//------------------------------// // Castle Of The Two Sisters // Story: Little Choices // by Skijarama //------------------------------// The rest of the trip had been made in almost complete silence, with Rainbow opting to take the lead of the group while Rarity stayed in the back with Starlight’s pod. Rainbow’s reaction to Starlight’s presence had been surprisingly tame, Twilight had observed, as she had simply asked Rarity to keep the pod away from her and not let Starlight out for the time being before going to the front. If nothing else, she hadn’t gotten openly hostile when she saw Starlight, so that was a huge improvement over the last time the two had crossed paths. Now, after a few hours of more trudging through the foliage of the Everfree Forest, they at last came out of the shrubbery to behold the Castle of the Two Sisters, sitting majestically atop a rugged mesa that itself rose out of the center of a sizable dent in the ground. The bridge that once connected the two ends of the circular ravine, having been severed by Nightmare Moon during their last visit was, regrettably, still broken. Wind Whisper propped herself up on Thorax’s head, resting her forehooves on his mane and squinting at the castle. She then leaned back and gasped slightly with huge, awestruck eyes. “Wooooaah… it’s so big!” she declared while pointing excitedly at it. “And… kinda crummy looking...” her muzzle scrunched up. “Is it supposed to look like that?” “Well, yeah. I mean, It’s been abandoned for over a thousand years,” Thorax replied with a small smile on his muzzle. “Things tend to get kinda… dusty when left alone for that long.” “Oooh, I see,” Whisper smiled and rested her chin on top of Thorax’s head, opting to watch from his perspective for a while. Thorax frowned, though. He craned his neck so he could look at Rainbow Dash, who was presently inspecting the bridge and the fog-smothered ravine it was hanging uselessly into. “Are you sure this castle is a good hideout? We got here pretty easy and the changelings are bound to be looking for us after your mission into Canterlot.” “I’m sorry to admit it, but Squall might have a point,” Twilight added, studying their surroundings very critically and wincing. “The Everfree is dangerous, but after what I’ve seen of her, I doubt it would even be an inconvenience to Chrysalis and her minions. Plus, the castle is in really rough shape. It wouldn’t be able to stand up against a siege at all if the changelings find us here.” Rainbow Dash grimaced and backed away from the edge. She sighed heavily, absent-mindedly kicking a stray pebble into the ravine. “Yeah, you’re right… but right now, it’s all we’ve got. Once we’re in, we should go the castle’s library and look around. Atlasas, maps, anything that could point us to someplace where we’ll be safer.” “Speakin’ of gettin’ in,” Applejack commented while glaring at the bridge distastefully. “How are we gonna do that? The bridge is still out.” Rainbow Dash hesitated before looking down to her left wing. She took a deep breath and gently tried to unfurl it from her side. All at once, she regretted that decision, as the muscles in and around the appendage spasmed and tensed with white-hot pain from the movement, making her inhale sharply through tightly clenched teeth. Fluttershy was by her side in an instant, looking at the wind and offering her a comforting, if stern, expression. Rainbow managed to regain the ability to speak a few seconds later with an exhale. “Y-yeah, no, I’m not flying,” she managed to growl out before gently letting her wing curl back up to her side, the pain gradually subsiding. “I think I overdid it up there…” “You did overdo it,” Fluttershy scolded gently while looking the wing over again, taking note of some very clearly visible swelling around the base. A mildly displeased frown slowly formed on her muzzle before she made eye contact with Rainbow. “You strained the muscles way more than they were ready for. The first thing we should do when we’re inside is make sure that you are taken care of.” Rainbow glanced at Fluttershy and smiled softly. “Hey, if you can make this pain stop, go for it. I ain’t complaining. But we have to find the library first. You can check out my wing while the others are poring over books or whatever.” “That plan would be helped along greatly if we could actually get inside,” Rarity noted, looking at the ravine with her snout scrunched up with disgust. “And honestly, I am getting rather tired of trekking through all of this icky much. Ew.” Pinkie hummed thoughtfully before trotting up to the stone posts that the ropes were tied to, studying them rather cartoonishly. She then looked across the ravine to the castle itself. “You know, the last time we were here, after queen meanie broke the bridge and Fluttershy saved us, we climbed up some stairs that were carved into the side of the mesa that the castle’s on to get inside,” Pinkie pointed out before peering down into the fog. “So… maybe there’s another way down, then we can take those stairs up?” “Huh… ya know, ah didn’t think of that,” Applejack thought aloud with a hoof to her chin. “And she’s right, too. We did find stairs headin’ up. Maybe she’s onto somethin’. Ah think it’s worth a shot. How’s it sound, y’all?” “Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow said, her voice still a little strained from the residual throbbing in her wing. She looked at the fallen bridge with a thoughtful eye, then nodded curtly. “...Okay, fair enough. Let’s-” “Pinkie!” Rarity suddenly shrieked with a hoof flying up to cover her muzzle while her eyes snapped wide open with shock and horror. Rainbow followed her gaze just in time to see Pinkie vanish from view, having just jumped over the edge of the cliff. “What in tarnation?!” Applejack shouted, galloping up to the edge and looking over with everypony looking on in either confusion or severe alarm. After a second, Applejack visibly sagged before letting a little-relieved chuckle slip out, then looked over her shoulder at the rest of them. “Ugh. She’s fine, Y'all.” Pinkie’s head popped up from the ledge, smiling widely. “Well, duh, I only found the stairs, silly!” she chirped while gesturing with a hoof to the surface she was standing on. She nodded happily before popping back down and bouncing along the mentioned stairs she had just found while singing a little tune to herself. Like the ones they had taken to reach the castle before, these stairs were carved into the cliff-side. Rainbow ran a hoof over her face in exasperation while Fluttershy frowned disapprovingly. “Pinkie Pie, you shouldn't scare us like that!” she called after her, though her voice didn’t have enough volume to reach the happy pony’s ears. “Let’s go, girls,” Twilight butted in before anypony could start dwelling on the fact that Pinkie Pie had almost given them all an enormous heart attack. “We’ve got no time to waste.” The castle was just as they remembered it; old, decrepit, and practically falling apart. But as the group of ponies explored the halls, looking for the library, they noticed that under the golden glow of sunlight, much of it’s ominous atmosphere was replaced by a noticeably more… serene one. A few songbirds had made a nest atop one of the broken sections of the wall, tending to their eggs. A few mice scampered through the empty halls while the group made their way through, and Fluttershy, at one point, confirmed that there were bats napping peacefully in the darker recesses of what was left of the roof. Rarity was unamused by that fact, especially since she was now carrying Starlight’s pod in her magic, having had to abandon the wagon during their ascent. More than once she had complained about the weight, but insisted on carrying it herself, saying that Twilight should rest her own magic as much as possible after their life threatening trip to Canterlot. “You know,” Twilight eventually thought aloud while lightly sliding a hoof along one of the walls, where moss and vines had grown over centuries. A few leaves went with her hoof, and she took a moment to study them with a small, contemplative smile. “This place is… actually sort of beautiful, now that I’m really looking at it in the daylight.” “Took the words right outta my mouth, sugarcube,” Applejack replied with a smile of her own. She took a moment to put a hoof on one of the walls, pushing on it a little as if to admire the construction. “Ah hafta admit, even Ah can appreciate how this all looks, ‘specially since alotta it is still pretty strong.” “I suppose I can see your point,” Rarity added while looking around a little, some of the disgust and displeasure she had been openly displaying giving way to a more thoughtful and appreciative expression. “I still think it could use a good dusting, though.” “I think it’s lovely,” Fluttershy said meekly from near the back of the group, smiling at a few bats who were silently sleeping in the rafters. “There are so many rooms!” Whisper pointed out rather loudly from Thorax’s back, making said bats fly away down the hall with some parting squeaks of alarm. Now getting irked glares from everyone, Whisper cleared her throat and sheepishly looked around for something to change the subject with. She peered through a door as they passed and saw what looked like an old small storage room filled with dusty old crates and barrels, each one covered with a thick layer of cobwebs. “Hide and seek would be amazing in this place!” “Oh, you read my mind!” Pinkie squealed happily while coming up to Thorax’s side. She grinned eagerly at Wind Whisper, practically vibrating. “I’m super good at hide and seek! Wanna play?” Whisper gave a jubilant gasp and started to rapidly poke Thorax in the back of the head while repeating the same question over and over. “Can we, Dreamy? Can we can we can we can we-” “Stop poking my head!” Thorax protested, grunting in discomfort with every tiny hit the back of his cranium had to suffer. Whisper withdrew her hoof and hid her face behind it. Thorax looked back at her, then looked at Pinkie. “...Alright, go ahead. But…” he looked deeply into Pinkie Pie's eyes while narrowing his own. The look he gave her made it quite clear in no uncertain terms that if anything bad happened to Wind while this was going on, he’d get her back for it. “Don’t go too far, okay?” “Don’t worry, we’ll be safe!” Pinkie said nonchalantly before beaming down at Wind Whisper. “So, you wanna do the seeking or the hiding?” “Hiding! I’ll find somewhere!” Whisper smiled enormously before jumping off of Thorax’s back and breaking into a brisk gallop down the old hall. “No peeking!” Pinkie waved after her, then looked back at Thorax with a somewhat more reserved smile on her face. “She’s been through a lot, hasn’t she? A game of hide and seek is just what she needs to start smiling some more!” Thorax nodded slowly. “Thanks, Pinkie. I hope you’re right… just don’t get into any trouble, okay?” “We won’t!” Pinkie saluted, then slinked off into the storage room to begin her countdown. Thorax still looked uncomfortable as the group pressed on, routinely looking over his shoulder to see if he could spot them. Noticing this, Fluttershy made her way over to trot by his side. Once he noticed her, she smiled softly. “Don’t worry, Pinkie is the best at hide and seek. One time, she found Angel Bunny even though he was in a completely different town. Your sister is going to be just fine,” she informed him before looking back the way they came. “And she’s right; that little filly could use a little play time.” “I know. I’m just worried about her… I swore I’d take care of her,” Thorax sighed before shaking his head and looking down at the ground. “You’re just being a good big brother, Squall,” Fluttershy replied while putting a hoof on his shoulder. “In fact, i think she’s a very lucky filly to have a brother like you.” Thorax flinched and side-stepped away from Fluttershy’s hoof. “Th-thanks, Fluttershy… um… uh… yeah, thanks… I appreciate it…” he muttered uneasily before increasing his pace to move further ahead. The next few minutes were fairly silent, everypony opting to focus on looking for the entrance to the library in favor of making small-talk. Eventually, though, Twilight’s brow furrowed with thought. She looked over at Rainbow, who was trotting right by her side.“So… I’m curious,” she began, drawing Rainbow’s attention. She looked over at Twilight and nodded for her to continue. Twilight slowed down a little and looked up at the ceiling, where a small hole could be seen letting in a shaft of sunlight. “Why did Celestia abandon this place? Did she ever tell you?” Rainbow sighed slightly and paused in her trotting to look up at an old tapestry that hung just to the side of the hole in the roof. It was a beautifully woven piece that depicted Celestia and Luna flying after each other’s tails in a circle, with the background split evenly down the middle with gold and dark-blue colors to represent day and night. “She did… sort of. She didn’t want to go into a lot of detail at the time, but the basic gist is that between feeling bad for banishing her own sister, and some sort of residual dark magic that Nightmare Moon left behind starting to make it dangerous to live here, she decided that the castle just… wasn’t worth the effort and resources it would take to maintain.” “Dark magic?” Fluttershy squeaked out, having been listening in to their discussion. She shrunk back to hide behind her mane while her eyes darted fearfully at every shadow. “Is it still here?” “Might be,” Rainbow shrugged with a small frown. “Might not. I dunno, really, and it doesn’t matter. Even if it is here, it’s gonna be way too weak to be worth our time.” Twilight hummed quietly to herself and looked around again. Her eyes settled on an unassuming wooden door set into the wall not far away. It stood out to her, somehow. Curious, she made her way closer so she could examine it better, with Rainbow and the others curiously watching her as she went. The wood had been dyed to be a pale shade of purple and the handles were elegantly curved and colored a lovely gold, even if one of them had long ago been snapped in half. On the wall just above the door was a plaque, well worn and covered in dust. The letters were archaic and illegible, though Twilight recognized them as being written in old ponish. Acting off a hunch, Twilight pushed the doors open with her magic. The sight beyond made her eyes light up with joy. “OH MY GOSH!” she cheered, elated, before galloping past the frame into the room proper. “I FOUND IT!” Rainbow glanced back at the others, put on a cocky grin, then followed Twilight. True to the bookworm’s word, it was the library they had been searching for. A long, central floor-space spanned the middle of the enormous room, dotted with tables and chairs, some of which still had books open on their surfaces. A large, artistic statue of an alicorn horse dominated the center of the room, it’s head low to the ground in a deep ceremonial bow. Then there were the books. On the ground floor, on the left and right sides, were rows upon rows of bookshelves that were perpendicular to the central seating area, and each one was packed to the point of bursting with ancient tomes and dust-covered scrolls. There was a second floor as well, though it seemed to be a bit more compact, with the shelves running parallel to the carpet instead of perpendicular and limited standing space in the form of fairly narrow walkways. Towards the back of the room, a staircase split off to the left and right to connect to the walkways of second floor. Just above said stairs was a towering window frame, the glass having long ago burst out due to a lack of maintenance. Twilight was, predictably, galloping around, giggling and jabbering to herself like a school filly who had been left in a candy store with a hundred bits and told to buy as much as she wanted. “So many ancient books!” She yelled out while standing up on her hind legs to look at one of the higher shelves. “This is wonderful! I can’t believe it! WOO-HOO!” “Yo, Twilight!” Rainbow called to her like she might call to a pet while the group piled in, drawing the ecstatic mare’s attention. Wearing an ever-so amused smirk on her face, Rainbow waved her over. “Calm down, would ya? We get it, it’s exciting, but we’re here for a reason.” “B-but,” Twilight stuttered before absently prodding one of the books on the shelf in front of her. “...Books!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Oh, you… never change, you hear me?” “I hate to cut this moment of delight short,” Rarity suddenly cut into the discussion with a strained grunt. ”But can I put this down, now? It’s heavier than I would like.” she asked in a deliberately whiney voice while slightly swaying the pod with Starlight in it for emphasis. Rainbow blinked, having forgotten about it there for a moment. “Oh! Uh, yeah, sure, thump her on a table or something,” she said while eyeing the pod carefully. Rarity, thankful for the newly granted reprieve, set the pod down on the nearest table before the blue light finally faded from her horn. “Whew! Thank goodness! My neck was getting sore…” She muttered in a grouchy voice while rubbing a hoof along her neck to work out the alleged stiffness. Twilight returned to the group, pouting pitifully at Rainbow Dash, who simplu rolled her eyes and lightly smacked Twilight in the back of the head with a hoof, then cleared her throat. “Alright everypony, we’re trying to find someplace a bit safer to use as a hideout. We’re going to need atlases, maps, and maybe even journals of ponies that you’d expect to have done exploration and stuff like that. If anything looks promising, anything at all, speak up and let everypony know. We all clear on what we’re doing?” There were no complaints or questions. Everypony was ready. “Okay… let’s get to work. Fluttershy, let's get my wing looked at, eh?"