Project Nightshell [story]

[lunatemp]

Luna scanned the interior of the castle as she proceeded toward her desired destination. Things had started to come along quite nicely, she thought to herself. There was a new sense of order and purpose which she felt lacked under Celestia's shadow. Ponies were busy. They were doing things. Accomplishing things. Solidifying the strength of Equestria's future, the way she saw it. Sure, there might now lack a sense of complacency, but that had been replaced by a sense of priority. This was no longer Celestia's kingdom. To the outward observer used to Celestia's method of managing the castle, it seemed the midnight alicorn was turning Canterlot into a militant fortress. The guards had increased. The soldiers had begun recruiting heavily and training openly. Even the palace itself seemed to have its own inner security force. Strangely, however, those outside of the princess' militant circle rarely had experience with them except for when the law was being enforced.

As the princess progressed to the outer courtyard, she gave a firm nod to a pair of earth ponies who stood at the doorway. Their appearance was significantly dissimilar to that of the guards. Instead of the defensive and heavy black armor that had become their new uniformity, these - and many which could be seen only inside the palace walls - wore black drapes lined with a dark blue trim, and wore dark sunglasses.

The pair fell in line at either side of Luna's flanks without a vocal order being needed, and she led them along a path which came to a dead end at the stone wall of the inner rampart. She raised a forehoof and applied pressure to three unmarked stones which caused the wall to split and open, revealing a secret stairwell which spiraled in descent. A glance over her shoulder to verify that nobody but her two security escorts had observed this, she led them down the stairwell as the stone wall sealed behind them. At the end of the passage was another door, guarded still by two more security ponies with keys worn around their ankles. Still no words passed between any of them, they turned toward the door and inserted the keys, turning them in unison to unlock the large oaken gateway that led to a broad, windowless chamber.

Inside was bustling with activity. Ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike, all donned in white lab coats, were busily shifting from station to station, passing along information and what appeared to be navigational tools. Maps of all shapes and sizes littered tables, walls, and work stations which were scrutinized by the princess' eyes as she passed by them, her escorts still in step at her hindquarters. She bowed her head shallowly in response to the array of greetings she received from the workers.

At the back of the chamber, hanging from the ceiling, was a massive map of Equestria and its bordering countries, and even the Everfree Forest wherein lied the ancient castle once shared by the ruling sister's family. Red plots and blue markers were strewn across the map, lining paths and X's which detailed dead ends. Luna came to a halt in front of it.

"Are we any closer, yet?" She asked to one of the unicorns on a laddered rise. He looked down to the owner of the voice behind goggles that made his eyes seem twice larger than they were, until he pushed them up his brow with a forehoof.

"Ah, princess! Of course it's always a treat to see you!" He said before making an awkward scramble down the ladder to confront the matriarch. "Sadly, I have nothing good to offer you, yet, but we have new leads that we are following since searching the old castle ruins." Luna pursed her lips into a thin-lined frown and sighed, looking up at the massive map.

"So it wasn't there, either," she said thoughtfully. "That makes no sense. Where could it have gone? I didn't wander anywhere else with it, I don't think? Argh why can't I remember?" Eyes closed, she set a decorated hoof against her forehead.

"There, there, princess," the unicorn offered, setting his own hoof on her shoulder. "It's only a matter of time. Look! The best navigators and trackers in Equestria are working on this!"

"Someone must have taken it from the castle," Luna said, almost interrupting him. "Were there any tracks? Any hints to treasure hunters since.. since I lost it?" Hopefully she looked to him again.

"Well there were some hints that agents are following up on, but it's too early to receive reports," He replied. "Forgive me for saying, your highness, but this is going to take time. It's a needle in a haystack."

"Yeah, but I don't want to think what will happen if that needle gets into the hooves of someone who doesn't know how to sew," she said with nearly a bratty grumble. "We need it on our side. For Equestria's strength. I know you won't let me down, I just..." she didn't complete her statement, instead just shook her head sadly down at her forehooves.

"We won't fail you, princess. You have my word." He smiled in a disarming nature, hoping to ease Luna's malcontent if even a fraction. He knew exactly why she wanted to find it, and her reasons weren't entirely unselfish.

Luna nodded a little as she raised her head and afforded him a faint smile in return. Passing another glance around the busy chamber, she turned to guide her escort back toward the entrance. "Keep up the good work," she said loud enough that anypony paying attention could hear her compliment while she progressed toward the door. "You're all doing marvelous things for Equestria."