//------------------------------// // Castle Mane-ia // Story: As the Sands Start to Fall (Updated) // by Hikarikurai24587 //------------------------------// Chapter Eight: Castle Mane-ia The sun was just rising over Equestria as a black mist flew through the air. It headed to the mountains close to the Crystal Empire. It seemed to search the stone face until it found a horn embedded in the rock. Wrapping around it the black mist pulled it out before sinking into the red horn causing it to glow. It hovered in the air before a shape burst forth from it. Dark grey hooves touched the ground as red eyes opened. “I was close… so close to taking the Heart!” Sombra growled his red eyes glancing around at the mountain. He spotted a cave in the face, his form turned into mist before reforming inside. He glanced around at the thick ice lining the walls. “This will do, for now. I will take my time, recollect my power and strike.” he hissed looking at his reflection. “How have I returned?” He lifted a hoof and touched his chest feeling a familiar magic. “This….” a chilling grin grew across Sombra’s face when he realized what was happening. “She has returned. This is excellent, I shall take back my magic from her and I will have enough power to claim my rightful Empire.” “Sombra.” Sombra saw six glowing red eyes appear in his reflection. “I have not forgotten my promise. You will be released,” Sombra stated before moving deeper into the cave. “For now I require my full strength if I am to face both your enemies and mine.” Sombra knew he was only stalling, Abyssia’s hold over him was too strong that he couldn’t deny her will for long. If only he could break this connection between her and the Corrupted. Then he would be free to do whatever he wished. Aqua Star yawned as she opened her eyes, a familiar black unicorn was standing in front of her. Aqua Star merely tried to search for her pillow. “Not going to work, pony, I have taken all of your pillows,” Chitin laughed and Aqua Star booped his nose with her hoof causing him to fall backwards. “What was that for?! Are you even awake?” “Not nearly enough for this,” Aqua Star yawned before rolling over. “I have not slept in a bed for so long. Just five more minutes.” “Fine,” huffed Chitin before walking out of the room and down the stairs. “Don’t blame me if the store is in shambles when you wake up.” He walked downstairs grumbling as he levitated a broom to him. “What is with her? Yesterday she was so solem and stoic. Now, it’s like she just doesn’t care. Ugh, I’m hungry. Why couldn’t she have just chosen a house first and then the antique shop?” There was a knocking on the door causing Chitin to stare at it before walking over and opening it. There stood Rarity and Fluttershy both looking equally surprised to see him standing there. “Oh! Chitin… was it? I thought Aqua Star would be up by now,” Rarity said, earning an eye roll from Chitin. “May I ask if she’s up?” “Still asleep, something about not having slept in a bed for a long time,” Chitin replied before stepping aside to let them in. “I’ll try to wake her up. Oh, call me Comet while we’re in civilized company. It’s an alias, I don’t want to get caught.” “Then you should really do something about that attitude of yours, young colt,” Rarity told him, earning another eye roll. “Honestly I don’t even have this much to deal with when Sweetie Belle visits.” Chitin just stared at her before stepping to the side and both walked in. He shut the door before walking back to the stairs. “I’ll get her up. Wait here.” Rarity watched as the Changeling walked up the stairs. There was the sound of running and then a slamming sound. There was the muffled noise of talking before the sound of somepony walking to the stairs. They glanced at each other before looking back at the stairs again as Aqua Star walked down with Chitin on her back. “Apologies, I was not aware that we had guests. I hope you were not waiting for too long,” Aqua Star spoke and Rarity smiled. “Oh no, not long at all. We were just wondering if you and Chitin would join us for breakfast.” “We would love to.” “Already ate.” Fluttershy glanced between the two as Aqua Star gave Chitin a stern as he said. “Hey, I don’t like Equestrian food.” “You are going to have to get used to eating it if you don’t want to get caught,” Aqua Star informed him, earning a pout. “Come now, it will not be that bad.” “You tell me this now,” grumbled Chitin before heading out the door with the ponies. His ears flickered as he heard a strange static sound before it was silenced when the door was fully shut. Aqua Star didn’t realize how awkward eating with a Changeling would be as both Fluttershy and Rarity sat in an uncomfortable silence. One that Aqua Star was determined to break. “Tell me Rarity or Fluttershy, does Ponyville have any ruins close by?” “Oh, there are plenty inside the Everfree Forest. The most notable one is known as the Castle of the Two Sisters. It is where Luna and Celestia resided before the construction of Canterlot,” Rarity started before munching on her food. Aqua Star thanked the waiter politely before digging in as well. Rarity glanced over while taking a sip of tea before noticing the stallion from the day before. He was poking at his food as an Earth Pony walked over. He smiled at her and she smiled back taking a seat in front of them. “Is something wrong, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked quietly and Rarity glanced over to the shy pony saying. “That stallion, do you recognize him at all?” “No, but I don’t know everypony,” muttered Fluttershy almost as a reminder of what she was like. Aqua Star observed them carefully pointing out. “He is a warrior, perhaps a visitor.” Rarity glanced at the two again before spotting what Aqua Star did. The stallion’s right forehoof was missing, replaced by a prosthetic. Another pony approached, a unicorn stallion, and seemed to greet them. Looking away Rarity tried to focus on a conversation that Aqua Star started about the Castle of the Two Sisters. “Do you know how old the castle is?”  “He seems upset about something.” “Not really, we believe that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have lived there for quite a while though.” “If it is her, something must have happened for her to forget everything. There has to be a way to get her to remember.” “It should not be a problem if I take a look around, correct?” “He’s planning something, I can sense it. Knowing him, he’s about to do something stupid.” “I don’t recognize those ponies… I should go say hello! No Pinkie, you promised to help Applejack and Rainbow Dash to keep score for their ‘Most Daring Pony’ competition. Awww why can’t I just clone myself again?” “Ugh, how do ponies even eat this stuff?” “Oh, there’s Fluttershy, I should go say hello… I shouldn’t interrupt their conversation.” “Is she alright?” “I can sense someone listening in.” “Is that her?” “I hope my other half explained their gifts properly. I miss being whole.” “I can sense her.” White eyes surrounded by ashen skin snapped open. “Rarity!” Fluttesrhy’s voice snapped Rarity from her thoughts before she blinked and looked at the others. Concern was written on most of their faces, Chitin was the only who differed with a blank expression. “Are you alright?” inquired Aqua Star moving up next to Rarity. “I can go find a healer.” “No, I’m quite alright… I think I just experienced part of the “Gift” that Harmonia gave me. I just need to get it under control.” Rarity replied before taking a sip of her tea. “Fluttershy, have… Fluttershy?” Rarity looked around for her friend and Fluttershy called out softly. “I’m here, I think in my panic I warped everyponies’ perception causing me to be hidden.” Rarity shook her head, uttering under her breath. “This is ridiculous. I need to work and this will cause unnecessary distractions. Perhaps a walk will do me some good.” Rarity stood up from her spot and set a few bits down on the table saying. “It’s on me.” “Thank you,” Aqua Star said with a nod of her head before looking at Fluttershy. “Are all of you going to be alright?” “I think so, I think we just need to learn how to get them under control,” answered Fluttershy before looking at Aqua Star. “So, are you going to explore the castle ruins?” “Well of course. It seems fascinating,” Aqua Star told Fluttershy as she finished up her meal. “That was delicious, thank you and can you thank Rarity for me. Perhaps I will come later and give each of you a copy of Harmonia’s description of your gifts if that would help.” “I think it would, thank you,” Fluttershy replied as Aqua Star climbed to her hooves glancing at Chitin. “Finish,” she ordered and the Changeling glared at her before gulping down the rest of his meal quickly. Nodding her head, Aqua Star moved away with him following. “They really are interesting,” Fluttershy mused as she sipped her tea, ponies whispered around her and she began to feel nervous. What she didn’t notice was a stranger wearing armor was behind her. The stranger glanced in her direction, walked over, and picked up a small strange creature placing it on his back before walking away. Once she was done Fluttershy decided to go see how Rarity was doing, after visiting the hospital for a balm for her aching wings. This wasn’t because of the stares. ‘Not at all… maybe.’ Fluttershy thought. Aqua Star walked back into her store and glanced around before picking up her saddle bag. Chitin looked around the shop asking. “Is it alright to just leave it like this?” “I will have to find something else to sell other than antiques and books. Perhaps visiting the Castle of the Two Sisters will give me an idea,” answered Aqua Star as she made sure she had what she needed. “Also I am going to need to practice basic magic, I can not have you cleaning the store all the time.” “Good, because I’m not going to be around here all the time,” Chitin replied as he got himself comfortable. “Have fun.” Aqua Star was about to say something but chose to pat Chitin on the head saying. “Suit yourself, just remember, I have gotten rid of all the Love Poison bottles.” “Great,” mumbled Chitin before grabbing a book from the shelf and decided to keep himself entertained. Aqua Star smiled at him before leaving, making sure to shut the door behind her. His ears flickered as that strange static noise started again. This time followed by some music. He leaned back and closed his eyes listening to it not really curious enough at this point to investigate. The trip through the Everfree Forest had Aqua Star on guard. She had nearly run into cockatrice and almost into a patch of blue flowers. Thankfully a pony called Zecora had pointed her in the right direction. ‘It is interesting that she spoke in riddles and the fact that she has stripes.’ mused Aqua Star as she spotted the ruins across a bridge. Walking across she smiled happily to see that they were mostly intact. “Time to see what secrets you have,” she spoke out loud, she reached back with her front hooves and pulled her mane into a ponytail. She had seen the style when she went out with Rarity and Fluttershy deciding to give it a try. Once it was set Aqua Star ventured into the ruins marveling at the tapestries and the grand hallway. “This place is amazing,” she breathed as she walked down one of the halls making sure to examine everything carefully. She could tell that the gift granted to her was working, she could almost feel the pages being filled. That was when she spotted a shadow moving from the corner of her eye. Her head turned, seeing familiar red eyes and green sclera. “You!” she breathed before chasing it through the doorway and down stairs. She looked around wildly before spotting a blurry pony moving down another hall. Aqua Star slowed down before following cautiously noticing the further down they went the older the structure was. Like it had been rebuilt time and time again, drawings upon the wall became nothing more than charcoal lines. Aqua Star stopped to observe, noticing some were of wolves with what seemed to be constellations drawn into them as well. “This means something,” she whispered before noticing arcane lines just past them. She moved ahead before finding herself in a large study with books flying around. “An Arcane Study!” she breathed as she walked in looking around and taking in the sight. “There must be thousands of references and arcane tomes in here. This has to be close to the ancient library or at least made by one of the ancient dragons!” Aqua Star let out a bit of a squeal because clearing her throat and taking one of the books off the shelf. She smiled as she blew away the dust settling down. Her eyes scanned the page before her brows furrowed in confusion. “I have asked for this study to be made in secret, here in the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, long since abandoned since the rise of Nightmare Moon. Celestia has left to help build a new capital ever since the fall of Archon; they have decided to name it after the first city of Equestria. Canterlot, yet this does not concern me. Instead I have decided to look into the fall of Princess Luna and the cause. Both of the Princesses are highly magical in nature more so than what has been told about ancient Alicorns. The beings that had long been in debate ever since the appearance of the two princesses. I believe that the Princesses themselves are not just Alicorns but something beyond it as well. Interesting….” Aqua Star read aloud sitting down before continuing to read the pages in silence. ‘The legends of the Ancient Alicorns were known to hold great power. Yet even their abilities of painting the skies and raising the sun were shared amongst the clans according to legends. Yet Princess Celestia and Princess Luna show no sign of fatigue. In fact they seem to embody both the day and night except in personality. At first Luna can seem to be very cautious, hiding within the shadows to watch her sister. Yet she also has energy and passion. Celestia at a glance seems to hold the energy of the day, yet I can see that she has begun to mellow and become gentle. Perhaps this is nothing, yet this could have explained why Luna fell. First I want to look at their connections to the mysterious plane I had travelled to in my youth.  The place I saw had no time, it could have at one point and it must have been a beautiful world. Now grey and strange, not lifeless something was just missing. Yet it seemed to come to life when exposed to the bit of Celestia’s magic that I contained for study, not that she will ever need to know that. Anyways I do not know what to call that plane… the other that I had found in my exploration for magic was a sort of World Between Worlds. All points of time existing at once, people can peer into it but not understand what they see. I can barely understand it myself, yet as I stared into one of the portals through time I found myself being watched by a strange creature. A shaman of sorts, pale like the dead, but the eyes holding many secrets. They beckoned to me and a fear crawled up my spine so I ran back the way I came….’ Aqua Star paused as she noticed the sentence stopped there and flipped through the pages finding nothing except for a strange script that even she could not read. “Oh well, oh this is the book I should have read first. Basic magic for fillies. Don’t know why I didn’t read that one in the first place.” Aqua Star got comfortable and began to read, making sure to take notes. At the back of her mind something gnawed, there was something familiar about the strange script and the writing style. It was about noon when other ponies approached the Castle of the Two Sisters. Rarity and Fluttershy were looking for tapestries for inspiration. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looking for a challenge. Twilight and Spike were looking for information about the mysterious box that the Tree of Harmony had produced. Aqua Star was surrounded by stacks of books not having been aware of the passage of time. Most of them were on general knowledge and theory of magic. ‘Truly fitting for an Arcane Study.’ Her thoughts were interrupted by shouting above her causing her to climb to her hooves. She looked at the books watching them float back to the shelf. She wanted to take one but something told her they were probably enchanted. Frowning, she tapped one of the journals she had been reading watching it lift up and fly back to the shelf. She couldn’t tell if it was a continuation of what she had read previously. Though she did use the theory of magic book to see if it could tell her more about the spell used to tap deeper into the magic of the Cores or not. Sighing, she walked out of the study and found her way back to the main hall of the castle. Though she had exited near the stairs when she was sure she was closer to the entrance. That was where she saw terrified ponies running around. A small pebble dropped onto her head and she looked up seeing Spike peering over the railing just as Twilight shouted. “Alright, everypony, stop!” The magic she produced froze everyone in their state as they soon realized that there were more ponies there than just them. “When did you all get here?” Aqua Star asked, staring at all the ponies and Spike grumbled. “Oh about a half hour ago. Have you been here all morning?” “I came here after breakfast,” answered Aqua Star shrugging her shoulders as Twilight and her friends chatted for a bit. Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of a mysterious instrument playing. Twilight decided to show the others the source of all the chaos and Aqua Star decided to follow keeping close to the group. Even though Twilight seemed confident, she didn’t trust what she had seen before. Looking behind her she tensed seeing Sombra standing there watching them before vanishing into the shadows. ‘Should I tell them? Or is this just paranoia?’ The pony who was playing the organ turned out to be Pinkie Pie. The sun was setting upon the forest as Zecora walked to her home basket full of herbs she had found that day. Her ear twitched as she heard a faint noise and she turned her head. “Hello? Is someone there? It would not do you well to give me a scare.” “Hello? Is someone there? It would not do you well to give me a scare.” Zecora’s eyes widened as she came upon a field of glowing blue flowers. One flower per long single stalk. “My eyes, they must deceive. For this cannot be. Legends long past tell of a flower that bloomed, yet it only grew in the dark and gloom. No more did this flower grow, except in caves where it did flower. It would repeat what it spoke. From dreams to funny jokes. The cave collapsed before I could pick, lucky to escape I was from the voices dirty trick. Only once did I see this before, what disaster is in store?” “Just you wait, Zebra.” Zecora,’s ears flattened. She grabbed a container, picked the flower quickly and sealed it. She didn’t speak as she rushed to her home.