//------------------------------// // 113 - The Sky Castle // Story: Re:Harmony // by starcross7 //------------------------------// “Fluttershy” leapt up and snapped the Sky Key off from the Empress’s neck. She head-butted the Empress like a ram, sending her to the flames of the cloud floor before she flung the Sky Key into Rainbow Dash’s teeth. Lord General Surprise, momentarily surprised by the counterattack, reacted too late to Lord General Flash Sentry’s dual-hoof struck to her solar-plexus, which also sent her to the flames. Before Twilight could find out what was going on, a green burst of magic swelled out and knocked the pegasi guards out from their hoofs and out of the air, which then slammed them against the walls of Grand Hall. The magic aura miraculously left Twilight, Applejack, Sunny, and Rainbow Dash intact and in their places, along with “Fluttershy” and “Flash Sentry”. As the green aura held the what appeared to be the entirety of the nation of Pegasopolis in bay, Twilight turned back towards the execution platform and blinked again. There she was, the Changeling Queen Chrysalis, standing where Fluttershy should have stood, but missing her insectoid wings that now lay by her atrophied hooves. Doomie “herself” stood next to a confused Rainbow Dash and helped her back up. “Doomie?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What the hay is going on? Twilight, did you plan this?” “I didn’t,” replied Twilight. The Magisister had other plans, but none of it involved Changelings. It certainly did not involve the Changeling Queen, and she had hoped until now she had seen the last of her. The terrible memories of her assault against her and Applejack still lingered. Now she was not sure if she should be disgusted or thankful. Chrysalis still had her arrogant fang-smile on her face, and already she started to slowly regrow her severed wings. "What's your plan here, Chrysalis?” asked Twilight. “Truth be told, I have my own selfish reasons for helping your merry little group,” she replied. Chrysalis grunted. The flames of wrath from Firefly slammed against the Changeling Queen's shield-like spell and started to crack it. Doomie rushed to her Queen's aid, only to be gestured away. “The Empress is weakening my hold," said Chrysalis. "You must get to the Sky Castle immediately. The Sky Key will lead you to your destiny.” Before Twilight could even formulate a new plan, the lightning-shaped Sky Key pulled Dash off her hooves before she planted herself on the ground to regain control it. Somehow, the Sky Key reacted to Dash herself, and it had enough power to pull a powerful pegasus as the Chroma Pirate herself. There was no time to think how or why the Sky Key reacted the way it did. Twilight felt the heat grow as Queen Chrysalis's crooked horn pulsed in its struggle to keep the enemy pegasi at bay. Quickly, Twilight galloped up to Rainbow Dash to cast an ice bridge that led from the execution platform to an exit situated behind the throne platform. She and her friends wasted no time crossing the bridge safely over the roaring flames with Rainbow Dash pulling the lead. Twilight took a quick glance back to see Chrysalis and Doomie standing by each other, eagerly waiting for the purple unicorn and her friends to exit the towering colosseum that was the Grand Hall. Then to Twilight’s curiosity, she noticed a disgusted look spread across Applejack’s face. The memories of being trapped in the dream spell still affected her dear friend, but like the others, she followed her gut and escaped the Grand Hall. They could not turn back. They could not look back. They had to run as fast as they could, or else a single pegasus warrior would break through a single kink in Chrysalis’s barrier spell. “GLORY TO THE CHANGELING KINGDOM!” Unmistakably it was Doomie’s voice, and less than a second a huge explosion shook the entirety of Black Cloud. Even as she continued running, Twilight felt the cloud floor beneath her hooves quivering. She knew that her and Sunny’s cloud walking spells remained active on herself and Applejack, but even the best spells would not stop them from falling through a disappearing cloud layer. A bright flash illuminated behind her and her friends, and she could hear the roar of a tens of thousands of wrathful pegasi. Twilight kept running, and while she was used to it after the start of her adventure, she was no sprinter. She fell behind Applejack and Sunny, and she could barely see Rainbow Dash zipping from hallway to hallway ahead of her. All her legs began screaming in pain. Her lungs gasped in its struggle to cycle the oxygen in and out her body. She consciously made sure to not trip and fall. She may be her mother’s most prized pupil, but there would be no way for her to fight against an entire pegasi population out for their blood. Twilight suddenly bumped into Sunny and Applejack. Two her companions had stopped in the middle, and something caused Rainbow Dash to be thrown back. She was okay, she air-braked in the middle of the air to stare ahead at her assailant. Here stood the real Lord General Flash Sentry with bruise over his eye, chipped golden armor, and unbound ropes wrapped around his wings and hooves. The cold air made his angry snorting apparent. This wasn’t the time to fight him when they barely survived defeating Lord General Soarin. She hoped that the three heavily armored soldiers behind him weren’t as powerful. “After them!” he cried out. Instead of his minions lunging at Twilight and her friends, one of them threw a cream pie into his face, giving the other the time to magick her cloak off her back to bind his wings. Before he could scream out further, the third “soldier” pulled a cloth from underneath her yellow wing and wrapped his muzzle shut. “Sorry to do this to you,” the soldier spoke softly. At that moment, Rainbow Dash tackled her. The armor fell off to reveal the timid yellow pegasus they were trying to save, with Pinkie Pie and Rarity throwing their armor off to assure their friends of their safety. “Thank heavens you’re all right!” Dash cried. “Why wouldn’t I be?” asked Fluttershy. “You were captured by the damn Empress herself!” “I was, but then the Changeling Queen and Doomie rescued me along with Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Oh, and Applejack. The Queen says she’s sorry.” “Like hay I believe her,” muttered Applejack. “I’m glad everypony’s okay,” said Twilight, “but we have to move. Dash, the Sky Key.” “On it!” cried Dash. Dash clasped her teeth on the Sky Key, and it pulled her away once more. The reunited gang followed her at their fastest pace, the paths they now took became straighter, and eventually reached a very large and long hall. Here, the demonic cloud walls and floor became grayer, and the design more Romanesque like the Pegasopolis of old. Soon, the hallway became white, and at the very end was a glass elevator surrounded by gold accents. No doubt the Sky Elevator was there. Just a little closer… But then a red dragon threw his entire body in their path, and his girth barely fit into the width of the disintegrating hallway. Even in the dim light, his golden armor and his mighty longswords shimmered magnificently, and yet nopony could find the moment to admire them at the fullest. Smoke billowed from his nostrils as he turned to face them with his hypnotic reptilian eyes. The mere unsheathing of one of his golden long swords cut way the ceiling of the hallway to the Sky Elevator to expose his targets. He raised his weapon for a devastating strike. Even if Twilight and her friends could avoid it, they would not avoid the second attack. Then, as if rising from the surface, a fiery red bird-like creature appeared and shot out of blast of light at the dragon. The dragon roared and attempted to chomp blindly at the firebird. Then he swung his sword madly at the firebird as he stepped back and forth in fury. He sliced apart the floor in rage, but what remained was enough. Twilight whistled and gave her friends time to quickly gallop or fly underneath the red dragon during his angry distraction. The purple unicorn confidently leapt from cloud to cloud, for she had no worries that her friends would be able to cross. Aside from avoiding a massive tail whip from the dragon, everypony had made to safety into the Sky Elevator, which had immediately opened right when Rainbow Dash arrived. It was just in time as well. The armored red dragon had thrashed what was essentially the entire hallway to the Sky Elevator, leaving very little cloudland for a non-flyer to stand on. The firebird fired its light once more at the dragon, forcing it further down, and then the two disappeared underneath the broken clouds as the elevator suddenly shot up. Everypony hit the floor at the initial thrust through the glass tube, and it was not long they were able to get back up. By now, Twilight and the others could the see the sprawling demonic complex of the Factory and Black Cloud, which occupied nearly half of the northwest corner of the continent. Higher and higher they went, and they could see more of the cloudlands, and eventually most of Gaea itself. Soon, the mares could only see the continent itself with no distinct borders separating the countries. There was a difference of seeing the photo of the planet from space and seeing it with her own eyes. Her friends’ faces almost pressed against the glass as they ascended higher to marvel at the beauty of the land that birthed to them. It was hard to believe that this was the same world on the brink of war. There were no borders and no walls to separate ponies. It was land and oceans. “Bzzt… Welcome visitors t-to the Depth Space Coordinator, a marvel sci- and -echnology.” “What was that?” jumped Fluttershy. “Did any of us speak?” asked Rarity. “I think it’s one of those talky elevators,” said Applejack. “Gaea has lots of those in every government buildin’ to remind everypony how ‘incorruptible’ they are.” “Yeah, but what is the Deep Space Cord-thingy?” asked Pinkie Pie. “Wait, you can understand what they’re saying?” asked Twilight. “Why, yes darling,” replied Rarity. “It certainly has an exotic accent, though a bit plain for my tastes.” “It’s all gibberish to me,” said Rainbow Dash as she pocketed the Sky Key. “It’s the Elements,” said Sunny. “Those who are chosen to bear them are granted the ability to understand the languages of the Before Times.” “Come to think of it, I think I ran to these kinds of systems back when I teamed up with the Unicorn Hunters to rescue Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Sunny from that green dragon,” said Applejack. “Sunny, are more of your memories returning the more we acquire the Elements?” asked Twilight. “In pieces,” replied Sunny, “but I suppose it stands to reason that the Elements, being ancient and powerful, would endow any pony with such abilities.” Any rational pony could assume that the Elements of Creation had other hidden powers beyond what the bearers had manifested. Once again, however, Twilight began to have suspicions over her Alicorn protector that she rescued in the depths of Tartarus 01. Sure, she gained new abilities as the collected more Elements, but was she really pretending to be dumb? Did she pretend to have lost her memories? Every time Twilight looked at her serves to the confound the mysteriousness of her nature. Even now, she retained that calm and caring neutrality, but it was as if she continued to test everypony in this glass elevator. There was only so much she could dwell on the long elevator ride. Occasionally the elevator system would speak, with Rarity, Applejack, or Pinkie Pie translating, but all it could say was their altitude, the current temperature, and other mundane things. Eventually, they gave up translating to Twilight and the non-Element bearers, and decided to, in one way or another, express their restlessness. Rarity had curled up against the glass, and Pinkie Pie ran in place, zipping from one side to another. Applejack worked on fixing her Stetson hat by chewing on its edges, while Rainbow Dash continued to hover above everypony. Fluttershy sat wistfully looking down to the surface below. At one point, Rarity asked her what she was thinking about, and she muttered about knowing a bird saving them. “A firebird?” asked Dash. “Holy cow, that was a phoenix!” “A phoenix?” asked Rarity. “I thought those are just legends.” “I heard rumors that the Empress has one as her pet. Was that really hers? And if it was, why would it save us?” “She wanted to be free,” said Fluttershy as she smiled wistfully. A phoenix, huh? Twilight summoned a note from her Tele-Orb to scribble down her observations about her encounter with one. The words “powerful” and “can fight dragons” were underlined for emphasis. “Bzzt, c-current altitude, 75 kilomet--,” the elevator spoke. “We -ill –rive at the D-De---- S---- Coord------- in __ minutes.” “Ugh, can this elevator go any slower?” exclaimed Dash. “Your sarcasm has been noted, Miss Dash,” said Rarity, “but how could anypony want this to go any faster?” “Rarity’s right,” said Fluttershy. “This Sky Castle is so, so—“ “—heavenly!” Twilight and her friends had not thought to look up until now. For almost the entire ride, the Sky Castle was but a distant speck in space. Now it hovered over them like a beautiful crystal chandelier of gold with a beautifully arranged bouquet of decorative solar panels growing out like plants. Its fragile appearance belies its impressive stability and outward cleanliness. Not once did Twilight feel as if the glass tube would shatter. Not once did Twilight feel like she and her friends could plunge back down to the surface without notice. It was certainly heavenly, as Rarity had put it, and she saw no visible signs of damage. It appeared to be geo stationary, as if it selectively blessed Pegasopolis in exchange for its protection from Gaea’s long-range ballistic missiles, if it needed defense in the first place. It did not appear to have any visible weapons. Then again, the Sky Castle could be containing exotic technology or highly advanced magic that nopony understood. The elevator reached its stop in a sealed spherical enclosure with only one window pointing out the inky blackness of space and the warm blue glow of the earth below. Less than a minute had passed with gasses escaping and filling the crevices surrounding the elevator before the doors finally slid open. The pouring light form the entrance interior nearly blinded Twilight and her friends. Their eyes readjusted, and they immediately beheld an Eden. “Greetings ladies and—bzzt—gentleman, and welcome the Depth Space Coord—Coord—Coord—bzzt.” Everypony anxiously filed out and galloped on its smooth translucent marble-like surface. Like the outside, the interior was gilded with gold and platinum edges. A long line of planters with living trees, complete with exotic bugs and birds, led up to what appeared to be the Sky Castle’s monorail platform containing egg-shaped cars nestled in a tube system. This must be the station. It was large enough to have room for a park with a few vending machines and floating overhead billboard advertisements that flickered pixelated images of thin, furless creatures with elongated limbs who walk primarily on their hind legs. Aside from the initial flora and fauna, Twilight and her friends were only the ones here. It was somewhat dirty with the plants overgrowing, and it seemed like the exotic birds and the bugs maintained a clear pathway for any future guests. They swarmed happily around an ecstatic Fluttershy, who, in her mysterious way, began having a conversation with them. “This is what I call a pad!” Dash exclaimed. “And it’s all mine!” “I think the discovery would be claimed by all of us, Dash,” said Rarity. “Also, I think calling it a ‘pad’ is not doing this heavenly beauty justice. I hate to say this, but this Sky Castle puts the Crystal Empire to shame. Ooh! There's a mini mall close by!” "I hope they have snacks there," said Pinkie. "The vending machines here are all empty." "Everypony, we got to focus," said Twilight. "We may have the Sky Key, but if we goof around here, the Empress and her soldiers are going to catch up." "But this place is, like, in outer space," said Rainbow Dash. "There's no way anypony could fly up here!" Dash's words had tempted fate one too many. They were a cue or a beacon that summoned a flying projectile, which dramatically shattered through the windows of the Sky Castle Monorail Station. Everypony shrieked either in surprise or in terror, and held on to whatever stable platform they could grab, whether it be a planter wall, a tree, a bench, or a vending machine. A rush of oxygen escaped from the glass hole in a terrifying whoosh. The Sky Castle came alive, throwing out klaxons and spinning overhead red lights complete with warning messages flashing forebodingly on the billboards. Right as the breach occurred, the Sky Castle closed it by firing onto it a latticework of platinum-colored plating from some of its hidden guns. Everypony was not safe yet. Twilight could not believe her eyes. The white pegasus crouched before her and her friends had no breathing helmet, let alone a pressure suit to keep the gases from escaping her body. She rationalized that it would not be beyond the white pegasus’s capabilities. This was the Pegasopolis’s second most powerful pony, she exhibited no outward signs of injury on her body. “Guess what everypony?” cried the white pegasus. “Surprise is back!”