Shadows of Friendship

by Codex

Alone

The castle, now they could take a proper look at it, was majestic but terrifying. It looked old and weathered, with black stone forming the crumbling walls. It was weather beaten and its tall spires clearly had holes in, revealing some of the rooms within. The roof had completely collapsed in places and some of the wall had gone with it, leaving the building looking like a skeletal version of its former glory. The only part of it still completely standing was the entranceway and it led into a shadowed hallway. The mist seemed to be pouring out and over the steps only adding to the eerie feeling.

Twilight was not the only one that felt like they were being watched as she stepped into the building. Nor was she the only one who was startled to find that the moment they entered the castle, they stepped into an entirely different and rather creepy world.

The collapsed roofs vanished away to become solid constructs that Twilight could feel were made of Shadows rather than real wood and stone. The rubble disappeared to be replaced by tapestries and huge statues. The feeling only intensified as they headed for where they hoped the courtyard was, trying to find the Elements before they even thought about confronting Nightmare Moon.

The mist continued to spread across the floor as they walked through the dark and dingy hallways, the Shadows casting an illusion of the palace as it had been in its heyday. The torches however, were not lit, forcing Twilight and Rarity to summon their lights in order to let them see their surroundings.

Twilight could see similarities between the castle in Canterlot and the way that this palace was laid out as they made their way through the twisted corridors and darkened halls. Other than the fact that the brickwork in Canterlot Castle was a pure white, with gold décor and the halls were brightly lit while the castle they were walking through was only lit by their magic, the bricks were a dark purple that was almost black and the edgings and statues were decorated in an ornate silver scroll work that reminded Twilight of a combination of something she had seen in one of her more ancient spellbooks, specifically one written by Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest unicorn mage who had ever lived and her texts on Ancient Equigypt that she had been studying in the vain hope that it would make putting the puzzle together easier.

‘It’s almost as if Princess Luna was trying to break away from the darkness.’ She thought as they carefully edged their way through, well aware that there was another test to go before they could escape Nightmare Moon’s challenge and, hopefully, find Princess Celestia.

“I do hope we find the Elements soon, darlings.” Rarity said, her voice sounding tired as she helped Twilight lead the way, “I have a splitting headache.”

“Me too.” Fluttershy admitted, her wings dropping slightly, “And I don’t feel well.”

Twilight blinked and considered her friends properly as the others admitted that they felt ill. She was fine. She did not know how, but despite the injuries she should have had, despite the rapid fire spellcasting, she did not feel tired at all. She did not have a headache, nor were her limbs sore and heavy. What worried her the most was that her friends all felt like their hearts were going to pound out of their chests while she felt perfectly okay.

She reached out with a simple sensor spell that would let her read the magic in the area, only to get the answer why. There was a bubble of the puzzle’s magic surrounding her, shielding her from the negative effects of the darkness swarming the illusionary castle. The others had no such shield and the thick, heavy magic in the area was draining them badly.

Twilight tried to extend her shield to protect them too, only to find that it would not go much further than a few inches from her.

“You lot need to leave now.” Twilight told them, turning around to face them, concern obvious in her tone and determination clear on her features. “It’s the Shadows. They’re draining you, it’ll only get worse the longer you’re here.”

“What about you? Won’t they hurt you too?” Rarity asked, worried for her.

“No, my puzzle shields me. I’m the only one who can travel through them safely.” Twilight shook her head, “Why don’t you go help that dragon find his horde? I’ll be okay.”

“But yer need our help.” Applejack protested.

“I’ll be okay.” Twilight promised, smiling around at them. “Trust me. I’ll be okay.”

“I don’t like it.” Rainbow Dash grumbled, “What if it’s a trap? She could be waiting for us to split up.”

“Then I guess I have to spring it but I can’t let you lot go any further.” Twilight told them, putting up a shield between her and her friends, using her magic to push them back, “You’re the best friends I’ve ever had, but I can’t let you come with me. Please, wait outside for me. I’ll be with you soon.”

“But Twilight…” The unicorn turned and ran as her magic shoved her friends outside the stone archway and away from the illusionary castle. She hated that she had had to do that and if they could not forgive her for sending them away, she understood, but she was the only one who could transverse the maze of dark corridors and dangerous magic.

It did not take her long to find the courtyard, not when she had been so right about the way the castle here was a mirror image of the one in Canterlot. She stepped out of a darkened corridor and into the moonlight courtyard. The silvery light sparkled off of the statue in the middle, showing every detail of the odd treelike structure that took up the majority of the room. Within the branches of the silver tree rested five marble spheres. Each of them were carved with intricate details and had the shape of a gem predominant in their designs.

Twilight recognised each of them from the guide that Pinkie Pie had dug out for her. Each one was the same brown-white marble that on its own was very pretty, but if the gems carved deeply into each of the spheres were their actual shape and colour, Twilight could just image that they would shine brightly with the power locked deep within.

“Finally.” Twilight breathed, approaching the tree slowly and cautiously, still worried about that fifth task that she had yet to complete. She started to use her magic to lift down the orbs within the tree, trying to make sure she did not drop them, only to hear a dark, vicious sounding chuckle.

Comments

[zachary12]

nice work.