As I stopped at the castle doors and knocked on them loudly, my thoughts went back to my mother. I didn’t want to leave her by herself with whatever the voice belonged to. But I couldn’t go back, not before contacting my siblings. Besides, I have no idea what I’m up against here but I’m hoping Circe does to an extent. I was so lost in thought I didn’t realize Starlight opened the door and was trying to get my attention.
“Sarius?! Can you hear me?” She asked concerned.
“Y-yeah. I can now. Sorry. Got lost in my thoughts.” I replied.
“Is something wrong? Maybe I can help?” She asked somewhat hopeful.
“Yes, something is wrong and we’ll see. I may need all the help I can get. Is Twilight still up?” I asked before realizing a few seconds later, that I already knew the answer.
“Yeah. She’s in the library. I’ll join you, I’m curious about the problem your having.” She said with a slight twinkle in her eyes.
“Knock yourself off,” I replied smiling.
She tilted her head at me in confusion. “Why?” She asked dumbfounded.
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “I don’t mean it literally. I mean you’re free to do what you want.”
“Oh.”
I walked past here and into the library knowing she was right behind me. As I thought, Twilight was sitting in her spot at the Cutie Map with a book in front of her. I walked around to her and tried tapping her.
“Whatever it is you want, go get it. I’m trying to read something really important, Spike.” She said without even looking away from the book.
I looked at my hoof and it was still a claw. That’s why she mistook me for Spike. “Twilight Sparkle. I’m not Spike.” I said flatly.
“Hmm hm.” I placed my hoof on the book causing her to get annoyed. “Please don’t touch my... “ She stopped when she finally looked at me. “Oh. Evening Sarius. I uh… wasn’t expecting you this late. I apologize for my rudeness.” She said with a sheepish smile.
“Don’t worry about it. I need to know if you can send a letter to Celestia yourself.” I asked.
Twilight was taken aback by that. “I…. I believe I can. I mean it’s not like the way Spike delivers messages, I can just simply teleport the letters to Celestia. Why do you ask?”
I look at Starlight. “Can you fetch me two pieces of parchment, ink, and quill?”
“Uh, Sure.” She used her magic to grab the items from a nearby table and placed then in front of me.
Twilight looked at Starlight. “Did you have to use magic to get them, Starlight?”
Starlight shrugged. “It saves time and I didn’t really want to walk over and back again. Besides I was gonna carry them with magic anyway.” Twilight groaned.
I ignored them and began writing my letters to my respective siblings.
Dear Circe and Tirean,
I hope neither of you are really busy right now, cause I have a situation here in Ponyville. It’s our mother and somethings wrong. I was able to get little information from her. But I know she found a book in the cellar and is now being compelled by a voice to do something that involves a magic circle.
Please return as quickly as possible. Especially you Circe. Seeing as how you were the last one to use the cellar, you might know more than me or Tirean.
Love your Precious Brother,
Sarius Trusdale
I read it twice to make sure it was good enough. I then wrote on the other parchment.
Dear Celestia or Luna (depending on who gets this),
I apologize for this late-night letter, but I humbly request you to duplicate the other letter that comes next and send both to my siblings, wherever they are, please. I promise I’ll make it up to you if I need to.
Your Good Friend,
Sarius Trusdale
I checked the second letter and nodded in approval. I rolled them both up, tied them, and gave them to Twilight.
“One’s for Celestia, the other is for my sibs. Make sure Celestia gets this one first, so she can read it.” I instructed Twilight, handing her the one I knew was for Celestia.
She took it with her magic and teleported it, waited half a minute before doing the same with the other letter.
As I was about to head out after waiting for a few minutes for a possible reply, a dark blue light shone in the room as a letter appeared and fell onto the table. Twilight picked up the letter and handed it to me. “I believe it’s for you.” She said.
I opened the letter and read it.
To Sarius Trusdale,
We I have read your letter and done the deed. Your sister is currently in the Crystal Empire while your brother is here in the Canterlot Royal Library. I am unsure what your brother is trying to find in there, but I suspect you may have an idea. I have personally given him the letter and he said he would be leaving shortly.
I do not know what the problem is, but whatever it is, know you need only send a letter to either me or my sister and we will be there to assist if you need it. Whatever the case is, I hope you and your siblings are able to work it out. I also wish you three good luck.
As for the favor, send me a letter once everything is settled. We will talk more then.
From your Princess of the Night,
Princess Luna
“So Luna got the letter huh,” I said matter-of-factly. “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting Celestia to be awake at this hour. But I needed one of them to help me out.”
“Why the sudden letter delivery, Sarius?” Twilight asked concerned.
I looked at Twilight and Starlight for a minute deciding whether or not I should tell them. “I need my siblings for something important,” I answered trying to convince them without arousing suspicion. “As of right now, I’m not sure if I require the aid of you or the Mane Six yet,” I added looking at Starlight.
“What’s the issue that you need your siblings for?” Starlight asked.
“I don’t want to say just yet. Mostly cause I have no knowledge of what it is myself and I don’t want to cause panic. But don’t worry, if your assistance is required I will let you all know.” I said trying to reassure the two mares. “Now how long does it take for a train to arrive at Ponyville from Canterlot and the Crystal Empire?”
"Four hours from Canterlot, a couple days from the Crystal Empire, if the tracks aren’t blocked or damaged,” Twilight answered.
“So Tirean might be coming by train while Circe is gonna fly here. I did tell them to return as quickly as possible. I’ll wait for Circe here, then we’ll go meet Tirean at the station.” I said aloud to myself. I then looked at the two mares. “So you two got any ideas to pass the time?”
After playing charades and several card games, I sensed Circe’s presence. I excused myself to go outside and direct her to the castle. I flew into the air and saw her in the distance and waved to her. Once she reached me, we slowly dropped to the ground. She was quite out of breath. Flying really fast from the Crystal Empire would do it, even for us hybrids. Though she recovered rather quickly.
“So, tell me what’s going on. Is mom alright at least?” She asked somewhat frantic.
“She’s fine for now, but I’m not sure for how long. You need to tell me what was in the cellar. Our mother said she only found the book in the cellar. Is that all you left?”
Circe shook her head. “No, the book is certainly not all I left in there. I-” She hesitated. “I left a mess in the cellar, to be honest. A mess of notes I made on the book and everything I could learn. I left in a rush. So I didn’t have time to lock the cellar properly or even clean the mess.” She said somewhat embarrassed.
Circe was always known to keep things clean, tidy and organized. She had that in common with Twilight. So hearing she left a mess behind was truly embarrassing, but I knew there had to be a good reason.
“So why did you leave in such a hurry?” I asked very curiously.
“Well, I found something that I needed to check upon. So I went to the Crystal Empire to read the books they had on it. I also asked Tirean to go to Canterlot to do some research there.” She answered.
“That explains why you both left so suddenly. Have you two really been doing research for a whole week?” I asked.
She nods. “After several days of searching, I couldn’t find anything. But I did find a single book that gives a lot of information. I’ll share when our brother’s back.” She then looked around like she was looking for something. “Where is he, by the way?”
“On a train ride back. He should be here soon.” I said listening closely for a sign of the train coming. On cue, the train whistle blew. “Right on time. Let’s go.” I said as we both galloped to the train station.
The train arrived at the station as we were going up the platform. The usual announcement was playing over the intercom; the train from Canterlot is now arriving, please keep away from the tracks, the next destination is Appleloosa. As the train slowed to a stop and the steam blew from the engine, the doors opened and various ponies walked out. The last one off was Tirean and he was happy to see us waiting for him.
He trotted to us and the three of us embraced each other in a small group hug. “Oh, it’s good to be back.” He then looks at me. “Is mother alright?”
I nodded. “Yeah. But we may need to hurry. She’s already spent all day drawing a magic circle, which I doubt took more than thirty minutes. Who knows how much longer till whatever it is she’s working on is finished.”
Circe’s face then turned grim. Tirean and I both noticed and got nervous. “Circe, is there something we should know about this?” Tirean asked. We both knew the answer.
“If she’s been at this all day… Then I’m afraid we don’t have much time left.” She then made a face I’ve never seen on her in all my life. A face of urgency and seriousness. “We need to gather the Elements of Harmony now.” She ordered nearly on the verge of shouting.