"Ugh!" shuddered Rarity as they approached the shadowy forest neighboring Ponyville. "I thought we didn't have to come back here anymore!"
"Obviously not, Rarity," Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Too bad none of you Bat ponies know exactly where your own palace is, or we would've been there already."
Echo suddenly tensed, her ear twitching. "I hear somepony in there," she breathed. "Somepony calling for help." Nocturne and Requiem both nodded, indicating that they were hearing the same thing.
"Uh-oh," Twilight winced. "Only one pony we know lives in the Everfree Forest. Or, rather, a zebra."
"Zecora," stated everyone except the Bat ponies and little Changeling. Dragonfly had already given the news to his sisters that the message was sent, and was currently with the group.
"Since this Zecora sounds like a friend of yours, we should probably go help her," Echo suggested. Twilight and her friends nodded in agreement, and the group galloped into the shadows. Not far from the large wooden house in the forest, Zecora, covered in Changeling slime that coated her hooves and stretched over her back, was glued to the ground. She was struggling against the green goop, but couldn't get free.
"Friends, you've all come to my aid, to save me from what Chrysalis made," the zebra sighed in relief at Twilight and friends. "When I saw her, I ran to tell, but Chrysalis used her sticky spell." She eyed the Bat ponies and red Changeling. "You, little Changeling, must be a friend; I hope that you, I did not offend."
"No offense taken," Dragonfly waved off, inspecting the slime. He used his power to get rid of the slimy coat over Zecora. Twilight did away with the slime on the zebra mare's hooves.
"So what brings you to Everfree, with a Changeling and those Bat ponies?" Zecora asked curiously.
"We came to find the location of the old Bat Palace," Echo explained.
"I know not where this Bat Palace could be, but I thank you for finding and rescuing me," the zebra mare bowed before heading back inside her home.
"Let's keep trying," Twilight sighed. "We can check out the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. There might be a clue to finding the Bat Palace somewhere in the ruins."
"You sure we can find the Bat Palace with something here, Twilight?" Echo asked skeptically as they entered the decayed castle.
"Positive," the purple alicorn replied with determination.
"I hope we don't have to deal with anything creepy-crawly," Rarity remarked, tiptoeing around a spider on the carpeted floor while trying extra hard not to panic.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "The place has been abandoned for years, Rarity. Odds are, there will be critters around here."
"I wouldn't mind meeting a little creature," Fluttershy commented.
"The Lunar Wing of the castle is the best place to start looking," Requiem stated.
"The Lunar Wing houses every secret of every nocturnal race, including Bat ponies," Nocturne explained.
"Well then, let's start digging," Starlight suggested cheerfully, heading for the corridor decorated with torn, dark blue banners.
The group split up and started searching the hallway for clues about where the Bat Palace might be. The fliers searched the high walls, windows, and even the ceiling, all accented by patches of ivy and spiderwebs. Echo appeared to have already gotten control of her wings, far sooner than Twilight. Then again, she's always had her wings; she just never knew it until now.
Echo descended to the floor, disappointed that there was no clues about the Bat Palace. Once her hooves touched the floor, a tile sunk a few inches under her hoof. Without warning, a huge trapdoor opened under her; she fell into it with a scream. The trapdoor closed the moment she fell through, and several frightened screams sounded off from above.
"Are you alright, Princess Echo?" Nocturne's voice asked from above.
Echo stood up and shook the dust off herself. "I'm fine!" she shouted. She looked around at the carpeted room she fell into, scattered with pillows. "I just fell through some sort of trapdoor!"
"I remember that happening to me and Fluttershy once," mused Rarity's voice. "Those trapdoors are seemingly all over the castle. I had to stick my horn into a hole in the wall to get us both out."
Echo suddenly spotted a piece of paper under one of the pillows. She moved the faded pillow aside to find a parchment page with writing all over it. Not far away was the hole Rarity was talking about. Echo cautiously inserted her horn into the hole, letting magic flow through it. In mere seconds, the wall opened out into a hallway in response. Removing her horn from the wall, Echo picked up the paper with her magic and went into the hallway. Slightly unnerved by the corridor lined with suits of armor, Echo closed the wall/door behind her and headed for the staircase that was nearby.
"There you are!" Starlight exclaimed as the Bat Princess flew up the staircase.
"We forgot to tell you about the secrets in the castle's design; sorry," Twilight apologized.
Echo waved it off. "No worries; I'm fine. Plus, I found this," she added, showing them the piece of paper. Looking down at the writing, Echo read what was on the paper.
"We, the Princess of the Night, have been successful in rescuing the true Bat queen, Twilit Shadow, from a dreadful usurper King. Twilit Shadow returned to rule her race, known as the Bat ponies, in her true palace at the center of the forest Everfree, in which our castle stands at the border. As repayment for our aid, we have now been issued forth a platoon of Bat pony guards. Seeing as our sister has no use for creatures of the dark, we will hereby accept the gift to be our private nocturnal guard. The descendants of these guards will stand under my command under the cover of the starry night. May this proclamation remain preserved until the day of our eternal passing.
~ Princess Luna of the Night."