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// 3. Ever seen this Pony before? 
// Story: King of Tyrants 
// by JeSuisLaPorte 
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 Okay, seriously... for how long has he been here? No matter which direction he went, the stallion couldn’t get out of the Everfree forest. Getting lost in a forest is one thing, but to lose their way in the Everfree while it’s getting dark is something else. If he can’t get to Ponyville before night, he’ll be in big trouble. Timber wolves, manticore, ursa minors and majors, there’s just a little bit of every awful creature ever in this forest. It’s a terrible place to be in, especially when it’s dark. 

Almost instinctively, he pulled out his map from his saddlebag to examine it. “Of course, they don’t map out the forests in there. This map doesn’t help at all. I already know all the towns and forests in this part of Equestria!” 

Again, he decided to pick a random direction and commit to it until he finds a way out, but just as he was about to move, a beautiful voice caught his attention. It was singing alongside a couple of birds not too far from his current location. 

“Great! I just have to follow the voice now. Looks like lady luck is finally on my side!” 

On the other side of the forest, Fluttershy was singing to her birds before they would go back to their nests for the night. 

Once the mare was done, she wished them good night and watched them fly away. 

“See you tomorrow!” 

“Hey.” 

Fluttershy yelped as she jumped back from the unexpected visitor. 

“Oh. My bad, I didn’t mean to scare you there.” he said in a tired voice. 

The Pegasus examined the stallion that had just arrived. An earth pony with a sketchbook and a pencil for a cutie mark. A newcomer, surely. From the looks of it, he came from the Everfree forest. 

“Um, who are you? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” she sheepishly asked in a voice that was very, very quiet. The stallion understood, thankfully. 

“I’m not from around these parts. The name’s Sketch Pattern. I come from Manehattan.” He moved his head off to the side to look at her house. “Nice cottage. Sure is different from the city and honestly, I’d settle in a place like this if it wasn’t for my job.”  

Looking at his cutie mark once more, Fluttershy had a good idea as to what could be his work. “You must be good at drawing, then. That’s what your cutie mark is supposed to represent?” 

With a proud smile, Sketch responded. “Of course! In case you didn’t know, I’m the main artist on the Daring Do comics that started a few years ago.” 

“Oh! I think I’ve heard Rainbow Dash speak about you. She’s a big fan of Daring Do, you see.” 

Sketch was taking out some pebbles that had gotten stuck on his fur before setting his attention back on the mare. “Well, seems like Daring Do truly is popular everywhere. Though I’ve never seen her in person. Hey! Come to think of it, you didn’t tell me your name.” 

“O-oh, I'm sorry. I’m Fluttershy.” she said, albeit in an almost whispery voice. 

“Fluttershy, huh? Cute name.” 

Woah, did he hear her right? That’s got to be the first time a pony has heard her say her name on the first try. Impressive. 

Just at that moment, the stallion realised he had reached Ponyville. That means... “Hey, sorry if it’s coming out of the blue, but, uh.” He took out a photo from his saddlebag and showed it to Fluttershy. 

“Ever seen this pony before? He’s my friend you see, but he’s been missing for quite a while now. His name is Stardust Radiant, he used to live in Canterlot.”  

She examined the photo. A purple unicorn with red eyes and with quite the long mane for a stallion... “I’m sorry, but I have never seen this stallion.” 

Sketch didn’t look disappointed by this response, however. He reacted like it wasn’t the first time he got this answer. “Tis fine, ‘cause I have at least one lead in Ponyville. Do you know somepony going by the name, Twilight Sparkle? I heard she’s quite popular around these parts.” 

Fluttershy’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of her friend. “Twilight? Y-yes, I can take you to her now if you’d like to.” 

The earth pony put the photo back in his saddlebag with a satisfied look on his face. “Good! Lead the way, Fluttershy.” 
 



 
Back at the Golden Oak, Twilight watched through the window as the Sun was going down. All that was left of the golden ball of fire was its tip. In a matter of mere minutes, Celestia will lower it completely. This was the final warning to all ponies to get back inside for the night. A relatively simple system that worked much better than the first ponies who raised and lowered the Sun without warning. 

It must be an awful feeling to be in the middle of a hike through the woods only for your surroundings to turn dark in mere seconds, hence why Celestia would slightly lower the star from time to time. 

That is interesting to think about but that was not on Twilight’s mind at the moment, no. The castle... all its mysteries, its books and its residents. She was constantly thinking about them, unable to let go of all her wild theories as to what this castle may be. This nonstop theory crafting was slowly killing her on the inside. She had to know more. 

So, why not just go back to the Everfree and head inside that painting again? Wait, wasn’t it gone when I returned to the abandoned castle? 

Twilight groaned and brushed her tired eyes. Her newly found obsession wasn’t doing her much good. 

“Uh, Twilight? What’s gotten into you again?” Spike asked curiously. The frantic pacing of the mare had become all too common for him. It happened almost every week for as long as he can remember. Twilight didn’t seem to have heard him, still lost in her thoughts. 

So, tomorrow, she’ll give in to her curiosity and head back there to retrieve some books. The rustling she heard last time distracted her greatly, and thus, she forgot to take the book back with her. Another reason why she must return to the castle. Go back, retrieve all the books she can ger her hooves on, unravel all its mysteries, yeah now that sounded exciting just to think about! 

Somepony knocked on the door, snapping the lavender unicorn back to reality. “Hm? Coming!” 

Spike was the first to rush to the door while Twilight lagged for a bit, still emptying her mind of all that castle and painting talk. “Hm? Oh yeah, the door.” 

“Oh, hey Spike. Good to see you again.” It was Fluttershy. 

“Did you two find Angel? I, uh, asked Twilight but she didn’t hear me from the looks of things.” he asked as he looked back at the unicorn. 

“We did. He’s back at the cottage now and promised me he won’t run away ever again.” she replied, sounding quite happy. 

Twilight finally arrived to greet her friend. “Hey Flutt- Who's this pony?” 

Spike moved to the side and saw the stallion that was awkwardly looming behind Fluttershy. Sketch noticed that the spotlight was now onto him and moved forward to properly introduce himself. 

“I’m Sketch Pattern, and I come from Manehattan thought you probably won’t care since that’s a pointless detail. I know you’re Twilight Sparkle, a student of Princess Celestia.” 

Twilight cocked her head back. “Huh, we’re getting more and more popular by the days. Still, for a pony who comes from Manehattan, how did you know about me?” 

“Small precision, I wasn’t born in Manehattan, I moved out there. I was born in Canterlot just like you. I actually saw you a couple of times, but you didn’t know I even existed. The same went for my friends.” 

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry, I guess? I wasn’t the most social pony at the time. I’m more open to making friends now if that’s what you’re looking for.” 

Sketch shook his head. “No thanks, I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to find one that’s been missing for quite some time now.” He pulled out the photo of Stardust Radiant and showed it to Twilight. “I believe you of all ponies should know Stardust Radiant. He was a student of Princess Celestia just like you.” 

Twilight stared at the picture for a while. Something about this stallion felt familiar yet, at the same time, she doesn’t remember even hearing or seeing this unicorn. “I, uh...” Sketch’s look already turned into sorrow as he pulled the photo back. “Wait! I didn’t even say anything.” 

“No need. I can already see you don’t even recognise him. Celestia didn’t, and she was his mentor...” Sketch fell on his flank, any and all hope now gone from his face. “My friend’s a ghost now. It’s like he never existed.” 

The lavender unicorn bit her lips. Did I do something wrong? 

Fluttershy and Spike looked really uncomfortable at the scene before them. The Pegasus was also wondering if she did something wrong by bringing Sketch to the Golden Oak. 

Suddenly, the earth pony got back up in a flash. “Welp, I got a mystery on my hooves.” His sudden change in expression surprised the three. 

“Woah, that was fast...” muttered Spike. 

Sketch looked at Twilight for a moment before saying. “So... would you mind if I stay here for the night? I don’t see a hotel in Ponyville.” 

“What?!” She wanted to protest, but then remembered that she practically told him his friend didn’t exist to his face. So, perhaps she should show a bit of compassion for this stallion, but it’ll only be for one night. “I... Fine, I’ll let you sleep here, but only for one night.  

“Ok.” Sketch slammed his saddlebag on the ground. “I’m heading off to sleep now.” He took a few steps further in the library before crumbling to the ground like a plank. 

“Oh dear... He really needs sleep.” said Fluttershy in a worried tone. “He just came out of the Everfree forest a few minutes ago.” 

It got dark outside. The Sun has fully lowered. Noticing this, Twilight told Fluttershy to head back home and that she’ll deal with her new guest with Spike. 

Using her magic, she lifted the sleeping stallion and tucked him in a makeshift bed on the floor. 

“We don’t have a third bed, so that’s the most we can offer him. I don’t think he minds.” 

Spike hopped in his bed, giving the earth pony one last look before he closed his eyes. “Thank Celestia he doesn’t snore.” 

Twilight Sparkle giggled as she turned off the light and went to bed. “I don’t think anypony can beat my dad in a snoring competition.” 

“Goodnight Twilight.” 

“Goodnight, Spike.” 
 



 
“Well, off to find the kitchen, if there’s one in this library. Why am I assuming there’s a kitchen inside a library?” 

Twilight had her eyes half open, confused as to what was happening until she saw somepony pass by her. She was still somewhat sleepy but awake enough to notice the few rays of sunlight beaming through her window. It must be early in the morning and yet, Sketch Pattern was already up on his hooves, making his way down the stairs.  

“Oh come on... Can you please make less noise? We’re still trying to sleep here.” she said in her morning voice. 

“Make less wha-” Sketch tumbled down the stairs, making more noise. “My bad...” he croaked as he got up. 

The unicorn groaned and covered her ears with her pillow, trying to drift back into sleep. 

Spike was still sound asleep, impressive. It takes a lot to wake up the baby dragon and apparently, a tumble down the stairs does not qualify as “a lot”. 

Sketch looked around in hopes of finding food to satiate his ever-growing hunger. After a few minutes of searching, he realised that it was kind of stupid to expect a kitchen to be present inside a library. Ponies usually don’t live inside libraries. 

“Still an egghead...” he muttered before deciding to scour out food outside. 

“Hmm? Did he leave?” Twilight honestly had no strength to even turn around to see for herself. She simply closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. 
 
There wasn’t much light outside, but the Sun was slightly lowered, and indication that the day would soon come. Few ponies were even up at this time and those that were certainly didn’t have the same level of energy as Sketch Pattern. The stallion was practically galloping around town in search of anypony to talk to. He had a case on his hooves, and he was not going to let anything stop him from unraveling the truth of what happened to his foalhood friend. 
 
“Hi there. Have you seen this pony?” He said to a mare walking downtown, showing her the photo in the process. 

“Nope, sorry.” 

“Darn. Welp, off to the next one.” 

He quickly gave up and searched for somepony else. He landed on a stallion that looked quite tired. 

“Hey, seen this pony before?” he asked in a strangely jovial tone. 

“Gn, what?” 

“I said, have you seen this pony before?”  

The stallion looked at the photo for barely even a second before shaking his head. “No. Doesn't ring a bell.”  

“Oh come on...” 

No need to throw your hooves up in defeat just yet, there’s still a lot of ponies left to ask. As arduous as it is, he was stupidly perseverant enough to ask practically everypony in Canterlot, so why not do the same here? He needed a lead after all, and he’ll get it one way or another even if it means going through every single pony in Ponyville. 

“Hey-” 

“No.” 

Sketch looked at the mare in confusion. “I've barely said anything.” 

“I saw you asking these two about your missing pony. No, I have not seen them.” 

Sketch found a silver lining in the usage of the word them. “Ha! You didn’t say anything about their gender, so that means you haven’t seen the picture. That means you can’t give a hasty response.” he fired back. 

The mare didn’t seem interested at all, but gave in, hoping that he’ll leave her alone. “Ok then; show me.” 

Sketch showed her the picture and she smiled, though it was a petty smile from the looks of it. “Never saw him, don’t know him.” 

“Gah...” 

He stopped trotting alongside the mare and looked around. 

“Surely somepony must have seen him. You’re not a ghost, right buddy?” He stared at the photo for a brief moment as if he was letting it answer back. “Yeah, sounds about right.” 
 



 
Twilight pursued the reading of the book she started yesterday, occasionally looking outside the window to see if Sketch was going to come back or not. She wanted to ask him a bit more regarding the missing pony to see if she can dig up a forgotten memory she might have had of the stallion. 

“He’s not going to come back, isn’t he?” she said to Spike as he was cleaning the dust off the shelves. 

“I guess he’ll come back if he finds nothing from the other ponies.” 

“Let’s hope he does. I can’t imagine how much it must hurt to lose a friend. I suppose I’ll do the same thing if one of my friends went missing.” 

“So will I.” said Spike. 

Twilight Sparkle looked out the window, but this time, she was staring off in the distance at the Everfree forest. The castle of the Two Sisters overlooked the entire area so much that she could see it even from inside the Golden Oak. Once again, the same questions from yesterday resurfaced with a vengeance. It was now daytime, few ponies were coming inside the library, what’s stopping her from just heading back there for an hour or two?  

Yeah, mysteries are meant to be solved, aren’t they? The painting was taunting her with its secrets. It was practically begging her to come crawling back to it, to jump inside and unravel the truth behind this other castle. 

Come on Twilight, just go back for one more time. Don’t you want to snatch up a few of its books and take them home to analyse their content? Some of them might prove to be useful against future threats in Equestria. There’s so much to do, so much to learn from them. It’ll be a shame to let it all rot and act like nothing happened yesterday. 

Her mind insisted on going back, yet the rest somewhat refused. She kept on reading her book, trying to get her thoughts off the painting, the candles and the castle but as time went on, she grew weary of reading this book. 

She looked back at the window, the castle seemed more enticing now. Enticing enough to finally get her to embark on this small trip. 

The unicorn walked past the baby dragon who looked back curiously. “Where are you going, Twilight?” 

The mare charged up her horn to lift a saddlebag over, still walking towards the front door. “I’m just going to the old castle in the Everfree. I’ll be back in an hour.” She exited the library, much to Spike’s surprise. 

“Huh, the abandoned castle. She never showed any interest in it before.” 

 Then again, it does contain many ancient books so it wasn’t hard to figure out why she might be interested in it. Although, it wasn’t THIS version of the castle she wanted visit... 
 



 
Out in the light, the castle did evoke a sense of pity. What was once a majestic building that towered over all was now nothing else than abandoned ruins with a rich history. Everypony seemed to have forgotten about its significance and what transpired there a thousand year ago. But Twilight knew, and she often wondered why she paid no mind to it despite knowing what it stood for. 

Not that it matters for the time being, she has other things on her mind. The other side, these books... Is the painting still there? 

This was going to be a relatively simple quest. Go in and out, retrieve a couple of books while exploring for a bit. It’s easy, just a five-minute adventure. Saying she’d be back in an hour was grossly overestimating how much time she was going to spend in there. 

This other castle could be dangerous, which is why she has to be quick about her little collect-a-thon. 

Inside, the mare retraced her steps from yesterday, imagining the chase with Angel to locate the exact room. There it was, the room with the painting lied just beyond this door. She opened it and was relieved to see that the painting was back, although she did find it odd that it returned. That question, however, will be saved for later. For now, she’ll just fetch the most interesting books and get out. Of course, she didn’t forget about the mysterious pony inside. She’ll just have to be extra careful not to draw unwanted attention onto herself. Such an easy task can’t possibly go wrong...