//------------------------------// // Puzzles and Traps and Magic, Oh My! // Story: Dr. Hooves Shadows of an Empire // by Word Painter //------------------------------// "You are the worst driver in the universe!" Rose said, leaning up against one of the pillars in the Tardis. The Doctor and Rose had been stuck in this universe of multi-colored ponies for a while now, after trying to rescue a young filly named Twilight, who had somehow found her way into their universe. During the short amount of time they had been here, the Doctor had learned pretty much all of Equestria's history, and Rose had managed to read one book on magic. "The worst driver in the universe?" the Doctor repeated. "Well, technically, that is true, because they never invent cars in this universe." "Seriously?" Rose said, smile growing. "Wait, how do they get around? Don't tell me, let me guess . . . magic subway?" "Nope," the Doctor replied. "Horse-drawn carriages!" Rose burst out laughing. "And trains!" the Doctor quickly defended. "Don't forget the trains! There's even a train made of crystal." "That must be a lot of crystal!" Rose exclaimed. "Well, it would be, considering it comes from a city-state made of crystal," the Doctor replied. "Whoa," Rose replied. "I may be a horse, but you don't have to tell me to 'whoa,'" joked the Doctor, and they both burst out laughing. "We could go there, to the Crystal Empire, if you want," the Doctor said, a smile growing on his face. "Really?" Rose said, her face lighting up with excitement. "Why not?" the Doctor said, as he trotted over to the control panel. "Wonderful place, I hear." He banged on several objects, turned several knobs, and even played with something that looked like a bike pump. Then with a weird mechanical sound, they were off, traveling swiftly through time and space. Once they were back on solid ground, Rose opened the door, expecting to see a beautiful settlement, but her eyes were met only with a desolate arctic terrain. "Doctor," Rose said, "You might want to see this!" The Doctor walked over to the door and looked out. "Blimey!" he exclaimed. "The whole empire . . . where did it go?" Rose looked at the Doctor, her eyes full of concern. "Are you sure we are in the right place?" she said. "Very," the Doctor replied, voice turning serious. Then he reached behind him to a place on his back where his Gallifreyan backpack, more like a saddlebag now, rested. The backpack was invisible, and had no weight. He clumsily pulled out a cylindrical device with a blue tip, his trusty Sonic Screwdriver. He tried to activate it with his teeth, but failed miserably. So he spit it out, and tried manipulating it with his hooves. Finally, after several seconds of fumbling, he got it to work. "Aha," the Doctor exclaimed, as the tip of the device lit up a brilliant blue. Then he frowned, brow furrowing at the readings his tool was getting. "Looks like there are massive power signals coming from a few miles north," the doctor said, "and it's not normal power, either, it's something … strange. Something elusive, and something …" the doctor paused for a moment, trying to think of the right words, "dark," he finally finished. "Do you think it has to do with the disappearance of the Crystal Empire?" Rose asked. "Dark power detected AND the disappearance of an empire BOTH in the same place," the doctor said, in a goofy voice. "Either this is the site of an Evil Pony Convention or this force is behind the disappearance of the Crystal Empire." "Well, I don't see the 'How to be a Scary Monster Panel', so I'm assuming it's the dark force," said Rose. "Yep," the doctor said, "and here's the good news." "What?" "It's weak. Whatever the force is, it's at least 1000 years old, and from what the Sonic is picking up, it's crumbling," the Doctor said. "All we need to do is create a high sonic resonance in the center of the force, and it should dissipate." He turned his attention to Rose and said, smile growing, "Are you up for saving an empire, Miss Rose Luck?" "Why, yes I am, Mr. Whooves," Rose replied. *** It took only a few minutes for the Doctor and Rose to get to the spot were the Sonic had picked up the disturbance (probably because the doctor had found a snow-mobile in one of the back rooms of the Tardis). Once they got there it was evident that they were in the right place. There was a large black, green, and purple crystal mosaic on the ground, and although the air was full of snow, not a flake dared land on the ominous structure. Rose felt like she had seen it before, but not until the doctor was about to step on it did she remember. "NO, DOCTOR, DON'T!" Rose screamed. The Doctor stopped, hoof right above the gleaming surface. Then he took a step back and looked at Rose. "If I'm right," Rose said, "this is a puzzle." Rose picked up a rock and threw it onto the crystal surface. There was a beam of light that engulfed the stone, and when it was gone, so was the stone. "I read about this in the book you gave me. It's a simple dark magic gate: only one color is safe to step on, and once you step on all of the safe-colored stones, the door will open," Rose said. Rose threw a stone onto a black tile. It immediately was reduced to ashes. Then she tried a purple tile. The rock stayed intact, so Rose threw several more rocks onto the purple tiles, until they all had been hit. Then all the tiles glowed and arranged themselves into a rectangle. There was a flash, and in the place of the tiles appeared a staircase, leading down. "Brilliant," the Doctor exclaimed, as he started merrily down the featureless staircase, Rose in tow. Their spirits did not remain high long, however, because what had seemed like a regular staircase in the beginning, began to feel seemingly endless. "How long have we been going down this staircase?" asked Rose. "I don't know," the Doctor replied. "Well, you're the one with the time-piece on your flank! It feels like we aren't going anywhere, " Rose said. The Doctor stopped and stared at something on the wall. "Going nowhere . . ." he said. "That's it! I knew I felt something every twenty steps. It feels like we are going nowhere because we aren't. We are being teleported back to the top every twenty steps." The Doctor pulled out his Sonic and carefully hit the button. There was a click, and a light appeared at the end of the staircase. Both the Doctor and Rose ran, desperate to get out of the stairwell. The Doctor was faster than Rose, and got in the lit-up room several seconds before her. When Rose entered the room, she saw an open door with nothing behind it. The door was casting a dark shadow over the Doctor, who was sitting on his haunches, staring at it. "Doctor?" Rose said, trying to get his attention. She saw that his eyes had turned green and were emitting purple smoke. "Doctor!" she said louder. It was very clear, though, that the Doctor could not hear her. "No," the Doctor said quietly. "No," he said again, this time a little louder. "Not again!" he whispered. Rose ran up to the Doctor and desperately shook him, but he did not respond.