Zelenda left her son eating the meal she’d prepared. Instantly she was flanked by Hawkeye and Fuca, While Klinger hopped up on her back and lay there purring eagerly. Finally Rolly trotted up behind her to complete the quartet of feline escorts. She trotted through the living room and around toward the other door leading to the bedrooms and the back door. Giving a very specifically toned whistle that caused the heavy locks to snap open and the door to swing open as she moved. Entering the backyard of her home where the trees loomed ominously all around the clearing save for the free standing shack amongst them. She marched toward it and stepped inside. The shack was always something that made her smile. The way the trees framed the entrance had a way of making it look very small but that was by design. In truth the entryway was designed to look like a shack, to hide the large room she used for everything from mixing up old home cold remedies, to removing unicorn enchantments from artifacts. As they entered with her her feline companions marched away, to Large beds that waited for them on the edges of the circular chamber. Except for Klinger who remained on her back still purring and looking as majestic as she could with her sleek black coat of fur. She trotted to the center of the room rubbing her hoof in a bit of a white dust from a small sack on a pedestal nearby and sets to work drawing out a very large intricate circular design around a central table that was just the right size for the book. When she finished drawing she smiled.
“Alright my friends. Let’s finish the seal” she said and her feline companions returned to the center of the room. Klinger jumped off her back and moved around the edge of the seal sitting in a large circle she had drawn on the outer edge. The other two likewise took their places in circles while she carefully moved to it’s center. One feline in each of the 4 cardinal directions from her. “Let’s begin” She said in a suddenly serious tone. With a growing buzzing sound of magic the white she had drawn the symbol with began to spark. Her eyes and the eyes of all her feline companions began to glow in unison and she began to chant some ancient incantation. The feline friends around her seemed to be moving their lips in time with her words but all that could be heard was the sizzle of the chalk burning away and her mutterings. From each of the circles the chalk burned away more and more until the seal was burned darkly into the floor. Glowing like their eyes for a moment before returning to black. As the sizzle of magic faded and their eyes returned to normal she smiled happily at her friends, they all stepped back out of the circles and they eagerly rejoined her. She gave a whistle and a small stool seemed to waddle over to her from near a table on the wall. Digging her hoof into the jar on top of the stool she tossed all 4 of the cats a large fish smelling treat before resealing it and waving the stool away. “Thank you my friends” She said petting Fuca, Rolly, and Hawkeye. Then nuzzling against Klinger who had returned to her place on Zelenda’s back. “With that, I believe even if I accidentally break the warding on the book. We should be fine. Don’t you think?”
“Meow!” Klinger replied helpfully.
Zelenda laughed in earnest. “Thank you my silly girl” she said kissing the cats head gently. As soon as the others were done with their treats and Zelenda had marched out of the magic seal, her feline friends returned to their posts One on each of her sides, One behind, and finally one Atop her back. She marched back toward the house.
When she entered the house again and moved back through it, the feline friends broke off and wondered to their favorite places. Even Klinger leapt away and returned to her favorite spot in the window. When she entered the dining room she spotted an empty plate Gray Joy had left on the table. Zelenda only gave it a glare and rolled her eyes. She tapped a hoof 3 times in a rapid pattern on the wood floor of the kitchen. The same violin from before, which had fallen silent after serving Gray Joy the food sprang to life and the plate seemed to sprout legs, it hopped carefully down and rushed over to the counter , where it climbed up the cabinets using the numerous handles running along it, and placed itself in the sink. The violin falling silent again on the table. “GRAYYYY” she shouted but there was no answer. The book still lay on the table closed and mildly ominous with it’s interesting medal like design on the cover. She moved over and scooped it up. Moving through the house she could hear water running from the bathroom off her sons bedroom and nodded. Then she whistled to her Feline friends to join her again as she marched out to her work chamber. Before she could make it halfway across the yard she was flanked on 3 sides by her cats, and once again Klinger sat up on her back. She carried the book inside and walked over to place it up on its pedestal in the center of the black seal on the floor and then stepped back away from it. This time The four circles on the edge were occupied by her feline companions. And the Seal glowed powerfully on the floor. She nodded appreciatively and marched to a table nearby gathering a crystal on a leather string and putting it on. Slipping two silver and turquoise hoof bands on her front legs. A small bag of a ground crystal powder and a large shaman like staff with a combination of stones and leaves at its end, bound together by a large band of leather. She walked into the circle and opened the book hovering her now glowing staff over it and beginning to chant. Tossing a hoof full of the crystal powder at it’s pages the book reacted immediately, almost as if it were burned. The pages flipped wildly as if being moved by a fierce wind until they reached the center and the transparent image of an ancient bearded stallion appeared over it.
“STOP!” It said in a fierce commanding tone “The magicks used on this book were placed by none other than Starswirl the bearded. I have no idea how you came in possession of this book, or why you would tamper with it’s magic. Whomever you may be. I assure you, this book has much more than just a reading enchantment on it. I urge you not to tamper further with my wardings.” The face lingered for a moment in silence as if it were thinking or waiting for a response but it vanished before Zelenda recovered from her genuine surprise.
“How interesting. I’ve never seen a spell like that, even from unicorns” She rubbed her chin looking at the book which now sat silently. The four felines still make the seal glow beneath her hooves. She stared at the book for so long that the cats laid down in their circles and the seal turned black again, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Mom?” Gray Joy says standing at the door of the shed. “What in the name of Luna was that?” He says slowly moving into the room looking confused.
Zelenda grinned, turning to look at him. “Obviously it was a magical warning… It seems that this book is more than just enchanted to read itself. There is something beyond such a simple enchantment in this book. Otherwise why would this, Starswirl, have put such magical protections on it.” she goes silent for a moment looking toward her feline companions and then looks up at Gray once more. “Well if I’m gonna ignore that very clear warning. I’m gonna need a very powerful magical containment spell. Once I break the wards whatever is sealed in that book. I get the feeling we don’t want it to be loose.” She stamps a hoof as if to make sure Gray is paying attention. “And I don’t mean something simple like this 5 ring seal. I’m talking about ancient magic that predates the founding of Equestria…” She gives a smirk. “We will need to gather a few things… exceptionally rare things…” She pets at Klinger’s head softly. “You’d better go get some rest Gray Joy. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. First stop… The home of Miss Fluttershy.” She grins as if she were quite excited. “We need the tears, of a draconequus...”