The Terrible Truth

Within the central plaza of Canterlot, deep within the Astral Plane, a beam of light shines into the bell tower of a small church. The beam appears to strike the bell inside the tower, and angle downward into the church. A lone figure enters the church, and gingerly closes the doors behind her. She is careful to make as little noise as possible. Amy has managed to avoid any encounters with the Royal Guard, Pisces, so far, but she's not willing to risk getting caught now. After she closes the doors of the church behind her, she turns to look inside. Ahead, she can barely make out the chapel, with tow columns of pews beside a center isle. The moonlight from outside can only enter the chapel through stained glass windows at it's sides. While colorful, the light does not reach far enough for Amy to see well. She reaches into her pack, and removes a flashlight from within. With the press of a button, 4000 Lumens light the inside of the chapel. It's as though the chapel was frozen in time. Despite the city itself seeming to be from the medieval ages, the inside of the chapel is completely devoid of any dust, or debris. If anything, it looks like everyone had just left after a mass, and tidied up just before they did. Honestly? It creeped Amy out. Empty churches were already pretty spooky as is. Add the Astral plane, and the pristine state of this one to the mix, and Amy couldn't help but shiver. She almost kind of wishes Nar was here for her to wrap around his arm, like in a horror movie. Almost. (https://youtu.be/h82vcecO7_4?si=_FT2RNIM7Vg71RQt) Amy steps into the chapel proper, and begins to sweep her vision back and forth. She's surprised when she notices a network of what looks to be copper pipes, and wires running from the ceiling, along the roof, and walls of the chapel. As she reaches the center of the chapel, she finally notices a large sheet of canvas, hung where the pulpit should be. As her eyes follow the various paths of pipes and wires, Amy notes a few things. First, there's a panel of levers, and buttons on the east wall of the chapel. Second, it looks like there's some sort of light coming from what looks to be the bell tower up top. There's some sort of metal device blocking most of it, but there's just enough light poking through for Amy to realize there's something shining from above. Lastly, it looks like there's a bunch of weird looking lenses, and a mirror attached to articulated, mechanical arms hanging from the ceiling. As Amy approaches the panel on the east wall of the chapel, she takes a closer look at the stained glass murals in the windows. She instantly recognizes the figures on the left side's windows. One window depicts King Borealis, flanked by Princes Andromedus, and Princess Andromeda. Though, she doesn't recognize the other alicorn beside the king. Her coat is a pale, silver, and her mane is just as long, and flowing as the King's. She wears a similar crown that he does atop her head. Amy surmises that must be the Queen, but... If there was a queen, and she's clearly depicted here, why didn't she have a statue back at the estate? Beside the mural of King Borealis and his family is a simple mural of the moon, with a royal, purple background. When she looks over to the west side's windows, she notes that the mural featuring King Corona only depicts him. It does not appear as though he has any immediate family, as his brother does. The mural beside his features a blazing sun on a bright, orange background. When Amy turns to look back towards the church's entrance, she notices one last, stained glass mural, just above the doors. This mural features what looks to be the head of a jester. Only, he appears to only be wearing half of a comedy mask, while the other half of his face is completely black. In a way, it looks as though it's covered in shadow. Or, maybe someone just dyed the glass the wrong color? Who knows. Regardless, there was something she was supposed to do here, and she guesses it has to do with the contraption of lenses above her. Amy approaches the panel of levers, and buttons. None of them appear to be labeled, but there does appear to be the same number of levers as there are mechanical arms above. Starting with the left lever, Amy gives it a pull. One of the mechanical arms appears to extend. She tries another lever, and another arm extends, but the first arm retracts slightly. Huh. She tries the third lever, and it causes a third arm to extend, while the first retracts even further. Of course this would be some kind of puzzle. The estate had a puzzle with the statues, so why wouldn't this also be a puzzle? After pulling the fourth lever, the fourth arm extends, and the second arm retracts halfway. She then decides to try pressing the button to see what it does. To her surprise, it appears to change the angle of the mirror behind the arms. Alright. Now that she knows what each lever, and the button does, it's time to get to work. It takes Amy some time, but she eventually manages to get all of the lenses to fully extend, and line up perfectly. She then presses the button, which angles the mirror. Then, the device at the top of the chapel opens, and a beam of brilliant, white light shines down. It hits the mirror, and bends, where it proceeds to pass through each lens. The last lens appears to act as some sort of 'projector', as it spreads the light across the canvas at the other end of the chapel. Then, a picture begins to form. It appears to be simple, black wording. "My Folly." The sound of mechanical cranking from behind the canvas startles Amy. She tries to peer past the canvas to see what's making the noise, but the canvas is too big to see past. There's a hiss of steam, then, the sound of instruments starting up. (https://youtu.be/Lptjlrne0OI?si=dlIbLQedx2RkR9EP) The words fade, revealing a picture of what looks to be a happy, royal family. King Borealis stands with one arm on Prince Andromedus' shoulder, with his other arm wrapped around the waist of what looks to be the queen. Her hand rests on the shoulder of Princess Andromeda. Behind the 4, stands King Corona with his wings outstretched, and a large smile on his face. The picture fades, and another takes it's place. This picture shows the queen lying in a bed with attendants by her side. She appears to be very ill. She's gaunt, and looks as though she's lost nearly half of her weight from the first picture. This scene quickly gives way to another. It shows King Borealis on his throne, visibly distressed. Beside him, the Jester consoles him, only, he's wearing a full mask. On his other side, King Corona is bowing his head, solemnly. The scene fades. Now, King Borealis appears to be frantically searching through a library, with massive stacks of books all around him. He appears to find a book with a peculiar magical aura surrounding it. He opens the book, and appears to begin to read. The scene slowly shifts over time, showing the king's reading becoming more, and more frantic, as his appearance becomes visibly more disheveled. The screen cuts to black, and a gravestone slowly fades into view. It reads "Queen Brightstar. Taken too soon." The scene abruptly cuts to a close up of King Borealis. His expression is one of shock, and grief. His mouth is agape, eyes wide, and his hands clasp the sides of his head, with his eyes peeking between his pinkie, and ring fingers. It quickly switches to a picture, showing King Borealis whispering into his jester's ear. The scene then displays a picture of King Corona, slipping some sort of liquid from a vial, into a drink at an empty bedside. Notably, there's a hazy frame around this picture. The next scene shows the king slipping the jester a dagger. The jester appears to disguise himself as one of King Corona's servants, before slipping into his quarters. The jester approaches King Corona, and he turns to greet his 'servant' with a bright smile, and open arms. His smile turns to shock, and pain as the jester's dagger pierces deep into his heart. The jester returns to King Borealis, and the scene abruptly cuts to Prince Andromedus finding King Coronoa, dead in his quarters. The next scene shows the Prince bursting into his father's quarters, only to be swiftly blasted out by The King's magic. He goes to his sister, and the two confer. They appear to gather a group of what looks to be powerful mages, and go to confront The King once more. The King begins to cast a spell, but the mages manage to finish their own first. The whole of Canterlot is then thrust into the Astral Plane. The scene shows a short timelapse as the city goes from fully populated, to completely empty. In between, it shows the Jester casting spells, granting the citizens quick deaths. The final shot shows the only three remaining residents of the city. The King, The Jester, and the Royal Guard. The canvas appears to retract into the stone floor beneath, and the final lens retracts, allowing the beam of light to pass through a previously unseen window in the back of the church. Below it, rests an ornate, pipe organ. (https://youtu.be/btWK-TrlHNo?si=aUzjmEkTWhmeeV7l) A thunderous roar shakes the church. A purple light begins to seep into the chapel, regardless of the color of the stained glass it passes through. Pisces! The Seal has been broken! Do not allow the Jester to enact his scheme!

The voice causes Amy to shudder involuntarily. It strikes fear into her heart. She knows it's the king. Which must mean that-

YOU!

The voice booms. A beam of bright, purple light shines down on Amy from the mural of the moon. She tenses up, unable to get herself to move.

YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR YOUR MEDDLING! WHEN YOU ARE BROUGHT BEFORE ME, YOUR SCREAMS WILL FILL MY DUNGEON FOR AN ETERNITY!

Amy manages to collect herself just enough to move up against one of the church walls. She needs to come up with a plan, and fast.