Silver nodded. "I understand. The loyalty of the Night Guard will always be to the Princess of the Night. We follow Celestia's orders because our princess asks us to." He wasn't sure what the Zebra meant by aiding her cause, and he didn't have time to ask. As they approach a bend in the path, Zecora's hut came into view. Zecora's called out to the trio; "What is this that I see? The old bat, a new Zebra, and the wolf Holly? Come inside, do not delay! Such news I have for you today!"
'Mendi', Xarame thought to herself, studying the masks and charms that adorned Zecora's hut. That was good, she supposed; the Mendi tribe were renowned for their skill with potions. Or at least, they had been... At any rate, she felt sure she could find the more obscure items she needed here, though whether Zecora would be willing to part with them was another matter. She stared in wonder at the shelves and racks of alchemical ingredients as she followed Silver and Zecora into the hut.
Silver greeted Zecora with a bow. "This news of yours... would it have anything to do with the creature that's been attacking travelers lately?" "I see you've not come on a whim. The news is indeed quite grim." Zecora explained that the Shadow Pony had gained the ability to steal the bodies of forest creatures, turning them into powerful nightmare monsters. To make matters worse, it had last been seen in the body of a Manticore, a powerful creature in its own right. Silver thanked her for the information. "By the way... this is Xarame. She's an alchemist." Zecora nodded. "Take whatever you need. I pray that you three succeed."
Xarame nodded her head respectfully. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Zecora. This is quite a collection!" She enthused, warmly. She set about finding what she needed, including a few extra pieces she thought might be useful given this new information, before returning to Zecora and Silver. "I realise time is tight, and I do not wish to impose on your hospitality, but do you think I might make use of the apparatus here to brew some potions? It will be much quicker than producing them on the road; shouldn't take more than a few hours."
Xarame thanked her and set to work; some of the equipment was unfamiliar to her, but she soon figured it out with Zecora's help. Xarame could tell the other zebra was slightly curious about some of her antiquated methods, but she didn't offer any explanation. Perhaps if there was time on their return, she would talk with her further; there were many questions she wished to ask too, but for now, speed was of the essence. As promised, the potions were ready within a few hours of their arrival, and Xarame stowed them carefully in her bags, ready to continue on, deeper into the forest.
A few hours after saying goodbye to Zecora, the trio arrived at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Silver sent Holly to check the surrounding area for any potential threats, and pushed open the door. "This is where that our hunt begins. That creature spent a thousand years in this castle, hiding in the shadows. If we're going to find any clues on how to stop it, we'll find them here."
Xarame looked at the castle's cavernous and ruined interior. The place had obviously been quite grand once, but there was still energy here; the place may have been abandoned, but it was not quite dead yet... "A thousand years in shadow. Seems fitting." She muttered to herself, before looking back to Silver and nodding. "Where do you wish to start?"
"The Chamber of the Elements. That's where Nightmare Moon was defeated... both times. That's where this thing was born." Holly returned with a dead cockatrice in her jaws. Silver patted her on the head, and pointed the way. "We should check the entire castle. Look for any signs of lingering dark magic. That's likely where it spent the most time."
Xarame nodded, retrieving the oil lamp from her bag; she sprinkled some powder from a small pouch into the oil before lighting it, and it burned with a bright, slightly purple flame, lighting all but the gloomiest corners. "There is a forge, deep in the foundations of the castle; that is where the Princess made her armour, and completed her transformation into Nightmare Moon. If darkness were to lurk anywhere, it would be there. I will try and find the entrance, however I do not believe either of us should venture down there alone; If I am successful, I will wait for you in the library. There may still be books there that can aid us."
Silver arched an eyebrow. "I'm surprised that you know that. Starswirl's Forge was never common knowledge." He approached the remains of Luna's throne and traced a star pattern with his hoof on the floor in front of it. There was a scraping sound as a hidden door opened in another part of the castle.
Xarame watched with surprise and realisation. "Ah, so that is how she-" She cut herself short and coughed, glancing at Silver. "That sounds like it might have revealed some passage to us," She said, picking up her lamp and heading down a corridor towards Luna's private quarters, where she knew the entrance to the forge lay. "Seems to me you may have been here before?" She inquired as they walked.
"I have," he said simply, and didn't elaborate further. The forge itself was deceptively plain, looking like any other forge from the era. Silver knew, however, that Starswirl the Bearded himself had built it, and imbued it with powerful and rare magicks.
Xarame prodded some scrap in the corner of the room cautiously before leaning in to examine it further. "Nyotuma," She breathed, stepping back. "Star Metal. A powerful conduit for dark magic; if the beast gathered it's strength here, it must be powerful indeed."
Silver nodded, making a mental note to come back for the metal later. "You think this is where it hid? Holly!" The Timberwolf loped into the room and began sniffing around. Within a few minutes, she let out a low growl. "She has the scent."
"Let us follow then, but be wary; we do not wish to stumble into it's lair, or hunting ground, unawares." Xarame dug through her bags and retrieved a small vial. "This will allow the whoever imbibes it to see dark magic in much the same way as we see light, however it limits conventional vision substantially, so should be used with care. You may have use for it later." She offered the vial to Silver.
Silver accepted the vial and placed it into his pack. "Didn't you say that you wanted to check the library? It might be a good idea to rest here for the night, anyway."
Xarame smiled. "If you think Holly can resist tracking her prey for that long. I only meant to locate the creature, not to confront it, but you are correct; it is best to go into all situations with all the knowledge available to you." As they headed back out of the forge, she Xarame checked the Luna's former bedchambers for anything of use, and recovered a couple of tomes that were not entirely lost to the decay of time. She put them in her pack, deciding to study them in the later, then made her way to the library.
The library was in better condition than Silver remembered. "I'd heard that Princess Twilight had been working on restoring the castle recently. I guess she started here." He headed back out the door. "I'm going to find some dinner. The old castle garden has gone wild, but it's still growing. I'm also going to cook up some cockatrice tail steak if you're interested."
Xarame grimaced slightly but forced herself to smile. "Thank you, but no; I do not eat meat. Anything you can find in the garden will do fine, I am not fussy." She set up her lamp on a table and opened on of the tomes she had found; some of the pages were crumbling or split, and others were stained or spotted with mildew; the latter at least, she could do something about. She pulled another small bag of powder out of her pack, and rubbed it on the damaged page. After she blew away the dust, she could read the words once more. She poured over the tomes, noting down anything relevant for when Silver returned.
