//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The Crown Room // Story: Heads in the Cloud // by PresentPerfect //------------------------------// Heads in the Cloud by Present Perfect Chapter 2: The Crown Room The place Twilight Sparkle knew as the Crown Room was in truth little more than a walk-in closet. It held a few artifacts, some scrolls and books, and a single desk where one might wedge oneself to further study any of them. In comparison, the real Crown Room was a stadium. The low ceiling was hewn from rock shot through with multicolored veins sparkling in the dim ambient light. Row upon row of glass cases on stone pedestals stretched into the distance, vanishing into fog. Only the merest suggestion of walls defined the room's boundaries to either side. Twilight rubbed her eyes. "Don't try taking it all in at once," Celestia said as she strode forward into the sea of pedestals. "Not only are there too many things down here for even you to keep track of, it's really for the best if you don't know what most of them are." Twilight caught the edge in Celestia's voice: do not question this. Swallowing, she moved along behind her, noting the large A on the ground in front of them. The pedestals divided into two large columns, each with more members than Twilight could take quick count of. They moved down a single wide path between the columns four times the width of the space between each pedestal, itself wide enough for Celestia to spread her wings and touch nothing on either side. Without warning, Celestia moved to the left, and Twilight followed. They scanned each case, and after five rows, Celestia brought them to a halt. "One moment." Twilight could identify neither the meaning nor the origin of the harsh and guttural word Celestia spoke. She pondered the ramifications of that as alien energy snaked up from the floor, and the pedestals shifted. Each pedestal in the row slid to the right, as did the row behind that, and the row behind that, on out into the fog. The spot before which Celestia stood produced another empty pedestal. "Twilight, if you please." Numb, Twilight brought the Alicorn Amulet up, the pedestal materializing a cushion before her eyes. Once she had placed the Amulet upon it, the air was cut by a single, harsh tone, and a glass box appeared around it. Unlike the one Catrina had smashed in the room above, this was a solid piece, fused to the pedestal below it. "We like to keep things alphabetical," Celestia murmured, her eyes not leaving the Amulet. Twilight glanced at the artifacts to either side. The purpose of the black tome to her left was not immediately obvious, nor could she identify the small bumps in the next case to the right. She averted her eyes when they moved. Without warning, Celestia turned and moved back to the main aisle. "Come along, Twilight. We have quite a walk before we reach the C's." Twilight paused, watching her move off. "Couldn't we just teleport closer?" She regretted asking before she had finished. Celestia cast a meaningful glance to the ceiling and those veins of sparkling crystal, too low for flight. Ducking her head, Twilight caught up to the larger Princess and they moved back into the main aisle. Minutes passed in silence, the clopping of their hooves against the floor the only thing marking the passage of time. Twilight grew steadily more uncomfortable, until at last she spoke up. "This has all been enlightening, Princess, but what are we looking for? Something that will help Rainbow Dash?" "Yes." Twilight chewed her lip for a few more paces. "And it's kept down here. As a state secret." "Correct." As Celestia spoke, she neither varied her stride nor looked at Twilight. "After the death of Star Swirl the Bearded, Equestria experienced a boom in magical theory and advancement, thanks entirely to the release of the notes he had yet to publish. Luna and I were happy to support any and all scholars who we felt had the willpower and know-how to help ponykind through their studies. This is how I became acquainted with a pegasus named Sky Speaker." "A pegasus?" Twilight frowned. "Yes indeed. Sky Speaker was a brilliant researcher, but troubled. In her own words, she had the ability to hear the speech of clouds, and if a lifetime of that hadn't set her mind on edge by the time I met her, what happened to her fiancée certainly did. "Do you remember what you said when I asked you about what had happened to Rainbow Dash?" Twilight nodded. "I noticed you reacted when I said something had switched off in her mind." Celestia nodded. "Sky Speaker used the same words to explain what had happened to her fiancée." "You mean the same thing happened to him?" "Her," Celestia said quickly. "They were flying, when without warning, Seafoam dropped from the sky. She fell at least three stories, landing on a cloud. It was a hard enough fall to break her wing and two ribs." "And whatever happened, it prevented her from using the natural pegasus instincts that soften landings." Twilight went back to chewing her lip. "Correct. When Sky Speaker came to me with this news, I was troubled by that very thing. Seafoam's body healed normally, but she did not wake up. Nothing the doctors did could determine a cause or affect her condition in any way. Sky Speaker's theories were... strange, to say the least, but she convinced me to lend her funding." Celestia cleared her throat as they crossed the large letter C, and Twilight spoke up. "So this is an affliction of pegasi?" "No." Celestia's eyes shifted to Twilight. "There has been one other case of this occurring, to my knowledge. The victim was an earth pony, though sadly by the time I learned of her fate, her poor family had laid her to rest. "This is an ill that troubles all ponies, Twilight, and I am telling you this tale to prepare you for what you are about to read in the book we are looking for." At the mention of a book, the aches in Twilight's legs and numbness in her hooves faded into the background. "As I said, Twilight, Sky Speaker was... troubled. Her research is not what you could call coherent. But hidden within it is both an avenue to help Rainbow Dash, and a secret that affects us all." A cold lump formed in Twilight's throat. "S-so, Seafoam... she was cured, right?" It was a long moment before Celestia shook her head. "I am afraid she was not given the chance. After learning enough to prove her theories right, Sky Speaker gave me her research and told me never to let another pony lay eyes on it. She stole Seafoam from her hospital bed, and..." The swallowing was audible in the great expanses of the Crown Room. "And leapt off a cliff." The question of whether or not she had flown was left unanswered. After three more rows of walking, Celestia turned back, frowning, and said, "We are here." Twilight choked down the clamping sensation returning to her stomach and caught up with Celestia, keeping her eyes on the floor. It was a much longer walk to the book than it had been to the Amulet's resting place. "I apologize if I've put you ill at ease, Twilight," Celestia said, snapping Twilight out of her funk. "No, it's all right, Princess. I understand the... the gravity of where we are and what's going on." Celestia's voice was barely audible. "I'd hoped you would. This is it." Twilight looked up to the glass case before them. Inside it was a dusty, deformed and maltreated notebook, pages yellowed and binding little more than a memory. On its cover, scrawled in hasty letters, was Conscious & Collective: A Moste Alarming Treatisse of Ye Cloude. The author's name was conspicuous in its absence. Celestia uttered another harsh, unknowable word, and the glass evaporated. "I cannot allow you to take this from the room," she said quietly, "but I trust you'll be able to memorize its contents with ease." Frowning, Twilight looked up to Celestia, her earlier dourness forgotten. "A treatise on clouds, Princess? What's that got to do with Rainbow's condition?" Celestia gently lifted the book, if it could even be called such, with her magic. "Not clouds, but the Cloud. Read, and you shall understand." She moved the book over to Twilight, who remained frowning at it. "Just remember what I told you about its author." With a slow nod, Twilight took the book. "I'll keep it in mind, I guess. I probably don't need to ask, but is there anywhere to sit?" Celestia shook her head. "I'm afraid not." She sat on the floor, and Twilight followed suit. Celestia closed her eyes, keeping her posture upright, and Twilight settled in to reading. The warnings had been apt. The writing of the treatise was barely linear, fraught with tangents and ramblings that made no sense even in context. Worse, the cold, hard stone floor upon which Twilight lay made it difficult to concentrate, and she alternated between lying and pacing around the pedestals. Celestia remained unmoving, though she answered the few questions Twilight posed to her. At last, Twilight said, "I don't think I can take any more of this." Celestia regarded her with one eye. "Do you understand the treatise, Twilight?" Twilight rubbed at the spot just under her horn, groaning. "I think so." With the faintest of smiles, Celestia said, "Consider this a pop quiz. Summarize it." Snapping upright, Twilight began speaking at once. "The Cloud is a mental construct, much of the true nature of which is unknown or unknowable. It is the sum total of all pony thought. Everything that has been known is stored within the Cloud. It is not accessible directly without a spell." "Did you memorize the spell?" A large piece of brown paper, much larger than the confines of the book, floated up before Twilight, and she scanned it for a few minutes. "Done." She took a deep breath. "If I read this correctly, what happened to Seafoam, Rainbow Dash and the earth pony you mentioned was... a link to the Cloud being severed." She frowned. "Though I don't fully understand the nature of the link. I read that section four times, and it didn't make any sense to me." Celestia rolled her head, joints popping, and nodded. "Then you have fared no worse than I, Twilight, and I heard it directly from the pony's mouth. Come, it is time for us to return to the surface." Her magic collected the book and its various pages before returning it to the pedestal upon which it had sat. As soon as the full weight of it rested upon the cushion, the glass snapped back into position. Twilight stretched as well, looking up at Celestia. "How long have we been down here?" "Quite a few hours, I should think." Celestia moved with a brighter pace than before. "I did tell Luna we would be indisposed for a while. I trust the state of affairs when we return should be quite as they were." She smiled at Twilight and moved out of the row. Twilight nodded. She concentrated on trotting behind Celestia and blocking out the stiffness and soreness pervading her body. A hot bath would be lovely after they were back in the Palace proper. But at length, she felt there was something that needed to be said. "I may not have understood it completely, but I think I understand why that treatise is kept down here." "Oh?" Celestia glanced back at her. "Anypony who can access the Cloud can know anything, and I mean anything, that ponykind has ever known. There's a great deal of potential to find lost spells or research, yes, but... any secret anypony has tried to keep is in there. Dark knowledge that might have been suppressed, too. Every private wish, every evil thought, just... everything." She shook her head. "I know I wouldn't want anypony knowing those things about me." "That's good." "Good?" Twilight cocked her head. Celestia chuckled. "I wouldn't want a pony without that mindset to be the one entering the Cloud." Twilight stumbled. "I'm going to be entering the Cloud?" "What did you think the spell was for, Twilight? Rainbow Dash's consciousness exists somewhere in the Cloud. To save her, you must cast the spell, enter the Cloud yourself, and restore the link between her mind and body." Twilight's eyes widened. "But that's... I mean, I don't fully understand how the Cloud works! How will I be able to do that?" The shaking of Celestia's head did nothing to assure Twilight. "I'm afraid I can't answer that, Twilight. I have not traveled into the Cloud myself, for my opinion of it has always been as yours is." Her voice took on a grave tone. "All I know is Rainbow Dash, your friends, and all of Equestria count on you to succeed at this mission." It was a quiet trip back to the entrance. The Crown Room's inner door swung open and vanished once more. Twilight couldn't quite get over how it worked and vowed to return later to study it. On the other side, the four Guards from before had been joined by a fifth, who saluted upon seeing them. Twilight thought she recognized her. "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna wished you to be apprised of the situation as soon as you returned!" Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What situation would that be, Lieutenant Sundance?" "It's the prisoner, Highness. She's..." Sundance's eyes flicked left and right. "Behaving oddly." Grunting, Celestia frowned. "Please accompany me to see her, Lieutenant. Twilight, you know what you must do. Be wary what you tell your friends. I trust you will succeed." "Thank you, Princess." Sundance turned to Twilight and saluted. "Highness." As the two of them moved off into the Palace, it was Twilight's turn to frown. All of Equestria was counting on her to cast an ancient spell devised by a madpony -- a pegasus, not a unicorn -- and delve an unknowable mental construct to bring Rainbow Dash back. If she failed, it would mean two Elements of Harmony, or whatever she and her friends were now, would be incapacitated and unable to defend Equestria, to say nothing of Equestria losing its newest Princess. And if she succeeded, what then? Would Rainbow be okay? Would she? She shook her head, nodded to the Guards, and moved out of the Archives. "No pressure. Right."