Shining Armor, Rolling Thunder, and Taylor advanced through the undercroft, an expansive storage area beneath the castle. The low vaulting that made it seem much more claustrophobic for both Taylor and Rolling Thunder, who were nearly the same height. Shining Armor was only an inch or two shorter, but it allowed him to move around without fear of scraping his head on the damp stone ceiling. Lining the walls were crates, sacks made of something similar to burlap, and some shelves whose wood had begun to rot long ago. Everything in here seemed as old as what they found in the armory - possibly even more so.

"So, does no one around here realize that you can open doors? It seems like every time we go through one, we find a room that no one's been to in centuries." Taylor remarked, ducking to avoid a particularly low section of the ceiling and getting a face full of cobweb in the process.

"The undercroft used to serve as living quarters for the servants, back before Celestia came to power. One of her first orders after taking the throne was for a new building to be constructed on the surface to house those that had been stuck down here. This became storage for food, supplies, and things like that. A few decades later, there was a big flood that ruined nearly everything down here, and it was decided that important supplies shouldn't be kept in the lowest levels of the castle anymore. The area was all but abandoned after that." Shining Armor lectured, the influence of his sister clearly showing.

"Cool history lesson, but it sounded like a resounding 'no' to me. How much further is it to... wherever it is that we're going?"

Shining Armor glanced at Rolling Thunder, who also seemed curious. "It can't be very far. The undercroft only spans about a third of the castle grounds."

"Okay, that's not so bad," Taylor said, though he had absolutely no idea just how big that castle grounds really were. It wasn't something he felt needed to be committed to memory, given the circumstances. "How will we know when we're there?"

"The Princess said that there's a section of wall down here that collapsed in the flood. That's what we're looking for."

"Another busted wall? This place is really falling apart, huh?" Taylor laughed. On the surface, Canterlot looked unnaturally pristine, as if it were somehow impervious to developing any sort of flaw or fault. Those that lived in the castle and the surrounding city probably believed as such, but below the untarnished surface there existed all the same neglect, decay, and filth as the world he was used to. For some reason, he found it amusing.

For the next few minutes, they walked wordlessly. Shining Armor's illumination spell, though significantly less powerful than Twilight's, was adequate for lighting their way and provided a comfortable hum to fill the silence. Taylor busied himself by fidgeting with the links of his armor. He couldn't see them clearly, so he attempted to build a mental picture of how they fit together by feel, abandoning the effort soon after.

"I hope I never go blind. If I can't even figure this out, I'd probably suck at reading braille."

Rolling Thunder stopped abruptly, his gaze trained intently on something to their left. "Captain, over there. Do you think that's it?"

It wasn't very far away, but was almost completely masked by the darkness - a section of the wall that had crumbled, leaving a pile of debris roughly two feet high. The trio hurried eagerly over to examine it.

"It appears that there's some empty space where the wall should go. Even more intriguing is the overabundance of wall on the floor. What do you suppose it means?" Taylor said, hoping that being flippant would hide just how nervous he was.

"It means we found what the Princess wanted us to find," Rolling Thunder replied, gesturing to the area beyond the rubble. Just past the opening was a tunnel that had been carved through solid stone, which extended several yards before intersecting with another path.

Taylor squinted, trying unsuccessfully to make out any details in the darkened passage. "What am I looking at here? Is this something our side did, or theirs?"

"I'm inclined to believe this was the Order. The Royal Guard has no need to scurry around under the castle like rats." Thunder grumbled.

"Do I need to point out the irony?"

"I would prefer it if you did not."

Shining Armor pulled himself into the tunnel, ending their exchange as they fell in line behind him. Taylor gripped his weapon tightly, hoping he wouldn't have to use it until he was ready, fearing that if they were caught off guard, he would freeze up and be useless.

Without warning, Shining Armor came to a halt and dimmed his illumination spell. Before the others could ask why, they heard it too - voices echoing faintly off the damp stone walls. All three held their breath, straining their ears to hear what was being said. After what felt like an eternity, the sounds slowly began to fade. Satisfied that they were still safe, Shining Armor allowed his spell to flicker back to life and they pressed onward.

"Even using magic, it would have taken a long time to bore out a system of passages like this. Years, maybe even decades, depending on how far they stretch. They've been using this to move around Canterlot for a long time." Rolling Thunder observed. He was clearly not happy about that fact.

Taylor shrugged - a pointless gesture, since he was at the back of the line. "It's possible they only use this for things they would want to keep secret. Without the robes on, I assume they look just like anyone else, so they could easily blend in with the rest of Canterlot."

"Well, that puts my mind at ease. Thanks for that."

"Both of you be quiet unless you want them to hear us coming." Shining Armor ordered. In truth, he was just growing tired of the banter, but he knew that the more noise they made, the more likely they were to be discovered, and the armor that the Princess had given Taylor wasn't helping their situation by rattling around so much.

The path began to curve, opening up into a circular room with two more tunnels connected to it. The floor here was cobblestone rather than being carved from the existing rock. Meticulously chiseled into the wall was the symbol of the Inquisition - perhaps a sign that they were getting closer.

Shining Armor stood in the center of the room, looking around for anything "I'm open to suggestions. Which way do we go?"

"I don't see any difference between the two, Captain. Aside from the mark on the wall, that is." Thunder replied.

Taylor considered the layout of the room. If they had entered from an imaginary South, then the other two paths were connected at approximately West and North. The symbol on the wall was closest to the West tunnel, but its placement didn't seem deliberate enough for it to mean anything. There were no obvious marks to indicate direction, so perhaps anyone using these tunnels had committed the system to memory. It seemed like a stretch, especially for the Order. The more likely possibility was that they had very subtle markings to indicate the proper direction, maybe something that could only be activated by the proper spell.

Suddenly, an idea emerged in Taylor's mind. "Hey, can you kill the lights for a second?"

"I fail to see how that will make finding the way easier." Thunder commented.

Shining Armor ignored his Lieutenant's objections, snuffing out the illumination spell. It took some time for their eyes to adjust to the utter blackness that surrounded them, but the results were spectacular. Each path began to develop an ethereal glow that almost seemed to seep into the air, like the walls were emitting a colorful mist. It was beautiful, yet unnerving.

"Well, if you'll excuse the pun, that was pretty much a shot in the dark and I'm surprised it worked. Now we at least have something to work with. Between blue and white, which one's going to take us to the Order's hideout?"

"Red." Shining Armor stated.

The others hadn't noticed it, too focused on the tunnels to bother with what had been dismissed as just a wall. Dead center on the East side of the chamber was the mark of the Inquisition, glowing softly in a crimson hue, with what resembled a glowing hoof print below it. Rolling Thunder and Taylor caught on quickly, moving closer to inspect the sigil.

"Well, that looks ominous. Let's poke it - by which I mean one of you poke it." Taylor said, stepping back away from the wall.

Shining Armor took the lead, stepping toward the glowing symbol on the wall. Without hesitation, he placed his hoof against the matching print on the wall. After a brief delay, the mark faded, and the wall where it had been began shuddering. A harsh grinding sound of stone against stone hit the trio's ears as the hidden door slid downward.

The hall beyond where the door had just been was of stone brick, similar to the older sections of Canterlot castle. Torches lined the walls, bathing everything in a warm golden glow. It was actually rather pleasant, though all three knew better than to feel secure in this place.

"You're on your own from here," Shining Armor stated in the formal tone he favored when trying to sound like a proper Captain. "We've been ordered to stay here and wait for your return as long as we can. If we believe you've been gone too long, we'll report back to the Princess and-"

"I've seen this movie already, I know the drill. Give me at least an hour, maybe two. If I'm not back by then, I am officially in deep shit and need rescuing, but between the resistance to magic, the armor, the weapon, and having the element of surprise, I think I'll have a pretty solid advantage here. As long as they don't have archers, I'm good." Taylor said, brushing some dirt from his knee.

"Good luck." grunted Rolling Thunder, giving Taylor a nod. For the first time since Celestia had briefed him on what was going on in Canterlot, he was feeling on edge. The gravity of their undertaking had sunk in, and he realized that this would be so much more than just a simple rescue operation. Regardless of this human's success or failure, things would certainly escalate from here.

Taylor saluted them both, which just seemed appropriate, hefted his axe, and stepped into the hall. There were no fewer than twenty heavy wooden doors lining the walls, any of which could be hiding an unknown number of the enemy. Taylor swallowed hard and tried not to think about it, cautiously making his way through the Sanctuary. He was anxious, scared, and couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, which meant that every shadow, noise, or other imagined danger made him tense up.

After several minutes of this, he had to accept that it wasn't going to work. At his current rate, it would take forever to make any real progress, and he would be a nervous wreck long before he found Lyra. If he was going to bring her back in the short time frame he had allowed himself, he would have to suppress his fearful thoughts and get moving. With a deep breath, he tightened his grip on handle of the axe until it became painful and forced himself to increase his pace.

All the while, a familiar pair of azure eyes observed his every move from the shadows.