That was it, there were no more. Every book in Equestria on old legends, items of historic significance, and dragons. The castle library was literally covered in stacks of books, and not one of them held the answer.
Closing the back cover of a book she had re-read, Twilight leaned back in her seat, rubbing the sides of her head with her hooves. It had only been a day since their return to Griffonstone, but Twilight had gone back through most other books that had to do with griffons as well, seeing if there was any kind of correlation. Twilight sighed in exhaustion, the weight of her failure pressing down upon her.
Starfall stood not too far away, having gotten worried about her non-stop researching. He looked at her with concerned eyes, but said nothing. He could tell that this whole ordeal was only making her feel worse.
“Could I have a moment alone, Starfall?” she asked without looking to him.
“Of course.” Starfall replied, flying over to the door and opening it. “I’m going to take a flight over Ponyville, I won’t be long.”
The sound of the door closing echoed in the massive chamber. Twilight sat there, silent and still as she mustered together all of her intellectual strength. There had to be something she was missing, there just had to be.
Lowering her hooves back down to her sides, the princess’ gaze passed over a few books stacked on the table. She did a double-take when something caught her eye. Using her magic, she lifted up two of the stacks to see one book she had not re-read yet: “Ancient Artifacts of Equestria” by Clover the Clever.
Twilight remembered having gone through it before, when Starfall had brought it along with the others from the Crystal Empire. Opening to the first page, she began to read.
The afternoon flurry had just stopped, a fresh coat of snow covering the ground. Starfall flew overhead, watching the citizens of Ponyville down below as they went about their lives. Seeing so many couples and young fillies, Starfall got to thinking.
Would he ever settle down with somepony? Would he ever start a family? Scary thoughts for a single pegasus during his career, but hopeful at the same time. Being a royal guard was demanding enough, but having the responsibility of being a parent, now that would put him in a whole other league entirely. It’s not that he didn’t want a family, he just didn’t feel up to it, it was too early.
Pushing the future-plans aside, Starfall resumed his worry about Twilight. She put far too much pressure on herself to solve this mystery, and it burdened him to watch her be so down on herself.
Having little time to react, Starfall was bumped into on his side by a certain gray pegasus.
“Hiya Starfall!” Derpy said happily.
Starfall shook his head, looking over at her with a smile. “Hey Derpy, good to see you.”
“Going for a flight? Mind if I come?” she asked.
“Not at all.” He answered, looking forward again. “I could use some good company.”
The two pegasi flew at a calm, steady pace, enjoying the winter scenery around them. The sound of fillies and colts laughing down below gave the air about them more cheer. A sweet-smelling aroma funneled out from Sugarcube Corner and a few restaurants, treating their customers with warm, baked goods.
Derpy peered over at Starfall, seeing his somewhat-depressed expression.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
Starfall was quick to try and hide his expression, but she had obviously already seen it. “I’m worried about Twilight,” he admitted. “I think she feels as though it’s her responsibility to have all the answers and fix every problem that comes her way, without fail.”
Derpy looked a little sad at first, but then a thought brightened her up again. “But she has a bunch of friends! Nopony can fail when they have friends by their side!”
“I just wish I knew what I could do to help her,” Starfall continued. “Watching her struggle like this makes me feel useless….” The comment delivered a blow to his own pride. “And I hate feeling useless….”
Looking to her friend, Derpy smiled and flew up onto Starfall’s back. “The first time we met, you saved me from those bullies. Now it’s your turn to save Twilight from her worries.”
Starfall glanced up at her, who looked down at him from over his head. “How do I do that?”
“Just be Starfall Blitz.” Derpy replied, tilting her head. “Nopony could ask for much better than that.”
Looking forward again, Starfall contemplated what she said. Derpy continued to ride on his back, waving at other ponies down below and in the sky around them. Rainbow spotted the two of them and caught up from behind.
“What are you doing Derpy?” she chuckled, finding it funny that Starfall was oblivious to the pegasus on top of him.
Lifting her hooves up, Derpy said, “Starfall’s giving me a ride!”
Rainbow proceeded to laugh a bit, earning a somewhat embarrassed grin from Starfall. Flying up over top of them, Rainbow landed on him too. Starfall grunted as he dropped a few meters in altitude. Carrying one other pony on his back was easy enough, two was when he had to focus a bit more on flying.
“Mind if I tag along?” Rainbow laughed.
“Ha ha, very funny.” Starfall scoffed, continuing to fly with the two mares resting on his back.
The three shared a quick round of laughter. Rainbow then got an implication based on the fact that he was flying around.
“Twilight still in the library?” Starfall’s lack of a response told her what she needed to know. “She is gonna read herself to exhaustion at this rate.”
Derpy looked down at Starfall, curious. “How many books has she read anyway?”
“Hundreds.” Starfall replied, still ill at ease when thinking about it.
Rainbow scoffed. “More like thousands.”
“Wow….” Derpy said, in awe. “How does she do that?”
“She’s an egg-head,” Rainbow responded with a chuckle. “Reading is one of the things she does best.”
The three continued along in the sky, enjoying the winter day.
“Are you two seriously just going to stay up there?” Starfall asked.
“Yep!” both Rainbow and Derpy replied in unison.
Spike rested on his bed, both claws tucked behind his head. Turning his head a bit, he looked over at the clock, and then back at the ceiling. He knew it was pointless to wait for a letter, it could be days, weeks even, until it would arrive…..if it would arrive.
He had gone over it a thousand times in his head, imagining what all he could have done if he were there when Ember was attacked. Each time, however, it ended up less realistic and more like a comic book, with him pounding the other dragon to a pulp. Which he knew just plain couldn’t happen.
Thoughts of the black dragon led to Spike trying to imagine why he was doing all of this. Taking the scepter from Ember, stealing the Idol of Boreas from Griffonstone? What would a dragon want with a griffon idol anyway? Then the matter of the Bloodstone Scepter; if he wanted to be the Dragon Lord, he would have used the scepter to assert his control over the other dragons, not disappear without a trace. None of it made sense, why would he do all of this?
A knock at his door snapped Spike out of his thought-trance, making him sit up.
“Spike? It’s Starlight.” she asked.
“Come on in.” Spike replied.
Starlight opened the door and entered the room. “I came to check up on you, Twilight and I are becoming more worried every day.”
Spike slouched back down onto his bed, sighing. “That’s nice of you, but I’m the one that’s worried. It’s been almost a week and Ember is…..” Spike trailed off, not wanting to say the rest.
A look of excitement grew on the unicorn’s face as she used her magic to lift a letter out from behind her. “Speaking of Ember….” Starlight trailed off.
The moment Spike caught a glimpse of the letter, he went from glum to ecstatic in no time flat. Falling off of his bed with a general lack of finesse, the little dragon zipped over to her in a flash.
“Is that from her!?” he half-shouted.
Lowering it to him, Spike ripped off the seal and pulled out the note, reading it over:
Dear Spike,
Hey, guess it’s been a while since my last letter, huh? I’m going to be fine, so you can stop worrying about me like a lunatic, which I know is exactly what you are doing. Scorch and Garble told me everything, about how you came here and looked after me for a little bit. Total pony-thing of you to do little guy, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’m still pretty banged up, so I can’t come visit quite yet, but you better believe it’s first on my list for when I can. Tell Twilight I am awake and alright, and again, thanks. You are one great dragon, and an even greater friend.
Ember
Lowering the note, Spike felt happier than he had been in a long time. The stress built up from worrying about her finally began to crumble and fall, making way for his drive again. Looking up at Starlight, he smiled wide.
“Thank you Starlight.” He said best he could without getting choked up.
Starlight smiled and gestured to the door with her head. “Now let’s go help Twilight.”
“Yes ma’am!” Spike said proudly, charging into the hall and towards the stairs.
Still alone, Twilight continued to read Clover the Clever’s book. She had bookmarked the brief entry on the Bloodstone Scepter and the more detailed one about the Idol of Boreas. Flipping through a few more pages, she came across an illustration of the Alicorn Amulet.
This wasn’t getting anywhere; Twilight had read this, but it told her nothing she didn’t already know. Twilight even knew that this was an altered version of Clover the Clever’s book, not the original. Clover’s students continued her work in the centuries to come for a reference to artifacts that was unparalleled. Determined to find the answer, she read it over again:
Alicorn Amulet
This ancient pony artifact is considered one of the most mysterious of all pony culture. Of unknown origins, Princess Celestia founded the amulet directly after the disappearance of the Crystal Empire to the Frozen North. This artifact empowers unicorn magic to the highest level ever practiced, although its effects on alicorn magic are unknown. In addition to the power it grants, this amulet corrupts the wearer into a state of total malevolence, altering even the kindest of hearts into vile tyrants. The amulet also bears a magic lock, ensuring that only the wearer can remove it.
Due to the nature and power of this artifact, Princess Celestia had it hidden away in a remote, unknown location. Unfortunately, the amulet was reported stolen after an annual expedition to its location arrived to find it gone. It was confirmed that the amulet was taken by treasure hunters and sold. Investigators interrogated several captured ponies that claimed to have taken part in the amulet’s disappearance, but the buyer was never found.
The Alicorn Amulet’s location remains unknown, and is still considered, to this day, to be one of the most powerful artifacts in pony culture.
Twilight sat the book down on the table and raised her hoof to her chin, thinking. She had thought before how Celestia reacted upon seeing the amulet, but she had paid it no mind. Perhaps if she were to ask, the princess would share how she discovered it.
It was upon re-reading the final sentence of the entry that something came to her. Picking the book up again, she read it over, swearing that she had seen something similar written on another page.
Opening to the bookmark of the Bloodstone Scepter, she read the line:
The Bloodstone Scepter remains in the Dragon Lands in possession of the current Dragon Lord. Although unstudied, it remains the most powerful artifact of dragon culture to date.
Without hesitation, Twilight flipped to the page bookmarked for the Idol of Boreas:
The loss of the Idol of Boreas into the Abysmal Abyss marked the end of the griffon kingdom’s great reign. Its impact on their kingdom makes it the most powerful, known artifact of griffon culture.
Each of these artifacts that the dragon had targeted did have a correlation; they were all the foremost influential artifacts in their respected culture. This wouldn’t seem too alarming to the average historian, but Twilight knew something they didn’t, something Celestia had told her and her friends:
“Long ago,” Celestia began. “Before me or my sister Luna were even born, Equestria went by a different name…..Alarei.” Using her magic, Celestia was able to make the map focus on the bright mountain at the center and the patch of land around it. “Almost nothing is known about this land besides the fact that ponies, griffons, dragons, changelings, and nymphs all lived together around this mountain.”
Ponies, griffons, and dragons. After freeing Shadow from the Tree of Harmony, that dragon began targeting the most powerful artifacts of three of the five original races.
It was relatively loose intelligence to base this theory off of, but Twilight believed she knew what the dragon was going to do next, if he hadn’t already.
Starlight and Spike entered the library just as Twilight rose from her seat.
“Starlight!” Twilight said quickly. “Bring everypony here immediately! Hurry!”
Knowing her mentor had discovered something of importance, Starlight galloped out from the library without another word. Spike watched as Twilight came running over to him.
“Spike, ready a letter.” She said, looking determined.
Quick to pull out a quill and parchment, Spike stood at the ready.
Dear Thorax,
I apologize for the rush, but this is extremely important. I need to know the whereabouts of the changeling’s most powerful and/or influential artifact. It is my understanding that someone intends on stealing it for an unknown purpose. If you have it with you, be careful; all other targets of this thief have been left in critical condition. I await your quick response, be safe Thorax.
Princess Twilight
Everypony gathered in the throne room. Each of the thrones were filled, with Starlight and Starfall standing beside Twilight.
“So this guy is going after all the most powerful artifacts in the world?” Rainbow asked Twilight. “How does that make sense?”
“Why would a dragon even want them?” Spike asked, confused. “He didn’t use the Bloodstone Scepter to become Dragon Lord, and he isn’t a pony, so he can’t even use the Alicorn Amulet.”
“I don’t exactly know why he wants them,” Twilight confessed, contemplating whether or not to tell them her entire theory yet. “But as of now it doesn’t matter why. I have sent a letter to Thorax asking about the changeling artifact, but it may take a few hours for one of his messengers to bring back a response.”
Twilight looked down at the table and the Cutie Map appeared, showing the expanse of Equestria with the edges of the continents neighboring it.
“What concerns me more is the location of the final artifact, which had to have belonged to the nymphs.” Twilight explained, leaning over the map.
“But the nymphs have been extinct for over a thousand years,” Starfall added in. “How do we go about finding the most important piece of their culture?”
Starlight looked down at the map. “Very little is known about their culture at all. Our entire historia on them is based around what they looked and acted like. Nopony even knows where they lived.”
Applejack stood up from her seat, saying, “What we need is an expert, not some book. If ah know anythin’ about history, it’s that somepony always has the answers.”
Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders. Rainbow had gone silent a few moments before, as if recollecting something she knew. Sitting upright all of a sudden, she remembered.
“I got it!” Rainbow exclaimed, catching everypony’s attention. “Twilight! Remember in Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Tower when Daring found the Mask of Tears?”
Twilight was quick to answer. “The mask she used to trick her way past Caballeron’s henchponies? Yes, why?”
“In an exclusive interview after she finished her last book, A.K. Yearling revealed that the Mask of Tears was actually known to the natives as the Mask of the Nymphs.” Rainbow said with perfect precision, as if rehearsed almost.
Eyes going wide, Twilight stood up from her seat. “Can you find a way to get in contact with her?”
Rainbow saluted her. “On it!” Like lightning, the pegasus zoomed out from the chamber, leaving many of the ponies confused.
“Can somepony please tell us how any of that made sense?” Rarity asked, looking around.
Twilight got up from her throne, walking over to the north-western side of the Cutie Map.
“According to A.K. Yearling, the Mask of Tears was founded in the Tenochtitlan Basin, where it had lied since the ancient kingdom placed it there.” Twilight explained, pointing at the basin on the map.
Starlight was the first to ask, “Aaaand that’s important to us….how?”
Twilight looked up at her. “If she is correct, that would place the mask in Tenochtitlan over one thousand years ago; almost exactly when the nymphs were last known to still exist. She may know more about the nymphs than any pony else, maybe even where they lived.”
“That is certainly a start.” Starfall admitted, nodding his head.
Using her magic to grab a few specific books, Twilight began catching herself up on the history of the basin as well as she could.
As everypony else talked over what the plan was after gaining contact with A.K., Fluttershy wandered off into the halls, finding her way to the stairs. She hadn’t seen Shadow all day, maybe he was in his room.
Not long after the sun began to set, a changeling messenger arrived at the castle. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity had gone home. Fluttershy had not been seen since their meeting, and Starlight left to find Trixie.
Spike was asleep on his throne as Twilight sat in her own, Starfall still standing beside her.
Dear Princess Twilight,
The only important piece of my culture I can think of would be the Changeling Crystal, but only the queen was ever supposed to know where it is. We swept over the entire hive and could not find it, if anything, Queen Chrysalis may have it with her now. I’m sorry I could be of no help to you, whatever all of this is, it sounds dangerous. You be safe, and tell me if you ever need any help at all.
Thorax
Assessing the situation, Twilight compiled everything she knew.
The dragon is known to be in possession of both the Bloodstone Scepter and the Idol of Boreas. Queen Chrysalis more than likely had the Changeling Crystal, and Twilight herself had the Alicorn Amulet. This left only the nymph artifact in the open; before finding this dragon, the last artifact had to be secured.
“I’m sure it won’t take Dash too long to find her.” Starfall tried reassuring the princess.
“Oh, I’m not concerned about that,” Twilight replied, looking back at the Cutie Map. “I imagine A.K. left Rainbow with the means to get in contact with her in case of an emergency.”
After another few moments, Twilight stared off into nothing, thinking to herself. Starfall noticed and leaned over beside her.
“Twilight?” he asked. “Is there something else bothering you?”
“Hmm?” she hummed, glancing over at him, then proceeding to shake her head. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking that if we leave to find the last artifact, I’m going to need all the girls with me. But if they all come, no pony will be here to look after Shadow.”
The question didn’t seem to phase Starfall very much. “You don’t think he can stay here on his own?”
Twilight thought hard about everything that this mystery implied. If the dragon was gathering these artifacts, it had to be for a reason. And the only thing linking them together was Shadow. She didn’t want to leave him alone, not even in Ponyville. It seemed too risky.
“Why don’t we ask Spike to stay with him?” Starfall suggested.
The little dragon snorted in his sleep at the mention of his name, turning about on his mini-throne to lie on his stomach.
Twilight looked unsure. “I don’t know….” She said, a little paranoid.
“Let me come with you.” Shadow said, walking into the chamber alongside Fluttershy.
Not expecting Shadow to be so close by, Twilight stiffened up, wondering what all he heard.
Shadow sat across from Twilight, saying, “I know what I am asking for, I think I’m ready, and I really want to help you.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked him, not wanting to push him into something that would stress him out. “It may be dangerous.”
Shadow looked nervous, but nodded. “I know.”
Fluttershy patted him on the back, making him feel more confident. They both smiled at Twilight, who looked over at Starfall.
“Be easier for me to protect all of us if we are together.” Starfall agreed, nodding his head. “But that’s up to you.”
Facing the shadow pony, Twilight knew this would be a difficult choice to make. No matter what she decided, there was the chance of it backfiring.
“Alright then,” she said, standing up. “Let’s get you ready to go.”
The hospital wing was dim and silent. The sun had disappeared below the horizon and darkness had almost seized complete control over the sky.
Peeking her eyes open, Zecora glanced around to be sure that the nurse wasn’t there. When she was certain that she was alone, the zebra slowly removed the blanket from over her. Inching up off of her pillow, she winced as she sat up, dangling her legs off the side of the bed.
She was running out of time; it wouldn’t be long before the dragon came looking for the amulet again. She had to have it and keep it safe, this was too important to her.
Gently resting her hooves onto the floor, Zecora cringed in pain at putting pressure on them. About to fall, she stopped herself on the railing of the bed, sliding a bit and causing her whole body to slink backwards. She cursed him for wounding her like this.
Knowing that she still couldn’t walk, Zecora sighed and climbed back up onto the bed, staying still without her blanket for a while. Every night she tried at it, only to fail. She had never been injured like this before, and could always rely on a bit of magic to heal herself, but now she just had to wait.
It was alright though; patience and persistence were two things she was good at.