//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 - A Grand Library 
// Story: Still Mountains, Silent Valleys 
// by Torrenta 
//------------------------------//

Year 1000, Day 0
"Where is she? She is usually here on time!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle. She looked about frantically, even going so far to search the bushes near the bank of the pier. She then looked up at the dark, star-filled sky, and then back at the dark silhouette that was the town edge of Canterlot. "She is always here on time!"

Einar chuckled a little as he watched Twilight go a little wild from worry. As she searched the bushes for the umpteenth time, he looked at the sky. The lights from within the town somewhat washed out the pinpricks of light that filled the sky when he looked out his bedroom window every night, but out here, near the Canterlot river, he could see every detail. Vast constellations and breath-taking cosmoses stretched for untold eternities across the serene black canvas of the night sky.

After a moment of breathing in the crisp night air, Einar replied, "Be calm, Twilight. Though I could be wrong, last time I checked Trixie was actually ten minutes late every time we've met."

Twilight stiffened as she remembered that he was completely right. She glanced back at Einar sheepishly and grinned nervously at the navy blue-coated Unicorn (with the mark of the north star upon his flank) as she replied, "Oh, I forgot about that completely. That is true… I guess I just really am too excited about this!"

Twilight skipped in place, as her worries were momentarily overcome with the excitement of what was to come.

Einar blew back a strand of his aquamarine mane as he replied, "I agree with you! If Trixie delivers like usual, our research will be advanced considerably!"

Twilight nodded vigorously. "Oh yes! And imagine… Books! Ancient Books! It's been months since I have seen a single one from the Lost World! But I can't think of another thing for which it is worth waiting. I mean, we have learned so much from what we have managed to procure!"

Einar grimaced a little, his dark purplish-cyan eyes clouding a bit with annoyance. "With that I agree as well… Just not with that last couple we managed to get. I will personally say they were less than stellar."

Twilight could not help but stay excited at this point. "Probably. But I thought that recipe book was really interesting! Who would have thought they found a way to stuff crusts with anemones in a way that did not sound terribly disgusting?"

Einar rolled his eyes. "Last time I checked, recipes were in no way helping us find out more about the Castle of Embers."

Twilight nodded her head slightly, but a ghost of a smile still danced upon her lips, and her eyes were still bright. "True too! But as we said previously, if Trixie is able to find another jackpot, then perhaps we will be able to continue to learn about whatever happened to that massive castle in Canterlot and why no pony can enter it!"

Einar returned the nod. "One of the world's great mysteries. I just wished more ponies shared our interests in such things. I mean, why did Canterlot even have a castle in the first place? Where are the blast marks from? Why in the name of The Lady of Dying Light is there a giant glowing bubble of impenetrable material surrounding the Castle of Embers in the first place?"

Twilight thought about the tirade of questions for a moment. "If you think about it, we really are no closer to learning about the Castle of Embers than we were a couple years ago. We have learned quite a bit about the City of Coulin though!"

Einar sighed lightly. "Yes, but even that strange city, bane of Foal Mountain, is shrouded in the mists of ignorance. It seems to me that the more we uncover, the more we find is obscured by the shadows of time! No pony really knows anything about even Canterlot for Ember's sake! Or anything else for that matter! Were there other towns in this land alongside this one and Ponyville? Mysteries everywhere."

There was a rustling in the trees farther down the bank as a voice echoed out: "Mysteries that Trixie can help reveal… For a price, of course."

Twilight leap at least a meter in the air and whirled about. It was Trixie, trotting across the sand of the bank to the small pier that Einar and Twilight stood upon.

"Trixie! Gott kvöld! " exclaimed Twilight, "You're here!"

Trixie nodded as she cantered up to them and tossed a massive pile of bags down beside her. The wooden planks of the pier creaked with the weight of the bags' contents. "Exactly ten minutes late. As Trixie always says: 'if customers are not willing to wait upon Trixie, they are not worth serving'!"

Einar pulled a face. "I think you have the ideals of customer-hospitality all askew, Trixie."

Trixie simply grinned smugly at the Unicorn. "But Trixie is allowed leeway in even that. After all, what other certified scavenger is smart, clever, and brave enough to venture to the foothills of Foal Mountain to find you ancient books? You have how many of those from the Lost World now…? Fourty, isn't it? If Trixie is not mistaken, that is eighty to one hundred percent more than any other pony in Canterlot and Poyville, correct?"

"Yes, yes, we owe you a lot, Trixie," replied Einar, "But we are not here to allow you to guilt trip us into allowing you to inflate the prices. We are here to discuss…"

"Are those some Lost World books?! Can we have them?!" interjected Twilight excitedly, looking over Einar's shoulder, her eyes lingering upon what looked to be a heavily mottled leather casing for some kind of manuscript.

Trixie continued to smile winningly at Einar as she winked at the ecstatic Twilight. "Indeed they are, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie found an interesting one in what looked to be an abandoned town hidden away, having sunken almost completely into the marshes of the foothills. Trixie worked hard to recover these. It was a miracle that this one was even in good shape! Trixie figures it must have been at least a few hundred years younger than the other ones Trixie managed to find a score of months ago."

Einar looked at Trixie curiously and carefully used magic to pick up the book. He gently flipped through the pages, his horn illuminating the rotting and smeared pages with a soft blue light. Though the thing was most certainly suffering from severe water damage and ageing, it was actually shockingly in good shape. Einar's stomach did a somersault with excitement, and he almost began to tremble. He had not seen something so completely devoid of critical damage for years now.

As he handed the book for Twilight to inspect, he turned to Trixie and did his best to keep a poker face on. If Trixie caught on that this book was incredibly valuable, she would be bound to increase the price to obscene levels.

"It is indeed younger, by the markings," said Einar, "The edges are ruined, but for the most part it is in good shape."

"Trixie thought the very same thing," said Trixie, "And so she decided that it was most certainly worth… 1,500 Kolis. But since you are a frequent customer… Trixie will sell it to you at 1,000 Kolis."

Einar's stomach went from somersaulting in excitement to clenching painfully in worry. Even for Trixie, a thousand Kolis was an exorbitant price, at least a seventy percent increase in price since the last time.

"That much?" asked Einar warily, "As I previously stated, this book has suffered heavy water damage around the edges, and the ink is smeared terribly on some pages. Its quality is no more impressive than that of the books you sold us last year. I will go with 700 Kolis."

Trixie sighed dramatically. "Trixie almost died while searching through the marshes for this special book. There were Draugr there. Elding… Trolls… A set of terribly distressing creatures. Trixie has no life insurance… And thus… 950 Kolis. Remember… Draugr…"

Einar's eyes did not waver. He and Twilight had barely enough together to make such a price, and that would leave them broke for many months to come.

"As I said previously: basing off the quality of this book, what you are asking is too much. I will go with 800."

"Ahhh… Trixie will go with 850 Kolis. And if you try to drop it even a little… Well, I am sure Trixie will eventually find another bjáni that wants booksas badly… somewhere…"

"Very well," said Einar slowly, his eyes never leaving Trixie's for a moment, "850 Kolis it is."

Einar slowly turned to Twilight and whispered, "Well, we are pretty much officially broke."

Twilight looked up from the pages of the prospective book that she was intently studying. "Don't worry too much about it, Einar. If we continue to work hard, we can make up for it. And if it means anything to you, I believe investing in this book is a brilliant idea. Unlike the last book – that turned out to be nothing but a recipe book, as you recall – this book seems to be some sort of log… I think for the Lost City of Coulin!"

Einar turned back to Trixie, who was waiting expectantly with a greedy hoof outstretched. Einar proceeded to slowly count out 850 Kolis from his and Twilight's money pouches. He put the pile of gold, silver, and copper into a large bag and hefted it in Trixie's general direction.

"Takk fyrir, Trixie looks forward to doing business with you two wonderful young ponies again," said Trixie. She dropped the money pouch into one of her many voluminous saddlebags and hoisted the whole lot upon her shoulders. Slowly she began to trot off towards the skyline of Canterlot, humming a little tune.

"I think she mean something more along the lines of 'Trixie looks forward to draining every last Kolis from you two wonderful young ponies again.' And she's not even that much older than us!" muttered Einar, almost indignantly.

Twilight, however, did not seem overly put off from their massive loss in monetary resources. All that mattered to her at that moment was the book that she and Einar had just purchased… and the knowledge hidden within.

"I haven't managed to do much but skim it so far," said Twilight, entering into her Twilight-Study-Mode, "But I have picked out some valuable points. There has indeed been a mention of the Skyfall event."

Einar looked over her shoulder with interest as Twilight flipped to the first page that mentioned that seemingly important term.

"See here?" said Twilight, using her Unicorn horn to both levitate the book and illuminate its ancient pages, "It says: 'The structure of building B has been taken into consideration. As with accordance to the Coulin Council, we must ensure that all buildings are built to withstand an event rivaling the Skyfall, with equivalent exceptionally damaging seismic patterns'…"

Einar cocked his head to one side. "This is indeed that 'Skyfall' event that is talked about in pony lore… That must mean whatever this is, it was made before the First End of the World."

Twilight nodded. "That was what I was thinking! Come, let's take it back to my house. I am all up for pulling an all-nighter reading this. You're welcome to stay with me if you plan to do the same!"

Einar actually grinned for once. "A whole night devoted to reading a book? By The Lady of Dying Light, yes!"

Twilight winked, and then trotted off to Canterlot, with Einar following closely behind.




Year 1000, Day 3
Einar opened his eyes groggily and looked at his surroundings. His muzzle had been squished into the couch that he had been using for a makeshift bed for the last couple days, and his mane was in complete disarray. Rubbing his eyes to push away the sleepiness clouding his mind, Einar recalled the events of last few days.

Ever since he and Twilight had bought that book from scavenger Trixie, the two ponies had been sleeping less and less, spending ever second of their waking time studying and renovating their purchased book with meticulous attention. Einar glanced to his left. Twilight was fast asleep, still with a hoof gently holding one of the leaves of the book. Einar groaned as he eased himself off the couch and collapsed to the ground. Scrambling to all fours, Einar shuffled over to where Twilight had passed out on the hardwood floor.

"First End of the World… The Sleeping… Skyfall… Shattered Moon…" mumbled Twilight quietly, her dreams plagued with the ubiquitous mysteries of the Lost World.

"Hey, Twilight Sparkle, wake up," murmured Einar, shaking his friend lightly, "That book isn't going to read itself."

Twilight opened one eye and looked at Einar with a violet (and sleep deprived) pupil. "Hmmmm?"

Einar plopped himself down beside Twilight and gently rolled her limp body out of the way so that he could have better access to the book. "I will grab us something to eat in a moment. I just need to finish this last passage."

Twilight waved a hoof in the air in a dazed manner. "Oh… Okay… Give me a second. I just need to stop seeing hallucinations of a… comfy… cozy… bed…"

Even at the sound of the term "bed" Einar could not help but yawn loud and long. Twilight immediately followed suit.

"Though most of this part is smudged out, I think I can make out the cataloging of several buildings that did not follow the construction regulations set by the Coulin Council. It seems there was two or three of the older houses, several storerooms, the Grand Library, a guardhouse…" mumbled Einar, leaning close to the page, his bleary eyes struggling to stay open. He failed. His eyes shut slowly and his head flopped down beside the book. He would have almost immediately drifted off to sleep, but there was a loud knock at the door.

"The door's open!" said Twilight as loudly as she could in her lethargic state.

The door handle turned, caught, and was returned to its original position.

"Twily, the door isn't," came the voice of the pony attempting to gain entry. It was Twilight's brother, Shining Armor.

"It isn't?" mumbled Twilight, almost sounding bemused by the statement, "Oh well…"

Einar, now slightly more awake than he had been a moment ago, struggled to all fours again and trotted to the door. He turned the key (which was still in the keyhole) and pulled the door open. Shining Armor immediately trotted in and looked the two ponies inside over.

"Einar… Twily… Have either of you slept at all?" he asked, his voice disbelief incarnate.

"I think I slept a couple minutes yesterday," said Einar, his voice a little muddled, "Or was that the night before?"

"You two bookworms will end up killing yourselves by doing this," said Shining Armor, his tone of voice exasperated, "Is this stupid Lost World book so important that neither of you can sleep for fear that it will turn into an Elding and vanish into the cracks?"

"That's absurd," groaned Twilight, "There has never been a shard of evidence ever stating that inanimate objects can suddenly transform into monstrous creatures. You're talking nonsense…"

Shining Armor trotted up to Twilight and slowly rolled her limp body onto his back. "Come on, I'm putting you to bed. Einar, you will be joining her."

"But the book… What if it disintegrates?" mumbled Einar, obviously not thinking clearly.

Shining Armor looked at the book for a moment. "Is it made of sand?"

"… Nei…?"

"Then it isn't going anywhere. Come on. Follow me."

His mind in a haze, Einar was barely aware of Shining Armor plopping Twilight down into her bed, and then shoving him muzzle-first into the covers beside her. Though he did not want to fall asleep again and lose precious studying time, the bed and its pleasurably soft covers proved to be overpowering. Einar curled up and began to fall asleep.

"Einar?" murmured Twilight, still on the precipice of sleep, "Did you manage to read anything?"

"Nothing of importance," replied Einar, his vision darkening, "Just several buildings that were going to be put up for renovations."

"Like…?"

"Oh, I think two or three of the older houses, several storerooms, the Grand Library…"

Suddenly Einar was very, very, very awake. A Grand Library. The term "library" meant a place full of books (something rather unheard-of in this current age), and since it was in Coulin that meant it would be brimming with ancient books, revealing secrets of the past…

"There's a library out there!" exclaimed Twilight, who suddenly shot out of the bed, her eyes bright again.

Einar quickly leapt out of bed. "There is!" he cried, "And if there is a library…"

"Then that means Trixie can find it and search it for books!" finished Twilight.

Einar and Twilight fairly much stumbled over each other to reach the door exiting Twilight's bedroom. However, as Einar and Twilight grasped the doorknob simultaneously, the door swung inward, causing the two Unicorns to tumble backwards and land in a heap upon the floor. Shining Armor – the pony that had pushed the door inward – poked his head into the bedroom and grimaced.

"You two are awake again?!"

"Big brother!" exclaimed Twilight, untangling herself from a dazed Einar and rushing to her brother's side, "We just realized that the ruins of Coulin have a library hidden within!"

Shining Armor's eyes did not even waver. He was unimpressed. "Coulin. That city is by Foal Mountian, in the middle of the Lost World. It's full of Draugr and the Sleeping. There is no way you can just waltz over there to investigate a library that may or may not even be there. And what's more, aren't Lost World libraries just myths?"

"Don't be ridiculous," exclaimed Einar, getting up from the ground, "Why would something ludicrously impossible and amazing be naught but a mythos?"

Shining Armor stared at Einar. "The phrase that just exited your mouth could pretty much be considered the prime example for the term 'oxymoron'."

"Even if we can't get to Coulin, we know somepony that can!" continued Twilight happily, "Trixie! She is a certified scavenger…"

Twilight's voice trailed off as she realized she said something she shouldn't have. Shining Armor was not supposed to know about Trixie, and the ludicrous deals the two ponies had made with her to get ancient books.

Shining Armor stared at Twilight, his eyes growing exponentially in seriousness. "Trixie the Scavenger?" he reprimanded, "How many times have I told you to stay away from her?"




Translations.
Gott Kvöld. (Good evening.)

Bjáni. (Fool.)

Takk fyrir. (Thank you very much.)

Nei? (No?)