//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - The Summit // Story: Castle Walls // by sklafjdslkj //------------------------------// Twilight shivered as the doors swung closed behind her with a thud. The frigid mountain wind whipped against her, sending daggers of icy pain through her coat. Wincing, she lowered her head and trudged forward. Snow crunched under her hooves as she pushed forward through the gale, freezing her hooves until the feeling went from them. Wind-blown snow lashed against her coat and mane, clinging to her. Ahead loomed a series of switchbacks leading to the summit. Twilight sighed and lit her horn, a light purple sphere surrounding her and blocking out the violent wind. I should have brought a cloak, she thought, shivering as the cold permeated the shield. Still, she forced her hooves to move, and started up the rocky trail. “This better be worth it,” she muttered, trudging upwards despite her worries. As she climbed, the path narrowed until she was forced to press herself against the mountain face and slowly shuffle along. She kept her eyes trained on the path ahead, knowing what view awaited her if she looked down. Breathing deeply, she took a moment to compose herself. Don’t look down, she told herself. Whatever you do, don’t look down. Her quivering hoof reached out, meeting the stone of the path and she smiled. Each step came easier, and soon she found herself halfway across the ledge. Twilight's hoof came down on a patch of loose earth, falling through as the rock gave out and tumbled down the mountain side. Twilight yelped and hopped back, staring at the jagged edge where the path had been. Why did it have to be up here of all places? There are several places in the castle just as secluded that would be much easier to deal with, she thought, kicking a loose stone off the edge and watching it bounce away into the gray oblivion below. She took a deep breath, refocusing on the destination, and stepped over the hole. Once she was across, she shuffled as fast as she could to the landing. Panting, she looked back down the steep mountain side, her eyes lingering on the large bronze doors before sweeping over the horizon. Around the mountain the blizzard raged, but father out thick gray clouds hung over most of the world, as they had for months. But far to the west, she could make out the shimmering of the ocean, and in the east, she could see the tan sand of the Sandtrap Desert. In the north, she could see the white peaks of the Iron Mountains rising above the clouds, but her view of the southern shore was still obscured by the clouds. With a sigh, Twilight turned her gaze to the one building on the otherwise flat peak. The small stone house stood proudly, its walls and roof shielding it from the wind and snow. Even as she felt a rush of strength renew her tired muscles, the cold permeated her coat and she shivered violently. As she trudged forward, the wind buffeted her, waves of cold breaking against her coat. It lashed out at Twilight, and slowly, she felt the warmth go from her body, replaced by an unfeeling numbness. Grimacing, she redoubled the sphere around her, blocking out the wind, though not the creeping frost. After what seemed like an eternity, she reached the door. She raised her hoof, barely feeling it as she knocked on the door. She waited for a moment, the gale continuing to beat at her, but when no answer came, she knocked harder, hearing it echo through the house. Again she waited for a minute, and again no answer came. “I know you’re in there!” she screamed, banging on the door with what little energy she had left. “Damn it! Let me in, it’s freezing out here!” Twilight continued to scream, but before long she lost her voice and it turned to painful rasps. Soon after, she slumped against the door, too tired to move. Damn him, she thought, a warm haze coming over her mind. Her eyes started to droop, and she smiled as the warmth spread through her body. Grinning like a fool, Twilight propped herself against the door and fell asleep. *** Sunlight streamed in through the pair of skylights and the wall of glass. Trixie squinted against the harsh light as she listened to the hoofsteps behind her recede and the door close. The room was so unlike her room in Night’s End. This one was a long oval, with one side made of glass. Past the glass was a small terrace overlooking the city, with a view stretching nearly to the sea. Inside, the room was sparsely adorned, but Trixie could make out where tapestries and banners had once decorated the now white stone walls. Trixie lay down on the bed with a sigh, the dark blue sheets silky against her coat. Humph. Night’s End, what a bizarre place. Trixie should be thankful to be back in more... civilized lands. She relaxed on the bed, her black traveling cloak removing itself and hanging on a hook near the door. Yawning, she stretched out and let the soft sheets cradle her sore legs. “Damn castles and their towers,” she muttered. Aside from the painful climb up to her quarters, the day had gone as well as she could have hoped. The queen hadn’t had her killed on the spot, and had even stopped the rainbow pegasus from attacking her. The General was a fool, and his questions had been easy to avoid. Trixie snorted, knowing that he’d press for more details later, but Silver Lining had forced Trixie to tell her some of the minor details. Trixie lifted herself from the bed, her legs aching in protest as she strode out onto the balcony. A crisp breeze brushed against her coat, soothing her legs. Stretched out below her was the city, streets radiating from the palace in rings of perfect semi-circles. Close to the castle walls, houses took up entire squares, but as she looked out to the outer walls of the city, the buildings were crammed together and leaned on each other for support. Sighing, she turned away from the city and looked at the door, the gold handle almost garish against the dark zebrawood. Walking over, she pushed it open enough to allow Snowdrop, the attendant assigned to her, to enter. “What can I do for you, Great and Powerful Trixie?” Snowdrop asked, putting on a smile. Trixie stared her down for a minute. She was a unicorn no taller than Trixie herself, with a light blue coat and an icy blue mane, mirroring her snow cloud cutie mark. Whenever she entered the room, Trixie felt the temperature drop, as if the air around Snowdrop chilled everything she got close to. “Trixie would like to see the city of Canterlot in its fullness, and she will require a knowledgeable guide.” She took a few steps towards the door, suppressing a small shiver. Snowdrop’s eyes sparkled as her smile broke into a wider, more genuine one. “It would be my pleasure. I have lived in Canterlot for my entire life, and know it better than anyone. Would you like to bring along a guard as an escort as well?” Trixie snorted. “Why would the Great and Powerful Trixie need a guard? This is Canterlot, the last refuge of the true ruler of Equestria. Surely, there is no safer place.” Snowdrop sighed and her eyes flitted towards the ground. “I’m sorry to say, but these are dangerous times. I doubt we’ll run into anything we can’t handle though.” Trixie smiled and picked up her sword from its place on the desk, strapping it to her side. “Better safe than sorry, but Trixie can protect herself.” Snowdrop nodded, her mouth set in a hard line for the shortest of moments before curving into a smile again. “Alright then. I guess we should start with the castle. This is one of several towers that rise from the main keep of Canterlot Castle. In particular, this one was favored by Princess Luna for her stargazing and was often used as her personal quarters. The others had similar purposes, though none so distinguished.” Snowdrop giggled and looked around the brightly lit room. “Some even say that Princess Luna was assassinated in this very room, and that her ghost still haunts it at night,” she said, her voice a poor imitation of a scary story. Trixie raised an eyebrow, taking a step to the door. “B-but those are just rumors right? Nopony knows what happened to the princesses.” Snowdrop shrugged. “It’s one of many, though personally, I don’t care for it.” Trixie nodded, and started to follow after as Snowdrop started down the stairs. “I suggest you bring your cloak,” Snowdrop called, “you wouldn’t want everypony seeing that pretty little sword of yours, would you?” Trixie nodded and donned the cloak, leaving the hood down. Descending the winding stairwell, she couldn’t help but hope that the story was an old mare’s tale. Snowdrop was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, smiling as ever. Snowdrop winked at her. “Good choice. I know it gets a bit chilly around me.” Turning, she led the way back down a large hallway to the main hold, chatting all the way. “Canterlot Castle has roughly thirty floors at the highest, but some of the towers go up higher than the actual floors. Unfortunately, the towers haven’t been used since... well, since the princesses disappeared. That is, until you moved into the Star Tower, that’s what it’s called officially, you know, if you ever get lost.” “Lovely,” Trixie spat, following along next to her guide. “Even most of the upper floors aren’t used,” Snowdrop continued, seeming to ignore the sardonic comment. “It’s a shame really, but we could still house the entire population of Canterlot in the castle if we needed to.” She paused for a moment as they turned, following the path back to the throne room. “It was never official, but it is understood that the castle was divided between the princesses in their time. We just came from what was Princess Luna’s wing. Princess Celestia’s starts at the throne room and continues opposite Luna’s, and Princess Cadance was left the wing backing up to the mountain.” Trixie rolled her eyes as Snowdrop bubbled on about the different wings and their contents. “Trixie has enough time to see the castle while she is here. She would like to spend what remains of the day seeing the city outside of the castle.” Snowdrop faltered just a bit, the edge of her smile falling for a mere second. “Oh, if that is what the Lady wants,” she said, leading the way to the front of the castle. “I was just saying, we are in the central keep. Outside of this are the castle grounds, which are home to several large gardens and mostly open to the public. Years ago, there was always some musician playing in the gardens, and students at the Academy would come to do their homework, study, or just relax and listen to the music.” The two of them came to the main gate, the ornate doors wrought of every metal Trixie could imagine. A gentle breeze blew through the open doors, and Trixie smiled. Outside she could see the grounds Snowdrop had spoken of. Between the wall and the castle were trees, flowers, and ponies laughing. A brook ran through the gardens as far as she could see. Snowdrop giggled. “It is really quite a sight when you stop to look at it.” Trixie allowed herself a smile. “Trixie must agree. It is beautiful.” Snowdrop led her through the wall’s harsh, iron gate. Before them were several blocks of mansions, some bustling with activity but most deadly quiet and empty. While most of the mansions took up a single block, some of them were so large as to wrap over the street and join two blocks. “This is the upper city, or what is left of it. The upper city is where the aristocracy of Equestria used to live, but I’m afraid only a few of them remain. It is said that Celestia—“ “What happened to the rest of them?” Trixie interrupted, staring at the empty mansions with her mouth agape. Snowdrop sighed and hung her head. “A few days after Her Majesty was named queen, most of them defected and joined up with some mare named Rarity. Celestia always kept them close to the castle, under the impression that it was easier for her to keep them under control that way. But now... they’re gone and then ten or so that remain are only a shadow of what Canterlot is known for.”   Trixie sniffed and scanned the area, her eyes flitting from mansion to mansion, ending on the gate down the street. She paused for another moment, a dead silence filling the air around them. “Trixie would like to see the rest of the city. She was not allowed to stop on her way to the castle.”   Snowdrop nodded. “As you wish m’lady,” she said, turning and leading Trixie towards the gate. The dark mahogany gate loomed before them, nearly as thick as the stone wall around it, its golden fastenings shining in the weak torch light flickering on top of the wall. “We wish to pass into the lower city,” Snowdrop called up at the guardhouse.   Trixie tapped her hoof as the gate stood still, glowering at the top of the wall. “What is taking so long?” she snapped. “Trixie does not have all day.”   Snowdrop looked over, her mouth drawn thin and the radiance gone from her face. “Night or day, there is always somepony in the guardhouse. It is never supposed to be left unattended. This... this gate is the only way into and out of Upper Canterlot.”   The soft click of metal on stone echoed from behind them, and their heads snapped around to see a panting pegasus in full golden armor. “Ladies... you... back to the castle...”   Snowdrop stepped forward, her voice taking on an authoritative tone. “Sit down and rest for a moment Private. Now, what is going on over there and why are you back here?"   The guard stood at attention, his armor dented and his brow slick with sweat. “We were told to get everypony into the castle. If you would please follow me back to the—“   “Trixie is going to see the lower city, now open the gate for her,” Trixie growled.   The guard blinked, hesitating for a second. “Ma’am, there’s been a riot in the lower city. All travel through Lower Canterlot is cut off until we get everything under control.” *** Warm feeling spread through her slowly, flowing into her sore muscles and driving the cold from her blood. Slowly, the feeling in her legs and body came back to her. She felt the heat of a nearby fire, the slick silk of the sheets wrapped around her, and the softness of the downy bed beneath her. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a small bedroom that would have been empty but for the bed itself and a small nightstand. A large doorway stood on the other side of the room, the orange light of a fire filtering in from the other room, drawing her curiosity. Slowly, Twilight slid out of the bed. Her legs throbbed with dull soreness, but they held as she crept towards the open door. Peeking out, she saw that the room beyond was furnished with a simple pair of chairs around a crackling fireplace. A white stallion sat in the far chair, sipping a cup of tea. “You can come out you know,” he said without lifting his eyes from the tea. Twilight sniffled and strode into the room, the warmth of the fire driving the last frost from her bones. “What happened?” she asked, standing near the fire. The stallion set his tea down with a sigh. “Hello to you too, Twilight. Have you forgotten your manners in the last year?” “I-I... I didn’t mean,” Twilight stuttered. “I’m sorry Shining. It’s just... I need your help.” Taking a sip of his tea, Shining Armor gestured towards the chair opposite him. “Sit down, and tell me what is bothering you so much that you disturbed my exile.” Twilight sighed as she sat. “You’re not in any exile but your own. You’re the heir to the throne, or what’s left of it.” Shining Armor set his empty cup down. “Twilight, you know I don’t want that and that I can’t be king. I just... I can’t. Besides, you look much better in a crown than I ever did.” He forced a smile but his ears twitched, betraying his façade. Rolling her eyes, Twilight gave him a pity laugh. “Very funny.” Shining Armor stood, his cup floating with him. “There’s a kettle of tea ready, would you like some? It’s earl grey, your favorite.” “Weren’t we going to talk about what happened?” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, we will,” Shining Armor assured her. “But you’re still recovering and a bit of hot tea will do you a world of good.” A small cup floated from the kitchen, landing on a table near the fire next to his cup. The blue teapot simmered above the fire, a faint line of steam rising from its spout. Carefully, he levitated it and filled the cups. Twilight grabbed her cup and hovered it just in front of her. As he sat back in his chair, Shining Armor took a sip of his tea. “Where were we? Oh, right. I was about to tell you what happened. It’s really not that interesting, Twilight. You pounded on the door for somewhere around five minutes, and then stopped. I figured that you’d gone back down to the castle, realizing how foolish it was to come up here in the first place. But when I looked outside, you’d fallen unconscious at the base of the door. So I brought you inside and let you warm up.” He paused, fixing her with a glare. “You would have died for your stupidity if I didn’t like you so much.” Twilight flushed, her voice rising to barely below a shout. “I did what I had to. If you hadn’t secluded yourself up here, I wouldn’t have had to risk my life to get a little advice!” Shining Armor sighed. “I might as well hear you out. What is bothering you so much that you would risk your life to come and see me?” Twilight took a sip of her tea, using the delay to get her thoughts in order. “It’s just... I don’t know what to do. About anything. There’s ponies everywhere claiming that they should be king or queen or whatever they want to call themselves. Only Lord Snow in Maresaw and the ponies of Night’s End have stayed loyal to me.” She paused, hanging her head and staring at the tea. “They’re raising armies Shining. They mean to go to war. I... I had to call on what was left of the army, but if any of them attack... I don’t know what to do. I don’t want ponies to die just to keep me on that damned throne. They’re all ready for war... at least they say they are. But I... I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I can lead them into battle... to die for nothing.” Shining Armor stared into his tea for several minutes, a near silence filling the room. The fire cracked and popped and the wind lashed the sides of the house. Twilight shivered and took a long drink of her tea, letting it warm her from the inside. “It isn’t for nothing Twily. It’s for you, and for the sake of Equestria. I know it’s hard and you don’t want it, but you’re the leader Equestria needs. Sometimes, what is best is not always what we want.” Shining Armor sighed, and looked in his tea. “I know what you’re feeling Twilight, I went through it long ago. We weren’t meant for this, any of this. War isn’t something we are used to Twilight. But I know that when you’re there, in the moment, you’ll know what to do. I have faith in you Twilight, and I know that you’ll do whatever is best for Equestria in the long run.” Twilight sighed and stared into her tea. “But how will I know what that is?” she asked, her voice low as a whisper. Shining Armor stood and put a hoof on her shoulder. “You will Twilight. You just need to believe in yourself like everypony else who believes in you,” he said, his mouth curling into a small smile. Twilight sighed and finished her tea. “Thanks for everything. It’s just... everypony expects me to stay calm and handle everything without getting scared, angry, or... anything really.” “Such is the life of a queen,” Shining Armor said, sitting back down. “You’re their rock in a storm, Twilight. If the common pony were to see you panicking, they would give up. You must be a driving force in times of danger and poverty, and cautious in times of wealth and peace.” “I know... but sometimes it’s hard,” Twilight said with a sigh. “I should go back down there... I’m supposed to lecture for a class on advanced runic magic.” “Then you slept through it, and most of today,” Shining Armor said, crossing his hooves. “I what?” Twilight screamed, jumping to her hooves. “How could I sleep that long? Rainbow is probably calling in the guard and... and...” she trailed off. “Relax Twilight, it’ll be fine,” he said, forcing a smile. Twilight sighed and stood, glaring at the door. “Thanks for everything.” She paused, lingering by the fire. “Will... you come down with me? As my brother, not as a king.” Shining Armor sighed and stared down at the thick carpet. “Twilight, you know I can’t, and you know why.” Twilight bit her lip and started for the door. Opening and bracing herself as the cold wind stung through her coat. “Twilight,” Shining Armor said as she in the doorway. “Be careful, Twilight. Winter is coming.”