Castle Mane-ia

Night's POV

A few days after Discord's Plunderseeds attack and the discovery of the chest, Twilight had become near obsessed with it and was frantically searching the Golden Oak Library for any clues. Twilight was doing that while Night was training his alicorn magic when she let out a frustrated groan and threw the book towards a wall that hit Spike's duster.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked her.

"I've gone through every book in Ponyville, and there isn't a single mention of the mysterious chest that came from the Tree of Harmony. Nor anything about keys to unlock it," Twilight complained.

"What were you expecting to find? The Elements of Harmony were considered a myth when Celestia and Luna found them, let alone the Tree of Harmony. I'd be surprised if we found any clues in books," Night told her.

Twilight sighed. "I know, but I was hoping for an easy solution to this mystery," she said. "Maybe the library in Canterlot has something. If it's not there, I don't know where else to look."

"I take it Celestia's looking into that?" Night asked.

"Yeah," Twilight said, but her voice faded out.

"You see now why I didn't want any of you involved in my family's dispute?" Night asked.

"I'm starting too. I was expecting to get my own kingdom now that I'm a princess, not yours," she answered.

"We'll figure it out. Right now though, we have other things to worry about," Night said.

"I know," Twilight said, nuzzling into Night's chest. Spike then started to hold his mouth like he wanted to gag. Twilight noticed that. "Spike, if you don't want to see us do this, then you might as well-" she started when Spike let out a jet of fire that revealed a scroll. "Or that," Twilight commented.

My dearest Twilight, while it would be perfectly lovely to have you in Canterlot once more, I have another option in mind much closer to Ponyville. As you know, the ancient castle that I once shared with Princess Luna lies mostly in ruins deep in the Everfree Forest. But if you look carefully, you may find a book that could prove helpful to your research, hidden somewhere in what's left of the castle library.

"Well that tells us nothing and nothing," Night commented, tired of Celestia's vague letters.

"Definitely," Spike agreed.

The three headed over to the ruins and after a bit of searching through the palace, they found what they were looking for. Twilight gasped immediately upon seeing the library. "Wow! Look at all these ancient books. It's a veritable gold mine of information. I can't believe it! Woo-hoo!" Twilight shouted in excitement while flying all over the place trying to pick which book to read first.

Night smiled at his marefriend's actions and started looking around himself, hoping to find something to keep himself entertained while Twilight tore apart the library for its information.

"So, uh, Twilight, Night. Ready to head home?" Spike asked, looking uncomfortable in the castle.

"Are you kidding? This place is PERFECT!" Twilight shouted, diving into a pile of books.

Night then wrapped one wing around Spike. "You can stay by me," he told the dragon.

Rainbow's POV

Near Sweet Apple Acres, Rainbow and Applejack were having a staring contest while covered in bees. "I'm not gonna move. You move," she told Applejack.

"Uh-uh. There's no way I'm moving," Applejack stated.

"This is the most daring dare any pony ever dared dare another pony to dare," Pinkie declared, sitting at a table with Gummy nearby.

"Huh?" Rainbow and Applejack asked her.

"It's exciting!" Pinkie clarified.

"What y'all doing?" the beekeeper asked.

"Rainbow Dash and Applejack are competing for the title of Most Daring Pony. This is the final test: The Bee Stare. Last pony to blink wins!" Pinkie answered.

"I'm gonna need my bees back," the keeper said.

"But then we'll never find out who the Most Daring Pony is," Rainbow complained.

"Sorry about that," the keeper said plainly before whistling. The bees followed him, revealing both ponies in bee suits.

"Well, what do we do now?" Applejack asked, taking off her suit.

"Don't worry ladies, I've been keeping excellent score all-day," Pinkie told them before heading up to her notepad. "Congratulations! You're tied!" Pinkie declared.

"'Tied'?" Applejack asked.

"You can't be tied for the Most Daring Pony," Rainbow pointed out.

"I don't know. Numbers don't lie," Pinkie said, showing her notepad. Instead of numbers, there were scribbles and drawings that only Pinkie could understand. "I'd love to stay and keep keeping score, but I promised to help test the new school bell. I get to ring it all week non-stop. And I don't even have to take turns because no one else volunteered!" Pinkie said as she hopped off.

"Okay. No problem," Rainbow said as she got out of her suit. "We just have to come up with another daring dare."

"Right," Applejack agreed. "I think I might have an idea of what we can do," she added, looking towards the Everfree Forest.

Applejack led the two to the Castle of the Two Sisters as they wandered into the Everfree Forest. "Well? Here we are!" Applejack declared.

"Uh, what's so daring about this place? This is where we got the Elements of Harmony," Rainbow asked.

"When I was just a filly, Granny Smith told me of an ancient legend… When Nightmare Moon was banished, not every last bit of her dark magic went with her. Grannie used to say when night falls on the castle, that magic takes the form of… THE PONY OF SHADOWS!" Applejack explained.

"You mean like a ghost?" Rainbow asked, not convinced.

"No pony knows," Applejack said, sounding a bit like a ghost herself.

"Ugh," Rainbow grunted as the two went down a corridor. "I don't see what's so daring about an old legend. Plus, I don't believe in ghosts," she added.

"You might wanna rethink your position on that," Applejack said, pointing up to a large tapestry that was moving on its own making frightened yelps.

Both girls screamed in fear when a lightning strike went off and cast a large shadow. They screamed again before it disappeared. "You saw that, right?" Applejack asked.

"RUN!" Rainbow shouted and the two did so. "Okay. So, maybe the legend is true," Rainbow said as they ran.

"Well, that's why I brought you here. I guess only the most daring pony of all could stay in this castle all night without being scared off," Applejack stated.

Rainbow immediately skidded to a halt. "Scared? I'm not scared," Rainbow said.

"Well, me neither," Applejack added.

"Then it's settled. Whoever stays in the castle the longest is the Most Daring Pony," Rainbow said.

"Deal," Applejack agreed and the two hoofbumped.

"But it's gonna take a lot more than some shadowy ghost pony to get me to leave," Rainbow said confidently.

"Me too!" Applejack shouted.

Night's POV

The two alicorns and the dragon were still looking through the books to see if they could find anything about the chest but were having no luck. Their only light being the candles Twilight lit since it had gotten dark.

"Night, Spike, find anything yet?" Twilight asked.

"Uh… nope," Spike answered while Night shook his head. A book walked past Night and up to Spike and it flew off of a familiar white bunny when he jumped up onto the table. Spike was startled and was about to cause the chair to fall back but stopped suddenly without Night or Twilight doing anything.

"Angel? What are you doing here?" Twilight asked. Before she could get an answer, rumbling was heard and two shelves separated to reveal another room. They stepped inside after Night made a light ball with his magic and put it in the center of the roof.

In the center of the room was a pedestal that had a book on it. The title: The Journal of the Two Sisters. "Maybe this is the book Princess Celestia was talking about!" Twilight realized.

Night looked around and saw another book on one of the shelves in the room. It had no title, but something about it called to him. He opened the book and on the first page, it read Midnight Eclipse. "This was my father's?" Night asked himself. He was unable to resist his curiosity and started reading through.

Rainbow's POV

After continuing down the hallway they were in, the two daring ponies found themselves by a large spiral staircase that only went down. "I sure hope you aren't afraid of the dark, Applejack," Rainbow said confidently.

"I can't say that I am. But even if I was, I'd be at least fifty percent less scared of it than you, Rainbow Dash," Applejack stated as the two headed down.

"I don't know how all that math works because I'm not scared at all," Rainbow countered.

"Me neither," Applejack shouted.

When the two got to the bottom of the stairs, they found a long hallway filled with disembodied pony legs holding different objects. "What's the matter? It's just a dark hallway full of disembodied pony legs," Rainbow asked, unable to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

"Yeah. Nothing creepy about that," Applejack said, sounding nervous herself as the two went down the hall.

Continuing down the hall, Rainbow suddenly felt a hoof around her. "Applejack, if you're scared, you can just admit it. You don't need to put your hoof around me," Rainbow told her.

"Uh… I'm over here," Applejack said from behind her. Rainbow took a look at the hoof and saw that it was pure white and sticking out of a hole in the wall. Both girls screamed in shock and ran further down the hallway.

Night's POV

As Night continued looking through his father's journal, Twilight looked through Celestia and Luna's. Night personally didn't feel like reading that one. "Spike, Night, listen to this: I love to duck behind the paintings and though the Hall of Hooves still gives her a bit of a fright, the trap door slide is Luna's favorite," Twilight read.

"Why does that entry make it sound like this place became one massive prank house after my father died?" Night asked. "From what I found from my father's journal, this place was my family's summer home," he added.

"Soon the Organ to the Outside will be finished. I can hardly wait," Twilight finished reading.

"What's the 'Organ to the Outside'?" Spike asked.

"I have no idea," Twilight said excitedly.

Night looked back at his father's journal and saw an entry that caught his attention. "Listen to this: Something's happened with Bright Star and Crystal. Neither of them are telling me what happened, but yesterday there was some kind of explosion of magic. I've tried talking to Streak about it, and he said that he was there, but he won't share anything either and that I should talk to Bright Star about what happened. I'm going in circles at this point, but I hope to find out what happened before it's too late," Night read.

"What does that mean?" Spike asked.

"And who's this 'Streak'?" Twilight asked.

"It's talking about the day Crystal did her spell that turned her into Chrysalis. As for Streak, he appears in several entries and my father seemed to think of him as a friend along with Starswirl the Bearded," Night told them.

Rainbow's POV

Still running after the ghost arm startled them, Rainbow and Applejack suddenly heard an organ playing. Applejack skidded to a halt and Rainbow flipped over her. "Do you hear that?" Applejack asked.

"You mean, the creepy sound of a haunted pipe organ?" Rainbow asked.

"Uh… maybe," Applejack answered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rainbow lied nervously. The organ started playing again and the two ponies ran in fright.

Night's POV

"Uh, Twilight, Night, did you hear that?" Spike asked suddenly.

"Oh Spike, quit being such a scaredy dragon. This castle is thousands of years old and a good portion was destroyed by Nightmare Moon. When you add in that noponies been taking care of this place, of course it makes strange sounds; it's practically falling apart," Twilight told him.

"Okay," Spike said. Night just continued reading his father's journal which told a story about how he had to face three full-grown dragons who were terrorizing a collection of small towns.

Rainbow's POV

After calming down after the organ sounds, the two daring ponies found themselves in a hallway with ancient pony armor that looked like it was from a time fighting may have been more common in Equestria. "Do you think there's a single room in this castle that isn't filled with terrifying things?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow tapped one of the suits and it wobbles a bit causing her to fly back a bit. "It's just old pony armor. What's the big deal?" Rainbow asked, seeing Applejack's smug face.

"Yeah. It's not like they're going to come to life or anything," Applejack commented. Both ponies looked at the armor nervously expecting that very thing to happen. Applejack stepped onto an empty spot when it suddenly changed into a suit of armor. Rainbow screamed in shock.

"Uh, Applejack? If you went back to Ponyville, that means I win. Right?" Rainbow asked, wondering where she went. She unknowingly backed into one of the suits of armor causing it to fall on her. Rainbow screamed again and flew off quickly.

Night's POV

After some more reading, Night, Twilight, Angel, and Spike heard a bunch of loud noises. "What in the world is that?" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Oh, you know. Probably just more strange sounds of this old castle falling apart," Spike said fearfully.

"No one likes sarcasm Spike," Twilight told him.

"We might as well find out what's going on," Night said, closing the journal. The four headed out to the main lobby and saw Applejack and Rainbow running around and screaming. Fluttershy trying to pull up a stone pillar, and Rarity crying under a tapestry.

"What got into them?" Spike asked.

"Is it wrong that this is a bit entertaining?" Night asked.

"A little bit," Twilight told him. "Alright everypony, STOP!" Twilight shouted, using her magic to stop all their friends at once.

"Twilight?" Applejack asked in surprise.

"Must. Save. Angel," Fluttershy said before Angel jumped up and she saw him. "Oh."

"Fluttershy? What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked her.

"She's with me," Rarity answered, still under the tapestry.

Twilight then let everypony go and pulled the tapestry off of Rarity as Night came down. They shrieked quickly then calmed down when they realized it was him. "Don't startle us like that Night," Applejack told him.

"What were you expecting to happen when my feathers are black? I don't exactly stand out like a beacon in the dark," Night stated bluntly.

"Have you all spent the whole night running around, scaring each other?" Twilight asked.

"Well, that depends," Applejack answered.

"On what?" Night asked.

"On whether or not you're the Pony of Shadows," Rainbow said, pointing to Night and Twilight.

"What's the Pony of Shadows?" Spike asked fearfully.

"Oh, that's just an old pony's tale," Twilight told him.

That's when an organ started playing. "Then who's playing that?" Spike asked as everypony grabbed Twilight or Night.

"Let's find out," Night said and the group started following the noise as the organ kept playing.

After moving through the castle, following the sounds, they ended up near a doorway and saw something playing the organ. Everyone gasped quickly. "The Pony of Shadows?" Twilight asked. She signaled Night and he nodded. He summoned his weapons, hiding the sound with the organ's notes, and the two alicorns walked into the room and slowly approached the figure, who Night could now tell was wearing a cloak.

Twilight used her magic to remove the cloak and they saw, "Hey you guys. Did you know I can totally play the organ? Because I didn't!" Pinkie said.

"Pinkie?!" they all asked in surprise.

"Check it out," she said, playing a tune.

"You're the Pony of Shadows?" Rainbow asked in shock.

"The Pony of what?" Pinkie asked.

"See? What did I tell you?" Twilight asked her friends.

"I thought you had to ring the school bell all week?" Applejack asked Pinkie.

"Oh, yeah. I only had to ring it for like, five minutes. They said that was good enough. I can't imagine why?" Pinkie answered. Thinking about it, Night wouldn't have been surprised if Pinkie stuck her head into the bell and used it to ring the bell. "So then, I decided to throw a 'Finished Ringing the School Bell' party," Pinkie started as Twilight, Night, and Rainbow rolled their eyes, "but I didn't have any bluebells and you can't throw a 'Finished Ringing the School Bell' party without bluebells. So, I went into the Everfree Forest to pick some, but it started to get so chilly I had to wrap myself up in the tarp I was going to use to carry the flowers. And then I saw Fluttershy and Rarity, but they went into the castle before I could invite them to my party. Luckily, I followed them inside so I could help you all with your party."

"What party is that?" Rarity asked.

"Uh, the 'Everypony Come to the Scary Old Castle and Hide from Each Other While I Play the Organ' party," Pinkie answered, pressing a key which triggered a trap that sent Spike flying. "Duh!"

"Well that was a thing," Night commented. The group then headed back to the hidden room in the library when Twilight and Night continued to look through the journals they found.

"I swear, this is going right back where I found it just as soon as I've returned it to its former glory," Rarity said, working on a tapestry.

"Now don't go running off again. Ooh. I can't believe I was so frightened. I guess I let my imagination get the best of me," Fluttershy told Angel.

"I think we all did," Applejack admitted.

"I always let my imagination run away from me. Then it comes back, with cake," Pinkie stated.

"Well, sounds like you all had fun," Night told them.

"I'll say. Even if I didn't find anything about the mysterious chest, I'm glad we were here to help all of you," Twilight added.

"I have to ask though, why weren't you two scared with all the organ playing and the thunder and lightning?" Rainbow asked. Night then sneezed and lightning went off outside.

"That was you?" Applejack asked.

"Yep. Turns out my powers go a bit wonky when I sneeze. The dust is getting to me," Night answered, rubbing his nose.

"And reading Celestia and Luna's diary made it hard to be afraid because I knew what it was like when they lived here," Twilight then said. "Knowing something about the past made it easier to deal with my problems in the present, even the scary ones."

"That and we were also in here most of the time. Though I did find out a lot about who my father was. It's surprising how much I'm like him," Night added.

"I just thought of a great idea! Why don't we keep a journal? Just like Night's sisters," Twilight said.

"All of us?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure! That way we can learn from each other. And maybe someday, other ponies will read it and learn something too," Twilight said.

"So… do I have a separate journal for myself because I don't want to intrude on something private," Night asked.

"We'll work on that," Twilight answered.

"Still, Shadow Ponies. How ridiculous is that?" Spike asked jokingly. Night and Twilight both exchanged a look as Shade came to mind.