Errant Finale

by Doug Graves

38 The Dark Mage

The first thing that strikes Twilight Sparkle as she teleports into the Crystal Castle throne room is a strong sense of déjà vu, and not just because she searched through the throne room before. Maybe it’s the large windows lining each side of the carpeted path leading to the crystal studded throne. Or the carpeted path itself. Or the fact that, aside from the throne, there is very little decoration.

The similarity finally hits her: it’s nearly a perfect copy of Celestia’s throne room in Canterlot. Did they have the same builder or designer, or is it the alicorn’s hoof that is clearly at play here? The expansive windows, their royal blue curtains that give the lofty perch a grand view of the entire kingdom, or empire. The only differences are that the crystal throne is much larger, and blue dominates throughout the room instead of gold. Which, given the whole ‘crystal’ theme, makes sense.

It’s nothing like the ostentatious display of wealth and power she would have expected from the mad king, even as his people starved. Or an overstated and gratuitous reminder of the crystal ponies’ place under the hoof of the tyrant. Or even a dark crystal motif, or a dark motif at all, given how crystal-mad the unicorn was.

Hmm, maybe she should lay off the crystal berry tea, if that's what it turns her into. Or maybe it’s the dark magic that makes one’s head turn inwards, and focus only on the acquisition of power above all else. Either way, she should tread carefully here. Very carefully.

Twilight Sparkle inspects the solid glass window she teleported through as Spike hops off her back. He runs forward, checking a ruffle in the carpeted path. “Careful, Spike,” she admonishes, the dragon rolling his eyes in return.

Only for Twilight to scream out loud and jump backwards as a tap at the window surprises her. Her breath slowly returns, hard and fast, as she stares at the black changeling outside, her wings buzzing. She smiles, wickedly and seductively, a little half-wave that gets Twilight’s blood boiling. The kind of wave that says ‘If you don’t let me in, I’ll know you know. And if you let me in, you invite doom and it’s all your fault.’

Her hoof wavers, but she eventually finds the latch, opening the window to let Queen Chrysalis inside. She counts it fortunate the changeling doesn’t immediately attack her, instead making a beeline for the throne. She lounges on top, clearly enjoying her position, however temporary, on top of the world.

Of course she would, Twilight accompanying the thought with a roll of her eyes. Although, to be fair, it’s not much different from Celestia in Canterlot. Twilight looks down the dozen stories to the crystal buildings far below. The Crystal Faire is winding down, ponies packing up their games as the sun fades behind the mountains to the west. Lights spring up all across the city, tiny pinpricks that individually stand no chance. But together they stand strong, beating away the darkness, the main thoroughfares shining brightly.

It only makes Twilight’s stomach churn at the thought of making those ponies climb the dozens of flights of stairs in order to seek an audience with their ruler. She resolves, should she ever get a castle of her own, to conduct any such common courts at a much more accessible location near the ground floor. It makes sense for why King Sombra did it, though. And Queen Chrysalis. She can totally see the changeling in a spot like this.

Jabs aside, she needs to find the Crystal Heart. Or at the very least the pages ripped out of the history books, or the tomes missing entirely that detail exactly how to fabricate a new one. She starts patrolling around, searching every nook and cranny for any evidence of a hidden safe or repository.

“What are you doing?” demands the changeling Queen from her spot on the throne. Twilight spares a glance at the lounging bug, her hooves hanging off the side. It would be the perfect image if she had a servant feeding her grapes. Or crystal berries.

“What does it look like?” responds Twilight, trying to not let her frustration with the whole situation seep into her voice. She doesn’t wait for a response, not that she expects a productive one. “I’m trying to find where King Sombra hid his most important artifacts and archives.”

“Oh.” Queen Chrysalis returns to her lounging, trying to scratch some itch on her back. “Doesn’t look like you’re doing much.”

Twilight Sparkle grits her teeth. “Of course it doesn’t look like much, there isn’t-”

She gasps, spinning to inspect the throne again. It’s made of crystal, just like everything else in the room, but one part at the top of the chair (what pony would sit in a chair like that? It looks incredibly uncomfortable) reminds her an awful lot like the crystal shard that Luna used to demonstrate the light and love spreading among the image of the Crystal Empire.

And the one she used to show what happens when darkness fills the land.

“That’s it!” exclaims Twilight Sparkle, drawing a surprised reaction from the changeling.

“It is?” Queen Chrysalis’ eyes go wide as Twilight calmly walks up to the throne. The alicorn’s eyes turn black with purple wisps of magic oozing out of the sides. Her horn belches green sparks, a cruel and merciless purple replacing her cheery raspberry aura.

“Aah!” the changeling screams as she dives to the side. A ray of black, twisted magic strikes the shard at the top of the crystal throne. “You nearly hit me!” Any further exclamation from Queen Chrysalis is stifled as the throne transforms. Dark crystals reflect a black shadow into the center of the room, containing…

“A bookcase?” Twilight pauses as she shakes the last bits of dark magic from her horn. We’re here to find the Crystal Heart and restore light and love and hope to everypony. It gets easier, after her reminder, to distance herself from the darkness. Far easier than what Luna went through. Maybe it’s best she doesn’t dwell on why, at least not now.

“A bookcase!” Twilight bounds forwards, eagerly scanning the titles. “It’s here! Everything we want is here! There’s My Manifesto, and All the Horrible Things I Ever Did by King Sombra! And How to Fabricate a Crystal Heart and Spread Love to All the Land, For Dummies!” Twilight squeals in joy, about to grab the closest book before a black hoof slaps her in the face.

“How stupid are you?” Queen Chrysalis shouts as Twilight winces in pain, her head twisted to the side by the force of the blow. “Think! This is such an incredibly obvious trap! A bookcase, containing exactly the things you are looking for, just happens to appear when you use dark magic?” She points to the first book, My Manifesto. “Who even names a book like that?”

“You’re right,” Twilight says, thoroughly cowed and rubbing her muzzle. Her head swims from the shouting. Was she really about to fall for such an obvious ploy? Her eyes shine white as she scans the entirety of the bookcase, sensing loads of nasty dark magic traps but unable to pinpoint the exact locations. “What do we do?”

Queen Chrysalis motions forward. “How would you create and bait a trap like this? We just have to find the least interesting book and try it.”

“Hmm.” Twilight scans the titles this time. A Treatise on the Effects of Assigning Sanitation Engineer and Other Unsavory Jobs as Punishment. No, that actually sounds interesting. Dark Magic and Me. Again, same issue. Frivolous Facts and Punctilious Points to Prove Yourself Smarter than your Friends. Hey! That’s totally not what she uses them for!

Twilight grits her teeth in frustration as she reads through the rest. None of the other books jump out at her, as everything else seems at least marginally interesting (who doesn’t like tables of statistics?). She finally reaches out, hoof grabbing the fact book when her magic fails to affect it.

Queen Chrysalis raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you thought like that. I’m actually impressed.”

“Your approval fills me with shame.” Twilight opens the book. Blank. She idly flips through a few pages. Nothing. Nothing. No-

Twilight’s shocked hooves clasp to her barrel as she writhes, unable to scream as bolts of electricity course through her. Agony wracks her body and her mind, the only thing she can focus on. And yet she fights; what would have killed another pony sends her reeling but undefeated, battered but not broken. She summons every ounce of effort from her overtaxed muscles, barely able to toss the book away from her.

The book topples to the floor, pages fluttering in the air. It slowly settles down, blackness expanding outwards in every direction. The floor melts like acid, leaving a gaping, bottomless hole with a spiral set of stairs on the edges. The book rests on top of a translucent shield blocking access to the pit.

“Ugghh,” Twilight moans as she gets to her hooves, her head throbbing with pain. At least she’s still alive. The bookcase has disappeared. Her face falls, but the other books were probably all blank anyway. Too bad. At least they have another puzzle to focus on. One step closer.

“Hmm,” Twilight says as she deliberates. She cautiously stretches a hoof forwards, not yet touching the shield. She can feel the crackle of dark magic emanating forth, and with it go any thoughts of teleporting through. She flies up, hovering in the air. It’s awkward, but the tips from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are proving their worth.

The book has changed. There are now forty spots, each with a single character on them. Some sort of code? No, it’s all Equish letters and numbers. “It looks like it’s asking for a password?” Twilight frowns as she considers. How in the hay are they supposed to figure this out?

“A what?” Off to the side, Queen Chrysalis is watching her, bemused but not really doing anything to help. Or hurt, for that matter. Small blessings. She takes a few cautious steps forward, stopping on the edge of the hole.

“A word or phrase you use to let a spell know that it’s you and not somepony else trying to break in.” Twilight rubs her hoof against her chin. If she was the embodiment of hatred and fear, a shadowy spectre of her former self, what would she use?

She reaches down, wincing at the slight shock as her hoof presses against the ‘C’. Of course Sombra wouldn’t care about a little pain, he probably gets off at the thought of her hurting herself. The letter blacks out once she presses it, so apparently she can’t duplicate letters. Next up is the R, Y, S, T, A, L, and she runs out of space. She pauses, checking her spelling, then hits the execute button. Oh, I really hope that doesn’t do what I think it might do.

Twilight Sparkle yelps as lightning courses through her hoof, a mocking sound reverberating through the room. Well, there goes her best guess.

“What was that?” Queen Chrysalis asks, taking a step away from the puzzle.

“The wrong answer. Apparently it isn’t ‘crystal’.”

“That’s your best guess? Please.”

“I’d like to see you do any better,” Twilight huffs. What else could she try? Slaves, but an extra S at the start or the end? No, can’t duplicate letters. Sombrero doesn’t fit, either. Darkness, without one S? KSombra?

Twilight screeches in pain as the last one fails, the shock twice as powerful as before. Her wings spasm, barely able to keep her aloft, and she tumbles to the floor. Tears well in the corners of her eyes.

No! She isn’t going to fail here! She struggles to her hooves, allowing her wings a moment of respite.

Queen Chrysalis cranes her head up to stare at the book. “So, it can be any combination of letters and numbers?”

“Yes. But they can’t repeat.”

“Oh. That's only..."

"Ninety four billion combinations."

"Oh." Queen Chrysalis smirks. "Well, that’s easy.”

Twilight closes her eyes, drawing in a deep breath and counting to ten. “And what, might I ask, would your brilliant mind come up with?”

“Thank you. And one, two, three, four, five.”

Twilight blinks. “There’s no way that’s it. Only a complete-” Twilight Sparkle stops herself, her hoof rubbing the headache she knows is coming. She pushes in the numbers, then hits execute. Nothing happens. “Nope, not it. I think it needs seven characters.”

“Six seven.”

Twilight pushes twice more, then hits execute, bracing herself.

The expected shock doesn’t come. Instead, the book and the shield fade away into nothing, the musky air of a long-unused tunnel seeping up.

“Okay, that is the stupidest-”

Comments

[badninja]

I refuse to accept that Sombra is anything like President Scroob. Then again King Roland also used it.

[Swordbreaker]

9660170
At least the password isn't one, two, three, four, five.

[Hiroblade]

9660170
Its more common than you think

[Silentwoodfire]

9660185

[PinkDragonJr]

if it's stupid and it works....

[Poparakelis]

The expected shock doesn’t come. Instead, the book and the shield fade away into nothing, the musky air of a long-unused tunnel seeping up.

Really?