A Nightmare Returns

By now, Gold and Nirvana were making their way back from the gardens, both were laughing at some of the things that Gold had told about the adventures of Celestia’s sons, including the funny moments on the way to the castle.

“You three are so funny together. I wish I could have seen some of these play out.” Nirvana said through giggles.

"Oh you would have laughed so much more had you actually seen these events play out from beginning to end." Gold stated past her own giggles.

“I bet I would have.” Nirvana laughed. “Silver seems so accident prone, though.”

"Don't tell her that though. She'll go off on me for it." Gold said. "Now I did go off verbally at Silver when the cotton tail scared me, but that’s because she laughed at me when I jumped back and fell on my rump."

“Apologies, but I would have laughed myself. That is kind of funny.”

"It's okay, even I've started laughing at that memory." Gold said, giggling lightly.

As the two nearly reached the dining hall, a panel in the wall opened and out walks Silver, right into the path of Golden, who walked straight into the smaller mare, knocking her off her hooves. The fall made her lose focus on the magic that held the large book and it dropped straight between her legs, slamming into her cunt. The scream could be heard nearly from all over the castle as pain worse than any time Silver had been struck in the balls when she had been a stallion shot through her body.

Heart, who was still in the passageway, heard the scream. “Is that Silver?” she said to herself, sprinting towards the noise. She pushed open the passageway, and stopped dead in her tracks as she came across Silver lying on the ground and Nirvana and Gold standing with their mouths open. “The hell happened?”

“NOT IMPORTANT! GET THIS THING OFF OF ME!” Silver screamed.

Gold hurried over to lift the book off of Silver so that she could pull herself out from beneath it.

Silver moaned loudly in pain, holding her hands between her legs as she rolled onto her side, tears from the intense pain spilling from her eyes. “I thought getting hit in the balls hurt… I will never look at a mare the same way again.” She whimpered.

"I'm so sorry Silver, I didn't mean to run into you!" Gold quickly exclaimed. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen!"

“I-it’s fine, Gold.” Silver winced as she tried to move. “Oh, Gods, it hurts!”

“Do not just stand there. She’s in pain and on the floor.” Nirvana said to the two other sisters. “Gold, grab the book. Heart, there should be a magic enhanced cold pack in the dining hall.” She ordered as she lifted Silver gently in her magic.

Gold walked over and picked the book up, it was a bit heavy, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

Heart looked around for the cold pack, finding it within a few seconds and levitating it over to Nirvana.

Nirvana gently held Silver with her back against the alicorn as she just as gently held the cold pack against her aching crotch. She began walking her to her room.

Silver whimpered the whole way. It hurt, worse than when Nirvana had taken her virginity, but she was glad for the cold pack that numbed the pain slightly. “T-thanks Moon…”

“Please… Call me by my real name… Nirvana.” She said with a smile.

“Thanks Nirvana.” Silver corrected herself. ‘Where have I heard that name before?’

Heart and Gold were still in the dining hall, Gold feeling extremely guilty. Heart turned to Gold. “So, how did your date go?” she asked, in an attempt to get Gold’s mind off what had just happened.

"It was…" Gold stopped to think. "It went well." She partially lied.

“OK Gold… I need some specifics. Did she ever mention Nirvana or Nightmare Moon at all?” Heart asked.

"C-can't we talk about this later?"

“No. I need the answer now. It’s important.”

"P-please." Gold pleaded. "If you want your answers sooner your best bet is to ask Nirvana."

Heart sighed. “Fine… No clue why you won’t just tell me…”

"It's just… there were moments I'd rather not talk about." Gold said. "I'm going to my room." She said as she headed down the corridor leading to her room, leaving Heart alone in the dining hall, along with the book.

Heart sat down in one of the chairs. Hopefully, Nirvana would be a little more talkative. If not… her whole revised plan would be meaningless.

Moments later, Nirvana returned. She didn’t look mad, just a little worried. “Silver’s resting in Gold’s room with her. I made sure to make them promise not to do anything that involved that area of the body, just to be safe.” She said as she sat across from Heart.

“They’ll be fine.” Heart assured. “Now, while Silver and I were in the library, we came across a few interesting things. The book, for one, has some pretty interesting information. However, this,” Heart pulled the folded up piece of parchment from her pocket. “is a lot more interesting.”

Nirvana took the the parchment from Heart’s hand and opened it. All it took was a few seconds for her freeze up and drop the drawing. Her eyes teared up as she stared off into space. “Wh- where did you get that?”

“The book.” replied Heart. “Stuck in between two pages. It’s you… isn’t it? Before you were Nightmare Moon…”

“C-c-c-correct…”

“Answer me this… Do you want to be Nirvana again? Do you want to cast aside the name ‘Nightmare Moon’ and live as the princess of emotion once more?”

Nirvana nodded slowly. “A-almost as much as I want to be with you three.”

“Then first, I’ll need my ring back. Only for a little while, but I will need to have it.” Heart said, looking Nirvana straight in the eyes.

The alicorn fumbled with the ring of platinum as she pulled it off her finger with shaky hands, nearly dropping it a few times, before handing it over to Heart.

Heart placed the ring back on her own finger, feeling the memories from when she last look it off onwards added to it. “Thank you. Next, I’ll be needing that drawing. Where is it?” Heart noticed that it wasn’t in Nirvana’s hands.

Nirvana blushed. “I, umm… dropped it.” She reached under the table and picked it back up, also handing that to Heart.

Heart took the picture. “Do you know who drew this?” she asked, purely out of interest.

A single tear fell from the alicorn’s eye as soon as the question was answered. “Platinum Star did…”

“She was very skilled.” said Heart, reaching into the small slip in space and placing the picture in there. “The book, the drawing, and the ring… With these, I’ve come up with a new plan… And you are a key part in it, Nirvana.”

Heart started to explain. When she had finished, she lent back in her chair. “What do you think?” she asked Nirvana.

“It’s flawed… Lets do it.” Nirvana replied with a confident nod.

“Finally! My sisters would have argued for hours trying to convince me otherwise. I’m glad that you actually listened to me.” said Heart, smiling at Nirvana. Heart picked up the book. “I’ll quickly check up on Silver, and then I’m heading to sleep for an early night.”

“I hope Silver is better soon. I would hate to miss our date.” Nirvana said, looking down at the floor.

“If she isn’t better, I’ll see if I can do anything to speed up the healing process.” said Heart.

“Thank you.”

Heart stopped on her way out of the dining hall. She placed the book down on the floor and walked back over to Nirvana. “Tonight, might be the last night in a long time in which I can look upon you as an ally… and somepony I love.” Heart wrapped her arms around Nirvana, pulling her into a kiss.

Nirvana placed her hand on the back of Heart’s neck as they shared a moment of passion that neither wanted to end. A moment later, Nirvana broke away from the kiss. “I could make tonight extra special for you. I could always make it up to Silver.”

For a moment, Heart wanted nothing more than what Nirvana had suggested. But then, she thought better of it. “No… I want Silver to have her date with you. Me and Gold did, and I know that she doesn’t want to miss out on what you have planned.”

The alicorn looked concerned. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” replied Heart.

“Then let your dreams be the sweetest.” Nirvana said. “Goodnight, love.”

“Goodnight, Nirvana.” With that, Heart walked away, picking up the book in her magic as she left. She walked towards Gold’s room and knocked. “It’s me.” Heart said. “Are you two busy?”

“I’m in too much fucking pain for that, Heart!” Silver’s voice yelled from inside.

“Can I come in then?” Heart asked.

"Yeah, just be careful." Gold said in a calm tone.

Heart opened the door, seeing Gold sitting on the foot on the bed as Silver lay across it. Heart put down the book and walked over to Silver. “First things first, let’s get you fixed up.” Heart placed a hand on Silver’s area, holding back a blush as her horn glowed.

Silver inevitably blushed from the contact. She held back a teased whimper as Heart’s hand touched her aching, yet sensitive crotch. A shiver of pleasure ran up her spine when she felt Heart’s magic begin to heal. A soft moan escaped her even though she tried to hold it back.

After a while, Heart had finished her job. She got up and walked back over to the door, where she slumped against it. “You two alright?” she asked.

Silver’s face was burning with a blush, having felt herself grow wet from being healed in that area. “Y-yeah… I-I’m fine…” She replied. ‘I just might need a little help later.’

“Gold? Are you okay?” Heart asked her eldest sister.

“I actually want to talk about my date with Nirvana, but can we discuss it outside?” Gold asked.

“What’s wrong about saying it in here?” questioned Heart.

“Yeah? What did you say that I, your sister, can’t hear?” Silver added.

“Okay… the date started out fine, we went to the castle gardens, we talked a bit of small talk about things we liked and all that. Then after we had finished eating I asked her if there is anything else that she wanted to know about me and she asked what mother was like and how she treated me and I explained it to her.”

“I fail to see why Silver couldn’t hear that.” stated Heart. “What else happened?”

“Well… It got a bit emotional after that, near the end of our discussion I realized how stupid I was being and hence I stated it as so and she did something that she didn’t really want to do, but I deserved it. It hurt her bad enough that seeing the toll backhanding me took on her just tore me up so bad that I broke down and begged for her to forgive me.”

“Wait… She… hit you?” Silver pried.

“With good reason.” Gold replied. “It’s what I get for calling myself stupid. It was a justified action, but it just hurt her so bad that I couldn’t take anymore and begged for her forgiveness.”

“Whatever you said to her, Gold, she only would have hit you if you really were being completely stupid.” said Heart. “I don’t want to know what you were talking about, but whatever it was, you went too far with it.”

“But afterward we made up and enjoyed the rest of our date until we met Silver, or should I say I… ran into Silver.”

“Look, sis. I already said it’s fine. Sure that was one of the most painful things I’ve ever felt, but you didn’t mean to do it.” Silver said in a soothing tone.

"So... The reason you wanted to speak only to me about the date was... Because Nirvana hit you?" asked Heart, looking at Gold with interest.

"Well, it was my emotional breakdown that occurred when I begged for Nirvana's forgiveness that I was afraid to tell her about." Gold answered with her head hung low.

"Ah..." Heart said, nodding.

"I don't want to have another emotional breakdown ever again, but without you here I don't see how I could stop myself." Gold said, a hint of sadness taking to her tone.

"Just stay close to Nirvana and Silver, your two lovers. I'm sure you will be fine." Heart assured.

Gold stood and walked over to Heart, throwing her arms around her sister and pulling her into a tight embrace. "You're the… best sister anypony… could ever… have asked for." Gold said, tears building up in her eyes as she hugged her sister.

"Really? Would the best sister ever make her other sisters cry, like I know I have done..." Heart sighed.

"I know we've had our quarrels and arguments but that's different, it's the good things that you have done for us and what we've done for you that speaks to me." Gold said. "And I finally realize that your plan may be the most beneficial to us. You, me, Silver, and Nirvana, I just failed to see that benefit, even though the toll is heaviest on you, I realize that your plan is our only true shot at being able to stay with Nirvana."

“This only works if my part of the plan succeeds.” Silver stated.

"The toll is heavy on all of us." Heart stated. "No matter what... Tomorrow is our last day together for most likely a very long time."

“Now… Before I leave for my date, I have something to tell you, Gold. It has to do with the book that nearly smashed my clit.” Silver said as her magic lifted the book and brought it over to set it on the bed. “I made a discovery this morning before we met up in the dining hall for breakfast. Beneath my room, and most likely all of the others, there’s a massive magic generator swirling with alicorn magic. My plan was to tap into it over the time that Heart is gone, that way mother can’t mess with my mind without a fight. Gold, this also concerns you. If I’m right and there’s a generator in beneath every room, then we’ll need to teach you how to access alicorn magic. Mo- Nirvana will be able to help with this.”

"Yeah... We need to find those generators. They'll be extremely useful to us." said Heart.

Silver nodded. “The sooner, the better.”

"Then what are we waiting for? After Silver's date we'll have to start looking into how we can tap into this magic." Gold said rather confidently. "After we figure out how to get to the generators."

“You two get to work on trying to find the hidden doorways to the generators. I have a date to get ready for.” Silver said, before climbing off the bed and strutting out of the room towards her own.

As Silver looked through the wardrobe of her room, conflicting thoughts about wearing one of the black dresses kept tugging back and fourth in her mind. “Should I?” She asked herself, then shrugged, pulling out a black single strap dress and setting it down on the bed. “Fuck it. I’ll do it.”

She was halfway finished with straightening her frizzy mane and tail when a knock sounded at her door. “It’s open.” She called.

The door opened, Nirvana's voice sounding as she entered. "Hello, Silver."

Silver had just finished brushing all of the frizzyness out of her tail when Nirvana entered. She smiled shyly and blushed. “Hi, Nirvana… H-how do I look?”

"You look absolutely gorgeous." replied Nirvana, who was smiling widely.

“I know I said I wasn’t gonna wear a dress, but I did it anyway… Just for you.” Silver said, giving a quick little twirl to let Nirvana see all of her.

Nirvana giggled a bit. "You didn't have to wear a dress for me. But you really do look gorgeous in that dress."

Silver blushed harder. “Thanks, but I wanted to wear it for you.”

"I hope you'll love where were going, because we're not eating in the dining hall." Nirvana said in a giddy tone.

Silver cocked her head slightly to the side. “Really? Where we going?”

Nirvana smiled. "Somewhere very special."

The zebra giggled and wrapped her arms around Nirvana. “What are we waiting for then? C’mon, lead the way.”

Nirvana giggled too. “Alright, calm thyself.”

Nirvana led Silver out of the room and down the halls. The two mares made their way through the castle though the winding pathways, going in the exact opposite direction than the dining hall. They began taking a few flights of stairs, bringing them to higher levels, before finally making it to a tall spiral staircase. Without a word, Nirvana led Silver up into one of the towers at the top of the castle.

The emerged from the staircase, into a wide, circular room. In the middle was a table set for two, like with Heart’s date, only in the opposite time of day, or night. The roof had been enchanted with a transparent spell, allowing the entire night sky to be seen.

Silver gazed up at the starry sky, a look of awe on her face at how bright the stars were that night. “It’s… beautiful.”

"That it is, Silver. I chose this venue because I thought that you might like having dinner under the stars." Nirvana explained.

Silver jumped up and hugged the alicorn, having to stand on the tips of her hooves to give her a quick kiss. “Thank you, Nirvana. This is the best thing anypony has been able to do for me, well… besides my sisters saving my life.”

"I always used to come up here just to gaze at the stars at night and would sometimes even fall asleep up here, but that was when I was younger. It's been quite sometime since I was up her at this time of night, when these very stars would shine the brightest and now I get to share these moments with you and your sisters." Nirvana explained, smiling as the good memories came back to her.

“I just hope one day we can all look back on these days with a smile on our face, after the day mother accepts what we chose to do.” Silver said with longing. “I don’t want us to be separated.”

"I don't want to be separated from either three of you, but I understand why Heart chose to do what she has chosen to do and it is for all of us." Nirvana explained. "But enough about that. You must be hungry, yes?"

Silver’s stomach grumbled loudly, making her blush with embarrassment. “Ravenous. I sorta missed lunch when I was doing some research with Heart in the library.”

"Oh dear… it's a good thing I made plenty of food." Nirvana said leading Silver to the table and pulling out a seat for her.

Silver took the offered seat, thanking Nirvana as she was then scooted up to the table.

"So is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Nirvana asked as she revealed the food that was all on multiple silver platters, then took her seat.

Silver’s stomach grumbled again as her mouth watered, hunger making her ignore the question. “Looks delicious…” She took a bite of her food and purred loudly at the flavor.

The meal went by quietly until Nirvana spoke up. "So, is there anything that you found in the library that interests you while you were there?"

Silver choked on the wine when Nirvana asked the question, making her have to put the glass down and cough up what she had choked on. “You *cough* r-remember that giant book that I dropped on myself?” Silver asked when she had recovered.

"Yes, was there something in it that interests you?" Nirvana asked. "And also how are you feeling after that incident?"

“Well, first off, I’m fine now. Heart healed my bruised… umm… c-clitoris.” Silver replied with a blush. “Second, that book may have something that would interest you. It’s a young alicorn’s guide to magic.”

"What is in the book that might interest me?" Nirvana asked.

Silver leaned forward on her elbows. “A way for me and Gold to learn alicorn magic.”

"Hmm… that is interesting, what did it say in terms of how Gold could use alicorn magic?" Nirvana questioned curiously.

“It said, and I’m sure you already know, that alicorn magic is a combination of the three pony types, considering that all ponies have a kind of magic in them. My theory is that if we take a sample of alicorn magic that would sync with her, splice it, then slowly feed it into her body, that she’ll soon be able to take the entire magic element without a problem. Same goes for me.” Silver explained. “We’ll need you to help us though. I don’t have the knowledge, nor strength to splice alicorn magic. But first, what do you know about the magic generators?”

"These generators helped to replenish the magic that each of the alicorn princesses used, these generators also are what give what lighting you have in your rooms. If you can tap into the generator of the element that adapts to you, then you can use that magic and if it’s spent, these generators will replenish the magic that they generate." Nirvana explained.

“That’s what I thought…” Silver replied with a nod. “I found one of them, the one for Silver Shade.”

"Have Gold and Heart found their generators yet?" Nirvana asked.

“They should be searching now.” Silver leaned further, inching closer to Nirvana. “But enough about that. I want to talk about you now. What really makes you smile, besides me and my sisters?”

"Mostly just having a good time, enjoying the company of others, some forms of art and even just spending time in the gardens, I also enjoy a good joke or two, speaking of some funny things that have occurred, Gold told me about what all happened on your way here."

Silver stiffened, jaw going slack. “D-did she happen to mention anything about one of her sisters having a drinking problem?”

"No… why do you ask?" Nirvana questioned.

Silver mentally sighed with relief. Gold hadn’t told. “No reason.”

"Then I'll pry no further, although Gold getting scared by that hare was funny." Nirvana said with a giggle

No matter how many times it was brought up, Gold getting scared by a hare was still the single most funniest thing Silver had ever seen come from either of her sisters. She had to try really hard to keep from laughing hard enough to fall again. “Did she tell you about when Gold woke up with a hangover and sucker punched me?”

"No she didn't." Nirvana replied

“Well, we all three kinda had a hangover. Gold having brought a bottle of vodka and shared it with us, but that’s besides the point. I walk out of my tent and bam! She- well he at the time knocks me out.” Silver explained. “Ok, so Heart wakes me up and of course, I have no clue who did it, so me, little guy, knocked Heart on his ass, and stuck Gold to the ceiling of a defense barrier with a levitation spell.”

Nirvana giggled a bit. "Guess that serves 'him' right."

Silver laughed along with her. “Worst part is, how small I am compared to Gold and Platinum.”

Nirvana giggled even more as she heard about Gold getting whipped by her youngest sister. "Sounds like you… What’s the saying? Put Gold through the ringer."

“Kinda had to do it like that to knock him out. You try knocking Gold out some time. Her heads like a damn boulder.” Silver laughed, but it stopped suddenly when she realized that all those times she had gotten into mischief… they had always been with Platinum Heart. “But… Those times… might be gone…” A tear slid from her eye. “Times I might never have again…”

Nirvana stood and walked over to the zebra and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Heart will come back to us, I have a feeling that she will and I just know that her plan will work, I just know it." She sounded much more confident than she really was.

“B-but… what if my part doesn’t work?” Silver whimpered. “What if I’m the one that screws up?”

"It will work, just have faith in the plan that your sister had put together and it will work." Nirvana said, trying to comfort her lover.

“But… T-the magic I need from the generators is what’s going to keep me and Gold from being turned against you. It’s also what we need to protect you from Celestia if something goes wrong.” Silver explained through soft sobs. “I-if I can’t get it right… Heart’s lost to us… That’s what she didn’t tell you. I’m her ticket back. Her plan is to get in. Mine is to get her out.”

"These plans will work if you have faith in them, each other and yourselves. I learned this the hard way." Nirvana said pulling the weeping mare away and looking her in the eyes. "And I plan to help wherever I can."

“T-thank you.” She whimpered, before leaning up to kiss Nirvana again, but this time, making it last much longer.

Nirvana's eyes fluttered closed as she accepted the kiss, pulling Silver closer to her in a loving embrace.

Silver shivered in excitement at the kiss, pushing deeper into it, only to break it a moment later. “H-hay, Nirvana?” She blushed. “Um… do you give good back rubs?”

Nirvana giggled. “A couple thousand years lets you learn many things” She said as she gently began pressing her fingers into Silver’s shoulders, enticing low moans from her. “This was one of Celestia’s favorites of my skills.”

"There's got to be a secret passage in here somewhere. Silver said that each room had one but where is it?" Gold asked herself, searching for anything that would give way to a secret passage to the generator to her room.

Heart was looking around her own room, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. ‘Obviously, the secret passage is linked to these books somehow. Just pull the right one, and the passage unlocks. Only problem… is the amount of books...’ she thought. ‘Eh, better not waste any time.’ Heart’s horn glowed, and, one by one, the books started to pull themselves out.

"I wonder if I pushed on the bricks in the walls, maybe one of them will open the secret passageway." Gold said and began pushing on the bricks in the wall, hoping that one of them would lead to a secret opening leading to the generator.

“Are you serious?!” Heart had pulled out over half the books, but nothing yet. “Don’t worry… you have a few more to go… one of these have to be the switch…” Heart assured herself.

Gold was still pressing against the wall, beginning to swear in her mind 'How damn long is it going to take for me to find the release for the secret passage in here? Feels like there could be more than one that might lead to my demise, but I'll be damned if I run into that situation.' She thought to herself, continuing to press against the bricks in the walls.

It wasn’t until Gold’s frustration built up to a breaking point, where she screamed in anger and slammed her fist into a single brick that instantly sunk into the wall from the amount of force that was applied. There was a sharp click, then a low rumble as the bricks around the one that was sunk into the wall separated and slid forward,before splitting, leaving an open passageway.

Heart sighed and collapsed on the bed, having pulled off every single book on the shelves. “I guess Star didn’t have it like that… But if not bookcases… then what?!” Heart started walking around the room. The only things left were the desk and the bed. “Where else could it be?” she told herself, walking over to the desk, and examining it.

"I wonder if this is the passageway I am looking for? Well I guess there's only one way to find out." Gold said as she began walking down the path, watching her every step.

Heart looked closer at the desk and where it was positioned. She tried to move it, only to find that it wouldn’t budge. “Well, that’s strange…” She looked up to see that right above the desk, only if you looked from a specific angle, there was a simple runic lock circle. An easy spell to decipher, but it was mostly hidden from the angle she was standing at.

"I should be there any minute now." Gold said to herself as she kept walking down the passage as it slanted downward at a somewhat steep angle, following a draft she had felt a while back. "If I just keep following this draft it should lead me right to it."

“Ok… this looks interesting.” Heart said to the partially hidden runic lock circle. She moved around, trying to find where it would all be revealed from. It took a while. “Aha! Gotcha!” she yelled in triumph. “Now let’s see here… oh this looks easy enough.”

"The drafts getting stronger. I must be getting extremely close." Gold said as she reached the bottom of the steep staircase.

After the spell was cast, Heart heard something behind her open. She turned around, seeing a space that had just opened in the bookcase. Heart walked towards it, seeing a staircase descending deeper into the castle. “Finally… let’s go.”

Gold continued walking until, finally, she reached her destination. In the middle of a hexagonal room was a large orb with solid rings of golden magic circling around it at several differing angles. The orb itself was held off the ground by what looked to be a giant hourglass that the sand seemed to go in reverse inside of that hung from the ceiling. "Finally… the generator." She exclaimed excitedly. "Now all I have to do is remember where the right brick is and I'll be able to come back to it when I have to."

Heart continued down the stairs for what seemed like hours. Finally she came to a door. “If this is more stairs, I’m going to yell at the top of my voice, I swear to Celestia.” She opened the door. She was greeted by a large circular room, something was in the center of it. “Is that… the generator?”

Like Golden’s, a large orb sat in the center of the room, surrounded by rings of platinum colored magic that sat in every angle around the orb. It was held, not by a claw, but by a crystal delta that hung from the ceiling. Heart felt the compassionate magic radiating from the orb. “Holy shit… That’s powerful…” She started stepping towards the orb.

"This things quite powerful, oh what it would be like if I could wield this magic." Gold said as she admired the strength of the magic emanating from the orb.

Heart stretched out her hand towards the orb and pressed her palm against it. Instantly, the magic coursed through her body and she yelled. She felt like her soul was getting separated from her body. Heart wrenched her hand away from the orb, but she felt completely alive, filled to the brim with magic. “W-Wow…” she spoke to herself, feeling the powerful magic flow through her. ‘I seriously hope that Gold doesn’t try that… I think I nearly died…’

Gold began to reach her hand out to touch the orb but pulled away immediately. 'No, how do I know this thing won't kill me. I should just leave and hope that I remember where the brick is when I need to access this room again.' She thought to herself as she then turned around and headed back down the path to return to her room.

Heart looked at her ring. “I wonder…” She had to test this.

Once in her room, Gold observed the closing of the wall, watching for the brick to use to access the generator when necessary.

Heart replaced the ring on her finger, her curiosity satisfied. She was about to leave, but then somepony seemed to speak from behind her. It was definitely a mare who spoke. She wheeled around, but nopony was there. Confused, Heart exited the room. Then she remembered the stairs. “Fuck stairs!” she yelled at the top of her voice.

Suddenly Gold’s stomach growled with hunger. "Heh, guess that says it's time to go eat." She said as she headed out of the room, the brick location etched into her mind, and went first to Heart’s room and knocked on the door a few times.

Heart had only just got off the stairs when she heard her door being knocked on. As she walked towards it, the passageway behind her closed. She opened the door to see Gold standing there. “Hey Gold. Any luck?”

"Yeah, took damn near forever to find the right brick and walk down a long hallway with a steep staircase, I almost touched it after a while of looking at it but decided against it." She replied.

“Lucky you. I pulled every single book off the shelf, but I still couldn’t find it.” Heart sighed. “Took me a while, but there was some sort of magical rune that opened the passage behind me. And after about a thousand stairs, I finally got to the generator.”

"Hey, at least your way wasn't as painful as mine, had to slam my fist into the right brick." Gold said, revealing slightly bruised knuckles.

“Ooohhh, ouch.” said Heart sarcastically. “Try touching that generator, then come and explain to me what pain feels like.”

"I almost did." Gold replied.

“Then you made the right choice.” Heart responded.

"So… you hungry? Cause I am." Gold asked.

“Starving. Lead the way.” Heart said.

Gold headed out of the room followed by Heart, and headed towards the dining hall.