A Royal History Lesson

by crazyjw18

Secret Expedition

Celestia packed her saddlebags and prepared to leave the palace just before the first light of dawn. She tried to be quiet as she carefully pried open the bedroom window, but it had been a long time since it had last been used. The window finally came open with a loud screech that she could only pray no one else had heard.

"Well, I guess this is it," she whispered as she adjusted the bags on her back and made sure they wouldn't get in the way of her wings.

Squeezing through the narrow opening, Celestia leapt nimbly out and happily spread her white wings to their fullest. It had been several days since she had last flown, and it felt good to be in the open air once more. Belatedly remembering that she was on a secret mission, she hurriedly scanned the darkness to see if any other ponies were watching. Luckily this section of the palace seemed quiet for the moment.

As she rose higher into the air, she caught sight of the substantial preparations underway in front of the palace. A great bonfire burned in the center of the courtyard, illuminating the orderly rows of tents spread out around it. It appeared that a large number of ponies had already been gathered to counter the menace of Tirek. It was hard to believe that such a force wouldn't be able to take care of a single monster, but her mother hadn't sounded too optimistic about their chances.

With one last nervous look back at the palace, Celestia resolutely clenched her teeth and took flight towards the east. If her calculations were correct, it would take her less than a day and a half to reach the Black Mountains. Hopefully it wouldn't take her much longer than that to find Dream Castle. She tried to not dwell on the fact that she didn't know what she was going to do even if she somehow managed to find the place.

Celestia had been flying a few hours and the sun was already high overhead when she decided to take her first break. Spiraling slowly down towards a small clearing, she set down gracefully and settled back on her haunches to rest. It wouldn't do to wear herself out with such a long ways still to go.

She had only been resting for a few moments when she heard something crashing around in the trees nearby. Cautiously creeping up through the treetops, Celestia soon spied the noisemaker. A small dark colored pony had somehow managed to get herself tangled up in some branches and was struggling frantically to free herself. Celestia's suspicion was confirmed as she drew nearer to the little pony.

"Luna, what in Equestria are you doing here?" Celestia demanded.

The smaller pony stopped struggling and peered pitifully around at her older sister. "I got stuck!" she cried.

"Yes, I can see that," Celestia retorted as she moved to help the younger filly. "What I want to know is why you're following me!"

"You're going to Dream Valley, aren't you?"

"N-n-no," Celestia stammered. "I told you last night that was just a story."

"Then where are you going?" Luna asked as she managed to finally squirm free.

"That's none of your business. You need to just fly your little rump right back to the palace."

"But I want to go with you."

"It's too dangerous," Celestia replied. "You'd just end up getting hurt."

"Stop treating me like a little foal," Luna complained. "I can take care of myself." She crossed her hooves and looked away defiantly. "Besides, I've been just following you this whole time, so I don't even know the way back. And since you snuck out, I bet you don't want to take me all the way back to the palace because they'll be looking for us by now."

Celestia was silent for a moment. "Fine," she conceded. "But listen here, Little Sister. You're going to follow my orders to the letter, or we're going straight back. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Luna replied with a mock salute.

"Alright then, let's go ahead and land. If you've been following me all this time, then I'm sure you're a bit worn out."

"Yippee!" Luna squealed as she followed after her sister. "We're going on a real adventure!"

---

"Are you ok?" Celestia asked as she slowed down to allow her sister to catch up. "You're really starting to lag behind."

"I'm fine," Luna gasped.

"You look like you're on your last wings."

Luna shook her head. "I can keep going."

"There's no use in wearing yourself out," Celestia murmured. "We've been flying all day after all."

"I can keep going as long as you can," was Luna's stubborn reply.
"Well, you may be ok, but I think I need to rest," Celestia announced as she wiped a hoof across her forehead. "Besides, it's going to start getting dark soon. We should probably start looking for somewhere to spend the night."

"There haven't been any villages in a long time," Luna pointed out. "Where are we going to sleep?"

"We'll just have to sleep outside."

"Outside?

"Yes, outside," Celestia giggled. "Why, you aren't scared are you?"

"No, I'm not scared," Luna denied.

"Good," Celestia replied. She peered around. "I had hoped that we could find a nice cloud to sleep on, but the sky looks pretty clear around here."

"Does that mean we have to sleep on the ground?" Luna asked nervously.

"I'd rather stay in a treetop if at all possible," Celestia said as she scanned the area for any large trees. "It'd be a little bit safer."

"How about that one," Luna said, pointing to a tall oak tree up ahead.

"I suppose that will do."

The two ponies headed for the tree and quickly located a comfortable looking bough near the top. Celestia removed her saddlebags and carefully hung them on a branch next to her, then started rummaging inside.

"Here," she said as she tossed Luna an apple. "I'm sorry that it's not much, but I didn't pack for two."

"What are you going to eat?" Luna demanded.

"Oh, I'll find something in a little bit," Celestia replied as she lay down.

Luna stared guilty at the apple for a moment before using her magic to split it neatly in half. "Here," she said as she offered it to her sister.

"You don't have to do that," Celestia protested.

"I'm not eating unless you do," Luna pouted.

Celestia reluctantly accepted the apple half. "After this we need to get some rest."
"Ok," Luna mumbled with her mouth still full.

---

The night passed without incident, and the two ponies awoke to another day with clear and sunny skies. After stretching their wings and sharing another meager meal, Celestia and Luna took flight once more towards the Black Mountains looming ominously on the horizon. It was only a few hours before they found themselves flying into the very shadow of the jagged mountain range.

"It sure is creepy here," Luna commented as she moved to fly closer to her elder sister.

"Yes, it is a bit unnerving," Celestia agreed as she kept a wary eye on the dark peaks they were passing. Her mother's mention of dragons hung heavy in her mind as she noticed just how many dark caverns were etched into the craggy cliffs.

"Hey, isn't that the volcano?" Luna asked, pointing towards a hazy peak up ahead.

"Looks like it," Celestia confirmed after consulting the map.

The two rose higher into the air as they approached the old volcano, making sure to keep well clear of the murky smoke drifting lazily from the partially collapsed crater.

"Look down there, Big Sister!" Luna pointed out excitedly as they rounded the side of the mountain. "That must be Dream Valley!"

A broad valley twisted and turned its way through the land at the foot of the volcano. Unlike the shadowy regions surrounding them, the area around the valley was brightly illuminated due to a large gap in the mountain range. At first glance the brilliant sunlight pouring in made the area appear inviting, but a closer look revealed that the valley was anything but.

The valley floor was completely covered in a thick grayish-purple layer of lava-like material. Not a sign of life could be seen amongst the irregular swirls and eddies that covered the surface, and in fact even the higher lands around the valley seemed to have somehow been drained of their vitality. If this region had ever been inhabitable, that time had long passed.

"I suppose this stuff is the Smooze," Celestia observed quietly as they flew over the valley.

"I don't like this place," Luna replied, sticking close by her sister's side.

"I wonder how deep it is," Celestia said thoughtfully. "Deep enough to hide a castle, I'll bet."

"How are we going to find it?" Luna asked. "Everything looks the same."

Celestia shook her head. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. The scroll mentioned that others had sought the castle before and failed. "Just keep an eye out for anything that looks out of place."

"Everything looks out of place," Luna grumbled.

---

The two had searched fruitlessly for nearly two hours before Luna finally spotted something. "Look, there's a big hole over there!" she exclaimed.

"So there is," Celestia said as she changed course to check it out. "I wonder what could have caused that."

As the two drew closer, Celestia decided that she didn't want to know after all what had forced its way through the rocklike Smooze. Many rows of deep claw marks radiated away from the opening, and there were heavy chunks of Smooze littering the landscape in every direction. It was obvious that whatever had dug this hole had been huge.

"It looks pretty deep," Celestia noted as she peered inside the dark cavern. "Maybe it's some kind of den." Her horn glowed brightly as she hovered over the entrance, giving them a bit more light to see by. Despite her efforts the hole had been dug at an angle, so they were still unable to see very far inside.

As foreboding as the hole was, it remained the only oddity they had found so far. Celestia decided reluctantly that she should investigate it. "Wait here, little sister," she said, trying not to let her voice shake.

Luna watched fearfully as her sister slipped inside. A few minutes passed as the glow from Celestia's horn grew fainter and fainter. The younger pony was wondering if she should disobey her sister when the glow quickly began to grow brighter again. She stumbled back a few paces as Celestia came rushing out of the hole at top speed.

"I think we found it!" Celestia exclaimed. "There's some kind of big stone building down there!"

Luna gave a sigh of relief upon seeing that her sister was ok. "Did you see what made the hole?"

"No, I didn't," Celestia admitted. "But this place has been deserted for hundreds of years. Most likely whatever it was is long gone by now."

"I hope you're right," Luna replied nervously