The Light faded… the ground was very solid… but a quick gasp from the Princess made Stormy turn his head to the place he was inside…. From the outside, it looked ruined and destroyed…but from the inside….
"Is just when it was 1000 years ago…. " said Luna, shocked about the state of her castle
She was right, the bring walls, the curtains, tapestries and decorations… and even the element of harmony pedestal was up and clean, when it was supposed to be greenish and with leaves, they where concerned but also confused, Stormy tried to open the door, just to found the bridge collapsed, and the earth shattered, leaving them stuck inside, plus the door didn't move a inch when he pushed it, so, without any other exit, they must search the castle top to bottom, Mistshine is definitely here, at least that is what Stormy was thinking when he entered, as soon as he approached the main lobby, 4 different hallways welcome them, 2 of them with stairs leading towards the second floor of the castle…, and in the middle of all, a big staircase leading to what it seems, another section of the second floor, both ponies decided it was better to start the search in the throne room, but just as soon as they passed the Elements of Harmony pedestal, from the colt saddlebags, the Fluttershy doll, as if it was alive, came from out of the bag and ran towards the second hallway to the right, the one with the stairs, Stormy and Luna followed it… and they ended up in another hallway with 3 different paths, one had a picture of the Prime Minister of that era, the other one seems to connect to the Library, and one lead towards some rooms, seems they where the soldier rooms of that era
" why in the name of all apple sauce is that doll moving? " Stormy said when noticed the doll resting on one of the doors
" maybe you should ask your brother… " said Luna, pointing out a note on said door
On the door there was a drawing of a old piece of armor, attacking a drawing of Stormy and Luna, while the iron pony was behind them, Stormy stored the drawing and opened the door, just to find it was a replica of the room he used to had in what it seems. Canterlot Castle, before he moved towards his apartment, there was a Super Ponytendo, but most importantly, his insignia, that allowed him access to all areas of the castle, with exception of Princess Celestia Room, however… it was very old…
" My insignia? " he asked as he picked up
" that's a insignia used by the Night guards of 1000 years ago " Luna corrected the stallion
If that is true… then he must have gotten that insignia before… that is when he remembered… that room he was… was not in Canterlot Castle… it was in Everfree forest… when he and the princess looked to the door, they saw a Unicorn with torn clothes leaving a bag in the room, from the bag he took out a blanket and lay himself on the bed, his mask was torn from one side, allowing both of them to see the face of that colt… it was Stormy… with his face with a little blood on it
" I will sleep here tonight…. Luna… forgive me if I take your old castle " the ghost said, as he looked at the sky…
" T-that's me… "Stormy was in shock " when…. I fled from Manehatten" Stormy responded
Luna stood there thinking… if this stallion was living in the castle, how come that neither her when she returned as Nightmare Moon saw him, or other ponies? He could either be out of he was hidden?, or he was already living in Canterlot by the time?, when they exited the room, they noticed the doll was gone, and the radio bursting into static, the monsters where coming from the path to the library, the Restrain Figures where spiting acid towards both the princess and the colt, Stormy made a moondust shield while Luna shot a magical bullet towards the monsters, making them fall to the ground, Stormy used his moondust magic effectively and pulled up one of the monsters towards him for a powerful blow with his pipe, once the monsters where not moving, the princess asked his companion something.
"Stormy… the book of harmony… originally it was hidden here in the library "mentioned the princess, as both ponies where getting closer to said place
" I know… im the one that found it originally " Stormy said, with a mysterious look in his face
Luna was puzzled, what is happening to him?, all the way to the library he grew suddenly silent… only talking when there is something important, as if the happiness had died on him, once on the library, they could hear the sound of wings flapping…however… a faint sound of static was heard, Stormy and Luna tried the main door, leading towards the area, but the door was broken, both ponies reviewed the ancient library, there was another door on the second floor of the library, Luna Teleported there and tried to opened it… but it was closed with a key, Stormy sat on a chair, activating a secret passageway, that lead towards a single room, in it, there where 2 cushions and a chair very big for a royal pony, there was a book in the middle of a pedestal, Luna went down and saw that book… remembering a piece of her past
" this book…. It was my sister and my journal… it tells the making of this castle " Luna said…
" Tia Tia, let me write " a young voice was heard
" in a minute Luna… im writing first " a more grown up mare voice was heard
Stormy and Luna saw a ghost of now Luna's past, as Celestia was writing on the journal something… the ink in the desk was half empty, indicating she not only was writing, but also drawing something…
" although the hall of hooves is still creepy, the slide door trap is Luna's favorite "
" Yes it is!, come on is my turn " said the young princess, taking the journal with her magic " soon the Organ to the Outside will be finished, I can hardly wait " she wrote as the draw the organ
All the ghost disappeared, Luna was now fully aware of the meaning of both, her, and Stormy´s ghost… they are his past, is as it the castle itself where recreating the memories from their inhabitants, the journal was there… waiting for being read, Luna, a little nostalgic, opened It up
" is still just as we left it " she said
" but there is a new page princess " Stormy quickly corrected the princess
There was a extra page on the book, it was a huge map of the royal castle, containing all the areas accessible, but mysteriously, there was something else… Mistshine cutie mark on one of the towers, more precisely, the one with Lunar designs, Luna old room, with a now clear picture of where to go, both ponies decided to go to the Royal Bedrooms, however, Stormy noticed that there was a magical door in the secret room, but when he touched, it faded, it was another trap, and a plant that spit gas appeared, throwing gas to the colt, Stormy fainted due to the effects of the gas, everything went dark for a while.
When he woke up… he was alone… the castle lost the colors and to make matters worse… his saddlebags where gone, he was unarmed… and his magic didn't work, when he got up… he was still on the secret room, a little ghost was next to him, making Stormy jump, in appearance, it was just like him… but with white raincoat, Stormy followed the ghost, reaching to a more secluded part of the Library, he then noticed something, all the hallways and doors leading out of the Library where barricaded, it was not possible to exit, he ended up in a staircase to the second part of the library, the ghost when through it, Stormy examined the bookcase, he found several books are missing, if he wanted to find what that ghost wanted, he had to resolve the puzzle, he searched the second floor of the library, finding several copies of some books he remembered having read at least one, there was a copy of The Adventures of Spider-Colt, which seems out of place in that castle, a copy of Practical Guide for Magic Control, a Copy of Moonlight Magic Vol 2, Elementary Discharge for Novices and lastly a book only titled The Mask of Pony, he took the books and returned to the bookcase, he noticed that in the Bookcase was a book that couldn't be removed, Moonlight Magic Vol 1, this hinted the possibility of placing the books previously found in a specific order, he Placed the Vol 2 of the Moonlight Book next to the Vol 1, then the Practical Guide For Magic control in the third place, The Mask of Pony as forth, Elementary Discharge as fifth, and the Adventures of Spider Colt as last… a click was heard from the bookcase, and Stormy saw how the case split in have, opening towards the sides, revealing another secret room, that had only one pedestal in the middle, and 2 windows with stained glasses on them, however… there was a shape of a book there, a huge book with ornaments…as Stormy approached said pedestal.. .he noticed that the first stained glass reflected several winds instruments, pipes, flutes, ocarinas, instruments that a group of special ponies used to perfor in front of the princess, the second one… showed a flute, turning into a little harp… Stormy noticed both instruments are on a cycle, with the figure of a Alicorn behind him, and what it seems, 2 ponies facing a shadowy figure that was held by chains, he remembered something… according to the cover of the Book of Harmony Songs… there was a special song that used only a harp… maybe he can find that special song if he manage to recover his ocarina and turn it into a harp… he searched the room further… as a memory was coming to his mind…
"hold on… there room… those windows… the pedestal…. " Stormy Froze as he said to himself
"This is where I found the Book of Harmony in the First place… I remember now… this place… "
Just before he could end that sentence, he felt something falling on him; it was one of the monsters, the Plastic Mare, the one resembling Redhoof, why she was on there?, the creature was visible wounded… Stormy tried to shake her off, her hooves where choking him… as he struggled, he kicked the creature against a wall, making her fall to the ground, the strength made several books from the bookcase to fall on it, including a closed scroll with a solar cutie mark, when he exited the secret room, he noticed the pink ribbon he picked up from the university in Manehatten….on the floor, the creature was still behind him… but almost dead… her back hooves in fact, where no longer responding, and she was bleeding, leaving a blood trace as it moved towards the stallion, Stormy turned back and faced the monster… she tried to bit him when he was near her, but Stormy felt terrible in his heart… as if the monster where a link between Redhoof and the nightmare he is living in now. He approached even more to the monster, is if he was no longer afraid of this creature in particular, this allowed the monster to bit him on his hoof, where he was holding the ribbon… however…the taste of the ribbon, mixed with his blood made her stop completely… as if she remembered something, Stormy removed the monster eye bandages with careful, noticing that the monster no longer had her looks, as she had on the university, in fact, it didn't had her cyan eyes, it was worse, they where pitch black, just a tiny little dot of cyan could be noticed in one eye, while the other was in complete darkness… her tears where like a mixture of water and blood, and her expression, although rigid by the plastic of her face… showed a total remorse, as if she was going to burst into tears from the pain she is enduring now…
"Im sorry… im sorry I was not strong to protect you… " he said to the monster
"….." the monster didn't reply, it was frozen
Just if the monster was a homunculus of Redhoof, she couldn't move as long as Stormy held the pink ribbon, but then… it cried… her voice was noticeable in that aspect, as the colt left the room, to inspect the remaining of the library… a soft giggle could be heard from the secret room, Stormy returned to the first room, and tried to access the room where the Royal Sisters Journal was… a high pitched scream pierced towards his ears and went down his spine, the scream however, was familiar to his ears, even distorted, it came from the second room secret room, where the plastic mare was, Stormy worried ran towards said room, why he was getting worried about a monster?, he already knew it was not her close friend, but he couldn't explain it, when he got to the room again, he got splattered with blood, as he watched how the Skeletal Mare ended the Plastic Mare not with the sword, but with her scythe, the monster tried to extend her hoof towards Stormy…. Stormy screamed… screamed hard from the top of his lungs, lost in that memory limbo… for a simple reason… when Redhoof died originally, she was extending her hoof towards Young Stormy at that time, as a last plea for help, but also to advise him to hide…a last effort to protect him, to repay him for his kindness in his fillyhood, even at the cost of being burned alive and stabbed, and all Stormy could do was hold his head with his hoofs, cry and scream, his mind was getting tortured, the Skeletal mare, having Finished with her victim, lift her Scythe towards the broken colt, and strike it as fast as she could to him, the blade entered Stormy chest, making him scream and fall from the second floor, a crack was heard, and everything faded to black…
A few moments passed, he felt like it was a eternity, and a soft voice was calling him " Stormy… wake up….. Please!, wake up! " over and over again, he opened his eyes, just to find himself again on his old room, where he rested on the Everfree Forest, with Luna to her side
" oh thanks the moon you are ok…" Luna said " you where unconscious for a long time " she continued
" how long exactly? " Stormy asked
" I wish I had a clock to tell you… but I don't, all I know is that you where attack by a Toxynne Plant, a native plant of the forest, their gas is very poisonous, is a miracle you still here " The Princess said with a relief
" You carried me here? Princess? " Stormy questioned
" yes.. I have, and I explored the library a little, I found a secret room on the second floor hallway… that's where the book of harmony used to be, that's where you found it correct? " The princess replied, and asked the colt for answers
" Indeed " that was his only answer, he started to remember another memory, of him discovering the book and performing the songs… there was a reason why he felt tired at performing them " the first time " , a rush of memories where coming to him, memories even Luna could see, as they saw this new information, he found that he had forgotten the songs, so when he played them again, in this nightmare, his body and mind where not prepared as they did in his childhood, however, he also saw, how he did not perform the dangerous songs on the book, once Stormy got himself up… he checked the book quickly, remembering and checking each song acquired so far, after that, the colt closed the book… Luna advised him that he had something in his hoof, the colt checked his hoof, and had the pink ribbon from Redhoof on it, along with the hole made by its teeth, he smiled as he stored it on his saddlebags.
Both Ponies now reunited stepped out of the room, and head back to the library, Stormy guided Luna towards the secret room she have found… inside… there was a more that notorious bloodstain, however, inside the bloodstain, there was a piece of cloth with something written on it… and a scroll, Luna took it since Stormy was a little frozen… the cloth says
"She is not what it seems "
Not what it seems?, Stormy mind was trying to resolve the riddle in that message, it was the Plastic Mare that wrote it in her dying breath?, or the Skeletal Mare?, or maybe something else?, the place where the book of harmony used to be had the book missing, Stormy took out the book, incomplete, and placed it on the pedestal, a light earthquake happened on the basement, as if a wall or something was moved, the Princess suggested to check the basement, but before they moved, Stormy reviewed the scroll on the floor, it was a transformation spell, more exactly, to transform wind instruments into a lira, Stormy stepped in the middle of the pedestal, and performed the spell on his ocarina, the ocarina obtained a light blue light, as it transformed into a Blue Lira with wind designs all over it, the scroll contains also the reverse spell, so he put it in practice and transformed the Lira back to its Ocarina, learning the transfiguration spell in the process, once done, both ponies moved towards the basement.
As expected, several rooms on the hallway where unable to be accessed, or the doors where actually on the floor, allowing the ponies to see the interior of the rooms, some of them where empty and with holes that falls into a endless darkness, other however, had something that could only be seen by a little hole, one in special, had a huge Fluttershy doll, bloodstained, pointing out towards the whole, with bloodstained hooves, making Stormy flinch for a second, but remembering the doll mysterious connection with Mistshine, so he looked towards the direction that doll was pointing, and opened the opposite door to that room, inside, they found a single hole on the ground, a sewer pipe… with a key attached with duct tape to it… but with the corpse of a Restrained Figure, it's acid was still flowing.. dropping little drops in the hole, but enough to burn a pony piece of flesh, neither Stormy or Luna could get the key out if , even with levitation magic, the key will melt instantly by the little drops of acid falling from the corpse, if they don't find a way to prevent the acid from melting it, they could not take it out, they must find a iron bucket or something similar to hold for a moment, leaving that room for later, they reached the end of the hallway and went to the basement.
The first hallway was the " hall of hooves " creepy as expected, the disembodied pony legs holding the torches made it uneasy for both ponies to pass through there, as they felt that the hooves could choke them if they get too close, also, several of the hooves where with lights out, so they had to turn on their Flashlights, however, there was one hoof a little loosen from the wall, that picked Luna attention, she lifted the hoof, and ended up, on the other side of the hall, a trap, Luna used a levitation spell, as she remembered that trap, however, what she didn't remember, was that the floor had spikes, with skeletons of previous victims, Luna got a little distracted by this and felt to the spikes… to her surprise… she went right through them, hitting herself with the hard floor…
"Princess!, Luna!, are you there?, can you hear me? " Said Stormy, hitting the stone hall with his hooves
" im ok…. Just a little shaken "replied the princess, getting herself up
There was a shinny object that let a little spark when the light on Luna's lantern shinned upon it, it was a little key, only labeled as C, Luna took it and placed it on her saddlebags, Stormy LED flashlight was visible by a hole on said wall, Luna instructed the stallion to get back, as she pulled her hoof out of the hole and lowered the hoof again, making her be back at the hall of hooves hallway, both ponies relieved to be together again, continued to explore the basement, where the earthquake happened, there was a part that now was screaming danger, a hallway full of old ponies armors
" these where the armors that both, my sister and my guards used " the princess made a comment
" what's with the creepy scenario back then?, where you trying to give Everypony a heart attack? " Stormy also commented a little scared.
They walked a little further into the hallway… Stormy was held down a moment… despise his walking, he could see the princess moving ahead of him… and he started to cough, he looked back, only to found he is being held by his tail by one of the armors, he screamed and as a reflex action, he attacked with his pipe, this alerted the princess, as she turned around and saw other armor removing from its pedestal and moving towards the colt, she tried to intervene, but a third armor hold her, Stormy let again a magic surge, turning his moondust magic in a spiked bubble, piercing the armors, this allowed Luna to shoot the creatures with a light based magic, killing them, the third armor raised a axe to attack her, Stormy shot a magical bullet, the creature repelled it with the axe, towards him again, he dodge the blow, as the princess also attacked the creature with the sword, a clang was heard , the axe blocked the blow, this armor was more smart than the other ones, however, it armor was really sturdy, it needs to take more than a sword to piece it, Stormy could easily pierce it with the moondust spear, due to the magic surge, but Luna was more calm and collected, that's when she heard a chainsaw being turned on
" Move! " Stormy said
He swing the chainsaw directly into the armor neck part, chopping the head part off, leaving the shadow behind it, seeing her chance, Luna let a powerful light blast to the creature, killing it, the rest of the armor felt to the floor, Stormy had a idea, if the armor was that sturdy, they could use the helmet to stop the acid for a moment and take the key, Luna took the Helmet and stored it on the saddlebags, as they went ahead and explore the basement, they found a little storage with energy drinks there, on they way back, they found a room that they previously didn't pay attention, on the roof, was a piece wall, so this is the secret room the earthquake from before unlocked…inside there was a organ…
" is the Organ to the Outside, with it we can control the Traps in the Armory Hallway, Throne Room, Hall of Hooves and the Second Floor Hole traps " Luna stated almost to a happy extent
" seems you remember perfectly this thing… " Stormy replied a little sarcastic
However as soon as both came inside… a soft sound of the organ was heard, and almost instantly, large iron bars appeared from the floor, blocking the entrance… the reason… one of the 2 ornaments next to the organ was pressing one of the keys with its spear, the other one holding also another spear moved towards the ponies, with the same armor as the other monsters, Stormy shot a blast towards one of them, but its " partner " covered it, Luna and Stormy had to fight these monsters as a team, as they both attacked at the same time in a symmetrical fashion, despise the other monsters they have faced before, this fight was obligatory, Stormy focused on one of the creatures, while Luna focused on the other, Both ponies shot a magical blast, the creatures block it, the one Stormy was facing, blocked the attack with a black dust, similar to his moondust, while the one Luna was facing, destroyed her attack with a blue flame, simulating a solar flare
" Uh oh… they are using moondust and solar flare magic " the princess recognized the attacks
" Please tell me you are kidding me " Stormy did not liked at all the princess previous comment.
Both Monsters saw they opportunity and combined their attack, making a powerful purple blast containing the black dust, Stormy moved Luna out of the way, and the blast hit the wall behind him, the dust dispersed over him, stating to suffocate him, he could feel the dust, covering his nose and mouth, entering his lungs, he never imagine the moondust magic could be used in such cruel way, torturing the target, Luna intervened and scattered the dust with her magic, feeling better, Stormy noticed the 2 monsters where working as a team, so he decided to pick Luna again and use their " Machine Gun " Technique, what they didn't except is that the creatures actually copied the same technique, shooting a rain of blue fire magic, as it was a flamethrower, coming towards them, both Luna and Stormy dodge to a side
" There 2 are coping our moves " Luna said to her companion
" I know… there must be another way….i get it…I will handle the one with the solar flare, you take care of the moondust one " Stormy decided to change targets
Luna simply nodded, trusting what her companion had in mind, Stormy knew they where facing evil manifestations of the Solar Flare and Moondust Magic, however, facing Moondust Vs Moondust prove to be useless, so he decided to give the enemies a taste of their own medicine and used his moondust magic in the form of a smoke ball, the Solar Flare creature attacked with blue flames, but the moondust reacted to it and started to absorb the air on the attack, " suffocating " the flames, without its stronger magic, Stormy saw a opening and attacked with his pipe surrounded with his magic, the creature received the blow In full, the dust crawled to the creature head, choking him, as for Luna and the moondust magic creature, since she was the Princess of the Night, she remembered that she could nullify the effects of the moondust for a time, she used that ability and shoot a light based magic, which the opponent mimic the attack with their own moondust, the foe magic faded as expected, and the light magic continued towards her enemy, once the hit was successful, the foe dropped its spear, same thing with the solar flare one, Stormy and Luna saw their finishing blow chance, and delivered one last attack with their weapons, Stormy broke the skull of his foe, with his steel pipe, while Luna stabbed the creature with the Sword, eliminating both creatures… once dead, as if some sort of trap deactivated, the iron bars retreated, and the organ was able to be used.
"That was actually hard…. You think" Stormy was suggesting something
"Im thinking he same thing, the more stronger the monsters, the more desire they have to kill us…" Luna Stated, as she got closer to the organ, seeing as the ornaments where now broken on the floor
"I will stay here and operate the Organ to the Outside, Signal me with the Winds of Friendship song to activate it " The Princess stated, sitting on the organ
"Understood Princess…. But please be careful" Stormy was already worrying about the princess
Luna gave Stormy the Ancient Guard Helmet, and the C Key, Stormy galloped towards the room in the 1F where the corpse of the Restrain figure was, once there, he used the Helmet to hold of the acid drops, it was working, until a certain extent that is, Stormy could feel within his magic, the helmet was starting to melt, so he pulled up the key quickly, the duct tape was already very worn out, the Key reads "L".
If Luna was in problems, Stormy could use the Prelude of Friendship Song to teleport to her location, however, now that he obtained the L Key, he moved towards the second floor, where the Throne Room was, on it… the thrones looked perfectly ok and neat and tidy, the carpet was soft to the touch, but also, Stormy could visibly see a Ghostly Luna in the mini balcony, next to her Throne, however… her expression… was very unwelcoming.
"Not another step "the ghostly Luna said
"Uh oh… if my History lessons are right, this must be… "Stormy seems to knew this event
"Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all bash in your precious Light Tia? " Ghostly Luna Said addressing to a Ghostly Celestia coming from behind Stormy
"Luna, I will not fight you!, You must lower the Moon!, it is your Duty! " Celestia demanded with authority on her Voice
"There can only be one Princess in Equestria!, and that princess will be ME! " Ghostly Luna said, as she began to transform into Nightmare Moon " From, now on, my name is Nightmare Moon!, I have one Royal duty now…. To Destroy You! "
Stormy saw in first row seats her transformation into the Nightmare Moon, just as she was able to see his past… the moon slowly covered the sun, making a eclipse, the shadow casted by it was absorbed by Luna powerful magic, and her physical appearance started to change, her fangs where sharp and her mane was so big and powerful it was more than capable of producing Lighting…by instinct Stormy dodge Nightmare first magical blast, but when he dodged, he entered up in a hallway, when he came back to the throne, everything was normal, however, there was something new, a object that can only be recognized by the gems sparkling on their ornaments… circling around the plate they where… it was the Element of Harmony Pedestal… first found in the lobby, where the elements where before Twilight and their friends took it… Stormy decided to inspect the elements… as he touch them however… the passed right into his hoof… a illusion that quickly disappeared, leaving the pedestal empty… so this wasn't the real pedestal, the real one must be the one on the lobby, Stormy checked the Room where Luna used to sit on Royal duties, and he noticed it was very comfortable, as he sit however, he played the winds of Friendship song, Luna on the other end, activated the organ, the results quickly came in…. sending Stormy towards the back garden, it was a little rough, making him roll several times, until he stopped when he hit a rock, he could see he was outside the Castle… in the Everfree Forest again… the fog was more than visible this time… making a spooky feeling
"OW!, Luna, was that trap always that hurtful?! " he said, dizzy, as he got up
" Sorry…. Tia and I never fixed that emergency exit, if you enter by the Window, you will be instantly back to the First Floor " Luna explained using the ocarina as a radio
" how does that take me there? " Stormy questioned
" is a long hallway we made to take directly to the First Floor, from there is where the Chief, the Staff of the Castle and the Dungeon Keepers entered to went to the dungeons " Luna informed her stallion
The dungeons… again, not another dungeon, the communication with the princess was cut short when a loud bang was heard from the stairs next to the stone that stopped his rolling, he went down the stairs… wondering what he was going to find this time… when he was hallway, through the fog, he could saw a Foal drawing, this time… it was him, his "sister" Pinkie Pie, both holding a balloon shaped blue jewel, by some reason… that drawing, made Stormy smile again… as if a beacon of hope was in the pink pony drawing…
"Oh Pinkie Pie…. You know… I had always considered you my sister, no matter what happened, I wish you could lend me a hoof in this situation right now…. Where you are now I wonder?..."
The further he descended into the stairs, the more hard was to see, until he had to walk, not run, otherwise, he could trip, after he reached the end, he noticed a very Wide but circular area, with several fences, that served as a limit to each area of that " basement ", there was a door named "Royal Kitchen", another named "Armory", and finally one that read "Warehouse", all of them with wooden doors, however… there was two caves on the far east side of the round courtyard, both of them with Iron doors, one was obviously had the name "Dungeon" written all over it, and another one with no name, but protected by a special lock that seems to resemble a musical box, Stormy noticed another group of Stairs that seems to go up to the forest, but they where destroyed… unable to climb up, he decided to check the Kitchen first.
Inside, the stone cooking place was very poor illuminated, due to the obvious fact of being inside a cave, however it had its advantages, like a huge stone oven, several frying pans and a Freezer to keep the food cold, but as he inspected the drawers, he found several cupcakes materials… feeling a little hungry, Stormy decided to bake a few cupcakes for Luna and him, and there was materials available… from the back of his mind, Pinkie song was rigging in his head, he started to mimic it, like he used to do as a little colt, bringing a smile to his face, as if Pinkie memory was the only thing that could make him happy, bouncing over the table, as he prepared the mix.
"all you have to do is take a cup of floor…add it to the mix… now just take little something sweet not sour…. A bit of salt just a…. WHAAAAAA! "
When he opened up the fridge to get the sweets and the lemon, a pony head was on a bowl, however, the head had fresh… meaning one thing… the Skeletal mare was close… however, Stormy had the feeling he had meet the face before, in fact, it felt so familiar… but he couldn't place his hoof around it, also, the mane from the creature was covering its face, but this was not the time for baking a cupcake, then again, the oven and water, against all logic, works, he had 2 options… continue to bake or continue searching for more clues for his brother, he checked his saddlebags for a answer… besides the bandages and the apples… he only had the energy drinks as food, perhaps making a cupcake or 2 wont kill him… right?, besides, he was halfway through, he took the severed head out of the fridge and took it outside, he continued to bake, when a loud fleshy bang was heard from outside, he opened the wooden door, just to found a blood trace from the bowl to one of the caves with iron doors, he returned to the kitchen and pulled out the recently backed cupcakes, they smelled just like the ones pinkie used to do… he stored them in a little box and then placed it on his saddlebags, exiting the kitchen.
On the outside, the radio started to burst into a faint static, the severed head was no longer on the bowl, it was now on the next to a tree, that served as a division between the Dungeon and the other cave, Stormy had a bad feeling, so he decided to go to the Armory instead, on the Armory, there was not much to be seen, just a couple of old pony armor, the same one as the hall in the basement, however, the room was very short, more short than the one on the Canterlot or the Archives Armory, there was 2 mannequins, one with armor on the far side of the armory, and one almost right next to the door, without armor… both white colored… the first one corresponded to a female mannequins, but didn't had anything special to it… when he moved around the corner to check the male one… he heard a female scream and a loud thud, as if something was throw to the floor with great strength, when he turned around to check, he could saw a silhouette of a clothed pony in back robes, exiting the room, but also, there was a blood trail leading towards the door, already making Stormy uneasy… almost as if something terrible was about to happen… he noticed the female mannequin before exiting the armory… it was missing its torso, and again, another blood trail leading towards the door.
Outside, the torso from the Armory was next to the severed head, however, the torso now had a cutie mark… a disturbing one, it was a red spot with a rope and a butcher knife, Stormy checked the storage, it was very short, but he found a apple, and several hooves for displays… 4 of them where actually real hooves, Stormy didn't touch them, instead, he levitated them, taking them out to the torso and head of the pony outside, as he suspected, they matched the cuts in the torso, the radio was still emitting the faint static, Stormy decided, just as with Redhoof in the Manehatten Hall, make a burial for the unfortunate victim, he felt it was the right thing to do, he used a powerful blast to make a hole on the ground, and he deposit all the pieces there, making a quick grave for the pony, in the base of the tree it was moved.
He tried now the dungeon cave… strangely enough, the large iron door was broken, and the cave was collapsed, seems visiting the dungeon is not possible, filled with relief, he tried the other cave, with the musical box lock, the lock itself was just a lever, to move the music box… it played a few notes…but it was broken, the sound was a little distorted and seems to have a input command, a command to enter a song…
The distorted notes made hard to Stormy to think what song was it, he played the Minuet of Everfree, since the castle was located in said forest, however, as the song took effect, a little earthquake happened, and his magic turn against him, the vine he created started to choke him, he used his moondust magic to repel the vine and cut the magic of the song shot, with the effects gone, he noticed the lock had now a red light, 1 out of 3, he tried another song, this time, he tried the Equestria Soul Song, this time the song started to work, making him feel stronger, but again, the environment threw in a message, a huge rock was falling towards him, Stormy dodge instantly, as the rock hit the floor, breaking itself on impact, now a second red light was on the lock, Stormy mind now understood what those little red lights meant, there are mistakes, and if he made a third mistake, the lock will no longer be able to open, to make matters worse, each time he input the wrong song, something happens to him, there is a high chance that if he mess up a third time, he could be killed, he concentrated… thinking about the notes of the song, taking his ocarina for the third time, he played another song, this time, it was the Princess Lullaby, the notes starting to sound accordingly to the music box, the lock started to change, the lights changed to green, the lock released the large metal doors, as he felt peaceful for a moment, and relieved that he used the right song this case, once the doors where opened, he enter inside the cave.
Inside the cave, there was not much to be seen, more than a single tree, a silver tree that irradiated light and harmony, driving the fog from outside away… and had all the jewels on their branches, also, they had Celestia and Luna cutie mark on it, the sole presence of this tree made the colt fell calmed, and also seems to drive a since of security to him, Stormy was no fool, he was in front of the Elements of Harmony. They shinned, as welcoming the colt to that sacred place.
" The Elements… why are they here?, they shouldn't be with Twilight in Ponyville? "