After a long, silent train ride, we finally got to Canterlot. I had been reading from the book more and learned that if we know what we are looking for, then we will know what the hidden passage was. I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll find out soon enough. I looked up to see that we were pulling into the Canterlot train station. I adjusted my satchel and got off with Crystal.
“Now what do we do?” Crystal immediately asked.
“Just look for a ‘hidden passage’ according to the book.” I responded and started looking. We slowly walked around Canterlot, looking around in amazement at everything. We looked like tourists. Which, in a way, we were. The only difference was that we weren't on vacation. Eventually I saw something behind a large building, “Crystal, look!” I galloped down the side of the building, Crystal dashing after me. I abruptly turned left and Crystal stumbled before realizing where I had went. “It’s right there! No wonder nopony noticed it unless they were looking for it.”
Crystal looked around, confused, “I still don’t see what you’re talking about.” I sighed. Of course she didn't; we were in a dark alley behind some buildings, the never-ending sunlight barely visible in the shadows of the tall buildings. The last place I expected the passage to be was back here.
"Think about what the book said. ‘A hidden passage that that has never been mentioned’. Think, Crystal.” I knew she would eventually get it.
“The sewers? Are you serious, Star? I am not travelling through the sewers. Equestria can deal with it.” Crystal turned around and started walking away. She was right, but wrong.
“Wait!” I cried. She circled back around to face me. “We aren't doing that. I read the entire chapter on the train ride and it says once you find the passage, you should say five words. Come here, Crystal.” I was scared of what would happen when I said the five words, I didn't want to find out alone. I looked into Crystal’s eyes and whispered the five words, “I want to see you.”
Falling. I was falling. I couldn't see anything, only Crystal’s frightened eyes. Darkness surrounded the two of us and I could see Crystal wanting to go home, but at the same time I could tell she didn't want to leave me. We were falling through nothing, into nothing. The wind was whipping my mane above my head and neck. I heard somepony screaming and realized that it was Crystal. She was probably more terrified than I was.
I struggled to find my voice, to reassure her that it’ll be okay. Nothing came. I couldn’t even open my mouth to let her know that I was trying to say something. If Crystal could see my eyes instead of focusing on the dark abyss below, it would probably show terror, just like hers. I didn't know how long this would last, or if it had an end.
Crystal kept screaming. The sound echoed through the nothingness. Abruptly, I slammed into the ground, Crystal crashing in front of me. I immediately hopped up and looked around. We were in a dark room with a single light in the middle of it. A soft voice came from the shadowy corner of the room, "You wanted to see me, yes?"
"I've made a huge mistake and I want to fix it." I replied bravely, hoping the voice couldn't hear my hidden fear. Crystal looked completely frightened, cowering next to me.
"Ah, you must be the pony who took everything from Equestria. Shame, shame. But, you came to the right place. I can help. You've already solved the riddle-it was finding the hidden passage."
A hooded figure emerged from the shadows and Crystal let out a high-pitched squeal that sounded like "Eep" but I tried to remain calm. I couldn't see anything about the pony, the cloak covered his entire body. "The book said something about-"
"Hmm." He interrupted me, "You must be a unicorn. And the name..." I almost answered him, but I realized it wasn't a question. He answered himself, "Starry Inkwell? Yes, that's it. You're a writer! Oh, I've always wanted to meet a writer!"
I was tired of this. Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "That's very nice. The book said that I needed to pick the correct fruit off of a tree."
The hooded figure laughed, "There is no such tree here. The tree..." The light clicked off and strong winds started blowing. I had to force myself to stay upright. Slowly, the wind started to fade. When it was officially gone, another light clicked on and there was a large tree next to the stallion. "The tree is here, of course! Your next question might be 'how do you keep doing this if I stole the magic from Equestria?' Well-"
"-I did NOT steal anything! It was an accident!" I stomped my hoof on the ground. "Which fruit is the right one?" I shouted at him. It was probably hard to take me seriously with my mess of a mane, but I was done with his distractions. I actually wanted Equestria to be back to normal.
"Fine, but I'll answer my question first. I'm not in a part of Equestria. I was deep underground at the time-and still am. Since I was so deep, the spell didn't reach me. And it's a good thing, too, or you would be stuck forever." He said, taking his hood off. His dark coat was illuminated by the light green magic glowing from his horn. His eyes were glaring at me. I saw them for one second before his magic disappeared and he tossed his hood back onto his face. "Celestia doesn't know I exist, so neither does Equestria. And if Equestria doesn't know I exist, it makes it even harder for a spell to find me. I’m Midnight Ace."
"That's nice. Now, which one's the right fruit?" I questioned him.
Before answering, he thought. "That depends on how you found out the answer to the riddle."
What did he say the riddle was? Finding the passage. How did I do that? "It was easy. I just had to think about it. Nopony talks about the sewers, and they are hidden very well in Canterlot. So there. Now, which fruit-”
“Not yet, Star. How did Crystal Night find the passage?”
Crystal jumped at the mention of her name, “I followed Star.”
Midnight Ace nodded before surrounding us in darkness again. It didn't last long, and there was no wind this time. But when there was light again, the tree was dotted with peaches. “The right fruit is the one that you really want.”
“I don’t like peaches that much.” Crystal muttered.
“Now you have to pick one!” Midnight clapped his hooves together excitedly, “The first pony to respond has to pick the fruit. And if you pick the wrong one, you’ll be stuck here forever.” The room lit up, blinding me as Midnight Ace shouted "Gather around folks! The show has just begun!" he slammed his hoof down onto a green button as rows of pony skeletons came out of the wall in rows of chairs. Suddenly, the ground beneath our hooves rushed towards Midnight and the tree. Gates went up around the three of us, trapping us in. The skeletons were creeping me out. Why did he have so many? He laughed maniacally.
Crystal’s face showed more terror than it had when we were falling. “Just pick the one that you want, Crystal. Walk around the tree and pick the one that you want most.” Crystal nervously walked forward and slowly started circling the tree. She stopped suddenly. She grabbed a peach between her hooves and yanked it off the tree.
Midnight nodded, “I have no way to tell which peach you really want, so I’ll trust you on that decision. Goodbye now.” The light flickered for a few moments before we were, once again, plunged into darkness. This time, though, we were floating upwards.
I still didn't completely understand why the spell didn't reach him. I decided not to question it, and just be happy that it didn't. Maybe it was only ponies that were above the ground that were affected by the spell. Then I realized: I now knew two things Celestia didn't. I knew who cast the spell, and I knew about Midnight Ace. It was strange, because I knew more, and less, than the princess. Celestia knew a lot more about magic than I did, but I knew more about what was going on. I wondered if I would ever tell anypony that I cast the spell, and that I fixed it. Maybe one day everypony’s magic would come back and other ponies would be able to fly, as if nothing ever happened. Only Crystal and I would know what had happened, and how long it took.
We were still standing behind the building where we had been. “That was easier than I thought. It hasn't even been one day, and we had already found one item.”
“Can we stay in Canterlot for a while? If the spell gets fixed too quickly after we go on ‘vacation’ people might get suspicious. We should actually act like we’re on a little trip together.” Crystal asked. I nodded; she did have a good point. After Crystal put the peach in my satchel, we trotted back towards the streets of Canterlot. “We should check into a hotel for two days. Then we can go to... where are we going next?” Crystal asked as she looked at every store or restaurant we passed, searching for a hotel.
“Um, I think it was Appleloosa. We should stay for a little while and look around some places. I've only been to Canterlot once before. It’s really exciting, Crystal.” I told her. “Have you ever been to Canterlot?”
“No,” Crystal said, still looking around, “and I didn't like my first impression.” She was probably referring to Midnight Ace. “But Canterlot is really great! Look-it’s Celestia’s castle!”
I laughed, “Crystal, you can see that from everywhere in Canterlot.” Crystal kept pointing out everything to me. Most of it was still the same from when I visited a few years ago. I had some family in Canterlot. For a moment I was tempted to spend the next two days with them, but my mom had to believe that I was actually trying to learn to be independent or she would question me.
Crystal stopped walking in the middle of the path, “What time is it?” I searched for a clock. When I found one, I saw that it was actually late. Crystal apparently also saw the clock, “I guess we’ll have to look around more tomorrow. We still haven’t found a hotel, though.”
“Since it’s late and it’s our first day, I’ll ask my aunt where we should go for a good hotel.” I suggested and started heading towards their house.
“You have family in Canterlot!?” Crystal seemed more excited than curious. I nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm. “You never told me this! What are they like?”
“They’re like family, Crystal. I've only visited here once, they usually come down to Ponyville for a day and visit.” I told her as I lead the way to their house. “I don’t see them a lot, though. They haven’t visited in a while. They’re probably not expecting us.” I said as I started walking up the path that led to their house. I knocked on the door and waited.
Inside, I could hear somepony telling another pony, “Go get the door.” “I can’t!” “Well I can’t!” “You’re going to have to!” “No!” “Did you invite anypony?” “No, now go get the door.” “I told you, I’m busy!” “Fine!” The same two ponies were arguing. I recognized my aunt and uncle’s voices. I knew that my aunt would be answering the door in a second.
Eventually somepony walked up to the door and opened it. I was right. My aunt, Morning Snow, did answer the door. Her hair was up, and she looked like she was getting ready for a fancy occasion. “Well, if it isn't Starry Inkwell! What brings you here? Where are your parents?”
“Hi, Snow. I’ve decided that I’m going to travel around Equestria. This is my friend, Crystal. I’m learning how to live without help from my parents. Where’s Uncle Gust?”
“He’s getting ready. Do you want to come?” Snow asked me.
“Where?” I asked.
Snow opened the door wide, letting us come in. “There’s a party at the castle tonight. It’s for the hope that we will get our flying back. And you’ll get your magic.” Snow and Gust, my uncle, were pegasus ponies.
“Who was it?” A tall, brown stallion walked out of a room. “Star! Long time no see! How have you been?”
“Good. The no-magic and no-flying situation is pretty bad, though. But it’s actually kind of interesting to try to live without magic.” I answered. “I would love to come to the party, but I have nothing to wear. Crystal and I didn't plan on going to any parties while we were here.”
Snow waved her hoof, dismissing the problem, “Don’t worry about that, we’ll make you both dresses.” I smiled my thanks and followed Gust into their living room. My aunt dug around in a closet for some fabric to make our dresses.
“Crystal, this is my uncle, Gusty Fog, and my aunt, Morning Snow. Snow, Gust, this is Crystal Night, my friend.” I introduced everypony to each other. “It’s really nice of you to make us outfits, Snow.”
She lifted her head out of a bucket, a bright blue fabric gripped between her hooves, “Oh, no worries!” She walked over to me and draped the fabric across my back. She looked at me for a few moments before taking the fabric again and leaving the room.
“How have you been, Gust?” I asked.
He was trying to put a purple tie on, “It’s been good in Canterlot. How has Ponyville been?”
Crystal answered, “It's been great! This is my first time in Canterlot, I’m so excited! I’m going to a party at the castle! I can’t believe it. What’s it called?”
“The Dance for Hope.” Gust answered, completing his tie.
Snow came came back in, but she didn’t have my dress. “Now for Crystal’s dress.” She started searching in the closet for more fabric. She pulled out a dark purple piece, then set it back in. “This should do it!” She grabbed a light pink piece and went into the same room she had took my fabric to.
After a few minutes, she came back out with two beautiful dresses. Mine was long and had small purple stars at the bottom, Crystal’s was pink with bright yellow hearts at the bottom. “Those are beautiful!” I smiled happily, “Thank you so much, Snow.”
“Thank you!” Crystal said. I took mine from her and put it on. Crystal put hers on. Mine fit perfectly, and Crystal looked beautiful, and she told me, “Star, you look wonderful. I’m ready for the Dance for Hope!” Crystal was extremely excited, I was sure she was just going to explode with happiness.
As Snow put her dress on, I checked the book to see if I was right about Appleloosa being the next place. I wasn't. We needed one more thing in Canterlot, and it was a lucky thing that we were going to the Dance for Hope.