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// Shadows of the Past 
// Story: Tales of Flutterbreeze: Hometown Blues 
// by Flutterbreeze 
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	It was well into the night, later than most ponies ever stayed awake, when Flutterbreeze went to a friend of his, seeking knowledge of the past. 
Being one of the oldest cities in Equestria, as well as one of the largest, Fillydelphia’s rich history attracted the attention of many historians who sought to uncover the mysteries of the past. One such pony, Leafymoon, researched the old myths and legends that most ponies had forgotten. 
Flutterbreeze arrived at his friend’s apartment, located right on top of one of the city’s
many libraries, unexpectedly. Despite being just after 4 AM, Leafeymoon, and indigo earth pony with orange mane, was wide awake reading a book about Discord. When he noticed the familiar shape flying towards him, he opened the door and welcomed the pegasus inside.
“Flutterbreeze, its been awhile since we last met.”
“Too long indeed, but that’s the unpredictable life of a mailpony for you.”
“So what exactly brings you to this part of town?”
Flutterbreeze looked checked behind him, then said, “Have you heard of a being called Xolotl?”
Leafeymoon looked puzzled. “That’s a very... old and obscure legend. Wherever did you hear about it?”
“The name was mentioned during my time in Canterlot.”
“You went to Canterlot again? Did you see Nightmare Moon? I heard defeated a horde of monsters that were plaguing the town.” 
“I’ll tell you about it later. First, I need to know about Xolotl.”
“Whatever for?”
“Oh, call it the burning curiosity of the past’s great mysteries.”
It wasn’t a very convincing excuse, but Leafeymoon got the hint that he didn’t want to talk about it any further. He led Flutterbreeze downstairs to the library, then even further down to the archives in the basement.
“This...” he said, lifting a hefty tome. “is the best source on beings such as Xolotl I have found. The Equestrian Underworld. It is difficult to say, though, how much of it, if any, is truth, and what is just pure legend.” He started turning the pages of the large book to the proper section.
“Maybe some day I can help fix that...” 
“Ah, here we are, Xolotl.” They read the section together, silently:

Xolotl, an ancient being of certain mythos, is disputed as being either a god or a monster. His form is a large dog with backwards feet and a face that gives nightmares to any who gaze upon it.
Residing in the underworld, Xolotl is said to drag the sun down to the underworld each night, before it completes the circle of its path again at dawn. 
He is a being associated with death, fire, lightning, and bad luck, as well as the evening star.
His twin is Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent deity that was once worshipped by past civilizations now gone, and who contrasts Xolotl in most ways, being associated with creation, invention, and fertility.
Very few accounts are known of Xolotl leaving his dark domain, but it is said that shortly after the rise of Celestia and Luna, Xolotl came out of dormancy and wreaked havoc upon Equestria before being driven underground once more by the Princess of the Sun.

They sat there, pondering the words for quite some time. “Interesting.. say Leaf, do have any astronomical calendars for the evening star?”
The folklorist brought out a chart detailing the path of the start that year. Flutterbreeze traced the line with his hoof as he examined it.
“So, just a few days ago it reached its ‘prime’. Now it’s declining towards its ‘death’, where it will remain invisible until ‘resurrection’. After that it starts climbing towards this point called ‘lord’, before retreating again...”
“I assume you are interested in this because of the correlation between a being’s power and the location of celestial objects?”
Flutterbreeze nodded. “Alright, so there’s still 210 days until it reaches ‘lord’ state.” He rolled up the chart and stood up. “Please let me know if you find anything else about Xolotl. And by the way I think there may be something interesting to find about Quetzalcoatl if you make the right connection.” As he neared the door her turned and said, "One last thing... her name is Luna."
The visit left infinitely many questions in the historian, who spent what little was left of the night researching Xolotl, Quetzalcoatl, and the events that happened in Canterlot recently, hoping to gain insight into his friend’s intentions, with little success.
Flutterbreeze returned to his apartment, thoughts whirling in his mind. Back in his room, he jotted down some notes before writing a letter to Princess Luna.