The Darkness Within

Celestia sighed as she finished raising the moon. Today is the one year anniversary of Luna's death. Officially, Luna had passed peacefully to some rare, unheard of disease that just so happened to affect alicorns directly. Unofficially, Luna was found in her tower covered in cuts and the blood of a missing prisoner. The medical examiner, who had been sworn to secrecy and paid in a very generous sum of bits, had found that these cuts were self inflicted and that, upon the performance of an autopsy, had found that Luna had ingested a small amount of red meat. It was later found to be the heart of the missing prisoner. As to what caused Luna to do this was anyponys guess. Perhaps she was poisoned and went mad or maybe the nightmare was not fully removed as Celestia had once thought. Although she hated to admit it, there was nothing she could do now except move forward and do the best she can.

Celestia looked towards Luna's tower and tried to supress a shudder. The site of this grisly affair. Not even a day after, she had ordered that nopony enters the tower under threat of arrest. To ensure that nopony enters, Celestia had a select few guards, who knew the workings of the tower, keep watch. Except for her, they had permission to enter if they had a suspicion of trespassers but they rarely ever did. They too were sworn to secrecy and given a pay raise as a bonus. But despite her best efforts, the ponies of Canterlot had insisted the tower was cursed and so it was. On one hoof, this made sure nopony would dare come near. But on the other, Celestia could not hope but feel insulted by this. It was as if they were insulting Luna. But what could she do when something was already set in stone.

Celestia sighed once more and was starting to move when a brief flash caught her eye. She looked to where she thought it was coming from and sure enough, another flash met her. It was coming from a window located at the top of Luna's tower. Somepony was in there. Celestia looked to the base of the tower and located a lone guard. Why was he not investigating? Celestia, more confused than anything, decided to investigate for herself. Perhaps this trespasser could give some insight into what happened. With a flash of her horn, Celestia teleported to the base of the tower and stood before the guard. For his part, the guard just snapped a salute.

"Guard. I wish to know why you are not investigating a possible trespass in the tower."

The guard looked confused. "Forgive me Princess but what trespasser? You are the only one I have seen for the past 4 hours."

Celestia, now getting frustrated, stepped closer to the guard. He tensed up but did not budge.

"I saw a flash coming from the top of the tower from my balcony. There is someone inside."

The guard looked towards Celestia's balcony and looked towards the window that was in the balconys line of site.

"Forgive me Princess but no one is inside. As I am sure you are aware, the tower is enchanted with spells that prevent teleportation into the tower. They can only come through the doors at the top of these steps and they would need the key that I have." To prove it, he pulled the key out. "The windows are also magically locked. They can only be opened from the inside. Not the outside. If somepony wanted to go in, they would have to go through me first."

Celestia bit her lip in contemplation. The guard was right. The only way into the tower was through him and the windows were locked magically. And he had the key on person. If it was not a trespassr, then what was it?

"I apologize for my aggression. But regardless, I saw something and I will investigate. Unlock the door and lock it again once I am inside."

The guard nodded and moved towards the door with Celestia in tow. Upon reaching it, the guard unlocked the door and pushed it open far enough for the Princess to enter. Celestia moved inside and walked forward as the door closed and the lock was put into place.

Due to the darkness, Celestia used her horn to illuminate her surroundings. Looking around, she found an enchanted torch sconce. Smiling, Celestia ignited it. As soon as the flames awakened, the other sconces in the tower came to life, effectively giving light to the abandoned tower. Celestia continued to look around until her eyes laid upon the spiral staircase that led upwards. Celestia, not wanting to walk all that way, spread her wings and flew upwards. It took maybe five minutes to reach the top of the tower. As Celestia hovered, she looked around in a full circle to see numerous rooms. All doors were closed except for one. Celestia landed and trotted towards the room and gently pushed the door open. This room looked like Luna's study. Books lined the shelfs and her favorite tea set was right on her favorite end table. It was here, in her favorite room, that Luna was found dead. Celestia felt her eyes watering at the site only to shake her head. She needed to focus. Looking around, Celestia realized that things had moved. Nothing was in its original spots. Looking to the center of the room, Celestia saw a faint glowing coming from beneath the rug. Using her magic, she moved the rug aside and was surprised to see a portal. Now her curiosity was peaked. Why was there a portal in Luna's tower? And in this room of all places?

Celestia looked at the portal closely. It looked like one of those portals you merely needed to touch to activate. Weighing her options, Celestia decided to get to the bottom of this and touched the portal. In a flash of light, Celestia disappeared.