Light as a feather

//Chapter 26//

Celestia was tired. Not the same tired as if she needed sleep, but rather the kind of tired she'd occasionally felt before the world had known it's present peace. The constant chaos surrounding the earlier periods of Equestrian history was a lengthy and oft forgotten period in Celestia's long rule, one not recently felt by its current citizens.

Even the more recent threats had not taxed her so greatly given she had admittedly passed the burden of fighting those threats to her pupil and her friends. She was mildly ashamed by this yet she did not choose to dwell on it. She could not bear the burdens of her rule alone forever.

The eldest princess had not spent the hours idly, in fact she had done much with her day, yet she felt as if nothing had been done at all. True she had not toiled in her usual manner; there was no royal paperwork to fill, no delegates to welcome. She was in fact hard pressed to find any pony at all, aside from herself, a fact that lingered only briefly as strange before she was once again content in her aloneness.

Celestia smiled as she gazed at the murals of stained glass along the hall, the sunlight reflecting their depictions along the carpeted floor. Her serenity was broken suddenly by a chill coursing the length of her spine.

She couldn't quite see what she was looking for, it was more a sensation than a physical presence, but not so much that she couldn't make out a vaguely pony shape standing before her. The pony was dull, her colors muted to little more than various shades of gray. Her edges were blurred, fading even as she struggled to make them out.

The shadow smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was a sad pained smile. The pony;s blurred lips parted and she spoke without sound. Celestia furrowed her brow, as she tried to understand. She pony seemed to sigh before she pointed to the windows. Celestia glanced a moment where the pony's hoof pointed. She saw nothing unusual. It was a starry moonlight sky, the dark glass unable to keep the blazing sun at bay. Celestia turned back her brow furrowed in confusion.

She could not remember why she was in the hall or whee she had been going. With a shrug she cantered towards the kitchens.

A steaming cup of tea awaited her when sh entered the dining hall, the kitchen furthest from hr mind. She had forgotten where she had been going shortly after setting out for the kitchens and ended up the nearest there she could manage. She did not know the difference between the two however. There were plenty of times she would wish to visit the gardens only to forget she where she was going or why once she found herself at the doorways leading outside.

The span of many days had passed since she had been trapped inside but to her it felt as if it as a single day, a very long day. She found herself growing weary of this constant boredom, yet at the same time everything felt new. The steaming cup in front of her drew her attention at the moment, it's steaming herbal scent enticing. She did not remember that she had already had three cups not long before.

A chill crept along her spine the cup in front of her growing cold. The steam shifted into a pony figure as a voice floated from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

Wake.

–

Twilight Sparkle had come to respect the many dangers of the Everfree forest. She had likewise come to marvel at the many wonders held secret within it's dark depths. Though she had traversed it's confines several times before she did not do so lightly. This time was no different.

"What gives you the idea to look here darling?" Rarity said in a hushed whisper. She flinched noticeably at the snap of twigs underhoof and balked quietly at the mud touching her hooves but made no verbal complaints.

"I saw it in a dream." Twilight replied distractedly. "More of a memory..." The purple mares voice trailed off as she studied the map levitating before her. She took a moment to glance above it. Seeming satisfied she continued on.

"And why of all ponies did you choose me as a companion? Not that I don't trust your judgment dear but surely Rainbow Dash or Applejack would be more suitable for your expedition?" The unicorn grimaced as a tangle of spiderweb strung across the path brushed her cheek. Twilight stopped suddenly. She frowned a bit to herself before flicking her tail in a gesture of dismissal. "We had better hurry. I have a bad feeling about this place."

The shadows deepened the further in the two mares traveled, broken only by the faint traces of moonlight showing through the breaks in the dense canopy overhead.

"But where are we going?" Rarity asked, "and why?"

Twilight replied glancing at the map once more. "I know where the princesses are and I intend to rescue them."

A ghostly howling resonated through the silence, the sound sending shivers up Rarity's spine as the castle loomed into view. The gaping cavern separating the land looked ever more eerie and foreboding in the pale moonlight, it's deep abysmal darkness seeming to beckon the pair of ponies. Twilight Sparkle, who had traversed the forests far more often the her companion, seemed only slightly more comfortable with the prospect of crossing the rickety old bridge spanning the gap.

Rarity stood back a way's between the immediate edge of the forest and start of the bridge where the other unicorn stood, a look of curiosity and remembrance on her face. Rarity opened her mouth several times only to close it, when words failed her. Sh wanted to suggest turning back, or perhaps waiting until morning, but the sheer determination on her friends face stopped her.

She loved the princess's s as a loyal subject would, perhaps even so far as to say she was a consultant of sorts, but the extent of her acquaintance with the pair was not near as familiar as that between themselves and Twilight Sparkle. The purple unicorn was like a daughter to Celestia, and she was far closer to Princess Luna than the white unicorn could ever hope to be.

So engrossed in her thought's was Rarity that she failed to notice th gleaming sets of eyes staring at her from the darkness. While Twilight Sparkle fussed over the strength of the bridge, stepping precariously forward before retreating, the creaking and swaying of the centuries old structure foreboding at best, the white unicorn was being set upon by the creatures from the darkness.

Her cries were stifled in her throat, not so much as a muffled murmur escaping as she was hoisted into the air by a pair of possessed ponies, their shape only fleetingly familiar. Below the crumbling castle of the two sisters was revealed, it's full glory diminished by the eons old scars and the centuries of further wear. Shadows shifted deep within it's depths, far darker than those residing within the confines of the forest. These shadows were ancient, and not of this realm. The unicorn knew not why this knowledge was revealed to her through the mere sight of them but her heart raced at the thought of what that darkness could do were it unleashed upon the world.

Rarity hovered for an indeterminable amount of time, hung limply in the arms of the pair of ponies holding her aloft. They were not carrying her away, they had not begun to devour her, instead they simply waited while she took in the scenery below her.

Her eyes scanned the terrain searching for something, she knew not what. These ponies had not hurt her, and the longer she hovered the less afraid she found herself. The was a quieting calm spreading through her, her surprise at so suddenly being lifted and the shock of her fear abating as she turned her attention to finding whatever it was the ponies wanted her to find.

Below Twilight continued to test the bridge, her hoof steps growing daring as she worked on finding a way to get across. Rarity smiled inwardly as she thought of Twilight's teleport ability, something Rarity herself had not learned, her own magic being more succinct with the creative arts, and less functional for quick getaways, or moving between spaces. Had Twilight not thought to use it for crossing the bridge? Surely it would be a simple feat, for one with so much latent magical ability as that of her purple unicorn companion.

Rarity found her gaze traveling toward the gaping maw of he abyss, then past it to the structure waiting just on the other side. She would have thought after centuries the forest would have taken back the castle, swallowed it as nature so often did to structure's long abandoned, but she was surprised to see the castle though crumbling was quite safe from the encroachment of nature. She could little fathom the reason but the tree's encircled the castle, leaning away from it slightly, as if afraid. Even the ivy and moss that had managed to grow upon it looked sickly at best.

As she continued searching something caught her attention. A muffled shriek escaped her lips, though the sound was nary audible given the hoof across her muzzle, as she watched the shadows rise up, their assumed shape distinctly pony in form, though a twisted shifting demonic version.

The moonlight flared a moment, as the shadowy beast become a pair, then a quartet of thrashing writhing demon ponies. The mouths of the massive beasts opened in silent cries of what Rarity could only guess was agony as the moonlight seemed to stab through them, their forms dissipating slightly. Wisps of darkness broke away, fading as the moonlight further assaulted the writhing form.

Rarity found herself sinking, or rather the pair of ponies holding her were carrying her back down. The ground slowly rose up, the castle and the demonic shadowy form within vanishing with her descent. Her legs quivered as they met the earth, the sound as her body collapsing turning her companion from the task of finding a way across the bridge.

"Rarity!” Twilight cried, any further inquiry trapped at her throat as she caught sight of the pair of ponies flanking her fallen companion. There was no mistaking their origins, for ponies of their breed did not wander freely outside the servitude of Princess Luna. They were members of her princess's personal guard, though she had rarely ever seen them outside the confines of the castle walls and only heard rumors of their existence beyond that. The larger of the two stepped forward, his form flickering faintly at the edges. The pony fell to one knee mere steps from where she stood.

“We bade you good evening Miss Sparkle.” The pony spoke. His voice was a deep baritone, the hint of a growl escaping at the ends of his words. Twilight bowed slightly in response, unable to find the words to express her confusion. The purple unicorns eyes flicked briefly toward her friend, finding her companion being helped to her hooves by the second bat like pony, and looking more than a little confused.

“Good evening.” Twilight squeaked, a faint blush coloring her cheeks at the meekness of her greeting.

“Forgive us our weakness,” The stallion continued struggling to rise from where he had fallen. Twilight hurried to his side, helping him to his hooves, her hooves own coming away slick with blood, as he regained his balance once more.

“You're hurt!” She exclaimed, noticing the dark patch of fur along the stallions side, the majority of the wound hidden beneath his armor. Twilight hurriedly unsnapped the cinches holding it on, throwing it away with a burst of hurried telekineses.

“It is difficult to manifest outside the presence her Majesty.” The stallion explained, as she prodded the wound with her hooves. She did not understand the severity of the wound beyond that it was gaping and bleeding, thin rivulets of blood pooling beneath him. Such a wound was beyond her ability to heal. She was not a medical pony by any stretch of the imagination.

Rarity, who had composed herself in the brief moments, strode forward her saddlebag glowing with an aura of blue magic. Several strips of torn fabric emerged, wrapping themselves tightly around the stallions middle, just beneath his wings, staunching the flow of blood momentarily. The pony gave a wince of pain, falling to his belly.

“We haven't much time to talk Miss Sparkle.” The stallion spoke, a note of urgency in his voice. “Even now our Majesty struggles. She is weakening and we fear she has little time left.”

Rarity busied herself examining the second ponies less severe wounds, bandaging them with even more cloth she pulled from her bigger on the inside saddlebag. Twilight had long since stopped wondering about the infinite strangeness of her companion's quirks, simply accepting them as fact, and much welcome at this point.

“The moonlight?” Rarity muttered. “Princess Luna is using her charge, manifesting moonlight as a weapon? She is fighting to contain that...thing, inside the castle?”

“What thing?” Twilight inquired confused. She had not seen what Rarity had. Her companion hurriedly explained what had happened and what she had witnessed while in the air. A frown creased the purple mare brow.

“I don't understand.” She muttered after a few moments in thought.

The second bat pony spoke, his voice startling Twilight from her reverie. “Thou seeks to rescue our princess without full knowledge of the threat confining her?”

His eyes were hard, accusing. Twilight stepped backward, tripping over her own hooves and falling to her haunches. The bat pony spread his wings intimidatingly, scars littering the membranes between the bony protrusions. She noticed many such scars across his body glistening silver in the moonlight. Twilight's voice came out as little more than a squeak, her words again lost at her throat.

“WRATH!” The larger stallion shouted, his booming voice only a few octaves shy of reaching the royal cry. The smaller pony seemed to have been momentarily cowed but the verbal assault. Rarity watched helplessly as he nibbled at the bandages covering his wounds.

"Forgive our companion Miss Sparkle.پh The larger pony apologized. پgHe is not one for subtly when it comes to the well being of our highness.پh

Inside the castle the two princesses waited. Celestia lay quietly on a pile of pillows he breathing shallow. A far away smile touched the edges of her lips while her eyes gazed at someplace only she could see.

Princess Luna gazed out the sliver of window in her own quarters, the thick chains binding her hooves coursing with dark magic. Sweat beaded her brown as she struggled to wield the moonlight against the shadowy beast. The moonlight however could only do so much for so long and her power was weakening. Soon it would be of no use at all.