The Equestrian Wind Mage Classic: Season 1

by LordSiravant


Episode 5: Return of the Palace

Episode Five: Return of the Palace

"I swear to the Golden Goddesses, if you do not eat this carrot, Angel, I'll force it down your bloody throat!" Vaati growled angrily at the offending white rabbit, pushing a half-eaten carrot into Angel's chest.

"Um...Vaati, that's n-not how you talk to the animals," Fluttershy timidly interrupted. "I-if you don't mind, that is."

Vaati sharply sucked in his breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. Smiling as kindly as he could, (which looked more like the grin of a serial killer about to strike) he held the carrot out to Angel. "Oh, Angel Bunny," he said with forced calm. "Would you be a dear and eat the rest of this carrot?"

The rabbit crossed his arms and glared stubbornly at the sorcerer, squeaking out a few choice words in his animal language. Vaati's eyes bugged out in shock and fury. "Shove it where?!" he hissed.

Angel smirked arrogantly. You heard me.

Sensing Vaati was about to blow his lid, Fluttershy reached out to put a tentative hoof on his shoulder. "Um, Vaati..."

"YOU'RE STEW, RODENT!" Vaati roared, lunging at Angel as Fluttershy jumped back with a terrified yelp.

The bunny squeaked in surprise and hopped out of Vaati's reach. Vaati scrambled to his feet and chased after Angel, completely ignoring Fluttershy's quiet cries of protest. The rabbit scurried to safety beneath Fluttershy's cottage. Vaati stared at the hole through which Angel had escaped with a look of unfathomable hatred. "I'll get you for this, rabbit," he growled, his fists shaking at his sides.

Fluttershy slowly trotted up to him. "M-maybe you should take the day off, Vaati," she shyly suggested. "If that's okay with you."

Vaati gritted his teeth for a moment before sighing in defeat and slumping his shoulders. "Yes...you're probably right. Alright then, Fluttershy, same time tomorrow?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"I'll see you then," Vaati said, heading back towards Ponyville.

The sorcerer soon reached the town, striding through the streets as he reflected on how much he hated that rabbit. He ignored the stares sent his way by the townsponies, particularly a mint-green unicorn mare's fascinated, somewhat-longing stare. He had long ago become used to the attention.

XXXXXX

The skies above Equestria were bright and clear. No clouds hung in the sky, birds twittered cheerfully as they flew through the soft blue background. Nothing could possibly spoil this fine day.

Famous last words.

It started with just a ripple. Barely noticeable, a slight shimmering in the air that could only be seen through the corner of one's eye. But then the anomaly started to grow in size and intensity. A low rumbling sound was heard. The birds scattered as a particular point of the sky began to ripple. It was hard to describe, but it seemed as though the very fringes of reality were starting to bend at this very point.

A crack of some kind tore through the sky as if it were a giant sheet of blue paper, a strange white light pouring out of the tear in reality. The rip in dimensions widened and the wind began to whip. Something was coming.

The rippling energy began to resonate through the land as something slowly began to edge its way out of the dimensional rift. Not force, as this object did not appear to be a living thing. No, it was no monster or extra-dimensional devourer of worlds or trouble-magnet Time Lord's technowizardry.

It was a massive, floating palace that looked like nothing that could be found in Equestria.

XXXXXX

Not very many could feel the mysterious energy that echoed across the land. Few were attuned to such subtle magicks, but that is not to say that the rip in time and space did not go unnoticed. In the throne room of Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia, just as she was sipping her tea, felt it. A slight tugging in the back of her mind, a jarring realization that something had come here, to her land. The shock of the experience caused her to drop her teacup with a sharp gasp, the glass shattering and tea spilling onto the floor.

The nearby guards looked to her in concern. "Princess Celestia!" one of them spoke. "Are you alright?"

Recovering, Celestia held up a hoof. "Yes, I'm fine. I just…need to write a letter. And do get somepony to clean up this mess, please."

The guard bowed. "Right away, Your Majesty."

Celestia summoned a quill and parchment out of nowhere and began writing.

My Faithful Student, Twilight,

I know it's unusual that I am writing to you on such short notice, but I believe something has occurred here in Equestria. I don't how or why, but I feel that something has come into Equestria. I will need your help in finding out what it is. Actually, not just you. I believe we will need Vaati for this as well. What I felt was somewhat similar to what I felt when he first came to Equestria. I will be joining you all shortly so we can all investigate this strange phenomenon together. Please don't have a panic attack before I get there.

Signed,

Princess Celestia

Sighing, Celestia sent the letter off to Ponyville. She then looked down at her guards and said, "Wake Luna. I'm going out for a short while, and I need her to look after political matters while I'm away."

"Understood, Your Majesty," one replied, bowing. "I'll ready an escort at once."

"No, that's quite alright. I wish to go alone."

The guard spluttered. "B-b-but Princess! You must have an escort to watch over you!"

"I already have an escort for where I'm going, Falling Skies. Trust me, I'll be fine."

"Uh...who, Your Majesty?"

"My student Twilight Sparkle and the Wind Mage Vaati."

"Uh...are you sure it is wise to trust Vaati, Princess?"

"The matter involves him. As to whether I trust him...I cannot say. I can tell he has a past shrouded in mystery, and what little Luna has decided to divulge to me does not paint a pretty picture of what he once was. Nevertheless, he has not caused any serious trouble in the time he has been here, so I am confident his claims of retirement were sincere."

"If...if you say so, Princess," Falling Skies relented.

"Good. Now be a dear and ready my chariot. And if, on the off-chance I do not return before Luna awakens, tell her she can lower the sun in my place. I'm sure she can do it."

XXXXXX

Unbeknownst to Princess Celestia, Vaati had felt it too. The sorcerer had been grumbling to himself in the library while Twilight was studying and Spike cleaning when he had suddenly gasped, gripped his chest, and leaned against a book case to keep himself from falling over. Seeing this, Twilight shot out of her chair and ran to the winded sorcerer's side. "Vaati! Are you alright?!"

"Whoa, Vaati! What's wrong?" Spike also asked.

Vaati panted heavily for a few moments, his eyes bugged out. What he felt was so familiar. Too familiar. "I...I felt...a disturbance of some kind," he explained between breaths. "It felt...familiar."

"What, you mean like a disturbance in the force?" Spike inquired.

Vaati shot him a look. "No, you idiot. It felt like...like it..."

Vaati looked up, his eyes wide with shock and realization. "...like it was calling to me."

"'It'?" Twilight repeated in confusion.

Before Vaati could elaborate, Spike suddenly belched, exhaling a green flame surrounded by ashes. The ashes then condensed into a letter bearing the Royal Seal. "Oh! Princess Celestia sent a letter!" Twilight exclaimed, enveloping it with her magic.

"How convenient," Vaati commented dryly as he straightened up.

Twilight broke the seal and opened the letter, reading it aloud. When she was done, a look of confusion and horror spread across her face. "The P-P-Princess is coming here?!"

"Oh, cripes, not this again," Spike moaned.

"Twilight, she specifically ordered you not to have a panic attack," Vaati chided, folding his arms. "What I'm interested in, though, is how she felt it too."

"Felt what, exactly?" Twilight asked.

"It would probably be better to explain when Celestia gets here," Vaati answered.

"Princess Celestia," Twilight corrected irritably.

"I don't care."

"Has anypony ever told you how aggravating you are?"

"Yes. They were usually trying to kill me while they were saying it, so I never really bothered to pay attention."

Yet again, awkward silence followed. "Uh...maybe we should wait for Princess Celestia outside," Spike suggested, hoping to dispel the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Excellent idea, Spike," Vaati commended a little too quickly as he strode outside, forgetting to duck his head and bumping it on the rather short doorframe. "GAH! Bloody accursed Majora-da-!"

"Vaati, there are foals present!" Twilight exclaimed sternly, indicating Spike.

Rubbing his sore head, Vaati just grumbled incoherently to himself as he stepped outside. Twilight and Spike followed him out and stood outside the library, waiting for Celestia's arrival. A few minutes passed before Vaati's sharp eyes caught sight of a distant chariot making its way towards Ponyville. "Look alive, she's coming," Vaati warned, Twilight reflexively beginning to fret.

Vaati patiently waited as the chariot descended into the town and came to a rest in front of them, the pegasus guards whinnying their arrival. Princess Celestia herself stepped off the chariot and looked at the guards. "You're dismissed, gentlecolts."

Clearly reluctant, the guards nodded and flew off back towards Canterlot as Celestia calmly trotted up to her waiting hosts. "Princess Celestia, I'm so glad to see you again!" Twilight said, hugging her mentor.

"And how wonderful to see you as well, my faithful student," Celestia answered, returning the hug. "And you as well, Spike."

Releasing Twilight, Celestia looked upon the sorcerer, his arms crossed as he nodded. "Princess," he greeted.

"It is good to see you too, Wind Mage Vaati," Celestia spoke, smiling softly, not minding the fact that Vaati would not bow to her. "I trust your lessons in friendship are working out well?"

"Better than I expected," Vaati answered nonchalantly. "I cannot deny that once upon a time, I desired a friend more than anything. Several of Twilight's friends still annoy me to the brink of insanity, though." At this, Twilight glared at him. "But I've learned to live with it. But we all know you're not here for a chat. You felt it too. The disturbance."

Celestia nodded. "I did. I take it you felt it as well?"

"Yes. And I believe I know what caused it...but the idea of it just sounds so far-fetched, and yet...it makes sense in the end."

His audience all blinked in surprise. "You know what it is?" Celestia asked.

Vaati sighed and turned away from Celestia, staring ahead at nothing in particular as he divulged more of his carefully-guarded past. "A long time ago, when I first started...causing trouble, I stumbled across an ancient temple above the clouds in the midst of my travels. An old floating castle of sorts once used by the Wind Tribe as their place of worship. It was known as the Palace of Winds."

Celestia, Twilight, and Spike silently watched the sorcerer, rapt with attention. "My first time around, I didn't get much of a chance to investigate it in detail, but during my second time, I immediately made it my base of operations, as the Wind Tribe had permanently abandoned it. It...well, it went from a base of operations to...a real home, actually. I had Wizzrobes discreetly...uh, 'collect' books and build a library, and I even set aside a room of the palace as my bedchamber. Though I never really considered the monsters that I summoned to guard the place pleasurable company, I still made it feel like home.

"The strangest thing was, and I didn't notice this at first, but there was some ancient magic running through the very foundations of the palace. This magic was responsible for keeping the palace aloft, but it had an unusual side-effect, of sorts. The palace's magic resonated with my own and...the only way I can really explain it is that the palace itself bonded with me. I became its true master. Thus, each time I was freed, I could immediately sense the Palace of Winds calling to me, and I would go to it. It even moved itself towards me upon my approach. It was rather...flattering, actually, for the very home I lived in to hold a sense of loyalty to me. It would make sense that it would follow me here."

Everyone was silent in awe. Finally, Twilight broke the silence. "So...the Palace of Winds...is sentient?"

"And it has come here to Equestria?" Celestia questioned.

Vaati nodded. "I assume so. I need to find it."

"Vaati, we should all look for it!" Twilight suggested.

Vaati looked down at her. "Why do you insist on coming?"

The sparkly look in her eyes told him everything. "Oh...right. The library."

"I wish to see this palace for myself, if you don't mind," Celestia added with a smile.

Vaati just stared at them. "...really?"

"Can I come too?" Spike interjected.

"Spike, I need you to stay here and look after the library while we're gone, okay?" Twilight answered.

Spike slumped his shoulders in defeat, though admittedly, he had expected that answer. "Oh, rats."

"Really, Spike. You felt the need to ask?" Vaati smugly quipped.

"We should leave as soon as we can," Celestia suggested. "I hope to find this palace before Luna is due to bring about the night."

"I agree," Vaati answered. "We travel light."

XXXXXX

A few hours later...

If one were to look upwards at this moment, they would witness a most peculiar sight: Princess Celestia flying through the air with a purple unicorn on her back and a strangely-dressed ape-like creature floating alongside them. As the three of them flew across the sky, Twilight turned towards Vaati and asked, "So how big is the Palace?"

Vaati thought for a moment. "About half the size of Canterlot, and just as tall, if I recall correctly."

"One thing you said before concerns me," Celestia spoke, staring ahead. "You said you had monsters guarding the Palace during your stay. Why?"

Vaati sighed. "Because it's hard to be a lord without any minions."

Celestia opened her mouth to speak further, but Twilight interrupted her. "What kind of monsters? What were they like? Are there any there now?"

"Ugh, one thing at a time, woman," Vaati complained. "In the world I am from, there are a vast array of monsters that can be summoned. Before King Demise cursed them shortly after Majora's fall, they were normal, if primitive and bestial, races just like Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras. But due to their aid in defeating the God of Evil during the first great war of Hyrule, his son Demise cast a horrible spell that eternally doomed them to the Dark World and enslaved them to the dark powers. That was how they originally came to be the servants of evil.

"Most practitioners of dark magic know the spell to summon different monsters, including other monsters. Most of them were high-ranking demon lords and noblemen either looking out for their own self-interest or attempting to resurrect Demise's reincarnation, Ganondorf. Such dark magic is also capable of enslaving predatory animals as well as raising the dead. There are very few things demon magic cannot do, save healing one's self. That is light magic. Being that I am not a fully-demonic being and am empowered by an artifact containing light magic, I am capable of using both light and dark magic. But I find myself straying off-topic.

"There are a wide assortment of monsters one can summon. The most well-known and infamous examples are the Moblins. Tall, strong pig warriors who walked upright like men. Normally dumb as a post and brutally thuggish, but they make good warriors. It was obvious why they were Ganondorf's preferred minions.

"Then there are the Wizzrobes, sorcerers who gave their souls to darkness to achieve absolute control over a single element of nature. There were Warrior Wizzrobes, who chose to specialize in offensive, non-elemental magic; Fire Wizzrobes, who exercised a great deal of control over the element of fire; Ice Wizzrobes, who could do the same with ice; and Summoner Wizzrobes, who chose to use other summoned monsters to do their dirty work, including other Wizzrobes. Most of them were rather like you, Twilight. They spent far too much time reading spellbooks in my library during lulls in action, and they usually kept to themselves.

"My best underlings were the Darknuts. They're quite similar to Diamond Dogs in appearance, but for one are a lot smarter than those gem-obsessed thugs. They are heavily armored and are very skilled in combat. They're master duelists. Even the Hero of Legend, skilled as he was, always had trouble with Darknuts. They make excellent guards, as they take the warrior code very seriously and are not easily distracted. Their whole culture is based around honor and combat, and that made them rather introverted. They rarely spoke, even off-duty, and they almost never associated with the other monsters. Before the curse, their relationships with the other monster races were lukewarm at best.

"Keatons, the distant cousins of the Darknuts, are thieves, plain and simple. Even when summoned, they are less likely to follow your orders unless doing so has money involved. They're quite agile and clever, but their greed sometimes clouds their judgment, and they're terrible in a direct fight. As such, I didn't summon them very often.

"Then there are the creatures that don't belong to a particular race. They are simply the revived corpses of fallen warriors given will by dark magic. The Stalkin are all the skeletal bodies of various fallen warrior races. Stalfos are humanoid skeletons that walk upright like me. The Stalchildren are the resurrected bones of smaller races. Stalwolves are, well, wolf skeletons. Very large skeletal monsters are commonly referred to as Stallords. Stalkin usually retain some personality traits of who they were in life, but by lacking a brain, their intelligence takes a nosedive. I didn't summon them in large quantities, but Ganon did. Then there are the ReDeads, or what you might know as zombies. They scream in order to paralyze you long enough to get close to you. And then, they jump on you, and if you can't shake them, they suck out every drop of your blood."

At this, Twilight looked like she might be sick. Celestia looked equally disturbed by the description.

"Naturally, as I didn't find the prospect of bloated, smelly, fly-ridden, blood-sucking corpses shambling around my home during the night very appealing, I did not summon them myself. Mind you, they can be reanimated by lingering dark energies alone, so a demonic being's presence is sometimes all it takes for various corpses to rise from their graves. Another specimen of reanimated creatures are Floormasters and Wallmasters. Virtually indistinguishable from each other by appearance alone, these two creatures are reanimated disembodied hands that have been given a growth spurt by the magic used to create them. Floormasters crawl along the floor on their fingers and try to claw at and ram intruders. Wallmasters are more benign, but I can never get over how deliciously aggravating they are to intruders. They lie in wait on the ceilings of certain rooms for an intruder to pass under them. If one does not see them coming, they grab the unfortunate victim and drag him all the way back to the entrance of my palace. They're a useful delaying tactic, but it is unfortunate that they do not actually harm their victims. The last example of undead minions is Poes, ghosts who are driven by hatred of the living. They carry lanterns containing flames of darkness, which they use to swipe at intruders and enemies.

"And that, I believe, covers most of the basic monster types," Vaati finished. "As for whether or not any are still there…I doubt it. If there are any monsters left over, the Hero usually wipes them out before leaving the Palace after he defeats me."

Silence followed as Twilight and Celestia processed this information. Most of these monsters sounded scary and unpleasant to be around, but a morbidly curious part of Twilight could not help but hope she could meet some of these strange creatures.

And then Vaati abruptly stopped and looked directly ahead, causing Celestia to halt as well. "There it is," he spoke, awed. "It's here. It's actually here."

Celestia and Twilight looked directly ahead and witnessed a phenomenal sight. Sitting atop a blanket of clouds was a truly magnificent palace. Its grandeur could almost rival Canterlot's. The architecture spoke of an ancient, long-forgotten culture whose craftsmanship was the envy of many. Great spires reached into the sky, topped with violet pointed roofs. Numerous windows of the palace were adorned with stained glass depicting a strange eye looking upwards. Parts of its infrastructure held a church-like quality to it.

"Whoa," Twilight breathed, awestruck at the sight.

"This…this is an impressive structure," Celestia added, breath-taken as well. "Wrought of stone, and yet it sits atop the clouds as though it weighs nothing…I've never seen this kind of magic before. It's…amazing!"

Vaati smirked despite himself. "Well, well. Even the great Princess Celestia is impressed. I'd say that's an achievement in and of itself. Shall we?"

His two escorts nodded dumbly, still transfixed by the magnificent Palace of Winds as they began flying towards it. A few minutes later, they touched down on the soft clouds right outside the main entrance. The four devices that had maintained the barrier blocking access to the Palace were still there, though they were no longer functional thanks to a certain meddling hero. No matter; that just meant Vaati didn't have to deactivate them. "Welcome, my esteemed guests, to the Palace of Winds," Vaati grandly announced, flourishing his hand towards the entrance.

The three of them entered the Palace and took in the sights. The main hall was a grand sight to behold, with rows of stained-glass windows pouring colored light into the room. The hall branched off in several directions, leading to other areas. Celestia and Twilight gazed in wonder upon the sight. Vaati, however, immediately felt something was wrong. He scrutinized the scene before him, and soon realized something.

The halls were barren. The tapestries, the suits of armor, all gone. Vaati's eye twitched as his anger grew. Someone had ransacked his palace. The thought alone made the Wind Mage's blood boil. Noticing the sorcerer's furious expression, Twilight asked, "Uh, Vaati? You okay there?"

Vaati gritted his teeth in response. "Someone was here before us. Someone took all the tapestries and suits of armor I had set up along the hallways. My palace…has been robbed!"

"Hey! What're you freaks doin' in our hideout?!" a teenaged voice demanded arrogantly.

The three of them whipped around to see a pair of reptilian creatures glaring at them. One had black scales, horns that curved like a ram's, a lean build, and a pair of grey-webbed wings folded at his back. The other was of stocky build, with green scales, diseased-looking horns pointing straight back behind his head, and a pair of smaller wings that looked like they wouldn't be able to hold him aloft during flight.

Vaati ground his teeth in rage as he realized the identity of the intruders. "Dragons."

XXXX-DRAMATIC COMMERCIAL BREAK-XXXX

"Yo, chump!" the black dragon snapped at Vaati. "I said, what're you doin' in our hideout?!"

"Your hideout?!" Vaati snarled angrily. "Excuse me, you big dumb lizard, but this is MY palace!"

The green dragon chuckled. "I don't see your name on it."

Vaati irritably gestured towards the stained-glass windows. "In case you didn't know, that is my emblem! I am the Wind Mage Vaati, and you are in MY PALACE!"

"Listen, loser!" the black dragon sneered. "We were here first, so you and your prissy little pony friends can bug off!"

"Hey!" Twilight complained, offended.

"Now let's everyone just calm down for a moment," Celestia bade, stepping forward. "I am Princess Celestia. Surely you know of me?"

"Yeah, big whoop," the black teenage dragon scoffed. "Yeah, I know who you are. Well guess what? Both our fathers're Dragon Lords. I'm Char, son of Moragon the Black!"

"And I'm Plague, son of Pestilence the Vile!" the green dragon boasted.

"That explains your stench," Vaati commented rudely, waving his hand in front of his face as if to ward it off.

"Vaati, enough," Celestia calmly reprimanded before turning towards the two teenage dragons. "Now, Char and Plague, I understand that each dragon sets out at your age to secure a hoard and home for themselves, but this palace actually does belong to Vaati here, so we would all appreciate it if you let him have it back."

Char folded his arms. "Sorry, Sparkles, but we ain't goin' nowhere. This is our place now."

"Would you like it to serve as your graves, you infantile wretches?!" Vaati growled.

Ignoring the fuming sorcerer, Celestia said, "I ask that you reconsider. I really would prefer not to force you out of here and let you leave of your own free will."

"You won't dare," Char answered smugly. "You know why? Because you don't wanna tick off two Dragon Lords who both have considerable influence in the high council and could easily convince the whole dragon nation to declare war on Equestria for threatening us."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "You'd start a war over this place?! Innocent ponies would be killed just so you can keep the palace all to yourselves…that's…that just…rrgh! How can you be so bucking selfish?!"

"Twilight, language," Celestia warned, trying to maintain her patience.

Char was right, though. This was a very precarious situation they now were all in. Dragon politics were very difficult for Equestrians to deal with, and dragons would not hesitate to invade any country they felt had slighted or threatened them. Though Celestia knew she and her sister could likely defeat them, it would not be before a significant portion of Equestria was burning around them.

"Alright. Fine. You can have it," Vaati spoke.

Twilight and Celestia both looked at the glaring mage in surprise. "If you feel like this place is worth a whole war over, then you can keep it," Vaati explained. Suddenly, though, the sorcerer grinned savagely. "Although, I will have to warn you. You may not like what happens after nightfall."

He glanced at his two companions. "Alright, let's go."

Without another word, Vaati strode out the door, Celestia and Twilight in tow. "I don't understand," Twilight said. "You're just giving up?"

Vaati said nothing as he stepped off the edge of the cloud and floated down underneath it. "Vaati?" Celestia spoke, letting Twilight hop onto her back and following the sorcerer, who was waiting directly underneath the cloud.

"I am most certainly not giving up like this," Vaati whispered, still grinning evilly. "The Palace of Winds is mine. It will always be mine. And I have an idea on how to get rid of our scaly interlopers. However…"

Vaati paused. Eager for him to finish, Celestia said, "Yes?"

"However, we will have to wait until nightfall to pull it off. And I am going to need a little help from some…familiar faces, so to speak."

Celestia and Twilight's eyes widened. "You…you're going to summon your monsters, aren't you?" Twilight hesitantly asked.

"I am. But I must warn you both. What you will see will be creatures you Equestrian could not imagine in your worst nightmares; beasts of legend whose very names send shivers down the people's spines. Are you prepared? Are you ready to be the first Equestrians to bear witness to the monsters of Hyrule?"

Celestia looked uncertain. "What of what happens afterwards? What will your monsters do then?"

"Do not worry, Celestia," Vaati replied, idly brushing off a fleck of dust from his cape. "They will stay inside the palace if I order them to…which I will, of course. After all, I can't keep this entire palace cleaned up all by myself, now can I?"

"…I suppose not," Celestia answered. "Very well, what should we do?"

XXXXXX

Palace of Winds, nightfall…

The moon shined brightly over the Palace of Winds, its soft light illuminating certain parts of the Great Hall in various shades of purple. The rest of the palace was dark and silent. In a certain room of the ancient temple, all the treasures Char and Plague had found throughout the parts of the palace they had explored today were piled into the middle of the room. Lying on top of their spoils were the two teenage dragons, smirking triumphantly. "Dude, I can't believe our luck!" Plague said with a grin. "Two days out 'n about and we already found this awesome hangout!"

Char sighed contentedly. "Yeah…and we even got to scare off that prissy pony princess too!"

The two youngsters shared a chuckle. "Aw yeah, that was sweet! The look on her face when ya told her off, ho boy! Hahahaha!" Plague laughed.

Char held up a gold goblet adorned with four large rubies and studied it nonchalantly. "Ya know, we haven't explored the whole place yet. I bet there's even cooler stuff up on the higher levels. We can look up there tomorrow."

"Yeah, I can't wait 'til…"

Suddenly they heard something strange. A slight scratching noise, as though something with claws was crawling across a stone floor. The noise was also getting louder, meaning that, whatever it was, it was approaching them. "What the heck?" Char said, glancing about suspiciously. "What is that?"

Something clicked in Plague's mind at that moment, and he gulped. "Hey, uh…Char? Remember when that weird guy told us about…w-what happens at night?"

"Yeah…I bet that's him! Sneaky little runt, I'll roast him when he gets here!"

The scratching noise was getting louder; it had almost reached their hoard. "Alright, who goes there?!" Char challenged, looking into the darkness. A strange shape could barely be seen moving through the dark. A moment later, though, the creature crawled into view, illuminated by the moonlight coming through one of the windows.

It was a large, rotted, disembodied hand with sharp, decayed claws. Char and Plague stared at it for a few horrifying seconds.

And then the Floormaster lunged at them.

"GYAAAAH!" Char screeched like a filly, scrambling backwards to avoid the zombified hand crawling murderously after him.

Plague jumped back and stared at the Floormaster trying to corner Char when he suddenly felt something wrap around his leg. He looked down to see that another Floormaster had grabbed hold of his leg. "H-HOLY VLADEZRÂDI, THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!" Plague screamed in terror, trying to shake the monster off his leg.

"Heh heh heh heh," a menacing voice laughed in the darkness.

Two pinpricks of red light glowed in the darkness right behind Char. "Char, look out! Somethin's behind ya!" Plague warned.

Char whirled around to see a skeletal creature walk into the light, wearing tarnished red armor on its shoulders and legs and brandishing a rust-covered, but still deadly-sharp sword. The skin and muscle had long since rotted to dust, leaving the skull to flash a permanent rictus grin. Two glowing lights shone from its otherwise-empty eye sockets that bore menacingly into the teenage dragon as the Stalfos laughed again.

Finally getting the Floormaster to release his leg, Plague cried out, "L-let's get out of h-h-here, Char!"

Char barely managed to avoid a swipe of the Stalfos's razor-sharp blade and bolted. "Run! Run for your lives!" Char yelled.

"T-the treasure-!"

"FORGET IT!"

The two dragons ran into the main hall…and were greeted by dozens of strange, intimidating monsters whose eyes glowed menacingly in the dark. Giant two-legged beasts with heads like boars, floating ghost-like creatures carrying lanterns, more skeletons, strange wizard-like creatures with fire and ice flickering in their hats, and great armored knights who carried swords big enough to easily chop each dragon in two. All were armed. All were dangerous. And all of them looked mad.

Char and Plague shrieked like little girls and ran for the main entrance, desperate to escape. The horde of monsters chased after them, bellowing war cries and brandishing their weapons. The two dragons tripped over each other several times in their desperation to escape, until finally they managed to escape through the entrance. The minute they felt the cool night air, the two dragons spread their wings and took off, retreating back towards dragon territory with their tails between their legs. Slowly the monsters' roaring and bellowing degenerated into raucous, howling laughter as they laughed at the cowardly dragons they had just ejected from the palace.

Vaati, Twilight, and Princess Celestia shortly entered the grand hall where the group of monsters was gathered. The Wind Mage clapped his hands. "Bravo, gentlemen, bravo!" Vaati congratulated with his usual, slightly condescending drawl. "I don't think they'll be coming back anytime soon. Excellent job, boys."

The monsters hooted and hollered their approval of their master's words, shaking their weapons in the air. The Floormasters reared like horses, indicating their approval as well. After they quieted down, Vaati clapped his hands together and rubbed them together. "Alright then! Now that that's over with, allow me to give you the low-down on the situation here. This here is Princess Celestia, the ruler of the world we are currently in. Yes, we are not currently in Hyrule. And this is Twilight Sparkle, one of the citizens of this world."

One of the nearby Moblins licked its chops. "It looks tasty," it grunted, eliciting a gasp of horror from Twilight.

"Before any of you get any bright ideas, Twilight here is a friend of mine, and I will not tolerate any of you trying to eat her."

"What about the big one, then?" another Moblin immediately spoke up, a nonplussed look crossing Celestia's face at the implications.

"She's off-limits too," Vaati responded. "Furthermore, all of Equestria's citizens are off-limits as well. We are here as guests, not conquerors. So get used to the fact that we aren't going to do any real plundering anytime soon."

The monsters all grumbled in protest but soon capitulated, knowing that arguing with their master was not a wise course of action. With the creatures pacified, Vaati turned to Twilight and Celestia. "I think they got the hint, girls. Now, let's get this lovely place to Ponyville. From there, I can watch over the populace and still be able to interact with them on a regular basis without having to travel long distances each way."

Celestia nodded. "Very well. Just make sure to keep these creatures on a tight leash. I won't tolerate them causing trouble, understand?"

"A crash course in Equestrian culture should set them straight quickly enough," Vaati dismissively said. "Now, stand back. My palace needs my guidance."

Vaati held his arms out and closed his eyes. Suddenly they all felt a slight lurch as the Palace of Winds began moving through the sky.

XXXXXX

When the citizens of Ponyville awoke the next morning, they began to go through their daily routine. Applejack readied the buckets for apple bucking, Rainbow Dash combed her mane before heading out to do weather work, Rarity applied her makeup and got Sweetie Belle ready for school, Pinkie Pie started baking stuff for the bakery, and Fluttershy woke up and prepared to greet Vaati for another day of animal care.

Each one of them soon noticed something looming over the town several thousand feet above them. Floating over the town was a floating castle of impressive size. As more and more ponies noticed the Palace of Winds casting an ominous shadow over Ponyville, they reacted with varying degrees of fear and confusion. Some hid in their homes and barricaded the doors, while others just stood in the streets and stared up at the imposing structure.

Soon, however, something surprising happened. Three figures descended from the looming palace and landed in the center of town, revealing themselves to be none other than Princess Celestia herself, Twilight Sparkle, and the sorcerer, Vaati. Easing up considerably with the presence of their princess, the gathered townsponies bowed. Celestia smiled. "Rise, my little ponies. I have an announcement to make."

They all stood up and listened to Celestia's words. "The building you see above you is an ancient fortress called the Palace of Winds. It does not hail from our world, but from Vaati's. This was his home before he came here, and it is where he shall be living now."

Vaati happened to notice Fluttershy in the crowd and said with a smug grin, "Oh, Fluttershy? Just so you know, I quit. And be sure to tell Angel Bunny that he's rabbit meat next time I see him."

Fluttershy did not protest. The sorcerer then noticed that Twilight looked a little dejected. "What's wrong with you?" he inquired.

"Nothing," Twilight answered. "It's…it's just that…with you moving back into your palace, it'll be just me and Spike again, and I…I kinda enjoyed having you around."

Vaati rolled his eyes. "What? It's not like you can't visit me. Besides, I have my own library."

Twilight's eyes widened in wonder. "Libraryyyy," she cooed happily.

The whole town shared a laugh at Twilight's antics. Unbeknownst to them, up in the palace, various beastly faces looked down upon the ponies, unable to deny the fact that they looked delicious. It was going to take some serious effort on Vaati's part to curb their unsavory appetites.