The Citadel

Groaning slightly Flurry Heart awoke for the second time today on a hard stone floor "Ugh, I miss my bed." she mumbled as she put her head in her hands.

After crawling trough the doorway she had apparently passed out right there on the spot. She had no idea for how long she'd been out but it looked like there was still light outside, so probably not to long. Rising up into a sitting position she could have a good look at her surroundings now that her vision wasn't to blurry anymore and not laying face down on the ground like a drunk. The room was made of black stone and was quite big with a high domed ceiling, the walls were smooth except for having those same petrified root patterns here and there. There were no windows but In front of her was a set of stairs which led up to where the light was coming from. Behind her was an obelisk just like the one she had found down in the dungeon. The door on it was closed so she figured that what ever happened that opened it had run its course and shut itself again. Flurry got goosebumps just seeing it but was relived that she had been conscious enough to get trough before it closed. She stood up and stared at the intimidating structure looming before her as if half expecting it to come alive and attack her. Thinking back to what happened with the other obelisk made her stomach hurt. The terror and panic she felt was pretty traumatizing and she hoped dearly she never had to experience that again.

Turning to leave Flurry just realized something, what if that thing had drained her of all her magic and she couldn't use it anymore. Just the thought made her eyes go wide and sent a chill down her spine, she had to do a test, NOW. Going for the illumination spell which was the simplest spell that she knew she tried to charged up her horn. Her head hurt a little which was a common sign of magic overuse, but that was unimportant to her right now because she needed to know if she could use it at all. It took a little more effort then normal and a few retries but soon her surroundings was lit up by the familiar light blue glow of her magic. Furry Heart let out a sigh of relief that she had not lost her ability to cast spells entirely. A sharp spike of pain behind her horn made her release the spell before her headache got worse. She made a rude gesture towards the obelisk before leaving.

The stairs where large it took Flurry Heart two steps of her own for every one step of the stairs and the height of the steps made her almost have to jump up which gave her quite the workout. But seeing the end of the tunnel gave her the motivation she needed to keep up a good speed, and she was glad she still hadn't run into anyone hostile yet. Flurry could hear the wind now, just a few more steps and then she could get away from this place. But there was something in her gut that told her it might not be that easy.

When she finally reached the top and got outside Flurry's heart sank and she could only stop and stare in shock at what she saw. She had expected to see mountains bathed in the warm glow of a sunset or something similar, but the hellscape that greeted her almost made her faint. Standing on a high point gave her a great view of the wasteland before her which looked like something straight out of a nightmare. The entire world looked like it had been scorched by fire, there where no greenery at all only ruins, dust and sharp rocks as far as the eyes could see. The sky was filled with dark thick clouds that moved with the winds who's sound just made everything feel hollow and empty. She could also see several floating rocks and structures just hanging in the air. The warm light that had given her hope while climbing the stairs just moments ago did not feel so welcoming anymore as it painted the landscape in dusty redish colour. But the most prominent feature before her was gigantic castle like structure rising up like a mountain, with its blackened stone and many sharp towers giving it a very ominous presence.

Flurry Heart's mind was in full chaos, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. This could not possibly be Equestria or anywhere else she knew, she wasn't even sure this was her world. The air felt strange even if she was no expert Flurry could sense magic in the wind. But it was really weird it's like it was there yet hidden at the same time, what ever it was it was ancient powerful and alien. She knew there existed documents of other worlds in the royal library in Canterlot, Twilight had told her this in one of her magic lectures. A lump formed in her throat and tears threatened to fill her eyes as her emotions bubbled over, a single weak "no" was all the escaped her lips. How was she supposed to get home now? Was it even possible? She felt her body going limp as she slowly slumped down on her knees just stareing blankly forward.

After a moment sitting there between tears and her thoughts spinning in her head. Flurry manage to get control back over her emotions and pulled herself together. She knew she had to try something to get home she couldn't just give up, her parents wouldn't give up so why should she? Drying her eyes with the back of her hand she stood up and let out a sigh. If she had gotten here somehow then there was a way to get out of here too she reasoned, and she was gonna find it. Setting her eyes on the massive fortress in the distance again she figured she might as well start looking for clues there. Not finding an obvious way down from where she was except for what looked like a collapsed stone bridge, it was up to her wings again to get her moving.

~~~~~~

Flying in windy conditions was nothing new to her but all the dust and sand the wind threw at her made it an absolute pain. Doing the best she could to cover her face with her sleeve she really wished for some googles and a scarf right now. All this crap hitting her in the face and eyes was getting quite annoying and making it very hard to see. She hadn't reached the castle yet but she had covered some distance now so maybe she could land and walk for a bit and if lucky the winds would die down. Flurry swooped down among the ruins below and landed in a semi open space. The ground was mostly just solid rock with sand pilling up against the crumbling black walls of the ruins, she could also see a small pool of a black tar like sludge. While dusting herself off some of the sand that had stuck to her during her flight she took note of the architecture surrounding her. Tall old ruined structures surrounded her in various states of decay. Everything seemed to be made from the same black stone as the prison and in her opinion it was ugly and depressing. But whoever built it must have been quite tall judging by the size of everything. Luckily no one seemed to be home, she was in no hurry to meet whoever lived here. Having now gotten most dirt out of her eyes ears and hair Flurry Heart saw several paths flanked by huge walls on both sides leading further in to this dilapidated city. She started walking carefully down a one of them and it made her feel smaller then she already did. Seeing it up close now, the stone the walls was built from looked very similar to lava rocks with a slight red tint to it. One thing that started to worry her while she walked was food and water, it wasn't a problem yet but it would be if she didn't find anything to eat or drink at all. So far she had seen no plants at all and she very much doubted she would find food in any of the buildings either. She might have greater luck with water if only she could find a well or a spring.

After walking for a while and having seen no sign of it at all Flurry had pretty much given up on finding anything living here, and that meant not worrying to much about bumping into anyone hostile at least. She could defend herself if the need arose, her father had instructed her in both basic offensive and defensive combat, she just never thought that she would ever have to use those lessons. There was a problem though, she had no weapon since her sword was back home in her room and she had found nothing but sharp rocks and misery here. Sure she still had her magic, her aunt had shown her various tricks and spells, but she was still recovering from the obelisk draining her so she didn't know how effective that would be right now. It might be for the best that she was alone here, she had no desire bump in to some creepy creature in these shadowy corridors anyway.

Turning a corner the path opened up again into a large open space with rocks and debris scattered about the area. She could barely see the sky from here since giant jagged rocks blocked most of it like a patched roof making the area dimly lit. In the middle was a big domed building, it looked more important from the other structures she had seen around here. It was more red in colour and seemed to be in a lot better condition then most of the other ruins here too. It was decorated with carvings of lines and what looked like a big star chart all over, she couldn't figure out what they where depicting tho.

"Maybe it's a temple of sort" Flurry Heart wondered as she moved closer to it.

Walking up to what she assumed to be the entrance she could see that whoever built doors in this world did not believe in door handles. She didn't want to risk using her magic on it either, she had bad experience casting spells on doors here. No she'd much rather find an other way inside. She looked around and started walking along the wall of the building in search of something that might let her in. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for as huge boulder had fallen and punched a big hole in the side of the structure. Approaching carefully to not hurt herself on the debris Flurry took a peek into the opening in wall. The inside was just one big circular room with pillar about half way in holding up the roof, the room itself was fairly well lit by several metallic orbs floating in the air. And whatever magic she had sensed before felt slightly stronger here. If she was lucky then maybe there was something here to help her get home.

Flurry Heart's survey was interrupted by a sudden uneasy feeling, like she was being watched by someone. Turning her head to look around she froze her eyes went wide and she had to stop herself from screaming. There by the wall on the opposite side of the area stood a tall and gaunt creature motionless just quietly observing her. Even if most of its body was hidden by a black robe that swayed slightly in the wind she could still see some details. It appeared to have a set of four arms that hung by its side and a rusted metallic mask that covered its face. Terrified by its sudden appearance Flurry ducked down behind some rocks to hide but never taking her eyes of the mysterious figure. For several long minutes the thing just stood there still as a statue. She could feel her heart beat in her chest, her breaths where short and rapid as she stared back at it not knowing if it was friendly or not. When the thing finally did move it made her flinch a little as she was ready to dash if it approached her. But instead it just turned and vanished down a dark alleyway, its movement was very alien, like a ghost it almost floated over the ground without a sound. Flurry Heart stayed quivering behind the rocks not daring to move just yet in case the creature returned. After several more minutes with only the sound of the wind as her company she felt confident enough that she was alone again. She slowly got up from behind the rock still looking at the alley it disappeared in hoping that was the last she ever saw of that thing.

Still wanting to explore the inside of the building for anything that might help her in her quest to get home Flurry had climbed trough the hole as quietly as she could. The room itself was rather spacious and mostly empty except for a stone tablet of to one side of the room. Moving closer but still keeping close to the wall as it felt safer somehow she could see that it was more of those runes etched into its surface. She still could not read any of it but something else caught her eye, in the middle of the tablet was a golden disc. Without thinking Flurry reached up to touch it only for it to come lose and fall to the floor with loud bang echoing around the room. Quickly jumping back fearing the sound might attract the creature from before or maybe something worse.

As she was debating to just fly out of there before anything showed up, Flurry saw the floor in the middle of the room open up with a low rumble to reveal a hidden path going down under the building. This gave her pause, as much as she wanted to just leave she was also curious to what might be down there. After hesitating a little curiosity won out and she slowly approached the newly opened way. The floor had conveniently formed a set of stairs for her, and as she looked down she could see a light at the bottom. Which was good for she had little desire to wander around in the dark if there where monsters like the creature she saw outside lurking there.

As she made her way down more features of the chamber below came into view. The light came from a blue flame inside of what looked like a small lantern made of stone sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the room surrounded by water. There was also a giant sword stuck in one of the walls, the hilt alone was almost as big as she was. It seemed to have been there for quite some time though so she didn't think she had to worry that the owner would come looking for it any time soon. While having a closer look at the massive weapon Flurry almost jumped out of her skin when a feminine voice suddenly appeared behind her.

"Oh? a visitor, what a pleasant surprise."