one of the artifacts draped around his neck, if the story his father told him was true in any way, then the other items were most likely in possession of the goon that took his mother. Considering that the dinky little puzzle had seemingly horrific magical properties, at least as far as he was told, since he seemed to black out right around the time Atem would use said magic, then having six would make an individual have a considerable edge.
Honestly, there is only one bit of good news to this.
“What?”
Normally, a single individual cannot use more than one item.
“That’s... what?” Button ended up sputtering out, confused.
A Millennium item ties itself to the soul of the one that possesses it. Under normal circumstances, that’s all that’ll be allowed, since the power of the item draws its strength from the soul of its user.
“Then, whoever has the other six-” Button started.
I know what you’re about to say, but we’re not out of the desert yet. If one should possess all seven items, then said user would attain ultimate power, cancelling out the limitations.
“So... they’re useful when you only have one, useless if you have more, but completely busted if you get all of them?”
To put it simply, yes.
“And the only thing keeping HIM from getting the cheat codes to the world is me and your stupid puzzle?”
Correct, but with less juvenile insulting.
“Who in Equestria thought THAT would be a good idea?”
Circumstances, my dear boy. It all came down to circumstances.
“That is the lamest excuse I’ve heard in a while.”
If I could remember the specifics, I could tell you, but it HAS been a long time since that day. Something pretty significant would have to happen to help me get some sort of a clue.
Button pawed at his chin a little, and looked back to the tablet before him. The slab loomed over the little colt and the other museum patrons like a daunting wall, with the extra ominous implications added with the missing artifacts.
“What do we do?” Button asked honestly.
Now where we know where we stand, we know how to proceed. Our first task is to find the missing items.
“WHAT?!” Button blurted out, causing other ponies to gaze towards the boy with startled confusion. Button laughed nervously and waved away the outburst, trying to make it seem like it wasn’t him. Once the other visitors had given up interest in the lad’s outburst, Button repeated himself in a much more hushed tone.
If we’re to have any hope in fixing this, we need to make sure that all items are secure and out of his reach. He can’t use them all at the moment, so chances are he’s handed them to some of his pawns for the time being to collect later. That’ll be his greatest asset when looking for us, and his greatest weakness.
“No, excuse me, WHAT?” Button repeated in a hiss with gritted teeth, “You’re telling me that we start looking for those golden trinkets, and RISK getting caught multiple times?! I’m just a-”
-A kid. I’m very aware of the fact, but the problem you’re not seeing is that the only other path we take is to hunt him down and confront him directly. We are NOT ready, and we have NO insurance if we fail. Besides, when is it EVER a good idea to confront the final boss in a game you’re just starting to play?
“I hate you,” Button grumbled.
You’ll come around. Come, we need to hit the library! It’s time I show you what this ‘trinket’ can do.
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
The Canterlot Library of Magic; a majestic structure weaving the cultural heritage of Unicorn prestige in brick, mortar, and parchment, as well as one of the best maintained home of texts of varying subjects within, often visited by students from various universities, including the School for Gifted Unicorns. Study and research permeate the very walls and steps of this grand edifice, almost compelling even the most stubborn, procrastinating visitors to take a look within a book at least once. Button, while not adverse to the idea of cracking open a text for the odd homework session, would be lying if he said that this filled him with excitement.
Never-the-less, Atem insisted on visiting the grand hall of knowledge for his as-of-yet unknown reasons, with promises of explanations shortly afterword. His direction lead them to the magical reference section, which was filled with a variety of spellbooks and magical theory tomes, all ranging from beginner friendly guides to magic, right up to advanced techniques and equations that only a scholar like Twilight would truly appreciate.
Hmmm... I think we should look into that one.
“Which one?”
The one I’m... oh, right. Can’t see that I’m pointing at it. ‘Index of Magical Spells and Incantations’ is the book we need for now.
“This one?” Button asked as he began pulling out a rather hefty book from its home. The weight of the tome very quickly surprised Button as it all but fell on him as if it were half his weight, give or take.
Excellent. Take it to a private desk. We don’t need too many onlookers.
“If I can carry the stupid thing,” Button strained out of his teeth while toting the heavy book upon his back to the back of the library.
Oh, quit being a mewling child, it’s not that far.
Button pushed on slowly as he painstakingly made it to the back of the library, far out of the prying eyes of the general public. Private booths sat vacant, waiting for someone to utilize them, where one was finally filled with Button’s presence, accompanied by the massive index book, which he dropped upon the table top before him with a loud thwack.
Careful.
“Wasn’t trying to drop it, but I dare YOU to try to carry it.”
In a moment. Open up to the table of contents, and look for descrying spells.
“Descrying?”
Yes. It’ll help us look for the remaining items... and perhaps tell us where ‘HE’ is.
Button, rolling his eyes to the non-answer, opened up the book to the table of contents, as he was told, and began looking through the list. After a few minutes, he came across a section labeled “Spells for Perception and Location”. Looking through the subsection beneath it, he found the very thing he was looking for, and turned the pages to the correct number.
Excellent. Now, there are four different types of this magic. We need ‘magic descrying’.
“Don’t we need to look for the items, though?”
Trust me. This will catch two fish with one lure.
Button flipped through the pages within the section, and finally found the page that detailed magic descrying. Honestly, if it weren’t labeled as such, the difficult terms, mathematical equations, and other such things would have appeared as gobbledygook to him and likely would have made him miss the page entirely.
“So,” Button started, “How am I supposed to use this... stuff? I’m an Earth Pony, after all.”
That’s where I come in.
“What do you mean?”
Do me a favor and hold the puzzle in both of your hooves.
Button raised his eyebrow, but did as he was told, somewhat curious as where this was going.
Now, repeat after me. ‘I summon thee, King of Games’.
“What? That sounds stupid.”
Just do it.
Button scowled at the curt retort but gave a small sigh. He came this far, so he might as well see where all of this nonsense would take him. Holding up the puzzle with a new sense of conviction, he breathed in once more, and spoke:
“I summon thee, King of Games!”
The puzzle glowed brightly in his hooves, almost blinding him. However, while the light was beyond intense, he could not force himself to cover his eyes, or even close them. He then began to feel a strange sensation as something was pulling him forward, and began to lose feeling all over his body. In what seemed like a few short minutes, the intense light finally died down, and Button soon realized his perception had shifted. He looked about, and realized very quickly that something was wrong. First of all, he felt he was A LOT closer to the book than he originally was. Second of all, upon turning around to see if anyone was behind him, he realized that his own face was now staring at him, with a few changes.
Button then started screaming.
“Ow, hey, I can still hear you!” said the voice of Atem through Button’s own lips.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!
“Traded spots. This isn’t the first time, but the other two instances were very, very critical and dangerous. Honestly, this method is far more energy efficient and-”
WHEN I GET MY BODY BACK, I’M GOING TO CHUCK YOU OUT THE WINDOW AND GO RIGHT BACK TO PONYVILLE!
Ignoring Button’s rant, Atem continued, “-allows me to do things you simply can’t do. There will come a time on this journey of ours when we need my magic and you are simply too young, inexperienced, and quite frankly, the wrong tribe to use the puzzle’s full power.”
GET OUT OF MY BODY! AND GET RID OF THOSE STUPID GOLDEN BANGS! AND WHY DO I HAVE A HORN NOW?!
“I needed to make some necessary changes while I’m in possession. Can’t cast magic without a horn, after all. Furthermore, these lovely golden locks caught the eye of many concubine in my day!”
Button continued to rant and rave to unintelligible degrees as Atem began to actively ignore the angry colt’s phantom shouting, now turning his attention to the book. His horn glowed mauve as he closed his eyes and began putting the necessary weaves and sequences together to first cast a spell to mask his magical signature. Next, he cast a secondary spell to obscure his casting location. Finally, he began working the spell in the book while using the puzzle as a reference point. Within seconds, and upon opening his eyes, the spell was complete, and he could feel six magical signatures. Each slightly different from each other, but all resembling the puzzle itself.
“Excellent.”
Whoa, wait, what in Equestria? I can see them.
“Oh, you’ve finished throwing your tantrum?” Atem asked in a conceited tone.
I’m still going to chuck you into a river... but I can’t get over this. I can actually SEE them. How did you do that?
“Descrying magic. It allows another to view something from a long distance away. Because I looked for magical essences over objects, I was able to find the items easier, since the Millennium Items all have a similar signature to the Puzzle. There are perhaps hundreds, if not thousands, of golden objects out there in the world, some of them probably imbued with some sort of magic, be it natural, infused, or cursed, all having their own magical signature. It’s like looking for a specific author rather than looking through an entire genre of book.”
Wait, there’s one here in Canterlot!
“Which will probably be our first target,” Atem announced as he closed the book and lifted it from its resting place. “The descrying spell will probably last a few more minutes before it wears off. In the meantime, we should get an atlas, parchment, and a quill.”
I think you told me to get stuff like that before I left. Check my pack.
“Right you are, my good boy,” Atem replied with genuine appreciation, “I completely forgot about that. All I need is an atlas, then.”
After Atem levitated the spellbook from the booth and returned it to its proper spot. he went straight for the geography section of the library and fished out the most current atlas he could find. Unfortunately, it was still a couple decades behind, making it slightly out of date considering the current events, but it was enough for the time being. He brought it to a desk, fished out a piece of paper and pencil from the pack, and began to write everything down, checking the atlas for reference of geographical names. Once finished, the sheet read as follows:
He then wrote down the descrying spell beneath it, complete with an alternate equation, before closing the atlas and slipping the paper and writing tools back into the saddle-pack.
Why is the Ring listed all the way at the bottom?
“We need to hunt that one down last. I think you know why.”
I think, I do... What about the necklace?
“That particular object is one we need to secure as swiftly as possible. In the wrong hands, it is an incredibly powerful and dangerous tool. One that is likely being used at this very moment. The obscuring spells I used will help, but its power of divination will eventually pinpoint our location and most probable route.”
Wait a minute. Divination? It can see into the future?
“Mostly. One may be lead to believe its powers to be ironclad, but in reality it allows the user to see the most likely of possible outcomes. Time doesn’t move in a straight line, after all,” Atem mentioned.
You make it sound a lot less useful than you implied earlier.
“It is, never-the-less, a very good way to keep track of individuals of interest. I have said before that HE has eyes everywhere. This is one of the few reasons, but I previously hoped I was wrong. If we can get to it, we can deal a huge blow to his ability to track us, making our other targets easier to track down without interference.”
Atem then gasped, remembering something very important, and pulled the paper back out again, before scoffing in disgust. He sighed, drew a card sized rectangle on on the corner, folded and carefully tore it off at the creases, then drew a strange image at its center, surrounded by Neighyption hieroglyphs. His horn then began to glow as magic slowly seeped into the little paper card before dissipating.
“I’m going to need a stronger material, but this should be good for a one time use.”
What did you do?
“Made a little insurance for us. If ever in trouble, simply say ‘summon’, and the name of the card. We should be able to get temporary help from the creature in the card.”
Wait, what does that mean? Are you saying I can, quite literally, summon something to fight for me?
There was silence as Atem refused to answer what was basically a redundant question that merely reflected what he already stated. Said silence was broken when Button spoke up once again.
I think I hate you a little less now, cause that sounds so cool!
“So, you won’t throw me to the river?”
Button refused to answer, leaving Atem to simply sigh as he put everything he had back into the saddle-pack, returned the atlas to its rightful spot, and left the library without another word. There were some things to do, and he had little time to dawdle.
Though, it was quite difficult for Atem to stick to that mentality. Being able to see the city with real eyes, feel the wind with real skin, and to quite literally experience life outside of the damnable puzzle was enough to let him get lost in the sensations. Sure, he could feel all of this when he forced control those last couple of times, but this was the moment where he was able to truly appreciate it. There was no restrictive time limit. No threat. Just him and the outside world all around him. He smiled, genuinely, and slowed his pace as he began wandering the streets.
Are you going to give me my body back now?
“Hush. I’m having a moment.”
=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=
Somewhere in the deeper, darker locations of Canterlot, far enough outside the gaze of the ever present Royal Guards, a stallion sits in a barely lit room, covered wall to wall with maps. Upon those various maps of regions and cities are pinned and marked with various photos of many different creatures, each with names and notes stuck beneath them, some of them haphazardly crossed out or circled violently. He slowly walked up to the map of Canterlot before him and placed his beige hoof upon the map as he gently traced the tip along the lines of the roadways. Heavy, tired, scarlet eyes focus in intensity as his gold necklace with the Eye of Anubis at its center glowed ominously, suddenly filling his vision with flashes of Button’s visage, shifting back and forth between his look as a child and his look possessed by Atem Gah’mes. As he watched, he brushed his sandy orange bangs from his eyes, making sure he wouldn’t miss a single premonition.
Suddenly, the room filled with light as the door slammed open while a hooded figure stepped inside.
“There’s a call for you from Mr. Otep.”
“Close the door,” he said, cold and chilling.
“Mr. Otep cannot be kept waiting, Mr. Glass,” the hooded figure urged, producing a crystal ball and placing it on the table nearby.
The beige stallion sighed as he turned away from his personal atlas and approached the orb, which began emitting a sickly blue light. The form of a griffon appeared before him, clad in black feathers, and dawning a pure white mask. Words weren’t minced, as the figure in the ball spoke with a smooth, suave voice that would have been cultivated from the upper crust, “I’m very disappointed in you, Hour Glass.”
“I apologize, my sire,” Hour Glass declared with a bow, “I never knew my compatriots would fail us so thoroughly, even with your assistance.”
“I could have sincerely used the correct intel, Mr. Glass. It would have saved me the time and effort, rather than pilfer the soul of some mare to get what I want,” as he said this, he thumbed and waved about a black card between his claws. “She is quite the pretty little thing, so it’ll be such a shame.”
“You know the power of the necklace, my sire. It only shows-”
“The most likely possibilities, I know. I gifted it to you, after all, but I expected... better.”
“The Puzzle is... difficult to keep an eye on. It was virtually invisible until the last month, and even with its magic waning enough for me to see it-”
“It does not change the fact that your information was crude, Mr. Glass,” there was a sigh before Otep continued, “I am a reasonable boss, however. I trust you’ve been doing your best to locate the puzzle now, yes?”
“I have, and it’s chosen the most unusual host.”
“Will you be able to collect it?”
“I was undergoing the divination for that exact reason. I will find out soon enough.”
“See that you do, Hour Glass,” he then flipped the card so the other side could be seen. On its face showed the image of Button’s Mother, frozen in a state of horror, as if it were a mere picture right after a scare. “I’d hate to be the one to tell you when you’re hour is up.” The orb’s light then faded out as the visage of Otep disappeared. The hooded figure collected the crystal ball and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him, letting it bathe in darkness once more.
Hour Glass turned back to the wall of maps, and approached the one he was viewing before his interruption. He closed his eyes and let the Millennium Necklace glow once again, bringing up visions of the near future. He concentrated hard on seeking out the possibility of getting in contact with the Puzzle. After a few moments, he found what he was looking for: Squaring off at the edge of the city, overlooking the valley below, he and his prey stood face to face, each with confident smiles that screamed they were the victor.
“There,” he muttered, placing a tack on the spot he saw in the variety of visions, “We are fated to meet there.”