The Basement

by PearlescenT

The Princess is Dead!

The Princess is Dead!

“Okay. So… you're probably wondering why I've gathered you all here today,” Spike began. “I know it’s not every day that I personally convene the Council of Friendship, but… this is particularly important.”

To his front, sat around the round table, were the five heroines of the Twilight Era. Or… at least, just their seats, for now. Only Rarity and Fluttershy had arrived in a timely manner. They sat in their respective chairs.

The white, purple-haired mare smiled at her old friend as she opened her backpack. “That’s no problem, darling. I received the letter, I came as fast as I could.” She pulled a piece of parchment out to show it to the group. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Our pleasure, Spike.” Fluttershy nodded with her in agreement. “Where’s Twilight, Spike? And where are the rest? I feel awfully sorry that only we could make it in time.”

“Well - well, no problem! Yeah… uh.” Spike scratched his head and sheepishly smiled. “This is going to sound terrible, but - actually, let me answer the second question first.”

“The others are late, and Twilight is… gone.”

Fluttershy raised her eyebrow. “What do you mean, gone?”

“Yes, darling. Do explain, please.”

Spike stood silent for a moment, then cleared his throat. “Ehm. Well… uh. Twilight is, in her own words… dead.”

Rarity dropped her backpack. “TWILIGHT IS DEAD?”

The silent look of horror on the two mare’s’ faces made Spike even more anxious.

“Ah… yes? But wait, it’s not as bad as it-”

Rarity leapt up and went straight for Spike. “And you didn’t bother to include it in the LETTER you sent?!” Her horn glowed, and the dragon found himself rooted to the ground, unable to move his arms or legs.

“No, no! It’s- it’s- well, she’s “technically alive but stuck someplace else” is what her note saidshe left me, and I really, really don’t-”

“So she’s not dead? Oh, dear Celestia!” The tears that were about to roll down Fluttershy’s cheek promptly stopped. “You had me so worried! Why tell us she was dead?”

“Let me explain!” Spike forcefully pushed his limbs out to break Rarity’s telekinetic grip, and he fell to the floor, panting. “Well, that’s what… - ugh, Rarity, your magic is strong - that’s what she left me in her note that she placed in her bedroom!”

Fluttershy cocked her head, more confused than shocked. “So she says she’s dead, but she isn’t dead?”

“No! She wrote in her note something about ‘temporarily dead in the event of accident X with the Necrosphere’-thingy yadda yadda, I can’t remember.” The dragon turned to look at Rarity, who was now standing on the round table, slightly hyperventilating. “And of course I couldn’t say ‘she died’ in the letter, that would cause a royal panic! I had to wait for you guys to come here.”

“Wait. How did she die?”

“There’s this weird machine in her room and I have no idea what it does. I think that’s what… uh, ‘killed’ her.”

“Well, come on then!” Rarity leapt past Spike and ran off, Fluttershy trailing behind her. “Let’s go to her bedroom!”

“Waaait, wait wait wait up!”

---

The guards gawked in confusion as they watched the hulking dragon chase after the two Element Bearers. Rarity bucked down the doors to Twilight’s room, and it swiftly opened with a bang.

“Hey, be careful!” Spike shouted out. “Canterlot Castle stuff isn’t cheap- woah, hey.”

The machine in the center of Twilight’s bedroom glowed and rattled. It was a giant, mechanical steel orb, orbited by a good number of concentric steel rings with runes sketched all over. The entire contraption was elevated by a pedestal, and a large circular rune on the floor marked the device’s limits. The deep purple light coming out of the whole setup turned the room gloomy, as did the closed curtains blocking out the sun.

“It… uh, wasn’t doing that this morning.”

Rarity gaped at the sight of the device’s violent shuddering, and then looked back. “Spike!” she called out over the racket. “How does this thing work?”

“I- I don’t know, how am I supposed to know?”

Fluttershy grabbed Spike by the ear. “Spike. Listen very carefully.” She pulled his face with her other hoof, and then stared at him point-blank. “Do you have any idea what this thing does?”

“Well, uh, it sucks things up?”

“That’s NOT particularly helpful, Spike!” Rarity turned around and approached him. “Where was that note that you spoke of? The one Twilight left you? Surely she would have left some instructions or a further message?”

“It, uh…” Spike looked left and right, then back at the two. “It got sucked up?”

“Spike. Seriously.” Rarity planted her hoof on her face. “What happened?”

“Well, I was reading it, and… It had instructions, yes. Instructions to convene the Council just in case she got sucked in and went ‘temporarily dead’. But I don’t know what she wrote next! The paper got sucked in, too!”

“Ugh, Spiiiiikey-wikey!” Rarity lit up her horn. “No problem - I’ll just shoot down this device the old-fashioned way, and maybe Twilight will come out then!”

Fluttershy raised her eyebrows at that. “Um… Rarity? I’m not so sure that’s such a-”

“Don’t worry, Darling. I’ve got this.” With that, she fully charged her horn and sent out a beam of light straight into the contraption. It struck dead-center, and the machine stopped its violent reverberations.

A violet visage started to fade in.

“Twilight!”

“See, Fluttershy? Everything went just dandy.”

“Uuugh… that hurt.” The phantom slowly opened her eyes, rubbing her hoof on her temples in pain. “Ouch… Spike? Is that you?”

“Twilight! You’re back!”

A disembodied gasp echoed through the room. “I’m- I’m… what? I’m- oh, no. Oh, no no no no no.”

The orb contraption began spinning again - this time, more violently. Fluttershy pointed her hoof at the machine.

“Uh… girls?”

“Rarity, what did you do?!”

“What? What do you mean, what did I do?!”

“Only Unicorn magic could be eliciting such a response! Did you not- ugh, Spike?!”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Did you not read the NOTE I put on my desk JUST FOR YOU?!”

“I tried! But the machine sucked the note in!”

“Girls! The machine!”

Phantom Twilight heard Fluttershy call out, then looked back at her contraption. She groaned. “Ugh! Of course it did. Now it’s going to suck you two up, too!”

“It’s going to- what?!”

A purple glow began to encase Fluttershy and Rarity. “Spike? Twilight, Darling? What’s going on?! I can’t move!” The two mares began to shout and scream, flailing their hooves in the air as the machine moved them closer.

The phantom turned to look at Spike. “Spike, listen very carefully!”

“Okay!”

“Whatever you do, do NOT- aaah!”

A flash.

Spike shielded his eyes as the three ponies disappeared into the machine. When he opened them again, there was no one in the room.

“Holy smokes, Spike!” Rainbow Dash barged into the room, accompanied by Pinkie Pie. “I had to ask the guards to see where you guys went! Where’s Twilight- waait. What’s that?”

“Okay. This is gonna sound crazy-”

“Ooh! Ooh! I like crazy!”

“-but Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy was sucked into that machine right in front of you.”

“Whaat? That's crazy!”