//------------------------------// // Castle // Story: Surrogate Light // by scootalooftw //------------------------------// I couldn’t help but gape in awe at the run-down castle that stood before us. Despite its decrepit appearance, I could tell that the castle was once a grand building, perhaps even among the grandest of its time. Despite being well over one-thousand years old, the only sign of wear or damage to the castle came in the form of what looked like strikes from some sort of siege engine. “Well, we’re finally here,” Rainbow said, “what now?” “Now, we look for the Elements, “ I said, taking a confident step forward. “Y’all heard the mare,” Applejack said, falling into step with me, “let’s get a move on. The sooner we find these Elements, the sooner we can git back ta Ponyville and bring back the sun.” The rest of the girls were quick to follow, and together we approached the intimidating keep. The doors opened on squeaky hinges, the ominous groan sending a chill down everypony’s spine. “So, not that I’m scared or anything,” Rainbow Dash said shakily, her eyes nervously darting back and forth “but we’re only here for the Elements, right? Like, get in, grab ‘em, and get out.” “If all goes to plan, yes,” I responded. “Great!” Rainbow Dash cheered, perking up slightly. “So, what do they look like?” I opened my mouth to respond, then froze in place when her question registered. “D’ja hear her, Twi?” Applejack asked after I had failed to answer. When I failed to respond once more the group turned to see me frozen in place, mouth hanging half open with a look of shock on my face. “Silly Twilight,” Pinkie giggled, “you’ll catch flies if you don’t close your mouth.” “Is everything alright, darling?” Rarity asked, shooting Pinkie a slightly disgusted look. “I have no idea,” I said quietly. “What was that?” Applejack asked, taking a step towards me. “I have no idea what they look like,” I repeated, slightly louder this time. “Wait,” Rainbow Dash said, glaring at me. “You mean to tell me that you drug us all the way out here, and you have no idea what the Elements look like?!” “Well, no,” I responded, taking a step back, “the book didn’t say anything about what they looked like, just that they had been used over a millennium ago to seal some of the greatest threats known to ponykind.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth and moved to take another threatening step forward, but Applejack stepped in front of her to cut her off. “Now calm down, Dash,” Applejack said. “It was a miracle she managed ta track the things down, we can’t expect her ta do all the work fer us.” “She’s right, you know,” Rarity said, giving me a small smile. “She did wonderfully for the short amount of time we had to prepare.” “Whatever,” Rainbow Dash huffed. Turning around, she snorted and walked off. “Let's just find these things so we can get outta here.” “Agreed,” Applejack said, giving the entryway we were standing in a wary look. “The sooner we can get outta here, the better. Somethin’ ain’t right about this place.” “There are no animals,” Fluttershy said softly, peering out from her bangs. “What was that?” Rarity asked. “I said there are no animals,” Fluttershy repeated, slightly louder this time, “it’s completely silent in here. With all of the easily available shelter here, there should be little critters all over the place. The only reason they’d avoid someplace like this is if there was something dangerous.” “All the better fer us to get tha Elements n’ get out, then,” Applejack said. “She’s right,” I said. Lighting up my horn, I pulled a scroll out of my bag with my magic and unrolled it. “I know it’s not much to go on, but the only account of the Elements’ appearance that I could find made note of how ‘they shone with an inner glow’. They’ve been sitting in a castle in the middle of a forest for over a thousand years, so that may no longer hold true, but it’s still something to keep in mind.” “It’s also a right bit more’n we had to go on before,” Applejack said, “thank ya kindly.” “Any plans on how we should go about looking for the Elements?” Rarity asked. “Perhaps a hint as to where they’re hidden in those notes of yours?” “Besides them last being kept in this castle, there’s nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “I think our best course of action would be to split into groups of two, start at the front, and work our way back.” “Wouldn’t it be faster to just split up and have everypony search on their own?” Rainbow asked. “Faster, yes,” I admitted, “but if Fluttershy is right about why the wildlife has been avoiding the castle, then it would be much safer to move in groups.” “Puh-lease,” Dash scoffed, “I can handle anything this castle can throw at me.” “Y’all might be able to,” Applejack said, giving Dash a skeptical look, “but not everypony here can.” “Fine,” Rainbow groaned. Hooking a foreleg under Fluttershy’s, she began dragging her further into the castle. “I’ll take ‘Shy’ then, let’s go.” Squeaking in response, Fluttershy began hobbling along behind her. “Well,” Applejack said, watching the pegasi disappear down the hallway, “if they’re gonna look together, then Ah suppose Ah’ll take Pinkie and…” “Now hold on, Applejack,” Rarity said, cutting her off, “I think it would make more sense if one of you went with Twilight. I’ve been thinking of what she said about the Elements, and it got me thinking that they might be gemstones of some type. I happen to know a spell that lets me locate gems, and if I were to teach Twilight to cast it then it would make things so much easier for the four of us.” “That sounds like a brilliant idea,” Pinkie squealed. “Ah agree,” Applejack said. “Now that Ah’m thinkin’ about it, a unicorn in each group would be better few quite a few reasons.” “Indeed,” Rarity said, preening at the attention her idea was getting. Turning to face me, she lit her horn as she began demonstrating how to cast the spell. “Now, Twilight, what you have to do is…” After a quick explanation, I was successfully able to cast the spell. Confident that I could cast the spell on my own we moved further into the castle before splitting up. After searching a few smaller rooms that had at one point been used for storage, the six of us entered a large chamber with a large statue holding five stone orbs in its center. “Well, this looks promising,” I said. Approaching the statue, I lit my horn as I scanned it with magic. “There seems to be some residual magic left on these orbs, and for it to stick to them for as long as it has it would have had to have been some heavy duty stuff.” “So, you think they’re the Elements, then?” Rarity asked. Approaching the statue, she looked it over with a critical eye. “I must say, if it is them, then I will be quite disappointed. From the way you talked about them, I was expecting so much more.” “‘Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. Together these virtues form the foundation of Harmony’,” Pinkie said, staring at a plaque on the base of the statue. “Sure sounds like the Elements to me.” “Indeed they are,” a dark feminine voice that seemed to come from all around us called out. “I’m actually quite impressed you were able to find them. I suppose there’s a reason you were my sister’s student.” “Sister?” I asked in confusion. “Who are you?” “‘Who am I?” the voice said mockingly. “Why, you should know that already, shouldn’t you? After all, you were already making to prevent my arrival for days before your little… accident.” “Accident,” I said softly, eyes growing wide. “How did you know about that?” “Quite obvious, isn’t it?” The voice said. The shadows around us began to writhe and pulse as the source of the voice moved to the darkened hallway opposite the one we entered from. “You didn’t think it was coincidence that the one pony that just so happened to not only know of my return but also of a way to prevent it, just happened to have an… accident, now did you?” As she finished speaking, a large black alicorn clad in blue armor stepped out of the shadows. She began chuckling darkly as her blue star filled mane whipped violently behind her. “I didn’t just know about it,” she stated showing off her razor-sharp teeth with a malevolent grin, “I caused it.” “Y-you caused it?” I stammered, completely floored by what the alicorn mare had just admitted to. “That’s right,” Nightmare admitted. “It was quite simple, too. A few bolts just happen to come loose, the rigging becomes just a bit too frayed, and… well, you already found out what the results are. I even stopped by the wreckage to ensure that your heart was no longer beating, but it seems that I made a mistake.” “Ya mean you…” Applejack started, taking an angry step forward. “And those guards?” “Necessary sacrifice,” the mare said nonchalantly. “Besides, they were entirely too loyal to my sister, it would have been far too much work to… convert them.” “But they had families!” Applejack yelled. She moved to take another step forward but almost fell on her face when her hooves refused to budge. “Families that’ll never see them again,” Applejack continued, undeterred by her restricted movements. “You do bring up a fair point,” the alicorn said. Smiling darkly, she began sashaying towards us. “I suppose when I finish dealing with you lot, I’ll have to head back to Canterlot and… reunite them with their families.” We gasped at the implications of her statement, all of us but Dash and Applejack attempting to move back as she slowly got closer. “Of course, that’s nothing that you should be worrying about,” the dark mare sneered. “No, you should be worrying about making your peace with what time you have left.” Time slowed to a crawl as I watched Nightmare Moon walk around the statue and approach Applejack. Panicking, I lit my horn in an attempt to do something, anything, to prevent what I knew was about to happen, and failed to notice the five orbs begin to glow in response. My panic turned to confusion when I noticed Nightmare Moon’s confident smirk melt into a look of anger, fear, and contempt. Her horn became encased in a corona of living shadow that then blasted forth in a shockwave away from her. The wave reached Applejack first, catching her across the chest and launching her bodily across the room. One by one the wave connected with us, picking us up off of our hooves and carrying us with it as it connected with the far wall. Acting on instinct, I had pulled up a flimsy shield that helped lessen the blow enough for me to prepare for her next move. Impacting the wall back first, I landed shakily on my hind legs before falling forward on all fours. Not even pausing to fully recover my footing, my eyes shot open and my horn became engulfed in a bright lavender light as I prepared myself for the oncoming assault. Instead of launching another attack as I had expected, the dark alicorn had instead turned to face the now glowing orbs and encased them in her magic. “No!” I yelled, lunging forward. Reaching out with my magic, I sensed the makings of a teleportation spell and latched onto Nightmare Moon’s magic in an attempt to block it. The alicorn easily overpowered me, however, and instead of blocking her teleport like I had intended I was instead pulled along with her. I was engulfed in darkness, screaming in agony as the teleport stretched and pulled me in every direction at once. After a short time, I felt solid ground under my hooves and I squeezed my eyes shut as I widened my stance in an attempt to steady myself. “Well well well,” I heard a familiar voice say, cutting through the haze left by the unexpected teleport and sending a shiver down my spine. I opened my eyes and instinctively leaped backward, a searing wave of heat and the stench of burning fur telling me I had just barely dodged a magic blast. “My oh my, would you look at that,” Nightmare chuckled darkly. “Not only are you resilient and resourceful, but you’ve got good instincts, as well. It really is a shame you’re such a fanatical follower of my sister. Were you to join me, and take your place under my wing... why, there wouldn’t be a pony alive who could stop you.” I stumbled over my own hooves as the implication of what she was saying hit me. Doing my best to keep her from backing me into a corner, I slowly backed away from her and towards the center of the room as my eyes darted back and forth between her and my surroundings. The first thing I noticed about the room Nightmare had inadvertently brought me to was that it was quite obviously what had served as the throne room when the castle was still inhabited. At the far end of the room were a pair of stone thrones, a larger one of white stone decorated in gold filigree with another throne of dark colored stone decorated in silver. A long, tattered, red and gold carpet ran from the foot of the dais the thrones sat upon to the door that acted as the main entrance to the room. Lining the approach to the thrones were a series of large marble white pillars, most of which had toppled over and now only remained as large chunks of rubble that served as blockades for the smaller hallways that lined the side of the room. “I can picture it now,” Nightmare purred. Noticing that her previous statement had thrown me off balance, the dark alicorn slowly circled around me to cut off me off from the rooms only unblocked exit. “I would sit upon the throne in Canterlot, ruling over this world with my creatures of the night, and you would sit beside me as my enforcer; none would dare to stand against us. What do you say?” “What do I say?” I asked. My eyes darted around the room, seeking any other plan of action than the suicidal idea that had lodged itself in my head. Seeing no other way out, I swallowed the lump in my throat and returned my gaze to Nightmare. “As intriguing as your offer is,” I said, standing tall on shaky legs, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline.” Seeing a brief look of shock cross the dark alicorn’s face, I attempted to take advantage of her momentary shock and launched the fastest, strongest bolt of pure magic I could muster straight at her face. Nightmare raised a shield to block the blast, and in an attempt to take advantage of her momentary distraction, I wrapped the five stone orbs that had been floating behind her in my own magic and attempted to pull them to myself and teleport. My efforts proved to be futile, however, when Nightmare easily overpowered my telekinetic grip on the Elements and launched me back into the stairs of the dais with a blast of her own, canceling my teleport in the process. “Such a shame,” Nightmare sighed, “with such devious tactics, you would do well as my seneschal.” The shadows began writhing as all the darkness began converging on Nightmare’s horn, her slitted draconic eyes glowing ominously. She smirked deviously at me, her fangs glinting in the moonlight as the shadows condensed into a ball on the tip of her horn. “Now, be a good girl and stay dead this time,” Nightmare said sweetly. No sooner had the words left her mouth then a beam of pure darkness erupted from her horn and shot straight towards me. Still reeling from the backlash of my forcefully canceled teleport, I couldn’t do anything but sit and watch as the beam traveled at me faster than I could move. Resigning myself to my fate I turned my head and closed my eyes, my body tensing in anticipation. After what seemed like an eternity I felt something smash into me, as pain erupted in my chest as it lifted me off the ground and carried me with it.