Live by the Creed

by FoughtDragon01


11: Hard Times; Hard Decisions

Night finally fell upon Hoofington. The usually hectic city was finally silent and still, not a single soul on the streets, save for the occasional patrolman. The change in atmosphere was almost staggering. No more crowded streets, no more screaming merchants, no more noise. The city simply sat in quietly under the starry, moonlit sky. It was peaceful. It was tranquil. It was perfect. The perfect time to infiltrate Solaris' castle.

Shadow and Resona darted across the city's rooftops, leaping from building to building as they made their way towards the stone behemoth. It was certainly a more exhilarating way to travel than simply running through the streets below, and Shadow supposed that she had Resona to thank for that. These new blades worked wonders for climbing.

It was at times like this when Shadow took a moment to truly appreciate the simple act of running. Feeling the cold night air brush against her face, hearing the quick, rhythmic beating of her hooves against the concrete, made her feel alive. It fueled her, and only made her run faster. Before she knew it, she was leaving the unicorn behind.

It didn't take very long before Shadow reached the castle again. A few seconds later, Resona came trotting up behind her, clearly exhausted from her little sprint. "Honestly, dear," she said between deep breaths, "that wasn't a race, you know?"

Shadow gave the tired unicorn a cocky smirk. "But it still became one." She playfully nudged Resona's side. "Perhaps you should exercise more."

The unicorn simply rolled her eyes. "The plan, Shadow?"

"Yes, yes. I know." From the rooftop they were on, the two were able to safely scan the environment. Not much had changed in terms of guard placement. There were fewer of them patrolling the castle, but a dense line of them still guarded nearly every conceivable entrance, but that wasn't what Shadow was concerned about. Resona said that there'd be help here, but Shadow didn't see anything but armor-clad guards. "Resona, where is this help of yours?"

"Give it a moment, dear. She'll be here soon."

"There is only one other? How will that help us?"

"You'll see in due time."

Resona's persistent vagueness did little to calm Shadow's nerves. This had to be the mare's most important mission to date; she just couldn't afford to play games.

Finally, Resona's eyes lit up as she spotted something down below. "Ah, there she is." She pointed Shadow towards an alley across from their position. There, they saw a familiar pink pegasus creep out of the darkness.

"Butterfly?" Whatever confusion Shadow felt before was increased tenfold as she saw the pegasus slowly approach the five armor-clad stallions guarding a side entrance. "What in Equestria is she—?”

"Shh!" Resona quickly cut in. "Let the dear work her magic."

Shadow still wasn't too sure of the plan. Too many things could go wrong, and all of them ended with the pegasus' untimely demise. Shadow prepared herself, ready to leap off of the roof at the slightest sign of trouble.

Butterfly sauntered up to the guards without fear. As she came closer, the armor clad stallions confronted her. "You don't belong here, peasant. Leave," one ordered. Butterfly didn't respond. She didn't even move. She just stared at them with an emotionless, almost dead expression on her face. The guard took a single step towards her. "I won't tell you again. Leave this place, or suffer the consequences." Again, Butterfly didn't comply.

The guards have had enough. They marched towards the pegasus, drawing their weapons. Before they could get too close, however, they suddenly froze in their tracks, as if they had just been paralyzed.

"What the—?" Shadow squinted her eyes as she peered at the scene before her. Were her eyes playing tricks on her, or did those guards look absolutely terrified of something? Their eyes were as wide as dinner plates, sweat trickled down their forehead. They were shaking in their armor, for goodness sake.

Next to her, Resona chuckled at the sight. "Excellent work, Butterfly." She turned her attention towards Shadow. "We should move in now while they're distracted."

"What did Butterfly do? She is simply standing there."

"As I said, she's simply working her magic. Now, let's get inside before the others catch notice." Before Shadow could say anything else, Resona dropped down to the street below and galloped towards the building. The earth pony still didn't have a clue what was going on, but Resona did have a point. The guards were distracted. That raised their chances of getting into the castle all the way from nil to slim.

Wasting no more time, she leapt down to the ground and galloped towards the castle. As she approached Butterfly and the incapacitated guards, she snuck in a glance at the pegasus. That was a mistake. As soon as Shadow's eyes met Butterfly's, the black mare froze stiff.

Her eyes. Butterfly's eyes simply weren't normal. They were fixed in the most terrifying glare the Shadow had ever seen. A fierce stare filled with unrelenting hate.

An indescribable feeling of terror built up in Shadow's stomach. A cold sweat dripped down her forehead. She was literally shaking from head to tail. She wanted to look away, she wanted break away from that dreadful stare, but she couldn't. She couldn't look away. She couldn't move. She was completely paralyzed with fear. It was driving her to the brink of insanity!

Suddenly, her head was forcefully turned away from Butterfly's stare. By Resona. As soon as her eyes broke contact with Butterfly's, her head felt as if it had just been released from a vise. She felt lighter. Freer. She could move again, and she savored every following second of that fact.

"You may want to keep your eyes off of Butterfly for now, dear," Resona said, being careful not to look at Butterfly herself.

It was good advice to follow. Keeping her eyes far away from Butterfly, Shadow observed the area around them. Thanks the Butterfly's petrifying stare, the side entrance was left wide open. There were no other guards along this side of the castle, while the ones at the front entrance didn't catch wind of what was happening yet. If there was ever a chance to get into the castle, this was it.

"So, I assume we'll be going through here?" Shadow assumed, motioning towards the side entrance.

Resona almost seemed offended by such a question. "Goodness, dear, what kind of Assassin are you? There could be a whole battalion of guards waiting for us behind that door."

Shadow simply sighed in irritation. "Fine. Just give me a moment." Resona did have a point. It'd be best to enter from a better vantage point, but where would that be? Suddenly, something clicked in her head. Scanning her eyes across the higher levels of the walls, Shadow searched for it. That open window she saw earlier in the day. It was the perfect way inside, Shadow just had to pray that it was open.

"Where is it? Where is it? Ah-ha! There!" Shadow pointed up to the very same open window from earlier. It hardly moved an inch. In fact, it seemed wider than last time. Solaris certainly need to invest in better security.

Resona looked up to the window as well, a sly smile crawling onto her face. "Excellent, Shadow. That's much better. Let's not waste any more time. Come." Resona trotted up the castle wall and began her climb. Her experience in using her hookblades was clear, as she was able to climb the hundreds of feet to the window within seconds.

Shadow stole one last glance at the petrified guards next to her. They were like terrified statues, not budging an inch. Butterfly herself seemed to be in some sort of focused trance. Shadow would have to ask her how she came to develop such an effective stare. It could be useful. But that would have to wait, she had more important things to do. Putting her attention back on the castle, Shadow began her climb up the wall as well.

Her climb was a bit longer than Resona's, not having as much experience as the unicorn. It didn't really take much to use her hookblades, just a bit of coordination. The castle's flashy architecture also made finding grips an easy task as well.

Soon enough, she pulled herself up onto the surprisingly wide windowsill. Resona had already entered the castle long before Shadow made it this far. Peering inside, it looked like she was above a stony, torch-lit hallway. Resona was down below, already surveying the area. This was it. The moment of truth. Solaris was finally within her reach, and she was not going to let him slip between her hooves.

Taking a deep breath, Shadow dropped into the hallway below.

----

It was bittersweet to be back in the castle after its completion. Nothing about the place felt familiar to Shadow; in fact, it felt like she had just stepped into a nightmare. The uneven stone floor felt cold beneath her hooves. Ominous suits of armor stood at everlasting attention on either side of the hall, shining in the dim, orange glow of the numerous torches. There were various paintings decorating the walls, most of them of a unicorn with a cold, emotionless stare. His coat was a magnificent yellow, his mane a matching golden brown. Shadow didn't need an incredible sense of deduction to figure who that was. Solaris.

"Goodness, would it kill him to smile?" Resona asked with a roll of her eyes.

Shadow hardly heard her. She was too caught up in mourning the death of her childhood playground. There was none of the childhood novelty or nostalgic joy that she originally hoped for. Instead, all she felt as she slowly crept down the dimly lit hallway was a lingering sense of foreboding. Aside from the dark architecture, something about this place just didn't feel right, as if she were headed straight towards her own execution. But that didn't matter. The fact of the matter was that she was inside the castle. She couldn't turn back now.

"You said that Solaris would be in the upper levels, yes?" Shadow asked, turning towards the unicorn.

Resona nodded. "Yes."

“And what exactly do we do once we arrive?”

Resona’s eyes lit up as she came to a stop. “And here I was thinking you would never ask.” She pulled out a small sack from her saddlebag. Something inside clattered inside as she brought it over to Shadow.

Shadow gently poked the bag floating before her. “I assume that the plan involves whatever is in the bag,” she guessed.

Resona’s mouth curled up into a sly smile. “Your perception is truly something worthy of envy.” She only elicited an eye roll from the mare.

“What are they then?” she asked, impatience becoming prominent in her voice.

Instead of answering immediately, Resona opened the bag and took out one of the items.

Shadow’s face scrunched up in confusion as she stared at the object floating before her, trying and failing to deduce its purpose. “A tiny, metal… ball.” The words came out slowly and with uncertainty as though that would change the sight. It didn’t. A round, gleaming ball shone in the torchlight as it bobbed up and down in Resona’s magical grip. “And how is this supposed to help us?”

“Well, do you recall me saying that this castle is the only place blind to my thieves?”

Shadow nodded. “And this?” she asked, pointing at the metal ball.

“Since it’s clearly too dangerous to leave any of my own here for an extended period of time, I’ve opted for an alternative.”

“A marble,” Shadow flatly said.

An annoyingly haughty chuckle left Resona’s muzzle. “Oh, don’t be so quick to judge, dear. You of all ponies should know that appearances can be deceiving.”

A small burst of energy surged through Resona’s horn, wrapping the ball in a bright, white light. From that light, a voice emerged.

“And how is this supposed to help us?”

Shadow’s eyes went wide with shock. “What in Equestria? She leant in closer towards the talking marble, scarcely able to believe what she just heard. “Do I honestly sound like that?”

An impish grin cracked onto Resona’s face as she tapped a hoof to her chin. “Well… if you would like me to be honest…”

Shadow quickly cut her off with a wave of her hoof. “No, no, no. We have more important matters to attend to.” After a quick breath, she regained her somewhat professional composure. “So, I assume that we will place several of these throughout the castle?”

Resona nodded, placing the marble back into its bag. “Precisely. These are enchanted to capture voices. They will go into a nice, discreet hiding spot, and after a generous amount of time has passed, we will simply come back, recover them, and go over what our dear Lord has to say.”

As Shadow listened, she couldn’t deny that it seemed like a sound plan. After all, gathering intelligence from right under the enemy’s nose was right up her alley. However, she couldn’t ignore the flag or two that rose during Resona’s explanation. “A noise-capturing enchantment. Sounds rather complex for a unicorn with alleged subpar magical ability.”

Instead of feeling, or even feigning offense, Resona merely chuckled again. “Oh, Shadow, you really don’t give me much credit at all, do you? It is true that I did not create them myself, yes. However, what I lack in magical ability, I make up for with my connections. I simply had somepony else make them for me.

Shadow raised a single, interested eyebrow. She may not have been a unicorn herself, but she knew skill when she saw it. Having an ally capable of producing such complex enchantments in such a large quantity could no doubt prove to be useful. She actually did want to meet this unicorn, if only to see what else they could do. “Interesting. Resona, would you happen to know this unicorn’s name?”

“I’m sorry, Shadow, but a lady must keep some secrets for herself. Besides, a mare of your caliber will no doubt meet her in due time. Assassins always seem to have a habit of meeting the right ponies at the right time.”

Shadow let a small smile crawl onto her face. “Fair enough, I suppose. Now, shall we continue?”

“Let’s. Now, I believe it would be best if we started from the upper floors and worked our way down.”

Shadow had to agree with that plan. It sounded easy enough, but that left one other question. "How are we supposed to go up?" Shadow asked.

"The stairs, of course."

"And where are the stairs?"

"They're—" Resona immediately stopped in her tracks as the problem became clear to her. "Oh."

Shadow nodded in agreement. "Yes, 'oh'."

It wasn't as if all hope was lost. A castle this high had to have a way to the upper floors nearby. But this was a very large castle; that way up could be anywhere. It was essentially a maze to anypony who didn't have the layout burned into the brain. It could take anywhere from minutes to hours before either of the mares found a way up to Solaris' chambers. Unless they just stumbled across a map, this would be a bit trickier than they thought.

As the two approached an adjacent corridor, the two stopped dead in their tracks. Just around the corner, a door opened and shut, followed by the faint hoofbeats of walking guards.

Shadow signaled Resona to stay behind as she approached the corner, staying as close to the wall as possible. From there, she slowly peeked her head out to peer down the hall.

She spotted two guards, who were thankfully walking away from their position. It looked like they just left through an open door down the hall. The blood on their armor glistened in the dim light of the halls. Just what were they doing in there? Listening in on their conversation, Shadow would hopefully find out.

"You can call it whatever you want," one said, "I still don't like going down there."

"So, you'd rather disobey the Lord's orders just because you have a weak stomach? Pathetic."

"I don't know what you expect to get out of this, though. That pegasus is as stubborn as they come. Thieves usually are."

The second guard chuckled a menacing chuckle. "I have my ways of making prisoners talk. Let's see how tight-lipped he'll be when those precious wings of his are at stake."

They had a thief held prisoner? Interesting. If he was one of the ones that Resona sent to infiltrate the castle, then perhaps he had a better sense of the layout here. That would certainly help her find Solaris. He was probably held in the castle's dungeon, wherever that was.

Shadow looked back to the unicorn. "Resona, did you hear any of that?"

"I can't say that I have. What did they say?"

"They have a prisoner in the dungeon. Could it be one of yours?"

Resona brought a hoof to her chin as she pondered the thought. "It's certainly a possibility, but how is this supposed to help us find Solaris?"

"Then there could be a chance that he saw more of the castle than we did. He could point us in the right direction."

Resona's face scrunched up with uncertainty. She dropped her eyes to the ground as she continued to think. "I'm not sure about this. What if this is—?" When she looked back up, she saw that Shadow was already halfway down the hallway, eyeing a portion of the wall. The unicorn simply sighed as she walked up to the mare. "Goodness, dear. You can't keep doing that."

"Well, it seems that I have found the dungeon," Shadow announced. Indeed, she was staring at a closed, wooden door. There wasn't much in terms of decoration to speak of, but it still spoke to Shadow loud and clear. Something terrible was behind this door, and she was going to find out what it was.

Slowly, she pushed open the wooden door, its hinges creaking in the silence. It revealed a set of stairs leading down to the dungeon below. Rusty chains hung from the ceiling throughout the stairwell. Dried blood splattered the grimy stone steps. Just standing outside the door, the two mares could smell something dead and rotten down there. They didn't even need to go down there to know that it was a place of great suffering and anguish.

Resona peered into the darkness alongside Shadow, disgust clear on her face. "Ugh. How barbaric. What kind of animal keeps something like this?"

"Somepony who wants information." Shadow continued to stare down into the darkness. It was very faint, but she could just barely hear chains rustling. "Somepony's down there. Let's go." Shadow started down the stairs, only to stop when she realized that Resona wasn't following. "What is it?"

Resona took a step back from the door. "Uh, I feel as though we would be better off splitting up. We'll be able to cover more ground that way. Besides, I still have to plant these marbles throughout the castle. So, I'll stay up here and do that while you explore the dark, disgusting dungeon down there."

Shadow promptly planted a firm hoof on her face. She should've figured that the clean-obsessed thief would have an issue going down there. It wasn't a two-pony job anyway. "Fine. You stay up here and explore." She cracked into an impish smirk. "Perhaps you will find some cosmetics to cover up that blemish on your face."

Resona’s eyes immediately went wide with shock, a faint crimson appearing on the brown unicorn’s face. "Blemish? Don't be ridiculous. I-I don't have a blemish, do I? Do I?" Shadow didn't bother answering. She just continued down the stairs, a smirk still on her face. But Resona wasn't done quite yet. "You are joking, right? Right? Please don't joke about that. Oh, goodness, I need to find a mirror." Resona trotted off to a different area of the castle to deal with this new aesthetic emergency.

Shadow just shook her head. "Some ponies."

----

As Shadow went further down the stairs, that revolting smell only grew stronger. She resorted to holding her breath as she made her slow descent. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold it for long, and needed to pause for a breath of not-so-fresh air. Her nostrils burned with each heavy breath she took. Her eyes burned from offensive fumes. Her stomach churned at the very thought of what could be the source of such an odor. What was down here that caused it? The closest thing that she could think of was a rotting carcass. When she finally reached the bottom of the stairs, her suspicions were immediately confirmed.

Now, Shadow had always thought that she was strong enough to face whatever horrors life had to throw at her, but what she saw, as well as the sick feeling in her stomach, proved that she wasn't immune to everything.

The corridor before her was lined with cells that were just covered with bodily wastes. Blood, feces, vomit, and others that Shadow didn't even want to try and recognize. Even worse, some cells still held the decomposing corpse of their prisoners, long since left to starve and rot. The smell alone made Shadow want to puke, but the sight alongside it nearly pushed her over the edge.

By some miracle, Shadow was able to keep herself from adding to the copious amounts of waste, but that didn't help get rid of the intense anger she felt inside. She had more than a few choice words to share with Solaris now, and he was going to talk, whether or not he wanted to.

Tearing her eyes away from the terrible sights around her, Shadow continued down the corridor. That prisoner had to be down here somewhere, and this dungeon wasn't exactly a maze, either. She just needed to--

"Ah'll be comin' 'round the mountain when I come. Yee-haw.
Ah'll be comin' 'round the mountain when I come. Yee-haw.
Ah'll be comin' 'round the mountain, Ah'll be comin' 'round the mountain
Ah'll be comin' 'round the mountain when Ah come. Yee-haw."

Shadow froze in her tracks. That voice. That annoying dialect. It couldn't be. "Goat?"

"Ah'll be ridin' on the… on the… Dammit, Ah forgot the rest."

It was Goat! But just as she got over the initial shock, another feeling took its place: worry. What was Goat doing down here? How long was he down here? It sounded like he barely had enough energy to speak, let alone move. What happened? Shadow continued down the halls at a trot, rounding a corner. As soon as she did, once again, she stopped in her tracks.

At the very end of the corridor, chained against the wall, his back facing Shadow, was Goat, beaten and disrobed. His back was covered with several, grotesque lashes, his caramel coat stained a dark red. His breathing was heavy, the ground around him a pool of sweat and blood. Next to that, coiled up on the ground, was a worn, black, leather whip, its surface still slick with blood.

Shadow simply couldn't believe what she was seeing. Goat was tortured for who-knows-how-long, and when it was over, he was left to starve. It was cruel, it was barbaric, and it only served to make the mare even angrier. She needed to get Goat out of there, and she needed to do it now. Slowly, she walked up to the battered pegasus.

As she grew closer, her hoofbeats loud in the silence, Goat lifted his head a few inches. "You fellas back for more?" he croaked. Shadow didn't say anything. She just stood there, staring in disbelief. "Ain't got nothin' to say this time? Well, if ya'll are gonna get straight to business, could ya work on the left side o' mah back this time? Ah got an itch back there that needs a good scratchin'."

"Goat," Shadow whispered.

Hearing her familiar voice, Goat immediately perked up, despite the pain. "Shadow? That you?" He tried to turn his head, but from his position, was unable to actually see behind him.

Shadow was still in too much shock to speak, but she had to say something. "Y-yes."

"Ha! Well, Ah'll be! Best news Ah've gotten all day. Ah would've found ya earlier, but as you can see, Ah'm a bit tied up."

Shadow didn't waste any time and got to work on releasing Goat from his binds. The shackles around his hooves were locked tight, and the chains were too strong to cut through. No matter how hard Shadow pulled or tugged, those things weren't going to break. "It's no good. I need the key."

"Pfft. Figures. Well, maybe—"

"Halt! You there!"

Luck was shining down on Shadow that day. Turning around, she saw a pair of guards trotting up to her. They seemed to be the same pair she saw leaving the dungeon. They must've returned to continue their interrogation. Unfortunately, that, along with a few others, was about to be cut short.

"How much you wanna bet one o' those two has the key?"

"Luck is finally on my side for once." Shadow faced the two guards as they came closer, weapons drawn in their magic.

"You are trespassing on private property. What is your plea?" one demanded as he stopped right in front of the mare.

Shadow stared flatly at the guards. She simply was not in the mood for this. "Guilty as charged." In a flash, her hidden blade shot out of her bracer and found itself lodged into the guard's throat. The hooked blade lodged itself rather well in his jaw. WIth a quick yank, Shadow threw him to the ground, leaving him to bleed out while she focused on his partner.

He didn't even hesitate before rushing towards the mare, his magically raised sword ready to strike. Shadow ducked under the sword as it flew right over her head, and darted in to deal her blow. But instead of killing him, Shadow dug her blade into one of his forelegs. It wasn't a fatal blow, far from it, but it was more than enough to incapacitate the guard.

With a pained cry, he fell to the ground, dropping his sword. As he lied there, Shadow stood over him, holding her hidden blade up to his throat. Her eyes practically channeled death itself, and she could see the fear in her victim's eyes because of it. She leaned in until her muzzle was right above his. "Solaris' chambers," she said in a low, dark tone. "Where are they?"

The guard was already shivering in terror, his teeth chattering together as much as his armor. "I-I don't know, I swear!"

Shadow stomped a firm hoof on the guard's chest. "Then what good are you to me?"

Goat was still trying to face the scene happening behind him to little avail. "Ask him if he's got the key," he asked.

"Th-the key? The one to your shackles, yes? I have it right here." The guard took a single iron key out of his armor, the key wobbling in his shaky magic. He dropped it on the ground next to Shadow. "There. There, see? I'm doing as you asked. Will you let me go?"

"So you can do what? Go tell Solaris that I'm here? Bring in reinforcements?"

"I won't tell anypony of this, I swear!"

"No. You won't." Before the guard could get another word out, Shadow plunged her blade deep into his throat. His body wildly thrashed about, his attempts at screaming only came out as blood-filled gurgles. Shadow kept a hoof on his chest all throughout his fit. She wasn't taking any chances; she wasn't going to move until he stopped.

She didn't know what it was, but there was almost a sadistic sense of pleasure that came from this. Her years as an Assassin left her cold and virtually emotionless. But it also made her find pleasure in strange, twisted places. Simply killing an enemy and leaving him on the ground like a discarded tissue was one thing, something that she grew used to. But this, staring her enemy in the eyes, watching as the life slowly drained from his body, had a more intimate feel to it. Did that make her a little psychotic? She couldn't see how it didn't, but she hardly cared, either.

"Hey, you ain't dead back there, are ya, Shadow?"

The black mare finally stood back up, the guard long since dead. She took a deep breath. "Not yet." She reached down and took up the key in her teeth before approaching her bound ally. It was tricky trying to maneuver the key in her mouth as she unlocked the shackles, but she soon got the job done.

Finally free, Goat plopped onto the ground in a tired heap. "Can you stand?" Shadow asked.

"Ah don't know, kid. Spending all day chained up got mah legs feelin' pretty weak." The pegasus tried to get back on his hooves, but could barely get an inch off the ground before his legs began shaking.

"You were here for an entire day?" Shadow asked as she helped Goat back up.

"More like twelve hours, Ah guess. Kinda hard t' keep track o' time when you're facin' a wall, ya know?" He leaned against the wall for support as he regained strength in his legs. "What're ya doin' here anyway? Ah thought you were supposed t' be protectin' Neptune an' his family."

"Don't worry. They're with Master Grey Mane. I came to Hoofington to find you. Did you see that hooded pony?"

"That hooded fella? Oh, yeah. Ah saw 'im, and you ain't gonna believe what Ah found out."

Shadow instinctively leaned in towards the pegasus, not wanting to miss a single word of this. "Yes? Tell me."

"That hooded pony? It's the king's brother, Solaris."

Shadow felt like she was just punched in the chest. Solaris, Neptune's own brother, was responsible for the attempted assassination of the king and his family. But if Solaris was a part of that plan, then Shadow would have to… Things just became much more complicated. "Y-you saw Solaris?"

"Yeah, Ah saw Solaris. Prissy, ol' unicorn who wouldn't know work if it bucked him in his pretty, lil' throat. That's royalty for ya, Ah guess." Goat hunched over as another sharp pain shot through his body.

"Stay with me," Shadow said, helping Goat back up. "What happened? How did you end up here in the first place?"

Goat closed his eyes in contemplation, straining as he tried to form coherent thoughts through the pain. "Bastard found out that I was followin' him somehow. I tailed him to this here castle when he sicced his guards on me. Ah took most of 'em down, but I got hit by some sorta paralysis beam outta nowhere. Ah guess it was him. No good, spineless, son of a—"

"Focus," Shadow cut in. "Is he still here?"

Goat weakly shook his head. "Nah, Ah doubt it. He probably—" Goat stopped as a realization slammed right into him. Fear and worry became clear on his face. "Oh, no."

Shadow leaned her head in. "What is it?"

Goat fell back onto his haunches. "Oh, no, no, no."

Shadow got even closer. "What?"

"Shadow, you need t' get outta here, now."

"What? Why? What's—"

"Solaris ain't here. He…he—" Goat suddenly grunted, bringing a hoof up to his head as another wave of pain washed through his skull. "Dammit! Ah can barely remember what he did, but he did…somethin'. Some sorta spell. Ah think he got into mah head, saw mah thoughts. Nearly everything Ah knew, he knew."

Shadow felt a strange sense of foreboding building up in her gut. She didn't like where this was going. "What are you trying to say?"

"Ah think he knows where our base is. If the family's there like you said, then things are gonna go south fast if you don't stop him before he gets to the palace."

"I'm not leaving you here. Come on, get up."

Goat tried to comply, but the pain in his back kept him from going anywhere. "Nah, Ah'm only gonna slow ya down. Besides, Ah still need to find my gear. You go on ahead. Ah'll catch up later."

"Goat—"

"This aint no time for arguin', Shadow! Get outta here! Save the king an' his family!"

Shadow had to take a step back. The anger in Goat's eyes said it all. He wasn't playing around. Besides, he was right. If Solaris knew where the palace was, then he would find the Solar family. That only spelled bad news. She literally had no time to waste. All she could do was hope that Goat could handle himself. "Do not die on me," she said to the groggy pegasus.

"Don't intend to. Now go!"

Shadow didn't feel right leaving Goat there, but she didn't have much choice. She turned and galloped out of the dungeon.

As she returned to the main hall, she nearly ran into Resona, who was waiting right in front of it. The unicorn leapt back as Shadow barreled out of the dungeon. "Goodness, don't do that! You nearly scared me to death."

Shadow barely heard the words leave Resona's mouth as she fixed a stern stare on her. "Listen to me. There is a pegasus down there who needs help. Go down there and get him out of here."

Shadow may as well have asked Resona to roll around in a pile of filth considering the shocked, almost incredulous look the unicorn gave. "You cannot be serious."

Shadow's glare only grew darker. "Do I appear to be joking? Go down there and help him. Now."

“But what of the castle?”

“The pegasus first!” Shadow snapped. “Now, stop question me and do it!”

Before Resona could argue further, Shadow darted down the hallway, making a hasty exit through the same window she used to enter. Time was of the essence. She needed to act quickly.

----

The blinding light in Celestia's dungeon finally diminished, returning the room to its dark, depressing, blue hue.

The white alicorn backed away from her prisoner, a small, satisfied smirk on her face. The spell left her prisoner unconscious; mind-reading spells tended to have that effect on the weak-minded. As for what Celestia found, spending nearly half an hour sifting through the unicorn's mind produced both answers, as well as more questions.

Unfortunately, this was not the same pony who stole the Staff, meaning its location remained unknown. Celestia did, however, discover something else. This unicorn received his orders via letters sent from Manehattan. But that wasn't all. Though it wasn't recent, there were times when the unicorn received letters directly from another stallion, a stallion that the Princess recognized all too well. It was Postal, the very same stallion who handled her own mail.

So this is what he does when he leaves Canterlot. Celestia thought to herself, already trying to come up with an appropriate punishment. Betray my trust, will you? You'll surely pay for that.

Speaking of punishments, she still needed to think of one for the petty thief before her. This was no simple act of thievery, this was treason, something that Celestia had no tolerance for. She could spend hours trying to think of something, but that required time that she simply didn't have. No matter. Even though the 'interrogation' didn't yield the results Celestia wanted, she still found another lead to go on, and was not about to let it slip by. Besides, that unicorn could spend another day or two down here.

The princess turned around and made her way out of the dungeon, leaving her prisoner behind. But as she made her way back up the long, cold stairway, she could help but feel another niggling sense of worry. This was not a simple act of rebellion, that much was obvious. There was a much larger plan behind this, one that only confirmed the fears she had for over a thousand years. Someone was trying to overthrow her, and they intended to use the Pieces of Equestria to do it.

Not only that, but this scheme already had her questioning the loyalty of the ponies around her. She already lost the trust of a pony she almost considered a friend, so who else was there? How many of her subjects were actually on her side, and how many were merely wolves in sheep's clothing? Celestia almost didn't want to find out, but would have to if she wanted to prevent this scheme from succeeding. But that would have to wait. As of now, she needed to have a nice, little chat with Postal.

As she left the dungeon, softly shutting the door behind her, she heard a voice that nearly made her heart stop.

"Tia?"

Celestia nearly broke her neck as she looked to her left. Luna was staring at her with a confused look as she approached her older sister.

"Luna? I-I thought you were reading your comic books."

"I finished," Luna answered, none of her confusion leaving her. "What were you doing down there?"

Celestia quickly and nervously glanced back at the wooden door behind her. This was hardly a good situation. Out of the two of them, Luna despised the dungeon the most. She had always insisted refurbishing it to something a bit more pleasant, but Celestia always refused. "Oh, I was simply…" Digging around in a prisoner's mind like a messy toy box. "Cleaning. Yes, I was cleaning." No, lying was not one of Celestia's strong suits.

Luna scrunched up her face, more confused than before. "You were…cleaning? In the dungeon?"

Celestia quickly nodded her head. "Yes. The stench down there simply became too nauseating for me to handle, so I did a little tidying up."

"Why not just have one of the servants do it?"

Celestia simply chuckled, acting like her sister didn't just make a strikingly good point. "Oh, Luna. Our servants don't deserve to see the things that I saw down there. Besides, it was my decision to keep the dungeon, so it's only fair that I'm responsible for keeping it well-kept, wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess that makes sense?" Luna assumed, still unsure of it herself. Celestia's points were barely making any sense to her, but still enough that it eased some of her confusion. There was still one question on her mind, though. "But what made you want to clean it today? I mean, it's not like it stinks up the entire palace, so it just seems pretty--"

"Lunch?" Celestia suddenly asked, cutting Luna off.

"What?"

"Lunch. It's lunchtime. Would you like to eat lunch?" Celestia asked, putting on the largest, cheesiest smile she could muster.

The mention of lunch did make Luna's stomach growl, but she still didn't feel comfortable with her sister's answers. "I don't know, Tia. You don't really sound like you're telling--"

"We have cinnamon buns." Celestia cut in again.

Suddenly, all of Luna's suspicions were thrown right out of the window when she heard those two simple words. "Cinnamon buns?"

Celestia nodded again, mentally thanking whatever benevolent force made this work. "Yes. I'll even let you have the biggest one we have. Now, hurry along before they--" Luna bolted towards the dining room in a purple blur, leaving behind her confused, but thankful sister. "--get cold." She let out a long, deep, relieved sigh. She actually couldn't believe that worked. Some ponies just never changed, she supposed. Still, she had other matters to attend to, but first, she needed to make a quick visit to the kitchen. She needed to add cinnamon buns to the menu.

----

Even at a full gallop, it took an excruciatingly long amount of time for Shadow to reach her palace home. Her lungs burned with every breath of fresh, night air that she took. Pain shot up her legs every time her hooves beat against the ground. Her vision went blurry as angry tears filled her eyes. Her body was giving her every single protest imaginable that she needed to take a break, but she would have none of it. She was not going to stop. She couldn't stop. Too much was at stake for her to stop.

As she sped down the dirt road leading to the Everfree Forest, she saw something that made her blood run cold. A large, thick plume of some rose high above the forest trees, its source shockingly close to where the palace was.

"No. No, no, no." Shadow poured on the speed, ignoring her body's screaming protests. She darted into the forest, disappearing into the encroaching darkness. Despite being unable to see anything, she still knew exactly where to go. Her charge through the dense trees sent various critters fleeing for their lives.

As she grew closer to the palace, she felt something through the pain and fatigue that she hadn't felt in a long time: fear. Not a fear of impending injury or death, but a fear of the unknown. Shadow had no idea what rested beyond these trees. Too many scenarios ran through her head for her to keep count. The king could be dead. His family could be dead. Grey Mane could be dead. Anything could've happened.

Finally, Shadow broke through the dense forest and found herself staring at her home. Or at least, what was left of it.

The stone palace sat in a smoldering pile of rubble before her, destroyed. Gone. The place that had molded her into who she was, the only place left that she had to call home, was nothing now. It was taken away from her. The area around it was a bloody battleground, littered with the corpses of countless guards. Shadow was unable to find the king, his family, or Grey Mane amongst the corpses. It was the only calming thing in this nightmare.

Still, even though she didn't find their corpses, she still didn't see them anywhere in the clearing. What in Equestria did Solaris do here? "Master Grey Mane!" Shadow shouted. No response. She felt her heart sinking. Her breathing became more shallow and erratic. Not out of something as simple as fatigue, but panic. This just couldn't be happening. This just simply couldn't be happening. Shadow galloped deeper into the clearly, hoping, praying that she'd find somepony. "Master!" Still nothing.

Just as Shadow was about to search the forest for them, as hopeless as that would've been, she suddenly heard something. There was movement behind the wrecked palace. Shadow immediately prepared herself for a fight, expecting more guards to come charging out. Instead, two fillies covered in dirt and soot nervously walked out from behind the wreckage.

Shadow recognized the princesses immediately. "Girls!" The two scared fillies ran up to Shadow, nuzzling into her as deeply as they could. Shadow just stared down at the two in confused shock as they cried into her chest. They were a mess. Celestia's white coat was covered with splotches of soot, while her mane was matted down with mud. Luna's ruffled mane was full of dirt, dust, and twigs. Neither of them let up as they continued to cry. Shadow had been trained to handle a variety of situations. Calming two crying fillies wasn't one of them.

Whether it was out of instinct or common sense, Shadow reached out and wrapped her forelegs around them in what she figured was a hug. The princesses didn't have any objections to the hug, though it did little to calm their crying. Shadow really needed to think. Taking it a step further, she used a hoof to stroke their manes as she whispered reassurances to them.

It seemed to work, as they soon stopped crying. A few more tears ran down their cheeks, but for the most part, they were finally calm. Shadow sighed in relief herself. That was far more taxing on her than it should've been, but at least she finally succeeded in calming them down. "Are you two okay?" she asked, keeping the two held close.

Physically, most likely. Mentally, probably not. Regardless, the two fillies nodded.

"What happened here?"

It looked as though the girls considered speaking, but simply stared at the ground instead. They must've still been in shock. Too much shock to speak. Understandable. This must've been painful for ponies their age to go through.

"Was it Solaris?"

The two nodded again.

"Where are your parents? Do you know?"

More tears welled up in both of their eyes as they shook their heads. Shadow swore under her breath. How could she have let this happen? The king, the queen, her master, and that staff were all gone. It was a miracle that she was able to find Celestia and Luna, but what was she supposed to do now? Find Solaris felt like the obvious answer, but that only raised even more questions. Where did Solaris go? Where did he leave the king, queen, and Grey Mane? How was she supposed to find any of them? All of these questions needed answers before Shadow could do anything. However, that would have to wait. She needed to get the princesses to safety, and only one place came to mind.

Shadow broke away from the hug and stared both of them in the eye. "I need to take you two somewhere else. It's not safe here anymore."

Celestia and Luna shared a worried glance, but eventually nodded in agreement. Shadow led them out of the clearing, the two princesses being especially careful to steer clear of any dead bodies.

----

It was well into the middle of the night as Shadow and the princesses made their way down the quiet dirt road. None of them had said a thing since leaving the forest. The silence was almost eerie. There was no wind, no insects, no wildlife, nothing. If it weren't for the sound of their hooves scraping against the loose dirt, it would've felt like they were deaf.

"Shadow?"

The mare felt a jolt of shock when she heard her name. She looked down to her right to find Luna looking back up at her. Her eyes were still bloodshot from crying. The streaks left behind by her tears were still visible on her cheeks. "Yes, Luna?"

"Where are we going?"

Shadow looked back ahead. The silhouette of a city against the white moon lied in the distance, no more than a mile or two away. "We’re going to Hoofington."

A tiny gasp left the pegasus' lips. "But isn't that where Solaris is?"

Shadow shook her head. "I don't know if he's there anymore. What I do know is that I need to get you two to safety, and Hoofington is the only place left where I have allies." That answer was apparently enough for Luna, as she looked back at the road in front of her. Shadow glanced down at Celestia. The unicorn kept her eyes on the floor, sniffing back more tears threatening to leave her eyes. "Celestia." She turned her head ever so slightly towards Shadow. "Are you okay?"

Celestia shook her head. "Why? Why would our uncle do this to his own family? I don't understand."

Shadow just sighed. "Some ponies will do anything for power, no matter how despicable the act." She looked back down at the unicorn. She saw a single tear fall from her eye. "If it's of any worth, I'm truly sorry for what's happened."

The unicorn took a moment to stop and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank you. For everything. If you hadn't have shown up in Canterlot when you did…"

"My mission is to keep all of you safe. That's what I intend to do."

"What about Solaris?" Celestia asked.

Shadow opened her mouth, but quickly closed it back shut. What good would it do to flat-out tell these girls that she'd have to kill their uncle? They were already suffering enough, and anything she had to say would only serve to make things worse. Instead, she settled with, "I don't know."

"How will we find our parents?" Luna asked.

"I don't know," she repeated, her voice louder.

"Are we ever going to find them?"

This was becoming too much for Shadow to handle. She stopped in her tracks, turning towards both of the fillies. "I don't know!" Her sudden outburst caused the two to shrink back. Shadow immediately regretted it when she saw the fear in their eyes. She couldn't afford to snap like that, especially when they were as vulnerable as they were. She needed to keep her head. She stepped back and took a deep breath to calm down. "I'm… I'm sorry. I just need some time to think, please."

It took a while for Celestia and Luna to get over their shock, but they were soon back at Shadow's side. Even then, Shadow could tell just by looking at their eyes that these fillies were in a type of pain that only Shadow knew of. The pain of losing those closest to them. She didn't know if it was the fact these fillies were going through the same thing that she did, or if it was because it reminded her of her own parents, but looking at those two just tore her up inside. She had only known these two for barely two days, but she still couldn't stand seeing them like this. She had to do something, anything, to help lighten the mood, however little. That was when it hit her.

"Oh, that reminds me." She dug into her robes, taking out a bag of the candy that she bought earlier that day. "I got these for you. Do you want any?" She held the bag out at the two. She had hoped to do this under better circumstances, but she had to do something to cheer them up. That was all that came to mind.

The princesses glanced up at the bag, not a single ounce of sorrow leaving their eyes. Shadow immediately regretted her decision. What in Equestria was she thinking? These girls just lost their parents, and here she was offering candy as if it would make things all better. But to her surprise, Celestia took the bag in her magic, levitating it towards herself and her sister. She took out two pieces of candy, one for herself and one for Luna. The two plopped the candy into their mouths. As they chewed, soft smiles formed on their faces, one of the last things that Shadow expected to see that night.

"Thank you, Shadow. This is delicious. I appreciate it."

"Yes. I love caramel."

Shadow felt herself smile as well. That certainly went better than expected. But despite the lightened mood, things were still far from good. Solaris was gone; off somewhere with the king, queen, and Grey Mane doing who knows what. For all Shadow knew, they could be dead. She was the only one left to protect Celestia and Luna, and so far, she's been doing a pretty terrible job at that. It was a miracle that they made it through that attack alive, but they may not be so lucky next time. She needed to prevent something like tonight from ever happening again, but how?

What would Grey Mane do in this situation? Train them? Stay by their side for as long as possible? Take them wherever he went? Shadow just didn't know, and she wanted to slap herself for it. Fifteen minutes without her master to guide her, and she was already lost on what to do. All she knew was that the princesses were her main priorities, and she needed to do everything within her power to protect them. It was just a metter of figuring out what to do.

Falling back into silence, the three ponies continued towards Hoofington. Though she didn't exactly like the idea of playing foalsitter, Celestia and Luna were Shadow's responsibility. Though she lost the king and queen, she was not going to lose these two fillies, not until she drew her last breath. That was a promise that she intended to keep.

----

Celestia sauntered through the halls of her castle, her stomach filled to the brim with a lovely lunch. Luna, as expected, hogged all of the cinnamon buns, but what else did she expect from her sister? Besides, Celestia couldn't really complain; it gave her enough time to slip away and check on Rainbow Dash.

She reached her bedroom door and began to open it, but something made her stop. A sensation of some kind, one that she never felt before. Her body just felt cold, as if she stepped outside in the middle of winter, but she wasn't shivering. It just felt strange, and that was what made her worry. Even more so, she felt the sensation coming from her bedroom. Swinging it open, Celestia barged inside, expecting some sort of intruder. What she saw instead made her stop dead in her tracks.

The candle flame that kept Rainbow Dash captivated was no longer green. Instead, it was black. Pitch black like a moonless, starless night. Celestia had never seen anything like it before. She felt a strange feeling in her gut, as if it were being tied into a knot. It took a moment for her to realize what it was: fear. What was happening to cause such a thing? More importantly, what was happening Rainbow Dash as a result? Celestia didn't want to wait and find out. Without moving a muscle, she focused her magic on the fire, controlling its flickering flames. Thankfully, this strange color change didn't any effect on her magic, and she was able to quickly dispel it.

The flame burst into a dazzling shower of black particles, releasing the cyan pegasus. Her limp body fell to the ground like a rag doll. Celestia stared at the pegasus with worried eyes. She wasn't moving, not by an inch.

Is she…? No! No, she can’t be.

Celestia gulped down whatever fear she felt before creeping towards the pegasus' body. Still, Rainbow didn't move, even as Celestia stood right over her. When the alicorn observed her more closely, she let out a relieved sigh. She could see Rainbow breathing. She was simply unconscious. Thank goodness. But that still didn't explain that nonsense about the fire turning black. She never came across such a phenomenon before, so what was so special now? That was something Celestia would have to look into later. For now, Rainbow's session for the day was over. She needed to have one of her guards bring her back home.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Ms. Dash," Celestia said. With that, she turned and went to retrieve an escort for the sleeping pegasus.

Today didn't feel like a complete waste. She made some progress with Rainbow Dash, at the very least. Not only that, but she received very crucial information from a less-than-cooperative prisoner. Things were actually starting to look up for her, it was just wonderful!

Celestia was so caught up in her own self-satisfied thoughts that she failed to notice that she walked right past something very peculiar.

The door to the dungeon, the one that she didn't want anypony going inside, was slightly ajar.