//------------------------------// // Specializations // Story: Through the Nether // by StormDancer //------------------------------// Finding Silent Sentinel had been remarkably easy. Despite Duty's early dismissal, the stallion had been remarkably well organized; something that Princess Twilight Sparkle had found refreshing - well, would have found refreshing if it had been under different circumstances. As it was, Sentinel had been 'resting comfortably' in one of the 'guest quarters' which the Guard occasionally found useful in detaining hostile dignitaries. In other words - the dungeons. Twilight and Princess Celestia had chosen not to announce themselves, to see how Duty had had the younger Guard treated, and had walked in with absolutely no resistance. The unicorn stallion who opened the dungeons up for them had bowed politely and instantly resumed his post. Three other such guards did likewise as the two princesses continued their unannounced tour of the lesser known corridors of Canterlot Castle. Finally coming to a heavily runed door, a dark brown earthpony stallion assessed his royals before nodding with a bit of difficulty and pulling himself up and moving to open the thick door for them. To Celestia's trained eye, while the dungeon hadn't seen its intended use in centuries, the maintenance crew had apparently continued with their tasks. She smiled at the small vase with fresh flowers on the aged dungeon master's desk. It was as heartening an experience as she could have hoped for in such a detestable place. After a moment of effort to tug the heavy door open, the dungeon master stepped back to allow his princesses entry. Beyond was a narrow hallway lined with the well kept ribs of Blackstone steel that gave the entire passage a strangely organic feel. Where the normally white walls of the castle would have been, instead there was the polished gray of magically infused stone. Where the pillars and columns of the great halls and vaulted ceilings would be, instead there was the waxy sheen of the magically absorbent Blackstone steel. The place, despite its clean and bright appearance, exuded a sense of an almost living indifference. It was a feeling Celestia had never enjoyed but had grown accustomed to over the centuries. A 'necessary evil' as her counselors and advisers called it. She would rather have just been done with it and locked the entire system away, sealed up the doors and made a new garden shed in front of the 'repair work' to the wall that would inevitably cover the doorways. As it was, there seemed to never be enough greedy or pompous individuals intent on overthrowing her 'tyrannical elitist ways'.... or whatever they called it when they showed up demanding land, money, tribute, or surrender every few decades. It was almost entertaining to watch their faces as they would come to realize that the 'religious zealots' with their 'childish superstitious beliefs' might not be wrong after all.... usually about and hour or two into dinner when the sun hadn't set. But all the same, despite her playing along, despite her best efforts to assure her guests that she really did just want peace and harmony between all their peoples, despite all the good will and kind words she had offered over the years, there were still a few who would lash out at her little ponies... and when they did, these guest suites were occasionally used to ensure their safety before a proper escort could be obtained to return them safely to their own lands. They hadn't been used in centuries... but that didn't mean there hadn't been uses found for them. -~oOo~- Duty snorted in frustration. He'd done his job. He'd organized the Guard. He'd set the search protocol. He'd met with the officers in charge and collected all the information regarding the infiltrator, and that was what it was, no matter what that imbecilic fool in holding said. Monsters? In the Castle? Absurd. The only monsters that had managed to make it into the castle proper in the last hundred years had been that changeling filth and Discord. He could understand the changelings getting in... their very nature twisted perceptions and played upon the expectations of those who relied upon habit and duty. The Guard, for all their talent, had very little in the way of real challenge to keep them on their hooftips - there just wasn't much conflict to break them from the day to day grind. Changelings... changelings would take advantage of anything that even remotely resembled predictability and run with it. As much as he hated to admit it, the Guard was not, and likely never would be, capable of truly thwarting the changelings. There was just too much repetition... too much habit and assumption that went into keeping them functional... it would only ever take one moment for a changeling to slip in and no one would ever be the wiser. And Discord? Well, even 'reformed', Discord was a menace and a wild card at best. No legitimate defense could reasonably be erected, no trap set, that could reliably stop the spirit of chaos if he didn't feel like being caught at the moment. Rather like that upstart Princess Twilight Sparkle. Don't mind the collateral damage... just go on in there and break things as long as you can write a happy note to the real Princess later. Disturbing that so many were perfectly fine with her just being given public status and diplomatic immunity. Freedom to do as she pleased... after seeing her in action, that was a decidedly unpleasant notion. With another snort, Duty glanced up at the evening sky as he trotted across a small garden on the way to the parade grounds. It wasn't much further really, not that he cared at the moment, but he wanted to get one last look at the field before departing for one of the offices in Canterlot city rather than the Castle proper. Being dismissed by Celestia tended to revoke one's position as an officer of the court and replace it with one of equines non grata. Dismissed. Well, Celestia was known to make mistakes from time to time... she probably had her reasons after all. Admittedly, his approach may have been a little bit forward... a bit rough around the edges... perhaps a touch abrasive even, but he had done his job well, darnit! The very fact that they hadn't produced the culprit was proof enough for him. It was at that point that Duty stumbled over something, falling face first into a patch of carefully maintained lawn with a startled yelp. Taking a moment to rub his aching nose, he glared back, intent on discovering the owner of whatever gardening implement he had presumably stumbled upon. When he saw a withered and drawn pony in guard uniform, twitching on the ground and struggling to draw breath, he couldn't help but break into a grin. "Looks like I found something after all," he snarked. -~oOo~- The interview had gone smoothly, and quite quickly once Sentinel had been given a mug of milk and a quick snack from the royal kitchens. The dungeon master hadn't raised a fuss at all as he waved a good evening to the Guard and his royal escort. Truth be told, Celestia was rather pleased with how well he had been taken care of, if not the expediency used to obtain his report. Granted, he had not been 'lost' or 'influenced' by outside sources but he was a member of the Guard (not to mention a citizen of the city) and there was simply no reason to have detained him in the first place. After releasing him to attend to his own affairs, the two princesses had begun to walk back toward the Great Hall, intent on consolidating the information obtained and sorting through the various reports that had come in pertaining to 'odd characters' sighted by the citizenry. While Celestia didn't doubt their good intent, she held very little hope that any of the reports would ultimately turn up much more than a stray cat or a roaming Diamond Dog. The pair had just turned towards the tiled pathway that led around the East Fountain Garden towards the Main Gate when Celestia noticed that Twilight had ended her commentary over Sentinel's report. Turning her head, Celestia paused as she observed the most curious of expressions upon Twilight's face: a rare hint of distraction. Idly, Twilight levitated a small silver locket up towards her face, opened it, glanced inside, and clipped it shut again before Celestia had a chance to get a look at what was within. It was something she had noticed the younger princess do a few times over the night, always the briefest of motions and always replaced within a second or two. More than once, Twilight had briefly excused herself to 'address an issue' before returning shortly. The periods had been so brief that they hadn't caused any real interruptions, rather, providing momentary breaks for Celestia to reflect upon developments. It had been curious, seeing Twilight's activities, but not unfamiliar. Her former student was rather well known for her adherence to schedules and planning, to say nothing of her capacity to multitask. Of course, knowing her penchant for magic, Celestia had started to wonder if she had decided to enchant the locket to act as a checklist or itinerary. This time, however, Twilight's expression stiffened briefly as the locket closed. So far, she hadn't decided to inquire, but, given the situation, Celestia felt she could wait no longer. If something was distressing her former student, she wanted to know. It wasn't so very long ago that she had brushed Twilight's concerns aside only to shortly discover Chrysalis in the guise of Princess Cadance. It was something she was still ashamed of... something she had vowed never to let happen again. "Twilight, is something the matter?" For the briefest of moments, the younger princess hesitated before turning to smile up at Celestia's concerned face. "No Princess. Well, nothing's wrong so much as..." Twilight looked up, searching for the right word, "... well, nothing's wrong. It's just that I need to quickly check on something I've been working on and it's getting very close to when I need to take my notes again." Twilight smiled apologetically after her response. Celestia waited patiently, smiling softly as she had learned to do all those many years before. After a few moments, Twilight's smile faltered as she cleared her throat softly. "I'm sorry Princess, it should only take a minute or two, but I really do need to go." A few more moments of quiet passed as Celestia knelt down to look at Twilight from her own level. "Twilight, if there's something you need to talk about, you know you can always tell me. I'm always willing to listen to you." Twilight's smile became less forced, but a quick glance to the locket and she moved to leave, only to stagger as the locket remained frozen in a soft golden glow. "Twilight... please, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." "Nothing's wrong, I just need to update my notes quickly. Really Princess. I just need to go and" Twilight made to step away, forgetting about the locket's chain. A soft popping sound announced the failure of the thin metal, causing the locket to tumble from both alicorns magic. Twilight reached to catch it, only to fall just short, the small silver locket striking the marble floor hard enough to fling the cover open. Celestia's gaze flicked to the tiny watch face before recognizing the time. "Go, Twilight. Be back soon, if you can," was all the elder princess could manage around suddenly dry lips. There was a brief flash of magenta light before Twilight Sparkle disappeared. Celestia took a breath, holding back the urge to berate herself for not considering what might still be going through Twilight's head. She had lived for thousands of years... Twilight only a few dozen. If Celestia still flinched at the memory of that sound, she could hardly fault Twilight for wanting to avoid the echoes of twelve hammers falling somewhere in Canterlot... or those unholy screams.