Chapter 8: The Secret Passage
Chapter 8: The Secret Passage
“We’re just about out of time,” Micro Chips told Sunset in resignation the next time he saw her. “I only have a day or two’s worth of magic left, then that’s it. Any more and I won’t be able to change Twilight back anymore.”
Sunset smirked. “Then it’s a good thing that I got some information that will help us. Apparently, there’s a pegasus that occasionally visits called Cozy Glow. She knows where the Crystal Heart is. Once we get it, we can destroy Sombra once and for all and save the alicorns.”
If she had hoped that this would improve Micro Chips’ mood, she was wrong. “Sunset, even if that’s true, we don’t have time to wait around for her to visit next. Not just because I’m running low on magic, but because of Tirek. I don’t know how, but I think he’s figured out who Twilight really is. I think he’s known all along, but is just waiting until he’s sure.”
Sunset crossed her arms. “Then we better move fast. Fortunately for us, I found out that Cozy Glow is coming to the castle tomorrow. We can corner her and question her about the Crystal Heart.”
Micro Chips glanced at her. “You think we can actually get an answer out of her?”
Sunset just waved off his concern. “She’s just a filly. How hard could it be?”
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Twilight was standing on the highest tower of the castle. From up here, she had a good view of the road leading up to the castle. She was hoping to see Flash return from his trip to one of the villages where a bugbear had appeared. Just as he had in the past, he selflessly rushed off to save everyone like the hero he was, and Twilight wanted to be the first to welcome him back when he returned.
The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end, and she knew exactly why. Turning around, she saw Tirek step out onto the balcony as well. She pushed aside the discomfort she felt at his presence and gave him a polite nod in greeting. “Lord Tirek.”
He chuckled darkly, as if he knew something she didn’t. “Love is slowing you down, my dear. Let it distract you any more and I’ll catch you. And I will soon enough.”
Twilight didn’t like his insinuation, and quickly tried to come up with a change of topic. Fortunately, at that moment, she saw Flash come riding up the road on his way towards the castle, and she smiled at the sight of him. “Look, Flash is returning.”
Tirek glanced down at him. “Ah, yes, from his futile attempt to help the villagers. He’s such a fool. Always doing things for others. That’s the whole reason he joined my royal guards. He thinks that as long as he’s on the inside and in a position of power that he can do some good in this kingdom.”
Crossing his arms, he shook his head. “He may be able to do some good here and there, but it will amount to nothing in the end.” He smirked and let out a cruel chuckle. “Maybe one day he’ll die trying to be a hero. That would certainly serve him right. But I really don’t care what he does or what happens to him. It’s not like he can actually do anything against me, so I let him do what he wants.” He looked back at Twilight and his eyes narrowed. “But you’re different. You actually plan to take something from me that I value.”
Feeling uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her, Twilight took a step back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A snarl escaped Tirek as he towered over her. “You dare to mock me? I know why you and your friends are here. You know what I have, and you’ve come to take it. Try it if you dare, but do not mock me!”
Putting on a brave front, Twilight raised her chin. “Lord Tirek, I can assure you, in all your castle, in all your realm, in all the kingdoms you may or may not claim for yourself, there is only one thing that I desire.” She glanced down at Flash before returning her attention to Tirek. “And since you have made it abundantly clear that you do not care about him at all, you don’t need to worry about me taking anything from you that you value. Good day, sir.”
Having said her piece, Twilight made to leave, but Tirek stomped his hoof, shaking the tower, and pointed an accusing finger at her. “I know you!” His words caused Twilight to freeze, and Tirek moved in closer. “I sensed the magic in you as soon as I saw you. And ever since, you have exposed your true self in countless ways. The way you move, the way you speak, the turn of your head, the brushing of your hair, the way you breathe, speak, move, even the way you stand absolutely still, they were all indicators of who you truly are.”
Slowly, Twilight turned to face him, her heart pounding in her chest, yet her expression gave away nothing. Tirek studied her for a few moments before his temper dissipated somewhat. “I wasn’t sure at first, but now I have no more doubts. So allow me to level the playing field a bit.” He motioned her over to him. “Come and see. I’ll show you where they are.”
Twilight hesitated before slowly making her way over to the centaur. Tirek led her to the other side of the balcony, and leaned over the side, pointing downward. “Look, down there. That crevice in the cliff just off the beach. Do you see it? This castle was built here for a reason, for just beneath it is the entrance to the mythical prison known as Tartarus. Within that crevice is the entrance, sealed by doors that can only be opened by a powerful magic user. That is where they are. That is where I keep them. They are mine! And their magic belongs to me! Try to take them from me if you think you can!”
Twilight carefully leaned as far over the parapet as she dared. She could see the crevice he spoke of, but not the doors to Tartarus. She had actually read about the ancient prison in her studies. It was a place where time stood at a standstill, filled with powerful magic to keep the strongest of magic users contained. It was meant to be a place to keep the most evil of creatures contained forever, but it soon fell into myth and legend. Twilight wasn’t even sure if it was a real place or just something from an ancient story. If it was real, and the alicorns were sealed in there, then it would take a lot more magic than she or even Micro Chips had right now to release them.
“The way you see me now is not natural,” Tirek continued, not taking his eyes off Twilight. “I am ancient in years, old and decrepit. All my life, I stood in the shadow of my brother, Scorpan, while he got to rule. That is, until I finally devoured enough magic to overthrow him. But, at that point, my life had all but passed me by. I had my brother’s kingdom, but was running out of time to rule. But since I had gotten a taste of power, I wanted more. So I decided to take more. To take the world if I could.”
He looked at his hand and made a fist. “Alicorns are powerful. Possibly the most powerful magical creatures in the world. If anycreature could provide me with the power I needed to accomplish my goal, it was them. And so I summoned forth Sombra from the ether. I would have taken his magic for myself, but his is death magic, and I need life magic to increase my power. Therefore, I sent him to capture the alicorns, and then I consumed their magic. It restored my youth and my strength, making me more powerful than ever. Then I sealed them away in Tartarus so they would never be able to reclaim their magic.”
He returned his attention to Twilight. Feeling him watching her, she looked back at him, doing her best to remain calm as he continued. “Sombra was banished back when Celestia and Luna were the only two alicorns. I knew that two more had appeared since then, but I only had information on the one, Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadance as she is more commonly known as. Sombra was able to find her along with the other two in their castles when he invaded Equestria in but a single night, but he could not find the castle of the fourth. He found her a few months ago, but she managed to evade him.” His eyes narrowed as he stared at Twilight hungrily. “But now I have found her.”
Twilight wanted to back away, but she was already up against the balcony. “Lord Tirek, what you’re saying is nonsense.”
Tirek’s large hand shot out, grabbing Twilight’s hair and pulling her close to him. “You still deny it!? Do you still think you can hide who you are from me!? I’ll cast you down to Tartarus from this tower if you continue to deny who you are!”
His grip on her hair hurt, but Twilight was now in more fear for her life. And without her magic, she was helpless to stop him, especially if he had the alicorns magic on top of Discord’s. “Lord Tirek, what are you saying?”
He now grasped her arm as well, squeezing tight enough to bruise. “I couldn’t have been mistaken. I know I sensed alicorn magic in you. No creature can replicate that, not even by stealing it like I have. And yet…” his hand went from her arm to cup her chin so he could study her face, “I no longer sense that magic within you. You feel no different than any other human or creature without magic.”
Twilight kept perfectly still as he studied her, afraid that any movement on her part would somehow expose her and confirm Tirek’s theory. His cold black eyes burned into her fearful purple ones, as if he were looking for any traces of the magic he claimed he had sensed in her.
Finally, he released her and stepped back. “It doesn’t matter. The end result will be the same. I can wait a little longer.”
Then, much to Twilight’s relief, he turned and left her, heading back into the castle. Once he was gone, Twilight grabbed onto the balcony for support as her legs threatened to collapse beneath her. “He’s mad. Mad.”
However, he was also arrogant enough to give her many of the answers she was searching for since he clearly didn’t think she would be able to save the other alicorns. And no matter how much she hated to admit it, he was right. Freeing them seemed like an impossible feat now. Tirek had the princess’ magic and had sealed them in Tartarus. Even if they did somehow manage to open its doors, they would still need to defeat Sombra, and that was impossible without the Crystal Heart, and they had no idea where to even find it.
The impossibility of the situation began to overwhelm her, and Twilight couldn’t help it as the tears began to flow. Burying her face in her hands, she wept as she felt like she had failed everycreature.
“Shh, Twilight, don’t cry.”
She looked up to see Micro Chips standing over her. He placed a comforting arm around her, but it did little to make her feel better.
“It’s ok, Twilight, we’ll figure this out,” he reassured her. “I promise, everything will be ok. Don’t give up now. If you give up, then not all the magic in the world can change you back.”
She looked up at him and wiped her eyes as she wondered how much of the conversation between her and Tirek he had heard. He helped her to her feet and gave her a hopeful smile, but it did little to lift Twilight’s spirits as he led her back into the castle.
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“I’m so happy to finally meet you,” Cozy Glow told the trio in an overly-polite voice. “I’ve seen you working around the castle a few times, but I didn’t want to interrupt your work.”
Twilight, Sunset, and Micro Chips stared at the little pegasus. She had arrived at the castle earlier in the day, and they managed to track her down. However, they could tell right away that something wasn’t quite right about her. She put on a sweet face and came a cross as the friendliest and nicest pony you could ever meet, but there was something very wrong about her. She was too sweet, too polite, as if every word she said or movement she made were deliberate, calculated.
“Um, yes,” Micro Chips replied, choosing his words carefully. “We heard you were friends with Lord Tirek.”
Cozy Glow smiled happily. “Oh, yes, we’re the very, very best of friends. I even helped make him the powerful centaur he is.”
Micro Chips and Sunset shared a concerned glance while Twilight hung back, still shaken up from her encounter with Tirek, and was now worried that anything she might say or do might expose her further.
“How so?” Sunset asked, eyeing the pegasus suspiciously.
Cozy Glow giggled. “By helping him rise to power, you big silly. After all, it was me who suggested that he should take the alicorns’ magic and told him about the fourth one he knew nothing about.”
Sunset’s mouth dropped open. “Why!? Why would you do that?”
The horror in Sunset’s voice either went by completely unnoticed by Cozy Glow, or she simply didn’t care. “Because Tirek has the potential of becoming the most powerful creature in this world. And since I’m such good friends with him, that makes me powerful as well. I don’t have any magic since I’m just a poor, helpless pegasus pony, and just a little kid at that, but friendship is the most powerful thing in the world. And so the more friends you have, the more powerful you are. And being friends with the most powerful creature in this world will make me one of the most powerful ones as well.”
She was still smiling pleasantly as she said this, but there was an unhinged crazed look in her eye that’s suggested that she wasn’t completely mentally stable. Her words almost seemed to make her giddy with a twisted glee as she spoke of how she assisted Tirek in accomplishing such an evil deed. Just from the few minutes the trio had been in her presence, they could see that the pegasus was showing signs of being a sociopath with absolutely zero conscience; not to mention she was intent on making friends for all the wrong reasons.
Despite this observation, Sunset still couldn’t believe what she was hearing as she stared at Cozy Glow. “But don’t you realize what kind of consequences that will have on the world?”
The pegasus just waved this off. “Oh, it’s not so bad. As long as everycreature works together, things will be just fine. And since I’m friends with everycreature, I’d be more than happy to help them. They just have to do whatever I say, and everything would work out.”
“And having Tirek unleash Sombra? He may be obeying Tirek right now, but you have to have heard the stories of what he’s like. He won’t listen to Tirek indefinitely.”
Cozy Glow just giggled again. “Oh, you’re so silly. As long as Tirek has the Crystal Heart, Sombra can’t move against him. So all is right in the world.”
Micro Chips immediately pounced on the opening she gave them. “That’s… actually why we came here. We’re big fans of the legend of Sombra, and as a magical scholar, I was really hoping to see the Crystal Heart. I was hoping I could study it a bit, but it doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the castle. You said that Lord Tirek keeps it so he can control Sombra. Surely if you’re as good of friends with him as you say you are, then you would know where it is.”
Cozy Glow scoffed almost dismissively. “Of course I know where it is. Tirek needed someone else to be able to get it in case he was unable to. And who better than his most trusted friend who helped him accomplish so much.”
Micro Chips and Sunset traded excited looks, and even Twilight began to look hopeful. Sunset gave an encouraging nod to Micro Chips, and he turned back to Cozy Glow, looking a little too eager. “Could you tell us where it is? I would so love to see it.”
Cozy Glow frowned and shook her head. “Oh, no, no, no, no. I couldn’t possibly do that. I would be betraying my good friend Tirek’s trust. I’m not supposed to tell anycreature where the Crystal Heart is. It’s a big secret.”
Micro Chips bit his bottom lip nervously as he tried to come up with a way to convince her. “Oh, come on, please. I just want to make some observations. Purely for academic purposes, of course. I mean, it’s not like a mere human could actually do anything to a powerful magical artifact like the Crystal Heart. What harm could there possibly be in just looking?”
“Besides,” Sunset added, “it could be quite beneficial to Lord Tirek as well. Micro Chips has been trying to find new forms of magic for him after all. This could help.”
“Hmm,” Cozy Glow muttered as she tapped a hoof against her chin. “I don’t know. I doubt a mere human could gain anything from the Crystal Heart. Besides, I don’t see what I would get out of helping you.”
“Well, uh…” Sunset began, not sure what to say that would make the pegasus want to help them. “If you tell us, then we’ll, uh…”
“Be your friends!” Micro Chips exclaimed. “You said that having friends is power, right? Well, we’ll be your friends. Me, the great scholar of magic. Sunset Shimmer here, who is actually the famous traveling artist Flanksy. And Sci-Twi here, who is… um… probably going to end up engaged to the captain of the royal guard. Imagine how beneficial it would be to you to have friends like us on your side.”
Cozy Glow tapped her chin as she considered this. Then a big grin spread across her face as she seemed to come to a conclusion. “You’re right! It would be useful to have friends like that! And you say you’ll be my friends if I tell you where the Crystal Heart is?”
Micro Chips grinned broadly. “Of course. Friends help each other out after all. If you show that you’re willing to help us, then we’d be happy to be your friends. Right, ladies?”
Both Sunset and Twilight nodded. “Oh, yes, most definitely,” the latter replied enthusiastically.
“Well, ok I guess,” Cozy Glow replied. “But just looking, no touching. And you’re not allowed to tell anyone else where it is.”
Micro Chips held up his hand and crossed his heart. “You have my word. And don’t worry, we won’t tell a soul.”
“Ok then, listen closely. On the top of Lord Tirek’s throne, there’s a big crystal. Just use a little shadow magic on it, and it will cast a shadow to reveal some secret stairs that lead to the deepest part of the castle. At the bottom of those stairs, you’ll come to a room with a mirror. That mirror is actually a magic portal to the secret room where King Sombra stays. It’s in there that you’ll find the Crystal Heart.”
“With King Sombra!?” Sunset cried in alarm. “Tirek actually left it with Sombra.”
Cozy Glow giggled. “Of course. It’s not like King Sombra can actually destroy it himself, so it’s safe from him. And no one would dare to try and steal it with him there. There’s only two ways in or out, the passage that King Sombra takes, and Lord Tirek’s mirror entrance.”
Micro Chips tapped his chin. “I see. Getting past Sombra, if you can even find his passage, would be practically impossible, and only someone with magic who knows where Tirek’s secret entrance is would be able to get to it the other way.”
“That’s right,” Cozy Glow confirmed. “So I’m not sure how you would even be able to get there yourself. Not unless you get someone with magic. And, of course,” she smirked, almost mockingly, “you already promised that you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Micro Chips resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief. He saw through Cozy Glow’s manipulation. It was a good thing that he hadn’t told her that in addition to being a magic scholar that he could actually use magic as well. As far as Cozy Glow knew, even though she had revealed the location of the Crystal Heart, none of them could get to it.
“You’re right,” he told her. “We promised we wouldn’t tell anyone, and we’ll keep our promise. Because that’s what friends do.”
“Of course,” Cozy Glow agreed. “I certainly look forward to being friends with you.”
“Yes, so do we,” Sunset replied. “It’s too bad we can’t get to the Crystal Heart though. But we could at least take a look at the crystal above Tirek’s throne and study its magical properties.”
Micro Chips snapped his fingers as he caught on to her act. “Yes! Yes, we should go see the crystal. Lets go take a look at it. Thanks again, Cozy Glow.”
“Oh, it was my pleasure,” she said, a little too sweetly. “Happy studies.”
Micro Chips and Sunset headed out of the room. Twilight made to follow, but Cozy Glow flew in front of her, and Twilight came to a stop. The young pegasus stared at her hard for several long moments, almost as if she were suspicious of her. Twilight looked back at her, trying to keep her expression blank.
“Sci-Twi,” Sunset called, using her false name as she made her way back to her and took her hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
Twilight let her lead her away. Cozy Glow watched them go, not taking her eyes off Twilight. But then she smiled pleasantly and fluttered off to another part of the castle.
The trio made their way to Tirek’s throne room. The centaur was not in it, which made exploring it much easier. But there was no need to, for right above the throne, just as Cozy Glow had said, there was a crystal embedded into the top. They had not noticed it before, or had simply overlooked it the last time they had been in here in light of meeting Tirek for the first time.
“Is that it?” Sunset asked, looking up at the crystal.
“I suppose so,” Micro Chips replied. “It’s the only one in here.”
He pulled out his magic storing device and stared at it for a few moments. Sunset glanced at him before looking at the device as well. “Do you have enough left?”
Micro Chips sighed. “I think so, but if I use anymore after that, I don’t think I’ll have enough left to change Twilight back, so this better be what we’re looking for.”
Doing as Cozy Glow said, he cast some shadow magic on the crystal. It turned black, looking eerily like the black crystals that manifested from Sombra’s magic. And just as the pegasus said, it vast a shadow across the floor in front of the throne, and a spiral staircase leading deep down into the castle appeared. It looked like a long way down, but if what Cozy Glow said was true, then this was the way to the Crystal Heart. And to Sombra.
“We better hurry before Tirek or somecreature else comes in here and sees that the way is open,” said Sunset.
Micro Chips nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Lets go. You ready to save the alicorns, Twilight?”
A determined look crossed her face. “Yes, lets go.”
And so they made the long trek down the spiral stairs. It seemed to go on forever, but eventually they made it to the bottom. Sure enough, there was nothing more than a large empty room, with the only thing in it being a mirror hanging on the wall.
“Let me test it out,” said Micro Chips.
He carefully stepped forward, as if afraid that he might set off any hidden traps. But it seemed like he had nothing to worry about, for he reached the mirror without anything happen.
Slowly, he lifted his hand and touched the glass. It began to glow upon contact, and his hand went right through it, as if the glass wasn’t even there. A bark of laughter escaped him and he pulled his hand back before looking back at the others.
“This is it,” he told them. “Cozy Glow was telling the truth. We’re actually going to save the alicorns. Are you ready, Twilight?”
She gave a determine nod. “Yes, lets do it.”
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Cozy Glow hummed to herself as she flew along, thinking about how she had gained three new friends. She knew that she probably shouldn’t have told them Tirek’s secret about the Crystal Heart, but it wasn’t like they could actually get to it. So there had been no harm.
Still, she couldn’t put her hoof on it, but there was something… strange about that Sci-Twi girl. Well, maybe not strange, but something otherworldly, almost magical. It was as if Cozy Glow had recognized something about her, but just hadn’t realized it yet. She wasn’t too worried about it though; it would probably come to her at some point during the night or something.
As she flew about, she spotted Flash Sentry making his rounds. She smiled and decided to go say hello. After all, that’s what a friend would do. And based on what Micro Chips said about his and Sci-Twi’s relationship, there would soon be an engagement to celebrate. Perhaps they already were engaged and just hadn’t made the announcement yet. But it wouldn’t hurt to let him know that she knew their little secret. Friend were always honest with each other after all.
“Oh, Flash,” she called cheerfully. “Hello there. How are you today?”
Flash stopped walking and looked at her. “Oh, Cozy Glow. Hi, how are you?”
“Oh, I’m just great, thanks. I just wanted to come wish you congratulations.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Congratulations?”
She giggled. “To you and a certain girl. I think it’s great. You two make such a lovely couple. I’m hope we can all become good friends.”
Flash’s eyes narrowed slightly. For some reason, he had never really trusted Cozy Glow. He just couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about her rubbed him the wrong way. “Thanks, I think. I was actually looking for her. Do you know where she is?”
Cozy Glow pointed. “Oh, they went to Tirek’s throne room to look at the crystal above his throne. I don’t know why they’re so interested in it. It’s not like they can activate it without magic.”
Flash gasped. He knew exactly what the crystal could do, having seen Tirek activate it before. He had never been allowed down the secret passage, but he knew that if Tirek caught anyone down there that they would be in very big trouble.
“Twilight!” he exclaimed, and took off towards the throne room to warn them.
Cozy Glow cocked her head to the side as Flash ran out of the room. “Wait, Twilight? I thought her name was Sci-Twi.” She tapped her chin. “Twilight, Twilight. Why does that name sound so familiar?”
Suddenly, it hit her, and she clopped her hooves together. “Oh, that’s right! Twilight Sparkle. That’s the name of the fourth… princess…”
Her eyes widened as she suddenly realized what it was she had noticed about the girl. With it came the realization that she had been tricked. They had fooled her into telling them where the Crystal Heart was. With it they would be able to…
“Oh no,” she said in a low whisper, her cheerful façade melting away to reveal her wicked instability. “No they don’t. Those liars.”
With her face twisting into a mask of fury, she began flying through the castle as she began shouting in a far more menacing voice. “ALICORN!!! TIREK!!! TIREK!!! ALICORN!!! ALICORN!!! TIREK, WHERE ARE YOU!?! THEY FOUND YOUR PASSAGE!!! THEY’RE GOING FOR THE CRYSTAL HEART!!! THEY’RE IN YOUR THRONE ROOM!!! ALICORN!!! ALICORN!!!”
Her voice echoed through the entire castle, eventually reaching Tirek’s ears. An angry snarl twisted the centaur’s features, and he began to summon up all the magic within him. His muscles bulged and he grew larger, nearly doubling in size, and what appeared to be a miniature sun of magic appeared between the curve of his horns above his head.
His footsteps shook the castle as he charged towards his throne room. This little game of cat and mouse they had been playing was over. It was time he took what belonged to him, and made those other fools that had come to take what was his pay for their meddling.
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Cozy Glow’s screams hadn’t just reached Tirek, but had also echoed down the spiral staircase to reach Twilight, Sunset, and Micro Chips. They realized that the jig was up. Tirek would now know exactly who they were and what they were doing. If they didn’t act now, then it was all over.
“We have to go, fast,” Micro Chips told them. “Twilight, you first.”
She nodded and stepped through the mirror, vanishing through it. Micro Chips and Sunset stared. Despite having tested it out before, it was still amazing to see someone disappear through a mirror.
The angry bellow of Tirek was heard above them, and Micro Chips gave Sunset a shove towards the mirror. “Go on!”
She didn’t need to be told twice, and immediately stepped through the mirror. Micro Chips was about to go through as well, but he was suddenly knocked off his feet as Tirek came crashing down in the middle of the room, having jumped from up above.
Micro Chips rolled over onto his back and looked up at the centaur. Tirek was now bigger and more menacing looking than ever, and he did not look happy. He raised his fist and brought them down, fully intending to crush Micro Chips. The magic scholar rolled to the side and got to his feet. Tirek was now blocking his path to the mirror, and he made a rush towards the other side of the room as the centaur stomped after him.
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Sunset looked around at the new room she was in. It looked just like the rest of the castle, cold and dreary, but there was no doubt that this was where they needed to be. For resting on a pedestal in the middle of the room was none other than the Crystal Heart.
Twilight was already standing beside it, unable to tear her eyes away from the beautiful artifact. It sparkled and shined like any crystal should, but there was something wrong, and Twilight was well aware of it.
She turned to look at Sunset, her eyes wide with worry. “Something’s not right. This is definitely the Crystal Heart, but it should be shining with light and love. It’s not emitting any magic at all.”
Sunset walked over to it and lifted it off its pedestal. “That’s because Tirek deactivated it, remember? The important thing is that we have it. We’ll figure out how to make it work again later.”
Twilight nodded, but Sunset didn’t see as she looked back at the mirror, wondering what was taking Micro Chips so long. “Where’s Micro Chips?”
Twilight looked back as well. “Wasn’t he right behind you?”
“He was, but…” She trailed off as the mirror began to glow, and someone emerged, but it wasn’t who Sunset had been expecting. “Flash Sentry?”
The captain of the royal guard gave them a smile. “Hello, ladies.”
“Flash!” Twilight cried as she rushed to his side, overjoyed to see him.
He turned to her, and his smile faltered. “You were going to leave without me?”
She shook her head furiously. “I would have come back. I swear I would have. Nothing could have stopped me from returning to you.”
“Never mind that now!” Sunset snapped impatiently. “Where’s Micro Chips?”
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Back on the other side of the mirror, Micro Chips had ducked beneath the low part of the spiral stairs to where the oversized Tirek couldn’t reach him. That didn’t stop him from trying though as his big hand grabbed at him, just shy from seizing a fistful of his clothes.
Tirek let out an angry bellow at being unable to get to his prey and began pounding on the stairs. They began to crumble apart as his fists came down on the stairs again and again. Micro Chips realized that if he didn’t get to the mirror soon, there wouldn’t be any place he would be able to hide from the centaur.
Taking a deep breath, he dove out from beneath the stairs, rolling across the floor between Tirek’s legs. The centaur growled and turned to grab him, but Micro Chips was already making a dash for the mirror. Tirek sent a blast of magic after him from between his horns, and Micro Chips dove through the air and into the mirror as the magic blasted the floor apart. He landed on the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of him, and heard the voices of his friends.
“I don’t leave my friends behind,” Sunset was saying, just as she and the others heard the thud of Micro Chips’ landing and turned to him.
“I’m ok,” he told them. “I made it.” Looking up, he was surprised to see Flash standing next to Twilight. “Wait, how did you get here?”
Flash nodded to the mirror. “Same way you did. When I found out what you guys were doing, I came to warn you. I was nearly at the bottom of the stairs when Tirek fell past me. I saw Sunset go through the mirror, that’s how I knew how to get here. I snuck by Tirek when he was trying to get to you.”
He was at least glad that he had been able to give the order to a passing servant that everyone was to evacuate the castle since he knew that Tirek was going to go on a rampage, but he did feel bad that he hadn’t been able to help Micro Chips when Tirek was trying to get him, instead having used the distraction to get to the mirror without being noticed, and he gave the magical scholar an apologetic look. “Sorry I didn’t help you, but I was worried for the girls. This is where Sombra stays after all.”
Micro Chips opened his mouth to tell him that he understood when the mirror suddenly exploded. All for of them jumped back in surprise as it fell off the wall, the glass shattered into a thousand pieces.
“What happened?” Sunset exclaimed.
Micro Chips gulped nervously. “It’s Tirek, he destroyed the mirror. Now there’s no way back.”
“So we’re trapped in here?”
He shook his head. “No, there’s only one way out.” He looked at the others in fear. “Through King Sombra’s passage.”
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Sounds serious alright.
Yep, a red flag that he knows! 😰
Will do. 😏
You've got to be kidding me!!!
Hopefully.
Here they go again.