Chapter 1: A New Job

No Turning Back
Written by Cerulean Pony

Trumpets blared as the ceremony began, drowning out the inane overlapping chatter of the ponies inside the royal courtyard in front the castle. The crowd was divided into three groups: families in the back, several rows of stallions and mares clad in gold, shining armor in the middle, and a trio of stallions in white ceremonial armor in front, taking a stand on the top steps just in front of the castle doors.

As the trumpets died down into silence, a certain white Pegasus, with his purple flame mane dyed blue that day, stood silently with the others around him. His golden armor gleaming in the sunlight as the three stallions on top of steps leading to the castle doors behind them spoke up. The middle stallion, a well-known white unicorn with a blue mane and a shield cutie mark stepped forward and spoke with a loud voice.

“Welcome everypony. Parents, friends and family of all our newest graduates,” his voice was kind as he continued, “it fills me with great pride to see so many strong and bright ponies that are ready to fill our ranks in order to protect our land and our beloved rulers. It is on that note that it is my greatest pleasure and honor to introduce our lovely princesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!”

With his last words the chorus of music picked up again as the massive double doors to the castle opened behind the silver armored stallions. Stepping out into view were two beautiful alicorns dressed in royal attire escorted by a trio of their own personal bodyguards, clad in ceremonial armor as well. One white alicorn with her mane showing the colors of the rainbow with a sun as her cutie mark escorted by a trio of her bodyguards that wore white and gold ceremonial armor, while the other, a slightly smaller alicorn was dark blue, her mane sparkling colors as the night sky, a half crescent moon as her cutie mark was escorted by a trio of her own bodyguards that wore black and blue ceremonial armor. As the two princesses and their entourage approached the three white armor stallions, Shining Armor and the other two stallions stepped aside, allowing the princesses free room to stand as they overlooked the welcoming crowd of ponies cheering them of their presence.

All at once, the rows of golden armor graduates stood firm in a saluting manner and bowed their heads at the presence of their princesses.

With a proud inward smile, a certain white pegasus, among the other graduates, also bowed his head in perfect synchronization.

The cheering crowd behind the golden armored graduates died down as the white alicorn addressed the crowd with her sweet, kind voice.

“My fellow ponies, this monumental occasion is not of us, but of these brave ponies before you,” Celestia began as her wings spread wide and proud, her sister’s wings doing the same.

The white alicorn turned to her sister, “Luna, if you would please…”

The younger alicorn princess bowed with a smile, stepping forward as Celestia took a step back.

“Citizens of Equestria, we are proud today to welcome these astounding graduates,” the smaller alicorn continued for her sister, Luna’s voice just as sweet and kind, “on behalf of our sister, we welcome you, esteemed ponies, into the Royal Guard!”

As Princess Luna smiled, the crowd of ponies behind the graduates erupted into deafening sounds of cheering and praise.

The trumpets of the royal band sounded with a triumphing composition as the graduation ceremony was now complete. The courtyard was a buzz of activity as the families and friends of the graduates met with each other and congratulated one another. The event extended all day as the after ceremony celebration began on the grounds of the royal castle. That day was one of the proudest and happiest days of a certain young pegasus’ life as who was greeted by his friends for the celebration.

The cheering and the royal fanfare playing during the after ceremony celebration memory began to fade from mind and hearing as the certain pegasus from that memory came back to the present. It was only few weeks since the graduation from the academy and standing alone on a bridge in Canterlot watching the afternoon sun beginning to set far out over the distant horizon was a white pegasus with a purple highlighted flame style mane.

With the wind blowing through his mane and the bright shining rays of the sun hitting pegasus’ face, that certain winged pony standing alone on a bridge in Canterlot was me.

The view that the bridge gave me triggered memories of my graduation and had caused me to revisit them in my mind as I watched the sun begin to set. But now as the memory flashback faded away, I continued to admire the view that my new home brought me.

I was not from Canterlot. Not like the rich ponies here. No, I was from Cloudsdale.

With a soft inhale, I looked up at the sky now, instead of the sunset, and remembered the capital city of all pegasi, Cloudsdale. I was raised there, in that crown jewel city in the sky. Although, to say it was where I was born I do not know. I was an orphan from a very young age. I could not recall any memories of my mother or father. The orphanage in Cloudsdale found and took me in, raising me until I was of age to support myself. I went to flight school; just like every other pegasus and passed with the rest of the class. Though my ability in flight was excelling, I still did not have my cutie mark. I was a mature age for a stallion now, a rather “fresh stallion” some called it, but regardless of it all, I was still a pony without a cutie mark at my current age.

Two years back, I applied to the Royal Guard at a recruitment center in Cloudsdale for the pegasus division. My job before entering the recruitment center was small and not of importance but the morning when I got the letter of acceptance into the academy for the Royal Guard, I was ecstatic.

A blush swept across my face as a memory of me prancing around my friend’s apartment like a filly now played in my mind, the laughter of my friends filling the room after their many failed attempts to settle me down. I later learned that my friends had secretly taped a video and took pictures of my happy filly prance and exposed them at the next gathering when I hosted them at my own apartment. That night, I never blew milk from my nose nor fell off the couch before from the surprising and embarrassing video they put on my television. The sight of that second embarrassing moment prompted them to laugh again, pulling out a phone in an attempt to capture the moment, which only ended quickly as I chased them around my apartment, creating a big mess through the residence.

All these memories, all these happy flashbacks, had distracted me from the voice calling to me from behind my back. To anypony else, while watching the sunset I was probably too busy with the sightseeing to hear the voice calling my name.

The memory daze that I was having was cut short anyways as the voice that was calling out to me had finally trotted over and gave one nice and loud audible smack on my flank.

“AH!”

A yelp escaped my mouth as I literally jumped high into the air, only to have my wings catching my descent in midair and keep me above the ground in a hover with my eyes wide from the sudden smack of my flank.

A small giggle sounded behind me and caused an instinctual spin about to turn and discover that the pony who smacked my blank flank was a white unicorn mare of equal age, though opposite gender, with a blue mane and eyes of emerald green.

The mare gave a shout of joy a split second later and tackled me to the ground from my hovering state.

Landing on my back with a thud, I looked up at the familiar sight of my best friend, who was sat on her rump, which just so happened to be planted on my chest.

“Emily!?”

I blushed deeply with a gasp at the mare, embarrassed as her hoof kept me pinned to the ground.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that. You know how…embarrassed…I get.”

The unicorn mare gave a sweet giggle, watching me with a flutter of her eyes.

“Yeah I know.”

She smiled with a hint of a smirk.

“But it is so much fun regardless.”

At this, I blushed from her answer and gave a bodily nudge.

This made her giggle again and get off of my chest, allowing me to get back on my hooves. As I did so, she tilted her head with a curious look and tone.

“So Ceru, what were you doing standing there when I was trying to call your name?”

She asked as I turned my head to look back at her moving slightly closer to the side of the bridge, she smiled and approached the same spot that I had once stood before, looking out towards the view of the sunset.

Close to her now, I tucked my wings against my sides as I watched the sun set with her. When the rays of the sun finally ceased its illumination over the land around Canterlot and the city herself I gave a nervous sigh. I did not even turn to look at my best friend as Celestia’s sun sank beneath the horizon, casting a darkening shadow over city of Canterlot and surrounding areas in wake of Luna’s moon to come in a little while and cast the entire land our eyes could see in the blanket of a starry night sky. But truth be told, that was not why I gave a nervous sigh. No, not even close.

Instead of asking the same question again, she gave me a side long look, looking me over with concern. This made me lower my gaze from the view of the approaching night to the stone bridge beneath our hooves when her soft voice broke the growing silence between us.

“Ceru?”

I raised my head finally, giving her a side-long look as well, my voice equally soft, well, in tone at least.

“Yes, Emily?”

With a comforting smile replacing her concerned look that she had for me, she brushed her mane back with a soft usage of her magic, her horn emitting a soft blue and greenish glow as she replied.

“You’re worried about tonight, aren’t you? About your new career at Canterlot Castle.”

Those words and question struck me dead center through the silence around us. I nearly stumbled at the bluntness of her forward assumption. I looked at her with a soft smile as well, chuckling a bit.

“It was that obvious, huh?”

Emily gave a small grin, nodding, flipping her mane back proudly.

“Of course, I know you my dear Ceru.”

I chuckled again, a faint blush returning to my face as I gave her my own grin. She was my best friend since I was a little pony. We grew up together, by that I mean we were both orphans together. We developed a strong bond for each other. Wherever she went I went, wherever I went she went, town to town or city to city it didn’t matter. We enjoyed each other’s company. When we had off days, we would always cheer each other up. She was my best friend and I loved her because of how close we were for each other. And that meant she knew me, inside and out, she could guess what I was feeling with spot-on accuracy. I could not hide anything from her and she knew it, but then again, why would I want to hide anything from her? She was so kind, understanding, and caring towards anypony, especially me. To her, she knew I was the same way with her and anypony else. I would stay up till late hours of the night if she was troubled or needed somepony to talk to, and I know, she would do the same for me. Our love for each other was impossible to be break, and yet, most of our friends would wonder: why haven’t we started seeing each other as a couple if we were so perfect for each other? To that, we both didn’t know, we never thought of our connection that way. We guessed it may be something stronger than that and regardless, we are both happy the way we are.

“They’re going to love you Ceru,” she said with a reassuring hoof pat on my shoulder as she stepped closer to me.

I didn’t break contact with her soft emerald green eyes as she gave a comforting hoof pat on my shoulder. As she did, I felt less tense, finding myself breathing out slower, more relaxed than I was a few moments ago. Giving her a hoof pat of my own I replied to her with my own soft voice.

“Thank you Emily…”

With those words exchanged, we turned to face each other, giving a warm embrace, nuzzling our heads against each other’s manes before turning away from each other to depart with Emily heading back to her apartment in the upper section of Canterlot, and me heading off towards Canterlot Castle as Luna’s reign over the night took over and began to darken the sky above the capital city.

Chapter 2: The Garden Labyrinth

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No Turning Back
Written by Cerulean Pony
Chapter II: The Garden Labyrinth

During my travel towards Canterlot Castle it seemed that Princess Luna had taken tonight with special care as the stars sparkled brightly overhead. The blessed night covered all of the sky over Canterlot and the lands around her. Looking up occasionally, I could see her benevolent moon out shining everything else in the night sky. The light emitted off of the moon illuminated the streets that I traveled on despite the darkness brought by her reign. Turning the corner at the next block I made my way towards the high rise of Canterlot that led up to the mountains and to the massive castle standing above everything else in the city.

With each step drawing me closer I felt my anxiety and worries settle in. It was my first night and my first shift as a Royal Guard at the castle. With each step, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited….and nervous.

After a few more minutes I stopped at the front gate, looking up in awe at the massive white castle. My eyes traced over the entire outer layout of the castle as I stood there in silence. I must’ve been mesmerized by the sight because the only way the royal guards standing at both sides of the gate were able to grab my attention was by approaching me and tapping my shoulders from the side, giving me a startling shout as I was instantly brought back to reality. Both of the guards were grey coated unicorns with white manes; their age significantly older than mine.

With each one standing on each side of me giving me a strange look it took a few seconds before they were bursting out in laughter, easing whatever tension I had from the startling tap. The unicorn on my right was the first to speak.

“Ha-ha, wow would you look at this new recruit, very jumpy is he not?”

The other white mane unicorn replied with a smirk.

“Ha, yeah, you’re right. He might be the best one to give us a good laugh from time to time. He’ll fit in well with us. Go on in.”

Together, they both looked me over and opened the gate with their combined magic.

Bowing my head in respect, I slowly started up the path to the main gate when the first unicorn guard spoke up behind me, just loud enough so that I could hear him.

“New recruit, Shining Armor is here tonight and he’ll be expecting you. Enter through the main doors and go down the main hall. Then take a right to the guard command post which will be on the right hoof side. He’ll be waiting for you there. Understood? Good luck.”

Turning about, I smiled and thanked him. He returned the smile with his own and a small salute before he focused once more on his post. With a relaxing breath, I continued towards the castle passing several other guards, unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies alike. None of them stopped me but some gave me curious or pleasant looks as I passed them and headed up the stone stairs to the main doors of the castle where two more unicorn guards stood watch. Approaching the main doors I found that I did not have to say a word as they stood aside, their horns aglow as they opened the main doors. Thanking them as well, I went inside. As I did so the sounds of the massive double doors closing behind me didn’t even grab a sliver of my attention -- the scenery inside the castle, however, did.

Entering the main hall of the castle I was once again awestruck, looking everywhere from the massive articulately designed stone pillars holding up the ceiling to the huge glass artwork for the windows. The sight was unlike anything I have ever seen. Truth be told, even during the ceremony a few weeks back, I did not go into the castle itself; so I had no idea how it looked from the inside, till now. The stone steps that were used outside were replaced by highly polished marble flooring, and the walls of the inner castle, in comparison to the ones outside, were replaced by many articulate designs along with the picture glass windows. The banners of Equestria’s cities were hanging from the ceiling, but the biggest design on the ceiling was the skylight window. For the skylight window was a massive glass art of both Princesses cutie mark symbols in perfect synchronization, which during Luna’s nightly reign, had made the skylight artwork sparkle brightly from the moon and her glow.

The sheer size of the ceiling art kept my body frozen as I could not help but stare up at it.

Wow….that is expensive.

After staring up at the ceiling for a moment longer, I shook my head finally looking away from the art and move down the hall. The main hall was empty of other ponies, especially the royal guards that were supposed to be positioned all over Canterlot Castle. Not wanting to cause any trouble in making my commanding officer wait any longer I turned down the main hall and galloped with haste.

Having followed the outside guard’s exact instructions to the letter I skidded to a halt in front of a large white wooden door marked with gold boundaries and gold cursive writing across the center. Upon the door the cursive writing wrote Royal Guard Command Post.

Inching closer to the door I began to get very nervous. But that was natural, wasn’t it? Knowing that beyond those doors was the famous Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, who was awaiting my arrival, was very nerve racking. As I extended my right hoof out to the door to push it open I noticed how shaken my extended hoof had become. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open slowly and the darkness of the castle surrounding was suddenly brightly illuminated by the lighting of the guard room. As I pushed it open fully I had to shield my adjusting eyes to the new light variance.

“Ah, Orion ‘Cerulean’ Nightshade, welcome, please, come inside.”

The familiar voice of the famous captain that called out my name to greet me almost made me stumble as I finally lowered my hoof away from my eyes, which was now adjusted to the lighting of the room. Looking up from the floor I saw the famous white stallion smiling at me from the other side of a lone desk in the back of the room, the desk itself was of a highly wooden design finish with the royal guard symbol engraved in the desk itself. Upon the desk were several stacks of papers and rolled up parchments. The room itself was long, not as wide as the length, with several desks leading up the captain and his lone desk in the back. Above us were several chandeliers that brightly illuminated the room as well as a fire place behind the Captain’s desk. Alongside the walls stretching to the back of the room were various awards and photo frames of many different ponies in their armor. There were several large size windows as well, giving a view of the castle grounds outside. All of these decorations seemed to captivate me once more for a brief moment before hearing the Captain chuckle and call out to me again, gesturing me to come forth from the door.

“Yes yes, the room is quite an eye gander to look at isn’t it? But come now, we have much to do. You wouldn’t want to be late for your first assignment now, would you?”

Hearing those words, my gaze went back to the Captain and away from the door, trotting softly around the desks to the back of the room and stopping in front of the desk. I noticed the tall unicorn had a smirking smile upon his face as he watched me approach. Without speaking a word, he pointed a hoof towards his right to a gleaming set of brand new golden armor. Watching his expression for a second longer he nodded silently and I trotted over to the armor he had pointed out for me.

Picking up the golden helmet from the armor display rack it was easy to see that the designs were hoof made and not mass produced. Being a member of the Royal Guard was one of the highest honor anypony could achieve so the design of the armor had to represent that. As I looked over the helmet’s design closely, I felt a sense of strength and comfort as my hooves touched and held the piece of armor.

“You’ve earned this,” said the soft voice of the Captain behind me as I stood there for a moment to look over the new set of armor.

With a slow turning of the helmet and lowering of my head I felt the brand new piece of armor slide over my blue-dyed mane. Once in place I shook my head side to side as a part of my mane moved fluently into the back open portion of the helmet. Next, I turned my head to the rest of the armor set when I noticed the new pony of me glancing back in the reflection across the central body piece. Looking back in the reflection I could see my bright purple eyes and my face underneath new helmet. I could not recognize myself at first without the eyes…it was different and unexpected. So I stood there for another moment, staring at my new reflection, trying to grasp the new image.

It is true what they say. Once in uniform, your appearance changes and you notice a new side of you that may never have been seen before.

“So what shall we call you, Orion or Ceru?”

Turning back to the Shining Armor, I replied softly with a smile across my muzzle.

“Ceru, if you don’t mind.”

The taller stallion with the shield cutie mark nodded and resumed to his paperwork that was littered all over his desk. Despite the messy state of it, he went through it with ease as I watched him for a few before turning back to the rest of my armor. It took several minutes but I fastened the armor on my body correctly and comfortingly.

Obviously if I was a unicorn this would not have taken so long, I humored to myself as I finished the last strap on my chest plate just as Shining Armor looked over.

Flexing my wings out and flapping them several times I gave an approving smile before turning to Shining Armor once more. He had just finished his last stack of documents to look at me, setting the quill down that was grasped by his magic aura. With a nod of approval of his own, he smiled and took a step back towards a pull-down map of the castle grounds on the wall behind him. His hoof rested on the back area of the castle -- a large garden labyrinth.

“That area is your first assignment. You are to relieve the day shift guards there and keep that area patrolled at all times. Understood?”

His voice was firm and demanding, but not vicious nor angry. I saluted sharply with my right hoof.

“Outstanding. Welcome to the Royal Guard. Now go, dismissed.”

Turning sharply on my hooves, I marched out of the room and back the way I had come. Exiting through the front double doors, I gave the unicorn guards by the door a respectful nod before traveling down the stone steps, and turning to the side of the castle leading to the back section of the grounds. With each step towards the garden in the back behind the castle the illumination provided by the stone castle began to dim while further ahead a trio of unicorn guards used their magic to keep their immediate area lit. It was not uncommon to be honest to see unicorn guards combine their magic together to better illuminate the area, but hearing the almost-silent whooshing sounds overhead meant that other pegasus guards were making routine passes at altitudes high above the ground. The only thing that struck odd though was this fact: if it was so dark and cloudy, then why were there pegasus guards taking patrols at the time of night? I would’ve stayed to dwell into that thought but orders were orders.

Passing the unicorn guards I tilted my head respectfully and continued on the garden path towards the dark green labyrinth ahead. The garden maze loomed high overhead, but in the night, it partially blocked out the moon from a non-winged pony’s view. With this viewpoint the maze casted ominous shadows, which seemed to work well as I could feel the hair of my mane begin to stand up.

Was it fear, or just nervousness?

Anypony who would be tasked to patrol a towering labyrinth such as this in the dead of night, alone, would not feel so safe and secure either, and the royal guard ponies are not an exception to this insecurity, I could say that much. But yet, despite my training I had undergone in dealing with unsecure situations, why did I feel so uneasy about this, about tonight? Even as I tugged on my new armor to tighten it more securely, it weighed even heavier than before. Not doing anything but standing on all four hooves I could even feel my breaths getting shorter and faster than normal.

But I couldn’t tell as I stared up at the front gate to the maze. The gate was massive and intricate in its construction as well as the overhead archway, covering the metallic bars with natural wildlife vines they weaved in and out of it. I was sure in the light of Celestia’s reign it would’ve been a sight to behold, but under Luna’s reign, the entire natural structure looked like a place of evil right out of a horror story that I once read as a colt. Just staring up at it was enough to make me shiver. Looking straight ahead now I could see the beginnings of the maze stretch on for a long walk inside before taking endless turns to make travelers lose their sense of direction quickly as they moved deeper into the natural garden. But my view didn’t reach too far in as the high dense walls on both sides was able to block out the moonlight above and create long dark shadow areas the deeper anypony ventured on one of its many winding paths. The sight was almost discouraging, almost, but with a smile and a light chuckle, I looked skyward as I spread my wings out and flapping them several times before taking to the sky.

The Captain didn’t say I couldn’t fly while on patrol, I reassured myself with another soft chuckle.

The familiar resistance my wings took when in flight made my nerves relax a bit. Looking down at the garden as I made my first pass over the area took care of the rest. Walking through that labyrinth as an earth pony or a unicorn would have been nerve racking to say the least. I was sorry for any of those ponies who had done or will be doing patrols here later tonight.

For tonight was chilly - - unusually chilly to be honest.

As I worked on my third pass over the area I could feel the temperature of the night air drop fast. The cold, icy feeling crept up my wings to the point where I felt they were freezing. By the time I had finished my fifth pass my wings began to hurt from the cold that had put strain on them. Normally I could carry a sustain flight through cold weather but this temperature was colder than what I was used to. It was…off.

Returning back to the entrance of the garden I landed softly on the overhead archway and examined my wings. They still had full mobility, minus the muscle strain the cold had dealt on them, but looking at the outer feathers I noticed the ice build-up on my wings. Stretching them fully to extend I found myself wincing in pain at the cold soreness. I shook and cleaned my feathers of the ice build-up and looked at the rest of my body with the same examination. The new armor was cold against my form but not too cold as my wings were. The fact that there weren’t any signs of ice on my armor sparked a growing curiosity and concern.

I looked around from my perch instinctively but did not see anything unusual around the garden.

Perhaps it was a sudden cold spot that I flew into, I told myself as I gave another look around the area from my perch - - nothing.

Yeah, perhaps it was, I nodded to my own thinking and gave a sigh of relief.

The moment I exhaled a breath and then inhaled my eyes widened - - the breath I exhaled was clearly visible as if it was winter time.

But it couldn’t be winter; it was summer!

At this I exhaled again and again, catching the visible sight of each breath. Whatever explanation I previously had was now completely useless; at this point I was now more concerned than curious. It was summer and this sight was expected in the winter, not on a cool summer night. But tonight was not normally this cold, nor has it ever reached this cold so fast. The cold on my body was truly that of winter season or at least in near comparison and in no way possible for a normal cool summer night to imitate. This puzzled me even more.

This puzzling concern didn’t last long as a faint noise suddenly caught my ears and caused me to look back at the garden. About halfway in the labyrinth a barely visible illumination somehow made it through the dense walls. It wasn’t bright enough to make a distinct confirmation; but whatever the source was, it was bright enough to be seen. After a few seconds of staring at it in awe, it was gone.

Another second went by before I took to the sky and flew to the position of the light source. My wings pained my body against my wishes but I ignored them and continued on. Pushing them past the comfort zone and right into the painful state where every flap caused my body to wince. It seemed the closer I got to the source the more pain my wings mysteriously sustained. But I didn’t pay mind to it as I increased my speed. Within the next few moments my pain-stricken wings caused me to land rather hard on the dirt path, sending up a cloud of dirt and dust that obscured my vision completely.

Too rough of a landing, I groaned softly as I stretched my wings before tucking them against my sides, giving another wince from the pain before looking around.

All signs of the source had vanished. I found nothing out of the ordinary while slowly walking down the path of maze I was currently in. It was quiet -- too quiet.

It went on like this for a while; having crossed another path of the maze in complete silence, with not even a whisper of the wind seemed to seep through the thick bush wall on either side of the pathway. It got to the point where I felt like I was walking in circles. With my search turning up empty, I was discouraged. The pain in my wings was throbbing violently every time they slightly moved. I didn’t even know if they were suitable enough to fly again right now. If that was true then I was stuck; trapped in this massive and seemingly endless maze.

In a fit of sudden anger I kicked out at the wall of bushes, hitting a rather solid wooden support branch in the midst of it, my hoof stinging with the pain of striking it dumbly.

Great! Nice going newbie, wait to go and botch this up, I cursed at myself silently while looking around the dark path I was in.

A few more moments of cursing at my predicament was suddenly interrupted by a series of noises of twigs snapping and crunching leaves. The outburst of sound breaking the silence around me caused my eyes to widen as I froze in place, stopping all movement after the noise had reached my ears. The crunching of the leaves began to grow distant as I remained silent to listen. The noise was almost too faint to judge a best point of direction so I took my best guess and followed as silently as I could. The once grassy path of the maze now turned wet and muddy as I followed the fading noise further and further, my hooves making wet sloppy noises as they got caught in the thick mud.

I didn’t want to risk losing the noise so I didn’t break into a trot to try and gain closure on the source. The sound kept me moving without stop, making me turn right, left, right again, left again, and so on for the longest time till the sound finally ceased altogether.

As the noise disappeared completely I stopped in my tracks and looked around, another long pathway, dark and ominous just like all the other ones I had passed through. I tried to listen for the sound again, reassuring myself that I just happened to lose it for a second, but, it did not return. I kept trying to listen for the sound again and again, moving down the path slowly my ears perked forward in attention. Still, nothing but pure dead silence aside from the wet sounds of my hooves travelling through the muddy ground. By this time I was frustrated, cold, and in pain as my wings’ soreness returned me to their need for medical attention. Held back by all of these pressing circumstances I decided to give up and head back to the entrance of the maze.

However, as I turned around to head back the way I came, a sudden loud rustling began to grow louder and louder behind me. Turning around, I started notice the walls of the maze ahead begin to sway greatly when a sudden chilling blast of icy wind swooping down the path collided with me head-on.

“What the--!?”

I began in a protest as I brought up my wings to cover my face from the violent winds.

The current was strong. The power of the wind pushed back against my body, several times I had to hold onto my helmet or readjust it from being blown clear off. The chill I felt on my wings earlier returned, but now my entire body started to shiver from the sudden drop in temperature with seconds.

By now I knew one undeniable fact – this weather was being manipulated. It was not natural.

But the question ringing in my head was….who was behind all this?

The cold temperature and the violent gusts of wind was becoming too much of a distraction to focus on thinking about this abnormal weather. I could not concentrate on the reason or causes why. The distractions were becoming too hard to bear. The original sound that I was following was completely lost now, replaced by unrelenting wind and fast moving branches and debris. During the outburst I had kept moving and the pressure only increased. The more I pushed forward the more painful it became for my body.

But I was certain now; there was no longer any doubt in my mind that the manipulator was somewhere up ahead. I had no idea where to look up ahead but this time I didn’t care. I wanted to get to the bottom of this. I had to find him…or her.

I was in full trot now, pushing against the violent gust. Having to unfold my wings and use them as a shield against the wind since the start of its aggression and the consequence of doing so was staggering to say the least. The entire time I pushed on down the path, the pain it brought me was overwhelming and the only thing that seem to rival this pain was the coldness of the wind that I was using my wings to push past. For a while the way was barely visible, even with the help of the moonlight above my head. From the poor lighting to the readjustments of my helmet from shifting numerous times I thought the path seemed to stretch on and on forever. But regardless of this and the pain that was tearing at my body I continued on for a long time. Moving from one path of the labyrinth to the next, following the winding paths onward, and using the intensity of the resistance that I was encountering as my guide.

That is, until it inevitably became too much to hold out against.

Continuing on the path I was on, now surrounded by a foggy mist that completely blocked out my sight ahead, I could feel my strength and resistance against this manipulated force of nature fading as I began to sway side to side as my legs were almost spent from exhaustion and abuse. My wings, as well, fell to my sides as I could no longer hold them up, and without them shielding my eyes from the debris in the wind, I was truly blind while moving.

Pressing on like this, I knew I was not going to last much longer and the sway in my movements confirmed this when my body bumped into the walls of the labyrinth constantly, causing pain in my sides from the impacts. And just when my body was about to give out from the abuse, the wind and the noises stopped as abruptly as it started, leaving me standing there in the mist left by its wake.

Panting heavily, the silence of the labyrinth resumed. I could no longer keep myself standing. The severe state of pain that my legs, along with the rest of my body, were in forced me to collapse on the ground rather hard. I lay there, upright, panting, trying to catch my breath, while at the same time, trying to keep warm as my body shivered intensely from the cold. Looking up from the ground I noticed I was in a clearing somewhere in the labyrinth as a massive stone fountain stood before me a short distance away while anything beyond that was still unclear. Thankfully the foggy mist obscuring my view started to dissipate after a while, along with the abnormal cold temperature. With the mist almost gone, yet some of it still lingering, I could now see more of the clearing that I was in. Around the clearing was a miniature stone wall, along with other stone statues encircling the fountain statue that stood highest in the middle.

With more of the clearing visible it should have been a welcoming sight to the end of the wind storm earlier. On top of that I could feel my body heat begin to return to normal as well when the cold temperature around the area faded. All this should’ve been a welcoming relief. But something in my gut told me something was off still…

When I regained to my hooves after a bit longer of rest, tucking my wings carefully as I checked myself over, it was then that when I had finished checking myself over that I noticed the remnants of the mist had still lingered longer than it should have. Turning around back towards the fountain in the middle of the clearing was the finally revealed source of my uneasiness.

Standing there, facing towards me, was a dark pony figure; a smaller and slender dark pony figure resembling a mare than a stallion. With the mane covering half of the mysterious mare’s face, the dark pony was unidentifiable. Whether it was a earth pony, pegasus pony, or a unicorn it was impossible to tell with the mist giving the mystery pony visibility cover.

But my troubles in identifying the mare were short lived as the dark pony opened her eyes; a pair of bright yellow pupils staring at me from across the clearing while part of the mane covering her forehead began to glow an aura of red. The mist once again intensified and surrounded the clearing at its borders, blocking visibility to the labyrinth beyond it. With the moon and the night sky directly overhead being the only other thing visible, the mysterious mare spoke in a soft yet unnerving greeting.

“Welcome….Orion….glad you can accompany me for dinner.”

I stepped back cautiously until my rump bumped against one of the clearing's inner stone walls.

With an unknown intention of the smile on her face, she began to step forward....towards me.

Chapter 3: You can run...

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No Turning Back
Written by Cerulean Pony
Chapter III: You can run...

It was quiet now. The wind and the rustling branches of the bushes surrounding the clearing seemed to stop as well; even though sounds of life that usually inhabit the area around the gardens at night were nonexistent. The silence was unnerving and her approach didn’t make the situation any better. And while I had bumped into a stone wall behind me, my mind began to race in many different directions. So many thoughts and questions flooded my current grip on what was happening here.

Like, who was this mysterious unicorn?

Why was she here?

And what did she want?

The unidentified mare that stared me down silently was now partially illuminated in the dark by her magical horn. Part of her figure that was now visible revealed some of her features from which, to be frank, unsettled me more than comfort me for some unknown reason. The pony was young, no older than I was, and the fur was opposite of mine: jet black. Her mane was black as well, save for strands of her mane here and there having a color shade of crimson. And her eyes…oh Celestia her eyes…they were the feature that unsettled me in the first place: at first, they were a bright yellow but then…a blood red, bright enough to shine in any level of darkness. Matched altogether, the combination would give anypony chills, if put in the same situation.

To know what the unicorn mare was using with her magic was not quite clear yet, but at this moment, I was more preoccupied with her than her glowing horn. The closer she moved the more I reacted. My breath quickened. I found myself panting softly as well, as if tired from running a great distance or flying for a really long period of time. The temperature grew cold, in a way that made my body begin to shiver. All these things I began to notice, and soon after, I realized they only increased with every step she took. I could not put my hoof on it, but the pit feeling in my stomach told me what it was clear:

Something about this mare was off.

She intimidated me completely and…I was afraid of her. I never seen her before in my life but…she terrified me.

Drawing my wings up, I finally spoke, trying to keep any hint of fear from showing. It, unfortunately, didn’t fare well.

“Y-you there, w-who are you? What are you doing here?”

Not a word of reply.

Instead, she only grew closer. Her steps calm, and creepily enough, in a precise manner. Instinctively I took a step back but my left back hoof thudded against a hard surface. Gulping out of fear I turned my head quickly behind me, where a ten hoof stone wall stood to greet my hasty glance. My ears drooped low towards the back of my head as I gaped at the barrier.

Oh crud…

Turning back quickly to the mare my heart skipped a beat--for the dark pony, which was advancing towards me, was gone.

The air was still, no sounds were made. The dead silence that once occupied this area was back, except now without the presence of a certain dark mysterious mare. I thought with her absence I would be feeling much better, but deep down in my stomach, I only felt it worsen. For a few moments I turned this way and that, searching for her.

No way did she just leave like that. No way.

“H-hello?” I almost whispered, taking a few steps forward, turning my gaze left and right.

No reply.

And as I looked cautiously around current area I felt it, creeping up on me -- the feeling of being watched.

She was out there, somewhere, waiting.

The small courtyard was empty again, save for me, alone, slowly searching the grounds. And it was quiet, avoidance of any other inhabiting life. The absence of these roaming night animals stirred a nervous concern. Walking the outer perimeter of the courtyard, I would find myself occasionally glancing back at the spot where the mare once stood in the clearing. In my mind as I continued my search, I would picture her to reappear and disappear at that spot every time my attention was turned away from it. Turning the next corner, my gaze came to a pathway leading away from the courtyard. Looking up from the path the silhouette of the castle stood over the hedge line, distant.

I knew my gut was telling me to leave while the timing was good, but casting a glance back at that certain spot, I felt something…lingering.

Catching my hooves hesitantly I took a step back away from the path, slapping myself.

Get a hold of yourself, for Celestia sake. You’re a member of the Royal Guard. Act like it!

Turning away and slowly walking down the dirt path, I exited the courtyard. The path was straight, with no turns, but long. The walls of the garden on either side were thick and too dense to see through. Occasionally I would stop to look back the way I came; expecting to see her standing silently behind me, taunting me, but there was nothing there.

I drew a sigh, rubbing my head with a hoof.

“What a night. My first assignment and I’m already bailing on it.”

I turned back around and continued on, the clopping of my hooves becoming the only sound audible around me as I moved forward again.

“Shining Armor is going to remove me from service I just know it.”

I looked up at the moon overhead, partially covered by the clouds in front, my ears lowered.

“All thanks to my cowardice because of one young mar--.”

I froze as something light like a piece of a branch snapped close by. For a few moments later silence returned but then the noise came back, followed by more. The closer I listened, the more the sounds moved in a circular motion. As if somepony was running around crushing the fallen branches with their hooves. The noise did not stop and turning about constantly, trying to not be caught off guard, was starting to freak me out. Every time I believed I had found the source of the noise, another twig would snap behind me, jerking me away from the sense of certainty. This continued to the point where I was nearly turning back after every little noise I made unintentionally, not just the sounds beyond me.

“I know you’re the one out there doing that mare,” I raised my voice loud enough to be heard, still turning about at each new source of the noise.

No reply, as usual, just more sounds of movement under hoof.

I’m not scared.

I assured myself as I continued to back away from each and every noise my ears caught.

But there are times where even the most experienced ponies would safely call it quits and seek aid on something that was clearly beyond a single pony’s capability to handle on their own.

I did not know this area well and I was alone. There was no pony else assigned to this section of the castle grounds, or none that I was made aware of.

Regardless of whatever I tried assuring myself with while I was running along that path, I knew one thing--my mind and gut told me to find help now while I still had the chance.

“Oh I hope Shining Armor will not be mad at me for leaving my post like this,” I groaned, entering into a full sprint.

Unfurling my wings and looking skyward I felt a familiar presence return. The damage my wings sustained earlier was still there to remind me greatly. For at the moment I spread them a pain spiked all over causing a flinch from my entire body as I flapped several times. Catching momentum and wind I lifted off of the ground in a quick take off.

But it did not go unnoticed. During takeoff the shuffling sounds of movement ceased all too quickly. This halted my ascent a bit as I looked about in bewilderment.

For a long moment, I could not hear anything else except the flapping of my own wings.

“H-hello?” I called out shakily, my head turning side to side, cautiously searching.

Silence.

Whether or not I would have gotten a reply it didn’t really matter at this point. Now my mind and gut was yelling for me to run. And I did exactly that. Not wanting to wait around a second longer I took off. Scanning across the sky, I was desperately searching for any other pegasi guards flying around the grounds that I remember noticing prior to entering the labyrinth.

Not a single one was found and this fruitless finding only increased my current situation for the worse. For one it was only increasing the pain I felt in pushing my wings to fly farther. After more fruitless searching I abandoned that quest and turned my full attention towards the castle, its massive size overlooking everything on the grounds.

Its appearance was welcoming. Getting closer, a sigh of relief escaped from my mouth. From my current distance I could now see the individual lighting in the windows. Their sight was more warming than I thought.

Tilting my flight pattern a bit my wings hit resistance. It was cold, chilling even, almost like….

My eyes widened in fear.

Flaring my wings forward in midflight, I halted. Ending up in hovering above my current location I spun around, looking around wildly.

“N-no no no no no no! She couldn’t be--I outran her!…there’s no way she could’ve caught--“

Amidst the constant turning and searching something caught my eye ahead of me while turning back towards the castle. Standing on top of the arc entrance of the labyrinth was the silhouette of a pony – a dark silhouette with a black and red mane.

With barely enough time to recognize the silhouette an aura of red magic suddenly began to form around the mare; within moments it was released with a bright flash. The lance of red energy sprung forth, rocketing towards me with such an alarming speed I could only blink till until it was too close to dodge. A searing pain lanced across my chest, knocking the wind out of me as I spun back wildly. The attack was too fierce to recover from--I cried out as the energy enveloped my entire body, shocking me viciously with several high intensity voltages. I couldn’t move as I fell, plummeting toward the ground in a spiraling descent.

The ground greeted me rather harshly. I gave a crying shout as my body hit hard, bouncing a few times, before going into a tumbling roll that ended out in a slide stretching a small distance from the initial landing spot. On my left side in the middle of a dirt path inside the labyrinth, I found my body unresponsive. My chest was sore, just breathing alone was enough to make me wince. Looking at my chest I noticed the gold plated armor harbored a hoof-size burnt through hole, a bit of smoke still trailing off of the edges of it. Reaching a shaking hoof to my chest, I barely touched the tender spot before whimpering in agony. Removing my hoof from the spot I felt something moist from that section of my coat. Raising my hoof up to my face the tip was stained crimson. Panting hard, I turned over, hissing from the difficulty. My body was screaming for me to stop moving, it wanted nothing more than to just lay still and rest. But I ignored it and slowly sat up, giving myself a quick onceover. Through my search several things became clear. One, I could no longer feel the weight and clinging feeling of my helmet which meant that it was lost somewhere in the landing. Two, a few other pieces of my armor were missing, including a hoof guard that protected one of my fore hooves. But that was the least concerning feeling I had felt during my search. Lastly, looking back I winced from a different but equally agonizing pain. My back pained me, particularly around my wings, and considering the intensity it was safe to assume that one of my wings was either fractured or broken cleanly.

Looking the rest of my body over, my white coat was dirty with various degrees of mud and grass stains. However, in some spots on my sides and flank I felt the occasional stinging sensation that was quickly revealed to be a matted patch of white and red fur. One such area covered a sizable portion on my right hind leg. Moving it was very difficult, occasionally causing me to wince when I turned my attention to other areas.

Much to my suspicions, my chest, my wings, and one of my rear legs took the most damage as I slowly tried to stand up. Wobbly at first and with a few collapses but I managed it, my hooves still shaking. With some more difficulty and discomfort, I undid the latches that kept what was left of my body armor on and shook them off.

As they clattered on the ground, I groaned and facehoofed.

“Lovely, just lovely, my first night and I’ve already broken my armor. How am I ever going to be able to explain this?” I groaned, muttering to myself, piling the pieces of broken armor together before looking around, “oh well, this was going to be a hard one to explain to Shining Armor before this but now it will be ten times worse.”

Looking up my eyes locked upon the castle before my hooves slowly started to move.

“Now…where is that mare? She shouldn’t be too far away. Or at least, for once, I hope she is.”

A few moments of silence had started to relieve me into thinking the latter but a rustle among the bushes soon after quickly quelled that, yet again, making me turnabout.

“And there she is…geez…you just had to jinx yourself, didn’t you?” I muttered with annoyance, turning around as the sounds of rustling continued.

The rustling bushes begun to lack direction as it moved around faster. Tilting my head I tried to follow the noise, my body expressing discomfort and protest through the constant movement. Turning completely in a circle my body nearly gave out, causing me to stumble greatly after attempting to recover.

Panting, I looked around for the intruding mare. I knew the mare was close, but more gravely, I knew that in my current condition I would not last at all in any hope of defense. My body was already confirming this, making my attempts to stay upright an almost seemingly impossible task. In addition to my failing attempt to stay standing, I felt my consciousness slipping by the numbing effects of my wounds; having to constantly shake myself to stay awake to keep looking. During this I started to growl in annoyance.

What was she waiting for? An open target?

This constant state of uneasiness and worry was starting to push me over the edge, so much that I found myself shouting aloud in frustration.

Stepping forward into the middle of the dirt path, I looked around wildly, stomping my fore hooves into the ground in a fit of that frustration, screaming.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT!!?”

This time, the reply came. And fast.

Within moments I was shoved, harshly, knocked off my hooves and onto my back. Lying on my side, with my right hind leg now ablaze with new intensity I yelped. I couldn’t see my leg though; dust and dirt from the fall covered my face. Attempting to wipe my face with a hoof, I tried to sit up but something prevented my body, except my hoof, from moving. After clearing the dust from my face I saw why.

Standing in front of me, on all four hooves, was the black mare intruder, the dark unicorn’s horn aglow.

I watched her magic encase my entire body as she stepped forward. Her eyes glaring down at me those crimson red pupils piercing into mine. She moved around me once before stopping back where she started. It was at this moment I knew that her game was over; the look on her face assured that. Under her spell I knew I couldn’t do anything but watch.

“W-what do you want from me?” I managed to call out between labored breaths.

Without any reply I was lifted up off of the ground and held in midair. She approached me, looking me over, touching each wound and testing the reaction it gave. Despite all my painful reactions and whimpering, her expression remained the same. She merely glared in dominance, like a predator would do to a captured prey. It was until then that she finally spoke, her stare turning into a toothy, fanged grin as she pressed a hoof against my right hind leg, causing another whimper in response.

“You left yourself open…my little guard. Not much fun are you?”

I looked at her, panting, my state of consciousness dropping.

“W-what?”

This time she pressed her hoof into my chest, getting an even more painful whimper from her captive.

“I supposed there is not much sense to keep playing with you anymore now that the fun is over.”

The mare started to pace back and forth, every now and then giving me a look before turning her head away, speaking aloud to herself.

“Hmm, I do wonder though…shall I kill you now or let you suffer a little longer?”

She paced back and forth some more before giggling for the first time; it wasn’t at all comforting. As she looked up at me once more with another malicious toothy smirk, I gulped.

“Oh well…guess you’ll just have to take your chances then, won’t you?”

My eyes widened in terror, pain momentarily forgotten I struggled to get free but to no avail. She merely watched my attempt and laughed, shaking a hoof in a disapproving gesture. I looked down at her, pleading, tears beginning to form in my eyes.

“N-no! You can’t do this…pleas--“

Pulling me in close and tilting my head to the side, she sank her fangs deep into my neck. The moment her fangs pierced through the skin the most intensive pain I ever felt caused my body to jolt, but the magic hold she had kept me from moving as a warm pulsing feeling dripped down my neck and chest, coating the affected areas of my fur with a mix of white and red.

I wanted to scream. My body writhed in agony, but somehow the mare’s bite prevented it. All I could get when I opened my mouth to scream was the rising taste of copper from my own blood as it slowly filled my maw with every passing moment the mare would continue to sink her fangs deeper. When she stopped sinking her fangs in deeper I felt her beginning to suck on the open wound, feeling the pulsing warmth of my blood rushing to meet her. While she continued, I slowly began to experience the feeling of my body fading away as well. The process was excruciating even as the connection to it began to disappear, my body was constantly in agony, aching for it to stop. I wanted it stop but even if her spell was lifted I couldn’t move.

As long as she held me in her grasp, her fangs deep in my neck, draining my blood, I was helpless to her whim, nothing more, and nothing less. After a few moments that seemed like hours the pain subsided as a numbing sensation swept over my body. The numbing effect had its way with my panicking state, draining my strength and ceasing all of my pointless struggling. I couldn’t tell what was happening exactly; the numbing of my body seemed to slow down my thoughts as well.

Not that I had long to figure out what was happening to me either way. From all that she was doing to me I could feel my consciousness slipping under finally. With my vision blurring and my body shutting down, I could only watch as she continued to feast before my wounds finally took their toll and everything faded into darkness.