In Youth Eternal - Origins

Chapter 3: Infiltration Part 1

Two days had come and gone uneventfully for the Princess of the Sun. Having locked herself in the castle library, Princess Celestia obsessively scanned page after page, breezing through book after book in an attempt to find out whatever she could about obtaining eternal life. Tomes were piled upon one another on the various tables in the library to indicate she had finished reading through them.

So far, her research yielded no results to speak of. Two days of fruitless reading caused a certain strain on Princess Celestia; apprehension and fear of her eventual, imminent death. That apprehension almost felt like it gripped her furiously by the neck.

‘I must keep searching!’ her thoughts screamed in her head. ‘I must keep searching! I must keep searching!’her thoughts continued, acting as a broken record.

The alicorn’s breathing increased in intensity, as did her heart rate. In a fit of frustration, Princess Celestia stomped a hoof into the floor, causing a small tremor.

A number of books in the immediate area tumbled off of the shelves, making a bit of a mess in the library. Princess Celestia let out an irritated sigh. Using her magic, the alicorn gripped the fallen books in a golden aura, levitating them to their proper places on the shelves.

It was then that the sound of the library doors creeping open caught her attention. Her frustrated gaze shifted to the opened doors, spying Princess Luna trotting into the room. Although unintentional, Princess Celestia was virtually glaring at Luna; her brow arched inwards as her eyes narrowed.

“Celly? You’re still in here!?” observed the dark alicorn. Her jaw dropped a small distance in disbelief. “Sister... We are worried about you! Plus, I’ve had to take over your Sun duties again.” she muttered, gesturing with a hoof. Never had Luna seen her sister obsess over something like this. To top it off, Princess Luna was disappointed in not being privy to what Celestia had been obsessing over. The younger sister slowly approached her elder sister.

The glare on Princess Celestia’s features lightened up to a mere solemn expression. “I do not mean to worry you, dear sister,” she spoke softly, avoiding eye contact with the dark alicorn before her.

A beat of silence ensued between the royal sisters before Princess Luna let out a sigh. “Please, Celly... Tell me what’s wrong. I want to help you!” Luna pleaded, placing a hoof on her sister’s shoulder. Princess Celestia glanced away for a moment, thinking about what to say in response. After a moment, the white alicorn spread a wing around Princess Luna, embracing her younger sister.

“Lulu, I appreciate your concern,” she said warmly, forcing a light smile. “But, this is something I must find out for myself. Alone. I will be fine, though,” she continued. Princess Luna bit her bottom lip in apprehension.

Making eye contact with her younger sister, Princess Celestia quickly caught onto to the younger alicorn’s feelings. Princess Celestia truly did not want Luna to worry about her. With that, she lowered her and nuzzled her sister with affection for a moment, reassuring her that everything was alright.

“You’re absolutely sure, big sister?” Princess Luna asked, looking up to her elder sister with great concern. The Princess of Sun smiled warmly and nodded.

“I assure you, little sister,” she responded, her voice warm and calming. The dark blue alicorn cracked a smile of relief. A beat silence ensued once more, with Celestia having put her sister’s worries to rest. With that, the Princess of the Sun decided upon a change of subject.

“So, how is the situation in Stalliongrad?” inquired Princess Celestia, releasing her embrace. Princess Luna perked up, her eyes widening noticeably, having been taken by surprise at the sudden change in subject.

“Ah, yes. Our spy should be arriving in Stalliongrad later this evening,” she answered.

“Who did you have dispatched?” asked Celestia. Now that was the question. Princess Luna formed a sly grin.

“Star Streak,” she answered.

“Ah, excellent choice!” exclaimed Princess Celestia, her visage lightening up with satisfaction. “If anypony could complete a mission like this, it’s him.”

Princess Luna nodded in agreement. “Yes. Now, I suppose I should let you get back to your activity,” she said, forcing a smile. Although Princess Celestia easily picked up on it, she decided against saying anything about it.

“Alright,” the white alicorn replied. “I will see you later, then.” With that, Princess Luna turned to exit the library, shutting the doors behind her with a touch of magic. Princess Celestia turned back to resume her studies.

She was desperate to find an answer.

*     *     *

Star Swirl the Bearded waited idly in the corridor outside the library. The aged unicorn simply stood there, twiddling his hooves as Princess Luna went in to talk to the strangely acting Princess Celestia.

His ears perked up upon hearing the sound of the doors opening, followed by hoofsteps. Star Swirl’s eyes shifted to see Princess Luna exiting the library with an unhappy expression adorning her features. With such an expression, the elderly stallion knew this did not bode well.

“So... How is she?” he inquired, a frown appearing on his face. He was just as worried about Princess Celestia as Luna.

“She is worse off than we thought...” the alicorn replied softly. Star Swirl the Bearded cringed at the news; his muzzle wrinkling up.

“Oh dear... This does not bode well,” he stated. Princess Luna solemnly nodded in agreement.

“She won’t open up to me. My sister tried to reassure me that every is alright, but I can see through her facade,” complained the dark alicorn, shaking her head in disappointment.

“If she won’t open up her thoughts and feelings even to you, I fear we may not be able to do anything for her right now,” said Star Swirl the Bearded. An unwavering apprehension washed of the both of them, worried more than ever about Princess Celestia. Both ponies recognized that the Princess of the Sun had taken her first steps into the descent of madness. It was too glaringly obvious.

A tear appeared just below Princess Luna’s eye before slowly rolling down the side of her visage. It was all too heart wrenching to see firsthoof what was happening to her sister, and not know why.

“I fear that you are right.” she began,speaking softly. “For now, I suppose all we can do is keep an eye on her,” she finished, bringing a hoof up to wipe her tear away. Star Swirl the Bearded nodded in agreement before speaking up again.

“Now, you look tired, Princess Luna. Perhaps you ought to rest for a little while.” he suggested, placing a hoof on the dark blue alicorn’s shoulder. The apprehension that gripped Luna by the throat had distracted her from even noticing. The Princess of the Night could feel it though, now that Star Swirl the Bearded had pointed it out.

“Yes... I... I think I’ll go do that. Thank you, Star Swirl,” Princess Luna replied, a lite smile crossing her lips. The elderly unicorn returned her smile with one of his own before giving a nod.

“For now, I shall keep an eye on Celestia,” he reassured the alicorn. Princess Luna nodded before vanishing with a burst of dark blue light, teleporting herself to her personal quarters. It was then that a solemn expression crept onto the unicorn’s visage.

“I only hope Celestia won’t delve any further into her obsessive behavior,” Star Swirl the Bearded said to himself.

*     *     *

A unicorn stallion approached the city limits of Stalliongrad, clad in a simple pair of sunglasses, which were raised above his eyes, and a dirty green robe with a hood. The color of his fur was a brilliant silver, while his unkempt mane appeared dark blue in color. His belongings were stored on a modest sized wooden wagon, which was attached to a saddle on his back. Taking a glance up at the sky, he took note of the low hanging sun, indicating it to be evening.

On a simple dirt road, the unicorn officially entered the city limits, passing by other simple travelers along the way. From his location on the outskirts of the town, he could see the tip of the capitol building; something which he took note of. Upon entering the Stalliongrad city limits, the road had changed to cobblestone, rather than dirt.

After walking straight down the road, passing various homes and buildings, the traveler took a right turn onto another cobblestone road, traveling closer to the city’s capitol building.

The style of the town was quite a change from his hometown of Sattle. The rooftops of the buildings were all shingled roofs, rather than constructed of hay such as the buildings of Sattle, back in Equestria. Sidewalks were present at the edge of the cobblestone roads for ponies of all sorts to walk on. Lantern street lights were dotted along these sidewalks, already lit up for the evening.

Eventually, the stallion found his way to a local street corner Inn. He came to a halt in front of the Inn, and detached himself from his wagon. The unicorn’s horn lit up with a brilliant silver color, encasing the belongings in his wagon with an aura of the same color. Lifting his out of the wagon, he trotted over to the front door of the Inn, pushing it open with a hoof.

It was time for Star Streak to check in.

*     *     *

Off in the distance, over the horizon, the sun was setting. Slowly but surely, full nighttime was upon the world. The streets of Stalliongrad were illuminated only by the lamp posts which dotted along each side of each road. Despite the hour, a fair number of ponies still wandered the streets, trotting from place to place to do their business, or for a simple evening stroll.

Star Streak decided to go for one such evening stroll. It allowed the unicorn stallion to get a feel for his surroundings a little more. Much to his satisfaction, he found that the capitol building, where the government officials always meet to make plans and discuss important issues, was only a few blocks away from the Inn.

After he had a good feel for the surroundings, Star Streak decided to return to his room at the Inn. The door to his room swung open upon use of his magic, with the unicorn trotting inside. The door closed behind him as he plopped onto his bed, laying on his back. Star Streak’s room was relatively cozy. He felt he could simply fall asleep right there. Although, he knew he had to come up with a plan to set in motion as soon as possible on the off chance anything the Equis government have planned was to begin very soon.

Unfortunately, there was not a lot of intel to work with for his mission. The entire point of the mission was practically due to that lack of intel. An assassin almost succeeded in murdering Princess Celestia, which did not sit well with Star Streak.

“What to do... What to do...” he quietly muttered to himself as he stared blankly at the ceiling. A minute more had passed as he thought about the various ways to infiltrate a government building.

‘Hmmm... Buildings such as that usually have a lot of security.’ he pointed out to himself in thought. It was then that an idea came to him. A confident smirk adorned his visage as his eyes narrowed. Star Streak thought to use a disguise spell that Star Swirl the Bearded had worked with him on. The spell allowed one to mimic the appearance of anypony, and fool any detectors.

‘I suppose I should scope out who works in that building tomorrow.’ said his inner thoughts. With that in mind, he began to formulate how was going to attain that information. As a master of disguise, both magical and non-magical, the stallion was confident in his abilities.

All he’d need was the right disguise at the right time.

*     *     *

The following morning was uneventful to say the least. Although, it was rather early in the morning. The sun had only just begun to peak over the horizon.

Star Streak sat on the other side of the street from the capitol building, lazily slumped against the wall. His already grey clothing was dirty and tattered. The pants he wore appeared in need of a tailor, while his white T-shirt had splotches of dirt all over it. For warmth, the unicorn was fitted with an equally filthy and tattered overcoat. Atop his head was a fedora hat, slanted forward to partially obsure his visage. At his side were several empty bottles of cider; one of them still (somehow) gripped in a his hoof. The last notable piece was a necklace that hung from around his neck. There was a blue gem of some type attached as the jewel piece.

To any by passers, Star Streak was just a sleeping, harmless homeless pony with nowhere to go and nothing to do. From his current location, he could see anypony who entered and exited the capitol building. And what a view it was.

It was no castle, but it had a majestic feeling to it. The building took up a whole block, with guards posted around all entrances to keep civilians from gaining access. various windows were present along the walls, with several different floors.

The main entrance were large wooden double doors at the top of a flight of stairs. To the sides of the entrance, stood roman style columns, which reached up to the roof. The roof above the entrance was slanted down on both sides, such as on a stereotypical house. The roof above the rest of the complex was flat, save for a majestic dome at the center, adorned with a spire of some sort.

The disguised unicorn stallion smirked a little to himself. 'Not bad architecture. I'm impressed.' he began thinking to himself; his eyes fixated on the complex. 'But, I think prefer the Royal Castle any day. But, I digress.'

'They will never see me coming,' he chuckled to himself in his inner thoughts. His mission had officially begun, and he was ready to tackle the challenge.

As of now, it was merely a matter of waiting and patience; something Star Streak was certainly excellent at.