"And here is the library," King Golden Horn said as he opened a door.
Twilight's jaw did not drop to the floor only because it was attached to the rest of her. It was the first time she'd really let her reactions slip during the trip, and Sassy couldn't blame her too harshly. Had there been as many dresses behind a door as there were books in that room, her own reaction would not have been much different. And these were all books Twilight had never even heard of.
The king looked at the alicorn, an amused smile on his face. "I take it you're quite the enthusiast yourself. It is nice to know the rulers of other countries too share the same passions as you," he said while stepping inside. The clicks of his walking cane as it touched the ground echoed across the rows of shelves. "Makes you feel like maybe the world out there is not too different from your own, you know?"
Sassy took her eyes away from the long slim piece of metal in his hand, still not used to the sight, and gazed around the room. It was quite impressive indeed. Not as big as the one in Canterlot, but still rather bigger than what smaller towns like Ponyville would have had. And given it was only a private library, that was rather noteworthy. All the shelves were metal, as she had come to expect.
"Would you like to see my personal study?" the king asked with a smirk. Noticing the alicorn's rather jerky nods, he walked up to another door inside the room and unlocked it. "I keep the oldest books here, so they remain safe."
Twilight practically darted into the smaller room behind the door. A moment later she poked her head out, mildly blushing. "May I..."
"Be my guest." The king gave a sweeping gesture with his free hand, then turned to the other creatures in the room. "It's not a problem if I join her, right?"
"Of course not," Sassy replied, while the other two simply nodded.
"Very well." The black minotaur smiled, then walked in and locked the door behind himself.
Silver sighed. "We won't be seeing them for a while," he said, walking up to the nearest table and pulling back a chair. "We may as well not wait for them, they might not be out before tomorrow. Wouldn't be the first time dad spent the whole night in his study reading, and your princess doesn't seem much different." He sat down, drumming his fingers on the metal surface of the table. "Guess I'll have to walk you back to your rooms myself."
"Well, we could always just call them," Fluttershy said, floating near the top shelves as she scanned their contents.
Silver chuckled. "Good luck with that. Did you see how thick the door is? You couldn't hear cannons being fired from inside there if the palace was under attack."
Sassy threw him a perplexed look.
"Oh, I'm not kidding. It used to be a room for military planning before King Mythril Heart converted it to a study two hundred years ago. Councillor Silver Tongue, during the third century, was in there with Princess Copper Eyes when the miners' uprising reached the palace, and they didn't know until the door was blown off its hinges."
Sassy's mouth opened and closed silently for a moment. "Huh."
Fluttershy's voice came in and broke the silence that was beginning to form. "What's this?"
Silver got up to get a better look. "Oh, that? We got it from a trader from Klugetown, one of the trinkets dad likes to keep here or around. We never figured what it is exactly, but he enjoys keeping it exposed." He sat back down, and counted his own fingers.
"Fascinating." Fluttershy turned the vaguely bat-shaped piece of metal and gems in her hooves. "It feels like..." she spoke out in a breathy whisper, before trailing off.
A metallic ring echoed in the room.
"Fluttershy?" Sassy turned. "Are you alr- Fluttershy?" Sassy scanned the room around, looking for the pegasus.
Silver looked up. And then something caught his eye, and he looked a little further up. "Is that normal?"
Sassy followed his gaze. "Oh." The unicorn blinked. "No. It's not."
The bat-like creature Fluttershy had turned into answered back by means of a hiss, then flew out the door.
"Oh," repeated the unicorn, as she failed to recall the Prench expressions she'd heard Rarity use on occasion. Then with calm and measured steps, mostly born out of how her brain refused to catch up with the situation, she walked up to the door and looked out, while a confused Silver Hooves stood up behind her.
Fluttershy's silhouette slid smooth as a shadow along the top of the corridor, and around a corner, disappearing from view.
The weight of the events finally crashed into Sassy, and like a hammer blow sent her running after the other pony. She turned the same corner, and spotted a pink tail disappear behind another. Huffing, she rushed ahead, trying to outpace the flier. Not an easy task at all, but the limited confines of the Palace's interior did seem to be limiting Fluttershy's speed.
The unicorn entered another corridor, and kept panting for breath as she raced behind her mutated friend. The bat-pegasus seemed to be losing some ground, or perhaps air, slowed down by the chandeliers hanging from the hallway's ceiling she had to continuously dodge and fly around. Sassy pushed as hard as she could on her legs, thanking her height for making things easier. She just needed to be close enough to snatch the mare in her magic, and she was almost there.
That was, at least, before they came to a corridor coasting the perimeter of the palace. Sassy realised with horror how near impossible it would be for her to catch up with Fluttershy if she could fly out in the open. And while the windows were thankfully closed, the hallway ended in a door to a small balcony. Desperately she tried to finally get close enough to the other pony. She could make it, just a few seconds and-
A door suddenly opened in front of her, and she almost smashed face-first into it. Stopping herself just in time, hooves skidding to a halt on the floor, the unicorn was dreadfully aware of how she'd lost her target, with no chance of catching up again. She jerkily began to walk around the door, just in time to see the end of a pink tail disappear behind the confines of the metallic railing.
"Oh, excuse me," said the minotaur lady who'd just stepped out of the room. "I hope you are enjoying your stay." She turned and walked away, whistling a tune to herself.
Sassy stood there for a moment, watching the other disappear behind a corner. Something like a vulture's imitation of a laugh came from her throat, more of a reflexive screech than a conscious sound. Then her hooves began to run again, and the rest of her body was dragged along a couple of seconds later.
Ignoring the heavy clattering of hooves coming down the corridor behind her, distantly aware of how it belonged to Silver and of how he was yelling for an explanation, she did what any creature who'd spent enough time around Twilight and her friends would find most logical in that situation.
She got to the balcony, and threw herself out of it as well.