After a good night's sleep, it was finally time to hit the road. It might be early, and I might be going into one of the most dangerous places in Equestria, but I don't have the luxury of waiting around. The max I could stretch my 'summer break work' with Scarlet was three days. After that, Mom would get anxious, and I don't want that.
I cracked my joints loudly as I stretched, bags secure around my barrel and all my tools and supplies ready. I quickly used the marking spell on the map to know where I was before I forgot, and I headed down the stairs of the hotel to check out.
There wasn't however the green mane mare behind the counter, so I placed the key on the wooden desk and went out of the door. I paid, so there wasn't any problem I hoped. It was still early, so I understood that she might not arrive for a few more hours.
When the doors opened, the morning summer breeze and the low sunlight from the horizon hit my cheek and muzzle. It felt like the beginning of a great journey and I couldn't wait to discover Princess Celestia's secrets any longer. The road to the Everfree was without any hiccups, the only ponies I saw were middling with the garden work or preparing for the day around their homes, nobody really bothered with me at this hour.
I also stopped by Rarity Boutique to get my hood. To my surprise, it was open, and the mare actually made a proper hood. More than that actually, the hood was more like a cape with a hood on it, it also had two large pockets. Rarity said she wanted to add even more stuff to it, but she finally decided against it, I think it was the right call. I paid her seventy-five bits total. She insisted it was too much, but I made her accept it anyway.
When I finally reached the edge of the town, and the small bridge that crossed the small stream to the Everfree, I stopped, checked everything one more time, and looked for the last time at the Canterlot in the distance. It was magnificent, the high castle and the morning sun reminded me of all the time I spent studying there and with my whole family. My mom, dad, sisters and grandparents.
"No turning back now Aurora..." I said, smiling to myself, as I passed the first trees of the Everfree.
What I could sense immediately was the temperature drop. It was much more chilly in the forest, but the hood Rarity made me was enough to keep me warm and protected from the tough terrain. Not to mention it covered all my features, so it was great for future adventures too.
I managed to stay around a beaten path, which went inside and outside of the forest, I do not know, but if I followed that route, I might actually stumble upon them. I just hoped it wasn't a pack of wild animals or monsters. But from what I heard so far, no one lived in the Everfree, the only times ponies ventured there were scientists and biologists, accompanied by a squad of guards.
I felt like the forest was more alive than most of the Equestrian flora, it made me come back to all the biology lessons from the CSFGU. Where we would discuss what plant could cure you, which one could hurt you, and which one was going to make you whimper in pain while it literally melted your skin.
'Good times...' I chuckled under my breath.
Two hours later
I made a mistake somewhere and strayed from the path. Either that or the path simply ended without me realizing it. So far the forest was quiet, but just recently I heard some long-distance howls. Most likely Timberwolves. They shouldn't be a problem, catching one on fire was easy. But if I stumbled upon a hydra or a cockatrice... Well, it wouldn't be so easy.
The general direction should lead me to the castle of twin sisters, however, given the nature of this place, how far it was was impossible to tell. Even from Canterlot, you couldn't see the castle, it was deep inside the forest, hidden by high trees, and heavy mist almost all the time.
Right now, I was on quite a large hill, the ground here was unstable, and it made me worry I could slide down below, and how far it actually reached, I didn't want to find out.
"Steady, slowly Aurora. You got this." I said, moving past the muddy ground, and into more stable footing.
"Huff, that was-" I got cut off by my hooves literally sinking into the ground, the whole shelf started to slide down, and I barely managed to hold onto a small vine that stuck out from the ground.
The landmass hit the ground after a few seconds, making me gulp loudly.
"Let's... Go even more slowly... From now on." I chuckled nervously as I pulled myself up. The hill was beginning to turn into more of a passage, where I could finally see something indicating that I was close.
"A bridge..." I blinked a few times, moving slowly to the edge of the wooden bridge.
I could see heavy mist on the horizon, and as I got closer I noticed the entirety of the bridge from the other side was covered in a thick layer of it. I could however make out a small stone structure on the other side. Either it was the castle or some kind of landmark.
I was just about to step on the first plank of the bridge when I stopped.
I inspected it a bit more seriously, this time checking the rope and the sturdiness of it by throwing a rock on the first few planks.
"To be honest... It doesn't feel like it's safe... But... I don't know if there is any other way around it." I said, thinking about what to do.
Finally, after a few minutes, I decided to simply untie the rope from the post, and attach it once more when I pushed it a bit deeper into the ground. I did that on both sides of the bridge, making sure to pull it as much as I could and push the posts as deep as I could with my strength. It still wouldn't work if the rope snapped from the other side or something, but it made me at least feel a bit more secure.
"Now if I die, I die by my own rules." I said, placing a hesitant hoof on the first plank. It didn't fall down, but it made a really noisy creaking noise. I hesitantly put my other hoof and started to move across the wooden planks, very slowly.
"So far so good..." I motivated myself, placing a steady slow hoof on another plank. I managed to move across what seemed twenty or so planks when I noticed there were a few missing from it.
I counted three missing and very carefully measured the distance to the nearest one. I made a quick calculation in my head and decided it was close enough. Pulling more of my weight on the last plank I was standing on, I jumped across the gap, the plank on which I landed protested with a loud wooden creak, but overall, it didn't break. I signed in relief as I placed my hoof on the next plank.
Immediately it fell down, alongside my front half, I gasped in shock and pulled myself up by the rope, looking down into the misty abyss as the wooden traitor dissolved into nothingness. A few seconds later I could hear a loud noise of wood striking a stone surface.
"L-Long way down... And... Not really pleasant landing either..." I replied, testing the next plank, and one after that with a steady hoof.
Finally, after a good twenty minutes, I managed to cross the bridge, it seemed small at first, but to be honest, it was much longer than I anticipated.
*SNAP* I heard the familiar snap of the rope behind me, terrified, I looked back, only to see the bridge I was just on, collapse into the abyss, the rope snapped from this side, and I was this close to potentially falling down that ravine.
"Oh... How am I going to go back now...?" I asked myself. There could be an alternative route from the other side or something, but for now, I need to keep going, I don't know how long till-
"Holy... Shit." I said, turning. The mist that covered the entirety of my vision just seconds ago, is now gone. In its place, are ruins of a once huge and splendid castle. The twin towers collapsed on each other, and the whole main gate was completely blown off, bricks, fragments of furniture, and who else knows lay everywhere.
I stopped for a few seconds only to grasp the sheer amount of history this place covered, the single wall of this castle was as thick as a cart, and the garden around the main entrance showed great detail to landscaping around the whole place. I would love to see this castle in its prime.
"But... That prime is a bloody grave. I assume." I said, frowning. The purpose of coming here was not to see ancient ruins but to actually find out what happened here. It's been almost a thousand years since the events the book mentioned. The... Elements. The Nightmare Moon. Everything...
"It started here." I said, moving onto the cobblestone path to the main gate. Large chunks of the wall and gate itself lay before me, and the huge opening meant easy access to the main castle.
"Here we go..."
Meanwhile...
It was rather a lovely morning if I can say so myself. I wanted to spend the day relaxing, for once at least. It was really beginning to feel like all the right pieces were in the right order on the chessboard. I didn't need to worry about Twilight for now, and everything so far was going according to plan, apart from...one pony.
I repeatedly told myself that I needn't worry, after all, all those preparations and careful planning wouldn't go to waste because of a single pony. Even if that pony was incredibly... And I mean incredibly persistent.
It annoyed me yes, but so far... I honestly thought it was for the best. Maybe, just maybe I was overreacting. Maybe it was all in good faith, the stalking, breaking into the library beneath the palace, the... Dangerous spells...
I... I know I should trust my ponies more than that... And I have been constantly assured that the obsession was only the product of curiosity, not anger, nor any kind of malice. That the genes were simply... like that.
Assigning a few more guards didn't hurt right? After all, what problem if it was twenty, or twenty-five at this point? Countless pictures... The... Privete... Investigations...
No... Surely. It was just my overreacting. It wouldn't... It couldn't happen.
Agai-
'DETECTED MOVEMENT' An alarm rang in my head like a siren, my magical signature picked up movement near the entrance to the castle in the Everfree.
I turned my head to the guard who was supposed to inform me about her movements today. He simply smiled like a fool.
"You don't know where she is." I asked, dead in my voice. It didn't even sound like a question, more like a statement. Feeling like the circle of Tartarus just opened up again to swallow me.
"We...Might have... Lost her in Ponyvi-" I didn't hear the rest as I teleported away.
"Fuck this place is huge." I said, brushing old cobwebs away, and turning the seventh corner. So far I found nothing useful, but I was moving in the main room direction, at least that's what I hoped.
The walls were covered in a thick layer of grime and several layers of old dust. Not to mention the amount of vegetation that grew from cracks and gaps in the bricks. This place was old, really really old.
The long hallway finally opened up after a few more minutes of walking, and as I predicted, two large doors stood at the end. I could see the cracks in the wooden structure on the left, so I decided to push the ones on the right. However, they wouldn't budge, so I tried the left side.
The doors... Fell down with a very loud thud. Dust was thrown high into the air, and I began to cough as it got into my lungs. When it fell down, I could see the ceiling almost completely destroyed, bits and pieces scattered around the large room, which looked like a large throne room. Several flags were on the floor, they were grimy and old, but I could make out old equestrian insignia. The podium had a large crack that started from the top, making it look like it was made by someone.
"This is where they battled..." I said, moving around the debris and looking for anything useful I could find.
I could see a long hallway, just outside the podium, where I saw something sparkling in the darkness.
I followed it...
It leads me to another room, even bigger than the last one, with large stained glass windows, mostly broken. I also saw a large circular sphere, with several smaller spheres around it. It was covered in moss and dust, but I could see something carved into each sphere.
It looked like cutie marks of some kind. I felt like I shouldn't touch them... But...
I came closer, stepping over a few steps to get to the sphere... It felt like something was... saying I shouldn't...
When I was just a few inches before the sphere, I extended my hoof, slowly reaching...
"I command you to stop RIGHT NOW!" I hear a heavy voice boom behind me. I squeaked as I pulled my hoof back, looking at in the direction of the voice.
It was... Pr-
Princess... Celestia.
"P-Princess... Celestia?! W-What are y-yo" I got cut off by her stomping in my direction, her face looked... Livid.
"Now tell me, what exactly were you doing here?!" She asked, her voice loud, clear, and commanding. Her mature, motherly tone is now gone.
"I...I was..." I tried to find an excuse, but honestly... What could I say? She had to know what I was doing here. Playing dumb wouldn't help.
"If you can't tell me yourself, I will." She stated, standing just a few hooves before me, her face close to mine. "You were trying to find The Elements Of Harmony!" She stated, before adding "Why?!"
I felt her glare drill inside me. I wasn't a small filly anymore, but... I had never seen her so... Angry...
"I... Wanted to know more about them... About... You." I replied. Sitting down, trying to show her, that I'm not going to fight her.
"Hah! Do you think I'm going to buy that?! You think I'm stupid?! You think I didn't know about your obsession with me?!" She asked, half amused for some reason, half angry.
"O-Obsession? I... I'm not obsessing over you." I said it came out wrong, and it felt wrong, but... I couldn't deny the feeling that... I was somewhat interested in her being. Not obsessed, but definitely interested.
"Oh really now? Would you like me to tell you how many times you were spotted stalking me in broad daylight?" She asked, frowning.
"I...Ugh..." I didn't actually realize they spotted me.
"And how many years it has been since you first broke into the library in the gardens? Or how many times have you tried to sneak information from Twilight about what I was doing with her?" She added, making me start to sweat.
"I...Ummm... I didn't... I mean..." I tried to think of something, anything that could help in this situation.
"I hoped, I really did that all those times, you were just a curious filly. Against my better judgment, I decided to not intervene, to not do anything hasty, only to be proven wrong once again?" She stated, with sorrow in her eyes.
"I... I'm not an enemy." I said. Feeling rather attacked.
"Then what... What are you doing here? What? Tell me Aurora! What!?" She asked, in a serious and commanding tone.
"I..." I looked her straight in the eyes. "I wanted to find out if you were a good pony." I replied, making her blink rapidly and cough out the reply.
"A-A... A good pony?" She asked, her face mixed with emotions, she collected herself a second later. "W-What did I do, to make you feel I'm not a good pony?" She asked, confused, betrayed.
"W-Well... It's complicated... But... Umm... You have lived for a very long time, and... when I understood how much time it actually was... I have begun to think it might affected you somehow... Especially from... The Nightmare Mo-"
She blocked my speech with her magic, making me panic as she stared straight into my soul, her face an inch from mine.
"You have no right, not a single idea, how much struggle, how much pain, and how much sorrow I felt for the last thousand years. I have been ruling alone, without a day in which I didn't regret my decisions." She stated, pulling her magic back.
In fear I looked up, to see her still above me. Hesistant, scared I managed to whimper out. "B-But why are you pulling the rest of us with your sorrow?"
She staggered. Her eyes literally ignited, and then she looked at me with such ferocity I nearly had a heart attack.
... I was dead...
...
...
Then...
She sunk down. Muzzle buried in her hooves. The whole atmosphere changed, and soon I could hear...
"*Sniff* *Sob* AHHHHH! AHHHHH! *Sob*" She wept. A grown alicorn princess. Wept.
I couldn't move a muscle. I saw her roll on the floor, her muzzle full of tears, her makeup smeared across her face. Her regalia flew from her hooves. She looked like a small filly, who had been taken from her mother.
She looked... "Lonely..." I said quietly to myself.
Oh... I do know that feeling...
...
I slowly approached. She basically pulled herself into a big ball, her hooves close to her body, she sniffed and sobbed beneath me. Her wings were outstretched like she wasn't controlling them.
"It's... Okay." I said, placing my hooves on her back. Her wings retracted slowly. I pulled her into a hug. Not sure what I was doing, or if I was even helping.
All this time I felt I wanted to find out more about Princess Celestia because I thought she was evil... But... She was... Just lonely... Lost... Sad...
"It's all going to be okay." I soothed. She didn't move, but her sobbing substituted. After a while, she pulled her face up from her hooves, and with teary eyes looked at me.
"I...I'm so... I'm so sor-" I cut her off by hugging her straight to my chest.
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize." I replied.
...
At that moment, I realized how bizarre this situation turned out to be. In fact, how the fuck did we end up in this situation?
She placed her hoof on mine, and pulled herself up, wiping her tears, with the tips of her wings she stood up to her full regal size.
"Thank you, Aurora." She said, looking at me with hopeful expression. "I... Needed that."
"We all need to cry sometimes. We just need to be reminded sometimes that it's okay to cry. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul." I said making her giggle, and then laugh.
"I... Appreciate that." She said, pulling me closer, and into an unexpected hug. "You remind me of her... A lot."
"Your... Sister?" I asked, not sure if I should.
"Yes." She simply stated, breaking the hug. "If...If you want answers... I will give it to you. But..." She looked around us. "Maybe not here..."
I nodded. "I would like that."