Little Dragon In A Strange New World II: Hero's Plight

by Zeryurijin

Break In

Disorder greeted Princess Celestia and Princess Luna when they returned to Canterlot. Upon entering the main gates they were quickly surrounded by the Royal Guards who took up a defensive formation. The two sisters watched as the soldiers then shooed away all the journalists and photographers before they could ask any questions concerning the funeral of Queen Demuria. Both sisters were shocked as they were being hastily nudged inside the castle walls the last sight being seen was of all the pony journalists staring through the barred front gates.

It was inside that the captain of the guard revealed to them the news: An assailant had broken into Canterlot Castle, killed four guards while severely injuring a fifth, then ransacked Star Swirl the Bearded's tower. Both alicorns looked to one another with a sinking feeling. Wasting no time Celestia and Luna made for the tower over looking the courtyard. When they arrived they found the hallway taped off, while an investigator pony was going over the scene pausing on occasion to rummage in his satchel withdrawing one item in exchange for another.

"Ahh, pardon me your majesty." He spoke upon the presence of the two sisters,"Detective Eagle Eye at your service. I was abruptly pulled away from another case by your fellow guards and under strict orders to keep this hush hush."

He gestured with a hoof,"If they have not filled you in already here is the short version. Four guards of the five slain. Two found with their throats torn open the poor bastards. The other two their necks snapped like celery stalks. The fifth was found across the entrance into the chamber, barely breathing. He was taken to the triage room in the barracks. Doctor said he will recover, but the sad news is he is paralyzed. I'm afraid his military career has come to an abrupt end."

Princess Celestia surveyed the scene. Two dried blood stains marred the carpet while the outline of the pony soldiers were marked in chalk. The other two were closer both next to each other while on opposite ends of the carpet. The assailant snuck up on one breaking his neck. Given the cracks expanding from the wall, the other soldier was struck hard enough upon impact thus his life was snuffed out here.

"Am I to guess that the two whose throats were slashed the markings looked to be done perhaps by a beast?" Luna asked.

"Come to think if it, yes. Yet combing this area has revealed no stray hairs indicating any canine or feline accomplice." The pony replied.

Luna tapped her chin while Celestia spoke,"Guards leave us. You detective remain here." The look of hesitation on her soldiers faces gave the alicorn some pause,"I assure you it will not be for long. Please tend to the crowd at the front gate until I summon you."

The guards left slowly but surely leaving Luna and the investigator pony alone. One clear, Celestia cleared her throat and eyed Eagle Eye,"How... fortuitous that my guard ponies were so quick to bring one such as yourself on such notice."

Eagle Eye beamed and brushed his coat,"Well I was surprised as well, your highness. It is a rare honor to be called upon by the Princess's elite to help solve a dastardly crime."

Princess Celestia drew closer and leaned in, until her nose was touching the stallion,"Especially while there is local law enforcement agencies within all of Canterlot. My pony soldiers act as both the policing and investigative teams inside the castle... Discord."

Eagle Eye continued to stand there his smile never faltering. Princess Luna tilted her head slightly, arching a brow as her sister called the pony Discord. That smile grew into a rather large grin, complete with a lopsided fang protruding over the lower lip as his eyes changed to yellow and red.

"Clever, Celestia, very clever. I would have expected nothing less from your keen eyes." The pony spoke in a different voice.

With a snap of his hoof and a loud pop! the draconequus emerged from the smoke. He leaned against the wall adjacent from the entrance to Star Swirl's tower admiring his talons,"I will say this though. There was hatred and anger in this attack." He motioned to the outlines,"I know how hard your sentry ponies work to keep you and your citizens safe Celestia. But even if it is dangerous they didn't deserve to go out like this."

"Do I detect sympathy from the Spirit of Chaos?" Luna asked.

Discord huffed and stuck out his serpentine tongue in a tart raspberried reply before speaking,"I like chaos and disharmony, but this crosses the line between fun and fear."

"So what have YOU discovered Discord? You certainly don't waste time on a mundane task such as this. Not when there are more entertaining prospects out there."

The draconequus rolled his shoulders,"Dragon. Claw markings across the throats indicate from behind. Both guards choked while their fellow companions rushed to aide. Said dragon snapped one's neck then tail lashed the other against the wall. Angle of which the head and neck impacted resulted in a similar of not equally unpleasant demise."

Princess Luna nodded,"And our only survivor?"

"He was tortured, threatened. When he opened the gate to Star Swirl's tower, the dragon broke him... like a Kit Kat Bar."

Discord emphasized by having the chocolate wafer treat appear out of thin air. He snapped two of the four bars off and offered one to Luna. She made a face and shook her head while he munched on the other half.

"Ransacked and tore the archives of Star Swirl. Him, her or they may have found what they were seeking. As to what, well dear Celestia I believe that is where you come in. Unless you kept inventory of all the magician's works, you're going to be in for a long night."

Princess Celestia approached the entrance. The gate was shut and hardly scratched. She frowned. Why go through all the trouble of messing up the tower then close the gate as though one were leaving home? She reached out with a hoof to lightly touch the iron bars and was rewarded when a dark hiss and crackle erupted from the metal. She pulled back just in time to see her gilded shoe fizzle and melt into a puddle of hot gold upon the carpet. She turn and glared at Discord who held up his hands in a submissive gesture.

"I assure you that is not my doing. Believe me, I tried a number of times myself trying to enter. Burnt draconequus hair and scales will clear out a building ten seconds flat, guaranteed."

"They're stalling us sister. It will take time to break this barrier, then clean up the tower. This is allowing our hidden assailant to remain one step ahead of us."

Celestia nodded,"True. But what they don't know is there is some pony here who has a very keen sense of memory of every thing every placed in Star Swirl's tower. Lucky for us, she will leap at the chance to help. The only problem is the barrier right now. We're going to need to break into the tower then call for our back up."

Princess Luna strode forward,"Then let us make haste sister."

Celestia nodded. Both sisters approached the gate, each tapping their right hoof on the carpet. Magical runes encircled each alicorn, joining at the center. Both horns slowly glowed and grew brighter as each sister concentrated their aura at the hidden barrier infused with the gate. Celestia aimed her horn to the left, Luna to the right. Bright beams erupted from the tips of their horns and seared into the wall encasing the gate. They traced around the edges until the magics met at the center, then both horns fizzled out. The magic circle remained as Luna lashed out with her aura once more. A dark whip wrapped around one of the grilles sizzling as the dark magic reacted violently with the alicorn's own. She jerked and pulled her head back, yanking the gate free from the wall it was built in causing it to land on the circle with a loud clang as both sisters moved to the side.

The magic snarled and hissed as the barrier rose from the magic circle encasing the cursed gate and protecting others from its threat.

"Dear sister, find a way to dispel the incantation. In the meantime I will send word to Twilight Sparkle." Princess Celestia asked as she sheared off a small piece of the gate.

Luna nodded levitating the encased gate before trotting off to prepare an enchantment removal. Princess Celestia scribbled a quick letter on paper then sent it off to its destination. Discord remained leaning against the side idly picking his teeth.

"If I asked a favor, would you comply?" Celestia asked the draconequus.

"Maaaaybe. It depends on the favor and if I have room in my schedule. I am a busy body after all." Discord snapped his fingers, a book with quill appearing in his talon. He flipped open and skimmed the pages mumbling to himself as Princess Celestia moved closer.

"Please this is no time for games. We're dealing with a serious problem here."

Discord wet the quill with his tongue before painting a rather absurd smile on Celestia's muzzle,"Why so serious, dear Princess?"

"I can not explain. Not yet. Things are brewing in Draconis. Things that have started to reveal themselves here in Equestria. The longer we stall, the further the progress of our hidden adversary will become."

Discord tugged his chin tuft for a moment before shrugging,"Very well. Though I expect a full explanation for this favor you're giving me."

The alicorn motioned a piece of the gate she removed before Luna departed,"Take this to Kel in Draconis. He will know what magic has been integrated within the metal. It will give us an understanding of what we're up against."

A snap of the fingers and the fragment was transported to a small pouch,"Say no more. I'll be back in two shakes of a martini." Discord vanished with a solid poof.

A few seconds after his disappearance, a purple aura appeared at the center of the hallway. With a snap! and a pop! Twilight stood there satchels on hoof as her horn fizzled from the teleport spell she had cast mere seconds ago.

"I got here as fast as I could Princess. I wish I arrived sooner, but there was supplies to grab and-" Twilight never finished the sentence as her eyes fell on the scene before her: The archives of Star Swirl the Bearded was in tatters, for a lack of a better word a disaster. The unicorn shrieked in shock and disbelief at the mess. Princess Celestia said nothing as she watched her student dash into the room, her eyes darting left and right. When she finished the quick survey her eyes settled on the princess.

"Wha? H.. how? W.. ho? When?" She stuttered.

Princess Celestia entered the chamber and stood by her,"Sometime last night during our travel from Draconis. Twilight things have been set in motion and we must know what it is our adversary seeks. They tore through Star Swirl's works, looking for something that may aide them in their agenda. Since you have been the only one in here recently, you're the only one who can re-organize and catalog every bit of his works. Then we will know what is missing."

The lavender pony looked around rubbing her chin with a hoof,"I will need Spike. He can help shelve and stock any parchment, paper and book as well as I can. Both of us working together should get the task done in half the time."

"I expect nothing less from you my hard working student."

Twilight blushed then concentrated. Her horn started to fizzle and ignite at the tip. A small rune circle appeared in front of the two as Celestia watched the unicorn work the spell. With a fizz and a whoosh! Spike appeared, stunned with a few gems in his claws in midair. As the spell dissipated, the dragon yelped and landed on his rump with a thump!

Blinking the daze from his eyes, the dragon rose and dusted off his legs,"I know you needed me to help you Twilight, but can't a dragon get a lunch break at least?"

"Eat as you go, Spike. We got work to do." Twilight gestured to the room they were in.

Spike looked around whistling softly as he surveyed the damage,"Wow. Some pony did a number on this place."

"Indeed Spike. If my hunch proves true, then what we discussed back in Draconis may already be under way." Celestia responded,"Twilight, with your help of course, will re-organize and catalog all of Star Swirl's work. Once that is accomplished, we will know what was taken."

Twilight gave a quick salute with a foreleg then turned and entered the room with Spike following closely behind. Both gazed at the mess before them. Some of the book shelving had been ripped from the casing and tossed aside, scrolls were torn or crumpled like wasted paper as the intruder sought high and low. Spike could feel Twilight twitching, knowing full well the compulsion to keep any library or historical archive in pristine condition surged in her veins. Without a word the two split up and took each nook on either side. Princess Celestia watched the two set to clean up before leaving herself to aide Luna on dispelling the curse on the gate.

The day dragged on. When the sun began to set signaling the approaching of night fall, both dragon and unicorn were half way finished with their own corner. Spike had spent much of his time scraping up strewn papers and parchments, jotting down what book or pile they belonged to before Twilight would whisk them away to join the rest of the cataloged inventory. The unicorn herself was hard at work with a long scroll listing everything and anything that Star Swirl may have discovered, created or kept notes on. Ranging from experimental magic spells to a few diaries pertaining to his every day life the mare kept a close eye on what went where.

A guard stopped by with a trolley that he picked up from the kitchen with the orders to leave by the entrance. Spike and Twilight paused to eat, drink and take a quick bathroom break before resuming. When a maid passed by to retrieve the trolley she peeked inside. Spike was rubbing his eyes as sleep began to take hold. Twilight on the other hoof, was scribbling away on her list as another book joined its fellow brethren on the fourth shelf. The maid quietly took the cart and left the two to their work. Outside the castle clock tower chimed the hour of midnight.

Twilight groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. For a small alcove that housed Star Swirl's work, she never thought he would have kept so much over his life time. There were books and notes that she never heard of during her history lessons on his life here. Course given the tight security on the tower, it was reasonable why Celestia opted to keep some details of what Star Swirl discovered from the public.

A soft snore drew her attention away from her section to see Spike slumped against the wall of his nook. The unicorn wanted to wake him, but thought better. Between school, her lessons on his powers plus his usual chores back home it had been a very long day for him. She let him sleep while she continued on working late into the night.

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Dawn peered on the horizon. The sun began to rise to greet the sky, the sleeping inhabitants of Equestria stirring to began a new day. In Canterlot at Star Swirl the Bearded's tower, Princess Celestia stepped in to see the progress of Twilight and Spike. The alicorn let a warmth of satisfaction warm her chest as she saw the tidiness of the alcove. Both dragon and pony had worked hard day and night to finish. Twilight looked exhausted yet continued writing down what looked to be the last item on her list. The scroll rose and joined the rest of the pile on the lower bottom of her shelf before the unicorn turned and smiled wearily to her mentor.

"Job well done." She said drowsily.

Princess Celestia accepted the unicorn's list as she unraveled and skimmed through. Gazing at the papers tacked on the side of each shelf, the alicorn read over what Twilight had tagged and marked before putting away. Walking up and down each aisle, Celestia read the title and numeral to each name. So far everything was back in place. When she came to Spike's corner, the dragon handed his list over upon waking up. As she skimmed down the lines of titles Twilight joined her.

"Um Princess may I ask you a question?"

Celestia paused and glanced over from the scroll,"Yes Twilight. What is it you wish to ask?"

"Well it concerns what is stored here. I know Star Swirl the Bearded's works are very important to our magic history, but why would any pony want to steal his cookbook?"

The alicorn blinked a few times, puzzled by the lavender unicorn's question.

"Cookbook?"

Twilight nodded,"I noticed the last time I was here, there was a cook book stored away among his belongings. I'm not sure as to why you would keep his favorite recipes here unless they were too bold for the public to partake in."

Princess Celestia groaned at these words. Twilight found her eyes widening as her mentor then proceeded to bang her head against the end of the book case causing the contents on the shelves to tremor and shake with each hit.

"How could I be so blind as to not see it in the first place?" She grumbled to herself.

"I don't follow."

A clearing of the throat turned every pony (and dragon's) attention to Luna who just entered.

"Something troubles you sister?" The dark alicorn asked.

"The intruder made off with Star Swirl's cookbook."

It was Luna's turn to look puzzled,"I don't see the threat there. If the enemy is planning on slaying us with their horrid cooking, then I must say it's not the brightest thing they have done."

"Twilight, Spike, Luna please follow."

The trio looked to each other then followed Celestia as the four exited the arch hives. They traversed down the hallway leading into the main castle itself. No pony spoke, save for Twilight's occasional yawn or Spike casual eye rubbing. When they approached Princess Celestia's bedchambers, Luna was beginning to wonder why her room of all places.

Once inside, Princess Celestia locked her doors and turned to gaze upon sister, student and dragon.

"What I say here is for your ears alone. Twilight when you mentioned Star Swirl the Bearded's cookbook the realization struck me. For it was not really a cookbook containing his favorite recipes at all. Rather it was a secret journal he composed of years ago. It details his journeys across the world, covering from the borders of Equestria to the deep caverns of Draconis. From the highest mountains of Gryf to the deepest deserts of Saddle Arabia."

The trio remained silent until Luna gestured,"Go on sister."

"The journal covered each nation's darkest secrets. So dark that history had been altered to keep their presence unknown. Star Swirl encountered... ancient artifacts as old as each founding nation. Some even older. Fearing the worst he sealed away these artifacts with the aide of each powerful mage at the time where they would never again see daylight. However to be sure none of these items were to be disturbed, he made a map with their location marked. That map was tucked away with the journal. I fear I may know what our enemy is plotting."

"How bad are we talking Princess?" Twilight asked.

Celestia glanced out her windows as the sun light started to fade as storm clouds gathered for a rainy day.

"One that could very well spell the end for our world."

Silence fell inside the room. Luna traded glances with Twilight then Spike then to her sister as each let this information sink in.

Spike was the first to speak and oddly shared what Twilight had on her mind that very moment.

"Wait. You're telling us that Star Swirl uncovered dangerous relics in each nation that had such potential to spell the end of our world. That he, the most powerful unicorn of his time managed to not only seal away with the aide of those on his level of expertise but kept a map of each location. To then hide his findings and map in under the guise of a cookbook and kept under lock and key here in Canterlot?"

Celestia gave a nod,"Yes that sums up what I just said."

"Forgive me for what I am about to say Princess, but that has got to be the dumbest thing you could ever do!"

Twilight gasped and blurted,"Spike!" while Luna arched a brow at the dragon.

"Do not chide him Twilight, Spike has the right to speak how he feels. He is right. I should have buried Star Swirl's journal in the deepest crevice on the world where it would never see the light of day. When you live as long as I have, sometime its the little things you may forget that often have the heaviest burden to carry. In all my years I never would have imagined some pony or one uncovering the truth behind the cookbook."

Twilight could see a smile on Celestia's muzzle, yet it was not of one of joy or happiness but of sadness or regret.

"Star Swirl would give me a good tongue lashing were he still around if he ever heard about this. That old stallion was as strict and cautious as any pony."

The alicorn shook her head,"Mistakes can be mended. What matters now is finding our foe and the book before long. Spike, Twilight. Thank you for your hard work. You both return to Ponyville while me and Luna converse with Kel. What is spoken here can not be whispered outside and must remain behind these walls. Understood?"

Dragon and unicorn nodded. With a glow of the princess's horn, her doors opened allowing Spike and Twilight to make their departure.

Once out of sight, Luna turned to her sister,"Are these relics really that dangerous?" Celestia nodded,"They make your... dark incarnation look like a mere temper tantrum dear sister."

A slight shudder ran down the dark alicorn's spine, her wings trembling as she followed her sibling out.

"All the more reason then sister mine to halt our foe's progress by any means necessary."

Author's Note:

Yay for full time job.
Boo for lack of time being able to update due to said work.
Yay for new reading material.
Boo for possibly another long stretch before a new chapter appears.

Comments

[Arcane Howitzer]

"I know the locations of a vast array of dark and terrible artifacts which should never see the light of day lest the world weep in blood and choke on its own ashes, so instead of taking this secret to my grave, I'm going to make a guide detailing where each of these foul relics can be found and how to retrieve them, and disguise it as a cookbook."
-Star Swirl the Beard-Brained

Spike is right, that is a whole new level of stupid right there.

Also, it's "archive," not "arch hive." I noticed that particular error at least twice.

[flyingtigers40]

please update this story soon i want to read more