Bramble Dodger looked around as he crept quietly through the castle. Squinting into the gloom, his eyes were on the lookout for any glittering treasure he could spy. He already had a few odd looking gems he had found in a case that seemed to glow and spark with some kind of magical energy.

The case was warm at his hip as he rubbed it with a hoof, “Even if I don't find anything else, this little score will be more than worth it.”

Water could be heard dripping somewhere in the distance, echoing off of the damp, musty walls as the thief made his way deeper into the decrepit halls. Moldy tapestries depicted ancient battles between the three pony tribes in vivid, gory detail. He briefly considered grabbing one to sell to a museum, but it started to crumble to dust the second his hoof touched it.

Brushing off the mess on his burlap saddlebag, the pegasus squinted as his eye caught something out of place. The entire castle was filled with old, moldering torches, but the sconce of this one was different somehow. There were no old cobwebs adorning it, and there seemed to be a circular scratch around the base where it was attached to the wall.

Slowly lifting a hoof, he carefully considered which way to turn. Figuring there was a fifty fifty chance, he very carefully tried to rotate the sconce counter clockwise.

Dust and pebbles rained down as the stallion hopped back, coughing and brushing dust from his brown mane and tan fur. He spluttered a bit as he saw a section of the seemingly solid wall slide slowly to the side with a horrible grinding noise. Ears laying flat to block out the echoes of the ear-piercing din, he crept slowly forwards into the hole.

A smooth stone staircase, worn down by possibly centuries of use descended into the darkness. Taking what looked to be a small coin from his pouch and holding it in his wing feathers, he tapped it twice on the stone wall. The coin then flared with magical light, illuminating the surprisingly wide stairwell.

As he turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs, he slowly lifted the glowing coin high above his head, his eyes going wide in awe.

“Will you look at this?” The pegasus whispered, slowly taking in his new surroundings.

Some sort of laboratory sprawled out through the open cave before him. Machinery he could not hope to explain lined the walls and lights of various colors blinked on and off. The sound of splashing water drew his eyes towards a huge wooden water-wheel connected to a generator of some sort. This seemed to power everything in the room.

The center of the room seemed to be dominated by a huge marble stage. A few divots like gutters had been carved into the stone, all running in the same direction towards a large basin set off to one side. Atop the dais was what looked to be some sort of operating table fitted with both the normal leather restraints and what seemed to be heavy iron bands.

Starting to breathe heavily, the pegasus' eyes darted about the room. What sort of lair had he stumbled into? Knowing that he was in over his head, he began plotting his escape.

Swallowing hard, Bramble started to back out of the room when he heard the sound of shifting stone once more. Light was now coming from the stone staircase as he quickly tapped his coin on the floor twice more, dousing the magical light. Shivering in fear, he cast about for the darkest shadows he could find, squeezing in between two of the odd machines.

A tall, slender silhouette came into view at the base of the stairs. It gave out a soft chuckle that seemed to echo off of the walls, chilling Bramble to his core. A single blue eye glowed from the head of that shadowy figure, locking onto the hidden pegasus in seconds as a soft voice mockingly lilted his own words back at him.

“Will you look at this?”