The dirt felt soft under Riolu's paws as he slowly padded toward the carriage where Celestia sat. Twilight and Spike were following behind him with a much similar approach, but with a different attitude.
"This will be so fun, Riolu," Twilight stated as she galloped next to him, "Going into the Everfree with Princess Celestia. This will surely be an enjoyable experience for you…and me!"
"Wow, you must really like her." Riolu said.
"Of course! She was my teacher! I had to know everything that she taught to me." Twilight smiled.
Riolu looked at Twilight with a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"I can understand that, but…what does that have to do with liking her so much?" Riolu questioned.
"Oh, Riolu," Twilight grinned, "You don't have to have a big reason to love somepony. You just love them the way they are. Celestia has helped me become the pony I am today. Doesn't that deserve a bit of love and respect for her?"
"I guess so." Riolu replied softly.
"Perfect, now let's hurry along." Twilight said eagerly as the three of them approached Celestia's carriage.
"Is everything alright?" Celestia said politely as Riolu and the others sat behind Celestia.
"It's a little bit cramped." Riolu said as he was squeezed in between Twilight and Spike.
"Don't worry, Riolu. It'll be alright. Besides, the trip there will be very short." Spike comforted.
"I hope so." Riolu mumbled.
"No need to have worry. The royal guards are swift and agile. They have always reached the destination in good timing. Now, let us travel to the Everfree." Celestia spoke confidently.
Suddenly, Celestia's carriage was lifted into the air as the four white Pegasi flapped their wings with great gusto.
"Riolu, have you ever flown before?" Spike questioned as Riolu felt the carriage fly away from the ground.
"Once, though I don't remember being in a carriage." Riolu replied with a hint of anxiety.
"No need to worry, Riolu. It starts to grow on you when you are flying high in the air so many times." Twilight said calmly.
"Thank you, Twilight," Riolu replied, "I guess."
"Alright, everypony," Celestia spoke up, "We are crossing over into the Everfree. The guards are telling me that they have spotted a clearing up ahead. We're going to land there."
"Whoa, wait. We're already crossing over?" Riolu questioned.
"When she says they're fast, they're fast." Spike whispered to him.
Suddenly, the carriage had started to slow down, it's altitude was beginning to decrease. Riolu tried to look to see where they were landing, but the body of Celestia in front of him had seemed to of blocked his vision of it.
"Well, I certainly haven't been here in a while." Celestia said with a hint of uneasiness.
Curiosity biting him, Riolu nudged his way past Spike to get out of the carriage to catch a view of what Celestia had commented on. Once he got out of the carriage and onto the ground, he stared in uneasiness as well at what he saw: It was the castle.
"Hey, I know this place," Spike spoke as he jumped out of the chariot, "This place is really fun to go to. Sure, it has a few oddities, but it's way better than tangling with any of those forest creatures."
"You know this place?" Riolu questioned nervously.
"Well of course we do, Riolu," Twilight grinned as she placed her hooves on solid ground, "This was Celestia and Luna's old castle. It's also the place where Celestia banished Luna to the mo…"
Twilight looked over to where Celestia stood and stared at her uneasy face, a shade of red had started to glow around Twilight's cheeks.
"You know what? I think we should just go and check the place out." Twilight suggested.
"Excellent decision, Twilight." Celestia praised as she climbed out of her chariot.
"Wait, you mean…we're going in there?" Riolu asked.
"I don't see why not. It wouldn't hurt to try," Spike replied, "Besides, we didn't have to go across that old rope bridge behind us."
Riolu turned his head around and looked back to see the old rope bridge. Spike was right. It was a good thing that they didn't need to cross that bridge. So, with a calm perambulation, Riolu padded alongside with the others to the humongous doors of the castle.
"Believe me, Riolu. You will be fascinated by a lot of things in here," Twilight grinned as they padded up the stairs, "There are old tapestries, legendary books, secret hallways, and much more!"
"I believe you." Riolu whispered nervously as they finally reached the door.
Suddenly, the doors to the castle had starting glowing a bright yellow as Celestia opened them with her magic. Riolu gulped down a knot in his throat as he looked up and down at the interior of the castle, avoiding eye contact with the front of the room.
"Well, it certainly is…a refreshing atmosphere in this place," Riolu chuckled, "but we really should be goi…"
"What is that thing?" Spike interrupted as he pointed his claw to the very middle of the room.
Riolu reluctantly gazed at where Spike's outward claw gestured and cringed as he laid his eyes on a statuette that stood in between two chairs.
"I don't remember putting it there!" Riolu screamed in his mind.
"It looks like a statue of some sort. A statuette to be exact." Twilight replied as they walked closer toward the object.
"Can we please turn back?" Riolu whispered to himself as they were now just a few feet away from the miniature statue.
"Strange, it seems that there are two Alicorns on this artifact," Twilight analyzed as they finally reached the stone relic, "Celestia, you don't think that this might be…you and your sister?"
Riolu quietly slapped his paw into his face at hearing this.
"Now I know where I've seen this from before." Riolu whispered softly.
"It's a possibility that it could be," Celestia stated as she stared at the artifact in deep concentration, "Though the stone crafted to make this is not found around here. One might say that this could be…other worldly."
"Really?," Twilight questioned, "Well, if that's the case, then maybe we could do something with it? Perhaps I could study it for you!?"
"That would be an extraordinary thing for you to do for me, Twilight. I would highly appreciate that." Celestia smiled.
"What?!!" Riolu shouted out loud.
A long silence had followed as Twilight, Spike, and Celestia stared at Riolu with confusion in their eyes.
"What do you mean, Riolu?" Spike questioned.
Sweat had started to form at the base of Riolu's head as he thought of what he was going to say next.
"Uh…you know, what as in what will we do next? " Riolu lied with anxiousness in his gaze.
"Ah, I get it. Well, I guess we will be going now. There's really nothing else out of the ordinary to inspect. Sound good, Riolu?" Twilight replied.
"Sounds good to me!" Riolu smiled with nervous sweat pouring down his face.
"Perfect! Come on, Spike." Twilight smiled as she and Celestia started galloping toward the doors.
"Will we be taking Celestia's chariot back home?" Spike shouted from behind her.
"Of course!" Twilight replied quickly.
"Awesome! Come on, Riolu." Spike spoke in elation.
"Coming." Riolu gulped as he started padding behind Spike.
Riolu looked over the body of Spike as he was walking and gazed at the statuette that was now being held by Twilight's magic. He caught a glimpse of the eyes and noticed that they were sealed shut, but it was as if for a split second of the glimpse he had caught, it had blinked at him.
"I hate that thing." Riolu sighed.