[Canterlot]
The train boarded on a bright purple platform just outside of the grand city of Canterlot. Ponies from far and wide departed the train in hopes of venturing the enormous metropolis. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Cheerilee stepped out of the train and took in an absolutely amazing sight. The tops of the surrounding mountains towered over the four little ponies. A wide array of pink and purple skyscrapers glowed upon entry of the royal city. The roads were paved with a solid grey cobblestone that extended throughout the length of the city. A huge diverse population flocked around the city. There were old ponies, young ponies, glamorous mares, stunning stallions; even one or two royal guards would be seen roaming the streets of Canterlot. The four were absolutely stunned at what the great city of Canterlot had to offer to them.
“Now girls, remember what we’re here for.” Cheerilee said in the hopes of reminding the three others the point of this trip.
“Ah remember, Miss Cheerilee! Let’s go!” Apple Bloom said with an enthusiastic hype in her voice.
The other two nodded in agreement before setting off to the Sanctum of the Elements of Harmony. They sped through the massive city in the hopes of finding where the sanctum was. The four ran into the center of town, looking out of place compared to the fairly dressed citizens of Canterlot trotting around the many small shops and vendors that were scattered around the streets.
“Look, over there!” Scootaloo yelled pointing towards a single tower to the east overlooking all of Canterlot. The four decided to head over there and see if it was the actual sanctum or not. The closer they got, the sparser the population was and the less intimidating the architecture became. Despite being surrounded by smaller houses, the giant tower still looked considerably large compared to the rest of Canterlot. It was a single tower, no smaller lookout towers and no protrusions of any kind. It shone in a magnificent magenta that made it easy to notice in comparison to the strongly used pink and purple color scheme within the majority of Canterlot. The doorway was adorned with two large gold arcs. In between the arcs it showed a dark background with small stars creating constellations along with a large white crescent moon, exactly the same as Princess Luna’s cutie mark. On the right, showed a bright sky blue background with white clouds scattered around the space. In the center stood a large sun, with a yellow center and orange protrusions, exactly the same as Princess Celestia’s cutie mark. Surrounding the massive structure stood a solid grey stone wall. At the center, a silver gate and a single guard stood. The four approached the guard, hoping to gain access.
“Hello mister, is it ok if I can go in and see th..” Cheerilee started.
“Sorry miss, only the Princess is allowed in the chamber.” The guard explained, interrupting Cheerilee mid-sentence.
“But it’s only for a small field trip. Do you think it’s possible to have just one exception?” Cheerilee asked further.
“I’m sorry, but no exceptions.” The four decided to turn back in disappointment.
“We went all this way just to see that we can’t get in. Darn.” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“What do you mean turn back? We’ll just find a way in there!” Apple Bloom replied.
“What?? Are you crazy, Apple Bloom??” Sweetie Belle yelled.
“Yeah, are you kidding me? We could get caught! Then Princess Celestia is going to do who knows what to us! Maybe even send us to the moon!” Scootaloo added.
“Honestly I would really like to go into that sanctum, despite it being against the rules.” Cheerilee replied.
“What? Miss Cheerilee? You want to go.. in the sanctum.. despite breaking the rules?” Sweetie Belle asked with confusion.
“Yes. I've always lived a slightly boring life as a schoolteacher. Although teaching was fairly fun, it just didn't have the spark of an actual adventure. Besides, going in might be the only way we can learn of such history!” Cheerilie explained with enthusiasm.
“Why does life have to be so ironic?! Our grade school teacher, the same one who always told us to follow the rules and never to break any wants to break one of the more reinforced rules of all of Canterlot.. just for information??” Sweetie Belle yelled.
“Yes, I understand that what I just said has contradicted everything that I have taught you in school, but this wealth of information could be just what we need to complete our studies!” Cheerilee exclaimed.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both let out a sigh. “Ok, we’ll help, just for you and Apple Bloom.” Scootaloo answered.
“So how are we going to get inside?” Apple Bloom asked after staying silent throughout the argument.
“I.. kinda snuck into Twilight’s old spellbook room in the library a few times to study… then I found this one spell. It’s a group teleportation spell. Kinda like the teleportation spell that is taught in unicorn magic schools, only thing is, it teleports a maximum of five ponies and uses a lot more magic unless more than one unicorn is casting it in the group. I think I should be able to teleport all of us into the inner gates and hopefully into the tower as well!” Sweetie Belle told the group. “There’s just one problem.. I’m nowhere as good of a magic user as Twilight Sparkle, so I’m not sure I can handle it….”
“Ah sure you can do it, Sweetie Belle! You've mastered a lot of magic!” Apple Bloom explained.
“Yeah, it wouldn't hurt to at least try.” Scootaloo added.
“Alright guys. I’ll see what I can do.” Sweetie Belle said softly with a smile on her face.
The four decided to run around the streets of Canterlot until they were able to find another road that led to the tower, one that did not involve the guard being able to see them. They circled around a block of Canterlot’s gargantuan marketplace and ended up at the north wing of the tower, exactly to the far left of the original entrance. The four huddled in a tight circle, ready for the next step in their infiltration plan.
“Ok guys, here goes.” Sweetie Belle said with slight hesitation. She took a small step back from the three and closed her eyes. Her horn started glowing in a dull shade of green. Her face kept calm, despite being very nervous both by doing the group teleportation spell for the first time and for infiltrating forbidden ancient ruins. A bright aura started encircling Sweetie Belle’s horn and her face started scrunching up, focusing on the magnitude of this spell. Sweetie Belle pointed her horn towards the ground and touched the ground at the center of the group. On the ground, a small green dot appeared at where Sweetie Belle touched it and as time went on, it started pulsing rapidly. All of a sudden, a single green line shot out of the dot, ending at a point just outside of the circle that the four ponies made, then another line, and another. This continued until there was a total of 8 lines coming from that single point on the ground. At the end of the lines, more lines start shooting out, connecting all of the previously created lines and making a nearly perfect octagon. After the octagon was completed, the lines started pulsing, faster and faster with every second that passed.
“Here we go!” Sweetie Belle told the group with excitement. Boom. A small explosion of magic burst out from the center of the spell and dispelled as fast as it appeared. The four ponies could not believe it. Sweetie Belle’s group teleportation spell had worked! Sweetie Belle, now exhausted from using such a large amount of magic, smiled, despite breathing so heavily.
“You did it Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom whispered, remembering that this was a stealth mission.
“I knew you could do it!” Scootaloo added.
“Good job, Sweetie Belle! I’m proud of you, but there’s no time to waste. There’s a sanctum to explore and discoveries to be made.
The four quietly walked into the archway, not grabbing the attention of the standing guard a mere 10 or so meters away. It was merely luck that the giant golden doors were already cracked open, just wide enough for the four to barely squeeze in. As they entered the tower, they slowly closed the door behind them. The guard did not suspect a thing.