//------------------------------// // Among the ruins of The Old Fort // Story: Battle For Canterlot // by Coolmrfreeze //------------------------------// Twilight quietly made her way to Luna’s tower and bedroom. As she made her way to the room, she spotted a familiar shadow. Stepping out among the tall hedges, she crept up on the figure that was staring at the moon. “M-M-Miss Luna? ...Is that you?” The shadow winced before turning to Twilight, and her suspicion was confirmed. “Yes…Yes, it is me. What is it, my lovely fellow princess?” Luna looked into Twilight’s eyes with the same fear she had had before she became Nightmare Moon. “A-A-Are you okay, Miss? …I saw that you were researching something in the library; may I ask what it was?” Luna huffed a small smoke ring into the frosty night air. “Well, all it is is some weird rumor going around; nothing much. But will you tell Celestia, she will…” Before Luna could finish speaking, Twilight said, “But something is here that you’re not telling me! I am not a foal, Princess. What is missing, Miss Luna?” Luna looked at Twilight, surprised. The night princess thought to herself, “She interrupted me. She never does that. What should I tell her; the thing that I found?” “Miss Luna, what happened in that library?” She looked at Luna seriously. “Twilight, let me show you.” She grabbed Twilight, and disappeared with her in a small poof. Twilight, being dazed from the teleportation, shook her head and looked down the strange hill that they had landed on. “Oh my...” She sat down on her rump and looked down on the island below her. A fort resided where she stared. Its ancient walls had long since crumbled and fallen in. “Is that…the fortress from the war?” She looked up to Luna, and then back down at the decayed, and crumbling fortress. She observed the burned out walls and battered gates. “Yes, that is the fortress…from the librarian’s story. It was not anything of a fairy tale.” She looked to Twilight, and said softly with an adventurous smile, “Shall we go out and get a closer look?” She walked down the hill as Twilight followed her. Twilight stepped past the burned out gatehouse and walked around it to the outer wall. She then walked behind Luna, her horn emitting light and brightening the darkness. As she looked up towards the actual fortress, she walked across the partially burned bridge, and said, “Luna, is it safe to be walking around here? I kind of feel eyes on me…” Luna looked around the ruins and whispered, “We….are….not….alone...” She looked down to Twilight, lit up the room with her horn, and quietly readied it for use. Twilight whispered back, “How...can you tell, Luna?” Twilight looked up in wonder. Luna responded in a matter-of-factly tone, but still quietly, “In what situation would you have two shadows, Twilight?” Twilight looked down grimly, and confirmed the presence of a second shadow behind her. “Luna, what do I do?” she whispered in fear, shaking softly. “First, relax; it hasn’t noticed us yet, so we just need to not move.” Luna then, in a swift movement, pushed Twilight out of the way as the shadow went to pounce her. She fired a magic bolt of light at it, and it faded. “A scout. That is not good at all.” All of a sudden the ruins buzzed with activity. Buzzing wing flaps resembling those of bees reverberated in the ponies’ ears. “What is going on?!?!?” Twilight screamed over the buzzing, looking up at her friend and Princess of the Night. Luna responded with a troubled voice, “I believe we poked the nest too hard! We should probably get moving!” Luna grabbed her and prepared to port them back. Just before Twilight was sent back away, she caught a glance behind her, and saw for a second a swarm of Changelings leaving the darkness. Behind them stood a pony, if you could call him that. He haunted Twilight’s nightmares for long to come. Sombra, the old king of The Crystal Empire, grimly and sadistically smiled at them. Before she could do anything, they were back in Luna’s room as if nothing had happened. “W-Why did you take me there?” Luna looked down at her sister’s pale student. “Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.” Twilight’s response was darkened and grim. “I might as well have! He was destroyed; how is he back?” Twilight paced, looking unto the floor. “Luna, I saw Sombra among the fortress shadows.” Luna looked down in sheer horror and fear. “No, not him. Please tell me you’re kidding about him!” Twilight shook her head, “I am not joking.” She gave Luna a stern, non-lying look. Luna said unto the small student, “And you’re sure it was him, and not just a trick?” Twilight looked up in persistence. “As sure as the sun is hot.” She looked at Luna with a determined look on her face. “I believe you, Twilight, but that was a mere scouting party, though. More are around Equestria gathering for some sort of meeting, but I do not know where they would gather.” It then hit Twilight like a ton of books. She needed to meet Celestia and tell her about this occurrence. She tries to remember where to find her. “Wait I know where she is; I forgot we have a spa meeting today! I’m sorry about this, Miss Luna, but we can talk later.” She smiled and walked down the stairs into the hall and out onto the first floor of Canterlot Castle. Twilight realized, having looked at a nearby sundial, that it had been an hour since she met up with Luna. “Aww, I’m going to be late!” She ran through the hall frantically after leaving Luna, looking for the spa room that she was supposed to meet the princess in. She finally stopped upon seeing a door marked, “The Royal Spa”, and stepped inside with haste. “Ah, welcome! Twilight, my student, go ahead and settle on in.” Celestia gestured, smiling happily. As Twilight climbed into a hot tub, Celestia stepped away from the massage table she was on to join her. “Sorry I was so late; I had to stop to say hi to Luna.” Twilight had smiled and give her motherly figure a soft hug. “Oh, you’re late? I don’t think there is a time-telling device in here. You can’t be that late, my loyal student. Though, you finished all right with the library, I presume?” Twilight nodded in agreement and smiled to her teacher, settling into her bath. “Teacher, I need to tell you; I went and found Luna for a very important reason. We went to the abandoned fortress I am sorry but you need to hear what we found.” Celestia looked down at her student and smiled. “Twilight I would never get mad at you over that, but you could have at least warned me.” She looked and smiled at her teacher, reassured. “Thank you, Princess. The thing is, Luna and I visited the old fort….” Before she began, Celestia already stopped her and responded with, “You did what, Twilight?!?!?! You should not have went alone there with Luna; there is a massive evil there.” Twilight looked down at the ground in shame. “I am so sorry...I just wanted to help Luna; she seemed so troubled.” She looked up to her teacher. “But what we found there is what concerns me. You see, I thought I saw King Sombra…” Celestia stared down to her, seemingly confused. “What did you just say? I bet you didn’t just say what I think you did.” Twilight looked back up and said, “I could’ve sworn I found Sombra hiding amongst the ruins. I know it was him.” Celestia looked down in anger and stood up out of the water. “I knew it; I am not surprised at this. And I figured it had been too long since he showed his face. Twilight, you should not have gone there.” Luna walked in, obviously listening to their conversation as to know when to walk in. “I know you wanted me to stay behind and not go, but you can’t just push these problems aside! You didn’t see all the Changelings that tried to attack us there!” She stared at Celestia with a determination that Twilight had never seen before. “Sister, you're just as guilty! You should not have taken Twilight to ruins that you could not go to either; she could have been killed by Sombra.” Luna lowered her head in shame for a few seconds. Then, looking back up to her sister, she said in agreement, “I don’t think you’re wrong at all, but I must say, we managed to spot the damage going on there, and, well…...you need to listen to me this once. I know I am the little sister and am not as important, and I know why you ignore me, but I am sorry that I was ever evil to you.” Celestia looked at her sister and said, “No, Luna, I am not mad at you. That wasn’t your fault, and I would never stop loving you for it. And I don’t ignore you; you’re my most loyal pony.” She hugged Luna close to her and said, “I am always listening to you.” Luna smiled, saying, “Then hear me say this. You need to hear me out sister, at least this once.” Celestia smiled back to her sister. “Okay, I am listening. Tell me what you need.” “Dear sister, I don’t want to fight over it, but understand, we have sat by for too long like this, fearing the darkness in faraway lands, that we allowed darkness to hide in the light, to hide in our own lands.” Celestia looked on, unable to speak, and just listened intently to what her sister was telling her. “We need to fix that, and purge this darkness basking in our light; don’t you agree?” She reluctantly nodded in agreement. Something had to be done before Sombra was too strong. She spoke out to her two companions. “I agree. Luna, please ready the legions tomorrow and alert the troops for a full muster. They march off tomorrow and destroy the weed at its roots.” Luna looked up in shock of such a drastic order and said, “To-tomorrow? B-but…” She was cut off by Celestia. “Shhh... just have the troops ready.” As they debated onwards about it, Twilight looked off in fear of her brother, a strong leader, but no general by any means. She remembered how sad he was to hear that Swift Sword had won the promotion, and how he perked up upon finding out that he would be training under Swift later as an apprentice. She could remember the joy in his eyes and his face as he thanked Swift for the apprenticeship. She said, “What about our spa trip, Celestia? Can we at least enjoy it before we go?” Celestia looked at her student, and said, “We can finish this one, but then Luna and I have things to do.” Twilight sat back down in the hot tub, relaxed, and smiled. “Thank you. Then, after this, I can help you in any way you need me, my teacher.” She smiled down at her determined student with that same glimmer in her eyes. Twilight added, “I am happy to work with you, Princess. It has always been a great honor ever since we first met.” “Thank you, Twilight. It means a lot that you say that. It is good that I know you and I would even go as far to call you a daughter, if that means much.” She smiled up at Celestia and hugged her teacher tightly for what seemed like the first time in ages. She did it out of love, but deep in her heart, she felt as though it were also out of fear…..