An Eccentric Trespasser

Chapters

Prologue/Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

Prologue/Chapter 1

The lowest sub-basements of the castle were ancient, dating back for thousands of years. Some areas of the dark, stone-lined corridors were wet, slimy, full of all the growing things that shun the light—other parts were dry, dusty, with stale air and way too many spider webs. Either way, most of them were unexplored in the last few centuries, only the few scant corridors that the guards still patrolled kept clear.

Sometimes, the patrol was assigned as a punishment—but normally the assignment of lower-level patrol was simply doled out fairly, everyone taking their turn. At least, this was the theory. In reality, the nightly barracks card games had the lower-level patrol as one of the most hotly contested stakes, winners getting to pawn the miserable task off onto the losers.

So today, the two guards wandering the halls were not happy about it. The two unicorns had white coats and blue manes, their cutie marks hidden by their ceremonial armor.

"I can't believe it. I would have sworn he would have a six!" one was complaining. "I can't believe I'm stuck down here again! I've had this job four times over the past two weeks!"

The other pony sighed softly. He was all for just enduring this stoically, perhaps discussing the latest hoofball game, but the first pony just wouldn't stop going on about how unfair it all was.

"And you know it's not good for our health!" the first pony went on. "All this stale air and mold... lots of ponies who take this assignment are getting sick! You know Silver Standard? He had this patrol yesterday, and he never showed up for work this morning!"

The other pony sighed again, plodding along like they always did, blocking out the noise as the other pony kept going on, and on, and on, and on. He glanced down a side hallway without thinking about it, kept walking, then paused, one hoof lifted. "Wait," he said. "Was that a light back there?"

"And then she said, Oatmeal, are you crazy? ... What? Light? Where?" The first guard backtracked and looked. "Hey, it is!"

The two guards trotted down the hall to investigate, where a soft, flickering light was shifting from blue, to green, to pink, and so on. They peered around the corner, the glow of the light coloring their white coats.

"Well," said the second pony, "I've never seen the like. What on earth is that?"

"Dunno... give it a prod!" said the first.

The second unicorn sighed, and his horn glowed as he telekinetically prodded the strange thing. Both the guards' eyes widened... "Wh... what?" asked the first.

"Quick, hold them back!" cried the second. Both unicorns' horns glowed, as they tried to keep back the skittering, whisper-quiet sound of hundreds of creatures. Blasts of magic shot forward to splash into the oncoming glow, to no apparent help.

There was a terrible, horrible pair of screams.

There was a terrible, horrible silence.

ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo

Chapter 2

The rule of Princess Celestia was a good and benevolent rule, graced with peace and harmony. Crime was down, happiness was up, and the law was applied rather casually, because few ponies really meant any harm. Even as such, though, there were a few things you just didn't do in Equestria. Breaking into the palace was probably one of them.

Not that the Doctor really considered this fact all that much, as he closed the no-longer-quite-so-locked rear entrance to the gardens behind him and peered around. Rather, he was just too fascinated with his search at hoof. He trotted swiftly and uninterestedly through the gorgeous garden, the most beautiful in all of Equestria, with barely a second glance. The tan earth pony with the dark brown, slicked back mane and the hourglass cutie mark only stopped once to look up at a statue of some past notable who had been of service to the kingdom. "Nose is too big," he mused, then kept on towards the palace.

He slipped in through the kitchens, his head down, peering at grates, and at drains, as if they were far more interesting than any of the glamor and glitz surrounding him. He wandered out into the hallway, following along, peering down at the floor with intense interest. He paused at a grate in a corner, and let out a satisfied *ahhhhh*. He leaned down to it, and examined a cobweb at one corner of the grate. "And what are you?" he asked himself thoughtfully.

The brown pony stuck out his tongue and gave the web a little lick, then lifted his head, clucking his tongue in his mouth as he tasted it. "Oh, yes, yes. There you are. Found you!"

After a progression of time, there was the sound of hooves coming up behind the intruder, including a few indignant and perhaps irritatedly surprised snorts as two plated Pegasi guards stared at the pony with narrowed eyes. The personal bodyguard's of the glorious sun princess. That was a good indication she probably wasn't far away, and if you were to guess that, you'd be right.

The two guards stared him down as the long legged lady followed up behind the pair and blinked in surprise at the trespasser, not showing any anger despite her guard's irritation that somepony had so easily slip past their defenses. But Celestia simply pondered the brown Earth pony for a moment or two.

"I knew the castle garden was beautiful, but I didn't realize ponies would so happily break into my home to see it."

She took a few steps closer to the the pony, her guard's following suit beside the alicorn lady as her mane and tail flickered weakly in the breeze-less air.

"Perhaps an explanation is in order?"

Doctor Whooves leaped up and spun around, the motion seeming to leave him just on the edge of falling over, but not quite. He peered at the three ponies staring at him with an expression of mingled excitement and surprise. "And of course!" he cried, "Of course you'd want an explanation! Reasonable thing to want, an explanation!" He pointed a hoof upwards as he emphasized the reasonableness of the request. He leaned in and said, in a lower, very casual way, to one of the guards, "Wouldn't you want an explanation?"

He then trotted up towards the princess, cheerfully declaring, "And of course, I'd be willing to give you an explanation!" The two guards cut him off, extending their wings with an almost metallic sound to cross before him. Unfazed, Doctor Whooves stared one of the guards in the face, from only inches away, his head lifting up, down, left and right, peering at the guard from small differences in angle.

"Oh, yes, an explanation, that I can give! I don't suppose you'd be convinced if I told you I was a Castle Inspector and showed you a slip of paper to prove it? No, no, of course not, because that would not be a reasonable explanation! No, I have an explanation, and what an explanation it is! An explanation so wonderful you'd wonder why I didn't give it already instead of babbling on like somepony trying to think of an explanation!"

He paused, furrowed his brow as he tilted his head to the side. "Blimey, but these blokes are serious. No expression at all. Do they train that? How do you train that? Stand there for three hours a day as ponies make faces at them? I tell you, very impressive. Job well done!"

"But yes, an explanation! Because otherwise you'd have to throw me in the dungeon,and you wouldn't want to have to do that because the dungeon hasn't been used in centuries and it's all dark and dank and deteriorated and you'd have to send somepony in to tidy up a bit, clear out the mold, build new doors, make sure it's not all rusted out, and that'd just be faaaaarrr too much work, wouldn't it?” He nodded as the words just kept spilling excitedly out of his mouth, filling the hallway with a nonstop flood of near-nonsense.

"It'd just be terrible, especially with what I've been hearing lately from the guards... guards going sick, not showing up for work, not being seen at home, wellllll, with a ponypower shortage, why make more work for the poor blokes?"

"I'll tell you what I found, though, and that'll be the truth—missing food! Food gone missing! Ponies foodless! Well, not exactly foodless, it was only a little of their food, so just food-light. But one wonders, who took it? And why all over the city, all of a sudden? One might think foals, but why would foals nick healthy food and leave the sweets? One might think a sire feeding his foals, but so much food? And he didn't even nick a little of the sweets for a treat? But really what caught my attention was the cobwebs, ah, what a mess, even in neat and tidy stores, bam! Cobwebs. Who leaves cobwebs? well, I tell you, that intrigued me, so I followed the cobwebs, and where do you think that led me? That's RIGHT!"

He pointed his hoof upwards again, emphasizing as he cried, "NOT to the palace! No, it led me to drainage pipes! Great big pipes, with greaaaaat biiiiig grates keeping folks out!" His mouth stretched out, drawling the words as if to emphasize that the pipes and the grates were just too big to fit into the words he was using. "And when I see a greaaaat biiiiig grate keeping me from seeing what's on the other side, well, I just GOTTA find out what's over there! And these pipes led into the palace, so naturally I just slipped in!"

"Also, if you happened to notice anything unusual, such as myself eating a spiderweb, I would like to inform you that I did not, in fact, eat a spiderweb. Why would I? Silly thing to do, of course, I wouldn't even lick a spider web, disgusting. And you know why that's wrong, and I did no such thing? Because it's a very good question, a very good question indeed, and I will tell you WHY I did not lick a spiderweb!"

He paused dramatically, taking a deep breath, and then let out a triumphant, "BeCAUUUUUUSE! That would imply a spider made it!"

He spun around again, walking down the hall away from Princess Celestia and the guards, confident in the absolute reason and logic of his argument.

Watching on with a faint blink, the Princess had to arch a brow in slight confusion as she watched her guard's simply grow in their irritation as the Earth pony turned his back on them. She heard a snort from the guards, and they were about to approach the intruder when they were cut off, The Princess stepped forward and gently dismissed them, motioning for them to stay at least a few feet behind her.

A few delicate hoof steps and she glanced over the pony with a curious crease in her brow. She thought she understood everything that was told to her, but it didn't sound that good at all. Lowering her head slightly, she looked to the brown pony and smiled patiently.

Chapter 3

Princess Luna was walking through the castle on her way to the royal gardens. She had a book floating in front of her face, which she was utterly engrossed in. She didn't have to worry about running into anypony in the castle. The guards made their presence known or simply moved out of the way, as did the maids or any other servants.

Luna had noticed that Celestia kept a pair of guards with her at all times, but she did not think that was necessary for herself. She never left the castle except to go to the garden, which was walled in anyway. Not all the guards seemed fond of her, though, probably due to her close relation with Nightmare Moon. So it was better for all if Luna went without an escort.

She was paying particular attention to a certain paragraph when she fell over a brown Earth pony in her path. She stumbled back, dropping the book onto the his head as she lost her concentration. Luna shook her head, snapping herself back to reality and out of the world in her book. She gasped, covering her mouth with both hooves.

"Perhaps you could expand on what you've told us. If they're not spider webs, then what could they possibly—" Celestia had barely begun to speak before she was abruptly interrupted.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" Luna said worriedly.

The collision had caught even Celestia off guard, and she blinked as her sister tripped over the intruder. Celestia moved over with a sense of urgency, tentatively nuzzling her sister's cheek in concern as she looked over the dark blue filly.

"Luna, dear, are you alright?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, I am unharmed." She quickly glanced over the brown pony, subconsciously catching a glimpse of his hourglass Cutie Mark. What in the world was he doing here anyway? Perhaps he just had some business to discuss with her sister Princess Celestia.

Doctor Whooves righted himself and shook his head. "Well, there was a perfectly good exit ruined," he said distantly. He casually grabbed the book from his head with one hoof, and and then flipped through the pages curiously. He nodded as he handed the book back to Princess Luna. "Interesting ethical code," he mused to himself.

Then he turned around to look at Princess Celestia. "And what, you ask? There are many things, from the early days before Equestria was civilized. Things locked away for ages... some things cute and adorable... some things dangerous..." He looked Luna in the eyes. "And some things very, very both..." he whispered to her.

He turned to look at Celestia again. "With the stars aligning recently, ancient cages all across Equestria sprung open, darkness freed from centuries of imprisonment... who knows what could be lurking under your castle?"

Then he perked up. "I certainly don't! That's what makes it so fun!"

The princess blinked slightly at the brown stallion, mind flickering over the thought. Cages opening with the stars aligning? Glancing up to the direction of the sky briefly, she let out a small, thoughtful 'hmm..' and then looked back to the Doctor with a faint, growing curiosity.

He could have been lying, easily. In fact, the body language of her guards suggested that he could be, and the fact he'd just accidentally tripped up Princess Luna didn't seem to calm the armored stallions any further. They snorted indignantly to the strange ponies' words.

Celestia, however, always wanted to give her subject's the benefit of the doubt. Though she briefly glanced over Luna worriedly to make absolutely sure she was alright, she still approached a step or two closer to her sister and the stallion.

“Who, pray tell, is our guest?" Luna said, when there was a pause in conversation. She suddenly noticed that the guards seemed to regard him with a slight hostility, as if they were irritated, but the Earth pony did not appear to be dangerous...

The brown pony looked from Celestia to Luna, then looked one of the guards in the eyes. "Oh, of course! I'm Doctor Whooves! Well, just the Doctor, really. I'm a simple archeologist, a real interest in history. So I travel around finding ... interesting things." He smiled at Celestia, an eager grin on his face, and a wild light in his eyes.

The Doctor? Blinking in a perplexed manner at the pony, the Princess had to watch him closely for a moment or two. Something definitely sparked in her mind with that name, but whether it was a good memory or a bad one, she was uncertain. Still, the mare remained vigilant to give the pony the benefit of the doubt.

Doctor Whooves? Luna had never heard of a pony by that name before. But, there were many ponies in Equestria, many that Luna still did not know. She did look a bit concerned when the Doctor turned to Celestia, seeming to have an almost crazy gleam in his eyes.

Chapter 4

"I am intrigued, and also worried by what you have to say. Pray, continue." Celestia said, keeping the conversation going. As long as this pony was talking, he wasn't trying to escape... and he was also giving her valuable information.

"I don't know any more. That's why I came in through a... conveniently open back door. So I could find out what they are. And besides, there were some crying foals who were worried about their sires."

”Conveniently open back door"? This was all starting to sound like some rather questionable activity, Luna thought... Even Celestia herself seemed a bit confused by his presence. That would explain why the guards looked so unhappy, if this pony was a trespasser. Apparently not a dangerous trespasser, though, as Celestia was keeping her calm and seemed to have called off the guards.

Wait, crying foals? What was he on about now? Seemed like he'd completely changed the subject. His story seemed rather muddled, and becoming more so...

The Doctor grinned. "So, anyone who's coming for an adventure... we need to find the dankest, darkest, spookiest corner of the under-castle." He glanced at Celestia. "The sort of place you haven't seen used since you were a foal."

As he mentioned the deep parts of the castle, Luna suppressed a shudder... Remembering something from long long ago that took place in a deep dark part place the castle... or under it. Adventure indeed. It was dangerous down there... dangerous things happened down there. It wasn't the sort of place one went to for a simple "adventure."

Celestia continued to listen on she briefly offered a smile to her little sister with a soft nod, hair wafting slightly on the soft breeze as she commented absently, "Well, it appears we have an old friend if he knows my wanderings as a foal..."

Luna noticed that Celestia smiled at her, almost as if she were reading her thoughts, and remembering too, and reassuring her that things were now alright. Luna also noted Doctor Whooves' last comment, but thought that it was just something offhoof. That was, until Celestia acknowledged it.

She'd been down there? And as a FOAL? Luna had, on a couple of occasions... but she was a master of the night and darkness. She wasn't afraid of dark dungeons and old dusty rooms. There was nothing down there, nothing at all. But she had always gone alone. It wasn't a place that Luna was supposed to be. One, because she had been told it was dangerous, and two, there was always more to be studied and learned, she had been taught. But, when she could manage to skip out on her duties, the far reaches of the castle were her refuges. Whether below the castle or simply in some of the spare rooms... Anywhere lonely and maybe a bit dark would do.

But... he was an old friend? Certainly not... She and Celestia were well over a thousand years old. Nopony lived that long. Celestia must have simply misinterpreted his light comment. There was no way he had been around for so long. He was just a regular Earth pony. Right?

"This is all a bit muddling to me. I really can't follow exactly what you're talking about. First you say you're interested in History, then you seem to admit that you sneaked into the castle, then something about some distressed foals...and now you speak of adventure?"

She turned to Celestia. "How can you have known this pony since you were young? I surely do not remember him, and, at any rate, you know, sister, how old we are. It is not possible for a mere pony to live as long as us. Correct?"

That was...awkward. Blinking her large and slightly surprised eyes at the 'doctor' once more, she looked to her sister whilst her mind went on thinking. Could he have been....no.

He'd have passed on by now, surely. There was simply no way in....mind you...

Turning back to the Doctor, Luna said, "What, pray tell, exactly is your business in Canterlot Castle?"

The Doctor let out a wide-eyed grin, his mouth looking almost too big for his face. "Oh, no. I'm not nearly that old. That'd be ridiculous! No, no. I'm just saying... we're talking about stuff that's been locked away for centuries... they didn't just pop out of nowhere. So we need to find someplace that might have been lying deserted for over a thousand years..."

He laughed again, and patted Luna on the shoulder. "Me, over a thousand years old ... next you're going to tell me I came in through your window to babysit you while you were a foal, watching over you as you were in your jammies and had put your hair up while danced to your Mulezart Albums, or helping you with your homework while you were doodling hearts around little Autumnus' name on your school books ... "

Luna fought the urge to flinch away as the brown pony's hoof came in contact with her shoulder. She didn't feel very comfortable at all with this strange pony in such a close proximity. Perhaps it was a simple act of being...friendly, but it just didn't sit well. And now he was talking of sneaking into her bedroom as a child? What a creeper, a pervert perhaps, even. What was his problem?

"As for what I'm doing here, it's quite simple. I'm doing what I always do. I'm being clever! I think the more important question is, what are we still doing up here, instead of heading down below? Come on, now, lead the way!"

Oh, so he thought he was being clever, did he? Luna scoffed inwardly. He was actually being rather cheeky, dodging around questions like some little 'lie dance'.

As he went on about how they still remained up top, Princess Celestia felt compelled with her gut feeling to trust the pony. She glanced to the two guards still looking rather fierce with both their beloved princesses in their stead, and a strange pony here. A simple nod, however, eased them both, and Celestia delicately nudged her sister's cheek in a soft, affectionate gesture as she moved to a door leading further into the castle. If the stallion was correct, something would be going terribly wrong...and besides...there was an odd feeling of familiarity to the young pony.

Perhaps it was how in detail he went on about her younger sister, or acknowledging she indeed wandered into the bowels of the castle long ago, Celestia mused... She hadn't ventured there in a long, long time.

And to this day, something made her wary of going down still.

But why?

Looking to their guest, she offered a small smile and a nod for him and Luna to follow. She wanted to keep an eye on her sister in case anything was found... in case anything dangerous was found. A protective instinct was running very fiercely through her.

Still slightly confused and a bit skeptical, Luna was about to protest when Celestia turned and led the way. She stopped herself, knowing that it was futile to try and talk any sense with this 'Doctor'. But if Celestia trusted him...well, perhaps there was something she knew that she was not telling Luna. That bothered her. If something was wrong, why shouldn't she know too? And why did she have to come as well?

The deepest parts of the castle no longer brought Luna any lonely comfort as they once had. Something long ago had happened...the beginning and ending of it all...and Luna had not soon forgotten.

But she followed, anyway, wary and nervous, and keeping especially close to Celestia's side. She could feel her legs becoming wobbly and her throat tightening at the thought of venturing downward. Down old winding steps of old stone, into dusty realms that had never seen the light of day. At one time it had all been fascinating, but now it just filled Luna with dread.

Chapter 5

Keeping an especially close eye on her sister as they wandered the dark hallways, Celestia couldn't help but feel a small chill work its way up and down her spine at the recurring memory of childhood fears that slowly pinched and scratched at the back of her brain. There were reasons she didn't like coming down here. Though she couldn't place it right now, a strong sense of self preservation beckoned, no, pleaded her to turn back...but she was curious. She always had been curious.

As the light of day disappeared behind them and they went further into the depths, the Doctors' excitement grew. He was used to finding ancient tombs, chambers, and sunken cities in remote, out-of-the way places. Ancient unicorn libraries, or the secret storehouses of the royal family of Ancient Equestria. But never had he imagined he would be delving down into the chambers deep under the royal castle itself!

Luna didn't like the feel of this part of the castle at all. What had once been a place of refuge was now a place of regret and bad memories. Luna's leg's stiffened at each step, pleading with her to stay out of this place. She stayed close to Celestia, inside the circle of light cast by her horn. The eerie shadows danced against the wall, traces of them sneaking by like hands and threatening to pull her away into the cold darkness. Their hoofsteps were the only noise, the normally soft clip-clopping made louder by the stone and the extreme quiet. Outside of the light, there was only blackness, beyond and behind, it surrounded them.

Celestia had to be strong, too. She could see the wobble in her sister's step and encouragingly nosed the blue filly's cheek with a soft, reassuring smile, hair fluttering against the dusty walls surrounding them as they delved deeper and deeper still.

Luna nearly jumped at Celestia's touch, distracted as she was by the false movements around her. She wanted to smile, to show that she was grateful...but the look in her eyes as they met Celestia's was one of worry. Celestia blinked at Luna's reaction, and her smile turned apologetic

The Doctor followed the stairs down, past the Guard Station, to where year after year of guard patrols had kept a single clear path through millenia of dust, cobwebs, and gunk. He lifted his nose and gave a sniff, smelling the stagnant air, the musty dampness... "Ahhh... now this is more like it!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh, yes. They'll be down here for sure... smell that? That's not a pony smell. That's a ... kinda ... ooo, what is that? You ever smell a ... oh, what is that ... you ever smell an old Skunk Flower under the hot sun in the middle of a drought just after the rain started falling? Except snow instead of sun. And no rain. Just a campfire. But it was raining yesterday, then it froze. Actually, it's not like that. Forget the Skunk Flower! This is totally different!"

What was this brown pony's motivation? Celestia mused to herself. Had she just allowed some...mad creature into her home? Would she regret her actions? That doubt settled evenly in her chest before she blinked and spluttered at a stray cobweb that landed on her face. She shook herself free of it before either of the guard's could worry themselves silly over such a small thing.

The Doctor glanced back over his shoulder, seeing Luna and Celestia silhouetted in the faint light of the stairwell they were leaving. Then he looked forward into the dead blackness—wow, he couldn't even tell the difference between the corridor and the stone wa-BAM!

The brown pony had disappeared into the darkness, and Luna drew in a sharp breath. She wasn't really concerned for his safety, but he seemed to know what he was doing and where he was going—and if they lost him, they themselves might become lost.

The Doctor stumbled backwards, his head spinning. Oh, now he could see something! Look at the lovely stars!

Luna paused as she heard the *thump* up ahead. Arching a brow, Celestia made her way further into the inky blackness. Seeing Celestia rush forward, Luna did as well, not wanting to be caught in the darkness. They found the brown colt soon enough, Celestia's horn illuminating the way. They watched him spin slightly for a moment. He must have ran straight into the opposing wall!

"Are you alright....?" Celestia asked.

The Doctor spun around and looked up at the two princesses with a slightly dazed grin. "Oh, yes. Perfectly all right!" He turned around, again to peer at the wall. "I just don't remember a waaaalllll being there," he said suspiciously. He turned around and looked at the stairs.. then turned to look at the wall. He held up both his front hooves before his face, peering between them, then tilted his head slowly sideways. "Oh! Nevermind! There it is! Just got turned around a bit!" He smiled up to Celestia and Luna, then looked around at the surrounding muck and dirt.

As Celestia watched over the brown pony, her that she may have brought in some completely buck-wild and downright crazy pony into her home made her...very...very nervous. But, it never came to the surface. Oh no. She was very good at keeping her emotion's level. It was to make sure that when everything turned to manure around her, she was at least calm in the hope that it instilled some calm into the ponies around her. But right now... she was deeply worried.

As they continued on, Luna glanced up at her sister. She was surprised to see that Celestia did not look as worried as she herself felt. In fact, there seemed to be little emotion crossing her sister's face. Perhaps a hint of determination, but other than that...there was nothing. Just... nothing.

"Well, this is certainly exciting!" The Doctor said energetically, seeming to become more and more delighted the creepier it got. He peered closely at a hanging cobweb, gave it a sniff, then gave it a lick. He smacked his lips and rubbed his front hooves over his tongue. "Blech. Yup, we're on the right track! Getting stronger now!"

He peered closely at the floor, in the light of Celestia's horn, and then proceeded to follow the sole worn, almost clean cut path through the dusty surroundings. The smooth groove was worn into the stone floor from hundreds of years worth of halfhearted guard patrols. "This way, then!"

As the doctor took off again, Celestia glanced at Luna, making sure she was alright before she followed the brown stallion, keeping a steady pace. The guard's following suit, like loyal dogs kept to their diligent vigil.

Luna knew that voicing her fears wouldn't do anypony any good. Celestia was bent on following this insane stallion, whatever her reasoning might be. The guard ponies continued along with them, seeming to echo Celestia's emotionless state. Luna wished that she could project that bravery herself.

The Doctor hummed happily and out-of-tune, as he proceeded on down the twisting, winding halls. "I gotta say," he said enthusiastically, "I've had a lot of ponies follow after me in my adventures, but this is the first time I've had TWO princesses as my companions! It's quite a treat for me!" His tone was light, offhand—just showing an enjoyment of the moment, regardless of what the future might hold.

Every so often, the brown Earth pony would pause to examine this or that turn off... sniff the air... listen carefully, a hoof raised for quiet... then shake his head, and move on. Further down, further in, the strange procession continued.

Maybe it was the dank air in the depths of this place, or the fact it was just so dark and disorientating... but something felt... very off to Celestia. The princess' footing began to falter, and she paused at the end of one hallway.

This felt so... familiar... in a horrible, horrible way.

Celestia had stopped, and with a stiff jerk Luna did as well, careful not to step out of the light. She looked up at Celestia to see what was the matter, and saw her eyes travel far away, but only for a moment before she seemed to shake the feeling off.

“M'lady?” One of the guards inquired of Celestia.

A small pause and she shook her head.

"Something tells me we're not in for a pleasant surprise down here. Let's go make sure our guest doesn't get himself eaten." Came her reply. "Luna, I want you to stick close to me."

Luna moved the tiniest bit closer at her sister's request, her head brushing against Celestia's side. "Wh-What?! Eaten?!" she exclaimed, as she registered what else her sister had just said. "But there's nothing actually down here, right? It's been abandoned down here for years—centuries even!" she paused, listening as her voice gave an eerie echo in the seemingly empty corridor.

Chapter 6

The Doctor knew he came off as a bit... different. He had no illusions about that. But he didn't care. When dealing with the strange and unusual, a few oddities lent an air of expertise to a personality–who better to deal with the bizarre than someone who's just a bit bizarre himself?

Never, though, had he found himself so proven correct as now. He'd gotten caught breaking into the palace... and now the princesses were following along after him, doing as he said?! This was definitely a high point in his long and magnificent list of adventures.

Now all he had to make sure to do was follow through. He was sure something was down here, whatever it was, but if they didn't find it... Well, he'd certainly come out looking more like a crazy pony than an expert. No sense worrying about that, though...

So many empty doorways. Or closed ones. Imagine... there were rooms down here that nopony had gone in for hundreds of years... perhaps even thousands of years! Imagine what ancient devices, ancient magics, ancient books or scrolls or friezes or art might be found down here, by an intrepid historian. The flow of time, in all its glory. Surely, traveling down here was like time traveling, in its way, entering a world from ages past. He could tell, from glances out of the corner of his eyes, that the princesses were nervous. But how could they be nervous? They were the second and third most powerful forces in the kingdom! The first, of course, being one he watched over carefully, though it was laying unused and forgotten, tucked away in the bottom drawer, second from the left, in a little library in a tiny little town out in the countryside.

Ah, well. Sometimes he didn't understand other ponies.

What was to be scared of down here? It was dark, but what was darkness? It was old and musty, with cobwebs all over, but what were a few spiders? Well, there were the disappearing guards, he hadn't made them up. He supposed there was likely something dangerous down here... but that's why they were here!

What fearsome thing? What great monster, what terrifying creature awaited? Maybe it had tentacles... maybe it had big crab claws on tentacles! Maybe it was on fire! Maybe it breathed acid and could go right through stone walls! Maybe it slowed time around it so you moved as if embedded in molasses!

Movement attracted his eye while he was getting himself more and more excited with his imaginings.

"Hold on!" he said cheerfully, and pulled out a little miniature lantern from his bag. He set it on the floor briefly, lit it with a brief flash from his flint stone, then picked it up in his teeth and progressed forward, with the flame licking up off to the side of his face. "Ah, there you are!" he said around the handle.

Luna watched as the brown Earth pony pulled the lantern from his sack. That would've been helpful earlier! she thought to herself. But there wasn't time to remain angry. He'd found something.

There, in the middle of a side-corridor, where a few hoof-prints marred centuries of dust and murk, stood a little creature. Nothing more than an adorable little bit of blue fluff, with great big adorable eyes. It let out a soft little chirrring noise, a sweet trill of greeting, as the Doctor approached it.

"Well, well, well. Aren't you adorable?"

Luna stepped forward, a little less cautious now that there was more light. They'd also apparently found the thing Doctor Whooves had been looking for. At least they'd be able to go back soon.

At first, Celestia couldn't exactly see what the Doctor was fawning over so curiously. She moved closer, and when she did, something struck a chord in her chest.

Peering at the little creature, she tilted her head. It reminded her on the tiny creatures that flitted around Ponyville... and ransacked Fillydelphia when she had gone to investigate it. They were harmless... in the long run... until they ran out of food. But this didn't feel exactly right.

Squinting, she stretched out a wing in front of Luna to make sure she stayed there before approaching behind the brown pony. As she did so, the glow of her horn drew nearer the creature. The tiny, soft thing chirped and chittered hungrily, almost instantly drawing the princess back warily.

As Luna took another step, the way was suddenly barred by a white wing. Luna looked up curiously at Celestia, and her fears returned now that her sister was showing concern. Even Celestia, so much more powerful than she, seemed tentative to approach it.

She was being silly. It was just hungry. Probably hadn't been fed in so long.

But this tiny creature put the solar princess at a great distress as she eyed over its small, fuzzy form and shook her head gently.

"Luna, don't go near it." She warned under her breath.

With Celestia's warning, Luna knew that something was definitely amiss. But what?

Surely, it was a bit odd to find such a cute creature in this dark and forsaken part of the castle... Well, actually, that was pretty weird. What was it anyway? Was there something the other two ponies knew about it that she didn't? At any rate, if Celestia was being cautious, something wasn't right.

'O-Okay.' she replied, uncertain.

The Doctor blinked, glancing back at Celestia as the thing chittered hungrily at her. When he looked back, the little fluff ball was quivering. Suddenly, a fuzzy leg, twice as long as the body, popped out of the fluffy mass on one side, then on the other, and then again, and again, till the fluff ball was a blue, fluffy, ten-legged spidery thing. The legs lengthened and grew leaner, lifting the fluffy body up off the floor.

Luna gasped, stepping back just a couple paces as each long, thin leg seemed to grow out of the body. Well, it certainly wasn't as cute now. But it wasn't all that fearsome looking either. It chirped again, but Luna didn't flinch. She was merely curious as to how something so cute, even if odd, could end up down here. And for how long had this poor creature been trapped here, without food or comfort? Luna knew what that was like.

The Doctor took a step back, something resonating in his memory. "That's not a Parasprite," he said hesitantly. He'd read about cousins of the Parasprites... what was it he'd read? Visions of chaos, swarms, and disasters floated across his mind. It was something ancient, he knew. Something gone for not hundreds, but thousands of years... come on, Doctor. You're the history expert. What is it? Another flash, a full scale extermination order. One of the few in history. What could countenance that?

Something about the creature put Princess Celestia off greatly. It could be told in the great monarch's body language and stance, as the tiny fuzzy beast sprouted legs from its body. It chittered, and despite its sweet and small size and looks, it disturbed her on a great level. Why, she couldn't figure out.

But it did.

The fluffy lil' blue creature rose up, its eyes glowing with a soft pink glow, and opened its mouth again. It let out another cheerful little chitter around the two mandibles that emerged from either side of its mouth, and skittered forwards toward the three ponies.

It began to approach, and Luna felt suddenly drawn to it, despite her sister's previous warning. Though the Doctor moved away, she took a step toward it. It wasn't threatening at all, rather, it seemed a bit friendly. Just looking for a little love after being in such a place as this.

Looking at this tiny creature brought back horrible feelings of dread, and the sun princess actually found herself taking a few steps back to spread the distance between her and it, whilst still keeping an eye on her sister. For good measure, she spread out one of her wings as if to usher Luna back as well.

Whatever that little thing was. Whatever it did. She didn't want Luna exposed to it and that was as simple as that.

"Doctor, as curious as you are, I think we should vacate... quickly." There was a deep sense of urgency to her voice, almost a pleading. It made her guard's anxious, and they stepped forward and took a stance in front of their charges, a slightly irate snort escaping their nostrils.

Celestia's large wing reached out again, ushering Luna backwards instead of just halting her hoofsteps. She looked up at her sister in confusion, even as Celestia spoke to the Doctor. She could see the grim look that came over her sister's face, and her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest, though why she wasn't sure. The guards took up their positions, and Luna could tell they were ready for a fight—but against what, exactly?

The Doctor retreated again, uncertainly. The eagerness at finding some huge, slavering monster seemed to disappear before this single tiny, fluffy, spidery creature, replaced by nervousness and dread.

"Hold on there," he tried to reassure it, "We're not going to hurt you …"

Chapter 7

Keeping an eye on the creature, the Doctor nodded slowly to Celestia. "True, but we haven't found out what's going on yet... and this seems familiar, but I can't put my hoof on it... " He stepped back another step, and then looked around quickly as faint skittering noises sounded, echoing in the halls around them.

Dots of light started appearing, in pairs, in the darkness beyond his lantern, and into the glow cast by his light came another little creature, this one a bright pink, then a third, of a pale green, and a fourth, of a vivid purple. Then three more. Then another two. Then five more...

Luna watched as a seemingly endless stream of the strange creatures seemed to come from nowhere. She gulped, feeling a chill flow through her. One—one was cute. But the number of glowing eyes she could see before her was nearly overwhelming... and she was a bit frightened by just the sheer amount.

Their too many legs carried them along the floor, the walls, even the ceiling, moving in short little bursts forward as they appraised the five ponies... but their baleful gaze seemed especially to focus upon Celestia and Luna.

They started letting out cute little squeaking noises, as if chatting with each other, and the skittering noise echoing through the hallways increased, from the movement of who knew how many more of these?

"But then, that's what libraries are for!" the Doctor said quickly, backing up much more rapidly. "Research, that seems to be the thing of it!"

“We’ve no time to waste, Doctor.” As she spoke, Celestia’s entire countenance changed, suddenly adopting a stolid grimness that wasn’t there before.

The horde of skittering, spider-like creatures poured out over the stone, undaunted, innumerable, and seemingly implacable. The sound of millions of tiny legs scraping stone filled the corridor with a horrible din akin to feedback static. Even Celestia was having trouble maintaining her concentration enough to keep her horn alight.

There was something deeply unsettling about the skittering arthropods, but it was not the fact that they were creepy, crawling, critters. Celestia had an appreciation for all creatures great and small in the world over which she kept careful stewardship. But with this stewardship and eons of experience came a distinct affinity for the subtleties of the aether. Something within these creatures clawed at her incorporeal senses, testing her magical defenses.

They were close now, too close.

“We’re out of time, Doctor. Guards, escort Princess Luna back to the castle. I will deal with this.”

Luna's ears pinned back against the sound, resisting the growing noise of the mob of fuzzy critters. They were creeping closer, and the din was growing louder. She looked to Celestia again, just as she gave the order for Luna to be taken away. Celestia didn't even glance down at her; her eyes were far too focused on the creatures in front of them.

Celestia's stance changed as she prepared. Luna could tell that the spell would be difficult. Celestia's eyes were narrowed in concentration, her chest rising and falling with purposeful breaths as she focused.

The guards flanked Luna on either side, cutting her off from direct contact with her sister. Luna could tell, though, that they looked a bit disgruntled at the thought of leaving their ruler. Though Luna should have held the same status and importance as her sister, she could see that they were more protective of Celestia.

But it didn't matter, because Luna wouldn't budge. Even if she couldn't do anything to help, she wasn't going to leave Celestia down here to face an unknown danger. She also didn't fancy the idea of traveling back through the ancient passages without her sister, even with the guards in tow. If there were hundreds of this type of creature living down here, who knew what other things might be lurking?

The sun princess firmly planted her gilded hooves upon the cold stone, bracing them for the spell she was preparing to cast. The faint lavender glow about her horn suddenly peaked in intensity, becoming nearly unbearable to look at. Celestia’s eyes smoldered the same shade of lavender, obscuring her pupils to the outside observer, but only serving to enhance her own vision as she partially immersed herself in the aether.

To the princess, the corridor walls seemed to fade away, becoming semitransparent and indistinct. All around her, waves of faint violet flowed, glittering, shimmering, and scintillating like a million diamonds. But something was wrong. Just in front of her, where those creatures were, there were no waves, no crests, no shimmers. There was no aether. There was only void; cold, dark, magic-less void.

Surprising, to be certain. But Celestia had little time to consider the ramifications. A flick of her horn and the warp and the weft of the immaterium wove itself together at the sun princess’ whim. A glowing wall of shimmering arcane force stitched itself together in front of the advancing horde, cutting off the corridor and isolating the creatures from the retreating ponies, at least for the moment. The creatures’ impacts on the force field set blue ripples shooting across the surface, striking the stone walls, dislodging loose bits of dirt, and throwing brightly colored sparks from where the field met stone.

The creatures clawed and scrabbled, mindlessly slamming into the force field over and over again. There it was again, that feeling of void, like a whirlpool that was slowly sucking down all the ambient aether; the chilling feeling of nothingness given substance. Even now, Celestia could feel the force field spell weakening, as if the very presence of the creatures was anathema to anything that involved magic.

“Doctor, the spell will not hold them for long!” Celestia said tersely, the glow finally subsiding from her horn and eyes. “We must return to the surface at once. When we do, I believe an explanation is in order...”

Luna jolted to attention at the stressed urgency in Celestia's words. Something was terribly wrong, and Luna still wasn't sure what it was. Now wasn't the time to ask, and Luna broke away from the guards to stand by her sister's side.

“Celestia?” her voice quivered more than she realized. “What's wrong?”

Chapter 8

The tiny, fluffy, ten-legged critters were balked by the barrier only briefly. The horde itself seemed to pause, confused or curious, as they looked at the nearly invisible wall. One bright pink critter raised a leg, tapping at the barrier, and watching a blue ripple spread across its surface. A series of chittering squeaks sounded from the horde of creatures, and then quiet again. There was an eerie quiet as they all stared at each other across that magical wall.

"Luna!" Celestia said firmly, looking down into her sister's eyes. It was no use. Luna was defiant—terrified, but defiant—eager to help just the same. There would be no sending her away. "There's no time to explain. We need to get out of here. Quickly!"

"Well, then, that's useful," The Doctor said with relief. "Nothing wrong now, I guess, your nocturnal highness. There's something familiar about these, but I can't quite remember... I need a library, and luckily, this castle has—"

A pale green critter opened its toothy great maw wide and bit a hole out of the barrier as big as its body. It skittered through to the side with the ponies, then paused. It quivered, hunkered down upon itself, and then seemed to explode outwards—to one side of the pale green one, there was now a bright blue one, and to the other a soft lavender one. A red critter followed suit, taking a bite and then splitting into three versions of itself, then a third, and then the whole hoard was voraciously devouring the invisible shield, the mass of critters tripling in size as they ravenously turned the wall into Swiss Cheese, and then nothing.

Luna's eyes went wide and she gasped, stepping back as she watched the horde quickly devour the magical wall separating them. What kind of creatures were these, that magic had no affect on? How could they hope to escape from something that readily welcomed any barrage she or Celestia could offer?

The Doctor smiled brightly, perking up. "Oohhh, that's what they are! Manasprites! Well, I never! I thought they'd exterminated those little critters years ago! You see, they multiply as they eat magical energies, and—" the Doctor paused. "Oh, of COURSE! All the missing guards are UNICORNS!" He smacked his hoof against his forehead. "How could I have missed that?! Well, this explains everything! What a relief, I—"

The horde, finished with its appetizer of a wall, started to swarm forward once more, and the Doctor scrambled backwards. "Oh. OH. Right! Talk later, run now!" He turned and fled before the now even more numerous swarm, turning and rushing up the corridor, back towards where they had come.

But as the Doctor took off and Celestia followed, Luna was right beside her, doing her best to keep up and not be left in the dark. Though Luna enjoyed the night and the darkness, down here it brought her nothing but fear. Her heart pounded in her chest, and at every turn Luna struggled not to trip over her own hooves and get left behind.

The Doctor unerringly took turn after turn, following their route back to the entrance, his hooves beating frantically over the stone floor as he followed his impeccable memory's path... Right into another swarm of Manasprites! He scrambled to a stop, his eyes wide, as their sharp teeth snapped at mid-air.

"AYIPE! Not that way!" He turned and fled down a totally random corridor, then another, leading the group as they avoided pocket after pocket of Manasprites.

The Doctor led them down corridor after corridor, dodging the spider-like creatures and bits of loose stone as they went. Dead ends and Manasprite swarms broke their route, forcing them to continuously adjust until even Celestia was unsure of where exactly they were in the dungeons.

Finally, out of all the dead ends and near misses, the ponies scrambled through an open door. After guards and princesses both had slipped through the door, he quickly slammed it shut and threw the latch to lock it, then let out a breath. A scrabbling of legs scraped along the other side of the thick wooden door, but it seemed to hold. The Doctor let out a long exhalation and looked around.

They were in just one of a series of rooms. If there was a way out of these rooms other than the door, the Doctor didn't quite know yet, but at least they weren't being set upon at the moment. Old furniture and tables suggested this had once, a long time ago, been some sort of meeting room, or perhaps a guard barracks.

Though the Manasprites scrabbled and scraped, they seemed to have great difficulty breaking through a physical barrier. In the ensuing lull, Celestia dared to breath a sigh of temporary relief.

When they finally reached the small room, Luna fought hard to catch her breath, all the while staring at the door they'd come from, ready to run again. But there was no need. Her breathing was raspy and shaky, her throat constricting in fear. Luna realized that her body was also shaking a bit.

What would have happened if they'd been caught? If either of them had been caught... Though Luna herself had little magical power since her return, it was still a piece of who she was. Less magic also meant she was weaker, unable to fight as well as her older sister. She wouldn't even stand a chance at defending herself if—if—

"Are you all right, sister?" the sun princess said, addressing Luna first.

Luna shook her head to clear it as Celestia spoke to her. "I—I—I'm fine." Luna replied shakily. She hoped Celestia wouldn't notice how nervous she was, but her sister had become preoccupied with what Doctor Whooves was going on about.

"That'll hold 'em." The Doctor said. "Eat through magic walls in a breath or two, but good solid wood—well, they've no taste for it. Well," The Doctor said. "Well, well, well. Hrm. Manasprites—"

Celestia's ears perked up at the Doctor's words. "Manasprites?" The term resonated with her somewhere deep inside, whether it was because of some long forgotten memory or the veritable aetheric static they seemed to be projecting, Celestia did not know. Somehow the feeling was familiar... very familiar. That fact alone made Celestia very uncomfortable.

"Mana—Manasprites?" Luna whispered. She began to pace back and fourth about the room, her head spinning. She'd heard that term before... it struck a chord within her and filled her with dread, though she wasn't entirely sure why. Though, from what she'd seen... these creatures thrived on basically eating magic.

"—And the two most powerfully magical ponies in all of Equestria." he continued on, unheeded. "Two of the nearly most powerful sources of magic in all the land... Well. It's not as bad as it could be. At least the Elements of Harmony are still back at the Sister's Palace in the Everfree Forest, or over in Ponyville, and not here at the castle. Oooo, I wonder if they can devour Discord's magics? That might be good or bad, not sure. It'd certainly be an interesting experiment..." he mused to himself, getting a little distracted.

The Doctor continued on his mumblings; something about the Elements of Harmony, Discord's magics, experiments. "Let us stay focused, Doctor." Celestia said seriously.

The sun princess slowly looked about the room, a conference chamber of some sort. There really wasn't much room for maneuvering, but doors were present on all four walls, meaning they were not trapped in a dead end. Celestia began pacing around the table, trying to clear her head of the static and perhaps think of some way to escape.

"If we cannot use magic to defeat them, doctor," she began, "then what do you propose? I need to know everything you know on these… Manasprites."

Chapter 9

The Doctor took a deep breath and frowned. Absentmindedly, his tail brushed off an old, dusty, cobwebbed chair so he could sit down in it, one hoof coming up to tap at his chin thoughtfully.

"I have read about them... once. I wish I had the book, it's back at my personal library in Ponyville. Ah, what was it? Menaces of Magic? No... Profane Powers Beyond Ponies? No, not the Poninomicon... The Bestiary of Banal Threats? Perhaps. Hrm. Well, there's definitely a good news, bad news thing going on here. Good news is—your guards are still alive. That's why the Manasprites have been stealing food—to feed the guards. They've got them webbed up and cocooned, and are feeding off their unicorn magic. Bad news is, that means they'll just keep multiplying as long as they have your guards."

Luna perked up at the Doctor's "good news." Those poor guards. she thought to herself. How long had they gone trapped down here, unnoticed? How many of them were there? Even though Doctor Whooves had said they were alive, that was only as far as the Manasprites were concerned. There was no guarantee that the guards had been able to survive without sunlight, or that they hadn't just lost all hope and starved themselves. And what of illnesses that could be contracted in place like this? It made Luna sick to think of them trapped down here, not knowing their fate, and possibly dying a slow tortured death. She swallowed a lump in her throat, not even attempting a brave face.

The Doctor’s explanation brought Celestia much needed respite. She breathed easier knowing that the Manasprites were not malicious; for a brief moment she feared that they would attack and consume magic-using creatures with the fury of a hungry Manticore, but the relationship was less predatory and more mutualistic.

Luna paused in her worried trot, then turned and made a beeline for Celestia. She stood next to her sister, laying her head on her sister's shoulder and then looking up at her. "T—Tia—" Luna cleared her throat, silently excusing herself for using the childish nickname. "Celestia... what'll we do?" Her heart was still pounding, anxious of the path they'd left behind—and the uncertain path that lay ahead.

Celestia’s countenance softened at Luna’s stuttered response. Eons of experience did nothing to dampen the raw, visceral, fear of the unknown, nor the unnerving nature of many magical creatures’ shadow in the aether. A faint smile tugged at her lips at the mention of her diminutive name from a time long past.

"We’ll do as we’ve always done, Luna," the sun princess replied, gently nuzzling Luna’s cheek. "Make our way through the chaos together."

The Doctor pondered a bit more, then lit up. "Ah! I remember something!" He trotted quickly over to the door and swung it wide open. The entire corridor was awash with surprised-looking Manasprites, and the door itself was coated with them, too, like a multicolored fuzzy rug. The Doctor casually grabbed one bright blue Manasprite off the door and closed it before they could react.

The sound of creaking hinges made Celestia’s ears perk up. The princess whirled around in time to see the brown earth pony crack open the door. Her horn glowed faint lavender again as she prepared to stem an oncoming tide and rebuke a foolish—SLAM! The door was closed just as quickly as it was opened. In the Doctor’s hoof was a single Manasprite, looking just as confused as Celestia.

"They're terribly guarded against magic—attacking them directly with spells will just make them multiply, make them stronger. But..." He dropped it to the floor and dropped his hoof onto it, smashing the thing against the ground. Rather than the crunch of an insect meeting its demise, there was a loud *pop* as it burst in a shower of blue smoke and red sparks, washing up over his face and making his mane stand up a bit, his face getting just a little sooty. "A little impact will disperse them back to the magic they're made of. But the bad news is, if you do that to all of them at once... it's kinda explosive, unless you have some way to contain or absorb all that magic."

Celestia’s incorporeal senses tingled as the fountain of sparks slowly subsided. While the lone Manasprite was a mere pinprick of void in the aether, the sparks from its disintegration made her hair stand on end. The aether had palpably changed, becoming charged with energy very suddenly with just the tiny explosion.

Luna was caught off guard when Whooves opened the door they had come from, and she shirked into a dark area of the room in an attempt to hide from the inevitable onslaught. But it never came, and Luna was surprised at how easily a Manasprite was exterminated. Of course, it would take an army of ponies to make a dent in them, since magic had no effect.

"This is dangerous," Celestia said, "An explosion of Manasprites would not only cause physical damage, but have serious repercussions in the aether as well."

As the doctor went on, Celestia continued to pace, studying the heavy iron-studded doors of the conference chamber with quiet curiosity. Magic offered no purchase against the Manasprites, but wood and stone and iron proved quite the impediment. The dungeons were honeycombed with these passages, built for transit and housing in the event of war or some other disaster. The oldest structures probably dated back to the time of Discord. Somewhere in these passages, the source of the Manasprite infestation lay.

The Doctor let out a frustrated noise. "They're not supposed to exist anymore! This is supposed to be impossible! Ahhh, well. Four stars, bonds loosed. I should have expected anything." He glanced up at Princess Luna. "AH! Princess, your magic was always the strongest, back in the day. Celestia couldn't hold a candle to your might! Have you recovered fully from the Elements of Harmony yet?" Then he frowned. "No, no—if you had, your mane would be all sparkly, like the beautiful night. Well, at least that means you're safer from the Manasprites. They'll all head straight for Celestia."

Chapter 10

"W—What?" Luna said in disbelief as Doctor Whooves explained the bit about her sister. She glanced from one pony to the other, now speechless. Not only was she utterly useless, but Celestia was the one in danger. But though Celestia had expressed concern for her, now the two other ponies in the room were more concerned with the matters at hand. They were the only two who knew what they were doing, and Luna as just in the way. So she sat away from the pair, just outside the light from Celestia's horn, and out of the way.

The Doctor continued. "They're related to Parasprites, so they were lured to their destruction by music... but what kind? It wasn't polka, I know that got ruled out. I don't think it was the Clopamanea, either. Ahhhh, what was it..."

He sighed, frowning again. "Darn, if I could only get at my library. Or my lab. Or even my cart. Just one cloud-crystal. I don't know what to do." He glanced up at the others. "But I will! Just... give me time! I always think of some way out of these situations!"

"Hmm... doctor," Celestia began, turning to address the stallion, "I once read of a species of ant that farmed aphids for honeydew. It appears that the Manasprites are doing the same with the guards for magic. In addition, their current behavior suggests collective consciousness, like the ants, and in that... a queen."

Luna's ears perked at Celestia's theory about the Manasprites. It was entirely plausible, and somehow... it felt right. Luna had surely studied these creatures long ago, along with many other things she couldn't recall. It had just been too long for her to know anything of value.

Celestia turned once more to face the exit farthest from the door which now held the Manasprites at bay. "If memory serves me correctly, there is a large cistern a few levels down which was used to store fresh water in the event of a siege. It is large enough and well protected enough to support a queen and any of her Manasprite attendants."

"We should be able to descend through that door," Celestia said, gesturing towards the exit on the far wall. "We cannot afford to remain here for long, so I suggest we move immediately."

As Celestia mentioned leaving, Luna stood boldly, if a little stiffly. She was scared to go forward, but more afraid to stay trapped here. At least if they were running away, they'd be making some sort of progress. She moved close to the Doctor, though she mostly brought up the rear of the group. Luna saw staying out of the way as her best option, even if she would have felt more comfortable by her sister.

The Doctor nodded, and gave a broad grin. "Now, that sounds like a plan!" He hopped to his hooves, full of energy. "After you, your Highness! Allons-y!"

He sprung to, following after Princess Celestia, pulling out a small screwdriver and fiddling with it thoughtfully. He kept glancing over to Princess Luna, as they went through the various corridors, following Celestia's memory through the deep passages.

As they made their way through passageways and corridors, Luna was a little surprised by the lack of Manasprites. They had been all over before, but now there were none to be seen. Even so, Luna couldn't help shivering as they made their way through the dark and eerie underground of Canterlot Castle. She kept glancing back and fourth, though she could see very little except for directly in front of her.

The passages were dim, sporadically lit only by the cold fluorescence of ever-burning torches and patches of bio-luminescent fungi that clung to the walls like miniature glowing bookshelves. Periodic flares of lavender hue backlit the ponies trotting down the seemingly endless lengths of stone passages, as the princess periodically lit her horn, "feeling" the surrounding aether for familiar reference points. Celestia did her best to keep her uses of the navigation spell short, lest it attract the attention of additional Manasprites.

"You know," The Doctor finally said to Princess Luna, "My library talks about you two a lot." He glanced up at Princess Celestia. "The Library of the Doctors. It might be why you two almost remember me—because my title, that is, the Doctor, isn't unique to me. It's passed on, from pony to pony. We each inherit the previous Doctors' possessions, library, and solemn duty. To seek out the ills of the land, and heal it. I don't remember, offhand, who was Doctor last time you were both alive. Might have been a pegasus, might have been a unicorn."

Ah yes, the Doctors, Celestia mused. Among the myriad ancient societies that kept their hooves on the pulse of Equestria, the Doctors were among the oldest. The smattering of idle chatter between them was strangely comforting, a small island of normalcy in the depths of the catacombs among the whims of the aether.

At the mention of the Library of the Doctors, Luna's ears perked subconsciously. She had been more absorbed in keeping watch, but the mention of it brought her attention strictly upon the Doctor. She felt a pang of knowing, some memory she couldn't place had resurfaced... or rather, the thought of a memory. Something that she knew about, either learned or seen... something about that library...

"I’d contest your familiarity, Doctor, but that would probably reveal more about my age than a mare should properly share." Celestia chuckled, attempting to add a bit of levity to an otherwise grave situation. "Likewise, there are records in the Royal Archives about the Doctors, though I’m sure the historiographers made certain embellishments. Some of the literature reads like a science fiction novel!"

The Doctor chuckled softly at Celestia's comment on the Doctor's tales. "Oh, yes, wholly exaggerated, I am sure," he agreed lightheartedly with Celestia. "Those ridiculous stories about Medusa's at dig sites, or weeping pegasus statues that make you disappear, or delving down into catacombs with the princesses to save some guards from magic eating bugs, are all entirely made-up, I assure you!" He shook his head. "The things some ponies will repeat..."

He looked to Luna. "I know I often feel scared, 'cause I can't do what a pegasus or a unicorn can do. I can't fly, I can't use magic. But I still do my duty. I find my way—not because I have some sort of power, but because it's the right thing to do. And because that gives you strength. You know the words—Loyalty. Laughter. Honesty.—All the good stuff."

But as Whooves turned to her and mentioned being scared, she had to stop herself from retorting, "I'm not scared!" Saying so would completely give her away, especially if she couldn't keep her voice steady. As he spoke the names of three of the Elements, Luna could not help having mixed feelings. They were both a blessing and a curse, helping to defeat the monster Discord, and also another monster that she knew all too well—herself.

"Luna," Celestia said, smiling faintly at the Doctor’s pep talk, "You mustn't lose faith. We're all in this together."

But still... Luna became melancholy and absorbed in her own thoughts for a moment. There was a reason she'd been able to wield her half of the Elements. She was strong enough, good enough to be deemed worthy by the Elements to be their holder. And yet... it hadn't been enough.

The Doctor grinned roguishly. "Right now, my dear Princess of the Night, you have the most potential amongst all of us, here. You have more capacity for growth than either of us. You may surprise yourself, yet."

She was drawn back to reality at the Doctor's last words. "What do you mean by that?" Luna asked. She had a vague idea... Her magic hadn't fully come in since her return, not to mention that much of her memory was a bit fuzzy. And, being that this was a dark place, and she was "Princess of the Night", this should be her area of expertise. In any case, whatever he was thinking was probably totally wrong. How much did he really know about her?

Celestia paused for a moment to allow her sister and the Doctor to catch up. The aether was flowing here, quite rapidly. Celestia’s incorporeal senses told her that the ley lines themselves seemed warped; that all of them were flowing down towards some indeterminate point in space, as if a singularity had opened somewhere in the catacombs.

"This way," she said. "We’re nearly there. Luna... when we arrive, I want you by my side..."

Luna turned to her sister at the mention of her name. "Yes, Celestia." she said obediently. On the front lines wasn't exactly the place she would have chosen, but this wouldn't be her first battle. And if magic was more of a hindrance than a help, her horn would do the trick.