//------------------------------//
// 10- Black Mail 
// Story: Castle in the clouds 
// by ovineConventionalist 
//------------------------------//

After what had turned out to be a loooooong day out, six ponies collapsed onto chairs and settees in one of Canterlot castles many rooms. A baby dragon was ushered off to bed. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna joined them for tea. It had been settled that Violin Heartstrings should stay the night so he need not travel the few miles back to his own home. The room was bathed in a warm orange light, there were no surfaces save for a small coffee table in the centre of the room which they were all crowded around. Violin couldn’t help but be a little formal around Celestia and Luna at first, but came into his own very quickly, and was now laughing and talking comfortably with the others.
There was a knock at the door, and the blue Pegasus Fluttershy had met earlier that day trotted orderly into the room. Fluttershy hid behind her mane.

“Letters for Princess Cadence and Ms Pinkie Pie.” She announced, setting the tray on the floor seeing as there was no room on the table.
Pinkie recognised the handwriting immediately, and opened the scroll with forced casualness. Her heart bounced around inside her ribcage, the way it always did when Rainbow spoke to her… or looked at her. Pinkie cursed it for not listening to her brain and instead remaining optimistic.

Dear Pinks

She smiled. She always liked the nickname ‘Pinks’. It made her feel special.

I hope youre ok. I just wanted to say I miss you

Yes! Pinkie couldn’t hide her grin, luckily the others were too absorbed in their conversation to ask why.

I cant wait for us to hang out when

BANG! 

Pinkie’s vision was shut off.

****
Shining Armor awoke with a start. He leaped to his hooves and wheeled about.

“Evening, sleepyhead.” Marshal, his friend and fellow soldier greeted him. He looked frail, leaning tiredly on the balcony wall, but his horn glowed consistently as he kept up the magical barrier that Shining had neglected. The same was true of the five other Stallions, and one mare standing around him. Some were swaying where they stood, barely cognizant.

“You should have woke me.” Was Shining’s brusque reply. He shook his mane from his face irritably, attempting to cast his spell while his mind tried to chase the dream he had woken from. Cadence was in trouble. That was all he could remember. But of course he already knew that, and yet the words repeated themselves in his mind, over and over. He grew antsy, he shuffled about, his magic began to flicker.

“Easy there!” Marshal looked at him concernedly. “You should get inside and sleep some more, ya big girl.” 

In the Equestrian army, there is the category of ‘endurance spell casters’ of which Shining Armor is. This particular category is usually taken up by Mares, who aren’t necessarily as strong as their Stallion colleagues, but have much more stamina. ‘Ya big girl’ is a compliment, and the fact that only one mare persevered goes to show how much time, effort and reserves were going into keeping their enemy at bay. 

Shining had been denying his faltering stamina for too long. He had sustained himself for the longest of anypony and couldn’t go on. He hung his aching head and ambled toward the door, where he crashed straight into a lanky Pegasus with a telescope cutie-mark.

“Fellows.” The Pegasus didn’t pause to apologise, he had a small telescope clasped in his wing and a terrified expression on his face. “There has been a development.” He clasped the telescope in his mouth and gave it to Shining. “I want you to look at Canterlot.”

Canterlot. Shining’s face went grey, the telescope dropped to the floor with a dull thud. Marshal retrieved it and looked through. His heart stopped.

Canterlot wasn’t to be seen, it was covered in a plethora of thick, black smoke.

****
Suffocating darkness had swallowed Pinkie whole. Like a whip, it lashed and entwined around her chest restricting her breathing. Was she falling? Or suspended in mid-air? She was certain there was no ground beneath her. She grappled desperately at the cold mist but it was hard, impenetrable and all-consuming. She couldn’t move at all.

She laughed, it was what she always did, but the tightness of the fog made it exhausting. She considered making a joke about somepony having ‘let one off’. Apparently even her sense of humour was impaired by the smoke. She hoped never to catch herself making such an unfunny joke. So she couldn’t laugh. Pinkie began to do something she barely ever did: she started to panic.

Then, very slowly, the smoke appeared to crack. Purple light shone through a jagged line before her. A voice came through, distorted in the density:

“Cadence.”

“What do you want?” Pinkie heard Cadences muffled voice from beside her.

“I gave you fair warning.” Said the voice. It was patronising, silky and scornful. It was the kind of voice used by a father giving their foal a lecture. It felt insulting having a princess be addressed thus. 

“What do you mean?” Cadence called out bravely, though a small shake in her voice betrayed her fear.

“Twilight?” Spikes voice came into focus. “What’s happening? I woke up, and there was all this fog.”
“Spike! Stay where you are.” Twilight was there too. Pinkie wondered about Fluttershy, Rarity and the other princesses, and there was somepony Pinkie’s disorientated mind was forgetting… Heartstrings. She hoped they were all alright.
She noticed little lights popping up near her, the auras of the six unicorns flickered and faded. 

“Oh, this is ridiculous!” She heard Twilight say.

“Let me get that for you.” Said the voice. And the darkness dissipated. Pinkie looked around. Violin Heartstrings had wrapped his hoof around her. Twilight was shivering in the corner near the door. Celestia, Luna and Cadence were huddled together, as were Rarity and Fluttershy. The black envelope that had produced the smoke lay singed at the princess’s hooves. Spike was nowhere to be seen and the previously open door was shut. Pinkie assumed he was locked behind it. Only one more creature was left, and there was only one place he could be. Pinkie turned around.