Nightingale
hung back though. “Uhh, you guys go ahead. If she sees me she’ll...” The
pegasus pony, who had removed her mask to reveal a blue filly with a dark blue
mane and who looked about their age, was clearly nervous as the others turned
to look at her.
“It’s
alright.” Fluttershy reassured her, smiling at the nervous mare who was
hovering above them, “You don’t have to come.”
“Sorry...”
Nightingale apologised, looking sheepish as she glanced at the castle again and
shuddered, “She’ll be in the throne room waiting for you. That’s where she was
when she called us up to...well...sorry for that too.” She apologised to Dash
who shrugged in response, still not quite sure how she felt about the pegasus
who had tried to drown her.
“Any
other advice?” Twilight asked, kind of hoping their former adversary knew where
the Elements were hiding.
“Afraid
not. If I thought I knew a trick to beat her, I wouldn’t be hanging back. Good
luck though.” She nodded to them before vanishing into the sky, leaving them
with the dragon and a short walk up to their final destination.
The
castle, now they could take a proper look at it, was majestic but terrifying. It
looked old and weathered, with black stone forming the crumbling walls. It was
weather beaten and its tall spires clearly had holes in, revealing some of the
rooms within. The roof had completely collapsed in places and some of the wall
had gone with it, leaving the building looking like a skeletal version of its
former glory. The only part of it still completely standing was the entranceway
and it led into a shadowed hallway. The mist seemed to be pouring out and over
the steps only adding to the eerie feeling.
Twilight
was not the only one that felt like they were being watched as she stepped into
the building. Nor was she the only one who was startled to find that the moment
they entered the castle, they stepped into an entirely different and rather
creepy world.
The
collapsed roofs vanished away to become solid constructs that Twilight could
feel were mad of Shadows rather than real wood and stone. The rubble
disappeared to be replaced by tapestries and huge statues. The feeling only
intensified as they headed for where they hoped the courtyard was, trying to
find the Elements before they even thought about confronting Nightmare Moon.
The
mist continued to spread across the floor as they walked through the dark and
dingy hallways, the Shadows casting an illusion of the palace as it had been in
its heyday. The torches however, were not lit, forcing Twilight and Rarity to
summon their lights in order to let them see their surroundings.
Twilight
could see similarities between the castle in Canterlot and the way that this
palace was laid out as they made their way through the twisted corridors and
darkened halls. Other than the fact that the brickwork in Canterlot Castle was
a pure white, with gold décor and the halls were brightly lit while the castle
they were walking through was only lit by their magic, the bricks were a dark
purple that was almost black and the edgings and statues were decorated in an
ornate silver scroll work that reminded Twilight of a combination of something she
had seen in one of her more ancient spellbooks, specifically one written by
Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest unicorn mage who had ever lived and her
texts on Ancient Equigypt that she had been studying in the vain hope that it
would make putting the puzzle together easier.
‘It’s almost as if Princess Luna was trying
to break away from the darkness.’ She thought as they carefully edged their
way through, well aware that there was another test to go before they could
escape Nightmare Moon’s challenge and, hopefully, find Princess Celestia.
“I do
hope we find the Elements soon, darlings.” Rarity said, her voice sounding
tired as she helped Twilight lead the way, “I have a splitting headache.”
“Me
too.” Fluttershy admitted, her wings dropping slightly, “And I don’t feel well.”
Twilight
blinked and considered her friends properly as the others admitted that they
felt ill. She was fine. She did not know how, but despite the injuries she
should have had, despite the rapid fire spellcasting, she did not feel tired at
all. She did not have a headache, nor were her limbs sore and heavy. What
worried her the most was that her friends all felt like their hearts were going
to pound out of their chests while she felt perfectly okay.
She
reached out with a simple sensor spell that would let her read the magic in the
area, only to get the answer why. There was a bubble of the puzzle’s magic
surrounding her, shielding her from the negative effects of the darkness swarming
the illusionary castle. The others had no such shield and the thick, heavy magic
in the area was draining them badly.
Twilight
tried to extend her shield to protect them too, only to find that it would not
go much further than a few inches from her.
“You
lot need to leave now.” Twilight told them, turning around to face them,
concern obvious in her tone and determination clear on her features. “It’s the
Shadows. They’re draining you, it’ll only get worse the longer you’re here.”
“What
about you? Won’t they hurt you too?” Rarity asked, worried for her.
“No,
my puzzle shields me. I’m the only one who can travel through them safely.”
Twilight shook her head, “Why don’t you go help that dragon find his horde? I’ll
be okay.”
“But
yer need our help.” Applejack protested.
“I’ll
be okay.” Twilight promised, smiling around at them. “Trust me. I’ll be okay.”
“I don’t
like it.” Rainbow Dash grumbled, “What if it’s a trap? She could be waiting for
us to split up.”
“Then
I guess I have to spring it but I can’t let you lot go any further.” Twilight
told them, putting up a shield between her and her friends, using her magic to
push them back, “You’re the best friends I’ve ever had, but I can’t let you
come with me. Please, wait outside for me. I’ll be with you soon.”
“But
Twilight…” The unicorn turned and ran as her magic shoved her friends outside
the stone archway and away from the illusionary castle. She hated that she had
had to do that and if they could not forgive her for sending them away, she
understood, but she was the only one who could transverse the maze of dark
corridors and dangerous magic.
It did
not take her long to find the courtyard, not when she had been so right about
the way the castle here was a mirror image of the one in Canterlot. She stepped
out of a darkened corridor and into the moonlight courtyard. The silvery light
sparkled off of the statue in the middle, showing every detail of the odd
treelike structure that took up the majority of the room. Within the branches
of the silver tree rested five marble spheres. Each of them were carved with
intricate details and had the shape of a gem predominant in their designs.
Twilight
recognised each of them from the guide that Pinkie Pie had dug out for her.
Each one was the same brown-white marble that on its own was very pretty, but
if the gems carved deeply into each of the spheres were their actual shape and
colour, Twilight could just image that they would shine brightly with the power
locked deep within.
“Finally.” Twilight breathed, approaching the tree slowly and cautiously, still worried about that fifth task that she had yet to complete. She started to use her magic to lift down the orbs within the tree, trying to make sure she did not drop them, only to hear a dark, vicious sounding chuckle.
“Only
you made it this far?” Twilight froze at the sound of Nightmare Moon’s voice.
She turned to look at the speaker, but the alicorn was faster, whirling
Twilight around as she swooped past her and got between the unicorn and the
tree. “How…disappointing…” She spread her wings, forming an imposing barrier as
she frowned at the unicorn before her. “I was hoping to have a little fun
before I destroyed you.”
“What
about the fifth task?” Twilight asked, backing up slightly, “You said five!”
“Foal.”
Nightmare Moon sniggered, her voice echoing oddly, as if it was not only one
pony speaking, “I am the final task!”
Suddenly
Twilight was both very glad that she had not brought the others in with her and
wished that she had some backup. “Oh…” She managed, wondering how in Celestia’s
name she was going to win this fight.
“What’s
the matter, little Princess?” The alicorn sneered at her, “Afraid?”
“No. I’ll
never be afraid of you!” Twilight shook her head, standing tall and proud,
staring the possessed Goddess in the eyes, refusing to tremble or bow before
her. If she was going to fail here, it would not be in a manner that made
Celestia ashamed of her. Not if she had any say in the matter, “And why do you
keep calling me Princess?”
“You
don’t remember.” It was a statement rather than a question and it seemed to
amuse the Alicorn of the Moon far too much for Twilight to be comfortable. “You
really don’t remember.”
“Remember
what?” Twilight demanded, Nightmare Moon’s amusement frustrating her.
“You
were not always so weak, little Princess.” The darkness around her seemed to
whisper in her ears as Nightmare Moon watched her with a smug smirk, “We knew
you before, five thousand years ago. When you thought you could seal us away
for all eternity…” Twilight let out a startled yelp and dropped the Elements,
causing them to crash to the ground as the unicorn was picked up by the Goddess’s
magic and tossed across the courtyard, slamming into the doorframe she had come
through. “Well guess what. Eternity doesn’t last forever.”
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