Custodian Sharpeye, one of the most loyal Custodians ever, and the chosen for Princess Celestia to guard the Element of Harmony Building, he was laying there, dead, he was a old pony yes, but why him of all ponys?, Stormy walked closer to him, still in shock from his dead, a memory of him allowing Stormy to enter the hallway when he was a little colt flashed to his mind as he took a sheet from the nearby closet, and proceeded to cover the corpse, he noticed he was holding something, he took it to see what he guarded with his life to protect so much, it was a badge, a Custodian Badge, that allows entrance to all areas of the Canterlot Archives. Stormy gently place it inside his saddle bags and cover the body finally
"Sharpeye… you where a dear friend… may you find happiness on the other side old buddy "
Stormy said a few words before he checked the room for something useful, besides the badge, the only thing there for him to use, was a apple, he took a look outside thanks to the hole, he could not be sure if he could reach the floor from there, he was in the 2F, also he was not a Pegasus to fly downwards, maybe if he had a rope?, so jumping will not work, Stormy got out of the Custodian room and returned to the hallway, he checked the other rooms, 2 of them where damaged, nothing to do there, he used the stairs to go down to the Floor 1F, in there, since the main passageway was more wide, he found a not so nice surprise, 2 Hopping Ponys, if one was already a problem, 2 will not be good sign, he run towards the exit door, but it was also broken, when he ran to another door, one of the Hopping Ponys manage to bite him in his back left hoof, he used his sword to quickly finish it off, leaving the other Hopping pony, as he entered the room, he checked the place, he could see carpets and curtains, must be the Storage, he checked the place, trying to find the darn key to the bridge controls, but all he could find was rotten apples and a horse shoe?, the levitated the horse shoe, it was unusually heavy, but as soon as he move it, a soft click was heard, like a door unlocked, he did not pay attention and exited the room, this time, he tried to be as silent as possible to avoid the hopping pony, but his previous wound left a hoofprints in which the monster jumped, Stormy dodged again, this time he used his sword in a trust, it didn't kill the monster in one shot, but was enough to make some distance, he entered another room that had a horse shoe in the doorknob, he tried to turn the doorknob, but it did not moved, he pushed it, and it did move, he entered the room before the creature could recover.
"I would love to know what in the hay is happening here, but first things first, I have to warn the princess, now, besides the other rooms I checked, this is where the damn key must be ", he said to himself as he checked the map once more.
He took a look at the area, the map reads as "Armory", as the name suggest, this is where both, Lunar and Solar Guards, store their armors before the shift starts, each section of the Castle has their own armory, he took a look at the Custodian Sharpeye old armor, nothing unusual there, but he found something odd, as he walked, some parts of the armors where on the floor, he manage to find the key but it was inside a little box for security purposes, it had a plate, it read
" Sun and Moon are part of the very big Cycle, Harmony, when the Sun Sleeps, we watch the Moon Rises, when the Moon withdraw, We Saw the Sunrise, shinning above the land, as for we are the Sun and Moon defenders "
The plate refers to both Lunar and Solar Guards, since Luna's return from her 1000 years exile, the security has gone more tighter, he looked next to the plate, there was a button there, he pushed and below the plate, a panel with a circular picture appeared, on the above half, a image of Princess Celestia with the Sun above her and the land full of ponys happy, but on the below half a Princess Luna, with her moon, and most of ponys asleep, except for the lunar guards, there was a little lever to turn the picture, either clockwise or in reverse, Stormy saw the riddle one more time
"ok… when Celestia sleeps, so does her guards, then Luna awakes, when Luna Sleeps, Celestia wakes up, so basically is… one half turn…" Said Stormy, as he moved the Celestia half until it was upside down and Luna Picture was above
" another half spin counterclockwise" Stormy did it, the picture of Celestia returned to the default place
" one full Cycle Clockwise, representing Harmony " Stormy moved the picture a complete turn
The Picture store itself on the wall again, and the circular picture came back again but with some Lunar and Solar Guards, while the Solar Guards are Awake, the Lunar Guards in the picture are asleep, the picture in the above part, was the awake Lunar Guards
"Ok this one I think it is, one counterclockwise half turn…. One clockwise half turn, forward clockwise half turn, and another clockwise half turn, let's hope the guard manual was not mistaken about this"
Stormy made the turns and a soft click was heard, the puzzle locked itself as the box opened, allowing Stormy to take the key, as soon as he put in his saddlebags, a loud crash was heard from behind him, he turned around, a armor has fallen, but nothing unusual, when he tried to push the door, another sound came from where he was, the armor was now moving, Stormy took his sword, but all he could see was the armor moving kind of irregular, it was crawling in a zig zag move, moving towards Stormy, he attacked the armor, removing the helmet and all he could see was a shadow, with no form, it had a blank expression on its face, the shadow tackled stormy with the armor shoulders, making him fall to the ground, losing his sword, the shadow jumped to him, the sharp parts of the armor, made difficult to punch it, the shadow was having Stormy on the ground, and took a little dagger, it started to stab him on the hooves, Stormy screamed as soon as the pain reached his brain, making him shake off the creature, he took his sword again, and swing it against the creature, the blade for his sword passed through it, he quickly exited the armory and returned to the hallway, the Hopping Pony was still there, he do not wanted to waste time, since his right hoof was bleeding , he made a slash with his sword, holding his sword with his magic, the hopping pony received the slash, stormy then used the stairs to get on the bridge controls on the 2F.
The Bridge controls where on the opposite direction of the custodian room, he used the key on the door, and the door open without a problem, he entered, the controls has power and it was ready to work, the bridge will connect to the Canterlot Archives Library 2F, he pushed the button and move the lever, a sound of a bridge moving was heard, there was a memo on the wall next to the controls, it was a drawing…Stormy froze as he looked the picture, it was the Iron Pony, it was a words written on them, it reads "Run Brother!, you can't fight him!"
"wait, did Mistshine write this, how did he do it?, he is not on Canterlot… is he?" he said.
He took a second loot at the drawing before placing them on his saddlebags,he exited the hallway and enter the Elements of Harmony Hallway, to his left was the only door leading towards the bridge, he did not lose any time and move forward passing the bridge, the door to the Library tower was locked, it has a little hole, Stormy took the badge from Custodian Sharpeye, the badge entered perfectly on the hole, opening the door, Stormy opened the door and took the badge with him, he could use it later, when the door closed, a click was heard, the sounds of the bridge withdrawing, he could not get back, he was inside the Canterlot Archives now.
He was in the passageway that leads to the Starswhirl the Bearded Wing, the passage way did not have many doors, most of them where broken, but there was able to see several books in bookshelves, he remember perfectly the Library, it was one of the most highest buildings in Canterlot, so big it had 5 floors, so he used the stairs on the second floor to go to the 3F, that's where the bridge controls for the Main Castle where, but as he checked the door and stepped inside, he felt something on his back again, there was the same creature from his dream, the Ceiling Filly, it laughed like a maniac, getting ready his front hooves with knifes to stab Stormy, this time, he was manage to shake it off, the creature quickly got up, ready to attack, his skeletal face was showing a smile, Stormy took his sword again and attacked the creature, for his surprise it was very resistant, since it manage to hold up more that one blow from the sword, the creature manage to stab Stormy in his chest, he could felt the cold steel inside his flesh, but it did not damage internal organs, Stormy attacked again until the creature was beheaded, he was breathing heavily, it seems he was way to careless and there was no bandages to wrap the wounds either, he looked at the controls, but they had a note
" a note?, here? " he levitated the note to read it
" due to technical difficulties, the bridge to the main castle is out of service, we apologize for the inconvenience " was written on the note
" oh great, now you are telling me, wait, there is something else here " said Stormy, paying more attention to the note "
"5465" it was written in blood on the other side
" mmmm, better took this note with me, could be something useful " he said as he placed the note inside his saddlebags
Although the wounds are not serious, he was starting to leave blood on the floor, he had to find something to heal himself, he searched on the rooms in the floor he was in, he did not had a map for Canterlot Archives, so he had to check room per room, he tend to avoid confrontations with creatures, but what is very strange is, the amount of creatures, one would think that the place will be filled with creatures waiting there ready to kill you, but the Archives where empty, even for a Library, that silence is excessive, he checked a room, that looked like a office, probably it was the Archives Director's Office, he searched the room for something of use, he checked the drawers, but nothing useful, just a tasty apple he took in his saddlebags, but he did manage to find a old pocket radio, it was still working it seems…
" A radio… but it looks so familiar " Stormy said as he picked up
A soft crack was heard from the window, Stormy looked at the window, but there was nothing, he was about to exit when the radio let out a loud static noise, the window broke and a creature tackled Stormy, making him fall to the ground, he looked, it was a Pegasus mare, but had a large robe covering all her body, also her wings where missing some feathers, but also looked like made of bones, and yet, the look on her face was angry, she had her front hooves missing flesh, you could see the bones, but she had a cutie mark, it was some bones snapping with a Scythe, the Skeletal Pegasus flew across the room, attacking Stormy, her back hooves did also not have any flesh at all, but in fact, they where only bones with a sharp end, that she used to attack while flying, Stormy draw his sword to cover her attack but the creature used her sharp back bones and give him a good buck, making him throw his sword, the creature, seeing Stormy without defense, attacked again, Stormy did not have any other weapon
"Gah!, come on, Think!, there is a reason why you are the only unicorn in Lunar Guard!" Said Stormy, nearly dodging the creature
Wait, he remember a spell!, a magic bullets spell, he was not sure if the magic blast was going to hurt the creature, but it was his last hope, the creature returned to attack again with it's back hooves, Stormy´s horn started to glow as he shoot a magic blast from it and hit the creature, she screamed in pain, the blast made it hit the wall very heavily, Stormy took his chance and finish the creature putting all his strength in his front hooves as he jumped towards the creature, the creature was no longer moving… he picked up his sword and moved towards the exit, as he placed one hoof on the doorknob the radio sounded again, the Skeletal pony raised up again, Stormy did not have time to react, the mare jumped again on him, making him impact the wall, she then stabbed the poor colt in his right hoof, where his previous wound was, preventing him to reach his sword, but what it was most strange is that the mare attitude changed, her angry look persisted, but she did not tried to bite him, she took Stormy sword with her front hooves instead!
"You…..must…..Pay….For…..Your…..Sins…" The Mare had problems talking, probably due to the lack of flesh in her throat
" Get…OFF! " Stormy demanded using another magic blast
The Skeletal pony reacted differently from before, she stepped back dodging the attack, but instead of attacking she took off, flying away from the room, taking Stormy sword with her, he now have no defense besides the magic bullets, " that mare ", Stormy thought, he had a funny feeling, almost if that creature reminded him of somepony he knew a long time ago… but he was not sure, he tried to stand up… but his wounds now started to make impossible to do that… he checked his body for damage…besides his right hoof that was making a horrible pain just trying to lift it, that had multiple stabs, his back was also damaged, probably one broken rib, He placed his left hoof on his back, the spine was fine, but the pain was focused on one rib as he was thinking, he tried to stand up, but his back legs where also badly damaged, he was loosing too much blood, his back hind hooves where also damaged due to bites.
"ahh….this pain….is too much to bear….Princess…. Forgive….me "his strength failed him as he said this words and collapsed on the floor from exaustion
Everything was started to fade to black, his eyes where starting to close, he could not believe it, his body was actually more fragile that he ever thought. He heard the door opening… he was afraid to open his eyes, and meeting another creature or worse… but… he heard some hoofsteps, his ears where still working, he heard that somepony left something, because a soft hit was heard, it was the object hitting the ground, then the door closed again, Stormy did not feel any other pain, besides the ones he already have, he open his eyes, to see what was the sound he heard, to his surprise was a full first aid kit, from the Canterlot Nursery.
"A First Aid Kit?, but this is only available at Canterlot Hospital, that is almost Next to the Royal Castle and the Princess Celestia School for Gifted Unicorns, who could have? " Stormy was questioning himself as he started to crawl to open the kit
The Kit had everything, bandages, suture kits, hemostatic medicine to stop bleeding, disinfectant, even morphine to do not feel pain for a while, it was like a medical care in one little box, sadly, it can only be used one time, but the most strange thing it was the fact, this kit appeared just in front of him when his wounds where too serious, also, this kind of kits are only available at the Canterlot Hospital, which is Inside the Main Castle Area, how did it get from there to here?, Stormy did not wasted any time, and with his remaining magic, he started to treat his wounds , the needle and thread used to close surgical wounds was already sterilized, as Stormy closed the wounds, a little blood manage to escape, but with the disinfectant and Styptic manage to stop the bleeding, the bandages covered his wounds, sealing them up, sadly, for broken bones there was nothing made of wood to help his broken bone to heal, he looked at the windows, there was some broken wood from the window frame, he took it with his magic and pressed them against him, then he wrap it up in another bandage, finally he was cured, still he have to be careful, it will take a few minutes to recover his magic, so meanwhile, he will try to avoid monsters encounters
"If this kit came from Canterlot Hospital, I guess I will need to take a look"
Stormy stood up again, he open the door and searched for the Stairs that took him to the remaining floors, on floor 4 and 5 there was nothing useful, just some creatures he preferred to avoid, he was still not fully recovered to examine the Archives to its fullest, but there was something strange, the radio was not emitting a sound, even though if the creatures where in front of him, his curiosity took the best from him, the 2 creatures was just standing there, as soon as Stormy touch them, they felt on the floor,
"What in the…" said himself as he checked the body "This creatures where killed a long ago, they have Sword marks, is somepony else here?"
He checked a room in the 4F, it had a numerical combination, "wait, a numerical combination, that's it!", almost immediately he took the note from before, and input the number written in blood, the lock on the door sounded as it unlocked, Stormy entered the room, seems it was a old book storage, when the books are needing to be reorganized, they send the old ones to this area, most of the books where dusty, what he was looking in there?, he tried to look for something that could help him enter the main area, as unusual as his current situation is, there should be something out of place, as a matter of fact, there was something out of place, a book was opened in the middle of the room, but the more strange thing, it that most of the pages where torn out, Stormy checked the book, it reads " Book of Ancient Song of Harmony ", only the cover and the 4 pages where good enough to be read, Stormy approached the book to read it's contents.
"For Anypony reading this book, the following pages contains several songs used to perform by royal request for both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, some of this songs are magical for themselves, and should not be attempted to usage in any circumstances, unless you have direct permission from both princesses " Said the warning on the first page that Stormy read
" Ok… so this are Ancient songs before Luna got banished, maybe this could be useful, if I can master all the songs in this book, there could be a change I can talk with the Princess Luna via magic song… let see.. "
Stormy checked the Table of Contents of that book, he was trying to find a song that could be used to communicate with Luna or Celestia, since Luna most of the time use and act as she was still 1000 ago, she should be able to answer the Ancient Song, he looked almost as his eyes where about to merge with the book
" Come on… Princess Lullaby, Minuet of Everfree, Oath of Harmony, Song of Refresh, Pegasus Storms, Earth Pony's Ballad, Serenade of the Seaponys…. uughhh, none of them are communication songs, also, most of the pages are missing, wait, there is a song on the next page " he said as he found was he was searching
"Winds of Friendship, a song used to communicate with somepony over long distances, wait, this is!, let's see, the song itself is not difficult, but is very loud, it will attract creatures… but I don't have other choice " Stormy said to himself as he was taking his ocarina from his saddle bags
It has been too long since he use it, but he still remembered how to play it, the book instructed on how to connect with the pony you want, you have to concentrate via magic, great, he was tired of using his magic non-stop, but he had to try at least, he concentrated his magic on his horn again, as he levitated the ocarina, and started to play it, following the notes on the book, the magic on the ocarina made it easier to play, but Stormy was only thinking of talking to the princess, he played the song fully, from head to toe, but… he did not get any answer
" Oh for Pete sake!, great source of help ancient book!, Dumb book! " Stormy raised his voice due to the lack of immediate answer
But after he ended, his ocarina, which it was still floating in mid air by Stormy magic, glowed with a Dark Sapphire Blue color, he recognized the color almost instantaneously, it was the Princess!, he picked up, no longer levitating it, as the glow faded and increased, indicating magic response
"HELLO?, ART THOU A PONY WHO KNOWS THE TRADICIONS OF EQUESTRIA?! " Said in her royal Canterlot voice the princess, if the song did not bring the monsters, she will
" Ouch!, my ears!, no princess, is not any ancient pony of any like that, is me Stormy Brave, one of your Guards "
" HUH? "the volume her voice lowered a bit to continue speaking " im sorry, when i heard one of the Ancient Songs, I had to answer, how is it that you know that song? " Luna asked
"By a book here in the Canterlot Archives, but most important princess, are you ok?, are you hurt?" Stormy asked the princess, worried about her safety
"Why the sudden question?, yes im fine… wait WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE MOON?!" Luna screamed loud
"Holy Celestia, Luna my ears!, what happened? " Stormy asked again
"Canterlot is covered by a fog, too dense to see anything, im trying to see the Archives from here, but is almost impossible, what can you tell me about this guard?" Luna was trying to find any answers
"im a little confused about that detail myself, but I can tell you this, there are creatures on the castle, very strange, and not precisely friendly ones, im coming to the Canterlot Castle for you, your highness " Stormy told Luna what he knew, hoping the Princess will provide him with some info about her room
" I can take care of myself guard, but my door is locked from the outside, and Im not going to fly from the window either, I can't even see the ground " Luna replied, her voice sounded a little worried but with confidence
" either way I will reach the main area princess, I would recommend blocking the window " Story said as his ocarina started to lose the connection
"why is that guard?" Luna asked a little confused
" Let's just say, that there is a flying creature with my sword that likes to break windows" Stormy replied to Luna, remembering the Skeletal Mare from before
The glow on the ocarina faded and Stormy could felt a little pain on his head, he was dizzy, the ocarina hit the ground as he tried to read the book, and what he found was something he overlooked on his rush to contact the princess, the book reads
" Final Warning, If this is your first time playing this songs, make sure you are in top shape, otherwise you will be unable to use magic for a full day, as the songs of this book take great amount of magic, remember, the more you practice, the less magic you will use in each song "
"Oh For Celestia´s Plot!, NOW are you telling me?" Stormy angrily took the book with his hooves and throw it against the wall
He could not believe it!, his only chance to defense was his magic, but now he cannot use it until tomorrow?!, he had to read that damn book, but either way, he manage to contact the princess, and knowing that she is alright is all that matters for a Lunar guard, he walked to the book, but this time he place it inside of his saddle bags. He walked to the door and open it, but the Radio started to emit a sound, the creatures where coming, the problem was, from where?, he had exhausted his magic with the song before, and the only room with light was where he took the Book, he could fight with his bare hooves? He could if he could see where his attacker was, he returned to the room where he took the book and Started to move a big bookshelf next to the door, he pushed blocking the exit, as he took a moment to breathe, a loud hit against the wooden door was heard, the monsters where trying to took the door down, there has to be a way out of there, he noticed one of the windows opened, he did not wanted to do that, jumping from the window, but the Radio still emitted a little static, indicating the creatures distances, he carefully looked outside, another crash on the door was heard, he could see that the window below was broken, what a coincidence, it was the room where he was attack by the Skeletal Mare, he carefully held himself in the edge of the window, trying to touch the 3F broken window with his back hooves, he could hear another bang indicating the creatures had entered the room, he let himself go closing his eyes, he felt as he went down to the 3F
Just in time he placed his hooves on the edge of the 3F window, and put all his strength to get himself inside the room, the remaining of the First Aid Kit where still there, but he could get to the Stairs on the Second Floor and then proceed to the main door, he quickly galloped full speed towards the exit, and moved to the stairs, he was careful enough like to go down the stairs quickly enough to get to the second floor, once there, he guided himself with the light that came from the Starswhirl the Bearded Wing, as he passed thought there, he noticed several scrolls on the Floor, he could check them yes, but he was still hearing a little Static coming from that room, better not take any chances, he continue to walk until he found the Lobby Door, a big door that leads towards the Lobby in the second room, from there you could go to the Main Reception And Main Wing in the First Floor, but the place was still dark, as Stormy was going down to the Reception, he noticed the Radio making more Static, he got scared, and galloped at the Main Entrance, he tried to open it, it won't budge even a inch, he was trapped, he tried searching with his hooves near the doorknob for a place where he could place the Custodian Badge, but the door did not had any slot for the badge, if was at if… it was magically looked, there was a lantern near the front desk, he took it to try to see something, it was a old oil lantern, with a little valve to increase or decrease the light, he was looking, holding the Lantern with his mouth, trying to find the creature responsible, all he could see was books, books everywhere, the static of the radio was starting to sound more and more closer, Stormy was slowly walking backwards, until he touched the wooden doors, he heard a sound of a Door unlocking, it was the door that lead to the Main Wing Reading Room, also… there was some voices there, he turn around to see where the voices came, they came from the front desk, but what he was not expecting, is that the one making the noise.
"Excuse me… the Lunar Guard manual?" Said a little voice of a young colt
" Yeah, is in the Reading Room, hold on a minute " said a mare that was attending the reception, a soft unlocking was heard " is open now "
" Thanks" Replied the little colt
" hey… shouldn't you see a Doctor for those? " said the mare referring to the little colt bloodstained clothes
" Oh This?, don't worry, it is already dried up " said the colt as he galloped to the reading room
"…" he could not talk due to the lantern in his mouth but he took it off for a second " it Can't be… can it?" Stormy questioned himself as the voices disappeared
It was Him!, him from his fillyhood, and the ghost mare, it was the receptionist at the time, why did the radio reacted from ghost?, could it be…. That was a memory… his memory, what in the hay was happening?, either way, he felt that he need to check the Reading Room, so he walked towards that room, it was a very wide room with several desk, most of them have the same time of lantern he was using, most of the books where old and dusty, others where so old that the words are illegible and turn impossible to read, he noticed his own ghost sitting in the farthest bench of the room, next to the window, but when he came closer, the ghost disappeared… he placed the lantern on the desk, and noticed there was a book that was already half way read, he read the words written in them
" And So the Laws written by the ancient guards are clear, the Lunar and Solar Guards will defend the princesses with their life, however, the guard should never look to the princess with Non-servant eyes, being in love with the princess you sworn to protect will be consider an act of betrayal having no other choice out of it that Death, as punishment for their sins " that was written on the book
" I remember this… when I was a little filly I always loved the moon more that the sun, I tried to join the Lunar Guards to meet the princess " Stormy smiled when he remember that " kind of selfish really, since my first day of work, all I could think was… "
Stormy could not finish his sentence, because as soon as he finished reading the book, a Siren at the distance sounded, the light outside started to dim, as the Night, or the Shadows in this case, took over the place, Stormy did not felt fear, since he was more that used to the night, but why the Princess was sending the Night right now?, he could not contact her to ask, he placed his hoof in complete confidence on the table, but he felt his hoof passing through the table, he look at the table, and it was shattering, no, not shattering, it was like if the whole place was changing to a twisted version of itself, the usual white and purple color of the walls was cracking and moving upwards, discovering that underneath the usual walls, a kind of yellowish and red paint was painted, the tables where replaced by metal fence tables, some of the wood for the chairs also was getting transformed, and the red carpet on the floor started to have holes in it, Stormy quickly picked up the lamp before the same effect happened on it, he saw the book slowly turning old, as is time itself on the place was accelerating, for once in his life… he was scared of the night, when the siren stopped, so did the transformation, the floor was very cracked, as if anypony hasn't lay a hoof in a long time, he walked slowly on the floor, hopping it will not break, in fact it did not, it was capable enough to bear with his height, there was nothing he could get in that room, so he exited and returned to the Reception, it was all twisted over, the bookshelves where on the floor and several old and illegible books where lying there, he tried to open the door again, but the doorknob felt, the Static sound started to appear again, he checked again, and he saw more Hopping Ponys coming at him, he prepared his hooves waiting them to come, with the lantern he could see it, the creature jumped towards Stormy, as he dodge one, another jumped to him, he used his back hooves to give it a good buck, but the other creature was able to bite his front hoof, he shake it off and started running towards the second room, he ignored the pain that each step made, due to the wound, but he did not had any other weapon, reaching the second floor doors, he noticed that it was damaged, he turned around to find a alternative exit, the static sound of the radio was getting stronger, the stairs being shaped like a big Y, made the hopping ponys able to slowly climb them, he checked the other door at the opposite end of where he was, that one opened well, he returned to the Hallway, but this time it was something different, the usual red carpet it had more holes and bloodstains in it, some of the torches where out or broken, and even the usual Moon and Sun Shield designs where busted, the walls had more doors, but there was one that caught Stormy attention, it was the Starswhirl the Bearded Wing Door, it was wide open, he got closer to the door, it was forced, he entered the wing, the Giant Sand clock was still working, and most of the scrolls there was intact, the radio did not emitted any sound, kind of a relief to him, since the main door is locked, he probably could find something there that could help him either recover his magic or exiting the Archives, he checked several scrolls, but most of them where illegible due to the old they where, perhaps if it was day he could read them?, there was some pages torn in the floor, that was kind of unusual, as he checked one of them, it reads " Song of Refresh ", Stormy stopped for a moment, reflecting about the content of that page
"Song of Refresh… wait, is this one of the pages of the book I picked up earlier?" he said as he placed the lantern on the floor
Stormy took out the book, and placed the page inside, in fact it was a page from that book, he took a more attention to the song description, it reads that it can recover serious wounds, but using it would cause a total magic usage, even for experts performers, if he used that song, being novice, there is a risk of never regaining his magic again, for now he will store the page on the book, as soon as he placed the book with the new page inside his saddle bags, he noticed something on the window behind the sand clock, he picked up his lantern to take a look, it seems there was a path that took outside the Canterlot Archives… it leads to the main street, he could get out from the window, if, he had a rope, he checked the wing again, but this time… the Radio started to emit a faint static, he froze in place as soon as the static happened… a metallic echo started to sound on the place…his face started to turn pale as the Static and the sound started to increase, he turned around, there was nothing in the dark, he started to move away from the static, into the sand clock, but that is when the Static was getting louder, he saw the entrance to the Starswhirl the Bearded Wing, and saw a big knife opening the door, Stormy fear grew more and more, as he saw a Big pony almost as big as Celestia, but with a Iron Mask and the giant knife, just as the one from his nightmare before, it was walking towards him, he never felt this kind of fear, and he had nothing to defend himself, the Iron Mask Pony came closer to him and raised his sword, Stormy mind told him to move, to run away, but he was frozen in place, the knife came downwards towards him, Stormy mind finally send orders to his legs to move, he dodge to a side but the knife cut part of the sand clock metal ornaments, he could not do anything to that kind of monster, he ran away towards the exit of that room, the iron mask pony was slowly following him, he opened the door, and pushed it back to place, the Iron Mask Pony just stood there, as if he was watching in silence, how the former Lunar guard was completely lost in his fear, Stormy ran toward the Stairs taking him to the Third Floor, but there was a Hopping pony already waiting for him, he used his front hooves this time to hit the creature, the creature jumped, but it received the blow, Stormy continue to hit the creature, his hooves where strong, but not enough to prevent the creature from getting up, he used a combo, 3 hits with his front hooves, then a good kick with his 2 back hooves, that let the creature on the floor, he had no idea where to run from the iron mask pony, but wait, there is one floor he had completely forgotten , the Fifth Floor, it was kind of the Attic for the place, he quickly found the Stairs taking to him there, he was glad he had the lantern with him, otherwise he would already have… no, he did not wanted to think in the worse, he still have to get out, the fact that the Iron Mask Pony is in Canterlot, the more he wanted to get out, when he reached the 5F, there was something strange there… the place looked exactly the same as the library Before the transformation…the red carpet was intact, the torches lit, so there was no need for the lantern lit, also the moon and sun shields are on the wall and in perfect shape, the floor itself only had 3 doors working, the other ones where either lying on the floor, or not opening at all, did he stepped into another dimension?, he took some steps backwards, returning to the 4F, and the 4F had the transformed aspect, he was not understanding what was happening, he opened the first door he had access to, it looked like a bathroom, there was a rusty steel pipe on the tub, he took some steps closer to the tub and picked up the pipe… it was 1 meter long, but enough resistant to use it against something, he place it on his back, where he used to keep his sword, he exited the bathroom and enter another room, it was a bedroom, nothing unusual there, just that he found a health drink, the same one as his previous dream, everything was turning far more that strange, why is a bedroom and a bathroom doing on the Canterlot Archives, and why is that floor the only normal one?, he checked the last door that it was working, it lead towards a big circular place, the center of the attic, where most of the books that are no longer available to public are placed on special bookshelves, but the whole attic only had one Table, it had a great view of Canterlot, just that right now, nothing could be seen since it was dark outside, the table had a open spell book and a tea, Stormy touched the tea cup, it was still warm, that was very unusual, the table itself had a Lantern lit and a little picture in it, Stormy took the picture, it was the receptionist, The Attic, it was her home, she was devoted to the Library from heart and soul, he looked at the book, it had something that caught Stormy eye, it was a architecture book, from the Canterlot Archives, even a map of it was attached to it, Stormy read the book
"In Cases of Extreme Emergency, the Starswhirl the Bearded Wing count with a secret passageway that leads to the basement, from there a Stairs leads towards the exit just below the window in the Wing, in order to activate it… "The book ended there, stormy checked the other page, and there was a riddle there
"The Path to salvation will open, when Time turn itself backwards "Said the riddle written in blood
" Wait… there letters, are in blood, the blood is old, maybe other book here can tell me how to recover my magic? " he thought for himself
He closed the book and checked the nearby bookshelf, most of the books where about history, there was a book with a page in it, used as a bookmark, he open the book where that page tells, it was a nutritional explanation of equestrian fruits, he found a apple before, and he still had it, he checked what it said, as he draw the apple from his saddlebag, there was information about Sweet Apple Acres and the different kinds of apples they harvest
"Sweet Apple Acres, the most principal income of Ponyville and Canterlot Apples Supply, besides Hay and the Daisy flowers, the apples consist one of the most fundamental part of a Pony diet, The Red Apple is one of the most common fruit in Equestria, but for unicorns it had some special effects, besides being nutritional and tasty, it helps in the recovery of injured unicorns which lost their magic capability, although is not much the quantity the sick unicorn recovers, is still enough to use the most basic spells, like Levitation or Illumination, As for the Green Apple, it recovers more amount of the sick unicorn magic, sadly, the Green Apple spoils too fast if it is stored in a closed space, like a bag, as for the legendary Zap Apples, being Magical, they recover to the fullest the Unicorns magic, and gives a little boost, unfortunately, the Zap apples are too rare and almost impossible to acquire before the Zap Apple Harvesting, also, are the quickest one to spoil if you store it on a bag for more that 30 minutes, Granny Smith recommends; don't waist time in picking it up if you are not going to eat it, that's why the Zap Apple Jam or Dishes had to be made almost right away when the apples are ready, once they are ready, there is no problem over time "
Stormy read to the fullest the book information, so in unicorns, it had Special effects if they are eaten, he never heard of that before, although he remember Pinkie Pie saying something to him about special meals had some effects, like the Mint Tea he always drink that calms the jitters and relax the mind, or that the Strawberry Cupcake grants her superultraawesome detective powers!...
But of course that last one was Pinkie Pie overactive imagination, Stormy took the apple and eat it… he was both relieved and surprised that he actually was eating something after all the scares, wounds and problems he had already experienced in this so called "nightmare ", he felt how his magic slowly regain a little amount, he tried a simple trick, levitating the book back to its place, the book was surrounded in his magical aura as it moved from the table to the bookshelf, the apple worked, he took a look on the paper used as bookmark, it was another page of the Songs book, it read "Brothers & Sister Duet" and it was actually a song that required 2 ponys to play, one playing the instrument and the other singing, his usual face turned into a extreme sad one, Brother and Sister duet, his eyes started to get filled with tears, tears he could not hold back any longer, First the nightmare where his Brother Mistshine would not remember him, the fact that he was all alone now in that limbo, and that Pinkie Pie, the pony he saw more as a Big Sister instead of a friend, Why, he keeps wondering, why did they left him alone in that place?, he was crying as far as his eyes where capable of producing tears, this was not a dream, he was much more awake, only one word could describe what where he was, he was in a living hell, once again, he was crying, due to the events of a living nightmare, only that this time, he was more than awake…
"Mistshine… Sunnybreeze, Little bro, Big Sister, where…. Where are you now that I need you the most?"
He continue to cry, letting out from his chest all his stored pain, the book on the table where the map was, started to absorb Stormy´s tears