The Castle in the Sky

Chapter 2

The Mane Six had learned of Celestia and Cadence’s filly-napping and were distressed, none more than Twilight. Her teacher and even her old sitter were both imprisoned by an unknown enemy. As she glares at the Sky Castle, She fears what fate falls upon them. “Twily, I’m as mad as you are but there is no way can save them without a plan.” Shining Armor said as he placed a hoof of Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight looked down in sadness. She rose her head back up, faced Shining Armor and said, “Alright Shining Armor. Let’s go to the castle.

The Mane Six, Spike, Trixie, and Shining Armor walked amongst the Castle Grounds, seeing the citizens in a panic. Ponies all around were running about, barricading their homes, or yelling at the main gates to Canterlot Castle. Even Lyra Heartstrings could be seen in the background, sitting normally. Take note, when Lyra sits normally, trouble is ahoof.

Luna, standing at the lookout point of Canterlot Castle, saw Twilight and her friends approaching the main gate. She jumped down and flew towards the group. She landed abruptly and stood as if she never hit the floor in the first place. Her visual appearance was intimidating and dark. Her fur was jet black, mane was a dark shade of navy blue with an intense sparkling effect, and her crown was cracked on the side. With her angered facial expression and booming steps, you would not know if you were looking at Princess Luna or Nightmare Moon. For a mare with nothing left to lose, it was just.

“I’m glad you have arrived Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said. “You’re glad?” Spike sarcastically said. Twilight bucked him in the back of the head and said, “Ignore that Princess Luna.” “I’ll take the bad for the good. If you lost some precious to you, wouldn’t you look a little dark, Spike?” Luna asked. “Ye-yeah… ow.” Spike said, rubbing the back of his bucked head. “There may be more to this event beyond filly-napping. Come I’ll describe the details inside.

Everypony is now inside the throne room. Stained Glass murals covered the walls depicting stories of old. The creation of Canterlot, the rise and fall of Nightmare, Discord’s dilemma, and many other stories showed what could be entire lifetimes in about 20 feet of design. Luna sat at the steps to Celestia’s throne and the others gathered around.

She described her dream of last night and how it could be a location within the walls of the Sky Castle. The others listened in disbelief that Luna’s dream held so much pain and anguish in what seemed like 5 minutes of suffering. With Luna’s story in mind, Twilight said, “Is this premonition set in stone? Can we change the future?” “I believe we can, Twilight. My premonitions could simply have been one of the assailants dreaming of how the plan will go perfectly. It could be real and we will not know the truth until the time comes.” Luna explained. The group fell deafly silent, pondering the possible end to this journey. Breaking the silence, Trixie exclaimed, “Well that hasn’t stopped you before!” The group was caught off guard. “Even when I had the Alicorn Amulet and trapped everypony in Ponyville, you persevered and discovered a way to use my greed against me. We now have an inside view of the castle, do we not? Let’s use all the information we have and sneak inside. Going in undetected will give us the upper hand. We may even be able to rescue the princess without confronting the enemy.” Trixie declared.  Luna and Twilight’s jaws dropped, dumbfounded by Trixie’s simple yet brilliant scheme. “Then it’s settled, we will infiltrate the Castle.” Twilight Declared.

The plan was set in motion. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with Spike on her back were dressed in sky based camouflage, circling the castle, looking for entrances. Rarity, Twilight, and Shining Armor gathered an assortment of magical amulets; among them were the Elements of Harmony. Pinkie and Apple Jack left to stock up on food. Trixie and Luna were in the War room, looking over the outer details of the castle.

After a long period of silence, Luna looked over at Trixie who had a troubled look on her face. “What is wrong, young mare?” Luna asked. Trixie looked up at Luna and said, “It’s… nothing, Princess Luna.” “I have seen what lies in your dreams, Patricia. You cannot hide such emotions of grief and sadness from me.” Luna declared. “Then I will be honest with you. My plan may be the one that saves Celestia and Cadence  but…” She hesitated. “What if this fails? I have ruined the lives of those six twice already. I’m only here because of a silly plan. I’m not strong enough to take on whatever horrors lie in wait for us. I’m not strong like Twi-" Trixie was immediately embraced by Luna, completely unready for what she felt. As Luna held her close, she softly spoke to her saying, “I know what it’s like to be labeled as a villain, banished, and even called second rate. I was banished to the moon, everypony feared me my return, and I’ll forever be second best to my sister.” Luna shed a few tears all while explaining her own dilemma. “I know exactly what you are going through.” “How can you live with it?!” Trixie exclaimed. “I’ve lived in misery nearly everday or my life. I am always rejected by the townspeople I visit. The last time I tried to perform in Fillydelphia, I was chased by its citizens and nearly beaten to death.” Trixie showed Luna the scars on her back from the various beatings. Luna was filled with awe and horrified all at once, something that can only be filled by those who share similar pains. The pony whom had stood before her did not suffer like she had imagined. She was not welcomed in by a royal sister, spoken for by a bookworm on nightmare night, nor was she even feared for that matter. She was hated by everypony that at one point adored her and abused by the masses. She only knew of one pony that could ever accept her as a friend and it was the one whom she was second to, Twilight Sparkle. Luna’s awe had come from seeing her standing, alive. Anypony who would choose to live after that had a stronger will than most. Trixie walked towards the door and said, “My past will follow me but I’m actually hoping this will suffice for the horrors that I’ve brought upon Ponyville.” She left the room and went to her quarters in the upper floors of the castle.

Luna looked upon the maps, remembering Trixie’s story. She had not paid attention to it before but the scale that stood atop the Sky Castle was slowly evening out. It was as if there was something in this world that was unbalanced before the castle arrived. She looked outside at the homes below and even at the floating castle. There was mass hysteria and fear spread throughout the city of Canterlot. Luna looked up and realized that ever since the Sky Castle arrived in Equestria, the harmony that had once flowed through the lands was falling to pieces.

Later that evening, the team had gathered in the War room, a small room filled to the brim with maps of the Equestrian lands. Everypony and everything in the room was showered in a glaze of candle-lit lighting, a gleaming spectacle for the eyes to behold. Luna stood at the end of a long table that displayed a map of the exterior of the Sky castle. It was hand drawn but neatly arranged so that even the simplest of minds, in other words Derpy, could understand its layout. Rarity, Twilight, and Shining Armor had returned with the Elements of Harmony, Luna’s repaired crown, and a few amulets and books from Zecora. Pinkie and Apple Jack provided snack foods to keep up everypony’s strength up. Dash and Fluttershy wrote notes on the map of everything they discovered about the Sky Castle. Luna and Trixie awaited their arrival and began describing the plan to sneak into the castle.

Luna began, “Everypony, listen up! I am only going through this once as time is of the essence. Thanks to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash’s findings, we now know that there is an air vent at the top of the Castle, a possible way to sneak in.” “Why do you say possible, Princess Luna?” Twilight asked. “There is a very strong air current that blows from the vent that makes it hard for anypony to enter. There is a 30 second gap to when the vent stops blowing air every hour. That means that we have thirty seconds or less to find our way out of the vent and not get blown away.” Once inside, Trixie, Twilight, and Shining Armor will lead three separate groups to search the castle for the Cadence and my sister.”  Luna described while pointing at various sections of the map. “Why is Trixie leading a squad? “ Dash asked while giving a heinous looks to Trixie. “She-” Interrupted by Luna, Dash held her tongue.  “She, along with Twilight and Shining Armor, has strong magical abilities. The three will keep constant telepathic communication between all of the groups.”

“Telepathy? I thought those spells were forgotten a long time ago.” Shining Armor brought up. “They were not forgotten, they are forbidden. Unicorns, who learned of it, used it to read people’s minds. Princess Celestia and a committee of the strongest unicorns and Alicorns in existence banned it from Equestria. However, Luna bringing it up means that this is not entirely true, isn’t it?” Everypony now looked towards Luna, the current center of attention. Holding her composure, “Indeed, Twilight. However, the spell is worse than you described.” Luna said. “The spell does not only read someone’s mind, it can peer into their entire life. At any given time, someone could invade your memories and find out anything they wish to know. Private life, dark memories, and anything you have ever seen or experienced is theirs for the taking.” The group was shocked. A power such as Luna described could be revolutionary but would end in chaos. Luna continued, “The spell was kept between a select group of Alicorns and Unicorns and one… other.” “Who was the other one to know the spell? Rarity asked. “Discord. The treacherous fiend at one point used to be the one Pegasus with magical abilities. He read my sister’s memories and discovered a vast archive of forbidden spells. He used them to bend reality around him, cause chaos. In exchange, he became the beast of nine animals that you have met before.”

Twilight, after absorbing all the previous information, asked Luna, “Why would you entrust us with such a heinous spell?” “Don’t you mean her?” Dash said, pointing flagrantly at Trixie. “This is a threat against all of Equestria, Rainbow Dash!” Trixie said, angrily responding to Dash’s rude comment. “I wouldn’t have the nerve to even think of misusing a power that was graciously given to me! I’m not here for revenge. I’m here to save Princess Celestia and Cadence.” Trixie slammed her hoof down as she stood her ground against Dash. “Then let’s go to Sky Castle!” Dash exclaimed as she rose into the air. The group was fired up and ready to start the rescue.

The night was young and the sky was covered with big, cumulus clouds. The night air was icy and the wind would make your skin frost over. The skies above were filled with what could be trillions of stars gleaming down on the lands below, illuminating the Sky Castle for everyone to see. On a large cloud that raised higher than the Castle, the teams were preparing to enter the air vent at the top of the Castle.

Rainbow Dash took point and watched the vent gushing air as the moment of infiltration was to soon arrive. Dash whispered to everypony, “Alright, we’re going now.” Dash carried Trixie and Apple Jack, Princess Luna carried Shining Armor and Rarity, Fluttershy had Spike on her back, and Twilight magically lifted herself and Pinkie up to the air vent. Its winds were fiercely blowing as the team hovered above. Dash, who was keeping track of time, started the countdown. “5… 4… 3… 2… 1… NOW!” Dash roared. The air vent ceased its winds and started to close. “Everypony, Move it!” Dash commanded. All flew deep into the vents and stopped in pitch black darkness. Rarity, Twilight, Shining Armor, Trixie, and Luna had provided light for the rest and they briskly searched for an exit. 15 second had gone by with no luck and their window of opportunity was coming to a close. “Hurry up, we don’t have much time left!” Luna exclaimed. 10 seconds left before the air vents would resume their obstruction, Rarity yelled, “I found it over here!” It was a small hatch that led to the inside of the castle. Shining armor bucked the hatch open and jumped down. He sat there to cushion the fall for the rest who were coming through. Twilight and the rest followed, escaping the furious winds. Everypony was exhausted and with a last breath before nearly fainting, Spike said, “Made it…” They landed in a white hallway with a door at the end of it. The other direction seemed to lead to a locked window that led outside. They opened the door and discovered the foyer of the Sky Castle.