//------------------------------// // A Scholar's Pursuit // Story: My Little Pony: The Brothers of Discord // by mr.myxsiple //------------------------------// CHAPTER 15 A SCHOLAR'S PURSUIT While Ironhead spent that wonderful evening out with Applejack, the one his brother was having wasn't as great as his. Solstice sat alone in his father's study pouring through book after book, scroll after scroll, file after file in a desperate search to find a possible source of light. He looked over his shoulder and saw the scales on his dad's desk. The white stone was still down meaning that the imbalance still persisted. He pondered on that remembering how panicked his dad was then they tipped. He had seen that look before on his dad. This was actually the fifth time Solstice saw the scales tip in his life. The first time he saw the scales tip, it was during the evening of summer solstice of the previous year. The second time was during a period he would describe as completely and utter chaos. Chocolate suddenly rained from the sky, trees bent over due to the sudden increased weight of their fruit, some of his own spells didn't work, it was almost hell, a sugary, erratic hell. It stopped just as suddenly as it started, and they were all glad it did though Scar missed the cotton candy clouds. The third and fourth times occurred during seemingly ordinary days. Though they were spaced out at different intervals, all four incidents had one thing in common: when the scales tipped, it was the black stone that had gone down. This was the first time he had ever seen the white stone lower. During those four times, Solstice consulted his father about the imbalance. Despite his concerns, Equinox told him not to worry and that the problem would be solved without their intervention. True enough, the scales returned to normal in almost no time after they tipped over. He pondered on those times, wondering if there was any possible connection between those incidents and their current one. Pausing slightly, he yawned and lifted his silver-rimmed glasses to rub his face. It was past midnight, and Equinox had already turned in for the night. Solstice however refused to rest until he came up with something, anything. Though his body ached and his eyes desired sleep, he would not waver. But as he finished yet another book, his willpower began to waver. Sighing and running a hoof across his grey mane, he put the book aside and pulled another one close to him with his magic. His eyes drooping slightly, he magically turned its pages and scanned them for anything useful. As the pages went by, his head bowed lower and lower; this wouldn't be the first time he'd fall asleep in the middle of a study session. But that all changed when he turned to certain page in the book he was browsing. He raised his head and adjusted his glasses which was become slightly askew before continuing to read. He consulted a chart and did a few mental calculations before continuing to read. He moved on to the next page and then the next one and then the next one getting less sleepy as the pages went by. "This...this is it..." he muttered. "This must be it; I...I've found it..." There was then a knock on the door followed by it swinging open. Blues stepped in sleepy as well. "Solstice," He paused to yawn for a bit. "Solstice, father sent me to get you. I understand your devotion and how passionate you are about your research, but even you have your limits. You need to-" "I've found it..." "Wh-what was that?" Blues asked rubbing his eye. Solstice turned to his brother, a look of shock on his face. "I've found it Blues...A possible source of the light in Ponyville..." Blues was stunned as well. "Are...are you sure?" Solstice felt excited about his discovery. "It must be it; we must get this to father at once." Carrying the book with him, he ran towards his brother, his horn glowing with teal magic. Once he was near, the teal magic aura enveloped them both as they teleported out of the room. They reappeared outside the door to their dad's room, and Solstice began knocking on it repeatedly. "Father! Father! Please open up; this is urgent!" Solstice cried out hurriedly. After a while, the door became surrounded by a silver magical aura and swung open. The two unicorns raced inside where their father sat on top of his bed. "Solstice, Blues, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Equinox asked startled, sleepy and worried. "Father, I believe I've discovered the source of the light in Ponyville's soil." Solstice said opening the book and flipping through it. "Er...What?" Equinox was a little startled when Solstice brought the open book up to the alicorn's face. Equinox saw on it five grey spheres arranged in a circle. Each sphere had a strange shape engraved on it. Equinox recognized those items very well; he had even studied them at some point. "The Elements of Harmony!" Equinox raised an eyebrow. The aura around the book changed from teal to silver as he took the book from his son. "I've done the calculations in my head. The amount of light the Elements of Harmony emits matches up with the amount of light building up in Ponyville's soil. No other possible source of light came close; this must be it father!" An excited grin on his face, Solstice watched his dad go through the book waiting for his comment. He eventually closed it and cleared his throat. "Well Solstice, your theory does hold truth." he said. "However, there is one problem with it." Solstice couldn't believe his ears. "What?! B-But-But-My calculations were sound! I even triple-checked them!" Equinox held up a hoof in a placating gesture. "I'm sure they were son, but I assure you the problem is not within your calculations." "Then what is it?" Solstice asked. Equinox yawned a bit remembering just how late it was. "Well to put it simply, the Elements of Harmony are not kept in Ponyville. They are kept in Canterlot, protected 24/7 by guards and a vast array of protective spells. Their light could not possible reach Ponyville." "Are you sure father?" Blues asked. "I mean, just when was the last time you were in Canterlot?" The last time he was in Canterlot... The last time he was in Canterlot... Canterlot... Equinox cleared his throat, took all the memories of his last time in Canterlot and shoved them back into the deepest recesses of his mind where belonged.. "That is irrelevant." he said earning raised eyebrows from the unicorn brothers. "Look, the point is unless Celes...the princess moved them to someplace else, they are still there." "But father, this seems like the only possibility." Solstice argued. "They must be in Ponyville." "Isn't there any connection between the Elements of Harmony and Ponyville?" Blues inquired. "None that I know of. However..." Equinox seemed to trail off. That intrigued Solstice. "Yes? What is it father?" Equinox took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the scales have tipped before." His eldest son nodded. "This is the fifth time since I was born." "Indeed it is. Like our current situation, I managed to locate the sources of the imbalance." "And what did you find?" Solstice asked leaning in. "During the third instance, the imbalance was centered in Canterlot." the alicorn explained. "The fourth one centered somewhere far up north where the Crystal Empire once stood. The first and second one strangely... occurred in Ponyville. I'm sure you could remember the second time." "Yes. I just loved how my saxophone wouldn't stop making farting noises." Blues muttered sarcastically. Solstice ignored him. "Yes well...Two of the imbalances occurred in Ponyville. The Elements of Harmony must have been there at some point." he insisted. "The incidents are unrelated to each other." Equinox replied. "Furthermore, even if the Elements were used in Ponyville; they would surely be returned to Canterlot before any long-term effects would take place. T-The princess would make sure of that." "How can you be so certain father? You and Princess Celestia have never met." Blues said. Equinox was immensely grateful that Psych wasn't in the room; he'd have seen right through him. "She is a good...and wise leader, somepony fit to rule Equestria. She had used the Elements of Harmony before you were even born, so I believe she has the sense to return them where they belong." "But...but..." Solstice wanted to protest, but the rest of his words came out as a yawn. He then felt a hoof on his shoulder and saw his dad in front of him. "You've done well tonight my son, but you've also done enough." he said. "Please get some rest; you can continue in the morning." Solstice refused to stop now when he had such a huge lead, but he heaviness of his body and the sleepiness in his eyes made him agree with his dad. Bidding his dad and brother good night, he teleported directly onto his bed where he slumped over feeling defeated. He was sure it was the Elements; it couldn't be anything else. He knew that he was so close to the truth and saving Ponyville. He had never been to Canterlot, so there was still a possibility that the Elements weren't there anymore. That possibility still existed and could in fact be the truth. And if his dad wouldn't pursue it, he would. The next day... Ironhead was already up and getting ready for work at the farm, where Applejack was. He was so glad that last night went splendidly despite how tense he was almost the whole time. Now, he was going to Sweet Apple Acres to confront Applejack once again. Now he was tense on what to say to her now. Were they officially a couple now? Can he call her his marefriend? He he give her a kiss when he sees her (yes, the memory and sensation of the kiss was still fresh in his mind). How would the rest of the family react when they find out about this? His thoughts were interrupted by several knocks on the door. Ironhead looked over at it in confusion; they didn't know that many ponies in town, so who could possibly be knocking so early in the morning? "Nghh...make it stop..." Scar groaned as the knocking woke him up. "Who the hell wants to talk to us this early?" The knocking continued. Scar groaned once more and covered his ear with his pillow. Meanwhile, Ironhead grumbled and approached the door wondering who would be there. He opened the door ready to confront who it was. "Hey, whoever you are, this better be-Solstice?!" Hearing that surprised Scar. He jumped out of his bed and checked out the pony in the doorway. True enough, his eldest brother was there raising and eyebrow as he saw him. "Ah Scar, Ironhead, good morning." Solstice greeted cheerfully. "Uh...yeah. Hey bro." Ironhead said as Scar approached the two of them. "Lemme guess, you teleported all the way here?" "Indeed I have." Solstice said rather proud of his feat. "Long-range teleportation is quite easy for me. Anyway, I see that you two are doing fine on your own. How is the job at the farm Ironhead?" "Pretty good actually; I was just gonna leave." Ironhead said shrugging. Solstice smiled and stretched a little. "Ah, it feels so good to be out. I can't remember the last time I went out like this." he said happily. "Uh, yeah." Scar said rubbing the back of his head. "Look Solstice, not that it's nice to see you, but what're you doing here?" "Ah yes; I suppose we shall have time to catch up afterwards." Solstice straightened himself up. "As for why I am here. I believe to have found the source of the light in Ponyville." Immediately, his two brothers were wide awake. "S...seriously?" "Why of course. I would never joke about something as serious as this." the unicorn answered. "Did you tell dad about this?" Ironhead asked. Solstice looked away for a moment, the memories of the previous night crossing his mind. "I told him, and, after a lengthy discussion, he said that my theory is wrong." "Then why're you here? I thought you'd be stuck home looking for another theory." Scar asked puzzled by his brother's actions. "Because despite father's words, I believe my theory is correct." Solstice insisted adjusting his glasses a bit. "I am a pony of action; I do not let mere words, not even father's, discredit what I believe is correct. If they are indeed wrong, then I would like to see it for myself through my own personal research. I will not let go of my theory unless I find definitive proof of its falsehood myself. I would greatly appreciate your support." Ironhead and Scar looked at each other before giving their opinion. They both knew just how passionate Solstice got when it came to research. They knew he really wouldn't rest until he had all the answers. If their dad had dismissed his theory, then it had to be wrong, but as his brothers, they had to trust him. "Alright. Whadd'ya need bro?" Ironhead asked turning to the teal green unicorn. "I'm glad you asked. Is there anypony here in Ponyville that I can consult with on the matter?" he asked. "Well...There's Twilight Sparkle. I heard she's the smartest pony in town. Plus, she lives in a tree/library; she's gotta know something." Scar told him. "Have you consulted earlier during you search?" Solstice asked wanting more info. "Yeah, but she said she didn't have anything in her library about light." Scar replied. "You can still ask her if you want." "Then ask her I shall." Solstice said. "You know my signal should I need any assistance yes?" "Yeah yeah; we know." Ironhead rolled his eyes. "You just stick to what you gotta do. I hope you get your answers." "As do I Ironhead. As do I." Solstice sighed and shook his head. "Very well. I shall be off." "Yeah. Ironhead here's got work to do, and I uh...I'm going out." Scar said earning furrowed eyebrows from his earth pony brother. This went unnoticed by Solstice who just smiled at his brothers. He nodded at his brothers before turning and leaving the apartment. The sun was just coming up signalling the start of another day, a day he would find the answers to his questions. Knowing that he had his brothers' support, he trudged on looking for a tree/library; it shouldn't be that difficult to find. Ready to get some answers, he smiled. It was time to meet Ms. Twilight Sparkle.