> Forgotten Kingdom
>  by Invisible Cadance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 0: Prologue (Luna's Story)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna slowly walked through the dark, dusty corridors of her former castle. Its location deep in the Everfree Forest made sure that no pony had taken care of it during her banishment. Glass-shards from broken oil-lamps littered the floor in the dark corridor. Her royal armaments protected her hooves as she shattered the glass by walking over it. Everything reminded her of how it had looked like during its glory days, so full of life and light. She had to hold back a tear upon a seeing painting with a silver frame on the floor. The dust covered it entirely, but she remembered the painting of Starswirl the Bearded that used to hang on the wall with the same frame.

She soon found herself back at the main entrance. The floor was covered by her hoof-prints in the dust; they led off to the other side of the castle. The main entrance door had fallen apart, and its remains littered the overgrown road outside. A staircase stood just opposite of the entrance but fared no better; the lower half of it had fallen down to the ground where it was crushed into hundreds of pieces. The remaining parts of the staircase showed large cracks poorly hidden beneath the dust. It was unlikely that it would be capable of holding a pony’s weight.

With a few quick flaps of her wings she soon found herself on the upper floor. The corridors were just as much abandoned as the lower floor. Dust, glass, paintings, and stone covered the floor. She retraced the steps she had walked so many times under livelier circumstances. All that could be heard was her hooves crushing glass. The quietness made her miss when it was full of laughter and talks.

Her steps soon took her to the room that had once been the throne room. The magnificent doors that had once stood guarding the room were now gone. Left vulnerable, the room looked emptier than she remembered it. The carpet that she remembered being dark blue was now simply grey of dust. Except for a few oil-lamps that had crashed to the ground, a throne was the only object the room contained. It was full of cracks and looked like it would break apart at any second. Behind the throne a broken window stood, yet only small amounts of sunlight shined through it. What remained of the window showed signs of stained glass, but it was too shattered for her to see what it had symbolized.

Crash!

The sound caused the floor to shake, and Luna hunched backwards with her horn glowing. Seconds passed without any other sound than her heavy breathing and her magic being channelled. She took a quick glance around the room, but everything was the way it had been when she entered.  With that information she finally ended her protective spell and lowered her head in relief. At her front hooves she noticed a small shard of stained glass; it depicted a sun. The sun bore a close resemblance to her sister’s cutie mark with its eight flames striking out of the middle. A tear rolled down her chin as she remembered when she and Celestia had ruled together in the castle. It was time when ponies gave the castle life, and she brought harmony to the lands together with her sister. But it was before her madness, and now it all had fallen to emptiness.

She snapped herself out of the memories with a light kick to the floor. Using her magic, she levitated the shard of stained glass and placed it on her back. With it secured, she exited the room and headed back into the corridors. With the exception of her hoof-prints in the middle of the corridors, they looked just as dead as they had been when she first got there. She hurried through until she was back at the main hall. The first thing she noticed was that the upper part of the staircase had fallen down and joined the rest of the staircase, most likely creating the crash she heard earlier. But it was another sight that caught her attention; in front of the entrance the shattered pieces of the old elements of harmony lied. Her own hoof-prints left a flat print on the floor due to her armaments, but around the remains of the elements hoof-prints that looked like they were made by naked hooves covered the floor. They led into a small corridor where they disappeared into the darkness.

She flew slowly down to the bottom floor while keeping a look out for whoever created the other hoof-prints. Upon landing on the floor, she approached the broken elements that looked at her as if they had eyes. The memory of her destroying what she had once wielded was still fresh in her mind. She sighed at the thought of never being able to wield them again.

“I’m sorry, sister,” Luna whispered while placing the shard of stained glass on top of the elements.

Why would anypony bring the shards here? She analysed the hoof-prints closer, but there was nothing unusual about them. All she could come up with was that they didn’t belong to her, something she had figured at first sight. After another sigh she decided to follow the hoof-prints into the corridor. She had already been through it, so her hoof-prints covered the floor along with the unknown pony’s prints.

The chase took her deep down into the castle until she stopped at a small hatch leading to the basement. She had passed going down there on her first way through, but the hoof-prints stopped right in front of it. The dust on the hatch didn’t lie as compact on the hatch as it did on the untouched parts of the floor. She had never spent much time down there, it wasn’t considered very royally of her to be in the underground parts of the castle. After her madness took over, she remembered converting the basement to something horrific. The screams of the ponies whose fate was sealed down there still echoed in her head as a nightmare.

She slowly opened the hatch with her magic while trying to shake of the memory. A foul odour met her as a set of dusty stairs was revealed. They were covered with hoof-prints that led all the way down into the darkness. Using her magic, she summoned forth a small orb of light and sent it down before following with careful steps. The stairs didn’t lead far, and she soon found herself stirring up an ocean of dust with her hooves on the basement floor. Her body shivered from the cold air. The cobalt blue light revealed a long pathway that led past cells on both sides of her. They were of a small rectangular shape that contained only a bed and a bucket. Most beds were in a destroyed shape and parts of the ceiling had fallen down in some of the cells. She recalled walking past the cells when they were filled with starving and badly beaten ponies, yet there were no skeletons in them.

With a light knock to her head she brought herself back from the memories. The hoof-prints continued along the pathway and led to a thick wooden door at the end of the room. Small splinters were missing from it, but aside from that it seemed to have handled the aging well. She opened the door with her hoof and the hinge let out a loud creak. Beyond the door a large circular room awaited her. She allowed the orb to light it up entirely before she stepped inside. It looked mostly intact; only small parts of the stone walls were damaged and letting a cold draft through. The room’s only objects were large steel chains hanging from the ceiling. They hanged in pairs of four, and some of them had started to rust. The hoof-prints led to the end of the room where they stopped beneath a pair of chains with the skeleton of a pony dangling upside-down. Even in death the chains wouldn’t let the poor soul go. Images started appearing before her eyes of a green coated Pegasus dangling from the very same chains. Blood were dripping down to the ground from her hooves and only worsened as she desperately tried to flee using her wings. The Pegasus’ eyes stared helplessly into Luna with tears rolling down her forehead.

The Princess quickly looked away from the sight and started exploring the rest of the room. “I’m sorry for hurting you.” She whispered the words, yet they echoed lowly throughout the room. Her legs started dangling slightly as she felt something from her stomach want to leave through the front. She hunched over in an attempt to contain it. The light from the orb started to slowly fade away as she felt her body starting to weigh more than before. She looked again towards the floor where the hoof-prints ended as her legs were fighting to keep her up. The fight made her start panting heavily; she could only barely hear the draft over it.

When the orb died out, she fell down to the ground and stirred up dust all over her body. A small red glow appeared around her hooves and gave the room a dim light. She tried to kick it away, but her legs refused to obey her. Only sparks came out of her horn when she tried to defend herself using magic. She had spent enough time around magic to know when it was being directed at her.

The red glow remained uninterrupted and slowly picked off the armaments from her hooves. A second light removed the crown from her head. Among the shadows she could see the gesture of a unicorn. It was too dark for her to see the stranger clearly, but the horn glowed red as blood. Before she could study the unicorn any longer, something cold touched her hooves. A loud clang could be heard as a sharp pain went through all four of her hooves. She allowed a short scream to escape her before being lifted up into the air. She didn’t need to check what it was holding her up; she knew it was the chains, and now she was hanging the same way the Pegasus had hanged.

The red light from the unicorn’s horn went out and left the entire room in darkness. Only small sparks left Luna’s horn as she stubbornly tried to free herself. Each try left her weaker than before. She couldn’t see the unicorn, but she could hear its breaths. She closed her eyes and felt a warm fluid running down her hooves. One more try.
> Chapter 1: Books and Parties (Twilight's Story)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Pinkie!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed at the pink pony jumping around in the library. She was sitting in the middle of the circular room. In front of her a small table specifically made for reading purposes stood. A large book sent by Princess Celestia lied on top of it, open and partially read. The rest of the room was filled with piles of party hats, balloons, glasses, chairs, and decorations of all kinds. Hidden behind the piles were bookcases filled to the brink with books. An unknowing pony could easily mistake the library for a party shop.

“Pinkie, I need you to calm down so that I can read this book,” Twilight sighed at the Earth Pony who continued jumping around without a care. “Rarity and Spike will be back soon from their trip. Save your energy for the party.”

“Fine!” Pinkie responded and stopped herself mid-air. She touched down safety on her hooves and looked longingly towards three balloons. They looked very similar to her cutie mark; one yellow balloon and two blue. “What is so important in the book that it can’t wait for tomorrow, Twilight?”

“I’m glad you asked.” The Unicorn sighed out of relief and gave her friend a smile. “This book was sent to me by Princess Celestia herself. It’s titled, The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom. It tells the story of a neighbouring kingdom called Bolivianite. The evil Queen Ametrine ruled over it for the entirety of its lifetime. Anyway, I haven’t reached far in it yet. But if Princess Celestia sent it; then it must be important. You should read a book while we wait for the others to return.” She directed her attention to the book and allowed herself to be engulfed by the words on the paper. The Earth Pony’s breathing was the only outside noise that reached her.

“History won’t change tomorrow,” Pinkie jokingly whispered in response. She approached the closest bookcase and started reading the titles of the books for herself.

The words quickly passed by Twilight’s eyes as she went from page to page. The book described the social structure of Bolivianite; where Unicorns reigned superior over the other races. In the best case scenario, an Earth Pony or a Pegasus could be a soldier, but usually they were kept as slaves. The leader of a close by kingdom, Princess Celestia, didn’t agree with the way the Ametrine was managing the kingdom and repeatedly sent warnings. However, the Queen’s close friendship with Princess Luna made sure the threats never came to pass. In the end, it was that friendship that would be Bolivianite destruction. During the younger sister’s corruption to Nightmare Moon, Queen Ametrine was betrayed and forced to witness her entire life work crumble to pieces. But not before managing to cast a powerful spell upon Princess Luna.

“Pinkie!” the Unicorn exclaimed again. This time it was in a crackling voice.

“Yes?” the pink pony asked and jumped out of a pile of books. Two bookcases stood empty behind the Earth Pony. “What is it Twilight?”

“I think Princess Luna might be in grave danger,” Twilight replied quickly. Her eyes kept on wandering off to the books on the floor; spells to fix the mess appeared in her mind, yet she did her best to focus on Pinkie’s large blue eyes. “Princess Celestia must have sent me this book because she knew I would figure it out.”

“Twilight? What are you talking about? Why would Princess Luna be in danger? She’s with her sister in Manehatten.” Pinkie kicked back some of the books with her hind-legs as if she had noticed her friend’s concerns.

“No, Princess Celestia went alone to the diplomatic assembly.” Twilight used her magic to search a nearby drawer hidden behind party equipment. From there she picked up a parchment and rolled it up before levitating it over to the Earth Pony. “She sent me this letter a few days ago. It mentions the book, so there must be some sort of connection.”

“Then where else would she be?” Pinkie looked up from the letter before putting it away. “All my friends in Canterlot are saying that she has left the city. Maybe she went to a secret party hidden in disguise.” Her tone changed slightly. I don’t think you need to worry yourself over this, Twilight. They don’t always tell us everything they do.”

“Read this page,” Twilight replied and levitated the large book to her friend. She started to describe the events of the page before Pinkie even received the chance to start reading it. “The Unicorn who wrote this was a soldier in Queen Ametrine’s army. She participated in the fighting against Nightmare Moon, but her regiment failed to defeat the enemy. As she was lying wounded on the ground, she heard her Queen proudly cast a curse of unlimited horror. The spell is never described here because she feared what would happen if anypony else would get a hold of it. But she does mention that it isn’t the type of magic that is activated immediately. Princess Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years and only recently escaped. The spell was most likely dormant for the entire duration of her banishment. But now that she’s back, the curse will most likely activate soon.”

“Hold on for a minute,” Pinkie said and allowed Twilight to place the book back on the table. “I’ve never heard of this Bolivianite, nor of any Queen Ametrine. It all sounds a lot like fiction and excuses. Excuses to miss Rarity’s party.” She changed her tone to that of a more caring and compassion one. “Twilight, it’s going to be fun. We’re going to dance, play music, eat cake, blow balloons, and spend a lot of time with our friends. You’re going to love it. Just do –”

“Actually, Rarity has a different kind of party in mind,” the Unicorn interrupted. She recalled how it had been when she warned of Nightmare Moon’s return. No pony had believed her at first, but her fears turned out to be right. One would have expected it to give her some kind of credibility in these matters. But the Mare in the Moon had been a popular story that most ponies knew about, Queen Ametrine was a pony she hadn’t heard of either. None of the maps she had seen showed any ruins other than the castle in the Everfree Forest.

But the older atlases have ruins on them. The thought appeared in her mind as she looked over the pile of books on the floor. She couldn’t remember that there were anything of the size of an ancient kingdom, but at least it might be able to provide her with some clues. One certain map had exactly that which she was looking for if she remembered correctly. “Pinkie, I’m looking for an atlas called, The Outskirts of Canterlot.” Using her magic, she quickly checked the titles of all the books in the bookcase that was closest to her. Only one atlas was there, and it only focused on the modern Equestrian era.

“I found it!” Pinkie exclaimed muffled by a large book in her mouth. She was standing near the pile of books that she had created, and an empty hole in it revealed that the atlas came from there. The Earth Pony jumped happily to the table in the middle of the room and placed down the object from her mouth. “I’ve already read this book. It sure needs to learn how to be more accurate. Somepony could get lost using one of these maps.”

“It’s an atlas detailing the history of the area surrounding Canterlot,” Twilight corrected and joined her friend at the table. She opened the book at the index page. The maps dated back to three thousand years ago, but Nightmare Moon had only been a thousand years ago. The index led her to a page in the latter half of the atlas. It featured a yellowish map with the city of Canterlot in the middle; the castle was not yet a part of it. Various small villages were scattered around a tall mountain looming over the city. On the hills of the Unicorn Range, a nameless castle stood. It was as large as three whole villages, but compared to the city it was small.

She turned the pages until she reached the next map. Before it, the book was full of text describing the history of the map, yet the nameless castle was left unmentioned. Very little had changed on the second map which was dated two hundred years later; the unnamed castle had been changed into a ruin and Canterlot had its size increased with a new addition on the mountainside. She kept on going through the maps until she reached one dated only a few years back. The ruin on the Unicorn Range was completely gone and in its place was a small village.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Pinkie asked upon studying the map.


“I think so,” Twilight responded and closed the atlas. “The small castle must have been Bolivianite. It’s entirely possible that the soldier exaggerated the kingdom’s size. We need to head off to the Canterlot Library right away if we’re to figure this out. Wait here, I’ll get some supplies.” She rushed up the stairs to where the second half of the library was. It had been spared from her friend’s reckless assault. A small work-desk stood beneath a round window where the sun shined through brightly. On it stood three ink bottles and four quills. On her way up the stairs to her bedroom, she grabbed one of each from the desk with her magic.

The unicorn’s bed stood in the middle of the small room that was the uppermost floor. It stood next to a large window covered by yellow curtains. A smaller bed lied beside it where Spike slept. Upon seeing it, she was reminded that she had no way to quickly contact Princess Celestia without him. Opposite of the bed was a bookcase only partly filled. On the side of it hanged a white saddle-bag with a pink star that had similarities to her cutie mark. She carefully placed the items from the desk in the bag and levitated it to her.

While running down the stairs, she placed the saddle-bag on her back and made sure it was sitting tightly. When she arrived at the bottom-floor she was met by Pinkie biting a party blower.

“This wasn’t what I had in mind,” Pinkie said slightly muffled and made a low sound with the item in her mouth.

“I know, Pinkie,” Twilight replied and laid her right front hoof on the Earth Pony. “If we leave now, we can make it back in time to Rarity’s party. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are in Cloudsdale right now. Rarity, Applejack and Spike are in Los Pegasus. If they can make it back in time, then so can we. I’m sure we’ll be back before our order at the Cake’s is due.”

“Okay, sure. But we’re buying more cakes in Canterlot, and we’re finishing our cupcake spell there. We haven’t even started on it yet.” Pinkie quickly jumped to one of the piles with party equipment and pulled out a small saddle-bag with her cutie mark on it. In a few seconds she managed to fill the bag so it looked like it was about to shatter. “I’m ready!” She left a pile barely half its original size behind her.

Twilight smiled at her friend’s answer but tried to hide away her guilt over forgetting about the spell. It was the reason Pinkie came over, but the book had completely devoured her thoughts. She picked up both the atlas and Princess Celestia’s book and placed them in her saddle-bag. They both fitted nicely in there. “If we hurry, we can make the next train.”

Pinkie was the first one to leave the library and jump out into sunny Ponyville. A few ponies hurried through the streets while others relaxed in the sun. Twilight closed the door behind her as she left. There were no cries for help, no crashing sounds. Everything looked like it would be a pleasant day to be in the village. But she would be leaving in a quest for knowledge. She wasn’t sure of what she would learn, or even if it would lead to anything at all. At least she was doing it with a friend. It would make it all worth it, regardless of outcome. She looked smiling at the pink Earth Pony that was jumping ahead of her and sometimes stopping for a second to say hello to another pony.

> Chapter 2: Memories (Luna's Story)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Short, sharp, green grass scratched her face as she woke up. Cold winds swept over her body and forced the grass straws to move. The smell of forest dug deep into her nose. A far cry from the dusty basement she last recalled being in. In the distance she could hear the sound of wheels moving quickly over a sandy road, somepony was in a hurry.

Princess Luna quickly forced herself up from the ground. She stumbled a few times on her way up as pain from her hooves almost overwhelmed her. With her balance restored, she took the time to explore her surroundings from her position. Around her was a small field of grass surrounded by a large dark forest. A sand-road passed over the field close to the edge of the forest. Sunlight only barely made it into the field and most of it were currently falling on the road. If she listened closely, she could hear the sound from a nearby stream.

Where am I? The place felt vaguely familiar to her, like it had been pulled out of a repressed memory. The castle and the basement were nowhere to be seen, but the scars still existed. All of her hooves had a small circular hole in them that made it painful for her to stand. There was no blood leaking out, even though the holes were deep into her flesh. Her royal armaments were just as much missing.

Sparks flew out of her horn as she attempted to cast a mending spell. She closed her eyes to concentrate further, but she couldn’t feel anything changing. It wasn’t like it had been in the castle; she couldn’t feel herself weakening over the spell.

As she opened her eyes from the failed attempt, she could see a small cartridge quickly passing by on the road. It was pulled by two Pegasi who were panting heavily. Red rubies decorated the cartridge and made it shine red when the sunlight hit it. After a few seconds, it had managed to pass by the field and made its way back into the dark forest.

All ways out of the field led into the trees; a place she didn’t want to go through in her condition. She remembered the dangers in the Everfree Forest, and the one she was in now reminded her of it. The road looked important enough to lead to a nearby city or village. Either direction could lead far, but from the looks of the Pegasi pulling the cartridge, something was nearby.

She stretched out her wings and attempted flight; pain coursed through them with every flap. They were raising her slowly from the ground even though she was putting hard pressure on them. Her hooves were in no condition to walk far, yet her wings didn’t seem up to the task either. A tower extended itself slightly over the treetops in the same direction the cartridge had gone. It didn’t lie far-off, but her wings failed her as soon as she tried to fly in a direction other than upwards. Pain made her dread every flap she made to stop her fall. Despite her efforts, it wasn’t enough. She crashed hard into the ground. The grass scratched her now hurting body as she moved. With a quick push she made herself stand up, but soon fell to the ground again due to her weak legs.

The ground was quite soft and easily adjusted itself after her form. She could see herself lying there to rest for a while, even though it didn’t compare to her bed in the royal castle. Just a few minutes rest to relieve her of the pain and regain her strength.

“I didn’t die so that you could lay here sleeping!”

The voice made her snap out of her comfort zone. She pushed herself up with her front legs to a great deal of pain. Her teeth were crushing down on each other to prevent her from screaming. After a large effort, she finally managed to get herself to a comfortable sitting position. In the middle of the road stood a green coated Pegasus with her wings spread out. Her mane was light blue and she had olive eyes. A small white cloud acted as her cutie mark. Images of the Pegasus in a bloody state hanging from chains started appearing in Luna’s head; blood filled eyes and tears running down her forehead.

“Get up, Princess!” the Pegasus exclaimed without moving from her position.

“Is this my punishment?” Luna asked. “Are you here to torment me, like I tormented you?”

“Get up!” the Pegasus repeated like she never heard the Princess’s question. “They still need you. They need you to avoid my fate!”

“Do you think Princess Luna is here as well?” an enthusiastic pony asked. Behind the Pegasus the image of a pink Earth Pony walking beside a purple Unicorn appeared from thin air. The pink pony had three balloons for a cutie mark and a very curly mane. The purple unicorn’s mane was straight. A large star with five smaller stars surrounding it adorned her flank.

“I don’t know, Pinkie.” The tone of the Unicorn was very serious.

“This isn’t real,” Luna said to her as the image faded away. She remembered the two ponies; they were part of the six that had saved her. “Am I dreaming? Am I –“ she found it hard to even utter the word “– dead?”

“Get up and see for yourself!” the Pegasus exclaimed.

“What do you want me to do?” Luna lashed out at the pony. Pain soared through her front legs as she pulled herself up in annoyance. She almost lost her balance at first, but she was starting to grow accustomed with the pain for every step she took towards the Pegasus. “I’m sorry for the pain I caused you. I want to amend for what I’ve done. I want to be loved. But I can’t do anything like this.”

When she reached out for the Pegasus her hoof went right through like air. In its place nothing but the road remained. I’m dreaming, am I not? She looked down on the holes in her hooves; the castle had left its remains on her and all she needed to do was to wake up again. The cartridge was the only thing that might give her some clues. She slowly started making her way on the road into the forest with small steps.

The sunlight only barely made it through the thick leaves of the trees, but it was enough for her to see the road. Large marks from wheels adorned the sandy road. There were no sounds of animals moving among the trees, only the sound of water flowing. She stretched out her wings once in a while. Two small wounds were all she could find on them in the darkness.

After walking for a few minutes, she arrived at a clearing. The cartridge that had passed by earlier stood parked in front of tall walls. As she got closer to it, she noticed that it was in fact a castle. It stretched far up into the sky with windows adorning the top two towers and various parts of the wall. Both towers had a half-moon sitting on its roof. The main entrance consisted of two large half-doors made of thick wood.

A green Pegasus with a blue mane approached the cartridge door panting. A small white cloud sat on her flank. Out from the door walked a magnificent red Unicorn wearing a red dress adorned with large rubies all over it. Her blood-red mane stretched down all the way to the ground and her tail looked like it was big enough to fill the entire cartridge on its own. She was taller than the Pegasus, and most other Unicorns Luna had seen.

Queen Amterine, the Princess remembered. Was I ever the fool to lay my trust in you? You only made me hated by those I wanted to be loved by.

The main entrance doors opened up to the sound of trumpets coming from inside the castle. A blue Unicorn walked out and bowed down in front of the Queen.

“My Queen will be very pleased to receive you,” the Unicorn said in a humble voice.

"Take me to her right away!” Ametrine demanded and reached out with her right front hoof.

The blue Unicorn kissed the hoof slowly before rising. “Follow me.”

You’re going to walk in there to talk with me. The discussion will be useless as I know what you’re planning. Yet, we’ll agree and part as friends. Luna shook her head to get rid of the sight, but it remained. The Queen and her followers walked into the castle to the sound of trumpets, the royally greeting. This is nothing more than a memory. Why am I seeing this again? Have I not been punished enough? Twilight, why did I see you? Are you trying to save me? Is it already too late?

She followed them into the castle before the doors closed. No pony even as much as raised an eyebrow to her as she passed by. It was as if she didn’t exist at all. The Pegasus had seen and talked to her, but now that same pony ignored her like the rest.

The main hall differed heavily from the state she had recently seen it in. A beautiful red carpet lied across the floor to celebrate anypony entering. Oil-lamps sat on the walls and filled the room with a lively, warm light. Servants, guards, chefs, and many other ponies walked through the room into well-lit corridors while talking to each other. Large pictures of her hanged on the walls beside the lamps. The staircase shined in the light and showed off the stone it consisted of. But the main difference was the dust; the floor and walls were cleaned to perfection with no dust in sight.

“Take my servants and treat them nicely,” Ametrine ordered the blue Unicorn. “I can find the way on my own from here.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” the servant replied.

As the two Pegasi happily followed after the servant towards one of the corridors, Luna remembered the pleading eyes of the green Pegasus hanging from the ceiling. They were walking towards the corridor that led to the small wooden hatch. She knew from her time with Ametrine that her version of nice was a really brutal one.

I tried to lead them by being brutal. It didn’t work, neither did anything before that. I’ve always been shunned. If I’m to gain their trust, at the very least I can start by proving to myself that I’ve changed. “Stop!” Her voice echoed through the room. “Don’t follow –“ the Pegasi disappeared into the corridor and Ametrine advanced to the upper level. No one stopped “– him. He’s leading you to be used as my pleasure.” She spoke the last words in a low tone.

She kept her head low as she slowly walked up the stairs. It hurt her legs more than walking on a plane surface, but she didn’t want to see what would happen with the Pegasi. Even the memory pained her; a reminder of what she did.

Ametrine walked straight into the corridor leading to the throne room and Luna followed behind. It was lit up similarly to the main entrance, but it had paintings covering most of the walls. They were mostly of her standing in various poses, but one stood out as Starswirl the Bearded with a silver frame. None of them had any sign of her sister anywhere. The floor was covered by a thin layer of purple fabric that the red Unicorn repeatedly cursed over. At the very far end of the corridor, two large doors stood. They were made out of a thick steel and looked like they could hold out against anything, yet history would prove her wrong.

The Queen’s horn glowed red and the doors flew open. A large room was revealed behind them. The walls were decorated with oil-lamps and paintings of all kinds. On the floor a dark blue carpet led the way to the throne. It was covered in a thin layer of indium-gold making it shine blue. Sitting on top of the throne with her head held up high was none other than herself. A light blue armour with a moon symbol on it and horseshoes protecting the entire area beneath the knees adorned the younger version of her. A black smoke floated around her, whispering words of hate. The Nightmare Forces always knew how to convince her to give her their energy and hate. It pained her seeing her biggest mistake corrupting her again without being able to stop it. Not even in defeat was she completely free from its grasp.

Behind the throne a window made out of stained glass allowed small amount of light through. It featured a full moon and a bright glowing sun flying at an equal height. On the ground a light blue Alicorn with a moon as her cutie mark, and a white Alicorn with a sun as a cutie mark, stood as if they were raising and lowering the night and the day. The piece of glass that she had found fitted the description of the white one’s cutie mark. Her sister’s cutie mark; it stood as a testament for when they ruled together in the castle.

Luna walked in beside Ametrine to face herself. She knew the end of the story; how it would never lead anywhere. But she thought that maybe listening to herself speak arrogantly would make her see clearly where she went wrong.

“I’m here as you requested, my Queen!” Ametrine bowed down halfway through the room. Everypony had to bow down in front of the Nightmare Forces. 

“Are the preparations finished?” the younger Luna asked and stood up from the throne. She met with the Unicorn and gave her a small nudge. The smoke followed her every step.

“Ten thousand soldiers stand ready for my command,” the red pony replied confident. “Our enemies will be crushed beneath us, and Princess Celestia will be no more.”

“And the night shall last forever.” The smoke followed her as she relocated back on top of the throne. Never giving her any rest. “My sister stole the love of my subjects from me. They loathe me for bringing the night. With their sleep they mock the night while they cherish the day. Let them enjoy it, for this shall be their last. But you, my dear, tell me why you stand against my sister.”

“I hold no love for the day,” Ametrine answered. “She seeks to bring an end to my kingdom’s ancient traditions. My youngest daughter, she believed in your sister. Now she is being held prisoner in the city of Canterlot. I could listen to the threats forever. But attacking my daughters, I will not tolerate that. I want an end to her rule!”

“A just cause,” the self-proclaimed Queen said smiling. “Your daughter will be returned safely to you. Have no fear in that regard. Now return to Bolivianite. I shall meet you there once my army has moved on Canterlot. Together we’ll strike them down from two fronts.”

“As you wish, my queen,” the Unicorn said and bowed again. “Thank you, for helping my daughter.” With those words she left the room.

You and your daughter deserved a better fate, Luna thought as the doors to the room closed. Instead, you both had to pay for my madness. She looked towards the throne where the younger version of her sat surrounded by the smoke. Memories of the throne in its destroyed state filled her eyes; a single mistake to be paid over a thousand years. If only it could have been different.

“Only one queen can exist here,” the younger Luna said laughing. “Your kingdom will make a great addition to mine. Such a pity that your daughter decided to side with my sister; she would have made a perfect princess. But now she must die, along with you and everypony else that is a threat to me. I have seen what you and they fear in your dreams; I’ll bring it all to you in the darkest hour of the night.” Her horn only glowed for a second, but the window behind her was crushed and thousands of pieces flew inside the room.

Luna didn’t have time to react as the shards flew towards her. She had forgotten about it. The throne had protected her against the glass the first time, but now she was exposed. Sparks flew out of her horn as she tried to defend herself and everything stopped. The smoke didn’t move, her younger self was quiet, and the shards floated still in the air a few centimetres away from her body. Then, everything fell into darkness. She could feel her legs being immobilized and a great pain in her hooves. Her wings and the rest of her body hurt as well. It was the same kind of pain she had felt earlier, but much more renewed. Blood flowed down into her head and something wet rolled down her legs. A small red light could be seen far away and she made her way towards it. She didn’t know how, it was just coming closer.

“Twilight, this way!” an image of a pink Earth Pony said. She had the same cutie mark as the one Luna had seen earlier.

“So you made it into the castle,” a red Unicorn said angrily. She was sitting next to the image and her horn was glowing red. She looked a lot like Ametrine. A red coat, blood-red hair and red magic; she was a bit smaller than the queen, but larger than most ponies. Her cutie mark was a red ruby. “I would have been more use to you in the castle rather than babysitting a little princess. She’s useless to us here. But mother kept on going about how necessary it was. Mother and the damned Melanite, never do they let me harness the light!”

Melanite? The name sounded familiar to Luna. One of Ametrine’s daughters had been named Melanite, but it was a thousand years ago. She didn’t want to believe it, it couldn’t be happening. When she tried to move her legs she caused the chains to clash against each other. The sound echoed in the room. She was stuck in the castle with an unknown pony, and her dream had done nothing to help her.

“You’re awake,” the Unicorn said in response to the sound.

Everything went dark as the red light faded. Luna was left dangling, but she was awake, and that meant she could make it out. Twilight and Pinkie, two of the ponies that had saved her, she didn’t know what was happening with them, but she knew which castle they were in. Now it was her turn to help them and not succumb to the Nightmare Forces again. Sparks left her horn again and she felt the last of her strength fleeting away as she fell to the floor.

> Chapter 3: Princess Fleur Dis Lee (Twilight's Story)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cold wind breezed through Twilight’s mane as she jumped out of the train onto the platform. Small stars shined through the dark sky above Canterlot. A few lampposts were stationed on the platforms to light the way for tired travellers during the night. Usually when Princess Celestia was out of the city the security heightened and guards would be posted everywhere, but the streets were empty except for some ponies walking out of the newly arrived train. Some music could be heard drowned out by the sound of the city’s waterfall and the air was full with the smell of food.

Pinkie Pie jumped out right after her shouting goodbyes to the ponies that stayed on-board the train. The pink pony had spent much of the train ride talking with other passengers. Disappointment had come to her when the train got delayed by hours before the tunnel into the mountain Canterlot was resting on. An announcer had said that they would be stopping and no pony was to exit the train, but they never received an explanation why they had stopped on the middle of the tracks. The delay meant that they would miss Rarity’s party. At first Pinkie was upset over it and Twilight had to promise that they would have a party with all her friends when they got back. Her friend hadn’t been the only one to complain; other passengers had been equally upset and demanded an explanation.

Twilight had been more focused on the book she brought with her and studying the map, so the delay didn’t do much more for her than give her more time to read. The Canterlot Library was usually closed during the night, but she hoped that she would be able to get in despite that. She was Princess Celestia’s student after all. Either way, they would have to spend the night in the city.

“This way,” she said to Pinkie and walked towards one of the alleyways. The Canterlot Library was one of her favourite places within the city and the one she had spent the most time in when she still lived there, so she knew the fastest way there from anywhere. A few of the passengers said goodbye to her as they went wherever they were headed, and she responded with a farewell. Pinkie took a bit longer with her goodbyes as she had to hug them all, even though she had already said goodbye earlier.

“Smells nice,” Pinkie said when she saw a table with peach pies and peach cupcakes standing in front of a closed door. “Do you think they’ll let us taste? We haven’t eaten anything since we were supposed to go to a party and fill up.”

“Can’t hurt to ask,” Twilight responded yawning. She could feel the heat coming from the treats from a few meters away. Her stomach started to growl when she thought about the taste of the peaches in her mouth. “I don’t see anypony nearby.” The door was closed, and looked to be locked as well. None of the three windows on the small white house were open. They all looked dark. More houses stood along the street, and a few of them also had some food put out on a table outside their doors. They looked just as dark and empty as the first house, yet the food was still reeking hot. It looks like they were planning a party, but for what?

Pinkie had the decency not to snatch up any of the food as they walked by, but she was staring at them for long. Soon they found themselves upon the city’s largest shopping street. Large and small stores stood side by side to each other with their names printed out in a large text over the front door. The shops covered a large arrange of different trade; the clothing- and bookstores were the only ones to compete with each other on the street. Most of them had a glass door with a small sign that hanged stating whether the shop was open or closed. A few of the stores were opened, but inside they looked just as empty as the street was.

“Are you city ponies always this dull?” Pinkie asked. She had her eyes on a closed bakery shop with beautiful looking cakes sitting in the window. “Where is the party?” She yelled out the last part, but no pony gave her any answer. “Dull.”

“I’ve never seen it like this,” Twilight responded. The place had always been full of ponies looking to find a bargain from what she remembered. Even during the night ponies could be seen trotting through the street. It’s like the entire city has been abandoned. Where could they all be?

“Help me!” a mare screamed in the distance as a late response to Pinkie. Her voice was full of heavy breathing and fright.

Twilight directed her attention to where the voice came from first, but when she couldn’t see anything there she looked all around her. They were all alone on the street, yet she could have sworn that she had heard it. The earth pony looked uneasy, as if she had heard it as well. In the distance she could hear a vague sound of hooves hitting the hard ground. It was coming from all directions.

Together with Pinkie she moved in the direction the scream had come from. Soon enough she could see a white Unicorn running towards her. Sweat was pouring down all over her body, and it looked like she would drop within the next second. Behind her was a sight that answered Twilight’s questions. A horde of Unicorns were running after the white mare. At the back of it she could vaguely see a red filly sitting on a chair that was lifted up by some of the ponies.

“Oh, that’s where they all are. Looks like a fun party.” Pinkie looked pleasantly surprised by their arrival.

“Help me, please!” the mare cried out again.

The sound of hooves hitting the ground was starting to creep up on Twilight from behind her as well. Close to her were six shops and four of them were closed. The other two had their sign saying they were open, but the inside looked all dark and empty. One of them was a small textile shop and the other was a large shop focused on maps. Either one of them would be a good place to retreat into should they be forced to do so since she couldn’t see any sign of the horde starting to slow down. They all looked really angry.

“What’s going on here?” she asked. Nothing but a scream and clop answered her. In a closer distance she saw a small red spot on the white mare where something sharp had cut her. They’re going to run us over. She turned around and saw a similarly large horde rushing up against her, but they were still farther away than the first one.

“Pinkie, run!” Twilight forced the door to the map shop open with her magic and made a gesture for the white Unicorn to follow her inside. Pinkie picked up on the hint immediately and jumped calmly into the shop. Not even she wanted to risk standing in the way, even if it was for a chance to party.

The white Unicorn recklessly threw herself after the pink pony and Twilight quickly shut the door. A mere second after she locked it a hoof smashed through the glass. It only created a small hole large enough for one hoof, but the rest of the horde had also stopped outside the shop and started kicking on the glass.

It won’t last long, Twilight thought as the room was filled with the sound of crashes. She remembered a spell that she had learned long ago, but she had never much cause to use. It wouldn’t be strong, but it might buy her some time. She focused her attention on the way in and felt her energy being drained away. Her horn glowed in a strong purple aura. A thin shield of magic was built up from the ground and soon acted as a wall against the entrance. The window crashed down soon thereafter to be followed by the glass door. The Unicorns pushed themselves inside and started kicking on the shield. She felt herself getting weaker after every hit.

Light filled the room when Pinkie found the button to activate it. A lamp hung from the roof and spread its light. The shop consisted of one small room with a desk and some maps displayed inside glass boxes. On the desk stood a cash register, a few feathers, bottles of ink, and some parchments rolled up. A small pathway led into another larger room where maps of all kind were displayed in large bookcases. Some looked old while others looked really new, but the maps didn’t seem to get any special care and bits of paper lied on the floor. A small table stood in the middle of the room with maps scattered all over it. Special price, read a sign on top of the table.

The white Unicorn lied on the floor behind the desk hiding at Pinkie’s hooves. She was taller than most other Unicorns. Her hair was straight with a light pink colour to it that had been cared for heavily. Three fleur-de-lis adorned her thin flank, one yellow and two purple. She was looking at the ponies attempting to break through the magic shield with tears in her eyes. When Twilight looked at her, she shied away and sought comfort with the pink pony that did her best to help. She must know a lot of them. After every kick, the attackers seemed to grow more furious than before. They were baring their teeth, and some even attempted to bite through.

“You’re safe here from the party poopers,” Pinkie said and swept away the tears from the mare’s face. “I’m Pinkie Pie. This is my shared bestest friend Twilight Sparkle.” She pointed her hoof towards the purple unicorn and smiled awkwardly. “Isn’t that right? She’s safe from the meanies outside.”

Until they start using their magic, Twilight thought. “What happened here?” she asked instead. “Why were they chasing you? Who are you?” She tried to approach the Unicorn, but the mare only sought comfort in the Earth Pony as a result. It was if she was the scary one.

“It’s going to be fine,” Pinkie said comforting. “You can tell aunt Twilight everything. She won’t bite. Right, Twilight?”

“I won’t hurt you,” she found herself replying.

“Fleur de Lis,” the mare said quickly and quivering. Her voice was soft and low.

“Is that your name?” the Earth Pony asked. “Nice to meet you Fleur.” She shook the mare’s right front hoof fast in a friendly way.

“What happened?” Twilight asked again. She hoped the Unicorn would continue talking once she had begun. “Why are they so aggressive towards us? Is there some curse that has been placed on them?” They were seeking out Princess Luna and the castle of Bolivianite because of a curse; maybe it had already activated and started spreading its horror. She didn’t think it was too likely to have happened, but she left all options open just in case.

“She,” Fleur answered and pointed at Twilight. “She sang, and then, then…”

Twilight was taken aback by the accusation at first before realizing that the mare was actually pointing at something behind her. The horde of ponies was still fighting at the shield with little use. Right in front of her sat a little red filly on a throne carried by four stallions. She had a blood-red mane and tail with a crown and ruby as a cutie mark. Her eyes glowed red when the Unicorns allowed her to be carried all the way to shield.

She’s scared of me because they’re all Unicorns. Twilight had wondered why Fleur sought refuge with Pinkie rather than being scared of them both. She had noticed that the horde only contained Unicorns earlier, but she hadn’t thought it would have any correlation to the mare’s fright. If Fleur was telling it true, then the filly had some kind of power to control the others. From the look of things, that power only reached Unicorns.

A hit on the shield left her breathless for a second as her strength started to wane. She never saw it, but she felt that magic had been the cause. The blow had been more powerful than any of the other she had felt. “We need to find a way out of here fast,” she told Pinkie. “If not, then we’ll either be caught or worse. I’ll check the other room. Pinkie, find everything you can in this room.” She took one last look at them and the little filly; they were all strangers to her.

A horrible smell met her when she entered the room where most of the store’s items were. Most of it she had already seen from the entrance, but with a closer view the damage to the maps became clearer. Not even the ones that sat on the bookshelves had been saved from the reckless treatment the table maps had received. When she moved some of the books on the bookshelves, piles of small paper pieces were revealed. It looked like all the standing maps were hiding such.

The walls were in a much better condition with its sea-blue wallpaper. She knocked carefully on it and the sound she received was that of a thick wall. Blowing it up would prove to be too hard. Nowhere in the room was there any sign of any second exit existing. Even the wooden floor was solid.

“Twilight,” Pinkie called from the other room, “Fleur found a hatch.” 

A hatch was better than nothing. It could potentially only lead to a small cellar storage, but they might be able to hide there. She hadn’t found anything else to be of assistance, so she made her way towards the first room. A map fell down from the bookshelf with a small thump at the same time she felt the breath go out of her. She fell hard to the floor. Sparks left her horn as she continued to struggle with her spell. The shield won’t last for long. She pushed herself up panting heavily. Sweat flowed down her forehead and parts of her legs ached. The content of the saddlebags were safe and sound.

The filly stared at her with empty eyes as she slowly made her way to Pinkie and Fleur. A small wooden hatch lied open on the floor revealing a dark staircase leading down. It looked quite used as there was no dust from what she could see. 

“What endless riches could lie waiting there?” Pinkie asked the mare before she noticed that Twilight had arrived. “Are you okay? You look down. Want me to cheer you up?” The Earth Pony blew a party blower and the room was filled with its sound.

“I can’t hold the spell much longer,” Twilight admitted before it became quiet. A sweet musical melody replaced the high-pitch sound of her friend’s toy. It whispered in her ears, but she couldn’t make out the words. The pain disappeared from her legs and the drops of sweat stopped annoying her fur. She allowed a yawn to escape her. Pinkie looked at her questioning as a result. Tranquillity and calm reached her.

She sang, and then. Fleur’s words echoed in her head. A sweet song that seemed to come from nowhere; the filly sat unmoving and smiling at them while the Unicorns continued to kick on the shield, but she didn’t feel it any more. If the mare’s words were to be trusted, then the entire horde had heard the song before. The thought of ending up as aggressive and mindless as them gave no comfort to her. At least she thought they were mindless; no offers had made been made, and they were attacking without stop or words. She hoped there was some way to revert them back to their normal state.

“What are we waiting for?” Pinkie asked. Fleur yawned beside her and laid herself down in a sleeping position. The Earth Pony looked entirely unaffected by it. “Are you all getting cold hooves? There’s nothing scary down there.” She dipped her head inside the hatch and screamed. “Hello!” Even from upstairs the echo could be heard.

“You go on ahead,” Twilight replied once the echo had died out. “I want to listen to the song.” Her eyelids were getting heavier for every second. She found herself drifting off to sleep only to awaken half a second later.

“What song?” Pinkie curiously asked. “Are you seeing a ghost?”

Twilight didn’t know where the notion of a ghost came from. She didn’t want to think about it. Thinking made her head hurt. All she needed was Melanite’s command. The pink pony disappeared from her sight, and she closed her eyelids again. Something bit down on her tail, but there was no pain. She could soon feel her body scratching against the wooden floor. Her legs were too heavy to fight against it. She merely allowed herself to follow. Soon the floor stopped scratching and started hitting instead. It didn’t last long before she stopped completely. When she opened her eyes a small flicker of light reached through reached her. It died out right before her. Only darkness remained.

What am I doing? Twilight forced her eyes open, but it made no difference. Darkness was all around her. The left side of her body was pulsing with pain. She was lying down on hard ground, but she never remembered falling. Her legs protested slightly when she pushed herself up to her feet panting. A cold breeze swept through and she felt her entire body shivering. Did they break through? She couldn’t feel the shield anymore, and it had stopped draining her energy. A sweet song was all she remembered, but then she had been in a well-lit shop and not complete darkness. The ground under her hooves felt hard and uneven, not anything at all like the wooden floor.

Her horn lit up the tunnel with sweat drops annoying her forehead. The purple light revealed stone walls to her sides and two directions for her to go. Either one of them could lead anywhere in the city. If she even was in Canterlot anymore. She was doubtful as the stairs that they had found in the shop were nowhere in sight. Her left saddle-bag had been damaged somehow, but the contents of the bag seemed to have fared well. The white Unicorn lied beside her in sleep, but there was no sign of Pinkie.

“Wake up,” she whispered to Fleur and shook her gently.

“I don’t want to go to school,” Fleur mumbled as a response. “All my friends get to watch the fashion show.” Twilight shook her again harder and the mare woke up. She stretched out her body and yawned before her pink eyes stared into Twilight’s. The white pony shied away until she hit the wall. “Please.” Her voice was trembling.

“I won’t hurt you,” Twilight repeated sighing. “You do remember me?” She received a slight nod as an answer. “Come, we need to find Pinkie and get out of here before we’re caught.” She helped her new friend get up on her hooves, and the Unicorn thanked with another nod.

How am I to know which way to go? I could be stuck in here forever. Twilight sighed at the thought. She had known that there existed tunnels underneath Canterlot thanks to her books. A remnant of when the train tunnels had been built was what she read. Though, she didn’t think that fact would help her at all now.

“Twilight, is that you?” a familiar voice asked her.

A shadow was creeping up on her from the direction the voice came. It was still at the edges of the light. Pinkie. The answer came to her instantly when she heard the voice. “We’re here, Pinkie,” she replied to the Earth Pony. “We’re fine, but…” Her sentence was cut off as the pink pony appeared in the light.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay,” Pinkie said and hugged her friend. Her coat was filled with large dirt spots. Small pieces of dirt fell off every time she moved and Twilight found herself getting a lot of it on her. “I thought I had lost you. You went rambling on some song, but there never were any song. So I dragged you down here through the hatch Fleur found. Are you feeling fine now? I know just the thing to cheer you up if you don’t.”

“There was a song,” Twilight replied. “It was beautiful and calm. I don’t know why you couldn’t hear, but I believe it might have something to do with the ponies that attacked us. There should be a book in the library that can explain such magic better.”

“I don’t think these tunnels lead to the library,” Pinkie answered and shook off some of the dirt. “We can sneak up there from one of the shops. I have some moves that I’ve been dying to try out.”

“Canterlot is filled with her minions,” Fleur spoke softly and almost in a whisper. She focused solely on the pink pony, as if she didn’t want Twilight to hear anything of it. “You’ll never reach the library without them discovering you. And when they do.” She left the rest unsaid.

“We need to find Princess Luna,” Twilight declared. “We can’t fight our way through them. We have no means of contacting Princess Celestia as it is now. Walking to Ponyville will take too. But first we need to find a way out of here.”

“Geez, I already found the exit while you two slept,” Pinkie said.

“Princess Luna will know how to deal with this situation,” Twilight continued, “and I think I know where we’ll find her. Pinkie, lead the way.”

The pink pony trotted the same way she had come from, and the two Unicorns followed after in her in the same pace. Fleur kept her distance away from the purple pony as good as she could.

She still fears me, Twilight thought. If we had the Elements of Harmony we could do this without chasing a vague belief of where the princess might be.

The walk took a few minutes and soon she found herself staring at a road leading down from the mountain. They were far beneath the city, but she didn’t think anypony would see them in the darkness. Unicorn Range. Darkness covered the surrounding areas like a thick mist. She recast her light spell to make it give off less light before she started walking down the road. Her two friends followed closely behind.

> Chapter 4: Forsaken (Twilight's Story)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The village standing in front of her wasn’t a very big one. In the daylight the wooden houses looked quite dull and beaten down. Red was the colour chosen for most of the wood. Almost every house had a small garden, but the farmlands were located to the edges of the village. The crop looked like it was ready to be harvest, and some parts had already had the crop removed. Equipment lied scattered around with no pony to use them. Cows, pigs and cats ran around freely within the village. Some were even eating of the gardens and destroying them. Most of what had flowered in the gardens had already withered away, but it didn’t seem to bother the animals at all.

“Where is everypony?” Pinkie Pie asked behind her. Fleur de Lis stood close by seeking comfort in the Earth Pony and keeping her distance away from Twilight.

The sun was standing high in the sky, yet there was no pony to be seen. The village looked as if it had been completely abandoned. “I’m sure they are somewhere nearby,” Twilight replied trying to mostly convince herself on the matter. “Maybe they’re all at a village meeting. If anypony knows anything about the castle ruins, it will be them.”

“Or maybe they’re having a super duper party and we’re all invited!” Pinkie suggested joyfully. Her new friend didn’t look too convinced on it.

They kept a high pace as they walked through what remained of the village. Birds were singing in the few trees that were scattered around the farmlands. Canterlot was visible from the village, but it didn’t look any different from when she had arrived there earlier. Cloudsdale loomed nearby high in the air. Beautiful rainbows were emerging from the floating city even though there was no rain. She played around with the thought of going there should they fail to find anypony in the village, but neither one of them had the ability to get up there. If I would have brought with me the right book, I could have cast a spell to get us there.

The interior of the village didn’t offer any more help than the outside had done. The houses slowly changed colour from red to yellow. Some gardens still looked beautiful and tall, as if they had recently been tended to, but not much else was different. Pinkie galloped up to a door every now and then to knock. Fleur would always follow, but they never received any answer from the inside. Somehow the Earth Pony managed to keep her mood up and always talk about the party awaiting them.

At the end of the village there was no party to be seen. The road extended itself far in the distance, and Twilight knew it would continue all the way to Tall Tale and Yanhoover. She hadn’t seen any ruins on her way through. The others hadn’t been any more fortunate than her.

“Let’s head back to the town hall,” she suggested. No pony objected.

The town hall was a small red building with a few windows and two wide open doors, everything the Ponyville equivalent wasn’t. On the wall hung a large sign declaring that the house was the town hall. A beat down flag of Equestria stood on the black gable roof. The two ponies had mostly faded away along with the rest of the colour. A single small road led to the house. It was surrounded by larger houses of yellow colour which made it stand out, yet it seemed like they had done their best to hide it. Unlike the other parts of the village, no animals wandered around the town hall. It seemed to her that they shied away from the road leading there.

There must be somepony in there, she thought as she moved in through the open door. The sun shined through the windows and gave the small room a horrible look. Only one room had greeted her when she moved in and there were no doors leading to others. It looked large enough to be all there was. A large wooden table stood in the middle of the room taking up most of the space. Torn down wallpapers with blue flowers on them covered small parts of the walls; the parts that weren’t covered was filled with grey stones. A small fireplace stood to the left side of the table without any wood to burn. On top of it stood a few blackened pictures with silver frames, the images were impossible to make out.

“Nothing,” Pinkie declared for her, “not even the slightest party. Geez, these ponies are really boring.”

“There must be something here that can help us,” Twilight said. “A whole village of ponies doesn’t just disappear. If there’s a library here, perhaps somepony recorded why it is so empty.”

“My hooves hurt,” Fleur complained to the Earth Pony. Her voice was almost a whisper, but not low enough for ponies nearby to be incapable of making out the words. “I found the hatch, and I’ve been walking with you forever. It’s time to rest. My body demands it.”

“It sure has been a long night,” Pinkie replied, “but our friends in Canterlot need us.”

Even if they didn’t, sleeping in a place where we don’t know what has happened wouldn’t be a good idea. “There will be time to rest once we find Princess Luna,” Twilight said instead. “For now we need to figure out what catastrophe made these ponies abandon their homes.”

“Listen,” the Earth Pony answered and made a hushing noise with her right front-hoof at her mouth.

The sound of an animal walking nearby on wooden boards was the only sound that greeted her with the exception of her breathing. It was impossible to hear the birds sing from the inside, even with the doors open. The sound crept closer for every second, and when it came so close that she expected the animal to walk inside, a large creak was what she heard instead. Then the room was filled with the sound of objects crashing into the ground. The pictures fell off their shelf when the fireplace slowly moved itself to reveal a dark passageway with stairs. Fleur started screaming hysterically at the sight.

Our answer might be down there. Cold air swept through her mane as a green coated stallion crawled out of the passage. His hair was a dark green colour and two small rocks sat on his flanks. There were neither wings nor horn on him.

“What are you doing here?” the stallion asked. He quickly scanned through the room. “Your orders were to...” The last of the words got cut off as he fell down to the ground with Pinkie on top of him.

“Who are you?” Pinkie started off her array of questions in a rapid speed. “Do you know where everypony is? Are you holding a special surprise party for me? I’m Pinkie Pie by the way. What’s your name? Do you have any friends?” The questions went on for a while without any answers.

“Please,” the stallion pledged, “I never meant to do anything. I was just, just obeying.”

“What happened here?” Twilight asked. “Where does that lead to?” She used her right front hoof to point at the passageway.

“Don’t you know?” His eyes were stuck upon the beauty of Fleur. “Princess!”

“Princess?” Twilight and Pinkie asked at the same time. The pink pony jumped off the lying Earth Pony and moved towards her friend.

“I was sent here to find you, Princess.” He raised himself up only to bow in front of the white Unicorn. “We have been waiting for you for so long. Let me lead to your castle where it’s safe. I’m sure you’ll find the treasures to your liking.”

Fleur looked at Pinkie, and shared small glances with Twilight, for an answer. It looked like she was thinking, but she remained silent for a while before responding with her soft voice. “Show me the way. Lead your princess away from this dirty ground giving nothing but blisters.” She moved towards the stallion.

“You can’t mean that,” Twilight said in annoyance. “He could mean you harm. We still don’t know who he is, or where the passageway goes. For all we know, he could be behind what happened here.”

“He’s no more a stranger than you were,” Fleur responded softly.

“The way is small for a grace such as you,” the stallion said flattering. “A small inconvenience is all it is. Your annoying pink slave, and whatever the other one is, can not follow you in there.”

“Hey, I’m not annoying!” Pinkie blurted out. “Watch what you are saying. Somepony could be hurt by those words.”

“They’re of no further use to me,” Fleur declared before she ducked down and melted into the darkness.

What kind of friend am I to prevent her from receiving what she wants? “Fleur, wait!” Twilight called out.

“Leave my princess alone!” the stallion demanded and retreated into the passageway. Soon the room was filled with the creaking sound as the fireplace moved to close the passage.

One who cares, she answered herself and rushed towards the stairs. Her two front hooves went up on the side of the moving fireplace. She pushed herself forward using her hind legs with all her strength. Although it sent out loud noises all over the room, the speed that it was moving in made it an easy target to stop. “We’re going after them.”

“I’ll show that meanie,” Pinkie said when she moved past her friend into the small passage. “You don’t think I’m annoying do you?”

The passageway had a low height which forced Twilight to crawl her way forward. Behind her the fireplace closed with a slam and shut out all the light they had. She used the same spell she had used beneath Canterlot to light their way. This time she found it much easier to do so, and there was no sweat on her body afterwards. The stairs went downward in a long, tight spiral. Rough stone walls closed in on them. “No,” she responded, “you’re a good friend.”

Pinkie was first to place her hooves upon the flat ground. Before them stood a cavern large enough to fit in under the whole village. The walls reflected and transformed her light into a red one. Gemstones revealed themselves in masses within the walls. Some were even located in the roof. In the distance two towers stood upon large red castle walls. Weak lights were coming from the inside, and the cavern echoed with the voices from hundreds of ponies. However, she could only see two ponies with the exception of her pink friend. A white and a green pony were trotting towards the castle walls through the middle of the cavern. She didn’t need to see them up close to know who they were.

“Oh, shiny.” Pinkie looked impressed by the sight standing before them. “Rarity would like it down here. We should take some of these stones with us to her.”

“So would Spike,” Twilight replied and quickly dug out a few red gemstones with her magic. She placed them in her saddle-bag. “His appetite is never-ending.” With the gemstones secured, she started moving towards the red castle in the distance. The stone ground was flat with a few rough spots. They moved close to the walls and blended in with the light. The cavern was massive, and she could only barely see the walls on the opposite side reflecting her light. After a while her hooves started aching with the every step she took. The surface was a lot harder to walk on than the one she had grown used to in Canterlot and Ponyville.

In closer inspection of the castle walls, she saw that they were made out of the same ruby from the cavern walls. It was cut smoothly and showed no signs of any cracks. The echo from the voices still remained, but it didn’t sound like they were coming from inside the walls anymore. They slowly moved around the wall until they found the gate. It was tall and made out of wood rather than ruby, but from across one side to the other it was quite small. She figured that Fleur had recently passed by as it stood wide open for anypony to move inside.

“There’s no pony there,” Pinkie said after she had taken a quick look inside.

Only the hard stony ground remained in the courtyard. Target dummies were spread out throughout it with lances, spears, swords, shields, and many other weapons lying abandoned around them. The small staircase that was leading up to the glimmering front door of the castle was made out of blue garnet. It looked almost as if the door was made out of diamonds, but the walls that almost swallowed it were ruby. The castle itself took from the outer walls and was full of the red ruby. So clean it reflected all of the light. However, it was quite a small castle, and the only towers were on the wall. A few poorly shaped windows covered the top, but the sight would be nothing more than a red wall.

“Do you think Princess Luna is here as well?” Pinkie asked. She picked up one of the lances with her mouth, but the shaft fell off and she spat the rest out.

“I don’t know, Pinkie,” Twilight answered. Shadows surrounded her, but they only moved when she moved. Some of them looked like they could belong to a pony. This isn’t real, echoed in her head. It was somepony else’s voice, yet it was inside her head. She shook herself for a few seconds until it was gone.

The voices still echoed in the cavern when she ascended the stairs together with Pinkie. Now it was coming from behind them rather than from within the courtyard, as she had first believed. On the door hung two large doorknobs made out of stone; they looked bulky and impossible to spin around. There was no keyhole visible. She put her teeth to the one to her left and pulled. The result was only pain in her mouth. She tried to turn the knob as well, but the sight had already revealed its impossibility.

“Maybe it’s a riddle that we need to solve,” the pink pony suggested. “What makes a door open?”

“Not riddles, but magic,” Twilight replied. She watched as something was quickly approaching the front gates. A small shimmer of green light was coming from there. “We need to find Princess Luna fast.” Do I even know if she’s in here? Where else would she possibly go without telling anypony? Please be here.

“No, it’s a riddle,” Pinkie insisted. “The answer is, secret door.” A rumbling sound filled the cavern after her answer.

Twilight ignored her friend and allowed her light to die out. The walls reflected enough from the other light for her to be able to see. Her horn lit up for a short second and she started to pant. There was no light covering the door, no sounds, nothing. It was still as stuck as it had been earlier.

“Twilight, this way!” the pink pony called on her. “It was a riddle after all.”

Her friend was standing in the door opening of a small ruby door where only a wall had been previously. “Pinkie, how did you?” she asked. “Never mind, let’s hurry.” The other light source died out and left her in darkness again.

“Wait!” a mare’s voice called on her from below.

“Who are you?” Twilight asked the darkness in reply. She stumbled through forwards using only her hooves to guide her. First there was only air, and then she walked into a wall. She put her hoof on it and followed its cold touch. Soon it was changed to the warm and cuddly body of her friend. The smell of burnt candle-grease reached her from the inside the door.

“I should ask you the same,” the voice replied. “Only, I already know who you are. Your little friend was kind enough to tell us. I would end this foolish search of yours if I were you. You do not have the permission to enter and disturb our ancestors.”

I don’t have time for this. Canterlot is under attack, and I’m chasing ghosts. “It is not our intention to disturb your sacred dead,” she said. Her horn lit up again as she brought back the light to the cavern. A blue Unicorn clad half in silver armour was standing on the courtyard. The light also reflected deep into passage Pinkie found. It looked never-ending with a small slope downwards. Red ruby covered its walls just like it did the rest of the castle.

“Oh, pretty,” Pinkie grimaced. “Let’s take it for a ride.”

“The dead do not favour magic. This place rejects it.” Her words were harsh and angry as the Unicorn started climbing up the stairs with hard steps.

She never felt where it came from, but Twilight fell down onto the hard ground as sharp pain shook through her body. The light went off from her horn, but it continued to reflect down the passage for a few moments. All she heard was her own strong breathing. The hot air licked her face after every breath. Sometimes a salty drop found its way inside her mouth.

“Abandoned your folly!” the soldier repeated, this time much harsher. “The princess is in mourning over those dead she never fully got to know. She doesn’t want to be disturbed by the likes of you. Leave this place.”

“No!” Twilight coughed out. With the help of Pinkie she pushed herself back onto her hooves. “She is my friend. We may not be the type of friends that meet every day, but I know in my heart that she wouldn’t throw me away like this. I won’t abandon my friend, ever!”

“Then share her fate in death. Perhaps you’ll get to be laid beside those already dead. Maybe you’ll even have some kind of worth then. No pony will miss you.”

“You’re wrong!” Pinkie lashed out. “I’ll miss her, and so will all her friends. With the way you talk, there’s no wonder that you don’t know these things. You’ve never had a friend because no pony wants to be yours.”

“And friends don’t abandon each other,” Twilight filled in. A warm hoof swept around her body and dragged her down. Pinkie screamed happily right next to her as she felt her body moving downwards. The soldier screamed angrily at her from behind, but she ignored the words, they were of no importance any longer. She felt almost relieved. The princess is here, but she’s in danger. I know we can save her and Canterlot.

The ride down went quickly in the darkness. A few times she scratched the walls around her, but mostly it went smooth. Pinkie’s happy cheers brought a kind of life to it, yet she never smiled. Soon enough she saw the end and light coming out of it. The Earth Pony had managed to land on all four while she crashed on her back. A few scratch wounds appeared thanks to it.

“Let’s do that again!” Pinkie exclaimed when the ride was over. “That was super fun!”

The room they had landed in was more of a long hallway. It went off in two directions, both of them leading to a crossing. Under their hooves was a large red carpet made out of wool that left no part of the floor unprotected. The walls were decorated with golden wallpapers. Very small gemstones of different colours were glued stuck to them. Large holes existed in the walls, most of them similar to the one they had entered from, seeming to indicate that the castle was full of secret passageways. Large torches hung on the walls giving the room both light and warmth. The roof differed from the rest with engravings of small ponies doing various tasks. Together they formed a short story of a pony who won the heart of another pony during a duel.

The dead do not favour magic. This place rejects it. It seemed like an obvious lie, but she had felt what happened when she attempted magic. Her attempt to open the door had led her nowhere, and the soldier had shut down her light when she approached the castle. “We need to find our way to Princess Luna without assistance,” Twilight said. “I don’t want to use my magic until I’m sure what happened up there.” She wiped off the sweat from her forehead.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked. “Magic means a lot to you, and if you don’t want to use it, then maybe you’re affected by some kind of curse.”

Of course I’m not okay! I only lost the magic I’ve been studying for years! I’ve lost myself! She wanted to scream out to the entire world of her suffering. Instead she said, “There’s no curse over me. Everything has its explanations, just like the poison joke. I’m certain that there’s a book in the library that will give us an explanation. This time I won’t ignore the book that is sure to have the answer.” She decided to walk in the direction the pony on the roof had walked according to the engravings.

Twilight stumbled forward to the crossing. Pinkie jumped around after her singing quietly for herself. Two new hallways greeted them; one to their left and the other to their right, both of them led to even newer crossings of a similar style. The walls lacked the passageways that the first hallway had, but she didn’t doubt that there might still be some. Engravings covered the roof everywhere she could see. Two stories were told this time, one of a pony who fought a great beast and won, and the other showed a couple getting married.

“Awh, look how happy they are,” Pinkie said at the sight of the engraving. “We should go that way.”

“I concur,” Twilight replied panting. “Love leads the way.” It was an expression she thought was fitting. If it would actually lead her where they wanted was something she doubted, but it was a start. Where are you, Princess? She stumbled into the hallway with the pink pony following her.

This place is a maze, Twilight thought after walking around for longer than she cared to remember. Most of the castle that they had passed looked quite similar. What differenced them were the engravings on the roof and the torches. All the images had their own story to tell, some of them sad, others happy. They had followed the ones showing a pony in love, but those had soon run out. Instead they choose to follow the stories that ended pleasantly. Neither one had led them anywhere else but hallways.

“This isn’t working!” she finally cried out in annoyance. “Doing anything is better than wasting time here. We should head back to Canterlot. There we can at least be of assistance. The city might fall any second.”

“I don’t think that such a good idea, Twilight,” Pinkie replied. She had somehow managed to keep her good mood up and was sure they would find something in the castle, but she had been quiet most of the time. “We were helpless the last time we were there, and we didn’t pick up any treats. Plus, I can sense that’ll find Princess Luna somewhere in here.”

“Can’t your sense tell you where to find her?” she asked sarcastically. Pinkie’s sense had eluded her scientific methods before, so she saw it best not to delve too far into it. On the roof she saw the story of a pony winning the heart of another in a duel. Do I even know the way out? All around her was the same old walls with golden wallpapers, but there were no passageways. Everywhere they seemed to taunt her.

“No, silly,” the Earth Pony said. She happily bounced up and down. “It does tell me that we aren’t alone here. There’s somepony behind this wall talking. It’s a quite boring conversation.”

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. All around her was the sound of her and Pinkie’s breathing. There was no talking, no singing, nothing. It had always been so during her tour through the castle. “I can’t hear anything,” she declared. “Are you certain there is somepony talking?” She never heard the filly’s song. It was a weird thought to get used to, but she was willing to trust her friend on this. “Then we need to find a way to the other side.” 

“It’s a thin wall. A party should knock it down.” Pinkie kicked the wall with her right front hoof. It went partially through and left a small round hole in its place.

“No, wait.” The dead do not favour magic. She sighed at the thought. “Let’s kick it down!”

Piece after piece fell down from the wall under their kicks. Twilight’s hind legs kicked hard and firm through the soft wall, but as they progressed through she brought her legs up more slowly. Soon enough she switched to her front legs. One of her kicks brought her far through, and cold air swept over her hoof. She quickly pulled it back and peered through the hole. There was light everywhere. A bright burning light that seemed to fill the entire room.

“You waited this long to bring me the news of the intruders?” The voice was cold and filled with superiority.

“I had no choice,” another voice replied. It sounded awfully familiar to her. “The crystals were active, and there was an Earth Pony. I tried, Your Magnificence, but they refused to heed my warnings. Fear not, they’ll never find their way through the castle. Our newly acquired princess is safe and ready to be drained.”

“No. They’re here listening to us. Stay and watch how you should deal with intruders.”

The wall Twilight had been kicking down together with Pinkie was encased in a red glowing aura. She backed away from it before it transformed into rubbles and fell down on the ground in front of her hooves. Her eyes closed immediately, and she slowly forced herself open them. A spiral of bright light met her in the large circular room that was revealed. It was positioned in the middle of the room and went from the floor all the way to the roof. The remaining walls were decorated with the same golden wallpaper, but the roof had the engravings of a red unicorn defeating a black Alicorn before burning a city sitting on a mountain and its defender, a white Alicorn.

Close to the light stood a blue Unicorn mare clad in silver armour. A shield with a ruby on it decorated her flank. Beside her sat a red Unicorn facing the light. A golden crown sat on her head. Her hair was blood red and sparkled. She looked slightly taller than the soldier. Light flowed through her body, and Twilight had to peer with her eyes to see her cutie mark, a white crown.

“Welcome,” the red Unicorn said and turned to them. Her eyes were blood red, and her face was clean and straight except for a few wrinkles under her eyes. “It would please me to hear that your stay here has been pleasant. I’m afraid I haven’t had the time to introduce myself before now. I am Queen Verdite, the ruler of Bolivianite.”

Twilight slowly moved over the rubble and into the room. Pinkie followed her closely behind. The light filled her body with warmth the closer she got. She looked over the room multiple times, but mostly kept her sight on the two Unicorns.

“I’m Pinkie Pie,” the Earth Pony replied to the introduction. “This is Twilight Sparkle. This castle has not been a pleasant stay. First, there are no parties. Second, there are too few slides. Third, all the rooms look the same. There needs to be some variety.” She allowed some balloons to fly out of her saddle-bags in an array of colours.

“So I’ve heard,” The Queen answered. “I’m afraid your complaints can’t be fixed. There’s very little material down here.”

“What have you done with our friend?” Twilight asked, cutting right to the chase. And Princess Luna, where is she? She allowed those words to remain in her head instead of speaking them.

“It should please you that she’s safe. She is a princess after all. I have great plans for her, but that’s not something she wishes you to learn. Perhaps you’re not such good friends as you believe.” The Queen laughed slightly and the light shied away from her. Once she stopped, it returned to grasp her body.

“Liar!” Pinkie screamed out. “We were great friends. Together we had some rough times, but we always stuck together through it. Until one of your meanies came and swayed her away with lies.”

“I do not lie,” Verdite replied, “but it’s up to you to believe what comforts you the best. I can merely aid you in finding the right path.” She turned away from them and into the light.

She used magic to bring the wall down, Twilight thought. If she can do it, then so can I. “No,” she said, “Pinkie’s right, you’re lying to us. I heard what you said about draining the princess, it did not sound pleasant. What do you want?” Her friend nodded at her with a smile.

“I merely wish that you would end your folly. Princess Luna isn’t here. She hasn’t been here for a very long time. Leave this place now, and I’ll allow you to return home unharmed.” The light withdrew from the Queen again. It circled around the soldier before turning back. Black burn marks were left on the silvery armour, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt fur.

“I’m not leaving until I see that Fleur is safe, and hear from her mouth that she doesn’t want to return back to her home.” In the distance Twilight could hear screams, but she couldn’t make out the words. A loud crash followed it and the screams stopped.

“With your permission, Your Magnificence, I’ll check out what occurred.” The soldier started backing away from the light and towards the edges of the room. There was no door in the room, so she was only moving towards the walls. When she turned around, burn marks were visible where the armour didn’t protect.

“Stay!” Verdite commanded. A small array of light moved towards the blue Unicorn. The Queen sat still, unmoved and playing with the light that still grasped her.

“No! No! Not this! I’ve served you well. Please.” The soldier screamed loudly as the light grasped her entire body. It lasted for a second before the light withdrew and left only the smell of burnt flesh and silver. Nothing remained of the Unicorn. She couldn’t do anything to help, or so Twilight told herself upon seeing the sight.

“You killed her! What kind of monster are you?” She was baring her teeth and the fur on her back had risen. Pinkie stood still with her mouth open, but she was quiet.

“I drained her,” Verdite said. “You were given the chance to flee. It is not my fault that you chose to not take that chance. Your princess has returned, and my patience with you has run to an end.”

“You’re going to kill Fleur as well? I won’t let you. We’ll stop you with the power of friendship.” Twilight saw the attack coming before it happened, and had enough time to cast the same spell she had cast in Canterlot. A purple glowing shield appeared and covered a small area in front of her and Pinkie. The attack was the same kind the Queen had used against the blue Unicorn. An array of light hit the shield in the middle and sent Twilight grasping for air. The shield shattered at the same time as she fell down to floor. Pain ached through her stomach.

She crawled forward, her legs refusing to raise her up. Pinkie rushed forward with her tail hitting all the air around her. “Take that you mean bean!” The Earth Pony waved her front hooves to hit the Queen. She took a deep breath and focused on the light. Her horn glowed for a while, but no magic left it. The pink pony fell down to the ground in a wave to laughter; there Pinkie made no attempt at moving.

“Feeble creatures,” Verdite laughed out. “I’m not a cruel ruler. Your princess is here, but there’s naught you can do now. You should thank me for being so kind to let you die with this knowledge.”

The Queen’s horn glowed in a strong red aura that also surrounded Pinkie. “No!” Twilight screamed, but the sound she made was much lower than she intended. She forced her legs forward towards the Unicorn. Her breathing was fast and heavy. It was loud enough to reach out into the hallways. As she managed to close in half the distance, the red aura disappeared and her friend with it. Pinkie. The word was stuck in her throat as a clump.

“Such a pity. This could have ended much cleaner if you would never have followed your feeble friend. A time comes for all of us when we must pay for who we serve. Now it has arrived to you.”

All Twilight saw was the red Unicorn’s horn glowing red when the last word had gone silent. Then everything went black around her. She moved her hooves through thin air without hitting anything. Cold air hit her from below, and it dawned for her, she was falling. She couldn’t say how quickly or how far. The wind made no sound. She was all alone with only her breathing to keep her company.

The cold stone barely hurt when she landed on it. Her saddle-bag took most of the fall, and was ripped open as a result. The book only barely managed to keep itself inside on its own. I should have brought with me another book. She was lying down on an uneven stone floor. There were three walls covering her on three sides, all looking the same as the floor. On the fourth side were steel bars barring her way out. Through them she could see similar cells on the opposite end. Torches were lit all over the room and filled it with small amounts of light. The air was filled with the smell of rats. Somewhere in the cells there was somepony screaming.

“Twilight!” a familiar voice called out to her. She couldn’t react before she had a pink pony hugging her.

“I’m so glad to see you, Pinkie,” she said. A smile crept up on her face. “I thought I lost you.”

“Don’t be silly,” the Earth Pony responded. “I fought the Queen and thousands of her minions before they managed to lock me in here.”

“I was there,” Twilight sighed. She pushed herself up, slowly at first, but faster once her legs had stopped shaking. The cells that she could see from her own looked empty on ponies, but there were feathers and fur lying in them. She kicked the bars as hard as she could without losing her balance. They made no indication of moving. There was no lock on them, or any other way to open it.

“Bring her in!” said a voice accompanied with the sound of a pony moving on hard ground. The screams she had heard became much louder for every second that passed.

Two Unicorns clad in armour entered the room carrying a wooden pole. Both of them were also carrying a spear each over their backs. One was bright yellow with red hair, and the other one was grey with white hair. Wrinkles were all over the second pony’s face. They smiled at her as they placed the pole down in the middle of the room. It was almost tall enough to reach the roof, but thick enough to be too hard to destroy with brute force. She couldn’t see their cutie marks due to the armour covering their flanks.

“You’re in for quite a show,” the younger Unicorn said smiling. “I hope you like it because you’re next in line.”

“I always love shows,” Pinkie responded. “Do you want to see the trick where we change places? I’ve trained very hard for it.”

Before the pink pony received an answer, a green Earth Pony entered the room dragging a white Unicorn on the ground. Three fleur-de-lis covered her bruised flank. The beautiful pink mane and tail were messy with dirt everywhere. Her screams were ear deafening, and the stallion kicked her at times. That quieted her for a few seconds before she continued with her screaming.

“Pinkie,” Fleur pleaded when she discovered the two prisoners. “Twilight, please.” That was all she managed to cry out before she was roped stuck to the pole. A bright light poured down from the roof along the pole, creeping in on the white Unicorn.

“What are you doing with her?” Twilight asked. She didn’t need an answer to her question. Only one thing crossed her mind. The green Earth Pony ignored her and whispered a few words that she couldn’t make out, and the older Unicorn drew his spear as a response.

Twilight’s horn lit up the room in a purple light as the spear was shoved towards Fleur’s throat. It was too late; her spell was finished and shot out. She heard a scream of pain, and then the pain coursed through her body.  Her legs gave up underneath her and darkness crept in around her. It was as if she had been the one hit. Somepony called her name, but she heard only the calling of the cold floor underneath her. The purple light from her horn died out, and all the torches with it.

> Chapter 5: Learning Curve (Luna's Story)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna stumbled forward through the dark corridor. Dust went up all around her for every small step she took. Her heavy breathing constantly echoed through the room together with the clop of the Unicorn she was following. A warm fluid rolled down her hooves. It was too dark to take the time to check what it was. Both of them avoided using their magic to light up the way. Pain coursed through her wings every time she moved them, and the rest of her body hurt as well with every movement. It didn’t help that she often found herself walking into the bars of the cells.

The road went upwards. She was forced to take small steps in order to not trip on the stairs and fall. At the top she found the wooden hatch closed again. She used her horn to physically open it up and move through. The hallway she appeared in was better lit up than the basement, but the light gave few clues. On the dusty floor were three pair of hoof prints, two pairs walking towards the hatch and one pair walking towards the exit. The Unicorn’s movement still coursed through the castle, but not in the same strength as it had done in the basement.

She followed the marks stumbling until she reached the exit. The two broken doors had been pushed aside from their place on the road and left huge marks on it. In the forest she could clearly see the red Unicorn looking back at her before galloping further in. It was dark outside with the full moon giving the place its only light. She stared at its features for a moment; the place she had spent a thousand years in. It stared back at her with empty eyes, but it wasn’t her moon, she hadn’t been the one to raise it up in the sky this time. She pulled away and stumbled into the Everfree Forest.

The forest was known for its vile creatures, and most ponies did their best to stay away from it. It had grown much larger since the castle had been in its prime. Growing uncontrolled and unchallenged, it had taken over large parts of land that could have made good spot to raise a village. She had already been through the forest once tonight; a second time didn’t bother her.

The Unicorn continued to keep a high pace without breaks, and soon Luna lost her among the trees. Unlike the castle, it was impossible to hear any clop to follow. Melanite, the word rang weirdly inside her head. Do you still call the castle your home? It wasn’t much to go on, but the ruined castle of Bolivianite seemed to her as good place as any to start searching. She had learned through the village of Everlasting Shine that the ruins now resided in a large cavern. The villagers were too frightened to enter, and had made their best to shut off all entrances. Her sister had been down there once when the villagers first came with their complaints, but she had found nothing noteworthy inside.

After hours of running, she finally approached Canterlot. It stood tall in the distance, and the sun had already started going up. Her legs were getting numb, but out on the open fields she had managed to catch up with the red Unicorn and could follow her easily. The city looked so calm and welcoming with its waterfalls among the white houses, and the castle sitting on the mountain shelf. Unicorn Range didn’t lie far away, but the sun was standing high in the sky when she finally sat her hooves inside Everlasting Shine. The wounds on her hooves had started to heal during the journey, but she found herself looking at them whenever she could.

Wooden houses covered much of the small village; most of them sharing the same colour, red. Dogs barked angrily while cats meowed constantly as she stumbled through. The cows and the pigs were no better. All of the animals seemed to be lose, but not so happy about it. The cats dug holes while the dogs sat on top the roofs. The cows played around in the mud, and the pigs stood on an open field eating grass. Neither task seemed to prevent them from emitting as much sound as they possible could. All that was missing were the birds.

The Unicorn moved quite slowly through village. The sound of her panting and hooves could be heard among the animals. As they approached the town hall, the houses started to change colour from red to yellow. She had no time to check it out further as the other pony headed straight in for the small house that served as the town hall. A bright red glow appeared followed by the sound of a loud crash. The large sign hanging on the wall fell down as the front door was smashed inside. Splinters were blasted off in all directions, and Luna could feel the air from some of them. Soon thereafter another similar crash could be heard, this time coming from inside the house.

She stumbled through the broken door into a large room. A large wooden table stood in the middle of the room taking up most of the space. It had been burnt on one side. Torn down wallpaper with blue flowers adorned wall, and silver frames lied on the floor next to a large hole in the wall. The hole revealed a dark staircase that lead down. Red light that seemed to be coming from further down reached the top of the stairs.

Is this where you are, Melanite? What are you trying to accomplish? Twilight, are you here as well? Why? Luna allowed the questions to hang in her head as she walked down. A dim blue light left her horn and lit up whatever parts the red light missed. The staircase took a sharp turn after sharp turn all the way down to the very bottom. Cold stone met her hooves in the large cavern that was before her. Her light lit up a big part of the place, but as not much as the Unicorn’s. Red gemstones were everywhere in the walls and reflected most of the light, some were even stuck in the ground. A small red castle stood out in the distance with walls of the same colour covering it. The clop of hooves echoed through the cavern.

She followed the Unicorn through the middle of the cavern, her light giving away her position to anypony who might care. When her sister had been there, the castle had been empty. The distance between them became smaller for every step. She pursued her captor through a tall wooden gate that stood out among the ruby walls. Fighting equipment lied all over the courtyard in a big mess. A few ponies stood still close to the walls unarmed. They didn’t move an inch as she passed by. In front of the castle was a set of stairs made out of blue garnet, it led up to a large double door glittering like diamonds. The Unicorn rushed up to it, and the door opened up with a shriek that echoed all over the place.

Luna stumbled upwards so fast that she could feel the scabs on her hooves being ripped open. She made a final push towards the door as the red pony closed it with another shriek. Her body hit the door so hard it sent her flying down to the ground, and the light from her horn went out. Pain shrieked through her entire body, and a fluid from her hooves was colouring the floor red. Everything around her was cold. The sound of multiple horns filled the air as she pushed herself up. Rumbling accompanied it, and soon ponies clad in armour streamed out on the courtyard. They were all coming from the sides of the stairs. Most of them were carrying torches along with the armour, but some of them carried swords and other weapons in their mouths. An ear deafening scream from a mare accompanied them. She couldn’t say if it was from fear or pain.

“Our time has come!” a Pegasus screamed from within the horde of ponies. She was easy to make out, as she was pushing through the rest until she was in front of them all. “The princess of evil has returned to do us all a tribute. We shall not fail our queen, not again.”

If it only had been empty instead like it was supposed to be. They must be the children of those served Ametrine, and now they serve Melanite. “Citizens of Boliviantie!” Luna called out in response. The words rang in uncertainty within her head, but her voice was cold and firm. “There is no need to end this in battle. I’ve only come to receive the answer to my questions.” And to neutralise Melanite should she be a threat. Her mother was dangerous, but somepony surviving for a thousand years would be worse. “If you want, there’s a life for all of you on the outside where you’ll be able to see the sun and the moon. It’s time to end this folly. How long have you been living hidden away like this?”

“We know who you are. We know what you did to us and our queen. We have waited so long for this moment. Everything we’ve done have been preparing us to take you down. Now your time has come, Princess of ruin.” The words came from most of the ponies in a large chatter. It was all magnified by its echo.

They’ll never love you if you fight them, Luna thought. It didn’t work when I was foolish enough to try it. The horde was starting to rush up the stairs. Around her were only the ruby walls, the diamond door behind her, and the low roof that would make it hard to fly. She made her decision as the first ponies were starting to get halfway up. Her horn glowed together with the door for a second before the door flew open with a shriek much louder than when her captor had opened the door. Her legs bent underneath her, and she fell down to her knees. Acid was rumbling around in her stomach, and she could feel a foul tasting clump forming in her throat.

It swished through the air before it her back and forced her to hunch forward. She looked back to see an Earth Pony standing over her with a shield and getting ready for another attack. What’s happening with my magic? It’s draining me. She bit down her teeth hard as her wings flew up and knocked down the pony. A slight scream escaped her when she forced herself up and stumbled forward. The air filled with chants from the horde; there were so much of it that she couldn’t make out the words. A loud cry over voiced them all, and soon only the hooves hitting the floor was to be heard.

The door led her into a large hallway with golden walls. Torches hung almost everywhere on them. They gave the hall a warm light. The roof had the engravings of a pony guarding a treasure; it ended with her throwing it into the lake. The hallway was quite thin with only room for a maximum of three small ponies to walk side by side. Ahead of her the hallway divided into two new ones. There were no signs to tell which way lead where.

“Please, let me go. I’ve done nothing to you. I beg you, don’t do this.” The plea was followed by a scream of pain from the same mare as before.

It wasn’t much to go on, but the screams were better than nothing for Luna. She stumbled left when the hall divided itself and continued to follow it. Soon enough some of the other ponies found the courage to start yelling again behind her. The hallways continued to separate themselves, and she was forced to take turn after turn until she reached one where a small door was open in the middle of the wall. Behind it was a passageway with stone walls instead of golden ones. She quickly moved herself inside and kicked the door close with her hind legs. Torches were lit on the walls here as well. Coat hair was lying all over the place along with wooden planks. She grabbed three of them and used them to block the door.

The wooden floor made a quiet sound every time she stepped on it. The passageway extended itself a short way before continuing down with a staircase made out of stone. She moved slowly down, yet the stone still rang every time it touched her hooves. Voices started appearing the further down she got, and a mare’s screaming was among them. The scream went on for a few seconds before stopping, and then it started again.

“What are you doing with her?” one of the voices asked, only barely over voicing the screams.

Luna moved down the remainder of the steps in a hurry, but she stopped once she arrived in a large room filled with cells. They were all blocked off with steel bars. Torches hung on some of the walls and gave the room a warm light, but none of the cells had any torches. Feathers and fur lied in them as a testament that somepony had been locked in there. Rats moved through them and gave away sounds every time they hit something. At the end of the room stood four ponies, two of them Unicorns armed with spears and an unarmed Earth Pony, around a wooden pole that stretched out towards the roof. Light was creeping down it towards a screaming white mare who was roped stuck to it.

I if I fight them, they'll never love me. Is it better than letting them sacrifice her? She slowly started to move forward; her hooves barely touching the floor.

A strong purple light filled the entire room. Her eyes closed themselves automatically as a response. Slowly she forced them open and adjusted. It gave away no features of the room, but the light on the pole glowed brightly and showed the way as she rushed forward.  She kicked with her front legs and hit something hard. It fell down with a crash as she pulled back. The purple light vanished with a loud scream, and the torches went out with it. Only the light on the pole remained as a light source. In front of her stood the Earth Pony and one of the Unicorns; the other one had fallen down on the floor. The spear was still sheathed on the standing horned pony. His long red mane did nothing to help him as she used her hind legs to kick him down.

“You’re here!” The green Earth Pony smiled as he said the words before attacking. His legs were much shorter than hers, and she brought him down with a kick from a distance long enough for him to be incapable of reaching her.

Luna sighed at the look of the three ponies lying on the floor. In a nearby cell were a pink Earth Pony and a purple Unicorn locked inside. Two blue balloons and one yellow balloon covered the pink pony’s flank. She had a long curly mane. The Unicorn had a five pointed star as a cutie mark, and a very straight tail and mane with a blue stripe. She lied on the floor with her eyes closed without making a single movement. Her saddlebag had been ripped open and revealed a large book inside. Three fleur-de-lis covered the white mare’s flank. The rope had cut deep in her, but most of the wounds were on her left side. They looked shallow, but enough to bleed slightly.

The Princess picked up the spear from the older looking Unicorn with her teeth. “Hold still,” she said to the mare that was shaking as much as the rope allowed her. The sharp side went cleanly through the rope and the white Unicorn fell down to floor. “Take it slow.” She aided the mare up to her hooves.

“Thank you, stranger.” The pony’s voice was soft as a whisper. She had a long messy pink hair with a light tone. Her body was thin and slightly taller than most ponies Luna had met. She was a delight to lay eyes on.

“What are you doing here?” Luna asked while searching the younger Unicorn. There was a great deal of candy paper hidden beneath his armour along with a picture of a young mare standing together with a filly. She continued her search until her hooves hit clinging metal. Using her mouth, she pulled out a small key from the armour. Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle. The two ponies in the cell were the same ones she had seen in her dream. They were also the ones that had saved her from the Nightmare Forces. “This is not a place for you to be in.” She moved to the bars and searched until she found a small keyhole.

“I didn’t want to come here,” the Unicorn replied. “It’s too dirty for my hooves. They forced me to come with them here since the ponies in Canterlot have some serious issues.”

“Princess Luna!” Pinkie called out. She was sitting over Twilight’s body. “Princess! Hurry! She needs your help now!”

“Canterlot is in peril?” A clump got stuck in Luna’s throat as she turned the key around. The bars slowly pushed open and allowed her to enter. “What happened to her?” she forced out of herself and joined the Earth Pony over the body. There was only a very slight breathing, and when she put her hoof on the throat she could feel a very slow beating.

“I don’t know,” Pinkie admitted. “One moment she was all fine, and then this bright light came and blinded us. After that she was on the floor like when we fought the meanie queen.” The Earth Pony made large gestures to accompany her speech.

“Magic,” Luna declared. “Something in this place is disturbing it. There’s nothing I can do for her here. Yanhoover is nearby; they’ll give you the assistance you need. She will be fine.” As I was. “What are you doing here? What has transpired in Canterlot?”

“We came to rescue you,” the pink pony answered. “Only now, you came to rescue us instead. We read about a curse that was placed on you before you were banished. We searched for more answers in Canterlot, but it was just a place full of meanies who didn’t want to party. So we came here to find you, but you found us instead. There’s an evil queen who rules this place. You should be careful with her; she’s the one who turned everypony in Canterlot to meanies, I think. She’s the one who trapped us here after we fought thousands of her minions.”

Melanite, Canterlot, I caused this, and I need to end this. “I appreciate your concern, but you shouldn’t have come here. It is not for you to amend the wrongs I’ve done in my life. I’ll make sure the way out is clear, and then you need to head to Yanhoover. Three knocks and you’ll know it is safe.” She raised herself up from the Unicorn and made her way towards the staircase. “You should let a hospital take care of you as well,” she said to the white mare as she passed by. The beauty tried to cover her wounds before nodding.

“I can’t let you go out there on your own, Princess,” Pinkie said defiantly. “We did not come here to let you do this on your own. We came here to help you; we risked our life to help you. Let us do it. There can’t be any party if we have to say goodbye to somepony. It’s not the party I want. They’re meant to be fun and happy; not sad and filled with tears. Queen Verdite is strong, and if you go alone, we have to say goodbye to somepony.”

What kind of leader am I? One who needs help all the time? Or one who is strong enough to defend her people? “I can’t thank you enough for rescuing me from the control of the Nightmare Forces,” Luna started without turning around, “but I can repay you. I am the reason this is happening. I am the reason you’re all in danger. I need to be the one to end this chapter and bring a closure to us all. Go to Yanhoover; that is a royal command!” She didn’t wait for an answer, but went straight for the stairs. Mumbling came from behind her.

Am I doing the right thing? Was this really the right choice? The floor gave out sounds every time her hooves hit them. Some echoed for long, while others died out as soon as they had come to life. The torches were still lit at the upper level and gave away a warm lively light that didn’t exist on the lower floor. The wooden planks stood unmoved at the door, guarding it with their lives. More lied around on the floor unused. She pushed her right ear towards the door. It was cold to the touch, but there were no sounds coming from the other side. First she moved one of the planks and placed her ear back onto the door. When the same result awaited her, she moved the next one until the door was clear.

She looked quickly at the door and then towards the staircase. Downstairs there were ponies willing to help her. No! She let out a sigh over the thought before opening the door using her front legs. Kicking it close had been easy, but the door resisted going the other way. It made no sound other than her grunting as she cracked it open. Light poured in from the outside, and she opened the door further until she could peek out. The corridor extended itself in two ways; both of them empty. The roof had the engravings of a pony traveling up a mountain. The pony reached almost all the way to the top before turning back. There was no explanation engraved for the decision.

She kicked the door hard three times and the sound echoed behind her. It quickly died out in the hallway. You have to win their love. Ending this tyrant rule will be a start. She raised her head high and trotted in the same direction the engraved pony had gone before turning back. It took her to another crossing that looked the same as the previous ones. The right one had the story of a blacksmith earning a new hammer. On the left was the story of a pony winning the heart of another in a duel. Parts of the wall had completely fallen apart and revealed a large circular room. A well stood in the middle of the room, and from it a bright light poured out. Close to it sat two red Unicorns. Both had a long red mane and tail. The one to the left was slightly larger than the one to the right.

Melanite, Luna thought and moved inside. The walls were decorated with the same golden wallpapers as all the hallways, but the roof told a different story. A red Unicorn stood tall in the centre of attention as she first defeated a black Alicorn. She went on to torch a city sitting on a mountain. Its defender, a white Alicorn, came out to defend it, but was defeated by the Unicorn as all that remained of the city was ashes. Queen Verdite. “It’s over!” she declared and the two Unicorns turned towards her. Their blood-red eyes glowed strongly in the light. The larger one had a golden crown sitting on her head. A white crown adorned her flanks while the other one had a simple ruby for a cutie mark. She made it here as well.

“The lost princess has returned to us,” the crowned Unicorn declared. “I wish we could have met in simpler times. Alas, such is not the case. You must not fault my daughter for what she did to you in the castle. I am Queen Verdite, and this is Princess Amber, my beloved daughter.”

Luna sighed at the words. Not Melanite. “What is it that you wish? Diplomatic ties? This is not how you start them. Not by killing my friends.” She looked on her hooves when the words left her. Scabs covered her wounds, red as blood, and as red as their hair.

“Don’t act innocent!” Amber lashed out and raised herself up. “You killed our family. You crushed the hope an innocent child had to meet her mother. All death that comes to you is well deserved.”

“I killed Ametrine,” she admitted. The images of the proud Unicorn walking in her castle still lingered in her mind. “I did a lot of things that I regret. I wish I could make them all right. But this is not one of those things. She was a tyrant that sought only destruction.”

“We should not dwell on these things,” Verdite said. She sat motionless and allowed only her mouth to do all the communications. “Both of us have wronged each other, and if I’m not mistaken, you were a tyrant as well, Nightmare Moon.”

She looked back at the destroyed wall, and then up to the engravings again. The form was all too familiar to her. It was her and her sister. Her colour palette was darker than current blue, as dark as when she was corrupted. “I sought to win the love of my beloved by promising others a kingdom.” The words left her almost as a whisper. “They didn’t appreciate what I gave them, so I made the wrong choice to win them back. I have amended it for so long now. Ametrine was not like that. She thought she could hide her plans from me, but she was wrong. Your ancestor plotted to destroy everything and rule over the ruins.”

“Instead you allowed this place to fall to ruin!” Red light covered Amber’s horn, and with a crash the wall in front of Luna fell to rubble. Behind it was another hallway that looked much like the ones she had already passed through. “This is all you left! We rebuilt our kingdom! Now we shall lay ruin to yours!”

“Is that why you’ve invaded Canterlot?” Luna raised her head up high and made herself look as tall as possible. I need to help them. They need to know that I care about them; that I’m worthy of their love. “Is this all about revenge? None of you was alive then, and if you will not listen to the truth. I have nothing more to give you.”

“Excuse my beloved daughter,” the Queen said as calmly as ever. The light from the well approached Verdite’s horn, and she let out a loud moan as it touched. “She is quite as stubborn as some your delicious friends. We have moved on from such things, but we were once a kingdom of our own. Now is the time for us to rise up again and carry with us our beloved Queen’s wishes. I can’t let us stand in your way, not again.”

“Peace would be a mu...” Luna was cut off as both Unicorns horns glowed similarly red. Two red waves shot out and combined themselves into one large. She acted without a moments rest and returned the fire. Her own blue magic was swallowed up and she fell down to her knees, her horn no longer glowing. The wave covered a large area around her, and she had no means of escaping it in time. The energy burnt through her coat and blinded her when it hit. She could feel her old wounds opening up again. Her body moved itself, and despite her struggles it wouldn’t listen. It came to a quick stop as pain was sent through her back. She was falling, but she never noticed that she flew up in the air. Her legs bent themselves beneath her when she landed.

Her sight slowly returned in blurriness as she lied still. There was no pain, nor could she fell anything. A blurry red carpet was in her face. Far away two creatures moved around swiftly. They never made a sound. A bright light rose up around them. It circled around the room before heading towards her. She pushed her front hooves forward trying to grasp the floor. Slowly she moved forward with her entire body. Something pushed her on from behind as her horn started to glow strongly. She was starting to put some distance between her and the others. The light engulfed and blinded her at the same time. Her nostrils were filled with the smell of burnt fur. Somewhere in the castle were ponies who had offered to help her, and she had refused them.

Sister, Pinkie, Twilight, I’ve learnt nothing.