Author's Notes:

I decided to revise this whole chapter, so it may be different to those who have already read the story. To those who are new to it, I won't spoil anything...

Edited by DiabloGuapo

Celestia’s sun slowly began to descend from its perch in the sky, nearly touching the tips of the mountain tops. The forest’s thick canopy covered the pathway in shade, sheltering it from the sun’s warm rays and chilling the hauntingly quiet and eerie woodland. This forest had always been this way, an ominous and shadow-filled place with stories that unnerved listeners to their core.
A sudden snap of twigs echoed in the desolate forest, bushes shifting and grass drifting to the touch of a group of ponies walking through the bleak and silent woodland together.

Twilight walked with a jitter, slow and steady, but despite her nervousness, she smiled. She was excited to show off what she and her friends had accomplished so far in the reconstruction of the Royal Sister’s Castle.

She looked to the others, smiling as her gaze came across the first pony to her right, being her sister-in-law, Princess Cadance. Next to her was her husband and Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor. To the right of her brother, was Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, glancing at her younger sister and keeping their conversation going.

She smiled as she heard voices behind her, glancing back to see her friends busily talking to one another. Rainbow Dash hovered above the others while she talked to Applejack below her. Behind the other two were the last of her friends, Rarity, who walked side by side with Fluttershy. All three mares gazed around as they talked amongst one another. Further behind them were five Royal Guards, all staring stoically ahead as they moved along. It felt a little unnecessary to bring them, but she didn’t argue with the other princesses. While she would have joined her friends, she wanted to be next to Celestia, so as to be able to give her and Luna a tour of their former home.

"I'm glad you decided to come along, Your Highnesses. I think you'll find our work has really come far," Twilight said, smiling brightly up to the taller pony.

"I am excited to see what you have finished so far, Twilight. It will be nice to see our old home as it was once more," Celestia murmured, giggling before continuing. “And you must stop referring to us as ‘Your Highness.’ You share that title yourself now.” Twilight blushed, knowing Celestia was right.

"Yes, I agree with Celestia. Do tell us, all of you: how far have you come along with this project?" Luna asked.

"Well, it's come a mighty long way, but Ah assure ya that our work ain’t been wasted," Applejack said.

"Of course, Applejack, but this never would have been possible without all of your help." She looked over at each of her friends, and they beamed in return. Although Twilight knew that she could have given the tour to her fellow princesses alone, the others wanted to come and help with the tour so their friend would not be so stressed as she felt at the moment.

"Oh, it was nothing, darling. We are glad to help such a good friend," Rarity contently stated, returning her gaze to Fluttershy and speaking with her once more.

She smiled at Rarity's comment. In truth, she felt glad to have good friends such as these ponies and appreciated that they came to help after all.

The group continued to walk along until the castle came into view. Seeing its haunting structure brought back memories of that fateful night. They crossed the bridge and were upon the entrance in only a few moments, where they stood outside, looking up at the front of the castle.

As the group neared the entrance the cracked stone of the exterior walls, branches and moss grew to cover the sides and lower half; all a sign of how uncared for it was. “It is a little sad to see this castle in such disarray, when it was quite a sight before it was put into ruins,” said Celestia. She frowned, then, after a moment, so did Luna. Twilight remembered from the memory of the distant past that she had seen Luna, while under possession by Nightmare Moon, destroy this once-beautiful building.

However, it was not time to dwell on old thoughts. Twilight looked up to the archway ahead of them and ushered the others inside. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, you should be the first to observe what the girls and I have put our effort into.” She watched both sisters smile, nodding to her before walking through. She waved her sister-in-law and brother over as well, and they walked into the castle.

Her ears flicked upwards as a crumbling sound resonated from above. Looking up, she saw small little pebbles of cement and brick fall down to the ground around her. The castle wasn’t about to collapse--it must’ve been the foundation creaking or a bird that had knocked a few grains loose.

“What’s up, Twilight?” She turned her attention to Applejack as her friends walked by, with the guards not too far behind.

“Oh, nothing. Just thought I saw a bird take off is all,” she replied. She looked up again, but she saw no other movement.

Applejack chuckled a little. “Come on, we can ask Fluttershy to go birdwatchin’ later. Right now, Ah think we’ve got more important matters to attend to.”

Twilight nodded, walking next to Applejack’s right side as they entered the castle. Once inside, she spotted Celestia and Luna gazing up at the thrones that had once stood as a symbol to the united force of the Sun and Moon. She and Applejack passed by another structure, the hidden column that had held the Elements of Harmony to keep them from those who would misuse their power. At least now they were in a safer place, back in the Tree where they belonged.

“So…” Twilight began as she walked up in front of Celestia. “What do you think?”

Celestia looked down, giggling a little as she noticed the smile on Twilight’s muzzle. "I have to say, girls, you did an excellent job with the redecoration; it looks very beautiful." She smiled and began to reminisce on the past.

"I still remember this place from the time my sister and I used to live here, but I have to say you girls did a very commendable job." Luna moved to her sister’s side, adding to Celestia's compliment. Twilight’s smile brightened again, clapping her hooves together as she silently celebrated. She looked up to see the two staring at her, blushing as she chuckled a little. Celestia glanced down at Luna before murmuring, “I would like to see the rest of this place before we head home, if we can spare the time?”

“Of course, Luna.” Celestia nodded, looking over to the others. “Come along, everypony. My sister and I would like to see our rooms once more before we go back.” The group reunited and they made their way down the farthest hallway on the right. Celestia nodded to the five guards as Twilight stood next to her. “Please, if you would all maintain watch at the entrance, I would appreciate it.” The guards saluted before positioning themselves next to the broken archway.

She followed behind Celestia before they all caught up with everypony else. As she continued on forward, Cadance pulled up next to her, smiling as she said, “You girls did a great job.”

Twilight couldn’t help but blush again. “Well, we only touched up a few areas. It’s not like we remodeled the entire place overnight.”

“Even so, you girls did an amazing job with what you were able to work on. I mean, this is the first time I’ve actually ever stepped hoof into this place,” Cadance admitted, “but it looks very well done.”

The walk went on for a few moments longer until they reached Celestia and Luna’s old rooms. Twilight watched as Celestia and Luna slowly made their way in, looking over their respective bedroom that looked how it used to be when they had lived there.

Everypony stood outside the adjacent rooms, a quiet tone replacing the talkative mood as they let the two have time to not only reminisce, but to have some time to say a little hello to a place that they had not seen in centuries. After Luna was banished to the moon, Celestia had made the Governmental Palace in Canterlot her home. Without her dear little sister, the ruined castle felt more like a tomb than a home, a constant reminder of her failure to prevent Luna from being corrupted by the Nightmare Forces.

Twilight’s ears swiveled back as she heard the sound of hoofsteps echo from the hallway behind her. She turned around to see the five guards making their way towards where she and the others stood. Twilight looked back to the others, who had noticed the sentries as well. It was in Celestia’s best interest, along with her sister’s, if she let them have a bit more time alone.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, speaking in a quiet tone as the stallion in front stopped before her and saluted.

“Your Highness. My squadmates and I have discovered something… disturbing,” the lead pony said, keeping a focused gaze on her own.

“Disturbing?” Twilight turned to see Celestia making her way to the five guards. “Disturbing how, Captain Moonflight?”
She looked back to the guards but noticed the captain look away for a moment, like he was gathering his thoughts. Moonflight faced Celestia and reported, “We have discovered the remains of a deer inside the castle.”

Her eyes widened as she heard the news; the group behind her ceased their talking as they turned to face the guards. What Twilight had heard was not only unnerving, but unexpected.

“Oh… this is very sudden,” Celestia murmured, her eyes darting across the ground. Twilight could see that she was just as distressed as she was. What type of predator had found the castle and called it home? And why hadn’t she and her friends stumbled upon it previously? Any one of them could have been its prey as well.

Twilight gulped, looking to the ground for a moment before facing Celestia again. “This has never happened when we here before,” she said, shifting in her spot as she wondered why a problem like this had to arise.

She saw Celestia raise her muzzle in the corner of her eye before she spoke. “Where are the… remains of this deer?” Celestia softly spoke, standing unnaturally still.

“It is currently located by the first hallway on the right. Echo here…” he waved to the mare standing at his left “...was the first to find it after she complained about a horrid stench filling the air by her position.”

Celestia nodded and turned to Cadance. “Cadance. I want you to lead everypony back to the area where the Elements of Harmony were once kept. Luna, Twilight and I shall investigate this matter further and find out what happened. You and Shining Armor can join back up with us after.” Twilight nodded, and Cadance and Shining Armor led the others back down to the front of the castle.

As Twilight watched her friends walk away, an empty feeling formed in her stomach. She wanted to go with them, but knew that at least Cadance and Shining Armor were with them. Still, it didn’t feel right separating from them in a moment like this. The others walked by her, shaking her out of her trance to catch up with Luna and Celestia.

The smaller group walked back into the throne room, the light from outside dimming a little. Twilight looked up to the sky through the broken ceiling towards the setting sun, the lower half slowly disappearing behind the mountains. Shadows spread up the walls of the castle as the inside area darkened, giving a more eerie feeling that drifted through the atmosphere.

“So.” Celestia murmured, her gaze focused on the captain at her right. “Could you identify what killed this deer?”

“Negative. The claw and bite marks were unfamiliar to me. It wasn’t a manticore or chimera: the scratches weren’t long enough to match claws like those predators. It looked like something smaller, yet the lacerations didn’t seem like the hunter teared the flesh of its prey. More like it punctured holes into it.” One of the other guards brought a hoof to their muzzle, almost throwing up. Whatever this deer looked like, Twilight was afraid to see what the sentries saw.

A horrid stench hit her first. She recoiled and covered her muzzle, coughing as the malodor of death surprised her. “Oh… that’s pretty bad,” Twilight murmured, her hoof muffling her voice as she spoke. As they progressed through the hallway, the guards illuminated the darkened corridor with the light of their colored auras, blue and yellow lights brightening the darkness that was further in.

“It is quite an awful smell,” Luna said, although not covering her muzzle like Twilight was. However, Twilight did notice that she and Celestia were having a hard time trying not to gag either.

“Ugh, what is that smell?” Twilight looked over her shoulder to see Cadance and Shining Armor catching up to them, their hooves over their mouths as well, Cadance speaking in a suppressed voice.

To say the least, Twilight herself had never been this close to death before in her life. The smell of decay was quite appalling, but she didn’t want to know how torn apart the deer was. The stench became worse as they progressed before turning a corner. There, she gasped in fright as the guards’ light revealed the carcass of the animal. Its muzzle was torn apart, deep scratches going across its mouth with dried blood streaked under its chin.

The chest and stomach were ripped open. Intestines lay out in front of the grotesque wound, ribs cracked into splintery points. A pool of scarlet blood stained the floor in front of it. Her body shook as she gazed over the malicious way this animal was torn apart, but what caught her eyes were the hole-like incisions on the body, like pieces of flesh were punched out.

“This is… an interesting way for a hunter to eat its prey,” Luna murmured. Twilight noticed her eyes had remained unchanged, yet she could tell by the way she slightly shook that she was keeping her fear locked away.

“But what could have caused this? Surely it was a manticore, or some other predator,” Echo spoke up, her eyes darting across the other ponies.

“That’s the thing. What type of predator leaves holes like these on the body, especially the head?” the stallion pegasus guard next to her added.

As soon as he had mentioned the deer’s head, Twilight looked and saw that there was indeed a gaping hole between the victim’s eyes, bits of brain matter spilling out onto the floor. ‘What kind of predator eats this way? It seems impossible.’

“How old do you think this carcass is?” Celestia asked. Her eyes had narrowed into slits. She appeared calm, almost too serene for her liking.

She noticed Shining move forward a little and turned to face the Celestia. “Judging by how torn apart it is and how strong the smell is, I’d guess at least a day or two old.”

“That means that whatever did this may not be around anymore,” Twilight said, exhaling in relief. She laughed a little as she hoped that was true.

“Or,” Moonflight said, “the carnivore is here, probably making a home somewhere in the castle.” He nodded to the other guards before facing the other ponies again. “Don’t worry. We’ll do a quick sweep of the area just to make sure it is truly gone.” He and the other sentries went further down the hallway, leaving Twilight and the others to watch them disappear.

As the light of the sentries’ horns soon faded away, another light illuminated the area around them. Twilight turned to see Celestia’s horn lighting up in a very light golden yellow aura, the surrounding walls brightening up as she said, “Let us meet up with the others and wait by the bridge. We should all be together, just in case we run into whatever is here.”

She looked back to where the guards had disappeared to, seeing nothing but darkness. It was disturbing to know that something was capable of ripping apart a deer in such a way. The tour was marred by such an awful discovery and she was of course disappointed, but she thought that at least Celestia and Luna got to see what they had redone. However, she felt that whatever had done this was something worse than she originally thought. Twilight walked up next to Celestia, her gaze focused on what was in front of her as the five ponies made their way back, hoping that the guards would come back unharmed.