//------------------------------// // Sudden Revelation(s) // Story: The Whooves Collection Episode Three: The Crystal Shadows // by Perceptive Key //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Sudden Revelation(s) Gaia; Equestria; Crystal Empire; Crystal Palace; Location Unknown; 1 P.C.E. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Twilight screamed. The chains pulled tight against each of Twilight's legs, preventing her from moving much, but her mouth had been left unconfined, allowing her to scream and shout to her heart's content. "DOCTOR?! HELP!" Twilight fired every spell in her arsenal at the metal bands, but nothing worked and only left her coughing on the smoke from the magical feedback. "You can try as hard as you wish," a Vashta Nerada guard that suddenly appeared before her said, "those bonds are meant to withstand any magical output you may cause. Dark magic included." "Shut up!" Twilight shouted, firing a blast of magic that passed through the guard. The shot left a hole that slowly reformed after a few seconds. Twilight wasn't sure, but she thought that the guard snickered under its mask. "I'll leave you to your thoughts," the guard rasped, dissipating immediately after. The guard reappeared briefly, "All units may cease guarding the prisoner, orders of King Sombra," and then vanished again. A collective 'Woosh!' sounded as all of the guards that had been hidden dissolved into the air. Twilight cast an illumination spell, lighting up her cell. It was hewn out of pure, black crystal and stretched twenty feet into the air, the ceiling coming to a point at the top of the room. The lavender unicorn looked around, glancing back and forth, checking to see if any guards remained. A small burst of light lit up the air next to her and, as it dimmed, revealed the sonic screwdriver. "Thank you, Doctor," Twilight said, "If magic won't release these cuffs, then maybe science will!" Twilight maneuvered the device down to the locks, pointing it directly at them. The sonic gave out its signature whine, the metal cuffs clicking open almost instantly. "Yes!" Twilight cheered quietly, setting to work on removing the rest of the chains. When she was free, Twilight pointed the screwdriver at the walls, searching for the door. She turned slowly while the screwdriver whined, its blue tip illuminating the chamber slightly. The pitch increased, suddenly, and a prominent THUNK was heard as a portion of the wall swung open slightly. Twilight ran over to the crack and left the room, screwdriver magically grasped next to her. She then found herself in another hallway, illuminated by the enchanted torches that burned with bright green flames. "Now, what next?" she asked herself. "I should find the Doctor. Then we'll just get back to the TARDIS and-" Twilight stopped. The TARDIS! she groaned mentally. She tapped her muzzle with the screwdriver, contemplating her next move. She stopped again and looked at the screwdriver in her magical aura. "Wait. How are we going to find the TARDIS, exactly?" Twilight had asked the Doctor. "There's a tracking device inside of the TARDIS that is connected to my sonic screwdriver. With this thing, I'll never lose the TARDIS. It's even more useful when I forget where I park!" "Let's hope that the Doctor was telling the truth." The tip illuminated and the whine pierced the unnaturally still air. Twilight pointed it down the near endless hallway and the screwdriver's pitch increased like it had with the door. "Yes," she cheered quietly. She held the levitating sonic in front of her and galloped down into the now less-threatening darkness. Gaia; Equestria; Crustal Empire; Crystal Palace; Castle Spire; 1 P.C.E. "What does that sonic screw-whatzit do anyway?" Jonathan asked the Doctor. The Doctor was practically swallowed up by the rift machine, only his brown, shaggy tail visible out the access compartment. He had found that the inside was meant to be large enough, for a pony a bit larger than himself, to do some maintenance without messing up the wiring. "In answer to your question," the Doctor said, "it's primary use is to lock and unlock doors, undo screws and sometimes rivets, as well as a sort of beacon to locate the TARDIS in the event that I lose it. Being that it has happened to me quite a few times." A flurry of sparks erupted from within the machine and Jonathan jumped back in surprise. "Ah-ha!" he heard the Doctor exclaim. A second cluster of sparks erupted from the inside and the Doctor yelped in pain. "Blasted piece of junk." A gong-like sound emanated as the Doctor kicked the metal inside. Jonathan backed away slowly and started to look up at the machine in wonder. He walked around the outside of the crystal-encased spire, observing the mirror-like surface and trying to see if he could glimpse the metal exoskeleton of the device. He felt out of place here, not just on the top of a mad-pony's castle in the middle of an entire kingdom made of crystal, but out of sync with the world in general. He didn't dwell long on these thoughts, as a small, black shape caught his attention. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was painted on the outside of the machine and nearly impossible to spot because of the crystals' natural polish. "Doctor?" The Doctor stuck his head out and looked to his right, only seeing Jonathan's tail from around the curve. "What is it, my friend?" "Come see this," was his reply. The Doctor shrugged and navigated his way out of the machine, avoiding any important wires and cords. He finally made his way out, stepping out through the access door and stretching his joints. A loud crack resounded from his neck as he twisted it, causing him to grunt in satisfaction. He then trotted over next to Jonathan. "What was it you wanted?" The grey pegasus simply pointed to a spot on the machine and the Doctor approached the designated place. The shape that he saw inside looked to be in the shape of a relatively large "A" with an open eye residing within the enclosed, upper space of the letter. The symbol, itself, was enclosed within a tall, rectangular box. Below the symbol were the words "Puto. Creare. Assequendum." "'Think. Create. Achieve.'" the Doctor said quietly to himself. "What was that?" Jonathan inquired. He looked back to the words and was startled to see that he could now read them clearly. 'Think. Create. Achieve.' Jonathan leaned in towards the Doctor and whispered, "I can read that!" "TARDIS translation matrix," he explained, "It takes a bit for it to translate the written word." "So... I'm reading Latin?" "Yes, you a-" the Doctor stopped, "How do you know that it's Latin?" he asked curiously, a small hint of suspicion mixing in. Jonathan shrugged his shoulders, "It just looks like Latin." The Doctor studied him with increased interest. Jonathan ignored his staring and looked back at the symbol, this time feeling slightly drawn to it. He reached up his right fore-hoof and touched the spot on the crystal that covered it. When his hoof made contact with the crystal, a thin tendril of blue electricity flowed through the glimmering solid and sparked against him. Jonathan instantly froze. His pupils shrank, his wings flared out, and his mane and tail stuck up a bit. The Doctor cocked an eyebrow at the sight. "21, 9, 6; 2, 19, 4, 9, 10, 21, 6, 4, 21, 20," Jonathan's mouth barely moved when he spoke, though each number was enunciated clearly and quickly. The Doctor mentally recorded the numbers and stored them in an imaginary filing cabinet in his brain. Jonathan stood there in silence for a while before his pupils returned to their normal state, as well as his mane, tail, and wings. "So that's it." "What?" the Doctor asked, his voice now containing quite a bit of concern. "My name isn't Jonathan," he responded calmly. He faced the Doctor slowly, his expression was "It's Farsight." Gaia; Equestria; Crystal Empire; Crystal Palace; Lower Dungeons; 1 P.C.E. Twilight ducked behind a crystal outcropping in the ground as a pair of the shadow guards drifted down the hall. She had been using the screwdriver in bursts to avoid being detected by those patrolling the castle. She activated it again, scanning in a circle as the pitch increased again, leading to a solid wall. Twilight ran up to it and unlocked the door with the sonic. She entered into a large, dark room, twice the size of the cell that they had started out in, and waiting in the center, was the TARDIS. Twilight smiled and ran for the doors. "Going somewhere?" a voice hissed from within the gloom. A guard suddenly appeared in front of the TARDIS, blocking Twilight's path to the doors. "We were wrong to leave you, weren't we?" "Not you, again," she groaned angrily. She lowered her horn, setting it ablaze with her reddened magic. "Can't you just give me a break?" She shot a beam of light at the creature, slicing it right down the middle. It dissolved instantly but it reformed almost as quickly. "You are starting to get on my nerves. If I even had any." Twilight grunted, "Just go away!" She shot another blast, this one encasing the guard completely. When the light dispersed, the guard was gone, but again he reappeared, now closer to Twilight. "Give up," he said. "You can't kill me." Twilight was furious now, and her horn sparked with even more energy. "I will never give up!" she shouted at him. Her horn glowed brighter, a small circle of illumination surrounding her form. The guard raised an eyebrow at the sight. "I think it's time that you saw the true light of day," Twilight said. Her eyes glowed white with anger and the light from her horn increased dramatically, the circle expanding outwards, enveloping the room in a blinding light. When the light dimmed and Twilight could see again, she found that the space had now been fully illuminated and the guard was gone. There were some small patches of fire scattered about the room, their light flickering against the stark blackness of the walls. She then turned her attention to the TARDIS which was, surprising to Twilight, completely unscathed. Twilight approached the doors carefully and stopped where the guard had been previously. All that was left of him was a small, star-shaped scorch mark staining the floor. Twilight looked back at the TARDIS doors and attempted to push them open, unsure if it was locked. Luckily, they swung open with a creak and she trotted inside. She approached the controls and was ready to use the ship, but then she realized: She had no idea how to fly it. She kicked the console in anger, and a projection of the Doctor suddenly appeared on the catwalks above. "This is emergency protocol 9-20-dash-4," the hologram stated. "The TARDIS and I have been separated because of some outside force and you are now tasked with returning it to me." The form flickered out and reappeared next to Twilight. "Follow my precise instructions and the TARDIS shall return to my location." Twilight nodded, but she was suddenly confused. "Did I just respond to a recording?"