The dirt path leading out of town was lined with bare trees and peppered with orange leaves that crunched beneath the hooves of the four ponies. The wind was gentle but a little chilly, and the sky was a clear blue.
“Whaddya think that was about?” asked Scootaloo, looking to the others. “He really seemed like he didn’t want us anywhere near the castle.”
“Maybe there’s something there he doesn’t want us to see?” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“Maybe there’s somethin’ dangerous livin’ there?” added Apple Bloom. “Like a manticore or somethin’?”
“Whatever it is,” Rainbow Dash answered with a smirk, “he didn’t do a good job making us wanna stay away. There’s something in that castle, and we’re gonna find it, right?”
“Right!” The Crusaders cheered, pumping their hooves in the air.
A few more minutes of walking brought the group to sloped incline, and craning their necks up showed them the large castle looming at the top of the hill. Thankfully it wasn’t a steep climb, especially not for Rainbow Dash who just floated up with the Crusaders. Near the top, the dirt path turned into a flight of old stone stairs, and the pike-like steeples of the castle towers stood tall and foreboding before them.
Finishing the climb, they were brought up to the castle’s front at last. With the ancient grey stone laced with moss and vines, a few bare, dead trees, and a quick fly-around by Rainbow Dash reporting grimy windows, the old architecture truly did seem abandoned. It was like the Canterlot Castle had been twisted by dark magic into some kind of gothic nightmare.
“Sheesh, now I’m really glad Rarity didn’t come,” Sweetie Belle commented, brushing her hoof on some of the weeds by the mossy stone path. “She would lose her mind if she saw all this!”
“I know right?” Rainbow Dash snorted into her hoof at the mental image of Rarity wearing overalls and dragging her beauty gear as well as some carpenting equipment to give the place a makeover.
Apple Bloom trotted up to the huge double doors, the wood coated in moss and mold and the brass knockers rusted. “Y’all think it’s open?”
“Only one way to find out,” answered Scootaloo, who trotted up with her and pushed her front hooves against one of the doors. She grunted as she pushed herself against it, and even with the stronger farm filly’s help, the doors didn’t budge. “Oof, sturdy…”
“That’s puttin’ it lightly,” Apple Bloom muttered, wiping sweat off her brow. “Maybe there’s another way…?”
Sweetie Belle followed them up. “Are you sure we should be going in? I mean, it’s probably locked for a reason…”
Rainbow Dash hovered over and brushed at some of the weeds growing on the ground around the doors. “Maybe somepony left a key under the mat?”
A soft crunch of dirt on hoof behind the ponies got their attention, and they turned to see a newcomer had approached from the stairs. A young Unicorn mare with a purple coat and a black and purple mane and tail. Her amber eyes laid on the group after a few moments of staring at the castle.
“Oh, I wasn’t expecting other ponies up here so early,” she began, in a high-class Trottingham accent. “Good morning all the same~”
“Yo,” Rainbow Dash greeted, hovering over to her. The Crusaders approached from behind, returning the greeting also. “You tryin’ to get in too? Hope ya get better luck than we did.”
“Oh no,” the mare giggled sweetly. “I’m just here to take a look at the outside. Isn’t it beautiful?” She smiled and looked past them at the castle.
“Not exactly the word my sister would use,” Sweetie Belle commented. “With all the moss and dirt, she’d probably try to have the place condemned!”
“Yes, it does look a little in need of some care right now. I suppose it doesn’t help that it’s closed right now.”
Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Whaddya mean ‘right now’?”
The mare waved a hoof. “Oh, nothing. Just an aside~”
The four ponies exchanged dubious glances to one another before looking back at the mare.
“Who are you anyway?” Rainbow Dash finally asked what was on everypony’s minds.
“Oh, I’m just visiting for the festival, like I’m sure you all are,” answered the mare. “I come up here every year to get some time to myself. Nopony usually comes up here during the day, so it’s nice and quiet~”
The ponies looked at each other, seeming to get the point, and started to head toward the stairs down.
“We should head back to town anyway,” Scootaloo said as she passed, “we still haven’t really looked around.”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom added, “sorry for botherin’ ya.”
“Oh, no trouble at all,” the mare giggled, her smile aimed at the fillies. “I was just surprised to not be alone this time of the day. But don’t let me keep you, please enjoy yourselves~”
“You know it,” Rainbow Dash smirked as she swooped overhead. “You too. Laters!”
The Crusaders bid goodbye to the mare as they followed the Pegasus toward the stairs. But Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but linger a little, turning her head at the mare, who was sat in front of the large wooden doors.
Something about her seemed off...