CHAPTER 9
The battle between Luna and Chrysalis could no longer be heard, only the clopping hooves of six fleeing mares as they made their way down long hallways and sharp corners. Pushing her grief to the furthest reaches of her mind, Twilight took notice of the various, small clues that acted as discrete posts that dotted the high pillars and various sculptures below. Despite never actually studying these objects in detail, Twilight had the suspicious feeling of familiarity with each of them, enough where she knew each one and the order that they appeared in that signified that they were on the right track to discovering where this secret passage was hidden. How she actually came across this feeling of familiarity and nostalgia, she didn't have a readied explanation.
"Jus' how much farther are we gonna run?" Applejack asked, weakly panting, "An' how do ya know we're goin' the right way?"
Twilight had the sneaking suspicion that somepony was going to ask her that sooner or later. It was only a matter of time, after all.
"I don't," Twilight answered, "But at the same time, I do." Applejack gave Twilight a confused look, and she promptly answered the obvious question written on her friend's face. "It doesn't make sense to me either, I know. But you have to believe me when I say that I know where we're going." Applejack didn't seem convinced at first, but after a moment of silence she simply nodded and chose to put her faith in her friend's words.
Twilight pushed a little further ahead of the group as she eyed the next turn, a growing sense of anticipation growing in her stomach, telling her this is what they were searching for. She made a sudden and hard left turn, skidding to slow herself as she turned and looked down the hall, the anxiety in her now like that of a filly hoping to see her presents on Hearth's Warming Day the moment she came to the bottom of the stairs. Applejack and the others came to stop next to her, and they all studied the partially empty hall, and were dumbstruck, as well as terrified, at what they saw. The hall was a windowless dead end, the only object that filled its empty space was a large, tall marble statue of StarSwirl the Bearded on the right side, eternally staring at the opposite wall as he reared, his right hoof pointing upwards and his left hoof pointing downward, standing on an ornate pedestal decorated with many chiseled stars. Each pony looked any and either which way for anything that could be seen as a hidden door, then ventured forward and inspected every inch of the walls, from the ceiling to the marble floor, but no obvious clues could be seen.
"Twilight, there's nothing here!" Rarity said nervously.
"No, this has to be it," Twilight answered, "All the visual clues led us here." She approached Starswirl's statue, carefully observing every polished cut and curve from where she stood. "And I know I've seen this statue in my vision." Rarity and the others then looked to each other, then ceased their search as they joined Twilight's side as she studied the old sculpture. It was only after a minute or two did Rarity break the silence as she gasped with excitement.
"Oh my," She said, "Just look at those beautiful bells!" She excitedly pointed to Starswirl's signature star- and bell-studded hat, drawing everyone's attention to them. The bells that adorned the hat were not made of marble like the rest of the statue, but of highly polished gold and brass. Twilight tilted her head and wondered why somepony would go through the trouble of adding such delicate and valuable additions, but it then dawned on her that somepony did go through the trouble, and possibly for good reason.
"Rainbow Dash," Twilight said as she turned to the cyan pegasus, "You think you have enough strength to fly up and test one of the bells?"
Rainbow Dash looked up towards the glittering chimes, gauging the distance, then looked back to Twilight.
"I'll give it a shot," she said, and unfurled her wings as she took to the air. Despite being the self-proclaimed "best flyer in all of Equestria", she was struggling just to get to and maintain the proper altitude of the golden bells. When she finally reached them, she was panting and growing tired, but was dead set on finishing her mission. So, with the last ounce of her strength, she flew up to one of the gold bells, which were about the size of a grapefruit each, and gave it a hard push. The bell gave a melodious jingle, and upon hearing that magical noise Rainbow Dash came falling back down to earth, panting and spent. Applejack and Fluttershy helped her back to her hooves, only to have her slop right back onto her haunches. With her friend tired, Twilight couldn't possibly ask her to go back up, so she needed a new strategy, already thinking up several different ideas.
"So what...did you...want to...test the...bells for?" Rainbow Dash asked through labored breaths.
Snapping out of her planning mindset and back to the present, Twilight looked up at the statue once more, then trailed her vision downward. "I have a hunch that those bells act as musical keys that will move the statue and reveal the hidden passage." She then turned back to her friends, a solemn look on her face. "But the bells are so high up, and without actually knowing the exact order the bells have to be rung we could be here for days trying to guess."
"Hey, what about this?" Pinkie asked happily, pointing to the pedestal that Starswirl stood on. Twilight approached it, and studied the particular line of stars that Pinkie was referring to, which Starswirl's left hoof was pointing to. Her jaw nearly dropped when she noticed a pattern; while most of the stars were five-pointed, the wavering line of stars that Pinkie had pointed out had three-pointed, four-pointed, six-pointed, and eight-pointed stars. They were arranged in a particular order, which Twilight read as some sort of numerical code that translated to 6,4,3,4,6,8.
"Pinkie," Twilight said, still quite astonished, "How did you find this? More importantly, how did you know?"
"Silly Filly," Pinkie answered casually with a big dumb smile on her face, "When someone makes a magical statue that can move to reveal a secret passage using music, you ALWAYS put the notes on the pedestal with the statue obviously pointing a hoof or tail to it. DUUUH!"
If Twilight's jaw could hang any lower, it certainly was now. And the expression wasn't mutual, for everyone else's mouths were just as agape in surprise. She didn't know whether to tackle Pinkie in a hug or face-hoof herself into next week for not thinking of it first, seeing as she and Rainbow Dash both read the Daring Do series nearly fifteen times, three of the books having scenarios eerily similar to their current predicament. Composing herself, she brought her thoughts back to Pinkie. But before she could say a word, Pinkie was already climbing the statue, bouncing along like a mountain goat, and, for whatever reason, was wearing a large pair of cat ears and fake whiskers on her muzzle. Once she reached Starswirl's hat, she adopted more of the persona of a feline that she was dressed for, and laid on her stomach as she toyed around with each bell gently in her hooves, occasionally turning to her side or even onto her back as she played and giggled.
As Pinkie innocently played, the others down below could hear the ringing of each bell, noting that no two rang the same. After a few moments of playtime, Pinkie decided to get serious -if she could at all- and studied the rim of the hat. Above each bell, there was a star pattern chiseled into the hat, out of conventional view from anypony that would be on the ground, with all but the five she sought being the normal, five-pointed star. Following the pattern she found on the pedestal, she played each of the marked bells in order, creating a simple, yet somewhat intriguing melody. After the last bell was played and it's melodious ring gone and lost to the air, the statue gave a loud, powerful jerk to the left, away from the dead end, before slowly moving more and more before revealing a hidden archway behind it. Pinkie then jumped back down, landing softly on her hooves and joining her friends.
"Yeah-heah! Way to go, Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash cheered. Pinkie giggled before replying with a "nyah", winking and sticking the tip of her tongue out playfully while posing like a playful cat. Twilight couldn't help but fail to stifle a giggle at her pink friend's random personality, before turning her attention back to more serious business, specifically the hidden passage.
As she approached the archway, she could see that the long, winding staircase was unlit, cold, and quite possibly filthy beyond Rarity's liking. It wasn't until she poked her head through the etched-in archway did a sudden fwoosh from above caught her attention, and was met with the soft glow of a torch's fire. No sooner had the torch lit itself did others begin to light themselves as well, spontaneously igniting one after another down towards the dimly lit abyss. The others soon joined Twilight's side, gazing down into the pit, as if staring into a great maw.
"Let's go," Twilight said after the moment passed, and cautiously trotted forward. Rarity and the others hesitated at first, but one by one they complied and soon all six friends had disappeared into the blackness. They suddenly stopped when they heard the grinding of stone, and upon looking back they saw the slit of outside light grow thinner, then vanish, as the statue moved back to it's original position.
"Guess there's no going back now," Rarity said nervously before following Twilight again, who decided to keep moving. "H-Hey, wait for me!"
Luna started to awaken, though she was anything but comfortable. She was exhausted, her body ached, and was bruised fairly well across the left of her body and her flanks. Her wings were in no better shape, she would guess that they were bruised all over they hurt so bad. As she regained her senses, she tried to piece together the last moments in her memory. She was fighting Chrysalis, that much she can remember, but happened during the fight? Or after, for that matter?
"Looks like she's awake, your Majesty," Chrysalis cooed.
Unfortunately she wouldn't have the time to contemplate. Luna instinctively attempted to quickly get up, but was stopped by two things; the wrack of pain that shot through her sore body and the chains that rattled soundly as they stopped her and held her down to the ground, thankfully by the underside of her belly and not by any of the bruised portions of her body. Grunting in pain she relinquished her attempts, and opted to quickly look around herself. Judging by the amount of metal rings that were wrapped around and tethered to her, it was clear they wanted to make sure she was secured. This notion was pushed further when she traced four links up to her neck, with all of them attached to a thick, heavy metal ring that was more than snug around the lunar princess's neck. The cursed restraint chafed terribly, but it was something she had to ignore, needed to ignore, for there were much more pressing matters at the moment.
Quickly glancing forward, her vision went in and out of focus before a clear image came to her. Sitting on the throne -her sister's throne- was the Usurper King, Zant, with Chrysalis at his feet, like some tamed exotic pet. She was smirking devilishly at Luna, no doubt from the swell of pride she developed when she dragged her limp body to the throne room after her defeat. Luna's look of inquisitive worry shifted quickly to that of rage, and an anger that would rival the burning heat of her dear sister's sun. She was so fixated on the pompous queen and the biped -no, Zant was no longer fit to have that term. He was a demon, a monster that needed to be crushed- that she had yet not taken notice to her sister's frozen state behind and to the left of them.
After what felt like an eternal stare-down between him and her, Zant turned to Chrysalis and, by some divine prank or sick joke, gently stroked a twisted, gnarled finger up her slender neck to her chin, causing her to purr in delight, and nearly forcing Luna to vomit whatever she had in her stomach.
"Indeed she is, my Queen," Zant said. He then turned his attention back to Luna. "I commend you for evading capture for as long as you did, given the extensive search Chrysalis's Changelings had undergone," He rose to his feet as he spoke, then started taking slow, menacing steps towards her. "But this little game of hide-and-seek is over. And you've lost."
Luna never broke her sharp glare towards the demon, even as he came about a foot away from her before he stopped. Undaunted by her colder-than-ice, dead stare, he slowly began to raise his right arm, the long sleeve pulled back slightly enough for Luna to notice his hand half clutched. It was the last thing she consciously noticed before she felt her body being lifted against her will in his demonic grasp, and soon the all too familiar pain she had felt from before struck her like lightning and lingered like a curse. Luna cried out in agony, writhing in immeasurable pain as her bruised and beaten body was forcibly constrained against the unrelenting chains as she cursed Zant out in ancient tongue known only to her and Celestia. Despite the savage sight in front of her, Chrysalis couldn't help but notice her cheeks growing warm at the sight of Luna's agony, loving every cry, grunt, and groan she let out as she struggled to break Zant's hold on her. For the Changeling Queen, it was a slice of heaven.
Zant held Luna like this for another second or so before softening his hold, but not relinquishing it, much to Chrysalis's distain, as he leaned in closer to Luna. "Where did you send them?" he demanded. When he received no verbal answer, gaining only a look of pure rage, he tightened his grip, and once again sending Luna into a literal world of hurt. Luna continued to cry and wail from her pain, and though she would not dare speak of it now of all times, she silently prayed that she'd faint from the pain already. As quickly as it had started, it all stopped, with Chrysalis's "Awww"ing from the background once she went quiet again.
"Where. Did. You. Send. Them?" Zant demanded again, his tone expressing his quickly shrinking patience with the stubborn alicorn. And then out of the blue, he was met with a soft chuckle, followed by a smug grin.
"You...will never find them," Luna managed to say, "We have...lived for so long... Torture us all you wish...the pain means nothing...now that we are content...that our friends...are free." And with that bold statement came yet another, one that no princess would ever be caught doing. She spat at his feet in defiance before continuing. "And they will...defeat you...!"
Luna had mentally braced herself for whatever Zant would throw her way, but as the silence continued to linger, that little sense of proud defiance was quickly swaying to fear. He wasn't doing anything, simply locked in a staring contest with her, and it was sending chills through her with each passing second.
Zant was lost in his own thoughts, completely taken back by what had just transpired before him. Despite her humiliating defeat, her savage beatings, and the torment he had personally instilled, she had remained defiant and arrogant while in his face. And that cocky grin. That single, simple arrogant smirk on her face. It had reminded him of just one other who showed such daring to him...
Zant released his hold on Luna, which was followed by the rattling of loose and lax chains succumbing to gravity. Luna took this moment to breath, both physically and mentally, until her attention was grabbed by the sound of stone grinding against stone. As she looked up, her eyes went wide as her pupils shrank to pinpricks at the sight of the weapons in Zant's hands. They were in a shape that she was not familiar with, long and curved, with a circular cut near the tip on the blunt side of the blade, and was half-covered in teal and red square pixels from the tip downward to the halfway mark, the rest of the weapons being black.
Zant raised the scimitar in his left hand, holding high above him. Princess Luna reminded him too much of her for his liking, and try as he might, it bothered and irritated him to the very core of his being. "Then you shall die with that content," Zant said coldly. Luna cringed before she heard the blade come down as it cut the very air, closing her eyes tightly as her mind began to go dark for whatever anticipation that would be her afterlife.
"Stop!" Chrysalis shouted, followed by the sound of thick metal piercing stone. Luna shook violently, refusing to pry her eyes open in fear for what sights await her. Mustering what strength she could, she peeked through her left eye, and saw the blade that was meant to cleave through her was near inches away from the front of her muzzle. It only took a moment before her eyes shot open, the reality that she was still alive humbly sinking in. Luna was panting and sweating heavily now, the horror-driven adrenaline slowly wearing off, as she helplessly stared at the sword that was partially embedded into the marble floor. Quickly remembering why she was still alive, she quickly darted her gaze to the Changeling queen, who looked as though she were pondering something, coincidentally at the exact same time as Zant was also looking her way.
"Surely, your Majesty, wouldn't be so merciful as to simply end her life?" Chrysalis grinned as she got up and approached Luna. She forced her gaze up at her by moving her chin with her hoof. "I believe little Lulu might actually be useful to us, given the proper...motivation."
Luna's subsiding fear quickly boiled over into to the familiar rage towards Chrysalis as she glared at her, this time with a passion. No pony -and she means NO PONY- other than Celestia ever, ever, calls her Lulu! Their heated staring contest was broken when the sound of double doors openeing behind her, followed by an incandescent buzzing noise, causing Chrysalis to look up and over her, a large, toothy grin stretching across her black face.
"Ah, I see that you've found them," Chrysalis said, "Bring them here."
Luna silently pondered what, exactly, was found, and who she was talking to. She didn't have to ponder for very long on the latter, for two Changeling drones came circling in front of her and Chrysalis, and they appeared to have something wrapped in fabric in their clutches. Whatever the objects were, the drones quickly dropped them, almost tossing them to the ground, as if they wanted nothing to do with them. The two objects in question rang with a clank as they hit the ground, signifying that whatever they were, they were metallic in nature. The two drones then quickly scurried off, and Luna's curiosity only grew as to what it is that Chrysalis had her minions fetch for her that would scare them so bad.
Chrysalis saw the wonder on Luna's face, and her grin continued to curl as she played out the scene in her mind when she saw what she had sought. She turned her gaze to the sheeted objects, and with a flex of her unhindered magic dramatically pulled the sheets off, revealing them. They appeared to be a broken pair of icy blue armor, the helmet cracked from the front and trailed back and just beyond a small hole, intended for a unicorn's horn to protrude, both pieces dented but shimmered in a powdery white and bright blue. On the other piece, which appeared to be a breastplate of sorts, had an image of a crescent moon adorned in the center, in an even lighter shade of icy blue. Despite their elegant craftsmanship, the two damaged pieces of armor exuded an aura of ill will and malice, which explains why the two drones were so keen to part with them.
Luna gasped as her eyes widened and her pupils shrank once more, her heart nearly giving out from the sight of the familiar broken armor. Her broken armor. "No," She muttered.
"What is this?" Zant scoffed as he pulled his half-buried blade out of the marble floor, Luna completely tuning out him and Chrysalis, "You bring broken armor and dare drop it at my feet?"
"Oh, it's not just any old armor," Chrysalis said, using her magic to levitate the helmet closer to her, vainly eyeing her reflection in it. "You see, Princess Luna has quite the dark history. A thousand years ago, she and Celestia had a little fight, and Luna became the evil embodiment of the night known as Nightmare Moon. She was banished to the moon by her dear sister shortly after, and it wasn't until some time ago did she break free from her imprisonment, only to be stopped by those wretched Elements of Harmony."
Chrysalis casually looked over her shoulder, and saw the blank, terror-stricken face Luna wore as her gaze was fixed on the other piece of the cursed armor, and she reveled in her displeasure.
"But it seems that even after being set free from Nightmare Moon's influence, poor Lulu was still seen as the monster she once was by many of her subjects for a long time." Chrysalis continued, "If I recall, I think it was only after Twilight and her friends helped her did she finally become accepted as the Princess of the Night." She then turned around to fully face Luna, and came in closer and spoke softer, enough to taunt her but loud enough where the conversation could still be heard between the three. "But that isn't the whole story, is it?"
Luna quickly looked to Chrysalis, then to the floating helmet piece still within her green magical grasp. "Please, don't do this," Luna pleaded softly.
Chrysalis continued, despite Luna's soft plead. "While Nightmare Moon may be defeated, she was never, truly gone, now was she, Lulu?" she purred. For her, the look on Luna's face was nearly priceless. She was scared, broken, and wanted nothing to do with her former other half to the point that she was nearly in tears. Seeing that she's had her fun, Chrysalis turned back to Zant and back to a serious but sinister disposition.
"While Nightmare Moon was defeated, her dark magic, as well as parts of her soul, still reside in the armor she wore," Chrysalis said, then raised the helmet piece up to Zant, "This armor. And I'm sure she'll want nothing more than to return and exact her revenge." She slowly and ominously shifted her gaze back to Luna as she said this, who flinched back in horror at Chrysalis's worded intentions.
Luna, quickly realizing what Chrysalis intends to do with her, began to thrash and struggle in her metal bounds, ignoring all pain for the sake of escaping her doomed fate.
"You would not dare!" Luna shouted over the rattlings of her chains, "We will not go back! We cannot return to the cold darkness, to the bitter loneliness!"
"Such a racket," Zant groaned, comically throwing his arms agaisnt his head to muffle the rattling. Luna suddenly felt the chains that bound her become incredibly heavy, subsequently ending her struggle and pushing her to the ground. Despite the restrictions, she continued to fight by trying stand, but to no avail. She barely had the strength to lift her head, the thick metal collar around her neck nearly three times heavier than before, and to be made witness as Chrysalis approached slowly with Nightmare Moon's helmet and breast plate in her magical grasp. Luna struggled to pull her head away, the only thing she could do at this point, but it did little to help her.
"See you on the flip-side, Lulu~" Chrysalis cooed, and she brought the two cursed armor pieces closer to Luna, quickly slipping them on one piece at a time.
"NOO!" Luna screamed as she struggled with all her might, until the cold, broken metal touched her coat.
Then everything went an all too familiar black.
Twilight and the others continued to wind and turn their way down the hidden pathway, the soft dancing of the flames of the torches providing any sense of depth having been further dimmed by the pervasive veil of Zant's shadow magic that seems to persist anywhere and everywhere, even through thick mountainside rock.
"Just much further do we have to go?" Rarity complained weakly, "It feels like we've been walking downward for ages."
"We are going through a mountain, Rarity," Twilight answered, a bit of distaste in her words. "And besides, it's only been eighteen minutes and thirty-five seconds."
"Has it really only been that long?" Rarity asked, a bit stunned at her friend's claim. It was something that she didn't push, though, knowing never to question Twilight's intellectuality. That was reserved for Rainbow Dash.
"You've been keeping track of time?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"It's not all that hard to do, really." Twilight replied. And in fact it wasn't. Ever since they crossed the threshold, Twilight has been silently and mentally counting to break the boredom and the ever present silence with the exception of their own hooves on stone steps. When Rarity asked, she had already reached an exact tally of one-thousand, one-hundred and fifteen. And with some simple division and conversion, she easily came to her answer.
"And if my calculations are correct, given the geographic position we were at in the Palace, coupled by the height where Canterlot rests on the mountain face and our current pace-"
"Just get to the point, Egghead!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Sorry," Twilight said, feeling her cheeks grow warm. It was one thing to enjoy mathematics to keep the mind busy, but it's another to get a little overexcited while giving a thorough explanation. She cleared her throat before continuing. "Anyway, if we keep up this pace, we should be coming to some kind of exit within the next twenty minutes or so. Granted we stay in a straight flight and all these twists and turns stop."
"Thank you," Rainbow Dash said, letting out a sigh. Twilight playfully and secretly rolled her eyes at her friend's exasperation as she grew a weak smile and continued her mental counting, not that she had ever actually stopped. Another quick set of algorithms and she placed their current time at almost twenty-one minutes.
For the next several minutes the group's trek through the narrow corridors went by in relative silence. But for Rainbow, it felt like an eternity, and it was driving her beyond crazy for several reasons. The obvious is that she was a pegasus, and a proud one at that, and this narrow, winding tunnel was the polar opposite of what she was used to, which was a wide, open sky for her to speed and fly in. Though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, being where she was was giving her some serious claustrophobia, bad enough to the point where she was grinding her teeth in anxiety and irritability. The other thing that was gnawing at her was the deafening silence that was hanging over them. At this point she was even willing to have Pinkie break out in some random song right here and now if it meant breaking the silence. But the pretty pink mare did nothing of the sorts, she simply bounced and smiled in her own little world while they went along. And that was the third most annoying thing to Rainbow, Pinkie Pie's near-oblivious optimism. Despite all the traumatic events that they were forced to witness, she still carried on like there was a party going to happen any minute, and it ticked Rainbow off to no end. But she knew she couldn't tell that to Pinkie, lest she deflate her and add more woe to an already glum air that surrounded them.
When Twilight reached her thirty-six minute count, her ears pricked up when she heard something in the air, stopping accordingly. The others were either too tired or, in Rainbow's and Pinkie's case, distracted to notice her, and soon one bumped into another until they all fell over each other like a stack of dominos.
"Hey, what gives? Why'd ya stop?" Applejack asked, getting several confirming "Yeahs" of agreement from the others.
"Shush," Twilight said, "Listen." After a few silent seconds, she spoke again. "Do you hear that?"
Ever pony went silent as they all pricked their ears up as well. A few seconds passed and nothing could be heard, but before they could protest, something came in. It was feint, but it was a soft, whistling sound that everyone could hear, one that the cyan pegasus was all too familiar with, and she lit up brighter than all of the torches they had passed combined.
"That sounds like wind," Fluttershy whispered. She gave a small, happy gasp as she lit up as well, but not as much as Rainbow did. "That means there's an opening ahead!"
"Outta the way!" Rainbow Dash shouted, effectively jumping over the pile of ponies and making a mad dash towards the source of the sound.
"Rainbow Dash, wait!" Twilight shouted, but was completely ignored. She groaned before picking herself up, her friends doing the same thing, with Rarity taking extra care to brush the dust off her pearly coat. "C'mon, we can't let her get too far ahead."
With that, she and the others broke into a gallop down the lonely tunnel. What would've taken them another five minutes they managed to complete in two, as they saw a dim light shining up ahead, as well as the sound and smell of a cross breeze filling the tunnel. As they made their way through the opening, they had to close and shield their eyes as they adjusted to the new abundance of light, despite the dimness of perpetual dusk. When their sight returned, Twilight and the others couldn't help but crack smiles as they witnessed Rainbow Dash jump and cheer and laugh while taking turns rolling in the soft grass like a filly on the first day of summer vacation.
"Grass!" Rainbow exasperated as she rolled around, then shoved her muzzle into the ground, inhaling deeply, "Oh, sweet, sweet grass! I'll never take you for granted again!"
Twilight continued to watch Rainbow for a few moments longer before turning her gaze back behind her and upward, towards the face of the mountain. From where they stood, Canterlot could be seen, though only in silhouette, and Twilight's thoughts returned to the last moments of being with Luna. Meanwhile, the others had taken the moment to look around in general, and were met with a shocking and depressing sight. The once vibrant, colorful hills and glens that patched the land and the beautiful blue sky were horridly tinted in the same, dusk-like amber that seems to coat everything and everywhere. They also noticed the lack of white clouds, now only hazy black blotches that broke up the perpetual gleam of twilight. Their attentions were soon brought back when she and the others heard a growl, and immediately almost everyone went on edge.
"Wh-What was that?" Fluttershy said nervously. The growling noise was heard once more, this time they had a direction, and soon everyone turned to face whatever caused the noise. To their surprise, all they saw was Rainbow Dash, blushing nearly bright red as another growl came from her stomach.
"Hehe, sorry," Rainbow said as she rubbed the back of her head, "Must be hungrier than I thought."
Everyone but Fluttershy groaned at Rainbow Dash before plopping onto the grassy earth, then one by one slowly broke out in a group laughing session, uplifting their spirits, something that was dearly needed. After their laughing fit, everyone calmed down and collected themselves, refocusing on the task at hand.
"I don't suppose anyone else besides Rainbow Dash is willing to take a little detour through Ponyville?" Rarity said after a moment of calm.
"Well, it would be nice," Applejack said, tapping her chin as she thought, "We could load up on some supplies while we're there. Catcha bite tuh eat."
Twilight's first impression was to full-heartedly agree with her friends' idea. After all, they were imprisoned for three days, and Spike and the Crusaders must've been worried sick about them. Celestia knows she is about her Number One Assistant, and no doubt Applejack and Rarity were just as concerned for the well-being of their younger sisters. But the more she thought about it, a thought crossed her mind that made her smile fade, and fade quickly, and it didn't go unnoticed by her friends.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, bringing Twilight back, "What's wrong?"
After a moment's pause, she looked to her friends, and all of them had genuine looks of concern on their faces.
"Well, I'm just as eager as all of you go back to Ponyville," Twilight said, "But I just don't think it's safe to go back to Ponyville just yet."
"Not safe?" Rainbow asked with a raised left brow. "Not safe how?"
"Chrysalis," Twilight answered, effectively terminating Rainbow's dissatisfied look. "It's not that much of a stretch to believe that if she's here, then so are her Changelings. They could be in Ponyville as well, and we'd have no way of telling who from who. We'd be walking into a possible trap." She paused as she let her message sink in with her friends, and one by one they looked at their hooves, as if sadly beaten. "I'm so sorry, everpony. But until we find the Ancient Grove and the Blade of Evil's Bane, -"
"It's alright, sugarcube," Applejack said, cutting Twilight off, "If anythin', we should be apologizin' tuh you. We just got all worked up, finally bein' out uh the dungeons and hopin' to see our friends an' family again."
"Yeah," Rainbow said, giving a smug but playful grin "Unlike somepony, we didn't sleep through the entire thing. We're just restless is all."
"But you can't really blame us," Rarity added, "We just want to make sure that our loved ones are safe as well as you do, of course. But, you do have a point, dear. Unless we find this weapon, they'll be in danger regardless if we're there for them or not. So, the sooner we find it, the sooner we can make our way back."
Twilight paused as she smiled warmly, then nodded in agreement.
"To the EverFree!" Pinkie shouted as she stood at attention, pointing to said forest. She readied herself like a racer at the mark, with all the intensity to match, then, as if the voice in her random brain shouted "Go!", she sprung into action. But instead of a full on sprint, she pulled a one-eighty and simply bounced in her normal, carefree way as she went. This brought out smiles among her friends, and soon Twilight was at her side, and the others were trailing behind her. Twilight paused before she took one last look behind her, not towards the mountain or Canterlot, but to the small town of Ponyville that rested to the southwest.
"Just wait a little longer, Spike," Twilight muttered to herself, "I'll come back soon."
And with that, she turned back and rejoined her friends, taking up the lead and having to remind Pinkie that she was the only one who knew where the stone was. As Pinkie fell back, Twilight then turned to the EverFree Forest and tried to remember and focus on the details that played out in her vision. The way she remembered it, they weren't going to take the beaten road that they had used when they went in search of the Elements of Harmony, then time and time again when they visited their zebra friend, Zecora. Instead, there was going to be a small clearing a good distance to the north of that road that they will have to fight through, then trudge their way through some thick underbrush.
Her thoughts, as well as their short trek, were immediately interrupted when a thundering crack rang through the air like a thousand thunderstorms, and was followed by a violent earthquake that shook the earth with an unheard of violence. Twilight and the others all quickly fell flat to the ground as the earth shook, and had to cover their ears as several more deafening cracks rang through the air. The ground gave one last violent shake before it was all over, and after several moments everyone got back to their hooves, still shaking from the sudden upheaval.
"Now wha' in tarnation was that all about?!" Applejack shouted, partly out of from being suddenly shaken, scared, and partially deafened by the loud thundering cracks.
She looked to Twilight, and her face was that of one who had witnessed the ending of the world at whatever it was that was behind her. Her jaw hung as low as it could, her ears were bent back, and her eyes were wider than the farm pony's biggest dinner plates, which is saying something. The only other time she had seen Twilight with such a look was during her big brother's wedding, when she was trying to convince her and the others that the fake Cadence was actually Queen Chrysalis, but went unheeded and was even scolded by Princess Celestia for it. Curious, as well as a little hesitant, she slowly turned to see what exactly Twilight was looking at, and gasped as loudly as her lungs would allow her, the others doing so one by one.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash had rubbed their eyes every so often to make sure their eyes were working right. And with every attempt of denial of the sight before them, the harsh reality sunk in ever deeper for them and the others. The entirety of Canterlot -the Palace, the city, EVERYTHING- looked as though it was pried right out of the mountain side. Suspending itself and dozens of hill-sized boulders and debris that floated between itself and where it once rested as if time itself had stopped, the now floating city was slowly drifting away from the mountain side, ultimately stopping after removing itself hundreds of feet away from it's original resting place. The Palace where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were now trapped in was physically out of reach for Twilight and the others now.
After what seemed like hours, when in reality was only several long minutes, the initial shock that wracked the little ponies's minds was starting to wear out. One by one, they fell their flanks, unable to comprehend words to speak within their own heads. After some time passed, Twilight became the first to compose herself as she got up, her demeanor stern and determined.
"Let's go, girls," Twilight said flatly. The others looked to her, still in shock, as she turned her back to them, facing the EverFree Forest. "We can't go back now. Only forward." With that said, she made her way towards the EverFree, her friends joining her one by one as their shock subsided, replaced with concern for their friend.
Twilight continually scanned the edge of the forest, remembering the landmark that would signify where they had to go. After almost an hour of prowling against the border, she saw it; two trees that were bent and curved in the shape of a double arch, with two, large stones near the bases of each tree. Twilight dashed over to the small opening, studying everything to confirm it.
"This is it," Twilight said, turning to look to the others, "Once we go in, we'll have to stay close together. No doubt we'll get lost easily if we separate for even a moment."
"We have to go through there?" Rarity asked, "B-But what about the path we normally take to visit Zecora?"
"If we take that route, it'll take us twice as long to get through," Twilight explained, "Besides, we're going to have to go through thick underbrush to get to the stone anyway."
"Don' tell me y'all afraid uh gettin' yer mane dirty, are ya?" Applejack teased as she elbowed Rarity.
"What, moi?" Rarity exclaimed, her overdramatic tone giving her lie away. "Well of course not!"
"Then ya better suck it up, sugarcube," Applejack said, " 'Cause I gotta feelin' we're gonna have a long walk ahead of us."
Twilight rolled her eyes, but knew that Applejack was right about that part. Turning back to the small opening of the EverFree, she replayed the vision in her head over and over again, until she felt as though she knew the path they had to take by heart. She took in a long and deep breath, released it, then marched forward through the thick foliage. Applejack followed right behind her, followed by Fluttershy, then Pinkie. Rarity moaned a bit in displeasure before joining behind Pinkie and being followed by Rainbow Dash as they entered the even darker EverFree Forest, quickly vanishing from view.
