The Most Dangerous Game

by uberPhoenix

A Fate Carved in Amethyst

[nebularOedipus opened memo “A Fate Carved in Amethyst”]

I am not very good at waiting.

The only thing worse than waiting is waiting apprehensively. When you are impatient for something good, something certain, you will be rewarded for your suffering. But when the seconds are counting down for something dreadful, or worse, an unknown fate, the only thing you have to look forward to is relief when the situation, however horrible it turns out to be, fails to become as bad as the worst possible outcome. That marginal difference, the ways in which “well, it could have been worse” will be your only consolation.

While I was waiting for Rainbow Dash to get to Applejack's and set up, I couldn't get rid of the sinking feeling that was doing a number on my insides. I tried to logically review the facts, something which was often helpful to me in stressful situations.

One: The spells Rainbow Dash and I were about to cast could do almost anything. I had been mostly unsuccessful in picking apart the strands of the spell, but I had identified several different seeds. Conjuration. Teleportation. Divination. But this information alone didn't do much to help me understand what I was dealing with, only that the magic was complicated. For all I knew, the spell was a bomb that was going to blow up the entire tower I was in. However, this seemed unlikely, because

Two: This spell was important to whomever carved it into the walls of the frog temple. Out of all the possible inscriptions, they had chosen a spell, and out of all the possible spells, they had chosen this. Sending a message through space, and possibly time, that blew up when its discoverer happened to decode it just seemed like a huge prank to me. No, they had to anticipate that this spell would be cast. It had to be advantageous to them in some way.

I began to have second thoughts about casting the spell again. How many stories had I read about ancient terrors slumbering beneath the ocean, waiting for the foolhardy adventurer to awaken them? Daring Do had faced at least two of them.

I imagined being part of an H. P. Lovecrop novel, and didn't want to contemplate it any more than necessary. I tried to counsel myself, remembering that Lovecrop was fiction. This was real.

“You okay, Twilight?”

I had almost forgotten that I wasn't alone. My loyal dragon assistant Spike was perched on my back, holding the record. He didn't usually get as antsy as I did, but I figured even he was desperate for conversation.

I mumbled, just to let him know that I hadn't fallen asleep or died, and then asked him if I could see the record again.

“What else is there to see?” he asked. He was right. I'd been over every detail on the thing, and even that wasn't necessary, since I had built it. Any secrets it hid were carved into the vinyl grooves, not written on the sticker.

I had requested a record player be brought up to my room, which was the same room I had lived in while I had been tutoring under the princess. Any equipment I would probably need to measure the results of the spell was already present, due to my overobessive need to be prepared for anything. My bedroom was almost a full-functioning lab in itself. There was literally nothing I could do to prepare.

Spike wasn't the only companion I had, I realized. Two phoenixes were in a cage by the bed, one ancient and the other very young. They looked like family, even though they didn't have any sort of blood relation, or so I had believed at the time. The younger was Peewee, Spike's pet, and the elder, Philomena, belonged to the princess herself. I had been asked to take care of the bird and make sure its recent molting had gone without complications. Not that it required much looking after, being a very clever and self-sufficient creature. The cage wasn't even to keep it safe as much as it was to provide a place to call home. I had already seen Philomena open the cage from the inside.

“You're a clever bird,” I muttered to the phoenix. “What do you make of this?”

Spike gently reminded me that phoenixes couldn't talk. Of course they couldn't. What a strange concept that would be.

I turned the record over, wondering what I had created. “I'm losing sleep over you,” I told the record. Spike looked at me like I was crazy.

I placed the record on the player and set it spinning. I wasn't expecting anything new to happen, but I figured I might as well get set up. The player emitted a hum, soft at first but increasing into a whine and accompanied by a soft violet light that washed over us. It soothed me a little, but Spike winced and covered his ears, and the phoenixes began screeching.

Magic that upsets animals. One point for Lovecrop.

Nothing else seemed to be happening. I looked closer at the record. Just like all of the other times I had tried to play it, the record had smoothed out, transforming from rough vinyl to a smooth reflective ellipsis, like a small artificial pond. I felt weight shifting on top of me and Spike leaned forward to get a closer look. Then, before I could stop him, he reached out and poked it with his claw.

The vinyl bent and rippled beneath his touch. I heard him give a sharp cry as he drew back his hand rapidly, losing his balance. Not thinking, I reared in surprise, tossing Spike off of me and into the bookshelf behind me. Slowly, he sat up and rubbed his head. A small stream of blood was coming out of his nose. It didn't look severe, but it was enough to cause concern.

“I'm okay,” he told me, trying his best to sound at ease, but his voice wavered, and I could tell he was dazed.

I checked him for any other injuries, but he gestured me away and pointed at the record. “You need to try that,” he said, stumbling over his words. “Just, don't freak out or anything, okay?”

I hoped he was joking. Touching a magical artifact on a whim was hardly the most scientific approach. And, slightly more pressingly, Spike had been injured. Still, Spike seemed insistent, and the record didn't look like it had been damaged. With a lack of anything else to do, I decided to give Spike's advice a shot.

I still don't know exactly how to describe how it felt. It wasn't a voice, not exactly. Hearing wouldn't be the right word, anyway, since it didn't go through my ears, and there wasn't an accent, or inflection, or anything else. But I wasn't seeing either. It wasn't printed text. The sensation most definitely came from my hoof, and I recognized it immediately as words.

PASTR client is running.

Waiting for server to establish connection.

Well, that was interesting. I pulled my hoof out, and the signal vanished.

“PASTR,” I said out loud. Even though I hadn't actually seen it in writing, I know it was supposed to be in all capitals. Somehow.

All that was left was to wait for Rainbow Dash.

I didn't have to wait long. After a couple of minutes of double and triple-checking Spike's injuries, my Pestertome chimed. I opened it, expecting to see a response from Applejack or Rainbow Dash. I was wrong.

ostensiblyPhilanthropic [OP] began nickering nebularOedipus [NO]:

OP: This is a most curious development.
OP: Dawn?
NO: Who?
OP: No, wait, sorry.
OP: This is Twilight, isn't it?
NO: Who's Dawn?
OP: Never mind that, Twilight. I was confused.
OP: I recognize your handle now.
NO: You shouldn't. It's new.
OP: Right.
OP: Forgive my momentary lapse in thought. It will not happen again.
NO: Okay...
NO: Rarity, right?
NO: Is everything okay?
OP: Yes, darling, of course everything is just fine.
OP: Do I really need to wait for tragedy to strike before saying hello to a dear friend of mine?
OP: If I only called on you in times of peril, I would not be much of a friend now, would I?
NO: I suppose not.
OP: I assure you, Twilight Sparkle, I am not in any danger.
OP: Not presently, at least.
OP: No, I merely wish to talk with you before you begin your journey to save the world.
NO: Okay, then.
NO: Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about?
OP: There is nothing pressing or important.
OP: Sweetie Belle is doing well in her schoolwork.
NO: Wait. How did you know I might be saving the world soon?
NO: Did Rainbow Dash tell you that?
OP: …
OP: Yes.

Silence from Rarity. I wasn't sure what to write either. Eventually, I decided to ease her mind.

NO: Suspicious and cryptic foresight set aside for now, I'm still happy to talk to you.
OP: I'm sorry, Twilight.
OP: Maybe I did jump the proverbial gun a little bit on this conversation.
OP: But to be honest, I am nervous.
OP: Our circumstances are changing rapidly now, and they are about to change further.
OP: And even though I have it on good authority that this will not be the last time we talk to each other, I am still hesitant to leave you alone.
OP: I feel like I need to tell you something, but I don't have the first idea what to say.
OP: Do you understand that feeling, Twilight? That fear of something which you don't think will happen, but contemplating it leaves you feeling weak and powerless?
OP: I worry about how the challenges we are surely going to face will affect us.
OP: How it will affect others.
OP: What will happen to Sweetie Belle without me?
NO: Rarity?
NO: You're starting to scare me now.
NO: You're making it sound like something bad is about to happen to you.
OP: Am I?
OP: Goodness. Reading back over my writing, I sound truly morbid. That was not my intention at all.
OP: After all, I did say I would talk to you again, didn't I?
OP: And, in fact, we will see each other in person very soon.
OP: Until that time, I just want to wish you the best of luck and safety.
OP: Even though I know you won't need it.
NO: There's no chance of you just explaining where all this is coming from, is there?
OP: I don't think you would believe me. I'm not quite ready to accept it myself.
OP: I'll let you get back to work now.
OP: I imagine Rainbow Dash is almost ready for you to enter the game.
NO: Okay. Thank you, I suppose.

ostensiblyPhilanthropic (OP) ceased nickering nebularOedipus (NO)

NO: Wait.
NO: What game?
NO: How did you know about Rainbow Dash?

But she was gone. Her entire behavior had struck me as suspicious, but there wasn't much I could do without arousing suspicion myself. But that was okay, I told myself. She was my friend, and she deserved to be trusted. Rampant paranoia didn't help anypony.

I didn't have much time to think about this further, because I was contacted by another pony. Applejack this time.

oldYeller (OY) began nickering nebularOedipus (NO):

OY: shes here Twi
OY: i brought out my spare record player from the barn
OY: its pretty beat up, but i figure its good enough
NO: That's great. Thank you, Applejack.
NO: Can you pass along a message to Rainbow Dash for me?
NO: Tell her that once she gets the record playing, she should touch it gently.
OY: is that safe?
NO: It should be. It didn't hurt me. It feels a bit weird though, so make sure she's warned for any surprises.
OY: im thinking maybe you oughta just talk to her yourself.
OY: im a lot of things but not a mailpony
NO: Sorry.

oldYeller (OY) ceased nickering nebularOedipus (NO):

This was it. I felt extremely apprehensive. Whatever these spells did, it was likely beyond my imagination. None of my predictions had been very convincing, and now I was seconds away from discovering what was so important that it had caused somepony, somewhere, to break the laws of the universe to deliver it to Equestria. I had a lingering fear that when Rainbow Dash activated her record, nothing would happen. Maybe she'd just receive the same message I had. That would be the worst outcome, I thought.

Actually, I corrected myself, the death of us all would be the worst outcome, but I was intentionally disregarding that possibility. And, as it would turn out, even that was wrong. But there wasn't time to consider any of that either, because I was suddenly talking to a very excitable Rainbow Dash

obstinateNarcoleptic (ON) began nickering nebularOedipus (NO):

ON: whoa
ON: this is crazy twi

A puase. Rainbow seemed to be waiting for me to respond, but seeing as I wasn't at the farm with her, I didn't have the first clue what she was seeing, or what was getting her so excited. I checked back over Spike, who had managed to get back to his feet, albeit a bit unsteadily.

ON: come on
ON: ask me whats happening
ON: do it
ON: doooo it
ON: stop looking at the stupid dragon and talk to me

What.

She had my attention now. I grabbed my quill off the desk where I had left it and prepared to write, but I froze, suspecting a trick. Of course she could reliably assume I was with Spike. Why wouldn't I be?

NO: Very funny.
NO: But Spike's not here. He's in the garden right now with Luna and Philomena.
ON: oh really
ON: then whos in that cage behind you with peewee
NO: How are you doing this?
NO: Where are you?
ON: sweet apple acres
ON: but i can you see you
ON: well not see
ON: not with my eyes
ON: with my mind
NO: You mean you're scrying.
ON: sure
NO: I think I understand.
NO: The server spell and the client spell have connected and can now communicate with each other.
NO: It seems that my half of the spell is transmitting information about my surroundings to your half, which is supplying it to your brain via the tactile link.
ON: in english twi
NO: As long as you're touching the record, you should be able to see my room.
NO: An interesting spell that I can imagine has practical uses.
NO: None of which are particularly helpful to us right now.
NO: Can you do anything else?

Come to think of it, could I do anything else? Before, when I tried touching the disc, I had heard a message telling me to wait for Rainbow Dash. Now that I had done that, did it have any new information for me?

NO: While you mess with that, I want to check something else out.
NO: Give me a moment.

I returned to the record, with Spike watching behind me with curiosity. Less hesitantly than before, I placed my hoof upon the glowing disc.

A PASTR host user is attempting to connect with you.

Client has established connection with host.

And that was all. No visions and no other instructions. It appeared that my half of the spell, the client side, wasn't going to do much. Everything was going to have to be accomplished on Rainbow Dash's end. I couldn't help but feel envious of her. How could I ensure that her experimentation was going to be scientifically rigorous? I should have been the server. That way we would have had the best notes. When this was done, we were definitely switching and doing it again. This was something I wanted to experience for myself.

I felt a prod on my backside.

“Spike!” I glared behind me to chastise the dragon, but I discovered no one there. I spun, confused, and spotted Spike at the birdcage trying to comfort Peewee, who was still cowering from the glowing and humming disc.

He looked up from his care. “Yes?” he asked.

I felt another prod. If it wasn't Spike, who was doing this?

And then my bed began to float off the ground. I dove for the Pestertome as the bed soared past me and crashed through the wall.

NO: Rainbow!
NO: What do you think you're doing?
NO: If you're responsible, please stop this immediately.
ON: no way twi
ON: this is awesome
ON: but i will try to be more careful
NO: Yes. Please.
ON: this must be what a unicorn feels like
NO: Except normally unicorns do not engage in wanton destruction.
NO: Unicorns do not toss the beds of other unicorns out of the palace towers and let them plummet stories to the ground below.
NO: What if I had fallen out with it?
NO: Would you be able to catch me?
ON: i said i was sorry
ON: jeez
ON: do i need to put it in writing
ON: wait
ON: look twi
ON: what do you want from me
NO: Is there anything else you can do that might hint at the purpose behind this whole endeavor?
NO: Were it not for the fact that I dug this spell out of ancient ruins, I'd be marveled.
NO: But frankly this just seems underwhelming.
NO: There has to be something else.
NO: How are you even controlling that anyway?
ON: i dont know
ON: i just sort of am
ON: same way you do i guess
ON: you just sort of have to feel for it
ON: and hang on
ON: theres a couple of options
ON: i can see them the same way i see your room
ON: but im not sure what any of them do
NO: Try one.
ON: okay
ON: most of them just show me more information
ON: numbers and pictures
ON: i dont have the first clue what they mean
ON: probably not important anyway

I groaned. Why did Rainbow Dash have to choose the server side of the record? How could I explain to her that when surrounded by this unexplored frontier, there was no such thing as unimportant information?

Especially if there were numbers involved.

ON: woah are you alright twi
ON: you look a little flushed
NO: I'm fine. Just focus.
ON: yeah yeah hang on
ON: i think I found something
ON: hows this

I watched in awe as a large platform appeared above the place where my bed used to be, suspended in midair by a green glow. It hovered for the briefest of moments, just long enough for me to conceive how massive it was and how dreadful it would be if it fell.

And then fall it did. I was lucky it didn't break through the floor, which shook with a low roar.

The platform didn't appear to be made out of any material I recognized. It was perfectly smooth, like polished metal or gemstones, and it was a bright violet, like amethyst. Actually, I noted, it seemed to closely match my coat color. But I figured that was probably a coincidence. It was circular, mounted on a square base, with what resembled a magic circle etched on it. A smaller raised platform was on one of the corners of the square, large enough for me to fit a single hoof on it, although I didn't dare to do so. Not until I figured out what it did.

NO: Rainbow Dash? Where did that thing come from?
ON: its called an alchemiter
ON: at least thats what the voice word thing calls it
NO: Fine. There is now an Alchemiter in my bedroom, where my bed used to be.
NO: I guess it's not really much of a bedroom anymore, since there isn't a bed.
NO: Gee, I wonder what happened to that?
ON: how many times do you want me to say sorry twilight
NO: I just really don't want to completely trash my room.
NO: I am a guest at the palace. How do you think Celestia's going to react when she sees a giant hole in her wall and a strange and potentially dangerous machine in her pupil's room?
NO: What does this thing even do, anyway?
NO: I don't see any buttons or controls, and it's not responding to any magic commands.
NO: It's just sort of sitting there.
NO: Maybe it's modern art?
ON: i dont know
ON: i didnt make it
ON: i just sort of pulled it out of thin air
ON: theres more of them too
NO: More Alchemiters?
ON: no
ON: theres different things i can make
ON: they all have different names
ON: would you like a totem lathe
ON: maybe youll find that one more useful
ON: or perhaps a punch designix
ON: no wait its not letting me pick that one
ON: ooh this one doesnt look too bad
NO: No. Whatever you're about to do, Rainbow Dash, stop and think.
ON: too late
ON: look out below

I dove to the floor and conjured a magical shield around me, expecting the worst. As an afterthought, I conjured another shield around Spike and the phoenixes. (Phoenices? Phoenii? This warrants further research.) However, instead of a rumbling, I heard only a soft pop, followed by a nearly silent click as the new item fell onto the floor. Curiosity getting the better of me, I inspected the object, which was flat and only slightly bigger than my hoof.

The material was some sort of dense fiber; it didn't bend or sag when I picked it up. It was roughly rectangular, except one corner appeared to be jaggedly cut off. It was only slightly bigger than my hoof. The border, less than an inch thick, was red, but the interior was white, with an image printed on it that I couldn't fully make out because it was obscured by a random smattering of holes.

The holes were by far the most interesting part of the object. They were smaller rectangles, running perpendicular to the item's long side, but the holes were arranged in a seemingly random pattern. Like the Alchemiter, it didn't react when I probed it with magic.

NO: What is this one called?
ON: the disc called it a pre-punched card

A punchcard. It did kind of resemble a punchcard, like the ones in the back of some of the library books that kept track of where and when the book had been. I remembered some magical machines at the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns that had made use of them.

If this was a punchcard, then the holes were a code. But what did the code represent? There were no markings that gave meaning to the location of the holes. I turned the card over, and the back was covered in wavy bands of every color imaginable.

It occurred to me that the only reason somepony would punch a card would be if something else would be able to read and understand the markings. The card wasn't useless, I just hadn't figured out what the use was.

NO: Hold on. Maybe the card interacts with the Alchemiter in some way.
ON: im not so sure about that twilight
ON: i dont see any place on it for the card to go
ON: maybe you could put it on the platform but it doesnt seem big enough
ON: what if the card does something with one of the other machines
ON: theres still a few i can drop off
ON: maybe all the parts by themselves dont do anything and you have to combine them
NO: Perhaps. But to what end? If the spells in the record are only used to as a means to deliver the components for some greater spell, when will this end?
NO: Whoever designed this clearly didnt want it to be straightforward
ON: or maybe it was only meant to be used by somepony who knew what they were doing
ON: maybe your theory that we were meant to find the ruins was wrong
ON: we dont have the whole story
ON: maybe ponies who used these spells lived in those ruins
ON: actually they probably did
ON: ruins that nopony ever lived in just seems weird to me
NO: I suppose. I should avoid jumping to any conclusions, particularly since none of us really understand our circumstances.
ON: but were going to figure this out twi
ON: i just need to drop more junk in your room
NO: How big is this “junk”?
NO: My room is only so big and we are quickly running out of space.
ON: maybe not
ON: watch this

In all my memory, I don't think I have ever heard the phrase “watch this” spoken by Rainbow Dash unless it immediately preceded catastrophe. I was not disappointed here. An entire section of the wall began to glow with the same lime green light that had covered the Alchemiter. A single fierce vibration knocked me to the ground, and when I looked up, my room was an additional twenty or so square feet in size. The wall, including the hole, had been pushed back, new floors and ceilings magically appearing to fill in the gaps.

NO: What in the name of Celestia did you just do?
ON: you like it
ON: ?
ON: huh
ON: theres a sort of bar now
ON: making the room bigger made some of the bar go away
ON: 16/20 build grist it just said
ON: whatever that means
NO: That makes sense. The building material had to come from somewhere.
NO: Our resources are not infinite. Until we find a way to replenish your “Build Grist”, we should probably take care to conserve it.
ON: yeah yeah
ON: the point is now we have enough room to drop the other items
NO: I'm not sure that's such a good idea.
NO: How did your little annex affect the floor below?
NO: Unless your work extends all the way to the base of the building, the floor in this new region has no support.
NO: If the items you drop weigh half as much as the Alchemiter, I'm afraid the hanging section of the room will just fall off.
ON: fine
ON: where do you want me to drop off the other items
NO: I have a lab a couple stories down.
NO: There should be enough room for everything else down there.
NO: Can you see it?
ON: i think so
ON: i can move around a little bit
ON: ill follow you
NO: How many more objects are you going to have to deposit?
ON: just two more

Fine then. I called for Spike, and we left for the lab.

My bedroom was in the castle's west tower. A single spiral staircase filled the middle of the tower, with doors and hallways branching off at every quarter turn. Thus, you couldn't really number the floors, since not all the rooms were level with each other. Two and a half revolutions down, I entered the lab.

Even to a somepony like Rainbow Dash, it was clearly a place of science. This was where I had spent most of the past month translating the symbols in the ruins, and my notes were laid out in neat stacks on my desk. The prototype Genetic Emulator, the machine that would eventually become the spell records but originally resembled a large golden wheel, sat in its mount in the center of the table. Vials of some sort of liquid lined a shelf behind me, some part of an experiment being carried out by somepony else (I'll admit I hadn't really been paying attention what the other ponies here were working on). One corner of the room was relatively free of clutter, except for a wooden table that I quickly levitated out of the way and into the hall.

NO: Do you have the visual, Rainbow Dash?
ON: roger
ON: lets get this over with

The room shook and my coat stood slightly on end as the air shimmered and another strange contraption appeared above my head. Unlike the Alchemiter, which had a roughly square base, this machine was long and skinny. One end ran higher than the other, forming a pillar with an arm that ran above the rest of the otherwise short machine. Like the Alchemiter, there appeared to be a stand on which I could place something.

ON: ill try to find a good place to fit the cruxtruder
NO: The what now?
ON: here we go

The room vibrated again, but I didn't see anything change. I looked around, trying to figure out where Rainbow Dash had placed this “Cruxtruder.” None of these terms made sense. The Alchemiter performed Alchemy, potentially, but “Cruxtruder” didn't have any obvious etymology.

I spotted the Cruxtruder and panicked.

NO: Rainbow Dash, why did you put that there?
ON: why
ON: thats where there was the most room
NO: Yes. Because that is the entrance.
NO: And considering that the door opens inwards, you have just trapped me in here.
NO: Congratulations.
ON: hang on i can fix this
ON: let me just move the truder
ON: give me a sec
ON: huh
ON: thats odd
NO: No. Do not tell me “That's odd.” I do not want to hear “That's odd.” What happened?
ON: i cant move it
ON: its too heavy
NO: Well, this is fantastic. This is just fantastic. You have trapped me in a room with two of the three necessary components to solve this puzzle.
ON: maybe you should look at them then and figure out what they do
ON: ?

She had a point. There really wasn't much else I would be able to do in my current predicament. I decided to get a closer look at the Cruxtruder. Its base was square, like the Alchemiter, but instead of any sort of stand to place things on, a chimney-like structure rose out of the middle, capped on top. Everything was made of smooth metal, except for a flat blank display on each side. I noticed a wheel on the side of the chimney, making this the first item Rainbow Dash had given me that I could actually interact with. I tried to turn the wheel with my magic, and I saw the cap move, as if something were pushing up on it from underneath.

I called for Spike to lend me a hand and returned to the Pestertome to tell Rainbow Dash what I had discovered.

NO: I think there's something inside this thing, but the cap won't come off.
ON: want some help
NO: I think I'm strong enough to open a lid on my own, Rainbow Dash.
ON: but if its stuck maybe you need to try it from a different angle
ON: i could drop something heavy on it
NO: With all due respect, Rainbow Dash, I think you've dropped enough heavy things for today.
NO: Opening the cruxtruder just needs a little bit of elbow grease.
NO: And maybe some help from number twenty five.
ON: the mustache spell
ON: ?
NO: It's not just for mustaches. Watch this.

I turned my head to the assistant on my back. “You ready for number twenty five?” I gestured to the stuck lid.

Spike grinned. “Aw, yeah,” he said. “This is gonna be sweet, isn't it?” He jumped off me and ran between me and the Cruxtruder, his arms spread wide in anticipation. I willed up the magical energies required for the spell, my face growing hot from the heat emanating from my horn. Taking a second to aim the spell, I let loose, and the magic arced from me to him, consuming him and drowning out my vision in light.

When I could see again, Spike's arms and legs had grown larger and sturdier, thick cords of muscle bulging out from the sides. He was now slightly taller than a pony, looking down at me with a face filled with sharp fangs. For a moment neither of us made any move, and I could hear his heavy breathing.

“Spike?” I asked cautiously.

He appeared to be struggling a little, but he calmed down upon hearing his name. “I'm okay,” he grunted. “Let's just get this over with.”

Good. Spike was still Spike. I was always worried that the sudden growth could cause a hormone shift that would trigger his instinctual urges. I was not looking forward to having to face down a feral dragon in a laboratory filled with fragile equipment.

Spike swung a thick clawed hand at the Cruxtruder, while I once again struggled to turn the wheel with my magic. The cap went flying off the base, embedding itself in the wall. Not wanted to keep Spike in his current state for a moment longer than necessary, I prepared the counterspell, but was interrupted by a bright flash from the inside of the Cruxtruder.

A large purple sphere, approximately the size of my head, rose up from the inside of the Cruxtruder. Peering into it, I saw a number of shifting curves and lines, pulsing and looping around each other, forming more spirographs.

The mysteries just kept building.

Pushing my investigation aside for a brief moment, I finished the counterspell, and Spike shrunk back down to his normal size, where he promply collapsed. Magic size shifts tend to take a bit out of a dragon, I reasoned.

The wheel now turned easily, and when I turned it, a thick cylindrical rod rose up out of the machine and toppled to the floor. It appeared to be made out of a smooth and flawless crystal, the same purple hue as the orb. More amethyst, perhaps? Curious, I turned the wheel some more, and a second rod appeared. And then a third. Before long, I had more rods that could conceivably fit inside the machine.

NO: Well, I think I know now why its so heavy.
NO: It's like there's an infinite number of these things in here.
ON: thanks by the way
ON: giant spike was something i didnt need to see again
ON: i thought he was going to attack you
NO: Please, Rainbow Dash. I think I'm capable of fighting off a baby dragon.
ON: hes okay now right
NO: Yes. Tuckered out but otherwise unharmed.
NO: What do you think these things are for?
ON: they look like they would fit on the small part of the alchemiter
NO: The pedestal? Maybe, but I can't get there from here.
NO: Anything else you think I can do with them?
NO: Or the weird glowing sphere?
NO: It's not doing anything on its own. Just like everything else we've encountered.
NO: It's just sitting there, waiting for us to do something to it.
ON: actually twi
ON: i dont think everythings just sitting anymore
ON: look at the truder

I had been too preoccupied with the cylinders and the sphere to notice at first, but the Cruxtruder had changed. The four panels which had previously been blank were now displaying a number.

NO: 4:20? What does that mean?
NO: Is something going to happen at 4:20?
ON: usually its pinkie pie that talks about 420
NO: Wait. Now it says 4:10.
NO: Holy hay its counting down.
NO: It's not a clock, Rainbow Dash. It's a timer.
NO: We have four minutes.
ON: until what
NO: I don't know, and I don't think I want to find out.
NO: But I think this is how long we have to solve the puzzle.
NO: We need a way out of this room.
ON: any ideas
ON: ?

I began pacing, watching the timer with the corner of my eye. Spike was curled up by the Crudtruxer, asleep and recovering from the exertion of the spell, so he wasn't going to be much help.

ON: maybe i could break down the wall
ON: you could escape into the room next door
NO: Rainbow Dash, I am a guest in a house of royalty. If you think I'm going to engage in reckless destruction of other ponies' property, you are insane.
ON: twi i just made your room bigger and pulled random junk out of thin air
ON: im pretty sure theres an option in here to repair whatever damage we cause
ON: now do you want to get this done before time runs out or not
ON: ?
NO: I don't know, Rainbow. The last timer I encountered didn't turn out to be that dangerous.
NO: In fact, I might have been better off missing it.
NO: We have no evidence that anything bad is going to happen when the timer on the Cruxtruder expires.
ON: it still creeps me out though
ON: look out
ON: im going to use the table

I watched the table I had previously moved aside lift into the air before it rocketed toward the wall, shattering and leaving a sizable hole.

NO: Fine. I'm going to take one of the rods to the Alchemiter.
NO: Maybe placing it on the pedestal will do something.

I telekinetically grabbed one of the crystal rods and dropped down through the hole created by Rainbow Dash's aggression. Since the rooms weren't all level, I had to lower myself onto the floor in the new room, which appeared to be a storage room of some sort. I made my way out into the hallway and back up the stairs to my bedroom.

Princess Celestia was waiting for me, investigating the Alchemiter that had appeared in my room since she had last been there.

Her expression became deathly serious when she saw me. “Twilight Sparkle,” she said, sticking to the formality of using my full name even though she appeared to be in a hurry. I could see the grim desperation in her eyes.

“What is it?” I asked, panicking. “What's happening?”

A spark flew from Celestia's horn and exploded above me, filling the room with a mist. Through the mist I saw a section of the sky, and the piece of space rock that was quickly plummeting through it. The illusion dissipated.

“Canterlot is being evacuated. Our weather team spotted another meteor on course for the city. I came to warn you, but only found this device instead.” She gestured to the Alchemiter. “And I see you've found a friend.”

“What?” I turned around and saw that the glowing sphere from the Cruxtruder had followed me. I was about to explain to her what was happening what I realized that I had about as much of a clue as she did.

Why did the meteor have to come now? What were the odds that the next meteor would head right for us as soon as I started experimenting with the spell? My eyes wandered to the record, which was still giving off its soft pool of light.

“Oh my stars,” I muttered as something clicked in my brain.

The client spell was a beacon. The spell I had cast was transmitting a signal to Rainbow Dash, and who knew where else?

“Twlight?” my mentor asked, concerned.

“I brought it here,” I murmured. “The record brought the meteor.”

I had doomed Canterlot.

“We need to leave now,” I heard Celestia tell me.

“No.” My voice was firm. “This is my only chance. I'm not using the record again after this, not if I'm going to doom another city. I have three and half minutes to figure this out.” Maybe Pinkie had the right idea, leaving for a jungle. If I had gotten her involved in this, she wouldn't have put any ponies' lives in danger.

Celestia nodded. Perhaps she knew better than to try and dissuade me once I had an idea in my head. “Fine,” she said. “But just like with stone flower, promise me you'll teleport if things get too hot to handle.”

I nodded and moved past her. I didn't want to be rude, but I was running out of time. I placed the rod on the pedestal, skeptical that I was doing the right thing. To my amazement, the Alchemiter reacted, as an arm extended from the device, shining a pinpoint of light on the rod, moving along its length. The runes on the Alchemiter began to glow.

I held my breath anxiously. Then the world flashed, and a new object had appeared on the platform. A green cube, the size of my head, with the edges rounded off.

What the hay was I supposed to do with this?

My Pestertome chirped. Maybe Rainbow Dash had a good idea. Celestia looked at me one last time, smiled, and blinked out of existence.

ON: somethings happening
ON: im looking at something called the atheneum
ON: its like a dictionary of sorts but theres only one thing in it
ON: a perfectly generic object
ON: theres a picture
ON: it looks like that cube thing you just made
NO: Great. Does your Atheneum tell us what it does?
ON: no but it has a picture of the dowel
NO: Dowel?
ON: the purple rod thing
ON: theyre clearly connected somehow

I recalled seeing the beam of light shine down the side of the dowel.

NO: Maybe there are different types of dowels, and different dowels make different objects?
NO: Like, the information necessary for the construction of the object is coded somehow into the dowel?
NO: All the dowels looked the same to me, though.
ON: perfectly generic
NO: Exactly.
ON: well you still havent used the totem lathe
ON: maybe thats the missing link

Well, great. I was going to have to run back down the flight of stairs to get another dowel and investigate the Totem Lathe. This puzzle was certainly offering me an excuse to get some exercise.

A jog later, I was back in the lab. I grabbed another dowel and hurried over to the Totem Lathe. It occurred to me that I could place the dowel in between the base of the device and the overhanging arm, but then what?

I discovered that there was a slot on the side just the right size for the punchcard. I inserted the punchcard and watched the machine come to life as it extruded knives and carved up the dowel.

ON: i think were onto something here
NO: Presumably the different shape of the dowel will cause the Alchemiter to construct something different. Perhaps the item depicted on the card.
ON: which is
ON: ?
NO: I don't know. It's covered by holes, and the object doesn't have an obvious shape. We'll find out, I guess.

I checked the timer on the Cruxtruder. Two and a half minutes. I was making good time. More running, and I was back in my bedroom. I rushed to place the new dowel on the pedestal.

ON: do you think that timer is how much time we have before the meteor
NO: Unless you have a better theory.

The Alchemiter finished scanning the dowel, and the runes glowed once again. I levitated the result and held it up to my eyes.

NO: I don't even.
NO: It's a scroll.
ON: what does it say
NO: Nothing. It won't open. It's made out of the same material as the dowels, and it won't unfurl. What am I supposed to do with this?
NO: Did we forget something? Is there some other piece of the puzzle we forgot about?
ON: i dont think so
ON: ive been playing around with the controls while you were working
ON: I really dont think theres anything else i can do other than tell you that the atheneum is calling that thing a cruxite artifact

An artifact. That still didn't tell me what to do with it. I felt its weight in my hands, noting that it was definitely heavier than any scroll made out of paper. The purple material, presumable Cruxite, was shiny and metallic, and I doubted any writing would show up on it.

I could feel the seconds ticking away. How much time did I have left? A minute and a half? A minute? Maybe I should go get Spike and get out of here. But if I did, I knew I would never activate the record again. Would I be able to sleep without knowing what had happened here, what the Alchemiter had created for me?

Was it supposed to be obvious? Because I was at a loss. Everything up until this point had made sense, more or less. I was given the pieces to a puzzle, and I had figured out how to put them together. But now there were no more pieces. It was just me and the scroll.

No. It was me and the scroll and the sphere from the Cruxtruder. Up until now that thing had been following me like a dog, but now it was nowhere to be seen. Right now, I needed eyes.

NO: Rainbow. Do you see the sphere anywhere?
ON: yeah
ON: its in the lab
ON: wait whats it doing
ON: twi its acting really weird

I raced down the stairs and through the hole in the wall to get back into the lab. When I arrived, my eye caught the timer. Ten seconds.

Yeah, we were boned.

Where was the sphere? I looked around and still didn't see it. I was about to pull out my Pestertome again when I saw a bright purple light out of the corner of my eye. I turned, expecting to see the sphere.

I don't think I could have seen it coming.

“Spike,” I mumbled in shock and awe. I would have shouted, but words were failing me. I resorted to stating the obvious. “You're glowing.”

And then my world exploded.

[nebularOedipus closed memo “A Fate Carved in Amethyst”]

Years in the future...

Comments

[Abetzi]

Holy crap.

You don't know how long I've been waiting for this crossover, especially one being amazingly done! A few spelling mistakes, otherwise this is just freaking awesome.

I also loved the 420, that part was funny.

Question tho, shouldn't have Twilight done something to the Artifact? Like how John had to take a bite of his Artifact or how Dave had to wait for his to hatch?

Oh gosh, I have so many questions! I seriously can't wait to see what happens.

This is just dfkahk -giddy-

You wouldn't mind if I were to draw some fanart for this story, would you?

[ZeldaFan]

Oh god, Spikesprite?
My face hurts from laughing too much. This is awesome.

[J-Rook]

I like this, keep righting

[Keepcalmandcupcakes]

Oh noez! Now all the imps are going to look like Spike.
...
This is going to be awkward.

[Enderstorm]

Spikesprite.
That's a mouthful.