Flash and Timber awoke far deep within a pit at the bottom of the stadium. It was so black down here at first, with only the mighty shine above the hole as their only guide. The height back up was way too far for them to reach by climbing. Even stranger was neither of them were harmed despite clearly falling several meters down. They both lay there, confused for several seconds before finally standing.

Staying in this light would only help them so little, they needed to find out where they landed. Where did this pit lead them? Getting up, the two were already used to waking up in strange places but this took the cake and then some. Deep within the hole was an ancient cavern of blackness. They had to strain their eyes to look past the void, but shape slowly came to form.

"What's going on here?!" Timber stepped closer into the blackness first. He revealed what looked like machinery. However, it looked more advanced than what they were used to. Even odder was it was caked in so much dust. "How long was this here?"

"I think this was here first..." Flash walked in the other direction, using the light as a post. What he found was even stranger, searching through the black, his eyes widened at the familiar touch. "Wait, this can't be. Timber!" He called his friend over and placed his hand upon a familiar stone.

"It is... the foundation stone from above, only fully formed." Timber agreed in amazement. "But how did the other half get down here?"

"I don't know... But it's proof, this has been here far longer than the new stadium." Flash rubbed his chin as the pieces started to fit together. He scrapped his hand over the dark surface. "That's... teleportation tears on the top, but not on the bottom." He noted them all along the rim. "This wasn't moved, rather the other half was moved."

"That makes no sense..." Timber kept searching around, hoping to find some sort of electronics. The place was old, but without a proper light source, neither of them could move that far beyond the hole that dropped them down there. "There's no way this cave could be older than that stadium up there. It would make it older than the new castle of the two sisters..." He was stopped upon reaching a new wall at the opposite end.

There was a distinct engraving on it. Tracing it out in the blackness was the evidence that became too clear. "This is a royal emblem!"

Flash heard what he said and rushed over. He arrived at Timber's side, surprisingly fast despite the blackness. Matching the trace, his eyes widened. "That's the crest of Princess Luna."

"Hold on, there's a symbol above it." Timber leaned over, trying his best to see in the dark and annoyed to rely solely on touch for so long. "Twelve wings instead of the usual two, six horns instead of just one..." He shivered back upon feeling the bottom. "Twenty-four legs."

"What?!" Flash jumped back too. "That doesn't sound like an alicorn at all. What kind of beast is this cave referring to..." He slowly turned back to the center where the light was. "Who owned this place? It doesn't belong to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. They couldn't be hiding something like this." He stopped upon entering the light completely and finally looked down for the first time. "Timber..."

"What?!" The earth pony reached his limit upon finding no light switch at all in this entire place. "We need to find a way out of here."

"That isn't our only problem..." Flash grumbled at what had been in plain sight the whole time. Right under the light, where they landed were the emblems of the changelings. The same changeling emblem that self proclaimed king was wearing.

"That just raises greater questions." Timber stopped searching and just fell to the floor in defeat. Maybe if they waited long enough, their eyes could fully adjust to this blackness and they could leave. Or worst as he dreaded, there was no way out at all. "If the changelings owned this, and the ponies had no idea... And if this place belongs to that king up there..." He dropped his head into his shoulders and caved. "No way we are getting out of here."

"No!" Flash shouted at him. "That Nick Kray gave us a challenge!" He walked over and yanked Timber up by the collar "He had a reason for bringing us here."

"Okay..." Timber grumbled and broke himself free. "We could at least use this time to figure out who he is." He rubbed his head. "But there is nopony in the history books called Nick Kray."

"Nothing in languages either." Flash had to agree there too. His eyes leered back to the changeling symbol. "Could he be a changeling? Maybe a royal changeling? Like Chrysalis? We have almost no records of their royals."

"A changeling? No, you saw his form." Timber looked above. "A unicorn with a crooked horn. Changelings are master shapeshifters and extremely vain. If he was one, why choose a form with an obvious defect?"

"You're right. Even If he could, why wear the emblem at all." Flash threw his hands up in confusion.

"Why choose such a simple unicorn form, why not fake himself as an alicorn." Timber continued. "He calls himself king, why not look like a king."

"He could be trying to hide his identity, but that wouldn't make sense with the challenge. Why show us his emblem?" Flash walked back into the darkness again and found something to lean against. "Maybe the answer lies at the end of the challenge."

Timber's eyes widened, turning upward through the light. "We must find the six, free the princesses, and get them out of here. Once on the outside of this giant field of no magic, they can end the madness of this so-called king."

"Sounds like you two have a plan finally!" A new voice echoed around them, followed by the lights finally clicking on.

The two smiled at their freedom from the darkness but were stopped cold upon it revealing a disturbing sight. Six cages stood around with a map and the emblem in the center. Each cage had other emblems representing an element of Harmony. They were in the same direction as the entrances above. All had strange platforms behind them.

"This can't be..." Timber rushed over to the wall and stared at the map. His eyes locked on clearly marked six red x's. The map was labeled as 'Canterlot'. "This is old... Very old." He sat up and rubbed his hand over the console. Turning back to the cages and the platforms behind them. A bright smile grew on his face and he leaned down to examine them. "Those are teleport pads, brand new ones." He recognized the stats and barcodes.

"How would you know teleport technology?"

"Familiar with a certain batpony that could teleport without magic?" Timber side-eyed the pegasus.

"Sounds familiar." Flash tried to play it off. "So, this is Canterlot..." He turned his attention back to the map and then turned to the cage. "And these are the five districts of the kingdom. Each refers to one of the six as well as the cage." His eyes narrowed at the image of Twilight Sparkle in his mind. "Yet nothing on her."

"What does he want from us? To capture them like animals!" Timber couldn't believe this.

"Like we would ever agree to such a thing." Flash stomped the ground.

"Yeah, we can just find them as together we can save the princesses." Timber agreed.

"It won't be that easy..." The new voice returned, reminding them there was another in the room with them. They turned to the source and pulled out their weapons. Only for Timber to drop his guard at a very familiar face. A turquoise unicorn with a broken horn walked forth to reveal himself, leaving the earth pony in shock.

"Birch Bucket... You're alive!" Timber narrowed his eyes.

Back above ground, the Pale Mare appeared at the edge of the pit. She looked down at Flash and Timber as they met with the old friend. The sight of the cages, the map, and especially the emblems drove her with rage. Yet no matter how tight she shook her hands, she couldn't do anything in this state. None of them could see or hear her properly, not without the right things to happen.

"The Veiled Mare warned me that you had returned." Nick Kray narrowed his eyes and held up his hand. He jumped down to the stadium floor and walked toward her. The light of the stadium slowly faded away with his command, following each footstep he gave. Along with the encroaching darkness, the building itself slowly vanished too. This revealed the shattered remains of the Castle of the Two Sisters, with the foundation stone returning to its original spot. "So why now..."

"You know that's not the only reason I came." She hissed and tried to charge him, only to fail once again. "What are you doing? Who are you?"

"You still can't figure it out." Nick Kray dropped his hand to his chest as if he was insulted. "Five thousand years trapped and you still can't remember me."

"You're a monster!" She spat at him.

He twitched her word choice and answered her again with the same name as always. Each time he repeated, the louder he got. "My name is Nick Kray! King Kray! King of K!" He screamed right in her face.

"You are no king!" She roared as her wings flared out.

Nick Kray's rage flickered into a smile. "And you are no longer bound to this world."

She was thrown back by his truth and her eyes widened in horror. As her wings slowly vanished into her static. "No..." She tried to grab her body and keep it solid, only to feel the air slip through her fingers. "No... I'm real... I'm real..." She shivered as her form stabilized. No matter how much power she put into it, her real face could never fully form.

"Who are you arguing with, master?" Spike the dragon finally snuck his head out from behind Nick Kray. He held tightly to the suitcase and stared deeply in the direction where the Pale Mare stood. However, no matter how long he stared, she knew he could never see her. Pleading him to stop trying to find her as his teary eyes were too much to see.

Nick Kray loved the reaction Spike always gave her in his presence. "All you can do is watch now. None of them can ever see you." His voice echoed with a deep chuckle as his eyes narrowed. He walked past the dragon to the edge of the pit. "Unable to stop as time repeats itself. The past will become the present."

"I will end you!" The Pale Mare hissed.

"You have failed to save the future before." Nick Kray bowed at her proclamation. "How will you change the past, Pale Mare?" He leaned closer to her and raised his eyebrow. "When you are part of it now?"

"I'm not part of your twisted game!" The Pale Mare stepped back and growled, though she was just as a shadow just as always, her mere presence on the ground left it covered in ice. It was the only thing Spike could see and as he still couldn't understand it, all the dragon could do was shriek away The Pale Mare tried to reach out and pet the dragon, in hopes of calming him. However, the effort was not. All she could do was turn back to the self-proclaimed king. "They will see the truth just like the six did... Just like Spike once could! They will see me again!"

"And, I can't wait for that moment..." Nick Kray laughed as he turned away to leave. "When everything they've worked for is gone, and there's nothing they can do."

The Pale Mare watched him leave. Slowly enough he turned her attention back to the hole. She listened carefully, it was all she could do as the two continued their conversation, unaware of her presence. "Spike... my friends. Just wait a little longer. Flash and Timber... They will help in my plan." With that, she vanished again into the shadow.