//------------------------------//
// Questions 
// Story: Mairon's Redemption 
// by Ryukan 
//------------------------------//

Mairon exited the cafe and followed Twilight down the street, heading towards the large crystal tree at the end of town. He once again looked at the denizens of the town, and despite a few looks of curiosity, he couldn’t help but notice how serene they all were, smiles on their faces, going about their day. He then noticed how everyone of the adults had a marking on their flanks.

“Hey Twilight, what are those markings your kind have on their hind legs?”

Twilight didn’t even slow her trot, “They’re Cutie Marks, they appear to us as foals when we discover our calling.”

Mairon paused at this, “So what gives you these marks?”

Twilight slowed and turned her head to Mairon, “The Spirit of Harmony does, it guides all ponykind.”

“Spirit of Harmony? Interesting” Mairon mulled this over for a second before realizing that Twilight had started again and called his name. He kept this in his mind as they approached the giant tree castle. 

Twilight opened one of the large doors with her horn and ushered Mairon inside. He marveled at how spacious and shiny it all was. Upon closer inspection with a nearby wall, he realized that the crystal was producing its own light and was softly changing colors within. He would have studied the wall further if not for an annoyed sound from Twilight. He pulled his head from the very interesting wall and followed Twilight up a set of stairs. They passed several doors until they came to a large double door, once inside, he let his mouth hang open.

Shelves upon shelves of books and scrolls. Such a trove of knowledge and learning existed not in all of Arda, from Valinor in the West to the farthest unknown East. Mairon stood where he was, just staring at it all. Twilight, noticing her guest’s expression, smiled and puffed out her chest in pride, “It’s my personal collection, I have over 20,000 volumes here. It is nowhere near the size of the Crystal Empire Archives or the Royal Library in Canterlot however.”

Mairon took a moment to respond, “This room would be worth more than all the riches of Khazad-dum back home. I can not imagine the pains it must have taken you to gather such a collection.”

“It wasn’t that difficult, I started with the remnants of my old library and just kept buying more and more. I still have room for thousands more,” Twilight said, “Now then, let’s get down to business.” Twilight summoned a couple of chairs from across the room and motioned for Mairon to take a seat. “To begin, you’re not from this world correct?”

“As stated just now, yes”

“Alright, so from that, I must ask, do you know magic?”

“Not in the sense that you know, judging from how you can summon objects with your horn.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, my power comes from within, the ‘magic’ where I come from is very spiritual and tied to the Great Song. I myself am, or at least used to be, a Maia, a very powerful spirit and among the first born into my world,” Twilight summoned a notepad and quill and began taking notes, “I possessed great skill in smithing and crafting. I was formerly under the lordship of a the Valar of the Earth, which is why I'm so good at smithing and crafting. I was then involved in a great war, waged for…” Mairon paused. Should he disclose what the war was fought over and which side he was on? He shook his head, no, he wouldn’t burden this pony with that just yet, “It doesn’t matter over what, but I fought in a great war and was on the losing side. A few events later and I was told I had lost most of my power and I was thrown into this world.”

Twilight continued to scribble notes for a few moments before stopping, “That’s interesting, so you come from a world of conflict?”

“Yes”

“Hmm” Twilight mulled this over for a second, “Well I guess I better tell you where you are. You are in Equestria, the foremost nation on Equus. I am one of four reigning Princesses that rule this land. You landed near Ponyville, a small town in central Equestria. I’m afraid that’s all I can say for now. Can you excuse me for a moment?” Twilight got up from her seat and summoned another piece of parchment and began to write on it. After a few moments, she rolled it up and shot it with her horn, the letter vanishing into thin air. She trotted back to her seat and sat down, “Sorry, I had to send a letter to Princess Celestia, she’s the primary ruler of Equestria. Have to keep her informed on this.”

Mairon nodded, “That’s smart. If I may ask, are there other intelligent races on Equus? Where I come from, there are quite a few.”

“Oh yes, there’s the Griffons, Thestrals, Minotaurs, Changelings, and a few more. For the most part we all get along, though there have been more than a few instances of disharmony.”

“Interesting, where I come from, the various peoples tend to be at each other’s throats.”

“Your world sounds dangerous and chaotic. I wonder why?”

Mairon, a skilled wordsmith and manipulator, spending thousands of years acting guiltfree, suddenly found himself feeling guilty. He knew the reason why of course, but he couldn’t tell these ponies, not yet, maybe even never. An awkward silence was descending, but both were saved in time by a returned scroll, this one bearing a sigil with a golden sun. Twilight opened it and began to read.

“Well, it seems the Princess wants to see you personally. I guess we’re going to Canterlot Mairon. I would say pack your things, but I feel that might not be an issue.”

Mairon rolled his eyes, “Very perceptive, how long is it to this Canterlot?”

“By train, one can get there reasonably quickly, about 8 hours. But it’s late afternoon now, we’ll leave tomorrow. I guess you can have a room here for the night. Be rude to leave you outside alone.”

“That’s kind of you, I am feeling slightly drowsy. This feeling is rather alien to me, I don’t think I’ve ever slept. This should be a new experience.”

“You never slept before? How is that possible?”

“I was a very powerful individual, I didn’t need sleep.”

“Huh, that’s odd, even the Princesses in Canterlot sleep. Oh well, follow me, I’ll show you to a guest room.” Twilight exited the Library and Mairon followed, stealing one last look at the trove of knowledge before leaving.

They took the stairs even higher into the Castle and stopped in front of one of the doors. Twilight opened it and gestured inside, “Here’s your room for the night”

Mairon took it in, it was a very luxurious room, not all together large, but very well appointed. He stepped in and sat on the bed, feeling the softness of the sheets. He was suddenly very aware of how exhausted he was.

“Dinner is at 6, I’ll send my assistant Spike up here to get you when it’s time.”

“I don’t think I’ll be making dinner, I suddenly feel very tired.”

“Oh, In that case sleep well, we leave early tomorrow morning.” Twilight took one last look inside before closing the door behind her.

Suddenly alone, Mairon stood back up and went to the wash basin and quickly washed his hands and face. He slipped out of his outer robes and threw them onto a chair nearby. After pacing for a few minutes, thinking about what he learned today and the fact he was now in a whole new world. After this, he finally settled down into bed and as the sun began to dip below the horizon, Mairon fell asleep for the first time