//------------------------------//
// Introductions 
// Story: The Codex Amicitia 
// by malletmann 
//------------------------------//

	  Soptek found Carpathios in an isolated wing of the Omniceum, face deep in one of the countless arcane texts stored within the labyrinth of shelves. The mage paused his reading only long enough to jot something down on the parchment he had brought with him. He then returned to the book, flipping through its wafer-thin metal pages, the writing on them etched by needle rather than inked with quill.
That got Soptek intrigued. Comparatively very few books were fashioned in such a matter, despite Soptek’s desire that all items in the Omniceum should have one such copy. Such a tome could last for thousands of years if properly cared for, and would be practically indestructible. Unfortunately the process was exceedingly long and labor-intensive, even with the use of magic. A single book could take the good part of a decade to copy. Soptek practiced the craft himself, and continued to transfer the contents of precious works to their sturdier bindings.
“Ever the diligent scholar, hmm Carpathios?” Soptek asked as it became clear his friend had not noticed his approach.
Without looking up, Carpathios responded, “Some things are worth total devotion, Soptek. Some things aren’t, even though some people seem content to give it to them.” He pause for a moment, his face darkening at those last words as though recalling a particularly sour memory. “But some things are, and I believe what I have found warrants mine. Do you recall what I said the other morning about traversing the Veil?”
“Yes, and as I said then, it is a strange and poorly understood art. Very few paths exist through the Veil, at least those that are known of. Those who tread such paths report finding strange, foreign lands filled with bizarre creatures, and are held with some distrust. It is held to be common wisdom amongst those who practice magic that they should be left alone.”
Carpathios looked up, shaking his head in disgust. “That is exactly the sort of mindset this city was founded to abolish. Do you not recall when Magnathios said, ‘The mysteries of the universe are ours to solve’? Yet you speak of the Veil paths with the ignorance and suspicion I would expect from the fear-mongering peasants that speak of Agathonis as though its name were a curse.”
Soptek blinked in suprise. He remained silent for a moment, before bowing his head. “You remind me once again of why the Mage King chose you as his Proctek. You are right, of course, and I think there are few as suited as you for taking on such an unknown frontier. Still, it is best if you proceed with caution. I must ask, though, why have you chosen to pursue this line of inquiry?”
“I’ve had a vision,” Carpathios said. “I was deep in contemplation, peering into the Veil. Now and again I will do this, and catch glimpses of the future, the past, or events occurring far away. This time, I saw a great Power on a distant world. It shone like a great beacon of spectral light, piercing the dark mists of time and space. I caught brief glimpses of possible futures, and do you know what I saw?”
“I am no magi-” Soptek caught himself using the common, but in this case highly inappropriate, expression. He laughed, saying, “No, I am indeed a magician, but the reading of the mind is not within my skills. So tell me, that I may learn.”

Carpathios smiled. “I saw the glory of Agathonis restored.”





Carpathios finished delivering his formal titles. He didn’t believe that this Twilight Sparkle would know what they meant, but he assumed that they would sound impressive nonetheless. He looked her over. She appeared to be a form of unicorn, which confused him. Unicorns as he knew them were solitary creatures, preferring the company of the fey to mortals, and shunning civilised areas in favor of the wilds. Of course they were also universally white, and much larger than this lavender creature, which made it seem likely that she was of a very different breed. He would have to set aside what he knew about his homeland and approach with an open mind.
To her credit, she took his litany of appellations without apparent difficulty. “Well then, mister Carpathios, or should I address you as Proctek Carpathios, or just Proctek? Or Magus Carpathios? Regardless, I have many questions for you, if you would be so kind as to answer them?”

Though he kept his expression neutral, inside Carpathios was beaming. Not only was she keen enough to remember all of his titles only after one statement, when he looked at her with his Veil eyes, she positively shone like a beacon. Clearly she possessed immense power, and an equally impressive mind. He could only conclude she was a mage of great skill, which was fortuitous for him.

“Just Carpathios will do for now. I would be happy to share my knowledge, especially considering I am an uninvited guest. I did not believe, however, that my arrival would be met with such significant, well, disapproval.”

Twilight raised a hoof. “Don’t take it personally.” She looked behind her, calling out, “It’s alright everypony, he’s friendly. You can go ahead and come out now.”

Carpathios observed silently as ponies of all shapes, sizes and colors emerged. He suddenly found a bright pink face, wreathed in preternaturally buoyant hair, less than half a foot from his own. Bright blue eyes stared into his. He closed his eyes for a second, peering into the Veil directly in front of him. As he opened his eyes, he was not entirely certain precisely what he had seen.

“...so then I was like, ‘I wonder if he likes cupcakes?’ but then I realized, of course you do, everyone likes cupcakes! But then I wondered what type of cupcake you would like, and I realized, I can’t bake you your favorite cupcakes if I don’t know what your favorite cupcakes were! Then I thought, ‘Silly filly, you don’t know any new pony’s favorite flavor, so you always put out a few of all flavors.’ Of course you’re not a pony, but that just means you’re, like newer than new! Ya know?”

Carpathios simply stood there, dazed by the torrent of words that had gushed forth from this being’s mouth. He remained quiet, trying in vain to formulate the best response for what he had believed to be a question.

“I like orange cupcakes,” he said without really thinking. “As in, the fruit.”

He noted quite quickly that he may have made a mistake in his choice of words. Her eyes widened, pupils shrinking to pinpricks. She turned on her heel and sped back down the road, a look of pure horror on her face. “Torn Veil, was it something I said?” Carpathios asked, perplexed.

Twilight turned and looked at him, apparently as confused as he was. “I don’t think so. I’ve never seen Pinkie bake an orange cupcake, so I’m guessing you just told her there exists a form of cupcake she’s never heard of. That’s something of a big deal.”

“So it would seem,” Carpathios still didn’t comprehend what just happened, but a quick scan of the crowd through the Veil showed that this Pinkie was an exception, and most of these ponies’ auras looked fairly normal, aside from a few brighter ones. It seemed that those bright lights came from the unicorns. He also noted that in addition to unicorns, there existed two other breeds, one with wings, and a seemingly mundane breed. He noted however that the pink one fit superficially into the last category, so there was more to them then initially apparent.

A new voice was heard. “So Twilight, who’s this new, uhh, what is he?” Carpathios looked up, beholding a sky blue winged pony with technicolor mane and tail.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Attention everypony. Let me introduce Carpathios.” She then seemed to blush as the crowd remained in silent expectation. Carpathios would’ve sworn he could hear crickets chirping. “Uhh, he comes from Agathonis, he’s the Proctek of the Mage King there. And he’s a magus of the seventh intonation.”

The flying one then remarked snidely, “You don’t even know what that means, do you?”

“Umm, no,” Twilight said, blushing.

Carpathios decided it was time for him to formally declare his intentions, and spare these ponies any further embarrassment. “I’ve come here out of a desire to explore new worlds and learn about their inhabitants. I can assure you I did not mean to appear so suddenly in the middle of your town.”

“Ahh, don’ worry about it,” said a voice in a heavy dialect. Carpathios followed the sound of the voice to another pony, this one a palomino with sand-colored mane and tail. “No harm done. Name’s Applejack.” She offered a hoof, which Carpathios assumed was a gesture in friendship as it was back home. Hoping he wasn’t doing something wrong, he grasped it, and was surprised at the amount of strength this Applejack possessed. “Ahh’d like to welcome you to Ponyville, and invite you to Sweet Apple Acres. Best food you ever tasted.”

“I’ll remember that, and thank you for the invitation.” Carpathios found it interesting that these ponies were so quick to trust. He was also a little pensive, remembering the reason he first came here. He found it hard to imagine that these ponies, as docile as they were, could wield the power he had initially seen through the Veil. Another possibility entered his mind; that the power was far greater than he initially had estimated, and ensured peace in the realm.

“Well, if you wish to learn, maybe we should go to the library?” Twilight asked. “As I said, I have a lot of questions to ask you. I’m sure we have a great deal to talk about.” Her aura shown a bright sanguine, proving she was far more excited than she revealed.

“Pardon my interruption,” one of the unicorns, snow-furred with indigo mane and tail, both painstakingly groomed, said in a well-cultured voice, “But first I must ask the most important question: where did you get such a magnificent ensemble?”

It was at that point Carpathios realized that his garb, while not out of place in Agathonis considering his position, might be considered excessive in Ponyville. Still, it was a bit comforting to know that it was still considered fashionable, if a bit exotic. He also noted that most of the ponies did not seem to be garbed at all, or only wearing one or two articles of clothing. He responded to the question as best he could. “It was fashioned in my home of Agathonis. It is the traditional garb of the Proctek.”

She seemed disappointed for a moment. “Well, nevertheless, thank you,” she said, her countenance rising, “I believe I have found inspiration. Oh! Due pardon my manners. My name is Rarity, and if you ever find yourself in need of additional outfits, you can find me at Carousel Boutique.” He listened as she gave directions, making sure he remembered properly. Regardless of the actual destination, it was important that he familiarized himself with the town.

“Well, we should really get going. You probably want to get settled in, and I have to report to Princess Celestia about all this.” Carpathios watched as Twilight began to head down the street, and the crowd slowly dispersed. Many of the ponies continued to watch him, however, their curiosity slowing them. He also noted that the dragon hatchling he had noticed earlier near Twilight was following her, confirming his suspicions that it was some form of assistant or familiar.

He began to follow her. “Of course.”

Carpathios had to bend down in order to fit through the door to the library, a structure that was crafted into a great tree. It reminded him in a way of a city he had read about, a Fae-blooded city called Valeris. The entire city was fashioned from one great mushroom.

While Twilight prepared some cushions for them to rest on, Carpathios absentmindedly picked up one of the volumes that had been laying on its side on a windowsill. It stood apart from the otherwise impeccably ordered room. Muttering an incantation of translation, he flipped through the pages. The book appeared to be a manual on machine design, the nature of which escaped him. Shrugging, he replaced the book where he had found it.

“Just a moment please,” the lavender unicorn said as she quickly penned a scroll. She then gave it to the dragon, who promptly burned it. Carpathios raised an eyebrow at this. “There, now that that’s out of the way, we have a lot to talk about! I guess my first question is, how did you get here?”

“I cast a spell,” Carpathios said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Twilight giggled sheepishly. “Of course you did. How silly of me. But in that case, how? You don’t appear to have a horn.”

Carpathios raised his staff. “I use this heqa staff as my arcane focus. I’ve seen other items used, but this is the traditional means in the Agathonian School of arcana.”

“Wait, you use a stick? I mean, it’s just a regular stick? It’s not even attached to you.”

In response, he lit up the end of his staff, bathing the entire room in a rosy glow. “I think we have even more to discuss than you first thought,” he said to the now dumbstruck mare.




A voice called out through the Veil.

	Soptek, can you hear me?

Indeed, another voice answered, worlds away. I’ve been keeping an eye on you. I assume you made it safely. What is this new world like?

Carpathios responded, Some things are different, but not as much so as I expected based on the more fanciful nature of the reports from those who went before me. I have gotten off to a good start, it seems, as the people I have met are very hospitable. I have even become acquainted with a very knowledgeable and powerful mage, though there is much I have to teach her.

So now the student is the teacher, Soptek mused. Magnathios would be proud to know that, despite all that has happened, you at least continue to shine the light of our city. Have you learned anything of the great power you spoke to me of?

	Not yet, but I’m sure I’m not far from it. I will ask my hostess about it when we resume our discussion on magic tomorrow, Carpathios said before ending his meditation. It was late; he had discussed the nature of non-intrinsic spell-casting. He had made sure he had enough time after retiring to contact Soptek.

Now it was time for rest. Twilight had prepared a makeshift bed large enough to accommodate him, and tomorrow would be an important day.