Tribunal

by Carnifaxy

Chapter 9

They had gathered up as much intel as they could on the beleaguered human kingdom, said their goodbyes to their new found friends, and took off into the biting chill of the windigo storm to head back to Equestria. Windgust, Downdraft, and Mist Weaver flew in formation low to the ground to avoid drawing attention from the malevolent spirits. As soon as they broke the storm they rose up higher into the sky and began cruising back home.

“That was quite a sight wasn't it, sir?” Downdraft said as he stretched his wings wide. “Shame we couldn't meet anyone that knew the prince, but we got a lot of info for the princess to look over!”

“Mmhm.”

“What's the threat assessment on the humans, sir?” Mist asked.

“Without magical assistance there's no way they're going to make it to Equestria. With such however, they might not be able to push far in but would still be nasty to fight. I wager that on their own they could make it to Appleoosa and probably run the ponies and buffalo out. If there's no trains there at the time then they'll take some time to move, but if there is, they could hit Ponyville hard before we could even respond to Appleoosa being lost. At least they're divided on religious affiliations, and they worship our princesses. That could be in our favor. Once we get back to Canterlot I'll write up the report and see about getting you two some R&R. My duties are never done, but you two have earned it after this mission.”

“Yes sir, thank you sir!” Downdraft whooped and did a spin. “Oh boy, I'm going to use my time to visit my parents in Fillydelphia!”

“I might just go to Las Pegasus myself.”

Windgust let out a snort. “Just don't come begging for me to bail you out again after last time Mist!” He said as he turned his head to the mare with a grin.

“Wouldn't dream of it sir!”

---

Roland watched the water below as the airship sped through the skies to the southeast. He felt the wind whipping through his hair and across his face and took in a deep breath. “Beautiful. To think these things would allow anyone to fly like a pegasus! If we had these back then, heh, Ogier would be the first to want one for himself. He'd go on like 'we could have a whole group on one and lure them nasty griffs in nice and close and surprise 'em!' Ah... How long until we reach Knossos?”

The white unicorn mare at his side adjusted her glasses. “At this speed, with weather permitting, a few more days. If a storm kicks up we'll have to land on the water and ride it out.” She wrinkled her nose. “Untamed weather, sickening. Do you need a study on minotaurs, Sir Roland? We don't want any, incidents.”

“Hmm. We have plenty of time, and the last time I encountered minotaurs they were raiders Celestia hired during the war to help us hold the line against the Nightmare's forces. They were strong and well disciplined, that I remember. It had been just months before we had fought the very same bullmen, I remember the scars I had given their leader. To think we were standing side by side as night reigned over us! He appreciated it as well, I wonder what happened to him.”

Raven Inkwell flipped over some notes and hummed. “You mean of the seafaring king Aegir, who had been renowned among his people for pillaging across the coasts of Griffdonia and Equestria?”

“That was him! What an absolute bastard to hunt down. Always coming and going like the tides, it'd be months between raids in areas.”

“King Aegir returned to Knossos after the Nightmare War with more ships than he had left with, loaded down with the wealth his men had earned as mercenaries. He's known as the greatest of minotaur kings, as his new wealth allowed him to invest in the people rather than continue raiding and helped transform Knossos into the trade capital it is today, serving as the center between ponies and griffons with the lands of Zebrica.”

“Well I'll be damned, truly? I will have to pay my respects to him when we arrive.”

She smiled at that. “The minotaurs will no doubt appreciate your own appreciation of their history. They take great pride in their culture. If you have any questions, any at all, please do not hesitate to ask me.”

Roland nodded as he smiled down to Raven. “I am glad that Celestia sent you with me. I would have been quite lost on my own, I believe.”

Raven took in a breath and sighed. “Indeed. I had wanted to go with Princess Luna's entourage, but I was told that Night Shade was her personal assistant and my help wouldn't be necessary. I even tried to aruge with Princess Celestia that she should go to Griffdonia instead and let Princess Luna learn how to handle running Equestria while she was away.”

“Listen, Ms. Inkwell, I have been through this conversation with many others and I will offer you the same advice. Stop focusing on what has happened and focus on what we can do instead.”

Her lips pursed and she nodded. “Of course. It's just frustrating. I do have a question for you, Sir Roland.”

“Mm, yes?”

“Do you love the princess?”

“Of course I do! She is the sun, the warmth that gives the land life. How could I not love her, when I had devoted my life to her service and worship?”

Raven shook her head. “I meant in a more, romantic sense, Sir Roland.”

His lips curled into a small smile. “As any knight would love a lady, Ms. Inkwell. Courtly love, it was called. I could not, dare not, think that she could ever truly love me more than what would be proper of one of her station, and even if she did I would have to refuse as it would be improper for either of us.”

“That's so, sweet and romantic, just like the old stories. You've never had a wife or family then?”

The old knight shook his head. “I did not, no. We of the Solar Knights dedicated ourselves solely to Celestia. We forsook having families or inheriting wealth. My sister was the one to take over our family's holdings until she married and had children of her own, but that was long ago.”

The wind picked up and Raven shivered. “Let's go inside so I can start your lessons on the minotaurs.”

“Of course, of course. Ladies first.”

---

Twilight hated to think about disappointing Princess Celestia, but a mystery on her hooves was incredibly tempting. She was also still sore about things in Griffdonia going sour being kept from her, but it wasn't enough for her to consider breaking the princess's trust in her.

Spike on the other hand, had blabbed to the others about, everything. Neither of them were told to not say anything but Twilight had far more tact than the baby dragon. With everyone gathered around inside of the library Spike regaled them with the story of Griffdonia, including the strange dragon-prince Slaar, the murder of the griffon king, the escape without Princess Luna and finally of the ancient tombs across the world.

Rainbow was too busy frowning at what Spike had been saying to give Twilight a smug look of satisfaction in that Equestria was indeed going to war with the griffons.

Rarity was right next to Spike and had some gems for him to snack on as he talked. “Oh my poor Spikey-Wikey, everything's better now and this Slaar sounds like such a gentledragon to look after you like that! But to think that Gilda of all griffons would now be queen of her own kingdom! That sounds like a story all of its own!”

“What's this 'Roc' business?” Rainbow finally asked, her frown still prominent on her face.

“Oh, the Roc is one of the Old Ones!” Twilight said as she pulled out a book to put on the table. “I had to ask Princess Celestia if I could go into the forbidden archives. Don't worry, there's no dark magic or anything in this, it's just very ancient history that's hard to come by.” She cleared her throat and used her magic to illuminate the tome, the silhouette of a bird coming from the pages.

“The Roc is the Old One of the skies. All modern pegasus and griffon magic stems from him. Very rarely this magic can manifest in two ways of almost supreme weather control. For griffons it's called the 'Cry' where they, well, let out a cry that's even louder than a normal griffon should be capable of! For the pegasus, it's the Sonic Rainboom.”

Dash blinked and she leaned in. “What, really? The Sonic Rainboom is from some ancient magic? I knew I was awesome, but that-”

“That means Dashie is even more awesome than she already is!” Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped out of her chair. “Oh! But if Gilda has the Cry that means you're going to have to fight her!”

There was a collective cry of 'What?!' around the room as the others looked at Pinkie.

“I got a lot of faith in you Dash, I really do, but I saw that Gilda and she's a big one, even for a griffon our age. You'd gotta hit her fast and not get caught, and one slip up...”

“Yeah AJ I know that! I-I don't want to fight Gilda! Yeah we're not really friends anymore, and we're going to be at war, but like, we still used to be friends!”

Fluttershy mumbled behind her hair before Spike leaned in to her, drawing attention from the others. “Rainbow, you shouldn't have to fight Gilda if you don't want to. No one should be fighting...” a strange gleam flashed in the yellow pegasus' eyes. “But if you're the only one that can fight her, you'll be asked to do so anyways, a-and they'll play on your loyalty to your friends, to Equestria for it too. You might have to be ready to kill a friend for your country.”

Rainbow certainly looked shocked at Fluttershy's words, everyone was. Even Pinkie seemed off-put by what her most demure friend said.

“S-sorry. I haven't been feeling myself lately. I've been having... nightmares.”

“Are they the kind of nightmares from eating too many cupcakes, or too much ice cream?” Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy shook her head and took some breaths to steady herself. “N-no. I don't know where they came from. I just, it's terrible.”

“Oh Fluttershy dear, you don't need to say anything! Have you tried drinking tea before bed?”

“I have Rarity, teas, incense, exercising. N-nothing's been working.”

“What are the nightmares about Fluttershy?” Twilight asked in a gentle tone, motioning for Spike to start making tea.

“Well...”

“Shucks sugarcube, you don't have to say anything you don't want to.”

“No, no, I think I need to share this.”

Fluttershy took in a deep breath and looked around the table at her friends, all of them waiting patiently for her.

“I've been dreaming of a dragon. A big, pink dragon.”

“Like me pink, or your mane pink?” Pinkie asked to add a bit of levity.

“Oh, uh, not as pink as you, but darker than my mane. There's a, hmm. You all remember when Discord affected us?”

They all nodded as Spike came back in quietly and started setting down tea for the girls.

“It felt like, that. But worse.”

Rarity gasped. “How could it be worse than what he did to us?!”

Fluttershy went quiet as she looked at her tea. “What's the opposite of kindness?”

“Cruelty.” Twilight answered immediately.

The yellow pegasus nodded as she gingerly sipped her tea. “Lying, betrayal, greed, paranoia, cruelty. Discord did that to us. I-I think something similar happened to this poor dragon. Every time the nightmare comes, I can feel her cruelty, but I know she doesn't want to be cruel, deep down. But she can't stop it and it hurts.” Tears welled up in Fluttershy's eyes and they trickled down her cheeks. “And then I wake up.”

“Girls,” Applejack started, “I think we need to get to that tomb under the castle in the Everfree. Might be something there connected to all this.”

“But Applejack, the princess said-”

The farmer cut Twilight off with a firm hoof to the ground. “Twilight, at this point I don't give two hoots. Princess Celestia kept what might've happened to Spike hidden from you. You of all ponies have a right to know if something could've happened to him and now poor Fluttershy's getting nightmares! If you don't want to go, fine, but I will.”

“I'm with AJ on this Twilight. If it means helping Fluttershy out I gotta!”

Pinkie bounced to get between Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “Count me in! I've always wanted to explore an old tomb!”

“I can't say going into some musty old tomb full of bones is the most appealing thing in the world, but if it's possible to help a friend then I shall do so gladly! With proper preparations of course.”

“Oh, no, I wouldn't ask anypony to do something like this on my behalf...”

“That's why we're doing it anyways Fluttershy!” Rainbow said with a smile.

Twilight looked down at the table. “You're right. We're friends, and we're going to do this together! And maybe Zecora knows something too that could help.”

“Twilight? Can I come along?” Spike looked up at her, eyes full of hope. “I know after what's happened you'll want me to be safe here, but I want to help out too, I'm not a baby anymore!”

Her lips curled slightly into a sad smile as she leaned down to hug him. “I know Spike, after all of that I'm nervous about bringing you along, but I know you're a brave dragon.” Twilight stood back up. “All right, we'll get ready and leave tomorrow morning for Zecora and then the castle!”

The next day they left Ponyville early in the morning to avoid most of the worst creatures that lived in the Everfree. Timberwolves were still a threat of course, but with six ponies (and a little dragon) they were confident they could get to Zecora's without difficulty.

Rainbow scouted out ahead, flying over the trees to keep an eye out for any creatures that could be lurking around while the others walked. Fluttershy could tell right away that something was off in the air and it made her stomach clench and spin.

“M-maybe this wasn't a good idea...” Fluttershy started. “Maybe my nightmares will just go away on their own, that's right.”

“Come on sugarcube, we're almost to Zecora's. Ain't nothing to be afraid of, it's still nice and early today.” Applejack said as she gave the pegasus a gentle touch. “You can lean on me if you need to.”

“Thank you Applejack, I'll do that.”

By the time they reached Zecora's a brisk wind was blowing through the trees. They could see the zebra brewing something in her cauldron through shadows cast from her window. Twilight walked up and knocked politely on the door.

“Zecora, it's us! We stopped by for a little advice on somethings!”

The door opened and Zecora smiled, ushering in the ponies (and Spike) into her home. “Welcome my pony friends! I was going to visit on the weekend. Did you come because of the castle's glow? It certainly put on a show!”

The girls looked at each other in confusion. “The castle glowed? When was this?” Twilight asked with a flick of her ear.

“Hmm. It was five days before. I could see it from my door! Mystic lights of green and white, it almost gave me a fright.”

“Five days ago?” Fluttershy said in a quiet voice. “That's when my nightmares started...”

“Maybe the lights are from the old tomb under the castle! The ghosts living in there were escaping!” Pinkie shot up onto both hooves, bouncing excitedly.

Zecora looked perturbed at the mention of a tomb and went back to her cauldron. “I remember lights such as those. Disturbing tombs is not what I'd chose.” Turning her attention to Fluttershy she offered a gentle smile. “Tell me of your nightmare, and I shall see about the proper care.”

With a nervous swallow Fluttershy told Zecora of the nightmares she was having, shivering in the memories.

The zebra paced around her hut after Fluttershy had finished, idly looking through her ingredients. Nothing about the timing felt right, and as far as she knew it was out of her hooves. Such nightmares, not even a placebo would be able to fix.

“You have not been visited by the Princess of Dreams? Surely she could quiet the nightly screams.”

“Princess Luna's been imprisoned by the griffons!” Spike spoke up. “They think she ordered the death of their king!”

“Princess Celestia showed us that there's another such tomb in Griffdonia too. It might be one of the tombs opening has triggered Fluttershy's nightmares.” Twilight tapped her hoof to her chin. “But that begs the question, why?”

“Well Twilight, the princess said there were six of these old lords, yes? And there's six of us! Perhaps we're connected to them, perhaps even reincarnations!”

“Rarity, all study into the afterlife is highly restricted and even then reincarnation has been discredited as being impossible to actually credibly verify.”

“Do not be so quick to deride, powerful souls often try to find new homes to reside. Lords of old with powers terrible and true would be happy to be born anew.”

“Yeah Twilight, what were them words Celestia used in that little spell thing? They were all acronyms of what our Elements are.”

“Synonyms, but...” Twilight's horn flared as she conjured up the same globe Celestia had and lit up the same spots she had seen. She tapped her hoof against her chin as she recalled the old words. “Laughter would be up in this frozen tundra, just north of Equestria. Kindness is in Griffdonia. Generosity and Magic are here in the Everfree, Honesty is in Knossos, and Loyalty in Zebrica. If Fluttershy is having nightmares, that means the tomb in Griffdonia has been opened!”

“And if we open up the tomb here you and Rarity will start too.” Rainbow pointed out with a frown. “I'm all for helping Fluttershy but you're already not much of a morningpony as is Twilight. Nightmares will make you worse!”

“Gee, thanks Rainbow.”

“Well if opening up the tomb's a bad idea, what're we gonna do?” Applejack asked as she adjusted her hat. “Ask the princess for the Elements and see if they help?”

The group fell into discussing their next course of action, Spike sat next to Zecora and put on his best thinking face, brows furrowed.

“Well young Spike, not what you expected on this hike?” The zebra asked as she offered him a little hoofful of nuts to snack on.

Graciously accepting he chewed on one as he watched the girls talk and he looked at the globe still slowly spinning. He didn't want Rarity or Twilight to suffer nightmares, but something tugged at him.

“I want to open the tomb.” He said.

“Spike-”

“No, listen, I know it might give you and Rarity nightmares, but Fluttershy is already having them. We're already deep in the Everfree, the castle isn't really much farther. It's, it's something I feel like we need to do!”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy started, “it has to do with my nightmare involving a dragon? We can't know for sure if the others are, but it would be possible.”

“A dragon already lives in the Everfree. I suspect you will meet with he.” Zecora said as she packaged up some more little snacks for the others and passed them around.

Spike coughed nervously. “Oh yeah I met him already...”

“Don't worry Spike, we're all here to help out if something happens.” Twilight said as she ruffled his head with a smile.

“Well what're we waiting for? Let's go see what's in a dirty old tomb full of bones!” Pinkie said with a smile. “Thanks for the hospitality Zecora, see you later!”

The others gave their thanks to Zecora and waved goodbye as they walked out and back on their way to the old castle.

Some more hours went by, the forest strangely silent. They found themselves on the familiar path to the ancient castle and saw the rickety bridge across the gorge to it. Beyond, at the entrance of the castle, stood a large, green dragon. He was just, standing there, looking at the castle and not moving. Carefully they approached and his wings twitched, his head turning to look at them. There was a flash of recognition at seeing Spike, but he turned his attention back to the castle.

“I will not block your progress. You have come for the old ones. I heard their cries the night the lights flashed.” The dragon took in a deep breath. “My father and his father were not yet eggs when they were laid to rest. The scars of their battle had long since been healed here. This castle, this monument, is enchanted. I cannot continue. I do not want to continue, but I cannot leave either.”

“Don't worry, we'll take care of it!” Spike said earnestly. “We're going to open up that tomb and see for ourselves!”

A ragged, hissing laugh came from the green beast. “Then go, and see what ghosts you uncover.”

He stepped out of their way and watched as the ponies and baby dragon quickly made their way into the ancient castle. Once inside they immediately fanned out in the massive foyer, taking their time to go through every stone to see if there was some sort of secret passage. The foyer, so long abandoned, had part of the roof caved in and doors leading to all sorts of hallways. The tapestries and carpets had begun to rot away, whatever magic used to keep them pristine steadily failing.

“Be on the look out for ancient traps!” Pinkie said, skipping every other tile.

“Pinkie, this used to be a royal castle meant for ponies to live and work in. There's not going to be any ancient traps on the immediately available levels.” Twilight pointed out.

“But there might be traps on the unavailable ones, let alone the way to this old tomb. Rainbow, think you can handle that for us?” Applejack asked as she gingerly pushed open a door to see down a hallway lined with rusting pony armor.

“Of course! Actually, let me scout around outside! These old castles would have libraries right? I'll try to find it!”

“Good idea Dash, we'll keep prodding around until you find something!” Twilight said with a smile. “Just be careful, if any of the stone work looks like it's crumbling be sure to point it out to us and don't walk on it.”

“Got it, see ya in a bit!”

As the pegasus zoomed off to explore around the outside Rarity couldn't help but examine the tapestries. Her lips were curled in a pout, frankly insulted that such fine work was damaged and left in the middle of nowhere. More than that however, it was also set slightly lower than the tapestry on the other side! It wasn't a big different, but there were still a couple inches different that just tickled the back of Rarity's mind. She gently pulled on the tapestry with her magic and it fell to pieces right in front of her. The white unicorn gasped in horror at what she had done, but then grew curious as behind the tapestry was a small alcove with a hole big enough for a hoof to be inserted.

“Oh girls, I found something!” She called out, lighting up her horn to look in the hole. “There seems to be something in there.”

“Scooch over sugarcube, lemme see that.” Applejack said as she got up on her hind legs and stuck a hoof inside. “Woo nelly, it's cold in there. Cold and damp! Ain't no bugs in there but... there we go! I feel a key! Gimme a moment.”

Tongue out in concentration Applejack grabbed onto the key as best she could with her hoof before carefully pulling it out of the hole. Holding it up they all saw it was a silver key.

“Oooh, there might be a matching gold key somewhere!” Pinkie said cheerily as she hopped on over to another tapestry and looked behind it. “Hmm, not here!”

“All right everypony, let's spread out and find that key! If the silver one is Luna's then a gold one would be Celestia's!”

“What would the key even be used for?” Fluttershy asked. “It seems odd for it to be in the foyer here like this.”

“We can ask the princess later. Keys are meant to open things, and that'll help out!”

They looked behind each tapestry in the foyer, and didn't find another key. At the same time as their little search ended Rainbow came down from the hole in the roof.

“I found the library, it's this way! I'll lead you by the windows, come on!”

Following after Rainbow was easier said than done, the castle a veritable maze of halls and ruined rooms. For her part Rainbow did help guide them as best she could, detailing the best path she could see from the outside. The rooms and halls were dilapidated, untouched after centuries of neglect. The ambient magic in the air from preservation spells lingered, slowly wilting away.

It took only a couple of wrong turns before they were back on the correct path, and then past a set of heavy oak doors into the ancient castle's library.

Twilight's jaw dropped at the sight of shelves upon shelves of books. Leather bound tomes of various sizes, magic shimmering along the shelves but faded from age. Hooves clopped against the floor as they spread out to look over the sheer volume of books before them.

“Where do we even start?” Spike asked as he began to climb up a rolling ladder. “There's just so many of them! 'Manticores and How to Tame Them', 'Mandrake Root Uses', hey a lot of these books aren't in proper order!” He pulled himself and the ladder down a little and grabbed another book. “'Mankind'? Huh.”

Rainbow and Fluttershy both flew around to look across the tomes as well while Applejack decided to take a look around the walls and floors. Pinkie had laid out a blanket and plates while she prepared lunch with Rarity's help. Twilight looked at the silver key and hummed a little as her horn lit up with a tracking spell. The key began to float and glow and started to fly through the library.

“Rainbow, after that key!”

Without a word the cyan pegasus saluted and took off after the key with Twilight trying to follow behind. The key flew out of the library and Rainbow continued her pursuit of it, flying after it as it went through a window of one of the slowly crumbling towers. She blinked as the key flew under an old bed and took stock of her surroundings. The room was dark, not from the light but from the colors decorating it. Navy blue, black, smatterings of white. It was then she noticed the moon and star motifs around as well, and as she landed her hooves sank a little into the ratty carpet.

“This is, Princess Luna's room!”

Her heart hammered in her chest, this was invading a princess's privacy! But then again, the castle had been abandoned for a thousand years, so surely anything of worth was already taken out, right? Crouching low she shuffled over to the bed and under it, coughing at the dust and cobwebs. The key was resting on top of a patch of carpet and she noticed that it had been cut to get to the floor underneath. Gently Rainbow pulled the flap of fabric out of the way and saw a keyhole in the floor board. The key fit in perfectly and turned just fine with a satisfying 'click'. She pulled on the key to open the floor board up and reached a hoof inside, feeling a couple books in there.

“Whoa!”

She pulled them both out, each with a similar lock on them as was in the floorboard. Carefully she pulled the key back out and made sure to hold it and the books close together as she wriggled out from under the bed. Curiosity piqued she took another look at the room, with the well worn dressers sitting, one with a broken mirror on it. Rainbow trotted over to the dresser with the mirror and opened up the top drawer before swiftly shutting it.

“Okay yeah that's enough snooping Dash, the others are waiting.”

After a few more minutes of flying back Rainbow zipped through an open window of the library. The others were nibbling on their lunches and had piles of books to go through. She skidded to a halt and plopped down next to Twilight, presenting the two books and key she had found.

“These were in Princess Luna's old chambers, under the bed! They might be her old journals.”

“Rainbow, we can't just look through her old journals! That's an invasion of privacy!”

“Well Twilight I can't disagree, but if the princesses built this here castle over the tomb then maybe there's something in here we can use.” Applejack said after swallowing a bite of food. “Besides, if she princess wanted 'em she'd have come back for 'em.”

Somehow Rarity already had one journal and the key, opening it up. “And just think of the gossip that could be inside!” She tittered as she flipped through some pages, stopped, and suddenly frowned. “Oh dear...”

“What is it?” Spike asked as he tried to peer from his seat though it was hard to see.

Rarity cleared her throat. “'Sister and I haven't even gotten our cutie marks yet, and we've already had to rally the crystal ponies to face off against Joy. It was a mercy, in the end. I cannot forget the terror in her eyes.' Goodness, this is so morbid!”

“What the hay is a 'crystal pony'?” Rainbow asked with a mouthful of food.

There was a collective shrug, not even Twilight knew. The other unicorn unlocked the other journal and flipped all the way to the end and her brow furrowed.

“This is her later journal, what she wrote here is during her descent into Nightmare Moon. 'The humans have come again with their empty platitudes and worship. No matter how often they are driven away they come back, eager for our attention like foals hungry for their mother's milk. Sister puts up with them but I care little. It is not they whom I seek the love of. Equestria is my nation, my people, they are the ones whom should be worshiping me!''

“Oh my. Princess Luna already had people eager to give her the love and adoration she wanted, but it wasn't from ponies so she rejected them...”

“It's not that odd Fluttershy. Why if I had suitors that I had no interest in and they were persistent then I would be rather annoyed with them as well!” Rarity said with a flick of her mane.

“Why don't we just skim through them journals until they say something about the tomb here. Meanwhile I can see if this here book of local maps means it's got the plans for the castle.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Good idea Applejack, let's get to it!”

Day turned into night as the ponies and dragon scoured every word, every line of Luna's journals for any hint they could receive. The second journal was started long after she had settled into the castle, so they turned their efforts to the first one while Applejack kept going through the maps and floorplans she could find in the books they had gathered.

There was a collective yawn as tiredness seeped into their minds, Spike already curled up and snoozing peacefully. Twilight just finished highlighting a few passages in Luna's journal before closing it with the highlighter nestled on the pages. Quietly they said their goodnights and hunkered down on the floor to drift off to sleep.

As with every night thus far, Fluttershy was beset with nightmares. She twisted and turned in her sleep, whimpering. In the dreamscape she was inside of she could see the large dragoness tormenting ponies and griffons, making them suffer, making them bleed. It hurt her heart to see such abject cruelty, more so when their eyes met and she could feel the pain in the dragon's soul. Then there was a horrific, wet ripping sound as the dragon claimed another victim.

Fluttershy woke up screaming.

The others sprang awake, groggy and frightened. When they saw Fluttershy hunched over and breathing hard they scooted closer to her. Applejack took to rubbing Fluttershy's back gently and whispered soothingly to her.

“It's all right sugarcube, we're here for you. Come on now, deep breath, hold it, release. Deep breath, hold it, release.”

Following Applejack's instructions the yellow pegasus managed to calm her breathing.

“T-thank you. I'm sorry I woke everyone up...” She said in shame, shifting her head to hide behind her mane. “Oh, where's Spike?”

Twilight turned around, Spike not where he had been. Her eyes widened as she bolted off, shouting his name. She rounded past shelves and saw a door slightly ajar and ran right for it. After she pushed through she saw Spike walking, almost in a trance.

“Spike!” She called out.

He didn't respond and kept walking along his path, the silver key in his hands. Twilight ran right after him and managed to catch up. She reached to touch him, to shake him out of his stupor right when Rainbow caught up too.

“Wait Twilight! We should watch where he's going, he might lead us somewhere we need to go!”

The unicorn chewed her lower lip before nodding. “You're right Dash, this might be important.”

Quietly they followed after Spike as he wandered before he stopped in front of an old, weathered statue. It was hard to make out what it was exactly, but upon the dais it was set on was a carefully hidden hole that Spike slipped the key into. There was the noise of old metal grinding as the statue pulled into the wall, revealing stairs that led down underground. Before he could start walking down them Twilight grabbed him in her magic and gently pulled him back.

“Spike, Spike wake up!” She said softly, giving him a little shake.

“Huh, wha-” The little dragon mumbled, eyes blinking blearily. “What time is it?”

“It's late. Fluttershy had another nightmare, and you were sleepwalking.”

“Oh, huh. I kind of remember hearing something. Is Fluttershy all right?”

Twilight and Rainbow nodded as the others came up from behind, all of them peering down the stairs.

“I guess that's where we go next.” Twilight said as she mustered up her courage. “All right, let's go everypony!”

Down they all went, the glow from Twilight and Rarity's horns the only light to show the path. The stairs were wide, enough for them all to trot down without worry. The stone work shifted from that of the castle to rough hewn work of natural caverns. It went down quite a ways and before they realized it hunger struck just as they stepped out onto a smooth, flat floor.

The sense of hunger was lost as they all looked around in amazement at the massive cavern they found themselves in, Twilight lighting her horn brighter to show a massive stone door with glowing glyphs on the face of it.

“This... this must be the tomb...” The purple unicorn said as she approached it carefully. Her horn lit up once more as she tested her magic against the glyphs. They gave off a faint glow, but remained otherwise dormant. Even after a few moments, nothing.

“Twilight's magic isn't working, and she's the most magical pony besides the princesses!” Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced up to the door, giving it a firm tap with her hoof. The glyphs glowed again in response to her touch, causing her to tap her chin.

“Dashie, use some pegasus magic on the wall!”

“How? This cave is kind of, not outside. Though, there is some moisture in the air. Twilight, think you can help condense the water?”

“What if you just, touched the door like what Pinkie did?” Twilight suggested. “Maybe that's it. Maybe it needs an alicorn to unlock, so it won't react to one pony, but there's six of us, two of each tribe!”

Murmuring softly in approval all six of them came to the door and pressed against it. The unicorns and earth ponies had it easier to channel their unique magic into the glyphs while Rainbow and Fluttershy had to be flying to work theirs. The glyphs glowed brighter than before... but the door was still shut.

They groaned in frustration and slumped down.

“I don't get it, it's like there's a piece missing!”

Spike walked up to the door and put his hand on it. “Hey, one more try! We're this far, we can't give up now! Maybe it's not just an alicorn that's needed to unlock the tomb!”

The idea didn't seem too off, after all, if Fluttershy was having a nightmare with a dragon, and there were dragons being drawn to the castle, then maybe a dragon was the final key of the puzzle! Twilight nodded and got back into position with the others. Together they pushed out their magic into the door, the six ponies and Spike. The glyphs flashed bright before suddenly dying. A moment of dread crossed Twilight's mind, thinking they had failed, when the cavern began to rumble and the massive stone door sank into the ground. They all gasped as the door vanished into the floor to reveal the tomb beyond.

Piles upon piles of old treasure were laid about, mountains of gold coins, precious gems, and ancient weapons. Two massive dragon skeletons were laid together, looking as it they were in rest with one another, one resting on the piles of treasure and the bigger one on the solid ground. Immediately Rarity and Spike headed for the piles of treasure, though Spike went past the tasty gems to gently touch one of the massive fangs of the dragon skeleton.

“These aren't bits, these are ancient gold coins from pre-unified Knossos! And there are coins with Princess Platinum on them, dating to around Equestria's founding! These are all positively ancient!”

Rainbow traveled down the length of the skeletons, taking stock of them. She didn't touch them, instead she flew all the way down to the other end of the cavern and had to shout to the others. “There's a nest over here, and I think I can see egg shell!”

Twilight raised her head up, letting out balls of light to latch onto the ceiling to better illuminate the area.

Fluttershy stared forlornly at the skulls. “This was their home. They even had an egg together.” She sniffled a little and pawed at the ground.

Pinkie wandered up to the bigger skeleton and right through the gaps of its teeth into its mouth. “Whoa. This dragon could gobble up all of Ponyville in one big bite! I bet he had to eat a lot of gems. Oh, there's one in here!”

The pink pony wriggled out before she fell backwards onto her rump with an 'oof', a sphere in her hands.

“Pinkie, that's not a gem, that's a.... that's a memory crystal!” Twilight hurried over to examine the sphere carefully. “Without a doubt. The thoughts of this dragon crystalized after death, thanks to a spell to allow such to happen. Memory crystals are very hard to do, they require a lot of magical prowess to make. Lots of elderly unicorn nobles make them to pass on memories to their heirs, or to blackmail rivals. This one was in the dragon's mouth?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yeppers! And I bet the other dragon has one too!”

Spike had sat down, just watching the giant bones with a sad sense of awe as Pinkie fetched the second memory crystal. Rainbow came back to the others, holding large shards of an egg. She held them up to the light and the egg shell glittered like sapphires.

---

In Canterlot Celestia had just raised the sun into the sky and settled in for breakfast when a letter appeared before her. She took a sip of tea before reading it and she felt a headache start.

Dear Princess Celestia,

We found and opened the old tomb under the ancient castle and recovered two memory crystals and the remnants of a dragon egg. The tomb is filled with treasure that no doubt folk from all around the world would want returned to their homelands. We'll be bringing what we found to Canterlot post-haste.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle