Echoes of the Past

Canterlot: The capital of Equestria. I've always liked to believe that Canterlot was once a floating city, like Cloudsdale. And that one day Canterlot fell from the sky and crashed into the mountain. I always keep that in mind whenever I get a job there.

The crisp cold air, the sound of the breeze whizzing past , under the cover of the night sky, were your workday begins after sunset, keeping a sharp eye, and the constant awareness of one's surroundings. All too familiar in my line of work.

I have made the flight to Canterlot many times before. Over time I have come up with many different flight paths that allow to enter with out being detected. Including one that allowed me to reach the royal castle with out being spotted. Flying in between houses, soaring through alleyways, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and dashing from one shadow to another I finally arrived at the castle.

I stood behind the wall that separated the castle from the rest of Canterlot. I knew I could not just fly high in the sky and land on top of the castle and enter Celestia's room that way. I was lucky enough to know that there was an invisible magic barrier that covered the top and sides of the castle. It would detect whenever a pony crossed that barrier and alert the guards were exactly that pony. The only way was to enter at ground level.

OK now what? I paused and thought about my next move. I needed to scout the castle first. I need a fresh idea of what the situation is. I had to find a cloud. I looked up at the night sky; not a single cloud is sight. But I went up anyway. As always a Pegasus could find a cloud whenever they needed one. I brought it down from the sky and positioned it in a discreet location.

I laid flat on the the cloud and took out my binoculars. I have been planing for awhile now to install a zoom-in feature on my hood specs so I won't need binoculars. But I never quite got around to doing it. So for now I was stuck with my bulky binoculars.

I observed the guards that patrolled the castle; watching their behavior, routes, routines, and how alert they were. After studying their habits for around ten minutes I devised a path that to take that should allow me to reach the base of Celestia's bedroom tower with out being spotted. I sat up on my cloud and stretched. I put away my binoculars and kicked the cloud back into the sky. I began my break-in into the Canterlot royal castle.

I leaned close against the wall listening to the hoofsteps the royal guards were creating. It was very hard to determine exactly how far away they were from me. After what seemed like an hour I thought I had an opening. Just to be positive I brought out my small adjustable mirror attached to a long collapsible metal rod to peek over the wall. I did not see any nearby guards and without hesitation I jumped over the wall.

I flew up and went over the wall and dropped down into a large bush directly on the other side of it. Instead of receiving a softened landing I was met with sharp pains all over my body as I entered the bush. The only reason I did not cry out was through the bush I could see a royal guard's head turn in my direction and he started trotting toward me. The stomach fell all the way down to the end of my tail.

That’s when the adrenaline kicked in. I forgot about the pain entirely. I was only focusing on how I was going to avoid getting caught. My brain seemed to slow down time giving me around a minute to react when I actually had only a few seconds. I have never thought so quickly before in my life. In what seemed like the absolute last second I had left I got an idea.

I felt my hoof on the ground searching for an object. I found a rock. As quickly as I could I grabbed the rock and threw it in the direction of the bush adjacent to mine. This caught the guards attention. He changed his course and headed toward about were the rock landed. The royal guard took a quick look inside the bush “Dumb squirrels,” the guard mumbled to himself. He returned back to his post.

That was way too close. But I had to keep moving. The guard may still check this bush later. I took a quick look out side. Things seem clear but I felt I needed to wait before I make my next move to a nearby tree. As I put my head back into the bush I changed my mind. I was hiding in a giant thorn bush. Hundreds of tiny spikes were digging into me from every direction.

With that I jumped out of the bush and headed into the tree silently. Much better then my entrance in to the bush. Thank Celestia that I had the sense to look behind me. On the bush there was around a dozen feathers covering it. My feathers. They must have gotten snared in the thorns and disconnected from my wings as I exited from the bush.

Another surge of adrenaline. In just a few seconds I jumped down from the tree, sped over to the bush, gathered all of my indigo quills with extreme dexterity, and like lightning I was back in the tree's branches. Just a few moments later a different guard went by. He stopped for moment and looked at the bush. The same bush I was in not even a minute ago was terribly distorted. Some of the twigs were broken and it was flattened and out of shape. Thankfully the guard continued his route and said to him self “Is it really that hard for the gardeners to maintain their plants?”

Finally I was given a sigh of relief. I put the feathers from the bush into one of my pouches. I also checked my wings to make sure there aren’t any more lose feathers and brushed off any remaining thorns still on my cloak. It took just a few moments from me being cool as a cucumber to me sweating terribly. I needed to chill out. I decided to stay in the tree for a few extra minutes.

After I stopped sweating I began waiting for the right moment to move to my next position. I managed to cool down a bit but I was still very on edge. My next spot was a large statue’s pedestal. This time when I made my move everything went smoothly. My final move before I arrived at the castle's base was a gazebo.

No royal guards in sight I darted and hid under the ceiling of the gazebo. I almost got ready to move again when I heard some more clopping. I was getting gradually louder. I would just have to stay put. Then to my horror I saw an royal guard step on to the gazebo. I quickly curled up my tail and did my best to not be seen.

I realized what an idiot I am. I'm trying to hide in a white wooden gazebo when the color of my cloak is black. So stupid. My hooves began to slip. Even extra grip horseshoes had their limits. I considered whether I should drop down and knockout the guard as he was standing in the middle of the floor. But I did not have any experience with that as I am not an assassin. Even if I did I don't think I would have the strength to drag the body into a hiding place. I just had to put all of my strength into keeping me rooted to that white ceiling.

The guard looked all around the gazebo. Seemingly scanning every inch except were I was hiding. Finally after what seemed like forever the guard resumed his patrol. Another sigh of relief. I guess I can thank a ponies bone structure for not getting caught. It's nearly impossible for a pony to look directly up.

I held out for another few minutes. With my last amount of strength I lowered my mirror to scan the area. No guards visible. At last I let go of the ceiling and fly out of the gazebo and toward the castle. The moment I reached the castle base I soared upwards.

As I ascended the castle I could feel the adrenaline wearing off. The pain I received from the thorn bush was coming back. I could sense my extra strength slipping away. It was a punishing climb to reach Celestia's bedroom. My vision was blurring, I couldn’t fly straight. When finally I reached Celestia's room I landed on the roof and nearly passed out from exhaustion.

I spent ten whole minutes just regaining my stamina. I hoped Princess Celestia didn’t hear me when I landed on her roof top. After I regained full consciousness I decided to take a look at my injuries. The cloak itself was intact I would take a lot more to cut those threads. I examined my coat. It was stained with blood from of the thorns. There were punctures all over my body. But I concluded it was nothing a few dozen bandages wont fix.

I started look for an entrance into Celestia bedroom. I first tried her large window. I positioned my mirror to see inside the window. Looking at it for only a few seconds I see a flash of blue, pink, and green. I quickly withdraw the mirror. OK now I know that Celestia is in there. No point in entering through these windows I don’t think they even open.

Next I tried the balcony that jutted out from the rest of her room. It had a door that allowed access into the main part but it was locked. I was thinking of lock picking the door but then I peered inside the room from the doors window. With my mirror I could see what Celestia was up to. She was guarding both the window and the balcony door. Looks like I will have to find another way in. Fine by me. I could usually find three or more entrances to a single room.

I looked around Princess Celestia bed room to find more unconventional ways to enter a room. I checked underneath to see if there are any lose floorboards. I circled around the room for any other windows. I finally struck gold when I was searching the roof top. I found a sunroof. The ceiling window was locked but I could unlock it.

Picking locks on windows are a lot harder than picking locks on doors. Mainly because window makers don't expect you to unlock a window from the outside. I have practiced this before so after a few minutes I managed to get the window unlocked. I opened the sunroof and Entered Celestia's bedroom. I dropped down onto a nearby bookshelf. I took a quick look around the room and there she was.