The Castle in the Sky

Chapter 1

Sunlight shines down on Ponyville on a clear day like any other; Twilight studying in her home, Fluttershy tending to an injured bird, Rarity shopping with Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash sleeping on a cloud, Applejack eating with family, and Pinkie watching the twins. A rhythmic pattern had developed within the town of Ponyville, one of peace and harmony amongst its citizens. Even in Canterlot, Princesses Celestia and Luna were in the grand hall merely enjoying each other’s company. In the Crystal Kingdom, the citizens were moving like a synchronized swimming team; uniform and yet graceful. Cadence and Shining Armor were lying together, asleep. Manehatten, Saddle Arabia, Filly-delphia, and all the other lands were in perfect harmony, free of conflict and strife. Peace was a universal theme in this beautiful land. It almost seemed as if a miracle day.

Upon the twilight hour, when the sun and moon fall and rise accordingly, Luna looked towards the sky to fulfill her celestial duty. She brought the moon to its zenith and it sat in the sky as if it was resting on a cloud. After she moved the moon into place, she saw a small, black cloud in the sky however; she ignored it and returned to her quarters to oversee the dreams of the ponies of Equestria. She lied down and looked towards the moon, seeing the dreams of everypony.

She was, however, interrupted and saw a premonition. She was in a bubble of magic energy that prevented her movement. She looked down and saw Celestia guarding Twilight from an array of attacking ponies. They were circling her with blades in their mouths like sharks that have surrounded their hopeless prey. They run across Celestia cutting her deep and shallow as she protects Twilight. The cuts are smearing Celestia in her own blood, making her unable to maintain focus. Luna fights against her imprisoning bubble and is finding herself unsuccessful. She looks down again and sees her sister down and near death. Her blood is beginning to cover the floor and taint it crimson. Twilight is against the wall, with cuts on her hooves to prevent her from walking. The six who have surrounded Celestia bear long blades in their mouths, ready to strike the weakened Celestia. The mysterious figure directly in front Celestia says aloud, “Remember this day. The day the sun falls!” “Noooooo!!!” Luna screams as the six assailants dash towards Celestia.

The moment before her death, Luna awakens, crying a river tears and feeling an unending sadness. Her tears were bitter and filled with what could be predetermined sorrow. Celestia barges into her room and asks with urgency in her voice, “Dear sister, has something happened?!” Luna burst into more tears when she saw Celestia and ran into her hooves saying, “Tis’… but a bad dream.”

The day had begun once again, everything once again at peace. Luna sat on the balcony still in distress over what she had witnessed in her dream. Celestia came from behind and said, “Is something still the matter, Luna?” Luna replied, “Yes. I cannot begin to describe the events I had witnessed. It was a devastating to be forced to watch your death and not do a-“. “Do not worry little sister. I promise that nothing as such will ever happen.” She pets her sister’s head while she reassures her that her fears are unreal. Luna bears a smile on her face on her head once again and looks towards the night sky in the early morning.

“Ready Luna?” Celestia says as they prepare to change the sky from night to day. “Let us begin.” Magic radiated from both of their horns, causing the moon to shift from the center of the night sky to the far west and the sun to rise from east. Once the job was done, Luna notices the black cloud once again, only this time, bigger than before: It was nearly the size of Canterlot. Luna speaks with concern, “Was there a forecast for a storm sister?” Celestia looks out and takes note of the large black, cumulus cloud in the sky above the plains. She says, “Let me check in with Twilight. She may have some insight on this matter.” Almost immediately, a green fireball appears in front of her face. The fire turned into a letter from her ever so faithful student Twilight. It was regarding the cloud in the sky…

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am seeing a rather large black cloud hovering near Ponyville. Even though, clouds are not supposed to be an issue, the Pegasus cannot move the cloud, even with everyone working. There is also a magical aura around it that prevents magic from coming into contact with it. I cannot even teleport to it and it may be a threat to other Equestrians. Could you please provide some information on this mystery cloud?

Your faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle

“Unbelievable,” Celestia says, “My student does not know either. We may need to-" “Sister, Look!”

The cloud begins to take a shape. Its form solidifies into a massive castle, floating in the sky. A large scale was built on top of its highest tower and it was completely off balance. The castle was a-symmetrical and reflected opposite designs of black and white. It was a sight to behold for every pony for nopony had ever seen a flying castle.

From the streets and homes of Ponyville, there was a gathering of unrest. Animals were panicking and running away from the floating castle, fearing something no other pony could see. Even angel, Fluttershy’s pet rabbit fled in fear of what hell may come. Fluttershy, catching up to Angel asked nearly in tears, “Why are you leaving?!” Angel stopped for a moment and hastily spoke in rabbit tongue. Fluttershy, hearing out Angel was found in shock and as soon as Angel finished, he scurried away. Twilight walked over to Fluttershy with the rest of the Mane Six following and said, “What happened? What did Angel say?” “He… was actually afraid of something. That’s never happened before. He is always brave and defiant but this time was different. He talked about how animals have a sense of knowing when danger is near. He said this was something they have never seen before and recommended that we run too.” Twilight thought about what Fluttershy said and replied, “What could this mystery cloud be?”

Suddenly a wide door opens from the right side of the castle and a mysterious figure walked out the balcony. By its shape, it was fair to say that it was a pony. It was shrouded by a black cloak and had its wings covered as well. And indent in the cowl of its hood shows signs of it being a unicorn. With the visual signs of wings and a horn, it was assumed that the figure was an Alicorn.

The Alicorn flew off of the castle balcony and ascended into the skies above. Within moments of it taking flight, what looked like an explosion occurred. A lightning bolt streaked across the sky and appeared to end at Canterlot. The lightning bolt appeared again and slowed halfway. It had a larger pony on its back and was being chased by three Pegasus and a flurry of magical blasts from the castle. It dodged the other Pegasus and blasts with ease and made it to the castle. The Pegasi that followed were stopped by a magical force field the magical blasts had ceased. Applejack exclaimed, “What the hay was all of that?” Spike replied, “I wish I knew.” As soon as he finished his statement, he belched a letter from flames from Princess Luna. With the letter in hand, Spike jokingly said, “What do ya know, wish granted.” Twilight grabbed the letter from Spike slightly annoyed by how lightly Spike is taking things. She reads the letter aloud…

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Princess Celestia has been filly-napped by an unknown assailant. I’m afraid there is more to this than meets the eye. I need you and your friends to report to Canterlot post-haste. There is more information I must brief you on.

Sincerely,

Princess Luna

“Of all the worst possible things that could happen, this is the WORST POSSIBLE THING!” Rarity exclaimed. “Everypony, pack your things. We’re going to Canterlot.” Twilight said with angst in her voice. All ponies agreed without hesitation and went to their individual homes.

Fluttershy packed a bag and when she went to say goodbye to her animal friends, she realized they had already left. She felt sad at first as there was no one to see her off. Suddenly, Angel barged into the door and hopped towards her. Angel handed her favorite carrot to Fluttershy and said (in her rabbit tongue), “That’s insurance. If you have that, you have to come back and return it to me. Okay?!” She knew that Angel was worried about her and let Angel act tough. She left with determination to make Ponyville a safe place for her animal friends to return to.

Rainbow Dash reported to Spitfire and requested an extended leave from the Wonderbolt Academy to participate in the assigned mission. “Ma’am, I need to help my friend Twilight-" Rainbow Dash said before being interrupted by Spitfire. “That cloud out there is causing a disturbance for anything that flies in the skies of Equestria. As far as things go, I’m assigning you to this mission as a Wonderbolt.” Spitfire said. “Wait, as a Wonderbolt, Spitfire?” “I will not repeat myself. Take these and make the Wonderbolts proud.” Spitfire said, inspiring confidence in Rainbow Dash. She slid a folded wonderbolts outfit to Rainbow Dash and a pair of goggles. Rainbow Dash was on the verge or geeking out and fainting when a blatant stare from Spitfire prevented her from doing so. Instead, she saluted Spitfire in silence and received a salute in return. Rainbow Dash left with an unmatchable confidence and flew off to Ponyville one more time.

Rarity contacted all of her clients to notify them of her hiatus. She gathered a light bag (for once), and started walking to the door. She was tackled in the leg by Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle had hugged her legged with tears in her eyes saying, “Promise me you’ll come back safe, sis. Please, promise me that.” The sadness that streaked across her face was heart wrenching and could turn the hardest of hearts soft. Rarity, with a single tear dripping from her right eye said, “I’ll be back before you know it.” They hugged one last time before she walked out of the door.

Pinkie Pie packed a bag full of snacks and her world-famous party cannon. She saw Mr. and Ms. Cakes waiting near the door with the Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake. “We made something special for you, Pinkie. It’s something to remember us by.” Mr. Cakes said. He handed Pinkie a small box. Pinkie opened it and it had six red velvet cupcakes with strawberry frosting and a cherry on top. On the inner-lid of the box, there was a picture of the Cake family and Pinkie. “You’ll always have a place in our family Pinkie.” Mrs. Cakes said. Pinkie Pie cried happy tears and hugged everypony tightly. She packed the cupcakes in her bag and left Sugar Cube Corner, humming a tune to herself.

Apple Jack had an Apple family photo in her bag along with some extra horse shoes for the road. She walked over to the barn and saw Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom with a banner hanging above their heads. It read, “GOOD LUCK APPLEJACK!” “We’ll miss ya’ sis. Things ain’t gonna be da same without cha while yer gone.” Apple Bloom said. “Eeeyup. Naw you come back ‘ere Apple Jack safe n’ sound, alright?” Big Mac said. “You know it, Big Mac!” Apple Jack replied. She bucked a tree lightly and one single apple dropped. She packed the apple into her bag and trotted to Ponyville Station.

Twilight grabbed a variety of books from her own library with advanced spells that she feared she may need. As she was searching, Spike jumped from upstairs with a backpack ready and said, “Twilight, I found this.” It was the box with the remains of the elements of harmony. Twilight says, “Good idea, who knows what we will encounter at the sky castle.” “Let’s go Spike.” The two left their home and headed for the train station.

The Mane Six arrived at the Train Station, awaiting its arrival for Canterlot departure. Twilight had looked off in the distance to see if the train was coming. She saw a pony running towards them causing a small dust cloud to shroud their appearance. The pony stopped within inches of the train platform and the dust settles. A blue unicorn with a cape of stars and moons and a magician's hat appeared before the mane six. It was Patricia Lulamoon a.k.a. The Great and Apologetic Trixie. “Trixie?! What are you doing here?” Twilight said astonished. “I, the Great and Apologetic Trixie, have heard about this cloud kingdom business and I want to help.” Trixie said. “This cloud is destroying land near my current home and I would like to take care of it as well.” “We will need all the help we can get. Come along Trixie.” said Twilight. The train had arrived and was calling for all ponies leaving to Canterlot. The Mane Six plus Trixie were now en route to Canterlot and were ready for the mission to save Princess Celestia.

Nearing their destination, Rarity looked ahead and saw a white stallion with blue hair and a red coat. “Is that your brother, Twilight?” Twilight looked outside and saw Shining Armor waiting at the station, with anger written all over his face.

The train came to a halt and Twilight went to see her brother waiting. “Shining Armor! Did Princess Luna summon you here to help us rescue Princess Celestia?” Shining armor, with rage broiling in his veins said, “No, I came here of my own accord.” Twilight was dumbfounded and intrigued as to why her brother would come all the way to Canterlot from the Crystal Kingdom.” Whatever or whoever is in that castle filly-napped Cadence too.” Twilight was shocked and now more determined than ever to go to the Castle in the Sky for as of now, the danger has been doubled.