The Knights Trinity

Chapter Twenty: To Be Tested

Anthony walked through a few hallways and into a small room. The walls were covered in etched gold plate and jewels. Before him stood a large equally ornate door and a golden pedestal which looked to be divided into several equal sections. He walked to the door and pushed, but the door didn’t budge. He took in the intricate etchings in the gold plated walls. They depicted humans and unicorns in battle with a variety of creatures. Next he investigated the gold pedestal. As he placed his hand on it a segment rotated. He turned it further to read the old english inscriptions and he heard a loud click followed by an odd hiss. The door he had entered through crashed shut and a ominous green gas started to flood into the chamber. He ran back to the now blocked doorway and tried with all his might to sway the door in one direction or the other. Panic started to set in as his lungs burned and his eyes started to water. Quickly he turned back to the pedestal looking over the other sections. Then it hit him.

“Man am I stupid!” he thought to himself pulling his gas mask from its pouch and dawning it. He made his way around the pedestal reading the jumbled words and phrases. Finally, after several minutes of trial and error he pieced it all together. He stood up and read the inscription out loud.

“To lead the unicorns knowledge is key. Through study and strategy victory you'll see.”

With that, the ornate door in front of him groaned loudly as it started to open, revealing another dark hallway.

…..

Dustin could see a light blue glow at the end of the hallway he was in. He readied his weapon prepared for whatever awaited him. As he reached the end of the hall he could tell the light was coming from an open doorway. He leaned up against the wall and took several deep breaths before spinning himself around the door frame and into the room ready for a fight. He let out a sigh of relief when he found the room void of any life. It was a large room lined with one foot by one foot square tiles. The mosaic it formed was the design of a large pegasus. There was a line of blue flamed torches about two feet apart burning brightly on each wall. Above the opposite door Dustin could see an inscription, but it was to small for him to read. He casually stepped a little further into the room as he didn’t see anything threatening about it. As he placed his foot down on the smooth tile a large stone slab dropped behind him blocking the entrance. Dustin laid motionless on the cold floor, his heart was pounding so hard he could hear it. He had felt the large slab hit the back of his helmet and the impact had knocked him to the ground.

“Shit that was close!” he said aloud as his heart rate finally started to slow.

He looked up at the ceiling to make sure there wasn’t another stone hanging over his head. Once he was sure it as safe he removed his helmet and looked it over. The back of it was smashed in. Placing his now damaged helmet back on his head, as he stood and cautiously took another step forward. A torch to his right flared brightly as a blue ball of fire exploded out towards him. He stepped forward to avoid it only to have the same reaction from the torch on his left. He ducked down quickly feeling the heat on his neck as the second magic fireball past over him. Again he froze trying to assess the situation. The torches were all hung at the same height, and distance apart. Staying crouched he stepped forward again. This time a torch on the far wall flared. He watched as the fireball dropped two feet and charged straight towards him. Quickly he straightened and jumped to the side as he heard another shot from his left. Waiting until the ball of flame was just a few
feet away he ducked again letting it pass and hit the opposite wall. He stood motionless except for his head which jerked around frantically. There had to be a switch or a safe path, some way to make it through he thought.

After several minutes of inaction he had and idea. He removed his now damaged helmet and tossed it to the side. As it hit the floor the room exploded with light as fireball after fire ball shot out from different directions. Without thinking Dustin sprang into action, jumping, diving, and weaving his way through the maelstrom. His shoulder burned as one of the flaming orbs pasted a little to close for comfort. For a split second his mind wandered to the hit he took from Chrysalis. The minor pause of his movements almost cost him his head as he dropped to the ground a second late to avoid another shot from behind. He shook his head as the smell of burnt hair filled his nose. Rolling to the side to miss the next fireball he pushed himself back to his feet and continued making his way across the room. When he made it to the tiles directly in front of the door all but the two closest torches flared brightly and went out.

“The last tile, go figure.” said Dustin out loud as he caught his breath and looked at the writing above the door.

Speed in action and in thought is how a pegasus war is fought!

He looked back and could see his discarded helmet lying on the floor. He started to take a step towards it and stopped debating whether the damaged piece of equipment was worth the risk. Taking a deep breath he turned and walked through the doorway, hoping nothing else would happen. Once through he found himself standing in another dark hallway barely lite from what little light was escaping the room he had just left. He took a few steps into the tunnel and…

CRASH!!!

The ground seemed to shake as another stone slab fell from the ceiling again blocking the door behind him. He put the red lens in his flashlight to mask his approach from whatever awaited him and slowly made his way down the corridor.

…..

Adrian hummed an old 80’s song as he walked along, contemplating if there really was something of value in the caverns. At the end of the tunnel were two large iron banded wood doors chained together with an ancient lock.

“Now, that is a door blocking something important.”

He pulled on the lock and looked it over. It had a very odd shaped keyhole in it.

“Fuck this!” he exclaimed after several minutes of searching for the key. He pulled out his pistol, took aim at the lock, and squeezed the trigger. The shot echoed through the cave causing Adrian’s ears to ring. The now broken lock hung from the chain. He started to pull the lock off, but though he heard a groan from the other side of the door. He paused what was the possibility that the door was chained to keep something in instead of keeping people out. He weighted his options before pulling the chain free letting it fall to the floor with a loud clank. The thick wood door moaned as he pulled it open revealing a large dimly lite room, which appeared to be an old armory. It was filled with racks of swords, shields and other various weapons. A thick pungent odor seemed to hang in the air.

“Now that’s what I’m talkin about!” said Adrian as he grabbed one of the torches off the wall and lite it.

The flame reflected off the blades as he looked through the selection. A loud crash from his left caused Adrian to jump and snapped him out of his thoughts. As he spun around he saw a massive tower shield had fallen from its perch on a vary ornate green suit of full gothic plate armor. Walking towards it he noticed the strange odor was becoming stronger. His mind told him that he knew the smell but he couldn’t place it. Adrian took in the sheer beauty and craftsmanship of the armor, and the large two handed sword it held in front of it. He leaned down and groaned as he picked the shield up off the floor. Resting it on its edge he looked it over. The arm piece it was attached to had came apart at the elbow joint. Then he noticed something odd sticking out of the end of the metal gauntlet. As his hand touched the protrusion he immediately jerked it back, dropped the shield and stepped away. The object was a flesh covered bone of a human arm. With that he instantly placed the smell of rotting flesh. He looked around the room at the five other suits of armor along the walls.

“How is that even possible these bodies must have been down here for ages, if what they told us is true.?”

Adrian started to question everything he had been told so far. Maybe their were still humans in Equestria. Perhaps this was just a sick game the ponies played for sport. He would definitely have to get to the bottom of it, that was for sure. With that Adrian turned and headed towards the far door to continue his way through the caverns.

He jumped back and raised his rifle as two of the armored corpses stepped down from their stands and made their way towards him.

“I knew it!” he exclaimed as he took aim. “Just like every lame horror movie I’ve ever watched.”

He fired three rounds at the closest attacker only to see the dust puff off the wall behind it.

“Imagine That!”

Adrian dodged the wide arcing slash of a broadsword as he grabbed a shield and sword off a nearby rack.

“You wanna do this the hard way? Fine, we’ll do it the hard way.”

Using the sword and shield he blocked attack after attack from the armored corpses, slowly working his way back to the door he had come through. Then he heard the sound of metal on stone behind him.

He swung his shield arm around just in time to block a powerful strike from the sword the green knight had been holding. The impact sent tendrils of pain shooting up his arm. Using the shield he charged forward slamming into the knight in front of him with everything he had. The armored suit separated at the joints and fell to the floor.

“Not so tough now are ya.”

As if in response to his taunt, another suit came to life and started towards him to replace its fallen comrade.

Quickly he turned to fend off another attack. He raised the sword blocking the blow from a short sword, while using his shield to fend off the sweep of an ax. As he straightened out, his back felt like it was hit by a car. The force of the two handed swords impact sent him sliding across the floor. Adrian tried desperately to regain the wind that had been knocked out of him. He could feel pieces of the ballistic plate from his body armor stabbing into his back. It was completely shattered, and he knew it couldn’t take another hit. As he finally sucked in his first successful gulp of air he found himself surrounded. The armored zombies stood around him, weapons poised to strike.

….….

Anthony continued his trek through a maze of passageways before he finally found another doorway. Remembering what happened in the last room, he did a once over his gear to ensure he was ready for any surprises. Pushing his way through the door two blue flamed torches sparked to life. The pale light showed the nearby walls to be lined with bookshelves. In the center of the room was a beautiful stand holding a single, rather large book. He walked over and carefully brushed the dust off the cover, which felt like it was made of leather. He blinked to make sure he was readying the title correctly. Roughly translated from old english it read.

The Book of Magic and Advanced Spells

As he opened the book and started to read he didn’t notice the small purple light in the dark back corner of the room. The familiar glow slowly increased in intensity, causing Anthony to finally take notice.

Soon the light was bright enough to reveal the form of Twilight Sparkle standing in the corner.

“Twilight? How did you…..”

“RUN!!!” she screamed, seconds before releasing a powerful magic blast towards Anthony.

He dove to the side and watched as the blast struck a bookshelf on the far wall. The shelf and its contents exploded from the impact sending wood debris and burning books in every direction. Anthony’s eyes darted around frantically as he tried to figure out what foul enemy required such a strong attack from the alicorn. He turned to ask Twilight what she saw only to find another bolt of magic streaming towards him. He rolled away, but the magic beam arced towards him, causing him to scramble forward to avoid it.

“TWILIGHT! It’s me.!” he yelled, as he watched her horn charge again. “Why are you doing this?”

He jumped to his feet and ran towards her, dodging clear of the next attack and turning back to her. Tears were streaming down Twilight’s cheeks as her horn charged again. Just as Anthony reached her, Twilight spun and bucked hard hitting him square in the chest. The blow knocked him backwards and he slid across the floor on his butt before coming to a stop.

“Twilight, Don’t do this.” pleaded Anthony, trying to talk some sense into her.

Another magic bolt screamed across the room towards him. He dodged right then back left and raced towards her again.

“Please Twilight stop.” he begged looking into her eyes.

He could see the fear and pain in her expression.

“KILL ME!” shouted Twilight a split second before she jerked her head up releasing yet another blast.

“I can’t!”responded Anthony as he worked his way closer.

“Please, or I’m going to kill you!”

“I can’t, I swore to protect you, so fight it Twilight! Take control, this isn’t you.”

“No. No! NNNOOO!!” she yelled as she started to thrash her head about.

“If you die all Equestria will fall, so please use your weapon and end this. PLEASE!!”

“I can’t do it Twilight, I…I LOVE YOU.” blurted Anthony as he reached the purple mare.

A look of joy crossed her face, but it was quickly replaced with one of anguish. There was a loud thud and Anthony found himself being knocked backwards from the kick. In a flash Twilight was standing over him, her horn again charging for an attack. Anthony could feel her tears dripping down onto his face.

“Please Twilight! Fight, FIGHT!” yelled Anthony clenching his eyes shut, awaiting the finishing blow.

….….

“I ain’t done yet!” said Adrian as he smiled up at the undead attackers.

“YeeeHaaaa” came the familiar call from across the room.

Apple Jack charged in releasing a mighty buck which sent one of the armor suits flying across the room. It hit the wall with a crash and crumpled into a pile on the stone floor.

Adrian took advantage of the distraction swinging the sword he held in a sweeping arc. The blade struck home cutting through knee joints causing the other suits to crumble as well.

“Thanks AJ, where are the others?”

“I don’t know sugar cube. We all got pulled inta that mirror and when I opened my eyes I was alone in the tunnels.”

I’m just glad your safe.” replied Adrian giving the earth pony a firm hug and quick kiss.

“Ya know me. I’m more than capable ah taking care of myself.”

“Yep!”

As Adrian stood the sound of metal scraping stone echoed around the room again.

“Ugh, now what?” he asked as he and Apple Jack turned around.

The torso of the green armor suit was dragging itself across the floor with its one remaining arm. Adrian looked ahead of it and saw it was heading for its sword. That’s when he noticed the faint green glow from an amulet that was wrapped around the swords hilt.

“This must be important to you.” said Adrian as he walked ahead of the half corpse to the sword.

Adrian reached down to grab the sword and the downed knight jerked itself forward quickly. As he grasped the swords handle a gauntlet covered hand grabbed his wrist. Adrian felt what could only be described as one hundred thousand volts of electricity course through his body. His vision blurred and the world went black.

…..

Dustin worked his way through the labyrinth of tunnels until he final stumble onto a stairway leading upwards. Cautiously he walked up, watching closely for traps and dangers. After several flights he came into a huge cavern like room. He removed the red lens from his light and shined it around the inside of the door. The majority of the room was taken up by a massive fountain. There was only about four feet of space between the walls and the fountain edge. He also noticed a two foot wide pathway across the fountain towards a center two tier pedestal. Shining the light into what he figured was water he noticed the light didn’t penetrate. The black ooze rippled and churned but the level inside the fountain never seemed to change. Looking around he decided the safest route was the outside edge and he started off to the left. As before the room was instantly illuminated by blue flamed torches causing Dustin to freeze in place. He quickly looked around and spotted Rainbow Dash standing on the top level of the pedestal in the center of the fountain.

“Rainbow Dash? What are you doing in here?” he asked.

He could see her mouth was moving but couldn’t hear what she was saying. She reared up and placed her hooves on some kind of invisible barrier causing it to flash for a split second.

“Stay calm, I’m coming.” he shouted as he made his way to the narrow path.

He ran towards her stopping short of the pedestal.

“Can you hear me?”

Rainbow Dash nodded her head yes in response.

“Okay, we’ll figure this out together. There has to be a way to get you out.”

Dustin searched around the base of the pedestal looking for a switch or lever to lower the invisible field. Suddenly he heard a soft tapping above his head. Dustin looked up and saw Rainbow Dash bucking hard. The black tar like fluid was starting to fill the inside of the barrier. Dustin swung up his rifle and started pounding on the magical field from the outside. It flashed and flashed but refused to give. Then the tar started flowing out and down the sides of the pedestal as it continued to rise inside. Dustin reached up towards Rainbow Dash causing a blob of fluid to surge out towards his hand. It hit his wrist and he could feel his skin start to burn. He jerked his arm back and looked over his reddening skin. Rainbow Dash saw what had happened a look of panic crossed her face.

“It’s gonna be okay.” yelled Dustin as he stepped back and took aim at the edge of the barrier.

He fired, but the round simply ricocheted off the magic field. Dustin could see the fear building in the pegasus’s crimson eyes, as the fluid neared the bottom of the second tier. It crested the top so Rainbow Dash tried to fly up. The confines of the barrier proved to small and she dropped back down onto the ooze. Dustin could see her scream as she made every feeble attempt to keep her hooves out of the acidic liquid.

“SKITTLES!!!!”

Dustin reached out again but the fluid reacted as it had before. Rainbow Dash twisted and contorted in agony as the liquid raised further and further up her body. Her eyes clenched shut and she gritted her teeth in intense pain. Dustin watch helplessly, he had to do something. He couldn’t let it end like this. His stomach turned when he saw her eyes shoot wide open and roll back into her head as she lost consciousness. Slowly she sank into the black sludge.

“Rainbow Dash, NNnnnooooo!” cried out Dustin falling to his knees.

He pulled up his rifle and fired several more rounds at the barrier as the black fluid reached the ceiling.

…..

“Adrian. Adrian. Wake up son, its time to go.”

Adrian slowly opened his eyes. The light coming from the doorway in front of him was blinding. A familiar figure stepped into the door way and just stood there blocking the light. He couldn’t see the face but he knew the voice all to well.

“Mom?”

“Yes Adrian its me. Time to get up we have to get going?”

Adrian pushed himself up off the bed and started towards the door.

“Wait a second. You can’t be here, your dead. I watched you die in the accident.”

“That’s right honey and you’ve died as well. It’s time to come home and be with me forever.”

He took another step forward and stopped. Was he really dead. Had everything he just lived been some kind of coma induced dream. It would explain a lot if he was in a hospital on who knows what kind of pain drugs.

“Come along now, your father is waiting.”

“Waiting where?”

“In heaven of course you silly goof.”

“Don’ listen ta her Sugarcube, you’re here with me!” came a soothing country draw from behind him.

“Quick Adrian, get over here, the devil is at your heels.” said his mother more sternly.

Adrian stopped and looked around seeing Apple Jack behind him.

“Come on Adrian I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I can’t wait to be a family again forever.”

“He ain’t goin with the likes of you. You two bit snake in the grass. He’s stayin right here with me were he belongs.”

Adrian looked back and forth between the to ladies. He didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“Adrian, if you don’t come back Equestria is doomed. You’ll lose everything…You’ll lose us.” said Apple Jack

“That’s the devil speaking. She wants to drag you to hell for eternity. Come with me and experience a future without pain or suffering, where we can be happy forever.”

“She’s tryin ta fool ya Adrian. You belong here with me and our family, and our friends. What about Dustin and Anthony?”

“Where was the first place we kiss AJ?”

“What?”

“Where was the first place we kissed?”

“In the secret room behind the bookshelf in the castle of the two sisters.” replied Apple Jack as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Leave it to the devil to know about your immoral acts Adrian. Lets get going.”

“How did you die?” asked Adrian to his mother.

“I died in the accident of course.”

“NO, tell me specifically how you died.”

“Adrian Samson! I’m your mother, now do what your told and get you butt over here NOW!”

“No Sugercube. Please stay here with me.” said Apple Jack putting her hoof around Adrian’s leg.

Adrian raised his rifle taking aim at the shadowy figure.

“Your not my mother.”

“How dare you point that at me! Are you going to kill me again! Just like that night, YOU let me die. Even your father knew it, that’s why he killed himself. He was to disgraced to continue living, looking at your guilty face!” yelled the woman.

The words struck home with Adrian as he lowered his weapon and his head.

“It wasn’t like that. I tried to save you, I just wasn’t strong enough.”

“And you think your strong enough to save HER!” chuckled the figure as she pointed at Apple Jack. You’ll only ruin her life, and the life of her family, the same way you ruined ours.”

Apple Jack squeezed his leg harder.

“Don’ listen ta her Adrian, I believe in ya, as do the rest of our friends. And I love you.”

“HA! Do you really think she could truly love a monster like you? Wait until she sees who you really are. Wait til she she’s the scared little coward you were, or the raving blood thirsty lunatic that you’ve become. I know the real you. I know you love killing. It’s in your blood and the only thing that can quench that thirst is killing more. How long til you kill her, or your so called friends? Weeks, months, you know it will happen. Or maybe you’ll sit back and just let them die, helpless to save them. Your weak, maybe you should be like your father and just take your own life instead. At least that way you’ll save them all the disappointment.”

Adrian turn his rifle in his hands looking it over. Was she right? Could he really protect Apple Jack and her family like he had promised? Images of Sweet Apple Acres flashed though his mind. The orchards were ablaze and one by one the mutilated corpses of the Apple family came into view. Each death more grotesque then the last.

Apple Jack let go and kicked him in the shin. The sudden pain snapped Adrian out of his dark thoughts. He knelt down and hugged her tightly.

“I don’t know whats gonna happen AJ. But I will keep you all safe.”

“I know sugarcube, that’s why I love you.”

The shadowy figure let out a low drawn out growl as it loomed closer. Adrian stood, took aim and fired. (CLINK) The sound of a bullet striking metal echoed in the room as the figure recoiled in pain.

“I have my regrets in life, but that life is behind me now. I’m not the person I was before, I’m better. I’m stronger, and I won’t lose to the likes of you.”

Adrian fired two more rounds as he and Apple Jack stepped closer towards the woman. She screamed in pain as she backed away further towards the door of light.

“My friends make me stronger. My determination to protect the ones I love drives me forward. I will NOT FAIL!”

With that Adrian charged forward slamming into the figure knocking it back through the doorway. The door slammed shut and the room went dark.

Adrian opened his eyes and found Apple Jack standing over him.

“Are you alright alright sugarcube?” she asked.

“W-what happened?”

“I don’ know, ya went all rigid and fell over. Then ya started shoutin and arguin with somepony. I didn’t know what ta do.”

Adrian reached up to rub his now aching head only to find his arm clad in the green and gold armor of the knight that had grabbed him.

“How did this get on me?”

“I’m not really sure. After ya hit the floor it just started to appear on ya piece by piece.”

Adrian stood and looked himself over. The plate mail felt no heavier then his body armor and allowed his body to move freely. He reached up behind his now helmet covered head to find the handle to the massive sword and the butt stock of his rifle. Lying on the ground next to him was the tower shield which first caught his attention. He leaned down and grabbed it, jerking it up in preparation for the weight. The shield nearer flew out of his hand and hit the ceiling. It was only a mere few pounds.

“I could get use to this.” he said, an unseen smile crossing his face.

Above the doorway he read and inscription.

Anger and sadness will harness great power, but causes the soul to wither as a flower.
….

Twilight strained hard, her eyes were closed tight and her teeth were bared. She growled deep in her throat refusing to release the magic her horn was storing. She jerked her head to the side as the magic charge freed itself and blasted across the room. The far wall erupted into a cloud of dust and stone debris. Anthony opened his eyes and saw an odd amulet hanging around her neck. He reached out repeatedly to grab it as Twilight whipped her head around trying to maintain control. Finally he felt it land in his hand. Squeezing on to it as tightly as he could he yanked it down without thinking. The force he exerted pulled Twilight’s head down putting her now recharging horn inches away from his face. Anthony quickly reached up with his other hand grabbing the chain that held the amulet in place. With one desperate mighty jerk the chain broke free and the amulet fell to the floor. The purple glow of Twilight’s horn dissipated as she collapsed on top of him.

“I’m so sorry.” she whispered, trying to get her breathing back under control. “I couldn’t stop it. I could only watch as if I was trapped inside my own body.”

“It’s alright, You fought it and that’s what matters. Even if you’d have hit me, I knew you were trying as hard as you could not to.”

“Did you really mean it?” she asked pushing herself up and looking into Anthony’s eyes. “Did you really mean what you said or were you just trying to save your flank. I would understand if you didn’t. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I was trying to kill you. Plus how could you possibly love somepony that was…”

Anthony pushed his head up and kissed her on the nose.

“I love you Twilight Sparkle, so stop over thinking it.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, her cheeks darkened red, and a giant smile crossed her face. She leaned down to hug but she bumped her forehead against his on accident.

“Sorry.” she said as Anthony rubbed his head. “I guess I’m a little flustered at all this.

Anthony leaned up kissing her on the lips and put his arm around her neck pulling her in tighter. When he let her go she dropped back onto her plot and sat in a blissful stupor,
“I think we can work out the details a little later. Right now I think we need to get moving. Where are Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash.”

“Huh? Oh yeah” she replied shaking her head. “I’m not really sure what happened. Rainbow Dash touched the mirror and we all got pulled through it trying to help her. When I came to I was in this library but I couldn’t move.”

Anthony stood up and felt his foot hit something. He looked down and saw the amulet he had ripped from Twilight’s neck. The blue gem in the center seemed to glow softly. Anthony pulled up his rifle and took aim. Twilight reached up and pushed the barrel away from his intended target causing Anthony to look at her questioningly.

“That thing has the same magic as the mirror, I could feel the power.”

“All the more reason to destroy it. Look what it did to you.”

“I think you should bring it with us. We can ask Celestia about it, and I really think studying it’s magic could be beneficial.”

Anthony pulled his dew rag out of his pocket and wrapped it around the amulet before sticking it into one of his pouches.

“What about all these books?” asked Anthony walking back to the spell book in the center of the room.

Twilight looked the book over carefully.

“This is written in the same language as the words outside the mirror. What does it say?”

“It appears to be a book of spells and magic.”

Then we should certainly bring this one lets look over the others.

Anthony put the spell book in his day pack and headed to a nearby bookshelf. Browsing through the selection he saw a book title, Humanity, A history of. He reached up pulling the book out. He yanked his hand away as it and the rest of the books on the shelf crumbled into dust. He tried a book on the shelf below with the same result.

“The rest of these are so old the fall apart as soon as I touch them. Could you try with your magic?

Twilight focused on a single book and carefully pulled it from the shelf, easing it onto the stand which had held the magic book. As soon as she release it from her magical grasp it too crumbled away.

“Well, it looks like we’re just taking the one.” said Anthony. “We should really get going.”

Twilight’s horn glowed bring more light to the room revealing a door on the side wall between two bookshelves. Anthony walked over and pulled it open. Behind it was a spiral staircase leading upwards.

“Shall we?” he asked giving Twilight a smile.

“After you Sir Knight.” she replied with a curtsy.

Anthony nodded and started up the stairs. After several flight the stairs came to a small landing which ended abruptly against a wall. Neither had seen any doors or exits along the way. Again, Twilight’s horn glowed brightly. The wall before them was adorn with several detailed images. There was a human holding a bow above his head as if he was celebrating a great victory. Next to him was a Unicorn standing on its hind legs, it’s head stretched high. Twilight looked over the art work and noticed something odd. There was a small hole in the wall were the unicorns horn should be and another lager one for the humans right hand. Anthony leaned down and shown his flashlight into the larger hole. He could see some kind of lever or lock in the back. He started to reach inside but Twilight stopped him.

“It could be another trap.”

“I know, but it looks like the only way through.” he replied shoving his arm into the hole.

Anthony yelled loudly as though his arm was being crushed. Twilight jumped back, a look of terror coming over her, which quickly turned to anger when she heard Anthony start to laugh.

“You should have seen the look on your face.” he said.

Twilight slugged him in the shoulder hard.

“That’s NOT funny!”

With that Anthony pushed his arm further into the hole until he could grab the lever. He tried to pull, push, and even twist the handle but it refused to turn.

“What’s this say?” asked Twilight looking over a small inscription along the base of the wall.

“It says Magic is Key.”

A light bulb went on in Twilight’s head.

“I’ve seen a lock like this before. Princess Celestia used her horn to unlock it. Maybe we both have to do it at the same time.”

Twilight put her front hooves on the wall and lined her horn up with the hole on the unicorns head.

“Are you ready?”

Anthony simply nodded in response.

Twilight inserted her horn and concentrated her magic into it. Her wings suddenly jutted outwards and her eyes glowed a bright solid white. Anthony tried to let go of the lever to pull her free but his hand was stuck firmly to it. An odd sensation started forming in his finger tips. It felt like every cell was burning and freezing at the same time, as it worked its way through his fingers into his hand. This painful feeling slowly traveled its way up his arm causing Anthony to viciously jerk in an attempt to free his hand. The more he struggled the more the pain intensified and he was brought to his knees. His body felt as though it was going to explode when the pain had pasted through his entire body and he felt consciousness slipping away.

He opened his eyes and groaned, finding himself lying on the stone landing. The pain was gone but he felt different. Not in a bad way, he just felt like something inside of him had changed. He heard a soft moan from beside him. He looked over and saw the form of Twilight in the darkness. She raised her head off the floor and slowly opened her eyes.

“Wh-where am I?” she asked as she started to stand.

Her horn started to glow, gradually increasing in intensity. As the stair well lit up she recoiled away from Anthony and nearly fell backwards down the stairs. Anthony reached out and grabbed her hoof pulling her towards him.

“Let go!” she yelled as she started trying to jerk her hoof away.

“Stay away from me! ANTHONY, where are you?”

“I’m right here Twilight don’t you recognize me?”

Twilight stopped her struggling and leaned back against the wall. She looked at Anthony as though he had grown a second head. Anthony looked himself over and realized he was covered in a dark blue scale mail armor. He hadn’t even noticed the helmet that encased his head. He reached up and took off the helmet revealing himself to Twilight.

Twilight sighed loudly at the revelation.

“Thank Celestia your alright. What happened?”

“I’m not really certain. Something passed through my body. The process was extremely painful and I was sure I was a goner. I must have passed out from the pain.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, a worried look crossing her face.”

“I think so. I feel a little strange though. I’m not even sure how to describe the sensation. I’m good enough to walk though so we should probably move out.”

Anthony looked up and realized the wall they had interacted with just moments ago was no longer there, only the stairs continuing upwards.