Finally reaching the end of the hallway, Aphelion and Misty silently observed what laid beyond the sharp turn. They saw more doors equally spaced out, as well as a slow incline. The corridor was curved along a large stone pillar covered in the strange glowing fungi. Turning to Misty, Aphelion spoke up.
"Guess this is our way up."
"I don't like this," she answered. Misty raised her hoof and placed it under her chin, thinking about what to do next. "We have no idea of where we are, or where this path leads. While everything seems to be abandoned, there still could be old traps strewn around, both mechanical and magical in nature."
Scratching the back of his head, Aphelion observed the spiraling path ahead. "True, but I don't see any other way out."
"Can't you use the same spell again? The one that allowed us to go through stone?"
"Not really. It's a complex transmutation spell and I don't think I can repeat it again, especially on two targets. Besides, it only allows us to go downwards."
"Crap. Well, it was worth a shot. Let's go up, then, but slowly. As soon as we find another way out, we get the hell out of Canterlot."
Aphelion turned his head towards Misty, raising an eyebrow. "What about the archives? The whole reason we went here was to steal the artifact Sandstorm talked about, to pay for the second half of the trade."
She groaned. "Screw the package. None of that matters if we get caught. Listen, I'll make you a deal. If we get out of this unscathed, I'll take care of our end of the trade. I'll smooth things over with our boss, you'll get your package, and then we can go back to not knowing each other and never interacting again."
"That's... Fair enough. Let's do that, then."
"Great. Let's go."
Taking the lead, Misty started walking, staying close to the central pillar and moving slowly. Aphelion followed in her hoofsteps, remaining not too far behind. If what Misty said was true, this plan became a lot simpler for him. Instead of infiltrating the archives, he would just have to make sure to leave the capital unseen. And yet, he felt conflicted. A part of him wanted to go on with the heist, to find the archives and to run away with long-forgotten relics and confidential documents. Aphelion still hoped to find definitive proof of Celestia's tyranny in order to quell the skepticism he felt ever since stepping into Canterlot. There was also a third, completely different reason behind Aphelion's hesitation. It took him a moment to pinpoint what exactly disturbed him in Misty's proposal, but by repeating what she had said in his mind, it became obvious.
"...I don't know if I really want to go back to not knowing each other," he said under his breath. He had meant to keep this remark in his head, but a strange force pushed him to talk out loud.
"...What?"
"Huh?" Aphelion perked up, noticing that the words had escaped his mind through his mouth. "Oh, sorry. Just, uh, saying nonsense out loud."
Internalizing what Aphelion said, Misty remained silent. The duo continued along the path, passing by dozens of abandoned jail cells. Both unicorns wondered why those cells were abandoned and if they had even actually been used. The monotony of their ascent was disrupted by a large steel door, breaking the pattern of cells along the outer wall. The steel door was easily thrice as tall as the other wooden doors, while also not having any visible handle. They both approached it.
"You think this is our way out?" asked Aphelion.
"Could be. Let me check for traps first," her horn shone with a gray aura. Narrowing her eyes, Misty focused on the large steel door in front of them. Ten seconds later, her spell ended. With a pensive look, she casted her spell a second time. Then a third and fourth time. Watching silently, Aphelion became increasingly worried.
"Do you see anything?"
"I'm not... Exactly sure. Do you know a good detection spell? I want your opinion on this."
Aphelion's horn became covered in a yellow light as he attempted his own detection spell. Very quickly, he discovered the source of Misty's uncertainty. There was no mechanical component to the door: no hinges, no handle and no physical trap. It was, however, covered in strange runes invisible to the naked eye. It was difficult to make out exactly what the runes were supposed to be as they were almost fully erased due to age and lack of maintenance, but Aphelion did notice a few interesting elements. First, the opening system required a specific unicorn's power, their own magic acting as a key. With the runes being almost fully faded away, it was technically possible for Misty or Aphelion to force their way inside by brute forcing the invisible arcane lock. The other part Aphelion had detected were the dozens of magical traps inscribed within these strange runes. While most of them were rendered useless by the damage to the door's enchantments, Aphelion could still count two that were still active.
"It looks... Pretty dangerous," Aphelion finally said.
"I agree. You noticed the traps?"
"Yeah. Two of them are still active. The first one seems to be a sort of alarm spell, attuned to a specific pony."
"I'm guessing, the one owning this place. And the second one is..." Misty didn't finish her sentence, almost too afraid to say it out loud.
"Second one seems like a typical Crescent Pact spell. I think I studied it some years ago."
"What?! Are you serious?" she yelled. Her eyes were wide open, staring at him. "It's... It's dark magic!"
"What do you mean, dark magic? This isn't that bad."
"Aphelion, this trap would literally put us in an endless coma. What kind of magic have you been learning?" her expression grew worried.
"I... I guess I can see your point. Not the friendliest type of magic. In any case, I think I know how to dispel the remaining two traps. After that, however, I'll probably be done for the day, magic-wise."
With a sigh, Misty shook her head from side to side. "Let's step away. This is too dangerous, there are probably way more traps inside."
"You're probably right. I'm still very curious about why Celestia would need a place like this and to defend it with that kind of magic," the second part of his sentence was barely audible. In Aphelion's mind, this should have been the proof of Celestia's evildoings he had been searching for. And yet, he was unsure. Something didn't make sense. Both unicorns had begun walking away when finally managed to figure out what was annoying him: the runes were written in an old system called Lunar Script. From what he had learned by studying the princess' every move, Celestia only ever used the more common runic alphabets. Even the Crescent Pact's spellweavers didn't use that kind of script. Aphelion felt like this place was not Celestia's doing. Cross-referencing that fact with the recent lead he had been studying concerning Celestia's lateness with the raising of the sun, he formed a theory in his mind, which he decided to share with Misty.
"Hey... What do you know about Nightmare Moon?"
Quickly glancing at him, she thought for a moment while continuing to walk. "It's an old tale for fillies and colts. Why do you ask?"
"What if it wasn't an old tale? What if it was something based on legitimate facts?"
"You're thinking this place was created by Nightmare Moon."
"Maybe. There are other things that point towards her existence, and it would make more sense for this place to be hers than Celestia's."
"Really? I thought you'd jump at the opportunity to blame Celestia for the weird forgotten dungeon filled with dark magic," she chirped.
"Very funny, but I can still think for myself."
"Well, you might be the only member of your group who does."
Aphelion's brows furrowed. He thought about clapping back at her, but Aphelion knew his words would sound hollow. Ever since he had set hoof in the capital, his world view had been rocked to its very core. Thinking back on the reason he came; he wondered if this was Lord Comet's intentions. Maybe this was a test, to see if Aphelion would remain loyal to the cause? But what even was their cause, exactly? Would the world really be better if Celestia was deposed? Now more than ever, Aphelion was hoping to find any sort of proof of Celestia's tyranny. Otherwise, he was afraid that his world view would end up shattered. As he kept thinking those thoughts, focusing entirely on the questions echoing in his mind, Aphelion hadn't noticed that Misty had stopped. He bumped into her behind, the hallway's incline causing his head to end up in a very unfortunate place. Misty yelped as he quickly stepped back, wide-eyed.
"W-Watch where you're fucking going!" she barked, blushing.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear."
Staring at him for a bit, she then looked forward. "Just... Shut up and listen."
Closing his eyes, Aphelion focused his attention to the sounds around him. At first, all he could hear was his heart beating fast from the previous accidental bumping but as he calmed down, a faint noise became noticeable. It was difficult to pinpoint where exactly it was coming from, but it seemed to be located somewhere behind the outer wall of the spiraling corridor. Slowly approaching this wall, Aphelion started to discern the sounds more clearly: voices. Somewhere behind that wall, two ponies were talking. While he couldn't make out what they were talking about, Aphelion still picked up on their tone. It was casual, informal. He looked back at Misty with a puzzled look on his face, finally noticing the second reason why she had stopped walking. Right in front of them, the corridor ended abruptly, with no doors in sight.
Slowly approaching him, Misty started to whisper. "We're probably close to an exit. Do you see any way out?"
Aphelion whispered back. "Not really, but... This place screams hidden passages. We're probably close to one."
"We might be. Let's wait for... Whoever is on the other side to leave before searching. How much time do we have left on your silencing spell?"
"Around thirty minutes, give or take."
And so, the two unicorns waited near the outer wall, at the end of a strange, forgotten hallway.
Stopping near one of the fountains within the royal gardens, Sandstorm looked at her reflection on the water for a moment. While she remained optimistic, Sandstorm still felt a bit worried as she had no idea if Misty's and Aphelion's part of the plan was going well. She thought about throwing a coin in the fountain and making a wish, but Sandstorm knew that the only way to have your way in this world is to act rather than to hope. Stepping away from the fountain, she started scanning the area around her. This part of the garden being further to the eastern side of the castle, fewer ponies were around her, casually strolling and taking in the well-maintained paths, bushes and statues. Sandstorm closed her eyes for a second. The next step for her was to secure a way out of Canterlot, the sneakier the better. She had studied the castle's blueprint for weeks and knew them by heart. The fountain she had approached was going to be the key for their escape. All Sandstorm needed to do was to find an entry point.
Underneath the castle, there were a large number of old tunnels used for the transport of important goods or as escape routes for the local nobles. This also meant that these tunnels were heavily guarded: sneaking in or out would be extremely difficult. Fortunately, Sandstorm had found the perfect path during her research. One of these tunnels passed right under the royal gardens, running directly underneath the fountain she stood next to. That tunnel, like many others, contained many hidden entrances in case it caved in while someone was crossing it. One of these entrances was supposedly near the fountain.
Circling around the fountain, Sandstorm searched for anything that could be opened. She wasn't exactly sure of what form that secret entrance would take, just that it existed. Her focus was first brought upon a large bush, where Sandstorm searched for a hidden trapdoor underneath. No luck. She turned back towards the fountain and looked in the water: maybe the entrance was hidden underwater. All she saw were many coins and some pebbles. Still not it, she thought. Sandstorm began to wonder if her sources were right. Perhaps the blueprints were outdated, or incorrect. If that was the case, her entire plan would end up failing. Remembering something that Aphelion told her, she felt cold sweats on her back.
To enter the archives, Aphelion had told her that he knew a spell to fall through stone until he reached a room. What would happen if she had screwed up and sent Misty and Aphelion to phase through the ground in a spot where no room was waiting for them underneath? Would they be stuck underground?
"...Oh, shit," she mumbled. There was only one way for her to be sure that Misty and Aphelion were safe: by reuniting with them at the rendezvous point. Finding the hidden passage became even more urgent to her. Nervously pacing back and forth, Sandstorm began brainstorming ways to find the hidden entrance. As she did, she quickly noticed something strange whenever she stepped onto one of the paved tiles around the fountain. It was barely perceptible, but thanks to her earth pony abilities, she could feel that her hoofsteps on that tile rang hollow. Jackpot, she thought.
Looking around, Sandstorm saw that nopony was looking directly at her. She quickly slammed a hoof on one end of the tile which was immediately raised. With a smug smile, Sandstorm observed a dark hole right underneath the heavy tile. Holding the way open with a hoof, she quickly jumped in without thinking much, letting the tile fall back on its own. As it did so, a crack appeared across its surface.
The crimson pegasus groans. He had remained near the palace's entrance for almost an hour now, trying to keep an eye on his targets. While losing sight of two of them was already annoying enough, he finally noticed that the third one, the earth pony named Sandstorm, had managed to trick him. He wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but she placed her hat on another mare, then slipped away. How long has it been since the switch occurred? He had no idea. Feeling his eye twitching, the pegasus became increasingly irritated. His mission had already gone to shit when the trio decided to go visit the royal castle, seemingly for no reason. His employer had assured him that they would just make a trade in a café owned by the syndicate, then go on their way. His task was to capture the stallion as he left the capital with the incriminating package. "You need to get your shit together, Steady," he mumbled. Deciding that he needed a break to gather his thoughts and what his next step was going to be, he stepped in the royal gardens. With one wing, he produced a cigarette from his bag and lit it with a nearby torch. As he began to smoke, he went over everything he knew about his targets in his head.
Steady had expected Sandstorm to be the biggest issue. According to his files, the mare was unpredictable and often took rash decisions. She wasn't dumb, however, and excelled at distractions. Based on what Steady had seen so far, he expected her to be the type of mare capable of bullshitting her way out of any situation. Coupled with her insane strength and her talent of turning stone into dust, she made a formidable opponent. Exactly the type Steady hated dealing with.
The other mare, Misty Step, was the cautious type. More specifically, the type that needs to plan things in advance and who usually refuses to act unless she knows the perfect set of events and actions required to guarantee a success. She, however, wasn't the kind of pony to take the lead and, when push came to shove, she'd usually follow the loudest voice. Steady preferred the perfectionist type compared to the improvising one, as ponies like Misty Step became predictable in their perfection. The issue was when that search for perfection was coupled with rash decisions and improvised plans. In a way, Misty Step and Sandstorm perfectly covered each other's weaknesses. Dealing with just the two of them would have been difficult enough.
And then, there's Aphelion. Steady knew very little about him, which was quite irritating. From the very little intel Steady had managed to gather on the young stallion, Aphelion seemed like the savant type: dangerous spells, but physically weak. All Steady needed to apprehend Aphelion was to sneak up on him and to give him a good whack on the back of the head. Easier said than done, however, especially with the two mares working with him. Other than that, Steady wasn't exactly sure what Aphelion's talent might be. His cutie mark was that of a constellation, which the pegasus didn't recognize. Steady would have to be careful when approaching Aphelion, at least until he learned the young unicorn magical ability's true extent.
Finishing his cigarette, Steady threw its remains in a fountain, still unsure of how he was going to find them back. That's when he noticed the large cracked paved tile a few feet ahead of him.