Chapter 4: Confessions
Twilight knelt down on the hard tile, crying over her lost friend. Big Macintosh had tears in his eyes as well, but kept his composure. Iron Will showed no emotion whatsoever, but at least he gave Spike a moment of silence.
The iron bars at either end of the chamber had raised long ago, but none of them made any motion to leave. The loss of a companion had deeply shaken the three, especially since it had happened so quickly. They had been in Mt. Grimrock for less than a day.
The light flickered off the walls, reflecting off the tears that had dripped onto the cold, lifeless dragon. Each little pearl glistened with the memories of the countless hours the two had spent together: hatching him, helping her study, fetching books for her, sending and receiving letters to and from the Princess, delivering the Crystal Heart to defeat King Sombra and save the Crystal Kingdom... But most of all, she missed her longest friend. Besides Shining Armor, Spike was Twilight's closest and first real friend. Before she came to Ponyville, she had always confided her secrets and concerns in the little purple guy. He had stuck with her through thick and thin. Nothing had ever kept them apart before. But now he was gone...
Big Macintosh put a hoof on Twilight's heaving shoulder, gently setting the torch down on the floor. “It's... sniff... all... sniff... my fault...” the unicorn wept.
“Twi...” the stallion said softly. “I know he was your best friend, and I know how much he meant to you... But ya can't blame yourself for this. I mean, Iron Will wasn't even able to stop it with a direct –”
“You don't understand!” Twilight cried. “It's my fault he's in here in the first place!”
“Wait, what do ya mean, Twi?” Big Macintosh asked.
“Uh, Iron Will hates to interrupt,” Iron Will interjected. “But there's a light up ahead. Could be a way out.”
The other two looked toward the far end of the chamber. Indeed, there was a bright blue glow up ahead.
Too blinded by grief to think rationally, Twilight slung the corpse of Spike over her back, drying her eyes. She was going to see to it that he got a proper burial. She owed him at least that much. The three walked into the light.
The source of the incandescent glow turned out not to be an exit, but rather a large crystal rooted to the floor in the corner of the room. A lever on the wall near the gate proved to lower the iron bars, sealing off the room from any monsters that might creep in. A sign on the back wall read “Break room”.
They found a rusted iron key in an alcove next to the sign. According to Root Rum's note, it was for the locked gate they had encountered earlier. But the trio mutually decided that they should take a rest and sleep for the night. Propping themselves up against the wall, with the crystal on their left, the group each ate a piece of roasted snail, the ponies a bit reluctant at first, before realizing how good it was.
“So, Twilight,” Big Macintosh asked. “What was with all that stuff earlier about this all being your fault?”
A tear fell from Twilight's eye. Big Mac immediately added, “If it's a sensitive topic, I'd totally understand if
Twilight put a hoof up to silence him. “No, no,” the unicorn said, wiping her eye. “I need to let it out. It all started about three months ago when I developed, a, well, obsession with King Sombra.”
“Obsession?” Iron Will asked dubiously, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, more specifically, the magic he used,” Twilight clarified, blushing.
“Ah,” said Iron Will.
“Anyway, it was all fine and good until I tried one of the spells myself. King Sombra had been dabbling into the world of black magic: curses, evil, and hatred. Those kinds of spells corrupt the user. His frequent use of the forbidden sorcery is what caused him to become so cruel and enslave the crystal ponies he ruled over. It also twisted his appearance and gave him a shadowy aura wherever he went.”
“Uh, that's interestin' and all, but what's it got ta do with ya'll getting thrown in Grimrock?”
“I'm getting there, I'm getting there,” Twilight assured, continuing with her story. “Anyway, I acted stupidly and tried one of the spells. It was a mistake I will regret for the rest of my life. I don't really remember what happened, but I didn't notice any difference. I concluded the magic was useless and continued my studies. But two weeks ago, I took a visit over to Fluttershy's cottage... and I saw the most traumatizing thing I've ever seen in my life.”
“What was it?” Iron Will asked, suddenly listening, as the story had finally perked his interest.
“I saw... a stallion...” Twilight sniffled, “doing... things... to her... And she was kicking and begging him to stop... but... he just wouldn't. At that moment... I lost control. I just felt a wave of anger sweep over me. I felt nothing but pure hatred for this horrible pony who had committed such a terrible act against my friend. I let it consume me. I lifted him up in the air and... killed him. Spike tried to clean up the mess and got caught. They just assumed he was my accomplice. You know the rest.”
The other two weren't sure what to say. Big Macintosh finally thought of something. “You mean that thing you did to the snail... back there...”
“Yes,” Twilight sighed. “Pure hatred.”
“Well, to be honest, I expected somethin' like that. They don't give the death penalty for anythin' else. I'm guilty too,” Big Mac admitted.
Twilight shuddered at the thought of what it had taken to drive this gentle giant to murder.
“Let me explain. Ya'll know that Applejack got herself a coltfriend a few months ago.”
Twilight remembered. “Yeah, Twirling Lasso, right?”
“Eyup. Great stallion, loved the rodeo. He was nice, polite, fun, an all-around great guy. AJ and Lasso loved each other a lot, and I couldn't have been happier for 'em. But a month ago... I noticed... changes. All of a sudden, he started actin' real mean to everypony, and didn't seem to remember anypony's name. I smelled somethin' fishy, and when I saw him usin' some sort of magic on Applejack, I knew he wasn't really an earth pony at all. The magic field was green, a sign that he was a changeling accordin' to those pamphlets. Ya know, the ones the princesses gave out all over Equestria after the... incident at the wedding.”
“He was a changeling? Why didn't you tell anypony? Twilight asked in horror.
“I didn't think anypony'd believe me,” Big Mac shamefully admitted. “So, anyway, I decided one day I would take care of the problem myself. I snuck into his room at night and beat that bastard to death with my bare hooves. I don't regret what I did,” he said. “I didn't know they could try you for murder of a changeling. A changeling.”
“Um, Mac?” Twi spoke up. “When did this happen?”
“Let see... about nineteen days now?”
“Big Mac, the knowledge wasn't made public to avoid a panic, but... we caught that changeling three weeks ago. Sent him back where he came from.”
“Sent him back? But that means...” Big Mac looked at his hooves. “Oh, sweet Celestia...” He broke into sobs. Twilight patted him on the back with a hoof.
Iron Will had pretty much stayed out of this story, not wanting to get involved. He knew what was coming.
“Iron Will?” Twilight slowly turned to the huge minotaur. “What did you do?”
You know what, fine. Iron Will had lived with this long enough, and since he had already been punished, there was no reason to keep it a secret.
“Iron Will's story is less... justified than both of yours. Iron Will is a motivational speaker, but before that... he ran with... well... some bad folks. We were called The Labyrinth, and we were the toughest, roughest organized crime gang around. Iron Will won't go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that he learned plenty about killing in his time with them.”
Twilight recalled his calm and calloused behavior during their fights with the snails and the almost surgeonlike precision with which he smashed the shell and pulled the heart out.
Iron Will continued. “Iron Will was the muscle, the one who usually did the dirty work. He killed countless ponies, minotaur, griffins... you name it. Of course, they were all just scumbags who killed our crew or ripped us off. Or so Iron Will was told.”
Big Mac nodded. He knew what it was like to be deceived.
“But one day, they asked Iron Will to kill a family who did nothing other than fail to pay protection money. Not just the bull, but his cow and calves as well. Iron Will couldn't bring himself to do it. It was just wrong. It made Iron Will take a look at the rest of his actions, and realize what he had become. At that moment, Iron Will decided to stand up for himself. Iron Will killed his fellow gang members and split for good. He wrote a book about being assertive based on his life, omitting anything incriminating of course. Iron Will traveled all over the world, giving motivational seminars to those who he felt needed it. Iron Will saw it as a form of atonement for his sins. Nothing is more dangerous than a sheep that blindly follows orders. But Iron Will's past eventually caught up with him... I guess I deserve it. Nothing could make up for all the lives I destroyed.”
Disturbed by the former hardened criminal's confession, Twilight simply changed the topic. “Well, we've been in here quite a while, and I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired. With the gate closed, nothing's gonna get in here. Why don't we get some sleep?”
“Eyup.”
“End of the day, let's hit the hay.”
“Good night Spike,” Twilight soft muttered, suddenly jolting her eyes open as she was painfully reminded of what had happened...
She closed her eyes again, but it was a long time before she fell asleep.
Meanwhile, while the three slept, the crystal began to emit a strange purple energy. The glowing aura formed into a tentaclelike appendage that made its way toward the lifeless body of Spike...