//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Sneaking In The Shadows // Story: Forgotten Bygones // by Catpaw616 //------------------------------// Trixie kept banging on a rock so her magic blocker could break off. It hurt, a lot, but if she was going to break Starlight, and maybe Discord free, she needed a little bit of magic that she had learned, but unfortunately, it was not a lot. What is this thing made out of? Steel? she thought in irritation. She would assume that this kind of stone would break easily, but it seems that's not the case. After a few slams, the ring finally broke. "Thank Celestia!" Trixie exclaimed, but retraced her words. "Actually, I won't thank Celestia." She's the one who put this onto us anyway. But Trixie felt a headache was about to rise in her head. If she were going to break into a literal palace, her mind needed to be clear. Since her wagon was under solitary confinement, she decided to rest into the woods until the moon was at the center of the sky. She wanted to be in solid darkness, and maybe when Luna is distracted in the dream world, she would be able to sneak in. But the real question is how? And she had to think of what would happen if she were caught. Normally that would not be a problem if she had more powers that were as strong as Starlight's. But her magical abilities are average. Below average even. I'll probably be in the dungeon, just like them. Or worse. Trixie started shaking fearfully. The thought of letting Starlight down was a thought that she could not handle. She could just imagine her angry gaze coming from her lavender pupils... No, stop it. Stop it. Trixie commanded herself. If you don't pull anything stupid, we're fine. She went into the woods and found a comfortable spot on the leaves. Obviously she would've preferred a hammock, but this could be a good substitute. And she is well hidden too, so creatures like the Timberwolves wouldn't find her in her sleep. Or so she hoped. Wish me luck. Trixie thought to no one. She closed her eyes, and forced herself to sleep. Trixie walked up near the Canterlot castle when the clock hit midnight. Not risking the chance of being seen by the guards, or Luna, Trixie hid behind a bush, hoping that she would not be easily seen. Breathing in deep, she tried to look back on memories when Starlight and Trixie were practicing teleportation spells. She remembered that Starlight instructed her about teleporting, and finally recalled what she said to her. "Once you know your destination, you have to picture it in your mind." Starlight said to her. "And when you find that place, light up your horn and if you do it right, you'll be at the destination in no time. But its not easy. It takes a lot of magical power for beginners." Time to put all those boring lessons to use. Trixie thought teasingly. Following what Starlight said, her horn glowed a light purple, and having a destination in mind, Trixie disappeared in a flash. She eventually reappeared at the hallways of the castle. Trixie softly let out a short chuckle. She had no idea how she was able to do that on first try, but she didn't care. I'm in the castle. Trixie couldn't help but feel proud. Sure, breaking into the Canterlot castle was wrong, but she didn't care. Saving Starlight, as well as Discord, is her key objective at the moment. First time teleporting too. Trixie added. If only her first teleportation spell wasn't used for illegal operations. Now that she was in the castle, another question rose in her mind: where is the dungeons? Trixie quietly walked around the halls, paying close attention to her surroundings, and was wide alert for any hoofsteps. As she continued walking, she heard the voices of Twilight and Princess Celestia in another room. Curiosity stabbed her once again and she stopped behind the door of the room, making the voices audible now. She hoped that the conversation would give her clues, and maybe some answers about what they were about to do to Starlight once she is free. She stopped and listened. "Celestia, I apologize for interrupting your sleep, but I couldn't get Starlight off my mind." Twilight told her former teacher. You and me both. "Twilight, we discussed this earlier." Celestia said in her usual calm tone, but Trixie picked up tiny hints of irritation. "We're not going to let her loose because of one apology." "But Starlight stood up for Trixie, which was a thing I never thought that would happen for moons!" Twilight tried explaining. "Twilight, a villain may do one righteous thing, but it takes more than that for me to prove that they have changed for the better. Remember when Discord betrayed us for Tirek?" Celestia reminded her. "Of course I do." Twilight replied, hesitantly. "Then how do we know that Starlight wouldn't do the same?" Celestia demanded. "Look, I know that redeeming villains is kind of... your cup of tea, but this is a thing we must think rationally." "I understand, Princess." Twilight dipped her head. Trixie felt that she had heard enough. She might as well find the location on her own since Twilight and Celestia wouldn't be any use to her. She heard hoofsteps coming from up ahead. Panicking, she hid behind a table with a vase covering her face. And there were pillars on the sides so Trixie's side's were covered as well. She peeked one eye out and saw two guards with a snow white pony with a tiny gray mane. He looked sad as he stared at the ground with a sorrow expression. Trixie noticed that the pony was wearing a orange shirt with black stripes on it. She immediately knew right away that this pony was a prisoner. Just like Starlight. Once the three were out of sight, Trixie followed the direction to where the guards and the prisoner came from. She trotted down halls and halls, until finally she reached a doorway with a sign that said: The Canterlot Dungeon Warning: Beware for deranged criminals. Starlight is anything but deranged! Trixie felt boiling anger rise inside her, but took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Gulping, she opened the door, and closed it very lightly. The stairway was dark and gloomy, so Trixie created a magical orb that loomed on her horn, making it a light source. The stairway seemed to go down, and down, and down for hours. Until finally, she reached the jackpot. The dungeons. She saw stony cages that filled the room. One side has cages, while the other did too. And there were only a few torches that lit up the area, but it was still very dark. Trixie couldn't believe that her friend was trapped here. Cold, dark, and except for Discord, no friends in sight. And I thought Celestia was noble. Trixie didn't like resenting royalty, but right now, its hard not too. She kept walking and walking, lighting up every cage she could find. The criminals were either asleep, or they stared at Trixie with a cold glare, but didn't a say a word. Maybe they were tired. Trixie searched for what seemed to be hours, until she finally spotted a cage where she saw the back of a mare with a familiar color. Trixie would assume that it was just another random pony, until she saw that the pony's mane had turquoise streaks in it. And she only knew one pony who had that. Finally. "Starlight?" Trixie whispered. "What now?" Starlight groaned. She turned her head with her eyes half closed. But they opened wide when she saw the light blue mare. "Trixie?!" "Quiet!" Trixie quickly silenced her. "You're going go alert the guards if they hear loud noises." "Have you gone mad?" Starlight scolded her, but in a lower voice now. "I've literally given you the chance to not get captured!" "If you think that the Great and Powerful Trixie would let her friend suffer in this cold, unforgiving dungeon, then you clearly don't know me at all." Trixie responded. "Well, when I expected help to rescue us, I never expected you to come." Trixie groaned inwardly when she recognized the voice of Discord. "Well, surprise, surprise." Trixie looked up and down the cage, until she spotted a padlock. "Oh great, I don't have the keys." "You seriously didn't think about getting keys?" Discord rolled his red pupils. "Did you expect that every cage doesn't have a lock?" "Well, if you're prancing around illegally in a castle, then there are some things to forget about!" Trixie aimed her anger at Discord. Did he want her to rescue him? "Ok, I may not have they keys, but I know one trick that could work." Trixie lowered her head, and put the tip of her horn inside the padlock. "Oh, as if that attempt would help us." Discord scoffed. Just then, the lock opened. It worked. Trixie stared at the lock. She actually thought it wouldn't work, but it did. She looked up at Disord. "You were saying?" She said with a smirk. Starlight giggled a tiny bit while Discord groaned in exasperation. Starlight and Discord hopped out of the cage once Trixie opened the door. But Trixie noticed that something was off about Discord. "Um, Discord?" Trixie asked the creature. "Why is there rings on your fingers and neck?" "Magic blockers." Discord responded coldly. "Celestia went over the top with them. Now I can't use magic at all." As he said that, he kept scratching his neck. "Have you tried sliding them off?" Trixie suggested. "I can't." Discord responded. His cold tone faded away and was replaced with disappointment. "No matter how many times I try." Starlight got between the two. "We can discuss more of this later. Right now, we need to get out of here before any of the guards see us." "They don't patrol down here." Discord remarked. "Doesn't mean we stand around." Starlight responded. "What if the princesses come to check on us? We can't risk staying." "Hey," a voice was heard in the distance. "Can you break us out?" "And me?" A nearby voice added. As they were about to walk out, ignoring the prisoners, a red alarm went off from the ceiling. "What is that?!" Trixie screamed in surprise. "An alarm. What else does it look like?!" Discord responded back. "Do you need flashcards telling you what an alarm is?" "This is no time for sarcastic remarks, Discord." Starlight said angrily at the draconequus. "There is only one way out, and the guards are most likely marching their way to here as we speak!" "Actually, there is another." Discord pointed his bird claw at another entrance at the end of the room. "Nice observation, but what if the guards go through that one too?" Trixie said in an almost mocking tone. "Teleportation." Starlight whispered. She whipped her head to face Trixie. "You can teleport, can you?" Trixie was caught off-guard by Starlight's question. "I guess... but I only teleported myself-" She was interrupted when they heard the dungeon door slam open, and heard thousands of hooves heading to the bottom of the dungeon. They were getting close. "Trixie, come on!" Starlight looked desperately at her friend. "You're the only one here who is able to do magic." "But I've done it once!" Trixie exclaimed. "Well, you better do it again!" Discord said, fear creeping into his voice. Trixie felt her legs shake. She, her friend, and Discord, were all on the verge of capture once again. And will probably have a worse punishment when they have been caught by the guards... Its now or never. Breathing hard, her horn lit up brightly. The guards barged into the room. "Freeze!"