My Little Pony Fan Fiction ❯ A Walk Among Spirits ❯ Chapter 31

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The light clicked on and Skyline quickly stood up. If he was going to bring this plan to fruition, he would have to act now. He took a deep breath and concentrated to conjure up the fog mouse. After several seconds, there was a small squeaking noise before the small white mouse scurried up to Skyline and placed one of its paws on Skylines right front hoof.

 

"Alright, we need to find a generator. Find it and wait there for my signal. Once I tell you: you will sabotage the generator," Skyline explained to the mouse. The mouse scratched at its right ear before it turned tail and bounded for the door. It squeezed under the door and popped out the other end. Skyline took another deep breath and lay down before he closed his eyes.

 

The mouse scurried down the hallway and quickly lay flat on the ground as a mare walked around the corner. she looked visibly pissed as she had a brown burlap sack in her teeth. From the bottom of the sack dropped a dark liquid that left blackish red dots on the floor. Once the mare passed by, the mouse quickly scurried towards the staircase.

 

Once the mouse got to the staircase it looked up, then down before it waited. What are you waiting for? Skyline thought. The mouse once again looked up, then down. Oh, um Skyline thought for a long moment.

 

"Try down?" Skyline said. Unsure if down was the way towards the generator. The mouse suddenly descended the stairs. The mouse descended past The Line and found a door with the words: The Atrium on it. The mouse cocked its head before it squeezed under the door. Once on the other side, Skyline let out a, "Whoa."

 

The mouse was standing on a scaffolding overlooking acres upon acres of farmland. The lights hummed as they hung from the ceiling as their ultraviolet light shined down. There was a rattling before the sprinkler system kicked on. Small rainbows glistened as the water spray the fruits and vegetables.

 

"Those bastards," Skyline muttered as rage began to fill his mind. He gritted his teeth and thought. They had food and yet they kept it to themselves and fed us deceased Ponies! He was seething with anger at the thought of the Ponies working here got to eat perfectly good food while he and the other Ponies kept in the cells had to eat dead Ponies. The mouse quickly scurried to the door sensing his anger and squeezed under it.

 

While Skylines anger subsided. The mouse continued to descend the stairs until it reached the bottom. At the bottom was a large steel door with the words: Warning in bold red letters as the image of a hoof with lightning shooting towards it hung under them.

 

"Alright, now for the hard part," Skyline muttered as he concentrated. He needed to create another small mouse to head for the elevator to escape and meet up with the mare and whoever she was going to bring. Skyline opened his eyes as a small mouse made of white fog scurried up to him. He closed his eyes and quickly opened them as his eyes went cross as he said, "Well this is going to be interesting." He closed his eyes again and he felt his eyes cross under his eyelids. This is going to be challenging. His right eye showed what the mouse at the generator's door saw and his left eye saw what the mouse in front of him saw. He was seeing two different things which were starting to give him a headache.

 

The mouse in front of the generator room squeezed under the door and popped out the other end. Skyline muttered another, "Whoa." The mouse looked up at the seven large Tesla coils as electricity shot between each coil. The mouse in front of Skyline turned tail and bounded for the door. It squeezed under the door and popped on the other side. As it did, Skyline wondered: I wonder who that mare will bring to this place?

 

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One day ago:

 

Once the robin fazed into a white fog and flew up into the air. Fluttershy quickly turned tail and raced towards Twilight's castle. She banged on the door which sounded like a gingerly knock. Spike opened the door as he yawned and wiped crust from his eyes.

 

"Morning Fluttershy, what's up?" Spike asked as he yawned again.

 

"Oh, um. Is Twilight up?" Fluttershy meekly questioned. Spike nodded and yawned again before he took Fluttershy to the kitchen. There, Twilight had just placed a cup of tea on the table when she turned to see Spike and Fluttershy.

 

"Good morning Fluttershy. What brings you here this early?" Twilight asked before she added, "The search party isn't scheduled to set out for another three hours."

 

"I just got done talking to," Fluttershy said before she thought about how to explain what had happened earlier. She then continued, "I talked with an esper from one of the kidnapped Ponies." Twilight had just lifted the teacup to her muzzle before her magic quickly disappeared and the teacup crashed to the floor, its contents splattering on the crystal floor.

 

"When, how?" Twilight questioned. Fluttershy began to explain everything that happened. After Fluttershy had finished, Twilight turned to Spike and said, "Spike, prep a letter for Princess Celestia and Luna." Spike quickly left the room, only to return several seconds later with a quill and parchment. Twilight began her usual routine when she wrote to Celestia. She would pace back and forth while telling Spike what to write. After several minutes, Twilight wrapped the parchment in her magic and floated it over to her. She examined the letter and on a few occasions, used her magic to correct any spelling mistakes she found.

 

Twilight nodded before she rolled the parchment, sealing it, and handing it back to Spike. Spike took the parchment in his claw before taking a deep breath and breathing out green flames. The parchment turned to ash and swirled in the air before soaring out an open window and towards Canterlot.

 

Twilight then turned to Fluttershy and said, "Let's head to the Inn and talk with the Royal Guards there. They'll want to prep for when we head into the forest," Twilight said. Fluttershy nodded before the two rushed out of the castle. The two mares rushed towards The Broken Stable Inn. Once there, Twilight gathered the Royal Guards that stayed at the Inn and began to tell them about what Fluttershy told her and what was coming next.

 

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Celestia sat on her throne and yawned as she floated several pieces of parchment around her. A quill floated near the first parchment and quickly signed it before she moved on to the next one. Luna sat next to her sister and looked at her quizzically before she asked, "Sister, are you even reading them?"

 

"Not to worry Luna. Most of these are simply building permits and requests for an audience," Celestia said as she signed another parchment without looking at it. Luna's horn illuminated as her magic lifted up one of the parchments Celestia had signed.

 

"But sister, how do you know that without looking at them," Luna questioned.

 

"Because that's what most of them are. Simple requests," Celestia said as she looked at one of the parchments to humor her sister. Her face instantly flushed red.

 

"What's bothering you sister?" Luna asked as her horn illuminated. Before Luna's magic could wrap around the parchment. It quickly crumbled and burst into flames. The ashes fell to the floor as Luna quickly jumped at the sudden burst of flames. She quickly looked Celestia in confusion.

 

"That one doesn't count," Celestia said as she composed herself and went back to signing the parchments. However, she now started skimming the letters. A black wisp of smoke flew in from an open window before it hovered in front of Celestia for several seconds before it materialized into a rolled up parchment with a seal that had Twilight's cutie mark on it. Celestia's magic wrapped around the parchment before it unraveled it and began to read Twilight's letter.

 

As her eyes read the words written. Her warm smile started to disappear and her demeanor changed to utter shock and anger. Once she finished reading, Celestia stood up from her throne and walked down the small set of stairs before heading towards the exit. Luna quickly took to the air before she landed next to her sister and walked with her as she asked, "Sister, what's wrong?"

 

"A Pony I had thought died a while ago has resurfaced and according to Twilight's letter: she's performing ungodly experiments of Ponies she's captured over the years," Celestia explained as the two left the throne room and headed towards Celestia's chambers. While they walked down the hall, she continued, "I warned her about these experiments, but she persisted. Now I fear we've discovered what's happened to the Ponies that went missing but were never found."

 

"But who is this Pony?" Luna questioned.

 

"Nip Tuck," Celestia hissed.

 

"I have never heard of this Pony," Luna said as they ascended a spiral staircase.

 

"I've kept her name from any textbooks and Ponies due to the fear somepony might try to copy her experiments," Celestia said.

 

"But what were her experiments, dear sisters?" Luna asked.

 

"She wanted to infuse Ponies with dark magic to create living weapons," Celestia stated as Luna gasped. As they reached Celestia's chamber, her horn illuminated and the doors swung open so forcefully, the slammed into the wall. Leaving imprints of the handles on the wall. She walked into her chambers and added, "She is the sole reason the Changelings are a problem for Equestria."

 

"How?" Luna questioned as Celestia walked to the far right wall in her chamber and her horn illuminated again. The wall split open as the marble wall scraped across the floor. The wall revealed golden armor surrounding a five-foot-tall halberd.

 

"Because," Celestia said as she looked at her reflection in the halberd's blade and continued, "She created the Changeling's queen."