A Dungeon of Hellfire

Near the bridge to the castle, a figure draped in a suit and worn trench coat stood hidden deep with in the shadows. He had searched for weeks to find a trail on the case he'd be hired onto. A young mare's parents had gone missing, and she'd turned to him in desperation. The trail had been cold as winter in the Crystal Empire, but once he'd found it, he followed it to the Everfree Forest. After another few days of searching, he'd found a path that lead him to this old castle, that should have been abandoned.

Now here he was, in the middle of the Everfree and left with more questions that he had started with. He was sure he was in over his head, but when wasn't he? But years ago he'd grimly resolved to never stop searching until he had the answer to every question, and it looked like he might get a few answers here. Still hidden in the shadows, the figure narrowed his eyes as he readied himself to enter the castle.

"Hrm...must know the answer...." The detective dashed through the shadowy bridge, passing through the invisible field as he came to a stop just inside the castle, snapping his head toward the sky as a red streak shot through the sky. A trap. "No, no, no, no! Walked right into it! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" As he spoke, he dove through the shadows. They might know he was there know, but not where he was. He continued through the darkened halls and shadowy passages, moving silently and stealthily. Constantly looking for danger of any kind.

With the castle’s present owner occupied in his feverish attempt to ‘recruit’ another loyal member to his court, the arrival of the intruder was almost unnoticed. The enchanted castle itself seemed to sense the presence of the foreigner, its wall pulsing like fire to alert its master, but Inferno only snarled in its direction. The unicorn brute assumed someone would be in the depths of the castle - aside from his newest ‘guests,’ lodged in the dungeons until they could prove their loyalty to Inferno’s new kingdom.

Among the prisoners, two elder unicorns from Trottingham huddled together in a padlocked cell. A pile of old hay sat in the corner of the stall, and a suspiciously clean, unused plate. If they were to be fed, they had to start listening. The unicorn couple still had no idea what they were doing there, or even how they had arrived in the first place. Memories were hazy of what had transpired.

The mare was named Midnight Gazer, with a deep blue coat, looked more stunned than frightened, while her husband, a pale blue shade that was almost white, was outraged by the injustice of it - kept prisoner, and for no apparent reason! In the hallway, the faint sound of movement could be detected. The stallion, Story Teller, was quick on his hooves, bespectacled eyes narrowed in disgust of the dark pony he anticipated seeing. The hateful Inferno.