//------------------------------// // The Castle // Story: Moon Unit Zappa // by RarityEQM //------------------------------// Just outside the mouth of the cave of steelwork beasts, the Servants of Shadow had gathered to stare in awe at the castle that loomed in the distance. It stood stoic and intimidating upon a large copper colored hill, drenched in gothic architecture and a foreboding silence. Scylla pointed a hoof towards the castle and relayed a whimpering sound to Nettleglum. The purple pony(?) nodded her head stiffly, turning towards the rest of the group with a grim sigh. “I believe Scylla is leading us to that castle in the distance. That is the castle of Grogar, the Tyrant of Tamelon. He is a fierce necromancer and not to be trifled with! He always cuts ahead of the line and never leaves a tip. His evil knows no bounds. If he is involved I believe our princess will be in dire peril. We should make haste to retrieve her,” Nettleglum explained, stiffly starting down the path towards the castle. Virga hesitated but only for a moment, before he and Full Plate gruffly started down the path behind Nettle. Scylla, however, turned and darted up along the hillside. She vanished without another word, turning to peer at them as if to say “Goodbye” to the doomed rescue party before she disappeared out of sight. Bright Spark got the feeling that he would not encounter it again. No matter. She’d assisted them in finding their next locale, they could take it from here. He fell into step with Virga, glancing behind them at the lonely trail towards the cave they had left in their wake. Deeper and deeper into Tartarus. Could they ever find their way back out? All bets were on the princess now. What if she could not free them from this place?! What if she were dead before they could reach her?! Would they be trapped down here forever?! Nervously, Bright Spark looked over at Virga. The black pegasus walked with a dedicated stride, towards the castle, but Bright Spark noticed a hesitation in his steps. Perhaps Virga was worried too...or maybe he were thinking of the children. Just hearing they were alive seemed to brighten his day considerably, even if they had no plans to escape this terrible place. “You think those kids have a chance down here?” Bright Spark asked grimly. Virga let out a choked laugh and shook his head. “Diamond’s hard as her namesake and Dinky is smart as a whip. Their biggest threat is to each other, but as long as they’re together, I think they’ll survive until we can find them... Unless they kill each other first that is,” Virga explained sullenly. Bright Spark gave a grunt of annoyance even still. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to bring children on a critical mission such a this? It was insanity. A ‘magic star’ couldn’t possibily be powerful enough to justify bringing foals along. If it were so powerful, why not just wish Luna back to them? Why go down into Tartarus at all? “Great. We’ll have to rescue the rescue party. Them being here is just dumb! It doesn’t make any sense. Those stupid kids are more of a liability if anything else. What was the princess thinking, recruiting them into our organization? It’s....it’s...It’s lunacy...hehhehe,' he grinned. Virga tilted his head, shooting the unicorn a penetrating gaze and gave a little huff. “There’s a saying among the Servants of Shadow. ‘The fillies are her favorites’ They’re Luna’s...’children of the night’ so to speak. You’ll gain no favor with our princess if she hears you talking like that," he chuckled flatly. Bright Spark’s ears drooped to either side of his head, and his mouth went dry. Had he just shot himself in the hoof? He winced and flashed a nervous smile. “ Are you serious? She cares about them that much?” he asked incredulously. Virga nodded. “Once, she reassigned a guard to Detrot for disturbing Dinky during her studies,” he explained. Bright Spark’s mouth dropped open in disbelief and he wildly searched Virga’s face for clues of jest. He HAD to be joking! However hard he searched, Bright Spark could find no traces of anything resembling humor in Virga’s response. If the foals were so important to the princess... “There’s no way Luna would leave Tartarus without them...We’re trapped here,” Bright Spark groaned quietly. Virga nodded his head grimly. “Diamond’s star might be able to transport us home. As a backup extraction plan if Luna is unable to do so. Luckily, if we wait long enough, she might appear with a wish. In the interim, we find Luna.” Virga explained. Bright Spark sighed again. The entire extraction plan was based on one little girl who could be anywhere in Tartarus. Bright Spark only hoped she had the common sense to stay safe and out of sight. ***** Diamond sighed quietly, staring up at the ebony castle Blueblood was leading them to. It was stoic, perched loftily above them on a large coin colored hill. They were moving carefully, approaching it from behind when Blueblood stopped suddenly. Dinky stopped when he did and Diamond stopped with them and the three of them peered at the morbid castle in front of them, searching for a backdoor or some rear entry. “So. Dinks. Care to tell me about anything that might rip me apart before it happens this time? Who’s this Grogar mook and what’s his story?” Diamond growled. “First punch yourself in the face,” Dinky commanded and couldn’t stifle a giggle as the filly did as she was told. This time she hit herself so hard it snapped her head back sharply. “Still hilarious. Grogar is a goat. A necromancer of enormous power. Once, long ago he ruled Ponyland with an iron hoof,” Dinky explained. Diamond scratched her head curiously. “Ponyland? That's the place across the Sparkling sea, isn’t it?” Diamond asked, letting her mind flicker back to what she could remember about geography. It wasn’t much, but she could hold a map of the world in her head. “Oooo top marks Diamond. You remember the name of a sea. Don’t strain yourself. Grogar ruled with twelve mystic bells he used to influence his powers. Each could do something different. He could read minds, open portals, summon the dead, and draw upon the darkest spells and rituals in existence,” Dinky explained. Diamond blanched. “If this yutz is so powerful, how in Equestria are we supposed to beat him?” The girl whined. “Oh, now you want to hear a plan?” Dinky asked smugly. Diamond glared. “About as much as I’d like to be shiska-bobbed again,” she growled. Dinky gestured towards the castle, and then back towards Diamond. “Simple. You will sneak into the castle, and locate Princess Luna. Your larceny expertise and the fact that you’re too dumb to die make you the ideal candidate for this mission. I will remain out here, keeping BlueBlood safe,” Dinky explained, adjusting the little spectacles on her nose. “I approve of plans where I'm kept safe,” said Blueblood sagely. Diamond’s eyes narrowed, but before the girl could protest Dinky held up a hoof. “That's majority vote. Not that it matters, since you don’t have a choice. I order you to sneak into the castle and search for Princess Luna,” Dinky said sternly. Diamond remained seated, fighting tooth and nail against Dinky’s control “Dinky I swear to the mare in the moon if you don’t let me out of these stupid cuffs!!” Diamond snarled fiercely. Dinky shook her head with a grumble. “Did you forget how to be a thief you idiot?! I said sneak in! No talking you moron! Now go," she said, pointing a hoof towards the castle. Suddenly, Diamond drew a wide smile across her face and nodded her head. Beaming brightly, Diamond Dancer gave Dinky a happy (if not sloppy) salute and marched her way towards the castle. After all, now that she didn’t have to worry about Dinky or Blueblood, she could search for Luna without any distractions or Dinky’s insistent insults. And once she found Princess Luna, the princess would take these dumb cuffs off. And once that happened, she and Dinky were going to have a conversation. Oh, goodness, yes. Diamond was good at talking with her hooves, and she was planning to deliver quite the monologue. The filly grinned to herself and made her way down the road.