//------------------------------// // Tomb of the Ancients // Story: A New Dimension, A New Threat // by ZeroChill //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle shut her eyes for dear life. The darkness of the chasm shadowed over the serene blinds of her eyelids. The screams of all of her friends rang through her ears. A shuffle of hooves arranged themselves into a group hug. For the eternity that occurred, the entire group hovered within the realm of darkness. Landing on a hard surface after the passing eon, everyone got up from the ground and rubbed their temples. “Okay, who was the wise guy that bumped into us?!” Shouting with her voice steeped in agitation, Rainbow Dash shouted. “I’m pretty sure that was you. You were going at sonic speed after all.” Tilting her head away, Gnasher replied. Twilight Sparkle’s horn lit up. She shut her eyes and grunted with a long groan. The spell on her horn dissipated into sparks, leaving Twilight Sparkle with a spontaneous frown on her face. “It’s no good! I can’t teleport out of here!” She shouted. Rainbow Dash spread her wings and flapped them, but she found herself unable to take flight. She scowled and clicked her tongue. “My flight is useless here. Whatever this place is, it is blocking our transportation methods.” “Queen Isis devised her tomb to trap all types of beings. Those who wander in here will develop dreadful feelings.” Zecora said. “Wait, how do you know?” Rarity asked with peaked curiosity. Zecora wandered within the pitch black darkness and placed her right front hoof on a solid wall. She treaded it along the wall until she hit a smooth and solid object. An azure light flashed within the depths of the darkness. Revealed within its bright rays are a series of images etched out in clay tablets. Twilight Sparkle approached the series of tablets and touched a tablet that depicted a group of zebras. “The ancient Zebrican art here is amazing. If my understanding of hieroglyphs is correct, then these art pieces must tell a story.” She said with awe emanating from her voice. Zecora pointed towards the image that Twilight Sparkle’s right front hoof touched upon and grinned. “These tablets tell of Equus’s story back in civilization’s primordial years. They tell of a tale of how our modern-day tribes have originated through sweat and tears.” She said. “How do you know? This is our very first time being in this tomb.” Twilight Sparkle questioned with cautious curiosity. Zecora looked towards the rest of the operatives in the room. She waved her hoof towards their direction, asking to draw them closer with her inviting smile. They approached the zebra and unicorn and gathered around the tablets. “Well, I guess that tales of Equus’s first civilization would lighten our mood a bit.” Applejack noted. Zecora slid her right front hoof over towards the image of a herd of zebras upon the cliffs of a grand building. Underneath the large and opulent building housed green vegetation and rivers of flowing waters. “Our story starts with the zebra tribe taking roots as the first civilization.” Zecora introduced. “With their knowledge and techniques on agriculture, they were the first prosperous nation.” Fluttershy’s eyes wandered over towards the next tablet, where she noted a large group of zebras bowing down to strange bipedal creatures with humanoid statures, animal heads and wings over their arms. A small frown pursed upon her face. “Then why is it that they are bowing down to these weird creatures? Did Deus not exist in their time?” Zecora’s wide grin wavered under the statement of Fluttershy’s words. She breathed out with a heavy sigh. “Deus existed back in the time as recorded by the seers. This is properly shown through this old tablet over here.” She pointed towards the tablet towards the left, which depicted a mechanical horse-shaped being whose body emanated rays of light. Between his giant hands rested a large planet that radiated with light. Upon one of the etched-in land formations on the planet, zebrakind sprouted towards the middle of the world. “If the ancients knew about Deus, then why did they resort to worshipping false idols?” Applejack asked with a hint of curiosity in her tone. “As you can tell, our ancestors were not appreciative of the one old god. They worshipped him at first, but he fell out of favor and thought of him as a fraud.” Zecora pointed towards the tablet to the far right, where an etching of a zebra mare adorned in flashy apparel stood underneath the silhouette of the sun. On the base of the building beneath her, many etchings of zebras stabbed at each other with spears and swords, leaving only blood puddles and corpses in their wake. “This line of cultural thinking continued until the end reign of Queen Isis. Towards the end of that era, much blood was shed and many died in the crisis.” “Wait a moment here.” Holding out her claws, Gnasher interjected with a head shake. “Do you mean to tell me that such a horrible war was caused over the religion of you zebras?” Zecora shut her eyes and a soft sigh passed from her breath. She moved her hoof towards an etching of an earth pony stallion before Queen Isis and two other zebras. By the stallion’s side are capsule-shaped devices with lines of brilliance etched around it. A silhouette of Deus’s image is sketched upon the surfaces of the devices. “It was much more than just a dispute over who worshipped what. A prophet of Deus met with the queen and all was cut. He brought forth technology that came into his mind by his god. The queen was appalled by his presentation, but some looked at him with eyes awed. Conflict broke out when the queen’s subjects wanted to usher in a technological era, but the supporters of the current way of life disagreed and fought out in the sierras.” Zecora explained. “So the first recorded war in history all began because no one liked the thought of bringing forth a new era of technology and worship then?” Twilight Sparkle asked. Her face broke into a frown and her eyes narrowed in sorrow. “That waste of life…” “As history decided, those with the power of technology overwhelmed the royal forces. The queen was killed, technology prospered and a whole new history would be known to set its own course.” Pinkie Pie gazed towards the final image, where an equine wrapped in bandages is carried into a large building by an earth pony and zebra. She smiled and cupped her mouth with her right front hoof. “It’s funny how they decided to bury their queen with all of this cool technology in here. Don’t you just love that irony?” “That’s a horrible thing to laugh at, Pinkie Pie.” With a stern voice, Rarity chided. “Respect the burial conditions they must, but burying their old-believing queen with all of this technology is their insult to her.” Fluttershy looked away from the tablets. Her mouth formed into a frown that oozed anxiety. She rubbed her right front hoof with her left front hoof and took one step backwards. “Umm… she does seem to be a bit stubborn. I mean, she did fight a war and everything just because she did not believe in Deus.” She uttered to herself. “From what I understand, her fate in the afterlife did not end well. According to what I know of Deus, she is suffering in hell.” Zecora stated. The lights within the tomb went out and obscured everything within its darkness. A supernatural chill overcame the atmosphere and brought everyone’s nerves down into the abyss. A loud scream shot out of Applejack’s mouth. “I feel something! Is that a ghost?!” She screamed. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. A cocky grin rolled out on her face. She guided her right front hoof through the darkness and treaded it upon Applejack’s right shoulder. “Relax, Applejack; there’s no such thing as ghosts. How many times do I have to say that?” Closing her eyes with her confident smile wide on her face, she assured. The sensation of an ice-cold hoof touched her left shoulder. “Alright, real funny Discord. Now cut it out and focus on bringing the power back on.” “What do you mean? I’m over here and I would never trick you like that.” Playing with an innocent tone in his voice, Discord remarked. “No seriously, get your paw off of my shoulder. I know you are trying to scare me.” “But I’m not.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened at a show and shocked pace. A nervous giggle trickled out of her mouth. “Ummm… is anyone else near me? I can’t see a thing in this darkness.” “You are by yourself in an open space from what I can feel, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy responded. Rainbow Dash shifted her line of sight towards the direction of the being holding her shoulder down. The color in her face faded to a pale white and her smirk evaporated into a meek frown. Her eyes are witness to a zebra-shaped specter that emitted a faint green glow. Its eye sockets are emptier than a void. Rainbow Dash felt all confidence and will leave her body from staring into it. The ghost hissed with a loud noise. “Please tell me that these robes are ghost-resistant Joker.” Joker shrugged his shoulders. “The Professor didn’t honestly think that far.” An audible gulp of air traveled down Rainbow Dash’s esophagus. Her face broke out in a cold sweat. She edged herself away from the ghost and grinned with a sheepish demeanor. She screamed and ran into a wall face-first. She dropped to the ground. A pained wince of disbelief made its way onto Discord’s face. He smacked his face with his lion’s paw. “Unbelievable. She hit a wall in her panic.” Fluttershy held out her prayer beads with her right front hoof. She kneeled down to the floor and aimed her beads towards the ghost. Steam hissed from the ghost’s ethereal form and it vanished away into a foul mist. A tormented scream echoed throughout the area. Rainbow Dash sidled against the edge of the wall and breathed out deep and heavy breaths. She held her right front hoof to her chest. Her heart would burst out of her rib cage and onto the ground at any moment. The azure lights ignited the halls of the tomb once more. “W-was that a ghost?!” She shouted. “It was. But, I banished it from the realm of the living.” Fluttershy explained. “Those poor ghosts are still trapped in this world, so they need to be excised back into the realm of the dead.” “Poor ghosts?! That ghost wanted to steal my body!” “Please understand; spirits bound to the physical world live a tormented afterlife. The only way to ease their pain is if they find a host to house themselves in. It’s an abominable act, but I understand why they do it.” A light-hearted chuckle emerged from Applejack’s tone. She walked towards Rainbow Dash with a fresh stride in her step and thrust her hoof into Rainbow Dash’s back. Forced out of the corner in the wall, Rainbow Dash slid across the floor. “So who’s afraid of ghosts now?” Applejack asked. “Shut up Applejack. As your current boss, I order you and everyone else in here to never bring this event up. The ghost just caught me by surprise is all.” Sitting on the ground with her front hooves crossed, Rainbow Dash muttered out with a scowl on her face. Zecora closed her eyes and shook her head in disapproval. She set her gaze towards the right, where a long and winding corridor made its path. “I would love to hear you two fight, but we need to advance our plight.” She said. “Zecora is right. You two are just acting like two fillies.” Twilight Sparkle noted in agreement. “All I did was just give her some good-spirited ribbing. Ya can’t fault me for that.” Applejack answered back with a defensive tone. Valet pinched the bridge between his eyes and tilted his head towards the ground. An audible groan roared out of his tone. “What did I do to deserve this?” Zecora spearheaded the group of operatives down the narrow hall of darkness. Valet looked towards Gnasher’s direction. His sharp eyes detected slight twitches of her claws. He edged closer towards her, grinning with a toothy smile. “Seems like someone is afraid of the dark.” Valet stated. “Want to get a bit closer to me?” Gnasher let out a frustrated sigh and stared into Valet’s face with aggressive eyes. She raised one of her nails and opened her mouth, but shook her head in disapproval and shut her mouth. “Valet, you’re an idiot for thinking that you can hit on someone who is already in a romantic relationship.” She seethed out. “I’m not trying to hit on you. I’m just asking if you want to me to give you a bit of intimate comfort.” Valet responded. Gnasher smacked the back of Valet’s head with her left claw. Valet’s back jolted upwards. His eyelids pinched each other. He rubbed the back of his head with his claws and looked towards Gnasher with a stern scowl imprinted on his face. “Again, boyfriend. Just give up your charade, because you aren’t exactly smart or smooth enough to pull it off.” Gnasher stated. “Well just who exactly is your boyfriend?” “I’ll give you some hints; he’s big, gooey and loves to cuddle.” Valet’s eyes widened with each word passing from Gnasher’s mouth. His heart trembled with anxiety and his nerves wrapped around his muscles with the tenacity of a cobra. “That’s funny because it almost sounds like that you are saying that wimp Custard is your boyfriend.” He said aloud, giggling with a nervous disposition. “He is.” Gnasher said with a straight tone. “W-w-wha?! But he’s not even a member of your Egg Group! You can’t tell me that Pokémon is your boyfriend! How could someone as tough and cool as yourself bring yourself down to being involved with that pushover?!” Gnasher and Valet stopped in their tracks amidst the darkness of the hall. Gnasher shifted her direction over towards Valet and flashed a nasty stare that burned with incandescent flames. She placed her wrists on her hips and pointed one of her nails between Valet’s eyes. “Can you at least be more respectful of our teammate there, Valet?! He is my childhood friend. Yes, he was a bit of a wimp when growing up. I had to bail him out of many situations, but you know what?! I bailed him out because I hated seeing the other Pokémon bully him over what their failed expectations saw him as. Actually, I don’t think you are even understanding a single word that is coming out of my mouth! You are probably thinking ‘Oh, this is just a stupid rant by a female who isn’t taking that time to put her mouth around my dick’ aren’t you?!” Gnasher shouted. “Who me? No… You’re just ranting about some words I really don’t care about.” Valet responded. Gnasher blinked and tilted her head. She narrowed her eyes and her lips quivered with disbelief. She shook her head with a slow movement of disgust. “And this is why Custard will always be a better Male Pokémon than you will ever be; he listens and seeks to improve himself. You never listen and would probably continue using your same bullheaded tactics in battle!” “Oh! So you think that I don’t improve on how I am?! Listen here Gnasher; I fought tooth and nail to get where I am today. I crawled out from the abyssal depths of death and suffering with my own skills. I don’t need you to tell me that I am NOT a better Pokémon than I previously was!” Valet lashed out. He tore his claws into the wall to Gnasher’s left and ripped apart some of the wall at that area. Holding his left set of claws against Gnasher’s right shoulder, he pinned her against the wall and looked into her eyes. Gazing into her pupils, he saw her composure falter under his force. She saw her headstrong expression melt underneath confusion. He heard her breathing accelerate, bringing rushing air through her nostrils and back. A wide grin appeared on Valet’s face. He leaned his head towards Gnasher’s face. With his muzzle close to Gnasher’s, he placed his lips onto Gnasher’s and drove his tongue into her mouth. Gnasher’s eyes widened from the aggressive kiss. She squirmed in his grip. She readied her left set of claws. With the nails glowing in a hazy blue green, she slashed Valet’s face and knocked him down to the ground. With heavy panting escaping her mouth, she looked down onto him. “Are you insane? Did you really just do that to me?!” She shouted. “Well you weren’t going to give it to me willfully, so I thought it would be better for me to just take it myself.” With a shameless smirk plastered onto his face, Valet responded. “You are… I should just kill you right now for trying to do that!” Valet stood up from the ground and faced Gnasher with closed eyes. He flipped his wrists and shrugged his shoulders. “What good would that do down here? Besides, don’t pretend that you didn’t enjoy it. You wanted a large and aggressive male to do that to you for a while, but you couldn’t have such an experience because the only other male that could possibly do that is your passive pussy for a boyfriend.” Gnasher proceeded to open her mouth, but her train of thought became stunned by the words of Valet. She shut her mouth and shook her head. “Just shut up. We need to get back with the group. They are probably far ahead of us by now.” The group walked down the downwards-sloping corridor into the eternal darkness. Within Zecora’s maw is a torch that pierced through the thick darkness, bringing a light of salvation into the sight of the group. Rainbow Dash turned her head towards the direction she is walking away from. She lifted an eyebrow with an air of enquiry around her. “Hey, where did Gnasher and Valet go? Weren’t they behind us a moment ago?” She asked. “Oh, them? They were having an argument about some romance stuff. They’ll be back here.” Pinkie Pie explained. “Well, that’s nice to hear. Except…” Rainbow Dash’s nose wrinkled from a wave of tingling within her nostrils. A loud sneeze passed from her mouth and nose. She wiped stray mucus that leaked from her nose. “Rainbow Dash, are you alright?” Twilight Sparkle asked with a tone of concern. “Y-yeah.” Snorting her mucus back into her nose, Rainbow Dash replied. “I think that stupid ghost might’ve gotten me sick…” A low howl emerged within the depths of the tomb, bringing the group to a sudden halt. Their nerves froze over and jumped out of their bodies. The torch that Zecora carried around her mouth had its fire extinguished by a damp gust of wind. A loud squeak emerged from Applejack’s mouth. “The light went out! Is that the ghosts?!” She shouted. “Please remain calm, Applejack. It’s not a proper way for a lady of your stature to act.” Rarity advised. “Rarity’s right… except for the whole lady-like thing. We have to remain calm and collected.” Twilight Sparkle stated. Rainbow Dash’s eyes picked upon a vortex of shadow energy underneath Zecora. She unfolded her wings and flew towards Zecora, scooping her by her shoulders and lifting her upwards. A shadowy set of spikes shot from the ground. They receded back into the depths of darkness. “That was a very close one, Rainbow Dash. Any later and I would have been ash!” Zecora announced. “We have to get moving through this hallway. We’re being hunted by Screwball!” Rainbow Dash commanded. “Screwball? You mean that was her doing?!” Discord questioned with a tone that oozed with shock. “Does it really surprise you? She dislocated my hoof in our last encounter.” “Let’s not focus on arguing now. Let’s focus on making it to the end of this corridor. She'll probably be waiting for us there.” Twilight Sparkle instructed. A swarm of ghosts appeared within the hallway ahead. Their open maws dripped with ghastly drool. Their eyes ravaged with hunger for the living flesh before them. “Oh no…” Fluttershy uttered out. Gnasher and Valet slashed their way through hordes of ghosts with their claws. The split ghosts reformed their bodies and let out devious smirks. Gnasher growled and lowered her eyes. “No matter how much we slash these ghosts, they just keep reforming and coming back!” She said. Valet gnawed his teeth through the ghosts. The ectoplasm of the ghosts slipped through his teeth and formed into smaller ghosts. “So we just keep hitting them!” He called out. The split ghosts swarmed around Valet and attached themselves onto his body. Valet shook his body in a desperate attempt to ward off the ghosts. With their tenacity, the ghosts held onto his body and began merging with it. Valet grunted. “Can I at least have a bit of help here?” He pleaded. Gnasher looked into Valet’s eyes. They shimmered with a desperate cry for help. She shut her eyes and tilted her head towards the ground. Reaching for a pair of black claws by her left hip, a pained sigh escaped her mouth. She slipped the claws over her nails and looked towards the ghosts that began melding with Valet’s body. “Don’t make any sudden movements when I do this, Valet. Otherwise, I’ll end up killing you.” She instructed. “Wait, what do you-“Before Valet could finish his words, a violet shockwave emitted itself from Gnasher’s black claws and cut its way into Valet’s flesh. Valet’s eyes widened from the shock of the blow. Looking onto his chest, his eyes picked upon a crescent slash that arched from his right shoulder to left leg. The ghosts that clung onto his body fled through the gaping wound on his chest. “What was that?!” Gripping his wound with his right nails, Valet exclaimed. “A specialized Psycho Cut done by the anti-matter claws here.” Gnasher explained. “No way… that can’t be a Psycho Cut! I’m supposed to be immune to Psychic-type moves!” “Again, specialized. These claws ignore type immunity. If I know anything from the Ghost-type Pokémon I’ve talked to, a slice of mystical energy will drive out just about any ghost.” Valet pouted, crossed his arms and looked away from Gnasher. His eyes closed and his lips were pursed into a haughty form. Within the seconds he held this pose, he lifted his left eye towards Gnasher’s direction. His stoned muzzle formed into a frown. “You didn’t have to save me you know. After what I did to you a bit earlier, I thought you would’ve wanted to leave me to die there.” “Trust me Valet, I did. I wanted to leave you to die by these ghosts. You are just such an arrogant idiot who forces others to do his own bidding that letting those ghosts take you over would be a big improvement to you. But… that wouldn’t be right.” Gnasher explained. “What do you mean by that? Might makes right, right? I was too weak to fend off the ghosts, so it wouldn’t have been right for you to save me even if I wanted you to do so.” With his eyes lighting up with genuine confusion, Valet responded. Gnasher walked towards Valet and held up one of her nails in front of Valet’s face. She looked into his eyes with a stern and stalwart expression. “You may be an idiot. You may be a dick. You are definitely an asshole. But, you still are my teammate. If I couldn’t let go of my desire to see you die, then what kind of teammate would I be? A terrible one that’s what.” A small smirk appeared on Valet’s face. He hid his face away from Gnasher’s gaze. “Thanks.” He muttered underneath his breath. With a good-natured smirk on her face, Gnasher cuffed her right claws beside her right hear and directed it towards Valet’s direction. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” She said with a teasing voice. “N-nothing.” Valet responded with a sheepish tone. Gnasher punched Valet’s right shoulder. “I heard you the first time, and don’t mention it.” A large explosion following a whir sounded out beyond the darkness, catching Gnasher and Valet’s attentions. “We have to go now! The others need our help!” Valet declared. “Oh? It appears you have a soft spot for our team.” Gnasher teased. “Shut it.” The group ran until a large chamber with bright lighting appeared within their line of vision. The walls are designed with a galaxy of zebras that bowed down to a large etching of a zebra garbed in a crown and linen. Her gaze burned with solemn authority. At the floor below the stairs near the entrance sat a sarcophagus surrounded by six stalwart statues of zebras. “It appears that we are in the burial chamber of Queen Isis. We aren’t getting attacked here, so I am sure that this must be a safe area.” Twilight Sparkle stated. A shadowy vortex appeared underneath her. Screwball’s head popped above the vortex with a grin of insanity that stretched along her face. With her right front hoof cloaked in a shadowy energy, she leaped from the portal and threw an uppercut against Twilight Sparkle’s chest. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes widened from the sudden strike. The muscles in her chest contorted from the shadow-infused strike. Her back slammed against the ceiling of the burial chamber. Shutting her eyes, she fell from the ceiling and landed on the ground. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She ran towards Twilight Sparkle and shook her by her shoulder in a desperate attempt to bring her back into conscious world. “Twilight! Respond!” But, no answer came from the unconscious Twilight Sparkle. Screwball shifted her sight of direction towards Rainbow Dash. Her stare radiated with cold reminiscence of the pony in front of her. Dashing towards her with a trail of illusions behind her, Screwball launched her left front hoof towards Rainbow Dash’s face. Reaching into her knapsack hoisted on her right flank, she pulled out a black staff and blocked Screwball’s blow with it. The staff extended itself into a three-pronged lance. “You want to play that game? Fine! I’ll play your game!” With her lance in hooves, she flew towards Screwball and cocked her weapon. Aiming to stab through her, a clear barrier of purple and yellow erected itself in front of Screwball. Rainbow Dash’s lance bounced off of the barrier. With her eyes detecting no movement from Screwball in the slightest, her eyes blinked twice. “How are you even blocking that?!” She shouted. Rainbow Dash plunged her lance into the barrier. The vain sounds of warping magic clanking against her lance had rung in her ears. Screwball’s smile dropped into an expressionless frown. Each failed strike elicited a frustrated grunt from Rainbow Dash. “Break… why won’t you break?!” Fluttershy eyed Discord, who extended his lion’s paw outward with a heavy hold. His eyes became narrowed with regret. A melancholic frown appeared on his face. “Discord, please remove that barrier. Otherwise, we can’t reach Screwball.” Fluttershy stated. “I… I can’t. Not if Rainbow Dash is going to keep attacking like that.” Discord responded with a heavy tone. “I can’t trust her enough to not harm Screwball.” “Discord! Just remove that stupid barrier or else I’ll plunge this lance into you!” Rainbow Dash commanded. “That’s an order!” “Listen to yourself, Rainbow Dash! You sound like you actually want to hurt her. Why? What has she ever done to you?!” Joker shouted in surprise. “I don’t need to tell you my reasoning Joker. You probably read that part with your mystical insanity. Now shut up and tell Discord to bring that barrier down!” Hearing Rainbow Dash’s words pass by him, Joker examined beyond the barrier Discord erected and looked into Screwball’s eyes. Within them, he saw twisted shadows that strangled her soul, her mind and her being. He flashed his gritted teeth and stomped his way towards Rainbow Dash. He grabbed her left shoulder and forced her into the ground. “Just stop!” He commanded. Rainbow Dash’s rage quelled at Joker’s fierce words. She stopped and looked onto his indignant visage. “What’s the big deal? Can’t you see we have to stop her?! She hurt Twi, and she’s gonna keep hurting others until we neutralize her.” “The only one who should be neutralized is you. I looked into her eyes and…” Joker shied his head away from Rainbow Dash. For once, his confident smirk melted away into an insecure frown. Rainbow Dash’s eyes looked onto him. “What is it?” “She’s in pain, and in a lot of it. Don’t make it any harder on this child. She shouldn’t have to suffer any more than what she has to suffer.” Joker pleaded. “Joker… I didn’t think you would have this side on you.” Rainbow Dash admitted. “Just please stop. I don’t want to have to kill you for harming a child, Rainbow Dash.” With Joker’s words ringing through her mind, the perceptions of Rainbow Dash’s reality crashed around her. She gazed towards her lance and saw it poised towards Screwball’s vitals. Shifting her sight into Screwball’s eyes, she felt a vortex of shadows swallowing her into a realm of melancholia. Her hoof’s grip began shaking at an unsteady pace. “I… I was about to harm a child…” She dropped her lance onto the ground and sat on the floor. Her eyes twitched with a red itch. “Don’t listen to him, Rainbow! Did you already forget our mission?!” Applejack shouted with clarifying reason emanating from her voice. “No I haven’t. One of those objectives is to bring back Screwball.” Rainbow Dash responded. “And to do that, we have to beat the crud out of her so that we can bring her back!” Applejack’s lips became replaced with silver zipper teeth. The zipper slid its way to the left, sealing her mouth completely. Desperate mumbles echoed from behind the sealed teeth. “Do I need to remind you that is my daughter you are talking about? I will not allow anyone to harm even a strand of hair on her body!” Discord declared. “Rainbow Dash, if you do not mind, allow me to confront Screwball. I want to see if she recognizes me.” Rainbow Dash’s body slumped onto the ground. She turned her head towards Discord’s direction and gazed into his eyes with defeated pupils. “Just go. I won’t stop you.” Discord walked over towards the barrier that separated his group from Screwball. He placed the palms of his upper limbs onto the screen and eyed Screwball through it. He gazed upon his daughter’s emotionless face, causing his heart to tear apart and sink into the depths of his body. “Screwball, do you remember me?” He asked with a hollow tone that is shelled with concerned. “I’m Discord, your father.” Upon hearing his words, Screwball’s eyes flashed in a red color. With a vicious roar, she launched her bare left front hoof through the barrier with a force of a rocket, shattering it with earth-rumbling impact. With her body across the remains of the barrier and Discord in close proximity to her, she geared her right front hoof and poised it towards him. Applejack narrowed her eyes and pushed Discord out of the strike’s trajectory. She looked to her left and saw the hoof of devastation aim towards her left ribcage. Her heart resonated with a beat that echoed within the depths of the tomb. Feeling the blow against her side, the cracks of multiple ribs breaking resonated in her ears. She flew towards a faraway wall, leaving an imprint of herself upon it. Screwball dashed towards the injured Applejack and flashed a menacing glare towards her prone body. She cocked back her left front hoof, biding away her strike at the moment Applejack slipped off the wall. A wall of solid stone rose up from the ground between Screwball and Applejack. Screwball looked to her left and right with an air of confusion surrounding her. Two more slabs of stone raised itself from the ground and hooked onto Screwball’s front hooves, trapping her in place. “Hooves away from Applejack!” With her horn shining in a blue light, Rarity demanded. “Don’t hurt her!” Discord shouted. Rarity flashed a smile and looked towards Discord’s direction. She batted her eyes and brought her right front hoof to her chest with a pompous movement. “I am not hurting her, Discord, but I have her restrained to the point where she could not move. Try talking to her again.” Discord hovered towards Screwball, who grunted and strained to move her hooves through the stone. Several cracks resonated from the diagonal edges along the holes within the slabs of stone. Discord brought his paw and talons onto Screwball’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. Screwball’s eyes shut and she looked away from Discord. She uttered a series of pained grunts. “G….-get away!” She shouted. Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened from the surprising scream of Screwball. Screwball snorted furious gusts and her chest rose back and forth within rapid increments. A small tear ran its way down Discord’s cheek. “You… you don’t remember me, Screwball? Do you remember the times I’ve changed your diaper? Or rocked you to sleep with your favorite lullaby? Do you remember?” Rubbing bringing her talons to her face and rubbing her face with the thumb, he pleaded in a silent tone. “P-please… stop!” Screwball uttered out in a pained tone. The cracks along the slab extended to full length. Discord brought his arms around Screwball’s neck and pulled her in for a hug. He stroked the back of her mane with tears fresh in his eyes. “It’s alright, Screwball, daddy’s here. Daddy’s here to make everything better.” He whispered with a compassionate tone in her ear. The air within the tomb fluctuated back and forth, revealing white tearing in the space-time continuum around them. Seeing the fluctuation warp around Discord and Screwball, Rainbow Dash’s mouth dropped in suspense. She reached her right front hoof towards Discord with a frown on her face. “Discord! Get out of there! You’re gonna get eaten by that tearing!” She warned. “Rarity! Do something!” The aura around Rarity’s horn disappeared and the conjured earth returned back to the ground. She frowned and looked away from Discord’s direction with her face white with shame. “I’m afraid I cannot do anything. Whatever this field is, my magic is unable to breach it.” She responded. With Screwball in his arms and an expressionless frown on his face, Discord blinked once. He glanced towards a wall, eyeing the etching of a zebra with a younger foal by her side. The two equines each smiled towards him. He shut his eyes with a slow close and a tear fell from his left eye. “We’re going home, Screwball. I will make sure nothing ever hurts you again.” “D…Daddy?” With her eyes opening, Screwball asked with a tone opening with lightheartedness. She buried her face into Discord’s chest and returned his hug. The bodies of the daughter and the father began dissipating within the light. A small smile appeared on Screwball’s face. “Let’s see mommy again.” With these last words spoken, Discord and Screwball’s bodies disintegrated in completion. Each of the equines and Joker looked at the space they stood upon with disbelief flashing within their eyes. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack whirred back into consciousness. With the light of the world entering their eyes, they glanced around the room with their faces stunned in confusion. “What happened? Where’s Discord?” Twilight Sparkle asked. Valet and Gnasher ran down the stairs into the burial chamber with their bodies poised outwards, ready for battle. “Alright, where’s this jerk that is attacking us?!” Valet responded. “Ummm… I think she’s gone.” Gnasher noted. “And apparently… so is Discord.” A dark stream of light formed upon the sarcophagus. The light dissipated, revealing a dull brown stone shaped in a rounded-out trapezoid. The cracks and design on its surface formed into a face that dripped with an ominous air. “W…what is that? It looks funny.” Applejack asked with an enquiring tone. Under the pressure of the pain jabbing at her ribs, she stumbled over towards the stone. “Don’t take my word for it, but it looks like an Odd Keystone.” Gnasher said. “The professor had one of these lying around the lab for some reason.” Rainbow Dash pulled out a radar from her bag, revealing a beeping red dot that echoed out at a quick pace. She cocked her head and rubbed her mane. “Whatever this Odd Keystone is, it has the same signature as the other Pokémon. That means that it is at least relevant to our mission.” She said with a wary voice. Joker let out a whiny groan and slumped down onto the floor. “Let’s just get out of this tomb now. All of the words in this chapter became emotionally draining for me.” “I agree…” Fluttershy whispered out. “Poor Discord and Screwball…” The veil of night fell over the skies of Neo Canterlot. Gnasher walked up the steps of the stairwell with her back slumped forwards. She stretched her arms out and let out a loud yawn. At the zenith of the staircase, she set her gaze onto a smiling Custard with a gold-crusted pie in his sticky upper limbs. Smelling the strong and spicy aroma wafting from the pie, a weak smile appeared on Gnasher’s face. “What are you doing up so late, Custard? Shouldn’t you be in bed right now?” She asked. Custard walked over towards Gnasher and brought her body in for a hug. He planted a kiss between her nostrils. “I was waiting for you to come back from your trip from the Desert of Forgotten Souls. I baked a cherry lemon pie with a bit of a kick from the civilian request I did today. I saved this one just for you.” “Did you really have to do that for me? You know how much I love a good pie.” Gnasher responded. Custard’s eyes examined the lack of direct eye contact that Gnasher gave to Custard. Her smile dropped and a frown hid itself within the shadows upon her muzzle. Custard cocked her head and frowned. “Did… something happen? You would never come to me with those eyes looking like that.” Custard asked. Custard’s words froze the back of Gnasher’s spine. She rubbed the back of her head and swiped the pie in his limbs. “Ummm… I really have to go now. It’s been a long day.” She hastened her steps and walked down the loft of the stairs. Custard turned around with a full frown on his face. “This is about Valet, isn’t it?” He asked with a tone swamped in calm disbelief. Custard’s words became a blizzard that stopped Gnasher in her tracks. Gnasher turned towards him and narrowed her eyes. She blinked once and let out a depressed sigh. “Look, it’s better that I don’t say a thing. I just want you to know that nothing happened.” With the lie passing through her teeth and her eyes down towards the ground, she uttered. “Just tell me what happened, Gnasher. I can take it. I’m a fully-grown and adulated Pokémon.” Custard said with an honest tone. “Valet… kind of tried to have his way with me. He forced his muzzle onto mine and kissed me.” Gnasher craned her head up towards Custard’s face. Her cold blood chilled further at what she saw; Custard’s jaw hung down to the base of his neck and his wide eyes emanated with dread and pain. His heart is a samurai that had shamed his family name, bringing the sword to his belly to end his disgrace. “He… he did what?!”