//------------------------------// // A Pirate's Secret // Story: Equestria Girls: Love Is Magic // by onekface //------------------------------// Chapter 35: A Pirate’s Secret (Castle Hoofbeard) Twilight’s feet felt sore as they trodden down the long hallway feeling the darkness encroach. It’s been over 20 minutes since they first entered the castle and after walking endlessly through its crumbling corridors and ancient architecture some of them began to wonder if this castle actually looked smaller from the outside. Despite most of it being torn down by the elements ages ago, the castle itself seemed to have been built within the cliffs. The pioneers dug deep within the earth, building rooms upon rooms that acted as both storage and accommodation for those that actually lived here. And sadly the deeper they went, the darker it became. It got so bad that they had to light up their geodes and their phones just to make sure that they didn’t step onto anything vital or fragile. “Ugh… seriously how deep do these tunnels go.” Rainbow Dash complained rubbing her aching foot. “We’ve been going on for hours now and there hasn’t been a single exciting thing.” “It’s only been twenty minutes.” Sunset corrected. “And didn’t we just pass one of the traps?” “Which was broken.” She whined and complained. The spike trap they came across was triggered a long time ago… or maybe it was broken during the fall of the castle. Its jagged wooden tips were already weakened and weathered and the mechanism that worked it broke under the lack of maintenance. “Come on. I was expecting something exciting! Something scary! Like the time you and Twilight fought off that Cyclops in the Everfree Woods.” “Oh I don’t know about you. But that suit of armor we came across was pretty scary.” “Fluttershy. You’re scared of everything.” “Well you might want to curb your expectations.” Sunset chuckled, placing a hand over Fluttershy. “The ruins we explored were those of Yaztec origins. I doubt we’ll find anything similar to that around here.” That… and Twilight didn’t seem keen on meeting that monster again. Not until they knew how to defeat it. “Ahh… poop.” Rainbow Dash groaned kicking a stone over to the wall. She expected danger, mystery. The kind of stuff Daring Do would find on a daily basis. But just as they continued, a scream at the head of the column made them jolt upward. “Rarity!?” They rushed to the fashionista’s side readying themselves for battle. “What happened? What did you find!?” “It’s a disaster!” She screamed picking something from the floor. “Someone dropped this perfectly good engraved scarf! And now it’s torn and muddied all over! The resale value is ruined!” “Ugh… figures.” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Can you save your panicked screams when there’s a real emergency?” “A fashion emergency is a real emergency darling. Besides…” She took a quick sniff at the scarf. “This little thing certainly belongs to our dastardly man. His cologne trace seems to end here… along with his footprints.” “Where is here exactly?” Sunset questioned when they looked around finding themselves out of the corridor and into some of open hall. Something that you wouldn’t find in a castle. “What is this place?” Twilight immediately deduced its function. “Judging by the large open space, the stage, podium and decorations. I would say that this is some kind of mustering hall – or an auditorium. And it looks like the path splits here.” Two separate paths opened to them going even deeper into the fort. “It doesn’t look like we’ll make much progress like this. Should we split up?” “It’ll certainly be a lot faster.” Sunset hesitated to agree but was countered by Rainbow’s reasoning. “No way! Remember what I said earlier? No matter what happens, we stick together! It’s Dungeon Diving 101. The party of adventurers always have each other’s back. The moment we start splitting up, we’ll be picked off one by one. It’s just basic math.” Technically that’s not math. “Look. I’ve seen enough movies to know how this goes. The moment the main party splits, the bad guy hits and if we’re going on monster horror tropes, you should all know that the funny one always goes first.” The gang turned over to Pinkie who immediately deflated at the thought. “What? Me? Funny? Pfahh! That’s rich. I’m not funny. If anyone’s the funny one it’s Fluttershy. Right?” She laughed awkwardly. “Right!?” “But it’ll take us hours to search this castle.” Applejack complained. “I know I said that I was all about safety in numbers, but maybe we can set a limit to how far we can go.” “No way. No splitting. There’s no way I’m falling for that trope. That’s even worse than… than…” Rainbow paused when she suddenly noted something glowing close by. “Uh… Sunset. Is your bag meant to be glowing?” And to her truth, Sunset’s backpack was indeed glowing. Strangely enough Twilight felt a strange sense of déjà vu growing in her chest. Somehow this feels very familiar. Sunset reached to her bag, looking like she already knew what was making that light. She then pulled out the bracelet with the ominous black gem. “The bracelet.” The redhead muttered. “It’s glowing again.” And then as if they were coordinated, the tracker in Twilight’s hand began to let out a beeping noise. “Let me borrow that for a sec.” She grabbed the bracelet, putting the two objects together as they reacted almost identically. “There’s no mistaking it. There’s definitely Yaztec magic somewhere in here. And it looks like it’s coming from… here?” She pointed the two at the podium raising a confused brow. “Why here?” “Careful Twilight.” Rainbow Dash warned. “When something like this happens it usually means someone’s about to activate a trap – or get eaten by giant swamp monsters. I can feel it in my gut.” “Oh give it a rest Rainbow Dash. This isn’t like one of your comics or your movies. Real life doesn’t follow everything that hap---peennnnnnnnsss!!!!!” The floor beneath her suddenly vanished, her voice trailing off as she fell in. “TWILIGHT!” The gang immediately rushed over a little too late as the trapdoor sealed itself back in. They tried to pry it open but to little avail. “It’s not budging!” “Stand back! I’m gonna break it open!” Applejack announced pulling up her sleeves. But before she could put her strength into it Sunset blocked her. “No!” “Why in tarnation not!? I can rip that thing in ten seconds flat!” “Yeah and this whole castle with it! This whole area is built under a decrepit structure that’s already on the verge of falling into the ocean! The only thing holding it together are dirt and rotting wood. One big collision and you’ll bring this whole place down on top of us!” Yeesh. The thought of getting buried under a ton of rubble was more than enough to get Applejack and drop her arms. “Then what are we supposed to do?” “That pitfall trap must lead somewhere. Everyone split up! Search for a path going down! Pinkie, Fluttershy. You two with me. Rainbow Dash, take the others and go down the other path. We’ll meet back here in 15 minutes.” She didn’t bother waiting for an answer as she bolted right off picking one of the two paths. “Didn’t you hear me earlier? Splitting up is a bad idea!” The rainbow haired gal groaned loudly. “Ugh. If anything bad happens, just remember I told you so! Come on girls.” They quickly funneled into the second path but not before Pinkie yelled out to the trapdoor. “Hey Twilight! If you can hear me, we’re coming for you! And if you can’t… well… just the same.” xxxxxxxxxx Twilight fell and fell for god knows how long. She thought she came upon some sort of death trap but instead she found herself sliding upon smooth surfaces that took her from side to side and loop de loops. It felt like one of those really tall slides in waterparks except without the water to lubricate her fall. She was going so fast that she wondered if she broke the sound barrier. “Oh no. I think I’m going to be sick!” Her face turned an unhealthy green as the slide continued for over 30 seconds before it finally stopped upon some kind of shutter. Her body crashed upon it breaking the door and its mechanism like a bowling ball. Twilight braced herself for impact. But fortunately she landed on a pile of pillows that was conveniently placed there to cushion the blow. The only downfall was the stench they generated. “Ughhh! Ewww… gross!” She belched her tongue out plugging her nose. It was like falling onto a pile of brother’s dirty laundry all over again. Slowly she got back up, her legs wobbling weakly before she found her bearing. Once she got a sense of where was up and down, she turned over to the chute she came through groaning. “Ugh. You’ve got to be kidding me. I fell for a trap door? First that loop spell, now this? I seem to have a habit of falling for these traps. I can’t believe I’m saying this: But maybe Rainbow Dash is onto something with her movie tropes. If I did I’d probably would’ve ended up avoiding these mechanical hazards.” After making a quick scan to make sure that she didn’t fall into any deathtraps like spikes poking out of the ground or the walls closing in on you, she quickly pulled out her phone which thankfully survived the fall with the exception of a small crack on the screen. “Ugh… just great. Now I have to spend my holiday allowance to fix up my phone.” She dialed a number in and frowned deeper when call cut. “No signal? Guest I’m too deep underground for anything to reach this place.” And… where was this place anyway? Judging from the speed, distance and time it took to travel down the slide, divided by the seconds on the loop de loops she would say that she was at least a hundred feet below where she dropped. Maybe two or three stories tops. Who knew that a castle like this would have such an elaborate tunnel system? But the question is… why? Basements for storage were always a good necessity for castles and fortresses but this was a bit of an overkill. What good was having such a complex area if so few people could access it to begin with? And… now that she had a look, there was something else odd about this place. The hallway she was in looked different from the rest of the fortress. From the surface level down to the basement floor her friends came across, the walls were made of a mixture of bricks and quarry stones. Here, the place was made from carved marble which made it looked more regal and opulent. In fact… this place looked far more ancient than the castle. Following the only path given to her, Twilight tiptoed her way through, flashing her cellphone light ahead just to make sure she wasn’t walking into another trap. She had enough of those, thank you very much. But what came next caught her once more by complete surprise. After just half a minute of walking, the nerd gal came upon a large open cavern that seemed to go beyond the cliff. Corals of all shapes and colors decorated the walls along with stalactites that formed a natural path around the area. Down below was a pier and docked next to it was what she could only describe to be a pirate ship. A genuine, straight out of a movie set, pirate ship. “I don’t believe it. That’s… actually Captain Hoofbeard’s ship! This is incredible!” The ship was enormous. It was a schooner. No. A galleon maybe. There were rows of cannons sticking out of its body, stacks of goodies of god knows what strewn around. Heck, it even had a Jolly Roger flag hoisted above the crow’s nest. Looking around, Twilight could see now why no one has found this place. When the castle collapsed, it caused a massive cave-in sealing the ocean entrance, trapping this ship inside. Now Twilight might not be a fan of all that pirate adventure in movies and comics, but even she could appreciate something as magnificent as an ancient warship of the colonial era. Heck, if Rainbow Dash was here she’d have a smile so wide that it’d split her face in two. And she wouldn’t blame her. How often do you find something so cool just sitting there? Untouched for god knows how long. No amount of magic or evil sorcery could ever compare to the genuine dashing debonair of the high seas. This totally makes up for falling in the trapdoor. But her excitement came to a crawl when her eyes noted something moving from the corner of her eye. A humanoid figured brushing pass the sands below. It definitely wasn’t her friends and it definitely wasn’t her imagination. Someone was here with her. And knowing the list of people who would be here, she would guess that it was Hoity Toity. Her magic tracker began blinking once again. The signal was stronger and it was definitely coming from inside the ship. Whatever was emanating that strong magical presence was there. Ok let’s look at this logically. There’s no way her friends can get to her in time, and there doesn’t seem to be any way out of here other than the staircase on the other side of the cavern. She could go around the place and avoid conflict entirely. But that would mean Hoity would get his hands on whatever magical artifact is in there. Thus making him stronger and making their clash even more difficult than it needs to be. Weighing these options, it seems like the only choice was clear. She needed to beat him to the relic, get out of there and find her friends. Shouldn’t be too hard. If she can escape a giant Cyclops golem by a hair’s breadth, this should be a walk in the park. Courage Twilight. Courage for your friends and mostly for yourself. You can do this. Going into sneak mode, the girl huddled down and made her way to the ship. Again that monstrous thing looked enormous up close. And the mermaid ornament at the figurehead of the ship looked like it was made out of solid gold. A piece like that would net anyone a fortune. Heck she might even be able to pay her mom and dad a decade’s worth of electricity bills if she can carry it out of here. No. Stop it Twilight. You’re geeking off again. Focus on the problem at hand not the problem ahead. Yes the ship is cool, yes the finder’s fee would be great to have but none of that will matter if Hoity gets the artifact. Get your head out of the clouds. She boarded the ship by the lowered planks following the figure. She caught a glimpse of him walking up to the captain’s cabin. Typical. Where else would a treasure of great power be held on board a ship? He left the door open too. Either he was lax or overconfident. No sign of any shadow monsters either. Not that she’d be able to see any. Still, the signal on her tracker was getting stronger. The magical artifact was definitely in there. No time to lose. If this was a trap, it was going to be the last one she springs. Crouching down, she snuck through the opened door and peaked in. The light from the outside did not reach in here making it hard to see. But she was more than certain that the man was in here. It was a game of who was playing who at this point. A battle of wits and cunning. Only the one who attacks first would have the advantage. As they say: The first one to move in a game of chess normally wins. It will be… “BWAH!” She fell head first on the floor with a loud yelp when her shoe caught a loose plank tripping her posture. “Ow… dang it.” When she regained her focus, the first thing she saw was a shadowy figure holding a rusty sabre threateningly. “AHHHH!” “GAHHH!” The figure screamed back and jerked back when Twilight activated her geode casting the full strength of her powers. She flailed her hands back and forth tossing everything she could latch on at the aggressor. Tables, chairs, old antique globes and everything that wasn’t nailed to the ground were sent at him in a desperate defense. “Ow! Hey! Wait a second! Twilight! STOP!” When the last object was thrown the girl finally took a breath only to gasp when she suddenly realized who it was she trapped. “Flash!?” The boy waved his free hand awkwardly as he was trapped behind a small mound of furniture. “Hey there. I’d say it’s nice to see ya but do you mind getting this off me?” “How did you…” She raised her hand up only to pull a stop when she realized that it might just be a trick. “No that’s not possible. How do I know you’re the real Flash Sentry and not some illusion?” “Uh… I’m not?” He shrugged. “Come on Twilight. You know me.” “Exactly. And I find it highly suspicious that you’re here on a pirate ship no less. Sneaking around like thief.” “It’s a pirate ship!” He reasoned. “What other reason would I need? It’s every kids’ dream to be on a pirate ship!” Ok she’ll give him that. This place did look pretty cool and she couldn’t resist coming aboard. “Alright fine. But I’m more suspicious that I find you here when no one told you where we were going.” “Hey I didn’t even know you were coming here. I swear. This is all just a strange coincidence. I was doing a favor for my dad when I heard that Hoity Toity was here.” “A likely story.” She sharpened her eyes at him not taking the boy out of her sight for even a second. “Or more like you’re an illusion trying to trick me!” “I’m not an illusion!” He insisted. And honestly he did sound like Flash. “Look I’ll prove it. I have a dog named Bananas!” “Everyone knows that!” “Oh right. Umm… I secretly come from a very rich family.” “Hoity Toity knows that too.” She countered earning a grunt from his mouth. “I know that there’s a portal to another world in our school.” “Again. Everyone knows that too.” It was actually kind of a well-kept secret actually. It was amazing no one ratted it out yet. “Ok fine then. You ask me. Ask me anything. Something only the real me would know.” The thing only the real Flash Sentry would know. There were so many things she could ask. His mom, his past which she didn’t know either. Or… “I got it!” Her brain lit up like a light bulb. Slowly she turned to face him, flashing her cellphone at his face. “What did you do to Sunset’s apartment?” He blinked a few times as if the question flew in and out. “How did you know about…?” “Answer the question!” She demanded, raising another chair threatening him with it. “What did you do to Sunset’s apartment?” The boy sighed in defeat, his free arm going limp. “I… bought it.” His answer deflated her anxiety like a balloon. “I bought Sunset’s apartment after it burned down.” Satisfied with his reply, Twilight carefully removed the furniture off him, stacking them in another corner. “Thanks. But how’d you find out?” “Rainbow Dash might’ve let it slip.” Somehow he didn’t seem all that surprise either. That girl never really could hold a secret. “But the bigger question right now is: What are you doing here? How’d you know where we were?” “I didn’t.” He patted the dirt off him. “I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know you girls were even coming over here. I just heard that Hoity Toity was around so I thought that the most logical thing to do was to follow him. Find out what he was doing all the way here.” “The most logical thing to do in that scenario would be to CALL us.” Twilight scolded him. “Yeah. I wanted to do that. But cell reception isn’t exactly the best around here.” That’s true. Even her phone didn’t seem to be receiving any signal. If she did her friends would’ve been calling it a long time ago. “I’m guessing you’re here for the same reason?” “Pretty much.” She confirmed it with a nod. “We discovered that Hoity was coming here to scout out a venue for his pageant show so we decided to track him here. It’s one of the few times he’s not surrounded by his followers or fans.” “That makes sense. Wouldn’t want to make the headlines where you girls ambush a well-known celebrity. Speaking of which, where are the others?” “We got separated.” An event that she regretted. “I stumbled upon a trap door leading all the way here.” She quickly raised a hand as he opened his mouth. “Don’t ask.” But her attention fell once more to her tracker. “It’s here…” “What’s here?” “A magic artifact. I’ve been tracking since we got here. We believe Hoity might be after it too. And it’s really close. Mind holding the light for me?” The boy complied putting out his phone and flashing it in the direction her tracker was pointing. Thankfully they didn’t have to look far and found that whatever was generating magic was coming from a solid sweet looking treasure chest. “There. It’s coming from in there.” She fibbed with the rusty lock with little luck. “Ugh… it’s locked. Figures.” “Why don’t you let me handle this?” Flash offered taking the lead on this. Quickly pulling out the sabre he held earlier and began jimmying the lock. It took some effort and a little bit of savagery. But with some brute strength, the lock snapped through its rusted parts, exposing its marvelous contents for all to see. “Wala. And now… to the victor goes the spoils!” “I seriously doubt there’s any treasure in there.” “Oh come on Twilight. Where’s your sense of adventure? This is THE ship of the Legendary Pirate, Hoofbeard! I’d expect a trove full of gold coins, a stash of precious gems, the royal jewels from a long forgotten monarchy.” He opened the chest only to have his expectations shot down. “… or a bunch of useless rocks.” “Oh those aren’t just rocks.” Twilight could pick out the object from within the pile like a magnet pulling a needle out of a haystack. “These are ancient Yaztec stone carvings. Your father’s collection had a few of them just like these. How do you not know this?” He shrugged. “Hey, once you’ve seen a few of these things lying around in your house, you won’t be able to tell one from the other.” But then his eyes glanced upward noting a painting smiling down on him. “Whoa… check it out. Is that who I think it is?” Twilight looked up and was also enthralled by the painting of a man. He had every hallmarks of a stereotypical pirate. A gold tooth, a wooden leg, eye patch, a long well groomed beard that have been woven in two knots and more than enough accessories to signify all his achievements. “That’s Captain Hoofbeard. The last of the most notorious pirates ever to grace the ocean before he disappeared hundreds of years ago. This must be one of the last depictions of him.” Flash rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Yeah. I also think it’ll look great in my game room. But that’s not what I was talking about. I’m actually more interested in that thing he’s wearing.” He shined his light closer to the portrait gesturing the obvious. “See anything familiar?” She squinted at the mark and gasped when the object became obvious. Right on the pirate’s wrist was the same unmistakable bracelet that they’ve come to recognize. The black gem in particular alarmed her the most. “That’s… the same gemstone as Cinch and Hoity used!” “Bingo.” Flash clicked his tongue in agreement. “But that would mean that the secret society is over hundreds of years old. No. Even before that. Hoofbeard was born during the pre-colonial era. It could be even older.” Her eyes snapped open. “We need to tell Sunset and the others. This is a major breakthrough!” But she stopped halfway when her tracker activated again pointing into the pile of rocks. “The artifact. I think I found it.” She reached in and grab the most intact looking statuette gasping when she pulled it out. “Hey… isn’t that the same one that Sunset had. The thing Hoity was after?” “The Portal Stone.” Twilight confirmed it tracing her finger at the goddess figurine. It resembled the one they found in the caves near Everfree Woods but with a few noteworthy difference. Either way, it had the same function and it radiated with enough magic to power all their geodes. “This confirms it. The black gem and this artifact? Captain Hoofbeard was definitely a member of the secret society. He must’ve been stealing magical relics from various locations throughout his pirating days.” Flash whistled in admiration. “Wow. Talk about going after your above-average pirate. I was satisfied with gold and jewels. But this guy really takes treasure hunting to a whole new level.” “Flash! This is serious!” She scolded. “Think about it. If Hoofbeard was on a mission to steal and hoard artifacts in his pirating days, imagine what other treasures lay within? Any of them could contain magic. Dangerous magic. The kind of magic we don’t understand yet!” Her voice traced off dangerously as she stuffed the statue in her bag. “Who knows what other relics Hoofbeard stored here.” “Well if I was a pirate, I’d probably keep my most important stuff somewhere only I’d know – or a place only I can get to, like my locker in school or Banana’s secret crib.” “Or a treasure vault.” “That too.” He nodded. “But I’ve already searched this ship from top to bottom and I didn’t see anything that looked like treasure.” “Hoofbeard would’ve kept it somewhere in the castle.” Twilight sounded so certain. “I’m sure of it. Come on. If we leave now we’ll probably find more along the way.” “What about your friends?” “They’ll be fine.” She reassured him. “They’re way smarter than you give them credit.” xxxxxxxxxx “I knew this was a stupid idea!” Rainbow Dash cursed out loud as she and her group high-tailed it through the corridor being chased by a swarm of snakes. “Of course it is! You came up with it!” Applejack retorted not slowing her pace. “I knew we shouldn’t have opened all those rooms all at once!” “Hey! You’re the one who wanted to be quick and efficient.” “But also playing smart! Figured you’d lead us in trouble on the first leg of the search. This is the last time I’m letting you take the lead.” “Well if you think you can do a better job, then try it!” “Girls!” Rarity shouted, keeping up with the two as pythons literally began snapping at their heels. And… did those snakes look a little off? “I don’t wish to be the pushy one here, but can you please stop arguing and get to more running!?! Eeeeeekk!” With the power of fear controlling her, the fashionista boosted pass them, holding onto her hat like it was a part of her life. “Where’s Fluttershy when you need her!?” xxxxxxxxxx “Eeeeeep!!” Pinkie Pie screamed to the top of her lungs and she ran down the hall, her face paler than concrete. A rolling boulder chased after them, flattening everything within its path. Apparently they stepped on a raised platform earlier which triggered one of the few remaining traps that were left. “I knew it! I knew this is how it was going to end for me! To be flattened like a pancake and gobbled up by a monster! Oh the irony!” “Pinkie!” Sunset pushed her to go faster. “Quit yabbering!” “Tell my story of my fare friends. For we are to be… the flattest of ca--” “We’re not gonna get flattened! Now move it!” She snapped her head to the back shouting. “Fluttershy! Keep running!” “WHAT DO YOU THINK I’M DOING!!??” “Ugh… where’s Applejack when you need her?” xxxxxxxxxx “So… you girls were really planning to ambush Hoity Toity, right here?” Flash questioned as the silence filled the void in their travels. They exited the docks and went back through the path Flash had come through finding another winding corridor that seemed to stretch further than anyone could imagine. “How was that supposed to work?” Twilight shrugged back not really bothered by the question. “Well our original plan was to catch him at the resort, not the castle. We figured that we’d catch him alone somewhere and question him and this place seemed perfect.” “Just like what you guys did with Cinch.” “Yeah… and you know how that ended.” How can he forget? He still has the scar to remember it by. “Speaking of Cinch. That reminds me. Sunset is not gonna be happy to know you’re here.” Yeah he knew that. “I figured as much seeing as she didn’t tell me you guys were coming here. And let me guess.” He let out a tiresome sigh. “She said that she was trying to protect me from all of the danger?” “Pretty much.” Twilight shrugged. “Though I think she’s trying to be polite by not telling you.” “More like she doesn’t want me in her adventures.” “Don’t think of it like that Flash. You know she’s doing this because she doesn’t want you to get hurt. You have to look at it through her perspective.” “Well that kind of thing works both ways.” He countered. “She doesn’t want to see me get hurt and I don’t want to see her get hurt either. You think it’s fun for me to just sit back and do nothing? Last year you girls saved an entire cruise ship from ending up on a deserted island. And the year before that you saved everyone in Camp Everfree from Gloriosa’s magic. Not to mention what happened at the friendship games.” “Sunset just wants to protect this world.” “But this is my world too. Don’t I get to protect it?” “Flash…” “Look. I’m not saying that I should start throwing lightning out of my fingers. I know my limits. But would it kill her to simply rely on others?” “Is that why you didn’t tell her about the apartment?” He sighed for what felt like the fifth or sixth time in the last hour. “Pretty much. I figured if she knew, she’ll feel indebted to me. I just want to help. Is that so wrong?” No. No it was not. But Twilight couldn’t bring herself to say that. She understood his side of the story but also Sunset. The only reason why they were out there bumping heads with evil magic in the first place was because of their own powers. If things had gone differently, they might actually live ordinary lives instead of all this mayhem. They’d have ordinary teenager problems like school, prom, tests, and boys… “What about you?” Flash continued, directing another question her way. “Wh-what about me?” “What do you think about me? Do you think I shouldn’t be helping out too?” “I…” Her answer froze up in her mouth when a familiar sensation came over her skin. “Wait… did you feel that?” “Feel what?” He directed his light ahead feeling a chilly breeze pass over. He squinted trying to get a better look but his phone suddenly began to flicker. “Oh come on. What’s with this thing?” “There’s Yaztec magic coming from in here. And it’s really strong.” She pointed in the general direction of her tracker only to come face to face with a wall. “Uh… sorry to burst your bubble, but this is kind of a dead end.” “But that can’t be.” She tapped the side of her tracking device implementing the oldest trick in the book in mechanics: Smack it till it works. “A power that immense must be close by.” Her eyes snapped open in realization. “Unless…” “Unless what?” Flash asked as she pulled out the bracelet with the black gem from her pocket. “Is that…?” “Hold my hand.” The girl ordered to which he reluctantly complied, her tender fingers wrapped in his as the gem in her other hand hummed. “Ok. Oh! And just a heads up. You might feel a little… weird or nauseous.” “Why would I feel nauoo—ooohh~!” And before he could even get a reply, the corridor around them twisted in swish and swirls. The closest word for a description would be that of a quick tour around Pinkie Pie’s brain. Flash held his stomach, feeling like he had just gone through a 50 foot drop and then taken to the blender for a 2 hour spin before finally being given the sweet relief of death. “Oh… so that’s what you mean.” His face turn a shade of green before curling to the ground. But Twilight on the other hand had a look of euphoria. “I knew it! This is it!” The room around her had changed from that of a single hallway to that of a gigantic hall with no doors or windows. Murals of ancient times decorated the wall, statues of animals and forgotten gods and paragons protrude from out of the grounds acting as both decorative models and support pillars, while gorgeous tapestries dangled from the ceiling. A few torches came to life as if answering the call of the visitors. And there standing at the center of the room was a large squared window reminiscent of the one she saw in the caves. “My hypothesis was correct! Take a look Flash.” He held one finger up. “Yeah. One moment. Ugh. Just gonna… breathe some good old fashion air. Hurkk!” Hmph. Transdimentional traveling amateur. “This is amazing.” Twilight continued her awe as she scanned the room. “The whole castle seems to have been built on top of an ancient Yaztec ruin! The colonials couldn’t possibly have known that this thing was under them this whole time!” “If they didn’t, then you think Hoofbeard knew?” “Absolutely. That’s because he had this.” She dangled the bracelet with a wide-eyed nerd grin. “I didn’t understand it at first when I stumbled upon the portal room in the caves. But this second attempt here proves it. This black gem isn’t just some kind of medium for magic. It’s a key. Just like our geode and the barrier Sunset put up back at the house. There’s some kind of defense system here that keeps people from finding this room. An illusion maybe. The mechanism and techno-sorcery skill needed to make this place function must be astoundingly complex!” “O… k? So how does it work?” She was thankful that he asked. “Well… I had some theories. The last time I activated one of these things, there were a few key factors. Firstly…” She pulled out the Portal stone from her bag and placed it on the podium letting it face the gateway. Unsurprisingly it fits on it like a glove. “First we need the primary multi-formulative-transdimentional-portal key set on the exact angle. Then we throw in this black gemstone.” Putting the bracelet on her hand, she gently reached out to the object raising her hand just right above its head. “And then……” … Nothing. Flash blinked. “Uh… and step three would be?” Twilight tilted her head confused. “There is no step three. The portal was supposed to open. I don’t understand.” She flicked the gemstone. “Is it broken?” “Don’t these things usually have a magical incantation or something? Like a code phrase or reverse words. The movies usually depict these things.” Oh great, another movie enthusiast. As if Rainbow Dash wasn’t enough already. But sadly Twilight couldn’t come up with a counter. “Eh. It can’t hurt to try. Umm… err… hocus pocus?” … Twilight could feel the boy’s judgmental stare burning at the back of her head. “Really? That’s your magic word?” “Hey I’m a scientist, not a movie geek. You help me think of one.” Flash rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand suddenly feeling a strange pull from his wound. He looked but thought of it as nothing more but a trick of the wind. “Well… how about open sesame?” Nope. “Abracadabra!” Still nothing. “I command you to open! Open says me! Opera is secretly a rock music!” “That’s not even a thing!” “1-2-3-4-5-6! Arrrrrg! Open this here portal or ye shall be walkin the plank!” Her expression twisted in confusion. “Are you… trying a pirate expression?” “Hey if Hoofbeard managed to get this thing open with a pirate accent, it can’t hurt to try.” He turned to the portal. “Arrrrg! Give me my booty or you’ll be swimming with the sharks argggg!” “Ok stop. Now you’re just being ridiculous.” Ridiculously funny is what he thought. “Oh come on. I still got plenty left in me.” “Not while we’re in a crucial moment. Try to take this seriously.” He shrugged. “Well the only one we haven’t tried is ‘Please’” “Please? Really? That’s the best you got? You’re lucky you don’t have magic.” And as if to answer than challenge, the gemstone suddenly activated along with the statue. A torrent of wind blew from the gateway itself blowing a gale that smells reminiscent of the ocean. “WHOOOAAA!” “Twilight!” The boy grabbed her, his shoes being dragged through the smooth marbled floor as they were pulled closer to the gate. “Take that thing off!” “No don’t!” She countered. “This is the same thing that happened in the other portal. This is supposed to happen.” The vibration grew longer and louder and the pull became even stronger. But by the end of it all, the result was worth the trouble. The gateway blew open and the statue’s eyes lit up like a beacon sending a powerful beam that tore a fabric through time and space. For a moment they thought that the whole thing was going to bring this whole place down but thankfully the support pillars held. Twilight got back up and turned to the portal expecting to see another scenery. But instead she found the thing looking like a TV with a terrible reception. The swirling gateway flickered constantly like someone rapidly changing channels on a television. First it was just a couple of sceneries, but then it went from caves, to an underwater location, then a jungle. “Is this thing broken?” Flash looked to her for answers which her facial expression said all. “I don’t know. It wasn’t like this back in the cave.” She tapped the bracelet once more trying to fix the problem. “Maybe we did something wrong. Quick. Try using more magic words.” “Uh…” “Come on! If this keeps up we might end up with a magical meltdown!” “Oh! Umm… Yabadaba doo? Fabbergash! Uh… wingardium levenza! Jack and Jill!” “That’s not a magic word!” “Well I’m sorry! I’m not exactly good under pressure!” Sparks began to fly as the portal suddenly vibrated, its tear slowly building up something dangerous. “Should we be running?” “No! We need to stop this thing. We need to stabilize it.” “And how do we do that?” She looked around unsure. “I… don’t know. Maybe we can adjust the magical mechanism in the bracelet.” The boy darted to his surroundings for a moment before turning to the statue. “What if we remove th—?” But his fingers barely even touched it when the statue sent out a shockwave so powerful that it sent him flying backward smashing towards the wall and then falling to a pile of jars that thankfully broke his fall. “Ow…” “Flash! Hang on. I’m coming!” Twilight tried to reach him but the pull on the bracelet only got stronger dragging her dangerously closer to the portal. Sparks of magic danced around the room. It reminded her somewhat of what happened during the Friendship Games. Raw magic that goes uncontrolled can be devastating. And portal magic in particular were even more dangerous. “Ugh… come on you stupid thing! Stop glitching out RIGHT NOW!” She grabbed onto her geode and sent her magic through. It was a crude method but it was the only thing she had on hand. It was pretty much a roll of the dice at this point and for once she actually won. The merging of two magic somehow right two wrongs. The portal now stabilized, its image now returning to a calm swirling vortex. “Wow. I can’t believe that actually worked.” She said in amazement of her own luck. “I guess Rainbow Dash was right. Sometimes you really gotta go with your gut.” “Yes. Quite remarkable.” Twilight froze when a familiar voice crept behind her. She spun around noticing that the bracelet has released her from its grip only to come a full stop when a droplets of black goo fell from the ceiling creating a puddle of darkness on the surface. And soon that puddle rose up forming into the shape of a man, the dark jelly becoming solid before it flashed a sadistic grin. “Very remarkable indeed.” “You!?” "Hoity?" Flash gasped, watching him flick his fingers calling forth a creature from his shadow. The boy barely had a chance to yell when it smothered him with its body dragging him downward into the marbled surface. "H... hey! Let go of me!" "Flash!" "Twilight!" She tried to reach him but he was soon dragged to the floor sinking along with the monster. It vanished a second later leaving no trace of its existence. "No... no no no no... NO!" Twilight traced the ground trying to find some trace of him, but to no avail. Anger rose to her face as she turned over to the man responsible. "Give him back!" She ponied up, raising her hand threateningly. But oddly enough Hoity responded with a simple gesture of peace. "Now now. Let's not be too hasty. We both know it was better for him to be out of the picture." "If you hurt a hair on him..." "Please, Ms. Sparkle. I assure you. Harming that boy will be the last thing I do on this world. I detest violence." There wasn't any lie in that sentence - at least not that she could tell. He flicked his shades upward and cast a polite smile on her. "Now that we have some alone time. Let's talk."