Twilight groaned and slowly closed her book, before leaning back and giving a light yawn and stretching. A small twinge went through her back, but she quickly suppressed it. She glanced towards the door, a frown on her face.
Once again she found her thoughts drawn back to the library. It had been a week since she'd seen whatever that thing was. Whatever it was seemed to be important, as she hadn't been allowed a chance to speak with Dancer since. Every waking moment the unicorn seemed busy working on it, studying spells and the like. The guards had even turned Twilight away when she tried, as the mare was not to be disturbed. Even Nightmare Moon was ignoring her. Not that she minded that.
She took a deep breath and got to her hooves, slowly inching to the door. She popped it open and peered outside. The halls were empty. She let out a soft sigh before slowly walking through the castle.
Her frown deepened when she realized how quiet the castle was now. Even most of the guards seemed to have disappeared. She nervously glanced around. “Hello?” she called out. She received no answer. She was starting to feel a little anxious and started walking to the one place she knew there would be ponies, if there were any here. The kitchen. It was taco tuesday.
When she arrived she let out a sigh of relief. The guards were stationed there, or at least relaxing there. She walked to the kitchen counter and lightly took a lettuce and onion taco, before trotting to one of the tables and sitting down. Plenty of the guards glanced at her, mumbled softly to themselves.
She just sighed and nibbled her taco, nervously glancing around. After a few moments, one of the guards got up and trotted over, sitting across from her. “Err... ummmm... Miss Glow?”
She took a deep breath, before looking up. “Yes?” She could already see it coming. She wondered if they were going to call her a traitor too. Or maybe it was the fourth edition thing. She didn't see what the problem was, it was fun. Everything fit into its nice little position and was easy to manage.
“I uhhh... I just wanted to ask...” He nudged his hooves together. “Your book... ummmm... I heard about it. We heard about it. Are... ummm...” He coughed. “Are you going to tell ponies about us? Too?”
“About you?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
He nervously chewed on his lip, before shaking his head. “I'm not... we're not betraying Celestia. We love Celestia. If... if we could... but... we can't. We tried fighting her. Some of us did. Now they're in jail. We just--”
“Stop,” she said with a shake of her head. “I'm aware. I know what you're doing, trying to keep ponies safe. And I think you're doing the best you can, all of you. I'll let ponies know in the book.” She took a slow, deep breath. “I plan to let everypony know everything. So they can... well... not be scared. So I'll of course let them know that you're trying your hardest to help all of them.” She smiled at the nervous looking stallion. “Was that everything?”
He nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. “T-thanks. Do uhhh... do you know when it'll be finished?”
“I'm not sure. It's turning out to be more difficult than I expected. But I don't forsee a lot of trouble with finishing it before the year is through.”
“Oh! So it should be done before the gala?”
Twilight blinked. “I... I guess. Hopefully.” She put a hoof to her forehead. “If it even happens. But it should be done before the standard scheduled time of the gala.”
He nodded, before getting up. “Thanks! I just... wanted to know.” He quickly trotted off and started talking with the others. There were many more glances towards her.
The earth pony sighed and nudged her taco before taking another bite. She finished most of it before getting to her hooves and tossing the remnants in the trash. She slowly started trotting through the halls again. She found herself drawn to the throne room and, once again, found guards stationed outside it. She paused and looked to the doors. “Have they had any more... courts held?”
“The night court is on temporary hiatus,” the guard said with a nod.
“Oh. That's... okay I guess. Ummmm... where... I mean... most of the servants seem to be...”
“Many of the servants have taken... personal leave,” the guard said matter of factually. “Did you require something, Lady Glow?”
She sighed and shook her head, trotting back down the hall. The palace was in the midst of being redecorated still, many of the windows having had their curtains completely removed and the walls being painted over or having wallpaper removed. She hoped Rarity would finish her redecorations soon, but she imagined finding ponies willing to do the manual labor was getting more and more difficult. The removal of Cadence and Blueblood hadn't exactly won any love for the Princess of Darkness.
She paused and looked around, confusion on her features for a moment. She mentally back tracked and then realized she was in the east wing. She sighed and face hoofed. “Need to pay attention, Twilight. There's nopony to help you if you get lost.” She looked around, but nopony was nearby at all.
She then paused. “Wait. Nopony to...” Her eyes widened and a grin formed on her lips. She started trotting around again, pushing open a nearby door. Her heart started beating faster as a plan formed in her mind.
Nopony was around to stop her. The guards themselves didn't seem to care much, Nightmare Moon was distracted. She started walking, a little faster. Her heart hammered as she made her way to the north wing.
To where Celestia had lived.
------
Twilight felt a little giddy while she made her way into the wing, looking around nervously. There weren't any guards. Everything looked pristine and clean, none of the remodeling damage seeming to have taken hold here. She wondered if Nightmare Moon ever came here to see her sister's things. She doubted it. She doubted anypony but the cleaners came here now.
She slowly began to nudge open doors and look into them. She frowned as the first room was just a small tea room. She nervously trotted inside, looking through the things that resided in them, but there weren't any records or notes, just a table and an empty tea set. She let out a soft growl of frustration. “Come on, Celestia. You had to leave us something. You had to have something planned, you couldn't just leave us to deal with... this,” she muttered before leaving the room and heading to the next door.
Her eyes widened with delight when she came to the room. A study. A small desk and shelves filled with books lined the room. She trotted inside and started examining the desk, first. There was a light fizzle as she pulled open one of the drawers and she froze, her heart pounding.
But nothing happened. After a few moments she started going through the rest. She saw empty notepads, some mints, basic supplies and a small spiral key with an eight point star on it. Though she couldn't help feeling guilty, she grabbed the key and tucked it into her mane. It was for the good of Equestria, she told herself.
Then came the books. She grinned and moved to the nearest one, plucking it down. She was sure Celestia had to have left them some hint in the study. One by one she pulled the books down, stacking them neatly while she worked. For hours she sat and read, browsing through them all before, finally, she face planted onto the desk.
“How... did she do it?” she asked with a groan. There was nothing there but books on old laws, agriculture, geography and dozens of books of old or vague information. Normally she would have been delighted, even if they weren't all to her taste.
But she needed REAL information, she needed hope. She got to her hooves and trotted out, leaving the room behind. She frowned and looked at her hooves, they were covered in dust. She gave a sigh and moved to the next room, cocking her head to the side when she pushed the door open.
It opened to a stairwell. She gulped nervously and leaned forward. “Hello?” she called down, receiving an echo in response. She looked around nervously, before slowly trotting down. She wasn't sure, but she swore she could feel a light tingle through her hooves while she walked. She also thought she saw a light sparkle from the carpet, but it was gone in a moment.
As she walked, torches along the stairwell alighted, guiding her way until, finally, the floor came into view. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the lower floor and gasped.
It was a massive storage room. There were rows of stacked crates, all unmarked. But there were also small dusty books, little silver figurines of dragons and minotaurs and a great mirror facing her. She stared at it, her eyes wide.
The mirror was completely blue, it didn't show any of the rest of the room. She slowly trotted forward, holding her breath as she stared at it. Her reflection didn't appear. With a nervous gulp, she pushed her hoof forward.
When her hoof touched the mirror, dark purple light shone around her hoof. She slowly pushed her hoof further in and it went through the mirror, into... something. It was warm, almost comforting. She took another step forward and--
“BARD!” the voice rang out with such power it shook the entire castle.
Twilight yanked her hoof back and looked around in terror, looking for some sign of the princess. But she was alone in the room.
“BARD! COME TO THE THRONE ROOM! THOU ART SUMMONED!”
The earth pony stared, her mouth falling open. How long had she been running around in here? What did Nightmare Moon think she was doing? She yelped and ran up the stairs, galloping back through the castle, her heart pounding.
------
Twilight raced into the throne room, her heart pounding and sweat dripping off her form.
“BARD! WHERE ART--” the princess froze in mid sentence and turned her gaze to her. “AH! FINALLY YOU--” She blinked and her horn stopped glowing. “Finally, you show yourself. We have waited long for your arrival!”
“S-sorry, I was... clearing my thoughts,” she said nervously, a forced grin on her lips. The mare was completely insane, she knew it. There was no denying it. She hoped she wasn't in trouble. “You... you called?”
Her eyes then fell to the hoofacles on the ground and her heart started pounding faster. The crown was there, but only six of the hoofacles remained now. Her eyes were drawn up and she quickly noted two strange, silver bands around the princess's front legs. It took her a few more moments to realize they were the very same hoofacles, but heavily decorated.
“Indeed. For you see, bard, the time has come.” She stood up from her throne and glanced back to Dancer. The unicorn had never looked more ashamed. “Our... student still has much to learn, but her talents with magic are quite astounding. For a young foal. She has been... passably useful in our creation of our new tool.”
Twilight shuddered and looked to them. “Are... are you going to make Cadence wear those?”
The alicorn blinked a few times, before her grin grew wider. “Why, bard, why ever would you think that?”
The earth pony blinked a few more times. “I... I just thought... I mean...”
“Oh, young, foalish bard. The alicorn is... an affront to our control and rule. But she is still a pony.” She moved to stand in front of Twilight and gently reached out, a hoof touching her chin and guiding her eyes up. “And all of you ponies are our subjects, are you not? You must be protected and guided. We would never dream of using such tools on one of our subjects.”
Dancer's eyes widened. “W-wait, what? But I thought... but it's... t-then what is it for?”
The princess chuckled. “Oh, you'll learn soon enough. Bard, student, we are going on a journey,” she said before turning around. “You see, the time has come for us to cement our rule. Already the other nations are sending their representatives to... parley with us. We imagine they think us as kind and forgiving as our weak sister.” She paused. “They thought wrong. However, already we can feel the shifting and awakening of my subjects.” Twilight shuddered at the word 'my'. “Our night has finally caught their attention and already the creatures of darkness are on their way.” She picked up the black crown and examined it for a moment. “With my soldiers, none will think to oppose us.” She slid the crown on, the metal glimmering like obsidian, four points pointing high to the air. She then picked up the hoofacles and enveloped them in a small, blue bubble. “But we still have one matter to deal with before then.” She turned to Twilight and her eyes focused on the small earth pony.
“It will do well that you remember this moment, bard. For with this, you will be able to bear first hoof witness to the greatest display of power pony kind has ever known. Power that our sister would think too dangerous. Come,” she said before trotting towards the exit. “And ensure you bring your pen and paper. For you will want to record all you see.”
Twilight gulped and followed after her, Dancer following slightly behind. “Where are we going?” the earth pony asked.
Nightmare Moon stopped outside the door, giving a small chuckle. “Oh? Is it not obvious?” She turned her head around to look at the little mare. “To the place even our sister knew to fear. Tartarus.”