//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Revelations // Story: Fabrication // by Bomber //------------------------------// Formal dancing was an item Lyra had hardly ever been exposed to. Though she grew up in the more high-class neighborhoods in Canterlot, her childhood was mostly spent along with other fillies and colts that lived in the more outlying districts of the capital. They generally spent time dancing senselessly to old records on hand-me-down phonographs. So of course, the sophistication and finesse of the elite of Equestria’s nobles astounded the unsuspecting musician to no bounds. A dozen couples formed a perfect circle, fancy dresses twirling and pivoting in immaculate unison to the rhythm of the complicated piece Lyra and her fellow musicians were performing. With every note, every beat, and every phrase, the dancing ponies followed through with a unique movement and posture that could only be perfected with long hours of dedicated practice. Lyra found herself having much difficulty concentrating on the burden of constantly playing for hours on end. At least her part in the Gala was thankfully coming to a close. Once this last dance was completed, the servants would eventually close the ballroom for cleanup and Lyra would still have a full two hours before the Gala was finished. At first she thought this would allow her time to catch up with old friends, but the urge to visit Blake tugged on her mind with herculean strength. I can see my old pals later, Lyra thought. I promised Blake that I’d come to visit him as soon as possible and I’m intent on keeping that promise. Plucking the final few notes, the beautiful melody found its inevitable end with the elegantly twirling ponies coming to a standstill. It was finally over. Lyra gratefully sighed in relief, her golden-colored magic sailing her stringed instrument through the air and into its case hidden behind the slightly elevated stage. “Wonderful performance,” Octavia complimented, heaving her cello into its enormous case as well. “I believe we left them in awe with that final piece.” “I do say we did an excellent job tonight, especially you, Miss Heartstrings,” the blue-coated piano player praised, shifting himself off his comfy-looking seat. Lyra’s cheeks turned a rosy hue in response. She had to admit, he was kind of cute with his gorgeous eyes and neatly combed mane. What was his name again? That’s right, it was Key Stroke. How could she forget? “I was thinking we might spend the last few hours of the Gala together. You wouldn’t want to be all alone for the rest of the night, now would you? I think we’d look great together, me in my fancy tuxedo and you in your extravagant dress. Why, we would draw the pairs of a thousand eyes!” The rate Lyra’s heart was beating increased tenfold, the valuable internal organ nearly popping out of her chest. She had never been put under these circumstances before as she was never one to pursue romance. Okay, maybe Blake can wait, Lyra mused, nodding her head in agreement to his proposal. I might not have another opportunity like this for a long time. Key Stroke smiled widely in response. “Well, I’m glad you’ve accepted my offer,” he said, draping a muscular arm over her shoulder. “Why don’t we head to the castle gardens first? Maybe we can find some refreshments somewhere along the way.” “Uh, okay,” were the only sounds that Lyra managed to escape her lips. She started to sweat. It was nothing too noticeable, but enough to raise suspicion. “You seem a bit dreary,” Key Stroke noted, leading her away from the ballroom. “We ought to get you a glass of water as quick as we can.” “But, my lyre,” Lyra stammered, trying to break out of Key Stroke’s iron tight grip. The sudden struggle only made Key Stroke hold onto the mare a little tighter. “Not to worry, my dear Heartstrings,” he said. “The servants will deliver it to your room, no problem whatsoever. Now how about those refreshments, hmm? I’m feeling quite quenched myself.” “Okay,” Lyra said again, allowing the bulky stallion guide her through the corridors of the castle. Everywhere they went, there was at least a small group chatting or gossiping about the most tedious things, ranging from bank accounts, business deals, relationship issues, and the more recent event of Princess Celestia painting herself a bright pink color. Along the way, Key Stroke also chatted about random conspicuous things occurring in his life. Lyra attempted to respond to some of his odd upper-class tales be injecting her own comments, but Key Stroke completely dominated the conversation. He continued to drone on and on with no sense to even take a break for a brief moment. Lyra eventually tuned out of the boring recounts of his life’s dull accomplishments and began looking for something else to entertain herself or for an excuse to leave his side. Then without warning, Blake’s thoughts pounded inside her head, his voice sounding eerily distressed. Lyra, if you can hear me… get Luna. She hoped for an immediate response, but not a single syllable came in return. Again, no response. Only dreaded silence. Nothing. It was as if their connection with each other was somehow severed. “I’m really sorry, Key Stroke, but I have to go,” Lyra said, her anxiety levels quickly escalating. She desperately tried to break free from Key Stroke, but the stallion was determined to deny Lyra of hardly any sharp or sudden movements. “But my dear, sweet Heartstrings,” Key Stroke said in a flirtatious tone, dragging her down yet another endless hallway and peering out a large window. “Look here and you can see that Princess Luna’s night is still quite young. We have much to see and much to do. Trust me when I say this will be the greatest night of your life.” “I appreciate the offer,” Lyra said, refusing to quit her steadfast struggle to escape from her captor’s tenacious embrace, “but something very important has come up. I need to go. Now.” Key Stroke immediately silenced her by aggressively pressing his lips against hers. He tried to wiggle his slender tongue into her mouth, but she outright denied him any passage. Fortunately for her, his defenses were down as he was too focused in trying to force himself onto her. She nimbly slipped out of his clutches, proceeding to vigorously punch him directly in the eye with as much force as she could muster. The stallion cringed, his legs almost collapsing upon themselves. “You son of a bitch,” Lyra spat bitterly, forcefully kicking the stallion again. A loud yelp came in response as he crumpled onto the neatly polished floor beneath him. “I can’t believe we actually performed on stage together, you dirty little freak. I’m calling the Royal Guard right now, and I hope that I never have to see your ugly face again.” “Don’t worry,” an unfamiliar voice said from behind Lyra. “I saw everything and already sent somepony to fetch a guard. Are you okay?” Lyra craned her neck to see the maid pony that was the other side of the heated debate in the ballroom that morning. She had a worried expression present on her face as she trotted beside Lyra. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Lyra assured, the bigger problem still nagging at her conscience. “Have you happened to see Princess Luna anywhere?” “No, can’t say I have,” the maid pony said, gesturing a hoof forward. “The name’s Sidestep, by the way.” “Lyra,” she introduced, shaking the sandy-tan unicorn’s hoof with her own. “You mind staying with this creeper until somepony from the guard comes? I’ve got something to attend to and it’s really important.” “Tell me what’s going on. I happen to know a lot of ponies in the castle and I might be able to help with whatever you need,” Sidestep said. Lyra glanced at the maid pony curiously with an eyebrow raised, contemplating on whether or not she could really trust this random stranger she had met not even two seconds ago. But if Blake was in serious trouble, then time was of the essence. She had no other choice. “Do you happen to know about the human that’s residing in the East Wing of the castle?” she asked. Sidestep slightly recoiled, and Lyra noticed that she tried to hide the fact that she did. “Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Sidestep hesitantly replied, joining Lyra in exchanging perplexed glances. “Look, there’s no time to explain, but something’s going on over there,” Lyra said, thrusting a hoof in the general direction of Blake’s room. “Once the guard arrives to deal with this jerk, tell him to send a detachment over to his room with haste!” “What’s going on?” Sidestep questioned, trying to puzzle together all these events that were transpiring simultaneously. Lyra gradually turned away from the befuddled mare, beginning to canter away. “Again, there’s no time to explain!” she called, her pace quickening. “Just do what I say, please!” “Whatever, I’ll tell him to send somepony over!” Sidestep assured, raising her volume in order for Lyra to be able to hear her. With the hopeful promise that the guard would likely initiate an investigation soon, Lyra darted as speedily as her fatigued hooves could carry her. She sped by dozens of wandering ponies, drawing a steadily increasing portion of eyes attaching to her. She didn’t care that they were gawking in bewilderment. There was one single thing that lingered inside her head. Everything’s going to be okay, she reminded herself as she narrowly dodged a mass of ponies attempting to get a glimpse at some prestigious stallion. There’s always a chance that I’m blowing this completely out of proportions. There’s always a chance that I’m just being paranoid. But there’s always a chance that he might be in serious trouble and in need of imperative help. Oh, I just hope that he’s still okay. Her destination was the main hall where the one and only Princess Celestia would be standing tall and graceful, greeting arriving ponies and bidding farewell to ones that were departing. The likelihood that Celestia’s sister would be poised beside her was meager at best, but it was Lyra’s sole lead to the information regarding Luna’s present location. Turning left at another corner, she found herself at a complete dead end. It was now she realized that she had absolutely no clue as to where she was currently situated in the castle. Coming to terms that she was utterly lost in this maze of numerous corridors and hallways, she slumped onto her haunch and covered her eyes. Several tears began to stream down her cheeks. It would take hours to find the Princess of the Night. By the time she did, the investigation (assuming it took place) would be over and the guards would have no idea what to do next. She failed. “Lyra, is something troubling you?” a thankfully familiar voice asked, the gentle sound of shoes clanging against the floor wholly apparent. “Hello, Princess Luna,” Lyra greeted, reluctantly revealing her reddened eyes. She shuffled onto her hooves, her posture slightly off-balance. “Please tell me, my dear subject, what is bothering you ever so greatly?” Luna tenderly inquired again. Lyra rubbed her stinging eyes for a brief moment, then bringing up her gaze to match the princess’. “It’s Blake. I think something’s wrong,” she claimed. Luna’s expression transformed immediately. She was struck in awe with this supposition coming from out of the blue. “And what, pray tell, is going on?” “I don’t know,” Lyra said, her head drooping lightly. “He communicated with me briefly, but he didn’t get much of a message across.” “Lyra, it’s imperative that you inform me as to what Blake told you,” Luna said, her tone rather serious. Lyra knew of Blake’s becoming as Luna’s protégé, and that the princess would be unfaltering at protecting him no matter the cost. “He said, ‘Lyra, if you can hear me… get Luna.’” “That is all?” Luna asked, unmistakably expecting additional information. “Unfortunately, yes, that’s all it was,” Lyra somberly replied. “But he sounded hurt, like something really bad was about to happen.” “And you tried to communicate with him again?” Luna questioned. Lyra shook her head in response, affirming her suspicion. “If that is the case, then we should make due to Blake’s room at once!” The princess broke into a light trot with Lyra following closely in tow. With the way things were currently presenting themselves, Lyra couldn’t think of any positive outlooks on this situation. Please be okay, Lyra pleaded, her indispensable reserves of energy ceaselessly fading out of existence. She longed to take a quick break to regain her spirits, but time was ticking against them. They hustled through passageways, shoving any unfortunate ponies in their path. <><><><><><><><><><> “Princess Luna!” the guard that Lyra had met earlier in the day greeted, bowing respectfully to the co-ruler of Equestria. At first glance, Blake’s private quarters seemed completely normal. Did he leave his room and get into a fight? Or accidentally slip off the roof of an enormous building? There were a billion possibilities and Lyra couldn’t settle on even one to be the most likely case. “At ease, Captain Armor,” Luna said, allowing the highly-ranked officer to disengage from his bowing stance. The captain complied, shifting himself to stand at full attention. “How fares the investigation?” “I have to admit,” Captain Armor began, turning his gaze to the scene behind him, “when a maid pony first explained to me that a problem had arisen in one of the restricted parts of the castle, I was a bit skeptical at first.” “Spare me the details, Captain. I just want to know the facts,” Luna stated, her deep blue eyes darting incredulously around the room, trying to analyze every subtle element including the walls, ceiling, floor, and multitude of furniture. The captain nodded in acknowledgment. “Of course, Princess Luna. As I was saying, at first everything seems to be normal. There’s no overturned furniture, no broken shards of glass, no discarded weapons. If you simply walked into the room and hardly paid attention to anything, you would easily overlook the small details. However, there are two small clues our unicorn inspection team uncovered after detailed analysis.” “And?” Luna asked, gesturing with her hoof as if to say go on. “We found a small quantity of dried blood over there,” Captain Armor informed, pointing a hoof to where a few droplets of crimson blood could barely be noticed after careful inspection. “As far as our inspection team’s concerned, there is no magical residue within it. We need to run more tests to be absolutely certain, but if our current assumptions are true, then it’s obviously the human’s blood.” Luna brought a hoof to her chin, tapping on it patiently. It was unusual to see the princess remain so calm at a time like this, but after living for over a thousand years, patience for her must truly be a virtue. “I see,” she said, taking a closer gander at Blake’s dried blood. “You mentioned that there were two things to suggest a fight broke out. What was the second?” “On the far wall, we found a small scorch mark. I don’t if you haven’t noticed the awful odor that’s been emanating from it, but it’s quite apparent if you’re within close vicinity of it,” Captain Armor said, ushering the two ponies to the scorch mark. It was probably only a few inches in diameter, with a small trail of smoke continuing to gush out the blackened mark entrenched into the wall. “Wait a minute, I recognize this scent.” Luna said, sniffing intently. All of a sudden, her pupils doubled, even almost tripled in size. “Captain, please do not tell me that this is… forbidden magic.” “I’m afraid so,” the captain responded. “And what’s even more stunning is that we found the distinct magical residue of not one, but two ponies. If we can become more certain that this is one-hundred percent true, then the kingdom is truly at more risk than it already is.” “Wait,” Lyra interrupted, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean by Equestria becoming even more at risk? I thought that we were at peace right now.” “Several days ago, both my sister and I received a threat from an anonymous source stating that we were to give up the kingdom immediately or face invasion,” Luna quietly said, her mood quickly turning sorrow. “We believed that it was some sort of sick joke, but if the event of Blake’s disappearance and the letter are somehow interconnected, we may be facing something very grand in scale. But the question arises, how does Blake fit into all of this? I honestly don’t comprehend who would use him as a pawn to conquer the entire kingdom of Equestria.” “It could be possible that the two aren’t directly related,” Captain Armor said, his tone semi-hopeful. “This may just be a simple coincidence.” “We still can’t rule out the probability that these two threats are very real and are somehow connected,” Luna remarked. “Captain Shining Armor, I understand that this may be difficult for you to hear this, but as of now I am officially postponing your wedding with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. In light of recent events, I can’t have anypony at risk. I believe we may have to issue a lockdown.” “But, Princess, you can’t do this!” Captain Armor rejected, angrily stomping a hoof on the floor, creating a deafening crack that could probably be heard from Ponyville. “I apologize for my sudden outburst, but there has to be some way around this. We’ve been planning this wedding for months! The presses are going to be all over this considering they’ve been gossiping about it ever since we announced the dang thing. If you decide to postpone this without second thought, it’s going to raise a lot of suspicion, and both you can Princess Celestia will inevitably have to reveal the threat signed by this nameless pony!” Princess Luna endured in pure silence for several minutes, pondering in deep thought. Both the captain and Lyra exchanged confused glances as the princess remained speechless. “I see your point of view on this whole little fiasco we have on our hooves,” Luna eventually agreed, opening her eyes and locking gazes with the captain. “But I will have to converse this privately with my sister. Nonetheless, I am ordering you to cast and maintain a force field around the city of Canterlot.” The captain tried to cut her off with his own objections, but she continued before he could even voice a single word. “I will try to convince Celestia to allow you to continue with your wedding, but know that our first priority is the safety of Equestria and all of its citizens. If anything amiss happens to occur between now and the time of the wedding, I can and I will postpone it. Is that clear, Captain?” “Yes, Princess,” the captain reluctantly saluted. “And I’d also like you to send a letter to your sister and invite both her and all six of her friends to the wedding. I have a feeling that we’re going to need the Elements of Harmony present at this blasted event,” Luna stated. “Yes, Princess,” the captain repeated, retaining his respectful salute. “The two of you get a good night’s rest. We’ll begin a full investigation of Blake’s current whereabouts at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Captain, I’m going to have you sit out this round. I need you to focus all of your energy on the wedding and maintaining that force field. Lyra, I’ll send a pony to fetch you at six o’clock in the morning. If at any time during the night you manage to interlink your mind with Blake’s, please do not hesitate to find me in my private quarters. I will alert the guards to grant you access if you need to see me. Any questions?” Luna asked. The two ponies nodded their heads. “Good. Both of you are dismissed.” <><><><><><><><><><> “Boss, he’s coming to!” a nearby voice said right next to Blake’s ear, causing him to flinch at the sudden noise. His head span and throbbed with the pain like a steel baseball bat bashing on him mercilessly. His eyes steadily fluttered open, the room around him slowly coming into view. It laid entirely barren save for a plastic table with his old belongings scattered across the top. Only a few bright candles dimly illuminated the dull grey room. With no windows placed on the unpainted walls, it was impossible to tell if it was night or day. Not like it mattered anyways. “It’s about time,” Professor Day Break said irritably, his yellow figure entering Blake’s field of vision. A door shut silently behind him as he stared at the human intently. “Now it’s time to finally get down to business!” Blake viciously struggled to move his arms in order to initiate an attack on the professor, but he regrettably found them, along with his legs, bound to a wooden chair by some durable material. The surface texture didn’t feel like rope or tape, but something in-between. “Yes, those bonds may be physical and not nearly as powerful as magic, but they’ll have to suffice,” Day Break snickered. He studiously walked around Blake, examining his every feature. Blake glared daggers in return. “Such a wonderful specimen, aren’t you. You’re resilient to every single form of magic known to ponykind with it passing by you like visible light through an untainted window. I guess this has its advantages, but it must have its downfalls as well. Slower healing processes, lowered strength, not being able to cast even a simple spell like levitation. Humans are so fascinating!” “I get it, we’re pretty damn cool,” Blake said, playing along with the professor’s bizarre rant. “But that still doesn’t explain what you want from me?” “Ah, getting straight to the point, are we?” Day Break smiled, trotting over to the table displaying Blake’s miscellaneous items. “I want you to tell me how all of these work, of course. Your species’ inventions, your creations. Your marvels, your wonders. Your accomplishments, your successfulness. Your powerful weapons, your armored machines. I can go on, but that wouldn’t get us any further than we already are.” The professor paused, levitating Blake’s AK-47 assault rifle in front of him to inspect. “I know more about Earth and humanity than you may think, my little human. I’ve been studying your species for years, examining and scrutinizing every last drop of detail I can squeeze out of your blue and green planet. But there’s only so much I can learn as a spectator from the far reaches of the unknown. I need somepony with firsthand experience with these tools and machines. Somepony who knows how to work and rebuild them from scratch. That is why I brought you here, Blake Johnson, and I intend to keep you here until I can suck every bit of information trapped inside that abomination you call a brain.” Blake stared at Day Break remarkably calm. “That’s it?” he asked. “You just imprison me here against my will until I tell you how this stuff works?” “In a nutshell, yes,” Day Break affirmed, swapping the rifle for Blake’s red flashlight. He flickered it on and off several times, waving the cone of light all over the room. “By the looks of it, you don’t need my help,” Blake noted, watching as Day Break manipulated the flashlight with ease. “This tool was rather easy to figure out,” Day Break shrugged, dropping it on the table as if he was suddenly disinterested in it. “There’s an engraving above a little button that clearly says, ‘on.’ A foal could find out how to turn it on if they put forth some effort into it. But these other ones are still beyond my comprehension. I understand what their basic mechanics and purposes are, but it’s the issue of breaking them down piece by piece and putting it perfectly back together that plagues me.” “What if I refuse?” Blake asked, growling fiercely. “Are you gonna starve me? Torture me? Kill me?” “Why, none of those options, of course,” Day Break replied a bit too energetically. “I’ll just send you back to the pit of Tartarus where you came from.” Blake noticeably recoiled at his threatening statement. Day Break began to press this to his advantage. “Yes, I know of your past and the last few days you spent running. I understood the consequences of the teleportation spell I used to bring you here and I knew it would select one of you utterly at random. I watched everything happen, from your airplane crash-landing all up to the point of the large skirmish between the soldiers of your own nation and the enemy troops that flooded your position from all directions. You see, I wanted to properly know who I was dealing with before my spell finished its charging and I was able to send you here to Equestria. Unfortunately, some unknown variables came into play and you found yourself within the deadly perimeter of the Everfree Forest instead of the Canterlot castle.” “Out of seven billion people on the entire planet, I’m the one your so-called ‘spell’ chose?” Blake inquired in disbelief. “So many questions with you,” Day Break remarked with a hint of annoyance present in his tone. “And to answer your question, yes, my spell chose you at random. You see, forbidden magic is very, very unpredictable. It’s quite difficult to control. Only skilled unicorns who’ve had years of practice can perform such dangerous magic, and as you can tell, I am one of those few skilled magic users that are still alive to continue the legacy of practicing forbidden magic.” Blake shut his lips. He had nothing else to say. He proceeded to shut his eyes and turn his head, refusing to make any sort of eye contact with the crazy stallion. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts for now,” Day Break said, the sound of his hooves heading towards the door on the far side of the room. “My assistant will untie you and bring a meal in a few hours. I want a decision by tomorrow.” The horrid screeching noise of the door creaking open made Blake want to clasp his hands over his ears to drone out the terrible sound, but the tight restraints forced him to listen to every moment. “Oh, and just one more thing, Blake,” Day Break said before ushering himself out of the room. “I do know of your unicorn friend’s telepathic ability to communicate with you. I just thought I’d let you know that this room is magically enchanted to prevent any unwanted conversations occurring while I’m gone. Expect help from nopony, not even your pretty little Princess Luna... Not to worry, my little human. She’ll be out of the equation soon enough, along with Celestia and the rest of the Royal Guard.” With that, the door slammed behind him, leaving Blake to his lone self. Whatever, you slimy bastard, Blake thought, desperately trying to squirm his way out of his restraints. I’m going to put a stop to this madness whether you like it or not.