"So, this is the place?" Pine asked, looking up at the small simple cottage.
"This is where the map says she is." Everen confirmed, cantering to the front door. He knocked on the front door and a voice rang out from inside.
"W-who's there?" it asked, fearfully.
"My name is Everen Shamrock, I'm here to save you from the shadow kin." Everen called back.
The door opened to reveal the face of a light green mare with sky blue eyes. "Really? M-my name is Evergreen princess of patience." her eyes seemed wet.
"Have you been crying?" Everen inquired concernedly, taking a step closer.
"Yes, I've just been so scared for the past few days. The shadow kin comes every night and darkens the area around my home." the mare opened the door, and Pine, Everen, Lily, and Topaz entered. "Can you really get rid of the shadow kin?"
"They already sent one to Tartarus. I'm sure they can handle this." Topaz replied with confidence.
"Wow, how did you do that?" the alicorn sniffed, coming into full view of the others. She was young, in her late teens. Her mane was light green and white, her eyes ice blue and she had a pink ribbon tied at the tip of her long tail.
"You seem a little young to be an alicorn." Lily commented, having never seen an alicorn under adulthood.
"Well, it's a long story. And I'm afraid we don't have the luxury of time." the young mare stated, looking out the window fearfully. It was nearly dusk, and they had to be going soon. "I've been able to hold out this far because the forest has been protecting me. But I feel it won't hold out tonight, the shadow kin WILL break through unless you somehow stop it."
"We have to go now. We need to reach the nearby castle." Everen said, getting her attention.
"Why, what's there?" Evergreen inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"A couple more of my friends, and the means to get rid of the shadow kin." he half-explained, leading the way out the door. "Are you familiar with the castle we're going to?"
"I think so, but my parents always told me to stay away from it." Evergreen responded, her voice cracking from worry.
"And for good reason too, it sits on top of a weak point between our world and the underworld. There we will be able to send the shadow kin to Tartarus." Everen explained. "A lot of these weak points are beneath such castles. That's why they're abandoned, with magical wards in place to keep the breeches closed. They're not enough to stop the Shamrock Shield from opening the way, but it prevent the underworld denizens from coming through."
"Was the other castle sitting on one of the breeches? The one we were staying at?" Topaz asked, remembering the strange feeling of mixed security and angst she got in the castle.
"Yes it is. That's why we went there to banish the shadow kin. I knew this ahead of time, I did some research in the Canterlot library before we left. I had a feeling the knowledge would come in handy." Everen smiled, leaning into Lily a bit.
She leaned back and rested her head against his. "Your intuition is really annoying sometimes. You know that?"
"Yeah, but it did save all our lives back there." Everen countered, standing up again.
"I know. So, who's waiting for us at the castle?" Lily asked, staring at the stallion.
"Remix, Note, and hopefully Blaxe if he got the message." Everen stated, quickening his pace a bit, anxious to see if they all made it.
"Wait, that's an earth pony, a unicorn and a pegasus. Why would you bring those three? Don't you only need one of each, I mean, we already have a unicorn and an earth pony in this group." Pine questioned, thinking back to what Everen said after they banished the first shadow kin.
"Yes, but it's very taxing on the soul. Opening a gate to Tartarus once is safe, but a second attempt might permanently damage the pony in question." he elucidated.
"Oh, and how do you know that?" Pine asked, flying up and hanging her face upside down in front of him.
"Like I said, I did some research. It was all in three books." Everen ducked under the bat pony and moved on. The castle finally came into view between the trees, a large gray-stone structure capped with pure white snow. "This is the place, lets find the others and head inside."
Everen and co. cantered around to the other side of the castle, where Remix, and Note were waiting.
"Where's Blaxe?" Everen asked, worriedly.
"He said he'd be here soon, he had some other business to take care of." Remix answered, shrugging. "No idea what he meant, but he sure made it sound important."
"Lets just hope he gets here on time." Everen sighed, wondering what could be so important as to keep Blaxe from this.
Hello, princess, my name is Quarter Note." the unicorn stepped forward, bowing. "I prefer to be called Note."
"I'm Evergreen, it's nice to meet you." the mare replied, bowing herself.
"How's Tsui doing?" Lily asked Remix.
"Still safe back at camp, Kari is looking after her." Remix assured her.
"Good, and how are the others?" Lily inquired, thinking about the last time the whole group was together.
"Wait, what? You want us to split up?" Tia questioned, staring at Everen.
"Yes, you, Sugar, Rigatoni, and Cat to stay here. Remix, Note, Kari, and Pine will come out later. And Lily, Kinetic and Jynx will come with me now." Everen specified, levitating Tsui over to Tia. "And I need you to take care of Tsui, she's still only a child and I don't want her in any danger yet."
"Alright, if you think this is the right choice, I'll trust you."
"Thank you. Well, does everypony agree with this?" Everen looked around at all his friends.
They were all hesitant, but they all complied in the end.
"Alright. Let's get started then." Everen started, looking around. "Let's set up camp."
"Equestria to Lily! You there?" Remix yelled, waving a hoof in front of her face.
"Wha- oh, sorry. I zoned out for a minute there." Lily shook head, regaining her senses.
"Couldn't tell." Remix replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, shut up." Lily turned her attention to Evergreen. "So, where are your parents?"
"T-the shadow kin," she paused, coming to tears. "It took them."
"Oh my, Everen will they be okay?" Lily asked, concerned.
"What pony race were your parents?" he inquired of the young mare.
"My dad is a pegasus, and my mom an earth pony." Evergreen answered,looking up.
"Your mom will be just fine. But I'm afraid the same cannot be said for sure of your father." Everen said, looking into the fearful eyes of the alicorn. "But I promise you, I'll get them both back."
"Th-thank you." Evergreen rushed forward and hugged Everen, crying into his shoulder.
"Calm down now, I'll make sure this ends okay." Everen affirmed, patting Evergreen's head.
"Well then, this promises to be interesting." came a voice from the sky. Blaxe descended into the group.
"How do you mean?" Everen asked, shooting the pegasus a warning look.
"I mean I like to observe how others interact with one another. And this looks as though it will be especially entertaining for me." Blaxe chuckled innocently. He checked his watch quickly before approaching the castle. "How are we all supposed to get get in there if there's no entrance?"
Everen looked at the wall, examining the intricate patterns etched into the stone. He chose a specific circle on the wall, and slammed his hoof onto it. A part of the wall opened up, revealing a long corridor going down into the fortress.
"That's how." Everen said a bit smugly. He went into the dark sloping hallway.
"How in the hay did you know that would happen?" Remix asked, following the stallion closely.
"I spent years studying magical wards, spells and enchantments. I can read complicated magic that would take a scholar a hour to decipher, in a matter of seconds." Everen explained, looking back at Lily painstakingly.
"Don't worry about it Everen, that's all behind us now." Lily said, trotting up next to the stallion and putting a hoof over his shoulders, comforting him.
"Thank you Lily." Everen replied, moving on. "Now onto the seal."
"The what?" Note inquired, staring at the unicorn confusedly.
"In these old castles, there's a seal at the lowest level. This seal must be checked before we can banish the shadow kin." Everen elucidated. "If the seal is weakened, or has been tampered with, I have to fix it."
"He did the same thing at the other castle." Topaz chimed in, having been the only pony to see him do that. "You might be in for quite a show."
They entered a large open room with a high ceiling. The floor, walls and ceiling were all covered with glowing blue, white, and purple runes. Everen scanned the entire room, after a few seconds of analyzing the runes, he lit his horn.
"Here we go." Topaz stated excitedly, her eyes widening.
Everen began creating intricate green runes, lining them up in specific patterns. He added his runes to the room, glowing images flying in every direction, attaching themselves to the runes already in place.
"Wow, I knew you could read and create runes. But this is incredible!" Lily marveled at the sight in the room. "This is beautiful."
"Hayseed, this is amazing." Remix added.
"There, that should do it." Everen placed the last rune. He cantered across the room to the staircase on the other side. "To the roof. We have to be ready for when the shadow kin gets here."
"Right, let's go." Note trotted after him, catching up quickly, Remix close behind. "Now, about Lily." he whispered, the three of them being ahead of the rest of the group.
"Does it have to be right now?" Everen questioned not slowing down.
"You've been dodging the question for too long. Fess up." Remix demanded, glaring.
"Okay, fine." Everen started, sighing in defeat. "Me and Lily have known each other since we were foals. We started dating when we were young, and grew to really love each other. One day, I realized just HOW dangerous my life was going to be. So I severed all connections with her and my friends. It was like that for some time." he continued, pain evident in his eyes. "I left my home and went to Coldurim one day. And you pretty much know the story after that."
"Alright, but there's just one thing I don't understand. Why did you start dating again, if you still had feelings for Lily?" Note asked, curiously.
"I thought I had moved on, and it wasn't until Blaxe delivered a letter to my room that I realized how wrong I was." Everen explained, looking at the group closing in behind them.
"Hey, you left without me." Lily complained once she had caught up.
"I needed a quick word with Note and Remix." he replied kissing the mares cheek.
"Okay, I won't ask what about. But I hope you aren't keeping any huge secrets from me." Lily said, kissing back.
"Nothing you need to know yet." Everen said truthfully, trudging on.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, not expecting an answer, she didn't get one.
They made it to the grand hall, an enormous room, with giant, glittering crystal chandeliers. The walls were lined with portraits of previous masters of the castle, the most recent appearing to be only nine years old. Everen guessed that the last master had hightailed it out of here not too long ago. Under the portrait was a small, plain table with a chest resting on top of it. Everen approached the chest and levitated it closer, getting a good look at it. there was a small and unique keyhole in it. Everen cut out the face of the portrait and placed it and the chest in his saddlebag.
"What are you doing?" Pine asked, opening the saddlebag to stare at the box.
"I plan on returning that if I ever get the chance." Everen answered, poking the bat pony's nose gently, moving her face out of the bag.
"But, why?" Topaz inquired, incredulous as to Everen's behavior. Why would he go so far out of his way just to return a tiny chest, to somepony he doesn't even know, even though he has no idea what's inside the chest.
"Just trust me on this." Everen stated, continuing to the staircase.
"If you say so." Topaz shrugged, almost flapping her wings to get to the stairs first. But she remembered the enchantment, and that she currently looked like an earth pony.
They all moved up to the roof, looking out at the expanse of evergreen forests surrounding them. The stars shone bright above them as the night neared its peak. A darkness rolled in from the east. The shadow kin had arrived.
"Now, let's get started." Everen directed Note, Remix, and Blaxe into a triangular formation in front of him. "The rest of you stand back, I don't want you close."
The shadow kin was right at the edge of the castle when Everen activated his magic. The shamrock shield glowed with that familiar iridescent light, and the ponies in the triangle began to float, forming the gateway. Everen opened the portal to Tartarus, and the shadow kin was sucked in. Afterwards the ponies involved in the banishment all collapsed from exhaustion. They got up a few moments later, still a bit winded, but strong enough to stand. After exiting the castle, a bright fiery light hit them from the south.
Everen looked over to see his phoenix, Phae, flying towards them. "What's Phae doing here?"
The bird dropped a letter at Everen's hooves. He picked it up and read it. "Back to camp everypony, we've got an alicorn who needs our help."