Drocsid

by flutterspin

Royal Warning

Royal Warning

---

The train screeched to a halt. Hot steam poured out of the engine. The passenger cart's door slid open. Two guards with spears watched us enter into the train station. We had arrived at Canterlot.

Canterlot bristled with action. Nothing compared to the glimmering shine from the mighty buildings that towered over our heads. The streets were not paved with gold, but the beautiful landscape in around the city clearly made up for it. Fancy ponies minded their own business in the food markets. Cheerful unicorns with large backpacks climbed up the long stairs to a magic school. Royal guards patrolled outside the Canterlot Archives. Pegasi lept from the top balconies. One pegasi watched us through a telescope from the city's tallest building.

We followed Twilight up a flight of stairs into a building looking over the ballroom. Princess Celestia stood by a large hourglass looking outside a large window. A couple books from the nearby bookcase laid spread out on a table.

"Princess, you wanted to see us?" Twilight asked.

Celestia turned with a grin on her face. "It is good to see you all again. I only wished the conditions were better."

Princess Celestia's majestic stature overwhelmed me. Standing a mere yard in front of me was the being with the power to rise the sun each day. Her height and magnificant mane astounded my senses.

Rainbow Dash asked, "Have you found out anything?"

Celestia lowered her lip. "I'm afraid not. There just doesn't seem to be any explanation."

I stepped forward and bowed with a malcontent expression on my face. "Uh, princess?"

"You must be Moonlight," Celestia sympathetically responded, "I apologize if I did not address your concerns in my letter. Please be assure I meant no disrespect, but there were more pressing matters I had to attend to the moment I received the letter.

"However, the timing of your arrival in Ponyville correlates to the same time of the guard's reports in the Canterlot Archives. I can better assess the situation once we discover the root of the problem."

Applejack asked, "What do you want us to do?"

"I need a new set of eyes. Go to the archives and see if you can find anything useful. Twilight, do you remember the way?"

"Yes, princess."

All the ponies headed for the front door. Princess Celestia walked to the window and lamented something to herself. I tried tossing a question at the princess but was quickly interrupted by Applejack. "Leave her be. If she wanted to tell us, she would have."

We followed Twilight across the main road towards the Canterlot Archives. The stationed guards allowed us to pass through the front gate.

"Starswirl the Bearded wing is just down this hall," Twilight said.

Rarity searched the neighboring rooms. "It is strange to see a place like this left empty."

Rainbow Dash asked, "And where are all the guards?"

Applejack concurred, "That is what I'm worried about."

Twilight cautiously entered into the dark room. "In here."

Inside existed a library filled with rows of bookcases. The shelves were stocked with wrapped scrolls and different proportioned books. A single mirror reclined upward to a large hourglass in the middle of the room.

The abnormal condition of the room had all of us astonished. It matched what Princess Celestia stated in her letter. Not a single item was left on the floor. All the books stood upright on the shelves. Not a single cobweb or rusted scroll could be seen. I watched as each pony reflected the same pattern of thought.

Rarity wiped the floor and looked at the bottom of her hoof. "This place is spotless."

Rainbow Dash touched the ceiling. "Even the ceiling is clean."

Pinkie Pie stared at her reflection on the floor. "I bet you can eat off of this floor."

"Why put so much effort in cleaning this room?" Twilight looked at each of the bookshelves. "Not one book is missing."

I approached the large hourglass and watched the sand pour down into the base. The constant stream of particles relaxed my frame of mind. The peripheral of my sight became fixated on only the hourglass.

As my eyes grew tiresome, I heard indistinguishable whispering in my ear. The sand dropping in the hourglass slowed down to a crawl. My head drifted onto my shoulder. I recognized Applejack's voice in the background, but her words blended together into a single, solitary sound. The entire experience disappeared when a pony touched me in the side.

"Moonlight, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm alright. I was just admiring this hourglass."

"It certainly brings out the room."

That moment, I noticed something unusual. The particles inside the timepiece had begun flowing in the opposite direction. "Uh, Twilight. The sand. Twilight!"

All the ponies rushed to the center of the room. They all witnessed the defiance of gravity as the particles of sand poured upward into the top. Then after a few seconds, the flakes stopped moving completely. There was a perfect balance of sand in both sections.

Darkness crept out from the hourglass. The only things visible were the hourglass and each other. Then, a voice called out to us.

Confident is the one that raises the sun at dawn.

Every pony sees her as the one to count on.

Light touches the earth and warms the pony's land,

Eternally watching the world in a grain of sand.

She is going to be in for a big surprise.

The elements will not help her when the time arrives.

I only need one more thing to help me stop her.

A rare kind of magic is what I'm after.

...and then I shall bring order to this land.

His last words echoed as light returned in the chamber. The sand proceeded to flow normally once again.

"What was that?" Applejack shouted.

"We all heard that, right?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings. "That sounded like Discord!"

Rarity responded, "You think he has returned?"

"Do you think he'll bring some more of that chocolate rain?" Pinkie Pie oddly remarked.

Every pony expressed their concerns except for Fluttershy. "Where is Fluttershy?" I asked.

A book plopped on the ground. In the corner of the room vibrated a large pile of books. Fluttershy's eyes peeked through a hole in the stack.

Pinkie Pie hopped in front of the stack. "Oh cool. You made a fort!"

Rainbow Dash pushed aside a few of the top books. "Come on, Fluttershy. I don't think a fort made out of books will help you."

"Maybe they will," Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash squinted. "Seriously?"

"Not the fort. The books," Twilight reiterated, "We may not know what Discord is up to, but this room is filled with ancient knowledge from his era."

"Shouldn't we first tell the princess what happened?" I asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes. She is probably waiting for us to return."

"Princess!" Twilight shouted.

Princess Celestia exited a building outside the royal gardens. "What happened, my little ponies?"

Rainbow Dash said, "We heard it!"

"What did he say?" Celestia asked.

Twilight said, "We are in store for a big surprise."

Pinkie Pie expressed, "Not a ha-ha­ surprise, but more like an uh-oh surprise."

Princess Celestia scanned through each one of us. Her wings bowed to her side.

I asked, "What is it?"

She turned and entered back inside the tower. "Come with me. I need to show you all something."

We followed Princess Celestia inside the tower. The structure was built similar to the library in shape and form. Cabinets pinned against the corners of the first floor while beds rested on the second floor. The shade from the nearby trees darkened the room. A royal guard's armor was propped up against the staircase.

We climbed the stairs and approached a pegasus on the bed. He tossed and turned underneath the sheets. Sweat dripped profusely down his face. He sporadically gritted his teeth. His wrinkled brown hair spread over the pillow case.

Twilight touched the bed and looked up to Celestia. "What happened?"

"This happened about the time I received your letter. I've spent hours caring for him." Celestia's horn emitted a bright light that filled the room. She touched the pegasus on the forehead. The guard took in deep breaths and relaxed his muscles. "I've tried my best to keep him stable."

I asked, "Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"

Celestia responded, "What is happening to him is still a mystery to me. The guards reported that they heard Discord's voice, but his body still stands frozen in the gardens. I took the necessary precautions of restricting access inside the archives and keeping a keen eye on the city. I don't want this happening again."

Twilight asked, "But if it isn't Discord, then who?"

Celestia shared her thoughts. "I don't know. For all we know, the threat may be feeding off our fear. That is why I chose to keep this secret. I don't want this spreading beyond the city guards."

The guard grabbed hold of the sheets. His state worsened.

Celestia straightened the blanket near the back end of the bed. "My magic barely has any effect on him. I'm not sure what else I can do."

My feet slid back as I gripped the floor. I wanted to help, but didn't know what to do. In an instant, a shallow light repelled out from my horn over the guard. He opened his eyes and lifted himself up out of the bed. "Princess Luna!" he shouted as he quickly passed out onto the bed again.

Princess Celestia charged the door. "Quickly! Follow me."

We chased after Princess Celestia through the gardens and past the Canterlot Archives. She reduced her persuit when passing over a small bridge to the city's edge.

"Why are we stopping?" Twilight asked.

Celestia answered, "We have to be careful. There aren't any guards posted beyond this point."

We approached a small staircase that wrapped around the mountain. The rickety steps held strong enough for us to proceed. We advanced to a small balcony overlooking the city. On the balcony were some small flower pots and a couple of miscellaneous pictures.

Twilight whispered, "What are we doing here?"

Celestia tilted one of the pictures frames. The wall behind it revealed a hidden passageway.

"A secret entrance?" Rarity asked.

"I never knew about this place," Twilight stated.

Celestia explained, "That is because this place has been empty for quite some time. We built it long ago, just after defeating Discord. It was a place where Luna could rest during the day without being disturbed.

"After the banishment of Nightmare Moon, we enclosed this place. It stayed that way until Luna returned and reclaimed her home once again." Celestia snickered. "Between you and me, I think it is better this way. She still hasn't quite learned how to control that royal voice of hers."

Inside revealed a large and beautiful room filled with decor. A small fireplace softly lit the room. An engraved mural was embedded into one of the walls. Several tethered banners and aged paintings stretched out across the other wall. A mirror hung from beside the fireplace. A few steps led to another portion of the room just out of view from the entrance.

As we stepped inside, we heard Luna shout, "Stay back!"

"Luna," Princess Celestia said in a serious tone.

We carefully moved down the steps and noticed a soft bed pushed to the far side of the room. The blanket imprinted with small moons and stars shook against the wall.

"I'm warning you!" Luna shouted as she pushed the covers up in the air.

Princess Celestia eased her stance as Princess Luna's face popped out from underneath the covers. Her hair glistened over the side of the bed. Luna rolled over, blissfully unaware of her surroundings.

"She is sound asleep," Rarity remarked.

Princess Celestia tapped against the sheets. "Luna. Wake up."

"Five more minutes sis'."

"I need to talk to you."

Luna faced us and saw the number of ponies in her room. "What are you all doing here? Am I invited to another party?"

Celestia said, "No, Luna. I was wondering if you noticed anything suspicious."

"Suspicious?" Luna sat upright. "Why do you ask? Is this about the cake incident?"

Bypassing Luna's question, Celestia stated, "Then all is well."

Luna asked, "What is the matter with you?"

Twilight said, "We thought you might have been in trouble. The guard shouted your name and-"

Luna said in a more serious tone, "Guard? What guard? Who's causing trouble?" She lept to her feet. "Point the way and I'll show them a thing or two why they call me the Princess of the Night."

Unlike Celestia's motherly concern and strong will towards her subjects, Princess Luna seemed high-spirited and bold. I thought her princess status would have made her more timid and delicate. Instead, she showed a more daring and rambunctious attitude.

Applejack waved her leg up and down. "Easy, princess. We just wanted to see if you were hurt."

Luna stretched her legs out and rocked her shoulders. "Everything feels alright to me. What's this all about?"

Celestia responded, "There has been a disturbance inside the Canterlot Archives."

Rarity said, "We heard a voice come out from the Starswirl the Bearded wing."

Rainbow Dash said, "We thought he came after you."

Luna closed one eye and looked at the ceiling. "Isn't that the room named after the same fellow that disappeared long ago?"

Celestia asked, "Do you remember anything special about the room?"

Luna pondered a little and then responded, "No. Nothing special, but I do recall how hard it was moving that giant hourglass. Maybe visiting the room again would help job my memory."

Before leaving Luna's room, Pinkie Pie asked her, "What happened with the cake?"

Luna grinned. "Oh, nothing."

The two guards outside the Canterlot Archives allowed us passage. Luna browsed the hallway and inside the wing. "That's odd. I remember this room being bigger." She rubbed her hoof across one of the shelves. "And a lot dirtier too."

Twilight pointed at one of the bookcases. "We thought the intruder might have been after the books."

Luna replied, "There is a lot recorded here, but nothing to fuss over."

We roamed around as we intently waited for Princess Luna to say something meaningful. Rarity dabbled with her mane in front of the mirror. Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle shifted through the fallen books from earlier. I cautiously pondered over what happened in front of the hourglass.

Without my knowledge, Luna had walked up next to me. "I don't think we have properly introduced."

A little shocked, I replied, "Oh, um. Moonlight. Moonlight Sonata."

"Princess Luna. Charmed." She motioned her head toward the hourglass. "What were you looking at?"

I scratched the back of my neck. "Nothing. Its just. Something about this hourglass."

Luna glared and stepped towards the hourglass. "Funny, I don't remember placing this here."

Celestia, along with the other ponies, came up to the middle of the room. "What is it?"

Luna placed her legs on the hourglass and exerted enough strength to slide it across the floor. A golden seal was revealed underneath.

Twilight tilted her head and looked at the seal. "There is an inscription: For the safety of Equestria, no pony should ever open what was sealed below."

Celestia took a defensive posture. "Luna, you feel that?"

Luna stood in a similar fashion. "Yes."

That moment, my vision blurred. My eyes tired and my body weakened. My legs collapsed beneath me. My head pounded against the floor. The last thing I recalled before losing consciousness was Pinkie Pie's big eyes as she shouted, "Moonlight!"