//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Legend of Alicorns // by Amereep //------------------------------// I can't explain what it feels like to fly.  It isn't like riding a balloon or falling with a parachute, it just can't be explained through words.  The freedom from being land-bound, the feeling of owning the sky.  I'll never forget the moment when I first took to the air, and I'm sure that Cici will treasure this moment in the air as well. "GET ME DOWN FROM THIS THING!" "WHO?" "ME, YOU NECK BROKEN BUZZARD!!!" "WHO?" She'll remember this for the rest of her life. Cici whimpers while she dangles from the clutches of the owl that carries us both to Unicornia.  She had her chance to ride on the Shoebill provided to her, but she was just too afraid of flying.  In the end, my ride (an owl) decided to use force and grabbed her in his talons to carry her to Unicornia.  She's been screaming since then. "Why are we tilting!?  We're going to crash into the mountain!!!  Thank goodness, that nearly took my hea- YOU'RE GOING TO HIT THAT TREE!!!!!!!!" At times she can really lighten up my day. With a wave of a hoof and a flap of some wings, I see our ride off after it drops us at the town's laundry pool.  "Bye Kaepora," I look over to the nerve-wrecked Cici who's hugging the ground from the enjoyment of a solid surface underneath her hooves, "Star Swirl is somewhere in Unicornia.  We don't have to deal with other ponies being prejudiced towards us here so they'll be more helpful for us at getting information of his whereabouts, this'll be easy.  So where should we start looking?" "Actually," Cici starts to recompose herself, "I think we should split up.  Unicornia is the largest town out of all the three tribes.  We're familiar with the town so splitting up would help speed up the search."  Well to be honest, I don't really know this town as much as I do in my time, but splitting up may not be such a bad idea.  "I'll search towards the moon and you search to the sun."  She departs towards her direction,  "We'll meet back here after awhile."  I wave her goodbye as she leaves out of my sight. .............FINALLY! I begin attacking my wings with a series of scratches.  It's been bugging me for hours, they're so itchy.  Oh.... almost...... ah that's much better.  I'm starting to notice that I'm starting to get some looks from ponies.  Realizing at how ridiculous I must look right now, I slow the assault on my wing.  I give a sheepish grin and begin to walk in the sun's direction. Now that I explore the town a bit, I take in much more detail at my surroundings than I did prior.  Unicornia can be best described as Manehattan meeting Ponyville.  The buildings are crammed in close proximity to one another and have busy streets, but the buildings only go about two stories high and are modeled like it's meant for residences. Speaking about residence, out of the three tribes, the Unicorns have the closest resemblance to the ones in my time.  They look as if they too were in the past along with me, but I notice that the ears seem to be a bit longer than those of my era.  They do seem more lively and there certainly are a lot of them.  A pony with a turban trying to sell stuff on his carpet.  A stallion with an untrustworthy face prancing around.  A little filly in a green dress chasing a butterfly.  It's basically a sea of ponies going about their business. Finding one single pony amongst them is going to be difficult, but as long as nopony finds out that I'm not a unicorn, then they most likely will be willing to assist me at finding him. I walk up to a mare wearing a witch's hat and ask if she saw Star Swirl, she shakes her head.  I went over and ask a stallion with an organ grinder, he shakes his head as well.  I ask a mare with a compass around her neck, she nods!  She points to a corner and I gallop towards it, turn the corner and see an alleyway that leads to a dead end. This isn't working.  Perhaps I should ask a pony that's been in the area for awhile.  Scanning the area, I notice a tent among the row of buildings.  It looks like a shop, complete with a counter, pots on display, and a stallion in a green pointed hood and yellow checkered sleeves looking pretty bored.  He must've been there for a while, maybe he saw Star Swirl walk by.  "Excuse me," he looks over to me, "I'm trying to find Star Swirl and heard that he's somewhere in town.  Have you seen him?" "I'm afraid not," He shakes his head down low emphasizing the disappointment.  "But fear not dear mare, for you are in the land of hopes and fondest dreams." ".......come again?" "Here you can taste the thrill of playing ball in the house AND get your hooves on some fabulous prizes.  It is our EARNEST hope that you find delight playing the POT game." .........I think I found a coltfriend for Cici. "The rules are exceedingly simple." He levitates a ball, "Take this bountiful sphere," followed by a gesture to a row of clay vases, "and try to smash a pot behind me." "Yeeeaahh, I'm going to pass on this."  I start walking away and then suddenly feel his magical aura pulling on my tail along with me back towards him. "But dear mare, this is a chance of a lifetime." He lets go and I try to escape once more, "Thanks, but I'm kinda busy." He grabs me once more and it dawns on me that I'm going to be repeating this pattern for a while. "♪You don't know what you're missing.♫" "♫Oh yes I do.♪" "Don't let timidness control you." "It's not, it's irritation." "The display of your bravado will undoubtedly grab the attention of any gentlecolt." "A gentlecolt would never pull on the tail of a mare's and yet I've gotten your attention.  So what does that make you." I finally decide to face him head on with a stern look and he in return with his own.  "Tell ya what," he began suggesting, "I'll let you have a free throw.  Just a sample of what you're passing up.  Win or lose, I won't ask you for another game."  He levitates me with a ball within his goldenrod aura.  I have doubts about that, but if it means that he'll stop, then I'll play ball.  I grab the sphere in my aura and took note of its heavy weight.  Breathing deeply, I concentrate on my target and hurled it at the pot.  The ball hits it dead on... *clink* ...but it bounces off of it.  For a brief moment, I saw the pot giving off a goldenrod wisp.  "Shabby luck, you almost cracked it," the owner said in a tone that sounded like he was mocking.  "You could always try again if you like." Fat chance!  I noticed the spell you put on it.  It's a spell called 'Magic Armor'.  It acts like a magic barrier, but instead of a sphere, it covers the target's form (kinda like a second skin).  Furthermore, once the spell is cast, it stays activated until it is canceled by the caster.  You don't need to keep a constant focus on the spell, but it does drain your magic. I glare at him as he aims his attention towards a little colt wearing a red bandanna and a white shirt with the number one his back approaching the counter.  "Hey there, little guy.  Wanna give it a try?  It'll only cost a gemstone." "You'd be better off saving it, kid." I warned the little one. "Don't listen to her, she just can't muster up the strength.  But YOU!  You on the other hoof can break those pots apart no doubt." The little colt levitates a slingshot towards the swindler. "Um... sure.  You can use that if you wish." He then places a green hexagonal gemstone on the table and focuses his shot.  He takes out some seeds from his pocket and places one of them on the band.  He pulls back and I look back at the conning stallion.  I hear a fling and see him performing the spell. *CRACK* Both of us look at the boy's work, shock at the sight of a shattered pot.  Did the colt hit it before he could cast the spell?  I look over to the con artist to see him looking pretty peeved, "Er... Oh, what a joy this is!  The debut of a new markspony!  Showers of applause all around!  To the colt...I shall give THIS!"  He levitates a small stuffed pink pig towards the colt's opened hooves. "But..." he pulls it back ,"A mere toy like this isn't suitable for such a great sharp shooter like you.  What would really be worthy of your prowess is one of the bigger prizes."  I can see what his intentions are, but the colt seems more enthralled by the offer.  "Unfortunately, I just can't give these to just anypony.  Only to a pony that can prove his worth by shattering all of the pots deserves such a glorious trophy." The colt gives an expression that he's up for the challenge and pulls back his slingshot.  I watch the pot, it lights up for a brief second with goldenrod wisp around it and is immediately shattered by a seed.  The next pot repeats with the same condition and result.  The owner is showing signs of aggravation while the colt is focused purely on his targets.  I'm quite baffled at how this is happening.  It doesn't look like the colt is using any magic on the seeds, but even something small and basic like a seed shouldn't be able to break through a barrier.  It's just a guess, but I can only assume that the seeds can break through the barrier because of the strong force the seeds have behind them. "Here.  Take it."  The con artist said handing over the largest prize he had.  I step back as a happy colt walks away with the biggest black stuffed pig I've ever seen.  "Thief." That was very..... didactic, but I need to get back at searching for Star Swirl.  Okay Twilight think, you're the most powerful pony of your time.  You've been going from place to place telling ponies about a threat coming and made it to Unicornia.  Where would you go?  I look at each building, questioning the possibility. Blacksmiths, no. Fortune teller, as if. Portrait studio, it's not worth the shot. Milk bar, well maybe. I suddenly notice out in the distance a structure peering over the buildings.  I walk over to the corner of the street and see that this structure just so happens to be Canterlot Castle.  Star Swirl did have connections with the princess, I bet he would most likely be there. Canterlot Castles holds many years to its name.  It's enriched with history that depicts the life of ancestors and stands tall for years protecting their descendants from harm.  However, the castle seems to be struggling at starting this legacy.  True that this is the past and it's freshly new, but the castle seems to be in the middle of construction.  It's stone made and most of the mid and lower levels are complete, but the higher areas like the towers only have beams that outline the areas that still need to be made. There appears to be a group of civilians at the main gate as I approach the structure.  They're being halted by a guard wearing a helmet that looks more like a hat with a red ostrich plume on top and a spear is by his side.  He's showing signs of stress as he's dealing with the group, "I said 'no.'" "What part of 'carpenters' don't you understand?" the bald stallion with the white mustache and blue jacket of the group said. "We're here to finish construction on the castle." "And it seems that you don't understand the phrase, 'No unauthorized ponies may enter by order of the princess.'" "Well your little princess just so happened to give authorization for us!" "All the same, I can't let you in." "I have authorization and I can't go in?  Has the moon fallen in that little world of yours a well?  I'm going in!" "You're aware that I can throw you into the dungeon, right?" "Go right ahead!  No dungeon can hold me!"  Everypony looks over the middle-age stallion, clearly aware that his stubbornness has gotten the better of him.  His workers start to pull the headstrong pony away from the guard, not wanting to cause any more trouble.  "You lazy cowards!  Do you actually believe he means any of it?" He does have a point though.  The princess keeping carpenters from finishing her castle does seem a little strange.  But anyway, now's my chance to talk with the guard.  "Excuse me," he didn't look thrilled at seeing me, "I was wondering if Star Swirl came by here." His expression changes to a relief look, "Star Swirl did arrive here, but I'm afraid he left quite some time ago." Well at least I'm on the right track, "Do you know where he went?" the guard shook his head.  Hmm..... maybe I can figure out his next location by asking, "What did he want here?" "He wished to speak with the princess on a matter.  He delivered his message, but I can't help you with what he said to her." That's still not very helpful.  Maybe I can get a better explanation from the princess.  "Can it be possible for me to meet the prin-" "NO!!!" he snapped at me.  I assume he's heard that question all day and he's tired of repeating himself.  He seems to suddenly realize his outburst and starts to collect himself "I mean.... no, she's busy at the moment."  I don't think asking him to reconsider would be a good idea.  I walk off to formulate a plan on what to do next. Okay Twilight, you have two choices.  You can continue asking ponies in town who have been of no help to you so far, or you can sneak by the guards and meet the princess to ask her what Star Swirl had to say to her. I study the castle, thinking about the idea.  Getting inside would be easy since it's not fully built yet, but it's too high up for me to see the inside clearly, teleporting is out of the question.  I need to find another way. My eyes glaze down along the wall, searching for any holes that I can teleport or even crawl through.  Hey, I know this type of rock.  I should know this after all the searching on rocks I did at the library earlier.  This is sedimentary.  It's a type of rock that consists of many minerals, including magnetite. ......this could be my way in, but I'm going to need some iron first.  I rub the back of my neck while wondering where I can find some, all I'm seeing is wood, dirt, and grass.  The flap of my hat brushes over my hoof as I search.  Wait, don't I have something that's iron?  I search my cap and pull out a small pouch with small silver pieces inside.  Silver won't work, it's not ferromagnetic.  I look again and push quills aside and found something that could work. I take out my hammer and review it, this will do nicely.  Removing the handle, I levitate up the iron hammer head and equivalently exchange it into four iron slabs.  Next, I reconstruct the molecular structure of each iron slab, turning them into iron horseshoes.  I put them on and gave a few stomps to make sure they stay on before finally casting Jikerdor to electrically charge the protons of each shoe.  Facing the castle, I stared up at the incomplete tower, I should be ready now.  I take a deep breath, lift a hoof at the wall, and my hoof hurls me forward, slamming me into the wall.  I think I put too much charge into the magnet spell.  As I take a step, my hoof slams on the stone surface.  I continue this process with each hoof as I make my ascent up the castle and eventually leave the ground. I don't have to worry about falling, but I'm still affected by gravity.  I push myself higher with my hind legs, I pull myself up with my forelegs, and every step taken I have a fight against the magnetic force that keeps me suspended.  This is much harder than what I anticipated.  I start to feel the sweat dripping from my face, trying to cool down my body from overheating.  It's to be expected, but the chilly wind up here only makes things harder for me.  Staring up, I notice the end to my struggling is nearly over.  I stretch out my hoof as far as I can and grip onto the edge of the tower.  Sluggishly, pulled myself up and roll onto the floor. Wooden beams are stacked in the corner.  Stone bricks are piled next to the unfinished wall.  This is where the carpenters would most likely be if they got past the guard.  I spot the door leading down the tower next to the worktable, but something on the bench catches my eye.  Amongst the quills and tools is a blue scroll.  It's the blueprints to the castle, but it shows a completely different layout to the castle in my time.  It might not be a bad idea to bring this along, I could use this as a map to get around. I transcend down the stairs reviewing the scroll.  Its layout is pretty straight forward and understandable.  Solar, Casemate, Mezzanine, rooms that I think everypony knows, but this one room.  There's a room on the map that doesn't have a name, only a symbol.  It looks like an eye with three arrows pointing out along the top of the rim and curls on each side.  It also appears that it's crying with a single tear hanging from the bottom.  I haven't the slightest clue at what it could possibly mean. I put the scroll away as I reach the bottom of the steps and look around the room.  The floor has tiles, the walls have candles, and there are carpets paving the way, yet something seems off.  I listen closely for anything to hear, but all I'm hearing is the light of the candles flicker.  Where are the guards?  Shouldn't they be patrolling? I begin searching for the princess, feeling uneasy at the solitude. After six rooms, I arrive at the door I'm 100% certain the princess will be in.  I put my ear against the door, but I'm hearing nothing.  I knock on the door and I'm getting silence. ......okay, maybe 14.8% certain. Slowly, I open the door and see a lavender pony on the other side of the room.  She stands there in a green tunic and seems to be imitating my expression.  I notice that she is in a frame and I realize how much of an idiot I am for not noticing it sooner. I'm looking at my own reflection. That's an odd place to put a mirror.  I walk in and take a look around this large room.  I’m in a Boudoir chamber, a private room for mares to relax in.  It could be considered a bedroom, but some know it as the ‘pouting room’.  I can only assume by the sheer size of the place that Princess Platinum is a big pouter. There's nothing really noteworthy here.  It has a bed, dresser, couch, everyday mare stuff.  I pass the mirror and take a moment to review myself, I look like a mess.  I straighten my tunic, brush my mane, and adjust my cap.  Cici was right, this hat does make me look silly.  Along the golden frame, a purple decoration on top catches my eye.  it looks like a miniature magnifying glass.  Along the top of it are three triangles and the handle appears to get thicker as it goes down.  The lens itself is dark blue with a diamond in the center, it kinda looks like a pupil...... wait, did I recently see something that looks similar to the design? I pull out the blueprints and take a look at that strange room, it looks just like the symbol.  Does this mirror have some unique connection to that room?  I look around the furniture and see nothing suspicious.  I tap the glass, it's solid, and doesn't appear to be a portal.  Maybe I'm just overthinking things, perhaps this symbol is scattered across the castle to impose as an insignia for the princess. For whatever reason it may be, I consider that it has no major purpose, so I return with my search by heading for the next room.  Come on Twilight, your a princess, where would you be in your castle?  As I ponder that thought, I begin slowing down my pacing, having the strangest feeling.  A feeling.... that tells me....... that I'm not alone in here.  Slowly I turn around, reviewing my surroundings very carefully.  The bed rested against the wall, the dresser is planted to the floor, the mirror shows my reflection's bangs covering her eyes, on the desk rests a tiny cow bobblehe-.  I jolt my neck back towards the mirror, something is very wrong with it.  The image I'm seeing is not of a pony copying my actions, but that of a pony standing in a way that could make anypony feel disquiet.  I cautiously approach the reflective frame, but my mirror self keeps standing there.  She starts raising her head towards me, showing an expressionless face.  Her eyes are closed but her face is locked onto me.  I freeze, uncertain on how to proceed with this.  We both stay still, just staring at each other, and suddenly her eyelids shoot open to reveal red glowing eyes. I practically jump back what feels like ten hooves with a shriek. My reflection begins to walk towards me at a steady pace.  Her face stays on me, never changing, and when she reaches her side of the mirror, she begins to walk out of it.  Her fur, her clothes, everything about her starts to get darker into various tones of black, all except those eyes, the eyes that told me that she wasn't going to let me leave this room alive. She's approaching me and slowly pulls out her sword with her magic.  I walk backwards running a thousand possible theories that might explain what I'm seeing, but I'm too shook up at seeing just how menacing I can look to think straight.  I stumble with my sword as I bring it out and point it at my doppelganger's approach.  She doesn't yield so I swing a magic bullet at her as she does the same.  Both shots collide and cancel each other out.  Taking it as a fluke, I throw a few more shots at her.  She hits each one of them without breaking her gaze on me. Relentlessly striking isn't working, so I'll try a different approach.  I slow my movement down to a minimum and give her a look that I was going to swing.  I give a sudden jerk and intentionally pause for a brief moment to psych her out before throwing another magic bullet.  She doesn't even flinch at my method and teleports out of the way.  A flash bursts in front of me and my look-a-like appears swinging her sword down at me. I recoil my sword in shock and lock into a shove match with her.  We push against one another with our faces near inches away and I got a good look at her as we struggle.  Her expression is a straight look that refuse to emote for anything, not even for a blink.  Those eyes shine in solid red and hold nothing in them.  It felt like I was fighting my dark-side. The doppelganger pulls her head back.  She bends her head down and suddenly thrust her horn at me.  I barely dodge it, feeling her horn graze across the fur on my neck.  She pulls back and continues to try and stab me. I'm pinned in this situation, so I'll try something else.  I quickly teleport behind her to shoot a bullet.  She teleports away before I even got a chance to launch it.  I suddenly felt an impact of some magic hitting my left back leg and felt a numbing pain pinching on my nerves.  I look behind and see my copy across the room twirling her sword after the bullet she shot at me. I take a few deep breaths and guard myself with my sword, it'll take a few seconds before I can regain feeling in my leg.  She saunters towards me, floating her sword around with subtle grace.  I strengthen my aura, anticipating her to teleport at me any moment like last time.  She steadies her sword and suddenly swings a magic bullet at me.  Pulling one over my expectations, I hastily stop the shot by bunting it with my sword.  The magic dissipates into the air and I see through the mana my doppelganger charging at me with her horn pointed right at me.  I roll to the side, skidding on my right wing across the floor and feel myself sweating from the sudden near impalement. She slows her pace to a halt and for the first time since this fight started, she isn't staring at me.  I begin to hear a whooshing sound and shift my gaze at her sword twirling.  It starts getting faster and faster and faster until it looks like a floating disk.  The sword begins to make hissing noises as it starts lighting up.  I get back up, having a feeling in my leg once more, and her sword starts glowing with a buzzing hum.  It flies at me vertically, but I jump to the side and dodge it.  The sword makes an awful fizzing sound and cuts through the floor.  It flies up after making a deep gash into the stone floor.  I begin to pant as it flies around and heads at me horizontally.  I drop to the floor and it cuts off a few strands of hair from my tail. I keep dodging from this flying buzz-saw so much that I hardly have time to think on how to stop this thing.  I'm noticing that I've been breathing heavily for a while during this conflict.  I dodge the flying sword again and it returns back to my copy.  I collapse on my right hind knee as the sword begins to slow down next to her.  My doppelganger finally returns her gaze back at me, standing there strong with that stone face of hers. I can't keep this up.  I'm completely exhausted, but that.... thing looks like it can go for another twenty more rounds.  She begins to march towards me again and I shimmy myself backwards.  For every tactic I pull, she immediately avoids and counters it.  Whenever I got her figured, she pulls something different and unexpected.  My rear bumps into a cold surface.  Taking a quick look behind me, I'm laying up against the mirror my copy came from.  There's no place for me to run, I'm just having the worst luck right now. I look back at her to see her eyes glowing at me then return my vision to the mirror.  But maybe.... I look back at her to see her sword raised up then return my sight towards the mirror.  ......I don't...... I look back at her to see her galloping towards me then return my gaze at the mirror.  ........have enough of it! I stand up feeling very weary, gathering what little strength I have left.  She leaps forward while I balance on my front hooves and pull in my hind-legs as tight as I can.  She brings down her sword over my head and I use every last ounce of energy to give a mighty bucking strike.  I hear a loud shatter behind me and see my doppelganger shatter into tiny pieces in front of me. The shards crumble all over me and I begin to crumble myself, collapsing from the intense experience.  I will never enter into somepony's bedroom without their permission, ever again! I rest for a while before getting back up and shaking the mirror fragments off me, I'd rather have seven years of bad luck if it meant I can live for seven more years.  The sound of glass shimmers as they hit the ground and I suddenly hear the clicking sound of plastic.  Searching the ground, I find the magnifying glass ornament from the mirror.  I examine it and the lens is see through, but it doesn't really change the scale of what I'm seeing.   I think...... I think I'll take this.  Outside from the map, I've only seen this symbol on the mirror, a mirror that tried to attack me.  There's something important about this symbol, I just can't figure out why it's important. I shrink it down and place it in my hat when I might need it later.  Trespassing, destruction of property and now stealing.  Oh Twilight, are you this desperate to get back to the future? I have another need to scratch the wings I must keep hidden from the world. Yes, I'm that desperate. As I walk through these halls, I see many decorations along the wall; plants, armor, shields, and swords.  I pass by another decoration and stop to take a moment to look at this one as it allures my attention.  It's a portrait that shows a mare sitting on a cushion prestige manner, believing that I'm looking at a portrait of Princess Platinum.  Her attire proclaims her class with a color pattern of 'Royal Purple' making up the majority of it.  Her collar around her neck, the robe over her brilliant azure fur, even the gems on her platinum crown are made up of this color.  She gives a subtle smile at the viewer while she hides behind a mane of two different tones of pale blue over one of her dark violet eyes. She looks like somepony I've met before, but I can't quite place my hoof on it.  Perhaps I'll figure it out when I meet her. I continue my pace as I enter into the next room.  It's the Foyer, a big room that's meant to hold many ponies inside, but the sound of my hoofsteps is the only thing I'm hearing through these corridors.  I feel so isolated, It's very unsettling.  I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to miss Cici's company.  She may be the most annoying pony I've met, but she could brighten up the atmosphere around here. Okay, the next room I should be coming upon is that one room with the strange symbol right about.... here.  I turn and see a solid wall in front of me.  I look along the left and right of the wall, but I'm not seeing any passageway or door to go through.  This must be the place, I'm certain of it......... 8.36% certain. I concentrate on the symbol on the blueprint.  ........................maybe .......maybe I should use the magnifying glass.  I take out the little trinket and look through it right at the blueprints. ...........................I'm not noticing anything.  I continue to think of something else as I begin to fidget with the magnifying glass out of a force of habit; tapping myself with it, nibbling on it, spinning the handle.  I feel like I'm on the right track, but I'm just not seeing it.  Hmm.... I look back at the wall as I spin the trinket.  ..............huh!?!  I hold the piece of plastic still and begin to judge my vision.  For a brief moment, I think I saw the door through the lens.  I raise the magnifying glass closer and I see a hallway with a door at the end.  I lower it back down and I see the wall.  Is it even there? Slowly, I lay a hoof on the wall, it falls right through it!  I walked forward and passed through the wall like it wasn't even there.  I think I know what's happening.  This must be the result of an Illusion spell. I've only read about this spell. It distorts the light refraction around an object or location into a sight that can fool anypony, believing whatever they see is truly there.  I heard that it's an exceedingly difficult spell to perform, but the formula for casting it has been lost for centuries.  Seeing it being used makes sense considering that I'm in the past, but what's more interesting is that the spell can't fool the magnifying glass.  It's like the lens was meant to only show the truth of what's really there. I begin to hear voices coming from the door ahead, so I quietly approach it.  I push the door open slightly and see inside, it's a group of soldiers gathered around a table. The amethyst mane unicorn appears to be talking about some kind of strategy to the others, "-ing to be taking it from its right side.  Meanwhile, Nightshade will sneak by and grab the princess.  That's when Dream Weaver grabs its attention and keeps it distracted for the two of them to make it back here.  Once she's safe, everypony falls back here.  Got it?" "This is ridiculous, Knightingale!"  a pony with steel blue fur complained, "You saw how fast it can strike, it'll take us down bit by bit if we split up.  What we need to do is for all of us to just charge at it." "And end up like Sun Ray?"  He points to a pony who looks as if his entire fur was caught on fire, leaving a badly burnt unicorn.  "I know taking it down is an issue we need to address, but our first priority is to save the princess." "She's fine.  You saw her enter the panic room, so why rescue her if she's safe." "Because she's trapped in there.  She's no different than a pony behind bars."  He pats him on the back, "Trust me, everything will go a lot more smoothly if we get her first.  She'll have the guidance necessary to handle the situation." Princesses don't have the answer to everything, guys.  However, I think I do have an answer to what's going on.  Apparently, there's a creature in the next room and it has the princess captive.  This could explain why nopony is allowed in the castle, they don't want the public to panic knowing the princess is in danger. If I want any hope at meeting Princess Platinum, then I have to get rid of this creature first.  .....I'm starting to believe the timeline wants me to mess it up.  First though, I need to get by these soldiers.  I look at the door to the next room, teleporting there would bring too much notice, I'll need to get there by hoof.  I crouch low to the ground and slowly walk forward, listening to their argument drag on. "Here's an idea!  Why don't we just sneak by without causing any notice to ourselves.  We won't need to fight it that way." "It won't work." said a unicorn with a chartreuse streak in his mane. "I swear Emerald Coast, if you keep on belittling my ideas....." "No seriously, in an open area like that, we're bound to get caught." "Oh you're just not thinking positive." "You're right I'm not, I'm thinking rationally.  I'm telling you there is no way you can sneak by somepony without getting ca-HEY!"  I cement myself to the floor and look over at the guards, they're all staring at me.  "How'd you get in here?" "Um........." I'm suddenly being pushed back by one of the guards, "I don't care how you came, you're leaving." "But I can help you guys ou-" "We got everything under control, just leave this castle, now!"  It's no use.  They don't see me as a powerful princess, they only see me as a common peasant.  I'm going to have to be a little forceful if I want to get to that door.  I teleport, "Wha!  Where she?" and appear at the door. "How'd she do that?" one of the guards said as I push open the door. "WAIT!!!" I zip inside, "NO, DON'T GO I-" and shut the door during his sentence.  I slam down the door's bar lock, making sure they won't interfere. I lay up against the door, that could've gone better.  Looking back, it just dawned on me, why is the bar lock undamaged?  Those soldiers were talking about something that I assume broke into this room, so why isn't this broken?  Speaking of which, just what am I going up against in here? I turn back and take in the disassembled room I'm in.  The room is long, wide, and tall like any throne room would be, but many of the decorations have been damaged, broken, or destroyed.  I proceed further in, surveying the ripped banners and fallen balconies.  I hear a clink sound underneath my hoof, I've stepped on an iron sword.  The entire floor is scattered with cracks, gravel, piles of debris, broken columns, and various weapons. On the other side of the room, I see the throne's chair tossed on its side along with a few potted plants and piles of curtains ripped asunder on the floor.  There also appears to be a door that would be hiding behind curtains if there were any hanging.  I suddenly feel a warm heat hitting me from behind like steam.  I pivot around and see two giant orange elliptical eyes contracting their pupils on me.  Tracing down along a muzzle, a snout breaths only a few hooves away from me.  A cloud of sulfur blows out of the nostrils, making me cough at the horrible smell. It pulls back, giving me a better look at a face hanging from a balcony right above the room I came out of.  It looks forward and a colossal green figure jumps over my head.  It lands with its back turn against me, giving me a good look at the large wings it has.  A large scaly lime green tail slides across the floor as it turns.  Large sharp claws dig into the cement and crumbles in its paw as if it were paper.  It slams a foot on the floor and gives out a thunderous roar that vibrates the room, declaring that I just entered into the territory of a dragon. You gotta be kidding me!  How did this thing get in here?   More importantly, how am I going to get rid of it?  If I start a fight with it, there's a good chance I'll be swallowed whole.  I need to approach this gently and as respectfully as possible. "Pardon me Mr. Drag-" I screech and fall to the floor as a stream of fire soars over me: I didn't even get five words in!  The scorching heat was stinging my fur, it feels like it could even combust my wooden sword at any moment. The flames begin to die down, and I get up beating what's left of the fire off my cap.  I'm a dead mare. The dragon shakes its shoulders and pounces at me.  I teleport to where it was as it lands.  It looks around, to I assume, for me, so I expose my location by swinging a magic bullet at it.  It recoils upon impact and looks over at me with a surprised look.  It appears that my magic shots can actually faze it. .....Perhaps I can give it some shock therapy so it'll obey. It glares at me and scurries closer.  As it's about to trample me, I teleport behind and hit it with another bullet.  It turns blowing fireballs and I teleport, giving another strike.  It sweeps its tail, I swing my sword.  The pattern keeps continuing and it begins to worry me.  A group of trained  guards were having trouble at getting rid of this thing, so why is it going so easy for me? The dragon falls on its belly, showing signs of exhaustion.  I shake my sword at it, trying to appear like a stern mother, "Now are you going to be good or do you need another spanking?"  It growls its teeth at me and gets back up.  The dragon takes a deep breath and I prepare to dodge its flames.  It keeps taking in air, this is going to be a big one.  The drake ends its inhale, lifts its head up high and lets out smoke towards the ceiling. What's it doing? A large black cloud floats above the room, I can't even see the ceiling anymore.  The dragon starts glowing an iris wisp around itself. Th-there's no way... The dragon looks at me and its eyes begin to glow.  I start to feel frizzle, like I'm being charged up with energy. I mean, it's a dragon, it can't possibly know.... My mane is starting to feel staticy and I have a sneaking suspicion at the cause.  I look up into the smoke clouds and see lights flashing inside it. IT DOES!!! I dive forward in panic and hear a loud clashing sound behind me.  I take a quick glance back and see a burn mark in the spot I was just standing at.  Whipping my head back at the beast, I see it looking at me with glowing eyes.  I quickly teleport behind the throne chair, just in time to see a lightning bolt striking the area I was just at. It knows magic. It bellows a loud roar that shakes the walls and begins stalking for me.  I lay against the seat, trying to settle myself down.  My heart is beating so fast, that I feel like it's going to burst out of my chest. This is just great, now I'm a patient in its shock therapy.  How is it doing this?  There's no way a dragon can use magic.  Is there something I'm not seeing?  ......not seeing. I take out the magnifying glass and look at the dragon with it.  The drake's figure stays solid through the lens as it walks away from me.  It turns it's body and I pull back at what I'm witnessing.  There, right there, piercing out of its forehead, is a large horn!  A Unicorn's horn!!! My heart only got faster from this new information.  This isn't an illusion, this is real magic, and this isn't like any unicorn's, it's on a completely different level.  Dragon's are known for their brute strength, boundless stamina, and ruthless rage.  If I don't keep myself hidden, if I screw up, or if I even linger for more than a second in its sight. I look over at the black blotch still smoking on the floor. I'll be looking even worse than Sun Ray. I begin biting my lip in hope of compressing my nerve a little.  Holding my breath, I peek from behind the chair, the drake is searching through a pile of debris.  I jump out and swing my sword around like a madbull.  My shots hit the dragon's iris wisp that cover its body, the shots don't even irritate it, but it does get its attention.  I dive back whimpering and teleport to a fallen pillar in another corner of the room.  Lightning strikes the throne and the dragon runs towards it and begins searching the throne for me. I begin sinking to the floor as the stress gets heavier on me.  That iris wisp it has around itself is indeed the spell 'magic armor', there's no way I can break through that.  I keep watching it tear apart the throne as it searches for me.  Debris flies across the room from its claws, curtains soaring through the air. *foop* The candelabra bounces on the ground getting dents.  *ding* Pots shatter as they hit the ground. *CRACK* .....that's it!!!  That colt from earlier could get through the barrier.  He got through with a fast velocity in his shots, right?  No wait, that's just a theory of mine.  It could quite possibly fail. The throne chair flies over me and shatters to pieces when it hits the wall. Then again... I tighten the aura on my sword.  Taking a deep breath, I jump out and swing a bullet as hard as I can.  It hits the dragon, but it only turns its neck looking peeved.  It shoots three fireballs that spin around clockwise towards me and I teleport to the collapse balcony on the right.  The orbs of fire collide on the floor and disperse into the air.  All three of their angles are arching towards me unnaturally, as if they're being controlled through magic!  I quickly teleport behind the fallen balcony on the other side of the room, making sure that I'm out of the dragon's sight. The fireball starts flying in a circle in the air and I begin to hear heavy footsteps coming closer.  I shrink down my sword into my cap, I'll need something with more velocity. My eyes scan around for something to use.  The fallen rubble wouldn't result with much difference, the ripped fabric will just be worse, but I am seeing various weapons on the ground.  I notice the spear and levitate it to me.  It could be used like a javelin, and by the sheer size of the dragon, it'll probably be no different than a bee sting to it.  I'll take that option. I teleport to the center of the room and throw the spear with all my might.  It collides with the dragon and bounces off of it, but that didn't stop it from retaliating with another fireball.  The other three start falling towards me from above and I quickly form a barrier around me.  The flaming orbs bash and begin pushing and sliding all over my magic shield.  The heat and pressure is too fierce for me and I teleport behind a column. The fireballs hit the floor and spread out.  The dragon lowers its head and sniffs the spot where I stood.  It slams its claw on the ground and its eyes begin to glow while it roars loud enough to cause the floor to tremble.  Lightning bolts begin to drop down from the cloud above one after another, striking randomly everywhere.  It shoots fireballs about and they bounce off every surface.  The room is starting to look like the inside of an oven now; stifling heat, red lighting, and fire everywhere.  The thunderstorm above only adds to this state of turmoil. It's in a state of rage now, if I don't stop it soon. A lightning bolt strikes in front of me, nearly turning my mane white from the shock.  I look down and see that the bolt hit so hard, that it shattered the floor into a small crater.  I look back up at the dragon whipping its head around and casting spells from its invisible horn.  .....................................I like that idea. I survey the floor's many weapons and pull an iron sword closer.  I inspect many of the wall's burning fabric and levitate a curtain tether towards me.  I reviewed my hat and grab the magnifying glass.  Looking through the lens, I bid my time until I can get a good shot. ..........NOW! I teleport with all three items onto the dragon's head.  The drake jerks its head, then begins shaking in every direction, trying to throw me off.  I hold on and start to wrap the tether around its horn.  The dragon whips its head and I lose my hold on the magnifying glass.  I watch it fall into a passing fireball and be destroyed.  I return my attention to the horn and lay the iron sword on it before I tie the tether, locking it in place.  I put all of my magic on the sword with a Jikerdor spell as I desperately hold on.  The dragon rises its head and whips it down. I lose my hold and I'm thrown across the room.  I land, sliding on the floor for some distance and slam into the bar lock door.  The dragon charges at me like a train and yells out a savage roar.  Fury shines in its eyes as they start to glow.  I look up to see the lightning forming overhead shoot down towards me.  It then makes a sharp turn and strikes the magnetized sword on the dragon's horn. The dragon gives a deafening roar while it lurches up by the electric current.  All the flames suddenly turn blue and stop in place as the electricity traveling across the dragon's body starts displaying a silhouette of its horn.  I touch my own horn wincing, sympathizing at what this dragon must be feeling during this shocking experience. The current breaks and the dragon is frozen in place with a few static bursts appearing across its body.  It moans as it flops to the ground, the head lands near hooves away from me.  Blue flames start to appear across its body until it was nothing but a large bonfire.  The fireballs in the air slowly descend and they start to shrink smaller and smaller along with the big one until it fizzles out, leaving nothing left in the aftermath. I slowly get up off the floor.  Just what was that thing?  There's no way it was a dragon if it can use magic like a unicorn and can combust like a phoenix.  I take a look around the room and stagger to the door in the back.  I should probably get the princess before I find out just how much of a phoenix it really is. I make it to the door and grab the handle with my magic.  It's locked, no matter, I pull out my sword and begin casting a spell on it.  I spin the piece of wood in the air, tap the door handle and the door unlocks.  I have the keys to the kingdom as long as I put enough heart into this spell. Opening the door reveals a supply room of sorts.  It contains wooden crates stacked on top of each other with a few clay pots around.  "HALT," A platinum scepter with a purple glass orb levitates and points at me under the control of a magenta aura.  "STAY BACK YOU OVERGROWN LEATHER BAG," A voice yells at me from behind the crate and I see an azure horn controlling the scepter with magic, "OR YOU WILL HAVE TO FACE 'THE ROYAL AND MAJESTIC PRINCESS PLATINUM!'" Well the good news is that I finally figured out who she reminds me of.  The bad news is that I finally figured out who she reminds me of.  "The dragon is gone, princess." "It....... it is?"  A mare peeks over the box, revealing her dark violet eyes at me.  She looks around with an uncertain look on her face, although honestly, I give an uncertain look of my own, I believe she's wearing her crown upside down.  "Yes, well..." she coughs. "Princess Platinum thanks you for your valiant rescue," she straightens herself up to reclaim whatever dignity she had before, "But she could've handled it herself." Well excuse me, princess. Platinum stares at me for a moment with judging eyes, "You don't look like one of Platinum's soldiers, you look more like a messenger.  Are you here on that creature's behalf?" "Who? The dragon's?" "No, the one who summoned the dragon." "Summoned!  That thing?!?  I've never heard a pony that was able to successfully execute a summoning spell.  I can only imagine just how powerful that pony must've been if they can summon a full grown dragon." She looks at me, giving a grim look, "It wasn't a pony.  Platinum doesn't really know what it was when she first saw it and is still baffled by its appearance.  It looked like a minotaur, but I've never seen one wield magic before." "Now there's a minotaur that can use magic!  Just what transpired here?" She clears her throat looking very pleased, it looks like she's going to enjoy this.  "It starts before Platinum first met this behemoth, it was when it was storming the castle.  Precaution was made prier but it was storming with haste through the halls.  My guards were trying to halt its pursuit, but reports kept arriving of the creature breaching every blockade.  Platinum's personal guards took it upon themselves to lock the door to the throne and insisted on their majesty to take refuge, but the Royal and Majestic Princess Platinum insisted on confronting this trespasser herself." "It was then a black cloud began to seep through the cracks of the door and enter into the throne room.  It gathered together and formed a heinous entity with malicious intent.  It stood on hind legs and viewed down at us from up high.  It resembled traits of a Minotaur with it's hooved feet, bloated muscles, and menacing horns.  But, it swung around a reptilian tail, gritted its tusks on its lower jaw, and blew steam out of its flat nose." "What happened next?" I said, completely captivated by her story. "Now that the creature had succeeded in infiltrating the castle and finding her majesty, it responded by........ doing nothing." "Huh?!" "It merely stood there analyzing the Royal and Majestic Princess Platinum.  Eventually, the creature regards its right paw with uncertainty in its eyes.  The paw slowly clenches as its eyes begin to inflame into rage.  It pierces a mighty roar into the sky and swings its fist down to the terra firma for which we tread upon.  Dark aura shines on the surface in the shape of a pentagram as the beast stands up and rips the fabric off the banner on the wall.  It conceals its appearance within the cloak and raises its paw to snap and vanish within luminescence light, leaving a drake to arise from the magical symbol below." Okay this is getting scary.  Everywhere I go, there's been a creature that has caused some kind of havoc to the place. It appeared from smoke, summoned a dragon, and vanished in a flash.  I wonder......... if I take into account the creature with the green eyes from Puddinghead's story to be a magic user.......................... then it starts making a story! The monster standing in a dust cloud summons a second monster to come running out, giving the first monster enough time to vanish literally into a puff of smoke.  The now cloud-form monster has a run-in with the Pegasi and summons another monster for whatever its reasons are before finally arriving here in the castle. It fits in with Platinum's description of its magic capability to form a connected story between the three incidents, indicating that the green eyed monster, black cloud, and Minotaur-like creature to be the same individual. Why is that creature doing this?  What does this thing want?   "So why did you come here if not because of that creature?" the princess broke me from my thoughts, "Did you slay the dragon just so you could get a glimpse at the Stunning and Graceful Princess Platinum like a brave knight from a fairy tale?"  she huffs her hoof and rubs it on her chest looking very boastful. She's pretty egotistical despite the fact she just demeaned herself to 'damsel in distress'.  "Ah no, I've been searching for Star Swirl the Bearded for quite awhile and found that he stopped by here to deliver a message.  I'm wondering if you could possibly tell me what it was, perhaps it could lead me to where he'll be going next." "What he said is pretty irrelevant now.  He came to warn about the possibility of that creature approaching Unicornia, stating that he doesn't know what its intentions are, but he's certain that it is powerful and malicious.  I told him that he had nothing to fear, for the Royal and Majestic Princess Platinum would protect this kingdom, and if necessary, destroy this beast.  Star Swirl responded stating that we wouldn't be able to halt the creature's progress, but he believes there might be a way.  He told me to prepare for anything and left stating 'I'm going to find out what more I can learn about it.'  As from where or how he'll gain this knowledge, he didn't say." So I don't have a destination, just the events that occurred here.  Star Swirl's statement though.... "Take this," Platinum levitates me with a necklace with a crystal tide to it.  The crystal itself shines a bright golden light from it. "What's this?" "Just some old junk that Platinum doesn't need anymore.  It's an aura crystal that has portions of the purest and most sacred form of magic inside.  Platinum wants you to throw it away for her." "This thing?  It sounds more like a powerful ancient relic and not something to throw in the garbage." She looks embarrassed, "It's been past down through the family for generations, but it's just a useless trinket.  Feel honored that you're given the chance at throwing away the Royal and Majestic Princess Platinum's trash." Judging by your personality and the fact that you're doing a terrible job at trying to make this gem sound useless, I believe you're giving me this as a reward because you're too proud to just come out and say 'thank you for rescuing me.' I shrink down the necklaces into my hat and give a bow to her, "Thank you for your time, Princess Platinum.  This has been very helpful, but I need to get going."  I rise and head for the door, Cici is probably waiting for me.  Not to mention, the soldiers must be panicking by now with the amount of silence in the throne room. "You're not a unicorn, are you." My body froze in place, surprised by what I just heard.  I feel like a little filly and I was just caught at stealing a cookie.  I manage to slowly turn my head towards her, too afraid to turn around completely.  "The magic you just displayed didn't look like the magic of a unicorn's, it acts.... different.  Almost like ours, but also powerful and... how can I say it........... beatific."  The princess puts a hoof to her mouth and scans her eyes over me.  "You look like us, but Platinum thinks you're hiding something from her." I have the most strongest urge to scratch my wings right now. She continues to stare at me for what felt like an eternity as she wonders at my secret.  "Forget it," she shakes her head, "whether you're a unicorn or not is no concern of Platinum's.  Be on your way," she waves her hoof at me, showing little concern of my presence. I gawk at her a few moments more, feeling the pressure lifting off me and question how I should take this awkward experience.  She was practically on top of me and suddenly gives up?  I continue my way to the door with an odd suspicion that I've started something. I return to the laundry pool with the hope that Cici would be there with something to go on, but she hasn't returned.  I take this opportunity to relax, listen to the water flow, and start questioning a few things, like Star Swirl for example.  Ever since the beginning, he's always been one step ahead, not just of me and Cici, but of everypony.  He's been warning ponies about a creature that's going to cause trouble for everypony if actions aren't met.  Not only that, he's been able successfully pinpoint its origin as well as its capabilities.  It's obvious that he knew about this creature from the very start, but the question remains, how did he know?   Platinum said that he's going to find out what more he can learn about it, leading to believe that he got intel from somewhere. What was it that Cici said back at the Earth kingdom? "He seemed quite settled earlier with his geology book, but he was panicking later stating that he had to get to the Earth kingdom." ........that doesn't really explain much, and I doubt a geology book could tell him all this, but that's the only information I got that sheds light on how this all got started. "Twink!  Twinkle!"  my ear flaps at that annoying nickname and I look to see Cici galloping down the street.  She reaches me and is completely out of breath "I... me.... o-over....," She's gasping between words, making it hard for me to understand any of what she just said.  "Settle down.  Take a few breaths," her breathing begins to get softer.  "Now take a deep breath," she does as I instruct "and tell me what you want to say." "I found Master Star Swirl!"